Amanda
Disappearing Posts? It’s time to start the move!
As hinted at in the past, I am working on a new site. While I have been Urban Bachelorette in some form since 2009, it’s time to step up my site and move to a better fitting moniker. I am proud to announce that as of April 30th, UrbanBachelorette will be fully transitioned to StainsOnThePage. Between now and April 30th, […]
Graphic Design: 2013 Calendar
The newest project I submitted this week, required a themed calendar for 2013. Given vampires as my theme, I couldn’t have been happier with the way they both turned out. Only one was required, but we had to digitize two designs and choose the best to submit, but I liked both and finished them. The one submitted for a grade was […]
Graphic Design: T-Shirt
This project required a t-shirt design with a music theme, two colors plus black, on any color t-shirt we wanted. The idea behind it shows how to design with layers for each color that would transfer to a screen printing press. It was a challenge to think in three colors, but I think it turned out well. I recently discovered a video […]
Review: Before the Fall After the Fall During the Fall by Nancy Kress
Title: Before the Fall After the Fall During the Fall (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Nancy Kress (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: None Publisher: Tachyon Publications Genre: Science Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Bought from Bookstore Synopsis: The year is 2035. After ecological disasters nearly destroyed the Earth, 26 survivors—the last of humanity—are trapped by an alien race in […]
Review: Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin
Title: Picture the Dead (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Author: Adele Griffin (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: None Publisher: SourceBooks Fire Genre: Historical Romance, Paranormal Thriller Format: Paperback Source: Publisher provided review copy Synopsis: On the home front near Boston in 1864, Jennie feels her twin’s presence like “a wave crashing over me” moments after he dies in […]
Review: Graveminder by Melissa Marr
Title: Graveminder (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Author: Melissa Marr (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: Publisher: HarperCollins Genre: Adult Horror Format: Paperback Source: Publisher provided review copy. Synopsis: Three sips to mind the dead … Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There […]
Review: Type Matters! Simple Tips for Everyday Typography by Jim Williams
Title: Type Matters! Simple Tips for Everyday Typography (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Jim Williams (Amazon, Goodreads) Series: None Publisher: Merrell Genre: Non-fiction Format: Journal/Paperback Source: 60 Cycle Media Synopsis: Back of the Book: Nowadays, most of us work on personal computers and have access to hundreds of different typefaces. We’d all like our letters, reports, school projects and […]
More of That Takes the Cake 2012
Instead of publishing these in small groups, I decided to share the remaining pictures of these truly amazing cakes with you here. Please click on the small pictures to see a larger slide show as these need to be seen in all their detail. I particularly like the Zombie Bunny at the end, and am considering it for […]
Review: The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
Title: The Water Wars (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Cameron Stracher (Amazon, Goodreads) Series: N/A Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Review copy from Publisher Synopsis: Welcome to a future where water is more precious than oil or gold… Hundreds of millions of people have already died, and millions more will soon fall-victims of […]
Typography — Learning Something New
I did a small project based on Typography for Graphic Design which you can see here. However, we didn’t spend too much time discussing it. My Photoshop class, however, has a big project coming up that revolves around typography. I received a request from 60 Cycle Media to review their new book, Type Matters! and it couldn’t have arrived […]
Graphic Design: Logo Project
It’s almost Spring break time and the mid-semester exams are under my belt. My recent project for graphic design entailed designing a logo for a shop using my initials or my name in the title. I chose to do a flower shop and a tattoo shop, and the tattoo shop came out better than the flower shop, so that’s what […]
Review: Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith
Title: Alison Wonderland (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Helen Smith (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: None Publisher: Amazon Encore Genre: Mystery, Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Author sent a copy for review. Synopsis: After her husband leaves her for another woman, twentysomething Londoner Alison Temple impulsively applies for a job at the very P.I. firm she hired to trap her philandering ex. […]
That Takes the Cake 2012: Dragon Adventure
This year’s That Takes the Cake show was AMAZING! The theme was Cake-a-Lot: Knights of the Turn Table and there were so many wonderful entries. I took so many pictures that I’m breaking this post into a series, so keep an eye out for many more beautiful cakes. This is probably my favorite piece on display this year. […]
Graphic Design: Typographic ID Project
These were the results of my typographic ID project for my graphic design course. Some of them came out very well, while others could have been better. I’m enjoying learning all about design as well as tricks and tools in Illustrator. Allergies and Music made it to the final project. Suggestions from others confirmed my […]
Graphic Design: Negative/Positive Icons
My second project for the graphic design class is negative/positive icons. I had fun with this project, although not as much fun as the project I’m working on (Logo Project) or the Typographic ID project I just turned in. I have to say I dislike the pen tool in Illustrator, but I’m sure with practice I will get better with it.
Review: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Title: The Westing Game (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Ellen Raskin (Amazon, Goodreads) Series: None Publisher: Puffin Genre: Young Adult, Mystery Format: Paperback Source: Purchased from Half-Price Books Synopsis: When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, 16 very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will–and what a will it is. Review: I read this as a child and […]
Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Title: Bumped (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Megan McCafferty (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: Bumped Publisher: Balzer & Bray Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction Format: Kindle E-Book Source: NetGalley Synopsis: WHEN A VIRUS makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents must pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized […]
Review: Slipping Reality by Emily Beaver
Title: Slipping Reality (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Emily Beaver (Goodreads, Website) Series: None Publisher: Authorhouse Genre: Young Adult Format: Kindle E-Book Source: NetGalley Synopsis: In a time of hardship and heartbreak, sometimes, reality just isn’t enough. Slipping Reality is the story of fourteen-year-old Katelyn Emerson, who, when faced with the glaring reality of her brother’s illness, rebels […]
Graphic Design: Black Boxes
My first assignment for my graphic design class was the well-known Black Boxes. It seems that everyone who has ever taken a graphic design course does this project. You are given 12 words and must use four black squares to represent these words. From the 12 preliminary designs, you choose the four best and create them […]
OpEd: Word Choice and ‘Dumbing’ It Down
I’m sitting in my Technical and Business Communications course and tonight’s topic focused on word usage. In particular, we discussed the ‘Ladder of Abstraction” and how word choice is important in your writing. I understand the importance of choosing the correct word to convey my point. I understand that not everyone’s vocabulary is as extensive as mine. […]
Review: Alice: Madness Returns
Despite being stuck at the bottom of a waterfall for a very long time, I loved the original PC game. I had high expectations of the new version, and American McGee did not disappoint. It took me a while longer than expected to obtain the game, but once I did, there was no going back. The first night I played for three […]
Review: Werewolf Descent by Elizabeth J. Kolodziej
Title: Werewolf Descent (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Elizabeth J. Kolodziej (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: The Last Witch Series Publisher: Third Broom on the Left Press Genre: Paranormal Romance Format: Paperback Source: Review copy provided by author Synopsis: Last witch in the world, Faith Scott, and her Irish vampire boyfriend Trent have just come back from fighting […]
OpEd: SOPA/PIPA and Copyright Law
The world has been up in arms over the SOPA/PIPA bills introduced into the House and Senate. I am against both, and was happy to see them pulled and the support people showed for those opposing it. However, I don’t know how many people noticed that while that was in the forefront of our minds, the Supreme […]
Review: The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder
Title: The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Mark Hodder (Amazon, Goodreads) Series: Burton and Swinburne Publisher: Pyr Genre: Science Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Received review copy from publisher. Synopsis: It is 1862, though not the 1862 it should be… Time has been altered, and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the king’s agent, […]
Review: The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod
Title: The Restoration Game (Amazon, Goodreads) Author: Ken MacLeod (Amazon, Goodreads, Website) Series: None Publisher: Pyr Genre: Science Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Received review copy from Publisher. Synopsis: There is no such place as Krassnia. Lucy Stone should know — she was born there. In that tiny, troubled region of the former Soviet Union, revolution […]
