Ashley Newell Books & Games

My 2nd book for the 52 Book Challenge. I just so happened to have mermaid paper, so I had to make a bookmark for this one, too! It’s a library copy so I returned the book with its matching bookmark and we’ll see if anyone notices.

I need to have a talk with myself about my level of self-doubt.

The top one is me being meticulous with a ruler and pencil, being a stickler for spacing. The bottom one is completely freehand in one shot, and, dammit, I think it looks even better!

Life lesson: trust in my abilities.

Definitely going to redo the front on the pretty paper and call it a bookmark success!

January Game 7 & Week 2: An Element of Betrayal

Kill Shakespeare

Semi-Cooperative

Played 2 Players

Time: Most of the day (from re-learning, broken cars, and stir crazy children)

Wasn’t our first choice for betrayal, but most of our games that include sabotage require 3 players, and ain’t no visitors coming in this he’ll freeze! 🥶

Haven’t played this in years, probably did most of it wrong, and the rule book is definitely lacking, but it’s a quality game once you get everything sorted.

Did I mention that my kids keep asking to play this?!?!😂😂😂 I guess I count this as January Game 3

January Game 2:

2 Player Competitive / Secret Movement

1 Hour

I, Jack the Ripper, was so damn close to victory. 3 steps away from my hideout when the police nabbed me on night 4.

My arrest didn’t save any of those victims though😈

Such a close game that, even though I lost, it was thoroughly satisfying!

😁

Week 1: Semi-Cooperative

Marvel Legendary (with god knows how many expansion packs!!!)

We started with 4 players but halfway through 5 & 8 abandoned ship.

We lost horribly as Ultron continued to drop the oxygen level on Earth. Though I personally blame Venom for being undefeatable without a Covert hero☹️

City full of Venoms, never even touched Ultron once, and all of our heavy hitters choked to death as the oxygen was pulled from their lungs…

We were not a great example of Avenging, I’ll say that much😂😂😂

This did not work out so well in 2023 when my ONLY gaming partner moved away for 6 months… but it’s a new year so let’s see if we can make it to the end!

Game 8 (x2): Ghost Stories

Played 2 Player, Normal Mode

Cooperative

First game, we had a bad run of adding a ghost 7 in a row and that ultimately killed us in 20 minutes.

Reset, made it to Woo Fang, but died exactly at midnight when I failed to defeat Jean-Claude Van Rice, which lead to haunting and both of us instantly losing our last Qi.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!🥳

Happy New Year!

Game 7: A Study In Emerald

Played 2 players

Competitive

About 1 hour but with a 45 minute break to put very rowdy kids to bed

I can never remember how to play this game, but it rarely stops me from winning once we get a few rounds in😝

Game 6: Watson & Holmes

Played 2 Player

Competitive Puzzle Solving

40 mins

Solved our first mystery successfully, I identified the suspect and won. Really would love this more as a cooperative game racing against the clock. I desperately wanted the social interaction of deducing together. Next Edition, maybe?!?!

Back by popular demand, playing holiday game 5 x3.

Pesky Pixies

5 found and defeated the dragon first, but I did more side quests and racked up more points.

The next game 8 had the right roll to go back to an uncovered dragon and take the game! 5 had some feelings about this😬

Not gonna lie, I love this game too!
Fighting trolls, Shrek, and flying sock monkeys, all while being pestered by pixies!

Just repairing a tile of pixie spray right now!

Totally forgot to take a picture of it while playing, but 5 wanted to fight some
It’s the intro to dungeon crawling game I made for my kids. I won by finding and defeating the stuffed dragon, but everyone was a winner for enjoying the game.

It’s stupidly simple, the competition level is hella low, but it allowed for my 4yo to feel like he could play as an equal at the table, and really, that’s what this is for!

Game 4: Hocus Pocus

Played 2 players

15 minutes

Cooperative

Game #3: The Thing Infection at Outpost 31

Cooperative/Saboteur

Played 4 player

1 hour 30 mins (with pizza break)

Left the Thing behind and won with humans in the helicopter!

First game of the holiday - finally!

These movie prints turned out pretty good! Today I’m gluing the backs on and then tomorrow I can seal them🤩

I am over the moon with the positive feedback from the NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Challenge. I placed 6th in my division and am moving onto Round 2!

''Larry the Mud Lump'' by Ashley Newell - WHAT THE JUDGES LIKED ABOUT YOUR STORY - {2203} The concept is original, an idea that stands out as very creative. The author clearly has a vivid imagination and has built their original idea into a full-bodied plot. The story progresses with purpose and at a steady pace. There is a clear series of events that are timed well, making it easy for the reader to process each scene before the next begins. As a completely fictional creature, Larry's character needs a lot of descriptive detail in order to let the reader develop a clear picture of him in their mind's eye. The author has enriched this character beautifully, with creative description and vivid details, producing a character that comes to life. By exploring and conveying Larry's emotions, the author has added a further layer to the character development, allowing the reader to connect with him and get an insight into him as a character with feelings and thoughts. The use of an AABB rhyme scheme is successful and a good choice for the concept. The piece has a deeper meaning, telling the reader a moral tale that can be picked up quite easily, especially towards the end. This is an element commonly found in traditional fairytales, helping to make this piece a good fit for the genre. {1846} The opening stanzas create an atmospheric setting that creates the foundation for the narrative to follow; for example, how "into the darkness / where the trees grow thick/ thick in the trees where it's unpleasant and rank". Larry as a creature is introduced in a striking manner with his "bumps, and lumps, squished down in the sod" and the way he's "part spirit, part beast, part plant and part mud." As the narrative progresses, the revelation that Larry is "actually quite nice" is wonderfully illustrated and deeply engaging. I loved how he might be found by "an adventurous child", which gives Larry joy because "for a moment, he knows what it is to play/ as they squish and stretch him the whole day away." The joy with which the children interact with him is evocatively transposed into his playtime by himself and in which he stays in the fun shapes the children have built him into while also exploring other shapes that allow him to be "carefree" and to "roam." There's a really interesting and emotionally stirring plot development in the final third of the story in which Larry starts to shrink and get dry, which makes him sorrowfully stiff and "fragile as dust/ unable to move" because he's become "barely a pebble, that can't bend and can't play." Yet there is satisfaction, too, in how "like a phoenix he will, one day, renew" in "baby mud" that will bring forth a new Larry. {2068} What a unique main character and I really enjoyed how well you personified him and gave him characterization. I thought this was a wonderful take on the fantasy/fairytale genre and was a breath of fresh air to the usual fairies and what not.

I love these!

The books are the size of the palm of my hand and I tried to showcase the recipient’s favourite characters.

Definitely a new favourite use of my mini books!

Same images, re-sized and rearranged, so it doesn’t feel like it was made by a kindergartener anymore!!!

I like the thinner one better, but neither are really singing for me.

Might have to re-think this and try something else. Really want to showcase some characters and their book…

Any ideas?!?!?

Trying out a bookmark/ornament design. Thought the cardboard would be a necessary added weight, but thinking it might be too thick now that I’m fighting edge curling…

Either I can salvage it as a gift or this one is mine…

Book club just finished reading Kate Quinn’s

So it’s been decided that we need to have jam with our tea for next meeting. Here is me testing out a tea I don’t drink with a jam I haven’t tried yet.

It was a risk worth taking. I can drink this!

Was making some scribble art with my kid and decided to turn it into a bookmark. Played around with it a few times on the same page and picked my favourite one to finish off.

Obviously I’ll use all of them as bookmarks because I’ll use just about anything anyway😅

Time to get back to mini books and then I can really make some companion accessories for my book club’s favourites😁

They spread A LOT! It still cute!

It’s the same recipe we do for Christmas reindeer, so why not try some spiders?!?!

This is their before picture🤞🤞