3 Craft Book Ideas For Christmas

If you are looking for some craft book Christmas present ideas for the crafty DIY person in your life or even to treat yourself with then I have some suggestions for you. I have three craft books from CICO Books, one for their Home and Garden range the over two from their range of craft books, each book I'm writing about today is different but all of them have a DIY home décor theme.

I'm not doing a full review today but more an overview of each one to give you a flavour of the book and hopefully you will want to check them out some more!

But before I get started I just want to thank CICO Books for sending the books to me. I'm not being paid by CICO Books to talk about the books but I do use affiliate links on my blog so there are affiliate links in this blog post.

Right, shall we get started?


1. Furniture Hacks And Other Creative Updates For A Unique And Stylish Home - Hester Van Overbeek.

Furniture Hacks by Hester Van Overbeekis filled with some lovely ideas ranging from just adding a lick of paint to spruce up a tired looking piece to construction projects that will need power tools. I was lucky enough to go to Hester's book launch party at West Elms where we got to make the plate wall clocks projects from her book. It was great fun to do.

When we first moved into our new house I was like, we are so going to upcycle all the furniture, picked up from junk yards and car boots, obviously, no IKEA, and bespoke the heck out of our décor. A year later on and we have bought new furniture, we are an IKEA haven and the only upcycling we have done so far is painting the kitchen chairs different colours, which look pretty cool by the way!

Yeah, reality hit fast when I realised that time for all the projects in my head was short and that we needed furniture to unpack our moving boxes into STAT. So now I've reassessed and I'm thinking that I'm going to IKEA hack my way to a bespoke décor and so Hester's Furniture Hacks could not have come at a better time for us.

I would say that you would not need much experience to get cracking on many of the projects in this book, so if you are a completely newbie you can get to it immediately. Although it might help for some of the projects for example I would be cleaning my draw fronts then putting a clear top coat of vanish over the Washi Tape decorated draw fronts 'coz that stuff will be peeling off after a few days I can tell you!

Nitty Gritty:
The book is hardback, measures approximately 19.5 cm wide x 24 cm high, recommended retail price £14.99, 144 pages and is split into areas inside and outside of the living space with an overview of tools, materials, techniques and UK sourcing suggestions at the back. Beautiful styling photography and some handy step by step instructions and photography.

Favourite Furniture Hacks Projects:
Some of my favourite projects from the book - the Wooden Bed Surround, the Outdoor Bench, the Bedside Light just to name a few. I will definitely be dipping in and out of this book as we try to make our house a home.



2. Wall Art 35 Fresh And Striking Projects To Decorate Your Walls - Clare Youngs

When I first saw the cover photo for Wall Art by Clare YoungsI thought it was just going to be all about art you do directly on the wall. But it is more than that, there are a huge range of decorating projects including things to hang and things to add to the wall surface itself. As the tagline says there are 35 ideas and what I really love about this book is that there are ideas for using all sorts of materials from fabric to live decoration with plants. There are both 2D and 3D artwork ideas in this book, which is right up my street as I love tactile 3 dimensional art.

Lovely project photography, I would say there are more project close ups than styled in a room type of photos. But it is a balance between being able to see the project and giving an idea of how it looks in a room and probably close-ups are more important for the reader. There are many projects that will be familiar to Papercrafters such as papercutting, stamp making as there are projects that will be familiar to stitchers and artists. I think that is what I like most about this book, it brings together ideas from many disciplines into one dip-in resource. So there is an idea for everyone whatever your preferred craft and if you are a newbie then lots to try out.

Nitty Gritty:
The book is softback, measures approximately 19 cm wide x 23 cm high, recommended retail price £12.99, 144 pages and is split loosely into types of projects and each section has a range of different ideas so it is a little hard to categorise into themes. There is also a short techniques section at the front and some templates for some of the designs at the back and a US and UK suppliers list. Projects are photographed in details and close-ups, with some close-up of an area in the house styled photos. The step by step photographs are done as coloured illustrations.

Favourite Wall Art Projects:
I love the Furry Friends Trophy Heads, I'm thinking I might do a cats head one, the Pretty Patchwork is fun and a great way to use up some of my patterned paper stock! Then there is the Reclaimed Wood Panel and all the directly on the wall work ideas I'm loving too.


3. Paper Pom-Poms And Other Party Decorations - Juliet Carr

Back to my roots with this book and a nod to papercrafters everywhere - lets get our PARTY on because it is Paper Pom-Poms And Other Party Decorations by Juliet Carr.Banners, Garlands, Bunting are the DIY Party crafters' staple and massively popular in occasional and seasonal home décor. Think Christmas, Hanakkah, New Year, Birthdays, Partys, Halloween, yep all NEED a banner, garland, bunting the lot!

There are some amazing things going on with tissue paper in this book and I'm keen to have a go at some of them, I think that many of them would add a lovely feature to many a party décor theme or even as more permanent home décor features, perhaps matched with some wall art (see above). But there are also a couple of projects that I'm not sure would look anything other than screwed up bits of paper in my hands but I'm willing to give it a go!

The book is a great resource if you are into DIY party decorations and would be great for a beginner or someone with more craft experience looking for some inspiration.

Nitty Gritty:
The book is softback, measures approximately 31 cm wide x 27.5 cm high, 128 pages, recommended retail price £12.99 and is split into three sections including a Centrepiece and Showstoppers section with giant flowers - love the giant flowers. There is also a materials and tools section and some templates plus a US/ Canada and UK suppliers section. There are lots of project close-up photos, a few styled in a room close-up photos and photo step by steps.

Favourite Paper Pom-Poms Projects:
The large flowers - yeah I mentioned them already! Love them! I adore the Giant Rose and Giant Gerberas. I also want to have a go at the Cupcake Flower lights, very cute. Oh and great to see the Dreidel Bunting. Fab idea!


Three different craft DIY books but all great for any Home Décor enthusiast or the crafter wanting to spread out to big projects for the home. They are all a great curation and showcase for some lovely and handy contemporary décor ideas and each has something for any level of crafting experience. So which one would you pick? Or do you have any of them already and what do you think of them?

Let me know in the comments below.

Kim

Come And Connect With Me:

YouTube

Instagram

My Shop

Join My Newsletter!

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Book Review - FloraBunda Style by Suzanne McNeill

Book Review - FloraBunda Style by Suzanne McNeill Published by Design Originals

I might spend most of my life online but I do love books and, thanks to the guys at Design Originals who have sent me over a review copy of Suzanne McNeill's FloraBunda Style, I have a new one to share with you all today. I've not been paid for this review but I do use affiliate links on my blog and there are some in this blog post.

According to the press release, FloraBunda represents the 'next generation' of Zentangle. Now I come to this book not really knowing much about Zentangle, I know of it, of course, you can't work in this industry and not know of it, but I've not yet been bitten by the Zentangle bug. However, I am a happy doodler! I love drawing flora and fauna and I'm always looking to extend my doodle repertoire because we doodlers can often get stuck in the same patterns. So I was keen to give FloraBunda Style a go and give someone else's doodle style a try.

The first thing I noticed about FloraBunda is that as well as being a source of inspiration for both your drawing and for off-the-page project work, it is also a workbook and you are actively encouraged to draw in the book itself. *Shriek* I'm almost sucked through the screen from your collective sharp intakes of breath! I know! Well, I suppose if you are used to the adult colouring books then you are well versed in drawing and colouring in books.

The book is designed for you to draw in and the paper is smooth, slightly toothed, very, very slightly off-white and is described in the 'How to Use This Book' section as 'a high-quality artist paper'. Oh boy, you are going to want me to scribble in my lovely book now aren't you? Just to prove it? *Sigh* OK then, as it is for you, I will do it.

Key to the mark makers I used:

1. Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Black, Copic Spica Lavender, Crayola PRO Pink
2. Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen Gold
3. Staedtler all point pen Blue, Sakura Glaze Gel Pen blue, Copic Spica Orange
4. Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Black, Winsor and Newton watercolour red
5. ZIG Art and Graphic Twin green, ZIG BrusH2O water brush
6. Winsor and Newton watercolour
7. Derwent Inktense Fuchsia pencil
8. PrismaColor pencils Mulberry, Greyed Lavender, Terricotta
9. Pencil
10. ZIG Cocoiro Letter Pen

I would not suggest using alcohol-based pens such as Sharpies, Copics, Promarkers and the like as these will just bleed through the paper.

The water wrinkles the paper a little so you will only want to use it lightly and don't saturate the paper, otherwise it holds up quite well with the water.


Explore FloraBunda Style

The book is around 21.7 cm x 27.9 cm in size and paperback. I thought the binding was quite clever as it allows you to open the book wide without breaking the spine, but even so it is hard to get the book really flat and you might need to hold it down when drawing in it.

The book is made up of six free-flowing sections: What is FloraBunda? Getting Started, Tools, The Designs, Design Index and the Index.

The What is FloraBunda? section introduces the idea and gives you a little about Suzanne McNeill, then the Getting Started section briefly talks about drawing the designs and has a little bit of colour theory. This is followed by the Tools section, which talks about pens and colouring tools with example pictures to illustrate the looks you can get with each.

There is not a lot of information on brands – there are few pen brands talked about but not really much on what type of watercolour or colouring pencil to use or techniques for using them. But then too much technical information might be a bit off-putting for a newbie and I think the aim of the book is more inspiration to get people into using these things.

The main bulk of the book is of course the designs and there are lots and lots of inspiration for different flower and foliage drawings. As you work through the book, you will see that on each page there are both simple designs and then inspiration for more complex work and inter-spaced between them are ideas on how to take the ideas into craft pieces such as mug decoration, stitching, home décor, wood burning, jewellery to name just a few. The craft projects do not have photo steps but pictures of the final piece accompanied with a written step by step and I think they are more there for 'look what you can do with these designs' than 'this is how you do it'.

Before you get to the Design Index, which has a pictorial list of all the elements drawn in the book, there are a few lettering and alphabet designs and ideas, which are very useful, and there are some simple and more elaborate lettering ideas. The final page is the book index plus a bit more about the author.

What I love about this book

• It is full of some really lovely flora and fauna inspiration for your drawing/doodling and illustrative work.
• There are some great project ideas to take the drawing into 3D project work.
• Some lovely lettering inspiration too.
• The project photography is contemporary.
• After the initial *zoinks* I don't want to spoil the book by drawing in it, I actually liked that there was space next to the various designs to have a go.
• It's a great way to relax with not having to think too much.
• You can colour in all of the designs in the book.

What I'm not so keen on about this book

• It's that fine line between practising someone else's style and developing your own style. There isn't really a lot in the book about developing your own style. But then I don't think these kind of books are really for people who want to develop their own style.
• Even though I started coming around to the whole writing in the book thing, I will still stick to my sketch pad thanks!
• Some of the products used might not be listed in enough detail for a complete newbie to crafting.

Who Is FloraBunda Style For?

I think that FloraBunda Style would be perfect for someone who loves the adult colouring books but wants to take it to the next level and start creating their own designs to colour in but isn't really sure how. This is a great way to get started in building up drawing confidence.


Where To Buy

You can find FloraBunda by Suzanne McNeill in Amazon.uk where it is current retailing at £12.99 or Amazon.com ($15.28) as well as other popular bookshops, where you might actually find it cheaper so shop around.


Have you got this book? What do you think of it or other books by Suzanne McNeill? I would love to know so do leave me a comment.

Kim

Come And Connect With Me:

YouTube

Instagram

My Shop

Join My Newsletter!

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Cricut Explore - Electronic Cutting Machine Review

Say 'hello' to the newest electronic cutting machine on the market – the Cricut Explore. Launching on the UK Market this month this newest member of the Provo Craft die-cutting range boasts a total design reboot. 

I was lucky enough to get the full scoop at the April 2014 UK blogger launch event along with some other crafty and lifestyle bloggers and I thought I would share with you some of my initial thoughts and news about the new machine. 

I'm super-excited to share this with you, as you know I've been playing with a few of the different electronic cutting machine on the market so it is great to be in a position to compare and contrast and share the results with you guys.

Well from first look I was impressed. You can tell from when you open the box that a lot of care has gone into making the Cricut Explore an easy, take from the box and start cutting experience. There is very little set up and it is very intuitive so you don't have lots of manuals to read or videos you have to watch to be able to set up and get cutting straight away.

From the blogger event in April (where all the gorgeous inspirational projects you can see here and made by Suzie Candlin were from) you could tell that they are aiming this machine towards contemporary crafters who are interested in home decor and items for friends and family.

When you download the Cricut Design Space software this becomes obvious again as there are many canvas options from baby grows to foot wear and lots in between available to help you create. But of course their Papercrafter audience are catered to as well, with card blanks and Scrapbook layouts and the like.

The machine itself is beautifully designed with a smooth one-touch open, a covered slot for your Cricut cartridges if you have them, places to store tools and spare blades and even a carry bag to house it in. But most impressive of all is the simple dial system or 'Cut Smart Technology' for setting the material type you want to cut. 

So no more setting the depth of the blade or even worrying about the speed as the software and machine do this all for you, all you have to do is turn the dial on the machine to the material you are cutting. Apparently it can cut to a thickness of 1 mm or 2 mm if it is a less dense material.

The guys from Cricut were very proud of the fact that a lot of research and development has gone into this machine including talking to crafters about what they want from an electronic cutting machine, which sounds great for us! 

So far I've only cut card and paper but when I have time I shall do some experimenting for you with different materials. I've got a ton of projects I want to do and when (if) we eventually move house, I will be running the machine to its limits I can tell you, every room will have something Cricut Explored!

Another thing that I love about this machine is that it has two clamps, one for your cutting blade and one for your pen or scoring tool! How cool? So you can do both in one pass and without having to take out the blade to put a pen in. 

So yes, I am loving the Cricut Explore machine, however, I'm a little disappointed that they haven't done more to the software. I am not a big fan of the previous Cricut software Cricut Craftroom and apart from a few things the new software Cricut Design Space isn't much of an improvement. 

But let's look at the positives of the Cricut Design Space first. The biggest update to the software is that you can now use your own designs to make cutting files - what? WHAT? I know! Cool! I love making my own cutting files and now you can upload an image as a JPG, GIF, PNG or BMP file and convert it to a cutting file or you can upload any of the SVG or DXF  files you have. Wahoo! Very, very happy about that!

The other nice thing about Cricut Design Space is that they have bought it up to date with an easy to navigate, cleaner look. Finally another great improvement is that you can now write or cut any of the typefaces you already have loaded on your computer, before you could only use the alphas that they offered you and you had to own them to be able to cut them.

But some of the down points. First of all I find the software too simple and get annoyed that you can't draw items in it, any shape you want to use you have to insert, which also means you either have to own it to cut it or it is one that you have uploaded yourself and converted to a cutting file. I haven't found a way to change the sizes to cm instead of inches and there are no alignment tools to get you shapes in the right place.

The new software is all online, like the previous version, but this time it works in your browser rather than a stand-alone window. This means that when you get updates you have to close the browser down to install it and I have actually had to reboot my computer to install the update *SIGH* computers! Also if your browser crashes so does what you are working on. Annoyed? You will be!

It also means - and this is a big one - you can not design offline, you can't access your designs if you are offline, you can not use the cutting machine if you are offline.

Ok, so some of these things I can work around and probably most users won't even notice but it is a shame that you can not do any offline designing or store your designs on your own computer. I mean everyone is always online, right?

But putting those things aside I am really excited about the Cricut Explore and the fact I can now use my own designs to cut, that makes up for the stuff I don't like about the software.

I'm hoping to share some more things with you over the next few weeks as I learn more about it and I would love to hear your views on it as well.

So here is some technical stuff if you are interested:

Size: 56.4 cm W x 15.2 cm H x 12.7 cm D (22.2" W x 6" H x 7" D)

Weight: 4.94 kg (10.9 lbs)

RRP: £249.99

You can buy designs individually starting at 79p (over 50,000 in the library). Or get a one month subscription at £7.99 or a one year subscription £79.99 for access to the Cricut-branded designs which account for over 25,000 designs in the library. 

What you get in the box:

Cricut Explore Cutting Machine

Cricut Marker – Metallic Silver

Cricut Blade and housing

StandardGrip 12” by 12” cutting matt

Link address to the free Cricut Design Space software with 50 free projects

Quick setup guide

Sample materials to cut including cardstock, iron-on, vinyl and two Duck Tape sheets 

Carry bag

USB cable

Power cable

I don't know why I like that kind of information, it is probably the scientist in me. The machine is available from Amazon.

Catch you later Cutinators.

Kim

[Disclaimer time: I did get a machine to play with and access to cutting files but as always my views are as unbiased as I can make them. I also have some affiliated links in this post which mean that if you click through and decide to buy I get a percentage of the sale. But it all goes to helping me run my blog as this is my full time job and I don't endorse things I don't use myself.]

Like this? You Might also like:

Book Review - Sew Quick, Sew Cute By Fiona Goble

Book Review - Sew Quick, Sew Cute by Fiona Goble Published by Ivy Press ISBN: 978-1-78240-088-2

It's book review time and I really do have a super cute stitchery craft book to share with you today, and they really don't come any cuter than this! Well straight off as soon as I opened Sew Quick, Sew Cute from Fiona Goble I found projects I wanted to try. There is a large range of sewing projects in this book from toys for babies to clothes for you and your family through bags, and even footwear, all of them very simple makes with the time-challenged in mind. Yep that is all of us isn't it? 

There are thirty projects, described on the cover as 'Simple, Speedy Projects' and they certainly are, but the beauty of them is that even sewing-beginners can dive into this book, get started and hopefully build confidence in their sewing skills. 

For those with a high degree of sewing skills, you might find these projects too simple and probably would not need help putting the projects together. For me, I would class myself at an intermediate sewing level (I can make clothes from a simple pattern, I know my way around a sewing machine and I *LOVE* sewing), and there are definitely projects that I want to make from this book. I found reading through the book quite inspiring. I think it is as much about a look as it is the project ideas and with some clever fabric choices, the projects tap straight into the current looks and trends in the sewing crafts. 

The book starts with a page of tips on what tools you need to make the projects. Next there is a page talking about the different fabrics you will need. Then there is a two-page spread about some of the basic sewing techniques you will be using, such as how to do a topstitch, how to clip curves and corners etc. It also gives tips on how to prepare the templates and all the templates are provided with the projects where needed and each project comes with an estimated time it will take to complete the project.

The book itself is beautifully presented with great project photography and clear step-by-step sketches rather than photographs. It's a paperback, with cover flaps, of 144 pages and measures 25 cm high by 20 cm wide and it has a recommended retail price of £14.99.

You can find Sew Quick, Sew Cute on pre-order over at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com and it is due out in the first week of February.

Happy Stitching!

Kim

[Disclaimer Time: This is a sponsored book review so I received a copy of the book to review but as with all my blog posts I always try to give you my honest, unbiased opinion. (Prices correct for the date the blog post went live)]

Metal Filigree Flower Embellishments From The Bead & Button Company

Christmas has come early! Look what arrived in my postbox this week...

They are metal filigree flower embellishments and come from the Bead & Button Company, aren't they pretty? They are an antique bronze colour and come in a pack of 60, so plenty to play with or to split up and give to crafty friends or share in a crafty group.

You get six designs and 10 of each design, the largest is about 5.7 x 5.9 cm and the smallest is about 4 cm x 4 cm and they are bendable so you can move the petals or curve the layers slightly.

I'm really looking forward to using these in a project, so watch this space in the New Year and I will let you know how I get on with them. 

In the meantime, if you want to check them out, maybe get yourself a little crafty Christmas treat, you can find them on the Bead & Button Company website. They retail for £14.99 for the pack of 60, which works out at around 25p / flower, which is a great price for metal embellishments.

I also spotted a 10% off offer with a code on the website too, as well as lots of buttons that I need to add to my ever growing button collection - oh dear!

Have a fun flower embellishment Thursday! Oh and do tell if you have used these, I would love to hear about it and see your projects.

Kim

[Disclaimer Time: This is a sponsored review/product spot but as with all my blog posts I always try to give you my honest, unbiased opinion. (Prices correct for the date the blog post went live)]