Crafty Catz DT- Clean and Simple

Morning all!

What a week! or should I say, what a fortnight. I just need to sleep for a month to recharge. Sadly, that isn't going to be possible, but oh well! 

Friday mornings  mean the latest challenge for Crafty Catz and this weeks theme is set by Jac who wants to see Clean and Simple Cards. We are sponsored this week by Aurora Wings who are offering our lucky winner $15 of images

We were given a couple of gorgeous images to play with and I picked Pansy Corner, which some of you will realise is similar in style to a sweet pea stamp I have and adore, so I'm thrilled to have a different design on the same style to play with. 

The image is coloured with promarkers in lilac, amystgyst, plum, sky blue, cool aqua, china blue, moss and lime green. The central pansy and the butterfly are decoupaged to give the image some dimension. 

The awesome sentiment is from Tiddly Inks and is part of a set of life sentiments you can buy. I double mounted the image on some scrap purple and teal papers to finish. 

Now it's been forever since I entered a challenge so I thought I'd give it a go again; therefore I'd like to enter this card into the following:
As You Like It - Favourite Flower and Why : Pansy's as they were one of the first flowers I ever managed to grow successfully as a child (I do not have green fingers)
Crafting With An Attitude - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp- For the Love of Plants
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes

I hope you like it, don't forget to swing by the blog and see everyone else's amazing creations. Until next time - happy crafting.

Men and Arms and Soul Music - Discworld Reading Challenge

Published: 1994 

Plot Summery: Edward d'Eath, an Assassin and son of a down-and-out noble family, becomes convinced that the restoration of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy will solve the social change in the city which he blames for his family's humbling. He researches the history of the royal family and determines that Carrot Ironfoundersson is in fact the rightful heir to the throne. 

Meanwhile, Captain Samuel Vimes, captain of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, prepares for his imminent wedding to Sybil Ramkin, the richest woman in Ankh-Morpork. He also must deal with a new group of recruits that he has been required to take on for the sake of diversity: Cuddy (a dwarf), Detritus (a troll), and Angua (a werewolf--but Carrot is unaware of this, and believes she is included because she is female). When a string of seemingly random murders occur among the Guilds of the city, Lord Vetinari forbids Vimes to investigate in a successful ploy to ensure Vimes does investigate. Cuddy and Detritus are forced to work together, resulting in them becoming friends as they overcome their deep-seated racial enmity. Angua works with the talking dog Gaspode, and also forms a romantic connection with Carrot, who loses his virginity to her but handles the discovery that she is a werewolf poorly. 

It turns out that d'Eath has stolen the gonne, the Disc's first and only handheld firearm, from the Assassins' Guild, with the intention of discrediting Vetinari's government through the murders. Any possessor of the gonne seems to become obsessed with the device. After d'Eath reveals his plan to Dr. Cruces, head of the Assassin's Guild, Cruces murders him and takes up the plan himself. The Watch prevent Cruces from killing Vetinari, but Cuddy and Angua are killed in the process. Vimes and Carrot confront and disarm Cruces, and Carrot helps Vimes resist the gonne's allure. Cruces gives Carrot the evidence that he is the royal heir, upon which Carrot kills Cruces with his sword and has both the evidence and the dismantled gonne buried with Cuddy. As a werewolf can only be killed with a silver weapon, Angua is revived upon the moon's rising. 

Vimes and Ramkin are married. Recent events have raised the Night Watch's profile, bringing a slew of new recruits. Carrot visits Vetinari, who is expecting Carrot to make personal demands as he is now in a strong position to blackmail the Patrician. What Carrot actually brings is a request for Vetinari to implement a plan for reforming the City Watch into an effective, integrated, comprehensive police force with better working conditions. Vetinari accedes, making Carrot Captain of the Watch and elevating Vimes to the recreated position Commander of the Watch, and the rank of Knight. 

Adaptations: None Known 

Favourite Quotes: If the Creator had said, "Let there be light" in Ankh-Morpork, he'd have gotten no further because of all the people saying "What colour?"

- "It could be a torture chamber or a dungeon or a hideous pit or anything!"

- "It's just a student's bedroom, sergeant." 

- "You see?" 

From the back, Vetinari looked like a carnivorous flamingo

Reading Time: Started Monday 25th May 2015 - Finished Saturday 30th 2015 

Published: 1994 

Plot Summery: A young harpist, Imp Y Celyn from Llamedos, comes to Ankh-Morpork in hopes of becoming famous. Unable to afford the Musicians Guild fees, he and fellow unlicensed musicians Lias Bluestone (a troll percussionist) and Glod Glodsson (a dwarf hornblower) form "The Band with Rocks In," named after Lias' tuned rocks. When Imp's harp is destroyed, he acquires a guitar from a mysterious shop, unaware that it contains the awareness of a primordial music that was responsible for bringing the universe into existence. Imp takes the new name "Buddy," as "Imp Y Celyn" literally means "bud of holly," and Lias starts calling himself "Cliff." 

Meanwhile, Death is upset over the deaths of his adopted daughter Ysabell and her husband, his former apprentice Mort. Their daughter, Susan Sto Helit, was initially raised with an awareness of Death as her grandfather, but they later withheld the truth from her and she forgot about it. When Death abandons his post in an effort to forget the painful memories, the fabric of reality forces Susan to take on his duties and she begins to remember her past. She becomes aware of Buddy when he is scheduled to die in a riot while performing at the Mended Drum, but instead the crowd is overcome by the spirit of "Music with Rocks In," which apparently has no musical merit for objective listeners not themselves possessed by it. After this, Buddy's life is powered by the music instead of by his natural life force. 

Buddy is becoming less and less like himself, and barely seems aware of his surroundings when he is not playing the guitar. Susan tries to protect him from the influence of the music; though she does not acknowledge it, she has developed feelings for him. Buddy wants to perform a free concert at the music's behest, and Dibbler agrees after realizing how much of a profit he can earn through merchandising and concessions. A large number of the copycat bands participate in the largest concert of all time, culminating in the Band with Rocks In's performance. Buddy also performs his own folk song on his harp, which Glod has had repaired, which briefly restores Imp's natural personality and grants him a moment of peace. Afterwards, the band flees from their crazed fans, pursued by the Musicians Guild, Dibbler, Susan, and Death (who has been brought back to his senses by his servant Albert). The music intends to create an immortal legend by crashing the band's coach into a gorge, with no survivors. Susan rescues them, but the music begins to alter the timeline so the band will have died. Death then arrives, playing an "empty chord" on the guitar to stop the music, having Buddy play a chord to restart it, and then destroying the guitar. 

A new timeline is created in which Mr. Clete was the only fatality, although Susan remains aware of the original course of events. She is returned to school (and also has been there all along) with a new self-assurance. The next day, she runs to reunite with Imp upon realizing that, in the new version of events, he came to Quirm instead of Ankh-Morpork and is working nearby. 

Adaptations: An animated adaptation was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Channel 4 in 1996. 

Favourite Quotes: People came to Ankh-Morpork to seek their fortune. Unfortunately, other people sought it too.

The students were staring at her in the manner of those who have heard of the species 'female' but have never expected to get this close to one.

The Patrician was a pragmatist. He never tried to fix things that worked. Things that didn't work, however, got broken.

Reading Time: Started Sunday 31st May 2015 - Finished Thursday 4th June 2015 

Crafty Catz DT - Stitching

Morning all

 

Here's to another Friday! this weeks challenge at Crafty Catz is set by Christine and she wants to see Stitching (real or faux) on your projects this week. We are sponsored by the amazing team at Bugaboo, who are offering our lucky winner 7 images of their choice

 

So I figured with a theme like this it was about time I did a non card project and it fell perfectly to coincide with a project I'd been working on for a friend of mine who is a Priest



 

 

The pattern is by Lizzie Kate designs and should be available at most retailers who supply cross stitch patterns - it's certainly available all over the internet.

 

I tweaked the design to add the bottom boarder and carefully matched the thread colours to his chair (as seen on the photo). The cushion I made using a mottled wool and the back is fastened with toggles. I finished each corner with a mother of pearl button.

 

He loves it (thank goodness) and I've been asked to make another couple in due course for other Priests. They're going to have to wait a while though - my eyes are shot from stitching on linen in poor light!

 

So there you go, my project this week. Hope you like it and don't forget to swing by and look at the other fab projects on the blog. Until next time - happy crafting! 

Crafty Catz DT - Springtime

Morning all,

 

Another Friday and another month almost over - scary!  this weeks theme at Crafty Catz has been set by the lovely Dianne and she wants to see Springtime cards. We are sponsored this week by Rick st Dennis who are offering our lucky winner 3 images of their choice

I don't mind saying I struggled this week to make the card, it probably doesn't help that Spring appears to have missed me entirely - I've spent 10 days working under grey skies at work and lamplight at home!

 

Anyway, enough moaning, this is my card this week:

 

The image is coloured with promarkers; Blush, Mustard, Gold, Pumpkin, Terracotta, Red, Poppy, Lime Green, Moss, Cool Aqua, Warm Grey 1

 

The papers are from Fancy Pants - Beach Babe and the edges are inked with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo and Shabby Shutters. The butterflies are memory box and inked with Versa Magic  Sahara Sand and Thatched Straw. The leaf punch is woodware, flowers, buttons and gems from stash

 

Thanks for swinging by and don't forget to join in the fun this week! until next time - happy crafting! 



Small Gods and Lords and Ladies - Discworld Reading Challenge

Published: 1992

Plot Summery: The Great God Om tries to manifest himself once more in the world, as the time of his eighth prophet is nigh. He is surprised, however, when he finds himself in the body of a tortoise, stripped of his divine powers. In the gardens of Omnia's capital he addresses the novice Brutha, the only one able to hear his voice. Om has a hard time convincing the boy of his godliness, as Brutha is convinced that Om can do anything he wants, and would not want to appear as a tortoise.
With the help of Ephebe's Great Library, and the philosophers Didactylos, his nephew, Urn, and Abraxas, Om learns that Brutha is the only one left who believes in him. All others either just fear the Quisition's wrath or go along with the church out of habit.  Realizing his 'mortality' and how important his believers are to him, Om begins to care about them for the first time.

On the desert's edge, Vorbis attempts to finish off Om's tortoise form, abducts Brutha, and proceeds to become ordained as the Eighth Prophet. Brutha is to be publicly burned for heresy while strapped on a heatable bronze turtle when Om comes to the rescue, dropping from an eagle's claws onto Vorbis' head. As a great crowd witnesses this miracle they come to believe in Om and he becomes powerful again. Om manifests himself within the citadel and attempts to grant Brutha the honour of establishing the Church's new doctrines. However, Brutha does not agree with Om's new rule and explains that the Church should care for people while having a tolerance for other religious practices.

In the book's conclusion Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet, ending the Quisition and reforming the church to be more open-minded and humanist. Om also agrees to forsake the smiting of Omnian citizens for at least a hundred years. The last moments of the book see Brutha's death a hundred years to the day after Om's return to power and his journey across the ethereal desert towards judgement, accompanied by the spirit of Vorbis, whom Brutha found still in the desert and took pity on. It is also revealed that this century of peace was originally meant to be a century of war and bloodshed which the History Monk Lu-Tze changed to something he liked better.

Adaptations: In 2006 the book was adapted as a serial for BBC Radio 4. A stage version of Small Gods was adapted in 2010 and performed between 17 and 19 February 2011 at The Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham by OOOOK! Productions and members of Durham Student Theatre.

Favourite Quotes: "That's right," he said. "We're philosophers. We think, therefore we am."

"It's a god-eat-god world."

Bishops move diagonally. That's why they often turn up where the kings don't expect them to be.

"I like the idea of democracy. You have to have someone everyone distrusts," said Brutha. "That way, everyone's happy."


Reading Time: Started Wednesday 13th May 2015 - Finished Tuesday 19th May 2015

Published: 1992

Plot Summery: Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick return to Lancre after their recent adventure in Genua. Magrat is stunned when King Verence proclaims their imminent marriage, having already made all the arrangements in her absence. The sudden appearance of crop circles reveals to Nanny and Granny that it is now "circle time," a convergence of parallel universes when the Discworld is susceptible to incursions from the "parasite universe" of the Elves. They are normally kept away by a circle of magnetized iron standing stones known as the Dancers. When Nanny and Granny refuse to explain the situation to Magrat, she leaves the coven, disavows witchcraft, and moves into an apartment in Lancre Castle. She soon becomes bored with the courtly lifestyle and unsure of her place.

 

Granny and Nanny discover that a group of local girls, led by Diamanda Tockley and including Agnes Nitt, have formed a new coven whose activities include dancing naked at the Dancers. The two elderly witches try to convince them to stop, with Granny ultimately besting Diamanda in a public witchcraft contest and discrediting the new coven. But a defiant Diamanda later runs through the Dancers into the land of the Elves, where she is knocked unconscious by a poisoned Elven arrow before being rescued by Granny. Nanny subdues an Elf that pursues them back into Lancre, using an iron fireplace poker. The witches bring Diamanda and the Elf to Lancre Castle, where Magrat treats Diamanda and Verence agrees to imprison the Elf.

 

Jason Ogg and the other Lancre Morris Men plan a play to be performed for the wedding guests. When they rehearse near the Dancers, the Elves influence them to include Elvish elements in the play. As a result, when the play is performed at the Dancers, it causes sufficient belief--a powerful force on the Discworld--that the Elves are able to make the guests dismantle the stone circle. The Elves arrive, and the Elf Queen plans to legitimize her rule of Lancre by marrying Verence. None of the members of the Lancre coven are present at this time. The women only become aware of what has happened once the Elves begin to wreak havoc in Lancre. Aided only by general dogsbody Shawn Ogg, Magrat fights her way though the infiltrated castle and sets out for the Dancers, while Granny  is captured by the Elves and Nanny travels through a gateway to the abode of the Elf King, who opposes the Elf Queen despite being her spouse.

At the Dancers, Magrat arrives to confront the Elf Queen at the same time as the people of Lancre, rallied by Shawn and Nanny. But the Elf Queen quickly subdues Magrat with glamour. The captive Granny mentally combats the Elf Queen and releases Magrat from the glamour before succumbing to the Elf Queen's attack, her prone body being covered by the bees from her hive, which have swarmed at the Dancers. When the Elf Queen turns her powers on Magrat, attempting to stop her resistance by dismantling her identity, she exposes the unexpectedly valorous core of Magrat's being, Magrat attacks and subdues the Elf Queen just in time for a projection of the Elf King to arrive and send the Elves back to their world.Granny appears to be dead, but then Nanny and Magrat learn that she has actually borrowed her bees' hive mind; a feat thought impossible.

The book ends, with as happier an ending as is every found in discworld novels and leaves the door open for the next witches adventure
  

Adaptations: None Known

Favourite Quotes: 

I LIKE TO THINK I AM A PICKER-UP OF UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES. Death grinned hopefully.

 

The thing about iron is that you generally don't have to think fast in dealing with it.

 

"Go ahead, bake my quiche"

 

A heap of discarded garments by the bed suggested that Verence had mastered the art of hanging up clothes as practised by half the population of the world, and that he had equally had difficulty with the complex topological manoeuvres necessary to turn the socks the right way out.

Reading Time: Started Wednesday 20th May 2015 - Finished Sunday 24th May 2015

Crafty Catz DT - Kids

Morning all,

 

Here's to another Friday and another week over. It's been a mixed bag this week - both weather and work, so I'm glad for the weekend.

 

This weeks challenge at Crafty Catz is set by Anna and the theme is KIDS we are sponsored this week by The Paper Shelter who are offering our lucky winner a $10 Gift Certificate

 

My card this week features the gorgeous image, The Aviator

 

 

I used the pre-coloured png which came with the set and layered the pilot up to give some depth. The papers, tickets and words are all from the docrafts All Aboard travel set they came out with a couple of years ago. The cardstock is from stash.

 

I went for a fairly abstract layout for me but I think it kind of works. Anyway, I hope you like it and I can't wait to see what you come up with to join in. Until next time though, happy crafting

Reaper Man and Witches Abroad - Discworld Reading Challenge

Published: 1991

Plot Summery:
The Auditors of Reality are beings who watch the Discworld to ensure everything obeys The Rules. As Death starts developing a personality the Auditors feel that he does not perform his Duty in the right way. They send him to live like everyone else. Assuming the name "Bill Door", he works as a farm hand for the elderly Miss Flitworth.

While every other species creates a new Death for themselves, humans need more time for their Death to be completed. As a result, the life force of dead humans starts to build up; this results in poltergeist activity, ghosts, and other paranormal phenomena. Most notable is the return of the recently deceased wizard Windle Poons, who was really looking forward to reincarnation. After several misadventures, including being accosted by his oldest friends, he finds himself attending the Fresh Start club, an undead-rights group led by Reg Shoe. The Fresh Start club and the wizards of Unseen University discover that the city of Ankh-Morpork is being invaded by a parasitic lifeform that feeds on cities and hatches from eggs that resemble snow globes. Tracking its middle form, shopping carts, the Fresh Start club and the wizards invade and destroy the third form, a shopping mall.

When humankind finally thinks of a New Death, one with a crown and without any humanity or human face, it goes to take Bill Door. Death/Door, having planned for this moment for some time, outwits and destroys it. Having defeated the New Death, Death absorbs the other Deaths back into him, with the exception of the Death of Rats (and ultimately, the Death of Fleas). Death confronts Azrael, the Death of the Universe, and states that the Deaths have to care or they do not exist and there is nothing but Oblivion, which must also end some time.

Adaptations: A fragment of this book was adapted in 1996 into a short animated movie entitled Welcome to the Discworld, featuring Christopher Lee as Death

Favourite Quotes:
Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.

I EXPECT, he said, THAT YOU COULD MURDER A PIECE OF CHEESE?

No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

Reading Time: Started Saturday 2nd May 2015 - Finished Thursday 7th May 2015

Published: 1991

Plot Summery:
Following the death of the witch Desiderata Hollow, Magrat Garlick is sent her magic wand, for Desiderata was not only a witch, but also a Fairy Godmother. Having given the wand to Magrat, she effectively makes Magrat the new Fairy Godmother to a young woman called Emberella, who lives across the Disc in Genua. Sadly, Desiderata does not give Magrat any instruction on the use of the wand, so pretty much anything that Magrat points it at becomes a pumpkin.  Desiderata had promised Emberella previously that she will not marry the Duke, who's really a prince/frog. and now it is up to Magrat and her companions (Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg) to ensure that Emberella does not marry the Duke, despite the desires of another Witch in Genua called Lily, Desiderata's counterpart. She used the power of her own reflection to capture Genua.

The journey to Genua takes some time and involves numerous mis-adventures, many of which resemble or parody well-known fairytales. Upon arrival in Genua, Magrat goes to meet Emberella, whilst the two older witches meet Erzulie Gogol, a voodoo witch and her zombie servant, Baron Saturday (who was also her late lover). It is at this time that Magrat finds out that Emberella has two Fairy Godmothers, Magrat and Lilith. It was Lilith who had manipulated many of the various stories that the Witches had traveled through and who was now manipulating Genua itself, wrapping the city around her version of the Cinderella story. At this point it is revealed that Lilith is actually Lily, Granny Weatherwax's older sister.

Granny manages to defeat Lilith by trapping her in a mirror, and the three Witches return home. Granny shows Magrat how to use the wand to do magic, that it takes more than wishing. Magrat throws the wand into a river, to be lost forever. Then the Witches go home, the long way, and see the elephant.
 

Adaptations: None Known

Favourite Quotes:
"You can't go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise it's just a cage."

"Humanity's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there."

"You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you."

"It pays to advertise," Nanny agreed. "This is Greebo. Between you and me, he’s a fiend from hell." "Well, he’s a cat," said Mrs. Gogol, generously. "It’s only to be expected."

 Reading Time: Started Friday 8th May 2015 - Finished Tuesday 12th May 2015