Kristin Victoria Creates

Deployment Distractions: Reading List, Part Two I think we can all agree that books are a great way to escape from life for a little while.  In the first part of this two-parter, I went through a list of large books to really sink into to distract myself.  This list is of shorter, more light hearted reads that are equally wonderful in distracting the brain while the service member is away. Bossypants by Tina Fey Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by: Jenny Lawson Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet by: Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun Eve: The Awakening by: Jenna Moreci Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by: J. K. Rowling Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by: Mindy Kaling Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem and Other Things That Happened by: Allie Brosh Norse Myth

Day 12: Day 13: Day 14: Day 15: Day 16: Day 17: Day 18: Happy creating, and happy mental health! 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

2018 TBR and Reading Goals 2017's tbr had 34 books.  While I did read a lot of books last year, very few where on my tbr.  I know this is a habit I have of making a some what large tbr and then basically ignoring it.  Luckily, I still get a decent amount of reading done regardless. With that in mind, I'm going to try and change things up this time.  I'm going to change my goodreads reading challenge from 30 to 40.  For my tbr, I'm going to max it out at 15, kind of.  I'm only going to name 15 books that I want to read. I do have a rather large stack near the coffee table that is my ever shifting tbr.  I also have minor goals that I will list out here as well. It's taken me some time to consider which books might actually be in my 2018's read list and not just in my 2018's tbr list.  So, without further ado, here is my 2018 tbr: The Lay of Aotrou & Itroun by J.R.R. Tolkien The Poetic Edda by unknown translated by Carolyne L

Day 5: Day 6: Day 7: Day 8: Day 9: Day 10: Day 11: Happy creating, and happy mental health! 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: A Crafting Year in Review - Sewing & Quilting - - Two Floor Cushions Upcycled from Ikea twin sheets, hubby and I use these when we get take out and eat at the coffee table.  I stylized them after some Japanese floor cushions that my mom got when she was living in Japan. - Bed Skirt, Queen Sized Upcycled from a navy twin top sheet from college that snuck into our linens some how.  We don't have a bed set or head board for the bed, so having a simple (and cheap) bed skirt hides the metal base wonderfully. - Baby T-shirt Quilt I made this for one of the ladies that hubby worked with this last year.  It was such a challenge with loads of fussy cutting, but it's so cute and fulfilling in finishing it. It's about the size of a queen blanket, with six columns and eight rows. The quilting is done in a white thread, binding is done with a solid navy, and the back is a solid red. - Giraffe Mini Quilt I worked on this piece in 2016

Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4: Happy creating, and happy mental health! 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

For many reasons I'd like to be more positive.  I know this change will be good for my mental health, my marriage, my husband's mental health, and my community. I think we all need a little more positivity in our lives, so I've decided to challenge myself to create something with a positive phrase everyday for 50 days.  I'm going to be posting them daily on twitter, and every Saturday here. I plan on completing this challenge through card making, art journaling, sketch book entries, and whatever else tickles my fancy. Feel free to join me in this challenge in whatever way works for you! Happy creating, and happy mental health! 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

Top Reads of 2017 Similar to 2016, 2017 has been a year unlike any other. I'm sure this will be the trend, but I'm hoping for only good things to make 2018 stand out.  I read countless articles, magazines, short stories, and 55 books. Of all the readings I took in this year, here are my favorite books.  I've included a mini review, that are mostly spoiler free, as well as a link to Goodreads.com. Enjoy! Blood of Victory by Alan Furst The first book I finished in 2017 and I already want to reread it.  It was dark, and gritty, and just delightful. I loved the locations described in this book and now I really want to go there even more. As usual, I fell in love with the main character and couldn't put the book down.  The Art of Asking;  or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help  by Amanda Palmer I initially picked this book up after hearing about it on Booktube. And I really don't like asking for help, I basically