Rosette Tree

In this post, I talked about my Rosette Pomeander and how much I loved it. Well, after cleaning up all of the holiday-ness around the house, I decided to use Betz White's rosettes for another project - two Rosette Trees for my dining room table.

I started out with five colors of felt. I only used four colors for the pomeander. Really, the more colors you have, the better the final project will look. It bugged me a little when two rosettes of the same color were too close together. For the two trees, I used two sheets of felt in each color, and cut out ten two-inch circles from each sheet.

Spiral cuts!

And the rosette... easy peasy!

Fabric glue and a pretty pin in the middle...

Going up the tree...

Voila! Two perfect Rosette Trees.

Items purchased:
2 sheets of five colors of felt (Michael's and JoAnn's. Michael's had the ruby, but did not have any of the pinks. JoAnn's had all of the pinks but not the ruby. Go figure.)
Package of 2 styrofoam trees (JoAnn's)

Items owned:
Fabric glue, pins, scissors. The pins and glue were left over from the pomeander.

Hiatus

Just in case you were wondering, I'm still here! We welcomed a new addition into our family on 12/29, a 8lb, 7oz baby girl. I haven't had much time for crafting lately, although I am experiencing some knitting ADD. I've got 3 projects cast on right now, and don't see an end in sight for any one of them.
Stay tuned!

Winter Book Challenge Update #3

As you all know, I'm participating in the Winter Book Challenge. Every Monday, we report what we've read the past week and how many points we now have. I'm keeping a running spreadsheet here as well. New entries are in red.

5 points
Read a book while drinking something warm - Masquerade (Melissa de la Cruz)
Book I bought on sale - Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)
Library book - Revelations (Melissa de la Cruz)

10 points
Book set somewhere warm - The Sky is Everywhere (Jandy Nelson)
Book by an author I've never read before - Blue Bloods (Melissa de la Cruz)

15 points
2010 Bestseller - Medium Raw (Anthony Bourdain)
Book you first heard about on the Nest Book Club - Ella Minnow Pea (Mark Dunn)

25 points


Running Total: 65/425 points

2010 Wrap-Up

I read a lot of books in 2010, and kept track of them using Goodreads. I didn't write a review for every book, but I did give each one a rating - between 1 and 5 stars. To further confuse things, my ratings are biased and unprofessional. After all, I'm an amateur reader who reads for pleasure. The bias part comes into play when I have expectations. I expect certain beloved authors books to be better, and judge them more harshly when they fall short. I expect to enjoy certain genres more than others, so when I really adore a chick lit book, I'm pretty shocked and rate it highly. I rate non-fiction not only by how much I learned about the topic, but also by how the author kept me interested in the subject.


Some of these books were Advanced Readers Copies. All ARCs I received as part of a giveaway on another blog, as part of an 'ARC Tour' organized by another blog or a Goodreads ARC winner, or that I won myself on Goodreads. None of these books were recieved from publishers or compensation for any ratings/reviews were received.


So here goes, listed arbitrarily by rating.


5 Star Books read in 2010:

1. Mothers and Other Liars by Amy Bourret - general fiction
2. Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn - young adult
3. The Girl who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson - mystery
4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - science fiction and fantasy
5. Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War by Evan Wright - nonfiction
6. The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer - thriller
7. Dracula by Brahm Stoker - classic
8. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - thriller
9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - young adult
10. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - young adult
11. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - young adult
12. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - young adult
13. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - general fiction
14. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain - memoir
15. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - dystopian
16. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami - young adult
17. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - general fiction
18. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green - young adult
19. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - general fiction
20. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - general fiction
21. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - young adult
22. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach - nonfiction
23. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - young adult
24. Stardust by Neil Gaiman - science fiction and fantasy


4 Star Books read in 2010:
25. The Passage by Justin Cronin - dystopian
26. Marked by P.C. Cast - young adult
27. Betrayed by P.C. Cast - young adult
28. Hunted by P.C. Cast - young adult
29. Bag of Bones by Stephen King - horror
30. The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain - memoir
31. The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell - general fiction
32. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon - romance
33. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - young adult
34. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - young adult
35. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare - young adult
36. Four Past Midnight by Stephen King - horror
37. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - young adult
38. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - young adult
39. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - classic
40. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - thriller
41. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - young adult
42. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia - young adult
43. Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier - historical fiction
44. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - classic
45. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - children's
46. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding - chick lit
47. One For the Money by Janet Evanovich - mystery
48. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordian - children's
49. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordian - children's
50. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordian - children's
51. The Girl who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen - general fiction
52. Watchmen by Alan Moore - graphic novel
53. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - historical fiction
54. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - young adult
55. Frostbite by Richelle Mead - young adult
56. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead - young adult
57. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead - young adult
58. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - young adult
59. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - classic
60. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - historical fiction
61. The Giver by Lois Lowry - dystopian
62. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty - young adult
63. Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty - young adult
64. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - general fiction
65. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson - thriller
66. Uglies by Scott Westerfield - young adult
67. Pretties by Scott Westerfield - young adult
68. Specials by Scott Weterfield - young adult
69. Extras by Scott Westerfield - young adult
70. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - horror
71. It by Stephen King - horror


3 Star Books read in 2010:
72. Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - young adult
73. Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - young adult
74. Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast - young adult
75. Invisible Energy by David Goldstein - nonfiction
76. Lament by Maggie Stiefvater - young adult
77. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich - mystery
78. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich - mystery
79. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich - mystery
80. Lisey's Story by Stephen King - horror
81. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer - young adult
82. Last Time Out: Big League Farewells of Baseball's Greatest by John Nogowski - nonfiction
83. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters - G&L fiction
84. Persuasion by Jane Austen - classic
85. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - general fiction
86. Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte - nonfiction
87. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer - nonfiction
88. Life of Pi by Yann Martel - general fiction
89. Rides a Hero by Heather Graham Pozzessere - romance
90. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - classic
91. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - poetry
92. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordian - children's
93. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordian - children's
94. Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty - young adult
95. The Shack by William P. Young - religious fiction
96. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice - horror
97. Truly Madly Yours by Rachel Gibson - romance
98. Hunter Fear by Kay Hooper - mystery
99. Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster - memoir
100. The Science of Fear by Dan Gardner - nonfiction
101. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy by Robert Dallek - nonfiction

2 Star Books Read in 2010:
102. Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen - young adult
103. The Bread of Angels by Stephanie Saldana - memoir
104. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson - memoir
105. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - classic
106. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger - nonfiction
107. Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty - young adult
108. The City and The City by China Mieville - thriller
109. In the Woods by Tana French - thriller

Genre Breakdown:
General Fiction = 10/109 = 9%
Young Adult = 38/109 = 35%
Mystery = 6/109 = 6%
Science Fiction and Fantasy = 2/109 = 2%
Nonfiction = 9/109 = 8%
Thriller = 6/109 = 6%
Classic = 7/109 = 6%
Memoir = 5/109 = 5%
Dystopian = 3/109 = 3%
Religious Fiction = 1/109 = 1%
Horror = 6/109 = 6%
Poetry = 1/109 = 1%
Romance = 3/109 = 3%
Graphic Novel = 1-109 = 1%
Historical Fiction = 3/109 = 3%
Children's = 6/109 = 6%
G&L Fiction = 1/109 = 1%
Chick Lit = 1/109 = 1%

And now on to the next challenges!
I'll be taking part in the Winter Book Challenge through my online book club.

I've also set a new goal for 2011, hope I can keep up!