Fandom Friday: Book Map Wall Hanging

This Fandom Friday I'm sharing with you a quick easy project for the crafty bookworm... A Book Map Wall Hanging!

Are you like me? Do you love book maps? How would you like to display your favorite book map on your wall? Now you can with this super easy project! These also make great gifts! I put this Ketterdam Wall Book Map together for my Bookstagram Secret Santa recipient. 

What You'll Need:

- A Printer

- A Canvas (I used an 8"x10" canvas for this map)

- Scissors

- Modge Podge

- A Paintbrush or Sponge brush

How To Make It:

1. Use a search engine (like Google) to find the image of the map you want to use. (I typed in "Ketterdam Map" on Google Images and pulled this one up. Save a copy of the map on your computer then print it according to the size you want your wall hanging to be. (For instance, I printed this as an 8x10 image on 8.5x11" paper. You may have to resize the image to avoid blurriness.)

2. Trim the excess whitespace around your printed map so the map fits your canvas.

3. Set up your workspace. Place paper towels or magazines/newspapers you are no longer using under your canvas to protect your work surface from the modge podge. 

4. Using your paintbrush paint a thin, even layer of modge podge onto the canvas. It's important to have an even layer free of big lumps to avoid bumps on the finished map.

5. Carefully place your printed map on top of the modge podge treated canvas in your desired layout. Once you have the map placed how you would like it to be, smooth out any wrinkles with your fingers or a ruler, careful not to smudge the ink. 

6. Allow the map to dry completely. If you have any excess edges hanging over the side of your canvas, wait for the first (top) layer to dry then modge podge the excess edges to the side of the canvas or simply trim them off with a scissors. 

7. Hang your map on your desired place on the wall and enjoy! 

Fandom Friday: Favorite Bookish Candles

I meant to do this last week, but this week I'm bringing you my favorite bookish candles. I've amassed quite a few since my first A Court of Candles purchase last Christmas, they've easily become my second addiction after books! 

My Full Candle Collection
Candles from: A Court of Candles, Wick and Fable, Novelly Yours, Frostbeard Studio, Stub Tail Candle Co, and The Melting Library

My Favorite Bookish Candle:
Rowan from A Court of Candles
Smells Like: Pine and Mint

Summer Solstice from A Court of Candles
Smells Like: Strawberries
I love this candle and keep it near my bed so occasionally through the night I catch whiffs of it. Yum!

#Bookstagram from Wick and Fable
Smells Like: Vanilla and Coffee (and to me, popcorn)
This is a warm smelling candle I love to open up and let the scent fill my room.

Darkling from A Court of Candles
Smells Like: (to me, Darkling smells like one of my favorite perfumes but I can't put my finger on which one.)
This is my newest candle purchase and quickly tied for my favorite with Rowan!

Fireheart by A Court of Candles
Smells Like: Citrus and Spice maybe? 
At first this wasn't one of my favorites but now I love to sniff it. It's been sitting open on top of my bookcase for a few months now and it still smells fantastic.

Rhysand by A Court of Candles
Smells Like: Jasmine
This is a really relaxing scented candle. It smells clean, like fresh linen in a way. 

I think it's safe to say A Court of Candles is probably my favorite candle company but I love candles from each of the companies I've bought from. Both #Bookstagram and Der Erlkonig from Wick and Fable are fantastic, as is Cassius from Stub Tail Candle Company, Baz and Simon from Novelly Yours, Le Cirque Des Reves from FrostBeard, and Black Flame Candle from The Melting Library. There's something to love from them all! 

Book Review: Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Blurb:

Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

My Review:

This book was, in a word, perfect! 

Eliza is the creator of the insanely popular webcomic, Monstrous Sea but her parents don't understand why she'd rather spend all of her time working on her "hobby" and talking to people online than being out in the world and doing athletic things like her two younger brothers. At school, Eliza is the "weird girl" who never talks. 

That is until Wallace Warland transfers to her school and she stands up for him when two of their classmates are picking on him. It turns out Wallace, the guy who doesn't like to talk much either, is a huge fan of Monstrous Sea - in fact, he's one of the most popular fanfiction writers of Monstrous Sea! 

Eliza allows herself to form a friendship with Wallace but as the two grow closer she's afraid to tell him her secret - that she's the creator of the webcomic he loves so much. As the stress and pressure on Eliza begin to build, will she be able to keep her secret identity a secret? Or will her life implode in front of her very eyes?

I'm not a fan of comic books so I wasn't sure I would like Eliza and Her Monsters but after loving this book as much as I did I can only wonder why I didn't pick it up sooner. We all know what it's like to fangirl over a series we love, but this book shows the behind the scenes life of the creator we rarely get to see. 

As both a blogger and an author, I could relate to Eliza's intensity for her craft and her anxiety over getting her work done on time so I feel like I really could understand Eliza and her viewpoint on the world around her. 

Wallace was an unusual character but I liked him - from his quiet silence and means of communicating mostly through notes to when the reader learns more about the reason why he is the way he is. If anyone would be a perfect fit for Eliza, Wallace was wonderfully developed. 

I loved the background characters and the things they added to the story, except for Eliza's parents. They were the kind of bookish parents that I hate - they're so wrapped up in their passions that they don't understand what's important to their children and I really wanted to reach into the book and smack them on more than one occasion.

Overall, I devoured this book quickly and loved both the author's writing style and the illustrations in the book to represent Eliza's comic. This book is about fandom, embracing who you are, and letting others in even though you don't want to and I loved every minute of it. 

My Rating:

5 of 5 Stars!

Bookish Shop Spotlight & Review: Read and Wonder

Last month I discovered a great new bookish shop, Read and Wonder, through author Kerri Maniscalco, who was holding a giveaway of a set of their Stalking Jack the Ripper inspired magnetic bookmarks. Upon checking them out I had to order myself a set and I got them this week! 

Take a closer look.... 

My Mini Review:

I found the Etsy shop easy to navigate and find what I was specifically searching for and the prices and shipping rate to the US were extremely reasonable.

I ordered these magnetic bookmarks on July 17th, they shipped out on July 22nd, and I received them on August 7th, which I found to be an acceptable and understandable time-frame when shipping from Australia to the U.S. 

The magnetic bookmarks themselves are well made and the magnets clip together well when placed over a page. They also look very cute (as you can see in the pictures).

My Rating:

5 Stars! 

I will definitely order from this shop again!