Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

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Back in October, I was musing over whether I wanted to set myself a reading plan in 2014. Shortly after that, I was looking at one of my favorite catalogs, Bas Bleu, and saw that they had a Book of the Month 2014. This appeals to me because it will encourage me to read books I wouldn’t otherwise pick up. Here’s what’s coming my way.

January – The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

February – The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin

March – The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay

April – Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford

May – Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson

June – Tigers In Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

July – The Summer House by Alice Thomas Ellis

August – Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog by Jamie Ivey

September – Still Life by Louise Penny

October – The Mystery Box edited by Brad Metzler

November – The Horologicon: A Day’s Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language by Mark Forsyth

December – Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford

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Casper here with our review of Merrick Hungry Dog Super Value Pack from Chewy.com.

This value pack is super! Here are a few of the reasons why they’re so good:

• Contains regional, farm fresh ingredients
• Made without artificial colors or preservatives
• Same high-quality ingredients as all Merrick treats
• Budget-friendly treats for dogs of all age

Take a look in the bag.

See! All kinds of lovely animal bits.

You know what’s extra nice, especially if you have a lot of doggies in the house like we do? This big bag of treats is priced very reasonable because it is filled with an assortment of Merrick treats that didn’t quite make the cut because they are misshapen or slightly undersized. Same great quality ingredients and taste for the budget-minded pups in your life.

Take it from me…Merrick Hungry Dog Super Value Pack is a winner!

Thank you, Chewy.com for asking us to do this review. We received a free Merrick Hungry Dog Super Value Pack for an honest rating from Freedom, Casper and Nikki.

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Here’s what’s been happening in my studio…

Every month, I receive a box called Paper Pumpkin from Stampin’ Up!. It contains all the things necessary to make a paper craft. I hadn’t made the projects from the last three boxes, so this week I finished two of them.

A cute little memo pad…

…and set of pretty Christmas cards.

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I’ve been thinking about some simple creative things to do. I think I’m going to sign up for this Craftsy class.

Has anyone ever taken a class from Craftsy? It looks like fun, and I could use a “refresher” for my minimal crochet skills.

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On Saturdays, I take you on an Artist Date with me. The Artist Date comes from the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

Truth be told, I haven’t taken an Artist Date in about a month, but today I briefly stopped by a cool event…the Alternative Gift Fair.

The Alternative Gifts Fair is held at the Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Indiana, and features a variety of gift items from local, national and international not-for-profits.

I was there to checkout Ten Thousand Villages’ display.

Then, I headed to the store.

Next year, I’ll do a more thorough job of “covering” the event.

This year, I apparently only had eyes for Ten Thousand Villages.

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Every Friday, I share a poem. Friday is also the day I post a prompt of something you can do to make the world a kinder place. I call this the Kind is Kool challenge.

I offer both the poem and the kindness challenge without any obligation, so “Comments” are turned off every Friday. Enjoy.

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Friend or Foe?

There’s a man I know –
A likeable man –
Whom you meanly wound
Whenever you can,
Remark with malice
His task is done ill,
He’s poor of judgment
And weak of will.
I implore you, now,
As that poor man’s friend,
Let persecution
Have speediest end.

Cease taunting the man
With blunders he makes,
Cease harping alway
On wrongs and mistakes.
Come, be his good friend –
Hail fellow, well met –
His failures forgive,
And his faults forget.
Who is the man you’ve
Discouraged and blamed?
The man is yourself –
Are you not ashamed?

For faults of the past
Make ample amends,
And you and yourself
Be the best of friends.

Jean Blewett

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Kind is Kool Challenge

Week 38 Challenge – Let someone go ahead of you.

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Back in June, I wrote about a sweet houndie named Dotti who was severely injured when she ran into a wire. For a while, I had a donation link on my sidebar. If you made a contribution to Dotti, please contact me at whatremainsnow@gmail.com as the contributions did not get to Dotti. On a happy note…Dotti is doing well and has recovered from her injury.

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Sunday was my card club’s Card & Cookie Exchange.  The rules are…

1.  Bring one handmade card for each person.

2.  Bring one dozen homemade cookies for each person, plus some to share.

This is my third year participating. I also participated in 2011 and 2012.

We made two cards…

A cute Santa card…

and a cute elf card.

Here are the cards I received in the exchange…

Cute gingerbread.

Sparkly snowflakes.

Medallion ornaments.

Lovely soft flowers.

Everyone also brought a little gift. For all my card-loving friends…Look at this cute set of cards my niece made for everyone. Love polka dots!

Needless to say, I’m eating way too many cookies this week.

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I noticed that Baggy and Nin, over at The Hailey and Zaphod Chronicles, had a cool new sleeping mat from Mollie & Alfie’s Shop…the Kittie Nip Nap Matz. They wrote a post about it and gave it a 4 paws out of 4 rating. With such high praise, I was interested in getting one for Twinkie.

It is made out of super cute fabric with colorful cartoon kittens AND it has catnip in it. I placed it on the love seat and Twinkie immediately took up occupancy. She rolled on it, slobbered on it, loved on it and finally laid down.

Days later, the Kittie Nip Nap Matz is still a favorite place to take a nap. Twinkie seconds Baggy and Nin’s rating and gives it a 4 paws out of 4 rating.

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Here’s what’s been happening in my studio…

Yesterday, I went to my card club’s annual card and cookie exchange. I’ll post more details on Wednesday.

This is the card I made to exchange. If I had it to do over, I would emboss the solid pink background paper.