Free Gift Wrapping and Free Shipping on "Across the Ocean" This Week!

Now is the perfect time to gift my book to the princess in your life. This week and next, you'll receive  an autographed paperback copy, free shipping, and free gift wrapping for a total of $5.94. Simply use the codes GIVEJOY or WELCOME16.

 "I was late to a meeting because I couldn't stop reading your book. I had to see how it ended especially after the surprise twist in chapter 16!"

"My daughter is writing a fairy tale because you inspired her. You are the best author she's ever read and she has a love for fairytales now... she hated them before. Her words!"

"Excellent fairy tale! Loved it! Beautifully written."

"You have another Father, Penelope. He is the King. You are a Princess, His daughter. You will find Him... across the ocean." 

After hearing these words, newly-orphaned Penelope suddenly finds herself set upon a quest that even the fairy tales she grew up on could not have prepared her vivid imagination for. A magnificent ship upon a vast ocean, a charming prince who spins timeless legends, an ancient scroll hidden within a secret room--all begin to weave together a mysterious tapestry as Penelope is thrust into her new life as a kitchen maid in an ancient castle. As she slowly falls in love with a handsome prince who cannot marry her because of the law of all fairy tales, she wonders if finding her true inheritance will be enough. 

Find it at Educents here. Remember, don't forget to use the code GIVEJOY or WELCOME16! And if you need anything else, remember you save 15% on your entire purchase with free shipping!

GeoSmart Toy Giveaway: A Universe of Building Fun for the Holidays!

My kids all love construction toys and magnets. GeoSmart has combined the two and come up with something awesome!

There are 10 different magnetic construction sets in the new line by GeoSmart... some of which are even remote-controled! We had an opportunity to review the Lunar Rover which is super cool.  The prices range from $29.99 to $139 for a 100 piece set. You check the whole collection out on Amazon.

The Lunar Rover has 30 colorful, geometric pieces and comes with an idea guide to inspire more creativity and get the brain juices flowing. My son hasn't seen this one yet--it will be under the tree on Christmas!

 

All of the GeoSmart toys have great reviews on Amazon! Add one of them to your wishlist just in case you don't win the giveaway...

  One of you will win the Solar Spinner!  Ends 12/9/16 at the stroke of midnight!

  Special thanks to the wonderful people at KidStuffPR and GeoSmart for providing us with these goodies to review and give away!

Fun Learning Gifts from Miniland Educational #PreschoolersGiftGuide

Miniland Toy Company has a new variety of fun toys for toddlers that are perfect for helping them practice their fine motor skills! My kiddos had a blast on this beautiful winters day trying them out.

The Flex Dino Lacing kit comes with adorable dinosaurs perfect for mixing and matching. Ideal for ages 3 to 6, my older daughter even had fun with them. She's eager to help her little friends with them when they come over to play next time!

The Flexi Bugs are very similar and come with 8 plastic, bendable pieces to attach with nuts and bolts. Very easy for little hands, they also inspire creativity. Your child can bring the bugs to life by screwing their bodies together!

My son loves the Flexi Tech set and I was very impressed with all the pieces it came with! They were challenging and are Put together parts, nuts and bolts and build a race car, a crane or anything you can imagine. Combine the flexible parts with the rigid parts and develop your limitless creativity. It comes with a booklet of ideas. I definitely recommend this one for any little boy of around 5 or 6!

The Flexiland toys from Miniland Educational are marvelous. Sturdy, well-made, inspiring growth and creativity, they're our favorite items for Preschoolers this holiday season!

Special thanks to the wonderful people at Miniland for providing us with these toys to review!

Parents Choice Toy Awards and a Gift Card #Giveaway for Manhattan Toy!

The Manhattan Toy Company sells nine of the top, award winning toys to gift this holiday! You may have seen my MiO review, which won the Golden Toy award. This time around, I had the opportunity to review The Storybook Castle which is along the same lines as the Playful Dino award winner above.

The Storybook Castle is a wonderful play table that has four quadrants of castle-themed activities--gliders, gears, bead runs, snapping crocodiles, knights in shining armor and princesses... all to support motor development.

The Storybook Castle is made of solid wood and was very easy to put together. I wish I had had it when my children were younger! We'll be gifting it to a needy family this year and I know their little one will love it! It is just filled with things to do!

All of Manhattan Toy Company's offerings are always of the highest quality. Everything we have from them has been second to none. I can't wait to see what they feature throughout 2017!

Ends Dec 9 at 11 pm (US only) One winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at Manhattan Toy where shipping is free! 

Special thanks to the wonderful people at KidStuff PR and Manhattan Toy for this review and giveaway opportunity!

Bible Journaling Kit Giveaway!

I am thrilled to have started bible journaling with this new kit by Worthy Publishing. It came with everything I needed to get started--colored pencils (the awesome twist-up kind you don't have to sharpen that seem to last forever), tabs to mark your illustrations, a black journaling pen, word and alphabet stickers, and a pouch with an adjustable strap that fits any bible. You can find it for sale at Christian Book Distributors, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

I love how my first evening of bible journaling went. It was so nice to spend time with God, creating a little illustration for one of my favorite verses. Everytime I look up at his stars, I am amazed! I love to go outside late out night, sit under the stars, and pray, so this was the perfect verse for me to begin with.

I love how the straps on the case are adjustable. And I also love the verse on the cover. Another one of my favorites. As you can see, my bible is well-loved and well-worn! And now it is going to become a place to show my love of God's word through art. Even if you don't consider yourself good at drawing, there are some great tutorials on how to do bible journaling "if you aren't an artist" that sound wonderful! Just Google them!

 

Who wants to win a fun, crafty way of learning more about Jesus? One of you will receive a Bible Journaling Kit to help you do just that! Enter below by 12/9 at 11 pm. Plus, there's an extra way to win! The company is hosting their own giveaway at Share These Books where 5 more people will win so enter there after you enter here!

Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Homegrown Collective Review and Discount: Our Favorite Subscription Box of 2015! Who willl win for 2016?

One thing that's made my family's life richer is experiencing things we've never tried before.  I've found that one of the simplest ways to do that is with subscription boxes!  Our favorite box of 2015 was our Homegrown Collective Box.  Who will win for 2016? Coming soon!

The kiddos and I had so much fun making our own soap with Homegrown Collective's "Let Us Make Soap" subscription box!

As you can see, the box was packed full of high-quality ingredients and tools: 3 different melt and pour soap bases, 3 different essential oils (peppermint, lemon grass, and cedar wood), an all natural loofa, a dropper, 3 soap molds, wood stirs, charcoal, a Ball canning jar, organic cacao powder, spearmint, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks.

For my first soap, I decided to use the clear soap base and add cocoa & shea butter, and delicious natural honey (I ate a spoonful and added another to the soap).  I also melted the white soap base and poured it on top.

First step: melt the soap base at 10 second intervals (mine took 30 seconds).  Melt the cocoa and shea, also, and stir about a tablespoon into the soap base. I also added a tablespoon of honey from Holly's Little Farm.

I made a rosemary and spearmint soap, too.  All of them turned out so pretty and smell amazing.  I can't wait to use them!  Especially the honey/shea soaps as I included the luffa with them.  Luffa soaps are incredible!

For the kiddos soap, we used the goat's milk and added a bit of lemon grass essential oil.  We poured the melted soap into various candy molds we had in the junk drawer.  The smaller soaps took about an hour to dry; the bigger ones about 2.

Aren't they awesome?! And they smell amazing!  The kids were thrilled. We loved our soap making experience.  One of my very favorite subscription boxes ever and we have tried so many!

Sign Up and Get a Discount

Every month, Homegrown Collective sends a different themed Green box.  You can get free shipping on your first box with the code GREENSHIP! 

Special thanks to the wonderful people at Homegrown Collective for providing us with this review and giveaway opportunity!

10 Subscription Box Co.'s That Send Free Boxes to Bloggers AND Pay Commission on Every Sale

 The following companies send free SUBSCRIPTION BOXES 
to bloggers. Simply send them an e-mail request once they approve you as an affiliate. You also make commissions for any sales you bring in. Enjoy!

 

BuluBox
Book of the Month

 Bonjour Jolie  
Indigo Art Box

 Hatchery

 Love Goodly

GlobeIn

 Homegrown Collective
Mighty Nest
Brusher Club 
 

For more companies that send free items to bloggers, see the post here where there are over 60 organized by type. 

Christmas Treats for Your Pooch... A Turkey and Cranberry Artisan Biscuits Giveaway!

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag of Lucy's new Vita Bone Turkey and Cranberry Biscuits was the incredible smell. Never have dog treats smelled so yummy! I'm telling you guys, these smell just like my favorite turkey and gravy. I knew she was going to love them!

Yes, yes, cookies in bed! Lucy is spoiled. What can I say? How cute is she, munching on her new treat in her bows that match the packaging?

The new Vita Bone Turkey & Cranberry biscuits were perfect for Lucy for Thanksgiving... and they'll be perfect for your pooch for Christmas! There are also 2 other new kitchen-inspired flavors of treats you can read about at vitabone.com and you can also get a $1 off coupon! You can find the treats at Albertsons, Food City, Basha's, and other grocers. 

Enter to win some Vita Bone artisan treats for your pooch using the form below. Ends 12/7/16 at the stroke of midnight!

  Special thanks to the wonderful people at Vita Bone for providing us with these goodies to review and give away!

Zoetrope, Something Amazing From Kiwi Crate! #CyberMondaySale

zoetrope [zoh-ee-trohp] noun 1. a device for giving an illusion of motion, consisting of a slitted drum that, when whirled, shows a succession of images placed opposite the slits within the drum as one moving image.

 This is what we received this month from Tinker Crate! Isn't it awesome? The kids used the enclosed diagram to build it themselves, and it came with a variety of different pictures to use... as well as blanks to create some yourself. Check out how awesome it turned out! Just like something you'd find in a children's museum. So awesome! If you haven't signed up for Kiwi Crate yet, now's the time to do it with their Cyber Monday Sale!  Your total will be $7.95 with free shipping.  No code needed. :)

If you'd rather not sign up but would like to purchase the Zoetrip Kit, you can find that in their store along with the other items below which we also received this month. Remember, we made everything and they also came with fun extras like stickers and activity books.

From the Tinker Crate

From the Koala Crate

From the Kiwi Crate

New, Imaginative Toys from Neat-oh for Unique Gift Giving!

Star Wars, Barbie, and more! Neat-Oh makes so many incredible and unique things that go along with the toys my kiddos love to play with from the Barbie Jet Set Hotel and Decorator Magnets to Star Wars Play Mat, and everything inbetween.

The Barbie Barbie Jet Set Hotel is essentially a carrying case for your daughter's favorite Barbie. It comes with Decorator Magnets that I had fun playing with! My daughter will be getting this one for Christmas.

I love how easily it folds up and can be carried around for trips. We travel a lot so I'm thrilled for an easy travel-toy that will entertain her for hours!

My son was soooooo excited about the Star Wars Play Mat. It's hugemongous and exactly what he's been needing...

... for his Star Wars Lego sets! Now he can play with them on the floor on an actual Star Wars landscape. So cool!

My youngest daughter was excited to receive Julia as a surprise today, a new friend for the Everyday Princess she already has. The backpack is an adorable house and, like the Barbie case, it's wonderful for travel and imaginative play.

These toys are only a selection of the super cool things Neat-oh has this year. They also make stuff for Hot Wheels, Magnutto, Splushy, Dinosaurs, and other awesome toys. Check out everything they have at their website and let me know what you like best. You can find the entire Neat-oh line on Amazon so these are perfect for last minute holiday shopping (Prime, woohoo!!)

Which one is your favorite?

Special thanks to the wonderful people at KidStuff PR and Neat-Oh! for providing us with this toy to review and give away!