Kristin Victoria Creates

Hello Lovies, I will not be posting until the 3rd of January.  Between the holidays, family, and the deployment; I need some personal time to finish this year and start the new one. When I come back, I hope to have a game plan for the new year and several new posts that I hope you'll love. In the mean time, I wish you all health, happiness, and love. Happy creating, and Happy New Year! For business inquires, contact me at: KristinVictoriaArt@gmail.com To view prints on various items, visit: society6.com/KristinVictoria To view more photos from the studio and my life on flickr, visit: tinyurl.com/kvartflickr Follow me on Twitter, at: @KristinV_Art Find me on Instagram at: instagram.com/kvjaenicke17

2017 Bookish Wrap Up and Review I usually forget to review my tbr for the previous year. This year, I'd like to change things up a bit and see how well I did.  And generally reflect upon my past reading for the year.  My top 2017 reads will be in a different post. Of the 34 books I wanted to read, I read a few, which were: Esme of Paris, Macbeth, Range of Light, The Mystery of Meteors, and Seed of the Serpent. I did start reading My Blue Notebooks, The Birth of Venus, Dancing for Degas, Mystic Fire, Maybe If I Loved You More, and Essence of Love. Sadly, I wasn't feeling any of them at all. I really did try, but it was a combination of the fact that I wasn't in the mood for them, they weren't what I thought they were going to be, I didn't care for the narration style, and for the poetry collections - I wasn't digging the love poems. Weird I know, but there were also a few others, that I can't remember now, that I started to read that I event

Christmas Give Ideas: Bookish Edition, Part II Children's Books As Christmas is just around the corner again, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite children's books which are always an excellent gift.  I loved these growing up and later in life, and I know many that love these as well.  I've linked each book to goodreads.com so that you can read more about them there. For more bookish inspiration, check out Jen Campbell on YouTube. She has loads of recommendations in poetry, folk lore and fairy tales, and children's books. Speaking of Jen, let's start this list off with her children's book! Franklin's Flying Bookshop by Jen Campbell Where the Side Walk Ends by Shell Silverstein Le Petite Prince or The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery The BFG by Ronald Dahl, Quentin Blake The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer Madeleine by Lu

Nonfiction November Wrap Up While I didn't stick to my initial TBR, I did manage to read a few more books this month than I thought I would. These are only my finished (and one in progress) nonfiction books for November. I also finished Dracula and VooDoo Planet.  I wish I would have read more even though this was a very good reading month for me. Guy Fawkes: Or a Complete History of the Gunpowder Treason by: Thomas Lathbury I couldn't help but read this on the 5th of November. Insightful and nerdy. Nonfiction November 2017 Category: Scholarship 2 out of 5 stars. Geronimo's Story of His Life by: Geronimo I've been wanting to read this for awhile, especially after living where he lived. It was a wonderful read, I honestly wish that it was longer, I couldn't get enough. Nonfiction November 2017 Category: Home 5 out of 5 stars. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by: Neil deGrasse Tyson I enjoyed this more than I

Christmas Gift Ideas: Bookish Edition As Christmas is just around the corner again, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite books to give as gifts.  I've given these little treasures out many times and they're great options when you want to give something unique that pretty much anyone would love.  I've linked each book to goodreads.com so that you can read more about them there. Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders Turn Around and Run Like Hell: Amazing Stories of Unconventional Military Strategies That Worked by Josheph Cummins The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps by Edward Brooke-Hitching An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist: A Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States

Care Package Addition: Letter to Santa  I saw a Letter to Santa 'patterned' paper at Hobby Lobby and it made me smile like the Grinch.  The idea to fill it out in a slightly comical way was too great of a temptation to resist.  I could have also made my own either on the computer or by hand, but I honestly didn't think to do something like this until I saw it in the store, so I got it there. The letter also has a section to fill out for what to watch out for around the house and a place to sign it.  I added a P.S. to the letter as there was room at the bottom of the page.  This would be a great little thing to recreate if you have kids or not.  I think it's the humor that makes this great. I got a kick out of filling it out, and I'm sure hubby will get a kick out of reading it. Happy creating, and care package creating! For business inquires, contact me at: KristinVictoriaArt@gmail.com To view prints on various items, vi

Deployment Distractions: Musicals Some of my favorite things to watch while hubby is gone is a musical - good or bad.  The music is a great distraction to fully get lost into or have on a back ground music while doing other projects or cleaning. Here are some of my favorites: Singing in the Rain Sister Act (I & II) The King and I Moulin Rouge Les Miserables Chicago Grease Help The Yellow Submarine The Phantom of the Opera Meet me in St. Louis Rent Mary Poppins Scott Pilgrim vs the World Anchors Aweigh Labyrinth An American in Paris Across the Universe The Rocky Horror Picture Show The Muppets Pitch Perfect On the Town Tangled Walk the Line La La Land The Wizard of Oz Sweeney Todd The Sound of Music Cry-Baby Oklahoma! Robin Hood: Men in Tights West Side Story  Hairspray My Fair Lady What are some of your favorite self care remedies for when the distance gets you down? Happy creating, and

Dino - November Mini Care Package As an in between of Halloween and Christmas, I really couldn't help but send a little something non holiday themed. Don't get me wrong, I love holidays and holiday themed care packages, but I wanted to make something that would stand out in the midst of holiday greetings.   For the inside of the box, I cut a piece of printer paper down to 5 1/4 inches by 8 1/2 inches.  I decorated it with a pun, as hubby loves puns, and an adorable pink dino from the stamp set.  I finished it all off by adding the cloud stamp in light blue.   For the out side of the box, I added a few of the dino stickers and then covered them with clear packing tape.    I can't seem to send anything without sending cards.    The cards I included were dino themed and you can check them out here. Inside, I wrapped everything with medium pink tissue paper.  For this mini box, I decided to go with healt

Card Making: Dino November  I have loved Dino November since I found out that it was a thing.  They're so cute and have been tempting me to buy dinosaur toys for years now.  In that spirit I found a stamp set from My Favorite Things.  It was on sale this summer, so I couldn't help myself.  I've been eyeing different dino stamps for a while, but these dinos just stole my heart. The envelopes are pre made and the cards measure 3 3/4 inches by 5 1/4 inches. For all of these cards, I went a little crazy with the envelopes.  I used stamps and dino stickers to decorate both sides.  I sent these off to hubby in a small care package, which is why I decorated the fronts of the envelopes so much. For the red card, I tried to mimic fossils because of the sentiment. I paper pieced the dinos and leaves, coloring them with Prisma colored pencils. The yellow card, is the only card that does not feature dinos.  I meant for it originally to, but the mount