"They're Gonna Put Me In The Movies...."

Inside

"They're Gonna Make A Big Star Out Of Me..."

Howdy Doody Cats 'n Kittens. So here we are again, another Sunday at casa L-B and I have another creation to share with you. It's been a fairly uneventful two weeks as I have been at home with Jo who flatly refuses to leave the house with even a sniff of snow in the air (not that I'm complaining, who wants to go out in the cold anyway?), so we have passed our time by catching up with all the latest movies. We saw 'The Impossible' the incredible true story of one family's struggle to find each other again in the wake of the Indonesian tsunami disaster, 'Zero Dark Thirty' another true story about the hunt for Usama Bin Laden, 'Django ("the D is silent") Unchained' Tarantino's latest slice of genius, 'Lincoln' another true story concentrating on the last four months of the great President's life, 'The Hobbit' JRR Tolkein's original and best story, Life of Pi' a Tiger, an Orangutan, a Jackal and a young Indian boy stranded in a lifeboat and 'Flight' Denzel Washington's latest film about a pilot who saves a plane and most of it's passengers only to have the tables turned on him.

Standouts were 'Django' and 'Pi' for me, two totally diverse movies but with equally valid stories about life to tell. A lot has been made of the violence in 'Django' but I think that it might just be a case of lazy journalism again as this movie had a lot less violence in it than I for one expected to see, especially for a story about slavery and the old West. What hasn't been talked about is the humour in the film, the dialogue is (as ever) pin sharp and so witty. Nearly every line Christoph Waltz utters had me in stitches, as did Jamie Foxx whose character had more of a sense of humour than you would credit in a man whose life hung by a thread every day he stayed in the South. Plaudits should also go to the great Sam Jackson who I love above all other actors and to Leo DiCaprio whose baby face usually works against him I feel but in this movie really added to his character.

'Life of Pi' was a different beast altogether. Stunningly beautiful, breathtaking and exciting, metaphorically deep and deeply coloured like a rainbow. It is the story of a young boy who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger, a Hyena, an Orangutan and a crippled Zebra. I did try to read the book but found it's narrative too disjointed and ethereal for my liking, but I did manage to get nearly halfway through and everything I remember from the book is up there on the screen. The acting is flawless and the CGI is just another step forward from anything you have ever seen before. None of the animals are real and only a couple of times did you forget that, so realistic is the Tiger that I never thought of it as anything less than a real, breathing, living animal. I know it is early in the year and there are some amazing looking movies coming out this year but they are really going to have to go some to beat this one for me, it really is a work of art and one I can't recommend highly enough.

Jo's favourite was 'The Impossible' which had both of us in floods of tears, which was in no way embarrassing until the tears were joined on stage by huge racking sobs. It is not so much a film but an endurance test (the last time I was that upset watching a movie was 'Schindler's List', so that must tell you something!!).

On to this weeks card and the theme this week at the Kenny K Krafty Krew is 'Sketch 2'. I have only limited experience with sketches but I found it a lot easier knowing in advance where everything had to go. The image used is Sundae, which you can find here for the princely sum of $3.00 (what a bargain eh!). Here's the sketch in question:

Papers are a mix of freebies and Basic Grey, cardstock from my stash (usually either core'dinations or Bazzil), sparkly gems, some lush dies from Spellbinders and a couple of really old stamps which I think also came free with a craft magazine (if you recognize the bird stamp and sentiment inside then let me know where they are from!!).

I have had a serious case of crafters block lately and my Mojo has only just started to reappear so if things are not up to my usual standard then apologies but hopefully, things will get better sooner rather than later.

Hope you likes it anyway, have a look at the Kenny K challenge blog and I hope you are going to have a great week, see you again soon,

hugs ;n stuff,

Andy

xx
Entered Into: Come and Get It Challenge Blog - Tic Tac Toe
Here Come The Boys Challenge #44 - Bingo Board (Corner to Corner)
Challenge For Everybody Challenge #12 - Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations Paint Challenge - Anything Goes
Gingerloft Challenge #56 - Love Is In The Air
The Order Of The Opus Gluei Challenge #149 - Glitz, Glamour, Bring On The Bling
ABC Challenges #14 - Valentine's Day
Artistic Inspirations Challenge #26 - Love/Anything Goes
Bunny Zoe's Crafts Challenge #32 - Anything Goes
Lady Anne's Challenges - Anything Goes
Digi Makeover Challenge #73 - Hearts
House Of Gilli Challenge #49 - Anything Goes with Pink & Bling
Pink By Design Challenge - Have A Heart
My Grafico Challenge #144 - Anything Goes

"Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me, I Think I'll Go Eat Worms..."

Now I'm not saying they all look suicidal (they do though!) but the next time you see a Goth I hope you now hear the words above. Over the years they have been a massive source of amusement to me; they walk around with faces that look like a smacked a*se, angry at the world but with no clue why, clothing that has the statuatory amount of straps needed for mentally disturbed patients, a glaringly obvious allergy to any and all soap products and more kohl eyeliner on than Max Factor generate in one year of trading.

Why the massive downer on Goths you ask - 'cause I can, is my reply but also because this week's challenge over at the Kenny K Krafty Krew blog is Going Gothic.

 

I really struggled with this one as it is not really something I have ever looked at before. After chosing Lady Raven from the Kenny K Downloads site I kind of knew that my main colour was going to be purple as I didn't want to use too much black and I wanted to keep the card a little more upbeat. I have used a lovely Sizzix Bigz die for the heart and the mask is a Spellbinders one, something Venetian I think. I also used one of their new D-lite dies, that gothic looking iron gate just looked perfect but was a bit of a swine to cut out. I used some cereal packet liner between the die and the card to make it come out easier and that worked a treat though, so I will be saving all my liners from now on!! The skull and crossbones paper is from Magnolia and I have had it on the table forever, waiting for something to come along and I love it on here, it certainly matched the mood of the image I think.

Before I sign off this week I must say a massive Thank You to all the lovely new followers and as you may be aware, I have been running a Candy challenge for the last two weeks and after putting everyone's name on a piece of paper and asking Jo to choose one at random I can now tell you that the winner of 3 Kenny K images of her choice is...

CARLA.

Congrats honey. You emailed me a couple of weeks ago when the challenge first started so if you want to have a look at the Kenny K Downlloads site and let me know which three images you want, I will pass them on to the lovely Suzie who will send them to you after speaking with Kenny or Elena.

So that's me for this challenge, hope I see you again soon,

take care of each other,

Hugs 'n Stuff

Andy

xx