Learning to Watercolor: It's Not Just for Kids {Review and Giveaway}



                              This post is sponsored by FrontGate Christian Blogger Network.  The opinions about how it will serve our home well are my own.



Art class.  Who didn't love it in school?  It was one of my favorites growing up (many, many years ago).

I know my kids love art time during our homeschool routine.  In fact, we pretty must do some sort of art activity every day, whether it be drawing, painting or learning about a famous artist.  At least one day a week though I try to teach them a specific art technique such as line formation, shading and how to even use different types of paints.

Now when it comes to using different types of paints, in order to properly teach them correct art techniques, I researched many types of homeschool "curriculums" or even those sites used by other homeschooling families.  

Watercolor was one of the types of painting that I've seen a lot of different methods on and I actually wanted to learn how to watercolor properly myself.  Watercolor isn't just dipping your brush into water and then dipping it onto the solid circle of paint, but how to blend the paint, using different amounts of water to get the right colors, and more (who knew there were so many different ways to use watercolor and types of watercolor paints).

That's when I found Emily Lex's Creative watercolor classes.  Her lessons are short, less than 10 minutes each, yet a wealth of information.  In her watercolor class, she goes over what types of supplies you will need, proper technique and even how to do lettering with watercolors.  She not only offers classes on watercolor, but also watercolor for kids and a class on penmanship (which is something I will definitely be looking into further).



I was generously gifted the opportunity to try Emily's watercolor class, watercolor for kids, plus two packages of beautiful watercolor painted scripture cards.  Now, I am no pro when it comes to watercolors, nor a pro for any type of art other than my knowledge of a handful of famous paintings and how to do some pencil drawings, but I will honestly say that after watching a few of her videos and applies the techniques, I am LOVING using watercolors.  To me, using watercolors is so much more easier to apply different shades of colors and are more softer in appearance than when using acrylics.  

Oh and don't worry if all you have is the type of watercolor paints you have that are the oval shape and popular in kid's art classes for school.  Just use what you have and can afford.  That is one of the beauty's of art itself - there is no need to go broke obtaining art supplies. 



What I really like about the watercolor workbooks that she offers for learning watercoloring is that you can choose from flowers or animals workbooks.  Each workbook offers a sample lesson with colors used in her example on one page and on the other is a faint outline of the image to help when you paint.  There are also two blank watercolor papers between each "lesson" so you can try it yourself without the outline.  

 




I know that May is literally almost over, but I wanted to let everyone know of an awesome giveaway that Emily Lex is running an awesome May Flowers giveaway for this month only.  

It includes items such as a Farmgirl Flower bouquet, nailpolish, scripture cards and even a $100 Starbucks gift card.  You can find more information and enter in the giveaway at https://emilylex.com/may-flowers-ga.

My hope for all you moms out there is that you find the time in your day to learn and try something new.  I know my watercoloring isn't perfect, but it is something that I find is bettering myself and is actually a lot of fun and relaxing.  





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My New Favorite Cookbook {Review}


This post is sponsored by FrontGate Christian Blogger Network.  The opinions about how it will serve our home well are my own.



Recipe books. I have many of them, all ranging from the classic red and white checkered one we all grew up with, to ones with recipes to help with autoimmune issues, keto, low carb, no sugar, the list goes on and on.  My current favorite cookbook, Recipes From Around the World, is one that I'm not only loving the recipes out of and incorporating them into our geography homeschool lessons, but one that is also for a great cause.

Recipes From Around the World is a cookbook that has been published by Operation Blessing.  Operation Blessing is a great organization that I just recently found out about that offers services such as medical assistance, clean water, food and disaster relief, all over the world and the United States.  Most recently, Operation Blessing has been providing disaster relief to Nashville and the surrounding areas recover from the tragic tornadoes.  You can read more about Operation Blessing on there website here.

To help fund Operation Rescue's efforts, they have created a cookbook, Recipes From Around the World, which contain 34 recipes ranging from breakfast, main dishes, beverages and more, from 15 countries such as Indonesia China, Peru, Israel and many more.

Now you would probably expect to have to pay a lot for this tip of cookbook. I mean, let's face it, cookbooks can be crazy expensive.  But what is really great about Recipes From Around the World is that you can purchase it only by making a donation of any amount to Operation Blessing.  To find out more about donating to Operation Blessing and receiving your own copy Recipes From Around the World, please visit their webpage here.



To help get the word out about Operation Blessing, what they do, their awesome cookbook, or if you are hesitant about donating or even if you just want to sample some of the recipes they offer in the cookbook, you can sign up for 4 recipe cards for free by just providing them with an email to send the recipe cards to you.  You can check those out here!

I know you will love the recipes as much as my family and I have.




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The Perfect Gift {Review & Giveaway}


This post and giveaway are sponsored by FrontGate Christian Blogger Network.  The opinions about how it will serve our home well are my own.



What kind of gift do you give a guy that has everything? He has tools, clothes, things for his car, but does he have something for his faith?

I've been looking for a bible for my husband.  A bible that could be used as a devotional bible, a study bible and one that could be used to just read scripture from, but without all the frills and illustrations.  Then I found the CSB He Reads Truth Bible.  



I have the She Reads Truth Bible and love it, so I knew the He Reads Truth Bible would be a perfect fit.  The He Reads Truth Bible is very similar to the She Reads Truth Bible in that each genre is color coded, each book in the Bible has a short introduction about the book and its author, a reading plan, 66 key verses that are perfect for memorizing, plus so much more.

But most of all, the one thing that I was looking for in a Bible was a Bible that would make it easy to study Scripture and when reading the Word to gain a deep understanding of that passage.  And I know the He Reads Truth Bible does just that.

Here is a short video detailing the He Reads Truth Bible.



I've been blessed to be able to partner with Lifeway and FrontGate Media to be able to giveaway a copy of the He Reads Truth Bible to some lucky ready by entering in the giveaway here.

If you are interested in the He Reads Truth Bible as a gift or even yourself, I have a coupon code for 50% off: HEREADS50.  This code is valid on any CSB He Reads Truth Bible at Lifeway.com until April 1, 2020.




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Newest Devotional to our Homeschool Bible Studies {Review & Giveaway}






This post and giveaway are sponsored by FrontGate Christian Blogger Network.  The opinions about how it will serve our home well are my own.


I'm going to be honest, homeschooling isn't easy.  Making sure one child has meet all the required subjects is one thing, but now that G (who is 4 years old) has started to become interested in learning, I now look for books that an be used to cover more than one subject, thus cutting our school time from almost all day to about 3 to 4 hours total. 

I am always on the lookout for quality books (no twaddle aloud since we are following the Charlotte Mason way of learning) that will hold my children's' attention (and mine) for more than 2 minutes can sometimes be difficult.  We had previously been using pastor Louie Giglio Indescribable as part of our Bible, science and geography, along with some copywork thrown in, it was an invaluable addition to our not only our school work, but also our daily lives.

So when I heard that pastor Giglio had published another book, How Great Is Our God, which is a follow-up to Indescribable, I knew the search was over. How Great Is Our God has 100 new devotions and facts covering topics from weather, plants, planets and even the human body.


The information provided in each devotion consists of Bible verses, a short discussion of the particular topic and "How Great", which is an interesting tidbit of info (which are all quite interesting).

If you would like to add this book to your homeschool or for your child's devotionals, you can find it here, or better yet, enter in the giveaway to win your own copy of How Great Is Our God.






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The Best Christmas Gift to My Daughter



This post and giveaway are sponsored by Tommy Nelson Books and the FrontGate Christian Blogger Network.  The opinions about how it will serve our home well are my own.



As Christmas time is just a few weeks away, the abundance of toys and everything that sparkles and shines are lined up and down the aisles.  My daughter, who is 8, has a long list of toys, games and anything that involves painting, nature and anything "girly," as I'm sure is typical of most 8 year old girls.

But the most important gift I can give her is one that deepens her faith and learning more about God's Word.  This year, I am going to give her the gift that is just that, but still meets her requirements that it has to be pink, shiny and sequined.





The Sequin Sparkle and Change Bible is the perfect gift.  Not only is it very cute, but it also includes a Bible timeline and Bible maps, bonus pages throughout the Bible, such as a list of Bible versus to know, how to study the Bible and how to pray and over 300 highlighted key versus that can be utilized for memorization.

The only downside (if you can call it that) is that I may have to get her younger sister one too, which is ok since there are two designs to choose from - the pink sequined Holy Bible or the blue sequined Holy Bible (suitable for boys too) - both are adorable.






Pictures of this beautiful Bible do not do it justice, but you can check out the below video to see for yourself just how beautiful the Sequin Sparkle and Change Bibles are.



Because I know one of these Sequin Sparkle and Change Bibles would make a great gift for your own daughter or son (of even for yourself), I have been blessed to be a part of a giveaway for your very own copy of the blue or pink Sequin Sparkle and Change Bible by entering at the link below.




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