Jayson Wolfe Series

The Jayson Wolfe series is written by Anita Stansfield. The Sound of Rain is the first book about a struggling musician named Jayson Wolfe, returning to Oregon, twenty years after he first moved there. He reflects on his teenage days, which involved him and his brother and mother escaping his abusive drunk father. He meets a new friend Derek and has a crush on Derek's sister, Elizabeth. He and Elizabeth's relationship is tested through tragedies and growing relations. It was a pretty interesting novel with a lot of unexpected twists.

Shadows of Brierley

Shadows of Brierely by Anita Stansfield is a series of books based on her previous book, Towers of Brierley. I read Towers back when it first came out in the year 2000. It was hard trying to remember who the characters they were referring to in the Wanderer, that debuted in Towers. I almost needed to read Towers again. Overall, it is how the Scottish family first got involved with the LDS church, by hearing a preacher and reading the book. The first book seemed similar to one of her other series, In Search of Heaven. The Wanderer deals with religion, mental illness, and has a bunch of soap opera like twists.

Button Tree

I took an old canvas that I didn't care for and painted it orange and then glued some old buttons on it.

Then I painted the canvas and buttons with Gesso and waited for it to dry.

Then I painted the buttons in pink, blue, green, and yellow:

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a series by Sophie Kinsella, consisting of six books about a woman named Rebecca Bloomwood, a shopping addict and often gets in over her head with her debt. The books have her meeting the love of her life, traveling to America, planning a wedding, meeting a long lost sister, and preparing for motherhood, while having a shopping addiction. There was a movie version of the first book, starring Isla Fisher, but it was set in New York instead of England, making Becky an American.

Snowglobes

Buy a plastic snowglobe from Michael's

Unscrew the lid and the pull out the cork and the instructions.

Buy ornaments you want for the globes. Glue the ornament on the cork with a glue gun and let dry.

Cut ribbon into pieces to go around the lid.

Glue the ribbon around the side of the lid.

Fill an upside down globe with fake snow with at least 1/4 cup. Turn cork upside down and push into globe. Then attach to lid and tighten.

Glue a Christmas themed or colored button on the seam of the ribbon to hide where you cut it.

You can even try larger jars you have left over from canning.

Soul Surfer

Soul Surfer is the true story of surfer, Bethany Hamilton, who at Thirteen, was attacked by a Tiger Shark while surfing at Tunnels Beach in Kauai. Her left arm was bitten off by the shark at the bicep. The film deals with Bethany trying to surf again after her ordeal and her trying to find the good in something bad, through her Christian faith. The movie stars Annasophia Robb in the title role.