Book Review :: Pumpkin Patch Blessings by Kim Washburn, illustrations by Jacqueline East

Pumpkin Patch Blessings is a shaped board book, written in rhyme. The cover features green foil accents. 

There are 8 page openings in this board book, focusing on exploring God's creation during the transition to fall, including the experiences of visiting a pumpkin patch. The illustrations in Pumpkin Patch Blessings are cute and are done in a watercolor style. I thought the animals were especially adorable.

For those who may be curious, Pumpkin Patch Blessings does have one page showing a few carved pumpkins - two with smiling faces and several others with carved patterns. There is no reference in particular to Halloween or anything scary. 

Pumpkin Patch Blessings is a cute book - great for sharing with a 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.

Fall Napkin Placecards

Ooooh...isn't it getting beautiful outside?

The leaves are changing colors and the fall weather is finally starting to break through the heat.

When I think of fall...I think of food.

(Or maybe I just always think of food.)

And what is a good meal without some cute decor to spruce up the table? Today I wanted to share these cute napkin ties that double as placecards for a fall meal:

As I was walking through a craft store, those giant wooden buttons just screamed at me to make something with them, and I think they are the perfect way to tie up some cloth napkins (with the help of twine, of course).

On each of the punched tags, I added a name and some leafy branches with some of my stamps, then added just a touch of color with a colored pencil.

The Twinery's Solid Natural twine is so perfect for fall. (But there are lots of other great fall colors available, too!)

Happy fall, y'all!

Supplies: 
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Natural); 
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Rustic Cream); 
Stamps: Ink Blot Shop, LLC (Quirky Alphabet, Floral Frenzy); 
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Coffee);
Colored Pencils: Prismacolor (Dark Brown - PC946);
Tools: Fiskars (Tag Punch - XXL Lever Punch, Scissors);

Book Review :: NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible

The NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible is a new journaling Bible on the market, and a beautiful one at that. 

You may have seen the Beautiful Word Bible in a full-color version previously and thought that it would be great if you could add more of your own personal touches, and this coloring version allows just that. 

In the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible, there are 500 verses featured in line art illustrations throughout the margins (and some on full pages) of the Bible. The line art is generally done in all black, but there are some illustrations that have both black and gray lines. There is also some artwork that has some very light/thin lines, which in my opinion will likely be hard to color...but the majority are a good line weight. 

If you have seen the Beautiful Word Bible in a full-color version, I just want to point out that while the verses that are illustrated may be the same (I only have a sample version of the Beautiful Word Bible to compare), the art is not all the same. Also to note, while the Beautiful Word Bible in a full-color version has colored text headers, this coloring version has all black text (including the headers). Both versions are single column.

You may also be curious how the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible compares to the Inspire Bible that has been so popular as a coloring Bible. In my opinion, the Inspire Bible has more detailed illustrations (very flowery and traditionally beautiful) and the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible has more of a trendy art style. Whichever art style you prefer is going to make a difference in which Bible you might enjoy most for your creative worship time. (If you have a strong preference for a particular Bible translation, that will obviously make a difference as well.)

If you are looking for a journaling Bible and like the idea of having art to color in, definitely check out the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible.

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

Find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here.

Looking for great stamps to use for Bible journaling? Check out Ink Blot Shop, LLC!

Book Review :: Gratitude: A Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal

I usually wait until the end of a review to sum up how I feel about a book, but I am just going to say it up front: the new Gratitude Coloring Journal is fantastic. 

The Gratitude Coloring Journal is sold as a hardcover, but the cover is pretty unique. It is like a paperback book with two hardcover panels on the front and back covers. The corners on the open edges of the book have rounded corners. This unique cover treatment means that the spine is smaller than the open edges of the book. This cover treatment creates a sturdy cover with the flexibility to be able to lay the book open where the pages lay almost flat (perfect for getting into all the nooks and crannies when you are coloring).

The cover is not the only unique part of the Gratitude Coloring Journal. It is also unique in how it approaches the "coloring book" portion of the pages. The Gratitude Coloring Journal isn't all black and white line art as you would find in most coloring books. Some pages have colored backgrounds with black and white line art to color in, some have partially colored designs on the pages (you can fill in the rest), some have colored lines for the artwork (instead of plain black lines), and there are a few pages included where there is nothing obvious to be colored in (the pages look finished with lots of color already). The styling and artwork is just beautiful, and if you choose not to color anything in it will still be pretty to look at.

The Gratitude Coloring Journal uses 2-page spreads for each day. Most of the 2-page spreads feature a short (one paragraph) prompt that is written from the perspective of being to God, from the reader (much like a prayer). These are very short, but still very thought provoking. Like a 30-second kick in the pants. There is also a verse (or verses) to read and some lines to write/respond. The Gratitude Coloring Journal has 41 of the 2-page spreads described above. After a set of three of the previously described 2-page spreads, there is a 2-page spread with a different approach. These spreads have some open, unlined space and a simple prompt/idea on how to use it (some variation of collage, writing, and/or drawing). There are 13 of these spreads. At the end of the Gratitude Coloring Journal is one lined page for notes. If you do one entry per day, this book will take you just under 2 months to complete. 

I have been really impressed with the Gratitude Coloring Journal - inside and out. It is a great book to purchase for yourself or to give as a gift. (I would love to give a copy to each of my friends.) 

Definitely five stars. 

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.