A Dress for the Father Daughter Snow Ball -- a Crafty Weekend Review and Link Party

Hazel and Steve went to the Father Daughter Snow Ball this weekend. Back in January Hazel asked me to make her a dress for it. I like making her a  dress because I can control it a bit and make sure it is age appropriate and modest. Let's face it the fashion out there for tweens is not always age appropriate and it is hard to find if it is. Therefore, I'm happy to make her something. We looked at patterns on line and then I pulled out my supply that I have stocked up when they go on sale at Joann Fabrics and she picked Simplicity 8271 view B.

Picture Book Extravaganza

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Are you ready for the holidays? I know there is a saying that says one gift they can wear, one toy gift and one book gift. The next couple of weeks I am focusing on books and trying to clear off my recommendation shelves. Today I am starting with the picture books. There are books in this grouping for the very young to the older lovers of picture books. I am  going to share them by age group as best as I can, so if you are looking for picture books for older kids, scroll down. Are you ready for our picture book extravaganza? 

Fairy Mom and Me

Disclosure: Penguin Random House sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Looking for a entertaining middle grade novel that has lessons about patience and working together and family? Fairy Mom and Me by Sophie Kinsella and illustrated by Marta Kissi is a great one and it is perfect with Mother's Day coming up!

Creating Historic Style Doll Quilts for Beforever Dolls

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

 This past week was school vacation week here and Steve took the week off as well. We spent a long weekend with my parents and had some family time including a trip to the American Girl Store. My parents gave Hazel the retired American Girl Doll, Kirsten, for Christmas and gave her Kirsten's bed (well a homemade version my mother found on-line) for her birthday. My mother told her she would make a quilt for the bed with Hazel. My mother and I picked out a set of farm style precut fabrics for Kirsten's quilt. Her bed is blue with a heart cut out off the ends and berries and leaves painted on it. Her story is from the 1850's and she was an immigrant from Sweden and her family moved to the prairie. Her quilt was a patchwork quilt. (Something like this charm pack would also work.) Hazel has been making 9-square quilts for awhile, so she was excited to make a patchwork quilt for Kirsten. My mother took the big precut squares and cut them into quarters. Then Hazel and Kirsten began to arrange them on batting.

Christmas Fun -- a Merry Monday Review

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Well today I am going to share our final Merry Monday review. I have saved some great ones for the end. Is your child counting the days until Christmas? I know Hazel is. She is so excited and anxious for the holidays. Today's products and free printable games will be perfect to help calm her a bit or at least distract her. Our first book is Christmas Paper Play by Lydia Crook. 

What I Am Thankful For This Year -- Happy Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving I thought I would share what I am truly thankful for this year. It has been quite a year with many changes in my life as well as my family's. In many way this post is my own reflection or journal entry, but there are many things that I have been thinking about sharing here, so it is the perfect time to do it.

The first thing I am thankful for this year is my family. We have had a tough year with the choice to pull Hazel from her school in April and homeschool her for the rest of the school year. Then finding a new school for this year. Can I just tell you what a difference finding the right school makes? She wants to go to school now. It is not a fight every morning to get her moving and to school. In fact she gets upset if we are running late. 

Within this great choice also came new friends for Hazel. This has been huge for her. Her classmates are supportive and caring. They are not competing and putting her down like her previous ones. The entire school is full of people who are more down to earth and caring. The environment is homier. It is a wonderful place for her and I love visiting the school and helping out there. 

The next thing I am thankful for is my family and how we made the choice for me to quit my job at Paper Source. I loved my job there. It was truly my happy place, however due to a staff shortage my hours increased to a level I could not keep up with my family responsibilities. I have worked almost every weekend since June and I just couldn't continue that and be the mother and wife I want to be. I am thankful that I can stay at home and be the mother and wife I want to be without really worrying about finances. Let's face it everyone tends to have some struggle, but I know we will be fine without me working. I feel so blessed because of knowing that. 

I am also thankful for my sisters, parents and mother-in-law. I love how close they are with Hazel. Hazel's favorite thing is to be with family. She truly loves them all and wishes she could see them more. I love how excited she gets to see each of them. 

I am also thankful for you, my readers. I love having this place to share our activities, favorite books and products and ideas. I hope you enjoy them as well. And for now I wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Saving Marty -- a Wonderful Middle School Book

Disclosure: Penguin Random House was sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Today I am going to share with you a book for middle schoolers that had me engrossed. The book is Saving Marty by Paul Griffin. Lorenzo Ventura is eleven and he lives with his mother and grandfather. His father died in the war. His best friend is a Colombian Korean American girl who wants to be a famous singer. His mother is always worried about money and keeping the farm. They live in rural Pennsylvania. When his mother sells the pigs that a neighbor left with them

Board Books, Lift Flaps, Pop-Ups and More

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Yesterday I did a mega review of picture books!! There is one there for everyone, so be sure to check it out. Today I am going to share new board books, pop-ups, lift flaps and more!! These are some fun books, so be sure to check them all out. We will start with a simple board book for Halloween. It is Peep and Egg: I'm Not Trick-or-Treating  by Laura Gehl and pictures by Joyce Wan. 

Photo Canvas from Canvas Factory Review & #Giveaway

Disclosure: Canvas Factory sent me this canvas of my photograph free of charge and is providing the giveaway prize in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Some links in this post are affiliate links where I will receive a small payment for your purchase at no cost to you. 

I know summer is over. Hazel is back to school, and she loves it. However I am still trying to capture the summer memories. We went on a family vacation in July to North Conway, New Hampshire. This year we went up to the summit of Mount Washington. It was our first time going. We took the guided van tour offered by the Mt. Washington Auto Road.  It had been suggested to us as the best way to get up by an employee at the Mount Washington Weather Discovery Center and Gift Shop. We loved it and would definitely recommend it. So I wanted to use one of our photos from our trip for our canvas print. My first idea was to use a family photograph from the summit. However we needed to crop it and the quality was not good enough. When it was cropped it was perfect for a portrait canvas. 

Summertime Family Fun

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Can you believe summer began yesterday? We are getting ready for some fun family gatherings this summer. Hazel and I head to my parents for the Fourth of July since the fireworks are visible from my parents' deck and there is a fun parade in their town. My parents have the best view of the fireworks on their street so they invite their neighbors to come watch from their deck. There is always a group of adults and kids showing up to watch, so this year I thought it would be fun to have some activities for the kids while we are waiting for the fireworks to begin. My mother also hosts a family reunion for her siblings (she is one of five), their children and grandchildren. I always am her event planner/assistant hostess. Since I am one of thirteen in cousins and most of them have at least one child now, I figured it would be good to have some games and activities to entertain the kids and families at the beach and the dinner she hosts. So for these two big family activities we turned to Oriental Trading for some great summer and patriotic things to entertain the guests. After all they are a great place to turn for all summer and party needs.

Picture Books with Lessons & Fun

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

I have to make a confession. I have an awful problem. I am a book hoarder and I'm teaching Hazel to be one as well. And the worse thing is I haven't been sharing them with you. My review shelves are overflowing so I am going to be sharing several groupings of books the next few days. For now I am going some picture books which have interesting lessons and one is just fun. The first is the second book in the Growing With God Series by Janis Cox, Kingdom of Thrim. 

Multicultural Children's Books -- Mutlicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Scholastic gave me a copies of these books free of charge for this review in return for an honest review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

 Today I get to share with you three books from one of the Platinum Sponsors of Multicultural Children's Book Day. We have had so much fun with these books. We will start with The Granddaughter Necklace by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. 

Getting Ready for the Real Christmas

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

Yesterday I was the storyteller in our church's Goldy Play classroom. I got to share with the kids the first two weeks of Advent since the kids will be upstairs in the service for the second week. (Click here to see the Godly Play story of Advent.) As I told the kids about the mystery of Christmas and the busyness of people at this time of the year I realized that my early holiday preparations that I have been sharing since the beginning of November are so my family has the time to prepare for the glorious mystery of Christmas. My shopping is mostly done and my holiday cards are just about ready to mail, so now I can slow down and enjoy and reflect on the season. I have even shared some new Advent books that are also calendars and the gifts I bought for Hazel's big Advent calendar. Today I am going to share five books that help us focus on the true meaning of Christmas. The first three books are part of a series by Arnold Ytreeide. I reviewed the newest one last year: Ishtar's Odyssey. This year we get to read the other three books in the series. Jotham's Joruney, Bartholomew's Passage and Tabitha's Travels. Hazel was so excited to read one about a girl so we started with Tabitha's Travels and have been reading it each night. She LOVES this story!!

Imaginative and Fun New Picture Books -- Book Reviews

Be sure to check out my on-line Thirty-One Review & Party!! Get all your summer organizing essentials!!

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me copies of these books free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Are you looking for some new fresh books to spark your child's imagination? Today I am going to share two new books from Penguin Young Readers that do just this. The first is for the younger kids who like the humor in There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. The book is Me and Annie McPhee by Olivier Dunrea and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. 

Baby & Sibling Fun -- Book Reviews

Be sure to check out my on-line Thirty-One Review & Party!! Get all your summer organizing essentials!!

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copies of these book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own, and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

As we enter our summer I think about family. Summer to me is a time for family. It is when our family reunions happen or have happened and when I had more time to spend with my siblings. It is also when we took our family trips. Today I am going to share three books with you. The first is about a baby (gorilla) and the other two are about siblings and their relationships with a bit of a twist. First we will start with Who Woke the Baby? by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Charles Fuge. 

What the Fun?! -- A Book Review

Have you entered my current giveaway for a custom canvas print?

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

What do you really want for your children? One of the most important things to me is for Hazel to be happy and healthy. Well the best way to help that to happen is to create more fun in your family's life and Donna Bozzo has over 400 simple ideas to help you do this in What the Fun?! 

Princess Hazel -- I See Me! Personalized Book Review for National Princess Week

* Disclosure: The Gymboree and Little Passport links in this post are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Disclosure: I See Me! Inc.  gave me a copy of this book and ornament free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Did you know there is a National Princess Week every April? It is always the last full week in April. It started in 2012 when Julie Andrews, Target and Disney joined together to create it. Julie Andrews's website says "Believe in yourself! Only then can you truly let your sparkle out for all the world to see." (Source) The website also has a post of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Princess Week.  We chose a fun way to celebrate and started a bit early. I See Me! sent us the Princess Personalized Book. All I have to say is Hazel was really excited when it came! 

Animals Help Deliver Important Messages: Would a Worm Go on a Walk? & Busy, Busy First Look Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Worthy Ideals. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Today I get to share with you two new books that use animals to deliver important messages to children. The first book is a religious book that delivers the message that God created animals to do what they do and His masterpiece is you. The second book's message is that no matter how busy a mother is she always has time for a snuggle with her child. 

Would a Worm Go on a Walk? by Hannah C. Hall and illustrated by Bill Bolton is a picture book that has animals doing funny things like the worm on the cover walking with sneakers.

Mango, Abuela, and Me -- Book Review & Craft

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

What happens when a faraway grandmother comes to live with you and share your room? And what if she does not speak the same language as you? How are you going to get to know her? This is the storyline of Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina and illustrated by Angela Dominguez. 

My Mother's Quilts -- First Look Review

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Worthy Ideals. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Quilting has taken on its own art form, but originally started out of necessity. They have been used as gifts, as signs and communications, to record stories and as maps. They have held a very special place in my heart. My mother started quilting when I was in elementary school. Her first quilt was a sampler--where the blocks are all different. There was a square with three sun bonnet sues in different sizes to represent me and my older sisters. There was a square with a man using a transit to represent my father. This quilt was on my parents bed for years. My sisters and I all want to inherit it though my mother says it is threadbare.