Happy New Year and fuzzy wazzy was a duck

So I am still sick which sucks but just to show how sick I am, I am posting this for my Happy New Year. I thought ducks were cute.....

Happy New Year!

Wandering through the Shelves:TV Edition-Comedies

Christmas is done and the New Year is around the corner but I am writing this ahead of time because I have no laptop just an IPad. It’s a great way to end the year with comedies. Wandering Through The Shelves always outdoes it with a new batch of movie and TV themes. Now let’s get on with the show.

1. I LOVE LUCY-1951-1957

Who doesn’t love this show and, even though, I talked about this before, I have to showcase it again. Lucy is married to a bandleader/singer, Ricky Ricardo, and she is always trying to break into the biz but often causing mayhem. Their best friends and neighbours, Fred and Ethel Mertz, always come along for the ride. My favourite time is when they go to California.

2. MARY TYLER MOORE-1970-1977

A classic about. Young woman who wants to make it on her own and ends up as a producer on a newshow with the Anchor, played brilliantly by Ted Knight, as dumb and vain as they come. Ed Asner plays her boss, Lou Grant, Gavin McLeod plays Murray the head writer and Betty White plays Sue Ann Nivens..the Happy Homemaker who always lusts after Lou. You also had her best friends played by Valerie Harper as Rhoda and Cloris Leachman as Phyllis. This show is brilliant and one of the best is the Chuckles The Clown episode.

3. CHEERS-1982-1993

I almost chose Frasier which I love but I did talk about this one and 2 repeats is too much:). This Stars Ted Danson as Sam Malone, a washed up alcoholic, baseball player who owns and runs the bar along with his former coach who got one too many baseballs in the head. He hires an annoying, snobby gal who feels it beneath her to be a waitress, Carla is a tiny but tough waitress, and Norm and Cliff are the resident bar patrons. Cliff is the know-it-all postal worker who is never right and Norm loves his beer more than his wife Vera. Later on Woody tends bar when Coach dies (actor did in real life) and a new gal comes to town who now runs the bar after Sam sells it when Diane leaves. Kelsey Grammar came on this show and hit it big as Frasier the psychiatrist who fell for Diane, the snobby waitress. There are so many episodes I love that I can’t figure out which is my fav.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wandering through the Shelves- Movies you're looking forward to in 2019

‘‘Tis the season to be nutso, dipso busy as hell. Sorry for not commenting and visiting due to Christmas and decorating which everyone can relate to but I fell flat. This weekend my great friend, from Vancouver, came to visit with a cold. I overdid it from hours of decorating and now I have a bad cold and no voice....blecchhh. This week it is about the future....films coming in 2019. Let’s see what the others will choose over at Wandering Through The Shelves..here are my 3....

1. AVENGER’S ENDGAME

About half of the Avengers bit the dust while others are floating around in space or appear to be safe. Yes, well, like any soap opera, they are never really, truly dead and I am certain time travel will appear.

2. DOWNTON ABBEY

My hubby found this on PBS and we were hooked and have the whole series on DVD. Now a movie is coming and we can’t wait to see what has happened to Lady Mary, poor Edith, their very nice parents, the great Maggie Smith with her one-liners and all the staff and their shenanigans.

3. CALL OF THE WILD

I have to admit that I had to look and see what was coming and when I saw this, it’s a film I want to see because I love the book so much. I read the book at least 6 times because I love wolves and dogs. This will star Harrison Ford who is a bit long in the tooth to play the lead. There is a 1935 version starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young and the Stars got quite cozy producing a daughter that Young brought up as an “adopted” child, but I digress. There have been other versions made so we shall see how this will do.

Bonus...

STAR TREK

What are you looking forward to?

Wandering Through The Shelves-It's A Party

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...I promise I never cry at my parties or any others for that matter. 2 weeks before Christmas and soon another year will be upon us. I have to admit, I gave some great parties in my days and some I even remember! It will be fun to see what the other movie nuts will choose this week so head over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what everyone else will pick for a fun party. here are my 3..plus one extra:)

1. TO CATCH A THIEF-1955

Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and the beautiful Monaco all star in this Hitchcock film about a famous jewel thief. Of course the thief is Cary Grant..er...former jewel thief who is being set up but unsure by who (or is that whom??) so he must come out of hiding to prove his innocence. It figures that Grace Kelly and her mother, the wonderful Jesse Royce Landis, are the marks so Grant must get cozy with Kelly (Yup, Landis was closer to Grant's age and younger but we can't have her be the object of his affection). It comes to a head at a beautiful costume ball where Kelly looked golden in that over the top gown. This is sophisticated, tongue in cheek fun movie and, as a girl, er...woman, I love Grace Kelly's outfits especially the blue one. Yes, this is when Grace Kelly met Prince Ranier, her future husband.

2. THE PINK PANTHER-1963

I think I chose this before but I don't care because it is one of my favourites. It stars the best Inspector Clouseau-Peter Sellers, who, with his wife, played by Capucine, travel to a Swiss town since he believes the jewel thief will be there. Little does he know, his wife is with the thief and they plan to take the precious Pink Panther diamond from the visiting Indian princess. It is madcap fun with Sellers great as the bumbling oaf and David Niven as the thief who is also quite funny. Put in Robert Wagner as his duplicitous nephew and it is all out fun. It all culminates at a gala costume party featuring 2 gorillas, a knight and a zebra...of course.

3. ENCHANTED-2004

This is a fun Cinderella story starring Amy Adams as the Giddy, happy gal ready to marry her Prince in animation land when the evil Queen sends her to our world. She has no idea where she is but her perky happiness makes the people, who meet her, fall for her charm. Enter Patrick, McDreamy, Dempsey who is initially saddled with her but slowly  falls in love with her. Her chipmunk friend follows her to our world along with her Prince and a henchman sent by the evil queen. Of course, the perky gal sings and the birds come and help her clean plus she has all of Central Park singing with her. It culminates at a gala costumed ball where the Evil Queen, played with relish by Susan Sarandon, comes to finally kill off the perky bitch by turning into a dragon. Even though I hate perky, it works so well in this storyline because it is meant to be tongue & cheek. I enjoy watching this movie and can turn off the nasty world.

Bonus...

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE-1946

You think Christmas comes and I can't mention my favourite film?! I love this movie..well that's a big duh! It has 2 parties-the dance at the high school and the wonderful ending. I don't want to hear anyone not liking this movie because...well...you are wrong...hahahaaa.

Sorry for not visiting and not replying to the comments but I seem to be losing track of time with Christmas, work and all. I promise I am not getting old timer's disease as my Dad used to call it. I know others are just as busy and can still blog everywhere but I don't have that gift. Anyhoo, hope you like my post and see my theme within a theme.

Which 3 would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks-Meet The Parents

I'm back since last week was a total bust for me:) Do you remember meeting your future in-laws? I do and it took them a while to warm up to me since I  didn't like to cook, have been to Europe, love reading and love Classical music. They were campers who loved country music, thought it best to see the country here and found people who like classical music to be snobs. Mom in law could never understand that I did not like to cook so she just thought I could not cook. Oh well, they warmed up to me and I was enriched to have them in my life. Wandering Through The Shelves decided to have this week about meeting parents. I am avoiding the obvious-Meet the Parents with Ben Stiller and chose 3 I hope you like, heard about or actually have seen.  Here are my 3...

1. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU-1938

I have to choose a Jimmy Stewart film, this being the Christmas season and all. This film actually won best picture although not sure it should have( I would have gone with Le Grande Illusion) but it is still a lot of fun and part of the screwball comedy club. James Stewart plays a rich man whose dad wants to buy up a row of houses to put a competitor out of business but there is one family who is a hold out. Enter the great Jean Arthur who comes from this poor but happy family who works for the rich family and who is in love with Stewart and vice versa. Mayhem ensues as each meet the other's parents and each must contend with the eccentricities of their respective in-laws. It is a funny, warm comedy that showcases the character actors as much as the stars.

2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC-1965

Let me ask you, when did this become a Christmas movie? Aside from the song "These are a Few of my Favourite Things", which only mentioned snowflakes and stockings, this film takes place in summer, has Nazis and a family leaving their home. It is NOT a Christmas movie! OK, now that I ranted, this is a very charming film starring Julie Andrews as a nun in training sent to Baron Von Trapp's home to deal with his 7 unruly kids. The Baron, played by Christopher Plummer, is cold and deals with his kids like a military..er...navy unit. The kids try to send the nun packing but she is on to them and shows them fun, happiness and how to sing through the city of Salzburg (I have been there and it is beautiful). The nun not only charms the kids but, soon, charms the Baron but it is the end of the 1930's and the Nazi's are afoot so you know the parents will need to help the kids and themselves escape. I love the fact that Christopher Plummer called this The Sound of Mucus even though I love this movie. I laughed when the Baron mentioned they must cross those mountains to escape but that would have sent them right into Germany. When Blake Edwards(famous director) saw Julie Andrews in this movie, he mentioned that her Va-jay-jay must be growing violets. Julie Andrews heard about this remark and sent him a bunch of violets. They met and remained married until he died just a few years ago.

3.  NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION-1989

The Griswolds are back and this is my favourite of the bunch of films about this nutty family.  Clark decides to have the entire clan come to his home to celebrate Christmas. You have the uptight snotty neighbours one played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the in-laws with Doris Roberts as one mom-in-law and E.G. Marshall as another in law and the hilarious William Hickey as a icky uncle. Speaking of icky, Randy Quaid is back as the cousin who comes in his run down trailer with his wife and kids to just make matters worse for the Griswold clan. Will Clark get his Christmas bonus so he can put in a swimming pool? Will the cat survive? Will his boss ever see the light? One just has to sit back, have fun and enjoy...and play ball!

Which 3 would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition- Adapted From a Non-English Series

Yeah....I have dick-all for this week. If  Wandering Through The Shelves would have chosen something from England then I could have gone with All In The Family, Three's Company and even Dancing With The Stars or as my hubby says, "Dancing With The idiots." Considering Bobby Bones won who was horrible, I might agree with my hubby.

I laughed like hell yesterday, over at the wonderful Sandra Cox's blog, where she posted some funnies about cats. We have 4 cats and our wonderful, mentally unstable dog, Wallace. Poor Wallace must be suffering from PTSD since he is phobic of the outside (He's a rescue dog) which makes things a bit smelly when he decides to poop inside the house and then hide knowing he did wrong. He breaks out in itchy spots so he can only eat grain-free, expensive dog food and  suffers from itchy ears as well. I should have itchy ears and spots all over but, oh wait, I do have an itchy scalp. I know too much information.

We have 4 rescue cats as I have talked about before, Naddie..aka Poopsie because he decides to go outside the box. Lucy, the Diva, Jade, Ms. Lovey-Dovey and Kaspar the disaster who has decided to redecorate the house with his claws. OK so now it sounds like I live in some derelict house that you might see on Hoarders but, I swear to you, we do keep it as clean as we can hence why bleach is my best friend.

The cats do love to pounce on us, touch my face with their paws and, on occasion, make my hubby sing soprano when they pounce on his jewels. I ask my hubby to cuddle me at night and his response is that I am like an oven. This is true since I am in full swing menopause and, just yesterday, with snow blowing, I left my office and stood outside in the blowing snow for about 5 minutes. I still would love the cuddle (he does give in once in a while) and hugs and kisses..oops I went TMI again didn't I? I went a shade of green, one day, before work, because I came across this scene below....

My hubby and Kaspar-his little scrumptious of fun, AKA Hitler because of his mustache, whom he will often have his arm across (he does here but not sure you can tell) to cuddle with. My question is..., should I be jealous? I thought so and I have been looking up ways to make violin strings just so you all know:)

Have a great day of cuddling:)

As for films...Of course, next week will be back to norm plus it is the Christmas season so I plan on watching all my favourites including  the great cartoons.

Christmas cards

Cuddle bug, embossing folder, dye ink and embossing powder, fairy stamp, glitter pens, scissors, stickers, sizzex, poinsettia cutting thingy-shit...forgot the name, evergreen punch, crystals

Winter Wonderland-Xmas/Winter Characters-people only
Sparkles Christmas- Embossing
Cute Card Thursday-Festive Colours
ABC Christmas- W for wishes and X for Xmas

I bought this fairy stamp when I was in Vancouver and I love it. I took some scrap paper, of which I have tons, and embossed it with an Xmas folder through the cuddlebug. I stamped and embossed the fairy, coloured her with sparkle pens and fussy cut her out. I put all the papers together and added the Festive Wishes words. I also used thesizzex machine to cut the poinsettia. I hope I am right with the ABC Challenge because it is Christmassy..er...Xmassy. I decided to use a fairy instead of Santa because I thought of the Film "Fantasia" and the beautiful start with the fairies done to the Nutcracker suite.

Alcohol Inks, gold stickles, village stamp, blue embossing ink and powder, tombow markers, scissors, glue pen, lotsa glitter:)

CHNC- Make Your Own Background
Crafty Creations- Anything Goes

I was inspired by "A Starry Night", painted by Van Gogh, to create this scene which can also bring to mind Currier and Ives. I actually created 3 cards with great artists in mind because there was a challenge about this but I was too late in posting them. I will showcase my other 2 soon...I promise. I really enjoyed creating this card using alcohol inks to make the background. I took basic white cardstock and stamped and embossed the village scene with light blue and used tombow markers to colour it in. I added some sparkle(Hahhaa-some is an understatement) on the snowy parts and used the gold stickles to create the swirly background.

White pearly cardstock, red mirror cardstock, Mouse stamp and footprint stamp, letters, red sparkle embossing powder, dye ink, tombow markers, snowflake & border sticker, scissors, glitter

Penny Black-Make Someone Smile
Happy Little Stampers- Christmas-CAS

I made this card rather quickly by stamping the little mouse, that I think is yawning but I decided that he is singing. Elroy, the mouse, is loving Christmas so he is singing up a storm. I coloured him up with some tombow markers, stamped his footprints and added the writing using letters that I stamped in red and embossed in red tinsel. I finished it off with the snowflake stamp and border. Oh, I made the little hat for Elroy and glittered it up too.

Winter scene stamp, silver embossing pad, winter sparkle embossing powder, red tombow marker, various cardstock, ribbon, sizzex machine, cut out letters.

Simon Says- Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Christmas Crafts All Year Round- Gingerbread
Christmas Card Throwdown- Ribbon and Glitter
Animal Friends- Winter
Alphabet Challenge- Reindeer

I think this is a good card for a man as well as a woman with this wintry scene. This is a new stamp which I stamped in silver embossing ink and embossed with the glitter white powder. I took my red tombow marker and coloured in the cardinals and adhered it to the different papers. I finished it off with some ribbon and cut out the words using the sizzex machine.

I feel so much better since my infusion which is to treat my chronic pain. It doesn’t take it away but it really calms it down. To everyone, thank you always for visiting and commenting.

Thursday Movie Picks-Non-Linear films

I feel like my brain is non-linear because I seem to jump from one thought to another and still the brain cells seem to be dying and I can’t even blame good old booze. OK, that last sentence I blame on my Lydocaine infusion I had on Tuesday when i wrote this up:). I decided not to go the old movie route and went modern. It will be interesting to see what films are chosen this week and, I bet the last one I chose will be popular. To find out, check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see the others’ picks, here are my 3.

1. PULP FICTION-1994

I saw this film and instantly loved it even though it is not liked by some due to the profuse use of profanity but I didn’t mind it a bit in this film. Just warning you:) because, not only the language, but it is a violent comedy..from shootings to something very, very weird in a business basement. You have 2 hitmen, a mob boss, a gangster’s moll, a boxer, his nemesis and the list continues. This film resurrected John Travolta’s career, brought Quentin Tarantino to the forefront as a director and made Uma Thurman a household name. In fact, at that time, when I was younger and, ahem, thinner, many people thought I looked like her and I dressed up like Uma from this movie for Halloween that year. It’s violent, profane, funny, weird, well-acted and it has some great music, in fact, I own the CD. You know, if they find out that Quentin Tarantino is a serial killer, I would not be surprised.

2. MAGNOLIA-1999

This is one film I need to revisit because I was impressed when it came out. It has a huge cast that, somehow, all end up connected in some way. You have an old man dying from cancer(Jason Robard’s final film role as he was dying from cancer), a sweet-natured cop who wishes for love. You have a rich motivational speaker played by Tom Cruise and a, once famous kid who was on a game show, who is now washed up. I can’t tell you how many actors are in this but due to great writing, frogs and direction, it’s a film worth seeing.

3. MEMENTO-2000

Now this is a great film that is also one I must revisit. I would not be surprised if this will be the popular film this week. It stars Guy Pierce who has retained his long term memory but can no longer retain any short term memory. We know he lost his wife in a murder and he is trying to find out who killed her and the only way to retain his new findings is by tattooing what he has learned on his body. We watch this film “backwards” and with each part, we learn a little bit more. A very interesting and unique way of writing a movie that should have won the Oscar for best screenplay and it should have won for Editing plus be nominated for more in my humble opinion.

What are your 3?

Thursday Movie Picks-Museum

I love museums especially art museums...I know...yawn for many, but I think they are great and have had the privilege of seeing many great works of art. I have also been to Niagara Falls many times and Clifton Hill to be exact where the tacky museums are...overpriced and quite dumb but strangely fun. I have to say one of the better ones is Ripley’s Believe It or Not. I am picking no art museum movies even though I like The Da Vinci Code. Let’s see what the others have chosen so head over to Wandering Through The Shelves. So here are my 3...

1. BRINGING UP BABY-1938

This is a fun movie that I love watching and I am due to see it again. It stars the great Cary Grant as a nerdish(!) palaeontologist who is trying to gain funding for his museum. He meets up with the daffy Katherine Hepburn who is related to a very rich lady who could help Grant’s money woes. Unfortunately, the dog steels the dinosaur bone, the couple get arrested and baby goes missing...baby is a pet leopard who is quite tame but there is a wild leopard that escaped from a circus on the loose as well. One of the best screwball comedies ever made with brilliant performances by everyone involved. It showcases Cary Grant’s great comedic skills and how well he gets along with his frequent co-star, Katherine Hepburn...a must see.

2. HOUSE OF WAX-1953

I know October is over but this seems to fit for this week. It is a remake of an earlier film(1933) starring Fay Wray (which I will see one day) and I choose this fun flick with Vincent Price since I love this actor. This film was one of the first 3D films that tried to make it big in the 1950’s and was the first by a big studio and with Stereophonic sound. Price stars as a great sculptor who becomes insane after he is deceived by his partner who burns down the wax museum. Years later Price is back and decides to create his waxwork masterpieces using dead bodies. He becomes obsessed and you know things won’t go well. One of the first times we see Price as a horror star and a great campy film.

3. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM-2006

I have a feeling this will be popular this week but I don’t care because I like this movie. Ben Stiller always looks like he has a boil up his ass making him look always confused and pained looking.  He plays a man who can’t seem to hold down a job and ends up as a night watchman at the New York natural history museum. Little does he know that all the artifacts come alive at night until he finds out the hard way and goes running for his life since he has a T-Rex after him, Attila the Hun and a nasty monkey. Soon, he becomes friends with some of the museum pieces like Teddy Roosevelt played with compassion and fun by the great Robin Williams. This is a feel good movie that brings out friendships, father/son relationships  and feelings of self worth. I  love the camaraderie between Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as the tiny cowboy and Roman soldier and I love seeing Dick Van Dyke and even Mickey Rooney in this movie. Dick Van Dyke is still going strong with a cameo in the newest Mary Poppins film but, hopefully, without his bad cockney accent.

By the way that man is 92!

What films would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks- Political Comedy

Considering what has been happening the last 2 years, it has been and still is, quite the comedy..how sad. Politics is usually quite comical from Khrushchev banging his shoe on the table to Orange Man and his tweets plus Ford falling, Bush Snr throwing up and Eisenhower needing to show his operation scar. It’s all a comedy so let’s get to it. I will be curious to see what the others have chosen this week so you can head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what other films have been picked. Here are my 3...

1. MEET JOHN DOE-1941

Frank Capra did love the common man but he also seemed to like politics and the corruption that ran through it. This film stars Gary Cooper as a baseball player down on his luck who accepts to be John Doe..a make believe man dreamed up by a reporter played by Barbara Stanwyck. At first, it’s just a story to drum up publications but soon Cooper believes in the values and slowly, so does Stanwyck, but the political bosses don’t like this so they set up a trap. Very well acted and directed about the ideals that we should never lose but is often lost by corruption and money. What is interesting is how the common man become a mob, easily swayed by words.

2. CANADIAN BACON-1995

The president of the United States has an all time low rating so what is he to do? He takes the advice of his numb-nut staff and creates a “war” with the peaceful neighbours to the north...me...well, us Canadians. Of course one goof takes it to a whole new level and this goof is played by the brilliant John Candy. Alan Alda plays the president and you have a number of stars in this funny comedy. It’s not brilliant but if you want a good laugh, watch this.

3. BULWORTH-1998

This is a brilliant comedy by Warren Beatty as a jaded Senator who is disliked by everyone including his wife so he decides to put a hit out..on himself. At that point, he says exactly what is on his mind angering, especially, the insurance companies and gun lobbyists...which I love! He finds an unexpected friend in Halle Berry and becomes quite adept at rapping which is a great scene that skewers the money men. This film is not well known which is a shame because I think it’s brilliant.

What films would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks-Gangster

Welcome to November 1st, All Saints Day or The Day of the Dead or whatever....Last night was Halloween and I had so few kids. When I moved here, I had 140 kids at least and this time, I had....11. I will chock it up to the neighbourhood growing up, crappy weather and being in the middle of the week. When I was young, my mom took us to this little village that looked right out of a horror movie for kids, and it was so much fun. There is one big difference....all the leaves are still on the trees! I used to go through the leaf pile and see only bare trees which looked spooky. Now, most of the leaves are still on the trees! It’s just so weird....anyway back to the show. This new month starts off with Gangsters, I already had talked about my favourite, White Heat, a while back and I talked about Public Enemy and even Some Like It Hot, so I went a little different. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen. Here are my 3...

1. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES-1938

How can I not choose a James Cagney film especially since I did not pick an Edward G Robinson one. This is about 2 boys growing up in a rough part of town who steal but only one gets caught and is sent to juvenile hall. This kid turns out to be James Cagney who ends up a big time gangster while his best friend becomes a priest (of course). The priest, played by Cagney’s best friend, Pat O’Brien, tries to bring him over to the good side especially since this small gang of boys, the Dead  End Kids, admire the Cagney character. This film is better than the average because of the acting and the social commentary that could stand up even today. The ending of the film shocked me and kept me thinking which is a feat unto itself:).

2. A SONG IS BORN-1948

This is a remake of the brilliant comedy, Ball of Fire, that starred Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck and a film I talked about before too. This is a musical that stars Danny Kaye and his oft screen partner, Virginia Mayo. She plays the moll to a gangster who is wanted by the police and the police want to question her to implicate her boyfriend, played by the notorious Steve Cochran. She sings at a swinging nightclub where the innocent Danny Kaye goes to gain research on his book about music. The moll and the gangster hatch a plan for her to stay at Kaye’s place until the coast is clear.  She does not realize that older gents live in the same place nor does she think she will fall for the babbling, innocent Kaye but she does. This is not as good as the original but I still enjoyed it and it has some brilliant musical moments from jazz greats like Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong and Tommy Dorsey. Kaye was exceptional with tongue twisting singing which leaves me in a wonderment at how he could do this with such ease...I know it’s not easy but he makes it look like that.

3. ANALYZE THIS-1999

Oh wow! I chose a new film....well I think it’s new and it is funny even if you are not into gangsters. Robert DeNiro plays the head of the gangsters (big surprise) who becomes crippled with anxiety to the point where he can’t function. He decides to see a shrink, Billy Crystal, who is not happy being his psychiatrist for obvious reasons, namely being shot and that he is getting married in a week. I wasn’t sure if DeNiro could handle comedy but he does it well here and he has good chemistry with Billy Crystal who plays the very nervous, but not a pushover, shrink. Other characters in the film often play gangsters in other films or on tv especially The Sopranos which is where I feel the people, who created that show, must have seen this and used that idea of a gangster having anxiety.

These are my 3...which are yours?

Fairy Land Special

Fairy stamp, different papers, silver embossing pad, silver glitter embossing powder, wallpaper, glitter. Pearl drops, glitter pens, scissors

Christmas Crafts All Year Round-Santa, Elf or Fairy.
Winter Wonderland-Colour It.
Cute Card Thursday-Sparkles

Here you thought I was talking about my friend's home in Vancouver:) ...close but not quite as he would never be caught dead in this outfit.

I decided to go the fairy route because I don't have an elf stamp at all (I must remedy that) and I have done Santa cards so I went this route and had fun creating this card. This is a new stamp that I bought when I was in Vancouver. I stamped the fairy and coloured her with glitter pens and fussy cut her out. I have this nice paper in a soft pink which I thought worked for the fairy on the lily pad. I layered the card in different papers and I used a snowflake die cut on...wallpaper. This wallpaper is from the 60s or 70s that was in a big binder my mom had. How my mom got this binder, I have no idea.

Paste, different paint colours, craft knife, silver stamp pad, cottage stamp & leaf stamp, blue crystals, word stickers, gold paint, star stencil.

Addicted to Stamps-Anything Goes
Crafty Creations-Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers: Mixed Media-Men

I saw something at a restaurant and thought up the idea of creating a sky. I took my pallette knife into the paste I coloured in green, purple, red and yellow and just gobbed it down onto cardstock. I took blue paper and stamped the cottage and leaves down then adhered it to the pasted part. I placed the letters down on a small strip and glued that down. Finally, I took some blue crystals that come in a line and glued that down. I added some stars using gold paint and a star stencil. I thought it looked like the northern lights and gave this to my hubby for no reason except that I love him. He spent some of his youth on Baffin Island and saw these lights many times and even slept in an igloo overnight after a day of fishing for arctic char(no, he is not Inuit).

Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition-The Weird

Almost the end of October and 2 months before...gulp....Christmas...this is a royal WTF??? Where the hell did this year go? I now firmly believe that the year speeds up as you get older. That is just weird which is this week’s theme from the TV. I bet Twin Peaks will get all the talk but I never watched this show from the freaky David Lynch but I have picked 3 that seem to work here. Wandering through the Shelves is the brainchild of this weekly fun filled adventure into film land. Here are my 3...

1. ONE STEP BEYOND-1959-1961

This is often compared to The Twilight Zone but this show was supposedly based on fact and dealt with ghosts, aliens to past life...and beyond(insert a snicker or a groan). I really enjoyed this show which was remade in the 1980’s usually with the same scripts so watch the original with the narrator, John Newland. My favourite episodes dealt with a woman who had nightmares about water and being book on the Titanic. Another is about the number of people who had a premonition about Lincoln’s death including Lincoln himself ( I remember reading about this) and the last and very frightening episode about a skeptical man who decides to stay at this old hotel supposedly haunted, along with an older woman novelist. His weekend becomes a nightmare and totally freaked me out.

2. RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT-1982-1985

Jack Palance, who was quiet weird himself but I love him, was the host of this anthology show that talked about the strange and freaky things that Ripley himself found on his many travels, but also spoke about hauntings, aliens and the just plain HUH??? What the hell is that? I really enjoyed this program and it is best with this actor.

3. FACE OFF-2011 TO PRESENT

I love this reality program (so does Alex:)) which takes a number of men and women who have applied, to be the best FX makeup artist. Hosted by McKenzie Westmore, whose father, Michael Westmore, guides the people and who is famous for many Star Trek aliens plus other sci-fi and horror films. She informs the group of what creature or being they must create often with a unique slant. For example, they might be told to create a monster but must pick a realm/weapon/colour that they must incorporate into their being. You see these artists create from the putty and molds to the clothing, wings, tails etc... they must put the faces etc...on their model and paint them before their works are shown to the experts. The experts are the Oscar winner Ve Neill, Neville Page and the totally weird, Glenn Hetrick. What I love about this show is not only the creativity but that nobody is cutthroat, yelling or emotionally retarded. No Jersey Shore here and thank god! I just read it has been cancelled after the final showing of season 13....I don't like this at all!

What are your 3?

Squirrel!

Squirrel stamp, leaves stamp, saying stamps, dye ink pads, distress ink pads, watercolour pencils, gold embossing powder, ribbon, post it notes, scissors.

Twofer Card Challenge-Harvest

I am finally trying this new blog where one has to show both cards, side by side because you have to use the same stamp but in a different way and for a different occasion. I decided to use the mighty squirrel since it is harvest time and they like to harvest their nuts..er....let's not go there. Anyway, if they were smart, they would eat like kings throughout the winter but they forget where they store their food...poor dumb-ass squirrels. I had to laugh because my hubby looked for his coat of arms..most people have ostrich plumes or a lion, even a fish but my hubby has, you guessed it, the mighty squirrel.

I enjoyed creating both cards and used colours for the harvest feel. I stamped and masked the squirrel. in both cards, and masked the pumpkins. (By masking, you ink and stamp the image on the card and duplicate the same image on a post it note. You cut out the image on the post it note making sure you have the glue side on some of the image. You take that cut out post it and place it on top of the main image and then you can stamp around it and lift the post it. Voila! It looks like the other images are behind the main image). The card on the right, is basically monotone in look with sticker corners and framed. The card on the left has a ribbon to differentiate between the 2 colours plus I stamped foliage around and embossed the one in gold. This is an "any time" card to send to someone just because you want to. The card on the right in for a birthday.

Ah what fun and just think, Christmas Eve is only (gulp) 2 months away!

Thursday Movie Picks -Technology

I suck with technology, give me a computer & tell me to fix it and I will screw it up even more. Sometimes, I think, technology is not all it's cracked up to be and this week it is all about technology screwing up. Wait, humans are behind this, as always, so we are the bad guys yet again. I was thinking of newer films but my heart belongs to the tacky movies of the 1950's that I used to watch every Sunday afternoon on the UHF channel. Wandering Through The Shelves is the brainchild of this weekly series so head on over to find out what the other film buffs have chosen...here are my fun 3...

1. TARANTULA-1955

Clint Eastwood's first film role but he doesn't say much, or anything from what I can recall. This freaked me out that I had nightmares and one repeated nightmare where my dad is driving and we see the big spider walk over a golf course. Anyhoo, a scientist decides to try to conquer food shortages by creating a serum that, unfortunately has drastic results. a tarantula escapes and continues to grow and  needs food to survive. Enter a pretty assistant who helps  the local Doctor get to the bottom of these killings. Bleccchhh, I hate spiders.

2. ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES-1959

Oh how bad but good this movie is. It starts off with a slut, I mean, a cheating wife and her latest conquest get sucked under the depth of a swamp by these, can ya guess? yup, giant leeches. A game warden, his girlfriend and her doctor dad investigate and find out these leeches are the result of some atomic testing and are not only big but are intelligent (obviously no relation to Trump:)). What are they to do but destroy these parasites. It's a Roger Corman production so how can one go wrong:)

3. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND-1961

I love Ray Harryhausen, who is a wiz with stop motion animation, and the composer Bernard Herrmann, both were part of this film. It starts off during the American civil war where  a few union soldiers and a confederate abscond with a huge balloon and land on a lush island. No sooner do they land but they must fight off a giant crab which they do and have a good meal as a result. Enter 2 women who come ashore from a sunken ship and you have a cute romance starting. Of course, Captain Nemo has been helping these castaways and you find out he has been trying to?? Yup, stop the food shortage by screwing with the growth hormone, hence the big animals and insects. This is actually quite a good film with entertaining characters and the great score just adds to everything.

What would be your 3?

A Card or 2! OK Maybe 3

I was so excited this past weekend..why? I found out I could get Google Chrome on my tablet which means I could write this and download pics from my tablet! It’s even better because I could no longer post on people’s blogs from the regular tablet way (make sense??) for some reason...it would not take at all which is weird. Anyway, I thought I would post a couple of cards here...

Shit! I tried to download the pics from my tablet and it won’t work...grrrrrrrr. So writing this on my tablet but the pics will be downloaded and placed here when I’m at work (shhhhhh).

I love Halloween and here are a couple of cards I created which, I think, lend to the air of spookiness.

Perfect Pearls, vista ink stamp, owl stamp, leaf stamp, pumpkin & spiderweb stamp. Black ink stamp, multi-coloured autumn stamp, scissors, tombow markers, stickers and glossy accents

Alphabet Challenge- O is for Owls
Animal Friends- Halloween
Cute Card Thursday- Halloween

This was a fun Card to create using the Perfect Pearl powders for the owl image. I enjoyed creating this card with those perfect pearls in oranges, kiwi and bronze that I dusted over the stamped image of the owls and saying. I did a quick stamp of the leaf as a border, in different colours, from the
autumn multi-stamp pad. I stamped the cobweb, with spider, and the pumpkin and embossed the web
 in black sparkle and the pumpkin in basic black. I fussy cut those 2 out and used pop up dots to adhere them in place finishing the pumpkin with glossy accents. I put all the pieces together and finished it off with a sticker border.

Fusion Challenge- Combine the sketch & the image or do one or the other

Distress inks, water, different rubber stamps, black ink,  clear embossing powder. Stickers, scissors.

I finally am able to join the Fusion challenge which is a challenge because it is pastel colours but I think I did an ok job. I used distress ink pads which I stamped on a craft wipeable mat, I sprayed water on it and just placed the white card on top to get the colours on, letting it drip to make it look like a cute pink bunny just got whacked. ..tooo harsh😈...Anyway I stamped the different images,  embossed and cut them out and adhered a couple of them with pop up dots. I stamped the spiderweb in white and embossed in clear which just shows the stamp a little but I wanted it to be more white..oh well. I stamped the saying in black and embossed it in clear finishing it off with sticker 

borders that I coloured in black.

My 3rd card....

Flower Challenge- Add Sparkle

Glitter, flower and border Stickers(Gold), distress spray, black & red marker, colour burst, water

Dream Valley-Flower
Eclectic Ellapu- Autumn
Penny Black-Autumn Splendour
Crafty Creations-Anything Goes

Who doesn’t love sparkle?? I took a flower sticker and placed it on cardstock that I had coloured with colour bursts. Colourbursts come in different colours and the bottle looks like a small dristan nasal spray bottle. It's filled with powder which you just sprinkle a bit on what paper. When you spray water on it you watch the colour explode! I surrounded the images with sticker borders I coloured in black and red. I added the sparkle on the flowers & I did not sneeze which was a good thing. I took the olive green cardstock and, using a distress spray, sprayed it with gold which just shimmers. I added the border stickers and saying that I coloured in black.

I am working on more and yes, Christmas cards are involved.

Thursday Movie Picks-The Dark/Night

Boogedy, Boogedy.....it’s all about the night or the dark.....I am hearing Norma Desmond right now. Anyhoo, for this Halloween month, it’s all about scary and it will be interesting to see what everyone else will choose. Considering I took too much pot for my pain and slept Monday away, it was our Thanksgiving so I didn’t miss work, I....where was I going?? Man, nowhere dude....head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves and find out what everyone else has chosen.....here are my 3.....boogedy, boogedy...

1. WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF-1966

Talk about a Horror show! This takes place over the course of one night when a battling, boozy couple played by the famous, battling, boozy couple, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, come home from a cocktail party with a young, idealistic couple played by George Segal and Sandy Dennis. Burton is a professor married to the Dean’s daughter and they hate each other, verbally abusing each other and torment each other while spilling drinks over their uncomfortable guests. Taylor actually put on pounds to play a woman who doesn’t have much class and she chews the scenery every chance she gets and is great at it. She won the Oscar but was pissed when Burton didn’t win and I don’t disagree with her. I actually find this play brilliant but difficult to watch because you never want to have drinks with these people. They are nasty, crude, repulsive and ugly..perfect horror movie about marriage.

2. AMERICAN GRAFFITI-1973

This is a great movie that takes place over one night where you get to meet a variety of high school kids ready to move on in their lives and go to college. Steve, played by Ron Howard, is with his girlfriend, played by Cindy Williams and you see them kissing and talking about their relationship. Curt, played by Richard Dreyfus, is trying to find this mysterious blonde who mouths, “I love you,” to him, sending him on a horny quest for her. You have Harrison Ford, before Han Solo, driving around saddled with a kid, played by Mackenzie Phillips and, my favourite, Toad, played by Charles Martin Smith trying to find the strength to talk to girls. This film has many layers and treats the kids and their issues with intelligence, dignity and fun. It is a cool film that, taking place in 1962, sees the demise of the innocent 50’s and you see small hints of the turbulent 60’s coming.

3. CLUE-1985

Yes, this is based on the board game that I loved playing and still do. You have all the favourites, from Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum to Miss. Scarlett and Colonel Mustard. It has a great cast with the wonderful Madeline Kahn and the great Tim Curry. They are all invited to a scary mansion on a very rainy, thunderous night. You get to meet all of them and realize they are all hiding something. The movie may not be the best as other screwball type comedies I love, but I get a kick out this movie. Once the murders start happening, it gets even more screwy and I love it. It is not a great film by any means but, if you want to forget the world for a couple of hours, have fun with this film. Oh and 3 different endings were shot for this film and, depending which theatre you went to, you would see a different ending than someone else.

Which 3 would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks: Halloween Edition - Home Invasion

October is here and we Canucks are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend. We don’t go nuts the way the States does for this holiday, because Christmas is more important....oh yeah, I went there..hahahaaa. I’m thankful that I have a 3 day weekend. Oh wait, no, I’m thankful for family, friends..blah, blah but hey! A 3 day weekend!! Ok, I’m a bad girl so now on to the movies this week and it is Halloween month but I am not choosing scary movies this week. It will be fun to see what everyone else has chosen, so head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves and see what spooky films they have picked, here are my 3...

1. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE-1944

Oh yes, this is a home invasion and one of the funniest, zaniest comedies starring Cary Grant, Pricilla Lane, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre. Cary plays Mortimer Brewster, a writer about how marriage is wrong. He is getting married to the girl next door, Ms. Lane and they go back home to collect their suitcases to go on their honeymoon except their is one problem, his sweet darling aunts kill elderly men with their homemade elderberry wine. The daffy old aunts believe they are helping the old men and enlist their brother, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt, to bury the “yellow fever victim” in the basement. Poor Mortimer now must deal with this so he contacts the rest home so they will take in his beloved aunts and uncle but he didn’t count on his long gone brother to enter into the mix. The brother and his doctor hold everyone hostage which makes things difficult for Mortimer especially since his brother brought a dead body of his own.  Zany, fun with an over the top, slightly manic ("I'm the son of a sea cook!") performance by Cary Grant, a fun performance by Raymond Massey and The kindly old aunts who steal the show, played beautifully by Josephine Hull and Jean Adair. Love it!

2. SUDDENLY-1954

I just saw this film a few months back and, of course, enjoyed it. Sterling Hayden, in his wooden style, plays a cop from the small town called Suddenly who has the hots for Nancy Gates, the sweet gal who lives atop a hill with a great view of the town. Enter small time hoods headed by Frank Sinatra who take over the gal’s house because they want to assassinate the president who is coming on the train. They didn’t expect Sterling to come by, which he does since he wants the gal to be his wife and become the dutiful 50's wife. She hates guns and anyone dealing with guns and Frankie is a psycho hell bent on killing. I found it tense, well-acted and quite the nail biter.

3. WAIT UNTIL DARK-1967

This film stars Audrey Hepburn as a blind married lady whose husband  is given a doll, that is loaded with heroin, by a young lady. Hubby doesn't think much about it and brings it home only to get a call about another job. He has no idea that the call comes from the goons wanting the doll. Soon, someone comes knocking befriending Hepburn but he is just trying to retrieve the doll. This does not go fast enough for the ring leader played, menacingly, by Alan Arkin. She soon realizes she is in danger and it becomes a cat and mouse game. This was frightening because it feels so real and Audrey Hepburn does an excellent job as the very frightened but resourceful victim. Alan Arkin steals the show as the unstable but intelligent, ruthless crook. An excellent film worth seeing.

What film(s) would you choose?

Christmas is a comin' & the geese are getting fat

Yup, I have no geese to show you but I do have some cards which, I hope, you will enjoy.

Cuddlebug, embossing folders, stickers, gems (not real, of course), design rubber stamp, black dye ink and black glitter embossing powder.

Eclectic Ellapu-Anything Goes

Crafty Creations-Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps-Anything Goes

I enjoyed making this card which was not that hard to do and I think I will make this in a variety of colours. 4 different papers were used with 2 placed in an embossed folder and shoved through the cuddlebug machine to get the design. I took the rubber stamp and put black ink on it, stamped it on a red paper and put the sparkle powder onto the design.  the powder only adheres to the stamped area. I heat embossed it and then layered it all using double sided tape. I took some gold stickers and outlined the border along with the having the "Merry Christmas" sticker and snowflakes on the final black paper.

distress sprays in blue & gold, stickers, gems, gold dye ink & gold sparkle embossing powder,  leaf rubber stamp, scissors.

ABC Christmas-S for Snow and T for Teal
Happy Little Stampers- Christmas Challenge-Tree
Sparkles Christmas Challenge-Blue & Gold

Cuddlebug, embossing folder,  same leaf stamp, silver embossing powder and silver dye stamp, pink ink, gems, scissors, wink of stella(glitter pen/brush), mirror pink paper

Twofer Challenge-Leaves
Penny Black-Make it Feminine

I joined a new blog for stamping and i finally created 2 cards using the same stamp!  It is that blasted leaf which I fussy cut out many times:). In my Christmas tree image, I used the leaves to try and make a Christmas tree and placed light blue gems around.  The teal and gold background was all done with sprays and it gives a nice shimmery effect you can't see with this pic but I tried for a different snowy background. My non Christmas card was for a friend who retired from our agency after being here since 1997. I took a pink ink pad and covered the embossing folder with it. When i shoved it through the cuddlebug, not only the design printed off but the colour adhered to the card.  I follow a few people who create cards and shamelessly used what they did for my 2 cards and hope they don't mind.

Cuddlebug, embossing folder, dye ink, pearl green embossing powder, distress green ink pad, water, sizzex machine, poinsettia cutting image, gem, ribbon, sticker saying

Flower Challenge-Anything Goes
Winter Wonderland-Ribbon or Twine..Missed that one but it is now Anything Goes:)
Cute card Thursday-Monochrome
Sparkles Monthly Challenges- Dies or Punches

I swear I didn't punch anyone:) I took the poinsettia die cut and, using the sizzex placed the paper in it with the die cut and rung it through  to cut the  flower.  I used my cuddlebug to put throught the holly embossing folder and gently swiped the dye pad across and added shimmer embossing powder to highlight the leaves.  I pieced everything together, added ribbon and some sticker stars & the saying. Voila!

Wolf stamp, Blue, black & silver paper, stickers, Light grey tombow marker

Simon Says-Anything Goes
Stamping Sensations-Starting with B-Black & Blue, Beasts(cute beasts)
Happy Little Stampers-CAS-Wild
Animal Friends-In the Forest
Alphabet Challenge-Nature

OK so wolves are wild and they can live in the forest so I thought this worked. Even though I layered the card, I think it is pretty simple since it is just card layers, I stamped the wolves in black and added light grey to take away from the white added some corner stickers and the saying.

Forgive any spelling or grammar faux pas :)

Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition-Anthology

September is now almost done....shaking my head in freakish WTF?? I am not much for this week because of pain and, this past Tuesday, we had to travel to Toronto to the Allevio Pain Clinic for my hour of infusion where I get super stoned. That’s not the bad thing although it takes me all day to get back to norm and I get a headache and sleep most of the day. the crap is I have to take a vacation day, we have to leave by 6am to get to the clinic in time for 9. The worst is the QEW, 427 and the 401 because people are nuts in driving. The QEW is so busy never mind the 401 and that is if there are no accidents which can make traffic a mega nightmare. Canadians are crazy on the roads with weaving, cutting you off, driving way too fast...it’s insane. Ok..that’s my rant now on to tv and the ole Anthology series. I almost chose one today that I love but I am saving it for October so I have 2 that, I believe, will be popular and one less so. You can find out if the 2 I pick will be popular by venturing to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what everyone has chosen. Here are my 3....

1. TWILIGHT ZONE-1959-1964

Rod Serling died too young at 50 probably due to all the cigs he smoked per day but, in his lifetime, he created some great tv and this is the one he is most known for. He often would write the episodes and, later, introduced them in his stiff-lipped, staccato voice. Many episodes have become famous, from the gremlin on the airplane that drives William Shatner nuts to the kid entering the 4th dimension. The music is very well known even though that particular musical piece only started on the second season. I bet many kids have watched a Simpsons’ episode and have no idea the show is parodying The Twilight Zone. To Serve Man is one creepy episode but I have my favourites and all are well acted that starred many actors from the past as well as many that would become famous like Robert Redford. Which episode(s) is your fav?

2. AMAZING STORIES-1985-1987

I am probably one of the few who watched this show that was created by and, often, directed by Steven Spielberg who, by the way, directed the initial episode of Night Gallery created by...Rod Serling. I would like to revisit these episodes because they were better than given credit for and, unfortunately, only lasted 2 seasons. The episodes were well written and, many famous people starred or directed episodes from Clint Eastwood to Martin Scorsese. Unfortunately, the executroids cancelled the show due to low ratings which was a shame.

3.  LAW & ORDER- 1990 TO 2010

I could have chosen nothing but the law and order shows from New York, Florida ( take those sunglasses off and say some quip Mr. Caruso) to Wainfleet...hahahaaa sorry, that’s where I grew up and had to give some snark. The basic premise starred the same 6 people-2 cops and their Captain and the DA, his assistant and their boss. The first half hour was all about apprehending the culprit and the 2nd half was how the prosecution would send them up the river. It took away all the soap opera stuff of most shows and mainly dealt with the crime and how the system worked. It is so popular that there are many version that were and still are out there. They usually do take from the headlines which will be fun to see what will be done with Bill, up the river, Cosby. I have to say, I always disliked that man and found his humbleness as fake as a 3 dollar bill. I only watched the first season of his 80’s show before I found it pretentious and, “look at me, how aww shucks I am” crap. When he would take his name off the Emmy’s list and would only accept the People’s Choice Award, I knew he was a smug a-hole who knew how to charm the people. Oops, I digress again. Ok, so these are my 3.which ones would you choose? Gosh, I am full of attitude today:)