Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

April 27, 2014

Win a copy of Big Book of Kids' Birthday Cakes

It doesn't matter how old we get, our birthdays remain to be a special day. For a child celebrating their birthday with a beautifully structured cake with something they like on it such as dinosaurs or castles will make their day even more special. Although my family and I don't do big birthday celebrations, each year for my children's birthday I enjoy making a cake with their favourite character or liking that tends to change each year. 

April 11, 2014

Celebrating Baby Arrivals with a Printed or ebook from Blurb #Giveaway

I enjoy using Blurb to create my own photo books. This is a wonderful way to share stories, moments, travel pictures, recipes and more with family and friends. I like the ease of using blurb themes to make personalized books. These books are a wonderful way to express our memories and cherish special moments.

April 10, 2014

Origami Toys: Fish and Bird

My children and I really enjoyed learning and following the instructions from Paul Jackson's Origami Toys That Tumble, Fly and Spin book. I am glad the book had a pouch with 60 colourful origami paper to get us started right away. 

February 22, 2014

Styling our Hair

hair styling waterfall twist
Having the same hairstyle everyday can get boring, so it is fun to change it up with lots of fun hairstyles. My daughter and I enjoyed doing a few of the hair-dos following the instructions in this Braid, Buns, and Twists book by Christina Butcher. The styles in the book are separated into ponytails, braids, bouffants, and buns knots and twists. 

February 12, 2014

Win a Copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada The Wonders of Winter


Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada The Wonders of Winter is a book that celebrates winter with stories from coast-to-coast that I enjoyed reading by myself, and reading to my children. Children will enjoy listening to these stories and ask for us to read more. These touching stories will remind us of our own experiences and make us feel proud to be Canadian.

February 11, 2014

Dinosaur and Reptile Themed Digital Books

The Berenstain Bears' Dinosaur Dig digital book app is about Berenstain Bears visiting the Bearsonian Museum when a real dinosaur dig is taking place. Read the book to find out what sort of fossils they find. We can explore pictures, learn new vocabulary, and personalize the story with our own narration.

December 2, 2013

My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me A Heartwarming Children's Story

My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me written by Julianne Moore and illustrated by Meilo So is a heartwarming story that made my children and I laugh, cry and cuddle. This book would be a wonderful gift for children any age, as it reminds us about a mother's special love.

November 29, 2013

Celebrating Snoopy with You Can Be Anything Digital Book Giveaway

We are big fans of Snoopy and Peanuts, and excited to announce Story Panda's You Can Be Anything Snoopy themed digital book. This book encourages children to think about all the awesome things they can be and teaches them that sky is the limit. Snoopy is the star of the show in this new iPad book app for kids. Charles M. Schulz’s You Can Be Anything story is a great way to talk to our children about their future and what they want to be.

June 4, 2013

Dad's Will Enjoy These DIY and Woodwork Books

Our dad's will enjoy getting colourful, useful books like this Do It Yourself and Woodwork, as the information on these books will help do quick fixes and larger projects. These go-to books are simple, easy to follow, and has lots of practical tips and techniques. My husband has used the Canadian edition of Do It Yourself to help him fix lots of things around the home from small to big jobs such as adjusting loose toilet seats, changing fuses, unblocking drains, fixing gutters and more. 

May 11, 2013

Win a copy of the Canadian Gardener's Guide

We were eagerly waiting to do gardening and thank God the weather in Toronto has become suitable for it :) The past few weeks we've been gardening, cleaning up, planning on what to plant, putting down some seeds, and basically getting ready for the season. 
You've probably seen my posts about the importance of using the correct gardening toolsequipment, having the right soil, and other posts about plantingI am a self-taught gardener, and get helpful information and knowledge by reading gardening books before I start my projects. 

May 9, 2013

A Gift For Dad: Handmade bookmark and Parker Urban Pen

For 125 years, Parker has created pens that redefine writing. Now as handwriting makes a comeback, it would be a perfect gift to give our dads or the men in our lives :)
This Parker Urban is a cool pen that redefines modern writing, as it combines ergonomics with art to give an unconventional shape. It has the perfect weight and balance to make beautiful curved writing. I really like the shine and the beautiful black colour body of the pen. This modern premium quality pen has an asymmetric cisele pattern, and provides durability and flamboyance. 

April 18, 2013

Step-by-Step Home Design and Decorating Ideas

design and decorate book
This book Step-by-Step home design and decorating give us lots of ideas to get our home functioning in the style we like. We can renovate our kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, hallway, home office, laundry room and outside space within our budget by using the information from this book.
design and decorate book
The beautiful pictures and instructions will encourage us to take on a project and complete it. My husband and I enjoy doing our own DIY projects as it keeps the cost low and once the projects are completed it gives us a sense of achievement. We recently renovated our outdoor space, backsplash in the kitchen and redecorated our entertainment area. We are always looking for ways to upgrade and add character to our home by doing small renovations, so we will be using this book as a guide before starting projects.
design and decorate book
Usually when we do projects we come across problems we don’t know how to fix, which causes frustration so having a book to refer to will be helpful. This book gives us lots of details to help us when we are planning our projects. 
design and decorate book
The book has information about creating focal points with picture frames and placing them in the correct way so it would suit our furniture and room. We got this Big Red painting from Lowes that adds character to our living room.
I think this book is a must for everyone interested in doing DIY projects as it gives detailed explanations.

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April 12, 2013

Knitted Rose

I made this knitted rose project by following the instructions on the Stitch-by-Stitch book written by Jane Bull. Although this book is recommended for children between the age of 5 and 8, even adults will enjoy learning from it. The book shows the projects beautifully with detailed zoomed pictures, so we can easily follow it. There are lots of cute projects in this book that are made with felt, wool and cloth.  

March 22, 2013

A Quilling Project In Celebration of the National Craft Month

I enjoying doing crafts since I was a child. I find doing crafts to be relaxing and enjoy it even when the crafts don't always turn out the way it is intended. Now my children and I enjoy doing crafts together.

This fabulous Craft: Techniques and Projects book composed by a team of craft experts has loads of of ideas that is sure to please a lot of people. There are six sections in the book separated by textile, paper craft, jewelry, ceramics and glass, candles and soap, and eco crafts. All the projects come with details about the tools and materials. There are templates in the back of the book that are useful to do the projects.  

I enjoy quilling or doing paper filigree, so I chose to do this quilled flower arrangement project from the book and placed the finished project in a frame.  

Quilling is a centuries-old art of making decorative shapes with paper. This craft is lots of fun and addictive once you learn how to do it. I think to enjoy and do the projects properly we need to have the correct tools.
For this project...
I used quilling paper that is sold pre-cut, however if you wish you can cut 1/8" wide coloured paper using a craft knife.  
Quilling tool or the book suggests we use a toothpick, however I haven't used a toothpick to do quilling.
Cardstock to paste the project.
2 tweezers helped me place the pieces.
PVA or transparent glue.
Toothpick and a post-it-note paper to put the glue.

To create this project I used the quilling tool to roll the paper then let it unravel a bit. After playing with the lightly unraveled piece of quilled paper to make shapes, I glued the end so the pieces don't unravel all the way. I planned on how I want to place the pieces before gluing the quilled shapes carefully using the tweezers. After the project was completed I displayed it in a frame.
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March 20, 2013

It Is Officially Spring, Time To Spot Bugs and Butterflies

bee
Today is the official first day of spring, but the weather outside is nothing like spring.  Everyone in my family is missing the warm weather, the beautiful sunshine, flowers, birds and even the bugs.  
As an adult I am not a big fan of bugs, however when I was little it was a different story as my brothers and I use to collect flies and look for other types of bugs in our garden... thinking back I feel bad about this activity of ours as it wasn't cool for the bugs.  
My children are big fans of insects as well, and they are both in the age of exploring about them.  When they saw this book Spot the Bug by Tom Jackson they became very excited.  

March 14, 2013

Children's Book of Music

Children's book of Music is an introduction to the world's music and its history i.e. early music (50000BCE-1600CE), classical music (1600-1900) and modern music (1900-).  This book teaches children and adults different styles of music, about the works and lives of composers, performers and about different types of instruments found around the world.  This book includes a CD with songs and sounds that are highlighted in the book, which is interesting to listen to.
I like how music is defined in this book; it says that music is not just a tune, steady beat, one sound or a composition as we can hear it everywhere.  This reminds me of a song that we like listening to by Dawud Wharnsby "Can you hear the rhythm?"
In early music, people used animal bones and things such as a gum leaf from an eucalyptus tree to imitate the sound of birds, and hollowed out logs of eucalyptus trees and animal skins to make drums.  My children made some of their own instruments such as this drum and rattle.  
Music such as playing the didgeridoo by the Australian aboriginal men is similar to the tuba or trombone, which is believed to improve and help with breathing, reduce snoring and to sleep better.
Music and instruments from different parts of the world has been a way of people showing their cultural identity.  This book draws our attention to sounds from Africa, China, Indonesia, India, Japan and other countries.  
I enjoyed reading the details about famous musicians such as Ali Ibn Nafi also known as Ziryab or Blackbird from the 9th century Persian court, which was the center of learning, trade, music and culture.  Ziryab left the Baghdad Persian court (now in Iraq) and went to settle in the Islamic court in Southern Spain where he became famous. 
This book has lots of information about music that will benefit all those who are interested in learning about its history and interesting facts.

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February 20, 2013

Fun digital books that children will enjoy cuddling to

These fun digital books have professional narration, background audio and enlarged artwork for each scene that children will enjoy.  Young children will like touching the pictures on iOS devices to see individual words being highlighted and read.
Dr. Seuss's Hunches in Bunches digital book shows us that it's easy to become overwhelmed by advice when we haven't made up our own mind. Sometimes the best plan is to trust our own hunches and disregard the vocal bunch of Hunches clamouring for attention.  The nonsense and cleverly crafted message in Hunches in Bunches is similar to Dr. Seuss's many other classic picture books.  My son enjoyed the fun to read rhymes and thought it was cool to read the silly words and started laughing.

The "Record and Share" feature in the book will be really enjoyed as it lets readers record their own voice and share the recording with family, friends and teachers.  
Just Shopping With Mom is about Little Critter going shopping with his family that turns into an eventful day.  While at the grocery store, his little sister becomes upset when she can't buy candy, cake, dolls, toys and many other things.  She makes a big mess by pulling items off of the shelf and then gets lost in the store. 
Little Critter's patience pays off when mom finds a fun way to end the day.  Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories address major issues of growing up that both children and parents will enjoy reading and talking about.  
The Berenstain Bears Hug and Make Up is about the whole Bear family waking up grouchy one morning and the mood in the house is not happy.  We will find many things that happen in the story that we can easily relate to :) 
By the end of the day, the Bear family learns that sometimes laughter is all it takes to hug and make up.  
This book is recommended for children age 4 to 8.  Reading this book as made it even more exciting for us to experience watching the Berenstain bears on stage in March.
Your little ones and you will enjoy cuddling up and reading this book, The Kissing Hand.  Chester Raccoon does not want to go school, so to help ease Chester's fears, his mother shares a family secret called The Kissing Hand.  This gives Chester Raccoon reassurance of her love that he can have any time when his world feels a little scary.  
This book is a children's classic that is useful to parents and children especially at times of separation.  
My children enjoyed reading and talking about this book with me.  We agreed that we would remember the kissing hand when we are all out and about in our worlds exploring and learning, and know that our loved ones are always close to us.  
These colourful digital picture books can be read over and over as children learn to read.
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February 9, 2013

Beaded Jewelry: Creating our own style

Maya Brenner introduces us to simple, bold and modern jewelry making through her book Beaded Jewelry.  Her designs are worn by celebrities and are featured on many magazines and media.  

January 22, 2013

A Big Shout Out: Thanking my Mentor Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Many of us have a mentor that has influenced the way we live our life; hopefully in a positive way so we can thank them. My mentor is the most influential man in history, Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH).   


Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is listed to be the 1st person in Michael Hart's book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) teachings form the basis of Islam as he taught us to greet each other with peace, feed the hungry, honour the ties of kinship and pray so we can enter heaven in peace.


I read the critical lives book, The Life and Work of Muhammad (PBUH) written by Yahiya Emerick to learn about the life of the prophet.  This book has an unbiased detailed biography of all the incidents that happened in the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which I enjoyed reading.  Some parts about the prophet's life made me feel happy and other parts made me cry.  The language that the author uses is clear and easy to understand.  The history and the scenarios are descriptive and well explained, which taught me about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) daily life as a husband, father, friend, mentor, teacher, prophet, lawgiver and judge.  It is important for all of us to learn and know about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his message as it influences the geopolitics and spiritual beliefs of millions around the world.  This book will also clear misunderstandings and wrong assumptions.


Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world which was sent and taught to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by God.  The prophet's efforts have built dynasties, empires, legal traditions, laws, politics, economics and civilization that didn't exist before.  



About Arabia

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born in the 7th century in Arabia when it was a place of warring tribes, exotic oases and scurrilous merchants.  The peninsula was then known as the island of Arabs where the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim (or Abraham) PBUH lived.  People were largely ungoverned by the surrounding great powers, some practiced Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.  Most Arabs at that time were animists and idolators.  They lived through trade, herding, raiding and handiwork.  Many people were illiterate, they owned slaves and lived in ignorance. 


Prophet's life
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born to a noble family known as the Quraysh in the city of Mecca. Quraysh were the direct descendants of Prophet Ibrahim's son Ishmael. They were the keepers of the House of God also known as the Ka'bah. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was orphaned as a baby and was sent to live with the nomadic dessert tribe until he turned five. He didn't fit into the urban society and was asked to tend sheep in the rocky hills above the city. This helped him to develop mental acuity to face the challenges and opportunities during his young adult life.


Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) settled into marriage, had a family and became a businessman.  He frequently withdrew himself from society because everyday life in Arabia was cruel.  He had a religious experience at the age of 40. His humble nature helped him when he received God's message. Islam eventually brought civilization to the Arabs based on believing in one God and brotherhood.

One of our responsibilities as a global citizen is to accommodate diversity in a peaceful manner by learning the truth and making good decisions, which my mentor Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has taught to the world.

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January 5, 2013

Dazzling duct tape bracelets

making bracelets with duct tape
I made these cute bracelets following the step-by-step instructions from the Dazzling Duct Tape Designs book by Tamara Boykins. This book has lots of ideas with colourful pictures for us to make cool things using duct tape and other easy to find material. I was surprised to see the duct tape sandals, which can be worn. The other ideas in the book include handbags, wallets, wall art, fashionable accessories, party banners, and many more.