Resource (Website) - AHC Arts & Crafts

I stumbled upon AHC (short for Artists Helping Children) Arts & Crafts today while looking for crafts to make that include drinking straws (for National Drinking Straw Day, of course!). Not only did I find a slew of drinking straw ideas at this site, but I also found a bunch of other craft ideas as well as special sections for Coloring Pages, Origami, How-To-Draw, and Recycled Crafts.

This site isn't exactly what I would call beautifully designed. The colors are very plain and the ads on the side and top of the page makes the layout feel a little awkward and squished, BUT if you can look past these things and simply use it as a resource to find all sorts of craft ideas, it seems great!

Do you have any experience using this site? What about drinking straw craft ideas - any of those to share?

Resource (Website) - Kevin and Amanda's Fonts

I know a lot of bloggers are already familiar with Kevin and Amanda's fonts, but just in case you aren't, I wanted to list them as a resource (I also wanted to be able to delete the link from my favotrites while still having a way to find the website again).

Kevin and Amanda's fonts aren't just for bloggers (in fact, I'm too lazy to try to follow the complex directions to use the fonts on my blog), they are great for scrapbooking, or just to have a new font to use in MS Word. 

I don't really understand why the fonts are separated between handwriting fonts and scrapbooking fonts - the scrapbooking fonts had to have come from someone's hand, didn't they? But they're all free, and they're really cute! If you don't find any handwriting fonts that you feel accurately reflect your own handwriting, as of April 5th, Amanda is still accepting YOUR handwriting samples to turn into fonts!

No matter what you decide to do with the fonts, I highly recommend checking out Kevin and Amanda's fonts! If you really enjoy their stuff, they also have links to their main blog, recipes, photos, and scrapbooking.

Resource (Website) - Tynga's Blog Design

I think it's about time I share with you all where my lovely new blog layout has come from.
*Drumroll please...*
May I present to you:

Tynga's Blog Design!

I filled out Tynga's contact form at her blog design site (above), and I think it took her less than 12 hours to get back to me. She was very easy to keep in contact with. I just gave her an idea of what kind of a theme/colors/etc. I wanted and she would send me pictures to see what I thought. She kept me updated of her changes along the way and was very patient with me while I asked her to make dozens of minor changes. She only charged me $40, I payed her through PayPal, and she did all the installation for me. My entire blog design was created and installed in only about four days.

I super recommend her and hope she gives discounts to repeat customers! hehe

I cannot fathom how she even finds time to keep a book blog regularly updated!

Resource (Website) - Starz Bunnies

Depending on the maturity and boredom levels of your teen clientele, they may be very thankful if you share this link with them.

http://www.starzbunniestheater.com/

Starz Bunnies is a site hosting animated mini-videos that are 30-40 seconds long. The concept is that the whole plot line of a movie is told (starring rabbits) in 30 seconds. I have watched several of the videos and they all have pretty clean language (easily just as clean, if not cleaner than the language you would see in the real movie), though I wouldn't risk recommending this website to patrons younger than teens. If you don't feel comfortable giving out this website to your teens, maybe it can still come in handy for your personal entertainment. There are a terrific selection of movies from modern movies (Twilight and Harry Potter) to classics (Gone with the Wind) to a holiday special of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

I have recently discovered the website also includes news on the Starz Bunnies, and a "Bunny Store".

I don't know if Strongbad is still popular today (he/it was when I was a teen - you may recommend this website as well), but that is what Starz Bunnies reminds me of.

Resource (Website) - Scouting Web

http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/index.htm


This website is an excellent resource for Girl Scouts and Girl Scout leaders. So why am I recommending this for a Youth Services librarian?
 
I was a Girl Scout for over 10 years. I earned the Gold Award, "graduated", and really missed scouting. Even during my younger years as a Girl Scout I always enjoyed pretending to be a troop leader and "helping" my friends "earn" Try-Its. So when I found out my neighbor's daughter was joining a Brownie troop, I just knew I had to help. I became cookie "mom" and co-leader of a Brownie troop of 13 first grade girls. I went to leader meetings and made connections with the ladies on the council (people who oversaw all Girl Scouts and activities in the county). Unfortunately when I was promoted from a part-time Shelver to a full-time Library Associate, I had to quit leading (meetings were when I worked), but I still kept in touch with the leader and one of the ladies on council.

I got the idea over the summer to do a camping program for the public that would also fulfill the badge requirements for several Brownie and Junior Girl Scout Try-Its/Badges. (You can read more about the camping program here.) I e-mailed my contact on the Girl Scout council, and she e-mailed all the Girl Scout leaders in the county for me. Because this program was during the summer (generally troops do not meet during the summer), not many Girl Scouts attended, but we still wound up filling the program with the public. One of the leaders who received the e-mail from council e-mailed me to ask me if I would be willing to do a program for another Try-It/Badge, Storm Ready. (You can read more about the storm program here.) Because we did this program during the school year, we filled this program with Girl Scout troops.

My point? Requirements for Girl Scout badges of any age provide great ideas for library programs. Also, if you can build contacts in your community with Girl Scout leaders, Scouts can be great (very well-behaved) statistics.

This is where Scouting Web comes in. Scouting Web is a resource website itself. They offer links to games and crafts for all ages. Best of all, they have links to the badge requirements for all ages so you don't have to buy a Girl Scout Handbook, but still access all the wonderful ideas for library programs.

Resource (Website) - I Love to Create

I stumbled across http://www.ilovetocreate.com/ in a Discovery Girls magazine, and with a URL like that, I had to check it out.

I Love to Create uses certain brands to make ADORABLE craft projects (see above). If you go into Product Search, you can view their craft projects by Brand, Consumer, Season, Theme, Technique Type, or even by Keywords you type in yourself. If you need more help than the written instructions they provide on the Projects pages, you can go to their Education page to watch how-to videos for select projects. You can search for stores the carry the craft materials used to make the projects, or they also allow you to buy certain products straight from their website. For further resources they have a page of sites they love. Lastly, they allow you to follow them through their personal blogs, and on most social networking sites, if you want to keep up with ideas that may not make it to the website, or exchange your own ideas with other craft junkies (though they also have message boards directly on their website).

I'm so glad I ran across this website and I can't wait to try some of these projects for myself and with my teens!

Resources (Websites) - Black Friday

This may not be library-related (though I guess it would depend on the way your budgeting is done), but after my adventure on Black Friday '09, I couldn't help but share.

(For anyone who may not be from the U.S., or if you just live under a rock, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers offer the heaviest discounts of the year.)

Yesterday morning my boyfriend and I were at Best Buy at 2:10 (yes, A.M.). It was way too cold for South Florida, but I got the "HP p6214y Pavilion Desktop w/ AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core Processor and 20" HD LCD and HP Deskjet D1530 Color Printer" that I wanted. Waiting in line for 3 hours was worth saving $400. We were also able to make it to Target to get a Garmin Nuvi 1350t and several TV on DVD sets for $13, and to Staples to get headphones and computer speakers. The best part? We were back home and back to sleep by 6:30 (again, A.M.).

I hope everyone was able to get what they wanted! If not, maybe these websites can help you plan for next year:

http://www.black-friday.net/ - This website gives you access to ads as they become available to the site. You can provide them with your e-mail address and they will contact you when they have new information. They also have links for their assumed "Most Popular Products", online Black Friday deals (which usually start on midnight Thursday and can be just as difficult, if not moreso, to grab than deals in-store) and a super handy shopping list that allows you to compile one list of all of the deals from any store you hope to buy.

http://www.blackfridayads.com/ - This website is a little less clean-looking than the other sites, but still offers up to date ads, a shopping list, and a "Most Wanted" section. This website also comes with a "Search" feature where you can search for either stores or items you are hoping to purchase. If you search for a specific item, the results will come back with the title of the item, price, and store.

http://www.blackfriday.info/ - This website offers a very clean and simple look at any store's ads (as they become available). As With bfnet, they offer the option of being updated by e-mail, and have a shopping list. They also have a link to online coupons and discount codes that may be used even on a day that is not Black Friday.

http://bfads.net/ - My favorite website of them all (coincidentally also the first result if you Google "Black Friday Ads"), bfads offers the general listing of the stores' sales, but also has direct scans of the ads. They have a shopping list, a search feature, a shopping list, and a link to the online sales. They also have contests, store hours, and popular deals. In case you're wondering what kind of deals stores have offered in the past, they also have an archive of past ads.

Resource (Website) - Gamespot

If you are looking to start a gaming collection (circulating, or just for in-house use) at your library, or if you just need a video game website to go to for personal use, I recommend GameSpot (*not to be confused with the store GameStop - even though I always get the two mixed up).

http://www.gamespot.com

This is a great website for a range of people who know nothing about video games except that they want to start playing them, all the way to experts who think they know everything, but sometimes still need a little help from a walkthrough to beat the last level.

GameSpot features previews, reviews, and trailers for all platforms. They offer demos and patches for current games, gaming news and information about new releases, and a forums section to chat with other avid gamers, or if you're a newbie asking for advice.  The site has a section for iPhone and other mobile games, which I haven't explored since I don't use my phone for games.

You can search for games by title or console, where each result will be a page about the game including an area to check prices at different stores, News & Features, the rating, and screenshots. If you are ever wondering if a game is multiplayer and can't tell from the summary, you can usually click on the picture of the game's box and click "Back", and it will show you the back of the box, where you can see the number of players. The page will also offer suggestions for similar games you might like, if you already know you like the game you have searched for.  

My favorite feature on the site is a list of the top video games. This list can be viewed as a collective list of the top games out of all of the platforms, or broken down into whichever console you are looking for. There are three different scores for the rating: Critic Score, User Score, (they allow you to review the video games too, or save your numerical rating for your own reference), and GameSpot Score. To read more about how GameStop determines the score for their ratings, you can go here.

Resource (Website) - The OWL at Purdue

You've probably heard of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, but did you know they had an incredibly helpful owl? I found this website when I realized that I did not know if the title of my blog should be " YS Princess' " or " YS Princess's " (hopefully using this website has left me with the right answer). I have to say, writing a review of a grammar website makes me very self-concious of my grammar and spelling.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ is Purdue University's Online Writing Lab website. It's free, and you don't have to be a student of the university to use the site. People from elementary school to those who have graduated college could benefit from this website.
With categories of:

• Creative Writing
• English as a Second Language
• General Academic Writing
• Grammar and Mechanics
• Internet Literacy
• Literary Analysis and Criticism
• Professional, Technical, and Job Search Writing
• Research and Citation
• Teaching Writing
• Tutoring Writing
• Writing in Engineering
• Writing in the Social Sciences
• The Writing Process

OWL covers topics from basic grammar, to citing sources, to possible cures for writer's block.
If grammar interests you at all, or if you just need help with the subject, I recommend checking out this site; you'll probably be able to spend hours browsing the OWL.