Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Harry Potter inspired wizard wands Giveaway!

I got started making these wands for my daughter's harry potter themed birthday party- they were part of the decorations/props, used in the kids' "charms" class and then eventually party favors as they went home in the goodie bags.

It was easily the most investment with all the materials to make a variety of wands and it was also easily the most fun DIY project that I did for her party. And I did a lot: floating candles, floating Hogwarts acceptance letters, house banners, potions bottles, an owlery, honeydukes, and platform 9 3/4, just to name a few. Thank you Pinterest!

Anyway, to recoup some of cost, and to save some other busy moms some time, I sold the leftover wands which were such a HUGE hit at her party. They went like gangbusters.

Fast forward a year later: I've sold over 1200 wands, introduced new themes like Hogwarts House colors, Elsa/Frozen inspired colors, and wedding inspired colors, and gone international. Shout out United Kingdom! <3 p="">
I've recently launched a Facebook page to share new styles, answer questions, receive feedback and really just share the journey.

To that end, I've set up a giveaway for a set of wizard wands so you can check them out yourselves, because no matter how hard I try, the pictures just never do them justice (as my reviews seem to agree)!






Enjoy! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, June 10, 2016

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3) book review


 The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, #3)

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3)

by
  
Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous - what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed.



My review: 9.5/10

This book was amazing. Everything I hoped it would be and more. I highly recommend re-reading the first two books though. There were a lot of references to people and events that happened in the previous books (which I had not read since they came out- over a year and two years ago) that I was hazy on at best.

I also wish there had been a complete History of Gaudrel, Song of Venda, and Last Words of Morrighan (if I remember those titles correctly) as an appendix instead of just the pieces woven throughout the novel. Sometimes I needed the context, but more so, I found the world building fascinating and would have loved to read those histories in their entirety to get the full picture the way that Lia did.

Without giving away spoilers, I'll just say that the relationships were realistic and I appreciated the resolutions. Characters stay true to themselves and are perfectly flawed.

I loved the way that the plot was built. I loved the way that the final threat met his end. It was perfectly done.

*SPOILERS*

The only complaint I had is that Rafe cheated with Lia. I don't care what the circumstances are. If you are promised to another and haven't ended it yet, have the integrity and respect enough for everyone involved to WAIT. I didn't find it romantic. It was totally unncessary. And I worry about what YA readers will take away from it.

Because the world isn't split between Rafes and Mikaels. People change and grow. They allow their fleeting emotions to rule their decisions. They change their minds. And rarely is there a Kaden waiting in the wings to immediately mend your broken heart.