Thursday, July 21, 2011

GIU: I got a pocket, got a...

(remember voting closes at 2:00 Eastern for gallery idol!)
I got a pocket, got a...
a pocket full of sunshine!

I couldn't have a Growing in Unity week without breaking out my first (and favorite) Kit of the Month, A Pocket Full of... (July 2009). 

Yes, I was totally inspired by Easy A:



(which, as a side note, I would recommend for anyone that is craving a good ol' eighties-esque teenage romantic comedy [but as a warning, I'm not sure I'd want my hypothetical young teenager watching it].)

So many stamps got to see some ink for this card!  For the Baja Breeze base, I stamped and embossed the clouds in white.  The sentiment was made from the "a pocket full of" and "you are my sunshine" stamps (using tape to mask off the words that I didn't want inked and also breaking out my stamp-a-ma-jig), with the "sunshine" clear embossed.  The pocket was stamped onto textured paper, embossed with tan powder, cut out, and distressed.  The sun was clear embossed onto Echo Park patterned paper.  As a final touch, I embossed "love" from the "sending you love" sentiment from August 2009's KOM in tan onto a strip of red that I folded over to make the Levi's-esque tag, and also added two eyelets for the pocket rivets.

Besides sunshine, I've also had my Kindle in my pocket a lot recently, so it's book report time!  Click on the book to be taken to its amazon page.
Book #24: I admit it, I am powerless against Goldens, so this book has been tempting me at Target for quite some time. Then I figured out that Tuesday is still with us, so it also passed the PIP (pets in peril) test.  The synopsis: dogs are AWESOME and war is not.  The story about how Tuesday and the author both got to where they were was very interesting, but the writing (and the story of them after they met) was not very interesting, if you know what I mean.  It also puzzles me that the author went to Columbia for journalism yet had a co-author for this book.  If you like true dog stories, get it from the library and read the first half.

Book #25: Incendiary was recommended to me by Lindsey of Bashful Blogging, based on the fact that I recommended Little Bee by the same author.  Like Little Bee, this is not a happy story, but a good one:  A mother who has lost her husband and son to a bomb attack write a letter to Osama about her story.  It kept me turning the pages and rooting for her.  Recommended, but if you'd can only read one Chris Cleave novel, I'd make it Little Bee.
Book #26: I really am a happy person even though I seem to be reading some not-happy stories recently.  The Girl Who Fell from the Sky started off very good, with an eleven-year-old girl, the daughter of a black father and Danish mother, being the only survivor of her family.  The girl goes to live with her black grandmother and the story covers most of her teenage years in snippets.  The ending felt a bit too coincindental and abrupt, but I enjoyed most of the book.  Maybe it felt abrupt because I wanted to know more of what happened to the girl, which I guess is a good sign.
Book #27: Even though I love going out to eat at nice restaurants, sometimes I have a craving for some Ruffles potato chips.  This book was my most recent Ruffles book.  Three months after her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her, Annie gets married to a new man.  Of course the old boyfriend decides he wants her back and Annie must choose what type of life she wants.  I felt so silly because I was crying at the end of the book and then when I went to tell Mr Corgi about how silly I felt for crying, I started tearing up again.  When did I become That Girl?

As always, I love to hear what you're reading!  (It also counts as a chance to win a Unity stamp set, too!)

21 comments:

Angela Fehr said...

I love your book reviews, Meg! I am an avid reader myself and I love that you review several books at a time. And I like to alternate my gourmet literary menu with junk food myself! ;)

~amy~ said...

great...got that song in my head now:) I love your sunny/happy card...happy thursday!

Erin said...

I'm reading Heaven is for Real...I really like it so far! Not nearly as much as I adore that pocket card though. hehe LOVE!

Emily Keaton said...

OK, *that* song will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day--but it's SO worth it since I got to see an amazingly clever card because of it! Totally fun. :) Loved the Levis-esque tag!

Loved Easy A, too!! But I whole-heartedly agree about not wanting a young teen to watch it. In fact, when I recommended it to one of my friends, I said pretty much the same thing: you'll love it, but don't watch it with your 13YO DD!

As for what I've been reading (besides travel books), I must confess that's been all junk for me. You may be reading "Ruffles" but I've been reading "pork rinds": People Mag. So sad. But I needed to bribe myself to get through stationary cycle workouts. And People really works: I only get to read it while I'm cycling, so that gets me through. Totally cheesy, right? Cheaper than a gym membership, though, and a whole lot easier.

Hope you are enjoying your GIU week!

Cheryl said...

Gorgeous card! It just makes me smile! Now that song, "Pocket Full of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield is going through my head.

Carol said...

I love your card today. I have that set and haven't inked it up in a while, so I guess now I will!

Right now I am reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See, which is the sequel to Shanghai Girls, which I did like. I have also read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (liked) and Peony in Love (did not like so much) also by Lisa See.

Carol B
ciaoitalia2007(at)gmail(dot)com

Emily Leiphart said...

Oohh, I love what you've done with that denim pocket! I need a pair of jeans like that! Great book reviews, too, Meg. Now I have to figure out what I want to read next.

Lisa Lara said...

This is such a fun card Meg.

Gwen said...

LOVE this card! Everything about it is coooool!!!

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

Fun card!! Love your inspiration!!!!! And I love the red 'love' tag too!!!

Thanks for the book reviews! I just finished two: Lucia Lucia by Adriana Trigiani and When You Were Mine by Elizabeth Noble. Both pretty light books........I can't get into TOO heavy or depressing books

Now reading "A Vintage Affair" but I can't remember the author!

Maria

Lindsey said...

One of the many reasons I love coming to your blog, Meg, is the video clips! But an even better reason is this card. The pocket is perfect, and so is the happy sun and the tag!
I agree, Little Bee is even better than Incendiary... but how eerie that Incendiary was originally scheduled to be released the day of the London bus/tube bombings?

Jocelyn Olson said...

Super-duper fun! The retro vibe of these stamps is awesome (or should I say totally rad?).

I love your suggestion to read the first half of a book. :) I've been reading "The Hot Zone" for almost 2 years. If you like books about Ebola, it's a must-read.

Sue from Oregon said...

Totally love this card and that video just makes me laugh out loud!!! How joyous!

Smilie girl said...

What a cute card.
I like your book reviews. It's good to get the scoop and see what other good reads are out there.
I've just re-read some of the Confessions of A Shopaholic and read Little Lady and the Big Apple. All very light stuff but I do love the characters.

Svetlana said...

Very cute card!!! I Like your book reviews!!! I have no time to read books^ I have a 3yo Sweetheart who what to read to her some children's poems and farytails :)
Svetlana xx

Jessi Fogan said...

I wasn't going to watch the clip, dammit, and then I did. Argh, it's my own dang fault now that I'll be singing THAT BLOODY SONG ALL DAY. PLus, now I've got to watch the movie. The end of that clip...that's totally me. Unexpected music ending=total utter embarrassment, even if no one sees ;)
I absolutely LOVE the card - that little "love" tag is adorable, and I love how you tucked the clouds in behind, and the combined sentiment...awesomeness.
And books - it may be Ruffles, but I've got to read The First Husband. I just don't think my heart could handle any more Chris Cleave - and as for the Girl Who Fell from the Sky, I too felt it ended really abruptly. I liked it a lot, but felt a little cheated at the end.

Renee V said...

Love this cute little pocked card! Especially the little Levi's-esque tag!!!!! I'm reading the Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, it was recommended by another blogger - Melissa Phillips of lilybean's paperie.

Anonymous said...

Cute Card! Thanks for sharing your book reviews with us.

Tren said...

the sunshine card is too cute..

Angela said...

Ha! I was totally picturing that scene before I even saw you embedded it! Get off my brainwave!

The card is so very cute! That little tag totally makes it perfect, too.

Now I'm gonna hum all night. Dang it.

Reading Ruffles: I'm on my third (because you can't eat just one) Maisie Dobbs mystery, so I'm right with you there!

Chark said...

cute card--my daughter and I always do this little scene--funny!