Librocubicularist- April 2015

I'm really looking forward to this weekend because Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. My husband and I went for the first time last year and had a lot of fun, plus got a pile of really cool comics to read. If you're looking for something new to read be sure and check it out.
(To see the comics or find a participating store visit the website.)

In the meantime you can check out what I've been reading this month.


Steampunk LEGO by Guy Himber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is awesome. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is a fan of either Lego or Steampunk. Although it is mostly just fun to flip through and look at all the Lego creations the book also includes descriptions of each written in the form of letters and reports to Queen Victoria. Includes everything from trains and airships to mysterious creature. The only thing that could make it better would be including plans for at least some of the builds, but you can always study the photos and come up with your own variations. There's a section with steampunk versions of Star Wars ships.

Age Recommendations:
All Ages




BiblioCraft: The Modern Crafter's Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects by Jessica Pigza

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has two basic sections one about using the library and the other for the projects. The first introduces you to different types of libraries and special collections and offers tips for planning a visit to use those collections. It also offers a basic overview of catalog systems and offers tips to help find just exactly what you're looking for...how to check if a book has illustrations, using keyword and subject search together to narrow focus, search for certain time frame or just mag. articles, etc. It finishes up with a list of craft related digital libraries you can access and a brief overview of copyright issues and how they relate to possible projects, including information on public domain and fair use rules.

Some of the search examples include finding materials from a specific time for period inspired interior/ fashion design and searching old woman's magazine for embroidery or knitting patterns.

Each project contains information about the creator,suggestions for other crafts using same inspiration source, and an overview of the inspiration/reference materials including sources to check out and subject headings to start with for further research. I was particularly inspired by the projects using maps and cartography as inspiration.

Most of the instructions seem fairly straightforward although some crafting knowledge is assumed for example embroidered watermark pillows have directions for image transfer and sewing the pillow but no specific instructions for the embroidery. They simply state to embroider the design using chain stitch and suggest other books to check out from your library if you need additional instructions.

Age Recommendations:
I would say this book is geared towards adults because it contains more complex search techniques and assumes a certain level of experience with certain types of crafts. That being said you could certainly use the suggestions it includes to help kids research their own interests and find ways to make their ideas come to life.






Ideas & Inspirations for Art Journals & Sketchbooks by Suzanne McNeill

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was pretty short but still worth checking out. Instead of focusing on what kinds of special supplies to use or lots of new techniques it spotlights finding interesting subjects for your journaling. This book contains LOTS of pictures of art journal spreads and some of the information is even presented in an artistic format.

Age Recommendations:
By focusing on journaling about things that are meaningful in your life instead of complicated techniques this book remains relevant to people of all ages and skill levels.





The Book of Lost Books: An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read by Stuart Kelly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I had a difficult time getting into this book. It is arranged chronologically from the age of ancient greece up to modern times. In the beginning I had trouble because I had very little frame of reference. It discusses things like the only reason we even know about this play is because it was referenced by this person in this other books, and if you don't know anything about the either author its very hard to keep track of the discussion. It did get easier to follow as I moved up in time and there were some anecdotes I enjoyed overall I wasn't that excited.

(Copy I had from library was missing pages 75-78)

Age Recommendations:
Definitely for adults.





The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While I enjoyed this book it wasn't as interesting as I had hoped. The description of the books mentions that the world has been split into different ages. The idea of people traveling back and forth and exploring everywhere from prehistoric times with dinosaurs to futuristic societies seems like it has a lot of potential but the main characters only visit a handful of other ages and they seem to be reasonably close together on the timeline. But its only the first in a series so we may see more of the world in future books.

The main focus of the book is the practice of making memory maps and conflict between various factions concerning whether the new splintered world is the real or true world or if they should make an attempt to return it to its unbroken state. Of course that involves debate as to which age the 'real' world belongs to.

I found the idea behind the various types of maps interesting although it doesn't offer much explanation as to how they are created. Even if the Goodreads entry did not list it as part of a trilogy the final chapter implies a continuation of the story and there are references and hints about the larger world throughout the book.

Age Recommendations:
I would say this book is good for late elementary school kids or older. Its hard to say without giving away part of the story but there are some pretty creepy monsters. Also while I did enjoy it I think that older readers might be looking for a more complex story.

Earring Storage Solutions

I don't usually wear a lot of jewelry mostly because bracelets and things get in the way at work... also any kind of dangly earring gets tangled in my long hair. However I still have a small collection (worn when I have my hair up) that needs storage. I have an old plastic earring book but that's beginning to fall apart. Earlier I altered a frame to use for storing my hook earrings and this weekend I put together a quick project to hold my post earrings.

To make both you need the following supplies:
-Frames in desired size ( I got mine from the dollar store. 8x10 and 5x7 )
-Round Pencils
-Felt Scraps
-Glue Gun
-Small Saw
-Lace Trim (about 1/3 yard for each band)
-Duct Tape

I'll start with the frame for hook earrings because its the easiest. All you have to do is remove the back of the frame, stretch the lace over the opening and tape it in place with duct tape. Be sure to keep it as tight as possible otherwise it will sag when you add the weight of earrings.

Then carefully replace the backing and you're good to go. I played around with some of my art supplies to make a decorative backing but you could just as easily leave it plain.

To make the post earring holder the first step is to cut the pencils down to the length of the frame. I don't have any pictures of this step but I bundled them together and wrapped them with painters tape to help prevent splintering while I cut. Then I used a small hack saw to cut off the eraser end.

Run a bit of hot glue along the pencil and attach it to a small rectangle of felt. Cut the felt so that it is just slightly longer than the pencil. Run glue along the other side of the felt and wrap it around the pencil so its completely covered.

                                   

Repeat until you have enough pencils to fill the opening in the frame. Place them in the frame so that the pencil is inside but the extra felt hangs over the edge on each side. Keep them as close together as possible and try to keep the felt seam to the back.

             

Back View

Front View

Once you have them all in replace the back of the frame. 

The color of the pencils shows through but I kind of like that. The thickness of the felt made it slightly hard to close and I'd like to add a few more clips on the side to hold it down.

To store earrings all you need to do is push the post in between two of the felt rolls.

Interlude: Craft Inspiration

This post feels weird to write, partly because it marks a transition that I'm not sure how to make. So far I feel like I've done a reasonable job of accomplishing my goals in starting this blog. I've cleared the cobwebs out of my crafting closet; finished some old projects, tried new supplies, and started my own scrapbook. But it doesn't end there.

First of all because I've only scratched the surface of my crafters backlog, second because there are always new projects. For the last month or so I have been sharing craft projects that for the most part are fairly quick. I've know since the beginning that I'd have to eventually have to start sharing more time consuming projects. The problem here is that I don't know exactly what to write about without an end product to share.

 

Quite a ways before I started the Eclectic Otter I made myself a crafting notebook. Its a place to keep track of ideas I have for projects, measurements, parts I need to buy, etc. That way if i don't have time to sew for a while I can remember exactly what pattern I planed to make and how many buttons I needed. So here's a little bit about things going on in my life and what I've added to my notebook recently.

My husband has been working on creating his own world for a Pathfinder campaign and also possibly in the future writing a book. He wants the campaign to last for a while so he's working to make it more immersive by including things like the item cards I talked about and creating more scenery. Everything kicked off about 2 weeks ago so now we are busy making game props. I know he has plans, eventually, for airship battles so I bought a couple of pieces of vinyl to use as game mats, one blue for sky or sea and the other green for all sorts of outdoor locations. We also have plans to try and make a few trees.

Vinyl Playmats

I've got a stack of about 30 tuna cans saved up for a project so I'm getting ready to start that. I also just got several old keyboards because my Mom remembered that I wanted them for something...Trouble is I'm not sure what it was. Bear says he remembers something from a book so that means I have to go to the library and try and find it so that's terrible.... (and you all know that's a lie because I LOVE the library.) We don't have a lot of spare money at the moment but I'm also working on plans to transform our boring spare room into an awesome guest room/ library hybrid. We also just talked about saving up to see the new Star Wars in IMAX 3D and I have some glow-in-the-dark fabric that I bought a while back because well....glowing lightsaber fabric. But now I feel like I need to sew up some movie outfits.

                  












Speaking of the library, I also some cool stuff to read right now. A couple of things about mixed media art and art journals that are inspiring me to start collecting collage materials. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic comics that my husband and I are reading together. And how could you go wrong with a book of steampunk legos?

On a final note my cats disapprove of this whole blog writing idea because it means that my lap is occupied by the computer way more than they'd like. They do still find a way to squeeze in there. So I'll leave you with a picture of a cozy cat and a promise to at least show you some progress on a craft for Monday.

Simple Spell Templates

This weekends project is another RPG item that we've been meaning to make for a long time.  Instead of wasting time counting squares to make sure you don't hit your own team with that fireball we decided to make a quick template to check. 

All you need is lightweight wire, some pliers to bend it, a way to measure, and information about spell effect areas for whatever system you play in. The wire I used was 14 gauge jewelry wire and it was very easy to bend. A different type might hold its shape better but could be more difficult to bend. Just keep that trade-off in mind when choosing supplies. 

Most of the Game Masters in our group use tan colored gaming mats so we used a fuschia wire for contrast but any color will work.  I did not follow the templates in the book exactly (made curved edges instead of stair steps on cone for example) mostly because my husband is attempting to move to a gridless system but also with the template you can see more easily which partial squares may be included. Just lay the wire out to the correct length and use pliers to bend it into shape.

Be sure to leave an extra length at the beginning and end so you have some to twist together to close the shape. I made templates for 15 and 30 foot cones and 10 and 20 foot radius spells. ( I ended up with extra wire for a 3 yard package so you could make other sizes if needed.)

I tried to leave a extra length of wire to use as a handle to lift to template in and out of the play space. The ends are fairly sharp where the wires been cut so it might be a good idea to cover the ends somehow. My plan is to use hot glue or some type of epoxy/ super glue over the ends. It should be enough to blunt the sharp ends as well as add a little sturdiness by keeping the ends from slipping.

The result is simple shape that can be easily slipped over any minis that you already have in play.

I made a loop on some of the later templates to help counter the sharp edges. 

They are mostly flat and lightweight so they should be easy to transport to wherever our current game takes place.

Art Journal Catchup

I have fallen terribly far behind in the Documented Life Project that I talked about in my first post. This week I jumped back into it completing a page digitally for one of the weeks I missed. I also made a print out of all the challenge information so that I can look for inspiration. Below is that missing week as well as several previously completed challenges.

Week Five

January Theme-The Blank Page and How to Face It!

January 31

Art Challenge:  Under Paper (paper on your work table that gets all inky while you work)

Journal Prompt:  What Lies Beneath?

January Focus Word- Truth

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

James 1:5-6 (NIV)

When I saw the prompt I immediately thought of sea monsters, kraken, sea dragons...I think its the geek in me coming out. The verse for the week also struck a chord with me. For quite some time my husband and I have been struggling with fertility issues and trying to decide what route to take has been complicated and stressful. While we both try to keep a positive face we always have stress and doubts about our options and decisions lurking beneath the surface. I had originally intended to write about our struggles and bury it under a painted copy of the wave but got distracted by other things. I created the version below by combining several other pictures in photoshop.

Week Two

January Theme-The Blank Page and How to Face It!

January 10

Art Challenge:  Gesso

Journal Prompt:  “The beginning is always today.” -Mary Shelley

January Focus Word- Truth

"Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you  all day long." Psalms 25:4-5

I focused on the theme of paths and journeys, and was also inspired by Psalms 119:105 ( Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.)

Week Three

January Theme-The Blank Page and How to Face It!

January 17

Art Challenge:  The Color Wheel

Journal Prompt:  "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way . . . “ - Georgia O’Keeffe

January Focus Word- Truth

"Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life. Psalm 86:11 (ERV)

I decided early in this week that I wanted to try Zentangle for the color wheel but I never found a really good way to connect it to the verse. I looked up verses about rainbow and included one along with the regular weekly verse. For more information about Zentangle check out https://www.zentangle.com/.

Week Four

January Theme-The Blank Page and How to Face It!

January 24

Art Challenge:  Writing

Journal Prompt:  Words with Friends

January Focus Word- Truth

I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Right before this challenge came out my husband and I had a kind of strange conversation. When I can't sleep its usually because my brain is too active so I play a game to distract myself where I try to come up with words in a certain category for each letter of the alphabet. This particular night I was actually doing a trio: Animal, Food, and Place. So I came up with Rhinoceros from Russia who likes Rutabagas. Sometimes if he's awake Bear will help is I get stuck on a letter. In this case we were both nearly asleep and had a whole conversation about how maybe the Rhino worked as a guard in a Siberian Prison and only feed the prisoners Rutabagas. . . Lack of sleep makes all sorts of things funny. Anyways I used that as my words with friends inspiration and made a totally separate page for Documented Faith using a card created by Documented Faith organizer Stephanie Ackerman.

Week 6

February Theme-Layers You Will Love!

February 7

Art Challenge:  When Not To Stop

Journal Prompt:  "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough!" (Ooh)

February Focus Word- Believe

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22

This page was also inspired by our fertility struggles but came at a time where we were both hopeful and felt like we were finally beginning to make progress. That bird is ready for some eggs to fill its empty nest. Yellow and turquoise are one of my favorite color combinations. The bird was created by Becca Kallem as part of a set of Christmas ornaments.

While I feel a little bad about being so far behind I'm still glad that I'm at least trying to make time in my life for art and I hope you enjoy seeing what I have so far.

Easy Geek Earrings

This weekend was scheduled to be pretty busy so I needed a quick and easy project.
Around two years ago I had a really interesting library book about making jewelry using shrink plastic. (Shrink! Shrank! Shrunk! Make Stylish Shrink Plastic Jewelry) I happened to have some stashed in the craft cabinet that I bought when at a going out of business sale for a scrapbook store in the area. I decided that I could probably make a couple pairs of earrings during spare moments this weekend.

The first thing I did was was look for designs. Way back, when I first had the idea, I wanted to make a pair using Rainbow Dash's cutie mark from My Little Pony. I also found templates to make a pairs using the Tri-force, a Star Wars Rebel emblem, and the Wonder Woman symbol.

One of the tips in the book is that not all Shrink Plastic has the same rate of shrinkage so its helpful to make a guide with a piece for each brand you use. You just use a pen and ruler to mark 1 inch and half inch increments on the plastic, then after you shrink it you can use it to size future projects. For the earrings I made I knew I wanted them to be about 1 inch square when they were done so I put the plastic ruler next to a regular one and 1 inch on the regular ruler lines up with about 2.5 inches on the shrink ruler.

Ruler Before

Ruler After

                           

So I used Photoshop to print my templates out a approximately 2.5 inches square and used Sharpie Ultra-fine point markers to trace and color the designs. I ran into a little trouble with the Wonder Woman design because I started to smear it with my hand so you may want to keep a scrap of paper between your hand and the design. You need to punch the holes before you shrink the design because it will be too thick afterwards. Also keep in mind that the hole will shrink as well so be sure to make it large enough.

The first set that I tried to shrink ended up curling in one itself.

Luckily I have a heat gun so I was able to use that to help flatten them back out. I also did a little research to see what I could do to prevent this. One possibility is that I didn't leave them in the oven long enough. According to several sites I looked at shrink plastic will curl up as it shrinks and then flatten back out at the end. Other suggestions were to put a sheet of parchment paper or a fork on the design while it baked to keep it from curling and sticking to itself.

I actually used the heat gun for all the rest of my pieces so I could keep a better eye on what was happening. It worked pretty well except that the air from the heat gun pushed the pieces around so I ended up using a fork to hold them in place. You can see on one of the Rebel emblems where the tines left a little divot, but I'm still pleased with the overall results, especially for a first try.

To assemble the earrings you will need a few jump rings, a pair of earring wires, and some jewelry pliers. I also added a few beads to dress them up a bit. If you do this you will also need a couple of eye pins (the type with a loop on the end) and, obviously, beads.

I want to take a minute and say a big Thank You to my Mom who had everything I needed except for the shrink plastic and was willing to let me use it all.

If you are adding beads, decide what order you want them to be in and place them on the eye pin starting with the one you want on the bottom. Trim any excess of the top leaving just enough to make a small loop. Add the earring wire and use the pliers to twist the loop closed.

Then to finish it all off use a jump ring to attach the shrink plastic shape to the bottom loop of the pin.

As an additional step you may want to seal the design. Check out this post from Dabbled.org for ideas about what sealer to use. I used a coat of clear nail polish on the backs of mine because its what I had on hand. I've also read that you can use a white or colored polish to help enhance the colors of your design.

Supplies:
Shrink Film
Earring Hooks
Jump Rings
Eye Pins
Pliers
Beads
Markers or colored pencils