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New Craft Room Set-up and Latest Crafty Haul

Now that fall is here, there are plenty of birthday and Christmas cards to make!

This means a few adjustments around here. Typically, I spread out all over my craft room this time of year-piles of supplies everywhere.

Things are a little different this year, as I now share this space with my husband who has started working from home.

For the last few months, I have just been spreading across the floor on weekends, and then picking things up again before the work week begins.

But, sitting on the floor and having to constantly put things away just wasn’t working. It was a pain in more ways than one, for sure.

So, my husband and I did some serious rearranging, and now I have my own space again in the room.

I can’t spread all over the floor and leave it, but I do have a lot of desk space, which is super nice.

I still need to organize it to my liking-as we are pretty sure hubby won’t be going back into the office (except for a day or two here or there) in the future.

But for now, I can really get into some serious card-making for the holidays, and that will work for me.

Just in time for World Card Making Day this weekend, which I am pretty excited about!

It wasn’t just the room that needed an update though. I also discovered I was really running low on a lot of my basic supplies.

When you can’t use the die cut machine because the plates are in such bad shape, and it doesn’t matter because you are almost out of adhesive anyway, well-it’s time to get shopping.

Here are some of the things I have picked up lately:

Amazon

Sizzix Purple Glitter Cutting Pads

Lawn Fawn Den Sweet Den Stamps

Lawn Fawn Den Sweet Den Dies

Hobby Lobby

Adhesive

Cream Card Bases and Envelopes

Tuesday Morning

Echo Park Merry and Bright Collection Pack

Echo Park Bewitched Collection Pack

And before you ask-yes, the Lawn Fawn Den Sweet Den stamps and dies were essential to my crafting life. 🙂 Man, there were SO many cute things from the Lawn Fawn release, but I will have to wait to get more until later.

The Echo Park Merry and Bright collection pack was actually something I have purchased before. I used every bit of it though, and it was just $5.99, so it will work great to bolster my Christmas stash.

I am also wanting to finally scrapbook my kids’ Halloween pictures, so I picked up the Bewitched collection too.

Well, that’s it for now.

I have several Christmas cards already made, and have been coloring tons of images to prep for making cards this weekend. It should be a lot of fun!

Review-My Teaching Library

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

We recently received a one year membership to the Download Club from My Teaching Library. This membership includes unlimited downloads of educational resources designed for PreK-12th grade.

Both annual and lifetime memberships are available, as well as the option to purchase resources individually.

My Teaching Library contains thousands of resources-including subjects ranging from Language Arts, Math, Science, Art, Social Studies, Character Education, and more. There is also a range of resource types, including worksheets, notebooking, interactive activities, arts and crafts, and instructional videos.

While this may seem overwhelming at first, there are several search options to help you find what you want. You can search by grade, subject, miscellaneous, or newest resource. You can also type directly into a search bar.

For me, I started out browsing-just looking to see what might work for us. Then, whenever I found something interesting, I simply clicked on the Download button, and the resource was automatically saved to my account, where I can then download it as many times as needed.

When I was finished choosing resources, I simply clicked on the red My Account button at the top of the page, clicked on the Downloads button, and downloaded each resource straight to my computer. I also received an email with a download link to each item.

I was definitely drawn to the seasonal offerings (listed under Miscellaneous), and the first thing I printed was the Pattern Block Templates Spring Themed. Pattern blocks are always so much fun, and are great for during read alouds, or just a little busy work while The Little Guy is waiting for me to finish up with another kiddo.

Next, I found the 2nd Grade Monthly Learning Pack – October. This single resource has 160 pages in it, and can definitely be used for more than just second grade. I printed quite a few pages from this pack.

We also used several others-some of which were: Autumn/Fall Migration Informational Text, Color by Number Fall Festival, Fall Rebus Story, and Syllables A Language Arts Game for 4th-6th Grades.

Here is just a sample of some of the activities the kids completed.

Fun pumpkin mazes:

Syllable practice:

Creative Writing:

Reading Comprehension:

I want to do Art Project Fall Foliage Creations too-it looks like a lot of fun for once our leaves start falling. I also have November Thanksgiving Word Search Puzzles waiting in the wings.

And, we are planning on completing the California Gold Rush Story and Coloring Book when we get to that section of History later in the year.

A few things I liked about My Teaching Library:
1. There are so many resources to choose from!
2. Downloads are saved under your account for easy access.
3. There is a minimal amount of color used, which really saves on the printer ink.

There really are so many resources, so I would encourage you to check it out for yourself!

Want to learn more about My Teaching Library? Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews.

Book Review-Point of Danger

Point of Danger was written by Irene Hannon and is book one in the Triple Threat series.

Summary: Someone is trying to scare conservative radio personality Eve Reilly. Most of the time Eve is able to brush off threats, but when a mysterious package lands on her doorstop, she goes to the police.

Will Detective Brent Lange be able to figure out who is behind the threats and stop them before things get out of hand, or will Eve pay the price…with her life?

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. It is well-written, the characters are likeable, and there is plenty of suspense and plot twists and turns.

I thought the romance moved a little too fast, and some of the comments in the book made me think this was actually a book two and I had missed something.

Overall though, it is a fun, suspenseful read, and I liked it.

I would like to thank Revell for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

*Please note: this book will be released on October 6, 2020.

Book Review-Backlash

Backlash was written by Rachel Dylan, and is book two in the Capital Intrigue series. This could be read as a standalone book, but I do recommend reading the first one to start.

Summary: CIA analyst Layla Karam is just back from a dangerous, yet successful mission. But it might have been too successful. Now someone is targeting the mission team members one by one-including her.

Not only is someone out to kill her, but the CIA has opened an investigation on her.

When Private Investigator Hunter McCoy is hired to figure out what is really going on, he isn’t sure what to think.

Can he figure out the truth? Has one of Layla’s own team members turned on the rest of them, or is something more sinister going on? And worst of all, how can he get Layla to trust him-when he betrayed her trust, and her love, long ago?

My Thoughts: I liked this book. Mystery, intrigue, and plenty of twists and turns-this one will definitely keep you reading into the night. I liked the plot, the characters, and the friendship between the group of ladies that started in book one.

I can already tell I won’t be ready for the series to end, and have come up with the author’s next series. Get all the ladies to start a law firm and solve cases together! Hint, hint. 🙂

Anyway, this was a fun read, and I do recommend it.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a free digital copy of this book. Thank you!

Please note: This book will be released on October 6, 2020.