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The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers

What woman doesn’t love flowers? Seriously. I swoon for gerbera daisies. My hibiscus bushes in full bloom are a source of unmatched joy. And any floral-scented perfume is a gift I love to receive.  So when I was told I’d be handling the publicity for a flower-making craft book, I did a little happy dance around my desk.

The book publishes in two weeks and is called The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers (Abrams | STC Craft), by an amazing artist named Livia Cetti.

The subtitle, A Guide to Making Unbelievably Realistic Paper Blooms, is no joke. Livia’s flowers look breathtakingly liek the real deal. Just look at this centerpiece…

And for my northern virginia and DC friends, just look at these cherry blossoms! With our never-ending winter weather, the trees around the National Park won’t be looking this fabulous.

Speaking of DC, author Livia Cetti had the honor of decorating The White House with her realistic tissue paper petals. At the time, Michelle Obama had hoped to bring in hibiscus flowers for a Korean state dinner. But, they were not in season – so the organizers called on Livia to craft the next best thing! How cool, right?

Livia shares her secrets for gorgeous crepe paper blooms. Step-by-step instructions guide the reader through the basics, like bleaching the tissue paper, freehand painting with bleach, painting leaves, working with wire, making pom centers, wrapping stems, and sculpting petals. There’s even photos for each step of the process…

Then Livia gets to the good stuff – making flowers!

(This beautiful photo, taken by Addie Juell, makes me want to lean down and drink in what must be a heavenly scent!)

There’s projects for 25 of the most popular flowers you can think of…Rose, Dahlia, Jasmine, Sweet Pea, Tiger Lily, Tree Peony, Begonia, and more!

Livia also explains how to combine individual flowers to create arrangements with eye-popping color!
There’s an additional 23 projects for arrangements -from garlands and wreaths to wedding flowers, like corsages and cake toppers.

I’ve invited my craft club to come try their hand at making tissue flowers from The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers. As soon as the weather starts to feel like Spring around here, I’m setting the date!
I can’t wait! This book is so inspiring – the styling is simple and modern, which speaks to my home decor style. Of course, what room doesn’t look lovely with gorgeous flowers?

If you want to pick up a copy, here’s your link!
Learn more about Livia Cetti here.

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Handmade for the Garden – time to craft for the outdoors!

Even though its only 30 degrees outside, I know Spring is knocking on the door. Even some of the trees are sprouting little buds. I wouldn’t doubt that green shoots will be out of the ground soon. So, what better time to start crafting items to enhance my outdoor space!

And I have the perfect book to help!

Handmade for the Garden, by Susan Guagliumi. Published by STC Craft | A Melanie Falick Book.

This new book publishes next week and includes 75 do-it-yourself projects for all kinds of pretty and functional backyard goodies – like mosaic pots…

and newspaper pots for starting seeds…

or self-watering planters made from recycled garden hoses…

even a rustic arbor or trellis for your climbing roses and plants!
I especially like this hardware cloth garden basket project – perfect for hauling in my freshly picked tomatoes.

There’s a section of the book that even includes projects for making gifts from your garden, like garlic braids.

And what I really love about this how-to book is that it doesn’t shy away from the seemingly more challenging DIY – it teaches readers how to experiment with cement & hypertufa to make bowl-shaped flowerpots and box-shaped planters, or pretty stepping stones and decorative pieces like bird-baths. There’s also a section on bending and shaping copper to make ornaments for garden stakes or fence posts. And for those readers who prefer the very basic, there’s simple projects for stamping and stenciling pots. The point is – there is something for absolutely every garden enthusiast and every level of maker in this book!
The photos by John Gruen are gorgeous, and the writing is clear and precise. And the author, Susan, is a doll. Seriously, what a nice woman! Just check out some pics from the gardens outside her home!

Susan’s kitty, Buster! (you know I can’t resist sharing a photo of a pretty cat – especially one enjoying a bird bath!)

Lord – I’d love a raised bed like this full of tomatoes!  Guess what – there’s a project in the book for making these grapevine coiled tomato towers!
I just love Handmade for the Garden – it combines so many of the things I adore – crafting, gardening, and a general appreciation for the outdoors. Now to choose my first task!

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March is National Craft Month!

It’s the second day of March and you would think Spring temps might be settling in. But no. Instead we are preparing for another foot+ of snow tomorrow. So it seems fitting that March is also National Craft Month – because we’ll have plenty of indoor time for making stuff!

As a publicist for a craft book publisher, I see plenty of awesome makers, who share their talents with readers. In honor of Craft Month, I’ll be sharing thoughts, photos and projects from some of my favorites – and from those I think you’ll be most interested in.

First off, I want to share some pics from a book that has the coolest concept – it’s called BiblioCraft, and is written by a Rare Books Librarian, from the New York Public Library – Jessica Pigza. Her book includes wonderful craft projects inspired by resources from the library. And the projects were created by some of today’s hottest crafters – like Design*Sponge’s Grace Bonney, Heather Ross, Anna Bondoc, Natalie Chanin, Liesl Gibson and many more.

(Published by STC Craft | A Melanie Falick Book, an imprint of ABRAMS. Photo credit: Johnny Miller)

Part one of the book teaches you how to use your library – think call numbers and catalog searches. Part two is the meaty project section, and you see the library resources that inspired the creativity.

Take a look…

This marbled fabric pouch was designed by Jodi Kahn, 
and was inspired by an early 19th century marbled endpaper.
This throw blanket was designed by Natalie Chanin, 
and was inspired by a book of Alabama’s natural history and poetry.
These adorable animal votive holders were designed by Grace Bonney, and were inspired by a book called Historia Animalium, that features artwork of animals as they appeared four centuries ago.
These pillows were designed by the author, Jessica Pigza, and were inspired by handmade sheets of paper that included the animals as watermarks.
All of the projects in BiblioCraft include complete instructions, so you can make them, too. And check out your local library – its probably just brimming with goodies to inspire your next project – perfect for when you’re home-bound in a snow storm!
You can learn more about BiblioCraft here.
Check out the author here.
Check out the publisher here.
Buy the book here.

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I’m a sucker for a fill-in book!

Call it what you like – a scrapbook, art journal, diary or memory book – I LOVE fill-in books. You know, those wonderfully gifty-type books that prompt you to fill in the pages with notes, reflections, photos, drawings and things you never want to forget. I adore them. They call to me from the bookstore wracks. Really, they do.

I’ve done so many of them over the years. You probably have too. Like the bridal planner book. And of course, the Baby Book. I’ve done the fill-in prompted style, calendar style and even turned an ordinary photo book into a memory book.

For my husband’s first Father’s Day, I made him a scrapbook called, “Why My Daddy is Better Than Your Daddy.” Someday this will be Saxon’s book.

Years ago my bestie, Rhonda, and I exchanged fill-in books for each other. The one she gave me is called Friends are Flowers that Never Fade. I still cherish it! She stuck in all kinds of photos of us from high school and even a note I wrote to her! We still can’t remember what it was I said she should have “tried out for.” And “trauma” – why did I write that? Ha! Who knows, but this makes me smile.

(don’t judge my big hair in this pic – it was the 80’s!)
Recently, my mother-in-law gave me a fill-in book to keep throughout Saxon’s school years, called School Years. I really have to get started on it! I love that it has pockets for tucking in their drawings, tests, report cards, etc. So perfect!
And I’m super excited because for the first-time ever, I get to combine my book publicity job with my love of journaling books. This season I am handling the publicity for a new book called, Art Doodle Love: A Journal of Self Discovery (STC Craft | A Melanie Falick Book). 
This beautiful little book provides prompts and inspiration for scribbling, doodling, gluing things inside, documenting events, reflecting on things past and so much more. I love it and can’t wait to let the creativity ooze out onto the pages! Check out this video of a user enjoying Art Doodle Love!
And a book I just have to get my hands on is the Annie Sloan Workbook. 
I’ve seen so many furniture painters using it to keep their “recipes” for custom color mixes. You can use this as a place to keep magazine clippings of decor and items you want to use in your next home renovation ore redesign. There’s pockets too for storing fabric snippets, ribbon, etc. I would like to document my furniture paint work in it, by keeping before and after photos, along with paint swatches. Then I could carry this along to client’s homes to show them examples. At any rate, I need to hop on down to my local stockist, The Empty Nest, and get myself a copy pronto!
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, these little books are such a joy to give and receive. (And in case my Hubby is reading this – so are diamonds!)

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