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I love books and I love bags, so it was quite obvious that I would eventually succumb to this one. It has been in my Wishlist for a while: 24 "rockin' DIY projects"

Well, it starts most reassuringly
Use this book without caution. You have nothing to lose but your junk
 and then it has a Tool Key that even the most terrified beginner would be reassured by. The instructions are simple, accompanied by great piccies that really do illuminate the tricksy bits.

Then they include some inspirational bag makers with a single page 'look at me' that is probably not supposed to make you smile, but I did, cos they are all so enthusiastic (and young). The thought of making bags out of metal road signs or vinyl records (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) reduced me to sniggles that return whenever I open those pages!

But the patterns themselves are a doddle and the difficulty stars seem about right. I wanted the deconstructed tuxedo bag really as I have some great mens jackets that need a new lease of life. So when the book arrived I went straight to the Tux Redux.... my husband said he lost me for just over an hour!

As for making bags out of rubber bath mats.... I am sold, but can't see how it can be recycling when you buy the mats new!!

And I now know what to do when I see an umbrella collapsed in the street - take it home, wash it and make a fold up shopping bag out of it!!!

In short I am glad it was half price. I like the ideas, I think it is a great book for a beginner and I am certain I will use it as it has some work arounds I like the look of, including a great bag of ties, and I have quite a few of them, I can't resist buying them from charity shops!

So, score....

7/10   I think it is a great starter book and has some good ideas. I would recommend it to someone who has never reccyled or sewn before (it even has one bag that is stapled together!).






 

Yet another book

I've realised that now I am back at work I have ignored my blog - shocking!

But I have been cogitating and planning and thinking about making - again I prevaricate. But I love the planning stages and I have found out so much about the odd bits and pieces I used to do as a kid.

I was avidly reading lots of blogs, just allowing myself to wander through other peoples crafting lives without really looking where I was going. As I wandered I came across wire jewellery and I thought...

... I have some samples from the nice people at Wires, I could make something! Then I started looking further, yes, I have some pliers, I could make a mandrel out of various round things knocking around the house - result!

But did I? No! I carried on reading, plotting and planning and then realised I didn't really understand some of the terms I was reading. As a kid I would twist any old wire I found, hang something pretty off it and sell it at a school fayre! Now I know that I missed a few steps.

This was the result - yet another book!

It is a very pretty book and the basic techniques section is an absolute godsend. Nothing fancy but good pictures and simple instructions. I realised very quickly that I still need one vital piece of kit - a block of metal to temper the wire. But with 30 projects to look at I certainly found a few I can make from my existing stash - I may start with a ribbon bangle as I have some lovely lengths of material and ribbon that would look good caged in silver wire.

The projects are great, useable and, if you start with a bit of confidence, they don't look very hard. She even shows you how to cage your pet rock - a flashback to the 70s that I loved!

8/10 I am greedy, I would have loved 100 projects.

And because of that I found a great website link These lovely people send free patterns to your inbox. Some of this stuff is just wonderful, the spring flower earrings will be made soon, pictures to follow, I promise!

More books

Well, I still have 2 books that I ordered from The Book Depository to review. So here goes.

Jewelry Upcycled! This one is a definite keeper (despite the American spelling). I doubt I'll use it soon but it certainly gave me some food for thought. It starts with the usual tools etc and then goes on with chapters on metal things, nice forks; then plastic, more uses for cut up loyalty cards; then glass and ceramics, I'd forgotten about filing bits of broken pottery. Then it got a bit samey, fabric and leather, all seen before, e.g. T-shirt roses and felting sweaters. The last chapter was working with found stuff, like chopping up tins.

7/10 Great pictures, nice gallery at the end of each chapter. Best of all the combination of pictures and instructions ensure I want to make most of it, and believe I can!

Button Jewellery I knew I'd like this one. A small book with simple projects, each of which can be easily adapted. She shows just enough to make you believe it is all possible. The variety of findings and clear explanations of what each are and what difference they make to the piece are well worth reading.

8/10 Possibly not for someone who wants lots of reference material, but great for reminding an old lag about the possibilities and introducing me to new findings. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves buttons.


I spent an hour in Waterstones yesterday and decided to have a look at some of their books. Couldn't find the ones I was looking for (machine applique) but did find some interesting handmade/craft ones, one in particular caught my eye. So much so I brought it home with me.

Lovely things to make for girls of slender means Halfway through an almond croissant and I opened this one! OK, by the time I got to the last part (Winter) I was a little less enamoured, but the sheer enthusiasm of the woman is catching! There are few full patterns, then again she does tell you how to make them yourself and she gives suggestions for the very few you might want to buy! This book includes dresses, skirts, bags, necklaces, hats, repairs, headbands and a whole heap of other things that just make you go "Oooh!" I brought it home and spent a couple of hours matching projects to materials.

9/10 A bit more detail would have been good. Though I doubt the book would be as small and beautiful if she had added more! A definite must if you are new to making do or are, like me, a rusty returner.

Now..... how do I fit everything into a working day?? Problems, problems :)

Bless the nice people....

... who take time to write the books that we then critique cos we could have done sooooooooooooooooo much better :)

I am such a chicken when it comes to trusting my own brain. I never used to be. But these days I seem to need to see what someone else has done before I start. So I grabbed some books that looked interesting. They turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag, here are the first two:

Upcycled Accessories: 25 projects using Repurposed Plastic
Well, it looks nice and starts with some handy tips on how to add prettiness to fused plastic - appliqueing more plastic, crayon shavings, permanent marker, tulle, collage of more plastic, plastic confetti, paint pens, acrylic paint, stamps and striping. All REALLY obvious but reassuring to read.

Then the projects!! Well, except for the use of striping (sewing together the offcuts of fused bags of different colours) and the little journal, it is all a bit disappointing. I hope my stuff looks better! The worst offender has to be the pinny made of fused plastic! Not in my kitchen or anywhere near the BBQ! No, perhaps the worst is the shower cap, or the slippers! No, the bucket hat.... oh I give in.

3/5 and only because of the first few pages and the fact that it was only a couple of quid!

Rubbish: Reuse your Refuse
Yes, very American! Apparently I may be a Refashionista!!!!

I may repurpose this book immediately. To be fair there are a couple of nice ideas, but the intro is too simplistic! Who knew you could find useful junk at jumble sales?

I loved the transistor earrings and the credit card cuff though. All those coffee shop loyalty cards will now have a new lease of life! And the small bag made out of a turtle neck jumper and a scarf was nice - very doable!

Sadly too much of this book relies on new material to complete the projects and a lot of the products are purely decorative - and I use that term very loosely!

2/5 as it wasn't as recycled as it should have been and the upcycling was limited - I don't think decorations count!

Still I have a couple of good ideas from these two and two more to read through!