Polkadoodles' Gems Challenge - Week #24: Anything Goes!

Good morning everyone. It's Saturday - time for a new Gem of a Challenge from Polkadoodles shop! You can find our challenge blog here: A Gem of a Challenge. 

I've used Lucky Present to create my card today. I printed him onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored with Copic Markers - I buy all of mine at Scrapbookpal.com for their low prices and fast shipping. I cut him with my scan n cut - so easy! Papers are from Winnie White Christmas and Winnie Wednesday. My digis and embellishments (tree, star, holly, stocking) are all from design sheets in Winnie White Christmas. The word die is from Sizzix/Tim Holtz and I've cut it several times and layered it up underneath the gold layer so it has lots of dimension.

Our Gem of a Challenge challenges run for 2 weeks, so you've got lots of time to link up, and they are ALWAYS Anything Goes! Visit the challenge blog HERE. 

I'm entering this into the following challenges - 

Lemon Shortbread - #108: AG (2/3)
LeAnn's World - #21: AG (2/3)
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - #119: AG (2/3)
QKR Stampede - #375: AG (2/3)
Colour Crazy - #48: AG with coloring (2/2)
Creative Fingers - #176: AG (2/3)
Classic Design Team Open Challenge - #12/December: AG (unlimited)
A Perfect Time to Craft - #12/December: AG (unlimited)

Thanks so much for stopping by today :)

Blog Tour: Beard Necessities

 

Billy Winston’s family is going to see him happy and in love if it’s the last thing they do.

Beard Necessities, the final standalone in the bestselling romantic comedy Winston Brothers series from New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Penny Reid, is available now!

 

No one deserves a happily-ever-after quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love, Claire McClure (aka Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart almost twenty years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated. But you know who's tired of their separation and stubbornness? Everyone. Especially Billy Winston’s family. And now they're going to do something about it. Well-meaning interference means the star-crossed lovers can’t stop tripping over each other in the hills of Tuscany, the catacombs of Rome, and the waterways of Venice. Billy and Claire find themselves thrown together and at the mercy of the Winston siblings’ shenanigans. But will their forced proximity bring them together? Or push them even further apart? This second-chance romance brings back the entire Winston gang, playing cupid in one last story of love, hi-jinks, and family collusion. BEARD NECESSITIES is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, and can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s probably best read after books 0.5, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the Winston Brothers series.

Download your copy today! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2oeQbUM

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2nytE4S 

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BeardNec

Nook: http://bit.ly/2m48E5O

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ny6b3X

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2nwim1a

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/2odegLz

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2mHnbEH

Excerpt 

Strolling to the desk, I set down the milk and cookies, crossed my arms and turned to face my brother. “You’re pointing out that Scarlet and I will see each other during various family functions.” “Correct.” “And, therefore,” I continued reasonably, “I need to be nice to her.” I knew that already, and tonight—after watching her face crumple and feeling a part of my soul shrivel at the sight—I’d finally accepted it. I would be nice. I would be so damn nice. I’d be a saint. But then Cletus said, “No, Billy. Not nice. Nice is for tea parties and doctor’s visits. You need to woo her.” I blinked once. “Woo her.” “That’s right. You need to woo the pants off her, hopefully literally, and then make that woman yours. Permanently. Once and for all. Put a ring on it. Woo is where it’s at. Jenn still has the centerpieces from our wedding if you’d like to borrow them.” During this enlightening monologue, he’d moseyed over and picked up the glass of milk and a cookie, dunked the cookie into the milk, and then took a bite just as he’d finished his listings of delusions. “That’s never going to happen.” “Why not? Those centerpieces are lovely. You don’t know your color scheme yet. Ask Scarlet before you decide.” I ground my teeth. “Scarlet and I are never going to happen, Cletus.” He shook his head firmly. “I’m disappointed in your lack of ambition, Billy. I thought we’d be on the same page. But I see now, I’m going to have to take a tough love approach.” “Cletus—” “I’m going to give you one chance,” he said, then pushed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and spoke around it as he continued, “One more chance is all you get. I’ve waited long enough for this and you know my feelings on delayed gratification.” “Pardon?” “It’s overrated.” He took a gulp of milk and picked up another cookie. “No, Cletus. One chance on what?” “I’m giving you one chance. One.” He pointed the cookie at me. “Tomorrow, you’re going to go find her, apologize to her for whatever that kerflufflefuck was I walked in on. Tell her you were suffering from temporary insanity, hopped up on illicit drugs, abducted by asshole probing aliens, whatever. I’m giving you one chance to make this right, and if you don’t take it, you are not going to like what happens next.”

Enter the giveaway for a signed paperback set of the entire Winston Brothers Series!

http://bit.ly/2Y4LKcN

 

Meet Penny Reid

Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Winston Brothers, Knitting in the City, Rugby, and Hypothesis series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she just writes books. She’s also a full time mom to three diminutive adults, wife, daughter, knitter, crocheter, sewer, general crafter, and thought ninja.

Connect with Penny

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PennyReidWriter/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lakzsD

Twitter: @ReidRomance

Mailing List: http://pennyreid.ninja/newsletter/

www.pennyreid.ninja

Book Review: Beard Necessities by Penny Reid

My review of Beard Necessities by Penny Reid - Book 7 of the Winston Brothers series (and the LAST one, sob...).

 

The Scarlet & Billy story – Second Half

Beard Necessities by Penny Reid is Part 2 of Billy & Scarlet’s twisty path to happiness. I don’t want to make my review 100 pages long, which is hard to do as this Book 7 also COMPLETES the Winston Brothers series. It’s a yay/nay moment to be sure, as you can’t help but become invested in the characters, their world, and their drama. I wanted to note that this book is contemporary/literary fiction, NOT a romance novel. As Penny said, it’s a love story, but if you’re looking for the fluff and fun of a traditional romance novel, this is not it. It IS a stand-alone novel, and can be read as such, although you may get more out of it (and love and understanding of the characters and their quirks if you read the whole series). I don’t enjoy reviews with massive spoilers, so I’m trying to keep details to myself, but still provide a solid (general) overview.

So, yes. This book gives us the end of an era and the culmination of the HEA that Billy & Claire/Scarlet deserve. It was a long, long time in coming. Their path was winding and awkward and a little bit painful at times. It’s true! Yes, Beard with Me was hard. Billy’s second-chance at love put us through the emotional wringer, but it’s definitely worth it in the end. I’ve been reading this series since very near to the beginning (as in, I think Book 2 had just come out when I discovered them), so I’ve been waiting for this for AGES. I admit, I was worried. The end of a series…it’s a challenge, and expectations are high. Talk about buildup!

One of my favorite things about the characters throughout this series is that they feel very real. You’re not looking at an airbrushed, cookie-cutter group of heroes/heroines. These are flawed, varied, devious, distinct, colorful, and deep, and I love them for it. This story, and indeed the conclusion to the entire Winston world is all that I was hoping for/expecting, and more. One thing I particularly enjoyed here was seeing the peeks into the lives of all the Winston siblings. Especially Cletus. Thank science for Cletus!

For this book, we’re taken out of Tennessee and whisked across the Atlantic to Italy. While some of the interactions between Billy and Scarlet were painful - as you’re yelling in your head “YOU GUYS”, the chemistry is incredible and the dialogue and trueness-to-character (yes I made that up) is just what we have come to expect from the brilliant mind of Penny Reid. I was right there with the rest of the clan feeling frustrated and wanting to see these two to get their act together already. I love how the whole group came together to make Billy the priority, after all his years of being the rock for everyone else. You will laugh, but you will also cry. At least I did. Granted, I always cry. But that’s ok! It means the author has done her job and you are FEELING it.

I’m grateful for the gift of the Winston family & the privilege of reading their stories.

 

BEARD NECESSITIES is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, and can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s probably best read after books 0.5, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the Winston Brothers series.

Download your copy today! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2oeQbUM

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2nytE4S 

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BeardNec

Nook: http://bit.ly/2m48E5O

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ny6b3X

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2nwim1a

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/2odegLz

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2mHnbEH

Enter the giveaway for a signed paperback set of the entire Winston Brothers Series!

http://bit.ly/2Y4LKcN

Time for Tea Designs - Pawsome Pets...Birthday!

Happy Sunday friends! Are you ready for your weekly dose of inspiration from Time For Tea Designs? I know I am! Don't forget that you can (and should) play along in our monthly challenge, for your chance to win free digis! Everyone loves free digis, am I right? The theme for our challenge is Anything Goes. My favorite! It's so easy to enter - just make something using your Time For Tea Designs images and post them! Share with the hashtag #timeforteadesigns so we can find them, and you're entered to win! Challenges run monthly, and we will have a spotlight and a prize winner at the end of each challenge. Oh, and I have a discount code for you to use - T4TJENNIFER10 will save you 10% on your order from the Time For Tea shop! Yayyyy :)

Today's project features some new release stamps and dies that dropped into Create and Craft TV last week, and will be in the Time For Tea shop soon. These Pawsome Christmas pets are SO CUTE!! Do you remember the Pawsome Pets digital stamp set? Well today they are ready for Christmas! Ok, I know I didn't use them for Christmas in THIS project, but that just goes to show you how versatile they are! 

Side note - the coolest thing in the universe is that the coordinating die set CUTS AROUND THE LITTLE PAWS when they are in the interior part of the image. So you can place things in their arms! SWOON!

I then stamped the kitty images onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored them with Copic Markers - I buy all of mine at Scrapbookpal.com for their fast shipping and awesome service. I used the Pawsome Pets coordinating dies to cut them out and placed presents in some of their paws.

The background is done in Distress Oxide inks using Blender Brushes. After I had the basic shape down in ink, I overlaid the Pawsome Pattern stencil and added some wallpaper to the background outside of the spotlight. I embossed the sentiment in Nuvo detail white EP and added the flag to the card (sentiment from Verve).

I hope you enjoyed my project today. If you've got a moment, head over to join our FB community, follow us on Instagram, and don't forget to play along with our monthly challenges by tagging #timeforteadesigns - so easy! Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas in the City - FREE Holiday Anthology: AVAILABLE NOW!

12 Bestselling Authors

6 Cities

6 Never-Before-Seen Holiday Love Stories

Christmas in the City, an all-new holiday anthology featuring 12 of your favorite bestselling authors, is available NOW, but for a limited time! These are brand new stories and available FREE on all platforms! 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Y4wvk4

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2rK1NB2

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ChristmasintheCity

Nook: http://bit.ly/2R67weR

Kobo: http://bit.ly/34BJuMB

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2OA4WMp

Twelve bestselling authors came together this holiday season to do something special as a thank you to the romance community. We wanted to share FREE, never-before-published stories born from a spirit of collaboration. These six stories are co-written by authors you may have seen work together often in the past, and by some you've never seen work together before! Each enchanting love story occurs in a different city. New York, Washington, D.C., Dublin, Toronto, Chicago and Paris. Travel all over the world with us this holiday season and fall in love!

Helena Hunting & L.J. Shen

Just The Tip 

It’s not every day you meet a stranger who knows how to jingle your bells…

Corinne Michaels & Melanie Harlow

Baby it’s Cold Outside

My Christmas list did not include a broken heart, freezing temperatures, or my tree stuck in the door to my apartment building, but that’s what I got. Just when I thought Santa had failed me, I got something I never thought to ask for …

Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

Kissmas in New York

It was just supposed to be a simple kiss with a stranger.  I'd done it to prove a point--that I hadn't lost my sense of adventure. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Maybe I'd get something in my stocking after all this holiday season...

Sierra Simone & Kennedy Ryan

The Christmas Crown

Noelani, queen of Manaroa, has one mission on her diplomatic visit to the States: forge strategic alliances for her homeland. When she meets brooding security specialist Brock Grimsby, their unexpected alliance heats up the holiday. One night. No promises, but come Christmas, will either be able to walk away?

Penny Reid & LH Cosway

Songbird

Two lonely souls find companionship in Dublin for one magical night. Broderick Adams doesn't mind his solitude, until she walks in. Ophelia Kelly sings to heal her heart, but has no idea he's listening. 

Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen

EPIC

Jamie and Wes are having a blast living and working in Toronto. Until a scout for another team swoops in to make one of them an offer that might complicate the life they've built together.