Library Lovers' Month!

Did you know that February is Library Lovers' Month? Yup. So how to celebrate? Well you could color a lovely reading-themed coloring page as a gift for your favorite librarian. You could read some wonderful quotes about libraries like:
"A library is a delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life."
- Norman Cousins
You could check out some great picture books that feature libraries like:



Bats At the Library by Brian Lies.




The Library Dragon by Carmen Deedy and Michael White.




The Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and Kevin Hawkes.



OR you could just GO to your library. Breath it in, set a spell, check out a book and READ!!
And the winner of the drawing is Peggy H.! I'm emailing her now. She gets a free signed copy of Soap, soap, soap! http://bit.ly/aD09jh
Seth Godin: Random Rules for Ideas Worth Spreading: http://bit.ly/dds3p9

You've done it! We're at 1,500 subscribers! http://bit.ly/czZftr I'm drawing a name now....

Book Giveaway almost at 1,500 members!

We're at 1,493 subscribers! Just 7 more people need to sign up for my weekly Coloring Page Tuesday alerts and/or "e's new, for me to do the drawing (from all current subscribers) for a free, signed copy of SOAP, SOAP, SOAP (bilingual or all-English - their choice)!
     What do you need to do? Encourage your friends to go sign up! How? They can go to the Coloring Page Tuesdays page, or HERE.


     Click the covers to learn about my newest picture book, Soap, soap, soap and Soap, soap, soap ~ Jabón, jabón, jabón.
David Leivthan on J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" http://bit.ly/9xs4Lp - the YA we all strive to write.

Wikimedia Commons - Free images


Need photos you can use for reference, or your blog, or whatever, without worrying about stepping on somebody's copyright? Go to Wikimedia Commons and have no fear! It is a "database of 5,805,961 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute." Groovy!

Apple's iPad

Drum roll please...

(I'm following the live blog feed on engadget.com - maclive.com was struggling. They think the iPad killed the internet. Ha!)

I'm tweeting what I learn as I learn it at @dulemba

Cool new features on the Painting apps - but still no touch sensitivity?? Apple - I want a digital sketch pad!!!!



I like the visual pages, but there's not much else on iBooks (not eBooks). But WHAT is this iBookstore???

Nothing on picture books. Methinks we have a trail that needs a' blazin'....

Okay - this is cool. We can type like this...

or like this!!!!

Hubbie mentioned its bluetooth capability which means you could probably use it with an unattached keyboard as well.

Bottom line = I hate the name, but I might have to have one. iPad

Gimp - Free Photo Editing Tool


For those of you who can't shell out the big bucks for Photoshop - have you heard about Gimp? It's a "freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring." And it may make your life a whole lot easier...

Coloring Page Tuesday - Romance Reader

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and to view more coloring pages - click here!

     The holiday of luv will be upon us soon and I know y'all are anxious to start making cards and send out your greetings. So, here's my first Valentine's Day image for 2010...
     How many times have we missed what was right in front of us because we were focused elsewhere?
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!

Getting Closer on the Giveaway!
     We need to reach 1,500 before I do the drawing for SOAP, SOAP, SOAP - but we're getting closer every day. We're at 1,479 subscribers! So how can your friends sign up? Tell them to visit Coloring Page Tuesdays, or go HERE.

Update! Several of you emailed that you loved the Moose sketch from last week, so I've made him into an actual coloring page as well. So here's a bonus on this Coloring Page Tuesday - Moosie 2!


So, I may be opening a huge can of worms here (I can't promise I'll post all the cards y'all send me - it's a LOT!) - but check out the sweet card Vicky Gould made using this week's image!
Over 1,000 words today, and to Chapter 8 on my read through. @valvear helped a ton. :)

Illustration Island on Art Reps


Have you discovered Illustration Island yet? The latest group of posts covers some great advice for illustrators about Art Reps: Art Rep 101 - Tips for Creative Professionals.
     I personally don't have an Art Rep, mostly because I'm an author too which makes me a bit of an odd bird. But that's not the right option for everybody. On the fence? See if these posts help you figure out what's right for you.

Operation Write Home


I was recently approached by a wonderful organization - Operation Write Home. They bring together card makers and soldiers in a special way.
     Card makers create cards which are then shipped to the soldiers overseas. The soldiers can choose a card, personalize it and mail it to their loved ones. It gives card makers a wonderful venue to share their work (and a good reason to create more!), and soldiers a special way to connect with family.
     So why did they get in touch with me? Turns out my coloring pages work just like "digi-stamps." Card makers and scrap bookers discovered them a while back and have been using them like crazy. I get lots of emails with pictures of their wonderful creations - it's so fun!
     (It's also why some of my images are now available as stamps - because some card makers still prefer those.)

     All this came about when Linda L., a card maker, discovered my site and forwarded my information to Operation Write Home. (Thank you Linda!) Yesterday, they featured my work on their blog inviting card makers to get creative with my images in "Tutorial: Digital Stamping" - yay!
     I am thrilled to have my images used in this way - can you imagine all the warm fuzzies?
     I do ask that creators mind my Angel Policy (copyright), and hope they'll have a look at my books (which is why I started creating my coloring pages to begin with). Other than that, I hope they email me their creations. There's some serious time and amazing talent being used to create these beautiful cards and it just tickles me to no end to see them and know they are spreading smiles!
Woohoo! 1,053 words on the novel, and I'm on my second draft read-through. Luvin' it!

The App Store Economy

So you know about my iPhone app Lula's Brew, right? (In the app store, search "Lula.") Here's why I felt the push to produce it - click the squares to read some impressive facts about the proliferation of iPhone apps...

By the way, my article "My 1st iPhone Picture Book App" should appear in an upcoming issue of the SCBWI Bulletin. In it I describe how I created my app. Be looking for it!
Is iPhone Good for your Kids? Hits and Misses.
http://bit.ly/5B161k

Coloring Page Tuesday - Moosie Moose!

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and to view more coloring pages - click here!

     Thanks to Teresa J. for this week's Coloring Page Tuesday idea. How could I not have given you a Moose before? Gads! Of course, drawing Mooses, meeces, mice, took a bit of practice. This wasn't my first attempt. Here's a peek at my process... this was the first guy I drew. Which one do you like better?

     I'm open to suggestions from y'all, by the way. Have something you'd really like to color that I haven't shared before? Let me know!
     Click the image to open a .jpg to print and color. Send me your colored version (less than 1mb) to dulemba.com and I'll post it to my blog!


We're getting closer on the Giveaway!
     So how can your friends sign up? They can go to the Coloring Page Tuesdays page, or HERE.
     And I have to share. Because I have you fill in "organization" I know that most of my subscribers are teachers and librarians - the very people for whom I create my coloring pages. But I also get scrap-bookers, stampers, children's hospitals, and my favorite which just came in this week:
     "Gramma with 5 grandchildren 8-)"!! - Thanks Janet!
     So, y'all be sure to share - it makes me smile!

Update! Several of you emailed that you love the first Moose too, so I've made him into an actual coloring page as well. So here's a bonus on this Coloring Page Tuesday - Moosie 2!



This is why I do this. Is this not the SWEETEST THING!??? Lily-Ann (age 2) loves Coloring Page Tuesdays and had her Mom, Tobi-Dawn, print out the mermaid twice because she loved it so much. Didn't she do a great job? Gads, my day is full of warm fuzzies!

And there's more! Here are some moosies colored by the kids at the Moorhead Library send in my their Youth Librarian, Jenna Kahly. Thanks for sharing!


From @thisissethsblog - Tim Burton's Unrealized Projects. Good eye-opener. http://bit.ly/7T8LOr

ALA Awards are named!

Rebecca Stead, Jerry Pinkney Win Newbery, Caldecott - at PW.
     The one year I don't watch the streaming live video at the ALA awards banquet and I know several people who won - dangit! I'm squealin' for them - albeit a few hours later. Here are the biggies and the ones that mean the most to me:

WHEN YOU REACH ME, by Rebecca Stead. Winner of the Newbery winner.




WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, by Grace Lin. Newbery Honor Award winner.



THE LION AND THE MOUSE, by Jerry Pinkney. Caldecott Award winner.




THE SECRET WORLD OF WALTER ANDERSON, written by Hester Bass, illustrated by E.B. Lewis. National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.



ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM, by Tanya Lee Stone. Sibert Award Winner.


     Wonder how many awards there are? Elizabeth Bluemle did a great post recently at Shelf-Talker giving the low-down: Know Your Awards?
     Pretty groovy stuff - they all get stickers now. I may have to buy new copies....

Elizabeth Bluemle did a great wrap up of all the winners at Shelf Talker: A Cornucopia of Awards!