Stacy Talks & Reviews: Books - The ultimate gift!

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Books - The ultimate gift!


The nice thing about books is that there is something for everyone no matter what they like to do. Whether you like to cook, craft, create, or just read them for enjoyment there's a book that will fit your preferences. I recently got some books to check out from Ulysses Press and wanted to share them with you. I think they are books either you or someone you know might enjoy - and the would make great Christmas gifts too!


The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook
Recipes and Techniques for the World's Best Barbecue
By Chris Grove
The ultimate in barbecuing tools, the kamado-style grill features a ceramic shell and charcoal pit that allows home cooks to slow roast, smoke, and grill meats to perfection. Packed with recipes, photos, and techniques unique to the kamado, this essential guide will turn grilling neophytes into masters of the backyard barbecue.

The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook guides readers step by step through the process of slow-cooking roasts to juicy perfection, smoking racks of ribs for the quintessential barbecue flavor, and grilling the perfect burger. Each concept features a recipe that provides a tasty opportunity for readers to practice new skills and get the most out of their grills. With gorgeously photographed recipes, as well as loads of tips and tricks, this is a must-have manual for anyone who owns a kamado.


Coloring Ocean Mandalas
30 Hand-Drawn Designs for Mindful Relaxation
By Wendy Piersall

Coloring for adults gets a nautical twist with this collection of whimsical mandalas
Coloring mandalas is an ancient way to attain focus, clarity, and peace. Now with more than thirty original images that incorporate ocean imagery into mandala patterns, Coloring Ocean Mandalas adds the beauty of the ocean—including dolphins, sea shells, whales and waves—to these intricate designs for page after page of coloring book bliss.
With roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, mandalas are spiritual symbols that represent the universe. Coloring these hypnotically beautiful, mystical shapes is a meditative and enjoyable way to relax. A fun way to achieve a state of mindfulness, this book fosters creativity, reduces stress, and allows you to embrace your inner child by focusing on the simple but engaging task of coloring in the detailed designs.


Crafting with Wood Pallets
Projects for Rustic Furniture, Decor, Art, Gifts and more
By Becky Lamb

The humble wood pallet is a key element in the global world of shipping, yet all too often it’s eventually smashed into pieces and tossed into a dumpster. That perfectly good, all-natural wood deserves a better fate! Crafting with Wood Pallets offers readers innovative new projects for transforming wood pallets into all types of beautiful, useful items for the home and garden. Upcycling wood pallets has quickly become one of the most popular trends in home and garden DIY design, and this book’s 20 hands-on projects teach readers everything they need to know. Including 80 full-color photos, it guides them step by step from easier, beginner projects like simple trays and shelves to more advanced projects like benches and kitchen islands. Crafting with Wood Pallets is packed with helpful tips for working with salvaged wood, like how to choose the best pallets, use the necessary tools, and master the art of disassembly. Also included is the author’s unique painting technique that adds a one-of-a-kind and colorful twist to every project.


Dazzling Duct Tape Designs
Fashionable Accessories, Adorable Décor, and More Creative Crafts You Make At Home
By Tamara Boykins

Duct tape is no longer just for gaffing down cords, holding together pieces of pipe, and fixing everything that’s broken. Now available in vibrant colors and exciting patterns in craft stores nationwide, it’s at the center of a wildly popular crafting craze. Teaching readers to take this roll-of-fun phenomenon to the next level, Dazzling Duct Tape Designs shows how to turn duct tape into adorable fashion accessories, cute home decor, and even entire outfits. This unbelievably versatile tape is clean, durable, and safe; it withstands temperatures from 10° to 176° F; plus it sticks to paper, wood, concrete, metal, fabric, plastic, brick, and, best of all, itself! It’s the perfect crafting material for children, parties, classrooms, rainy days, and road trips. Dazzling Duct Tape Designs includes step-by-step instructions and photos of dozens of amazing projects, plus patterns for drawstring bags, party hats, sandals, wall art, wallets, and more.


Homemade Cleaners - Quick-and-Easy, Toxin-Free Recipes
By Dionna Ford and Mandy O'Brien

Toxic chemicals are found in almost all commercial cleaners—the very products people buy to make their homes hygienic and healthy. The recipes in, Homemade Cleaners use common, affordable ingredients that not only get every room in the house sparkling and germ-free but are also safe for families and the environment.

The green cleaners in this invaluable guide are all that is needed to keep a purified home without using harsh chemicals that can cause everything from skin irritation to central nervous system damage. Using nontoxic materials like vinegar, baking soda, and even vodka, Homemade Cleaners focuses on every floor, wall, window, and appliance, and includes methods for absorbing odors, information on air-purifying plants, a primer on basic chemistry, a checklist of essential supplies, and tips for cutting down on waste.


Homemade Bath Bombs, Salts and Scrubs
300 Natural Recipes for Luxurious Soaks
By Kate Bello

Soothe stress, heal the body, and smell fantastic with luxurious homemade bath products
There is nothing better than slipping into a hot bubble bath after a stressful day. But store-bought bath products are chock-full of chemicals, artificial scents, and dyes. This book shows readers how to make all-natural bath bombs, scrubs, and salts that will leave the skin glowing and the body relaxed.

Featuring 300 easy recipes, this book demonstrates how to whip up bath products to meet any need, from healing specific ailments to relieving stress to even curing skin conditions. Including sensual aphrodisiac soaks, calming scented salts, and chakra enhancing bombs, these whimsical and fun projects include everything readers need for pampered bathing . Ideas for making adorable bath gifts for friends, including tips for delicious scent combinations and instructions on crafting cute packaging, are also featured. Natural bath soaks are an ancient beauty remedy that can bring anyone to a relaxed meditative state while ridding the body of toxins. This is the ultimate guide to taking bathing to the next level.

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Of all the books I received I think the Homemade Bath Bombs, Salts, and Scrubs is my favorite so far. I've found some recipes I'm going to use to make gifts for Christmas from it. I love DIY projects and giving them as gifts because it's something I know that no one else will be giving my recipients. My husband on the other hand is really enjoying the Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook as well as the Crafting with Wood Pallets book. He enjoys cooking outdoors so he was excited about finding new recipes to try. And we just happen to have a nice big stack of wood pallets sitting out back waiting for him to get started on some projects this winter so it's a win-win for me!

How about you? What kind of books do you like?
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