Fifty Feet Up

 I was walking to the park one fall day. There wasn't one kid my age around hear. All the kids in my grade are too afraid to hang out here on weekdays because it's where all the regular 'gangs' hang out after school. Well, the only way to get to John's house was to walk straight through here. With luck I'd get there alive. Relax, John does this every day, I told myself, but soon remembered that he was safe because his older brother was the leader of the high-school gang that ran everything around here. Though Finnly park is small and miserable-looking, apparently that's the best place for gangs to hang out. I was almost through the park, right at the edge by the big oak tree when I ran into the one and only Drake Marcus and his gang. I took a look around for something to hide by. Drake never really gave me any trouble. You stay out of their way, they stay out of your's; but sadly something as simple as making eye contact with any of them is already “getting in their way” not to mention I was in their territory.

I made my way to the big oak and leaned on the trunk as casually as I could, but I felt them making their way towards me. They all surrounded Drake—five of them in all—in a practiced square. It all depended on what they thought of me that ultimately decided of they'd go easy on me (which did happen sometimes) or hard on me (which happened more than sometimes.)

They got to the tree after what seemed like forever.

“Who's this shrimp?” Drake asked.

“That's Tom Connel,” one of his goons said.

Something flashed in Drake's eyes right then. I'm not sure what but it was gone after a second.

“Tom the Bomb?” he asked me.

It was like I was never gonna live that one down. It was a nickname I got when me and some guys accidentally made a test tube explode on a field trip to some science center two years ago in the fourth grade.

I nodded.

He nodded too.

“You're not bad, Tommy boy,” he said like he was considering his options. “Tell you what: You climb this tree and fetch me that kite up there. Then we'll all go our separate ways, Tommy. No need to look so scared, now.

The boys around him all turned to him in surprise at the simplicity of this task. He paid no attention. The edges of his lips twitched. “That alright with you, Tommy?”

I have to admit that I was surprised too. I had heard a lot of crazy stuff that Drake made people do. Climbing a tree wasn't one of them.

I gave him another nod.

That kite had been there at the top of that fifty foot oak for as long as anyone could remember. It pretty much represented Finnly park.

But I found a low branch and hoisted myself up. Sure, I'd climbed trees before, but never this tall, but the old oak's branches were thick and stable so I started climbing, just like that. I felt five pairs of eyes on me. They'd started making bets already.

Bet he'll wimp out at 20 feet.

Bet he'll fall before that.

I heard laughter under me, but soon enough I was too far up to hear the guys.

I didn't want to look down. I told myself not to but it happened anyway. I took one look below me and I couldn't see the ground from where I had come. I must've been more that thirty feet up now. Then all of a sudden I felt dizzy and started to lose my balance. I grabbed around for a branch but missed and just as I had braced myself for the fall, something caught me. My eyes were shut tight so I couldn't see what. I opened them to see a pair of arms linked under mine.

Someone caught me.

“You okay?” she said.

It was a girl.

“I—I'm okay,” I stuttered.

“Good that. On your feet, then.”

I stood up on the branch I had been standing on before.

“Follow me,” the girl said, “I can get you to the top.”

So I followed her up through the tree branch by branch and we climbed in record time.

Then soon enough I saw a flick of color and I realized that the kite was only so many feet away now. I sped up a bit and then soon enough it was right in front of me.

“We made it,” I said, sitting on a particularly thick branch and put my pack against the trunk of the tree for support.

“You made it,” the girl said, sitting on a branch beside me.

I looked over at her sitting there. Dark straight hair blowing in the wind. Green eyes thoughtful. She looked about my age.

“What's your name?” she asked, turning to me.

“Tom,” I said. “What's your's?”

“Emilia,” she answered.

I looked around to the kite and I started reaching out for it.

“What are you doing?” Emilia asked.

I paused. “I'm taking the kite.”

“No!” she said and smacked my hand away.

“You can't. It's mine,” she said firmly.

“But I can't go back down without it,” I said.

“Well you don't have to go back down.”

And for a second I was willing to stay up here, fifty feet up in the air with this strange girl.

“Fifty feet up...” I thought out loud.

“Better than six feet under.” she said.

I wasn't sure if she was making a joke. I looked around at the view before me. I could see every gang planning attacks, pointing people out. I could see John's house right across from the small street below me. Staying up here wouldn't be too bad. But soon memories of food and water and on-the-ground things and people filled my mind and I said, “I should go back down now.” I hesitated, “You can have the kite.”

She smiled appreciatively, then it faltered and she asked, “Will I ever see you again, Tom?”

“Sure you will,” I answered right away. Her smile returned.

“Then I think I'll stay up here a while,” Emilia said, now leaning back on the trunk of the tree.

“Okay.” I hesitated, then started making my way back down the tree. I looked back up at the girl.

“Goodbye, Emilia,” I said.

She looked down and smiled at me.

“Goodbye, Tom.”

It was only when I had gotten all the way back down that I noticed how much time had passed. The boys had long-since left and I was glad I wouldn't have to deal with them. For now.

I walked around the tree to see if I could spot Emilia at the top when I tripped on something and fell to the ground.

I got up quickly and saw it was some kind of plaque. I leaned down and read the words in the orange light of the setting sun.

“IN MEMORY OF EMILIA EVANS”

Then there was an engraving of a kite under the words. A rotting rose lay next to the plaque along with a picture taped to the tree.

It was a picture of a girl, my age, sitting on a low branch of the tree, with dark, straight hair blowing in the wind. Green eyes thoughtful.

        ***

        Written by Vivien A.

Hope you all enjoyed my new short story, leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Follow this blog to get notifications for new posts!

 Happy Summer and thanks for reading!

~Vivien

MADNESS

Mad~insane, crazy, wild.

Not "mad" as in, "I'm mad at you,"

"Mad" as in "We think he's gone mad.

This is the definition of "mad" I used to create this.

Inspired by the song "Madness" and the book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I created this piece off of an image that appeared in my head while I listened to this song. In my head, it was actually a t-shirt, (which it may be someday) but with different colors, but the same overall design. I think it has been improved during the transformation from private idea to an exposed wonder. I am really proud of this piece--maybe more that any other artwork I've made. It all fits together so perfectly to me. The background bright red with "MAD" written all over it, (36 times) and a picture of the Mad Hatter, which I printed and colored. Then for the final touch, I printed a page from the book across the image of the hatter and placed in the middle of the canvas.

This mixed media collage now hangs in my room, right across from the strangest hat I own.

Thanks so much for reading,
Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below,
~Vivien

Please don't claim any of my my work as your own, sharing is fine as long as this blog is given credit. Thank You!

The Edge of the Homework Lands

  The end of the year is almost upon us. We are leaving the Homework Lands and quickly approaching Summer Territories where June, July, and August await. The question is if we are all ready to shuffle away from the train tracks that have brought us so far.
  There are a few feelings you may have about the up-coming summer.
What would you write to the engineer of this train we're all on?

1.  Dear engineer person,
I hope everything is going well. I was just writing to you to ask if you could speed up this trip a bit. I'm getting pretty bored. 
I know we're supposed to arrive in the Summer Territories in June, but could we try for maybe...May 2nd? 
Thank you for your consideration,
Sincerely,
Bob Boberson

2. I AM DONE.
I want off this train right now. I'll walk the rest of the way if I have to. I'll probably get there sooner than all of you at the speed this train is going at. I won't take another day of this so just stop the train as soon as you get this.
Bob Boberson

3.  Dear engineer guy,
I know we are supposed to arrive in the Summer Territories in June, but I was wondering if you could slow down a bit. I still have a few goals to reach and the speed we're going at makes me nervous. So if you'd be so kind as to change the day of our arrival to about...July 27th? I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to all the friends I've made on this ride.
Thanks,
Bob Boberson

Or maybe you're in the middle. Part of you wants the school year to be over and another part of you doesn't want to say goodbye.

What would you write to the engineer of the our train? What's the name of the train? What are you going to miss or what are you looking forward to?
Let me know in the comments below,

Thanks so much for reading,
~Vivien

Bobby, G. Spi, and the Nameless Necklace

Hello people of Earth, today I'm going to show you how easy it is to make your own original necklaces out of everyday things and stuff you might find around the house.

This first one is my bobby-pin necklace or Bobby for short. yes, it is just a string with a bunch of bobby-pins put on it but it looks amazing and, honestly, nobody even notices they're bobby-pins when you put this much on it. It takes people a while to figure it out.

I like to call this the golden spiral necklace (or G. Spi) because that's, literally, what it is. (Well, it's the color of gold, anyway). I was getting into the car when I found this spiral thing on the ground and I cleaned it and kept it in my backpack and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided to make it a necklace.

So this last one does not have a name because, sadly, I could not think of one... on this necklace is one of those twisting things at the end of a wind-up toy if you know what I'm talking about. I really just started wearing this because it came off of my favorite wind-up toy, which is now sadly broken, and for some reason I figured it was good luck.

Well that's all I've got for today, leave a comment below, tell me what you think or help me think of a name for my necklace! (yes. It needs a name.)

Thanks for reading,
~Vivien 

How to Make Someone's Day

  WARNING: THIS POST IS VERY LONG. PLEASE READ IT ANYWAY...
  As you all know, e-mailing, texting, and calling has completely blocked out communication by mail. I mean, if you wanna let someone know something really important, you're gonna call them. If you just wanna say hi, your gonna text them right away. I'm not sure what the appropriate occasion to e-mail is... maybe to let them know you're having a birthday party and it didn't feel right texting all your friends' moms or something like that. Whichever way you choose, you're not using post mail. SO, here's something you want to do to make someone's day.

!. choose a friend or family member you want to send a card to. Maybe just someone who needs some cheering up, or just a friend you think will laugh when they see this.

@. start off with a blank card of your choice, and get ready with pens and pencils and coloring thingamabobbers and all that jazz.

#. open the card whatever way, horizontal or diagonal, and take a loose piece of paper, and just glue or tape the top to the top of the right page.

$. now you're ready to begin. Write a short paragraph that pretty-much says, "Dear Bob, I'm writing to you from Your Name enterprises and the connection wasn't very good so I've decided to mail you a letter instead of, (what's it called?) Oh, yes, texting you..."
Be creative. Your goal is to make this person laugh, but don't stress over this one paragraph, it's just the opening.

%. once you've finished, go to the next page and at the top write something like, "This next page contains highly classified information, so if you can guess this password, you're free to look."
Then you can write a hint if you want, or you can leave some letters there like, "B_NA_AS"----(BANANAS) and try to make it obvious like an inside joke or just something they would know.

^. Now this next page is totally yours. Write about your last adventure to Jupiter. Write about how a giant slug tried to eat you when you were stranded on an island alone for days. Or, if you really want to, write a totally formal letter, but throw in something totally random at the end, just to get a smile. (:

&.  now don't forget to end with Sincerely, or with love.....I'm just kidding, you can end this with, "Well, the president's here, better get the door, Goodbye." for all i care. make sure the reader realizes this is from your head not some blog you found....... but that doesn't matter! Because this is about Bob and you, not me.

*. alright, you're ready to send. You've CHECKED YOUR SPELLING, and all the important things like, CHECKING YOUR SPELLING, are taken care of, right?

Right. Now after you've put this in an envelope, written the address of the person you've sending it to, written your return address, put a postage stamp on, and put it in the mail box, (no, not your mail box) those big blue mail boxes...? Ring a bell? Right, yes, and you've already sent it,

REPEAT AFTER ME: I WILL NOT,

____________________________

CALL WHOEVER I SENT A LETTER TO,

_______________________________

AND SAY, 

________

"DID YOU GET MY LETTER?!?"

__________________________

BECAUSE THAT,

_____________

WOULD PROBABLY,

_______________

NOT BE,

_______

VERY,

_____

SMART.

______

Good. Just making sure we're clear.

Well, that's all I've got for you today. Make sure you leave a comment and let me know how all this went!

Thanks for reading! Bye!

Miss-match

  Hi. Jeeze I haven't typed in so long... This is taking forever.
Anyway... as some people may know, I do not, and will never wear matching socks. At this very second I am wearing miss-matched socks. If you'd like to know why, ask someone else 'cause I've got no idea. I've been doing this for all of 2012 and 2013 (no it's not a bet.) and it never get's old 'cause the other 11 years of my life I've been wearing matching socks, but not anymore my friend. I shall only wear matching socks if it's an extremely special occasion, otherwise these socks are staying different.  I've worn different knee-high socks before. Ya maybe its kinda crazy but I've done crazier things... much crazier things...

my socks

My friends, it's once again time for me to end my post so adios and au revoir, readers.

Can't-Misses and Must-Reads...and man't-risses...

 Hello again. Today I'm gonna tell you guys about some books and serieses...serieseses...series'?...(I hope you know what I mean)...you can't miss and must read.

 First off I'll tell you about a book called Tuck Everlasting. This is an extremely sweet fantasy book I read and loved by Natalie Babbitt. It's about a young girl named Winnie and her odd experiences with the strange Tuck family. I honestly do not recommend the movie, in my opinion it is a completely different story and the book will touch you much more. It's really  can't-miss book and I think kids 10 and higher will enjoy this the most (;

 The Spiderwick Chronicles is a fantasy and adventure book by Tony DiTerlizzy and Holly Black about the adventures of the Grace children after moving into their great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick's estate. Here, they discover a world of faeries through a guide written by Arthur. There is a continuation of 3 books with different characters but I prefer the first ones. This is a series all kids 9 and up should read. I remember my brother me and some friends got obsessed with it at one point {: This is a must-read.

 The Mysterious Benedict Society is a series of books with more to come by Trenton Lee Stewart about four gifted children, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance, and their adventures. These are gripping books with amazing writing. Stewart's writing is so clever and exciting you don't want to put the book down. The grammar is sort of complex so I'd recommend this to ages 11 and up. This is a mix of can't-miss and must-read...its a man't-riss, or a... you get it.

 The Percy Jackson series is a fantasy adventure series about Greek mythology by Rick Riordan. When I read the first book, I was hooked. It's about a boy named Percy Jackson and his adventures at Camp Halfblood. I strongly encourage this book. It's a must-read. I'd say kids 9 and up should read this amazing series. Rick Riordan does have other books I have not read but you might wanna check those out too.

 And last but definitely not least, Tangerine by Edward Bloor. This is a, no question about it, must read. It's about a boy named Paul Fisher ,who just moved from Houston, and his family and experiences in Tangerine, Florida. This may seem boring, but this is one of the very best books I've ever read. It is so gripping and unlike any other book I've read. I recommend this to anyone 11 and older.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, have fun, inspire, and get inspired. Bye!

Shrinky Dinks

   Hello everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful December!
Today I'm going to tell you about something called a Shrinky Dink. They're a really fun to do craft and here's how you make them, (;
You must have a special piece of plastic you can get at a Michael's store or amazon.com, some colored pencils, and some scissors.
1. Take the piece of plastic, and draw on the rough side. Don't draw anything too small though.
2. Color in your drawing with colored pencils or crayons, no markers.
3. Plan on what you're going to make (earring? Necklace. Decoration?) and make adjustments ahead of time (hole punch?)
4. Cut out your drawing and try to avoid sharp edges (it will become a weapon.) 
5. Place your piece of plastic the oven or microwave, with the drawing facing up, and put oven at 380° F.
6. Stand by and watch your your drawing become smaller, and crumple up, (it is not being ruined) and spread out again. Do not keep in longer than 2 minutes.
7. Drawing will have shrunken about 3 times and got much thicker. It will be pretty hot out of the oven. Place out and let it cool off then create what you've been waiting for.
 You can make a necklace, earrings, an ornament, or just a small decoration. These make excellent presents for family or friends and it's just a fun thing to do (; 
  Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

 

                             
Like this post? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think (; thanks!

Christmas Craft

  Hello everyone! As you know, it is now December and even though there is technically 23 days till the Holidays, I still say there is 25, so I've made a count-down out of post-it notes. Yes, post-it notes. And you know what? It doesn't even look HALF as bad as I thought it would!
You guys can use this for a nice little decoration and it doesn't even require that many supplies.
To make this all you need to do is get some sticky notes, (your choice of color), and put them into 5 rows of 5. Then you have yourself a count-down. Each day, take down a post-it until you reach the 25th day. You can stick it on any wall, really anywhere. (;

  I hope you guys enjoy and have happy holidays filled with memories. (;
See you later!


  Like this post? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!

My Latest Fashion Sketches

   Hey everybody! Happy Thanksgiving!
I am back on fashion for the time being and I wanna show you a few of my newest sketches, (by newest i mean drawn about 20 minutes before writing this...)
Enjoy!


    First off I've got this outfit that I would really love to have! The first layer is a striped, black and dark purple shirt with a grey skirt and leggings. On the top is a yellow-brown raincoat that really pulls the outfit together. (;

    You guys have heard of pencil skirts, right? Well this is a literal Pencil Dress. I was looking
everywhere for inspiration, then I just looked at the colored pencils in my hand and used it for the
dress. (;

   This is my black and white Stripe Dress. This was also a desperate hope for inspiration when I started doodling what turned out to be the upper part of the dress. I like the style and simplicity of this dress. (;

   Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, leave a comment below and tell me what you think! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Until next time, have fun, inspire, and get inspired. (;