Top Books To Read in the New Year

I have always been a reader. I loved silent reading days in school and as a kid, I remember buying a hammock at a garage sale, hanging it up between trees in our backyard, and curling up for hours with the girls from the Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High. If I hear a conversation about books, I generally join in and take notes. I love hearing not only what others are reading, but what others are loving! And since we don't all have a lot of extra time, I want to recommend books that people will love and want to take the time to read. So I put together a list of my top favorite books that I read this year. There is not a single book on this list that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Welcome to the top books to read in the new year, Rachel edition!

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Free 30 Day Bible Journal Notebook Pages

I'm so excited to share with you guys something fun for spring. A few years ago I got started with Bible journaling and it's changed the way I think about Bible study. It blends my creative side with my spiritual side and allows me to dig in deeper and see verses I've known since my youth in a new way. Each month I get a new Illustrated Faith devotional kit and every month I do the same thing with it. But not this month. This month I decided to try something new and I really like it. I think you will too, so I have a fun freebie just for you! You can print off this free "all things new" 30-day journal and use it with the coordinating devotional kit {or not! You do you my friend!} so that you can give Bible journaling a try. If you've tried Bible journaling, maybe this is a new way you can illustrate your faith. Come get the free download and see what I did with it!

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Crate Bookcase with New and Vintage Crates + How to Use Vinyl as a Stencil

I don't know what it is, but I have a soft spot for old stuff. Rusty and worn with the edges peeling up, those are my favorite things. Sometimes though, in the hunt for old stuff, you don't always find what you are looking for. A collection can take years to build up and sometimes you just don't have the patience for it. For the past few years I haven't consciously been collecting vintage crates, it just sort of happened. But before I knew it, I had a half a dozen crates hanging out. I started to stack them and use them and sort of formed a mini bookshelf from crates. But there was something missing. It needed more crates. Just the other day, I was driving past a local food bank and I noticed a pile of crates in their free pile. These kinds of crates are flimsier than the solid vintage crates but I immediately thought of the stack of crates I had at home and knew that the thing that it was missing was more crates. I'm going to show you how I used those "new" crates and made them look vintage with a coat of stain and a stencil made from my Silhouette Cameo. You can't even tell the vintage ones from the new crates, which is my kind of knock off.

Don't forget to enter my blog anniversary giveaway! One winner could win an Expressions Vinyl Silhouette Cameo 3 bundle, a Silhouette Mint bundle, my two favorite appliances from HomeRight {a steamer and a paint sprayer} AND a $100 gift certificate to Dayspring. That's a prize pack that's valued at around $1500! Enter to win here. 

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Easy to sew, easy to give beginners pajama pant kit with free downloadable directions file

My niece is eight and when she asked her mom recently for a sewing kit, my sister in law was at a loss. She wasn't quite sure something like that existed or really what she was looking for, so when I got the questioning text, I messaged back "I got this!". I ended up taking one of my readers favorite tutorials and creating a pajama pants kit that had pre-cut materials inside to make a beginners sewing project. 

I'm sharing with you the file, so that you can create a sewing kit for some of the beginner seamstresses that are in your life.

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Free printable July memory verse

Summer is such a fun time of year when all of the flowers are in bloom and the grass is green and the sun is out.  I love all of those things!  Which is why it's easy for me to forget that in just a few short months the grey skies will be back, and the days will be short.  There is one thing that never fades or changes and that is the word of the Lord.  Can I get an amen?!

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Free coloring pages round up for grown ups!

Do you ever find yourself at a restaurant with your family waiting for the meal to be served and taking the crayons from your kids so that you can color their coloring page menu? I know I'm not the only one! Lately, I've been getting the itch to color and thanks to pinterest and a long list of fabulous designers and contributors, there are lots of free printable coloring pages that will fulfill your need to color.  I have gathered a few together for you.  Color outside the lines if you want! No one is looking!

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Elf on the Shelf planning calendar

When Elf on the Shelf hit the stores, my kids were just hitting the cusp of being too old to really enjoy this Christmas tradition.

However, I think it's such a fun tradition and families every where are embracing their Elf.

I actually love seeing my instagram or facebook feed in the mornings in December to see what creative ways my friends and family have moved their Elf.

I know that the hardest part for parents is coming up with new and creative ideas 

{that don't take a lot of time and planning}

for their Elf each day.

I'm pretty sure with my track record with the tooth fairy, the ball would be dropped more than once 

and the Elf wouldn't move, 

or he would move from the shelf, to the tree, from the tree, to the shelf, and well...you get the idea!

For all of you families that have an Elf, I created a little printable calendar for you to use the whole month of December that has ideas that are fairly simple to use each and every day.

You probably have the supplies for most of the items in your home already.

This calendar is just a guide.

Feel free to be as creative as you like.

This calendar is for those days that you get stuck on, 

or if you are like me, you like the tradition, but you don't want to spend hours surfing Pinterest for new ideas for your Elf.

 I'm not pointing any fingers but my guess is more than one of you has a Pinterest board of Elf ideas!

Not judging.

Certainly not judging.

In fact, pin this handy little Elf on the Shelf planner on your Pinterest board now.

To print this planner, right click on it, save it to your documents and print.

For personal use only.

And before you forget, put an alarm on your phone to ring every night just before you head to bed as a reminder to move your Elf. Do it now. You will thank me later. I promise.

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December free printable memory verse

December sort of snuck up on me.

Can you believe this year has flown by?!

I spent the morning

{with a sick kid}

creating this December memory verse for our family.

If you are new here, 

I have been offering a memory verse each month for your family to learn with us.

This month I thought it was appropriate to offer up this amazing verse from Isaiah 9 describing the many names of Jesus.

It's free to you!

Just right click on it, save it and print it from your home computer.

As always, these are for personal use only.

Please don't sell them.

Has your family been memorizing verses with us? I would love to hear about it.

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November free printable memory verse

I know we are in the second week of November already

{how did that happen?!}

but I still wanted to share with you our families monthly memory verse.

Every day, it's important to take time to stop and be thankful to the One who provides.

The dirty dishes I find hidden in my teenagers room?

I will be thankful that I have a growing healthy boy in my care to eat that food.

The never ending piles of laundry?

I will be thankful that I have warm clothing to wear.

Going to the grocery store for the third time this week?

I will be thankful that we have food in our pantry.

I am serving my family every day and for that, I am thankful.

To download, just right click, save on your computer and print off. Be thankful.

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October memory verse free printable

As part of our families goals for this school year, 

our family is memorizing a monthly verse.

I shared a verse in September and am excited to share our October verse with you too.

Right click and save on the image on your computer and print it out.

I print one for each of the kids rooms and one for their bathroom mirror.

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Free printable memory verse

Last school year, one of our families goals was to do a monthly memory verse. I whipped one up {usually in picmonkey} and the family would work on that verse for the whole month. If everyone had the verse memorized, we would do something fun as a family like go out for ice cream, go bowling or have a movie night. We made it all the way to March before running out of steam. This year though, we are hoping to make it through the whole school year! Each month I have plans to share the verses with you. This month our verse if 1 Peter 5:7. Two of the three kids are starting new schools {high school and middle school} and I thought this was a great reminder for them {and me too!}.
Just right click on the image, save it to your computer and print it. Enjoy!

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First day of summer! Free printable penny a page reading log

My mom was a 5th grade teacher.

She knew how important it was to keep kids learning, even throughout the summer.

From the time I was little, I remember my mom paying us a penny a page for our summer reading.

I loved reading as a kid, and still reading now as an adult.

I want my kids to grow up being readers.

That is why I have continued the tradition of "Penny A Page"

during the summer at my house.

One summer, my oldest son read every single Harry Potter book in the series.

I owed him a LOT of money!

This summer, we have a two week long road trip we are going on.

I think my three kids will be racking up the pennies!

But that's o.k.

They will have spending money along the way.

If you want to join our kids in Penny A Page

feel free to click on this image and print.

Happy reading!

Now who wants to pay me for reading?

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Classroom Valentine's Round up

We finish with one holiday and are quickly moving on to the next.  I like to make the kids Valentine's for their classes every year, and I know a lot of you do to. If you follow me on Pinterest, you will know that I have been pinning some classroom Valentine ideas. I like to choose cheap and easy Valentine's that can be mass produced for about 25 students. I thought I would share some of the ones I found with you today.

Martha Stewart has these candy dot hearts that seem like a snap to pull together. The Coterie blog has these cute sucker Valentine's. You could easily make the tags in your Silhouette SD software or on Picmonkey These little matchbox Valentine's from inchmark are super cute. Who doesn't love a little present to open?

This little Valentine is super cute. And I have the typewriter file in my Silhouette library already. I'm thinking this would be perfect for my 5th grader. source I made these years ago for my son when he was in pre-school. It's an oldie but a goodie from Jolly Lollies. A Small Snippet provides the free bag topper for these pop rocks Valentine's. I'm kind of a big fan of these pirate Valentine's. They are free from Mer Mag.  All you have to do is cut out the felt heart and sew it on. These Valentine envelopes from Nest of Posies would be adorable if you didn't have to make a zillion of them!  They would be great if you had a small class, or fun to make just for your own kids.
I love a clever Valentine that doesn't need candy to make it awesome. These Rebus Valentine's found free on Martha Stewart are pretty cool. Again, no candy needed! Love these {and don't even have to change the name for my Owen!} from dandee dandee has lots of fun Valentine's day ideas. Love this magnifying glass these friendship bracelets are pretty fun Valentine's too.  Also from dandee. A Creative Cookie made cute monster covers for little nerds packets. These goldfish crackers would be fun for the pre-school crowd. You can see the full tutorial at Backless Shirt Stitch/Craft offers up these free Lego Valentine's. Just add the glow stick and you are set! If I had been thinking ahead, I would have stocked up on 1 cent rulers at back to school time. These are another great non-candy Valentine that comes in handy. Go to Thompson and Spring for the details. I made these felt mustaches and cards for my son last year. and these were the Valentine's my daughter gave last year. Love the bookmark idea for the older kids. from 30 days And for your {bigger} Valentine, don't miss out on this free coffee cup printable  from eat, drink, chic Did you get any ideas for your Valentine's? Which is your favorite?

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Free Halloween Printables you probably haven't seen before

Last week, I gave my new color printer a workout and made some pretty cool Halloween printables. There are some creative people out there, willing to share their amazing work with all of us. Here is a round up of a few of those...many of which, you probably haven't seen before. Blush Printables has some amazing freebies, and these printable pillow boxes are just a few of them. Print on cardstock and you have the perfect candy box for a favor.
Party Box design offers a complete collection of Halloween printables for free. I printed off the water bottle labels, food tents, and signs for an upcoming party that PTA is hosting for a few of our walk a thon winners.
The creativity exchange offers up these adorable {not spooky} Halloween tags and labels. I didn't get a chance to use these myself but they are too adorable to not share!  iDiy offers up these iron on graphics so you can make your very own treat bags.
And finally, Peonies and Poppyseeds offers up these really fun Halloween printable lunch box notes.  Such a fun addition to your child's lunch box. So many great FREE Halloween finds out there.  Thank you to all of those creativity bloggers offering up these amazing printables. Do you have one you want to share? If so, post it in the comments. ps-you can find links to all of these projects on my pinterest board. Are you following me?

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15 free Things to do in Tacoma, Washington

Just in case you missed my guest post at C.R.A.F.T. 

I thought I would share with you some of my really awesome fun family things to do around my hometown of Tacoma, WA.  It was a fun list to create and makes me look forward to those warm summer days with my kids.  In true Pacific Northwest fashion, grab a coffee, sit back and read along.

Tacoma is a port city about half an hour southwest of Seattle located on the Puget Sound. We have lived in the Tacoma area for the past 12 years and these are a few of our favorite things to do.
1. Dash Point State Park Beach
One of our favorite beaches is Dash Point State Park.  Dash Point is a sandy beach with lots of room to explore.  When the tide is out, the beach goes on forever.  It's the perfect beach for skimboarding and exploring sea life. In the past, access to the beach has been free, however, this year, the state is charging $10 for a one day pass or $30 for an annual Discover Pass.
2. Dash Point State Park Trails
Dash Point also offers over 11 miles of hiking and bike trails.  I've gotten lost more than once in the trails, but it's always an adventure!  Several local bike groups tend the trails making jumps, creating paths, and forming obstacles that are perfect for the beginner rider to the expert rider.  Access to these trails are free.

3. Tacoma Glass Museum
One of Tacoma's newer museums, The Glass Museum features many current temporary and permanent exhibitions of art created from glass, but the best part of this museum is the Hot Shop.  The Hot Shop is located in a 90 ft. tall stainless steel cone fully staffed with glassblowing artists and stadium seating so you can sit back and watch the whole process of making art from molten glass.  Free admission on the third Thursday of each month from 5-8 pm or anytime with a Pierce County library glass pass.
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4. Chihuly Bridge of Glass
Internationally renowned local artist Dale Chihuly collaborated with the city of Tacoma to make this 500 foot long pedestrian overpass that links The Museum of Glass with downtown Tacoma.  Walking the bridge is always free and if you have little explorers, it's a safe way for you to introduce your young kids to art without the worry that they will destroy a more expensive gallery piece.

5. Tacoma Art Museum
Just down the street from the Glass Museum you will find the Tacoma Art Museum. While there are always popular exhibitions with big name artists (my favorite was the Eric Carle exhibition), our favorite thing to do at The Tacoma Art Museum is to go into the open art studio and make our own art.
The open art studio features stations with tool kits focused on artworks currently on display in the museum galleries.  Free admission to the museum is part of the third Thursday art walk or anytime with the library art access pass.
6. Washington State History Museum
As a transplant from the Midwest, it's interesting for me to find out facts about our state in a fun and  interactive way.  I could tell you the state flower of Indiana (peony), but I know very little about Washington.  There is a history lab, model railroads, and a great hall of Washington history always on display.  The History Museum is located downtown Tacoma situated between the Art Museum and the Glass Museum.  The History Museum participates in the free third Thursday of the month art walk and also provides free admission on your birthday.  You can also get free admission with a library history pass.
7. Ruston Way Waterfront
Ruston Way offers two miles of paved walkways perfect for a family bike ride or run.  Located on the waterfront, Ruston Way offers panoramic views of Commencement Bay, Vashon Island, and The Olympic Mountains.  If you fish, you can drop your line at Les Davis Pier.  There are several grassy play areas perfect for a picnic and kids can also explore the Fireboat dry-docked along the path.  You can find beach access along the walkway and scuba divers are often spotted going in and coming out of the water.  Several restaurants and pubs can be found along Ruston Way so you can take a stroll before or after dinner. Free
8. Tacoma Light Rail
I don't know of too many kids who don't like trains or trolleys.  As part of Sound Transit, the light rail provides free service to downtown Tacoma.  We often park at the Tacoma Dome Station (it's free), and take the light rail to various stops in Downtown Tacoma.  The light rail stops in front of the History Museum and provides a short walk after a stop by the Art Museum.  The last stop is the theater district which is just a short walk to the Farmer's Market on Thursdays on 9th street.  When the kids were little, we would sometimes just ride it back and forth through the city.  
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9. Pt. Defiance Park
Pt. Defiance is located on the tip of Tacoma jutting out into the Puget Sound.  Inside the park you will find Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (there is an admission fee), as well as Pt. Defiance park (free), Owen Beach (free), five mile drive and hiking trails (free), Ft. Nisqually (admission), and the Japanese Gardens (free).  I will highlight them all separately as my numbers 9-15.   Pt. Defiance zoo (10) isn't a large zoo, but it's perfect for a visit with young kids.  When my kids were smaller it was nice to fit a visit to the zoo in before naptime.  During the summer, the zoo has a splash park in the play area (open year round), as well as several live performances that are worth sticking around for.  During the colder rainier months, the aquarium is a great place to stay dry and warm up.  We would often times eat our snack while watching the sharks in the tank looked enviously on. Pt. Defiance park (11) has several ponds, and lots of open green space.  You can also explore the rose and dahlia gardens during the summer. source
Ft. Nisqually (12) is a living history museum.  When you step through the trading post, you step back into history.   Several special events happen throughout the year including 19th century family fun night and Halloween ghost stories around the camp fire. source Just inside the park you will find the Japanese gardens and Pagoda (13).  The Pagoda was built in 1914 but recently caught fire and is closed for repairs.  However, you can find feature pools, waterfalls, bridges and landscaped trees and plants.

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Looping around the outer rim of the park you will find the five-mile drive (14).  Every Saturday and Sunday five-mile drive is closed to motor vehicles until 1 pm.  This makes it the perfect paved trail to go on a bike ride or run through old-growth forests and through breathtaking scenery.  Along the loop, you will find several entrances to trails.  No bikes are allowed through the trails.  
Owen beach (15) is located inside Pt. Defiance park.  You can walk along the boardwalk, hike along the beach, play in the sand or rent a kayak. As you can see, there is lots to do in Tacoma.  So grab your sand pail and some walking shoes and stay for awhile! So what are some of your favorite things to do in your city?

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