Book Review :: M is for Manger by Crystal Bowman and Teri McKinley, illustrated by Claire Keay

M is for Manger is a book with a unique approach to the Christmas story. It is an alphabet book, each page with a letter of the alphabet and a corresponding part of the Christmas story written in rhyme. 

Each page opening has a large letter and illustration on the left-hand side (similar to what is shown on the cover image), and a portion of the story and a Bible verse are on the right-hand side. The Bible verse for each letter is taken from either the NLT, ICB, NIrV, or GW version of the Bible.

With the cute illustrations, rhyming text, and the Christmas story all rolled up in this unique alphabet book approach, M is for Manger is a great choice for any bookshelf.

FTC Declaration: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: Faith Builders Bible, NIrV

The Faith Builders Bible is sure to be a hit with any LEGO/brick/building block loving child. (Disclaimer: This Bible has no specific affiliation with LEGO or any other building block company, to my knowledge.) My sons (ages 6 & 9) were trying to claim it as their own as soon as it entered our house.

The Faith Builders Bible is the New International Reader's Version (NIrV) version of the Bible. The NIrV is a simplified version of the NIV, written at approximately a 3rd grade reading level. The NIrV is composed of smaller, easy-to-understand words in shorter sentences than the traditional NIV.

The Faith Builders Bible has all black text (including headings and the words of Christ), laid out in two columns. The text is standard size - not large, but not extra small. There are no study notes or footnotes in the Faith Builders Bible, just strictly Bible text. Within the text, quotes from other places in the Bible are cited directly (in parenthesis) after the quote. (Example: John 3:3 has a quote from Isaiah 40:3.) There are no maps like you might find in many Bibles. 

At the back of the Faith Builders Bible are two study helps: a 5-page dictionary (words & definitions, but no verse references) and lists compiling 92 "Great Bible Stories" (with verse references). The "Great Bible Stories" lists would be great to use for monthly reading plans. 

The "flair" of the Faith Builders Bible comes in with the full-color pages that are placed throughout the Bible. (The pages are a bit thicker than the text pages.) At the beginning of the Faith Builders Bible is an insert containing the presentation page, a two-page "Building With Books of the Bible" spread, and a "Can You Build..." page. 

The "Building With Books of the Bible" spread shows all of the books of the Bible, grouped by category (Law, History, Poetry, Gospels, Letters, etc.). I loved the idea that is shared on this page - to write the name of each of the books of the Bible on a brick and then stack them in the correct order. There is also a "Building Block Verse" found on this page (which are also found on every insert page, including the presentation page). 

The "Can You Build..." page has three verses and simple building projects (no instructions included), along with another "Building Block Verse".

Each insert throughout the text in the Faith Builders Bible is a full-color (front and back) page. Each of these has a brick depiction (brickpiction?) of the topic, a little portion to read about the topic, and a "Building Block Verse". Here are the topics covered in the inserts:

- Noah Builds an Ark

- Animals 2x2

- Building the Tower of Babel

- The Ten Commandments

- Building the Tabernacle

- Solomon Builds God's Temple

- Bringing Down Jericho

- Samson's Demolition

- David Defeats Goliath

- Psalm 23: A Psalm of David

- Jesus is Born

- Feeding a Crowd

- A Change of Heart (Zacchaeus)

- Jesus Walks on Water

- The Last Supper

- Jesus and the Cross

- The Lord's Prayer

- The ABCs of Salvation

- The Fruit of the Spirit

- Building with a Strong Foundation

I liked that the topics covered on the full-color inserts in the Faith Builders Bible aren't necessarily what would typically be pointed out in a children's Bible (stories like Adam & Eve, Jonah, etc.) - it gave a unique perspective for this Bible. I also liked that in the topic discussion it often (but not always) prompts the child to try to build a scene with their bricks. With all the things kids can build with their LEGO collections, a Bible scene is certainly a great suggestion. 

The Faith Builders Bible has the basics you need, with the extras that will draw in a variety of children. I think any brick-loving child would love to have this Bible. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher and/or the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Thankful Jars (& Free Printable!) {The Twinery}

Can you believe how quickly Thanksgiving is approaching?! I was totally caught off-guard recently as I realized that Thanksgiving is next. week. 

I wanted to come up with something cute to decorate with, and I wanted it to be something simple enough to share (and re-create) with my daughter's Girl Scout troop.
Enter the "thankful jar":

No, the idea of a thankful jar isn't new, but...well...it's another reason to decorate a mason jar! (And I sure love mason jars - don't you?)

I decorated two different jars - one feels a little more "Fall" and one feels a little more "Winter" - but I was just going for variety and fun colors.

It was a simple process: wrap jars with glittered burlap, add a pop of color by wrapping with The Twinery's twine, stick in a few paper leaves, and finish it off with a twine-tied button. 

I used The Twinery's Solid Caribbean and Solid Strawberry twines on these jars, but there are a lot more solid and striped options to choose from!

The point of the thankful jar is to add in little notes of what you are thankful for, so I created this printable to coordinate with my jars:

{Click here to get the FREE printable - for personal use only}

Do you do a thankful jar (or some other "thankful" tradition) for Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear about it - just leave a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Caribbean, Solid Strawberry); 
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye;
Tools: Fiskars (Squeexe Punches, Scissors); Tim Holtz (Tiny Attacher);

Book Review :: Thankful by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Archie Preston

Thankful is a sweet children's picture book, written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Archie Preston. 

Throughout Thankful, the idea of thankfulness is paired with what a particular person in a career (or hobby) might be specifically thankful for. (For example: a doctor is thankful for patients who are well.) I thought this was a sweet way to talk about the idea of thankfulness and make it personal. With the ending of the book (sorry, spoiler alert!) it says "I'm ever, so thankful...for you!" - so this would make a perfect book to give as a gift. 

The illustrations in Thankful are cute and a little bit quirky. It reminds us of the illustration style of Quentin Blake, which our family loves. The illustrations seem to follow a brother and sister (pictured on the cover) as they "act out" the different vocations that are talked about in the text. The illustrations brought giggles out of my 6 year old, who read this book to me.

All in all, I think that  is a fantastic book to share with the little ones around you.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Reviews :: Samantha Sanderson Series by Faithgirlz! - At The Movies, On The Scene, and Off The Record by Robin Caroll

The Samantha Sanderson series is written by Robin Caroll and currently has three available titles: At The Movies, On The Scene, and Off The Record. There is a fourth novel slated to release in February of 2016: Without a Trace.

Samantha (Sam) Sanderson is the daughter of a journalist and a police officer. Sam wants to be a journalist like her mom and is off to a good start because she is on the staff of the middle school newspaper. In each book in the series, some sort of mystery arises and she tries to solve it with the help of her best friend, Makayla. (Her dad is usually involved in some way, too.) Sam likes to write articles for the school newspaper about the mystery at hand.

In At The Movies, someone has planted a bomb at the local movie theater and Sam's dad is on the case...but so is Sam.

I asked my 11 year old daughter about this book and she thought it was interesting and she enjoyed the mystery. Of the three current books, At The Movies is not her favorite, but still she has read it multiple times. She says that at times it can be hard to follow along with the story, but that doesn't stop her from reading it and recommending it to others her age. 

In On The Scene, someone is playing tricks on on of Sam's friends and Sam is determined to help her figure out who the culprit is. 

I asked my 11 year old daughter about this book and she thought it was interesting and she enjoyed the mystery. She enjoyed reading On The Scene and has read it multiple times. She says that at times it can be hard to follow along with the story, but that doesn't stop her from reading it and recommending it to others her age. 

In Off The Record, a virus has been planted in the school's grading system and Samantha and her friend Makayla (who is great with computers) are trying to get to the bottom of it. 

I asked my 11 year old daughter about this book and she thought it was interesting and she enjoyed the mystery. She enjoyed reading Off The Record and has read it multiple times - it is her favorite in the series. She highly recommends it to others her age. 

I know for sure my daughter is excited to read the new Samantha Sanderson book, Without a Trace, when it is released in early 2016.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: The Legend of the Christmas Cookie (Sharing the True Meaning of Christmas) by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by Richard Cowdrey

The Legend of the Christmas Cookie is another book in a long line of "The Legend of..." books by Zondervan/Zonderkidz. The Legend of the Christmas Cookie is written by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey. Dandi Daley Mackall has authored over 450 books and Richard Cowdrey has illustrated a large number of books, the Marley series being the most popular.

The Legend of the Christmas Cookie is a hardcover book with a dust jacket (the window frost on the dust jacket is embellished with glitter), and is written with the 4-8 age group in mind. (On the back flap of the dust jacket there are recipes for "The Original Christmas Cookie" and "Chocolate Crinkles".)

Like other "The Legend of..." books that I have read, The Legend of the Christmas Cookie is a story within a story. This story follows a boy (Jack) as he learns about the origin of Christmas cookies and how the original Christmas cookies were used to both feed hungry people and tell them about the Christmas story. Through the story of the Christmas cookies, the boy (Jack) learns about the importance of helping those less fortunate and of telling the story of Jesus to others. The illustrations in The Legend of the Christmas Cookie are big, colorful, and beautiful to look at.

What I love about The Legend of the Christmas Cookie is that a child is prompted to share the good news of Jesus' birth with a stranger. I think this is a great example for children.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: The Beginner's Bible A Christmas Celebration Sticker And Activity Book

The Beginner's Bible A Christmas Celebration Sticker And Activity Book is a 16 page activity book with an insert of over 50 reusable stickers. The pages in this activity book are full-color (with the exceptions of the images that are intended to be colored in by the child).

I would say this would work best for 4-7 year olds. There are a range of activities such as:

• basic coloring
• seek and find pictures
• counting items in a picture
• spot the differences between two pictures
• connect-the-dots (numbers 1-10)
• a simple maze
• finding stickers to complete the pictures
• color-by-number
• a simple word search

The pages in The Beginner's Bible A Christmas Celebration Sticker And Activity Book each have a different theme, following the Christmas story (the events surrounding the birth of Jesus). 

I am very impressed at what you can get for under $4 retail. The full-color pages are fun to look at even without the activities, and the activities and stickers just add to the fun. I think that The Beginner's Bible A Christmas Celebration Sticker And Activity Book is a great value and would be a great gift for any little one. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: The Berenstain Bears, The Very First Christmas by Jan & Mike Berenstain

The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas is the newest of The Berenstain Bears books. The Berenstain Bears books are instant classics, as far as I am concerned. These are books that I grew up reading and the new books in the collection keep in line with the Berenstain legacy. The Berenstain Bears books are books that exemplify moral character, and I appreciate that. This particular book is a great additional resource where children can hear the Christmas story.

In The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas, Papa Bear reads the story of the very first Christmas to the bear cubs. After the introductory page where it shows the bear family getting ready to read, it is just the story of the first Christmas - illustrated in true Berenstain style. (There isn't even a closing where we come back to the bear family. The story just ends.)

On the inside of the back cover, there are questions and activity suggestions for those who would like to take it farther than just reading the book.

All in all, I think The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas is a nice addition to The Berenstain Bears books...and a great book to share with young children to help celebrate Christmas.
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Handmade Holidays - Stamped Monogram Napkins

With four kids, let's face it...I don't have a lot of time to get my craft on. Quick and easy handmade gifts are right up my alley, and recently I have really enjoyed giving hand stamped cloth napkins. These are perfect for hostess gifts, neighbor gifts, gift exchanges, gifts for your child's teacher...

The process is fairly simple - start with plain cloth napkins. (I prefer cotton napkins.)

You will want to make sure that you are using a permanent, fabric safe ink - you don't want your work to wash away with the crumbs! Then just ink up your stamp(s) and stamp straight onto the napkins and heat set.

For this set I went with a monogram, but any stamp will do. 

Once you've got your ink heat set, it's time to get it "wrapped". I prefer to keep my hand stamped napkins the star of the show, so I simply tie up a bundle of stamped napkins with some of The Twinery's twine. (I used Solid Charcoal for this set.)

Since I already had my stamps on my block, I went ahead and created a quick coordinating tag - this gives you a small space for a quick note to the recipient.

Easy, peasy, and ready to go!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Charcoal); 
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Liz Hicks Alpha, Blossoming Thoughts & Wishes - March 2015 Sentiment Kit);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);

Handmade Holidays 2015 {Blog Hop}

The Introduction:

If you are hopping along with us today: Welcome!

If you aren't already a follower, I'd love to have you follow my blog!

If you are on Facebook, please "like" Ink Blots by TRD.

If you are one of my regular readers: Thanks for coming back! I love having you! Please feel free to join along in the hop - you can start at the Clearsnap blog.

The Gift:

I'm excited to be part of this year's Handmade Holidays blog hop! I've participated in the past and have always enjoyed it. You can see some handmade gift ideas I've previously shared here.

When it comes to the holidays, generally I've got gifts for family taken care of. What I generally have the hardest time deciding on is gifts for our neighbors and church family. Last year, I opted for Salted Caramel Sauce in a mason jar. Yum! 

This year, I'll probably go for another edible gift, like this Lemon Curd:

I love to package it up in little mason jars - because, really, who doesn't love mason jars?

This Lemon Curd is eggless, gluten free, delicious, and easy to make. (Bonus - you can easily make this vegan by using vegan butter.)

Is the word "curd" difficult for you to swallow? (Pun intended.) That's okay - just call it Lemon Topping or Lemon Sauce!

Here's what you'll need:

Most Lemon Curd recipes are complicated and easy to mess up - those eggs can make it tricky! I love the simplicity of my one dish, egg free Lemon Curd. Just toss it all in a saucepan or pot and cook over medium heat until it has started thickening. (Be sure to stir or whisk it so it doesn't boil or burn.)

Once the Lemon Curd has thickened, pour it into some small canning jars. (Or, if you are like me and need to "test" it first, pour it straight on some fresh-from-the-oven scones.)

For neighbor gifts, just pair it with a bag of scone mix:

I used Solid Pink Sorbet baker's twine from The Twinery to decorate my Lemon Curd mason jar and bag of scone mix.

Don't worry if scones aren't your (or your neighbor's) thing. Lemon Curd is delicious many ways: on ice cream, mixed in to some plain yogurt, on (or in) crêpes, on pancakes, spread on toast...or you can just eat it straight out of that cute little jar. 

Thanks for stopping by today - and happy holidays!

The Hop Order:




The Giveaway:
Before you move on - don't forget about the giveaway! This collection of over $600 in craft supplies will be sure to help you make this holiday handmade. Enter to win using the widget below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review :: I Want To Be Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook by Stephen Elkins

The Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook is a unique approach to a devotional style book for little ones. Rather than focusing on stories (Jesus calms the storm, Jesus heals a man, etc.) the Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook focuses on 40 character traits of Jesus (Jesus worked hard, Jesus had a pure heart, Jesus showed love, etc.). I am not sure "storybook" is the appropriate label for the Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook - it would be more correct to call it a "devotional", in my opinion.  The majority of the Scripture quotations in the Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT), but I believe I also saw one from the New International Version (NIV).

In the Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook, each character trait of Jesus is made into a short section.

Each of the 40 sections contain the following 4 pages:
- Title page (showing a picture, a Bible verse,  and "Jesus _____"...announcing the characteristic of Jesus that will be talked about)
- "Jesus in the Bible" (how the character trait was displayed in Jesus' life)
- "Jesus in Me" (how the character trait can be displayed in our life)
- "Prayer for Today" (a short prayer)

I love the idea of focusing of Jesus' character in this way and think that the Just Like Jesus Bible Storybook is a great way to share more about who Jesus is (not just the stories) with little ones.
FTC Declaration: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.