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 - Quilting plans

I think that one thing that has held me back in my desires to quilt has been feeling nervous about fabric and color selection.  I don't have a quilters fabric stash or anything like that, and sometimes I have a hard time envisioning how my fabric scraps will look together.

Joann's is doing a pretty good sale on their Quilters Showcase cottons right now ($2.49/yd), so I wanted to go check out what they have.   One thing that was really impressive, for the novice quilter like me, is that Joann's has designed this line so that certain fabrics very obviously go together, using the same colors and tones.  I was able to grab a fabric that called to me, and from there it was very easy to select the complimentary designs.  The hardest part was actually narrowing down the fabrics to the ones that I wanted because there's quite a bit of choice!  I'm also learning to calculate the amount of fabric needed and, after scrawling down a bunch of basic calculations, I think I had it figured out (with excess built in just in case I got it completely wrong). 

Now that I have the fabric for 2 quilts In hand, there's no excuses for not getting to work on this I guess.  I'm really happy with what I picked and I'm hopeful that they'll look really nice when I'm done.  I've decided to try the disappearing 9-patch block, so more on that to come...

Daily Ramblings - So, what's new?

This week has been a busy one at work for me.  As you may know, I work at a major record label and September is a big month for album releases this year, which means right now I'm burying myself under gigantic wads of paper.  I'm one of those people who makes piles of folders on the floor of my office, which helps me sort out what needs to be done and how to prioritize those things.  I know it's getting out of hand though when those piles are gravitating toward the door, creating a barrier preventing my escape.  Even worse is when my boss appears in my doorway to tell me something but her train of thought is repeatedly interrupted because her eyes are drawn to the perceived mess strewn about the place.  She doesn't have to say anything about it, the look is everything.

In the meantime, I'm participating in a Dexter themed craft swap on Craftster while oh so patiently waiting for Season 5 to start on Showtime next month.  It's been really fun making things for my partner that are inspired by blood spatter and dismemberment.  Of course I'll be sharing my creations soon, but can't just yet lest my partner happen across it!  If you haven't seen this show, I highly recommend it.  I didn't think I was going to like it at first, but by the 3rd episode of Season 1, I was completely hooked.  It's smart, funny, deliciously dark, and Michael C Hall isn't too bad to look at either. 

Speaking of being on a creative kick, I've finally come up with the new name for my handmade business.  Several years ago, I joined the Etsy bandwagon, originally focusing on photography, then branching out to handspun yarns and various knit or crocheted accessories.  It has to be said, I never found my groove on that site and as a result spent a lot of time worrying about it, but without much to show.  About 6 months ago, I decided to take a hiatus and take my time deciding how I wanted to move forward.  Just in the same way as I felt trapped into a concept with my old blog, I felt trapped by my Etsy shop.  I realized that I needed a brand new outlet where I could be free to be inspired by creating new things.  I spent a lot of time thinking about a name for my business that represents what I'll be offering - which is a little bit of everything really, seeing as I'm not a monogamous crafter and love dabbling in all sorts of things.  It took a while because it's hard to come up with a truly original domain name that hasn't already been snagged (or even worse, sounds like a site of the "mature" persuasion).  After a LOT of thought, I came up with Crave Creation - after all, I do!  This week, I bought the domain and got the website template started.  I'm going to be making inventory and I foresee many hours of product photography in my future.  The beautiful thing though is that it no longer feels like a chore.  I'm actually excited and inspired, which is what creativity is supposed to be about!