Little Felt Friends: Miss Foxy & Mr Raccoon

Check out these absolutely adorable little felt friends I made over the weekend. I saw these cuties featured on the front cover of the Mollie Makes magazine and thought I might give it a go at making them. The template and write up is in Issue Twenty Three.

On the left is the finished product and down below is a picture I took in the making. The fox is about 13cm high while the raccoon is about 12cm high and now I'll have to find a place for them.

I have also shared a video that the Mollie Makes team made with their little critters. So cute!

What did you get up to on the weekend?

Embracing Angel books

Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters #1) by Jessica Shirvington

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts
382 pages
Released: October 2010
Buy it @ book depository

It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…

Review 

I'm not a huge fan of angel books mainly because I hate how they sometimes push God & religion onto me but I didn't find that with this book. There were quotes at the beginning of every chapter and sometimes those chapters were from the bible but no matter where it was from it gave you a sense of what you are to expect from that chapter. 

The main reason I decided to read this was because it was recommended to me and I thought I'd get it on Audio and see what it was like. I was pleasantly surprised. The story wasn't all that bad, the only issue I have is when Violet 'embraces' her guardian angel duties. I'm so used to reading books that have an epic quest before the main character is awarded their 'prize', in this case it's Violet proving herself to become a guardian angel. Well Violet's quest felt easy and anticlimactic. A simple jump off a cliff and walk through a desert to become someone who will guide over the human race...hmm ok!

Now we come to the love interests, Phoenix & Lincoln (yes another love triangle). Phoenix is your stereotypical bad guy, an exiled angel with opal coloured hair... while Linc on the other hand is the nice guy. Violet has awesome chemistry with Lincoln and he is also VERY cute! I usually swoon over the nice guy, I'm always rooting for them because most of the time "nice guys finish last" and I hate that! But don't let that make you think that Lincoln finishes last because maybe he doesn't...(I'm giving nothing away!) Something that bugged me a lot was how easily Violet gave her virginity away (which I also won't tell you who to). It did become part of revealing something really important later on in the book but I simply didn't like, my opinion.

I feel like all I've done is complain but I did enjoy this. I liked the idea of someone being a guardian angel, the author did a good job at making the idea more believable and easier to digest than other angel books. I plan on reading the next one in the series on Audio, hopefully the story will get a bit better instead of getting worse. On a side note: I had no idea this was written by an Australian, I like it when I know it's written in Australia because it makes me get all patriotic and want to love it even more.

On the cover

I love this cover! I think it's the purple and the smoky wings, they are so cool! Although Violet never actually gets wings and neither do any of the angels.

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Finnikin of the rock by Melina Marchetta

Australis Swatch ~ Fairy Bread Nails "Milky Way"

In one of my earlier posts I did a swatch of Face Of Australia's new nail enamel collection. Today I'm showing off one of Australis' nail enamel Glitter collection called "Milky Way"

This is three coats using the polish on naked nails and I think it looked really great, but I decided to add a bit of colour to my tips to match the colourful glitter. With each stroke you get LOTS of glitter and it spread quite easily. This polish is a milky white base with tiny blue glitter, and multi-colour medium & large hex glitter. I found this polish in my local Priceline store and it was $7.95 which I thought was a bit expensive. Then I decided $7.95 was reasonable for such an awesome colour and when good Franken-polishes are hard to come by in Australia, or are too expensive to ship from the U.S. 

I'd like to try this over some different coloured nail polishes to see how it may change the dynamic of the milky base and the different coloured glitters. I know the name of this polish is called "Milky Way" but I think it looks so much like Fairy bread, it's like I was wearing hundreds & thousands on my nails! (although there is a glitter in this collection already called Fairy Bread which I will be posting about at a later date)

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment

All the puzzle pieces fit together..

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts
392 pages
Released: July 2012
Buy it @ book depository

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Review

“I gazed into her beautiful green eyes and her fear melted. A shy smile tugged at her lips and at my heart. F**k me and the rest of the world, I was in love.”

I have been wanting to read this for so long and once I started I couldn't stop! Another one of those books which is told from two points of view - Noah and Echo. Broken and troubled they meet through the school psychiatrist. Although they are completely different, they come together and help each other overcome their troubles through love, friendship and support.

Katie McGarry did a fantastic job of writing from a young guys point of view, She had some great insight into what guys think and what makes them tick. I liked the way that Noah was such a guy and instantly thinks that Echo is hot, but it's not until he gets to know her that his feelings change into something stronger.

The romance between Noah and Echo sure does sizzle. McGarry has a way of building the sexual tension to make it completely swoon-worthy and steamy! The chemistry between both of them was amazing and I really felt their relationship develop over time and from both of their points of view.

But this isn't just a romance fluff novel, underneath all of that is a story of family, trust and believing in yourself. Echo endured a horrific experience one night and can't remember what happened. Slowly Echo and us as readers have information revealed to us and then towards the end the puzzle pieces all fell into place.

I loved the musical inspirations at the end, in which the author told you some songs that she listened to to help her get in the zone and mind set of each of her characters. Surprisingly I knew quite a few of them and it helped me understand her thought patterns in creating the characters.

This book almost made me cry, which as I've mentioned in other reviews is a hard thing to do. I found myself falling for these characters and all their flaws. I love when a book has not only got the story right but also got the characters oh so right! I can not wait to read the other characters stories in the companion novels.

On the cover

The people on the front depict exactly what Noah and Echo look like. This scene looks like it's taken straight from the book with them up against the school lockers. Looking at it again takes me straight back into the book.

What I'm reading next: Along for the ride by Sarah Dessen

Autumn leaves are falling...

Autumn is almost over here in Australia and we are all bracing ourselves for those very chilly days to come. So to celebrate Autumn, I thought I'd share some gorgeous photos I found through pinterest. Enjoy!

Jonny MP Photography: Autumn Photography

Coffee and Autumn Leaves

Autumn Walkway, Poland

DIY Felt Acorn Decorations

Autumn Sunset, Callander, Scotland

Fall meets Winter

Eve and Adam or is it Eve and Solo?

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
291 pages
Released: October 2012
Buy it @ book depository

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?

Review 

 

Eve & Adam is a fast-paced and unique sci-fi tale full of weird scientists, grisly experiments, secrets and a sprinkling of romance. The story focuses on genetics and shifts backwards and forwards between our main characters Evening & Solo. Later in the novel we read from Adam's point of view once he is created. 

When I first heard about this book I thought it was going to be about a girl creating a boy, falling in love and maybe even teaching him all there is to know about life along the way. That wasn't what this book was about at all, there was a lot more to it.

I really enjoyed this, I found the story intriguing albeit a little predictable. I've read many people going on about the characters being a bit flat but I liked the characters. Evening wasn't all that interesting but Solo was a cool cat and I found myself liking him straight away. Another character who was extremly likable and funny was Evening's bestfriend Aislin. Although Adam's name is a main part of the title he was a very small part of the book.

All in all I found myself liking this book, I liked it as much as "BZRK" (also by Michael Grant) but for different reasons. I found out that Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate are married. How fun would it be to write books together! I also found out that there is a planned sequel to this book, I felt like this ended really well and didn't feel like it needed a follow up but I will still give the sequel a go.

 

On the cover

This is the main cover that I'm used to seeing and I do prefer it over the one pictured above. I love the bright colours compared to the simple black, blue & white of the other cover. The lightning spark is reall awesome and this cover draws me in and makes me want to read it

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Face Of Australia - Glitterati Nail Enamel Swatch

Face Of Australia have released their new Glitterati Nail Enamel and in this post I will show you two of those polishes. The polishes from left to right in the above picture are: L-R Dancing Queen, Studio 54, Saturday Night Fever, Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff, Disco Inferno, Boogie Wonderland, Heart Of Glass and Funky Town.

The two polishes I will be showing are Heart Of Glass & Boogie Wonderland as pictured below.

In Australia it's hard to purchase Franken Polishes because most of the best Franken polishes are made in the U.S. and they don't ship overseas. While I was shopping in my local Priceline store I saw this gorgeous collection of nail polishes. It was so hard to pick which ones I liked the best but I finally decided on theses two. But with a price of only $4.95 you could almost buy them all!

This is 'Boogie Wonderland' and as you can see it's jam packed with all sort of glitters. With only one coat I noticed how much glitter came out with one stroke. This polish is a milky lavender base with long white & green glitter, big white hex glitter and orange, purple, dark blue and pink circle glitter. This is with three coats of the polish and I love it, it's so much fun! My only problem with this polish is the long green glitter sticks up, they're scratchy and get caught on things.

This is 'Heart Of Glass' and is so beautiful. I was lucky enough to pull out a heart glitter on my middle finger, very cute! This is another milky polish with a baby pink base and so many different types and colours of glitters. There's small silver round glitter, small purple square glitter, small pink glitter, medium silver stripe glitter, large red square glitter, large pink hex glitter, large purple hex glitter and large red hearts. Phew that's a lot! This is also three coats and looks gorgeous.

Which one do you like best?