Book Review: Precious Moments Storybook Bible

“Precious Moments Storybook Bible” by Sam Butcher is a delightful book for any toddler, preschooler, or elementary school aged child.

The book includes important lessons, instructions and parables from the Bible in a format a young child can understand. Stories are from both the Old and New Testaments. Each story lists the Bible verses that the story refers to, so you can look up the verses in your Bible as you read. It also includes adorable and sweet full color illustrations of the Precious Moments characters. Each page has a charming border with little animals or objects as well. The colors are pastel, but appropriate for a boy or a girl.

The text is very large, making it easy for a beginning reader to see and follow. It is also great for a grandparent or anyone with poor vision, because the large text makes reading to a child easy and enjoyable.

As a bonus, included is a wonderful section of childrens songs that many readers will recognize (I grew up singing these precious songs in Sunday School). There is also a great section of special prayers that you can use for bedtime, or anytime you want to pray with your child. You can also use this to teach children to pray on their own. The front of the book has a nice record section you can use to record presentation information, the child’s family tree, and special events in the child’s life.This Storybook Bible would make a very nice gift for any young child.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: Then Sings My Soul

Then Sings My Soul by Robert Morgan is a compilation of 150 hymns, sung during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, as well as patriotic hymns and other well known hymns. This wonderful book includes not only the hymns, but the sheet music for piano and the wonderful history behind each hymn.

I love this compilation book and highly recommend it to anyone who grew up singing or playing hymns in church. The front and back cover include bookmark flaps to keep your place. The book is laid out with the hymn on the left, exactly as you would see it in a church hymnal, and the history on the right. The historical information includes the date written, scripture reference, information on the author and events taking place at the time each was written. There is an index in the back for quick lookup of your favorite hymns.

Looking through this book was very nostalgic for me. It holds all the beloved songs I grew up singing in church, the Christmas hymns that we sang each year, and songs my great grandmother would sing to me while playing her little keyboard.

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee is by far my favorite hymn and I have been singing it to my son since he was born to comfort him. Having the verses, sheet music and history of the hymns I now sing to my son is a treasure.

I highly recommend this book as a gift for anyone who enjoys music!

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: The International Children’s Bible Holy Bible

The International Children’s Bible Holy Bible is designed for children and written at a third grade reading level.

I was disappointed that this Bible was not a hardcover book; my young son bent the cover on the first day it was in our house. He does like the shiny bright red cover though. This edition has CG illustrations portraying various bible stories, geared towards computer savvy and CG inundated youngsters. Although, I’m pretty sure the pictures will seem dated in a few years, as technology is always progressing.

Using the International Version, the wording is more relevant and uses a more easily followed speech pattern. Although, if you are used to the KJV or any more tradition Bible, the modern wording may put you off.
The book includes a dictionary which helps define words and names; as well as provides pronunciation help for each entry.
Also included is a small index in the form of a ‘Where do I find it’ section, which lists popular Bible stories and where to find them. There is also a nice section listing important memory verses for children. The book concludes with full color maps of prominent bible settings.

The book includes a small index in the form of a ‘Where do I find it’ section, which lists popular Bible stories and where to find them. There is also a nice section listing important memory verses for children. The book concludes with full color maps of prominent bible settings.

I wasn’t as impressed with this edition as I thought I would be. I really think the illustrations would have been better suited if they were next to the verses and not just clumped together into sections. I also think the CG graphic are relevant today, but may seem very outdated in several years, so this would not be a bible that would grow with your children.

If you are looking for a Study Bible that would capture a school aged child’s attention with relevant illustrations, an index, maps and more, this may be a great short term use Bible for your child. If you are looking for a version that is durable and can grow with your child, you would be better going with a different edition.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: Where Hearts Are Free

“Where Hearts Are Free” is the third novel in the Darkness to Light series by Golden Keyes Parsons. This novel is set in 1681 and follows the blossoming love between Bridget and her family’s indentured servant and stable hand, Phillipe. Phillipe’s family is part of the French Royalty that was forced to leave France because of religious prosecution. He and his brother were forced into servitude after losing their wealth on the passage from France. Bridget and Phillipe’s courtship is forbidden by both of their parents and soon Bridget is promised to an older bachelor, with a dark secret.
The book was a nice romance read, it held my interest and kept me hoping that Bridget and Phillipe would finally get their happy ended. They faced many obstacles, hardships, horrible circumstances and trials on their way back to each other. My favorite part of the book, is that is has a Christian basis, and the characters were people of faith, trusting in God to help them find their way. So many times romances put everything on luck or fate when the main characters have a happy ending, I liked that this book acknowledges God.
I would recommend this book to any romance fan.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: The Butterfly Effect

Have you ever had a bad day? Ever wonder if you are really making an impact in this world? Do you wonder if YOU matter? If you have pondered these questions, please take the time to read Andy Andrews’ book, “The Butterfly Effect”.  This fascinating book is full of hope and encouragement. It will get you motivated, ready to make a difference in this world and pick you up after a bad day.
The latest release of “The Butterfly Effect” is an absolutely gorgeous gift book. With full color, glossy pages, the book is printed in the highest quality. The backgrounds and embellishments give the book a scrapbook like feel. The backgrounds are well chosen and amplify the words on each page.
The book follows the lives of three history making, remarkable people who were not trying to impact the world, they were just trying to survive the day. Their actions led to other actions, and so on, and so forth, creating a chain of events or “butterfly effect”. Their actions altered millions, maybe billions of lives for the better. While reading, you are constantly reminded that just like those people, what you do matters, that you are special and that you absolutely have a purpose in this world.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: One Hand, Two Hands

“One Hand, Two Hands” is written by well known author Max Lucado for children. The book describes ways little ones use their hands every day, and ways those hands can help others too.
This is a large book, which is nice as the book’s best feature is its illustrations. Gaby Hansen’s illustrations are gorgeous! They are cheery and colorful, sweet and very detailed. My son and I just sat and looked at the pictures on each page for several minutes. It was more fun to make up a little story with the pictures. Each time you read the book, you will find something new in the illustrations you didn’t notice before.
“One Hand, Two Hands” is written in rhyming pattern. I thought some of the lines were odd and threw off the rhythm, like “Pick flowers, they smell sweet. Squish cheese, they smell stinky. Ooey. Pooey. Right down to your pinky.”  The writing is average, you won’t find anything outstanding here.
There is a section at the end of the book listing ways children can use their hands to show kindness, love and to help others. We enjoyed that section better than the story in the book. “My helping hands can… feed my pets. My hands are gentle and kind when I… draw a get-well card for a sick person. My hands show love when I… clap for someone else.” Several examples are listed for each section and again there are sweet illustrations.
There is a book plate page where you can fill in information if you were giving this as a gift.
Overall, I just didn’t feel the story was as impressive as the illustrations.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: God’s promises for boy

If you are looking for a nice book to gift to a son, grandson, or nephew, God’s promises for boys by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker, would make a wonder addition to any young man’s library.

The illustrations are absolutely wonderful! They are kid friendly, full color, well drawn and perfect for the topic they illustrate. The entire book is printed in color with borders at the top and bottom of the pages.  It is the high quality you expect when purchasing a book as a gift.

God’s promises for boys cover a variety of topics including virtues, emotions, life lessons, and social interactions.  On 2 facing pages, a topic, such as Worry, is presented. There is a little rhyming description of how that topic might make you feel. Following the rhyme are a handful of scripture verses that refer to that topic. The scriptures are taken from the International Children’s Bible.  The section ends with an illustration of that topic.

I think this is a wonderful book for any young lad. It can help families approach situations that young boys face from a biblical standpoint. While it does not go in-depth into topics or scriptures, it is a helpful way to pinpoint scriptures that can help your child, as well as open a dialog to discuss what they might be feeling.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Book Review: Why You Say It

Why You Say It: The Fascinating Stories Behind over 600 Everyday Words and Phrases by Webb Garrison is a compilation of phrases and words that we hear and use every day. The book reads like a reference book, with entries for each word or phrase divided into sections; it includes an index as well.

Why You Say It offers simple, but comprehensive, descriptions and possible origins of words and phrases like "three sheets to the wind," "whippersnapper," “crocodile tears,” “jump the gun,” and "hook, line, and sinker." The book covers a diverse range of words and phrases arranged by category. Unlike most reference books, the listings are written for the casual reader, not the academic.

As someone who loves words, knowing why we say what we do, and where those strange and quaint sayings come from, I genuinely enjoyed this book.  Why You Say It makes a fun addition to your bookshelf or even your ‘bathroom library’. The book provides easy reference to popular phrases, making it a not only a great word guide, but also a quick read when you have a few minutes to kill. It is also a great conversation starter.

(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of this book to read and review. I'm a member of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program.)

Toys: The buggy gets a makeover

We were given this super cute little buggy by a sweet friend! It is so adorable and perfect for our little trips to the end of the street to check the mail! Why ride in a boring old stroller when you can 'drive' this! It even has a compartment for the mail or other treasures! Well, as you can see it is pink, a pretty pink, but I don't have a pink loving little girl. I have a rough and tough, ready to tumble, all boy, boy. Pink just won't do for my little tough guy! But hey, no problem! Nothing a can of spray paint and an afternoon can't fix! 

HOW TO DO IT

First, gather all the supplies you are gonna need. 

- Towels to wash and dry the toy

- Spray paint: Krylon Fusion for Plastics 

- Plastic grocery bags

- Small amount of painter's tape 

- Rubber or plastic gloves

- Strong adhesive, gorilla glue or E6000 type

- Screwdriver

STEP ONE: THE PREP

Ok, I know you are going to want to skip the prep work but it is SO important in any project to do all the prep work. It will make your life so much easier if you just do all the prep. You can do the work before and be finished when you are finished, or you can spend hours after you are 'finished' trying to fix stuff because you didn't prep! Prep people, prep! 

So, now that you have been sternly lectured and are ready to prep, you want to find a nice outdoor space to work in. First, you want to wash your toy well, remove all dirt and debris. You might want to take a magic eraser to any scuff marks to make sure they don't show through your paint job. After washing and drying the toy, you want to remove or cover any decals or stickers. As this was a well loved toy that was outside, the stickers were very very easy to remove. I just slowly peeled them and they came right off. I used a strip of painter's tape to hold all my stickers until after painting, so they wouldn't get lost. 

Next, time to cover all the parts you don't want painted! This is where the grocery bags and painter's tape come in. For smaller parts and areas, a little painter's tape is perfect. For larger areas, like the wheels, steering wheel, the trunk, and handle, grocery bags are perfect. Just make sure there are no holes in your bags first! You can easily stretch the bag to tightly cover the area, allowing you to get paint everywhere but the covered area. Once the bag is on there the way you want, just pull and twist the leftover plastic and make a knot. 

Now, we need to remove the safety straps. This is also a great opportunity to check and make sure the screws and hardware are not rusted, if so, replace the parts when you re-assemble the toy!!! Just unscrew the straps and set them aside for now. Ok, you should now be ready to paint!

STEP TWO: PAINT! 

Make sure you read the manufacturers instructions and warnings on the spray paint! It will tell you how best to spray the paint and how far away you should hold the can. Holding the can too close or in one spot too long will definitely make it run! Painting on the grass is easiest, just make sure the grass is dry so it doesn't stick to the toy as you paint. You can also use a garbage bag or painter's drop cloth! Wear gloves to protect your skin from the paint. 

Painting this big buggy was tricky and it definitely did not come out perfect. My best advice is to just paint in even strokes, at the proper distance. Be patient with it, it bonds in 2 minutes so adding more coats is quick. Also, don't expect miracles, if the toy was scratched deeply or scuffed from use, it is not going to cover those evenly. The paint is dry after one hour, although it does say it will take about 7 days to be completely bonded and not scratch off.

STEP THREE: REASSEMBLY 

After about an hour, it should be completely dry to the touch. I did have a problem with it scratching off in a few places as I was moving it to the deck for reassembly. So I had to repaint those little areas. So I guess we will have to be careful with it for the next week and see if it really is scratch resistant after 7 days.

Now, we need to remove all the bags and painter's tape. Screw the safety straps back in and finally, re-stick our stickers!  I used E6000 glue for mine. You definitely want a strong bonding glue. It was pretty easy to cover the back with glue and stick it into the grooves. I set them even better than the manufacturer too, thank you very much. You would think they could get their own stickers on straight! Oh, and if your toy needs replacement stickers or safety hardware, they are usually available from the manufacture's website, or by calling them!

Well, that is it, our cute little buggy got a makeover. All it cost me was a can of spray paint and an afternoon outside! All in all, I am really happy with the paint job! It definitely isn't the most perfect paint job, but hey, I'm not a great painter! We will see how well the paint holds up against wear and tear! At least now we will be riding around the block in style!

Before and after! 

Craft: Valentine's Snow Globe

Here is a fun and pretty simple craft for Valentine's! Why not turn a picture of your little sweetheart into a fun snow globe?

What you will need:
~ Baby food jar
~ Picture of your little cupid
~ Filter or purified water
~ Glycerine (Glycerin)  *Optional
~ Glitter
~ Packing Tape
~ Waterpoof glue

Step 1: Creating a laminated, waterproof picture

~ First, measure or guesstimate the size of your jar's height and width. Then, print and cut a picture that is about 1/4 smaller on all sides.

~ Next, use your packing tape a carefully cover the picture on all sides, there should be a little bit of space between the picture and the edge of the tape on all sides. Make sure the tape is completely pressed together with no air bubbles. Using a wood stick, credit card edge or any flat surface really helps here.

~ Now, you should be able to slide the picture into the jar and have it touch the sides, it is ok if you have to bend the picture slightly to get it in, this will ensure your picture doesn't move inside your jar.

Step 2: The Mixture

~ Go ahead and take your picture out for now.

~ Pour your purified or filtered water into the jar, til it is about half full. Then add about 8-10 drops of glycerine to the water (Just eyeball it really - the glycerine just help the glitter float around longer. If you don't have any, don't worry!)  

~ Now, add your glitter(s). Again, just eyeball it. Don't go too crazy or you'll find the glitter starts to clump. For mine, I used a white sparkle glitter and some red heart confetti glitter.

~ Slide your picture into the jar.

~ Fill the rest of the jar with your filtered water.

Step 3: The Sticky Stuff

~ Now we need to glue the lid on using a waterproof glue. I like E-6000, but there are others out there.  Remember these glue fumes can be really strong so open a window or turn on a fan! Keep them away from the kids please!!!! This is a parent only part!

~ Add your glue to the outside top of the jar and also to the inside of the lid. Make sure you get a good coat on the lid all around, because this is what is gonna keep the snow globe from leaking!!!

~ Now, screw the lid on as tight as you can and tape it down while it drys. Most glues need at least 24 hours to dry, check your glue for specifics.

Step 4: Shake it up

~ Once the glue has set,  you can add some scrapbook paper, ribbon, and other embellishments to cover the lip of the lid!

~ Shake it up and enjoy!

Mama Tip: Snack Containers

If you have a baby, you have gone through your fair share of those plastic Gerber food containers. It seems like such a waste to just throw them in the recycle bin. I started saving some of them for snack containers. They are perfect for Puffs, Cherrios and other small first snacks. The snap-on lid stays on really well. Now when we are going out, we just toss a container of Puffs in the diaper bag and I keep an 'emergency' container in the car for the occasional melt down that only Puffs can fix! = ) The best part is once you have used them they can be washed or tossed! I find hand washing is best, but they will survive the dishwasher if you use a no heat dry!

First

So, I'm a full time mama and crafter! I love so many different crafts - sewing, knitting, embroidery, scrapbooking, card making, paper crafts, and just making cool stuff for my new baby boy! I am always saying to myself, "Self, other people would like that idea." So I hope you will come on this blogging journey with me and find some of the things I make, or ideas I have, fun, interesting and useful! = )