Primitive Hand bound Books

I love books!  I love books in all forms (yes, even e-books), but my favorite books are the traditional books.  I love the feel of the book in my hand, the sound of the pages as they are turned, the smell of the ink on the pages.  I love books!  So, you can imagine how pleased I was when I found on Etsy a seller called Peg & Awl and they sold a book binding kit.  The book looked primitive and I loved it!

The Anselm Bookbinding Kit has been on my wishlist for awhile, but I finally broke down and purchased it (it was a splurge, but oh so worth it).  I made the book that I got in the kit.  The instructions were easy to follow (with written instructions, a diagram and a link to a youtube video).

Here is my finished book... 

O.K. now I am armed with a little knowledge and experience and I want to do some more.  I could find all the supplies that I needed on line, but I'm not patient enough to wait for them to get here and also it was a little pricey for me.  So I ran to the local craft store and purchased some acid free paper (that I had to cut down to size), hemp cord in fun colors (b/c that's all I could find at the craft store - not really ideal, but it worked), and I used twill tape (again that was what I could find as a substitute).  Here are 4 books that I made for my boys...

I let them each pick a color (that way they would know which one was theirs).

Rance could not wait to use his and turn it into a storybook.  He created a cover and then wrote and illustrated a story.  (When he is finished, I will date it and keep it.)

These books are great because they lay completely flat.  Which makes writing and drawing easier.

The books that I made for the boys are slightly larger than the one I made from the purchased kit.  I really enjoyed making these.  I am planning on making more.  I think it would be neat to have a whole stack of handmade books full of my boys' artwork.

I also like to know the inspiration behind things and this really intrigued me, Peg and Awl said this in their description of the kit...

The style of this book was influenced by my love of Anselm Kiefer and his book 'Transition from Cool to Warm', a book I picked up in Brussels one fine evening many years ago. It includes beautiful uncovered books that, in addition to housing extraordinary paintings, also show (with dirt and bendy corners) all of the love and travels his books endured... 

Free & Bargain Kindle Books

Read

Now I know that I've told you how much I love books and that I am resistant to e-readers, well I've found some links that might change my mind.  As much as I love books, I love to read more (when I was younger - I read anything I could get my hands on...the backs of shampoo bottles, telephone books - don't laugh, there's valuable information in there that's more than just phone numbers - and countless other things).

Well, a friend alerted me to these websites (you can also find them on Facebook) and I find it very exciting.  I will never be without something to read.

Pixel of Ink
Pixel of Ink - Young Edition
Power Reads
Inspired Reads
Dining Downloads

Just a little FYI - my son has a Kindle Fire and I do not own an e-reader, but you can download a free e-reader here for your computer from Amazon.  Which I have done.

Reading for Boys

I love to read!  I love books!  Yes, I am old school.  I am not into the Kindle, Nook or any e-readers (yet).  My son, Champ, has a Kindle Fire and I mess around with it a bit, but I love the look and feel of books, I even love the smell of books, I love the sound of the pages being turned.  I like how if I hold a thinner, smaller book - it is lighter, if I hold a thicker, bigger book - it is heavier.  I just simply love books.

When I was younger (way back in the day), we had 4 major television networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS).  Cartoons were only on Saturday until noon, with an occasional after school special during the week. At night we only could watch prime time television until about 8:00 and then the adult television shows came on and we had to go to bed.  And if the President was on - he was on every single channel.  We also didn't have gaming systems (hand-held/personal or otherwise), there was no such thing as the internet.

What we (my brother and I or my friends and I) did was play outside and read books.  There is nothing that I like better than curling up with a good book on a rainy day.  Snow days from school were awesome!  We played outside until lunch time (we were about frozen by then anyway) and then we came in and ate a good lunch and had hot chocolate - later we made snow cream - and then I would read and read and read and...well you get the picture.

I always had a book in my hand, I took one with me wherever I went (remember - no personal gaming systems back then or DVD players in the car) and if I got a minute or two I would read.

I wanted to pass down my love of reading to my children.  I think it is an excellent past time.  I feel that if children can read and comprehend what they are reading they will be able to do anything!  I read to my children when they were little hoping they would like to read.  My oldest, Lee, loves to read!  He reminds me of me, he takes a book with him at all times - very seldom do you see him without a book in his hand or at least nearby.

My second son, Champ, not so much.  I try to encourage reading and I know that Champ likes to earn money (he saves it very well too) so I told my boys that I would pay them a penny a page to read an age appropriate book.  Lee took it and ran with it (get paid to do something that I already like to do?), Champ had rather do physical labor than read.  I gave them each a spiral notebook (in the fall when school supplies are on sale they are 10 - 15 cents each), inside the front cover of the notebook I glued an envelope (flap side out).  They are to record the date they completed the book, title and author of the book and the # of pages.  When they have read a book or two they leave their reading log on the counter and I mark pd. beside the # of pages and I put the money in the envelope.  (I think when they are older they might find it interesting to see what they were reading when they were younger.)

Anthony (now finishing up his first grade year) was excited about this too.  Last year, when he began to read I set him up  a reading log too.  His first few books were 10 pages or less, so I waited until we had at least a dollar before I paid him.  Now Rance is excited about starting Kindergarten this fall so that he can learn to read!

A local publication had an article entitled 'Helping Boys Love Books.'  It had some great suggestions in the article and it also had some suggestions for books and websites that were about books and/or authors for children and middle-school aged boys. 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Dead End In Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey
The Library of Doom Series by Michael Dahl
Guys Read Edited by John Scieszka (and here too)
Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems (and here too)

Hope this helps your boy(s) to love to read.  I know we are going to look up these books this summer (only 10 days of school left - YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

My Reason for Wanting to be a Better Wife...

When we first got married, I just thought what happens happens. A few years ago I began to reflect on things...my life, my marriage, me.

I'm not sure who said "The only person you can change, is you." I don't know when I first heard it, but I really began to think about that quote.

If you have a bad marriage, it's possible that you can make it a good marriage. If you have a good marriage, don't you think you can make it a better marriage? Can't things always get better (just like they can always get worse)?

I have read several books trying to help me be a better wife...

The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp
Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martian
His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr.
Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

I feel like I have come a long way from where I started as a wife, but I know that I still have a long way to go. What happens, doesn't just happen. It's what we make of it. I have gained something from each of the books that I have read and I try to continue to gain more knowledge of being a great wife. The book that I have gotten the most help from though is the Bible. There are countless verses on how to be the wife that God created me to be.

I think that if I become a better wife, in turn I will be a better Christian. If I become a better Christian, in turn I will be a better wife. I will continue to try to do both and with God's help, I will continue to grow as a wife and Christian.

One thing that really opened my eyes concerning my skills as a wife and really made me want to try harder to be the best wife I could possibly be was a quote from the second wife/marriage book I read (Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl). I cannot remember the exact quote and I am having trouble finding it, but it goes something like this..."Would you want your son to marry someone like you?"

I need to be a good wife (1) because that's what God wants me to do and that's what he created me to do, (2) because my husband deserves it and (3) to model to my sons what kind of wife they should look for. If I am disrespectful to my husband, my sons will think that they should marry someone that is disrespectful to them, etc. (You can change the word disrespectful for any number of words.)

I have been praying since I knew I was pregnant with my first child, for each of them to have a good spouse. One that loves and respects them, one that they can truly become one with, one that will make the rest of their lives beautiful and not miserable.

Well, I hope you are doing the 5 Day Challenge (The Husband Project) with me. I also, subscribe to i-MOM's Espresso Minute (daily e-mail) and I found some things that go right along with Kathi's Husband Project. Check them out...

The 30 Day Marriage Challenge
The 15 Minute Marriage Boost (which has other links to help improve your marriage)

I encourage every wife (young and old, newly wedded or married for years) to try to be a better wife to your husband.  Wouldn't you like him to do the same for you?

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."  Luke 6:31 NIV


See that big smile above?  That's my reward.  I want to know that he smiles because of me (not frowns because of me), I want to know that he is happier for marrying me and that he doesn't regret the decision he made to spend the rest of his life with ME!

I LOVE our local library!!!!!!!!!

Have you checked out your library lately?

Reasons that my family loves the library...
1) It's FREE
2) You have an almost unlimited supply of books (for FREE)
3) You can check out movies (for FREE) - our library allows you to keep movies and books for 2 weeks
4) They have summer reading programs to encourage children to read, especially during the summer (for FREE)
5) They sell used books (really cheap)
6) They have story hour (for FREE)
7) They have all sorts of activities (for young and old alike - book clubs, knitting circles, etc.) - for FREE
8) You can check out audio books (for listing to on long drives, during your workout, while you are on the computer or doing a craft) - for FREE
9) You can even download books from your library, through your computer for your I pod, MP3 Player, etc. (for FREE)
10) Oh, and did I mention that it's all FREE!!!!! (Great for any budget, but especially for our family of 6 living on one income.)
11) and much much more (for FREE)

Check out your local library today.

Book Review

I just finished "Sam's Letters to Jennifer" by James Patterson. It is a quick, easy read (I read it in a couple of days). It is a great story line about Jennifer loosing people close to her and how Sam (her grandmother) helps her deal with that and find love again. It is set in Lake Geneva, MI. I recommend it.

I read James Patterson's "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" several years ago (I completed it in one day). This book comes highly recommended. If you have read "Sam's Letters to Jennifer," you will love "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas."

Have you read either of these novels? What did you think about them?