Oh Christmas Tree

Okay,  I know it might not  look like much but take a peek below to see how it started.

It was a true transformation. This little tree started out as a piece of paper...well, maybe two that I put together and then watched the salt crystals  grow. And, I know I'm supposed to be an adult and watching crystals grow is something I should have outgrown years ago...but I haven't. I still love to watch the "miracle" or maybe you want to think of it as the "magic" of things growing almost right before my eyes. And this was a fun little science project.



https://youtu.be/kDCaZdhc7fI

And, if you want to take a peek  at the individual pictures, just scroll down.

Here's another site that shows you how to grow your own crystal Christmas tree:

https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/magic-crystal-tree/

The ingredient list is simple, (plus you might want to add a little food coloring) and you might have buy the bluing agent on-line:

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon bluing

½ tablespoon of household ammonia

If you try this out, let me know what you think of it.

And, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Such a Thanksgiving Turkey

If you want to see a fun and EZ way to make a  3D Chocolate Turkey for your Thanksgiving Table, simply watch this short video and if you have any questions, let me know.

https://youtu.be/AT9JMpJAlSE

And I hope you all have a fantastic time of feasting with your family and friends!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Makeup Review for Older Women

IRMA THE INVENTOR T SHIRT VIDEO

Halloween is Right Around the Corner

Anyone who knows me, knows I love crafting...and writing. So, what's a crafty-writer to do when she gets her first Middle-School Stem Story published...?

Yep, craft something to celebrate!

Here it is:

https://youtu.be/w2NgSQYE6eI

ECLIPSE PSA re SOLAR ECLIPSE

I might argue that animals are smarter than people ... BUT just to be safe why don't  we take our furry friends inside

Create Your Own Soothing Gel at Home for Sunburns or Simply Tired, Puffy Eyes

All you need is 2 cucumbers, a couple aloe vera leaves, a little jar, some cotton rounds, and a baggie

It might not look pretty but it is soothing and actually relieves sunburn pain...and it reduces swelling in puffy tired eyes. But, the best part is that it's simple and easy to make at home with ingredients you probably have lying around your house.

If you're still interested, watch this little how-to video:

Tips, Tricks and Hints for Writers - More from The Storybook Intensive

APRIL HENRY

At the SCBWI Storybook Intensive on June 10^th, April Henry shared some tips, tricks and hints for all writers. Here are a few of my favorite inspirations I received from attending this workshop:

April said, “Show the reader” what you’re trying to describe. Now that might not seem like a great tip because we’ve all heard the old adage of “show - don’t tell” but here’s the bit that I found inspirational, “watch T.V. with the sound off.” This is something you can easily do that will help you “see” what is happening rather than hearing the plot unfold through dialogue and/or information being relayed.

Another great tip, I thought, was to “skip over things unless it moves the story forward”. That might sound like another bit of old information but we all get caught up in our words—I mean after all, we are writers ;D so it’s a good reminder to not be verbose because we’ll lose the reader’s attention if we waste time being word-wranglers.

One last great tip I want to share that April gifted us with, “If your characters have to swim to survive, send sharks after them.” The point is to keep adventure or at the very least interest in the forefront of the story.

April Henry and Christy Ottaviano at the SCBWI Storybook Intensive

I went to the SCBWI Storybook Intensive here in Portland, Oregon on June 10th and got to meet the AWE...mazing April Henry and the inspiring Christy Ottaviano (editor extraordinaire at MacMillan Books)

I wanted to share some of the wonderful tips, tricks and hints they shared with us at this workshop and . . . I will...but first, I wanted to share a short interview April was kind enough to give me.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

April, when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was in third or fourth grade, I started writing stories. But as I got older, I decided that authors didn’t come from little logging towns in Southern Oregon.

How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

About four of solid writing, then an hour or two of business stuff, like answering fan mail or crafting Facebook posts. 

What’s more important to you when you write, character or plot?

Plot.

What is the hardest part of writing a story for you?

When a deadline creeps up and I have no idea how to have an exciting and satisfying and yet surprising ending. 

What did your family think of your writing career when you first started out?

Everyone was supportive, but I think only my mom really believed I would be published.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love to do Brazilian jiujitsu.  I just got my third stripe!

What authors do you like to read?

I read widely.  I just read Wildman by JC Geiger, a first novel by an SCWBI member who lives in Eugene.  Next up The Scribe of Sienna, an adult book which I think has some time travel in it, by Melodie Winawar and Refugee, a middle grade book about three refugee children in three different time periods by Alan Gratz.

Do you have future projects in mind?

Next May, Run, Hide, Fight Back comes out.  It’s about a shooting that traps six teenagers at a shopping mall, and it’s basically Die Hard meets Breakfast Club.  And after that, it’s The Lonely Dead, about a girl who can talk to the dead. 

How many books have you written and how many of those have been published?

It’s got to be close to 30.  So far, 21 have been published, and three more are under contract. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?

CountAll Her Bones is a companion novel to Girl, Stolen, which was about a blind girl who was accidentally kidnapped when a teenage boy stole her stepmother’s car.  The new book takes place about six months after the previous one, on the eve of the trial for the thief’s father (who decided to hold her for ransom).  For that book I spent a lot of time learning various martial arts that blind people could use to defend themselves.  The book has a great twist that was a surprise to me when I thought of it - that was really fun! 

(Tips, Tricks and Hints on Monday) 

Book Trailer: Irma the Inventor & the Vampire Spiders

I'm so excited to share my upcoming middle grade book  with all my friends and family!

I'm hoping Irma the Inventor will inspire other young girls to go into the Stem fields and create their own dreams.

Baking, Making and Creating - Play With Your Food

Let Them Eat Cake

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like cake?

If there is, I just don't understand . . . because I LOVE cake. And, I don't  just love to eat it. I love to make it and bake it and create it. To me, making a cake is a lot like playing with playdoh (and here's a quick homemade recipe).

Here are just a few photos of the cakes I've made (two of them my daughter-in-law was pitching in...a lot) but these are creations you can have fun making and eat them too ;D

So, if you want to make, bake and create here's a fun way to do it by creating a cake using . . . whatever frosting, fondant or  fancy foods you want to use. But when you're baking, remember the most important thing is to have fun because we really should all play with our food.

LEGO MANIAC

THE ART OF THE BRICK

We got up early on a Saturday morning to go spend the day at OMSI because we all wanted to see  The Art of the Brick  and see the works of the Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya

Plus, we wanted to learn all the Brick Vocabulary

And while we were there, we saw dinosaurs

Skeletons

and more Skeletons

until it made me want to SCREAM

But in the end it was all a  lot of fun.

Did you know LEGO is a Danish company and it is an abbreviation of "leg godt", which means "play well" and coincidentally, "Lego" is also a Latin verb which means, "I assemble".

And, if  you want to check out more about LEGOS and how they can help equip kids with the necessary skills to advance in the STEM fields, check out this site here.

May the Forest Be with You...Happy Earth Day

Here's a link to fun Earth Day Activities :
http://bestlifemistake.blogspot.com/2013/04/earth-day-activities.html

HELLO KITTY CAKE

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to bake, create and decorate ;D And if you have a little girl or just someone who loves to have fun cakes for a birthday, here's how I made this Little Kitty cake for a friend.

I started by frosting the cake with a butter cream frosting, which you can make with a cube of butter and some powdered sugar. It's simple.

Then, I rolled out the fondant and  laid it over the cake. (The frosting works as glue).

I pressed the fondant tight to the cake to make it show the form. Then I  started to decorate the eyes, nose and bow.

Oh and the whiskers...you can't forget the whiskers.

The little dash of pink added quite a lot...I  thought.

I cut away the excess and lined the edge with a pink ribbon of fondant.

It was a very simple design but turned out pretty cute. This is a cake anyone could make.

And, if you do make one, let me know. I'd  love to see pictures.

Finding Fun in Hobbies

I have lots of hobbies. I love to read, write, bake, sew, knit and crochet and those are  just a few. I also love to run, play tennis and hike.

But, lately, I've been  focusing on  my knitting a  little more. I love  to visit yarn shops and walk around  and look at the beautiful colors and touch the textures  and fabrics. Plus,  I've been  looking at youtube videos on-line.

Here's one new site I just found that I'm enjoying:

Michele Wang's  website.

She lists patterns, shows designs and even has youtube videos where she shares monthly favorites.

I've spent some time finishing a few  projects I was working on. Mine aren't anything fancy. I just knit for fun. But I finished a scarf I was  working  on for my son.

I bought this beautiful, chunky, bluish-purple yarn at The Stitching  Post in Sisters Oregon, which is really famous for their  Quilting  Festival in July but they have some beautiful yarns too.

I started  the  project when I went to my niece's wedding in January and when we got back home I put it away. But I figured if I didn't finish it soon, the warm weather would roll in (I hope) and my son would never wear the scarf. So,  I pulled  the project out of the closet and went to work.

You can't  tell by the photo above, but this is a really lush wool, so soft and thick. Perfect for cold, wet, windy Portlandia days.

HERE’S TO A SUPER HALLOWEEN

I don’t know about you but I LOVE Halloween. How many other days in the year can you get free candy and sweets simply by asking?

And, dressing up and decorating is like being a star in a movie. You can create the character you want to be and make your own setting. What could be better than that?

So for this year, I’m planning a SUPER Halloween, with heroes at my doorstep. And it’s simple to make this dream come true…with a little paint, time and patience.

Here’s how I’m doing it.

First I started by sketching on some pumpkins. Don't worry if you make mistakes, the paint will cover that:

Then I paint them

And, my theory is one is never enough...

Then I started  on some  standups

You do the same thing as with the pumpkins. First sketch the character then paint

Then I had to make my costume. First I went to the fabric store to find some material on sale...

This was going to be a simple skirt with an elastic waist. So I fit it to me and then cut it out. Next,  I ironed the seams to make sewing easier.

And all I  needed  was  some gold duct tape to make my fingerless gauntlets, crown and shirt (which I used a running tank top for)

The gauntlets were simply plastic drinking cups after I cut off the bottoms

My lasso of truth was a strip of cording I bought at the fabric store and duct taped to my shirt.

It was all SUPER simple ;D

I hope you have a SUPER Halloween too ;D

Halloween is Right Around the Corner

With Halloween coming around the corner,  I had to paint my fingernails and then stick on some  little skull stickers because  what would this holiday season be without a  few  skeletons lurking about on the tips of our fingers.

And, just wait, I'm only beginning . . . because I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN is scary enough without being a MISSING PERSON...check out this new book

Blurb:

Brett Cole is one of the nearly three thousand Americans who go missing every day; however, in Brett’s case, he disappears willingly. Thirty years old and disillusioned, he packs his bags (including his Smith & Wesson) and vows to reach Mexico. 

Halfway there, Brett stumbles upon a kidnapping and FBI Special Agent Hayden makes it clear that Brett has stumbled upon something far greater: Operation Ethereal (OE), an ultra-secret branch of the FBI in operation since the Hoover Administration, “took” Brett as a young boy because of his ability to pick up timeprints, impressions of the past. After erasing memories of the first eight years of his life, OE reinserted him into society for observation. Now that he has gone off the map, they want him back in their custody. 

As Brett flees from the FBI, he must come to terms with his newly awakened gift and what it means. Can his past be redeemed and his future rewritten?

Purchase Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Person-William-Michael-Davidson-ebook/dp/B01E8JZ2R4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/realwmdavidson

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMichaelDavidson/

William Michael Davidson is the author of the children's book, The Dragon Who Pulled Her Scales (Winner of the 2013 OCD Book Festival Award), The Dragon Who Tamed Her Temper, Missing Person, and Living Sacrifice. He lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife and two daughters. Always reading, always writing, Davidson is drawn towards stories of suspense and adventure that delve into man's inherent need for redemption.