Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

Early Book Review: Cross Stitch Celebrations: Graduation: 35+ Patterns for Cross Stitching Unique Graduation-Themed Announcements and Gifts by Mollie Johanson

Cross Stitch Celebrations: Graduation: 35+ Patterns for Cross Stitching Unique Graduation-Themed Announcements and Gifts by Mollie Johanson is currently scheduled for release on March 14 2023. Learn to create personalized graduation announcements, congratulations, and additional keepsakes for education-related accomplishments. Whether you are an absolute beginner in cross stitch or a seasoned pro, this book shows you how to create highly giftable personalized keepsakes for the accomplished students in your life. This step-by-step guide includes all of the basic instruction you need to learn the art of cross stitch.

Cross Stitch Celebrations: Graduation is a lovely resource for those that want to make graduation (or some school) related cross stitch. I have been crafting most of my life, but I still get nervous and antsy when it comes to creating custom designs and patterns. Knowing what needs to happen, and doing it, felt miles apart. I liked the way the author acknowledged the anxiousness many of us feel and helped readers the tools to work through it rather than dismissing it out of hand. I liked the variety of pattern details included, and some of the suggestions for customization and a successful project. I think that this book offers a great deal of valuable information and would be a great resource when planning graduation related projects. It is not a book I would buy for my personal collection (I am out of shelf space and this is pretty specialized) but this would be a great addition to library collections. 

Early Book Review: I Got a Chicken for My Birthday by Laura Gehl, Sarah Horne

I Got a Chicken for My Birthday is a picturebook written by Laura Gehl, and illustrated by Sarah Horne. It is currently scheduled for release on March 1 2018. All the birthday girl wants from her Abuela is a ticket to the amusement park. Instead, she gets a chicken. But this chicken is no ordinary chicken; it has plans! With a lot of hard work, and help from other animals, this chicken may just end up granting the girl the best birthday gift ever.
I Got a Chicken for My Birthday is a fun and imaginative picture book. I love the crazy skills the chicken demonstrates, and think the imagination of the author- and her main character- are highly entertaining. I found the artwork to fit the story well, and does a great job of hinting at the chicken's actions without giving away too much before the big reveal. I like that among all the silliness is the message that even though the gifts received might not meet expectations- sometimes they are even better. I found myself smiling through the entire read, and think it will be a much loved read for many.