Liebser Award a Zillion Times Over

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post lately; I was away from wi-fi for a while, and for the past week I was super busy interning with a kid's writing program. Now, I'm sick in bed, so I thought I'd take the chance to finally write this post. I really should have posted before now, because I've been nominated for the Liebster award by four different blogs! I'm very happy about this, because the blogs that nominated me are among my favorites, and it's really an honor. I'm also happy that so many blogs have nominated me. All and all, I'm very happy about this. For the Liebster award, you write 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions by the blogger who nominated you, and pass the nomination on.

Facts about myself:

  1. I recently got a pixie cut - I was wary at first, but I love it now. 

  2. My favorite thing about blogging is other bloggers. This means YOU!

  3. I watched Godzilla v. Monster Zero last night, and it was awesome in a totally campy way. 

  4. I dislike the number four.

  5. If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be the Swiss Alps. 

  6. I love animated movies.

  7. I made a list of stuff I want to do by the end of the summer. It has things like "ride the freaky upside down ride at the fair", "tie dye stuff," and "stage a flash mob." 

  8. I love love love to dance. I will never forgive my mother for not getting me dance lessons when I was five years old and told her it was my life's ambition to become a ballerina. 

  9. Nowadays, since I can't be a ballerina (thanks, Mom), my life's ambition is to travel the world. 

10. I've recently become kinda addicted to Polyvore. Is anyone interested in book-related fashion sets? 

11. I have a collection of stuffed and ceramic skunks. 

(I've decided to only answer three questions from each blog that nominated me, to keep this post from being waaay too long)

Ella from Gorilla Legs - This blog is always so fun to read. It also wins for best blog name, hands down! 

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

The 1920's! 

What  book are you currently reading?

Congo, by Michael Crichton, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina (who I got to meet through my internship!), Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis, and I'm listening to Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett (as an audiobook). 

If  you were trapped in a vat of food, and had to eat it to get yourself out of there, what food would you want to be trapped in?

Mmm... Maybe potato chips? It's so easy to eat large amounts of those things. Strawberries would be nice, too. I also like the idea of a vat of jello, just because I think it would be fun to smush around in while I ate. 

Cecily and Gwendolyn from Their Harangues and their Fancies - A terrific blog about nothing in particular - always cool, fun and interesting. 

Hidden Talent? 

I can ice skate fairly well. 

Favourite place in your home country?

Silly Brits with your weird word-spellings...it's spelled favorite! 

New York! I haven't been there in quite a while, but I love it and I'm beginning to get a hankering to go back...

If you were guaranteed success in any career, what would you do?

I'd become a writer, which is what I plan on doing anyway. 

Chloe from Rhinestone Moon writes all about high fashion and is pretty awesome in general. 

Who was your first music obsession?

When I was about four or five, I loved Christmas songs. Don't judge. 

Who is your favorite designer?

Dior! I love his "New Look." 

What historical character living or dead would you hang out with?

Instead of Gandhi or someone like that, I think I'd be somewhat shallow and choose Louise Brooks, flapper icon and my all-time favorite actress. 

Tara A. From Unlocking Pandora's Box - what's with all the awesome blog names? Seriously, though, check this blog out!

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Ramona Quimby! My roommate at camp recently told me that I reminded her of Ramona, and I consider it one of the biggest compliments I've ever received. Roughly 80% of my childhood was spent wishing I was Ramona, so now I feel my childhood wasn't spent in vain. 

Traditional books or Ebooks? 

Traditional!

Spicy of bland food? 

Spicy!

I pass the nomination on to:

For My Own Satisfaction - http://formyownsatisfaction.blogspot.com/

Perpetual Perplexities - http://myperpetualperplexities.blogspot.com/

Contemplating the Complexites - http://wastelandsofwisdom.blogspot.com/

As a Teen Writer - http://asateenwriter.blogspot.com/

Dancing Without Moving - http://anaruizwriting.blogspot.com/

Redpunzel - http://redpunzel-carla.blogspot.com/

The Magic Violinist - http://themagicviolinist.blogspot.com/

My questions: 

What's the best prank you've ever pulled? 

What do you like most about blogging? 

A book that made you think for days:

Do you like to keep things messy, or clean? 

If you had an infinite amount of money, what would be the first thing you'd buy? 

What's your favorite movie and why? 

What's your favorite book and why? 

A guilty pleasure: 

If you could be one person, living or dead, for a day, who would it be? 

Something insanely cool that the rest of the world needs to know about? 

Something that makes you really, really mad? 

Facts About Me

Here's a list of facts about me:

1. I have a 5-year-old mustached parakeet named India. She's feisty and adorable, and she's sitting on my shoulder (pirate style) right now.

2. My absolute favorite books are The Book Thief, The Giver, The Catcher in the Rye, and Go and Come Back. My favorite series is Harry Potter.

3. I love watching Japanese commercials. They're very entertaining and kinda addictive. There's a whole YouTube channel devoted to them, so you can have Japanese commercial marathons. Here's the link: http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCuTNcnGVHRlEJ7uq-X8mfTQ

5. My favorite TV shows are Downton Abby and The Simpsons.

6. When I grow up, I want to be a writer or an anthropologist. Someday, I want to write for National Geographic.

7. I'm a big nerd. Actually, you probably already knew that. 

8. I love crafty/DIY stuff, especially origami and collages. 

9. I am afraid of mushrooms. Google "Mycophobia". Yes, it's actually a thing. 

10. It's finally summer, and hopefully I'll have a lot of down time. That means a lot more posts are coming up soon!

Versatile Blogger Award

Hi, everybody. I have exciting news: I've been nominated for the versatile blogger award! The versatile blogger award, for anyone who doesn't know, is an award bloggers give and pass on to other bloggers. I was nominated by Chloe, who writes Rhinestone Moon (http://rhinestonemoon.blogspot.com/)

The Versatile Blogger Award is passed on from blogger to blogger, and helps bloggers gain recognition - so, I need to nominate other blogs I like and follow.

I nominate: 

A Writer's World - http://theweirdworder-awritersworld.blogspot.com/ 

This blog proves to those pretentious grown-ups of the world that YES, teenagers can think about meaningful topics. It's interesting and thoughtful.

As a Teen Writer - http://asateenwriter.blogspot.com/

This one really captures the feel of writing as a teen. Also, Karoline, who writes the blog, has started to serialise a novel she's written - which is super exciting and cool.

The Book Cewers - http://www.thebookchewers.com/2013/05/quote-of-week_26.html 

this is a super cool teen book blog. I just discovered it a few days ago, and I love it. I honestly don't mind if all of my followers ditch me in favor of The Book Chewers, It's that good. 

I wanted to nominate some of the fabulous bloggers I've found via rookie, but it was hard to find one that hadn't been nominated already!

(If I've nominated you, you don't need to do anything - just pass it on to your favorite blogs, and post a list of things your followers don't know about you! Also, if you have any objection to my nomination, comment and I'll remove your blog)

Origami box tutorial

I've decided to take a brief break from book reviewing to do an origami tutorial. I'm showing you how to make a pretty basic origami box, which you might already know how to do. Anyway, if you enjoy the tutorial, I'll probably make another soon - I just learned how to make an origami rose, and I hope to do a tutorial before valentine's day. 

So, down to business. 

You'll need two sheets of origami paper, one for the lid, and one for the base. 

 I'm starting off with the fancy, patterned paper for the lid.

1. Take the paper and fold it in half. Crease it, and unfold.

2. Fold the paper in the opposite direction, and unfold.

3. Now, fold all corners to the center of the paper.

4. ... and fold each side to the center, without unfolding the folds from step 3.

 5. Fold the narrow ends to the middle.

6. UNFOLD EVERYTHING
except two of the little triangular flaps...

7. Fold up the sides, and guide them so the corners of the box fold in on themselves...

8. Fold the flap down, and into place.

9. Repeat on the other side. The lid is finished.

10. Cut the second piece of paper so it's just the tiniest bit smaller, and do the whole thing over again.

11. ...And nest the bottom into the lid. You're done.

Feel free to comment if you have questions!