Librarians, avert your eyes.

If you're doing Christmas on a shoe-string budget (like me) and are or know book lovers (like me), you must check out Living with Lindsay's fabulous tutorial on making your own book wreath. (That's her wreath above.)

It's raining here, and I'm working blissfully on a super secret project. My kids are away for a few hours, and the coffee is warm.

O, happy, happy Monday!

~Kristin

Plotting (Again)

So much of writing is thinking.

Can I be real for a moment? Plotting hurts my head.

Like a calculus proof.

I'm having nightmares just thinking about it.

(Calculus was not my friend.)

I'm learning plotting is more difficult after turkey and dressing.

To. Die. For. Dressing.

And my sister in law made this fabulous bread pudding with homemade tres leches and caramel sauce...

But, back to plotting. I've snagged a couple of story maps to share.

I do my best thinking with a pencil and some paper. Curled up on the sofa.

What about you? How do you plot?

If you have any tried and true tricks, do spill.

IF-Sneaky

It was quite sneaky of Clare to hide the bookcase's revolving switch with a painting.

Friday Five (and a half)

1. My soon to be 8 year old had an apple pie baking contest at school. We lost.

2. However, he now has mad pie-crimping skills. :)

3. Check out The Mercy House in Kenya when you have a chance.

4. If you need a good caper type read for your middle schooler, may I suggest Edison's Gold by Geoff Watson? Mr. Watson's a screenwriter, as this fast, fun read shows. It was pitched as National Treasure meet Goonies. Love.

5. Is Thanksgiving really next week?

I'm baking my grandmother's cornbread dressing and thankful to God for family and health and 1,000 other gifts like Greek yogurt.

5.5 Oh, and my 4 year old insists his construction paper Pilgrim's hat is a pirate one. Wouldn't that have been interesting? Just think, we could have had Talk Like an Englishman Day.

What are you thankful for?

Dear Anthropologie,

Are you trying to kill me?

Your Savannah Story ornaments are more than my writerly heart can take.

I could die of cuteness right now.

Please stop.

My checkbook can't take it. I've no room on my tree.

Even though it'd be great fun to talk about the elephant in the room. :)

ETA: This Holiday season, Anthropologie customers can donate select storybooks* to Reader to Reader, a nonprofit that stocks the bookshelves of our nation's neediest schools and libraries. That makes this reader/writer happy.

*More books and toys on their website.

Am giddy.

I ordered this book so I'd have some *light* reading over the holidays. All I need now is a cupcake.*

*Red velvet with cream cheese frosting, please.

IF - Burning

Here's my Illustration Friday piece. The topic was burning.

It's cut paper. And a good excuse to use the new lightbox I bought for my birthday in September.

This spotted owl is PiBoIdMo idea #13.

Here's hoping 13 will bring me lots of luck!

So, I'm a sap.

But this made me tear up. In a good way.

I've decided.

I'm changing my initials to J.K.

Picture Book Process

I first heard of illustrator Lynne Chapman via the Picture Book Junkies.

My ears perked up immediately because she works in pastels.

I do too.

Er, did.

Once the kids began scribbling on enhancing my pictures and using the pigmented chalk to paint the floor, I packed up my supplies and began to write.

It's a heckuva lot easier to click SAVE than wash/rinse/put away wet paint from little fingers.

Notice I didn't say the writing itself was any easier.

But pastels are fragile. Even with fixative. Shipping finished work was always an adventure. (I only had one casualty.)

If you're a picture book writer or illustrator, you'll enjoy her video series. She talks about her process, starting with the commission. Her accent is fun, too.

How to illustrate a book - Part 1 from Open College of the Arts on Vimeo.

NYT Best Illustrated Children's Books 2010

The New York Times announced its list of 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010. Click here for the slideshow.

1. HERE COMES THE GARBAGE BARGE!

By Jonah Winter.
Illustrated by Red Nose Studio.
Schwartz & Wade Books.

2. CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS

Written and illustrated by Peter Brown.
Little, Brown & Company.

3. SEASONS

Written and illustrated by Blexbolex.
Enchanted Lion Books.

4. SHADOW

By Suzy Lee.
Chronicle Books.

5.

BUSING BREWSTER

By Richard Michelson.
Illustrated by R. G. Roth.
Alfred A. Knopf.

6. BIG RED LOLLIPOP

By Rukhsana Khan.
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall.
Viking.

7. HENRY IN LOVE

Written and illustrated by Peter McCarty.
Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins Publishers.

8. A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE

By Philip C. Stead.
Illustrated by Erin E. Stead.
A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press.

9. SUBWAY

Written and illustrated by Christoph Niemann.
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers.

10. BINK & GOLLIE

By Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee.
Illustrated by Tony Fucile.
Candlewick Press.

Congratulations to those listed!

From the Sketchbook

Meet Piper.

She's the star of my latest work in progress.

Gotta love those leg warmers.

I'm going for real-kid emotion with this one.

And keeping it S.I.M.P.L.E.

*bunny ears crossed*

Happy November

Now that my candy cache is re-stocked...

(Thanks to these guys.)

Bring on the rewrites. (Or new pages for you NaNoWriMo-ers.)

And if you write picture books, don't miss this, Picture Book Idea Month.

It will be fan-flipping-tastic.

That's not just the candy talking.