Let's talk reading...

Quote for the week:

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence

is the key to unlocking our potential.

~Liane Cardes

It's been a while since I shared any Barnes & Noble purchases...mainly because I have been trying to cut down on my twice a week visits to there, but last week Kat and I needed a day out and I had an extra 15% off coupon so we treated ourselves. Of course, I walked out of there buying way more than I had planned (isn't that always the case?!?!) but I thought that I would share a few of my more crafty/home oriented purchases.

The first of my purchases was Stampington's Take Ten magazine. I love this magazine, but tend not to buy it because I already have so many magazines that I never seem to find time to read as thoroughly as I should, but when I picked up this issue, I was thrilled to see that their feature designer is Kim Hughes. Kim and I were on a DT together many moons ago and I have been thrilled to watch her progression in the stamp world the last couple of years. She is amazingly talented and creates wonderful little art pieces in her cards with her stamps (many of her stamps she has designed herself for Cornish Heritage Farms.)

Overall, I am in love with this issue...tons of gorgeousness esp. if you love the collage style.

My rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

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My second purchase was a book called The Gentle Art of Domesticity...don't worry, I haven't lost my mind. This is NOT a book about being a homemaker/housekeeper. This is a book written by Jane Brocket of the Yarnstorm blog. This book has a seemingly hefty $35 pricetag, although at B&N it is 20% off that and I did get my extra % off too. So far, I am only about 35 pages into this 275 page book, but I LOVE it. Tons of fantastic writing and even more gorgeous eye candy. If you like Jane's blog, then you will ADORE this book!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

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My final purchase (that I am sharing about anyway) was the 3rd edition of the Holiday Cards & More magazine from PaperCrafts magazine. It's been a while since I bought one of these special publications because it seemed that I wasn't finding much to inspire me in the most recent ones. Overall, I really like this particular issue. There are lots of samples that are right up my style alley and it features a LOT of my favorite card artists so I am pleased that I bought it, although I am still not sure if there is anything that will jump out and inspire me to create a particular project. Overall, the issue is beautiful.

My rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.