When I Have Nothing to Read... II

By Sara E Thompto

Everyone has their favorite reads - the ones they devour over and over again throughout the years. Especially when they need a solid book after reading something not-so-solid, or when they simply don't know what else to read. 

A few weeks ago Bivie blogged about her "repeat books" or books she enjoys reading over and over again. Well, today I’m going to share with you a few of mine…

Sarah Dessen Novels

Although I've reread all of her books a dozen times, I have three favorite Sarah Dessen novels I’ve turned back to more so than others. The Truth about Forever is a personal favorite, as is Just Listen, and This Lullaby.

Although each of her books have their own twists and turns, the simple math of a Sarah Dessen book is pretty much always the same: family drama + self identity/awareness issues + boy troubles = a really good, well written, easy read. They’re my go to books when I want something quick and pleasant. I know the formula of her work and it’s a comfort to curl up with one of her novels, especially after reading a book I didn’t particularly enjoy. Her books are always just plain good, and The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, and This Lullaby are the best.

The Fountainhead by Ayan Rand

Honestly, I’m not sure it’s the storyline that makes this book worth reading… but the way Rand writers her characters is absolutely brilliant.

The fountainhead follows Howard Roark through decades of his life as he follows his passion for architecture. He will not bend to the will of others. He will not work for anyone he feels is lesser than him. He has an aesthetic and he sticks to it. No questions. End of story. That is Howard Roark.  But that doesn’t mean it’s simple. He goes for periods of time without work, he’s wrongfully sued and must fight everyone, every step of the way to make a name for himself.

Then there is Dominique Francon, (lightly put - Howard Roark's love interest) who could quite possibly be the best written character ever. Dominique Francon makes Ayan Rands long drawn out speeches worth the read, and is the reason why The Fountainhead is a book I re-read often.

The Harry Potter Series

I have easily read each of the Harry Potter books a dozen times each.

Like many, I started reading the Harry Potter series at a young age. I think I started reading the books when the 3rd book was released, and the 4th was being talked about in the news. So, around 2000. Harry Potter was 11, I was around 12. It just worked. I was so excited. I was one of the kids who pre-ordered the book… and then carried it around with me until I was done reading. Which was never long because I stayed up almost all night, skipped meals, and didn’t really do much of anything until every last page of the newest book was consumed.

The best part of the series is I felt like the books kind of grew up, as I grew up. The books start out child-like. There is nothing too harsh about them. No cussing. Harry finds out he is a wizard. You know the base of the story, which is the villain, Voldemort, is a bad guy who did a ton of awful things (to put it very mildly). Harry, as a wee little baby, put a stop to Voldemort. From the start, no one really knows how or why. Many mysteries are set up straight from the beginning book. But, in the grand scheme of the series, the first couple books aren’t overly emotional.

From there, the series kind of propels forward. The characters grow up. A few solid swear words are thrown into the mix. Angsty teen behavior happens. Romances take place. The series grows more dark as Voldemort rises to power once again.  

Trust me when I write this -- the series is brilliant. J.K. Rollings intertwines events from book to book. People who are casually mentioned in one book have greater importance in another. Events, items, and places that are discussed for only a sentence, become greatly significant in later installments. Again, I’ll say it (and mean it) - the Harry Potter series is brilliant. I turn back to this series quite often. Especially to the seventh book, which I feel wraps up the series well.

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

This book, quite simply, is dark and twisty, which I like from time to time.

From main character Astrid’s point of view we learn the story of a complicated mother/daughter relationship twisted by murder and control, even after the mother is sentenced to prison. Astrid faces years of abuse and neglect going from one foster home to another. Each time Astrid is able to start to cope with the life she now leads, or even thrive, her mother seems to be able to find a way to rip it out from under her.

In the end White Oleander is a coming of age story about learning to let go in order to know how to move forward.

The book is beautifully written and author Janet Fitch paints an intricate story, laced with beautiful descriptions of art, and the emotions and bond formed through art, which is the main concept that bonds mother and daughter in this novel.

I was once told by someone that a good book is easy to spot because it is well worn.
As you can tell by this photo, I feel these books are definitely worth reading. 

Although there are many books I would recommend - these are my go-to "loves." If you haven't read these books, I strongly suggest going out and picking up a copy next time you're looking for a good read!

Do you have a book you always go back to read over and over again? Leave the name in the comments. Suggestions are always welcome!

Series 5, Post 2: How I Design Stationery, Why I Design Stationery

By Kristin Bivens

Several weeks back, when Sara proposed this series, I was concerned I'd have nothing to say on my own design method.

Because, quite honestly, I don't really think I have a design method.

Sara asked, "Don't you have some sort of standard or aesthetic you strive for?"

But I couldn't think of any.

Since we've started SHPP, I typically just sit down at my Macbook and stare at the screen, play around with tools until inspiration strikes. I may have a certain feeling I'd like to try for in the design, but the idea usually just hits me like a ton of bricks. I put out a lot of crap in the meantime, simply because I don't have much direction. There are moments when one design is my limit for the day and there are other moments when I can't stop. Among all of those designs, there is typically a "diamond" that makes me feel accomplished, as if maybe I'm a real artist or something like that.

Here's one of my first designs from the Shiny Happy People Collection, and it is still one of my favorites. I had absolutely no idea how my program even worked when I started designing this. And chances are, I could never recreate that background if I tried. But maybe that is a good thing?

I do tend to have a "style" in my designs, but I represent my own personal tastes in my art work. I tend to not think of others. For me, designing and creating is an expression of myself, more of a personal need to create and put myself on the page. It is my contribution to the world. My designs probably have more of a niche market because of my personal taste, but I just can't design something I don't like. Let someone else design that.

In my creativity and design, I tend to end up with kitschy, "undesigned" designs. Meaning that I like my stuff to be slightly "off." For example, my drawn "color your own" postcards. I'm not a great drawer, but that is what makes these postcards fun!

My favorite designs so far, have been my writing stationery designs. I've always been a huge fan of paper, just regular old paper, since I was a child. I've been having fun creating my own paper designs and even printing them off in my own office. Here's a few stationery designs that I've been working on.

Throughout the process, I feel as though my paper stationery designs are my best work, the most fun work for me. Not only that, but I'm figuring out more about how the program I use works, which is allowing me to get funkier with my designs. Hope you like what you see when you see a design by me! I'll keep them coming. I just can't promise what they're going to look like. But you'll see me somewhere on the page. 

Series 5, Post 1: How I Design Stationery, Why I Design Stationery

By Sara E Thompto

I love paper products - journals, postcards, note pads, note cards, and just good solid letter paper; stationery is one of my favorite things to purchase. And, this past year it has become one of my most favorite things to create as well.

It started with some apple postcards for the Niles, MI apple festival. I work with the adobe creative suite and curved lines have always been an issue for me in Illustrator. Well, I made an apple, and I was pumped. An apple! A curvy red apple. I was (am still) proud of that apple. So I went design crazy and came up with a whole set of apple themed postcards. They were cute, simple, and somewhat kitschy. I loved them. Unfortunately, I was one of the only ones, because only a few actually sold.

"You are the Apple of my Eye" Postcard

Oh well. They were cute anyway.

Then the holiday season began and I started thinking about holiday cards. This time I studied trending color schemes and thought of what other people might like verse my own taste. I turned out five simple, colorful, cute designs. These sold much better! Not brilliant, but better. As I mailed packs of holiday cards out to purchasers, I knew I was hooked on designing stationery. I wanted to create more. I loved the feeling of designing something and sharing it with others in a physical and usable form.

"Happy Holidays" Postcard

Bivie and I discussed it, for all of five seconds because she loves stationery too, and we decided to add stationery to our publishing business we were working on developing.

From there the designs kind of exploded out of me.

I love to create and the ideas are always flowing. Most of the time I’ll be working my day job and an idea will hit me. I’ll quickly jot it down and when I get home from work, I’ll get right back to work and make it happen.

Front: "I sent this Postcard to let you know I'm not dead.."
Back: Unless something catastrophic happend since I posted this.
[In which case I'm sorry for my bad taste in postcards]."

Othertimes it takes a bit more. I’ll have an idea, but I’m not sure how to execute the idea yet. These type of designs are my favorite; the ones where I push my boundaries, learn new ways to handle design tools, or even explore different mediums.

Most recently I wanted to create a piece where birds were intermingling and reacting to splashes of ink. It was loosely inspired by the visual effects in The Huntsman, mixed with the pattern crushed berries made on my moms driveway. I could picture the image in my head but with my current skill level I couldn't create it from scratch with Illustrator or Photoshop. So, for the first time ever I used India Ink with a  paint brush.

With the blank sheet of paper before me, I was actually nervous. It was new, I had never used the medium before. Hell, I didn't even have experience hand drawing birds, let alone with ink and brush. My wife was sitting across from me, drawing her own drawing, and hackling me for being afraid to put brush to paper. It was just the push I needed. In the end I had fun playing with the ink, and enjoyed seeing how it interacted with the paper, and water too.

The drawing ended up turning out well. At least as well as I had hoped it would.

"Birds Flying" Notecards

This type of design is an achievement, if for no other reason than I didn't let the fact that I had no experience intimidate me out of doing it.

I like to take my time to make sure I’m confidant the design is strong. Part of that is knowing when to move forward and when to step back.

Since last fall (almost a year now) I have been trying to create buildings and famous structures.

Well… I’m not that good at trying to recreate architecture. In fact, I’ve deleted more files and crumpled more pieces of paper trying to form this idea, than any other idea. Sure, I could buy the graphic, but where is the fun in that?

Finally one weekend I decided maybe I just needed to put more time into it. With six graphics to create, I dove into the design once more. Five hours later, I had an Eiffel Tower graphic.

Five hours. One graphic.

Maybe I’m being hard on myself, but I feel like it should have taken me two or less. Not to mention I still have five other structures left to design. But, that was the first time I actually created an architectural structure, which is why, after thinking about it some more, I’m perfectly fine with it taking me five hours to create only one element of a design.

It’s fun for me to challenge myself with ideas. It’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate when I talk about them with other people.

I like clean lines, I like designs that aren’t cluttered with unnecessary elements, and I try for basic color combinations or colors that vibrate off each other. Those are the basic elements of my designs. I definitely break from my mold and try new techniques but my clean, simple, colorful esthetic is usually what I aim to achieve.

With almost a year under my belt and dozens of designs, it’s hard to believe that my push toward stationery started because I was proud of an apple. But, I’ve learned it wasn’t so much the apple as much as it was achieving something I didn’t think I could do.

"Birch Trees" - Notecard

I’m excited to continue designing stationery and hope you enjoy seeing the finished products!