Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer: holiday gift guide 2018

Showing posts with label holiday gift guide 2018. Show all posts

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Holiday Gift Guide: 365-Day Devotional Journals

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

Trying to come up with the perfect idea for a Christmas present isn't the easiest task in the world, especially if that particular family member or friend already has just about anything imaginable.

Today, I am recommending three 365-Day Devotional Journals from Ellie Claire. A devotional journal includes a daily Bible verse or quote from a famous person and a few paragraphs inspired by the verse or quote on each daily page. Additionally, there are blank lines which you can write down your thoughts or prayers.

The three journals are:

Peace Begins with Me

(Retail: $18.99)

Barnes & Noble; Amazon

The Earth Is the Lord's, and Everything In It

(Retail: $16.99)

Barnes & Noble; Amazon

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

(Retail: $16.99)

Barnes & Noble; Amazon

Final Thoughts

Holiday Gift Guide: The Lucille Ball Collection

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

Mill Creek Entertainment, Amazon

Available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment is The Lucille Ball Collection (Not Rated; 10 hours 22 minutes; $14.98), featuring 4 feature films, 10 episodes of The Lucy Show, "The Story of Lucy Ball" documentary, and several rare vintage commercials.

The movies on the 2-disc set include:

Her Husband Affairs (1947; 84 minutes) - Directed by S. Sylvan Simon, the film centers on newlyweds Bill and Margaret Weldon (played by Franchot Tone and Lucille Ball), who are constantly delaying their honeymoon because Bill's get rich schemes keep getting them into trouble.

Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949; 87 minutes) - Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the film stars Lucy Ball as Ellen Grant, the worst student at the Woodruff Secretarial School who surprisingly lands a job at a realty company, which is run by con artist Dick Richmond (played by William Holden).

The Fuller Brush Girl (1950; 85 minutes) - Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the film centers on Humphrey Briggs and Sally Elliot (played by Eddie Albert and Lucille Ball), an unmarried couple who had put a down payment on their dream house just before Sally is fired from her receptionist job. Desperate for money, she becomes a door-to-door saleswoman for a Fuller Brush franchise. Let's just say she doesn't have a very good first day, as she ends up as the #1 suspect in a murder case.

The Magic Carpet (1951; 84 minutes) - Directed by Lew Landers, the film centers on Ramoth (played by John Agar), a young man who disguises himself as "The Scarlet Falcon" to fight against Grand Vizier Boreg al Buzzar (played by Raymond Burr), Princess Narah (played by Lucille Ball), and their army.

Episodes from The Lucy Show include:

Lucy with George Burns

Lucy Gets a Roommate

Lucy and Carol in Palm Springs

Lucy Get Caught Up in the Draft

Lucy and John Wayne

Viv Visits Lucy

Lucy the Fight Manager

Lucy Meets the Berles

Lucy Gets Jack Benny's Account

Lucy Meets Robert Goulet

Final Thoughts

Holiday Gift Guide: The Fastest Guns Of The West DVD

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Now available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment is The Fastest Guns of the West (Not Rated; $19.98; 553 minutes), featuring 8 classic B-westerns directed by the legendary William Castle (House on the Haunted Hill; 13 Ghosts).

The 8 westerns on the 2-disc set are:

Klondike Kate (1943; 64 minutes) - Set in Alaska during the 1890s, the film is loosely based on Klondike Kate (Kathleen Rockwell), a vaudeville star and dancer during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Masterson of Kansas (1954; 73 minutes) - The film stars George Montgomery as Bat Masterson, who teams up with Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp to protect a land exchange between a rancher and an Indian chief.

Conquest of Cochise (1953; 70 minutes) - The film centers around Major Tom Burke (played by Robert Stack) leading four Dragoons to Tucson, where they must battle the Apache and Comanche Indian tribes, as well as dealing with a ruthless businessman.

Jesse James VS the Daltons (1953; 65 minutes) - Filmed in 3D, the movie centers around Joe Branch (played by Brett King), an outlaw who believes he is the son of the famous bank robber Jesse James. He must team up with the Dalton Gang to help locate some cash that was hidden by the James Gang years ago.

Battle of Rogue River (1954; 71 minutes) - George Montgomery stars as Major Frank Archer, who is sent to pre-Civil War Oregon Territory to keep peace with the white settlers and the Indians.

The Gun That Won the West (1955; 71 minutes) - The film centers on two frontier scouts Jim Bridger (played by Dennis Morgan) and "Dakota Jack" Gaines (played by Richard Denning) being assigned to construct a series of forts in the Sioux Indian territory.

Duel on the Mississippi (1955; 72 minutes) - The film centers on Andre Tulane (played by Lex Barker) being debt-bound to Lili Scarlet (played by Patricia Medina), aka - the gambling-ship queen. He must protect her against a gang of river pirates.

Uranium Boom (1956; 67 minutes) - The film centers around Grady (played by William Talman) and Brad (played by Dennis Morgan), mining partners who are fighting over the affections of Jean Williams (played by Patricia Medina).

Final Thoughts

Holiday Gift Guide: Kit Kat & Lucy

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

AMAZON

I know there are many cat lovers out there (as I'm one of them), so I wanted to include at least one cat related book on this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

Kit Kat & Lucy ($14.99; Revell; 240 pages) by Lonnie Hull DuPont was released in 2016. It tells the true story of the author's move from a three-room apartment in San Francisco to a Michigan farmhouse. Making the move from the big city to the country was a major step for her.

Eventually two stray cats stumble upon her house (a year apart) and Lonnie takes them in. She names the cats Kit Kat (an obsessive-compulsive tortoiseshell) and Lucy (a playful Russian blue), who can easily take down a flying bat.

The author chronicles how she got the cats to like each other and how each one has touched her heart.

Final Thoughts

Review - The Wedding Quilt Bride

Billy Burgess book review , holiday gift guide 2018

AMAZON

While I have read a few dozen Harlequin romance titles over the years, I don't believe I have ever read any of their "Love Inspired" books, which is the Harlequin line of Christian romances. Well, until I had received several of thesed titles in the late spring. Originally, I signed up to review the books through the Litfuse Publicity Group, but the PR company shockingly closed down. Another PR firm took over and sent the books to all the reviewers. Unfortunately, my reading schedule was booked up by then, so I decided to the keep the books back for this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

One those titles happens to be The Wedding Quilt Bride by Marta Perry. The book centers on Rebecca Mast, a widow who returns to her Amish community in Lost Creek with her son, Elijah, to start a new life and open a quilt shop in the downstairs area of their new home. She hires a childhood friend, Daniel King, to make repairs to the house and to help build the quilt shop.

Rebecca was a little hesitant at first to hire Daniel as a carpenter because she has a dark secret that she doesn't want him to know about. However, he's the best carpenter in the community to help realize her dream of owning a quilting shop, so lets him in her home; where he builds a friendship with her and Elijah.

Final Thoughts

Holiday Gift Guide: Ellie Claire Art Journals

Billy Burgess Christmas , holiday gift guide 2018

Coming up with an unique gift for the holidays for a family member or friend can be a bit of challenge. This is one of the reasons why I started an annual Holiday Gift Guide on this blog, so I can help other people pick out the perfect gift for their loved ones.

I am recommending "journals" as a Christmas gifts. Journals can be either cheap or expensive, all depending on what type you are buying.

Today, I am highlighting three beautiful Ellie Claire Art Journals from Worthy Publishing Group - Illuminate Your Story Journal ($18.99; Amazon, B&N), The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal ($15.99; Amazon, B&N), and Faith & Lettering Journal ($15.99, Amazon, B&N).

Illuminate Your Story Journal is a lot more than just your average journal. It's a step-by-step guide to teach you how to draw illuminated letters, like the ones that once adorned the pages of books and Bibles. The first few pages gives you an introduction and a brief history lesson about the world of illuminating. Then you are given instructions on how to use the journal. In six steps, you'll learn how to illuminate each letter in the alphabet. Plus, you'll learn how to draw a flourish shape with leaves. There is a two-page journal entry after each letter, where you can put your new illumining skills to use.

The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal is a coloring book journal. There are forty illustrations to color in the 160 page journal that are recreations of the ones found in ancient manuscripts. It also features fully-colored illustrations from the archives of the Museum of the Bible.

Faith & Lettering Journal features a step-by-step guide to teach you the basis of hand-lettering. The
journal has a short introduction by the author Krystal Whitten. There are several exercises through throughout the journal that will help you learn to hand-letter beautiful letters, saying, and phrases. There are also Pro Tips which will show how to draw banners, leaves, flowers, arrows, bibles, etc.. Lastly, there are many lined pages where you can put your hand-lettering skills to the test.

Final Thoughts

The Ellie Claire Art Journals are high-quality journals with sturdy hardcovers. My favorite out the three is Illuminate Your Story Journal, only because of the "History of Illuminated Letters" section at the very beginning of the journal. I've always been fascinated about illuminated letters and now I can learn how to create these marvelous letters.

Faith & Lettering Journal and The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal are both gorgeous journals in their own rights. Faith & Lettering Journal has easy to follow tracing and drawing instructions for making letters and phrases. The Illustrated Word features very detailed illustrations to color. The actual journal pages are beautiful.

Overall, if you're looking a great gift this holiday season, I recommend getting the Ellie Claire Art Journals.

*Note : I received a complimentary copy of each journal for review purposes.
All opinions are my own.

Holiday Gift Guide: Garfield 2019 Day-to-Day Calendar

Billy Burgess Christmas , holiday gift guide 2018

Giving someone a simple calendar for Christmas might feel like a shallow gift at first, but there are so many different kinds of calendars out there, you can easily personalize it. There are calendars featuring sports, movies, television series, cartoon characters, superheros, animals, landscapes, and just about anything your heart can imagined.

Andrews McMeel Publishing releases a huge variety of wall and desk calendars each and every year, including the Garfield 2019 Day-to-Day Calendar ($14.99 USD; $18.99 CAD; $24.99 AUD; $26.99 NZD; €11.99 UK).

Created by Jim Davis, Garfield has been entertaining millions of fans since the fat cat first debuted in 1978. It's now the world's most syndicated comic strip and has spawned an slew of merchandise. From 1982 to 1991, the character starred in 12 animated specials. A popular Saturday morning cartoon series, Garfield & Friends, aired from 1988 to 1994. Two CGI/live-action films and three direct-to-video movies have been released, as well as a short-lived CGI animated series, The Garfield Show.

"February 21, 2019"

The Garfield 2019 Day-to-Day Calendar measures 6.2 x 1.6 x 5.2 inches and features 365 days of Garfield comic strips, which were original published in newspapers in 2015. Each daily comic is colorized with a "Garfield" log on the very top of the page and an image of Odie hugging Garfield in the lower right corner.

There's a "Daily Extra" on the back every page, featuring fun facts, world play of the day, jokes, quotes, trivia, puzzles, and other games.

All major holidays are listed on specific dates. All Jewish holidays begin at sundown the previous day.

The paper used to make the calendar came from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved sources.

"March 22, 2019"

Final Thoughts

Great Gifts for Book Lovers!

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

Great Gifts for Book Lovers

What do you get for a book lover besides books? Maybe you want to get them something extra to go along with a bestseller, or perhaps you are just shopping for yourself.

Books have an amazing way of transporting us into worlds, stories, and meeting characters we would never have the chance to meet here in the real world. Great books are meant to be discussed and shared. There have been so many times that I have set down a newly finished book and wanted to talk about the ideas with someone. Unique artwork based on books has an amazing way of generating conversation. A simple compliment can turn into a friendly discussion between book lovers.

Here are just a few ideas to spark your interest and hopefully give you some ideas for some great book related gifts. They come from a small online store that I started in hopes of bringing books to life and into our everyday conversations. I will share with you a few of my favorites in the collection and talk a bit about the designs.

The Edgar Allan Poe Tote Bag is a subtle yet classy piece for any discerning book or poetry lover. Poe published the 'The Raven' in 1845. It's hard to believe that a work of literature published such a long time ago can still be so relevant today. This tote bag is a crimson red and made of strong polyester with black lining. The words 'Edgar Allan Poe' are displayed in bright white along with a skull and old hardcover book. The raven is perched atop the skull ready to take flight at any moment.

Dante Alighieri wrote Dante's Inferno as part of the Divine Comedy. This Dante's Inferno T-Shirt in a vintage and distressed print. The graphic is an antique gold with your choice of background color. Choose it on a black or navy shirt for one look or a crimson or maroon shirt for a different look entirely. Men's shirts come in sizes S - 5XL. All shirts in the store are 100% cotton for comfort and durability, with the exception of the heathered colors which contain varying amounts of polyester and have a marbled look.

Holiday Gift Guide: Ripley's Believe It or Not! A Century of Strange!

Billy Burgess holiday gift guide 2018 ,

Finding the perfect gift for a relative or friend is not an easy task, especially for those who already own just about everything. I recommend getting them a coffee book or even better yet, get them the all-new Ripley's Believe It or Not! A Century of Strange! from Ripley Publishing.

One hundred years ago, Robert Ripley created the first Believe It or Not! cartoon that appeared in the New York Globe, which featured a collection of sports oddities. It wouldn't be until 1929 that the first Believe It or Not! book was published. Ripley Publishing released the very first Ripley's Believe It or Not! annual in 2004."A Century of Strange!" marks the 15th annual.

Retailing at $28.95 (CAN $34.95), "A Century of Strange" features hundreds of stunning photos which chronicles strange and bizarre facts from all over the world. This year's edition opens up with a six-page "A Century of Strange" timeline, which covers the last 100 years of Ripley's Believe It or Not! The facts are separated into six different sections: Believe It!; World; Animals; Pop Culture; People; and Beyond Believe.

*Believe It! features the weirdest things from around the world that are almost too unbelievable to actually believe, such as a car vending machine; a serial killer's head preserved in a jar; and spiders that can hold markers.

*World features a variety of odd places and facts from around the world, such as glowing blue lava in Indonesia; 3,500 symmetrical steps in India; and a stone castle in China.

*Animals features unusual facts about different animals from around the world, such as hummingbird moths; a 60lb macaque monkey; and conjoined bats.

"Animals" - pages 95 & 96

*Pop Culture features different hobbies and lifestyles from around the world, such as the Chester Cheetah Sculpture made out of Cheetos; a Tardis library in Michigan; and lightsaber workout classes.

*People features the amazing oddballs from the around the world, such as an Oregon woman who wears snakes as earrings; a Pennsylvania woman who had a 140lb cyst and 40lb of excess skin removed from her body; and an 80-year-old woman who claims to have the ability to heal people's impaired vision by licking their eyeballs.

*Beyond Belief features everything else that cannot be categorized, such as a horror-themed wedding in Scotland; a viking festival in the Shetland Islands; and a 96lb giant hair ball.