Made it into a Treasury!!

Check it out. My wavy zippered pouch made it into a Treasury!!!!!

Sing Me To Sleep...

Sing Me To Sleep by Angela Morrison

In Sing Me To Sleep we meet Beth, who is nicknamed the Beast at school since she is very tall and not attractive. Even her own father called her "damn ugly" when she was born. Beth has a childhood friend, Scott, who you can tell right away really likes her, unattractive or not. Beth's one bright spot in her life is singing. Not just in the school choir, but in a competitive girls choir. And Beth can really SING.

The girls choir gets invited to a competition in Switzerland, where Beth meets handsome and mysterious Derek, who is part of the famous Amabile Choir.

Derek is elusive - he is with Beth for a day or two, and then disappears for days or weeks at a time, and gives no explanation to Beth. This makes Beth wonder if he loves her as much as she loves him. Derek insists he does love Beth, but is still not willing to divulge his secrets. This made me want to keep reading and find out what this gorgeous, confidant boy was hiding.

Portions of the storyline take place in the form of song lyrics. Beth wrote lyrics to help her get through life. Sometimes she wrote down the lyrics, but sometimes they were just in her head. This was a really interesting way to show what Beth was thinking and feeling throughout the book.

Overall, this was a good read for me. It was entertaining and a little mysterious and kept my interest until the very end. Yes, there are things that bothered me. Derek's actions made him appear selfish and manipulative, but by the end of the book I understood why he did what he did. The character of Beth came off as a little too needy and clingy - and always wanting to kiss Derek to show her love - no matter the circumstance (which were sometimes weird). I don't think the author intended Beth to come over this way, that's just how I interpreted her actions.

On a side note, this is a completely beautiful cover. I think it captures the innocence of first love.

Be sure to check out the Sing Me To Sleep page to watch the trailer for the book and to hear the Amabile choir sing "Beth's Song". If you watch the trailer you also learn how to pronounce 'Amabile', which I totally screwed up for most of the book.

Then, AFTER you have read Sing Me To Sleep, be sure to read The Epilogue.


Waiting at my library for me to pick up are
Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison
and
The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

More Earrings...

I've become obsessed with looking at earrings lately. I don't know why. Maybe just because they are so pretty. I certainly don't wear earrings much. Well, truthfully, I really don't wear earrings at all. It's never really been my thing.

It's been about 10 years or so since I had my hair really short - over my ears. At the time I thought it would be cute to get another piercing, so I got a little stud at the top of my left ear. HURT LIKE HELL. For a year. Every day it hurt. I finally had enough pain and removed it. Best decision I could have made. But while I had it it was so darn cute. I received a lot of compliments on the cuteness. But pain eventually won out over cute.

I think I need to get back into regular earrings and the cuteness they offer.

I've had my eye on these Pink Amethyst earrings.




Although, I actually need to wear gold like these Pink Quartz earrings.

Robert Pattinson's Birthday...

Today is Robert Pattinson's birthday. However, our federal government has, for some unknown reason, failed to declare it a national holiday. I'm up for celebrating, even though Robert is not American.

John Keats

You may remember these 'Bright Star' zippered pouches that I made. I used the original manuscripts that are in John Keats' own handwriting. At the time I worried that no one else would like them, but they sold fairly quickly. I am thinking of making another set of pouches using the manuscript for 'Ode to A Nightingale' or one of the letters that John wrote to his fiancee, Fanny Brawne.

Below is a photo of the Engagement Ring that John Keats gave to Fanny Brawne.



I found this ring on Etsy. It's silver, not gold, but it is similar to the original ring up above.



There aren't too many John Keats related items on Etsy, but I did find these John Keats Buttons that are pretty cool.

Happy Anniversary TO ME!!!!

Today is our 16th Wedding Anniversary. We're not really much into exchanging gifts. Spending money to show love? I prefer smaller, daily doses of showing affection. Like when he cleans up the dog poop, changes the cat litter, or cleans the toilet. LOL. Or when he comes by my work to drop off a single red rose - because who wants to watch a whole bouquet of roses wither and die? And I extremely dislike mushy, sentimental greeting cards. Just tell me you love me and I'm good to go another year.

But, if I had to pick out a gift for myself, I would love these earrings:



Or one of these skirts:



Last week, I decided to continue my fruitless search for Amy Butler's Duck Egg French Wallpaper and Pink Coriander fabrics. I haven't had any luck with the Pink Coriander, so if you know where I can get some, or you have some you are willing to share, please contact me. Please!! BUT, I did come across a website for a fabric store, not an online store, but a real brick and mortar store. On their front page they have a photo and "Amy Butler fabrics" as part of what they have to offer. There in the photo is the Duck Egg French Wallpaper. So I shoot off an email asking if they have any available. I received a really nice reply, and ended up buying the 3 yards that they had!!!! That, along with my Dirty Dancing DVD, and I had a wonderful mother's day.

Hush, Hush Review

***SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!***

I received Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick for Christmas. I was really looking forward to reading it. I had read some reviews that were favorable, so I thought I would give it a chance. I have to say that the cover just blew me away. It's very intriguing. So imagine my surprise when I finally started reading it and was less than enthused.

The prologue introduces the concept of the Nephilim, which is the offspring of a normal human and a fallen angel. Other than that brief mention, Nephilim isn't mentioned again until 2/3rds of the way through the book. Hush, Hush starts with Nora being thrown together with a new Biology partner, Patch. Nora then blunders around trying to find information on Patch and his past. Why? Does she like him? Is she attracted to him? Who knows. He's a jerk, he's rude and uncooperative, but Nora is just determined to find out about him, so she attempts to dig up whatever she can on him. We get to read along while she is clueless. Weird things happen. Nora is afraid Patch means to harm her, but she attempts to spend time with him anyway.

Nora happens to get of glimpse of Patch's back, where he has a V shaped scar. Of course this sets her on the path to discovering what the scar means. She puts the scar together with the carnival ride called The Archangel that she and Patch rode together. Nora types 'angel wing scars' into Google and is rewarded with the answer - Fallen Angel. Wow. How lame.

Hush, Hush really picks up the pace and action towards the end. I wish the entire book had been this good. Nora's life IS in danger - and not just from Patch. There's a twist at the end, and Patch ends up giving her life back - literally. Happy ending.

Since Twilight, every supernatural YA book is compared to it. However, there are too many similarities in Hush, Hush to write off as coincidental.

The sequel, Crescendo, comes out in November 2010. Nora digs into her own past, her father's disappearance, and her own relation to the Nephilim. Let's hope Becca Fitzpatrick has learned how to write a more compelling story from beginning to end.

Happy Mother's Day!!

This is what (or rather who) I really want for Mother's Day...



I'm quite sure this is what I am actually getting for Mother's Day...



Yes, I'm a dork. My husband and children support (and encourage) my dorky self, so it really can't be helped.

Meadowsweet 2

Ooooh, look what I found. Meadowsweet 2!!! I really like this colorway. I think I may need to get some of this. Maybe I'll even do a pre-order if I can find it.

New Item and a Blog Sale

Check out how cute this is : Duck Egg French Wallpaper Zippered Wristlet. I finally cut into my only yard of this fabric. It was really hard to do, but I can't keep it forever.

Special Sale Alert!!

I am having a sale for my blog readers. All of my Zippered Pouches and Zippered Pouches With Clips can be purchased at half price for a limited time. That's right - 50% off regular prices!! I can either issue a refund after your purchase, or you can contact me about any items you wish to purchase and I will mark down the prices for you.

I still have these available also. Regularly $9.00, now just $4.50 each!!!

Fabric Flair

I have posted about this before, but a really great place that I have been getting fabrics from lately is Fabric Flair. Christie has an anniversary sale going on in her Etsy shop right now!! Head on over and check out the gorgeous fabrics. And be sure to check out the great giveaway she has going on also.

Here is a set of zippered pouches that I just completed and listed using Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet fabrics that I purchased from Fabric Flair:


And this is some of Laura Gunn's new Poppy fabric (also from Fabric Flair):

Etsy's Treasury East

Check it out. Someone placed 2 of my items in Etsy's Treasury East.




I've never attempted to get a Treasury spot. I really don't have time to waste waiting around for a spot to open up, and then attempting to beat thousands of other people who are also trying to get a spot. But I think I will put together a list in Treasury East. Sounds like my kind of fun!!

PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!

Look!! It's a puppy that's been keeping me so darn busy around here. She is into everything and will attempt to eat anything she can get in her mouth. Puppy only has 2 speeds - hyper and sleep.



Somehow my daughter talked us into getting a miniature dachsund. Her name is Angel (which I don't like, but what can I do about it? I wanted to name her Chloe Ann, but my daughter thinks that is a stupid name for a dog.)



Puppy is really cute. Our kitty is having a difficult time accepting an intruder, but she is slowly coming around. Hopefully when the puppy chills out the kitty won't mind having her around.

Music Monday!!!!

I haven't disappeared!! I'm still around, I've just been busy with something. I can't share photos right now because the battery on my camera just died, which figures. You'll have to check back to see what I've been up to. I'll also be listing some new items in my Etsy shop this week.

I love all kinds of music. I get into ruts now and then and I search for something new and/or different. I also have a tendency to have my new favorites on repeat, or I just keep returning to them to hear them again. I watched Bandslam last weekend, and while it was an okay movie, I really (really) had one song stuck in my head all week. So I found it and I listened to it today on repeat for about 3 hours. Seriously. I just wasn't in the mood to listen to anything else. Oh, the song is 'Pretend' by Scott Porter.

I also purchased Civil Twilight's new CD. While technically not 'new' since it was available originally as download only on Itunes, I still had to have the actual CD in my hands. And the CD version has 3 more songs. I love it!! I listen to it a lot.



Someone else I really enjoy is Scott Clifton. I originally knew him as Dillon Quartermaine on General Hospital. He just finished a storyline on One Life To Live, and I have no idea where he'll show up next.


I've known about his music since he started on GH, and I purchased his first 2 CDs. When he came out with his 3rd CD, I didn't purchase it immediately, thinking that I would get it later. Then it slipped my mind, and then a few weeks ago I decided it was time to get the newest CD. I went to his website and it was listed as sold out!!! So I contacted the person in charge, and they replied that Scott said he's sorry, but they're all gone. I was bummed. For about a day. Until I received an email from this guy : Jeff Pescetto. That would be Scott's producer. He offered me a copy of the new CD. So I jumped at the opportunity to get it, sent him the money, and a week later I had the CD in my hot little hands. It's so good!! I am so glad that the producer went out of his way to make sure I received this CD that I wanted so badly. I really appreciate it.

How is YOUR day going?

My day started off weird. My husband asked me how I slept, and I told him I died in my dream.... isn't that a really bad thing? I went to sleep with happy thoughts about the fabric I purchased yesterday. Not that I need more new fabric, but it was Amy Butler Charm and Flea Market Fancy Blue Posies, so I just had to have it!! I don't know how I went from thinking about fabric to having a violent dream. I just know that I was in an unfamiliar building, it was dark, some kind of robbery was occurring - I don't know if I was involved in the crime or not - but I suddenly found myself on my back. When I looked up, someone was standing over me, and I remember closing my eyes and thinking "This isn't good." I opened my eyes and I think they shot me!! I don't know how to describe it, but it was like a darkness started in my chest, my vision starting swimming and then everything slowly went black, and I just knew that I was dead. Why couldn't I have dreamed about puppies and kitties and white fluffy clouds....