Friday Crafternoon- Sock Cell Phone Cases

This craft is fun and you can get really creative with it. Here is a visual tutorial (the directions are not in English but the photos explain it well) but there are so many ways you can decorate the case once you’ve made the basic shape! All you need to get started are a sock and a needle and thread. Cute each end of the sock so you have a tube about the length of your cell phone. Turn it inside out, and use the needle and thread to sew one end shut. Turn it right side out again and decorate it any way you want! You can use felt pieces to make faces and designs, or color on it with sharpie. Try gluing on some rhinestones or plastic tiles. These make great gifts, too!

(photo credit: pysselbolaget.se)

YA Book Review- Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin Book Two)

Lady Sybella is now a trained assassin of the convent of St. Mortain, and is undercover as the girl she would have grown up to be in her noble father’s household. While she pretends to be the aloof, cruel offspring of one of the most disturbed nobles alive, Count D’albret, she is secretly passing every minute waiting for the chance to slay this evil man who raised her. When she gets an assignment from the convent of St. Mortain to free D’albret’s prisoner, an ally of the Duchess who is being held for torture and agonizing death, she is accidentally whisked away with him and must learn how to navigate a countryside riddled with her father’s men and their other enemies, the French. Can they survive until they reach the young Duchess of Brittany and carry out a plan to overthrow D’albret? And why is this strong, fiercely loyal prisoner getting under her skin the way no man ever has?

If you loved Grave Mercy, you will love Dark Triumph. This book is a whirlwind of adventure, intrigue, romance, and historical fiction with a twist. Sybella’s character is very different from that of Ismae, who is the subject of Grave Mercy, so those who may have thought Ismae’s story was not quite exciting enough will probably still want to pick this up. A great read!

Friday Crafternoon- Fun and Silly Bookmarks

Are you a big reader? Do you know someone who is? Bookmarks are very important to anyone who loves to read (bending the corner of the page ruins the book!). If you are tired of using old receipts you find lying around, or need a cute and easy gift idea, consider making a bunch of bookmarks! This website has a collection of great ideas- there’s something here for everyone!

(photo credit: coffeebreakcrn.blogspot.com)

YA Book Review- Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann

This book review has been written by a guest reviewer, local New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School student Sofia! Thanks so much to Sofia for writing this up

“Lisa McMann wrote a young adult fiction book called Cryer’s Cross which took place in a small town called Cryer’s Cross, Montana. This is a place where two too many high school students go missing. Kendal Fletcher would be considered as the average high school student excluding her OCD but has a sweet boyfriend, Nico Cruz, and a big future for herself until Tiffany Quinn and Nico Cruz go missing. She has sleepless nights. She totally discards the possibility that he might be dead. When she touches the same desk that they both used to sit in, she hear voices and sees “new graffiti on it that looks old”. After she is possessed like to go to an old graveyard (in the middle of the night) that her grandfather has dark secrets about, she finds Nico’s dead body in a grave right next to Tiffany Quinn’s who went missing a few days before Nico and all secrets are revealed about the old boarding school that Kendal’s grandfather used to go to, witnessing the death of students in the same desk that Tiffany Quinn and Nico Cruz used to sit in. So the desk was put into the storage room but Kendal Fletcher will never be the same again.”

Friday Crafternoon- Newspaper Trash Can

This craft is easy and fun and a great way to “upcycle” some old newspapers in honor of Earth Day! You can make these cool trash cans for yourself, for family or friends, or even use them as large planters (newspaper is great for plant growth!).

YA Book Review- Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin #1)

Ismae has grown up with a horrible father and is about to be married to an equally horrible suitor. On her wedding night, as she is about to suffer the first of her new husband’s abuse, she escapes and is aided in her getaway by a hedge priest. Soon enough she finds herself recovering in a remote convent where she is told her destiny, should she choose to believe it: she is the daughter of the god of death, Mortain, and her life’s work shall be to assassinate those whose evil acts mark them for murder. After months of training in the arts of poison, knife-wielding, and seduction, Ismae is implanted in one of the high courts of Brittany to protect the young duchess Anne and dispose of anyone she sees that is marked for death. This is a difficult enough task for a common girl who now has to pretend to be a member of the royal court, but things get terribly complicated when she reluctantly falls in love with a man who has been clearly marked. There are rules against love for the daughters of Mortain- especially if the object of their affection is also the object of their deadly arts.

This book was simply captivating. Historical fiction isn’t always for everyone, but the supernatural element that exists makes it a good sell to any fantasy fan. The details that the author has written of the convent are dark and fascinating, while most of the information about the royal court and the treachery against Anne is based on fact! Hand this to anyone who loves fantasy, history, supernatural mysteries, and romance!

Also, keep an eye out for the sequel released earlier this month, which tells the story of Ismae’s friend Sybella who is another of the daughters of Mortain.

Friday Crafternoon- Gouged Frames

If you are looking for a nice and easy gift idea, look no further than these instructions on how to make gouged frames with a knitting needle (or other sharp blunt object) and crayons. The wooden frames needed for this project are very inexpensive and can be found at any craft store in the unfinished wood section. If you do not have a knitting needle, you could use any other similar object- perhaps an unfolded paperclip! Have fun!

(photo cradit: cfabbridesigns.com)