Learn to Draw 75 Animals in 10 Easy Steps!

Walter Fosters publishing's newest book is released today, June 21, 2018.
10-Step Drawing: Animals  features illustrated tutorials for drawing 75 different animals.  Each is broken down into 10 simple steps.  All you need is a pen or pencil and paper to get started.

75 animals in 4 sections which include:
Wild Animals
Aquatic Animals
Woodland Animals
Farm Animals and Pets

Where Proportion might be an issue in the drawing the author includes measurements.  I sure like this idea!
Hints are given on following the steps and finishing the pictures with coloring.

10-Step Drawing: Animals is a really fun book!

I am not an artist, but I can look through this book and find lots that I want to try to draw now.  I've started with this cute penguin.   I found the steps easy to follow, and hey, it didn't come out half bad.

I gave the book to my husband to choose something to draw.  He chose the Hammerhead Shark.

I have artistic children and grandchildren that I know for a fact will enjoy 10-Step Drawing: Animals.  My question is, who to show it to first!  I can see a fight ensuing with all of them wanting to use it.

If you like to draw and want to learn more, I highly recommend this book for sure!  It will also make a great gift for any artist, or want to be artist you know as well.   I am really impressed as I've seen learn to draw books before, but not as simple to learn from as this one.

Check it out today!







Disclosure:  I rec'd a copy of the book for the purpose of this review.  I was not compensated in any other way, and all opinions are my own.  Post contains affiliate links.

WIP Wednesday -- Away From Home

I left Sunday afternoon to spend the week away with hubby.  My main objective?  To have time to sew while he's at work.
Monday seemed to go pretty well as I got a lot of different things worked on.
I'm still working, and still have goals, but so far it's not looking like a single thing that I brought with me will be done.  Not unless I really get busy!

I'm almost done sewing the binding onto my charming stars quilt.

I have worked on both double folded hotpads and microwave cozies.  You might notice on the corner of my table that I also have been doing some work on the plastic canvas blocks as well.

I worked preparing double towel scarves for completion.

I finally finished the quilting on this table runner.  Now I'm debating on going ahead and sewing the binding on without trimming first, since I didn't bring along a cutting mat and rotary cutter.

All in all, I am happy with what I have been able to get done.  I need time away for sewing since it's so hard to get my machine out at home!   I still have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning to see what else I can get done.


I link up with the following blogs:



Jo's Country Junction:  http://www.joscountryjunction.com/

KatieMae Quilts for BOM weekly linky.  https://www.katiemaequilts.com/blog/

Mailbox Monday -- June 18

This last week ended up being a pretty nice week for freebies in my mailbox.

Time magazine
This Old House magazine
Entertainment Weekly
People magazine
Sports Illustrated magazine
Pet stickers from ASPCA
Highlights Hidden Picture poster, which I took out of the advertising mail to buy the books.
Sun Maid Raisins recipe book
Persist bumper sticker.
The Craft Kingdom book for review.


I'm on "vacation" this week with hubby while he works, and also taking care of learning a new job online, but here is a nice list of freebies that you might want to check out:

Free Subscription to Fast Company

Free Subscription to Inc Magazine

Free Sample of Tameology Shampoo & Conditioner

Free Animal Rights Stickers

Free Subscription to ELLE Magazine

Free Sample of Garnier Whole Blends Oat Delicacy

Free Colorado Ski SKull Sticker

Free Dead Punk Sticker Pack

Free Harley-Davidson X Games Sticker

Free Subscription to O, The Oprah Magazine

Frugal Friday With Marsha -- Still Working

It's been a week of still working to organize and de-clutter the house.  I've made some changes, but mostly I've worked on putting things where they actually belong, even if that place is the trash!

So much that I wanted to get done before traveling with hubby next week and being gone an entire week, but time is not on my side most days.

We did a lot better at getting leftovers eaten at meals this past week, but not quite good enough.  I had to throw away a large container of chicken alfredo because I didn't get it put into the freezer for later.  Quite a shame to get good food go to waste, and definitely not frugal!

Speaking of food, here is this week's Friday Freebie:

Free Ocean Spray Diet or Light Juice for Kroger & Affiliates

I'm slacking in getting freebies sent for to fill my mailbox.  I sent for a few things this morning that you might want to check out for yourself as well:

Free Sample of Sephora Collection Clay Mask

Free Animal Rights Stickers

Free Sample of Tameology Shampoo & Conditioner


I've not paid attention to TopCashBack before today when I seen this offer:

TopCashback - Free Ozark Trail Folding Chair

I may have messed up because I went ahead and clicked the cash back from Swagbucks when the page came up.  I'm sure we can't "double dip".  I guess I will know soon enough.  I will just know not to activate Swagbucks in the future.
We are taking our annual family camping trip the first weekend of August, so either way, we needed a chair of our own. 

Here is something else you might want to check out....all the freebies available this weekend for Father's Day!

Father's Day Freebies & Deals RoundUp

WIP Wednesday -- Little Done

It's just not been good for me, time wise, to get much sewing done.
I tried one day to get out my sewing machine, but an 8 month old that is now pulling himself up, and my machine on the table, just doesn't mix.

I am always working off and on on filling in the plastic canvas squares for the jingle bell blocks, but I don't want to take a picture until I have my whole pile filled in.

At sit n' sew I did a little more work towards completing the blocks on my Arkansas Crossroads quilt.  No picture as it wasn't enough to warrant one.
Instead, I spent most of the sit n' sew time putting the borders on my Zipped Kitties.

Otherwise the only thing that I did this past week was to cut up a panel with horses to make into pillows.  These will go to church for the youth to stuff, and then donated to the police and fire department.

Next week I am going out of town for the week with hubby.   My plan is to sew while he's at work and work on my computer stuff in the evenings when he is sleeping.  I have projects packed to finish....items to be listed in my Etsy shop.  However, I find myself wanting to take a couple of other projects that I can at least progress on.   I guess next week's post will tell you what I decided  LOL.

In the meantime, I link up with the following blogs.  I do hope you will check each of them out.



Jo's Country Junction:  http://www.joscountryjunction.com/

KatieMae Quilts for BOM weekly linky.  https://www.katiemaequilts.com/blog/

Mailbox Monday - June 11, 2018

What a busy Monday!  5 p.m. and I am finally finding time to sit down and get this posted.

It wasn't too bad of a week, but I do hope over time to start seeing more each week come in.  Next week I am out of town all week, so I will have to have my daughter put all my mail in just one place until I am back home.

This past week I received:

2 Time magazines
People magazine
Entertainment Weekly magazine
Free coupon for Zonnic stop smoking gum or lozenges
Devotional book from In Touch Ministries and
a book, 10 Step Drawing Animals for review.


Here is your list of things this week to check out:

Free DHC Skincare Samples

Free Subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine

Free Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream

Free Bare Republic Neon Sunscreen Sticks

Free Sample of Mugler Alien Flora Futura & Alien Fragrances

Free Sample of Nikwax Waterproofing Wax for Leather

Free Subscription to Rider Magazine

3 Free Dermablend Professional Foundation Samples

Free Black Box Wines Magnet, Koozie & More

Free Sample of Truvia Natural Sweetener

Free Pair of Mack's Ear Plugs - Every Weekday

Free Billabong Stickers

Frugal Friday With Marsha -- One Day at a Time

This week I've been concentrating each day on cleaning, organizing, and de-cluttering the house.  IF I can keep it up, doing at least one spot each day, I soon will see a noticeable difference.
So far I've gone through piles of papers on my desk (most recycled), totally scrubbed down the stove, cleared one shelf, sorted through 2 totes (where most everything was thrown away unless it could be recycled), and worked on clearing the couch (actually putting the items where they belong).
I need to keep it up!!  Can I?   Decluttering and cleaning also cleans your mind, and I sure need that right now!

Hubby chose to come home each night from work instead of taking the motel since this week he's working 1 hour and 20 minutes from home.  We shopped for groceries for the week, and I think quite well.  We spent right at $100 for the week.   I admit that it's really nice to be having actual home cooked meals instead of my usual frozen entrees and lunchables.

Oh yes, that's the other thing I cleaned out this week....the refrigerator.  I won't go in to detail and gross you out, just imagine it's not been cleaned out for a few months!   We have vowed to not allow left overs to pile up in there ever again.  Tomorrow we will be getting out all the leftovers from the week and having a leftover buffet.

On the food note, today's Friday Freebie will turn into a meal for us next week with one of the pounds of ground beef still in the freezer.

Free Knorr One Skillet Meals for Kroger & Affiliates


In other news, I've still been trying to send for freebies so I can find goodies in my mailbox.
Today I sent for these:

Free Sample of Nikwax Waterproofing Wax for Leather

Free Sample of Mugler Alien Flora Futura & Alien Fragrances

Free Mr. Pen Mustache Paper Clips

Free World and Everything In It Sticker


Here are some others that you might want to check out:

Free 40ct. Box of o.b. Tampons or Free Box Coupon

Free Trust Me I'm (Almost) a Nurse T-Shirt

Free Creme of Nature Perfect Edges Sample Giveaway

Free DHC Skincare Samples

In celebration of summer, Tophatter is giving away thousands of dollars in June!

Tophatter’s Summer of Fun Cash Sweepstakes is on! Each time a shopper completes a purchase this month, they will be automatically entered to win the prize for that day ($100), that week ($500), and the grand finale ($10,000)!

Check it out, you might just be the lucky winner!

Scratch & Create With Scratch & Draw Enchanted Animals

Scratch & Draw Enchanted Animals is a Scratch & Create book by Marisa Redondo.

This book features 20 decorative and inspirational illustrations to choose from to scratch and draw.   You will find rabbits, owls, foxes, bears, and other wild life.   All are created with simple lines and shapes.   Each page is also perforated so that it's easily removed from the book to work on if you choose, and to display once your picture is complete.

Simply follow the illustrations using the stylus that comes with the book.  The stylus has a line side and a tapered end to scratch larger areas.   I found the surface to scratch off very easily.  What fun to see the picture and the color appear on the page!

I started out with the simplest of the illustrations.  I am no artist, but this is so much fun and hey, I'm not doing half bad with it either!

My daughter chose to do this bear.  You can see that she chose to do some of her own designs instead of following the illustration exactly, which is just part of the fun of this book!

I look forward to finishing my picture and giving a try at another in the book.  I also look forward to sharing the book with my grandchildren as they come over.  The teens will love this concept of art.

If you, or someone you know enjoys drawing, I highly recommend this book!

Also available:  Scratch & Create Folk Art Flowers.

Get 300 bonus SB when you sign up for Swagbucks in June

All throughout June you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash. 

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here's how: 

1. Sign up using this link 

2. Earn 300 SB total before July 1st, 2018. You'll get a 300 SB bonus for it! 

3. That's it. It's super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself, and I've earned $3,038 worth of sb that I have redeemed for amazon gift codes, Burger King gift cards, PayPal, Wal-Mart gift cards, and eBay bucks!   There are tons of other choices as well.  Swagbucks has been awesome!  I keep my cats in food and litter.  I have saved to buy larger ticket items such as a laptop, tablets, and even a sewing machine.

Mailbox Monday -- June 4, 2018

My computer time has been so limited, but it seems the freebies are limited too. With thousands and thousands of people sending for them, some go really fast!  A lot of the companies are going through other websites to send out their freebies.  I am going to have to consider joining some of those sites if I want to try to really fill my mailbox each week.

Here is what I rec'd this past week:

Book in for review.  I hope to have the review up on Thursday.

Sports Illustrated, People, Watch! and Focus on the Family magazines.

Inspirational prints from In Touch Ministry.


Here are the freebies that I sent off for today:

Free Subscription to LEGO Life Magazine

Free Sample of L’Oreal Pure-Sugar Grapeseed Scrub

Free good2grow Collectors Starter Kit



I entered this today and clicked to get an email reminder to enter daily:

Win FREE Eucerin Products, 5 Winners Every Day


I've received my ear plugs, but this offer is still good if you've not sent off for your free pair yet:

Free Pair of Mack's Ear Plugs - Every Weekday