review – From My Corner of the Universe

Emma B6 Traveler’s Notebook

January 14, 2022

If you haven’t seen my video, I did an unboxing of this leather. It’s an Austen Emma B6 Heritage by Chic Sparrow. I ordered this leather notebook cover during the December 2021 sale. This leather patina’s pretty quickly. I’ve had it for about a month and it’s already darker than when I received it. It will continue to patina so I’ll revisit later this year to see how it’s changed.

I’m using this one to hold my affirmations. I go through these phases where I question doing art, but I keep returning to art because it relaxes and keeps me creative. It helps me stay focus on my goals (writing/publishing) and my family. It’s strange that way how art has that much control. Here’s my first page of my affirmations. I’m going to pull a card once a month to do a layout and some journaling.

Unboxing Video: CS Folio Outlander Fergus B6

May 22, 2021

I always take forever to upload videos, mainly because I’m just never excited about talking in them, but I feel like if I do unboxings, I kind of have to say something. I finally found the courage to do a voice over for this unboxing even though it’s not my first time doing this.

This folio is of the same leather as the Outlander Fraser, in which I share a photo here. However, the style of notebook is different. Instead of strings, which can hold up to 6+ notebooks, the folio only holds one book at a time, just like the Huckleberry Creme B6 Folio.

What I love about the Fergus B6 Folio is the color, and that it’s a soft leather but not floppy. It’s slightly stiff but pliable. I went with the B6 because it’s the perfect size for notes and writing ideas down. I can carry it with me without it feeling too bulky. I love my A5’s, don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something special about the B6 size. And, between the Huckleberry Folio (which was a limited edition) and this one, I prefer this one. The folio style of this one is not limited edition, but I believe the leather is. I had actually wanted a Fergus strings notebook, but Chic Sparrow ran out of the leather and weren’t sure they’d get more in. One day, I went looking on their site and saw this limited edition Fergus and grabbed it like lightning.

Anyway, here is the video. Hope you enjoy!

Chic Sparrow Austen Leather in Lady Catherine

June 17, 2020

I purchased this narrow traveler’s notebook from Chic Sparrow and have fallen madly in love. It’s gorgeous.

I currently have a similar leather, a Mr. Darcy Lemon Drop, purchased three years ago, which has patinated to a nice darkish yellow (photos of it further down). The leather of the Dr. Darcy and Austen are exactly the same. The name was just changed (and I can’t remember why). It’s a super sturdy, non-floppy full-grain leather. It’s also flexible and smooth. I can’t resist touching it.

The color is salmon but at times it can look darker or lighter. Love the striations and the sunburst on the front. This is a one-of-a-kind and it makes me feel a little special.

Here it is next to the Outlander Fraser B6 for color comparison.

Next to the Mr. Darcy Lemon Drop B6.

7″ Kindle Fire in between.

The plan is to use it for taking notes for my fiction stories.

Scrapbook.com Haul

November 22, 2019

This isn’t the full haul. I was planning on splitting it into a few different ones but I’m finding that I don’t have a lot of time especially because it’s the holiday season. I’ve been doing NaNoWriMo and should be done here within the next few days. Then, I plan to work on December Daily.

Btw, my 21.5″ iMac died a couple of weeks ago. One afternoon, after a day at my daughter’s swim meet, I came home and turned on my computer and it wouldn’t turn on. Tried many times but it just wouldn’t turn on. A week later, I went and got a 27″ iMac. The screen is huge! I’m still trying to get used to it. The bad news is, with the new desktop, my Photoshop CS6 doesn’t work anymore. I contacted Adobe and they said CS6 is not compatible with Catalina (iOS). I cried a little. I’m still heart broken and have been having a very difficult time deciding if I want to get the CC. I am at 85%-ish in my decision to go forward with it. I’ve been researching other design/art software and just keep returning to Photoshop. It’s a hard decision. I’ll keep you all updated.

Anyway, enjoy this haul video.

The items listed are in order as they appear in the video.

Prima Marketing – Apricot Honey – 12×12 Paper Pad with Foil Accents
Prima Marketing – Apricot Honey – Chipboard Stickers
Prima Marketing – Apricot Honey – Ephemera
Kaiser Craft – Miss Betty Collection – 12×12 Single Sheet Pattern
One Canoe Two – Golden Rod – Stickers
Simple Stories – Simply Vintage Botanicals – Chipboard Stickers
Tim Holtz Scribbles Layering Stencils (THS036)
Tim Holtz Blossom Layering Stencils (THS031)
Ranger Dylusions Border Stamp and Stencil **Item was purchased through A Cherry On Top.
Jane Davenport Ultimate Waterproof Pen (free item)
Scarpbook.com Double Sided Adhesive Roll 1/4”
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – 6×8 Paper Pad
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – 12×12 Combo Stickers
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – Chipboard Stickers
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – Mini Sticker Tablet
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – Foliage Bits and Pieces
Simple Stories – Autumn Splendor – Bits and Pieces

Watercolor Class 4

February 24, 2016

This is the last week of my watercolor class and this is what I painted:

This was a very short course but the knowledge I learned will help further with working with ink pens and watercolor.

Book Review: Heir to the Sundered Crown (The Sundered Crown Saga Book 1)

May 9, 2015

I love reading. My genre of interest is sci-fi and fantasy but I will also read other genres if they are interesting. Last year, I did a marathon and read 101 books with most being sci-fi and fantasy. This year, I’ve lowered my goal to 25 books. I wanted to read without any pressure of deadlines but somehow I found myself just 5 books away from my goal. I don’t tend to do thorough reviews unless they are just totally beyond my expectation or I’m asked by the author but I will always rate them. I rate on Goodreads.com and sometimes on Amazon. Here is the most recent book I finished. This book was given to me to read and review by the author. Thank you for allowing me the pleasure to read and review, Mr. Olney.

After I read the book, I had to sit back and let it soak in. It was very fast pace with a lot going on. Lots of action and gore. Lots of characters and interactions. The storyline was great. The characters and the world they lived in were clearly thought out and well created. The dialogue moved the story forward and explained a lot of what was going on. A lot of the history of that world came out in the dialogue but the author also put the history in an appendix at the end of book, which was very helpful. Overall, I enjoyed it.

One thing I felt the story lacked was character buildup. There wasn’t enough substance in the main characters. They felt one-dimensional. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around why they want to rule so badly. What do they gain besides being a ruler and having all the power? There has to be something much deeper. Wanting power is usually driven by something very personal that one can’t seem to let go of that can manifest in the form of revenge. I did not sense that if that was meant to be part of character buildup. The characters had too much trust in everyone they came across. They seem to all be unintelligent and gullible. Another thing was that I also found myself wondering why, after Luxon fainted a couple of times, he would continue to use his magic. I would think he would be afraid to even feel his magic knowing it would make him weak afterward.

I read this book on a Kindle and should mention that there were lots of grammatical errors and typos. Also, the word, “whilst” was overused (but this may be just a personal thing). If these things don’t bother you too much and you simply love the pure enjoyment of reading, or if the fantasy genre is up your alley, I definitely recommend this book.

Pudding Camera + A Hawk

February 24, 2013

This morning, while husband was drinking his coffee and looking out the kitchen window, he saw a hawk as it perched on the neighbor’s satellite dish. He yelled for the family to come look so I grabbed the camera and ran toward the kitchen.

The hawk stayed there for about 2 hours! Instead of taking Teddy out back to potty, we took her to the front. We didn’t want the hawk to take off with her, even on a leash.

Pudding Camera Review

Pudding Camera App for Android is my newest love. I’ve always liked that dreamy glowy look and this app is amazing at creating it. Below are some examples. I haven’t used all the different cameras and filters.

{Fantasy 50mm Vintage Brown}