A Contest from Karla Akins!

Karla Akins is hosting a pretty nifty contest on her blog. If you are not a regular reader of her blog, I would definitely recommend it for those who are aspiring authors, pastors' wives, and fellow bloggers. Her posts are pretty interesting and she often brings out some really thought-provoking topics. Back to the main reason for this post...the contest! You can find it here. She's giving away an Island Cabana Wax Warmer. Check it out!

Musical Art and Fun

I love music. A lot. All kinds. You can imagine my joy when I happened upon the 'History of American Music' unit study from HLN. As part of the 2 week study, my baby goats had to create a working musical instrument. Our youngest chose to make a guitar. Our middle child chose to make a drum. Our oldest is working on a steam whistle but because there were additional parts needed, his project isn't complete. I was pleasantly surprised with the girls' projects. I thought I'd share the fun with my readers. I purchased the Arts and Art History Unit Study Bundle, which includes the History of American Music Unit Study, from Currclick.com. If you'd like to check out the bundle, then click here. If you'd like to check out this one unit study, click here. No one pays me to say anything in my blog posts and I'm going to keep it that way. I'm just letting people know what I'm using and putting out the links for folks to check it out if they would like to do so. Hope you enjoy this post!

Floral Fun with Family and Friends

As a home school mom on a strict budget, I'm always on the lookout for affordable learning experiences for my baby goats. When looking for those, I try to remember to talk to friends and family to see if they'd be interested in sharing their gifts and talents in a fun way. They can be excellent resources for information on different jobs, talents and hobbies that you may feel like you are lacking in.

I was happy to learn that my friend Chantelle, who has been my friend since Kindergarten, was a licensed florist. I was even happier when I found out that she was willing to teach my girls how to create floral arrangements. It cost us only a small amount, as I had to purchase the flowers. I found some nice options at a dollar store and waited for sales at some of the bigger craft chains to get a few special stems. I'm pretty sure I didn't spend more than $25 to create 3 arrangements, which is a pretty good deal for flowers that never fade! We used containers we had around the house (a mason jar, a shallow basket and a ceramic vase) and floral pebbles that I had purchased a few years ago for another project. Those can be purchased inexpensively at a dollar store. My girls learned about balance and how to blend color and shapes to add to the appeal. They also learned how to make corsages. They had so much fun they were wondering when we could do it again! What a blessing it is to have wonderful friends who are willing to share their knowledge with others! Thank you, Chantelle, for giving us such a fun class to participate in!

Here are some photos I took to share with my readers. I hope you enjoy them, even though the quality isn't the best. Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!