Johanna's Christmas: A Festive Coloring Book

You didn't think I was done with coloring books for the year, did you? Before the year is out— and while it is still somewhat relevant— I wanted to share Johanna Basford's newest coloring book with you: Johanna's Christmas. Unlike A Christmas Carol coloring book, this one is definitely more my speed. The focus in this one is more on festive imagery: wreaths, ornaments, candy canes and gingerbread houses, deer, wrapped gifts, and tons of other stuff. There are beautiful trees to color, wreaths made of ornaments and tiny deer, and even a sleigh full of presents!

If you've read my reviews on other Johanna Basford coloring books, you are probably not surprised that I'm a fan of this. The artwork is still fantastically fun to color. If you've liked any of her other books and you like Christmas, you will like this book. A couple of other things to keep in mind about Johanna's Christmas are: the pages are single-sided— sort of. Behind every major image there is a grayed-out wallpaper image. Could you color? Absolutely. Would I count it as an actual image? No. These include wallpapers of ornaments, vines of holly, and presents. That's about it. The pages themselves are also pretty thick, and so I would consider this a perfect opportunity to go crazy with your markers. And if you're one of those people who agonizes over what colors you'll use with a given image, fear not! There is even a blank page in back specifically designated as your "color palette test page."

Overall, if you got this in your stocking this year: Congratulations! If not, go order it. It's worth it!

A Christmas Carol (The Coloring Book)

Oh damn! Christmas is over, and now I show up with something holiday themed? I just can't seem to get my act together this year... Sorry guys!

Actually... HA!— joke's on you, because I'm Puerto Rican! And to us, Christmas lasts through the first week of January and then some! So prepare yourselves for: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: A Coloring Classic.

First things first: I realize I've reviewed many coloring books this past year. With so many available and being marketed to adults, my childhood passion for hoarding these was rekindled. As a kid, I had tons of coloring books, but I rarely colored. Instead, I copied the pages and used them as references. I was terrified of messing up the artwork. As an adult, I have so many hobbies that I rarely have time to actually color the artwork. Let's face it, there are plenty of other things that need to get done— like the laundry. Sometimes, I consider coloring and end up drawing and painting instead. But I still love these books, so my hoard continues to grow.

Most recently, I acquired A Christmas Carol: A Coloring Classic from a friend who is not a fan of it and wanted to re-gift it. I feel a little bad for this book because it seems to me that it would have a pretty small, potential fan-base. Really, who thought this was a good idea? In order to enjoy this book to the fullest, I imagine you have to be a fan of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, coloring books, and coloring in people. I have a preference for coloring animals, patterns, and anime characters, so this doesn't totally suit my tastes.

However, the illustrations are done well and detailed. The pages are double-sided, but fairly thick. You can probably get away with using markers, assuming you don't color over the same spot repeatedly. I think colored pencils would be a better option, though, to be safe. Surprisingly, what this book contains the most of are pictures of people— generally in the form of scenes from the story with accompanying quotes— and images of food. Prepare to be hungry after coloring this in. Also, while it does contain some abstract-ish images (food floating in space, for example), there are no repetitious "wallpaper" pattern images. Overall, I think it's a good variety of images to keep your interest. Assuming, of course, that you're interested in coloring A Christmas Carol.

I think what might draw people to this book initially is the beautiful cover: a profusion of flowers, holly, bells, and candles on a red foil background— and Scrooge on the top left corner. Honestly, the cover has caught my attention on more than one occasion in stores. But then I see A Christmas Carol and move on with nary more than a "meh" towards it. Ultimately, not my kind of coloring book. But if you're really into A Christmas Carol, coloring, and great artwork, you'll definitely enjoy this book!

Guitar Zero: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age

I don't know if I mentioned recently that I started teaching myself to play guitar and ukulele. I am hardly musical and have never played a stringed instrument before. However, that didn't stop me from borrowing my dad-in-law's guitar, picking up a few books on the subject, and pretending like I could be a guitar hero. That's actually where this book came in. Since I was at the library anyway, I browsed through everything with the word "guitar" in it, and this sounded like something that might help a complete novice get started.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. The book isn't written to help the complete novice learn how to play the guitar. It's actually partly anecdotal pep-talk by author Gary Marcus— on how after years of sucking at all things musical he finally learned how to play guitar— and partly about the neuroscience that allows any of us to be musical at all. Since I am a fan of neuroscience, I was not completely disappointed by the lack of instruction in this book. It runs long for a pep-talk, and the gist of the brain science is this: There is no music-specific region of the brain, and practice makes perfect. That's pretty much it. I'd love to give more explicit details, but unfortunately it's been several months since I read it and I've already returned the book to the library. ... Oops. On the bright side, I can't really spoil it for you!

So this may seem pretty obvious, but you may be interested in this book if you are passionate about music and brains. I know a couple of people like that, and I'm sure that more exist. Personally, I just wanted an instructional book.

Pics or It Didn't Happen

So I blinked out of existence for a while there, I know. One day, I was saying, "Ha, that's funny. I'm a little late for Halloween..." Next thing you know, over a month goes by and you passingly think to yourself, "I wonder if this girl's dead..." Or maybe you didn't care that much. I won't put words in your mouth.

For now.

Since I've had nothing else for you for weeks, let me just show you what I've been up to!

To your left, you will see progress shots of a t-shirt I sacrificed to make yarn. I had a stack of about 10 shirts that I ultimately knit/upcycled into a small rug. Let me just tell you right now: Trying to knit denim is a pain in the ass. But the rug came out okay! While the process I used to make the yarn used up a great big chunk of the shirt, there is still a good amount of fabric left over. My next project with those scraps is to make a shag rug. We'll see how that goes with the material I have left!

 I recently moved and had to find a new job. Go figure, I found a job at my local crack store— I mean, craft store. So I've been getting paid in yarn and other art supplies...
Okay, so I've been getting paid money and then just spending it on art supplies. Stop judging me. Anyway! This was some of the yarn that I purchased. I used Red Heart Unforgettable yarn in the color "parrot" and one of the patterns from my Crocodile Stitch book for this beauty. It was a fun pattern, though I guess I mostly like it for being something different to make. And of course, I love the colors of this yarn. If you ever decide to make anything with this particular yarn, please be aware that it is difficult to take it out of whatever you crocheted. It snags like crazy if you try taking it apart.

Progress shots of snowman Totoro in 16X20

 In addition to all this crochet, I've been trying to get myself excited about the winter festivities, so I've been obsessively drawing and coloring snowman Totoro. My hope is that if I get good enough at it, people will like it enough to perhaps buy a print or button of it at SacAnime. That is, of course, if I can get a table this winter. We're on the waitlist right now for one, but apparently it's still a possibility! So these are a few of the things (along with a some commissions) that have kept me busy and away from the blog this past month and a half. I hope to return us to our irregularly scheduled programming soon. Hope you're all doing well!

I got roped into making a wreath at work, then
wasn't allowed to keep it. So I had to make
another one for home.

Oh, and did I mention my foray into learning a musical instrument? Me and my happy lil' ukulele!