Embers|pictures that inspire #4

Right click; image in new window; grab image address; put in post.

Yes, we're here with Embers|pictures that inspire.

You can sit back and enjoy the pics or join the fun!

How to play?

1. Grab the above picture and put it in a post.
2. Follow it with as many inspiring pictures as you want.
3. Have fun!! :)

Here are mine this time:

Oh my word! It's Georgie Henley/Lucy!! Isn't she just gorgeous?? :)

<3

<3

The Magic Quiz

So so so sooooo sorry for being gone for so long!! :/ There was the play and then I got sick and.... yeah, anyway... =P

To make up for being boring for so long, what about a quiz? ;D Yeah? OK, let's start... ;)

(Modern Day)

Do you have a modern day, but seemingly different kind of magic? This is kind of referring to the kind of magic in books where it's a normal every day story, and yet something seems a little... magical.

(Olden Day)

Do you kind of have the olden day, beautiful, crystal kind of magic? This is referring to like when you walk into an old bookshop and think of, say, Inkheart or if you walked into an old mansion and immediately get a story idea. That kind of old time feeling magic.

(unique)

Do you kind of have that out of this world, and yet still in this world magic? This is kind of like my Danielle Panabaker story. It sounds like it's in our world--maybe in the future--and yet, it's totally different. Magical.

(beautiful)

Do you kind of have that beautiful, delicate, mysterious magic? That feeling you get when you see the elves of LOTR or you read a beautiful, happy magic book.

Take this quiz to find out! :)

(And by the way... the answers aren't all realistic, but try to think of yourself in the sense of that you're a book character. What would you want to be your story? Hmm? ;))

1. You're told by your parents that you're moving. You're just sure that...

A. ...the house that you're moving to is going to be plain, old, and dusty.

B. ...the house that you're moving to is old and mysterious, with lots of mysterious for you to unlock while you stay there.

C. ...the house that you're moving to has a secret staircase that will lead you to a magical place.

D. ...that it will have a huge library full of magical books waiting to take you on adventures.

2. You just found out that you possibly have magical blood in you. You're sure that...

A. ...you're probably really like some awesome writer's daughter or something.

B. ...you're definitely going to be some kind princess of some kind.

C. ...you're some kind of reclusive sprite or something.

D. ...you're definitely an elf or a fairy! :)

3. What you love most is...

A. ...old watches, dusty bookshops, and compasses.

B. ...ball gowns, fancy gloves, telescopes, old love letters, trunks and chests.

C. ...satchels, caps, scarves, beaded hair, stained glass, a beautiful magical place that's more futuristic than anything.

D. ...Blue Moons, moonlight shining on water, waterfalls, beautiful dresses, shimmering cloaks, and flutes.

4. You're most described by...

A. ...confident and courageous.

B. ...mysterious and smart.

C. ...unique and different.

D. ...angelic and beautiful.

5. What most sounds like the adventure you'd want to have?

A. Some kind of adventure in your hometown where the risks aren't very high and everything turns out alright in the end.

B. One full of mystery and intrigue, including an old house, some small magic, and lots of danger for you and your friends.

C. An adventure with lots of action packed adventure, with lots of danger, twists, and turns, out of which you don't even know if YOU'LL survive.

D. An adventure full of beauty, majesty, magic, mystery, danger, and everything else combined with a silver blue cloak.

6. If you were in a book, the story would begin...

A. ...there once lived a girl, in a very small town, and nothing ever happened.

B. ...once, a long time ago, there was an old mansion.

C. ...I have always loved adventure; but I never knew how that love would nearly kill me.

D. ...there was a Blue Moon, shining down on the waters; and that night a baby was born.

Now to calculate your results...

(aka this quiz is over, ya'll... ;D)

Mostly As is............ The Modern Day Magic!

Mostly Bs is............... The Olden Day Magic!

Mostly Cs is..................... The Unique Magic!

Mostly Ds is.................. The Beautiful Magic!

And I am......

(let's see... =P)

.......I'm the Beautiful Magic!! (Yippee!! =D) haha ;)

Thanks for taking!! I'd LOVE to hear who YOU are!!! :)

HTML/CSS codes

I'm going to spill the beans.

Alright? :)

So, you know, as a designer, sometimes it's kind of like "ooh, I want to hoard all of my secrets". But I think, "hey, if people still want a blog design from me, I'm free, but otherwise, why not let them do it themselves?" You might be thinking that this is a CSS/HTML code post, and if you are... why, you're correct. =D Here are some codes that I use when I design.

1. Centering gadget titles. This is really nice if you have a template where you don't have a white background. If you don't, then it's going to be really obvious if you put the pictures with the words above it. So that's why I like this. It's also a lot easier than inserting pictures above each gadget. I still do the pictures (like on this blog) sometimes because I think they're cool, but this is something that I would suggest knowing.

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog that you're going to want to use
-Go to template
-Click customize template
-Go to Advanced
-Go to CSS
-Enter this code:

.sidebar .widget h2 {

text-align: center;

}

-Click return afterwards to see how it'll play out
-Save your template

Pretty easy, right? CSS is. It's my fave. :)

2. Centering page titles, post titles, and date titles. This is also a really good thing to do. Not only does it make it look pretty professional, but it's also a nice style. :)

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog that you're wanting to use
-Go to template
-Click customize template
-Go to Advanced
-Go to CSS
-Enter this code:

.PageList {text-align:center !important;}

.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}h3.post-title { text-align:center; }

.date-header

{

text-align:center !important; 

}

-Click return afterwards to see how it'll play out
-Save your template

Sweet, right? :)

And, if you want to put them together, this is how you can put them all together in one:

.PageList {text-align:center !important;}

.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}h3.post-title { text-align:center; }

.date-header

{

text-align:center !important; 

}

.sidebar .widget h2 {

text-align: center;

}

Super duper easy. ;)

3. Keep your navbar but make it disappear until you hover. I do this on ALL of my blogs, just because it makes it better. And the best part? It's like the easiest code ever. =D

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog you're wanting to use
-Go to Layout
-Click add gadget
-Get the HTML/Java Script gadget
-Put in this code:

<!-- DROPDOWN NAVBAR -->
<!-- stylesheet for FF2, Op9, IE7 (strict mode) -->
<style type="text/css">
#navbar {
display:inline;
width:100%;
position:absolute;
background-color:transparent;
top:-30px;
left:0px;
height:60px;
z-index:999999;
}
#navbar:hover{
top:0px;
height:30px;
}
</style>
<!-- stylesheet for IE6 and lower -->
<!-- (not supporting element:hover) -->
<!-- first, unhide the navbar through css -->
<!-- second, hide the navbar and mimic -->
<!-- the effect with javascript, if available -->
<!--[if lt IE 7]>
<style type="text/css">
#navbar {
height:30px;
top:0px;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
var navbar = document.getElementById('navbar');
if(navbar){
navbar.onmouseover = function(){
navbar.style.top = '0px';
navbar.style.height = '30px';
}
navbar.onmouseout = function(){
navbar.style.top = '-30px';
navbar.style.height = '60px';
}
if (navbar.captureEvents){
navbar.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEOVER);
navbar.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEOUT);
}
navbar.onmouseout();
}
</script>
<![endif]-->
<!-- end dropdown navbar -->

-Save gadget

I think that's all for now... have any more questions? Maybe I can help!! :) And if you're seriously new to blogger, I have lots of great tips on my Help page on my blog Storyteller of Weston County. :)

Secret Story Contest

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, yes, I'm doing another contest. :) Yay!! :) OK, so this is a book cover design contest. So then why on earth is it called Secret Story Contest?! You'll understand in a moment. ;D

OK, so, I was thinking--what kind of contest could I do?? I mean, I've done several contests before, and you've all been kind enough to have enough entries FOR a contest. :) So I was thinking, "What kind of contest should I do this time?" And then I thought, "Book cover design contest!" And then I was thinking, "But what book??"

So here's the deal:

You come up with a book cover for a fake book (not one that you've made, not one that I've made, not one that anybody's made) and make like a fake summary of the story, and add a fake author's name on the cover, too (or use your own. I don't really care...). You know, like, the inside of the cover of a book?

Here is an example of what I'm thinking:

Brothers Jacque and Peter Bouvier had always been close, only three years apart in age. But when eighteen year old Jacque is drafted into the French army and fifteen year old Peter is left behind, both feel an ache for their other brother. Peter doesn't know what to do without Jacque. He's never done anything without his older brother. And when strange things start to happen, he suddenly realizes that something terrible has happened to his brother... and he's determined to do anything he can to save him.

This would be an example of a good entry. ;D

Kind of get my idea? :)

OK, so, here are the rules:

1. You MUST be a follower of this blog, Rubberboot Girl.

2. All entries must be left in a comment on THIS POST (otherwise an invalid entry).

3. If allowed, share this post on Google so that your friends will know about it, too. :)

4. This contest ends the 25th of March.

5. You must take the above advertisement for this contest and place it on the side of your blog for the duration of the contest. When the contest ends, you're free to do what you want with it. (I will have it available to drag it off from the side of my blog at all times during the contest.)

6. The three winners--1st, 2nd, and 3rd places--will get to choose between a blog design, being a featured blogger on this blog, or getting a personalized interview. (All of these, except for the blog design, do not include your email.)

7. For fun, you may include something about your fake author, like they do in the back of books. This will not add up to your points in most ways, but it might help me to sway towards you if I'm really impressed by it. ;)

8. Good luck and God bless!! :) (And remember not to enter more then once... this will get you disqualified. =P)

Hope you guys enter!! :)

Embers|pictures that inspire #3

Right click; image in new window; grab the image URL; put in your post.

Hello, hello! Today we're here with Embers|pictures that inspire. :)

Want to play?

Here's how:

1. Grab the above button and put it in a post.

2. Follow the button by putting several pictures that inspire you.

Have fun!! Hope you enjoy my inspirations!! ;)

P.S. If you leave the link to your Embers post, I'll check it out. :)

Abigail Jane Applegate--The Man in Black

Outside of New York City
1778
British Occupation of New York

I couldn't believe it. I was going to be hung as a Patriot spy. Which, of course, was true. As part of the Culper Ring, I knew the risk that I took every day. But until I saw the look in the British leader's eyes did I realize what he'd just told the men--I'm going to die.

Now I was being hauled out of the barn that they'd brought me into by the soldiers. They threw me up onto to a cart. The man's words echoed in my brain--She'll be hanged tomorrow morning with the rest of them. Where were they going to take me?

"Don't move," glared one of the soldiers. "We're watching you."

One of them sat in the back of the wagon with me and the other jumped up onto the seat and whipped the horses into a canter. I bit my lip to keep from crying. I was going to die. The thought just wouldn't go away. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. It kept on going through mind, time and time again. Was I ready to die? Was I really ready to face God for all of the sins that I'd committed in my lifetime? I felt like this was all wrong. There was so much more that I had to do. The wagon bounced me back to real life.

We were away from the barn and the farmhouse, traveling down a bumpy dirt road. I was thrown about by the ruts. My eyes strayed ahead, hoping, praying, that somehow I would find a way to get out of this. Some way. I didn't know how. But God was on my side. I knew that.

That's about the time when the man dressed in black flew on horseback in front of the wagon. In his hand was a gun.

To avoid a collision, the soldier driving pulled hard on the reins. The horses cried in protest but pulled to a halt right in front of the man. His gun was trained on the soldier driving's head.

"Let the girl go," he commanded.

I recognized that voice.

Nathan.

Lime Baseball

Dear Readers,

This is Jessie. You're not going to believe what happened!!!!!!

OK, so, the other day I got an invitation to go to Noah's house for a party. (I was pretty sure it was something about the football... [because, you know, I did save them by dressing up as the mascot that one time...... ONE OF THE MOST HORRIBLE DAYS EVER.] but my best friend's emails aren't always the easiest to interpret. =P)

Anyway, so I talked to my mom, and she was like...

Mom: Of course your going! Noah's your best friend!

Me: Are you sure? I mean, from Noah's email, it sounded like just him and his football buddies.

Mom: Of course! I know all of their parents. It'll be fine.

Me: OK, but I'm not going to be wrangled into dressing up as a mascot.

Mom: O course not!

So that's how I found myself standing in front of Noah's house.

"Hey, Jessie!" Noah ran out of the house. "Come on--we're about to start playing Imaginiff." He paused, and then leaned forward and hissed, "By the way, I've just got to warn you that Marcus is here."

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"WHAT?!" my voice squeaked. "Are you kidding!?"

"No," he answered.

"Look," I hissed, "I can't go in there. I hate that kid. I'll probably starting throwing food at him, and I don't want to do that."

"Look," Noah whispered, "it'll be fine. Come on."

He practically dragged me into the house, where his mom was trying to save all of her precious vases and picture frames. (I would've given it up.) Noah's football buddies were running around the house like crazy. (I'm serious. Middle school boys are so immature. =P) Marcus was sitting like a board, glaring, on Noah's couch.

"I need to leave," I hissed. "My mind's already thinking of ways to booby trap Marcus!"

"It'll be fine," Noah told me. "Just relax. Hey, you can go and help Mom in the kitchen, OK?"

I watched his mom catch a picture that was falling off the wall. "Noah, your mom's not IN the kitchen."

"Well, you know what I mean." He pushed me towards the door. "Go on."

I went into the kitchen. Paper plates and cups sat on the kitchen table, next to a bowl full of limes and oranges and a platter of sandwiches.

"What's this party really for, anyway?" I muttered, picking up a lime and throwing it between my hands like a baseball.

CRASH!!! The sound made me cringe and then run angrily into Noah's living room. Marcus was standing with a smug smile over a broken vase.

"YOU HOOLIGAN!" I shouted at him.

And then I did something really awful.

I threw the lime at his head.

"OOF!" He fell to the ground, rubbing the back of his head. Then he stood up and glared at me. "What was that for?!"

As you can imagine, I was horrified.

It ended up that I apologized, Noah's mom cut the party short, and we went home.

HAD I REALLY JUST THROWN A LIME AT MARCUS???????

Oh stink.

Love,
Jessie