A Magical Color Book

     A dazzlingly beautiful coloring book for all ages, The Time Garden will sweep you away into a whimsical cuckoo clock–inspired world, created in intricate pen and ink by the internationally best-selling Korean artist Daria Song. 

Journey through the doors of a mysterious cuckoo clock into its inky innerworkings to discover a magical land of clock gears, rooftops, starry skies, and giant flying owls—all ready for you to customize with whatever colors you can dream up.

Cuckoo . . . cuckoo . . . cuckoo . . . When the clock strikes midnight, you’ll wonder, was it all a dream?

         I recently recieved a very interesting coloring book. I was really impressed by the details in each picture and how they convey the story they are telling very well. I could have looked through the pictures over and over. I spotted something new every time I went back through the book. My niece and daughter absolutely fell in love with this book. I think the pictures are so beautiful and magical on their own. That I do not want to even color in it. 

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

A Great Start to a New Series

Ties That Bind: A Novel (The Amish of Summer Grove)  is the first book in a new series by Cindy Woodsmall. Here is an synopsis of the book.

     Ariana’s comfortable Old Order Amish world is about to unravel. Will holding tightly to the cords of family keep them together—or simply tear them apart?
Twenty-year-old Ariana Brenneman loves her family and the Old Ways. She has two aspirations: open a café in historic Summer Grove to help support her family’s ever-expanding brood and to keep any other Amish from being lured into the Englisch life by Quill Schlabach.

Five years ago Quill, along with her dear friend Frieda, ran off together, and Ariana still carries the wounds of that betrayal. When she unexpectedly encounters him, she soon realizes he has plans to help someone else she loves leave the Amish. 
*
Despite how things look, Quill’s goal has always been to protect Ariana from anything that may hurt her, including the reasons he left. After returning to Summer Grove on another matter, he unearths secrets about Ariana and her family that she is unaware of. His love and loyalty to her beckons him to try to win her trust and help her find a way to buy the café—because when she learns the truth that connects her and a stranger named Skylar Nash, Quill knows it may upend her life forever.  

   I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and mysterious. I like that it is different than other Amish series that I have read. It focused more on a girl's personal struggle to make something for herself and her family so that her family will stay together in the Amish faith. It also showed her parent's struggle by keeping a mysterious secret from the daughter that they love a lot. This was a quick read that kept me wanting to stay up late at night. It is a real page turner.

    I received this book for review from Blogging for Books.

An Eye Opener

Hiding in the Light

 

“After four years of hiding my faith from my family, I knew that it was time. I wrote with shaky hands, ‘Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I refuse to deny him….’ There was no turning back now. I had to get out of that house if I wanted to live. Was this worth risking everything for? Yes.”
Rifqa Bary grew up in a devout Muslim home, obediently following her parents’ orders to practice the rituals of Islam. But God was calling her to freedom and love. He was calling her to true faith. He was calling her to give up everything.

Leaving Islam for Christianity cost her more than she imagined
but gave more than she could have dreamed.

 

 

    Hiding in the Light was an eye opening story about Islam and its followers. It shows readers the dangers of the Islamic religion. It is a quick read that the reader will not want to put down.

 

I thought this book would be just a story of someone escaping Islam. But it turned out to be a whole lot more. I was scared but cheering for Rifqa Bary.  It must have been hard to live in a home where you are constantly hiding your love for Christ. But knowing you must or you would die. I was amazed that a girl so young could be so courageous. I do not think I could have been so brave.

 

It also made me realize that there is hundreds of Islamic people who are wanting a way out of Islam but they do not know how to get out.

 

Instead of looking at Islamic people with a critical eye I wonder how many are really wanting and craving to know Christ as their Savior.

 

Here is some links to know more about Rifqa Bary

 

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/241833/hiding-in-the-light-by-rifqa-bary/

 

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/223991/rifqa-bary/

My New Creation

 I made another outfit last week. I tried a couple of new patterns and one old one.

First  I found a tutorial on Pinterest for ruffled shorts and a big bow by MeSewCrazy. They turned out real cute. The tutorial called for the bow to be in the back of the shorts. But since I was making them for a doll and not  a baby I liked the bow in the front. The ruffles were a little time consuming. I had to figure out how long the ruffled pieces were going to be and then how to sew them on so they covered one another. That was a real chore. For this reason alone I probably won't be making them again. Sometimes patterns are only good to make one time. Other than that the shorts went together real easy. I used different techniques I learned from other patterns.

Next I used Forever 18 Not for Knit Tee pattern for the shirt. I thought it was really plain so I added a placket with buttons and pockets on the front of the shirt. I used the same material that I used for the ruffles to break up the shirt and shorts. It turned out really cute. I really enjoyed using this pattern. It will definitely be my go to pattern when I want to make a shirt out of cotton material.

Finally I used a new pattern by Sofie Clareese Fashion Sofie's Ankle Strap Sandals. The longest part of the pattern was waiting for the soles to dry. The pattern called for Glossy accents 3D clear embellishment by Inkessentials. It is supposed to make the soles hard. I have dried my soles for 48 hours twice now and they still have not turned hard. The hardest part of the sandal was gathering the vinyl . Vinyl just does not want to be gathered. I like the concept because the sandal edges turned out so smooth. Now that I know what I am doing gathering vinyl is becoming easier. I used this on a pair of boots. You could tell all the difference. I think the next time I make these sandals I am going to add Velcro to the straps instead of using an awl. I think it will be easier that way.

Here is the pictures of the completed outfit.

 

 

Three Reasons I Could Not Finish This Book

Here is a synopsis for the book "At the Wood's Edge".


At the wood’s edge cultures collide. Can two families survive the impact? 

The 1757 New York frontier is home to the Oneida tribe and to British colonists, yet their feet rarely walk the same paths. 

On the day Fort William Henry falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is beside himself with grief. His son, born that day, has died in the arms of his sleeping wife. When Reginald comes across an Oneida mother with newborn twins, one white, one brown, he makes a choice that will haunt the lives of all involved. He steals the white baby and leaves his own child behind. Reginald’s wife and foundling daughter, Anna, never suspect the truth about the boy they call William, but Reginald is wracked by regret that only intensifies with time, as his secret spreads its devastating ripples. 

When the long buried truth comes to light, can an unlikely friendship forged at the wood’s edge provide a way forward? For a father tormented by fear of judgment, another by lust for vengeance. For a mother still grieving her lost child. For a brother who feels his twin’s absence, another unaware of his twin’s existence. And for Anna, who loves them both—Two Hawks, the mysterious Oneida boy she meets in secret, and William, her brother. As paths long divided collide, how will God direct the feet of those who follow Him?

This book started out exciting. It captured my attention when the Major replaced his dead son with another baby. After the first chapter I started losing interest for three reasons. The first was the Majors wife continual hostility toward everyone except for her son. The second was the flow of characters wasn't very smooth. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. The third reason was the old language. I found it very dry and hard to follow what the characters were saying. 

I am sure that others would like the suspense of whether the Indian mother would find her son and if the Major's wife would find out the real truth of her son. But this was just not enough to hold my attention.

Sleepy Time

I tried a pajama pattern by My Angie Girl. It turned out really cute. I used some scraps of oriental material I had left over. This pattern was very well written with lots of step by step pictures. This is great for me because I am a tactile/visual learner. 

I once again used this pattern as my base idea and then added my own touch. I get a lot of inspiration from different boutique childrens clothing companies. I added a big bow beneath the yoke and added a button in the middle of the bow. Instead of a ruffle I added ric rack to the bottom of the top and to the little bottoms. I also added little bows to the side of each leg. 

 I made my own slippers using two different patterns. I wanted to make clog type slippers instead of full house shoes. I couldn't find a pattern I liked so that is why I combined two. I used the same material as the pajamas. I also added invisible elastic to keep the slippers on. I might add some little bows to the sides. I think they look a little plain. I read a hint to use a paintbrush to paint fast tacky glue for shoe construction. It was a little slower than hot glue. But I was able to manipulate the slipper where I needed to. Plus I didn't get burnt fingers. 

Here is a picture of the outfit and shoes.

An Inspiring Story

One woman’s fight to provide hope for the hopeless…
Seven ex-cons who changed her heart forever…

For Brenda Spahn, entrepreneur and businesswoman, wealth was a lifestyle—until a brush with the law threatened to send her to prison. In those dark moments, Brenda made a promise to God.

Spared incarceration, a renewed Brenda glimpsed into the lives of women serving time in one of the worst places in America—the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama.

What she saw prompted a God-inspired vision.

With a heart to help and a will that couldn’t be crushed, Brenda fought the system and overcame tremendous obstacles to take ex-cons into her own home and help them navigate the alien world of life on the outside.

This is the story of Brenda’s journey from rags to riches to redemption. It’s the story of the first unlikely year of her "Whole Way House" and of the extraordinary lives of the first seven women who came to call her "Miss Brenda." It’s a story that testifies to the power of faith and how God changes hearts every day.

________________________________________________________________

I loved this book a lot. It inspired me not to look at people through my eyes. I need to look at people with the love of the Lord.

I loved how Brenda Spahn was so transparent in her life and her writing. She had me laughing, cheering and crying for these sweet ladies, herself and her family. I could relate a lot to her different experiences with being frustrated and asking God to cover her in His grace.

This book was a very easy read. It was a relatively short but very impactful. I hope Ms. Spahn will write a sequel. I would love to see how much her ministry has grown and how it is impacting the people around the world.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Click here for link.

Click here for author's biography.




 

Another Creation

   I love the patterns by All Dolled Up. I am able to take the basic pattern and make my own creations.
   I took All Dolled Up McKenzie and made a peasant dress out of it. This pattern is really a shirt and skirt pattern. But I made it a dress. I added elastic around the mid part of the sleeve. It was supposed to be in the hem part of the sleeve. I added pockets with bows and a placket with heart buttons to the front of the dress. I also added bias material to the elastic part of the neck and sleeves. 

  The headband was made with elastic crochet. The bow was made with the Clover Petal Maker. I added a button to the middle of the flower. I made the shoes from Miche Designs Anchors Aweigh pattern. I loved how fast these shoes went together.  I added green bows to the side of the shoes to bring out a little bit of color and to match the buttons on the dress and bow.

  I loved the way I made this dress because it stretched my thinking. I really do not like the material I used with this dress. Because I feel like the material was too busy. I also will not be using the canvas I used for the shoes. Because it stretched and the soles did not fit the bottom of the shoes. 

  Susannah wanted to model the outfit this time. Here is some pictures.

A Touch of Spring

  I made a dress that shouts spring. I used another little girls dress from Goodwill. The pattern I used was Matilda's Closet Twice As Nice Spring Dress. I made this with my own twist again. I added pink gingham elastic ruffle in place of the yoke from the pattern.  I then added a pink gingham border on the bottom of the dress I added a little green flower motif with a ginghan button.

   I also made little bloomers from an old 1970 doll Simplicity pattern. I added green bows on the legs. I did this to tie everything together. I also made a pinwheel bow. 
    
   I probably will make this dress again. It was easy to make. We will see what it is like with the yoke that the pattern calls for. I would like to make it shorter and pair it up with either shorts or leggings.

  Here is Sophia Grace modeling this new outfit.

New Outfit with a Twist

I finished another doll outfit. I used All Dolled Up's 1st Day of Summer pattern. I loved this pattern because it was well written and easy to follow. But I thought it looked a little plain. So I added a strip of material around the waistband. I also added a placket with buttons down the front of the top. I made these to tie in with the shorts. The material I used was an old Ralph Lauren dress which I picked up at the Good will. I probably will make the arm straps longer next time. I don't like how it fits off the shoulder.

I also used All Dolled Up's free pattern for sandals. I made small bows to add on the front of the shoes. These were very quick and easy. I hot glued everything. It was nice I didn't have to sew anything.

I made some twisted boutique bows  to tie the whole outfit together. Here is the pictures of Sophia Grace wearing it.

A Wonderful Book

 I just read a really good trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall. It is called Hope Crossing.  The book is a series of stories about persevering, overcoming obstacles and enduring no matter what happens in life.

 Hope Crossing starts out with woman named Cara and her daughter on the run from a stalker. Cara remembers going to an Amish community with her mom when she was little. That is the only place she can think of going for her and her little girl to be safe. Cara is accused of being a drunk and a thief. But she finds a friend name Ephraim who is willing to be shunned from her.

 Hope Crossing trilogy moves through different people's lives in the Amish community. It shows their different problems and people who are willing to stand by  them.

  I really liked this trilogy. It was a good story. I was afraid that it was going to be another Amish romance story. But I liked how Cindy Woodsmall brought in other elements than romance. It kept me interested from beginning to the end.

Another Busy Week

     In our life this week we had something going on every day. Tom had his caretaker in three days this week. His physical therapist came and evaluated him on Tuesday.

     In our homeschool this week we had a short week. Brendan is almost done with his Geometry. Maggie is moving along. All of Maggie's school curriculum is finally working for her.   I think we have found our groove.

     My homeschooling advice is if you find that something is going well. Don't try to fix it.

     The places we went this week was to Goodwill, out to eat and Brendan went fishing. The kids went to church with my parents on Wednesday. We went to church for Easter service. It felt good to be in church again.

     My favorite thing this week was my 45th birthday. David and the kids gave me cards. My Brother in Law gave me twenty dollars. David surprised me with another American Girl doll.  I named her Sophia Grace.

    I have been working on several projects this week. I have made a 1940 swim suit. I am trying to finish up another one. I also worked today on Maggie's room. We got rid of a lot of things. Hopefully we can finish up the rest of her room.

    I am reading several blogs on sewing for dolls. I am also reading a trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall. I will be writing a review soon.

    I am praying for my son and daughter in law to be saved. I am praying for my other son. I am praying for different people in my life who I am trying not to have bitter feelings against.

Blast From My Past

   Today I was at the Goodwill. I found a bag with doll clothes for 2.00. All I wanted out of it was the little straw hat for my dolls. Imagine my surprise when I opened the bag and found doll clothes and shoes that I remember from when I was young. 

   Fisher Price used to make a doll named Mandy. That is whose clothes these were. I was so excited. I might just have to find a Mandy doll now. 

    I am always so excited to find good bargins. Here are some pictures. 

New and Old Patterns

             I have made a new and an old pattern. Let's talk about the new pattern. It is called Kotton Candy's Teacher's Pet. It is a really cute dress. I made it with a little pair of leggings. I thought it gave it a different look. I also hand embroidered a couple of flowers on the collar. I loved this pattern because it was written so well and was easily made. The leggings were by Liberty Jane. I made them capri length. They turned out cute. I also made some Mary Janes by Love U Bunches. I added some little yellow beads to bring out the yellow in the flowers on the collar of the dress.

        The old pattern is the Chic sandals by Miche Design.  I made the other day for Susannah. I said I would never use them again. But I hate to give up. So I made the pattern smaller. They turned out really cute. I am glad I tried them again.  

   If you click on the pictures you can see all the details.


    Here is some pictures of the outfit and shoes.  

An Eventful Week

    We had quite a week. My sister, husband, niece and nephew were in town. We are always on the go when they come here. I miss my sister a lot. 

     I didn't get to go a whole lot with my sister. But they were kind enough to take my children while I stayed at home with Tom.

    Wednesday night my father in law Tom accused David of not giving him his sleeping pill again. But we have caught on to his game. My father in law has been a prescription addict for years. As is normal with an addict he will think of very way possible to get extra drugs. But we didn't give in. Thursday morning my FIL decided he was going to take it out on me. He started by being a bully and pushing. I finally had to tell him to go to his room to cool off. 

   It hurt me later on when I found out he was gossiping and calling me names. I was feeling resentful toward him. I called him out on it. He apologized and things for now are good. 

   David finally had a day off today. We had a wonderful Easter remembering Christ's sacrifice for us. After the Easter service we went out to eat with my parents. We then went back to their house to pick up the lawn equipment my dad gave us. Then David and I went shopping for sewing things I needed. 
We returned home where David finished his homework and I finished sewing another doll dress. I will post pictures when I am done with the complete outfit. 

   We rounded out the evening eating leftovers and watching Monsters University as a family.

    It has been a good week filled with fun and drama.

Organizing

I just finished organizing all of my patterns. It took me two whole days. But I found all kinds of patterns I had forgotten I had downloaded. Now I need to get some funds to buy material to go with these patterns. I am so grateful for an understanding and supportive husband.

Susannah's New Shoes

    I tried a new shoe pattern today.  The shoe pattern is Miche Design Chic Sandals. I like sewing most doll shoes. But I don't like putting them together. This pattern was especially hard to put together. They were hard to make tight enough to fit the dolls foot. The instructions were to put a piece of tape on the bottom of the dolls foot. Then fit the shoe to the tape. The tape wouldn't stick to the material. When I was done putting the shoes together, they wouldn't fit my doll's feet. They look cute on Susannah when she is standing.

   I don't think I will be making these again. If I do I will be doing some things different. Here is a picture of Susannah wearing her new shoes.

Another Day

Today was a better day. Tom seemed to settle down some. We had a new caregiver come out. This has been our 5th caregiver. I dont know if they aren't paid enough or they are bored at our house. We don't expect a lot out of them. Hopefully this will be Tom's permenant caregiver. Tom also had his physical therapist come out today.

 Tom seemed to be more unbalanced today. His physical therapist and her supervisor will be coming to the house to evaluate him later on this week.

 It is not the easiest thing to be a caregiver. I know why people tend to place their parents into rest homes. But I believe that God calles us to help the orphan, widow, widower or anyone else in need.

Life

     It has been a long time since I have written on my blog. Life has been crazy since my last post.

    In August my mother in law was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. I spent all of August and the first two weeks of September caring for her 24/7. Terry went home to be with the Lord September 14.

    She and I were not close for all the years David and I have been married. But that last month we became extremely close. It was the first time I have ever lost anyone close to me.

      In October my father in law moved from a rehabilitation hospital to live in our home full time. It has been a whirlwind.

      It is so hard to care for someone who mentally thinks he is independent but physically is not. I feel like I am more his mother than his daughter in law. Most days it is very easy to care for him. But other days he is near impossible to live with.

      God has been good to our family through our grief and challenges. But sometimes a person wonders why all this is happening.