Win a 5x7 Geeky Art Print!

This week's giveaway is for one 5x7 Art Print of your choice from Kay of My Open Sketchbook. Your choices are: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Kylo Ren, Rey, or Chimichanga Deadpool.

Reading as Routine and my March/April Reading Wrap Up

Here is my March and April Reading Wrap Up video. Every two months I'll be going over what I read, here's January and February's. I also talk a bit about making reading a part of your routine.

Summer Goals

It's been a long time since there's been a goals post here on MagicCatJenny, so I'm going to get that going again with some goals for this coming summer. Summer begins with the solstice on June 21, but I'm going to let my window of time be June, July, and August. (That photo is from last summer, from our Hawaii honeymoon.)

Win a Handmade Polymer Clay Accessory!

This week's giveaway is for one handmade polymer clay piece up to $20 in value (an earring set, a necklace, a keychain, etc.) made by The Fangirl Crafter, Kelsey. The giveaway is only open to winners in the USA only.

My Sailor Moon Collection

I've been in love with Sailor Moon since I was a preteen. It was one of my first fandoms and the reason I met some of my best friends later in Jr. High. (I believe one of them noticed my Sailor Moon fan art and decided we should be friends.) Since moving to Maryland I have gotten back into reading the manga but I left most of my collection back in California. The following is a video I shot before the move, showing off everything I have (and might one day be reunited with, or decide to give it all away, only time will tell.)

Gold and Black Birthday Party Decorations (How To Make a Tassel Garland)

My birthday is over, but the birthday month of giveaways is still going on, and my biggest present is yet to arrive. (I'm seeing Hamilton on Broadway on the 30th!!!) So let's continue the blog festivities with a little showing off of my party theme. (You know how much I love themed parties.) The theme was subtle and probably only noticeable to me, which I was completely fine with. Gold and Black. Why? Could it have something to do with Hamilton? Could it be from inspiration whenever I searched on Etsy for '30th Birthday Party'? Or could it just be pretty? (Obviously, it's all 3) So the banner I made with my wonderful Cricut and the tassel garland was actually really easy. If you scroll down there's a DIY(!!) I also plan to re-use the decorations and perhaps even gift them on. (re-use & recycle!)

Win a Perler Bead Wicked Poster!

This week's giveaway is for one perler bead Wicked poster made by Breezeeweezee. The peice is about 8" x 11" and the winner will get to chose if they want it mounted on a canvas or turned into a giant fridge magnet.

Inspiration - video

This video took a long time to get from a mostly silly idea to what you're about to watch. I love YouTube and sometimes fall into the trap of wanting to make videos like the ones I like to watch. I just kept thinking of this quote from one of my favorite movies, Almost Famous.

Lester Bangs: You like Lou Reed?

William Miller: The early stuff. In his new stuff he's trying to be Bowie, but he should just be himself.

I need to not be Bowie, well in this case...you know what I'll let you guess.

Thoughts on Birthday Parties and Some Inspiration

I love birthdays and birthday parties. In fact, I love parties in general. Not so much in the 'excuse to drink' way but more in the 'excuse to decorate and plan and gather around a common theme' way. That's why I gave in to the bridal showers and bachelorette party tropes I normally would not find necessary, I just love themes! Birthday parties are especially great because the main theme is 'do what the birthday boss wants.' Sometimes what I want is just a stress-free day where I wake up late, have brunch out or in, lazily shop with friends or just enjoy the city, then meet up a larger group for dinner and drinks. It's a great way to get a big group together.

How To Use Adproval & a Giveaway!

I've been blogging for years, but I've been blogging on this blog for the past 5 years.  I've also been ad swapping (and even selling the occasional ad, whoo!) for that long. I started the way most blogs start by manually adding the codes and reminding myself to take them down after the agreed upon time. It was work, so I found a free service that would automate it and even provide a marketplace to help promote my blog. After a bit that place was no longer free, that's when I found Adproval. (I talked about my switch back in 2013, here.) Also, in case you missed it, I talked about Adproval yesterday in a video!

How To Use Aproval on Your Blog for Building Community - video

Be sure to come back to my blog tomorrow for the Adproval giveaway! If you have any questions about blogging or Adproval I'll try to answer all I can! 

Recapping the Recaps

Since 2012, I've been posting yearly recaps on this blog. Mostly as a virtual photo album crossed with a journal for myself but I also love reading those posts from bloggers I follow as well. I did not do one for 2015 I realized and it was the year where so much happened. One of my goals for this blog this year is by the summer time I'd like to finally recap last year and get prepared to recap this year as well. In the meantime (and because my birthday is coming up and the passing of time is on my mind) here is a recap of all my previous recaps.

It's My Birthday Month!

It's April, my Birthday month! I've decided I want to celebrate with you by throwing a month long blog party with giveaways and vlogs every day. Thank you so much for joining in on the fun! Here's how it works, every Thursday there will be a giveaway. (Be sure to read the guidelines each prize is provided by someone different.) I'll also be vlogging every day over on my second channel in addition to my weekly videos on my main channel. I'm sure I'll have other fun things to share and talk about on other days so stick around. If you ever want to check out what's happened so far, I've made a page that I'll be updating with all the activities along the way right here.