BAKING AND BOOKPLATES

We could hardly wait to try this recipe from For the Love of Cooking.

I just spent a couple of days with my sister's kids (while she and her husband took a little get-away trip in celebration of her birthday).  My niece Tatiana loves to bake, and she and her younger brother are avid readers, so we had plenty of fun of our own...baking blueberry scones, making bookplates, and - of course - talking about what we are currently reading.

What could be better than homemade scones and morning sunshine?

While the scones were cooling, Tati and I downloaded some cute bookplates as part of a birthday gift for her friend.

We downloaded the pdf for these fairy bookplates, by Valerie Greeley,
from her Etsy website ACORNMOON.

Are you curious to know what good book recommendations I came back with? My nine-year-old nephew, Peter, handed me two, as he gushed, "Aunt Wendy, you have got to read these and write about them on your blog!"

Two new friends...

I immediately started the first, Summer of the Monkeys, by Wilson Rawls. Tati informed me it's by the same author who wrote Where the Red Fern Grows.  Peter said that boys, especially, will love it.  The second one is A Tree For Peter, by Kate Seredy, which - according to Peter - "might make you cry".  I'll report back about these two new friends as soon as I finish them.

Oh, and if you're wondering:

"Tatiana's Fresh Blueberry Scones with Lemony Glaze" were as good as they look! She adapted the recipe a bit:  she added an extra tablespoon of sugar to the dry ingredients, and lemon zest to the scone dough (instead of putting zest in the glaze).  She also substituted half & half for the "heavy cream" called for in the scone recipe above. [hint: if you can get Meyer lemons, they are a great compliment to the blueberries]

FUN (FREE!) BOOKPLATES TO PERSONALIZE YOUR CHILD'S HOME LIBRARY

Ex libris is Latin for "from the library of..." 

Bookplates, also known as "ex-libris", have been placed in books to declare ownership since the 15th Century. Many artists, some famous such as William Hogarth, Aubrey Beardsley and John Piper, have designed bookplates, and many significant people (e.g. Samuel Pepys and Rudyard Kipling) have used them, but a personal bookplate is available to anyone owning a library and wishing to place in the books a printed design as a mark of possession. -from the BOOKPLATE SOCIETY web page.

Did the word 'FREE' get your attention??  Read more HERE about the interesting history of bookplates on the website, MyHomeLibrary.com, which has a large selection of FREE printable children's bookplates in all different sizes.  Some are black and white, some are color.  They are all done by children's book illustrators. You'll find lots of fun designs like these that you are free to download and print!

Bookplate by ALIKI

Bookplate by Helen Craig, illustrator of ANGELINA BALLERINA books

Valerie Greeley bookplate.  You'll love her website & Etsy page!

CLICK HERE to download this free bookplate from Mo Willems!

JAN BRETT also has some printable bookplates HERE on her website...

HEDGIE bookplate, by Jan Brett

Feeling creative?  FAMILY FUN has a fun photo bookplate project you can do with your kids...

And lastly, for a purchased option, you can always look online or at your local craft store to buy ex libris rubber stamps, which you can stamp directly into the book, or onto a sticker, that can then be adhered to the page. But however you choose to personalize your child's library, know that it will be fun! The possibilities are endless...

This one's from Etsy.