Finished Object Friday

First off - please remember those that were affected by the tornadoes in the last week! Quite a frightening experience! Those same storms were over us on Tuesday evening, but there wasn't the widespread damage as they have experienced. I certainly was relieved to hear from Brittany Wed. evening - they are all ok, but maybe still without power.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks all for the sweet comments on my Easter post. We had a wonderful day! But now it's time for Finished Object Friday! So here is my "object:"


Oh, wait... you've seen that picture before, haven't  you? Well, my sweater is my finished object! :)

I had my outfit together with a basic white jacket, but I wanted to find something a little more feminine/springy! After a bit of shopping (first online then at the store...) I figured I didn't want to pay $30.00 for what I wanted, and decided after looking at a few sweaters, "I can do this!" So I did!! (This sweater was my inspiration.) So I found this sweater on clearance:



Bought some fabric and cut out circles:

I bought a 1/4 of a yard and ironed it into thirds. Then cut the circles out (cutting three out at a time went soo fast! I ended up with more than I needed!) I then folded them into fourths before pinning them for placement. I used my sewing machine to sew them securely down - much faster than hand stitching! :) (Oh and the inside window of a paper cd sleeve was the perfect size circle!) :)

Here it is up close:


The whole project came together very fast with minimal frustration. (Although I did tack the collar down once while sewing a "petal." Out came the seam ripper!) :)  And I had my fun, fluttery, feminine cardigan for Easter morning! :) 

So now it's your turn to share! What fun projects have you had up your sleeve? :)

No Place Like Holmes

You could probably judge my reading progress as a child by the mysteries I read. The summer right before I turned 10, I could read two books a day - Bobbsey Twins. Then I progressed to Trixie Belden and the Three Investigators (the last ones looked really creepy, but weren't much worse than Belden) :) And does anyone remember Encyclopedia Brown? I still love a good mystery (like the Royal Tunbridge Wells series), but I'm not really into anything graphic. However, I do love a good children's book! I think the charm of a children's mystery, is that the author can focus on the story without feeling the obligation to sensationalism (such as gore or language etc...) that they feel necessary to include to make it a viable "adult" novel.

Thus, I was excited to receive "No Place like Holmes" by Jason Lethcoe to review. I enjoyed the book! I have been an admirer of Sherlock Holmes especially listening to the stories on Old Time Radio. I always thought it interesting how Sherlock would pick up on the smallest detail, and of course, that one detail would solve the mystery! Griffin Sharpe is a young boy with observation skills much like those of the fictional Holmes. He observes the most minute detail and comes to (mostly accurate) conclusions. The summer he is twelve, he is sent to spend time with his uncle in London. While there, he of course, finds himself deep into mystery.

 I am a little confused about the book, however. Tommy Nelson has it listed as a non-fiction book. According to the author, Griffin Sharpe, was a real private investigator. However, in the story, Griffin has one on one dealings with Sherlock Holmes (who lives in the apartment above his uncle) and Holmes' arch enemy Moriarty who are both fictional characters. When I researched Griffin Sharpe, I found next to nothing other than what the author has put on his blog. Maybe the author will clarify this in the sequel.

I thought the book was well written, and I like how the author blended the story with Griffin's faith. He treats his uncle with respect even when he has been mistreated and misunderstood. He treats clients with respect and compassion when his uncle is focused merely on solving the mystery. A fun read for those young persons (and older ones too!) who like a mystery. Some fun extras are in the back, like a recipe and a few mini-mysteries.

Thomas Nelson provided the book to me free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

31 Days to Clean!

My house needs a good cleaning... yet here I sit. :) Maybe what I need is a good book to motivate me, right? Sarah Mae is giving away a free copy of her book, 31 Days to Clean, in exchange for blogging/twittering about it! How cool is that! :)   Thank you, Sarah Mae!! :)

Easter

I hope you all had a joyfilled Easter day! We certainly did. I wanted to share a few pictures from our day.


Hubby and I in our Easter finery! :)



Family picture!


The girlies were precious decked out in their Easter dresses!


Our church had an Easter picnic - so fun to be all together on a very special day!



After the meal, the kiddos had an egg hunt.


After a busy weekend, this is about how we all felt:

That picture totally cracks me up! :)

Coming up this week - I have a couple of books to review and then Finished Object Friday! :)

Sunday Blessing

 

Here the bells ringing
They're singing that you can be born again.

Here the bells ringing
They're singing Christ is risen from the dead.

The angel up on the tombstone
Said he has risen, just as he said.
Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead!

Joy to the word, he has risen, hallelujah!

He's risen, hallelujah!
He's risen, hallelujah! 

From The Easter Song

by Keith Green

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He is Risen!!! He is Risen indeed!!

Blessings to you on this glorious Easter Sunday!

I'd rather be in my garden....

I got my garden done - like a couple of weeks ago! I haven't told you about it yet, have I? I guess I've had so many other things to blog about - like books! and chairs...  :)

(I love a new pair of gardening gloves!)

My little garden has been getting along rather well....

(The sticks are to keep the kitties from "soiling" my soil. *insert rim-shot*)  :)


The first bit of fruit this year!

The marigolds are happy! I hope they help keep the nasty bugs away!

Here's my cucumbers:

Lovely, huh? But they are starting to make a comeback. I hope so! I sure love cucumber salad!!

So why would I rather be in my garden? 'cause I had jury duty today, that's why. I know it's my civic duty, but.... :)

ETA~Thankfully, I didn't need to actually serve on a jury. So I got home in time to play a bit in my garden! It sure enjoyed the drink. :)

Max on Life

Today I finished another book for Booksneeze, Max on Life. Reading a book by Max Lucado is like an encouraging visit from a friend. I found this book particularly interesting and unique because it is not focused on one particular topic. It is set up in a much different format than any other books of his that I have read, a question and answer session. Of course there is a lot of encouragement, and would be an excellent book for a person with a lot of questions on living a Christian life. Some of my favorite "Max quotes:" on making important decisions: "Don't make a decision in a storm that you wouldn't make in calm weather." (page 187) on marriage: "But what attracts us when we are dating, attacks us when we are married." (page 139) and on raising children: "Oversights are misdemeanors. Rebellion is a felony." (page 154)

A few reservations I have about the book: First off all, I don't agree with Lucado on a few theological points. I figured I wouldn't, but this was made quite evident in reading this book. Secondly, some of this material isn't new. (One section in particular was obviously lifted from another of his books that I paused in reading to finish this in time for the review - "The Great House of God.") Not sure if this is a plus or minus, but he uses several different translations, sometimes as much as three or four in a single "answer." Reservations aside, it is an enjoyable read, and I think it would be very encouraging for someone searching for answers. Here is a sneak peek for you:

Buy		Read

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Update!

For those of you who visited my blog earlier today... I now have the finished chair pictures here! :) Thanks for your patience!


Happy Friday! :)

Finished Object Friday

I've had this chair for a while - it was given to me. And while I liked it (I kinda have a thing for chairs, you know...), I thought it could use a little more pizzaz!

I loved this sticker on the top, and really would like to have kept it somehow. I guess I "kept" it digitally, right? (Ahh... what we "suffer" for our addictions!) :)

Unfortunately.... I haven't taken actually "finished" pictures yet, although the chair is painted! (Not sure if it's "done" or not, I may do some sanding/touch up!) However, here is a sneak peak at what it looks like...

(Thank you for your patience!! Here are the finished pictures! :)

A close up - this was a hard chair to paint - even with the primer coat. The wood grain was very deep.

I'm certainly no pro at spray paint, but it turned out pretty cute anyway... just don't look too close! :)

Anyone for a spot of tea?

Thanks for dropping by (or returning if you came back to see the actual "Finished" object!! :) And thank you for joining in on FOF! :)

Sunday Blessing

 

Happy the souls to Jesus joined,

And saved by grace alone,

Walking in all his ways they find

Their heaven on earth begun.

The church triumphant in thy love,

Their mighty joys we know;

They sing the Lamb in hymns above,

And we in hymns below.

Thee in thy glorious realm they praise,

And bow before thy throne,

We in the kingdom of thy grace:

The kingdoms are but one.

The holy to the holiest leads,

From thence our spirits rise,

And he that in thy statutes treads

Shall meet thee in the skies.

by Charles Wesley

(From my new old hymnal.)

More books!!

Thanks for hanging with me for not one, but two book reviews this week! :) I really appreciate the comments on those posts... guess I'm not the only one who loves books! Since this has been a rather "booky" week here on my blog, I thought I would finish up the week with... you guessed it... more books. (Ok. so the blog title was a rather obvious hint, right?) heehee!

 

This week is the semi-annual book sale. I haven't shopped it a whole lot the past few times for some reason. Maybe because *ahem* I kinda have enough books.... (but don't let my hubby hear me say that... oh. wait. ummm.... HI, Mark!!)  But I did find some great books, and I had a little help from Mom and Angie. Of course I helped them find books too so it evens out. :) 

I thought this old hymnal was so unique:


It was published in 1878. Did you notice the unique setup of the pages? There is the music to a tune and under that, several songs that can be sung with each tune. Different than now, right? Mom told me that many old hymnals didn't even have the music, just listed the name of the tune along with the lyrics.

Here are several other books I bought:



I was thrilled to find "The Gift of Psalms." there are three cds in the back of the Psalms being read (select ones, not the whole book...) along with devotional material and prayers. I think it is another wonderful way to fill my home with Scripture!

The other books kindof speak for themselves. :) Have you found any books recently that you treasure? Maybe you have some special memories of some that I found? :) Happy reading!

Mine is the Night

I have read a few of Liz Curtis Higgs' older fiction (one is a favorite re-read!) More recently however, she has been writing historical fiction novels set in Scotland in the 1600s. These stories are modeled after stories from the Old Testament. Funny - although I own the first two books, I've never read them. However, when I saw this book avaliable for review, I decided to request it - and I was glad I did!!

Mine is the Night is a fictionalized account of the story of Naomi and Ruth. This is actually the second half of their story - after their return to their hometown. (The first book in this set is titled Here Burns My Candle.) If you know anything about Christian fiction, you know that there is a huge world of historical books - some better than others. There are a few authors that stand out because they know how to create a story, not just follow a formula. Higgs is one of those authors. Although the story is obviously based on the story of Naomi and Ruth, knowing this fact does not prepare you for all the twists and turns that the novel takes. I certainly don't want to spoil anything for you, so if you like historical fiction and you like good authors, give this book a try!



Another book review this week! I hope you don't mind. This is my first review for Blogging for Books from  WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. They sent me the book for free, but my opinions are my own. :)

Please rank my review here: Thanks!! :) 

How to Be God's Little Princess

Every girl wants to be a princess, right? Well, a lot of them anyway. It seems like princesses are everywhere. But I love the thought that each girl (and woman!) can be a princess because we are a child of the King! That's one thing that initially drew me to this book. That and the fact that I enjoy reading books on manners/etiquette. (I have read basically the whole volume of Miss Manners! Maybe I'm just a little overboard on that one...) I think it's great to install manners at a young age. How to be God's Little Princess by Sheila Walsh is a fun little book for girls, it is illustrated with ink drawings with lots of pink type - in headers etc... There is a lot of fun content in the book - quizzes, crafts, and puzzles. The author presented manners and deportment in a fun, appealing way.

I think this would be a great book for young girls to read, or to go through with mom. I did have a bit of trouble at first, figuring out which age level this book was geared to. The first chapter or two deals with clothing and appearances. I'm not sure that an 8-10 year old girl should be so concerned about looks, although I know that many are. I may have felt better if these chapters were a little farther along in the book, and more time was spent on inner beauty, instead of putting that last. But overall, I thought it was a fun book and a great way to study manners. Of course it wasn't very in depth - but I certainly wouldn't expect a young girl to get through all 700something pages of Miss Manners! :)


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Finished Object Friday

Happy Friday, y'all!! It's been a busy week for me, how about you? My grandmother is safely back in Idaho, and we miss her already! As I said before, I've been spending every spare minute with my family. Blogging has been rather slow as you may have noticed (and I have some things I want to share....) :) and certainly crafting has been at a stand still - although my painting trigger finger has been REALLY itchy!! Maybe next week... :)  But for now, I'm sharing a FOF done by someone else!! :)



I've really been getting into the "hair flower" thing recently. I love adding a bit of color! :) Last week I didn't own quite what I wanted to wear, so I found some of my fabric and commissioned my sister!! I think Angie did a great job! :)
(I took these pictures on my phone... my camera is with my hubby at work... oops.. but I think they turned out pretty good for a phone!  :) Here is a fun "app" version of the flower:



I'm not quite sure what tutorial she used, maybe she'll add the link in the comments later! :) (Hint, hint...)
I can't wait to see what you've been up to! Link up below: