Summer Reading Displays, Take 2!

We have been working on all kinds ideas this summer at the library! New this month is our summer display, "Wouldn't it be nice to find a new read?" a twist on the Beach Boys tune. It's like "Blind Date with a Book" that we run in February, just with a summery twist.

Paper Crush, an awesome blog/store/idea mecca stole our hearts with this popsicle banner! Get yours here. We printed ours on cardstock and then used some kind of ribbon to hang it. Our lovely PR lady made the signs

We wrapped the books using paper gift/treat bags, folding the top, and adding curling ribbon, finished off with cute printable tags and glued on decorations.

You can get the decorations here
The label border came from here
"I Love Summer" tags came from here
"Happy Summer" watermelon tags from here
"Hello Summer" tags from here

You can find more ideas for displays and crafts on our Pinterest board, Library Programs, or on my board Library 101. I have more printables here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Reading Displays

I am so excited about the 2015 Summer Reading Program this year! I don't know if I'll get any reading done, but I do want to show you all the displays I did. The theme for the adults was "Escape the Ordinary." Our programming librarian Amy and I used Pinterest a lot in our planning. Check out my board here.

Here's how I made the display:

1. The first thing we did was to move the shelves down. They were super dusty and I cleaned them all before I rearranged. 
2. Then we took large pieces of foam board and spray mounted blue paper onto them to be our night sky. You should have seen me crawling around on the floor doing this LOL!
3. Then we printed off the skyline featured on this site, which we then cut out and spray mounted to the blue background. It looked super classy!
4. After doing that we printed out the graphics that were given to us by CSL. We also used some we found on Pinterest.

I also printed off this lovely Batman printable and made the darling sign above. I saved it as an image and then printed as a 3X5. It has been a hit!

The different sheets on the shelves and in holders are sheets with trivia and a tic-tac-toe board to fill out for chances to win prizes. These came with our summer reading package, but you can find others on my Pinterest page or make up your own.

We have put up a variety of hero books, from superheros to every day heroes. We also used CDs and DVDs in our display. If you look closely you can see Batman, Rocky, Lord of the Rings, Watchman, and Star Wars. We used war heroes, animal heroes, and others as well.

Thanks for checking out the displays, now go read some books!

Why I'd Like to Move

So I mentioned in my last post that I got a new job. (Yay!)

It's actually for the same library I have been working for, just a different branch, and I'll be full-time. So more hours, a bit farther away from home and a lot farther from where I want to be in Cincinnati, and no more $$ per hour. I'm excited because it will be more challenging than my current job, which I find kinda boring since I do not have any special duties like everyone else even though I have asked for more to do. It will be nice to be back at the Middletown location though because I know a lot of people there since I used to work there. I just wish Middletown was in Cincinnati, because that's where I really want to be.

The reason I want to be in Cincinnati is because I'm tired of living in Hamilton cut off from the world. How people live here happily, I do not know. It's too far from everything...even Trenton, OH where I grew up is better. I also long to be closer to St. Gertrude, our parish, in Madeira. Then add in Ben's almost hour commute and I have 3 really good reasons for wanting to be there. But there's more: I have friends that live there and I am itching for more of the city life. I want culture, I want variety, I want something more to life than what I have. I want to drive a Zipcar and use public transit. I want to live in an even smaller place than what we have now LOL! Most importantly, I just want to fulfill the vision and dream Ben and I have had of living in the city. I think it would be awesome to live downtown, but until we hit the lottery, I don't see that happening haha. I'm not a party person, I just want to look out the window and see the people, as they stroll along to their job or take a drink of their coffee.

I think this idea of living in the city is rooted in a deeper longing to belong to the universal Church, and to God Himself. I want to be a part of that crowd following after Jesus! I want to play a part in what He's doing. I already am, but I kind of feel like it's a temporary part that I play on the weekends and then I go home, and take off my stage makeup. I want to be where I'm doing ministry all the time, be amongst the people, and know them. I want to be one of them. It kills me that every Sunday night after Core team meeting is over, we get back in the car and drive the 45 minutes home. My heart says to itself, "I died that day!"* when I wake up on Monday and it's back to the rest of the week. 

And perhaps that's how I felt when I left my last ministry job...despite all of the things that were wrong about the situation and why I needed to leave. I just get so much joy out of being with the youth, teaching them, hanging out with them. I remember how I felt when I heard God call me to youth ministry and I was really unsure if I could do it. Part of me didn't want to, and then I had that feeling again when I failed Catechetics. I was just not cut out for this! However, when I'm away, I realize that I do not feel the joy that God gives me when I am immersed in ministry.

Which is why I told my dear friend Emma, who is one of my former youth group kids, that I wish I was back in ministry again. I miss it so much! I'd rather be doing that than working at the library, and if I didn't have to worry about money, I would do it for free. I'm still waiting on an offer from a parish who is willing to pay off my student loans in 2 years in exchange for youth ministry for 5 years. Or that's one scenario I have in my head LOL! I talk about student loans a lot because I have a ridiculous amount to pay each month. (And if you're thinking of getting student loans, do not go with Sallie Mae!) Such is life I guess.

Well, I'm going to go clip coupons and talk to my hubby Ben before bed. There's always so much to talk about on Sunday nights after we get home from youth group. I guess it begins the dream we have of doing ministry together and we can't seem to get God to stop calling us to it. Maybe that will be the next adventure...


* "I died that day!": a famous line of Buttercup's from Princess Bride that always rings in my head.

May Book Displays

This month I got my first chance to do displays at the library where I work!

Amy, our librarian, and I chose to do a Western literature display, as well as a theme called "Summer Dreamin'". I was maybe a bit too excited to get started lol

Check out the Western display here
- We are using an array of western themed literature: short stories, novels, romance, adventure, etc.

To get the cute bandana banner we used go here and print on cardstock. Finish with twine and tape. Easy! We made a "Wanted" sign after I took this picture using this file from ScrapNTeach's Teachers Pay Teacher's account, and changed it to feature Shakespurr, our library mascot.

Check out the Summer Dreamin' display here
- We are using a broad range of books in both fiction and non-fiction to get people inspired and excited for summer: gardening, crafting, DIY, beach reads, landscaping, outdoor decor, grilling, etc. We chose bright and colorful books to catch people's eye.

You can get the printable citrus slices here, just print on cardstock, cut, and tape them up!
Check out more ideas on our Pinterest board Library Programs and even more here

We had fun doing the display and hope you enjoyed the inspiration!

If you're looking for inspiration on what to read or new music to check out, you should jump over to my friend Rachael's blog Taylor&Kensington. She had great YouTube videos of reviews and more!

10 Things About Me

Today I woke up late for work...but still made it on time. This is just one reason I'm growing my hair out: so I can pull it up in a ponytail and go. And I'm make-up free today too, and without breakfast lol.  I hope your morning got off to a better start!

I'm also sharing a little bit about myself, so here's 10 things about me:

My sister Gail and I

1. I am the oldest child in my family. (There's 5 of us!)  I'm also an aunt and godmother (x2!)

2. I've been married to my best friend, Ben, for just over 7 years.  Love him to pieces!

3. I'm a good singer, and sometime I'll post a video of myself from my iPhone. So don't expect quality, lol! Any requests?

4. Did I mention I work at a library? 
(I'm the Chief Shusher!)

5. I have a hard time committing to exercise. I barely exercise really. Perhaps I should remedy that soon... 

6. And I don't have a skincare routine even though I'm over 30. So sue me!

My hubby Ben and I at our wedding

7. My favorite holiday is Christmas.  There is just something about it that makes me warm inside and gives me hope for the future.  Part of it is Christ coming as a baby, the other is spending time with family, while there is a small part that is nostalgic for things of the past.

8. I love shabby chic, rustic decor, vintage finds, and modern lofts.  One day I hope to incorporate it all into one space.

9. When I was little, I wanted to be a farmer, teacher, FBI agent, a magazine editor, a hair stylist, and a fashion/interior designer. A girl can dream!

10. I like serving and helping people, and believe that some good Southern hospitality goes a long way.  Although I'm not Southern, I'm just from Ohio.

Hope you're having a blessed day!