Daily Bargain - Library book score!

When I was a kid, my parents would drop me off at the local library and I would read books until it was time to walk to my tap dance class.  It was a Saturday morning ritual that I enjoyed, being the avid reader that I was.  Currently, I'm a member of two local library networks and it's become somewhere to take Owen, who I've been reading to since he was born.  He seems to have inherited a healthy enjoyment of books and we share a nice, long story each evening before bed.

This week, the Burbank library annual book sale was happening and I took the opportunity to head over there on a lunch break.  All children's books were $0.25 - can't beat that for a bargain.  20 books and $5 later, I hauled 2 gigantic bags of books back out to the car, half expecting for somebody to stop and accuse me of theft!  Including the 5 books I bought at a different library branch the week before, Owen's bookcase is definitely a lot more packed this week. 

As it turns out, I'm attracted to beautiful illustrations, especially if they involve dragons.  One of the books was signed by the author, so a definite collectible, while another was signed by Mickey and Minnie Mouse back in 1998.  We're debating taking it back to Disneyland with us when we go in a few weeks and seeing if we can get it signed again!  Not only was this a vast assortment of books, they were also in excellent condition.  Owen has been carrying around the two Thomas The Tank board books since I got them, even insisting he take them to daycare, where I was informed he shared them with the group. 

So, if you have a library near you, I highly recommend looking to see if they have a book sale coming up.  It's a great way to expand your book collection without breaking the bank, plus you get to support your local library, which is never a bad thing.  I've included the full list of books we purchased below as they are highly rated and we've really enjoyed all the ones we've read so far!







That's All Folks: The Art Of Warner Bros. Animation by Steve Schneider
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame  Disney
Ignis by Gina Wilson
Hieronymus Betts And His Unusual Pets by M. P. Robertson
Lucia And The Light by Phyllis Root and Mary GrandPre
Magic & Mischief: Tales From Cornwall by Shirley Climo and Anthony Bacon Venti
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
Something Special by David M. McPhail
Garfield Stories by Jim Davis
Dancing Dinos At The Beach by Sally Lucas and Margeaux Lucas
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Suess
The Cat In The Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss 
Stop, Train, Stop! by Rev. W. Awdry
A Crack In The Track by Rev. W. Awdry
The Train Of States by Peter Sis
About Dinosaurs: Little People Big Book by Time-Life Books
Baby's First Library ABC by Yoyo Books
The Enchanted Forest by Ben Marcus
Uncle Lester's Hat by Howie Schneider
Twenty One Elephants And Still Standing by April Jones Prince
Once Upon A Cloud by Rob D. Walker and Matt Mahurin
Paddington's Loose End Book by Michael Bond
The Sea Serpent And Me by Dashka Slater and Catia Chien

Daily Craft - A paint swatch color book

We have a kitchen remodel coming up that is about to invade our house for the next couple of weeks.  This means we've been in and out of home improvement stores the last couple of weekends and, as a reward for his patience while we pick out backsplash and floor tiles, I decided to make Owen something using the paint swatches we'd given him to keep him entertained in the shopping cart (because it seemed safer than handing him power tools). 

Using this as inspiration, I set about making Owen his own color book.  I picked up a few sets of stickers at Dollar Tree (who carry a pretty decent selection of laser, 3D, and foam stickers) then went about matching the sticker colors to the swatches.  Once I'd decided on the color order, I used double-sided tape to stick the swatches to each other back to back.  Then I punched holes and bound them together using loose binder rings.  Finally, I personalized the front page for him.  I'm so happy with how it turned out!

 

I'm hoping that over time he can even add his own choice of stickers to the ones that I already included in the book.  That way it really is even more personal to him, as well as having the advantage of teaching him about his colors in a fun way!

There seem to be tons of paint swatch crafts out there, and I can kind of see why now that I've made this for Owen.  Very fun, not complicated.  Have you tried any yourself?  Please share if you have!

I'll be sharing photos of the kitchen remodel shortly as demolition starts on Monday - yikes!  In the meantime, I would also like to give Home Depot props for this sweet shopping cart, complete with steering wheel!  Owen loved "driving" like a big boy while I made our tile order.  

Daily Review - City Quilts

I was really excited to discover that the book "City Quilts" by Cherri House is now available in my local library.  When I first heard about the book, I had a suspicion that it would appeal to me and, WOW, was I right!  Prior to this, I've never opened a pattern book of any kind before and actually wanted to make every single one of the designs inside.  City Quilts for the win.

While I'm still very much a beginning quilter, I've already concluded that simple blocks with bold colors appeal the most to me right now.  Not that I don't admire more country-style quilting, but I'm an urban girl at heart.  City Quilts ties together traditional blocks with a modern twist, also adding a fabulous sense of color.  I particularly liked how she uses solid colors to highlight the designs - perfect for someone like me who gets easily confused about whether patterned fabrics look too busy together.  I very much enjoyed looking over the section within the book discussing color, including examples of various color schemes, shades and tones.  While I love the color schemes that she uses for the designs in this book, I can visualize how switching the color scheme would produce a completely different (but equally striking) effect.

The patterns themselves are very easy to follow, with clear directions and diagrams to help with block assembly and construction.  I'm sure that some of the information is probably unnecessary for more experienced quilters, but I know that I appreciate the reminders on how to do things, which way to press seams and so on.  There is actually a wealth of technique discussed in the book, which allows it to be a stand-alone guide for this particular quilting journey.  I appreciated Cherri's discussion on how she designs and gathers her inspiration.  It makes me feel like I can do the same (although I'm also sure I'm not there just yet myself!) 

 
So, in summary....

- I would make all of these quilts!
- This holds a lot of appeal for a beginner like me who has somewhat mastered the rotary cutter and can sew in straight lines
- Makes me think about traditional quilt blocks in a new light
- Really highlights how fancy patterned fabrics aren't necessary for a truly striking end result
- Easy to follow with nice discussion of various techniques along the way

Having gone through this book, I'm also happy to say that I've now decided how I want to quilt the top, which has been hibernating in a plastic bag since I finished piecing it together late last year.  I couldn't decide on which would be the best color thread to quilt with, or if the design I had in my head made any sense.  This book has given me the confidence to go with my instinct - let's hope it works out!

Daily Craft - Myth & Magic

I think I'm finally coming close to finishing my first proper cross-stitch project and seem to be building a little collection of cross-stitch books/leaflets.  I've done pretty well finding cross-stitch books at the thrift store and found another on my lunch break trip on Friday. This time I picked up a copy of Cross Stitch: Myth & Magic for a couple of dollars. I'm working on an Asian themed project right now, which is likely to go in our guest bathrom. I'm very excited that this book has a really nice dragon pattern that I think will be my next project and hopefully the two will look great hung up together!