Homestead Blessings 10 pack DVD Review & Giveaway

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~

As a stay at home mom I am continually learning new things to make my family's life healthier and more memorable. Some of my favorite memories of growing up are of the times I watched my Grandma and Mom can jams & garden produce and work on quilts & various sewing projects. Now that the weather is starting to turn cooler I tend to be more creative and energetic and want to work on crafting projects or try a new recipe for the first time. There are still several things that I want to learn how to do, such as making candles & soap and learning how to knit (to make cute booties and hats for the new baby!). Since I still have many things to learn, I was really excited to get the Homestead Blessings 10 pk DVD to review.





About the Homestead Blessings DVDs!

The Homestead Blessings Series is a wonderful instructional series taught by the West Ladies. Vicki, Jasmine, Hannah, and CeCe. This group of women live on a homestead and practically do everything and make everything from scratch. What a better group of women to learn from that have mastered the tricks to running a successful homestead?

I was given the opportunity to review the 10 pack of DVDs from Homestead Blessings. However, the West Ladies are continually adding new DVDs to their collection. The 10 pack featured the topics:  bread making, candle making, soap making, canning, gardening, herbs, cooking, dairy, sewing, and quilting. I would consider this great basic DVD collection to start out with, but the DVDs are also sold individually if you are not wanting the whole set.

The Art of Bread Making DVD
I have been struggling to make my own homemade whole wheat bread lately. It just has not been turning out correctly and has been discouraging. Watching this DVD made it seem so simple and inspired me to keep trying! What I love about this DVD in particular is that the West Ladies use healthier ingredients like whole wheat and natural sweeteners in their baking.




The Art of Candle Making
Learning how to make candles is on my "to learn list" and has been for a very long time. In this DVD the West Ladies show how to make very basic candles as well as more elaborate decorated candles with beautiful pressed flowers. They give very clear directions and describe the materials that they use to make these candles so it does not seem daunting.




The Art of Canning
I have watched my grandma and mom can numerous times growing up, but had yet to do it myself. I am planning a garden for next year and have already picked up lots of canning supplies. After watching this DVD I couldn't wait until next year to start canning and I also thought it would be a good idea to "practice" before attempting a large batch of tomato sauce from my garden. I picked up some apples and made some apple butter! You can read my post here. I had a wonderful experience! I'm looking forward to next summer now with all the canning opportunities.




The Art of Soap Making
Learning to make soap is also on my "to learn list", but once again soap seems like it should be a long task and there is more science into it than I want to get into. It's not though! The West Ladies show how simple it really is. A great blessing to making your own soap is that you know exactly what goes into it. This is great for those who have a lot of allergies. Hand made soap is also terrific to give for birthdays or Christmas gifts.



The Art of Gardening
So far I would say that this DVD has been the most informative to me since I'm planning on a garden for the spring. The West Ladies cover basics about gardening and share how simple it is to prepare a bed for planting (which would probably be the first thing that would scare people away from attempting to start a garden). I am planning to use their lasagna gardening style for part of my beds next year.






The Art of Herbs
I admit, I don't know much about herbs when it comes to adding them to dishes or cooking. The West Ladies share how herbs can add so much flavor not only to our food, but many other health benefits to using herbs. I am excited about growing some herbs next year as well!




The Art of Dairy Delights
This is a DVD I think every home maker needs! The West Ladies show how easy it is to make your own butter, buttermilk, yogurt and other diary products from fresh milk. Although I don't have a cow in my back yard like the West Ladies to get real fresh milk, I can still make all of these wonderful dairy delights from store bought milk. Yogurt especially is so good for our bodies because of the probiotics and it is simple & more economical to make it yourself with their easy steps.






The Art of Sewing 
Really, before I learned how to cook I learned how to sew! I love sewing and have made so many things (all of Ethan's baby bedding for one!). I am even in the process of sewing several cloth diapers at the moment. Sewing appears to be a dying hobby and it's a shame! This is a great dvd for those who want to learn some basics to sewing.


The Art of Quilting
I love quilts! My mom made a full sized quilt for me when I was young and still love it. I plan to make a quilt for each of our children as well for their keepsake, but have yet to start a quilt! I have made a couple of smaller toddler quilts, but that is it so far. This DVD has inspired me to start planning and slowly (as I have time) work on them. 




The Art of Cooking
This was one of my favorites dvds! The West ladies make several dishes that are just delicious looking! They use healthier ingredients in their recipes which I love as well. They make a meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and by the time you finish the dvd you'll be hungry!



I have really enjoyed watching all of the Homestead Blessings DVDs. Since I'm a visual learner, this has been the best way for me to learn the basics of many home making topics. I believe this series is great for those home makers that want to learn more or even for the younger girls to learn. The DVDs were very informative and fun to watch! Thanks to the West Ladies I now feel more confident learning new hobbies such as the soap and candle making as well as brush up my other home making skills.

Buy It! You can purchase the Homestead Blessings Series or other great DVDs directly at Franklin Springs Media.


WIN IT! Franklin Springs Media is giving away one Homestead Blessings: The Art of Sewing DVD to a Take Time to Smell the Rose Reader!  


You have the chance to enter several entries by the doing the following. Each one counts as 1 entry unless otherwise specified. I am now making it a requirement to follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect to enter my giveaways.

• MANDATORY ENTRY(You also must be following my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect)-counts as 1: AND visit Franklin Springs Media and tell me what other DVD(s) you would like to watch.  

• Subscribe to my blog via email with Feedburner (on right side bar).
  

• Blog about my giveaway before Oct 31st, linking back to this giveaway. Leave the URL where you blogged.

• Grab my  Take Time to Smell the Rose button. Leave URL where it is posted.

• Grab my Take Time to Share Your Giveaway Sunday button. Leave URL where it is posted.

• Grab my Bump 2 Baby event button. Leave URL where it is posted. 

• Follow Smell_the_Rose AND Franklin Springs on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway. After initial "tweet" you may gain an extra entry each day. Limit 1 tweet a day.  Leave URL where you tweeted in your comment. Please use this copy & paste tweet:

Win The Art of Sewing DVD from @FranklinSprings and @Smell_the_Rose. Ends 11/07 #giveaway #dvd #sewing http://tiny.cc/HomesteadBlessings

• Sign up for the Franklin Springs Media Newsletter. 3 entries!

•  'Like' Franklin Springs Media on Facebook and write on their wall that I sent you (even if you are already a fan). 3 entries!

**Leave your email on each comment. You must do this in order to win!**

Giveaway ends Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 9:00 p.m.(CST) Winner will be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner will also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

This giveaway is open to USA residents ONLY . Must be 18 years old or older to win.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own and are not swayed by any monetary or product compensation. I received the 10 pk Homestead Blessings Series and no other compensation was received. 

 

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~