DIY Project For My Graduation Party! - The Book Roses

I haven't ever liked fresh cut flowers. Somehow I always manage kill them, although they should be easy to keep alive. Maybe they just don't like me.

My graduation day is approaching fast and it's almost a must to have flowers on the buffet table. I had to figure out a way around this etiquette rule.

Then in the middle of the night my friend tells me that she has seen some awesome roses made out of book pages. After an intense Pinterest session and brainstorming, we decided to use Melinda's instructions.

Thus began a night of cursing, cutting, and figuring out how to make them look like a flowers, not just a mangled pile of paper.

We didn't measure the squares. Just ripping a page out of a book and then folding it half from the top and cutting the extra slip from the bottom off.

We had a first version of the rose, but something was wrong. There weren't any pretty petals, they were all straight and pointy. At this moment we realised, that we were meant to curl the outer edges of the petals. Between the fingers was a bit hard and slow. So taking a narrow knitting needle and rolling around it made the whole process a lot quicker.

The same knitting needle technique we used when rolling the stems for the roses.

Now to the gluing part. It amazed both of how much glue actually goes into one rose.

Parts ten through 15 show the layers of the rose. You're supposed to glue only the edges of the petals together in ten, eleven, and twelve. With thirteen through fifteen you're supposed to glue two petals on top of each other.

The rest is easy. You build the rose from inside out. We glued the first layer (16) of every rose first and then let them dry. It made the rest easier since the base is already dry and unmoving, giving a sort of a stopper for all the other layers.

My best advice is to use a lot of glue. And rather let the layers dry in between than using a little less to get them ready faster.

We skipped the last phase altogether, since we wanted the text to show.

Making these was fun at first. But let me warn you, it's not fun after you are on the tenth hour. Your fingers are probably cramping and glued together. In the end, though, it's all worth it. They are so pretty.

The book had about three hundred pages. Every rose takes three pages, so from one book you get hundred roses. We didn't use textless empty pages, since we wanted the text to show. So altogether we got about seventy roses.


The book I used was a paperback version of Kelly Link's Pretty Monsters. The spine was glued, which helped a lot when ripping the pages out.

Review: Alpha Kaden

★★★★★

'' Lock your doors, hold them tight. 

Close your windows, every night. 

Don't go out, in case he's there, always live in total fear. 

Even if it means sacrificing your mate, don't let Alpha Kaden seal your fate.''

 

He steals girls from their beds. No one knows what happens to them, they know one thing though, the identity of the man who takes them. Alpha Kaden, alpha of the vengeance pack. They all fear him, all except a few. Mara is one of those who don't fear him. She has always thought that the rumours and stories concerning alpha Kaden are mostly made up, just to keep people in line. 

Then, she is taken from her bed, and she gets to know what Kaden is like first hand.

Review: Satan's Son

'' '' Would it kill you to not be sarcastic?'' he snapped with an annoyed expression.''

★★★☆☆

Addison wanted her life to be worry free. Living in the present, firing her snarky comments. Then in a blink of an eye she finds herself not in her world but in Hell.

Ethan has been protecting Addison since she was a little girl. Being the son of the Devil himself, he has been around Addison without her knowing.

Then the unexpected happens: Ethan finds Addison in hell standing in line for her verdict. And from there begins a journey neither of them could predict.

Review: Rise: How A House Built A Family

'' A lake of coffee couldn't compete against the effects of the sleep deprivation I'd been facing for weeks.''

 

★★★★☆

I never pegged myself as the one to read memoirs or biographies or anything akin to them. So turning the first page was a feat for me. I have to say I'm more than positively surprised how Rise turned out. Not that I find Cara's story a positive one, but simply incredibly laid out on paper.

Alternating between rises and falls, the story flows between the present and past, revealing reasons behind their behaviours in the present. I found the order sometimes a bit confusing, since the scenes in the past, the Falls, were not always in chronological order. In the end it didn't matter.

Review: Everlasting

★★★★☆

'' ''You want to be a Watchman, well, here it is. This job is dangerous. It's unpredictable. You either have the gall to get through it, or you cower and find a life in Ethyreal City. Which will it be? '' ''

I bought The Night Watchmen series a while ago and been wanting to read them ever since, but for some reason haven't. So two days ago I picked Everlasting up and felt it was time.

The main character, Faye Middleton, thought her whole life that she was a Defect in a world where you can have only onw of two paths: You are either a Hunter or a Witch. Being neither means bye-bye to the life as you know it. Within the Coven, when coming of age, you are to go through a Culling ceremony, in which you will find who you are and who your partner will be. Your partner will always be of the opposite sex and all pairs are Hunter-Witch. And that's where the story begins.

Vacationing must end now! - I'm back.

The new bookshelves! *Sighs of happiness*

Some of you might have noticed that my last post was on March 10th. Such a long time ago, but worry not. I'm back.


To give you the insight of what happened I'll tell you a story.

'' Once upon a time, not so long ago, on an evening in February, there lived two tired over-achiever sisters. They did everything they could, as best as they could and as fast as they could. They were known, they were loved and they were hated. 
On returning home after an stressful day, they noticed their bathroom had started to flood. They water rose and rose. Nothing was stopping it. Not even the sisters.
Their saviour was not a prince on a white stallion, but a plumber in a run-down car. He did everything he could, but the flood won. 
The first rays of sunlight had started to peek from behind the horizon, and the sisters had to flee the flood. 
And so they left. For two months they endured another apartment with its strange inhabitants. 
When the flood stopped, the flooring renewed, and the kitchen reinstalled, the sisters were finally able to return home. ''

And here we are! Finally home. I could've updated while away, but nothing kills your mood better than not sleeping because of your neighbours are night owls and then napping throughout the day.

In my new year's resolution -post, I remember writing  '' the toughest of us might just make it through March'', and apparently I was right. Even though I thought I would've lasted forever. Well, nothing is permanent, not even diamonds. Because of my oh-so-dramatic failure, I've decided to loosen up a bit. One post a week, at least, which will either be a review or something else. We'll see when we'll get there.

How I Got Into Reading

Some of us have been reading all of our lives. Some of us started a little later. And some of us are just starting. But the most important thing is that all of us started. We stepped inside the covers of a book, into the world of endless possibilities.

My story started years ago with a book that may sound like a cliché:  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I was around seven years old and in first grade. Everyone else was reading picture books or books with the words chopped into syllables. But me? I read Harry's story.

Review: More Than A Slave

★☆☆☆☆

 Potential, so much of it. Unfortunately most of it went unnoticed because of the technical problems. I'm going to cut the chase and go straight to business.

I'm not totally against romanticising slavery, it can be done tastefully, in a Cinderella-ish way, or not-so-tastefully. More Than A Slave didn't go too much into the untasteful side of it and some parts could've been written in a better way. But the romanticising of slavery was not what bothered me the most here.

Problem Number 1: What big secret that no one would want to know?
I didn't find it. I have a few strong candidates for it, but none of them are clear and perfectly fitting to the role. And if the 'big revealing' was the one I am thinking, then why it was hyped so much beforehand.

# The Sick Book

If you're wondering why there was no review on Monday, the reason is a huge scheduling problem. I was supposed to review Cara Brookins' Rise, but I had to prioritise Anaelle Gadeyne's More Than A Slave because of it's launch date on Wednesday. In the end, Gadayne's book's launch date got pushed back to next Wednesday (8.3.) so, this week just got skipped.

We've all been there. Burrowed between blankets, cold sweat on our foreheads and wishing it to be over. And no, we're not talking about the finals. But the sickness.

When sick most of us feel clammy and tired and what not, but there are advantages to being sick. A free day and an opportunity to lounge and read all day. So, even if being sick sucks think books.

I hardly ever get sick but when I do, I'm on the verge of crossing over to death. That happens maybe every other year. I do get a light snuffle every fall or a headache now and then, but nothing too serious that I need to skip school or workdays. That's why the only way for me to get familiar with sicknesses is doing The Sick Book Tag!

Read everywhere - literally

When your everyday consists of To Go-coffee cups and quick snacks, there simply isn't time to sit down and read. Fret not! There is an easy solution for this problem and nowadays I live by it. Just read. Anywhere. Anytime.

Here's the three step program:

Review: Spectra

             ''  Lord, those who die still live in Your presence, their lives change but do not end.  ''

★★★★★

We see what we want see. But before our eyes lies a city full of paranormal, the city of Nachtwelt. They have their own society and laws. They look like us on the outside, but what's inside matters the most.

Spectra helps people to disappear. Her life seems pretty straightforward for an outsider but when stepping into her shoes, one realises that she is much more than a mere human forger. In fact, she isn't a human. And if not a human, then what?

Review: Wayfarers Highway

★★☆☆☆

'' '' Our tale isn't a happy one. It deals with many things that are powerful and dangerous in our time. Worst of all, it's a story that hasn't ended yet. And much of it is happening because Orson here ruined his entire life.'' ''

When I read those words, I had high hopes that the story would take a turn out to be a great one. I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I was looking for something full of humour and fast paced. Instead with widely descriptive language Wayfarers Highway turned out to be something else entirely.

The story is mostly told from the point of view of the protagonist

# The Ultimate Book Tag

The Ultimate Book Tag. I was a bit afraid to take this on, but here I am, on the verge of diving.

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car? 

No, I tend to zoom into the page so effectively that the outside world simply ceases to exist (on the rare occasion I actually have time to read in the car).

2. Which author's writing style is completely unique to you and why?

Review: Reaper's Claim (Satan's Sons MC #1)

★★★★☆

''Our story was never a love story. It was more of a cocktail of sorrows mixed with the odd good moment. It was short, it was bitter, and it left a permanent scar on my great; not to mention a bad aftertaste.''

 There's something pulling me towards Motorcycle Club books, specially if there's a love story behind it. I haven't read a lot of them, but from those I've read, this was the best.

 Told from the multiple point of views, Reaper's Claim kidnapped me and held me captive until the last page. Being inside the MC's life and ways felt realistic to me, since my knowledge is based only on the books I've read. And I can't complain about the guys, they just seem to be on fire.

How to save a life - I forgot a book inside a bag with a wet towel

There are two things with what books don't mix: Fire and Water. In my case, it was water.I was coming from work and forgot  Furies' Bog inside my bag. No biggie, right? Except if you work as a swimming teacher and your bag is full of wet towels and other equipment.

So if you're wondering why there was no Friday Ramble ON Friday, the reason is that I wanted to wait until Furies' Bog had a chance to recover so I could get the 'After' picture. And since it has been recovering the whole weekend, I obviously could not have read it. Fret not! There's still going to be a review on Wednesday!