Things I've Said to My Children

There are some things in life that you never thought you would hear yourself say.

"Don't kiss your brother while he is on the toilet." is one of those things.
"The cat does not want to wear lipstick." is another.

But if you are a parent, then you might find yourself saying these things, and many more like them.

Nathan Ripperger is the father of five boys, and a graphic designer.  So it made sense to him to take the funny things he has had to say to his kids and illustrate them.

These illustrations have been featured on TODAY.com, HuffingtonPost, Bored Panda, and Buzzfeed. and now are available in the book "Things I've Said to my Children."

The illustrations are bright and colorful, and taken quite literally. 

For instance, "Why is there a toilet seat on my coffee table?" is a picture of a toilet seat, on a coffee table.

So while being fun to look at, the are not surprising.

And the phrases themselves are certainly odd and entertaining, but get a little repetative.  "Don't put *insert random object here* in your mouth." or "Don't put food in the *insert random object or bodily orifice.*"

This is a cute gift book, and fun to flip through once or twice, but it doesn't have a lot of lasting power.  I'm not going to giggle at them as hard the third or fourth time through. 

This would still, however, be a cute gift to give a parent of multiple children, or even to a parent to be, so they can know the kind of things they will say to their children one day.

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Come talk about books with us at the facebook group Lets Talk About Books.

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I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

"If I Fall, If I Die" by Michael Christie is a
coming of age story with all the best elements.

I was sitting in the break room at work, reading on my lunch break, when a friend walked in and said, "What are you reading?"

I did what I normally do, just held the up for her to read the title while I kept reading the page I was on.

"That sounds depressing," she said.

"If I Fall, If I Die" really is a depressing title but the story is anything by depressing.

Will has lived as long as he can remember Inside with his mother.  Will's mother suffers from panic attacks and sever agoraphobia.  She has never forbade him from going outside,  so in the opening of this book he goes outside for the first time.

Once outside he meets a boy who he think is his first friend.  This encounter opens up a whole new world for Will.

Not only does he go Outside, but he goes to school. He makes more friends.  He learns to skateboard.

He also finds himself in the middle of a mystery.  In looking for a missing boy he befriends a crazy vagabond, and finds himself on the bad side of a local bootlegger.

As Will moves further and further away from his mother, she finds herself more and more wanting to beat her own paranoid fears.

A typical "coming of age" story, I loved watching Will find his own way Outside, and find his place in a world that couldn't be more different than the one he grew up in.

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Come talk about books with us at the facebook group Lets Talk About Books.

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I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Time Garden by Daria Song - Adult Coloring Book Review

The Time Garden by Daria Song is available through Random House
and also available on Amazon!

You don't need me to tell you that adult coloring books are big right now.  From Mandalas to Zentangles and more, grown ups are grabbing these detailed images to color as a form of relaxation and stress relief.

If you want a little bit more than a soothing coloring experience, then you might want to check out the adult coloring book called The Time Garden by Korean artist Daria Song.

More than just beautiful pictures, Song decided to have her adult coloring book tell a magical story.  It is the story of a young girl who climbs into her fathers cuckoo clock, and finds herself in a fantastical world.

It is a story told in images, with just a very few words to get your imagination primed.

The young girl in the pictures is chasing a red-haired fairy through a fantasy world, much like Alice chased the White Rabbit through wonderland.

I do not use anything except color pencils in my adult coloring books, but several amazon reviewers stated that you can use gel pens and some markers without bleeding through the pages.  Other markers did bleed though, according to the reviewers, so if you use markers in your coloring books I suggest you test them for bleeding first!

The Time Garden is so well loved that a sequel has been made.  You heard me right, there is a sequel for a coloring book!  It is called The Time Chamber

The artist, Daria Song, has a masters degree in fiber arts, but  as you can tell from the fine detail in The Time Garden's rich and beautiful illustrations, she is not lacking in illustration talent either!

When you purchase The Time Garden and The Time Chamber, or any other adult coloring book, you're going to want to toss in some good coloring pencils, like this highly rated Studio Series Colored Pencil Set of 30.

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Come talk about books with us at the facebook group Lets Talk About Books.

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I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Spooky Spider Pal - Tutorial with Photos

It is almost time for Tricks and Treats again.  Many children are eagerly trying on their costumes and getting read to go house to house asking for candy.

Since the special night is still a week away, some little ghouls and goblins might be getting a little restless.

You can keep them busy by doing a few cute Halloween crafts.

This Spooky Spider Pal is one craft that than take a few minutes between now and the Spooktacular Halloween Night away.

This cute spider craft is done with things most kid crafters already have on hand.  With a Pom-Pom body, and pipecleaner legs it coudln't be easier to make.

And really, look at that cute little underbite.  Those crazy wiggly eyes.  Those adorable beaded knees!

Are you ready to make a Spooky Spider Pal of your very own?  Here is how you can make this Halloween Craft with the kids (or a grown up kid at heart)

SUPPLIES

• Black Pom-poms (2 to 3 inches in size)
• Black Pipe Cleaners (4)
• Googly Eyes (colored ones like these are extra fun)
• White scrap paper (you can also use felt)
• Pony beads (16)
• Glue

INSTRUCTIONS

1. I sketched some fangs on the white paper (I used  a junk mail envelope) then cut them out.  I got my helper (my 5 year old son) to glue the wiggle eyes and paper fangs onto one large pom-pom.  Then set it aside to dry.

My son wanted to make this spider so badly
I could hardly keep him away long enough to take the supply photo.

Here is the spider face he made.
Our Spooky Spider Pal has an underbite.

2.  Take 4 black pipe cleaners (also known as chenille stems) and fold them in half to find their centers.  Then open them back up.  Lay them down, crossing each other at their centers, then twist them together for security.  It will look something like this:

3.  Fold each leg in toward the center.  Where these bends are will be the KNEES of the spider.  Unfold them a little and slide a pony bead up to each knee joint.  (You can secure the beads with glue if you wish.)

4.  Fold a small portion of the tip of the leg outward (away from the center of the body).  I bent them out approximately the distance between the tip and first knuckle of my pointer finger.  Slide the remaining pony beads up to each bend.  These are the spiders FEET.

Now, turn it right side up (feet side down) and it should look something like this:

5.  Take your glue and put a generous amount on the center of the spiders body (where all the legs meet).  Take your head that you had set aside earlier and mush it down into the glue.

Once it dries you have your Spooky Spider Pal.

Now, put it on a leash and take it walking with you on Halloween!

Q&A a Day 4 Year Journal for Creatives

 I like to consider myself to be a creative person.  I love to write and I love answering question when I'm stuck for a topic, so I was excited to be offered Q&A a Day for Creatives.

I guess I should have looked a little closer at the description though. 

Since this is a 4  year journal called Q&A I was expecting questions to write answers too.

What is actually is is 365 prompts to make small drawings.  Each page has one phrase on it, and is divided into 4 parts.  Each year you are supposed to make a small drawing on that phrase.


The back cover displays what the inner pages look like very well.

I'm not entirely disappointed though.  Fllipping through the book I found several prompts that I can use to write on instead of draw on.  AND, I've been wanting to flex my drawing muscle a little.  I'm not an artist, but maybe 4 years of small doodles can help me out!

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DISCLAIMER:  “I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.”

The Drosten's Curse - A Doctor Who Book Review

The Drosten's Curse is available on
Amazon, in paperback or Kindle.

As I was reading this book my husband asked me, "Is it any good?"

To which I responded, "Its kind of like the TARDIS."

This earned me a funny look, so I explained, "Its Bigger on the inside."

While The Drosten's Curse was greatly entertaining, it seemed that I would NEVER finish this novel.  I can usually  eat up a good read in a day or two, but it took me weeks to make my way through this one, despite loving the tale nearly from the beginning.

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 Bryony Mailer is working at a golf resort - quite peaceful even if patrons do tend to just disappear from time to time - and pondering what more exciting things she might do with her life.

Then the Doctor loped into her life, wondering if he might have missed January, and was he not in Chicago after all?

Certainly not in Chicago, the Doctor landed in June, just a few miles outside of Arbroath.  And something odd is going on in Arbroath.

In a story complete with a set of un-normal twins, a lovely grandmother who is obsessed with octopusses (or octopodes), an incompetnet golfer named Putta, and a mighty behometh thought to no longer exist called the Bah-Sokhar Bryony finds herself in a grand adventure.  She is actually enjoying herself, despite being almost dead a couple of times.

The Bah-Sokhar feeds off of anger, hatred and negative energy, and is looking for a new ruler, because it needs to be controlled.  And the world of humans is full of anger and hatred.

"I shall make you the jewel at the heart of the universe."

The Bah-Sokhar offers it's power to a few people, but is quite taken with the Doctor, who it wants to stay and play with it.  Forever.

Meanwhile, a petulant young man/child decides to take the Thing up on its offer to be made the heart of the universe.

And that is when the world ends.

While it took me a couple of weeks to read the first 2/3 of the novel, I finished the final 1/3 in an evening.

Doctor Who?

The Doctor in this novel is the 4th Doctor, as portrayed by Tom Baker.  With overflowing scarf and hair that is a character of its own.  Though I'm familiar enough with how Tom Baker looked as the Doctor, I could't help but read him as David Tennant.

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I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.”

Pasta Chips - Garlic Olive Oil Review

I got the change to try some of these Authentic Italian Pasta Chips because I received a full sized sample as a Kout Perk.  The flavor I tried was the Garlic Olive Oil flavor, which is the bag in the photo above.

These are baked PASTA chips.  Not POTATO.

They were very good.  I had eaten pretty much the whole bag full before I remembered that I should probably take a picture of it so I could do a review. 

There were only a handful of chips left, but very few of them were broken!  You know what its like to reach your hand into a nearly empty bag of chips.  Its just a bunch of greasy crumbs.

Well, these chips came from the bottom of the Pasta Chips bag, and just look at them.  Whole, and not greasy at all!  The chip with the little ding in the corner was the WORST one of the last of the bag.  (Not counting the ones I had eaten before taking this photo of course)

The Garlic and Olive oil was a light flavor.  You know garlic can be overwhelming, but this one was not.  It was perfect.  If you're not a fan of garlic, the Garlic and Olive Oil is only one of six different flavors, including Spicy Tomato Herb and the Spinach Broccoli Kale Veggie Pasta Chip!

And while I ate all of my chips dipless, the Pasta Chips website has loads of great recipes you can use to create great dips and MORE with these great chips!

And if the lack of grease and the great flavor isn't enough to sell you on these chips how about these little tidbits:

1. Pasta Chips are Made in the USA.
2. Pasta Chips are a NON-GMO Verified product. 
3. Pasta Chips are Vegan!
4. Pasta Chips have 20% less fat than the leading pita chip.

Then there is this cheeky promo video:

I hope I have convinced you that Authentic Italian Pasta Chips are worth a try!

Which one of their six flavors would you like to try?

If you HAVE tried them, how did you like them.

Remember to SHARE this with your chip loving friends so they can discover the great snack that is the Pasta Chip.

Flower Prints From a Gelli Plate

 

Today was a rainy day in my world.  Early in the morning a thunder storm rolled in.

I sat down in front of youtube feeling rather uninspired, and started watching craft videos.  Then, in the playlist, one by The Frugral Crafter popped up and she was making floral prints with her gelli plate.

I have an 8"x10" gelli plate and I love to use it, but rarely pull it out.  I don't know why.

A Gelli Plate is a permanent mono-printing tool.  It is a squishy plasticy material that you smear paint on, then press paint on, and it makes a LOVELY print.  The best part is that even if you do the exact same thing a second time, you're print is not going to be exactly the same.  That is the joy of mono-printing.  One of a kind prints with every pull.

In the video I watched today she made a painting of a daffodil using her gelli plate and made it look so easy that I wanted to try myself.

The flower I used first was an iris.

In the video the technique was to start with the background first, then add the image one layer of paint at a time, starting from the back and working forward.

Lindsay made it look super easy in her video.  Mine did not come out as "realistic" as her, but I do enjoy the results.

This was my iris.

 

And I liked the iris so much I decided to try my hand at the daffodil too.  In fact, I was inspired to do a triptych.  Three related prints.  I was going to do a daffodil then a rose.

Here is my daffodil.

 I didn't like the results of my daffodil as much as I did my iris.  I didn't do the rose because I had to stop and feed my son.  I might save my rose print for another rainy day.

If you want to try your hand at making flower prints from a Gelli Plate, then I suggest you watch the video below.  It is the one that inspired me.

What do you think of my flowers? Which one do you like best?

Feel free to let me know in the comments.

If you REALLY like them, PLEASE share them on Pinterest or any other social media so other people can like them too.

Hanging Post-it Note Memo Board

It is back to school time, and students are looking for cute, fun and functional locker and dorm room decor.

This DIY Memo Board fits the description.  Not only is it simple to make, it is as unique as the person using it, and can be made to hang over a doorknob, or to hang inside of a locker door.

SUPPLIES

lightweight wood plaque
post it notes
acrylic paint and brushes
ribbon (or magnets)
glue
stickers and ephemera for decorating

STEP 1

Paint your plaque

To make my memo board I used a lasercut plaque I got on clearance at Michael's.

But really, any lightweight wood plaque would work.  You can even get a pack of 6 wooden plaques and make one for all of your friends!

I painted the center of my plaque with Folk Art Sunny Yellow paint.  I painted the fancy edges with Dazzling Metallics Peacock Pearl.

I used washi tape to mask the edges I already painted while I put the paint on the center.

OPTIONAL: If you don't want to paint your plaque you can decorate it using colorful patterned scrapbook paper instead!

STEP 2

Decorate your plaque.

This is the fun part, and you're not limited on how you decorate it.  You can use stickers, ephemera, or even more paint like I did.

I used a stencil (I think it was a recollections one from Michael's) to paint blue polka dots on the yellow background.

The only thing to keep in mind while decorating is that you must leave room for your post its somewhere on the board.

STEP 3

Attach your ribbon.

If your plaque has a fancy edge like mine does, you can tie the ribbon on with a pretty bow.

If it is a plain plaque then you can use hot glue or tacky glue to tack the ends of the ribbons to the back. (I actually used this method on mine.)  If the plaque is thick enough you could also keep the ribbon in place with a thumbtack or staple.

OPTIONAL: If you don't want to hang your memo board with a ribbon you can use these ceramic magnets.  Just glue them to the back and you can stick your board to the fridge or inside of a school locker!

STEP 4

Put on your post-it notes and proudly display.

You'll notice my post-its are star shaped.  Post-it notes have come a LONG way from sticky yellow squares. Click here to check out a few of the shapes available!

HINT: Don't try to stick a whole pad of Post-its to the board at once.  Post-its are not THAT sticky.  Just stick up a few pages at time and refill as needed.

What do you think of my memo board?  Will you try making one of your own?  If you do I would LOVE to see the results!

Shift by Em Bailey

“I believe in grey...Some things aren't straightforward. Not everything is true or false, real or imaginary, black or white. It's not that simple.” ― Em Bailey, Shift

Olive Corbett is just trying to disappear into the background.  She takes her meds, and avoids as much trouble as she can, even though she knows people are still talking about her "incident."

Then a new girl shows up, and the schools attention turns to her.

There are a lot of rumors about Miranda Vaile including that she was an orphan, who killed her parents.

Olive and her best friend Ami are the only ones who are not obsessed with Miranda.  Even Katie, the schools Queen Bee pushes girls our of her clique to make room for Miranda.

But only Olive seems to notice that the more Miranda prospers, the more Katie seems to fade away.

But who would believe Olive if she tried to convince someone that Miranda was stealing Katie's life?

Then, Miranda turns her sites on Olive herself.

Is she really just a lonely girl looking for a friend to gets her, or is there something Evil inside of Miranda Vaile?

"Shift" by Em Bailey is a young adult thriller, and the story keeps moving pretty fast once you get going.  There are supernatural undertones to the story, as Olive becomes convinced that Miranda is a shape shifter stealing the lives of other people.

Outside of that it has the usual drama of a teen novel.  A social outcast teen.  A "cool kid" love interest.  A no-nonsense best friend.  A "she used to be my best friend but now we're enemies" antagonist.

For much of the book I was pulled along by my interest in what Olive's "incident" actually was.  And trying to figure out why Olive's mom didn't approve of her best friend Ami, who seemed to be a good enough girl.  By the end I was trying to figure out what exactly was going on with Miranda.

I would give this novel 5 stars.  I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes YA fiction.

Easy Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

There are some people who can go into a kitchen with four ingredients and whip out a 12 course meal.  These people are the culinary equivalent of MacGyver.

I am here to tell you now that I am NOT that person.  When I go into a kitchen I'd much rather have a frozen dinner to stick in the microwave.  But sometimes I want something different, and that means cooking.

So, when I decided I wanted a peach cobbler I decided to try to find the easiest way to make it ever.  But it couldn't just be easy.  It had to be easy and taste good.

I found an easy peach cobbler, but its not exactly a peach cobbler. It is something even more amazing called a dump cake.  You take 4 ingredients and dump them together and something amazingly yummy comes out.

Below I'm going to walk you step by step through how to make this dreamy dessert.

Easy Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

INGREDIENTS

 1 box of yellow cake mix

2 cans of peaches

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

cinnamon (optional)

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 350.

 While preheating open the cans of peaches and dump them, juice and all, into your 9x12 baking dish 

If you wish to cut the peaches into smaller size you can, but do not have to.

STEP 2

 

Open your yellow cake mix and dump it on top of your peaches.

DO NOT MIX.

It is important that the cake mix is on top, not mixed in with the peaches. 

PS: SAVE the box the cake mix came in!  We're gonna make something fun with that soon!

STEP 3

Cut your stick of butter into many, many pieces.

Scatter these pieces all over the top of your cake mix.

Get as much coverage as you can.

STEP 4

Sprinkle your brown sugar all over the top of everything.

I'll admit, I did not have half a cup of brown sugar in my house.  I used what I had, then added cinnamon.

Cinnamon is optional, but I WILL be using it ever time I make this.

STEP 5

Put your dish in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

The butter melts down into the cake mix, while the peach juice bubbles up into the cake mix.  The crust turns out crispy and buttery and sweet.

STEP 6

Serve and enjoy!

It was pretty amazing.  I will say it was VERY buttery and VERY sweet.  I loved that, but if you are on a diet and/or diabetic this might not be the best version of peach cobbler for you.

If you would like to try other dump cakes I recommend you check out The Absolute Best Dump Cake Cookbook: More Than 60 Tasty Dump Cakes

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If you try this Easy Peach Cobbler Dump Cake Recipe I would love to hear what you thought about it.

Have you ever made a dump cake?  If you have any other easy dump cake recipes I would love for you to share them with me!