Crafty Moms Share: September 2017

Halloween Glow

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

With the dark and spooky aspects of Halloween it is the perfect time to check out glow products. Kids love things that glow-in-the-dark or light up. And it is great for them to have something when they are out in the dark trick-or-treating. Oriental Trading has some great glow products for reasonable prices!! This summer we reviewed Premium Glow Necklaces for some of our family nighttime fun. All of the kids and many of the adults loved having them at our events. Plus we loved putting them on the kids and knowing where they were playing in the dark.

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It is time again for Sharing Saturday! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts. So glad you joined us!!

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.

Baby Chomper's Bath Time -- Making the best of any situation

Disclsoure: The Children's Book Review and Jeff Minich sent me this book are paying me a small stipend for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Does your child fight you about taking a bath? My nephew was terrified of getting in water when he was young (from birth). It can be such a struggle when a child fears a bath. I honestly remember trying to get my nephew to swim with us in a lake on an extremely hot day, but he would not get into the water. He would go right up to the edge of the water but never quite in it even with his mother already in it. A book that may have helped is the sixth book in the Nuggies Books. It is Baby Chomper's Bath Time by Jeff Minich. This book comes out November 7th!

Oh Susannah! Things that Go Bump -- Facing Ones Fears

Disclosure: The Children's Book Review and Carole P. Roman sent me a copy of this book and is paying me a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

What is your child afraid of? Is he or she like Hazel with many fears? The second book in Carole P. Roman's Oh Susannah series is perfect for new readers who have fears. We shared the first book in the series here. The second book is Oh Susannah: Things that Go Bump by Carole P. Roman and illustrated by Mateya Arkova.

Cheap Doll Finds -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these items in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. All printables are free but for personal use only. If you would like to share them, please use a link back to this post.

I have not done a cheap doll find post in awhile, but I decided it was time. One of my favorite places to look is Oriental Trading. They have so much for parties and crafts and if you are creative you can find some great items that work for dolls. I always start by searching "miniature" or "mini". I will admit Hazel and I have been checking things out for awhile since she is planning on having an American Girl themed birthday party this year. It was going to be a Beforever themed party until she got Saige as a hand-me-down. For the birthday party we knew we wanted to get the Mini Neon Tote Bags, so we will start with these. Hazel set up the scene as her dolls having a slumber party. The tote bags work for the girls to bring her things for the night. At Hazel's party they will be for the dolls to bring home their favors (and we are planning on getting the matching Neon Tote Bags for the girls).

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Happy Autumn (or Spring for those in the Southern Hemisphere)!!

Be sure to check out the autumn lunchbox notes I shared the other day!! There are some religious ones and some non-religious ones. They are free to download!!

Color Snap App - a Relaxing Friday Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This week's Relaxing Friday is a coloring book more aimed at kids. It is Color, Snap, App! by Claire Fay.

Exploring New York and Its History with Books & More

Disclosure: Candlewick Press sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Last week we explored the history of our home state, Massachusetts. This week we are sharing a bit about New York with some books and a couple of visits. We are lucky enough to have my best friend living in Westchester County. The past six months Hazel and I have visited her twice. Both times she was kind enough to take us into New York City for some sightseeing. To go with our visits we are sharing two books today. The first book is Lady Liberty A Biography by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Matt Tavares.

Free Fall Lunchbox Notes Religious and Non-Religious

Can you believe autumn starts tomorrow? I always like to include a note in Hazel's lunchbox (and one in her snack bag), so I made some with autumn themes. I also made some religious (Christian) and some non-religious so you can pick and choose.

New chapter books for grades 1-3

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

Today I am sharing some books for our beginning chapter book readers. The suggested ages for these books are grades 1 through 3. I will introduce the books in order of easiest to read to hardest. The first book is Joe and Sparky, Party Animals! by Jamie Michalak and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.

Crafty Weekends Link Party

This week I only crafted at work so I am going directly to the link party. I can't wait to see what you have made this week.

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party!! It was a bit small with the holiday weekend, but 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. 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.

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A Look at Massachusetts and Its History

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

This year and last year Hazel's social studies unit is on the history of Massachusetts. As a result I have been gathering all the books I can find with a connection to our home state. (The truth be told I'm gathering books about all the states so I can expand our knowledge on each of them, but more on that below.) We also spent time doing some of the historical things in our area and looking at some of our past adventures. So today I am going to share two books about famous Massachusetts residents and share some of our adventures. The first book is Imagine That! by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.

Picture Books that Make You Feel Good

Have you entered my giveaway for a 16 x 20 canvas print?

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

Today I am going to share with you five new picture books that make you feel good when you read them or have the overall theme of making the world better. Don't we all need that in our world. We will start with How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

It's a Small World Felted Friends -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Have you entered my giveaway for a 16 x 20 canvas print?

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Tonight I am sharing a fun needle felting book. It gives instructions to make miniature needle felted animals, buildings, and other things that make you think of certain countries. It even includes a mini flag garland. The book is It's a Small World Felted Friends by Sachiko Susa.

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.

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This week our main focus was the start of Hazel's third grade at a new school and she loves it!! It feels so amazing to hear her talk about how much she is enjoying school and likes the kids in her class. She posed in many different ways for her first day pictures and never would have done this in the past.

First Day of Third Grade

Christian products

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

Wow, I cannot believe it is already Thursday!! This week is flying by. We have spent it getting ready for school and having Hazel's first (and now second) day of school. Guess what? She LOVES her new school!! I am so relieved and happy for her. All week I have been thinking about writing this post but my attention has been drawn in too many directions to write these great products the proper review, so I am going to do it now. I will start with these great Halloween Tract from Let the Children Come.

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.

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Can you believe it is Labor Day weekend already? Where did this summer go? Well before you go off to the beach or barbeque be sure to share with us and check out this week's features!

It is time again for Sharing Saturday! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts. So glad you joined us!!

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.