10 things Mondays

10 great craft books

Books in my collection include:

1. Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the life of your dream through art by Sheri Gaynor
A great book that helps you explore creative journalling. Sheri balances creative how to projects with inspiring stories from working artists. The book also comes with a set of cards to inspire you to create your own visual diary. Randomly choose a card then explore its theme whether its challenging your beliefs and assumptions, listing your mentors or having a gypsy spirit day.


2. The creative license: giving yourself permision to be the artist you truly are by Danny Gregory
Another book about letting go of artists block and using drawing and journally to explore creativity. Danny's book is a visual feast as well as being jam packed full of inspiration, helpful tips and projects to follow. There is a great blog to follow as well.

3. Creative time and space: making room for making art by Rice Freeman-Zachery
Love all of Rice's books. They are so very, very inspiring. Every page is a work of art. Rice interviews artists to find out what their studios look like, how they fit art into their lives, how to cope with creative blocks. This book features photos of studios and artists work galore. Highly recommended.

4. Living the creative life: ideas and inspiration from working artists by Rice Freeman-Zachery
The first of Rice's books, the format is the same as above: working artists share their lives, their passion and their adive. Very inspiring, full of coloured photos and little tips like: invite fellow participants from an art class to meet up outside the class for a get together and art discussion.

5. Taking flight: inspiration and techniques to give your creative spirit wings by Kelly Rae Roberts
I love Kelly Rae's art which features whimsical and sadly beautiful women.  I discovered her as a contributor to one of Rice's books. Similar to Sheri Gaynor's book, Taking flight uses how to projects to invite readers to explore their fears and passions and become more intune to their innate creativity.

6. Sew pretty homestyle by Tone Finnanger
Shabby chic sewing projects using pretty floral and gingham cottons. This book inspired my tea towel bags with their simple shape and gathered top around a ring shaped handle. I picked up my best sewing tip so far from this book. If sewing a tight shape like a heart to make a lavender pouch or instance don't cut the shape out before you sew. Instead sew the shape within a square of rectangle and then cut the shape out before turning right sides out. Makes such an enormous difference! If my explanation doesn't make sense you'll have to get the book.

7. Destination creativity: the life-altering journey of the art retreat by Rice Freeman-Zachery
Rice and her husband spent a year travelling America from art retreat to art retreat and wrote a book about it. I want her job! Another great book that reviews both big and small retreats. Lots of helpful tips about what to take, how to prepare, even how to set up your own retreat.

8. The truth and the questions a journal by Sabrina Ward Harrison
This lovely book was a gift from a friend. An art journal in it own right with painted and colalged pages this book leaves space for you to contribute. Pre-painted pages are headed things like 'what I really want to say is' and 'I crave', 'I remember' and 'I must create a life that is filled with'.  It is inviting me to fill in the pages with my own thoughts and dreams and scribblings. I have not begun yet. It is so lovely I don't want to muck it up. But really that's the point of the book, to get you beyond that fear and help you create.

9. The new handmade simple sewing for contemporary style by Cassie Barden
Really practical sewing book with great instructions, diagrams and photos for a range of projects including zippered purses, hand bags and accessories. This along with Sew Pretty Homestlye is my sewing bible.

10. Finish this book by Keri Smith
Keri Smith is a really excellent creativity coach. This is another book designed to help the reader explore his or her own creativity. A journal with exercises to take you on a whimsical journey exploring your surrounds. This is a challenge for me to complete on my next holiday.