Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe

I have just spent a lovely weekend crafting with a group of like minded friends. Having a whole weekend of crafting meant I was able to put together plenty of scrapbook layouts .... something I've not done for some time!

One of my favourite layouts was this layout using Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe Collection. The layout is a scrap lift of a layout by Brazilian scrapbooker Bianca Ribero found on the Crate Paper blog. Emma's Shoppe was released in 2011 so it was nice to finally use the papers I had bought back then.

I used a photo of Lara taken in 2009 after a trip to the library.

The 'books' were made using this 12" x 12" sheet of double sided paper.

I cut the individual books out and shortened them to fit my layout. 'Book marks' were made from ribbon and embroidery floss. 

As well as the patterned paper from Crate Paper I also used some papers from Echo Park, Bazzill Cardstock, BasicGrey letter stickers and a 'print n cut' flower file from the Silhouette Studio. Various paper punches and fancy cut scissors were used to add interest to the paper edges.

Book Review - The Desperate Diary of a Country Housewife by Daisy Waugh

Fantastic Fiction Review: If you've ever dreamt of a new life in the country, this highly entertaining and candid account of country living might make you think again...Fresh air, rolling fields, Cath Kidston tea towels and home-baked cake -- isn't that what Martha's new life will be? Apparently not. Having upped sticks and moved her young family from the gritty city to Paradise, she discovers things aren't quite that easy. Collapsing kitchen ceilings; a plague of slugs; coffee mornings with Stepford mums and garden warfare with the neighbours are just a few of the trials. And with her husband away working in London, Martha just can't stop thinking about the sexy builder who's meant to be turning the house into her dream home!

I found this book on the shelves of the library and it was the first by book Daisy Waugh that I had read. I have mixed feelings abut the book. I found the format of the book hard to get used to. The book is written in a diary style but is interspersed with newspaper columns written by the main character Martha.

Whilst in some ways I enjoyed the story, as a reader who her self is a country housewife and has always lived in the countryside, I found the picture it painted of country life somewhat unrealistic and rather patronising. Yes, I could relate to some parts but others were alien to the countryside I know.

Probably not an author I would read again.

Book Review - Mum on the Run by Fiona Gibson

Amazon Description: Laura Swan was dreading the school sports day Mum’s race - but whoever would have thought it could be quite so life-changing?

Sports Day at her children's school is a nightmare for Laura because of the event she dreads – the Mums' Race. She knows the other mothers have been in training for at least three months – even though they're trying to pretend that they haven't. Laura's vowed never to take part, but the morning of the School Sports Day she makes a fatal error and promises her daughter that if she eats her Rice Crispies, she will run. With no escape, Laura is forced to take part and as she moves towards her inevitable humiliation, she is horrified to spot her husband Jed flirting with Celeste the delectable French girl who works with him.

Determined to put up a fight and to show Jed there is still plenty of spice left in their marriage, Laura decides it is time to give her body the work out it has been desperately crying out for. But when Laura makes a special new friend at the running club that she has joined, she gets much more than she bargained for.

From buying sexy lingerie displayed alongside the gherkins at Tesco to struggling into the last playsuit in Topshop, this novel is full of humour and Laura is a true heroine for our times. A sparkling, witty novel, that fizzes off the page.

This was the first book by Fiona Gibson that I've read and I really enjoyed it. Mind you I've said that about all the books I've read recently! LOL. Fiona Gibson's style of writing really made me want to keep reading and I found it hard to put the book down.

Full of humour the book had me chuckling and also cringing as the main character Laura went from one embarrassing situation to another like making a fool of herself by spectacularly falling over in the parents race at her children's school sports day, being caught rifling through the bedroom of Celeste the beautiful woman who works with Laura's husband to try and find a hairdryer to dry her wet dress after not quite making it to the toilet in time at Celeste's birthday party, getting stuck in her stomach reducer girdle thingy and having to get husband Jed to cut her out of it with a pair of scissors.

I really liked Laura and loved how her character evolved through the book. This really was a great read and I can't wait to read more of Fiona Gibson's books.

Book Review - A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern

Fantastic Fiction Review: Since Sandy Shortt's childhood schoolmate disappeared twenty years ago, Sandy has been obsessed with missing things. Finding becomes her goal - whether it's the odd sock that vanished in the washing machine, the car keys she misplaced in her rush to get to work or the graver issue of finding the people who vanish from their lives. Sandy dedicates her life to finding these missing people, offering devastated families a flicker of hope. Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate people. It's been a year since his brother, Donal vanished into thin air and the sleepless nights and frantic days aren't getting any easier. Thinking Sandy Shortt could well be the answer to his prayers, he embarks on a quest to find her. But, when Sandy goes missing too, her search ends when she stumbles upon the place - and people - she's been looking for all of her life. A world away from her loved ones and the home she ran from for so long, Sandy soon resorts to her old habit again, searching. Though this time, she is desperately trying to find her way home!

I loved this book. It was so different to other chic lits I've read - it wasn't a boy meet girl love story. It was an original and imaginative story about being lost and being found. I really liked the main character Sandy Shortt (who was very tall) and sympathised with her obsession with things that go missing. A great read from Cecilia Ahern and thoroughly recommended.

Book Review - A Valentine's Kiss by Lucie Hart

Fantastic Fiction Review: This Valentine's day Imogen is going to meet the man of her dreams. If only she can discover who he is...At a gloriously over-the-top house party in the balmy South of France, British trainee chef Imogen finds herself playing blind man's buff with a host of impossibly handsome men. And then one of them kisses her. It's the most perfect kiss she's ever experienced in her short - and frankly, to date romantically disappointing - life. Sweet, sexy and full of promise. Imogen wants more, but by the time she recovers her wits sufficiently to remove her blindfold her mystery kisser has disappeared. Could her Prince Charming be one of her fellow-chefs, Dimitri or Bastien? Both are clearly interested in her. But there's also enigmatic Latino hunk Enzo, good-times-guy DJ Cheyenne, aristocratic Amaury, and the American visitors - Archer and Everett...So many men, so little time. And Imogen can't just keep kissing men until she finds the right one...can she?

This was another debut novel mentioned on the Chick Lit Plus website and having throughly enjoyed 'Postcards from the Heart' which was also another debut novel mentioned on that website I decided to give this one a try. I'm glad I did.

The story was set in France with a culinary background to the story which made a nice change to the majority of novels which I've read lately which have tended to be set in the US or UK. The book was quick to get into and I liked the main character Imogen and like how her personality developed and grew throughout the story. Once the 'Valentine Kisser' had struck I was eager to find out who he was although the blurb on the back cover did kind of give it away.

A really good read - marks out of 10! 9/10

Book Review - Spellbound by Jane Green

Fantastic Fiction Review: Alice knows she should be happy. After all she has a handsome husband, a beautiful house and membership to all the most exclusive clubs in London. So what if the rumours about her husband's skirt-chasing are becoming harder to ignore? When Joe's indiscretions force a transfer to New York, Alice hopes it might be a fresh start. And when they find a beautiful old house in Connecticut Alice is overjoyed. For a while she and Joe seem as happy as newlyweds. But then the late nights and unexplained absences start again. What should Alice do? Stay and fight for him? Or leave with her head held high?

I've had this book for sometime and decided now was the time to read it. Jane Green is a writer I am familiar with and whose books I usually enjoy so I was expecting to enjoy this one. The book, Jane Green's sixth book, didn't fail to meet my expectations. It was a real page turner and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to Alice and whether her suspicions about Joe's infidelity would be confirmed. Predictably it all turns out good for Alice in the end, but when alls said and done ...... we all like a happy ending.

Book Review - Postcards from the Heart by Ella Griffin

Fantastic Fiction Review: Life is looking up for Saffy. She has a great job, a gorgeous flat in the most desirable part of Dublin and - after six years - it looks like her boyfriend, Greg, is going to propose. Greg (just voted the 9th most eligible man in Ireland) is on a high, too - he's about to swap his part as a heart-throb in an Irish soap for a break in Hollywood. His best mate Conor wakes up every morning with Jess, the most beautiful woman on the planet but, even after seven years and two kids, she won't get married. He spends his days teaching teenagers and his nights writing the book he hopes will change everything, including Jess's mind. But their happy endings are playing hard to get. It seems everyone's keeping secrets - one night stands, heartbreak, grief and loss are all in the mix. It's going to take some tough questions and even tougher answers before anyone's being honest - even with themselves. POSTCARDS FROM THE HEART is a book about four friends in their thirties. It's about love, lust, life, death, balloon rides and missing hamsters. But most of all it's about figuring out how to stop saying 'I don't' and how to start saying 'I do'

This debut novel was recommended on the Chick Lit Plus and whilst I have a tendency to read books by authors who have a proven track record of writing good stories I was interested to read Ella's first book.

It did take me a while to get into the book but this may have been due to my lack of reading time in recent weeks rather than the story line because once I did got into the story I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters - Saffy who was certainly too good for the ultra-vain Greg, and hard working Conor and Jess who were so right for each other were believable characters. The humour written into the story was witty and had me laughing. Ella Griffin is a great story teller and I look forward with anticipation her next novel.

Book Review - It's a Kind of Magic by Carole Matthews

Fantastic Fiction Review: When Emma's boyfriend Leo turns up at her special birthday dinner unforgivably late and horribly drunk, embarrassing her in front of her family, she decides enough is enough. Why can't someone just wave a magic wand over him and bring him back refurbished as a proper boyfriend and save her the trouble? But when Leo meets Isabel and starts changing before her very eyes, Emma realises she should be careful what she wishes for...

Before reading this book I had only read one other book by Carole Matthews and that was some time ago so wasn't entirely familiar with her books. The inclusion of magic and fairy in the story made for a very witty, fun, light hearted read. The characters were likable and believable. Reading the book was, I felt, like reading a screen play and could easily imagine this book being made into a film.

Book Review - The Rose Revived by Katie Fforde

Fantastic Fiction Review: When May teams up with Sally and Harriet it is the best day's work she's ever done. Each of them needs money, badly. Which is why they are reduced to working for Quality Cleaners under the watchful eye of 'Slimeball' Slater. When they discover it is them being taken to the cleaners, they set up as an independent team. And that is when things really begin to take off. With more lucrative jobs coming in, they soon find that they are able to take the first steps towards freedom and independence. For May that means paying the mooring fees for her adored houseboat. Harriet can take art classes and reveal her gift for painting, and Sally can save up for a place of her own. But while they are making a success of their working lives, they risk overlooking the romantic possibilities they have created...

This is a nice easy read and easy to get into from page one. I warmed to the characters and the humour Katie Fforde includes in her books is an added bonus. Lots of feel good factor and happy endings although rather predictable.

Chick Lit Reading Challenge for 2011

Because I don't have enough to do (LOL) I've decided to sign up for the Chick Lit Reading Challenge for 2011. I enjoy reading 'light' books. Books that I can pick up and put down. Books that I can read without needing a dictionary to check the vocabulary! Books with a feel good factor. So when I saw the Chick Lit Reading Challenge that requires participants to read 12 chick lit books including 2 books from debut authors throughout 2011 (plus any other genre that appeals) I thought "Why not".

You can keep track of what I'm reading from my list on the sidebar on the right and any recommendations as to what i should read next would be appreciated. having said that I have acquired quite a few books from Read it Swap it that I already have quite a few books to read.