July 2026 in Books

This was a pretty good reading month. Some really strong books (particularly the historical fiction), and a couple of duds. Recaps below:

Pollock's Last Lover: A Novel of Art and Deception - Stephen P. Kiernan - historical fiction - three stars - Gwen, a young associate at an auction house, is assigned the task of verifying if a painting is a genuine (and the last) Pollock painting. It was brought to the auction house by Pollock's last lover Ruth Kligman. I simultaneously enjoyed, and hated this book. I hated Ruth. The book was weird, tried to portray her as very likable and down to earth and in a few pages she becomes someone you hate. I did like Gwen a lot, and I enjoyed reading about how one goes about authenticating things, all the research, etc. Four for Gwen, one and a half for Ruth, two and a half overall, rounded to three.

The Forgotten Midwife - Laura Anthony - historical fiction - five stars - A dual timeline story, although really most of it is in the past. Riley Carmichael is about to get married and her grandmother who has Alzheimer's gives her something in a lucid moment wanting to explain, but then the moment is lost. It leads Riley down a path to discovering who she really is. In Ireland in the 1950s, Margaret Lannigan's life is turned upside down when her sister dies, and she's sent by her family to take her place in becoming a nun. Margaret's story is both horrifying, and hopeful. Really enjoyed this one.

Whistler - Ann Patchett - historical fiction - four stars - Daphne and her husband go to the museum one day, and run into Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather. Eddie played a pivotal role in the her life, and then just disappeared when her mother divorced him. This reunion opens up a floodgate of emotions, repressed memories, and opens the door to a new relationship between the two of them. An exploration of family and friendship. I did enjoy this one, although I felt like it was not as developed as my favorite Patchett books, it sometimes seemed to kind of skim the surface. Still, a very good read.

The Supper Club Saints - Claire Swinarski - fiction - four stars - Cass Simon walked out on her family two years ago to join a 'Mommune'. When the leader is jailed, Cass turns up back home just as her family is getting ready to sell the Supper Club they have owned for generations. The story alternates between present day, and what happened at the Mommune. I enjoyed the characters and the family dynamics, although the whole Mommune thing was a little too out there for me. Decent read.

The Last Good Year: Seven Games That Ended an Era - Damien Cox - non-fiction - four stars - This was my audiobook for the month. It's about the 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs who lost to the Wayne Gretzky Kings in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Cox weaves details about the players, coaches, owners, etc. in and around the narrative of each of the games. There were definitely some interesting characters involved in the series, not the least of which was King's owner Bruce McNall who would go on to be convicted of fraud and sentenced to 70 months in prison. There was a fair amount of detail in the book, and this is one that I might have enjoyed better reading vs listening to, but still quite interesting.

This Immortal Heart - Jennifer Saint - fiction - three stars - This is the second of Saint's books in a row that was a big let down for me. It's a mythical retelling of Aphrodite's story. I feel like this one and the last books that was just so so (about Hera) are maybe a problem because the character is too well known. There is just too much mythology about the major gods/goddesses, so it is perhaps too hard to  pull off a unique retelling. It seemed at times that Saint was trying too hard to weave in too many of the myths surrounding Aphrodite. On top of that, I feel like Saint tries too hard to give the books a feminist slant. I don't think they need it, and it ends up being distracting. Not sure I'll attempt another of her books for a while.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon - Lisa See - historical fiction - five stars - I am a huge fan of See, and was thrilled for her to be coming out with another book. This did not disappoint. It's about three Chinese women in 1870 Los Angeles living vastly different lives. Dove, the daughter of an imperial scholar who has fallen upon hard times, is sent to LA to be the second wife of a merchant there. Petal, the daughter of peasants, is sold and ends up a prostitute in LA, and Moon, already in LA, is the wife of a physician who treats both Chinese and American patients and has assimilated into American life, helping her husband with his practice. The women come to know one another, and deal with competing gangs/Tongs, as well as significant anti-Chinese sentiment. A really excellent read.

Theo of Golden - Allen Levi - fiction - four stars - Theo comes to the small town of Golden, seemingly randomly. When he enters the local coffee shop, he is drawn to a series of portraits on the wall, of the towns' residents, created by a local artist. Theo decides that he should unite the portraits with their rightful owners, their subjects. He begins to purchase and gift the, slowly getting to know the people in the town, and making an impact on their lives. I enjoyed this book a lot, although it was a bit of a let down based on all the hype about the book. For me it dragged at times, but overall a really good book, and I loved how it was tied up in the end.

The Young Will Remember - Eve J. Chung - historical fiction - five stars - Ellie Chang is a Chinese-American war correspondent during the Korean war. The medical evacuation flight she is on goes down in enemy territory, and she survives after a Korean woman claims her as her long lost daughter. Ellie goes with 'Emma' staying with a Korean pastor and his family. As Ellie tries to make it back to the Americans, bombing intensifies. She and her rescuers make the decision to head south to flee the bombing and give Ellie a chance to get home. I haven't read much about the Korean war, and I really liked the characters. Excellent read.

It's really hard to pick a favorite this month, the five stars were all equally good. Least favorite was Pollock's Last Lover. What have you guys been reading?

SSS Sunflower Blooms

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've got a really simple card to share today featuring the Sunflower Blooms dies from Simon Says Stamp.

I generally think of sunflowers as very bright and bold, but wanted to try for a softer more muted color scheme today.

I really love the depth you get from these dies. 

Everything was adhered together with just liquid adhesive, but you can see how dimensional it is.

A sentiment from my previously released Plant Sentiments set finished the look.

SSS Oak Leaf, Take 3

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've got one more Oak Leaf card to share today. This one is a super quick one layer wonder.

I started by very lightly inking the solid Oak Leaf stencil on a white panel using Celery and Limelicious. The colors were alternated as I worked my way around the card, and I did allow the leaves to overlap.

Next, I chose two of the leaf detail stencils. One was placed on the Celery inked leaves and also inked with Celery, with a firmer hand. The other was placed over the Limelicious leaves and inked with Limelicious  using a heavier hand.

The result is a really subtle patterned paper. 

To finish things off, I stamped one of the sentiments from my new Positive Thoughts set with Versa Clair black ink.

This would be a great design for mass producing, and you could easily mix up/change the color scheme.

SSS Oak Leaf, Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've got another Oak Leaf card to share with you today. 

For this card, I inked up two of the leaves using Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 16, which consist of Lilac, Orchid, and Amethyst ink. These were then die cut with eht coordinating die.

I cut a panel of white cardstock 3" x 5 1/2" and adhered this to the center of a black card base.

The leaves were then arranged diagonally across the card, and popped up with foam tape. 

After trimming off the excess portions of the leaves, I die cut the sentiment, which is part of the coordinating die set, from black cardstock. The shadow piece was cut from white cardstock. These were adhered together and popped up over the leaves. I also added a secondary Sentiment Strip.

I love how the leaves pop against the black and white background!

SSS Every Happiness Releas Blog Hop

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Friday! I'm hopping along with Simon Says Stamp today celebrating the new Every Happiness release. You should be arriving here from Lisa Addesa's blog. As usual, Simon is giving away a $25 store credit at each stop along the hop. All you need to do to be entered to win is  leave a comment. In addition, all purchases from the Every Happiness collection this weekend will receive the above pictured stamp set free! 

Today I'm showing off my new Desert Horizon cover plate. I'm sharing four ways to use, or 'color' this landscape.

First up, coloring with cardstock.

This is the traditional way, if you will. I simply die cut the cover plate using various colors of cardstock to create my landscape. The pieces layer together very easily, and no super tiny pieces.

I chose a sentiment from my new Positive Thoughts set which was stamped on cardstock using Versa Clair black ink, die cut using the coordinating dies, and popped up with foam tape.

Next up, inking.

This time, I cut the cover just once, from white cardstock, and then used my Pawsitively Saturated inks and Blending Brushes to color each of the pieces. I used Morning, Dusk, Latte, Cappuccino, and Butter.

The sentiment is also from the Positive Thoughts set.

Next, we have watercoloring.

This time I started by dry embossing the coverplate onto a panel of watercolor cardstock. I used those lines as a guide for some very loose watercoloring. You really don't need to be precise at all for this.

Once I was happy with the panel and it had dried, I replaced the plate and die cut. To emphasie the pieces, I added inking to the edges using Distress Inks and a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blender.

The pieces were then reassembled. I trimmed the panel down slightly and popped it up with foam tape. A reverse sentiment strip finished things off.

Finally, coloring with Copics.

Once again, I die cut a panel of white cardstock, but this time I added color using Copics. I love how vibrant this one is.

The sentiment is from my Chill Vibes set It was gold embossed on black cardstock and popped up.

Would love to know which method was your favorite! Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the prize here. Your next stop is Jean Doeringsfeld, and I have the full hop list below if you need it. Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Heather Hoffman
Barbara Tarayao
Laura Bassen
Amy Rysavy
Tina Smith
Nicky Meek
Heather Ruwe
Lisa Addesa
Miriam Prantner
Jean Doeringsfeld
Barb Engler
Laura Williams
Christine Okken

SSS Every Happiness Release

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Hi friends! The Every Happiness release from Simon Says Stamp is now available, and I've got a few new products in this release, including my latest big leaf design, Oak Leaf.

The stencil set includes four stencils, and there's a coordinating die which also includes the blessed sentiment dies that you see here.

For this card, started by stenciling the leaf using the new Green Forests set of mini inks. There are two color families included in the set, and I used the Jade, Eucalyptus, and Juniper trio.

To add some elegance and interest to the leaf, I used gold paint pen to trace along segments of the lines in the leaf.

Next, I fussy cut the leaf. Of course there is a coordinating die, but I wanted to give it a faux gilded look, so I fussy cut the leaf, and used the coordinating die to cut a solid leaf from Gold Matte cardstock. The leaf was adhered over top. This gives it such a pretty look, seeing that Gold Matte peeking out from behind.

For the background, I cut a panel of Glossy Black cardstock. I used some Tim Holtz Gold Alcohol Ink Mixative which was mixed with a little bit of blending solution, and then splattered onto the panel. 

The leaf was popped up with foam tape. The sentiment was die cut from Gold Matte, and the shadow piece from the Glossy Black, and the completed sentiment was then popped up over the leaf.

I'm so pleased with how this turned out. I kind of want to gild all of my leaves now!

I'll see you back here tomorrow for a fun blog hop. Until then, be sure to stop by Simon to see the full release, including my other new products: Positive Thoughts and Desert Horizon.

SSS Shine On, Blooming Flower Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've got another Blooming Flower card to share with you this week.

This time, I used the stencils to created a patterned paper. I started with a panel of Moonflower cardstock, inking the flowers up using Petunia, Pansy, and Earl ink. Petunia was used for two of the layers, varying the 'weight' of the inking. For that little petal on the layer with the leaves, I used whatever was left on my blending brush from the Pansy inking.

The sentiment die comes in the coordinating die set, and was cut from a dark purple cardstock and adhered to a shadow piece cut from that same Moonflower cardstock. I added a secondary Sentiment Strip sentiment as well as a thin strip of that dark purple cardstock to ground the sentiment elements.

I really love the subtlety of the tone on tone stenciling on the light colored cardstock don't you?

June 2026 in Books

There were a couple of highs this month, but overall not the best reading month. Recaps below:

Lady Tremaine - Rachel Hochhauser - fiction - five stars - This is a reimagining of the Cinderella story from the persepctive of the evil stepmother. I really enjoed this. First off the stepmother is not evil, and the prince is not a prince. I had a bit of an issue with Cinderella/Elin who was so annoying and unlikeable until the very end. I feel like the author overdid it a bit there, but besides that I really enjoyed hearing about Lady Tremaine's background and seeing her struggles. I also liked that the book kept me guessing a bit. There were a few places where I felt like I knew where the story was going and those things didn't happen. Strong read.

The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM - Toni Natalie - memoir - four stars -  This was my audiobook of the month. Natalie became involved with Raniere before NXIVM was a thing, back when he was running a simple multi-level marketing scheme. She upended her life, left her husband, and they became a family, or so she thought. When NXIVM began, she continued to be involved, but eventually left. Thus began years of harassment and law suits that did not end until years later when Raniere was convicted. It was interesting to listen to how Raniere's schemes evolved and grew, and how he dealt with those who left. 

This Is Not About Us - Allegra Goodman - three stars - The story starts with the death of Sylvia and Helen's sister. In the aftermath, a very trivial slight is blown out of proportion, and the sisters basically refuse to interact with one another from that point forward. Each chapter of the book is told from the viewpoint of a different person in the family. In that sense, some of the chapters I really enjoyed, others were just so so. It was an interesting way to write a book/tell a story, but at the end of the day, this book left me wanting in terms of estrangement between the sisters. Just OK.

A Fortune of Sand - Ruta Sepetys - historical fiction - three stars - This was another book that was disappointing because I always have such high expectation of the author. The story is about Marjorie Lennox, youngest daughter of a wealthy Detroit family involved in the auto industry. The family is just a mess. In the midst of this, Marjorie is accepted into an atistic fellowship which will allow here to explore her passion for fashion design. Turns out that the fellowship is not all that it seems, and her family is even more messed up than she thinks. This was another book where the plot did not feel fully fleshed out. It was a bit of a jumble, and could have done with some editing. I thought that the story was both outlandish and trite. 

Seek Immediate Shelter - Vincent Yu - two stars - This was a weird one for me. The premise was interesting. An emergency announcement goes out about an immediate missile threat and that everyone should take shelter. Each chapter in the book follows the reaction and aftermath from the perspective of different individuals who are all tangentially related. Some of the chapters/stories were stronger than others, but overall I found only one who I actually liked. The rest I was just not a fan of as characters which really colored the book for me.

The Calamity Club - Kathryn Stockett - fiction - five stars - Loved this one. Set during the Great Depression, it follows the stories of Birdie, who is dispatched to her sister Frannie's home. Frannie married up, and Birdie's mother and grandmother are in desperate straits. They owe back taxes on their home and are sending Birdie to ask Frannie for a loan. Meg's mother went out to get something just before Christmas a couple years ago and never came back. She's been stuck in an orphan home since then, and it's a pretty miserable experience. The woman in charge of the orphanage seems to have singled her out for 'special' treatment. Birdie befriends Meg when volunteering at the orphanage during her visit, and the two form a bond. When Meg's mother Charlier reappears, and Frannie's life starts to fall apart, schemes are hatched to get everyone out of the jam that they are in. Such a good read, the characters are really wonderful, and I loved how this all came together.

The Queen's Coronation - Jennifer Ryan - historical fiction - three stars - I generally really love Ryan's books, so this one was a bit of a disappointment. It follows several women working for the royal family in the lead-up to the coronation of Elizabeth II. Themes of friendship, loss, betrayal, etc. In general, I felt like the characters were a bit thin and the plot under developed. It was OK, but left me wanting.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp (Miss Sharp Investigates, #1) - Leonie Swann - detective - two stars - Agnes Sharp runs a sort of a commune with a bunch of old folks living in her home. It's almost like a retirement home run by the retirees. When one of them turns up dead, and then two other elderly in the nearby town do as well, the police think there might be a serial killer targeting seniors on the loose. A murder mystery involving a bunch of quirky old people sounded like fun, but it really wasn't. The quirky old people were just too quirky I guess. I thought the plot didn't move quickly enough, and was very predictable. This is the first in a series, and I'm definitely not planning to read any more of these.

My favorite this month was The Calamity Club, least favorite is really a toss-up between Seek Immediate Shelter and Agnes Sharp. Both were equally bad, don't read those. So far July is looking up though. I hope to have better news/reviews for you next month. Please share what you guys have been reading!

SSS Shine On, Blooming Flower

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Hi friends! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Today's card features my Blooming Flower stencils and coordinating die.

The stencil set includes four layers, hree with petals and one with the leaves and one lone petal furthest in the back. I used Peony, Taffy, Iris, and Charcoal. 

Once my inking was done, the flower was die cut. I then pressed my Versamark pad against it and clear embossed the piece as I wanted it to match the sentiment a bit and have a sheen.

For the background, I embossed a dark gray cardstock panel using a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder. This one is retired, but any geometric pattern will do.

The panel was adhered to my panel with foam tape, and I used foam tape to pop up the flower and Reverse Sentiment Strip as well.

SSS Shine On, Boom Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've  got another Boom card to share today. This time I also pulled out the coordinating dies.

The thunder bolt and Boom sentiment were embossed on black cardstock using Ranger Glow in the Dark embossing powder and die cut. The die for the thunderbolt with the shadow, is actually an exact die cut, so doesn't have any give to it. Because the embossing has a little bit of a raised profile, I could line the die up exactly. You could also die cut the piece, place it back into the panel that you die cut it from, and place both into a stamping platform, using that to line up the stamping.

I wanted a really bold pop art look for this card, so I paired the embossed/die cut pieces with this deep teal cardstock. The secondary sentiment was stamped directly on the colored cardstock. A black mat was added, and I popped up the die cut pieces over top.

Thanks for visiting!

SSS Shine On, Boom One Layer Cards

 *This post contains affiliae links to Simon Says Stamp.

Hi friends! I'm really excited to share today's cards because I feel like I never get to make true one layer cards and these are just that. They feature my new Boom suite of products for Simon Says Stamp. Today's cards feature the stamp set, as well as the coordinating stencil.

The first card used both the stencil and stamp set. I really wanted to include a stencil with these products because the images are large, solid shapes. I'm a big fan of Simon's Pawsitively Saturated inks. They work very well for large, solid images, but I know there are a variety of inks out there and if yours sometimes stamp a little unevenly, the stencils allow you to get a nice even layer of color. They are also the exact same size as the stamped images, so the coordinating dies work perfectly with the stencils.

The light blue thunderbolt was inked with Marine using the stencil, and then the dark thunderbolt was stamped with Royal.

The sentiments were then added using Versa Clair black ink.

For this next card, I used a variety of greens: Celery, Sprout, and Fairway, this time stamping both of the bolts around my sentiments.

The simplest card in the bunch, this time I stamped the thunderbolt with Watermelon ink, and used the smaller Boom sentiment. 

Finally, I stamped the large thunderbolt with Bubblegum, and the shadow image with Peony.

I'm really thrilled with how quick and easy these were to create. For someone who struggles with white space and creating true one layer cards, this set really makes things easy!

SSS Shine On Blog Hop

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Friday! Today I'm hopping with Simon Says Stamp celebrating the new Shine On release. You should be arriving here from Heather Ruwe's blog, and I have the full list below if you need it. There are lots of prizes at stake. Simon is giving away a $25 store credit at each stop along the hop, all you need to do is leave a comment, and you're entered to win. In addition, any Shine On purchase this weekend will receive the above stamp set free! 

Today I'm featuring my new Beach Bird's Eye cover as well as my Chill Vibes sentiment set, which I designed to go along with the cover plate. 

This is a super easy cover plate to work with, and I'm so happy with how the scene looks when complete. It's designed to show five ocean layers, one 'foam' layer, and three sand layers. For my two cards I used the same cardstock colors for the sand/foam, but varied the colors for the ocean. 

Both cards use the Chill Vibes set for the sentiments. For this first card, the outline sentiment was stamped first, and then the solid stamped over top using Sky ink.

For the second card, the outline was again stamped with black, but this time, I used both Tidepool and Tropic ink with the solid sentiment stamp to create an ombre effect.

For my final card, instead of using the full cover, I just die cut the ocean layers from different shades of blue cardstock. These were adhered to a white panel with a bit of space between them.

The sentiments, also from the Chill Vibes set, were then stamped directly on the panel.

That's all for me today. Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the $25 at this stop. Next up is Alberto Gava, and the full list is below if you need it. Enjoy the hop!

Simon Says Stamp Blog 
Barbara Tarayao
Emily Midgett
Keisha Charles
Nichol Spohr
Sandi MacIver
Tina Smith
Lisa Addesa
Heather Ruwe
Miriam Prantner
Alberto Gava
Lorraine Aquilina
Jessica Vasher
Betsy Green
Brenda Noelke

SSS Shine On Release, Tall Happy Cover

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Today is a release day at Simon Says Stamp! The Shine On release is available in the store, and I'm thrilled to have several of my designs in the release, including this Tall Happy Cover.

Today's cards are a two-fer and super easy to create.

I started by die cutting a sheet of Color Blend cardstock. For the card on the bottom, I also die cut two pieces of white cardstock, and then stacked/adhered them together to get some extra depth. 

I adhered a panel of white cardstock just smaller than my die cut cover to my card base, and then adhered the die cut cover over top.

The Reverse Sentiment Strip Birthday was popped up with foam tape, and then I added some clear moonstones as embellishments.

For the top card, I die cut the cover from Matte Gold cardstock, and then inlaid my negaive cuts from the first card.

The secondary sentiment is from my Happy set. It was gold embossed on black cardstock and popped up with foam tapel

These came together so quickly, but I love the big impact they make.

Be sure to head over to the store to check out the full release including my other new designs:

Boom

Chill Vibes

Beach Bird's Eye

Blooming Flower

I'll see you guys back here tomorrow for a fun blog hop!

May 2026 in Books

Better late than never right? Finally getting around to sharing last month's books. It was just a so so reading month for me. No total losers, but no big sinners either, and in general a little bit of a disapoinment just because I had really high expectations for a few of these.

Mad Mabel - Sally Hepworth - fiction - five stars - Elsie is a grumpy old lady who lives a relatively solitary life until a nosy, persistent little girl moves in next door. When the little girl notices that one of their neighbors hasn't brought in the mail in days, she convinces Elsie to go over to investigate. Elsie finds the neighbor dead, the police are called. While this should be an open and shut case, turns out that Elsie has a past and things start to get complicated. The book shifts between the past and present as we learn about Elsie's past, and how things connect to the present. There were a couple of twists that I did not expect. There were also some storylines that I wasn't crazy about, but overall it was a really good book that kept my interest.

Life: A Love Story- Elizabeth Berg - fiction - four stars - I probably had expectations that were a little too high for this book as I am a huge Arthur Truluv fan and have loved those books. This was a solid book, but didn't quite hit that high expectation. Florence Green is dying, and is planning to leave her home to Ruthie, a girl who grew up in the neighborhood who became like a daughter to her. She is writing a letter to Ruthie telling her about all of the special things in her home, the stories about them which are stories of her life. She is also trying to encourage Ruthie not to give up on her marriage as she tells her about the flaws in her own marriage. Florence also spends some of her last days making friends with and helping friends and neighbors. I thought that some of the anecdotes about the things in her home dragged a bit in places, but overall a really sweet story.

Boat Baby: A Memoir - Vicky Nguyen - memoir - four stars - Nguyen is an NBC news anchor/correspondent. This book tells the story of her family's flight from Vietnam, settling in the US, and her career journey. This is a really interesting life story, but the weird thing to me was that the writing seemed so plain and basic. I felt like some chapters sounded like a high school writing project. I really feel like it was a lot of facts and not a lot of emotion or character. It really felt like there was something lacking here.

Ape Escape (FunJungle #10) - Stuart Gibbs - juvenile detective - four stars - In this FunJungle book, Teddy and his parents head to Rwanda for the memorial service of an old friend. It turns out the old friend isn't actually dead, he is in hiding trying to catch poachers. When the poachers snatch a baby gorilla, Teddy and his parents and friend spring into action. Meanwhile, back in Texas, Summer has a case of her own. These are always fun to read.

The Last Woman of Warsaw - Judy Batalion - historical fiction - three stars - Fanny Zelshinsky, is the daughter of a well-to-do Jewish family in Warsaw. While engaged to be married, what she really wants to do is pursue a degree and career in photography. Her life becomes intertwined with that of Zosia, a Zionist from the country who has come to Warsaw to make a name for herself in the movement and hopefully secure a ticket to Israel. The book is an imagined riff on the life of the author's grandmother, but it just did not hang together particularly well for me. I wasn't crazy about the whole storyline about the wedding and Fanny's mother, some of the other pieces seemed too unlikely. Average. 

Once and Again - Rebecca Serle - fiction - three stars - I've really enjoyed Serle's earlier books, but the last one (One Italian Summer) and this one were just so so for me. In part, I feel like this plot has been overdone. Lauren comes from a family of women who get one take back in life. They can redo once instance, which colors their life forever Lauren's mom saved her father's life many years ago, and now watches him like a hawk to make sure he stays safe. Lauren is spending the summer with her parents at their place while she and her husband sublet their place. They are trying to save money while her husband is working in NY for a few months. This amid some tension over fertility treatments. Meanwhile, her high school boyfriend is also in town staying with his mother who is dying of cancer. In general, There was one big twist in the book that I definitely did not anticipate, which I thought was quite good, but I had a hard time with Lauren and her choices. Just so so.

The Traitors Circle - Jonathan Freedland - non-fiction - three stars - The story of a group of well-to-do Germans, some titled, who worked to undermine Hitler during WWII. The group was infiltrated during the war, many were sent do prison/concentration camps, others were executed. It's an interesting story, but was kind of a plodding read. Just OK.

Since it was just a so so month, I'm not going to pick best and worst. Hoping that I have some books in my pile now that are five stars. What have you guys been reading?

SSS Ocean Horizon

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I was putting some things away the other day, and saw this Ocean Horizon cover plate and decided it needed to be shown off again.

I went to my scrap pile and came up with this fun progression of colors and went to town.

There is really no rocket science to this card. Just a bunch of die cutting and piecing together, but it creates such a great scene don't you think?

A simple sentiment strip finishes it off. Thanks for stopping by!

SSS Crystal Stars Embossing Folder

 *This post conatins affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I've got a really simple, but high impact card to share with you today using Simon's Crystal Stars embossing folder.

I started by applying Ocean, Night, and Iris ink to a panel of watercolor cardstock using blending brushes. The panel was then reverse embossed, meaning instead of having the starts stick up from the panel, the embossing sinks into the panel, so that the top of the panel is flat.

I then took my Silver Shine Lisa Horton Metallic Pigment inkpad and swiped it across the panel both vertically and horizontally. This gives it a very cool almost linen look.

The panel was popped up with foam adhesive over my white card base, and I added a sentiment from the Grad Basics set. It was embossed in silver, and I added some inking using the same colors I used for the panel. I also added a reverse sentiment strip to complete the look.

This one would be an easy one to mass produce.

SSS Always There Blog Hop

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Saturday! Today I'm hopping with Simon Says Stamp celebrating the Always There release. As always, there are lots of prizes involved. Simon is giving away a $25 store credit at each stop along the hop. All you need to do to be entered to win is leave a comment. AND, any purchase this weekend will receive the above set for free. The hop starts at the Simon blog, and you should be arriving from Sandi MacIver's blog. I'll have the full list below if you need it. 

Today I'm sharing a bunch of cards using the Blessed sentiment set. I love these sentiments, and thought I would pull out some stencils to help show it off.

First up, I inked up my White Fusion stencil with Flannel and Earl ink, using Earl twice, once with a heavier hand.

The sentiment was stamped with Archival black ink (I have somehow misplaced my Versa Clair black inkpad....). I used my new favorite, Starlight cardstock, for the card base, and added a very thin strip of a darker gray at the bottom of my stenciled/stamped panel to grouund it.

Next up, I pulled out my Snake Plant stencil.

The image was stenciled using Cabbage, Petunia, and Latte ink. I used Cabbage twice, varying the pressure applied to get two colors out of it.

The sentiment was stamped over top, and I added an olive mat as well.

Stenciled patterns can be a great way to frame a sentiment. That's what I did with these next two cards.

This first card features my Radiating Squares stencils. I centered the stencils over the panel, masking off the center portion. I used Bubblegum, Peony, Butter, and Gold Rush Lunar Paste. 

Once the paste was dry, I trimmed the panel down, and stamped the sentiment, fits perfectly doesn't it?

For the last card, I pulled out my Interlocking Circles stencils. Same process, I determined where the sentiment would fit, masked the area off, and inked up my stencils using Aspen and Mist (Mist was used twice, very lightly the second time, essentially using ink that was left on the previous stencil and brush), and Ranger Embossing Paste for the last layer.

Once dry, I stamped the sentiment, added a mat, and that was it.

That's all for me, your next step on the hop is Alberto Gava, and the full hop list is below. Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the store credit, and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Simon Says Stamp Blog 
Barbara Tarayao
Emily Midgett
Nichol Spohr
Nicky Meek
Tina Smith
Heather Ruwe
Keisha Charles
Lisa Addesa
Sandi MacIver
Miriam Prantner
Alberto Gava
Caryn Davies
Kath Stewart
Carly Minner
Natasha Polite