Eva Perry Teens Video Contest

This coming Thursday, January 10th at 7 pm, the teens at Eva Perry Library will be attempting to create a video entry, less than 90 seconds, for the Summer Reading Collaborative Teen Video Contest.  Any teens can join us for the event.  The theme is Beneath the Surface.  We will need writers, actors, and camera people.  There is prize money involved, $275 for the teen group, and $125 in prizes for the sponsoring library.  For more information, visit the website.

Want to see the winners from last year?  Go here.

Halloween Costumes from Books

This time of year is perfect for fantasy lovers! With Halloween around the corner, readers can easily transform into their favorite book character. For Harry Potter fans, it can be a tie, black gown and thick glasses. For Hunger Games followers, a bow and arrow in simple clothes may do (unless you can figure out a safe way to ignite a dress!). What about a little white powder and black eyeliner for a fashionable zombie? Maybe SewLolita’s Coraline doll (based on Neil Gaiman’s novel by the same name) will serve as inspiration. What other creative things could you do to turn a book character into a Halloween costume?

 

 

Lookbook Blogs: Mellow Mayoness

While browsing Lookbook, I found Mellow Mayoness, a blogger on Fashion Salade.

Her style is more of a cute, pastel-like sense of fashion, but she also does occasionally do more edgy outfits. But no matter what she wears, she always manages to pull everything together nicely. You would think it would clash, but it actually comes together rather harmoniously.

I am especially in love with her obsession with socks, like these knee high black ones in this post or her lipstick ones in this one. She also has a fondness for collars, and recently I made a faux lace and pearl one to wear for the first day of school:)

One outfit I particularly love is this one. The hearts on the leggings really add another type of flair to the outfit as a whole, and the bright yellow heels adds a definite pop.

After each outfit post, she lists out where she got each of her items. It really helps in case you want to buy whatever she’s wearing that day. She also has giveaways.

I haven’t checked out the other fashion blogs on the website, but I think I’ll take a day off and browse through their feeds. In the meantime, you check out Mellow Mayoness and tell me what you think!

-hils

Handmade Blog: Poppytalk

I’ve recently really been into DIY and handmade stuff (I just cut up an old oversized sweatshirt from a school I don’t even go to anymore and am hoping to turn it into a cute fleece sweater with a pig on the front), and so I’ve been on the search for a good blog with ideas and projects for me to try out.

I found…Poppytalk!

Really, you can find just about any type of DIY/handmade project for any level of DIYer. There’s also a whole bunch of links to other DIY blogs and so I can literally spend hours on this blog, getting distracted by other blogs that they mention. A lot of different bloggers contribute to this blog, so it’s an amalgram of so many creative ideas together. If I feel bored, all I need to do is read through a few entries and my next project comes to mind.

DIY: Mussel Shell Earrings

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t buy any more earrings…but that doesn’t mean I can’t make them. The other day we had mussels for dinner and my dad was about to throw away the shells when I grabbed the whole bowl of them and ran away. “There has to be some sort of use for them…” I thought to myself.

So I attempted to make them into mussel shell earrings. It was slightly more difficult because I didn’t have a super small drill to drill a hole into the top, but I tried to make do.

DIY Mussel Shell Earrings (No Drilling Required)

Materials

-a mussel shell: take the two parts apart and wash them thoroughly. If you wish to get rid of the fishy smell you are welcome to, but I really don’t suggest spraying perfume on them since it mixes rather badly with the fish smell.
-silver nail polish. I used Sinful Color Professional silver nail polish. It’s kind of sparkly with a silver sheen.
-earring hooks
-beads: in the end I chose this silver shiny bead:)
-earring wire: it has this sort of head at the top so you can put the bead on and it stays without falling off.
-thin silver wire
-jewelry wire pliers and wire cutters

District 12 Has Awesome Hairstyles.

So…

I watched the Hunger Games!

I waited a week after the movie came out to watch it, and then I went and watched it twice. Though a bit too artsy for my liking, it didn’t disappoint. It was nothing like how I felt after Percy Jackson (ugh), and I’m looking forward to Catching Fire.

But this isn’t a movie review.

What I primarily noticed was the hairstyles, particularly the braids from District 12. So I had to come home…and try them on my sister (I have really layered hair so it never works on me D:).

Spring Hair Tutorial: Braids and Sidebun

It’s practically spring, and here’s a fun hairstyle with braids and a side bun that you can wear anywhere!

Best for: Long straight hair with no layers. But I have medium length layered hair and I could pull it off–it’s just that there were some loose strands in places.

How to Wear It: Some outfit ideas.
-Wear it with: mint green skinny jeans, white/cream lace top, thick gray scarf, big sunglasses, nude pumps
-Wear it with: pretty floral dress, gladiator sandals
-Wear it with: big artsy (band) t-shirt, black skinny jeans, big statement necklace, nerd glasses, Toms
-Wear it with: white/cream flow-y top tucked into a ruffly skirt (floral or plain all work, best if darker color), thick brown belt around waist, cowboy boots

And of course these are just ideas. The possibilities are endless!

The Pokémon Card Game- Good Friends, Good Times

Hello everybody. I’m Mason, the sort-of-new blogger for the site. Now that break’s here, I can start writing! I’ll cover games, for the most part. Since I’m guessing that you’re not here to read about me, I’ll get straight to the post.

One of the first and foremost things you should know about me is that I’m a card game junkie. I dabbled in Magic The Gathering, the Naruto Trading Card Game (TCG), and Yu-Gi-Oh, but my hands-down favorite would have to be the Pokémon TCG. I forget why, but at some point in third grade a girl gave me a couple cards. I took a look, and was instantly hooked. Ever since, I’ve begged shamelessly to go to all the tournaments near us; they’re just that fun. Let me tell you, like so many other random nerd hobbies, it has a fantastic community. You will find some of the nicest people on Earth chattering away about what deck to use for the next event, or what they think about the latest idea doing its rounds on the internet. They’re devoted, too: they’ve risked life, limb, weekend, and social standing to be a part of the huge, hidden family that spans the world.

Thai String Dolls Craft

Halloween is almost here (my favorite holiday), and I thought I’d share a Halloween craft I discovered last year: Thai String Dolls.

What’s “In” Now

FEATHER HAIR EXTENSIONS

Here we have Selena Gomez showing off the latest trend — feather hair extensions. What you do is you take these hair extensions and attach them with a bobby pin. These just hit my school recently, and now I see them on everybody’s hair. If you like to go with the flow, these are totally in. If you don’t, maybe wait until these die down until you try wearing them, because I have to admit, they’re pretty cute.

You can buy them here on Amazon. Here’s a great Youtube video as well about buying, attaching, and rocking the feather hair extensions.

To see more trends, click here:

Talk Like A Pirate Day

YOU’RE INVITED!

Who: This is a day for all pirates! Or just landlubbers who wish to be pirates!

What: Have ye never heard o’ this day before? It be the International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Where: Anywhere on the seven seas that you please!

When: Septemberrrrrr 19^th!

Why: What? Why? Why wouldn’t ye want a good excuse to talkee like a pirate?

How: These be my FINEST tips on how to be a pirate!

End of Summer Nail Design

Although we are all dreading it, the end of summer is nearing. To try and add a little bit more color into the dreariness that can be associated with going back to school, try this ocean-inspired nail design to brighten up your day!

Argentinian Exchange Trip!

Hey everyone! A month ago, I had the pleasure of attending an exchange trip to Argentina. While I was there, I was able to truly experience a new culture - from everything such as the language to the food and architecture. Some of the really interesting things I learned were –

Website Alert: CollegeFashion.Net

Do you ever have one of those days when you’re standing in front of your closet going, “What the heck am I going to wear today?” Possibly it’s raining, and you want to make a statement that day. Or you’re going to the pool, and you’re not sure what bathing suit to put on. Perhaps you want to completely change your wardrobe based on, let’s say, Blair from Gossip Girl. Maybe you need a basics list because you’re going shopping for college.

Look no further. CollegeFashion.Net has everything you need and more. Written by college students all over the United States, they give you updates on the must-haves, the do-nots, and the what-to-dos. There are pictures, details on where to buy the clothes, and a whole look of style.

So what to wear on a rainy day? Just open up this article: What to Wear on a Rainy Day.

Prepare for summer perfection

Students are rejoicing as May comes to an end, but do they really think they’re ready for the summer? Sure, they might be ready in the intellectual sense, but they probably don’t have the right materials to have a good summer. Here is a simple list of things you will probably need to have the most enjoyable summer possible!

DIY: T-Shirt into Blue Halter Dress (T-Shirt Surgery)

Do you have a bag of those oversized (or undersized) t-shirts that you never wear anymore…or don’t know how to wear? You can throw them away…or leave them to gather dust in your closet…or you could do T-SHIRT SURGERY.

T-shirt surgery is basically turning your t-shirt into something else. I’ve seen boring shirts turned into bags, scarves, tops, and even dresses. You can check out some wicked t-shirt surgery before and afters here.

I have (or had) a shirt that was given to me from volunteering. I wear XS, and the size is XXXL, so it’s basically new. One day, I looked at it and thought, DRESS POTENTIAL. So I got out my needle and thread (still eagerly anticipating my sewing machine for my birthday :/), chalk, and scissors and began to draft.

T-SHIRT INTO BLUE HALTER DRESS

Royal Wedding – Reactions

So, last week, I was helping the 3rd grader that I tutor study for his EOGs. He is in an English as a Second Language program, so he was having some trouble with the reading. When we got to a story about the American Revolution, he came across the word “Britain.” He seemed kind of confused with the word; it seemed as if he had never seen it before. I asked him, “Do you know anything about Great Britain? It’s a powerful country in Europe.” He shook his head, implying that he didn’t. I then asked him, “Have you heard anything about the Royal Wedding?” He proceeded to answer animatedly, talking enthusiastically about the wondrous occasion. This just shows how big the Royal Wedding has gotten. These are a few aspects/effects of this wedding that I thought were really interesting –

Uncover The Strokes

The past five years have been a lonely and dark time for the world of rock music. Fans of The Strokes, had to fill a missing whole in their music souls with side projects and solo acts from the band’s members. The New York City-based band are music industry veterans, forming in 1998 and releasing their hit album This Is It in 2001. They were on top of the world. Unfortunately, such success came hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol abuse. There was a dark time where fans feared the day where it would be it for The Strokes.

Glogster EDU

Technology today is simply amazing. How about checking out this online, interactive learning site where you can create you very own “glog”? Yep, that’s Glogster EDU for you.

A “glog” is a basically a multimedia poster on the Internet. You can add videos, audio, text, pictures, and even attachments from applications like Microsoft Word. I heard that it was pretty cool, so I decided to try one out.

Spring Makeup!

Since it is the start of a new season, it’s a great time to discuss makeup trends that are going to be really prominent this spring! Here are a few trends that you can either tone down or play up for the spring -

Bright Pink Lips

This is a popular new trend that can brighten up your whole face in the spring. The floral color can be worn softly if it is sheer, but can be bold and bright when an opaque color is used. This lipstick, by Revlon, is a great option because of the low price and very high quality. Apply lip balm under it to help moisturize your lips and prime them for the color. If you really want your lip color to last, apply one coat of the lipstick, press a clean tissue to your lips, take a loaded powder brush, and blot the powder onto the part of the tissue that will be covering your lips. Then apply another layer of the lipstick. This is a great method if you want to keep your lipstick lasting through a long day.