The Blessings of Friendship Treasury Review

I love Mary Engelbreit.  Her vintage style illustrations speak of a simpler time, but they are colorful and classic and usually feature quotes that remind the reader of the things that are truly important. This Treasury which focuses on friendship is no exception.  I was keen to review this book because I loved the fact that several of the quotes are Bible verses, and because I wanted my children to have the opportunity to see Mary Engelbreit's style of art firsthand, since so much of her art showcases children.

Besides the Bible, quotes featured in this Treasury come from sources like Oscar Wilde, Henry David Thoreau, William Butler Yates, and many others.  The illustrations all feature different representations of friendship- children with each other, with their stuffed animals, and with their pets, as well as adult ladies with their lifelong "besties".

Personally, I will forever associate Mary Engelbreit's work with a dear friend who has gone on to be with the Lord now.  We served on the steering committee of our local MOPS group together, and the theme that year was about the hats moms wear.  We painted hat boxes different colors to use as table decorations, and then to dress them up a bit, we decoupaged Mary Engelbreit's artwork onto the sides and top of the boxes.  It took hours for my friend and I to trim the little artwork frames (they were from several years worth of day-by-day calendars) and them decoupage them onto the boxes, and it was over that project, as we chose which pieces of artwork to include and why, that our friendship began to grow.  So to me, Mary Englebreit's work is synonymous with friendship.

You can purchase The Blessings of Friendship Treasury for $17.99.  It's a beautiful, hard-covered book with dust jacket, and would make a lovely gift for the friends in your life.