Something fishy!

There was something fishy going on at our little Glanworth library this morning!

We made cute and funny little origami fish.

Happy Crafting,

Judy Ann

Family Vacation!

We recently returned from a wonderful family vacation. 

Everyone was able to get away for a week in Nova Scotia. 

Two of us drove there in three days, two made the drive in two days

 and the other three flew in a few short hours! 

It rained almost everyday, 

but that didn't stop us from doing all kinds of fun stuff.

There was always so much to see...

...over there...

...and there...

...and way over there...

...and everywhere...

 ...including right here...

...mostly birds!

Besides birding, we did lots of other fun stuff.

Emily was the only one adventurous enough to surf!

(So much fun to watch!)

Some of us visited the very striking new Halifax Public Library. 

The top floor is known as, "Halifax's Livingroom" 

because it has such great city and ocean views, a cafe, 

and patio on the green roof. 

Loads of books, too!

We visited quaint and peaceful Mahone Bay...

...ate Cows ice cream (really, the best ice cream ever)...

...visited the gorgeous Public Gardens in downtown Halifax..

...toured the amazingly colourful, historic town of Lunenburg...

...saw the famous Bluenose II...

...and spent an enchanted evening at Peggy's Cove. 

We all loved it there!

We marvelled at how quickly the tide came back in as we

 puddled on the ocean floor along the Bay of Fundy. 

And closer to home, we were very lucky that just behind our guest house

 was a rail trail, perfect for biking, 

as long as you made sure to swerve around the puddles!

Early-morning rides were our favourites.

 We saw so many beautiful scenes in Nova Scotia, and this was one of the best!
(Can't wait!)

Happy Summer,

Judy Ann

Royalty at the Library!

What a treat to have royalty at our lovely little Glanworth Library!

The Summer Reading Club is in full swing now. 

The kids are having fun and I am, too!

Happy Reading,

Judy Ann

Quiet

Many of my blog posts about our little Glanworth library show kids participating in crafty activities. I love being surrounded by their creativity! I also love catching patrons in quiet activities.

Happy Reading,

Judy Ann

Printmaking

The first craft book for kids that I wrote, well over twenty years ago, was called Prints.

It was filled with lots of neat methods of printmaking including using vegetables, sponges, pipe cleaners and more. One of the methods I liked best was to cut designs into erasers. It's a method of printmaking that I still enjoy, but I haven't made any new stamps in ages. A while ago I spent a day in Toronto with Emily and she introduced me to one of her favourite shops, Kid Icarus. They have awesome printmaking supplies, so I was re-inspired to cut a few new stamps. 

This first one is a replica of a tiny drawing of a dog that Emily gave me when she was just eight or nine years old. I've had it on my desk ever since!

I photocopied the drawing to make it a wee bit bigger. Then I traced over it with pencil, and turned it upside down onto the white eraser. 

I rubbed it so that the image was applied to the eraser.

Then I used my X-acto knife and wood-carving tool to carve the stamp.

I pressed it onto a blank ink pad, stamped it onto paper, and this is how it turned out.

Emily loved it!

 This next stamp that I carved isn't very complicated.

This is what it looks like when pressed onto a black ink pad

 and  stamped onto paper. It looks fine, 

but I knew I needed something more to go with it...

...so I cut this one. It's quite rough looking, 

and doesn't look like much of anything...

...even when it's stamped on paper.

But, when one is stamped on top of the other, I think it looks kind of cool.

Then I used different colours and shades of ink to make what I hope is an interesting-looking card.

I'm really glad to be back at doing some printmaking!

All the best,

Judy Ann

Monkeys in the Library!

Little monkeys...

...a baby monkey...

...a bunch of monkeys...

...all monkeying around!

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann