Crafting? Low budget? Pinterest failure? Let's get crafty, somehow!

Today there is a lot of activity on Pinterest with folks sharing a whole lot of ideas for innovative ways to fix food, decorate their homes, decorate their office space, do stuff with paper, do stuff with throw-away-items, success stories, failures. And then there are those who have tried some of these really pretty, nice, neat, unusual items themselves and completely FAILED!

Oops!

Pinterest dreams sometimes come true and sometimes they prove to be nightmares.

And then there are those of you who don't have the time to be interestingly crafty, innovative, and Pinterest design users. No. You've got a housefull of kiddies at home. You've got to manage that house and the needs of those kiddies on a low budget.

But that artsy side of you cries out for fulfillment! How?

I have some that worked for me through the years....

First of all, we all like a lovely kitchen. What I did was found some really nice cotton material and made curtains to brighten up the kitchen. Then I had enough material left to make matching covers for our toaster, electric mixer, and blender. This might not appeal to many, but I always enjoyed looking at those curtains and little covers. They brightened my kitchen, my day, and gave me an opportunity to be creative on a budget. These items required very basic sewing skills. Beginners can do it!

Next, there is always food to prepare. I enjoyed setting the table correctly even though using paper napkins for the lowly lunch or dinner meal. I also enjoyed making certain that dishes were correctly placed on the table. If there is a design on a plate that has a logical up or down to it, you place it accordingly and make sure each plate is placed identically. A lovely table is another opportunity to be creative. And the kids can do it, too.

Then there is the never ending need for clothes for the family. Sewing was a major factor in making this need met in our home and sometimes it took a bit of creativity to make something that I felt the kids wouldn't be ashamed of wearing amongst their friends. Selection of cloth and trims as well as the pattern was always a challenge to my creativity. This was especially true when special occasions arose. You can do it. Today, there are Pinterest pictures and ideas that can spur your own basic creativity.

Let's get crafty? Of course you can, even with limited funds and limited time. Set your creative and crafty self a goal to accomplish at least one project in the next few weeks and see if it doesn't make your inner arts and craft personna simply glow.

Free Spirit Farms Homemade Soaps, Lotions & Lip Balms [Review & Giveaway]

Just who and what is Free Spirit Farm?

Free Spirit Farm products is the dream of two sisters from North Dakota who enjoy making lotions, soaps, lip balms and more, not only for our own use and our family, but also for anyone who might be trying to find a good source for skincare products that are made out of only healthy, natural ingredients!  

They also sometimes have fiber products available, such as wool and yarn that we get from our own sheep and angora rabbits who enjoy a happy life on the farm! And as the young ladies say......

"We believe in doing things as naturally as possible, without using synthetic chemicals that are harmful to our bodies and the environment. All of our products are 100% NATURAL - no artificial preservatives, colors, or scents! I started making my own lotions a few years ago as the result of using some homemade lotion that a friend had given me. I was amazed by how effective it was and how great it made my skin feel! (Not to mention the wonderfully refreshing, uplifting scent from pure, natural essential oils!)  Before using natural lotion I had such dry skin, my hands would get so chapped they would break open and bleed, and my face would be very dry and irritated. The average store-bought lotions were no help to me - they didn't even faze the dryness! Plus the unnatural synthetic scents would make me sick, giving me headaches and dizziness till I couldn't even wear it. This all-natural lotion totally does the trick! It's all nourishing ingredients moisturize and soothe, and is good for all skin types. Including people who are sensitive to chemicals, on their skin or just smelling them, since there is nothing unnatural or unhealthy in this. This lotion is super healthy and you can feel good about what what you are putting on your skin! You will be amazed by how smooth and silky your skin will be. Other skin care products just naturally blossomed from my lotion making. Why use unhealthy soap or other products on your body when there's a natural, sustainable alternative? So now I also make all natural soap too. I just love this soap!! It works so well, and is great with moisturizing and cleaning at the same time!" 

Find them on their Etsy shop - click here

I have been privileged to try three of their lovely products. I really enjoy promoting natural products and especially when the products are produced in small quantities by individuals who can vouch for their products and the materials in them. In the case of Free Spirit Farm, these two young ladies have their own sheep and rabbits from whom they get materials for making these products and they use wonderful essential oils.

These are the three lovely products I received to review. As you see, I've been
lavishing this fabulous lotion on my hands and body.

Homemade Soaps

My skin feels great after using this lightly scented homemade lavender vanilla soap. It lathers nicely and is quite pleasant to use. A real treat. And when I consider that it is made from natural ingredients and homemade, I am quite impressed. Aren't they quite lovely?

The Lavender Dream soaps available in three different shapes: blocks, flowers, and hearts! The blocks are approximately 4.oz and are $3.99. The flowers are approximately 1.40 oz, sold in packages of two and are $3.95.

Lotions (see picture above)

This is such a rich, luxurious lotion. It has a wonderful fragrance of lavender and vanilla. It takes just a tiny amount compared to other lotions that are not as rich. It does not leave my skin with that unpleasant sticky feel. The effects of the lotion on my body are lasting throughout the day. I am truly enjoying this natural lotion. This is well worth the price.

Lotions Ingredients: Grapeseed Oil, Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, Distilled Water, Borax, Beeswax, Emulsifying Wax, Vitamin E Oil, Essential Oils. These are lotion available in three different scents, Lavender Dream, Citrus Blast, and Peppermint Breeze! They are $8.50 each.

Lip Tints

This little tube of lip  balm is tinted with a wee bit of color that helps keep me from looking completely "washed out." Of course, they have a lip balm without color and it is in a variety of flavors. I like this little touch of color. Definitely a balm for my lips that seem to crack and peel. Love that it is natural!

Ingredients: Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Almond Oil - Lip Tint are available in two colors: Pink and Red, and come in either tubes or heart shaped containers! They are $3.00 each.

GIVEAWAY

Lip Balm or Lip Tint & Homemade Soap 
In choice of scent/flavor

 Begins August 3

ENDS August 24 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA addresses only.

Lip Balm or Lip Tint & Homemade Soap
In choice of scent/flavor

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE: I received 3 products to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own. I used each of these products to determine my opinion. I was not compensated for this review.

Bucket filling - asking, helping, sharing a concept to share [Review & Giveaway]

We've all heard of "Bucket Lists" and things to do or accomplish before we're "gone." But there is an even brighter and better concept of buckets. That is - bucket filling. What is it? Who does it? And why do it?

The authors Carol McCloud and Karen Wells have a designed books for a variety of ages and the theme of them all is helping and sharing happiness and kindness. What a much better world we would have in which to live if we all carried around virtual buckets which we filled and which we allowed others to fill for us. There would be more gentleness, more kindness, more happiness and there would be less strife, less meanness, less bullying, and less sadness.

The end pages of Will You Fill My Bucket? give some really good information that I wish to share.....

Imagine that as a very young child you were never held in someone's arms, never pushed on a swing, never cuddled, never played with or even spoken to. Tragically, the world discovered that this was life for many children in the Socialist Republic of Romania from 1974 to 1989.

Determined to increase his country's population and build its workforce, Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu's regime forced women to bear children they could not afford to care for, which resulted in an estimated 150,000 babies and children being warehoused in state-run institutions. While basic needs for food and water may have been met, these orphaned children were fundamentally deprived of love, touch, and human affection. . . . . . We now know that children's buckets, which represent their mental, emotional, and social health, require daily filling with positive affirmation, acknowledgment, and affection. 

Human need for love and affection knows no boundaries; it is the same around the world.

So let's see just what these books look like and how they can be used in my life, your life, your children's lives, and in schools across the world.

ISBN13: 9781933916439
Ages 4 - 7

Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children by Carol McCloud   

This award-winning prequel to Have You Filled a Bucket Today? is the perfect gift for anyone with little ones they love.  When children have their buckets filled and learn how they can fill other people's buckets too, they understand how special, valuable, and capable they are.

My thoughts: This is such a sweet and cute book. It begins by telling how a wee little baby is loved and cared for and how that fills the baby's bucket (his loving heart) and it fills the caregiver's bucket (their heart). It goes on through the child's life showing how kindness and care can fill the child's bucket and buckets of others as well. A lovely book to give a beginner's concept of being kind and how that kindness helps you and others. Charming!

ISBN13: 9781938326134
Ages 4 - 8

Bucket Filling from A to Z: The Key to Being Happy by Carol McCloud, Caryn Butzke, Glenn Zimmer (Illustrator)

This award-winning book uses the letters of the alphabet to help young and old see the many, simple ways that they can fill buckets and fill their own buckets in return. When you help children become bucket fillers, you give them the key to happiness...for it is in friendship, love, and good will to others that we are truly happy. Yes, bucket filling is the moment by moment choice to be kind and caring. Teaching and encouraging children to be bucket fillers is one of the greatest gifts you can give to them.

My thoughts: Very early on in a young child's development, they start learning their ABC's and there is a bounty of different books available that will help teach them as well as entertain. With Bucket Filling from A to Z the child is taken through an energetic rendering of each of the letters beautifully and joyfully illustrated by Glenn Zimmer. They learn how to fill their own buckets and the buckets of others by their acts of love and kindness. They learn, too, that being ugly and mean or bullying result in bucket dipping where someone takes from your bucket or you take from their bucket by dipping. You really don't want to be a bucket dipper robbing others or yourself of joy. This is a delightfully cute book and I love how it seems that a variety of racial and ethnic groups is part of the story.

Hardcover SBN13: 9780996099943

Soft cover ISBN13: 9780996099936

Ages 4-9

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud

Through simple prose and vivid illustrations, this heartwarming book encourages positive behaviour as children see how rewarding it is to express daily kindness, appreciation, and love. Bucket filling and dipping are effective metaphors for understanding the effects of our actions and words on the well being of others and ourselves.

My thoughts: In Have You Filled A Bucket Today? basically takes you through the gentle procedure of filling buckets and finding happiness in doing so. The text is short and to the point giving a variety of activities and instances in which you can share happiness and joy in filling buckets. The illustrations by David Messing are really cute and engaging.

Will You Fill My Bucket?: Daily Acts of Love Around the World by Carol McCloud, Karen Wells

A simple question, Will You Fill My Bucket?, is fervently asked by children from twelve different countries. Sweet rhyming prose and vividly captivating illustrations delight the senses and express the deep joy and love we hope for all children. Will You Fill My Bucket? and the responses given will touch the heartstrings of people young and old around the world. Bucket filling, the essence of being loved and loving others, occurs in those little moments in a day when you stop and just listen, cuddle, play, or spend time with a child.

My thoughts: Will You Fill My Bucket? just might be my favorite of the "bucket" books. I love the easy rhyme and beautiful, joyful pictures throughout. Pictured are people from all nations of the earth - or so it seems when I look at it. It is a really good representation of loving, caring people around the world. So they ask, "Will you fill my bucket with a "hug"......

"Will you fill my bucket

and make me happy, too?

Will you fill my bucket

with the love that comes from you?"

GIVEAWAY

1 softcover copy of each book listed here
Begins August 2

ENDS August 25

Open to USA addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a bit of fun with a cute puzzle (from the Bucket Filler website. Just click to open)

30 Bucket
DISCLOSURE: I received complimentary copies of each of the books to facilitate the review. Opinions are my own. I was not compensated. Giveaway prize copies are provided by the author and/or publisher.

Jordyn Redwood begins new series with "Fractured Memory" [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts: I read and reviewed Jordyn Redwood's previous three books and thoroughly enjoyed them. Her first release from Love Inspired Suspense publishing is not a disappointment. An individual is thrust into the violence of the world of murder and intrigue and is the victim of the Hangman who has notoriously hung several victims.

Fractured Memory is a fast paced suspense with danger lurking and attempts to stamp out Julia's life at nearly every turn. Julia and Eli, her US Marshal protector, are thrown into a variety of situations where her safety is compromised and her life endangered.

I found Jordyn's medical expertise peeking through in circumstances throughout the book. Julia's profession as an ER nurse is an echo of the author's own experience in the pediatric ER. It is evident that both the protagonist and the author both share a love of the medical profession.

There is a touch of sweet romance blossoming between Julia and Eli but it is not an overpowering factor in the story. Redwood handles this very well and discretely.

I enjoyed Fractured Memory and look forward to more reads from Jordyn Redwood.

About the book: United States marshal Eli Cayne saved Julia Galloway's life once…and he's prepared to do it again. But his task would be easier if she could remember him—or the murderer who almost put her in an early grave and seems to be hunting her once more. To protect Julia from the latest threat against her life, Eli has to consider the possibility that he put an innocent man in jail. Julia has no memories of the serial killer called The Hangman, though, and no reason to trust Eli. But with the killer getting closer, she must work with Eli to confront her past—and the feelings growing between them.

GIVEAWAY

Begins July 31 

Ends August 15 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT

Open to USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read Jordyn Redwood's "Living In The Valley" experience here on Chat With Vera - click here

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from the author to facilitate this review of my own opinions. I was not compensated.

A Beauty Refined (Sapphire Brides) by Tracie Peterson [Review & Giveaway]

My thoughts:  An interesting story set in Montana at a resort in an area known for mining precious gem stones - specifically sapphires. The characters are well developed and present a variety of personalities that the reader will either like or immensely dislike. The character I most disliked was Phoebe's father, the German count. He was arrogant, pompous, mean, and absent of any virtues. I believe my most favorite was Phoebe's younger brother. He was absolutely charming, sweet, and filled with boyish appeal.

While Phoebe is accustomed to immense wealth and privilege, she sees value in individuals less entitled than she and finds she can rely on them and trust them. And she finds herself in the precarious position of needing someone in whom she can completely place her trust.

I found the information sprinkled in the story about the mining of sapphires in America and the cutting of the stones to be very interesting. The story has a sweet romance that develops at the end. The Christian focus on faith in all circumstances and the strong faith of Ian Harper, the leading male figure in the story, is well placed in the story and comes across as true to life.

A book to highly recommend and one you can gladly share with any teen, adult, and even grandmother.

About the book: What does it take to reveal the true beauty of a hidden gem?

Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her father's intentions---both for her and the gemstones---are not what she thinks.

Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena, finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that her family story is based on a lie---a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom.

Meeting Ian has changed everything for Phoebe, and she begins to consider staying in America, regardless of her father's plans. But she may not be prepared for the unexpected danger that results when her family's deception begins to unravel.

GIVEAWAY

Begins July 22

ENDS August 7 @ 12:02 a.m. EDT

Open to USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More information & reviews - click here

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are solely my own. I was not compensated.

These are a few of my favorite things.....

You've all heard the song about a "few of my favorite things." Well, being challenged by a blogging group to write a few of my very own favorite things, I thought that there were so many - but how can the "many" be the "favorite" thing/s?

Easy. I just love these so that makes them favorite things.....

Clear skies of blue and fluffy white clouds (North Carolina abounds with these). They are one of God's many blessings to mankind.

Lovely trees dressed in the finery of pink blossoms in the Spring of the year. You've seen them - cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, and who knows what other varieties. I just love those lovely trees fluffy with pink blossoms.

Tiny baby hands and wiggly toes. The joy of seeing, touching, and holding a tiny baby and placing their wee little hand in yours. Oh! It just doesn't get much better than that.

Standing in church and singing deeply from my heart with the congregation that wonderful hymn of praise "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty"!!!! Always my heart is drawn to Him with deeply felt awe and worship of His might and power.

Sunrise each morning.

Sunset each evening.

Raindrops refreshing the Earth.

Ocean waves gently lapping the shore or thunderously crashing with the fullness of God's unleashed might.

A smile.

A tear shed in joy. A hug.

Now, what might be a few of your "favorite" things?

The Hunter's Promise: An Abenaki Tale by Joseph Bruchac & illustrated by Bill Farnsworth [Review & Giveaway]

About the book: "Promise to remember me!" was all the beautiful woman had ever said to the hunter. She had appeared from nowhere one day, when he had been lonely during the long winter hunting trip. Isolated in the vast wilderness of the northeast, he would only return to his village in the spring. Except that this year he would not be alone, because she had appeared.

The hunter had quickly fallen in love with the mysterious woman, and together they had become their own little family. But when spring arrived and it was time to return to the village, she disappeared just as suddenly as she had arrived. Would he ever see his love again? The hunter didn't know, but he was sure he would keep his promise and never forget her. That is, until one day the chief's daughter cast a spell on him!

World-renowned storyteller Joseph Bruchac retells this traditional story of love, loyalty, trust, and magic, which can be found in various forms among many of the indigenous nations of the northeast, both Iroquoian and Algonquin. Join him and award-winning illustrator Bill Farnsworth, as they recount this ancient and unique Abenaki tale of keeping a promise to one's family and of the proper relationship of humans to the natural world.

My thoughts:  This is a beautifully illustrated book that brings a retelling of a gripping folk story from the Abenaki Indians to children giving them a glimpse into what Indian life was like hundreds of years ago. The story incorporates real life and fantasy along with a touch of spiritualism.

I found it interesting with an easy flowing text. The beautiful illustrations artistically depict the seasons as a fine painting. The jealousy of the chief's daughter and trickery to have the hunter marry her is life changing. The chief's daughter used of a bird-spirit to wipe the memory of the hunter. Later the deception was revealed and the hunter proved loyal to his first promise.

I think this is an excellent introduction for children into the beliefs, cultures, and lives of Indians and into folktales of indigenous people; and it is an authentic retelling by Joseph Bruchac whose heritage is Abenaki. It is also a wonderful introduction for children to explore the fine art of Bill Farnsworth.

GIVEAWAY

Begins July 26

ENDS August 10 @ 12:01 a.m EDT

Open to USA addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own, I was not compensated for this review. Find the book - click here