Jan - March Book Reviews

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fabulous read! A great tale of determination amidst confusion. Bravery, despite all the odds being against you. The writing style was a little confusing at times with all the jumps and recaps as Flora works through her short and long term memories, but that may have been intentional. It brings you one step closer to seeing the world through Flora's eyes as she unravels the truth about her one recalled memory and subsequently navigates the day to day in order to discover what this one memory could truly mean.


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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Poignant, thought-provoking and innocence at its best amidst a world of cruelty and madness. Simply, sensitively and cleverly written. Had a gentleman where I purchased the book from not spoiled the ending for me, it would have been a hard-hitting and powerful conclusion. I am interested to see the film now to find out how it compares and how this is portrayed.


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Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not entirely sure how to put into words how I feel about this book, however, I will endeavour to do so. Other than Dawn French's biography, this is the first work of fiction I have read from her. It was very well written, although I didn't really "get" the humour it was meant to contain - I am not a fan of dark humour, so maybe that is why it missed the mark on that count for me? If you are a fan of that style of writing though, you will love this novel. What I will say is that it was a clever insight to the main character through the eyes of family and friends as well as the characters themselves, that unfolds as the book progresses. It becomes apparent half way through that all is not as it seems and there is more than meets the eye to the story and predicament people find themselves in. All in all, I am happy to have read it, and by the end felt empathy for the situation and characters. Just not a huge fan and by no means one I can add to my favourites. Sorry.

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Hi! Long Time No See :)

To anybody new, still following or thinking of following me. Hi! Thank you so much for sticking with me or joining me, it is lovely to have you over here. It has been a minute since I spoiled everyone, or even said hi, and for that I am sorry. But I promise I do have some new bits and pieces coming in December - I will be doing a 12 days of Christmas Freebie Fiesta, sharing some new scrap kits I have made and a few other design bits and pieces.

For the time being though, are there any beauty/makeup lovers out there? If so, I have a treat for you and I hope you don't mind me sharing this over here, with this page being design/craft related.

I recently joined a site called Love Me Beauty ( http://www.lovemebeauty.com ) and they kindly gave me a code for everyone to get a discount off their first purchase. Cool right? If you use my code, it will entitle you to £10 off your first order. The great news too is that they now ship internationally! You do not have to use the code, but if you do, it also means I get a little something too - so we both benefit from it.

As I say though, please do not feel obligated to use my code, but if you would like to save a little money on your order, I will leave it here, just enter it at checkout and you are good to go -

DEBOR5026937

For now, take care everyone and I will speak to everyone soon  xx

More Colouring and an Update

Hi peeps,

once again I find myself apologising at the lack of time I have spent over here.  Real life has been keeping me pretty busy.   Hubby and I have had family and friends visiting in quick succession, so time online has also been limited - not that I am complaining, it is always lovely to see everyone and spend some quality time catching up and having fun, but it does mean that I cannot get online or create as much as I would like.   

A few months ago, I managed to do something to my ulna nerve in my left arm.  That meant I had to take a back seat from typing so much on the computer or creating anything in PSP.  It was totally my own fault - I was sat making tags for almost two days strait in a group I am a member of - Creative Misfits.  I loved making the tags and taking part in all the contests over there at the time, but I did not enjoy the pain and discomfort afterwards - it has only now started to feel "normal" again.  Occasionally it aches, but nothing as bad as it was a few months ago.

I recently took part in a production/installation at the Winter Gardens here in Blackpool called "Absent" in August and September.  It was lots of fun to be a part of the day for filming and I met a lot of really lovely people being part of the front of house team.  It was also nice to dust of my acting hat again and be a part of the magic of theatre - it was scary to realise I hadn't done anything theatre-based for around twenty years!

August and September also saw me finally begin my colouring/art course at Kit and Clowder.  The owner, Alyce, is getting married at the end of this month (October) and invited us all to colour and send some roses to be included in her wedding (not sure yet how, but she will be letting us know after her special day).  She wrote/filmed a wonderful free class to explain how to do this, and these are how mine turned out :

They are coloured in her wedding colour scheme.  I was pretty pleased with how they came out and I cannot wait to see how she will be using all of our roses for her special day.

I also finished another of the free classes from Kit and Clowder last month, the Markers 101.  This is a great introduction for anybody wishing to learn how to colour using alcohol markers.  It definitely helped me overcome some nerves I had about beginning the Skin and Hair class I have had sat there for almost two years that I will be beginning shortly.   Here are the results of the class.  I'm pretty happy with how they came out and had some lovely feedback from Alyce.

As if things weren't busy enough, I'm taking the monthly Create and Learn classes for both Markers and Pencils too, again from Kit and Clowder.  This is still a work in progress as I only began yesterday, but I am loving the challenge of this larger image to colour, although a tiny bit nervous about the background.  We shall see how this turns out.  Alyce's tutorial is fantastic and guides you step by step, as with all her classes, so hopefully it will work out alright in the end.  I will keep peeps posted :)

I do promise that I will try and keep this blog updated more often, and I am going to try my best to get some freebies for you as soon as I can.  If anybody has any suggestions about themes/colours etc. they would like to see in a scrap kit, please leave me a note in the comments below and I will try and work with your ideas.  That way I know what peeps would like to see over here :)

Until next time, thank you to everyone again for your continued support and I WILL be back soon with some more bits and pieces.  Until then, take care *huggs*

  

Blog Makeover and Colouring

Hiya peeps :)

Told ya's I would be back more often ;)  Figured it was about time the blog had a bit of a makeover too, and with Valentines Day just around the corner, I couldn't resist this cute love kit called "Love Is In The Air" by Kittz Kreationz.  I hope you like the new look?

Speaking of Valentines Day, does anybody have any special plans?   My hubby and I think this year we might have a quiet night in, dinner, bottle of wine and a movie.  But we are also thinking of maybe visiting the local pub as they have another Valentines Day offer on this year.  We will have to see what unfolds.

Having watched my first tutorial over in my Skin and Hair class over at Kit and Clowder, I decided to put some of what I had seen and heard into practice, well, at least try.  Another Facebook group I am a member of (Scrapper's Delights) is holding a competition until tomorrow (31st January), and for those who would like to enter they are offering one of their sweet digital stamps called "Spread Your Wings" for free to colour for the contest.  This ends tomorrow though, so you will have to be quick if you would like this cute digi stamp and to enter the contest.  After tomorrow, she is no longer free!  If anybody would like to check out their group or their website, I will include the links below for you so you can go and visit them yourselves.

I wasn't overly happy with how this came out, but I tried as much as I could to focus on where the light was coming from and shade accordingly.  As I say, I am not overly happy with the overall result, but I am so pleased with how her dress turned out :)  Time and more practice are in order, but we shall definitely get there!

Scrapper's Delight Store

Facebook Group

Until next time, stay safe everyone and have a lovely weekend :) *huggs*

Hiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!

Hi peeps, 

Who is this you say?  Do we know you?   Yes, it's me, finally.....lol I figured it was about time that I got myself back over here and kept things updated more regularly.  Once again, thank you to everyone who is still following me, and for all those who are new, thank you for supporting my page.   Recently, my Facebook page reached 500 followers!!!  That is amazing and I cannot thank you enough.  It brought a huge smile and I hope you enjoy and continue to enjoy your time on this journey with me.

This year I am back in school (technically).  As you may know from previous posts, I craft and make cards etc.   Well, as such I decided it was time for me to finally learn how to do certain areas of crafting properly, in this case colouring images (stamps).  I am enrolled in the first of a series of classes by a wonderful Australian lady called Alyce Keegan.  She is the director/owner of a company called  Kit and Clowder where I am to be taking these classes and I cannot thank her or praise her highly enough.   She is the sweetest and most dedicated lady I think I have ever met.   I have just begun my journey on her Skin and Hair class, but I tell you that I cannot wait to do more.  When starting you are encouraged to do a "Before" image so that when you complete the class you have a reference point for your progress.   This is mine, which I coloured a couple of weeks ago.  The image is called "Alyce and Lila Bear" by the wonderful artist Yampuff.  She has lots of lineart in her gallery which she kindly allows us to colour for personal use, however the image here is one that was commissioned by someone and then kindly donated to the Kit and Clowder Facebook group by that lady for a competition that was running up until yesterday.   I coloured this using Spectrum Noir pens and had lots of fun, although I do really need to work a LOT on my shading and light source skills, which I hope will improve dramatically after I have been doing the class for longer and practised some more :)

I have to mention that the content and detail included in the classes is outstanding, not only the written word but also the video tutorials Alyce provides.  Whether you are a beginner or advanced, there is something for everyone.  In case you would like to check them out for yourselves, I have linked them below for you, as well as the Facebook group.  I have been a member there for a while now, and the people are really lovely and supportive.

Until next time, have fun peeps and I will be back soon.  Until then, take care *huggs*

Handmade Cards

Hi peeps,

first of all, thank you for your patience and also for all of the likes over on Facebook!   It has made me smile a lot to see so many people stopping by there to give my page a like.   Also, my apologies again for any lack of real content over here.   I really need to get my act together.

For today, I am just sharing some of the cards I have made this year so far, I hope peeps enjoy seeing them and I hope to be back soon with some more shares as I have several projects in the pipelines :)

This first one I made back in February for my Sister-In-Law's birthday.  First time I had also decorated a bag to go along with the Paddington suitcase....lots of fun!

This easel card was made back in March for my other Sister-In-Law's birthday.   I love to make my own flowers, and the one on the bottom left was handmade by me from scratch - no dies or templates.  I used/recycled some old book pages which I folded and cut, then inked and stamped on.  The centre is a pearl which I glittered.  Hoping to make many, many more flowers in the future.   The topper is from a Kanban decoupage sheet I have had in my stash for a while.  Unfortunately, they are no longer selling as far as I am aware, which is such a shame as I love their products!

I loved making this oriental screen card for my Mother-In-Law's birthday back in March.  The images and template are from a Debbi Moore CD - "Glitter and Glitz Oriental".  Lots of detail on this which unfortunately you cannot see too clearly on this photo - the edges of the screen are all glossy accent glazed, and the ladies themselves are glittered and have pearls placed on their jewellery.  This took some cutting out, but the end result was worth it!

Three Mother's Day cards which were lots of fun to make.  I loved distressing the edges of the paper to give a softer feel to the card.  This is a new technique I learned earlier this year and is now a firm favourite of mine.  The first card also has another handmade flower - this time the pages were coloured using my Spectrum Noir pens

A simple gothic card made for our friend's son's 15th birthday.   The image is from Debbi Moore's "Twilight" CD series.  Again, the photo doesn't quite capture the gloss which is on the edging of the coffin and also the sentiment along the bottom.

Another simple card with an adorable image from Hunky Dory.  First time I have used so many layers, but I loved the finished result.

I have one more card to add here, but as yet I have to take a picture.  The light is not the best right now, so I shall do so in the morning and get it posted.

Thanks for looking and I hope one and all are having a brilliant week.

Take care

Oh My Goodness!!!

I am so, so sorry for being a.w.o.l. for such a long time over here, and thank you to those who are still following and supporting my blog.  Please be assured, it is appreciated more than you will ever know.   2014 was such a crazy busy year - but I am happy to say crazy busy good!  Not only am I now married (YAY), but my cousin and brother also got married last year and both my husband and I's Mums turned 65 as well as my parents celebrating their Ruby Wedding Anniversary (45 years!!!!).  So, as you can imagine, time to create in the digital world was nowhere to be seen....lol

However, if I can get any creative mojo going, I hope 2015 will be a good year creatively!  I have a ton of cards lined up to make, and I hope too to dust off PSP and maybe see if my brain can remember how to make scrapkits....lol   Here is hoping and fingers crossed.

I hope all have been keeping well and you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year!   We have yet to receive any of the snow which seems to be infiltrating most areas.  If you are hit hard by the cold weather, please stay safe and warm!

Hopefully be back soon with some things to share.  In the meantime, stay safe, happy creating and have fun!!!