Hello everyone! My name is Ellie and I am so excited to be hosting the first segment of...Ellie's Art Corner!

A big decision when making your artwork is deciding what paper to use. So which is best? Well, in general...

However, there are exceptions! Maybe you would like more texture with a colored pencil drawing - go for it! Or there's also hot-press watercolor paper, which is made for wet mediums, but is also super smooth.

...hot-press watercolor paper confuses me. So with exceptions like these, how do you know for sure?

This is the best way to determine if it's the paper for your project! So get out your swatches and all of the mediums you want to try out, turn on some music, and make a day of it! Pick what suits YOUR artwork the best!

For example, one of my favorite mediums to do watercolor on is bristol paper, which is very smooth. Is it marketed to use for watercolor?

Absolutely not! But I love the look of it!

So give your different papers a try - you may be surprised (or horrified) by the results!

That's all for now! Have fun making beautiful art!

​-Ellie 

Hello!! I am really excited to announce that I am doing an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) on the Cozy Fantasy Reddit this Friday from 3-5pm MST to celebrate the release of the second book in my PearlHeart series, The Constellation Caves! I really appreciate the moderators for organizing the event and am really looking forward to it.
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If you have a Reddit account, you can hop on and ask questions about the books, writing, or my cat Midna (although I cannot guarantee a response from the Lady). The post will be up on Friday morning before the event officially goes live, so you can also leave questions in advance. And if you enjoy more lighthearted fantasy, the subreddit is a great place to find other books or ask for recommendations!

You can find out more information here!

EDIT: The event is now over! You can see the questions and answers here!

Stand Up! by Tori Sharp: Modern-day story following two best friends in middle school who decide to start a podcast. One of my absolute favorite graphic novels with extremely positive representations of characters with ADHD and autism written/drawn by an author who is both. (I think I sequel is coming out soon-ish too and I am so excited!!)

Fresh Start by Gale Galligan: Modern-day story following a family who moves frequently due to the father being a diplomat. I loved the different perspectives between the siblings on constant moves in their life, how the main character grew with the new friend group, and the look at American-Thai culture.

We Could be Magic by Marissa Meyer and Joelle Murray (Illustrator): Modern-day story set during the main character's Summer internship in a character theme park. I had no idea what direction it was going to go when I started and I was wonderfully surprised by the sweet story with an honest critique of the 'princess' body type. I was little teary (in a very good way!) about the ending.

Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan Vol. 1 by Sasami Nitori: Absolutely adorable 4-panel comics with a a 'gloomy' main character and his wholesome relationship with a cat he adopts (that also has some amazing abilities). It is just so optimistic and the characters are so kind. I'm currently reading the later volumes right now and it always brightens my mood.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang: Immensely expressive story focused on the relationship between two characters as they grow individually. I can't believe I hadn't read this before. It's fantastic, amazing, and I was paging through it after I finished just to see some parts again.

Kindred Dragons by Sarah Mensinga: Touching fantasy where certain girls can be chosen to have dragon eggs that they raise, focused on one girl who does not but wishes to. It is a ride from start to finish and one of the few that I read in one sitting. My brother gave this to me after he also read it in one sitting and we got to commiserate over the parts we both cried over (thanks bro).

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen: Modern-day story framed with a fairytale that deals with grief. I want to live in this world. It is just so warm and I related so much with the main character, I have said these exact things and I keep thinking about this book. (I got to give this one to my brother and we got to commiserate some more!) **I will say my only misgiving is the lack of a 'stranger-danger' warning due to the main character interacting anonymously with someone online - it turns out fine (they actually know each other) and this is made clear to the reader very early on, but something to keep in mind if giving this to younger folks!**

Looking back, it was a lot of modern-day stories, but I wouldn't say any of them were like each other! I'll have the next recommendations from what I read in March up a bit sooner in April!

Take care!

​-Keilani 

Novels

The Kamogawa Food Detectives Series by Hisashi Kashiwai: Modern-day short mysteries without serious crimes with a cozy food back-drop. Lovely descriptions of food.

Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono: Light wholesome fantasy with very low stakes and kind characters throughout.

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe: Children's fantasy in a wonderful setting with a main character that I rooted for all the way to the end. 

Graphic Novels

Mapmakers Series by Cameron Chittock and Amanda Castillo: Fantasy with a unique magic system, wonderful characters, and traveling to different areas.  

Pepper Page Saves the Universe! by Landry Q. Walker and Eric Jones: Unique sci-fi plot with a focus on friendship and finding one's place in the world with a very likeable protagonist.

With a Cat and a Dog Every Day is Fun (Series) by Hidekichi Matsumoto: Cute slice-of-life comics with adorable art and relatable situations.

Lunar Boy by Jacinta Wibowo and Jessica Wibowo: Very thoughtful sci-fi in a beautiful setting focusing on interpersonal relationships.

Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer: The most accurate portrayal of a modern-day music camp I have read so far, showing the struggles young musicians have with a focus on burn-out and perfectionism.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz: Fast-paced fantasy romance with very distinct characters and developed side characters.

Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen: Absolutely adorable, kind characters, wonderful humor, and excellent pace with a lot of variety.

Have you read any of these and if so, what did you think? Feel free to comment below any that you would recommend as well!

Hello everyone! You might remember me from a few of Belle's writing blogs, but today I am here to teach you how to do...a Fall pumpkin! Out of clay! (yay) For this craft, you'll need clay, a toothpick, a small paintbrush, paint, and optional glaze to finish them off!

Then we'll use the toothpick to make the grooves by rolling it against clay, working from top to bottom. You can make as many or few grooves as you would like! You can also add leaves or vines at this step, but for now, I'm keeping it simple!

Next, we'll use the end of the small paintbrush to make a small dip for the stem of the pumpkin right...here!

We'll get another smaller piece of clay for the stem and push it into the dip we just made.

Now, the last step before baking is to poke a small hole in the bottom - that way, you can hold up your finished pumpkin on a toothpick while you paint. It makes it so much easier!!

After they're baked, painted, and glazed (if you want), they're finished! You can have them as little decorations around the house or make them into earrings, too (if you do this, make sure to poke all the way through the pumpkin so that you can string jewelry wire through it!)

That's all for now! I hope that you enjoy making many happy Fall pumpkins this season!

Hello everyone! I'm Roy and you may recall me from Belle's posts about writing. I have been recently informed that I have been given permission to have my own series of posts about...music! For that reason, I will be handling this question - do you need to warm-up?

The short answer is - ​

Yes. Yes always.
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Warming up before playing your instrument is like stretching before you run - small or big, you're still using muscles and doing so will prevent injury! Now as far as how to warm up, I always suggest doing - 

This can mean a variety of things depending on your instrument, but here are a few examples!

That way, the rest of your practice can be focused on learning notes and rhythms as well as deeper elements like musicality!

That's all for now! I look forward to handling more musical questions - happy practicing!

It's been a while since my last post! This shark has been working! Another friend of mine helped with this tip - she's the most patient unicorn I know! She would also like to apologize for her horn covering up the 'a' between 'at' and 'later!' 

Why a post on sequels? Because I'm currently writing one! 

You never know where they might take you!