Chronicle Books introduces The Small Object Thumbprint Masterpieces kit!

This tote-sized art kit contains 30 ready-to-complete cardstock cards with instructions, a two-toned ink pad, 2 sheets of stickers, and millions of creative possibilities.

Each mini work of art just requires one thing, really: Your printed thumbprint. Add your own facial expressions to your “thumbprint guy or gal,” as well as sticker shirts, pants, tails, and whatnot.

There are gnomes inside, as well as stockings to fill, a house on a hill to populate, a bicycle to man, and snails to personify.

The colors are vivid, and the artwork is whimsical and adorable. There’s a space on the back of each on which to write the artists’ name, date, and a special message before giving to someone special!

You can order The Small Object Thumbprint Masterpieces kit directly from Chronicle Books for $14.95, via Amazon, or at select retailers nationwide.

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost from Chronicle Books per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I’ve talked them up several times before…but that’s just cause I love them so much! Who am I talking about? Tiny Prints!

Tiny Prints’ holiday photo card collection is stunning this year. Take a look at some of their gorgeous offerings:

Merrily Striped (in Ruby)

Colorful Swirls Trifold (in Black)

Angelic Banner (in Dijon)

AND!!

Today ONLY, November 9th, 2011, Tiny Prints’ Facebook page is offering a promotion to let you send a FREE card to your kids from Santa! (One of two card styles to choose from.) Don’t miss this! (Offer ends tonight at 11:59pm PST)

As I’ve said before, Tiny Prints has unparalleled card designs and unbeatable customer service. For one-of-a-kind Christmas photo cards with a quick turnaround, let Tiny Prints be your guys.

Win it!

Courtesy of Tiny Prints, one of you will win 50 free Christmas/holiday photo cards!

Here’s how to enter:

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, which style or styles you’ll choose if you’re the lucky winner!

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011. US entries/addresses only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, #45, Farrah Shumway!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received a set of address labels at no cost from Tiny Prints per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Butterfly Fields Eco-Journal from Chronicle Books would be a perfect mini-gift for any of the above.

This earth-friendly record keeping volume is printed on 100% recycled paper, as well as printed with soy ink. Artist Jill Bliss has adorned this colorful journal with striking images of flora and butterflies…both inside and out. With 224 pages within its cover, it’s adequate for almost every writing task.

I use my Butterfly Fields Eco-Journal to take notes while doing our family’s ancestry research. It’s so nice to have a beautiful backdrop on which to write my new findings! {Using my colorful gel ink pens only heightens the fun!}

You can order the Butterfly Fields Eco-Journal directly from Chronicle Books for $10.95 or from Amazon.com — or look for it in blank book sections of bookstores near you.

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost from Chronicle Books per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Every year, we try to see how creative our family can get when it comes to poses and locations for our Christmas card photos.

Once we (after a ton of going back and forth) finally choose a pose, we then have to choose a card! Good thing there’s Tiny Prints!

There is an abundance of stunning and unique photo Christmas card styles at Tiny Prints, for every personality and mood.

I will admit: It does take me a long time to pick out cards. (It takes me a long time to pick out lots of things.) But if I had to pick one of the styles right this minute, these would be my top three choices. Aren’t they beautiful?

{Joyful Script}

{Snow Blooms}

{Noel Stripes}

These show just the tip of the iceberg!

I love Tiny Prints’ designs, as well as their quality and craftsmanship. Their paper and cardstock are of premium quality and very thick. The print work has an impeccable finish. Their customer service is unparalleled and their turnaround time is amazing.

So this year, do your family (and Christmas card recipients) a favor and check out Tiny Prints’ photo Christmas card line. It will be so difficult to pick just one!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I will be receiving a coupon code from Tiny Prints in exchange for my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Three themes debuted the collection: Latin America, Europe and Africa. Each offers an oversized, thick-paged coloring book and a full-color, re-usable sticker collection portfolio.

Putumayo Kids, via Sugar Mountain PR, sent over the Latin America Coloring Book and the Europe Sticker Collection for us to try out!

(If you cannot see the video, click here.)

The World Culture Coloring Books include 20 oversized (11.5” x 14”) coloring pages, printed with eco-friendly soy ink, that invite children to discover the people, animals and musical instruments of each featured region (suggested retail: $9.95). Each book includes an introduction to each region of the world – Africa, Latin America and Europe – with a child-friendly glossary, maps, and images of natural, historical and cultural highlights.

The Africa Sticker Collection, Latin America Sticker Collection and Europe Sticker Collection (hardcover, 9″ x 9″; suggested retail $11.95) are hardcover packages, each filled with more than 120 reusable, colorful stickers that will keep little hands and imaginations busy. Children can build sticker stories on the fold-out landscape, explore countries on the full-color map and check the glossary to learn more about each geographical region and its people.

**All of these products are printed with nature-friendly soy ink, and the printer is Forest Stewardship Council-certified.**

We love these new coloring books and sticker collections! Bravo, Putumayo Kids!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost from HarperCollins per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

With homeschooling comes an entirely new set of papers to sort, books to stack, activities to plan and keep track of, and records to keep. It can very quickly get overwhelming.

Heather Bixler has created a wonderful printable resource to help simplify homeschooling. The Printable Homeschool Planner is a PDF document that, once downloaded, has a wide variety of forms and worksheets available for print any time they’re needed.

Heather graciously sent over a complimentary download of The Printable Homeschool Planner for us to try at our house. I must say I am very impressed!

Here’s what is included in this downloadable resource:

• The Cover Page – PDF Printable
• Art Project Planner – PDF Printable
• Attendance Record Keeper – PDF Printable
• Book Report Worksheet – PDF Printable
• Field Trip Planner – PDF Printable
• Project Planner – PDF Printable
• Science Experiment Planner – PDF Printable
• Scripture Verse Planner – PDF Printable
• Student Project Notes Worksheet – PDF Printable
• Thematic Unit Planner – PDF Printable
• Lesson Planner – PDF Printable
• Password for unlimited access to current and future homeschool printables in our exclusive member download page.

I must say my favorite printable pages are the Field Trip Planner and the Thematic Unit Planner. (I wish I had the Thematic Unit Planner sheets when I was piecing together my own curriculum when the kids were preschool-age!)

The pages, except for the cover page, are in black and white, so no extraneous color ink is used or wasted. (For those of you who are conscious about that — I am.)

All you need to put together your own, customized Printable Homeschool Planner, aside from this downloaded resource, is a 3-ring binder, a printer, paper and a 3-hole hole punch.

To download The Printable Homeschool Planner, just go to this website and follow the easy instructions. The price is just $4.99.

Win it!

Courtesy of Heather of The Printable Homeschool Planner, one of you will win a free download of this terrific resource!

Here’s how to enter:

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, tell me why you’d love to have this wonderful resource at your house.

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Monday, October 3rd, 2011. US entries only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What kind of emotions does this phrase bring out in you?

For us, it’s an exciting time! We homeschool, which means it’s yet another year of adventuring and learning all together…at home!

Just because we do school at home doesn’t mean that we don’t have “back to school needs.” Just like for everyone else, there are books to buy, pencils to sharpen, and things to label!

(And breakfast on the first day is notorious for being fun at our house, too: M&M pancakes to start the day right!)

It’s easy to let this time of year slip up on us, isn’t it?

Luckily, Tiny Prints has so many super cute (and cool) items to help keep you organized and personalized this school year!

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a student, or a school librarian, Tiny Prints’ Back to School Collection has something for everyone:

* Lunch box cards and notes

* Academic planners

* Dorm room decor

…and much more!

Get ahead of the game, teachers, and create cute classroom notecards to send home to encourage students or get involved with parents. Kids, never lose that lunchbox or backpack again thanks to personalized labels and tags.

Kudos to Tiny Prints for offering such a wide assortment of cool things for this exciting season!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I will be receiving a gift code for my personal use on TinyPrints.com per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any further monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”