Workspace Wednesday :: 16

I've been in a "pen" mood... 

I am really enjoying my new Passion Planner so far, but it has also got me on a "pen" kick lately. I've been on a quest to find pens that are inky, but doesn't bleed through the paper. I've also been eyeing brush pens for awhile now too. I don't really need more pens, but maybe I do... :)

So far, I've found that Le Pens and Zig Markers do NOT bleed through the paper in a Passion Planner. 

I had the chance to visit my favorite scrapbook store in San Diego, Paper Tales, over President's Day weekend and I basically bought one of each kind of Zig marker I could find. A calligraphy one, a brown "writer" one (because I only have 1 other brown marker), a grey brushable, and three Clean Color brush pens. 

Initial thoughts:

• I thought I would like the calligraphy one more, but the nib is pretty hard so you really have to press to get it inky and dark on the page. 

• The brushable is nice for chunky writing and doesn't seem to pick up the colors around it as much as I thought it would. (This is a good thing for me because I don't want it to blend with my black outlines.) 

• The brush pens are really nice. They actually write like and act like a brush. You can go very fine or thick. I need a little practice with them, but I think I might like these for calligraphy writing. 

I'm not sure if the brush pens are meant to be more for COLORING because it seems a little tricky to WRITE with them, but maybe i just need practice. 

Anyone else eyeing the new brush pens from Tombow? It seems to be all over IG lately since CHA. 

Lastly, I also purchased a few Memento inks for my planner stamps. More things to be obsessed about! Agh! :)

If you would like to participate in the Workspace Wednesday posts, 

follow the #workspacewednesday hashtag on Instagram. 

Marcy Penner is also leading a group of crafty WW posts at #hfworkspacewednesday.

You can follow me on Instagram at @jasminemarie. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? :: February 23, 2015

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

Abandoned this week: 

This was due at the library even after I've renewed it twice and I just couldn't finish it. I have a really hard time abandoning books that I've started, especially once I'm over a hundred pages into it, but my reading time is so limited. I really couldn't care for the wife and the son was just so ANNOYING! 

Anyone else have a hard time abandoning books? 

Starting this week:

I have waited over a month to read this and it's finally here! I read the excerpt (first 80 pages) via Epic Reads and couldn't put it down even though it was midnight. I finished it in one sitting, so I am excited to finally get some time this week to read this. 

Super stoked to see that it debuted as #1 on the New York Times Bestseller's List too! 

What are you reading this week? 

Workspace Wednesday :: 15 :: Passion Planner

More thoughts on the Passion Planner this week:

I think the best thing about the Passion Planner is that it's got me thinking about some of my goals and dreams. There are things that you'll catch me saying, "Oh, I'll do that in my next life," or "If I were to do it again, I would be a ______." I'm often reminded that I still have plenty of time in this current life to do those things. 

For example, for a large part of my life, I've daydreamed about being a children's book illustrator. Who knows, maybe if I put some things into action, it won't just be a dream. I think this is the reason why I wanted to try the Passion Planner out: to work on things that I am passionate about. Set some goals and work towards them. Things that seem impossible to me don't have to be if I make small steps in the right direction, right? 

So here's to working on making the impossible, possible. The only thing stopping me is me and my insecurities. Plus, I won't know unless I try. Can't fail if I don't try. 

Got a little creative with my planner this week. Trying out different pens to see what bleeds and what doesn't. The ZIG markers seem to hold up well and not seep through the paper. Also, incorporating some of my (zillion) Project Life cards from the Honey edition.

In other news, I am ready for the sun to be out longer. Natural light is hard to get when the sun sets so early. #spoiledSoCalGirl ;) 

If you would like to participate in the Workspace Wednesday posts, 

follow the #workspacewednesday hashtag on Instagram. 

Marcy Penner is also leading a group of crafty WW posts at #hfworkspacewednesday.

You can follow me on Instagram at @jasminemarie. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? :: February 9, 2015

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

Continuing to read this week: 

I'm about a quarter into this and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm not LOVING it, but I like that it flashes back and forth between the present and the past. You get to see how they fell in and out of love throughout their relationship. I wasn't feeling well for most of the week, so I didn't get as far into it as I would have liked.

Starting this week:

I am on a Kazu Kibushi kick and decided to reread the first Amulet book and continue the series. Especially since I bought a set with my bonus points at Scholastic Book Club to add to my graphic novel collection in my classroom library. 

My book club and I are reading AIl the Light You Cannot See this month and I hoping to get started this week. 

I surprisingly don't usually read books when they are really popular. I'm usually late to the party when it comes to popular, bestselling books. (On the plus side, this means that I get to read the whole series at once instead of waiting for it.) This one seems to be all over the place right now, so I actually feel a little special reading a book that everyone else is all into right now too. 

What are you reading this week? 

ALA Awards 2015

The ALA Awards were announced on Monday! I love finding out who won which awards and guessing who I think might win. (I'm always wrong, by the way.) One of these years, I'd like to hold a Mock Newbery or Mock Caldecott with my students. I've been wanting to do that for awhile now, just got to get more organized and collect more books beforehand.

2015 Newbery Award Winner 

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

I was surprised by this choice, frankly because this is the first time I've ever heard of this title before. Anyone else with me on this? Maybe because the cover doesn't really stand out to me (I remember books by their covers). It sounds interesting though and I'm curious to read it to find out what made it "Newbery-worthy." 

2015 Newbery Honor Books

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

This is one of the books that I thought would win the Newbery because of all the buzz around it, especially ever since the We Need Diverse Books campaign started last May. Definitely excited to read it sometime this year. 

El Deafo by Cece Bell

I read this while hanging out with the girls at the bookstore one day and it was a delightful graphic novel. I just purchased a copy for my classroom library in my January book order, so I'm sure it'll be flying off my shelves soon. 

2015 Caldecott Winner

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

The colors and illustrations in this book are just so right and beautiful. Loved the story too. Glad that it won the Caldecott. It was very deserving. 

2015 Caldecott Honor Books

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo

This is one of my favorite pictures of the year. It was a delightful story and the illustrations were rich and colorful, just like what you'd expect fall to be like in New York City. 

Sam & David Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

Jon Klassen has quickly become one of my favorite illustrators. His illustrations are straightforward, but quirky and cute at the same time. I loved this picture book and found it very entertaining, even for adults. 

This list is not of all the winners, but just the ones that stood out to me because I've either read them or they are on my to-read list. To read to full list of winner, check out the official ALA Awards page here.

What are your thoughts on the winners this year? 

Workspace Wednesday :: 14 :: Passion Planner

My Passion Planner FINALLY arrived last Friday and I am so excited to be able to put it to work. I was checking my mailbox everyday for it three weeks and I was starting to think it was never going to get here.

I put my colored markers and stamps from Studio Calico's Agenda class (designed by Marcy Penner of HelloForever) to use to fill out my pages for last week. 

Thoughts on the Passion Planner so far:

• I would have loved the larger version because I used it with the pdf for the past few months, but my purse is heavy enough as it is. I got the smaller one to make it more portable and I'm glad I did because I know I'll use it more if I carry it with me. This is a reason why I couldn't get myself to spend the $$$ on a Filofax. Too bulky for my purse. And I have a HEAVY purse already because God knows, I find reasons to carry just about everything with me all the time.

• The smaller size is really small. If you don't mind writing small, then it'll be fine for you, but I can see it being TOO small for some people.
• It works out for me that the space is limited because then I don't feel the pressure to have to fill up every blank space with something like I would on a larger canvas.

• I haven't made time to fill in the extras yet (road maps, goals and reflections), but I plan on getting to it at some point. It was one of the reasons why I wanted a Passion Planner in the first place. 

• I've been a little spoiled by my love of Moleskine journals and the beautiful leather covers, so the cover on the PP doesn't feel as nice to me. My order had three small ones crammed into an envelope so the elastic left an imprint on the cover. Other than that, it's pliable enough to squeeze in my Maika Goods bag and I think it'll hold up fine. 

• The paper quality is pretty good in the Passion Planner and holds up to some of my inkier pens without bleeding. I highly recommend using Le Pens because they usually don't bleed through paper, even thinner sheets of paper. 

If you would like to participate in the Workspace Wednesday posts, 

follow the #workspacewednesday hashtag on Instagram. 

Marcy Penner is also leading a group of crafty WW posts at #hfworkspacewednesday.

You can follow me on Instagram at @jasminemarie. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? :: February 2, 2015

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers have adapted it to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

Finished recently:

I've been in a reading frenzy lately. I'm happy to say that I've been doing a pretty decent job of unplugging from the TV and my phone before bed. I am tackling books left and right and it feels really, really GOOD. 

For the National Readathon Day, I read a bunch of graphic novels that I had checked out from the library. I am definitely continuing to ride the my graphic novel kick that I've been on. They are nice little stories to read in between my longer books. 

I also finally finished My True Love Gave to Me. I savored it, one morsel (story) at a time and LOVED it. Definitely one of my favorite holiday reads. 

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

This week, I'm currently reading:

One Day by David Nicholls is one of my favorite love stories of all time. I still despise the ending, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I saw that he had a new book coming out in the fall, I snatched it up at the library, but haven't had time to start it. I'm about 10% in and I'm enjoying it so far. Hopefully, it won't be an unhappy ending. I'm in the mood for happy endings right now. 

What are you reading this week?