Category Archives: Reviewettes

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity thinks the gift guide thing is a little out of hand

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No linkity next week! Hopefully there’s enough here to sustain you. 🙂

Bookity

‘Tis the Season of Gift Guides

Think, Learn, Make, Do

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Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Printmaking+Mixed Media: Simple Techniques and Projects for Paper and Fabric by Dorit Elisha. Good overview of all sorts of different types of printmaking, from monoprinting to screen printing and more. Definitely found some things I’m going to try out in my art journaling. This is one I’ll be picking up used for reference.
Stencil Girl: Mixed-Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils by Mary Beth Shaw. I did get some ideas for using stencils in my art journaling, but I wasn’t particularly interested in the sections on woodburning, metalwork, cake decorating, or encaustic.
Dreaming from the Journal Place: Transforming the Sketchbook to Art by Melanie Testa. This one didn’t really work for me. It covers a lot of ground – from drawing and painting to carving rubber stamps to extremely detailed instructions for dyeing fabric. And it felt like the journal bit was more of an afterthought than anything else.
Sidney Crosby: A Hockey Story (Revised and Updated) by Paul Arseneault and Paul Hollingsworth. So-so young adult hockey biography covering the years 2002 through the end of the 2007 season (the season before the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in the Stanley Cup Final to Detroit). This was of the very “rah rah” sorts of YA books – it didn’t touch on the vitriol Crosby faced from parents and players alike, nor did it mention any of the injuries incurred along the way.

“I wish the birds would come back.” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity from rainy Minneapolis

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Congrats to diannakay, who won Nice and Snow (With a Kick #1.1) by Clare London!

Congrats to Calila, who won A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips, and Thou by JL Merrow! A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips, and Thou will be released by JMS Books on December 14.

Contest(s)

Bookity

‘Tis the Season of Gift Guides

Think, Do, Make, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric by Violette. Ok art journaling how-to book. A bit light on content and a bit too new agey for me.
101 Mixed Media Techniques: Master the Fundamental Concepts of Mixed Media Art by Walter Foster Creative Team. Good overview of a wide variety of mixed media art techniques. Unfortunately, the techniques are all presented quite briefly and you’d probably need to find more detailed instructions elsewhere.

“No one understands how I suffer.” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity tries to catch up

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Congrats to Liz, who won Boys in Brief by Clare London!

Contest(s)

Bookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

‘Tis the Season for All the Gift Guides

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Print & Stamp Lab: 52 Ideas for Handmade, Upcycled Print Tools by Traci Bunkers. Good book about using things from around the house and (mostly) inexpensive items from the dollar store for art mark making.
Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials by Jeannine Stein. Extremely creative projects for making books from unusual things (such as hot water bottles, felted sweaters, window screens, and bath rugs). I’m beginning to suspect (from both my bookmaking class and reading books such as this) that I am not nearly as precise and detail-oriented as most bookmaking requires…
Printmaking Unleashed: More Than 50 Techniques for Expressive Mark Making by Traci Bautista. Ok look at many different ways to make stencils, stamps, and other mark making tools. I found the instructions to be confusing frequently, with too many references to self-branded products.
The Artist Unique: Inspiration and Techniques to Discover Your Creative Signature by Carmen Torbus. Good look at how different mixed-media artists find their inspiration, along with some of their favorite techniques. This quote sums up how most of the artists dealt with inspiration: “One of the most important things I’ve learned about my own creativity is that I don’t need to wait for inspiration to hit before I begin working on my art. If I simply show up and begin creating, the inspiration will come.” -Leah Piken Kolidas
Pretending to Be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) (Expanded Edition) by Liane Holliday Willey. I really wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. It was kind of interesting to read Willey’s experience growing up as an undiagnosed Aspie, but I never felt invested in her story – it all felt very distant. Reading this felt similar to how reading Temple Grandin feels to me – I always retain (or am kept at?) an academic distance. Cynthia Kim‘s Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate: A User Guide to an Asperger Life was much more my speed. YMMV.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos & Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity’s looking forward to a Thanksgiving break

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Congrats to Susan W, who won Telltale by Clare London!

Congrats to Is, who won Celebrate (Avian Shifters #1.5) and Magpie (2nd ed) (Avian Shifters #2) (and optionally Duck (Avian Shifters #1) (2nd ed)) by Kim Dare!

No linkity next Friday, November 27! 🙂

Contest(s)

Bookity

Do, Learn, Think, Make

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Craftsy

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

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Teh Cute

Reading Update
Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways To Be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are by Danny Gregory. That I started this in early July and just finished it last week should tell you something – comfortable writing style, fun drawings, and yet I just wasn’t drawn in.
Journal Fodder 365: Daily Doses of Inspiration for the Art Addict by Eric M Scott and David R Modler. There’s a lot of information in this book; I think it might be best for someone just starting to art journal who is trying to figure out their own style and habits. What I liked about this book were some of the ideas for how to integrate an art journal into your life and not just work on it during “studio time” (which I have a tendency to do).

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos and Mayhem

(Maybe kitties do hibernate for the winter…)

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity’s taking a long birthday weekend! :)

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Congrats to Ilona F, who won the freshly released m/m romance Heartsville series, courtesy of Piper Vaughn!

Congrats to Claudia, who won Prickly by Nature (Portland Pack Chronicles #2) by Piper Vaughn! Prickly by Nature will be released by Dreamspinner Press on November 16.

Contest(s)

Bookity

Think, Make, Learn, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Artful Collage from Found Objects by Ellen Spector Platt. Ok book about using what you have on hand to make mixed media collages. I enjoyed looking at some of the projects in the book, even though they weren’t art journal relevant.
The Art Journal Workshop: Break Through, Explore, and Make It Your Own by Traci Bunkers. Good overview of materials and techniques for art journaling – I’d think this would be particularly useful for someone just starting to art journal. (FYI – I checked this book out from the library without the DVD, so my review is only for the book.)

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

You can’t really tell from this picture, but he started to stretch and fell asleep in the middle of doing so…

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity saw snowflakes last week and +71F/21.7C this week…

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Don’t forget to enter the contest for Burning Bright (Seize the Fire #1) by KD Sarge! Closes Monday, November 16, 5:30 pm CST

Bookity

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
King of Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League by Dave King with Eric Duhatschek. Pretty good look at coaching Magnitogorsk Metallurg in the Russian Super League (RSL), which preceded the current Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). King started out basically spouting the crap most Westerners seem to about Eastern European hockey players (lazy, enigmatic, etc), but that mellowed/improved as the book progressed, fortunately. 98% of the reason I read this book was for the glimpses of baby!Evgeni Malkin during the 2005-2006 hockey season, including a bit about Malkin “defecting” to the NHL at the beginning of the 2006-2007 season.

*blankly happy and derpy* -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity saw snowflakes this week

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Bookity

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Adventures in Mixed Media Art: Inspiration, Techniques and Projects for Painting, Collage and More edited by Amy Jones. Pretty good book that focused on assorted mixed media projects (not just art journaling). Kind of seemed like a collection meant to sell you other books from the publisher, as each featured artist also seemed to have their own book from which their project was taken.

“I wonder if there’s a sunnier and softer spot somewhere?” -Mayhem

*waiting to snatch that particular sunny spot as soon as Mayhem leaves* -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Lint sculptures of linkity

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Randonymity

Bookity

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Arsty Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling – Basics and Beyond by LK Ludwig. This one had some interesting ideas I hadn’t seen anywhere else for dealing with sticky pages. I would’ve liked this more if not for the whole “creative wildfire” metaphor throughout the book. Ugh. But I did really like this quote from the author: “To make time for art, you have to believe that it’s possible to make time for art.”

It’s catghan season again! Mmmm, warm.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos & Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity unexpectedly cut short due to fire alarm caused by someone breaking off a shower knob and flooding part of the building*

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Congrats to Roger G, who won by PD Singer! Otter Chaos is being released today by Rocky Ridge Books.

*Not the part I live in, fortunately. But the water was off for the whole building for a while. And two fire trucks showed up because the water shorted out part of the fire alarm system. But hey, I met a couple of neighbors I hadn’t met before while we were hanging out on the sidewalk… Then when we got back inside, Chaos needed a lot of comfort time in my lap to recover from the trauma. May was annoyed by the noise, but otherwise unperturbed – she didn’t even leave her spot on the couch. (I didn’t pack them in to their carriers because it was immediately apparent there wasn’t a fire, what with the water pouring out of the ceiling around the smoke detector in the lobby and all.)

Contest(s)

Bookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain by Thomas Armstrong. Pretty good look at various types of neurodiversity (autism, dyslexia, schizophrenia, OCD, etc), how these traits might’ve been advantageous to our ancestors and thus survived in the gene pool, and how special education could be reshaped to take more of a difference view and less of a deficit view. While parts were quite interesting, the special education focus effectively distanced me from the book.

*side-eyeing* -Mayhem

*won’t look at the camera* -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Title, title, who’s got a linkity title?

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Congrats to Zunni, who won Nothing Serious by Jessica Jarman!

Randonymity

Contest(s)

Bookity

Do, Make, Learn, Think

Cookity

Gluten Free

Artsy Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Elemental Journal: Composing Artful Expressions from Items Cast Aside by Tammy Kushnir. Didn’t make it very far in this one. While I’m intrigued by making journals (and have made a couple of duct tape journals), I’m not interested in making a journal covered in bark.

*randomly judging* -Mayhem

*side-eyeing* -Chaos