Digital Stamps

I'm in trouble. I just discovered digital stamps! Aaah. What does this mean? It means instant gratification. I buy a stamp from Mo's Digital Stamp or A Day for Daisies for example, I print it from my printer and voilà, I have a perfect image already set and ready to color! There's no package to wait from the UPS guy or Amazon's 2-day shipping. I instantly have it. It's insane.

Here's one of the images that I colored:

My crafting/paper obsession is proving to be a costly endeavor. I might have to switch to digital painting or learning languages (I'm forever studying German and Japanese). The distraction is also wreaking havoc on my reading! I get sent tons of galleys to read and I really want to read 80% of them at least!

I can understand how people love to color lately. I personally love coloring people. It's too bad that most of the coloring books available feature animals, geometric shapes and landscapes. Also, the paper is thin so my Copics will go right through them. I'm quite crazy about my Copic markers at the moment.

Oh, before I forget, the Q and A session with Eve Chase is today at 1 PM PST/4 PM EST.
http://penguindebutauthors.earlyword.com/black-rabbit-hall/

See you there!

Black Rabbit Hall chat with the author tomorrow!

Tomorrow I'm going to participate in a chat with a new author, Eve Chase:

If you have read the book and want to ask the author some questions, please join us tomorrow, November 11th at 1 PM PST/ 4 PM EST

It's the story of Amber and Lorna alternating between 1969 and present day. How are their stories connected? What is the secret of Black Rabbit Hall? Atmospheric and engrossing, it will take you to Cornwall manor- a place filled with innocence and dark mystery.

Won't you join us? Share your comments below. By the way, I rated it highly and voted for it on Library Reads, a venue for librarians all over the country to highlight titles that readers should look out for.

Copics!

I can't remember how I found about Copics. They are excellent markers for coloring. Copics are alcohol-based which means you can blend them - no streaks!

Last Friday, I attended a papercrafting workshop at Long Beach that started at 8 a.m. (thus the absence of a blog post that day!). Initially I thought maybe I shouldn't have registered because there are tons of Youtube videos and tutorials on the Web for free. However, I found something valuable in working in a group setting (I was in a table with 4 other women - surprisingly, no men!). I got to see other people's work (each attendee had a different take on coloring even when following directions projected on a screen). I also realized that there is no right or wrong way to do art.

Here is what I did in my first try.

And then I got a bit better with shading:

I learned two things that day: shadows are very important (it gives life to the image from being flat to dimensional) and colors play a big part in blending. Here is a color chart from Copic:

By the second day (I took all the classes back-to-back), here was my last work:

I

I was really proud of it because I was satisfied how my shadows and colors played out. Have you taken classes in person vs online, which one was more satisfying? Share your comments below.
I can tell that I really enjoyed the classes because I'm already looking for more classes to take in person! Here are some classes from the Copic website.

Librarian nostalgia (oh and it happens to be Thursday! Coincidence)

I love my job. Before I became a librarian, I can remember exactly when  I wanted to become a librarian. I was visiting the Atwater Village Public Library after a rough day at work (I was a customer service representative). I had studied journalism and French and I felt like I was going nowhere. Surrounded by books, the place was heavenly. There was a lone librarian working in front of a computer and I immediately wanted to be that person. I imagined what her day was like: park her car, go in, order books, talk to people what books they want to read, help them find things, look at databases, surrounded by books and knowledge...I already felt confident about my communication skills, even though English is my second language (I have to remind myself that sometimes) and I'm tenacious with research and discovering. I just knew that I wanted to work where I had something to do with books and people. And here I am, after a decade of working as a librarian (I had a short stint at a law firm as a digital content librarian - tons of fun but I'll write more on that later) and I don't take anything for granted.

Yesterday, I received this in the mail:

Through the years, I've had the opportunity to attend annual ALA conferences and I've met some fabulous folks at the publishing houses. In one of the talks that I've attended, I found out that librarians all over the country talk about books even before they get published. I got on their mailing list and now I get all these books to read before publication so I can order and recommend them to patrons.  How cool is that? I've reviewed quite a few books and have gotten a few featured on Library Reads - what a thrill! More importantly, I have recommended lots and lots of books to patrons - I enjoy hanging out near our new books section and just chatting with people: asking which authors they follow, asking them what they're currently reading, and asking them what their favorite books are. I look back and it's quite fitting that I found my dream job in the very place where I get to work!

Do you find libraries useful in your life? Share below!

Freebies and gift giving

I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and the city of Torrance had a booth to encourage people to recycle. They also handed out cute little trinkets and bags like this:

My sister and I both got one each. We were both aghast when we saw some people walking off with 20 bags each! Uggh, I just don't understand it. My sister and I could only mutter, "That's too bad for other people who won't have a chance to get at least one." We were in a Farmer's Market so that would have been a big help to others who didn't bring their own recyclable bag.

When I go to ALA Annual, I see this happen too. People would grab multiples of free items without realizing if they actually need it. Sigh.
The Holidays are approaching and I love it because it's that time of year when people give tons of presents. I wish our family exchanged gifts. We used to do that when I was a child and most of the fun came from the "reveal" when the giver would describe the recipient and we all try to guess who it is. Christmas and birthdays are my favorite special occasions.  As I get older I find that I enjoy giving away stuff rather than the other way around.
Here's a tree we're getting this year, photo from Kikki K

Do you have any holiday traditions that you would care to share? Share in the comments below!

Overbooked

So today started out way too early. Our road near our home is being paved so we had to leave the house before 7 a.m. and we can't come back until after 6 p.m. I also have a dentist appointment, my daughter will be let our early, and of course I have an important chat with my lovely fellow librarians on Twitter...I decided to go to a park with my son and we did 4 miles of walking (about). There was a farmer's market happening right there in the park so I was able to get some Chicken Chaufa for our lunch. I met up with my sister and we went around the stalls sampling delicious organic fruit and raw mung beans. I feel like there's nothing to talk about for my blog, so here it is. My day.

I've come across some videos of moms who talk about how to plan your day and all I can think of is...do you really have that much time in your hands that you can talk about what you will do with your day? I mean, you just schedule what you have to do and do it.

Galley chat today on Twitter! 4 p.m. EST. #ewgc

On Paper

I was rifling through my cardstock and designer paper sheets and I can't resist the smell of paper. It takes me back to my childhood when my sisters and I would go to our small bookstore so we can purchase our favorite Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley Twins series.

I've been seeing a lot of posts pitting an e-reader against a book and I don't get it. I don't see why both can't exist harmoniously. I like 'em both for different reasons. During the day, for sure I am reading a paper book, but when I'm in bed, I prefer my e-reader with built-in light.

I love paper. I seem to collect lots of printed paper wherever I go. This is my favorite at the moment:

Image is from Stampin' Up! Wouldn't those look good as napkin holders or place mats for Thanksgiving? Here's a card I made using the paper.

I used a stamp set and some embellishments and voilà, a card ready for giving for thanksgiving. Do you give cards during Thanksgiving? Share your comments below!

**Disclosure: Stampin' Up! is a direct seller and I am a demonstrator for them so I will get a small commission from your purchase.