#tools review

[plasmacutter89]

[celestial-sphere-press]

Book Decoration: AKA All The Ways I Don't Use a Cricut

(this post is for people who don't want to buy an expensive cutting tool, or for those that do have an expensive cutting tool that would like to mix things up a little)

1. Print That Shit

If you're already printing your own textblocks, an easy step for titles is to print them. Above is a title printed onto an "obi" of decorative paper. I measured out where I wanted things on the finished book and laid it out in Affinity, then printed it on a full sheet & trimmed it down to wrap around the book. A more simple method is to print & glue on the label into a slight indent in the cover (to protect it). A third option is to do the spine in bookcloth, while you print on paper for the cover and then glue that paper onto the boards (this usually looks even better when it is a three-piece bradel bind).

2. Foil Quill / Heat Pens

The heat pen is one of my go-to tools, but it can be a bit touchy about materials. The most popular version is the We R Memory Keepers' Foil Quill (which is one of the most ergonomic), but other pens exist that can get you to a higher heat temp, finer lines, or more consistent foil. For example, I have a pen created by a local Japanese bookbinding studio that fares way better on leathers than the WRMK quill & with a finer tip, but it's hell to control. Best results in general are on paper or smooth bookcloth (starched linen, arrestox, colibri - even duo will work but its less solid). The fuzzier a bookcloth is, the less your foil quill wants to deal with it. This means the heat n bond method of making bookcloth does not play nice with a heat pen usually, but there are two solutions: 1) use this tutorial on paste + acrylic medium coated bookcloth instead that will get you a perfect surface for the heat pen, or 2) use the pen on paper & then glue onto the cloth. I did a video tutorial for both foil quill use and this type of homemade bookcloth for @renegadeguild Binderary in 2023.

You get the most consistent results by tracing through a printed template that is taped in place, as I do in the video above.

3. Paint That Shit

Acrylic paints will do you fine! The above is free-handed with a circle template, because I wanted that vibe. If you need straight lines that won't seep, lay them down with tape first & then paint over it first with a clear Acrylic medium, then your color. Same goes for stencils. Two more examples of painted bookcloth:

4. IT'S GOT LAYERS

By using layers of thinner boards, you can create interesting depths & contrasts on your cover. You can also make cutouts that peep through to the decorative paper behind. The most important part to this technique is the order in which each edge is wrapped. To get a good wrapped inside edge, you will split the turn in into tabs to get them to conform to a curve. You can also layer multiple colors of bookcloth without multiple layers of board, as seen below left, so long as you mind your cut edges for fraying.

5. Inlaid... anything

Mirrors! Marbled paper! I saw someone do a pretty metal bookmark once! The key is creating a little home for it to live in, which is pretty similar to the above layering method. On one layer you cut the shape, & glue that layer onto the bottom solid board before covering. You can do the top layer as an entire 1 mm board (like I did for the mirrors) or a sheet of cardstock, like I would use for inlaid paper.

6. Decorative Paper

Decorative paper is always helpful & adds to the paper hoard... & its effects can be layers with other techniques, as below. Marbles, chiyogami, momi, or prints & maps of all kinds can be great additions. Some papers may need a protective coating (such as wax or a sealer).

7. Stamps (with optional linocut)

While I've not used many more regular rubber stamps, I do know some who have, successfully! And I've used one once or twice with embossing powder (see photo 3 up, the gold anchor on the little pamphlet bind). What also works is to carve your own linocut or stamp, & then use block printing ink to ink it onto your fabric (as i did above). A bit time intensive, but it was nice how easily reproducible it was, and I liked the effect I got for this particular bind.

These methods are not exhaustive, just ones I've used, and there are of course many others. I haven't gone too into detail on any of these for the sake of length (& post photo limits) but feel free to ask about more specifics. Usually I'm using them in combination with other options.

[dammjamboy]

BETTER CALL SAUL!

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Now that I know more about writing, I'm upset at all the writing advice that urged new writers to find the one best way to write stories, when they should be telling us to play with writing techniques like toys.

Don't tell us to avoid certain points of view! Don't box us into the one currently popular prose style! Let us play and see what effects different techniques achieve, so we can learn the best ways to make use of them! Give us a whole ton of possibility instead of one cookie-cutter template!

[marythequeen]

hello guys, i'm here to talk about leah toole's fictional book on mary i of england's. it's called the saddest princess.

at first, i want to clarify that i am highly aware that this book is fictional and not a biography. so you don't need to say "hey but it's fictional"

also, before reading her book, leah toole was someone i really liked. i used to follow her on tiktok and was really excited to read her book. however as you can understand, i am very, very disappointed.

let's start.

just after i had read the prologue i knew that many things would piss me off throughout the book because it was horrendous.

the vilification of queen mary is outdated now and seeing even the people that claim to like her doing this, made me feel awful. according to countless reports, in her death bed, she was peaceful and her conscience clean. the people that she had executed were mainly guilty of treason and many others were executed without her knowledge. i don't think that feeling guilty about this would be her main concern.

but do you know who was rather frightened and surrounded by guilt? her half sister elizabeth.

apart from this, if you ever saw a video of leah toole's, you probably know that she's a great hater of the spanish princess because of its inaccurate portrayals. mind you, the spanish princess tv show never ever claimed that it was historically accurate or something like that but leah toole was MAD (and rightfully so!! i totally agreed with her.) about it anyway. so imagine my disappointment when i started to read her book eagerly then realized that it, in many aspects, was a cheap copy of the tv show.

"there was no lone for this useless baby girl." i mean, really? that scene and almost everything about it was in the spanish princess. AND this whole scene could be proved wrong with countless reports. do i think katharine of aragon suffered from a kind of postpartum depression? i absolutely do. but do i think she HATED her own daughter for years? no because that's not what happened in reality.

again, this is a historical fiction book and it doesn't have to be historically accurate but it's called a hypocrisy when you criticize another material because of the same thing you did yourself.

(ps. katharine of aragon had blue eyes, not dark brown.)

mary's birth scene was AWFUL. henry saying mary is a useless girl was highly inaccurate. writing such things while mary's reputation is STILL unfairly blackened is very unnecessary.

"katherine had tried to love her daughter. but no matter how hard she tried, nothing the girl did held any meaning in katherine's eyes." are you kidding me??

also having mary curse constantly? this woman didn't know the meaning of whore until she was forty something. i can't even imagine her saying words such as bastard, harlot, whore etc. (in the book she called anne boleyn names when in reality she simply called her that woman. which is respectful enough.) especially when she used the word bastard when she was nine? now c'mon! throughout the book, the author is obviously influenced by the spanish princess tv show, even though she'd been very critical about the show. there's a pretty word for situations like this :) and it's called hypocrisy.

and *that* scene with duke philip? even the most passionate mary hater wouldn't write something like this. that was worse than wattpad, worse than ao3. (if you didn't read the book, take a deep breath, she had sex with him. again, did not happen in reality.)

apart from all of this, the only thing that i've liked about this book is clearly seeing that mary wasn't as forgiving as her mother was. because that's what actually happened. long story short, i was eager to read the other books of this series but i don't think that i'll be reading the rest. i am so very disappointed with this. it was such a waste of time. and i have to tell you that i am also incredibly sad because i used to enjoy her content a lot.

there are many more issues about this book but unfortunately i don't have enough time or will to live to write a detailed review but i think this'll do anyway.

lastly, at least there are very few quotes that i've liked and would want you to see.

—chapuys shrugged, "it would seem the king himself is struggling to separate the two religions," he said, "and his newest testaments have received mixed reactions from his council. i believe that in his heart he remains a catholic, but he does not wish to be told by anyone whether it be the pope or his best advisor - what he can and cannot do."

—"of all the women in my father's life, i have survived him the longest. and that alone is a great achievement."

—"i survived my father's tyranny for all my thirty-three years. this edward seymour could not scare me if he turned up at my doorstep dressed up as the devil himself."

[quaranmine]

On Wednesday before I gave my presentation I confessed to a new employee that I was worried it would be too long and she brightly told me her life hack was to just let AI rewrite things for her. She said I should put in all my talking points and ask ChatGPT to give me a five minute exactly presentation. I was like....how is the most polite possible way (since this is a new colleague I shouldn't get off on the wrong foot with) that I can express that I will Not be taking this advice. Ever. I told her that I didn't think we were allowed to use ChatGPT at this job (we most certainly are not, it is a nightmare for any type of protected information) and also that I prefer to write all of my own work. Despite my best efforts the last part of that was still passive aggressive, lol.

Something about being a writer makes it so that it's almost offensive to me for someone to suggest I use AI to do my work instead? Like, the day I reach the point where I let AI write something for me is the day y'all need to be checking me for brain damage because clearly I'm losing it

[banditblvd]

youidraw.com was lowkey a little disappointing

[yusuke-of-valla]

Ok not gonna reblog the post I responded to because like no one needs that in their life whatever.

But what the HELL polygon this is a A TERRIBLE headline

First of all the gayest thing that has happened in the first like based on what I have complete I think is arounf the first third of the game? Is that Aphrodite mentioned setting two women up in a qpr

Because the game ISN'T ABOUT ROMANCE it's about BURNOUT

Like the gods have lost their memories and along with them their passion for doing their jobs and cut themselves off from their friends and while I stand by my point and being like. The most obvious theme in four hours of playing it should. Probably be in the headline? Especially since that makes it sound more interesting

The Greek Gods have depression help them while running around a gorgeous island with a soothing art style and feeding birds and a very chill soundtrack is just. A way better preview/review sell especially if people are only gonna read the headlines WHICH THEY ARE and how I saw this in the first place

[m1sspurrfect]

Skincare step 1: cleansers

Gentle cleansers are like a soothing hug for your skin, delicately washing away the day's impurities without stripping its natural oils. Incorporating a gentle cleanser into your skincare routine is essential for maintaining a healthy and radiant complexion. By choosing a mild formula, you're not only showing your skin some love but also ensuring that it stays balanced and nourished. So, embrace the tender touch of a gentle cleanser and let your skin glow with happiness

I personally have normal-sensitive skin so I choose to use gentle cleansers. I love Korean and Japanese skincare products, and I really enjoy the brand Cosrx I've used them for years and I've never had a bad experience with their products. I'll be doing more posts about in-depth and high-end products you can add to your skincare but for today my suggestions are basic but reliable cleansers

(I will be also doing an overall full-step skincare routine for glass skin as well as individual step-by-step posts soon💋 ) Direct links for all product recommendations are available on my pintrest located on my seriousskincare board

[khajiit-reads]

hi! saw your readings were open so i wanted to ask about a dream I had! my name is merle, i use it/she pronouns. (◍•ᴗ•◍)

ive been wondering lately about a dream i had. it seemed normal at first but then it got kinda scary and these two girls helped me wake up? like, it was a thing, they were trying to get me to wake up. but i couldn't, even when i tried. which is pretty weird for me since im decent at lucid dreaming. it got to a point where they pushed me off a roof, and then i finally woke up. ╥﹏╥

anyways, so my question is: what the hell was that?! （Ω Д Ω）was that supposed to be a sign or something or was my brain just... braining...

i also have one more question (if you don't mind!) since those two girls helped me out of that dream, i wanted to thank them. but the other night, when i attempted to lucid dream, i couldn't find them no matter what i did. any advice? how else can i contact them? im not sure just my tarot or pendulum will work. i just wanna say thank you to them :((

anyways, thanks for reading my super duper long ask! I hope you have a terrific day. I don't have any other preferences regarding the reading, so do as you please. thank you so so much again (♥´∀｀)／

This is a free reading, and thus, a bit smaller than that big dream interpretation I performed. I'm going to answer the questions you asked as such!

I'll be using Thaddeus, the Mind's Eye Tarot by Olivia Rose.

What the heck was that?! | Upright IV of Pentacles, Reversed III of Cups, Reversed King of Wands

IV of Pentacles signifies guardedness - Think a protector trying to keep you safe. It can be pretty blunt and clear - You have someone, or something, trying to protect you and keep you safe at this time. This can possibly indicate in your waking life that you feel you need to be protected from something now. As the reading gets into, said protector may or may not be you directly, that you need to step up and protect yourself.

III of Cups signifies independence, "three's a crowd", alone time. It could be answering another question in that your source of protection is actually yourself, instead of being from an outside source. (I'll get into this a bit deeper with XV the Devil). It could also be saying, essentially, to spend more time alone. Analyze your dream a bit further, were you generally alone, and if/when you were, how did you feel? Did you welcome it, or deny it?

King of Wands signifies impulsiveness, haste, and high expectations. This... is where it gets a bit muddy and I gotta stretch it out a little bit. We can take it as a... if we continue the theory that the girls were just a form of you or a part of you, how much expectation are you putting on yourself to be strong and keep yourself safe when you could be relying on others for their strength too? Are you being impulsive with your life and your situations, are you rushing through projects without spending time sitting on them first? Are you ignoring alone time to fulfill the expectations of those around you?

How can you contact the two girls? | Upright II of Cups, Upright XV the Devil

II of Cups is where that theory from before can either be made or broken. It usually signifies unified love and partnerships, but...

XV the Devil is partially about ourselves, the parts of us that we refuse to acknowledge and see, often due to shame, but I don't think shame is the factor here.

So, running with the same theory, one could say that the reason you can't reach these girls is because these girls are you, just a different part of you that manifested into your dream as a protector. Think like... we all have an inner child, so who is to say we don't have an inner protector as well? Things like that.

You're seeking to thank someone which is where II of Cups comes in, but XV the Devil implies that the person you should be thanking is yourself.

Thank you so much for your patience with me performing this reading.

Reviews are helpful, but optional. You can send them in replies, my ask box, or reblogging this post. Feel free to reblog this post with your thoughts in general, or without a review! You can also reblog my guidelines post if you like. If you feel particularly satisfied with my work, you may leave a tip in my Ko-fi. No pressure for any of this!

Please do not reblog this post if you are not the querent. If you want something to reblog, please reblog my guidelines post. If there's something within the post you want, you may ask, and depending on the request, I might fulfill it! Thank you!

I hope you, and all readers, have a wonderful day!

[ahalliance]

what even is an AI-powered google search . what even is an AI-chat . I’ll kill you

[celestial-sphere-press]

tooling time from last night. got a few more things to do. definitely more confident in blind tooling than in using foil with the tools.

[lavenderjewels]

I love Higuruma. Not just because he’s so willing to help Yuuji and the others (and because he’s hot), but he’s a character with particular traits that I’ve appreciated throughout JJK. The constant adapting and learning that can be seen with Mahito, strengthening his own capabilities that aren’t inherently offensive or overwhelmingly powerful like Tengen with barriers or Nobara being Mahito’s natural enemy, etc. It’s not like there aren’t interesting aspects to characters that are overwhelmingly powerful like Sukuna or Gojo, but it’s gratifying to see characters who aren’t still find ways to make just as much of an impact and work with others to do so. It’s no wonder Sukuna admires him, while giving far less thought to characters that could arguably be considered more powerful or destructive.

[toolities]

The Los Angeles House: Decoration and Design in America's 20th-Century City, 1995

#vintage#vintage interior#1990s#90s#interior design#home decor#decorating#kitchen#dining room#Mediterranean#tile#beamed ceiling#fireplace#Los Angeles#California#Italian#style#home#architecture

[libertea-and-icedcoffee]

Writers,

(that includes fanfic writers, hobbyists)

How do you include dialogue in another language, assuming all the character speak it, but not the reader?

More (not really necessary) details under cut, please answer me with reblogs or comments, you can also reblog even if you don't have an answer, for more visibility.

My story takes place in the french province of Québec ('ello there), but the story is in english, and so are most characters talking. However, i do wanna include french in some dialogue, because every bilingual québecer will easily switch between the two. I don't wanna do it too much, but only to add a touch of quebecism and make people understand that some characters have french as their first language. Some of my characters also have spanish as a first language and don't speak a lot of french

here's two dialogues example i got:

"Damn, she's so pretty." "She's gay." "Ouin, pis?" (Okay, so?)

"Bonjour, Alex. Je m'appelle Charlotte." (Hi Alex. My name is Charlotte) "They- They don't speak much French..." "You said they were bilingual!" "English and Spanish. Sorry."

"¿Qué diablos pasó ahí fuera? ¿Alguien te lastimó?" (What the hell happened to you? Did someone hurt you?) "Sí. Pero estoy bien, Anton. Solo tengo un- una- a concussion. I'll be okay." (Yes. But i'm fine, Anton. It's just a concussion.) "Y qué pasa con esto?" (And what about this?) "Me estas molestando" (You're annoying me.)