3D Modeling For Teens Is Back!

 You asked for it, so we delivered. One of our most requested programs, 3D Modeling for teens will be back next Wednesday, September 15th at Main Library.

In this program, Elia will be teaching a limited number of teens how to create the types of files needed to run code on the library's 3D printers. Participants will get to take home a 3D print of their creations (just remember that 3D printing takes time, so you'll have to collect your print a few days after the program). The program is completely free, but only open to teens ages 13-18, and in order to participate, you do need an email address. See you there!

Summer Reading Starts This Weekend!

 It's that time of year again! The library district's annual Summer Reading program kicks off this Saturday, May 29th and runs through July 10th! This year we are trying a few different things with the program. First of all, we will be reading for a time goal instead of for a set number of books. 

All teens have to do to finish the program is read 20 minutes a day for a total of 840 minutes. If you do that you will be entered into the end of summer drawing for the grand prize!

In order to participate, you have two options this year: you can sign up in person at your closest library or you can download the Read Squared app to your Android or Apple device and track everything there. It's up to you how you want to participate. 

Don't forget to sign up starting the 29th of May!

Fandom Notebooks DIY

Hello Teens! This is Nikki taking over today’s blog post to show you how to do another DIY craft at home and this one is super easy to do! Since we know you are pretty much all back to school, I thought it would be fun to do a school related craft! I will be teaching you how to personalize your school notebooks to show off your favorite fandom. Let’s take a look at the supplies you need first before we go into the steps.

List of supplies:

 School notebook

 Acrylic paints of your choice and paintbrushes

 Pencil or pen to draw out design OR

 Print out photo(s) of favorite fandom characters

 Mod Podge (to paste photos, and it dries clear)

 Paper plates to hold your paints and Mod Podge

 Newspaper or tablecloth to not make a mess

Example of supplies you may need.

Step 1: Deciding on a theme or character

Decide on a fandom character or characters you want to paint or print out pictures of. Since I cannot draw, I just printed out a picture of Senku from Dr. Stone since my notebook will be my science notebook. The paper is just regular printer paper. I chose to print out a character that tied in to my subject, but you can print out any you want! For my paints, I decided I wanted an ombre green background to go with Senku’s green hair. If you are going to only use paints instead of printouts, then you should use a pencil or pen to draw your character on the front of your notebook first. This will help you when it comes to painting so you don’t have to free hand it. If you are not sure what to do, feel free to do Internet search of DIY fandom notebooks or DIY Anime notebooks for inspiration. There are a lot photos and videos to get ideas!

Step 2: It’s Painting time!

It is time to paint your notebook. Make sure you put down some newspaper, a tablecloth or scratch paper so you do not dirty your table. If you are using a photo, paint your entire notebook whatever  color or colors you want first, before gluing on your print-outs. You may have to use more than one coat to cover your notebook fully. For my notebook, I had to do about three coats. Make sure to let it dry in between coats. I like using a big paintbrush or a sponge brush to help cover the entire notebook and I try to use downward paint strokes to make the paint look smooth, like in the example pictures below. 

After just one coat of paint. 

After several coats of paint. 

Step 3: Gluing your photo and adding extra embellishments

Once your entire notebook is dry, it is time to adhere the pictures you printed out! Put a

little bit of mod podge glue on your plate and use a paintbrush or sponge LIGHTLY on the back your photo. You do not want to drench your photo in mod podge because it will get too wet and it can start to fall apart. Place it on the front of your notebook and smooth it out as best as you can. I like to

work from inside to out. Also, if you have it available, printing out your pictures on sticker paper will make it so you won't have to use Mod Podge at all. 

Mod Podge your paper carefully, don't over-wet it. 

If any corners start to pucker upwards, you can use your finger and dab a little podge on the back. If you want to, you can Mod Podge the front of the photo to have extra security, just be sure to do it lightly. Mod podge dries fairly quickly, so you do need to work fast. If you want to add extra decorations like alphabet stickers like I did to spell out what subject your notebook is (see my example below. My alphabet stickers were too big so I could not spell out Science fully, oops lol). Make sure you measure how big your alphabet stickers should be to be able to fit properly! or paint what subject it is. You can even use washi tape and other stickers to personalize it. If you are finding your washi tape is not sticking to the cover, you can use a little bit of mod podge too to adhere the washi tape to your notebook.

Oops! Forgot to measure my letters!

Once your notebook is done you can show it off to your friends. Send us a picture to show you joined in on this craft at teen@yumalibrary.org! We would love to

see your creations!

Fun fact: Did you know creating art can actually help our mental health by letting you de-stress? Research has shown that doing something creative helps distract and ease our minds, which helps relax our bodies. It is why people love to do art or just sit and color in coloring books. So make sure to take some self-care time and do something creative if you are feeling stressed. Check out my other craft posts: The Paperchild Chibi Challenge and Kawaii Journaling if you want more fun activities to do at

home.

Lastly, if you are interested in any library books or resources to help with school, including studying habits and organizing, here are some you can place a hold for from our library collection or borrow from Hoopla with your library card:

   

I Hope you enjoyed this post and look forward to the next DIY craft idea!

Kawaii Journaling at Home

Hello Teens! This is Nikki! Today I am writing a blog post about my favorite hobby: Kawaii Journaling! I hope this post inspires you to start this hobby too!

What is Kawaii Journaling? To understand what Kawaii Journaling is about, you must understand what the Japanese word Kawaii means. The definition of kawaii simply means “cute.” This can mean many things to a person: a character, or a cute stationary item, like a doughnut pen. It all depends on the person and what they think is cute! In journaling, it is up to the journaler to decide what stationary items are cute to them, from cute stickers to memo notes to washi tape!

If you have scrapbooked before this, it is similar to that. This type of journaling is about your life adventures, your personal interests, hobbies and goals in a positive way. A journal spread can even be about a simple day you enjoyed. For instance, staying home and baking cookies or playing video games.

Let’s face it, life overall is simple, and we do a lot of the same stuff: go to work or school, come home and cook dinner, then relax with our loved ones or watch TV. However, journaling is a great way to reflect upon your life, enjoy the little things in life that are memorable, remember gratitude & keeping track of goals you want to achieve. You see yourself change and grow over the years into the person you want to become. It is also fun to look back at all the memories you wrote about in your journal. 

This is my Masters 2019 Graduation spread. I finally reached my education goal that I had been working towards for a long time! Go Me! Celebrate your achievements! 

How to get started: 

What journaling supplies you will need:

If you want to begin this type of journaling, you need to start by gathering together supplies. Journaling supplies can be expensive, therefore, it is good to make a budget of how much you want to spend, and always use coupons and watch for sales.

For sure, you will need a journal. You can use any type of journal that you can afford or a journal or notebook you already own. I personally use the official Japanese Hobonichi journal and it is an A6 size, which is about 4 inches by 5.5 inches. A6 size is smaller than the typical A5 journal size you see normally, which are usually 5.5 by 8 inches. A6 journal size is great if you do not want to write a lot but decorate more, and good for traveling.

You will also want to have different types of pens, from gel pens to marker pens to highlighters. Marker pens can bleed through the paper if it is thin so it is good to test it before writing or drawing a lot. You can also use different types of washi tape or masking tape, and stickers to decorate your pages. 

There are two different types of stickers, sticker sheets and sticker flakes. Sticker flakes are just individual die cut stickers that are not on one sheet. You can also download and print out your stickers on sticker paper from an artist you support or like. Journaling supplies are abundant; it just takes research to find what you like and the quality of the stationary too. The more you pay for an item the better quality it will probably be, hence why some of the authentic Japanese stationary can be pricey.  

Using your creativity and beginner tips:

It is up to you how to use your creativity to decorate your journal spread, there are so many themes you can do, it’s endless!

I always lay out my washi tape and stickers on the paper before placing it permanently on the page to make sure I like the arrangement. I also make sure to leave space for writing, especially if I am going to write on memo notes.

It may seem like you have to journal every day but this is not true. It is your choice to decide when you want to sit down and journal. I definitely do not journal every day, and sometimes it can be hard to think about what you want to journal about when you are starting out. This is why as a beginner, it is good to start by writing about yourself. 

You might discover something new about yourself or maybe choose to write about changing something you don’t like about yourself. Are you a person that sees things in a negative way? Maybe you want to change your perspective and start trying to look at life in a positive manner and the good things that are happening in your life. Maybe you have some goals this year you want to achieve, like changing your studying habits, or learning to cook. Many journalers reflect upon themselves and it helps to change and grow who they are in a positive way. You are the only person who can change yourself and your life, remember that!

My last tip is checking out all the many kawaii journaling prompts available online. Journaling prompts are pre-made themes created by different people in the journaling community. You can check out some of these prompts by searching the hashtag #positivitykawaiijournalingchallenge on social media. 

I also recommend the newbie kawaii journaling challenge hashtag: #kawaiijournalingnewbiechallenge. In general, you can search for hashtags #kawaiijournal or #kawaiijournaling to see inspirational spreads from the kawaii journaling community.

There are many Journal with Me videos on the Internet too. I definitely find inspiration from others and I think you will too! Do not worry if you feel your spreads are not up to par or don't look like other people’s, you will find your own style. As long as you like your journal spread, that is all that matters! Try not to be hard yourself and remember that journaling should be enjoyable! It is supposed to be fun!

I hope my tips and this blog post have helped you and inspired you to start kawaii journaling! To end my post, here are some more example photos of my some of my spreads! Keep an eye out on our blog and library’s Instagram to see the teen staff’s future online programs! Until next time! 

The Peeps Are Back!

For many years, it was a tradition at YCLD to host an annual contest where people would make shoe-box dioramas of their favorite books and movies using only marshmallow Peeps candy as the "people" in the scenes. No one really knows why we stopped doing this contest, but the teen staff loved it, so this year, we are bringing it back as a month-long teen program.

Basically all you need to do to enter is come see us in the Main Library Teen Room, and ask Alex, Nikki or Elia for an entry form. Then create a diorama and bring it in to us by March 31st. In April we will have some impartial people come in to judge the contest and choose the top 3 best dioramas as well as let people vote for the "Peeple's Choice" winner. Winners will receive a trophy, a cool prize and bragging rights for the year.

Check out the pictures below, from past year's contests for some inspo, but please don't copy! All your work should be original. The contest begins today so stop in and grab your entry form!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS FOR AGES 13-18 ONLY. INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES ONLY (NO GROUP CATEGORY)

2012 Entry "Harry Peeper" based on the Harry Potter books

2012 Entry "Oliver Peep" based on "Oliver Twist"

2011 Entry "Peep Holes" based on the book "Holes"

Summer Reading is Almost Here!

In case you did not know, the Teen Summer Reading Program starts on June 1st. Here's everything you need to know about it this year:

• The theme this year is "A Universe of Stories," which means a lot of our programs are going to be space-related in some way. This could mean actual science or science fiction. 
• To sign up for the teen program you have to be 13 and can't be older than 17. If you are still 12 you have to sign up for the kids program, and if you are already 18, you have to sign up for the adult program.
• You have until July 13th to finish the program, and we won't accept any reading logs after that date.
• To finish, you have 4 options:
• Read 8 books.
• Read 7 books and come to 1 library program.
• Read 6 books and come to 2 library programs
• Read 5 books and come to 3 library programs.
• You can turn in 2 full reading logs and claim a prize and a raffle ticket for a $25 Walmart gift card drawing. After 2 logs you can keep reading to get more raffle tickets, but you can only claim a max of 2 prizes. 
• You don't have to read library books, but you DO have to read books that are at your reading level.

This summer we are also trying to break last year's reading record. Last year the teens read a total of 655 book across the county. This year we want to try and read 700 books. Even if you don't read 8 books and finish a whole log, you can still count books read towards the goal and be entered into a special, separate raffle. 

So, what kind of programs will be offering? All kinds!

We'll have Virtual Reality games that have space themes, and every other week a Beat Saber tournament on the PS4 and Oculus Virtual Reality Systems. 

There will be all kinds of space themed crafts. 

We'll show space-themed movies for both Retro Movie day and New Movie day.

There will be a 3D print design contest where you can create your own aliens. 

And all kinds of other fun things to do in the teen rooms around the county. 

To see what is happening at the library closest to you, click this link for the ONLINE CALENDAR.

See you at the library!

Yuma LibraryCon Is Coming Soon!

I know you all wait for it every year! The 6th annual Yuma LibraryCon is just a few days away! This year it will be on May 4th from 10AM to 4PM in the Main Library. We have all kinds of amazing panels and guests coming, and of COURSE the Cosplay Contest! We hope you all can make it, it's seriously going to be the best one ever!

From northern Mexico, Hysterot Cosplay will be our special judges for the Cosplay Contest!

Author, puppet maker and video game character designer Matt Gardner will be here. 

We're accepting art for an art show at the Con. 

Fan-Quest Comics and Games are this year's comic book sponsor, which means you get free comic books!

What's Coming Up At The Library

Hey everyone! We just wanted to let you know about some of the programs we have coming up for teens at the libraries in the next few weeks so you can plan to attend!

The Heritage Library has a writing group for teens that will meet on March 20th at 3:30 PM. All types and styles of writers are welcome, you just have to be between 13-18 years old. They'll also offer teen crafts twice this month - on March 22nd you can create designs with perler beads and on March 29th you can paint. Both of the craft programs are at 3PM. Ask for Cody to learn more about teen programs at the Heritage Library.

Foothills library is getting crafty this month too - you can learn rainbow looming on Saturday, March 23rd at 12:00 PM or you can try Origami on March 30th at noon as well. For more info on teen programs at Foothills, ask for A.J.

If card games are more your style, head over to the San Luis library on any Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 PM this month to play UNO with your friends. You can also watch movies and do crafts on Tuesdays at 3:00 PM. For more on programs for teens at San Luis Library, as; for Kathya.

Program Review - Financial Planning After High School

On Thursday, November 8th of 2018 the teen room hosted a program presented by Business Librarian Andrew Zollman on financial planning after high school for teens. Teen Blog contributor Nina Hook was at that program and this is what she thought of it.

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"I am constantly anxious about the future. I think it’s very easy to get caught up thinking about years to come, and how you are going to figure everything out. While the future is unknown, and there is no reason to fret about it, there are ways to plan accordingly to give you the best future possible. 

I recently attended a talk about financial plans after high school for teens at the Yuma County Library and it truly opened my mind to so many options that I didn’t even realize I had. It helped me understand the infinite number of roads the future as in store for me. With the immense variety of topics we covered, this talk was applicable to any and every teen! 

Also, the discussion was great because it answered so many questions that I didn’t even think I needed to ask! There is so much to living on your own that teens don’t even realize. While it was realistic, it helped me understand what I was getting in to, so I could succeed. 

I am pretty set on going to Tennessee for college. I cannot begin to express how much this discussion helped me on figuring out every inch of my move concerning my finances. There were things brought up that I did not even realize were going to financially affect me and my lifestyle. In addition to helping me figure out my financial plans, the discussion shared many helpful tips to help my budget!

Overall, there are 101 ways to get to where you want to go! But I highly recommend figuring out your financial situation before graduating so you can be as prepared as possible. There are so many things unknown to us teenagers, that information like the one I got from the discussion, is vital. 

~Submitted by Nina Hook.

Escape Rooms Are Back at Main Library!

One of out most popular programs in the teen department is back: Mrs. Eva Cervantes is bringing back her super fun monthly escape rooms, each month with a different theme.

The program returned on October 17th with a spooky themed room just in time for Halloween. 18 teens were given 45 minutes to work together to solve a series of puzzles with themes like Dracula and Edgar Allen Poe and tried their best to unlock multiple locks to get to a treasure hidden inside the lock-box. (The treasure was candy, and who doesn't want free candy)!

In the end, the teens managed to complete the escape with just about 3 minutes left on the clock! Good job to everyone who participated.

If you missed the October escape room, make sure you stop by for the November room, which will run at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, November 14th, 2018. The theme will be Harry Potter. Mrs. Cervantes is also planning a Nightmare Before Christmas themed room for December! The date on that one will be decided soon.

They made it with 3 minutes, 16 seconds to spare!

Program Review: Debit, Credit and Alternative Forms of Payment

On Thursday, August 16th, Business Librarian Andrew Zollman took over the teen room at the Main Library to host a program about finances for teens. This is the first program in a series of financial classes on different topics specially for teens. Blogger Nina Hook was at the program and she tells us what she thought.

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"As teenagers, most of us are learning responsibility little by little from the things we do wrong and the praise we get when we do right. However, one of the biggest responsibilities in life that sometimes never gets taught is money management.

On a Thursday evening, I attended an informational session on credit, debit, and cash for teenagers that really opened my mind and gave me a new perspective. Walking in, I felt confident in my responsibility and my knowledge on the subject, but walking out, I had a new perspective due to all the important pieces of information that I hadn’t known.

The program hit on the vital basic knowledge of credit, debit, and cash while diving deeper into tips and tricks, like when to use what. The basic knowledge was so important to understanding the concepts and ideas that came later. In addition, knowing when to use what truly helped me realize how much better I could be managing my money.

The session touched on subjects from basic credit card formats to money markets and how to keep a high credit score. For teenagers, this is such a helpful approach because every teenager is at a different level when it comes to their prior knowledge of money management.

The second I got home, I ran to my dad to tell him how much I’ve learned in just a short hour and how I wanted to start another savings account with a higher interest rate to save for college, or my adulthood, and other similar things. This idea sprung to my head during the informational when the speaker informed us about the importance of a savings account with a high interest rate, especially if you are wanting more long-term growth. My dad, surprised as ever, was very eager and happy to look into it for me and very grateful for the informational I attended.

Young adults often have crazy busy lives and already plenty of responsibilities, but we often forget that there are so many more important things to learn. There are things to learn that are applicable to our lives right now and their importance should not be underestimated. Money management through credit, debit, and cash truly opened my eyes to a new perspective. It encouraged me to get a financial start on my life now and I highly encourage that you take that opportunity too. "

Submitted by Nina Hook. 

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Andrew Zollman will be offering his next program in our teen finance series on Thursday, September 20th in the teen room at Main Library. This session will focus on the different types of banks out there and the different types of accounts they offer. The program is for ages 13-18 but parents are welcome too if they are accompanied by a teen.