The Artful Year book review

I was so very lucky to win a copy of The Artful Year :: Celebrating the Seasons & Holidays with Crafts & Recipes by Jean Van’t Hul recently. I’ve read her blog for ages and was so excited to hear about her book. It is loosely based on her Artful Year seasonal crafts eBooks but expanded with some new activities and a fifth section on arts and crafts for the whole year, or those that can be adapted to the season or holiday at hand.

There are 175 crafts and activities with clear, step-by-step directions. There’s also  a long appendix of recommended children’s books, arranged by season, holiday, and related category (e.g., Books about Birds, Books about Adventures and Vacations).

This is a really lovely book and I am so pleased to have a copy. We really try to live the seasons, I think it is important for my children to have an understanding and appreciation of the world around them. We celebrate the obvious seasons and holidays but this book encompasses so much more.

I am equally excited about the inclusion of over 45 seasonal recipes as I think creativity in the kitchen goes hand in hand with the craft table. This book will definitely enrich our creativity and I can’t wait to explore it with my children.

As much as I love reading blogs and searching Pinterest I am never happier than reading a book. Some activities have already caught my eye, such as the salt dough gingerbread house lantern, interactive heart mandalas, thankful stones and flower crowns. I can’t wait to get crafting with The Artful Year!