Polar vortex-worthy reads

Since we have no choice but to endure this extreme cold (and snow), let's embrace our winter weather. I put together a list of books that will have you commiserating with the characters dealing with frigid temperatures and never ending snow.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
RO TEEN CROCKETT
Fifteen-year-old Willo Blake, born after the 2059 snows that ushered in a new ice age, encounters outlaws, halfmen, and an abandoned girl as he journeys in search of his family, who mysteriously disappeared from the freezing mountain that was their home.

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
TEEN FITZPATRICK
Britt goes hiking in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming with her ex-boyfriend Calvin, but trouble arises when she is caught in a blizzard, taken hostage by fugitives, finds evidence of murders, and learns whom to trust and whom to love.

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
TEEN LET
In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.

Survive by Alex Morel
TEEN MOREL
A troubled girl is stranded in an arctic winter terrain after a plane crash and must fight for survival with the only other boy left alive.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
TEEN NORTHROP
RO TEEN NORTHROP
Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

Blankets by Craig Thompson
TEEN GRAPHIC NOVEL THOMPSON
This is an illustrated novel loosely based on the author's life growing up in rural Wisconsin.

Happy Halloween: Anime Club's zombie creations!

At the library's Anime Club Halloween meeting on Tuesday, we took old Barbies and transformed them into creepy zombies! We first dyed the doll clothes brown, and then painted the dolls' bodies and clothes after they dried. As you can tell, everyone got really creative (and a bit twisted!)...

Princess Jasmine... you've changed.

Très chic zombie

Zombies get haircuts, too.

Bad hair day zombie

These are fun homemade decorations for Halloween or as a gift for fans of the TV show The Walking Dead. Happy Halloween!

Design a Tee program on Monday for grades 6-12

There's no school on Monday, so why not head to the library to make a fun and easy project! Design a Tee is for grades 6-12 and will be held in the downstairs Craft Room. Please register in advance!

Bring along a plain t-shirt and a design on 8 1/2 x 11 paper (or use one of the designs on hand). Choose a simple design for your shirt; silhouettes are good.

Here are the step by step instructions for designing your own t-shirt that we will use at the program. First, choose your design.

Next, trace the design onto freezer paper. Freezer paper can be found in the aisle with aluminum foil and plastic wrap at the grocery store.

 The shiny side of the freezer paper should be face down.

Once you finish tracing the design, carefully cut along the lines using an exacto knife.

Place your shirt over the ironing board and iron the shirt first to smooth any wrinkles. Be sure to center the design.

Using an iron, press down onto the paper. The heat will adhere the freezer paper to the t-shirt.

Once the design is ironed on to your shirt, move your shirt to a table. Insert a piece of cardboard inside of the shirt under the design. Make sure the cardboard is under the area where you will be painting.

Choose your color of paint. We are using Tulip Soft Matte Fabric Paint. Joann Fabrics sells small bottles or larger tubes of this paint.

Small craft foam brushes work well to apply the paint for this project.

Apply the paint from the outside of the stencil to inside. This prevents paint from leaking under the seam between the freezer paper and the shirt.

Allow the first coat to dry and apply additional coats as needed.

When you are done, simply peel back the freezer paper from the t-shirt to reveal your creation!

Allow the shirt to dry flat for 24 hours before you wear your shirt. This project was inspired by the  Tuts + craft blog.

I hope to see you at Monday's Design a Tee program!

38 days until the Divergent movie opens!

Movie tie-in editions of Divergent are out today!

Shailene Woodley as Tris is featured on the cover....

 

...and Theo James as Four is on the back cover.

!!!

Online Photo Editing for Teens

If you enjoy taking pictures and want to learn how to make those photos even better, come to our Online Photo Editing for Teens program on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

I will introduce you to a few free, easy to use photo editing sites that will allow you to make awesome photos and graphics. Transform photos for birthdays, holidays, any celebration, or just for the fun of it. Create amazing collages and graphics to use on blogs and other social networks. I promise warn you, once you start on one photo, you won't be able to stop.

In this post I'll share a few examples of how I transformed my own photos. Here is a picture I took of Cinderella Castle at Disney World:

Here is the picture with the added radiance effect from PicMonkey:

Here is a neon version of the castle, an effect available on FotoFlexer:

One of my favorite effects, Pop Art, also from FotoFlexer:

I don't know if you can tell, but I love chipmunks and squirrels. As a result, I have tons of photos of grey squirrels, black squirrels, red squirrels, white squirrels, and nutty chipmunks. I had fun adding overlays and text to my photos, with the following results:

For this photo I used overlays from PicMonkey's Celebrate theme, and added the birthday message at the bottom. I know what you're thinking. I can add tiny birthday hats to chipmunks and other small mammals?! Best news ever! 

I first created a collage of this adorable red squirrel in PicMonkey, then edited the collage using the Sweethearts theme. I added heart bokeh, a few heart graphics, a banner, plus text.

I also created this collage using PicMonkey (obviously it's my go-to site for collages). I opened a couple photos I had already edited, and then inserted them into a FB Cover layout. I decreased the size of the margins as much as possible, and made sure the photos were centered in each of their respective slots. Once I was happy with everything, I saved the file, and then uploaded it to my Facebook page as my cover photo!

I will show even more effects and helpful tips on these sites on Tuesday. Registration is open to grades 6-12 for this program. If you cannot make Tuesday's session, we will hold a second session on Tuesday, February 4.

What does the fox say? -- "Come to Critter Crafts at the library!"

Come to our Critter Crafts program at the library on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. Make fun and easy winter critter crafts out of paper towel rolls.

This fox is bundled up for the cold weather.

It looks like this raccoon got caught in a snow storm!

This squirrel reminds you -- "Don't Forget To Be Awesome!"

The most sequin-y squirrel tail ever!

Hope to see you at the Critter Crafts program on Monday, December 23!