Cute, Fun & Informative Animal Picture Books

 

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

Who doesn't love a cute animal book? Little kids usually love animals and today I am sharing a round-up of new picture books focused on animals. And with the state of the world right now I think we all need some cuteness and fun to distract us. The books feature cute puppies, baby animals and dinosaurs and all three books are from National Geographic Kids, so they are full of photos and more. We will start with So Cute! Puppies by Crispin Boyer. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5.

1880 Mary and Laura Doll Dress -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Hazel and I discovered the Little House on the Prairie re-runs on Hallmark Channel awhile back (and unfortunately they are not on anymore). She fell in love. We also started reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. She loves them!! She also wants a dress and bonnet like Laura's for herself and her dolls. Well in August Pixie Faire's Friday Freebie happened to be Thimbles and Acorns 1880 Mary and Laura 16" and 18" Doll Clothes pattern. Since September is National Sewing Month I figured it was time to do some sewing and decided to make this dress. I found some green fabric with a small print on it that would work in my collection. Hazel is determined that Laura always wears green though I keep pointing out that she isn't wearing green on the show.

God's Eye Geometry and a Crafty Weekends Link Party 2 Weeks Long!

Last week I shared about Easter in Bermuda and the Bermudian kites reminded me of fancy God's Eyes. It got me thinking about God's Eyes and making some. I looked on-line and there are plenty of tutorials out there like this one over at Crafts by Amanda.  

Spot a Lot Vehicle Adventure Book Review

Have you entered my current giveaway?

Disclosure: Parragon Books sent me a copy of this book 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.

So recently I became a Parragon Books Buddy. They are going to send us a picture book each month to review. This month's book is Spot A Lot Vehicle Adventure by Steve Smallman and Nicola Slater. I have to admit when I saw the title I was thinking it would be a book we would read, review and pass on, however when we got it Hazel fell in love with it! Usually vehicles are not really her thing, however she loves to play "I Spy" and loves this book as a result. 

Summer Craft Supplies -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products free of charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Looking for ideas of things to do with your kids on those bad weather days this summer? Or perhaps just some things to keep your kids using their creative juices and crafting? Now I am sure you know about Oriental Trading and their fun party supplies and perhaps even their various craft kits, but do you know they also sell craft supplies? Hazel and I checked out their craft supplies together and picked some out to share with you. We chose some basic supplies like paints and washi tape as well as some things to use the paints and washi tape on like frames, a tray, diy journal kits and diy rubber ducks. We have been having fun with all these craft supplies as well as some we already had. 

Crafty Weekends Labor Day Weekend

Since it is Labor Day Weekend here in the United States I am not reviewing anything today and unfortunately between my work schedule and getting Hazel ready for the school year which starts this week, I have not been doing much crafting. So we are going straight to the party. 

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party!! It was full of amazing crafts! Below are some features from the party, but this is just a small sample of great ideas shared! This week we have one group of features. 

Make Your Own Zoo -- Crafty Weekends

Disclosure:  Ryland Peters & Small sent 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.

We are definitely having a crafty weekend at my house. Hazel and I finished up some of the fun zoo animals from Make Your Own Zoo by Tracey Radford and worked on some Christmas gifts as well as doing the free craft at Lakeshore Learning. 

 This post however will focus on our zoo animals and this great book. Hazel was so excited to get started on these. She actually tried to make some herself, but got a little confused. It is definitely kid projects but a six-year-old needs some help with them. We of course had to make the flamingo.

Krazy for Christmas -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this product to review free of charge. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.  The links 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!

Now we all know that Krazy Glue works great at fixing broken things. In fact it is Steve's go to glue for fixing all the broken toys and things in our house. And I used it to fix Hazel's clay ornament that she made in her arts and crafts class at school the other week. The trunk of her Christmas tree fell off and her Christmas tree was her favorite ornament she made.

Sharing Saturday 13-30

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week! If you have not had a chance to check them all out, you really should. I will share here a few of my favorites and the most clicked to help inspire you!! I hope you will take the time to check them out as well as visit some of the new shared posts this week.

Crafty Weekends Link Party

We had our last week of school and a very busy weekend here!  Therefore I do not have a craft or craft product to review with you, so we are going straight to the party. However I am looking for some participants in a USA postcard swap.

Felting with Crafty Felt Products -- A Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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

Recently I heard from My Crafty Felt to see if I would review her wool roving or needle felt kits here and I agreed. She recently opened her Esty store and is selling a very high quality wool. She is in Europe but ships worldwide. I know here in the United States I often have trouble finding good needle felting supplies so I am very excited about this. After looking at her selection I asked to be sent the Nudes with one change. Instead of the Black Coffee I wanted Soft Blanket because I knew I wanted to try to replicate an ornament I saw at Target. I wanted the Nudes because I am always looking for good skin tones to make people and currently Hazel wants fairies!! We are getting ready for her fun fairy tea party for her birthday party. So my first crafts were fairies.

Vacation Week Crafts - a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing 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.

This past week was Hazel's spring break. We have had quite the week and a half. The last week of school included Hazel's class's Easter play and my parents came to see her and celebrate Easter with us early. Then my sister came to go to the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday with us. Then we celebrated with my mother-in-law on Easter Sunday. On Monday we headed to the American Girl Doll Store Boston (which is not in Boston). Hazel had saved almost enough to buy herself a doll. We loaned her the last $30 since we were going. My plan had been to take her so she could really decide which doll she wanted. Seeing the dolls in person helped her really decide which were her top picks. Some that had been top picks fell off the list in person. After a bit of thought she decided on Kit Kitteredge. She LOVES the books about Kit, so I thought this was a wonderful choice.

Sewing School Fashion Design -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: We were sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Welcome to Crafty Weekends!! Life here has been busy, but I have exciting news. Starting tomorrow Hazel is an official writer/book reviewer here at Crafty Moms Share. Since I have gotten so behind on my reviews and many of the books are for Hazel's age level (or younger) she is going to start writing her own reviews. The first one will be published tomorrow!! So please come check it out!

Today we are sharing a book that is written for tweens. It is from our favorite kids' sewing series--Sewing School. This one is Sewing School Fashion Design by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle.

Simple Cloth Daisy Doll Book Review

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

Disclosure: Search Press 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. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

So just before Christmas Hazel informed me she wanted a soft doll that looked like her so she could sleep with it. Now I have all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, so it was out of the question. Then I received a copy of Simple Cloth Daisy Dolls by Wenche O. Steensen. I knew I would make her a doll so I could write a proper review of the book.

Spring Cards with Origami -- Crafty Weekends Tutorial and Link Party

I have had an itch to do something creative on my own. Then I fell in love with a sample card at work which featured an origami dress made with a mint green flowered wrapping paper. I bought a sheet and got the instructions for the dress. I also have been wanting to make a bunny card with Easter approaching. Let's start with the origami dress. After finding a few tutorials because I found one step of the instructions confusing, I decided I liked this one the best. It made the confusing v-neckline the easiest.

Me and My Sewing Machine -- a Crafty Weekends Review and Link Party

Disclosure: C&T Publishing sent me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Purchasing items from some of these links provides Crafty Moms Share a small percentage at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Have you been crafting this week? Most of my crafts this week were restricted to crafts to use in Sunday School. I was home with a sick child and Steve was sick as well. It was not a pleasant time, but everyone is feeling better now!! As a result I don't have any crafts to share, but am going to review Me and My Sewing Machine by Kate Haxell. 

Light Box Arts Creations -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Light Box Arts sent me a voucher to create this light box on their site in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Confession time, I am not a very good drawer.  When I try to draw or paint I am never happy with my work. However I am excellent at using computers to create fun artwork. I am also a great cutter and paster. So when Light Box Arts asked if I would like to try out their new Design Yours feature on their site, I jumped at the opportunity. 

Light Box Arts offers pre-designed light boxes as well. There are many different categories like Attitude, Vacation, Inspirational, Kids, and more. These are fun and beautiful, but I was excited to make something personal. I thought a personal light box would be perfect to celebrate our 11 year anniversary this summer. I got to work. I Googled for some ideas for anniversary quotes and found "Once upon a time I became yours and you became mine and we will stay together through both the tears and the laughter because that is what they call happily ever after." I loved it and wanted to add it to our wedding picture. 

Father Daughter Snow Ball and Valentine's Day a Crafty Weekends Review and Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Having the right school really means so much to a child. I am glad we have finally found the right fit for Hazel. One of the things she loved at her previous school was the Father Daughter Snow Ball. Her new school did not usually have one, but this year we started that tradition!! Her old school called it a Snow Ball but decorated for Valentine's Day. Our planning committee decided to decorate like a winter wonderland and I turned to Oriental Trading to help us do this. With white Christmas lights that I bought after Christmas when they were on clearance and decorations from Oriental Trading as well as few borrowed from people's Christmas supplies we transformed the school into a winter wonderland. As the girls and their fathers walked in they were greeted with "falling" snowflakes.

Crafty Weekends

This week I am not ready to write a review of one of the craft books. Most of my crafting this week happened at work, and I did not get a chance to get a picture. So this week we are going straight to the party!!

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at last party!! It was full of creations and inspiring ideas!! Below are some features from the party, but this is just a small sample of great ideas shared! This week the features are in three groups: Decorative & Useful, Fabric Crafts and Paper Crafts. 

Also remember for your child-oriented crafts, activities, lessons, etc. Sharing Saturday is going on!! For any cultural related posts (diversity and/or multicultural as well) be sure to share at the month long Creative Kids Creative Blog Hop. 

Joyful Stitching - a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: C&T Publishing gave me this ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I will receive a small stipend for purchases made through the links in this post. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? Last week we shared a wonderful resource for any sewer. Today we are looking at a different type of stitching--embroidery. The book today is Joyful Stitching by Laura Wasilowski.