Bujo Mess Up

April 22, 2024

I thought this was a good idea to watercolor and gesso my weekly bujo (bullet journal) pages, but it’s been about three weeks and I’m so far behind with bullet journaling because I have to wait for the pages to dry and then writing over them ruins my nice pens I use for bullet journaling. Lesson learned: only do mix media in mix media journals. Not in my bullet journal notebook.

In the last image, I’m using nail polish to keep the pages separate to dry. Otherwise, they stick together. I do have a craft dryer to speed things up but I didn’t want to pull it out and I don’t really like the look and feel of using it, especially on gesso.

Book Review: Rogue Start: Frozen Earth

April 15, 2024

Title: Rogue Star: Frozen Earth
Author: Jasper T. Scott
Genre: Sci-fi; Apocalyptic
Book Length: 548 pages (print)
Book Version Read: eBook
Year Published: July 26, 2018

Date Started: April 4, 2024
Date finished: April 9, 2024

There’s a lot going on in this book. First, we get a glimpse into the main character, Logan Willis. He learns about his wife’s affair just after losing his job. Quickly, we learn that a rogue star will be passing close enough to Earth to cause damage to the planet. Everyone is in panic mode trying to get to the warm spots of the Earth when this happens. Then, we learn that a wealthy man has been working on colonizing Mars and was prepared to leave to Mars before the near collision.

At first, I thought the story was about Logan and how he was going to deal with the lost of his job and his wife’s affair, but it turned into a story about moving from one place to another and learning about all these happenings. Within the mentioned plots, there’s another side story about a man who followed Logan and his family and Logan and his wife’s brother having to fight off this man.

Overall, the story was interesting. The pacing was steady at a fast speed. One thing happened after another without much downtime to soak it all in. I liked the idea of the rogue star doing damage to Earth. I would have liked the story to stick to that, as well his Logan’s emotional turmoil with his wife and job. He totally forgot about all that and I don’t know if I find that realistic. The story ended quickly without a resolution.

Who should read this book: If you enjoy a fast-paced apocalyptic/pre-apocalyptic story with a lot going on, you might like this.

Sketch for Gouache Painting

April 11, 2024

Sketched this to paint with gouache. I’m not sure when I’ll paint it, but I’m hoping this weekend. Haven’t decided if I want to record it or not and post it on Youtube. If you want a copy of this to try your hands at painting it, I’ve shared it here >>> Download Flapper Girl Sketch.

You can also download the image if you prefer not to download from the link. I’ve shared it here for you to right click and save.

This was a quick trace so some of the lines aren’t smooth. I didn’t spend a lot of time on it because it’s meant to be painted over (you can use ground or grainy gesso, etc.), or traced and transferred to watercolor paper. Also, feel free to create whatever kind of art you want with it.

Here’s me tracing the sketch on my Wacom One.

I’d love to see your artwork if you do download the sketch.

Free Downloads: Lace Floral Papers

April 9, 2024

I created these vintage floral papers using Bing AI. These are free to use however you want. They are watermarked because I’ve heard that people have downloaded works and sold them. These are free to use for whatever you want. You can even use them commercially (I did the research). They can be printed and used for scrapbooking and other crafts, or used digitally. I’ve used Photoshop to upscale them to 7×7 inches at 300dpi. If you’d like the watermark removed, you can contact me and I can remove them for a small price.

They can be downloaded here: Imaginary Realms Art

Set one example:

Set two example:

If you use them, share with me what you’ve used them for. I’d love to see!

Book Review: A Tiny Ripple of Hope

April 8, 2024

Title: A Tiny Ripple of Hope
Author: Antonio Ramon
Genre: Fiction; Mystery Thriller; Paranormal
Book Length: 263 Pages (print)
Book Version Read: eBook
Year Published: February 13, 2024

Date Started: March 25, 2024
Date finished: March 27, 2024

This mystery thriller is about Cole Reeves and his ability to locate a kid who went missing. Cole is capable of feeling as though he’s someone else, and with this gift, he’s able to backtrack and follow through with the situation pertaining to this kid.

The story is written in first person through Cole’s eyes. He’s got a mental disability and is on medication. When he gets off his medication or takes a low dose of it, he’s able see and feel things different from when he’s medicated. Cole makes friends easily and has a couple of friends he’s close to. He comes across as a likable and kind person, but inside his mind is a whole different story. He’s constantly struggling with being himself. He also struggles with his past. When a kid went missing that he knew, he was confused as to how it could have happened. At times it crossed his mind that maybe it was him who did it.

This story was interesting because even though we’re in Cole’s head, we are still unsure of what’s to come. There were moments when his reality became vague and distorted, and he didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. This allowed for the mystery to unfold. I thought that was well-done. I also enjoyed the character development surrounding Cole, such as his neighbors, and the people he saw on a daily basis, or often. The tension buildup really hooked me, and this was all done while in Cole’s head.

Who should read this book: If you’re into paranormal mystery thrillers, this is an excellent one.

April Orchids

April 6, 2024

The orchids bloom every year around this time. They’re always so pretty. I need to take care of them better, but I haven’t. Yet, they still bloom. They are one of the strongest flowering plants out there.

Reading and Reviewing Books

April 5, 2024
Daily writing prompt
What job would you do for free?
View all responses

The job I’ll do for free is actually the job I’m currently doing, and that is reading and reviewing books. I’ve always enjoyed reading and I’m not particular to traditional or indie authors. If there’s a good story out there, I want to read it. I love learning, and my favorite way is through reading.

I read in every platform: ebooks, paperback, hardcovers, PDF, audio. However, I’m not a huge fan of audio because I’m particular about the voice I’m listening to, but otherwise, it’s not an issue.

I also do art for free. I’ve given away some paintings and I’ve shared some digital art, including generated AI art I’ve created.

I’m not sure if this counts but I’ve volunteered my time as well. When my kids were young, I volunteered at their school. I volunteered (and still do currently) at my youngest daughter’s swim meets, and when my oldest was in high school, I volunteered as the photographer and transportation person for her poms team. I also volunteered as a Catechism teacher at my church, and now I’m volunteering on the church’s women volunteering group. Back in my college days, I volunteered as a math tutor and English tutor, so I’ve always given my time for free to help others. I did it, and still do it for the enjoyment of it. I don’t tend to remember all the volunteering I’ve done. For instance, I had to dig hard to remember that I volunteered during my college years. It’s just not something I hold on to. It’s the warm feeling I get that stays.

Book Review: The City & The City

April 5, 2024

Title: The City & The City
Author: China Mieville
Genre: Fiction; Murder Mystery Thriller, Detective
Book Length: 336 pages (print)
Book Version Read: eBook

Date Started: March 21, 2024
Date finished: March 25, 2024

This story is about a murder in one of the two cities that occurred suspiciously. The woman was killed in one city and then dumped in the other. Inspector Tyador Borlu took the case because he felt the need to avenge whoever did it. During the investigation, Tyador was asked to leave the city he lived in (where the woman was dumped) and to investigate the case in the other city. While in the other city, he learns more about the woman and why she was important. The case becomes a cat and mouse chase, revealing a situation Tyador was unfamiliar with and where he eventually had to make a difficult decision.

This was an interesting story. Wasn’t at all what I’d expected in a murder mystery thriller. I liked how the two cities played into the story, and how eventually, the truth was uncovered. The story basically revolves around the cities and really focuses on them. There were other players and “city” in the story which added to the mystery. The detailed descriptions about the people in the two cities and their history was fascinating. It’s what brought the story to life. There was gloominess to both cities and the division, or the separation line, was also done well. What I didn’t enjoy so much were some of the characters. They felt vague and not thoroughly developed. I also found the plot a little on the vague side. It just wasn’t that intriguing, and then to learn how unimportant the case was, was a letdown for me.

Btw, this book has been made into a tv series. I believe it’s on Amazon Prime if you’re in the U.S. I might have to watch it just to see if it’s better than the book.

Who should read this book: If you’re into stories that unfold slowly with a ton of backstory, this one is excellent.

Book Review: Dawn

April 4, 2024

Title: Dawn (The Xenogenesis Trilogy; Book 1)
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Sci-fi
Book Length: 321 pages (print)
Book Version Read: eBook
Year Published: First published May 1, 1987; This edition July 24, 2012

Date Started: March 12, 2024
Date finished: March 20, 2024

This is a sci-fi far future story about humans and aliens. A woman named Lilith Iyapo wakes up in a foreign place where an alien race is raising humans to return them to Earth. The aliens are studying the human’s personalities and how they live among each other. Lilith is given an ability from the aliens to wake up other humans. They want her to decide who to wake up and want her to be the leader of the humans. Things don’t go as planned and chaos ensues which leads to the aliens making the decisions for the humans.

This wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t that great either. I found Lilith and the rest of the humans childlike even though they were adults. The aliens were interesting with their abilities. They were able to do such things as cure cancer in humans and join in on copulation with the humans. They also were able to reproduce with humans. Everything having to do with the aliens was fascinating. However, the humans were a letdown for me. They all came across very clueless and not very intelligent.

Who should read this book: If you’re into aliens, you’ll enjoy this.

Vintage Rose Wallpapers

April 3, 2024

I’ve been learning Bing Copilot and generating quite a lot of stuff. These vintage rose wallpapers were a hit on a facebook group I follow. It’s a private group, however, I thought I’d share them on my own Facebook group, called: Imaginary Realms Art. I’ve printed a few of the images to use in my artjournal and notebooks. If you’d like to download them, go to my group: Imaginary Realms Art. They are free and you can use them for personal use only.

If you use them, share what you’ve done with them. I’d love to see!