Itchy for Etsy

Sewing and Snowing.

Itchy for Esty.

Aches and Pains.

Hobbies with the Hubby.

That, my friends is what has been going on in my uneventful little life ...

And I love it all!!

Well, all except for the aches and pains.

Friday night, there came reports that we would get snow - and lots of it!

I admit. I was beckoning big beautiful snowflakes to come knocking on my door, and pile up just like I pile blanket after blanket on my side of the bed on cold nights. Ok .... every night.

And come Saturday night, those big, gorgeous, flakey snowflakes did indeed begin to grace my whole world with their presence.











On that first picture, that's actually the sun peeking through the clouds, although it looks like the moon!

Anyway, we got about six to eight inches, church was canceled ... and I was officiall snowed in with my hubby. And what better way to make use of a snow day than to have your hobby and hubby surrounding you?

So ... we sat around and enjoyed each other's company, watched the football game, and broke out the hobbies. Reading and football for him .... sewing for me.

Here's some pics of what I put together. Only this time, there was no floating involved. ;)

Tissue holders galore!!

They make some pretty cute stocking stuffers, don't you think?

However, I think I made a few too many. And I've been itching to start an Etsy shop ...So I did just that!

If you'd like to visit, just click here. And no laughing at how scarce the shop is. Remember ... I'm just starting! Although ... I do have some pretty cute ideas as to what I will put in my shop next.

Just to get rid of the itch.

So bookmark my shop, and come back often, ya' hear? Yeeeeehaw!!!

As for the aches and pains ...

I've been doing nothing but hurting for the last two and a half days. All my joints, my ear, my spine ... all of them ache and ache bad. I'm also very exhausted and can't seem to get up off the couch, and have been sleeping a lot. Today, I have some joints in my hand that are red, itchy, swollen, and aching. I've come to the conclusion that it's either the swine flu, or I'm having some sort of autoimmune attack. I've had these arthiritis symptoms before, but never to this degree. I have no fever, am able to drink and eat just fine, so I'm not too worried. I'm just ready to be done with it!

And on that achy breaky heart note, I will bid you adeiu!

But don't forget to visit the shop! If I get enough views of my tissue holders, I may very well just give a few away, right here on Prairie Tales!! So go clickety click click click on each of the tissue holders that catch your eye and get a bigger view of them. Now behave yourselves, and please don't click over and over just so I will have a giveaway. Remember ... I have eyes in the back of my head and can see you doing that.

Don't mess with the Prairie Mama! :)

Happy stocking stuffers shopping!

~Brenda

Toddler Bible Winner

Everyone join me in saying a big Congrats to Toni over at The Happy Housewife for winning the Read and Share Toddler Bible!

She's a fantastic blogger, homeschooler, mom to seven children, and frugality specialist (makes me tired just typing all of that out). So hop on over there and give her a little love.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated, and helped get the word out about this giveaway! I truly wished that I could give one of these books to each and every one of you.

Toni, please email me your contact info at Tuppermom77@yahoo.com, and I'll send the book and DVD asap style!


~Brenda

Book Review and Giveaway!

***Contest is now closed.

A few weeks ago, I decided to sign up to be a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson.

You know ... because I don't have enough little projects going.

But this is my way of getting myself reading books more faithfully. Plus, I love to give things away, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. So if you love books too, then check back in once in a while to see what book I may be giving away next!

The first book I chose was a little out of my league.

See?

Not out of my league in that I couldn't understand it, obviously (that is obvious, right?). But out of my league in that I don't have any toddler children. Still, it looked like such a cute book, and I know a lot of (uhmm, some) Mommy's read my blog, so I couldn't resist.

Wait, what was I doing?

Oh yes - book review! Here's my official book review for this adorable Toddler Bible:

This Read and Share Toddler Bible is graced with adorable illustrations (by Steve Smallman), and easy to understand stories for your little ones (by Gwen Ellis). It begins with the Old Testament, followed by the New Testament - an excellent way of helping parents get their toddlers accustomed to the way a "big person" Bible is laid out.

Each new story also gives a Bible reference. I believe this is a critical feature, as it will begin early recognition of books of the Bible and where each story is found.

Each story was easily understandable, and laced with a strong Biblical truth. Everything from learning to be kind through the story of Joseph and his brothers, to learning about God's faithfulness through the story of Noah and the Ark (and many more!) are in this new Toddler Bible.

Also included are helpful parent suggestions (crafts, hand motions, etc.) after each story, some of which are practical, others simply suggest that the parents verbally reinforce the story. While I found most of the suggestions to be very helpful, there were a few that I would refrain from using - mostly because they didn't fit my personality.

All in all, the Read and Share Toddler Bible is a great way to start your toddler learning about God's faithfulness, our sin, what God has done for our sins, and getting ready for Jesus to return. I would definitely be thrilled to have it if I had young children.

The 60 minute DVD that is included is also helpful (and adorable!), and will help your toddler learn and grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior ... even at a young age.

Now I see you jumping up and down, and hear you saying, "Yippeeee!! How can I win that book for my toddler?"

Glad you asked!

I thought about requiring you to either join my blog, tell your friends about this giveaway, tweet about it, post on your blog, or better yet, all of the above! But honestly, I don't like it when people do that to me, so I'm not going to do that to you. I figure if you like my blog, you'll join my blog! If you're excited about this giveaway, you'll tweet yer little heart out, and post it on your blog. So - it's up to you! All I really require is that you let me know what you'll do with the book (will you give it to your grandchild, read it to your own child, give it to a lady in your church or neighborhood?), and leave contact info (all by leaving a comment) so I can let you know you are the winner!

I do reserve the right to take your name out of the pile if you tell me you'd like to have it, but your kids probably won't sit still long enough to read it, and therefore it will be a dust collector.

So good luck, my sweet Lovely Lurkers! If I have over twenty entries, I'll use an automated system to choose the lucky winner. If I have under twenty, it'll be the ol' draw it out of a hat trick.

Now get this show on the road and leave a comment!

Winners will be announced when ... when ... when I say so!

~Brenda, the bossy lil' book reviewer on the Prairie