Spellbinders Celebr'ations by Richard Garay Review

In our family, we have lots of August birthdays, so I was very excited to get the opportunity to make these cute projects.  Who doesn't love an adorable homemade card and a cute bag filled with candy?!?  I know I always enjoy receiving gifts or cards that someone took the time to make.  And making cards and gifts can help save money too.  They last card I bought cost close to $4!! So making a card can be the frugal thing to do.

These two projects are form the new Spellbinders Celebra'tions Collection. They believe that every day is the perfect day to celebrate, and I totally agree!  This collection includes paper, stamps, dies, & accessories to create one-of-a-kind gifts, cards, scrapbook pages, & more!!  For more inspiring projects you can visit Spellbinders Celebrations yourself!



I am a member of Purex Insiders.  I was able to review this product through this program.  The opinions are mine.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Inside Story

I first heard about the author Cynthia Tobias from a MOMSnext mentor, and I was very excited to read her newest book about middle schoolers.  I have 3 boys, one in 8th grade and two in 4th grade.  So I am knee deep in middle school and will be there for a while.  We are dealing with friends, girlfriends, popularity, sports, teachers, bullying, and discipline on a daily basis.  What I love about this book is the authors talked to actual middle schoolers and they included lots of quotes from the interviews.

"My friend's parents are cool because they don't freak out over little things that she does wrong;  they save the freaking out for big stuff, like bad grades."

"I didn't tell my parents when this kid kept kicking me and stealing my stuff, because what could they do?"

"If I don't think a teacher likes me, I have a hard time in that class.  It's important for me to have my teacher know who I am and to care about me."

This would be a great book for a moms book club or to read with a fellow middle school mom!  I would also recommend this book to any middle school teacher who wants to learn more about his or her students.  It is very insightful into the minds of middle school kids.

*I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for my review.  The opinions are mine.*