Book Review - Potions are for Pushovers by Tamara Berry

This book is the second book in the Eleanor Wilde series by Tamara Berry.  I have not yet read the first book, but had no issues reading this as a standalone.  I would, however, LOVE to read the first book and future stories, because it was good!

The story is about Eleanor Wilde, a woman who is pretending to be a psychic.  She has a long history of being a con artist and has settled in a quaint English villiage.  Ellie sells "potions" and "tonics" to locals, claiming them to be love potions, etc, however mostly they are water, vodka, and some essential oils and local herbs.   When one of the townspeople dies of poisoning, the police look at Ellie as their prime suspect. 

Ellie, of course, takes to investigating on her own to find the true killer.  She also ends up with a pair of teenage girls as assistants, who are surprisingly good at their investigating.   This ending of this book was somewhat of a surprise to me, but I think it wrapped up well.  I would love to hear more about Ellie's hunky rich boyfriend Nicholas, and I'm looking forward to more in the series.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Review: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say: A Novel
by

Kelly Rimmer (Goodreads Author)

Katherine's review

Jan 02, 2020  ·  edit

it was amazing

This book was chosen by my book club. I finished it in one day, and ended up ugly crying at the ending. This book was very nicely written, going back and forth between World War II Poland and present day USA. The story centers around a young woman, Alina, growing up in Poland during WWII. She falls in love with Tomasz and they are torn apart by the war.

Alice, the granddaughter of Hanna, is the other narrator. She has two children, one who is very gifted and one who is on the autism spectrum. She manages the house and her children's activities, and it seems clear that she has no assistance from her husband Wade. Alice's grandmother ends up in the hospital following a stroke, and she communicates with the family by using her great-grandson's communication device. Through the device, Hanna asks Alice to go back to Poland to find her hometown and Tomasz.

The story was so good, I could not put it down. I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with romance and real life scenarios

Deconstructed Sketch -- A Cute Frankenstein

I am in a holiday mood - but not Christmas, Halloween!  We are looking at costumes for a renaissance fair, and I have gotten the Halloween itch!

I made this card following a sketch from Deconstructing Sketches #160.  I used Paper Smooches stamps, and Copic markers to color the image.

He makes me smile!  

Happy Stamping!

Katherine

A Masculine Happy Birthday

I always liked Close to My Heart's Dakota paper packet, and so I thought I'd use the last of my scraps from this retired paper to make one last card... I love the masculine western feel of it!

I am playing along with Mojo Monday's Sketch #354.  I really liked this sketch!   Next to it, is my take on the sketch. I'm also playing along with Cards Galore Challenge to use a stamp!




The ink is Night of Navy from Stampin' Up - as well as the sentiment .  Happy Stamping!

Katherine

Sticking my neck out...

I love the cute clear stamp's from Darcie's Heart and Home.  I went a little crazy at her booth at a stamping expo, and I am excited to share my first creation with her stamps.

I am playing along today with Retro Sketches #123.  I am a big fan of sketches, because they give me a jumping off point - I know sometimes the end product does not always match the sketch to a "T" but I think this one is pretty close.  I was using up some scraps of my Chantilly paper pack from Close to My Heart.  Typically I am not a pastel person, but for some reason the soft colors of this paper pack drew me.  I especially love how they pop off the kraft cardstock, which is one of my favorite types of card bases!

I am also playing along with Cards Galore blog, use a stamp. :)

Here's Retro Sketches sketch:

Here's my take on it:

Happy Stamping!

Katherine

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge - Summer Lovin'

I LOVE LOVE LOVE hexagons.  I am addicted.  I have dies, punches and stamps in hexagon shapes. Just my fave right now!!  So, I wanted to make a card using my latest hex-y purchase, the Epiphany Crafts hexagon punch and the epoxy shapes.  The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to use summer colors.  Love it! CAS #133.  The epoxys also count towards the Let's Be Clear challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Here it is:

And... I used one of my super cute sentiment sets from Paper Smooches - my favorite!  

Happy Stamping!

Katherine

Back Porch Memories Kit August Contest

Whew!  I think things are settling down for us (again!)

I found this great kit club, Back Porch Memories Kit Club.  They are hosting a guest designer call for August, and I thought I'd throw my hat in.

Their sketch:



My layout:

I decided to make a layout about Archery.  I really fell in love with this sport after trying it at my son's Cub Scout camp.  :)  I actually ended up being the Archery Range Master at Day Camp this year, since I love it so much!

Happy Stamping!

Katherine