Book Review -" Put Your Stamp On It"

Time for a craft book review.  This week I have chosen "Put Your Stamp On It, stationery, aprons, totes, and more", by Meagan Lewis.  This is not the usual "how to use rubber stamps" book.  Meagan has 20 great projects plus instructions for making your own hand carved stamps.  Stamping isn't just for stationery and cards anymore.  In this book, there are a number of out of the ordinary projects.

As you can see on the cover, there are some paper projects like this pretty card.

And this monogram stationery.

And these pretty lined envelopes.


But there are also instructions for home dec items like this jewelry organizer.  Plus there's a lamp shade and storage organizers, too.

I like to stamp on fabric more often than not.  Mostly, I'm working on fabric journals.  Meagan has several fabric stamping projects like an apron, tote bags, scarf and this nifty hair bow.

And this bright, sunny pillowcase.

There are plenty on instructions on carving, color combining, using stamping supplies and caring for your supplies.  This book is definitely worth a  second look.  I purchased it not necessarily for the projects shown but for the techniques it teaches me.  Check it out.

Zakka Style -24 Projects Stitched With Ease to Give, Use and Enjoy - Book Review

It's time for a new book review.  As always, I only review books that I like, love, cherish or can't live without!  This book fits into one of those categories.  Zakka Style   compiled by Rashida Coleman-Hale is a great book filled with 24 fun and fabulous sewing and stitching projects.

Here's the Table of Contents.  Look at all the great projects.

Most of the  Zakka projects involve the use of linen.  Here's a great Messenger Bag to make.  Every project has a supply list, cutting instructions and assembly instructions.

I love mug rugs and here's a quick cute one to whip up.

Looking for a quick hand stitching project?  Give these magnets a try.

One of my personal favorites is this linen bag.  I have this thing for fabric bags, especially linen, lace, and  vintage fabric types.  This one is darling.  I'm a sewing accessory lover, too.  There are pin cushions and a smart sewing kit, as well.

And who doesn't carry around a water bottle?  EVERYONE does.  Here's a great water bottle holder to make in an afternoon.  So cute.

Zaaka refers to a simple kind of style.  This design movement has been part of Japanese style for some time.  Each of the projects in this book were designed by a different zakka artist from around the world.
  Zakka Style is definitely worth a second look.  I have no doubt you will find more than one  sewing project you love in this book.

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Craft Book Review - Hand Printing From Nature

Today, you'll get a look into a great printing book by Laura Bethmann called "Hand Printing From Nature - Create Unique Prints for Fabric, Paper, and Other Surfaces Using Natural and Found Materials."    This 192 page binder style book comes from Storey Publishing.  They publish a lot of Animal Care and  nature inspired books.  In fact, their mission is to "serve customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment".  Gotta love that.

As you can see I got this at the Tractor Supply for $5.  Great deal for a great book.  Let's take a look inside.

As you can gather from the title and from the photos, this book is all about making stamps from natural elements.  Laura uses fruits and vegetables, feathers, leaves, shells and more.

     The Table of Contents reads like this:

1.  Direct Impressions of LIfe
2.  Collecting Natural Objects
3.  Pigments and Supplies
4.  Printing Methods
5.  Print Projects with Single & Repeated Motifs
6.  Creating Hand-Printed Patterns
7.  Printing Scenes and Flowers

This book is filled with design tips, characteristics of natural objects,  and loads of photos.  Most of us love the visuals.

The author gives us information on fabric, paints, paper, different printing surfaces, printing methods

and best supplies.  That's helpful for those of us who are fairly new to stamping.

Lastly, this manual is filled with projects that you'll love.  You'll find stationery, notebooks, plenty of home accessories, totes, pictures, wall murals and more.

You'll hear me say this a lot, but here we go...I LOVE THIS BOOK!  I love flower pounding(that's an upcoming review) and anything that involves nature and art is right up my alley.  The project possibilities are endless.  I also  like this book because you can do a very simplistic project - great for the kiddos, too - or you can combine elements, medium and colors and make a very involved masterpiece.
    Give this book a try.  I think you'll love it, too!

Why Book Reviews?

If you could dissect my brain you would see a few giant sections labeled "animals", "books"," crafts", "patterns", "garden", "food", "kid activities/teaching", "country music", and "writing".  My passion and energy tends to filter into these topics.  As long as I can remember back, I have been creative and  have loved books and animals.  When I was a kid I had some sort of book club subscription in which I would be sent a book a month.  I still have some of them.  They evoke a wave of warmth and good thoughts when I see their covers.  Among them, the "Harry the Dirt Dog", and "Lyle the Crocodile" series and "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" are a few of my favorites.  At the risk of giving away my age I can still hear Captain Kangaroo reading some of these over the TV.  Ah, fond memories, simpler times.
      Snap back to present times.  Point being here is that I simply love books.  I have an extensive library of craft books.  I'm talking bordering on hoarding here folks, as crafting is a huge part of my life.  Although it's so fast to look up recipes on line (that's fodder for another post and obsession), I still have some favorite cook books - "close to" bordering on hoarding - that I refer to.  Then... I still LOVE children's literature.  The teacher and big kid in me adores picture books.  Over the past, oh 30 years, I have read literally hundreds of picture books and countless chapter books to my students and my boys.    We have some favorite chapter book series, too.  I have read to my children since their first day home from the hospital and we still read to our ten year old.  It's a special moment at the end of the day.  When my boys were little I would leave the library with 35- 50 books a week and we would read every last one of them, critiquing each one.  Me thinking, "wow great, witty book".  Or we'd all say  "I can't believe that book got published, we could have written a better book."  Currently, I also volunteer in boy#3's school library.
     Lastly, there's the adult reader in me who can't go to sleep at night without reading at least a page or two of the book de jour.  Although my favorite genre at the moment (ok, big reveal here at the risk of being judged) tends to be in the romance category, with present day cowboy/ranch  and historical early American/follow the Oregon trail/life as it used to be in the 1800's books on the top of the heap.  I think I must have had a past life living in a cabin out on the prairie somewhere.  Guess that's the farm girl in me.  Occasionally, a friend will recommend a read that sneaks into the pile, too.  Sometimes, I devour them, sometimes not so much.  At the end of the day, I simply don't want to have to think.  I just want to be entertained.  Reading at 10:00 or 11:00 is not my best thinking time - period!
     So why all this blabbering on about the types of books I like? Part of  my intention with this blog was to review craft books because I have so many I love and when I find a book (or recipe) I love I want to shout it from my roof top, take out an ad in the  paper, and buy advertising time during the Superbowl just to share it with anyone who will listen.  OK, a little extreme, I know.  But really, it's all about my love for these gems.  However, as the blog grows so has my big picture for it.  I have decided that I'll be reviewing kid books,  a few cook books and big girl books as well, when I find one that makes me want to jump with joy.  Some of these will be older books because information is often timeless OR can be updated in your mind and still have some merit.
    So there you have it.  Get ready to love books right along with me. Happy crafting, happy cooking, happy reading.

200 Creative Crafts For You & Your Home - Time for another book review...

I buy books that inspire me.  It is very rare that I actually use a pattern straight from a book.  I swoon over the pictures, log the basic idea in my mental file and learn new techniques that I can apply to my own creations.  Some of my favorite books are older publications that have some great basic retro-type ideas.
     This book, "200 Creative Crafts for You & Your Home"  is packed with exactly what it says, 200 pieces of inspiration.  Most of these ideas are simple and fast to create.

There are two sections to this publication.  The first section, crafts for you, contains more personal craft projects like jewelry, bags and accessories.

The second half of the book has projects for your home including frames, vases, teaspoon coat hooks and furniture.  There are 312 pages of goodness here.

There are so many ideas I have tagged in this book I'll never have the time to make them all, but if you are looking for a quick project-some of which can be kid/teen friendly, give this publication a looksy.  Take the basic idea and embellish to your heart's content.   Out of 200 ideas you are bound to find more than a few that pique your interest.

TODAY'S CRAFT BOOK REVIEW: fabric leftovers BY D'ARCY-JEAN MILNE

Today, I'm going to review a fun publication by D'Arcy-Jean Milne called "fabric leftovers - Simple, adaptable ways to use up scraps".  And do we all have a mountain of scraps that we can't bear to part with?  Crafters tend to be a frugal lot and we are certain that we can put each and every one of our little scraps to good use.  This book will help you to do just that.  Even the smallest scrap can be incorporated into awesome little works of art.  One of the projects that really drew me to this book are the colorful embellished little fabric beads.  It's a quickie craft and one that is very portable.

I see each of these as a blank canvas so the possibilities of fabric and embellishing choices are endless!
     The beginning of the book focuses on sorting fabric, colors, threads, processing and decorative stitches.  The base of several of the projects is "lazy crazy patchwork"-alias sewing your scraps together.

   From there you can construct many of the projects in the book such as these boxes and frames.

     Coffee cuffs, wallets, cases, "jewellery",  bowls,  journals and bags also use this technique.  There's plenty of other craftiness included in the book such as painted buttons, "no worries" dolls and fabric flowers.
     Give this little gem a look-see.  I think you'll find new life for your treasured fabric scraps.

Photo Fiasco and First Book Review: "Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry" by Sherri Haab

OK, I'm trying out the new draft option on the dashboard.  I thought I just didn't know what I was doing when I posted for the first time with photos and my photos ended up at the top and my text wasn't quite where I wanted it to be!  So..gotta love the internet...I put the question out there about the photo fiasco and found plenty of tips on how to arrange your photos exactly the way you want them.  Using the new draft button is the one I'm trying out today.  Let's see if it works...

     I never create anything exactly like the projects I see in books and magazines.  Instead, I am so incredibly inspired by other artist's work. I look at their creations and immediately my brain starts thinking "Ooo I could make it this way" or "I have that vintage lace that would look great on this."

My first review is on one of my favorite craft books-EVER.  It's a beauty by Sherri Haab entitled
 Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry, 20 Beautiful Projects to Bead, Stitch, Knot, and Braid.  Let's check out a few of my favorite Sherri projects.
    Yay! Looks like this is working!
     I am a lover of fibers, felted sweaters, luscious threads, fabric and jewelry.  Beads and chains aren't really my thing but add some fabric and fibers and I'm sold.

     All kinds of flowers are the rage these days-crochet 'em, felt 'em, sew 'em, stitch 'em-they are all appealing to me.  I love the colors, textures and bling-filled centers.  Sherri's book has a number of flowers for you to test.

This little stitched flower is a ring.  Love that!  Be sure to check out the crochet flowers, hooked flowers and felted flowers which appear on the front cover.
     I am also passionately fond of cuff bracelets.  I guess I see them as a blank canvas with endless possibilities.  Make them plain, with lace, beads, sequins, you name it.  They can be dressed up or dressed down and can match whatever outfit you choose for the day.  Sherri has included a number of cuffs in the mix.

 There are necklaces, bracelets, brooches and rings included in Sherri's 125 page book.  Make charms, Yo Yo necklaces and even make some braided jewelry, as well.  There are lovely colored photos of each project.  Check it out.  I think you will love it!

OK, hold your breath.  I'm going to click on "publish" and hope everything is arranged just like it is in draft.  Here goes...