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By: Sara Burrier,
on 3/5/2011
By: Cate Gardner,
on 1/11/2011
...only I don't run in snow.
Lori from Pure Imagination has worked with me to create a new blog that I hope is pleasing to the eye. I'm very excited for it. I'm still working some bugs out, but hopefully this will be minimal to your reading pleasure.
I'm so excited and I hope you like it!
By: Erin,
on 4/6/2009
I've been blogging for over three years, and I've kept the same exact template the entire time.
It's recently gotten to the point where I'm practically uninspired to blog anymore, I was that bored with the layout.
Uninspiration be gone!
In which I unveil my new template....
Voila!
(If you're viewing this in a feed, yes, you will have to do the work of coming all the way over to my actual blog to See.)
p.s. I'm still messing with a couple of things, most notably my link list, which I basically deleted and am starting over on. I hadn't updated it in forever; some of the blogs listed aren't even active anymore.
Been perusing the internet lately. As research for my school art blog, Deep Space Sparkle, I've been looking for other blogs that share the same art philosophy. In my search, I've come across beautiful blogs filled with energy, creativity and humor. Only a few relate directly to teaching elementary school art, but tons, and I mean TONS are on living a creative life.
Check out these fun but utterly random blogs:
Flat Betty
Gennine's Art Blog
Gourmet Momma
Today's Creative Blog
Kelly Rae: Taking Flight into Art, Love and Life
I know, none of them have anything to do with writing, but I love how the essence of their personality is displayed on the page. And besides, just because we are writers, we can still have artistically exciting blogs.
So, back to being creative...I wanted to redesign my blog header to capture more of who I am. It's been a challenge learning how these blasted things are created. My sensible side tells me to just pay the $50 bucks and have someone who knows what they're doing design my blog, but the creative side in me demands that I at least try.
If you're interested in changing your header, I believe you will need some type of creative photo-editing program like Photoshop. I use Picnik, because it is mostly free ($24 for the year for the advanced version).
All you need to do is download a few photos (Stockxpert has great ones) and start playing. Okay, so it's not quite that easy. I found this great tutorial at Photoshop Support which guided me through the process. I won't even try to explain it the way Jennifer does, so I will bow out now and just say that it helped a great deal.
If all of this makes your head swim, check out Eight Crazy Designs which has great pricing and layouts. This gal is truly creative and I love the variety of designs she has. For the time it takes to figure out how to do it on your own, her pricing makes the prospect of hiring out very appealing.
Note: Here's another great site to help you design your blog: Tip Junkie
Here are a few author blogs that I thought were worthy of a 
creative pat-on-the-back.
R.L. LaFevers for her new blog that really sets the mood for her books.
Laini Taylor's Grow Wings for her mix of artistry and writing nuts 'n bolts
Barrie Summy's blog for perfectly capturing her audience
CookieBooky for a clean, simple, yet charmingly creative blog
Runner's up:
Read, Imagine, Talk for the simplicity with a shot of Kandinsky!
Pixie Stix Kids Pix for the cool banner
Do you know of any superbly creative writing blogs? If so, i'd love for you to pass them on. A little inspiration always helps.
Have an artful day everyone!
By: Aline Pereira,
on 8/22/2007
Multicultural adoptions have become so prevalent that an entire genre has emerged, for kids and parents alike. “One of the most frequent requests we have,” says Nicole Harvey of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, “is by adoptive parents of Asian kids looking for ways to orient their children to their birth culture.” She likes especially the complex and popular Cooper’s Lesson by Sun Ying Shin.
On our own PaperTigers, the genre is explored in a review of Three Names of Me and an interview with Cynthia Kadohata, Newbery award winner and an adoptive parent herself. Franki at A Year of Reading, also an adoptive parent, reviews Caroline Marsden’s When Heaven Fell. Scroll down for her interview with Rose Kent, author of Kimchi and Calamari, additionally reviewed and interviewed at PaperTigers. Cynthia Letich Smith’s blog Cynsations has a great list of books on multicultural adoption.
You don’t have to be an adoptee or adoptive parent to appreciate these books, of course. As our world becomes smaller and families more diverse, we all need inspiration and information from this vital field of children’s literature.
I know you didn't ask for opinions but I can't resist:
I think the birds should progress from sketchy to full color...like the process of going from sketches to final art.
very sweet ! ^_^
I wish I had more time to learn more codes, but with creating art and running a business... you know how it is. Also having kids to go along with that to makes even more busy.
That little "Bless" girl in your post is simply adorable... so cute! :D
Wonderful!