Librocubicularist- January 2017

This time of year is always slow for me, things at work aren't as busy and my hours end up being cut way back. Yet somehow I never seem to get anything done. I had three full days off last week and it seems like I accomplished nothing but doing laundry. Granted, it was a giant pile of laundry but that doesn't really make it feel any more productive. I think that the combination of needing time alone to recover from the bustle of the holidays and daydreaming about things that I hope to accomplish in the new year prevent any actual forward momentum.

However, I've noticed one area where I seem to excel during this season and that's reading. It's a combination of having time to finish everything I started reading at Christmas but was too busy to actually complete and, as mentioned before the need for quiet, introverted time.

Sticky Fingers: DIY Duct Tape Projects - Easy to Pick Up, Hard to Put Down by Sophie Maletsky

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I checked this out because I was curious about all the duct tape stuff and I've never made any. This book has a fairly extensive section about basic techniques such as make strips and fabric, also various types of closures you can add. Then there are a ton of different projects you can make. As someone in my late 30's I doubt that I'm going to start carrying a purse made of duct tape but some of them are kind of cute. I'd be most likely to use the instruction for smaller things like flowers for the end of a pen or a desk organizer. However, even though I'm not super interested in the projects I still think that this book is well done and the instructions seem good and easy to follow so if you're interested in making your own tape creations it's definitely worth a look.


Cat Castles: 20 Cardboard Habitats You Can Build Yourself by Carin Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a great little book about building cat houses from cardboard. It covers everything from regular cat towers and scratchers to rockets and pirate ships, and even an actual castle for your kitties. Everything looks fairly easy to build and really sturdy. The only thing I question is how well they'd hold up to my nearly 20-pound cat, particularly those with multiple levels. Overall I really feel like they would hold up well and last a reasonable amount of time compared to the time they take to build. That being said I probably won't be making on anytime soon, mostly because I feel like my dog would try to eat the box and wreck everything... He really is why the poor cats can't have nice things...but he seems to be at least starting to grow out that phase.


Artist's Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures by Cathy Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first couple of chapters deal with figuring out what you want out of a journal: what do hope to get out of keeping one?, how often will you write/draw in it?, what will you write about, etc. This section also contains ideas about what format or book style you might like and supplies to try out. There are examples of journal pages provided to show different results using each material.
The second section deals with different types of journals you can keep from nature or travel journals to integrated journals where everything mixes together. There are numerous examples and ideas of what kinds of thing to include for each type.
The final section is all about tying everything together. It provides tips for keeping yourself motivated and evaluating what's working for you and what's not.
The whole book is filled with examples of pages created by a variety of artists, which I think is really helpful in an introductory book like this because it showcases multiple styles. It can be easy to feel defeated by a new project sometimes if your results don't match up with what's pictured and I think seeing multiple people's take on a project can relieve some of the pressure leave you freer to experiment with your own ideas. There is also a fairly extensive resources section at the back that includes information about all the artist who contributed and where to see more of their work as well as listing other books about journaling. The final bit to mention is that this book has extra content available online where you can download PDFs of extended interviews with some of the contributing artists.


World of Warcraft: The Official Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nearly everything in this book looks delicious (not a big fan of seafood in general). While I did play Warcraft for a little while it wasn't long enough for any of the foods to make a big impression on me. My husband, however, has played almost continually for a very long time and he vouches for the fact that they are accurate, at least as far a possible for 'imaginary' foods.

I guess that I haven't been completely ignoring my crafting goals. In the last few weeks, I've been looking for tips for sewing with knits since I have two separate projects I'd like to make with knit fabric but have never sewn with it before. I've also looked up what exactly a capsule wardrobe is even though I don't REALLY need to know. I have plans to make a mini vacation wardrobe so that I can feel like I'll look good in pictures without having to stress over what to wear each day. I just was curious to know the actual definition before I claim to have created one. So now I know and I'm working on figuring out what I have that works together and what I want to sew. I know that part of what I want is to sew the DC Bombshells version of the Wonder Woman costume. I doubt that I'd wear it as the whole thing together on vacation but the shorts could be cute with a tank top or one of my Wonder Woman tees. At least there are some things in the planning stage if no actual physical progress on anything yet.

Crafting Resolutions

With the start of the new year, it's time to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. I started the Eclectic Otter almost two years ago as part of a new year's resolution to ACTUALLY finish some of the many crafting projects I had purchased materials for and either never completed or in some cased even started. I hoped that the need to have something to write about would provide some much-needed motivation and accountability for me. This past year I've completed several craft projects for our pets that were new additions to the ever growing craft to do list and checked off a large project by finishing the Zelda string art that was previously only a vague idea in my head. I also had the opportunity to help my husband decorate his cube for Christmas and we turned it into a Hoth themed winter wonderland.

 It's hard to tell in this picture but there are snowflake ornaments hanging from the ceiling. One the shelf on the left we have Lego Minifigures around the Christmas tree, plus a wampa of Perler beads in the background. Snow blanket on the desk and icicle trim on the shelf along with the icicle lights, complete the theme.

There's also a Lego snow speeder, Perler AT-AT, and some festive signs. Oh, and the Vader mug that's always there.

I've spent the last few weeks trying to get my thoughts into some kind of order concerning my goals for which projects I want to tackle in the upcoming year. I admit that I'm still a bit at a loss. I have a stash of fabric that continues to grow because it's hard to pass up cute prints when you work at the fabric store and see them daily. I have several things that I bought without a plan for I wanted to make. I'd really like to make a dent in the stack since it's starting to take up more room than I have available for storage but I don't feel like sewing posts are particularly entertaining for people to read. Of course, the other side of the argument is that I'm keeping the blog for my own motivation not the entertainment of others. Although, I am thinking of making a mini wardrobe for an upcoming vacation that might become Wonder Woman themed so that could be interesting if it works out.

I also have plans to try and rebind one of my husband's old Eye of the World books and try out some new techniques such as marbling my own paper. I also want to finish redoing our little entryway nook but that's also a bit cost prohibitive because I feel like I need some new tools to really do it right. So right now those are my very general craft goals for the year. As part of the reflection process, I saw someone on one of my Facebook groups talk about reviewing the books they've read and choosing a top and bottom five for the year. I like that idea and think I might make a list for my book post this month.

In other news, our pup, Gilgamesh Wuffenbark, had his first Christmas and also turned one over the weekend. He got a peanut butter and jelly filled bone and brand new tennis ball for his birthday.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and wonderful new year.