Learned-something-new-today - A Place To Put Cool Finds

Luna Moth Mug // Iris Mug on Etsy

Ghost Cat Sticker Pack // pkdoesstuff

Koi Hanging Lamps // Lab Piece on Etsy

ok so like, i'm not tryna d*e any time soon, but i fell down a rabbit hole and:

who gave eco friendly coffins the right to be so cute?? like, you are not simply being put into the ground, no no. you are being given to the earth like a present in a little wicker basket. love it.

i’ve been doing my homework on how to break into a writing career and honestly. there’s a Lot that i didn’t know about thats critical to a writing career in this day and age, and on the one hand, its understandable because we’re experiencing a massive cultural shift, but on the other hand, writers who do not have formal training in school or don’t have the connections to learn more via social osmosis end up extremely out of loop and working at a disadvantage. 

Children’s and Young Adult Literature: Black Authors Celebrating Black Joy

In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop published a seminal essay entitled ‘Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors’ which brought about an examination of trends in children’s literature, especially with regard to featuring diverse characters. 31 years later, the Children’s and YA publishing world has made some progress, but there is still much more work to be done with actively promoting diversity in this field.

Fiction and Graphic Novel Recommendations

Parker Looks Up | Curry, Parker & Jessica   Recommended for ages 3-6 When Parker Curry visited the National Portrait Gallery, she became mesmerized by Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama, thinking she was a queen.

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut | Barnes, Derrick & James, Gordon C.   Recommended for ages 3-7 Garnering Caldecott, Newbery, and Coretta Scott King honors, this book celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from leaving a barber shop with a new ‘do.

Sulwe| Nyong'o, Lupita & Harrison, Vashti   Recommended for ages 3-7 When Sulwe’s classmates make fun of her dark skin, a shooting star’s tale of the sisters Night and Day helps her understand there is beauty and worth in every shade.

I Am Every Good Thing | Barnes, Derrick & James, Gordon C.   Recommended for ages 3-8 The confident Black narrator of this book is proud of everything that makes him who he is. He’s got big plans, and no doubt he’ll see them through.

Magnificent Homespun Brown | Doyon, Samara Cole & Juanita, Kaylani  Recommended for ages 3-8 Told by a succession of exuberant young narrators, this is a story as well as a song, a poem, and a celebration about feeling at home in one’s own beloved skin.

Hands Up! | McDaniel, Breanna J. & Evans, Shane W.   Recommended for ages 3-8 A young girl lifts her hands up in a series of everyday moments before finally raising her hands in resistance at a protest march.

Your Name is a Song | Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah   Recommended for age 3-8 After the frustrating experience of having her name continually mispronounced, a child learns to celebrate the beauty, history, and magic behind names of diverse origins.

Bedtime Bonnet| Redd, Nancy & Myers, Nneka  Recommended for ages 3-9 As family members braid, brush, twirl, roll, and tighten their hair before bedtime, putting on kerchiefs, wave caps, and other protective items, the little sister cannot find her bonnet.

Rocket Says Look Up | Bryon, Nathan & Adeola, Dapo  Recommended for ages 4-7 Aspiring astronaut Rocket draws her community together to see a rare appearance of the Phoenix Meteor Showers, hoping especially that her big brother, Jamal, will look up from his phone.

All Because You Matter | Charles, Tami & Collier, Bryan   Recommended for ages 4-8 A lyrical, heart-lifting love letter to Black and Brown children everywhere reminds them how much they matter, that they have always mattered, and they always will.

A Place Inside of Me | Elliott, Zetta & Denmon, Noa   Recommended for ages 4-8 In this powerful, affirming poem by an award-winning author, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year: fear grows into anger, then pride and peace.

See the full list here.

Source ~ Tasty Peach Studios

Cocoa the Ankylosaurus DinoS'more

apparently this is not common knowledge among punk diy sewists but if you’re sewing patches / doing any sewing that requires pushing a needle through multiple layers of fabric, use a needle grip. they’re little rubber things that have excellent grip on the metal needle so you don’t have to pinch the needle as hard. you will save your fingers soooo much unnecessary pain.

there’s two main types. the basic type is just a little circle of rubber that you fold around your needle, and the fancier type is a little rubber cap for your fingertips. they’re very cheap, under five bucks for the fancier kind and less for the basic, and they last forever. you can buy nice ones from your local craft store or steal them from the quilting section walmart idc. if you’re in a pinch (pun intended) and can’t go out, if you have a non-slip mat under a rug, cut off a little corner and that will work decently. please treat your fingers kindly <3

Character’s rooms say a lot about them

Whenever I show a character’s room for the first time, I always find myself thinking long and hard about it. 

So much so, I often avoid it out of fear of getting it wrong. 

I think it’s a very important insight into a character and there are so many small details we can use. 

Is there bed made or a mess? 

Is the room tidy or a mess? 

Do they have posters up on the walls? 

Are there photos anywhere? If so, of whom? Friends? Family? Random places they’ve visited? 

What useless junk is there? A snow globe from a visit to the zoo? Some figurines from a show they liked as a kid? 

What not useless junk is there? 

Do they have a hobby and where can we see that in their room? 

Do they have a large or small desk? 

How big is their closet? Is it an open or closed design? 

Is the window open? 

Are there plants by the window? 

Are the curtains pulled? 

Where are their dirty clothes kept? Thrown on the floor or in a laundry basket? 

Are there any empty bowls or dirty plates? This tells us a character comes to their room to eat. Why? To avoid others or because they don’t want to be away from their work? 

There is so much you can tell about a character from their room! It’s kind of intimidating but also amazingly fun to think about. 

As usual,  check out my socials and book here.

Maybe I’ll do a full post going into detail about character’s rooms. I’ve been doing a lot of shorter posts lately, I’m kind of going through a bit of brain fog. It makes sense. I’m on a restricted diet (for health reasons, not weight related or anything) so I’m a little hungry, I’ve managed to somehow get into a schedule of waking up at 8am, leaving home at 9am and not getting back until 10pm. University plus apprenticeships was maybe not my brightest idea. But oh well, thankfully I enjoy my apprenticeship and my university course. Plus I’m finding just enough time over the weekend to keep up with Tumblr and TikTok. 

I’ve said this plenty of times before but, if you have any questions, request for writing advice, anything! Right now they’re more aprecitated than ever because you’re saving me having to actually think of a post! (Although I do have about nine posts in queue so if my answer takes a while, blame my efficiency!)