FINtastic July

 The most Jawsome time of the year for shark lovers like me is here! Nat Geo's Shark Fest started this week and Shark Week begins this Sunday, July 11.  Woohoo!!  I have been fascinated with all kinds of marine life for as long as I can remember. Which is why Into the Ocean is so special to me. 

 Amazon Book Link

I have spoken about a FINtastic organization called Sharks4Kids in the past and they are worth mentioning again. They offer so many educational materials for free. Games, coloring pages, crafts, activities and more to help inspire a new generation of shark advocates. I have even been lucky enough to create a few coloring/activity sheets and Sharky crafts for this wonderful group. Check them out and more here. 

My latest summer shark creation. 

 

Have a FINtastic July! 

10 Days of Art

On Facebook, I was nominated by my friend, author/artist and fellow #Gr8tBlogs blogger, Rosie Russell,  to show one image of my art, my life, my studio, or an exhibition for 10 consecutive days. No explanation needed. The purpose was to promote positivity, passion, and attention to art.  So I thought I would share my ten days of art here as well. I would love to see your art as well. Feel free to visit my Facebook page and share in the comments. 

Day 1

 Day 2

Day 3

Day 4 

Day 5 

Day 6

 

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

And I'm adding in an extra. This is my latest painting. 

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my art room.  Can't wait to see what you have created! 

"I dream my paintings and I paint my dreams."  Vincent Van Gogh

Let's Talk About Our Pets!

 Happy February 2021! How is 2021 going for you so far? Hopefully better than 2020. It has been a long, tough school year. The job is emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting all on its own without a pandemic. I created a few crafts for Christmas but other than that I haven't been in the mood to draw, paint, write etc. Anyone else in the same boat?

Enough about all that. Let's talk about our furbabies. If you are like me, my animals are my family. I adore all animals. Going to aquariums, zoo's, and seeing wildlife in nature are some of my favorite things. This week one of my cats has been sick and I thought I was going to lose her. She is doing much better but is not out of the woods yet. Her and her brother are getting older though and I know they can't live forever but it is still heartbreaking to me to even think about it.  

In my book, Imagination Destination and Bullies? No Worries!,  my two cats are the star characters. I even snuck in a couple of their real pictures into Imagination Destination. Can you spot them? 

Over the summer I wrote a new adventure for Kali and Tux but I only have the illustrations in thumbnail form at this point. In this adventure, it's summer and that means family vacation time!  I would love to go on a vacation right about now. Sometimes though they don't always go as planned and you have to adapt and go with it. In this book, Kali and Tux enjoy their family trip even though the weather doesn't want to cooperate. 

Hopefully things calm down and get back to the old normal here really soon.  Only five more months till summer and my author brain can be switched back on and I can get back to finishing this story. 

If you want to check out Kali's and Tux's stories, you can find the links at my website here, Author Rebecca Lyndsey. 

Halloween 2020 Style

Image found on bing.com. 

As we all know, 2020 has altered so much of our normalcy this year and with holidays coming up, it has me thinking on ways those could be impacted too. 

If you are a follower of my blog, you already know I love Halloween!! I've always done some creative green screen videos with my students but this is a tradition 2020 has changed for me. But I am already brainstorming new ideas so I can still incorporate it in this October.

Since the traditional Trick or Treat could possibly be impacted I wanted to come up with some ways to still make the holiday fun 

1. Have a Hide and Go Treat 

in your house or yard. Have the kiddos dress up, maybe invite a friend or two over, and search for the hidden candy with a flashlight. To make it even more spooky, decorate the yard with grave stones (cardboard makes good ones), fake spider webs, jack-o-lanterns, and maybe some spooky ghosts (white trash bags stuffed with newspaper or balloons and a marker to create a ghostly face.) Toilet paper rolls with eyes cut out and a glow stick in the middle creates glowing eyes for trees and bushes. 

2. Have a Witches Fire Party 

Light a fire, drink apple cider and make smores. Kids could dress up in costumes or dress in pj's. Add warm, fluffy blankets for the perfect cozy outdoor activity.  If you're up for it, tell spooky stories and decorate your backyard for an added touch. Too cold to be outside or no backyard? Be creative! Turn your living room into the outdoors. There are loads of campfire videos on Youtube you could play on a tv, or other device. Turn out the lights and pretend you are sitting outside on a beautiful or spooky👻, fall night and enjoy. 

3. Have a movie night!

There are so many fantastic Halloween movies out there from funny to spooky. Hocus Pocus, Casper, Goosebumps, Hotel Transylvania, and Men in Black are some of my favorites. You could even hold it outside if you have a projector. A white sheet would work well as a screen and you could combine this with some of the ideas above to create a one-of-a-kind experience!

I hope I have inspired you to make the best of the situation and maybe even created some new traditions for you. Use my ideas? I would love to see pictures. Feel free to leave me a comment on my fb page. Happy Fall!