Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Princess Gia loves to wear various barrettes, hair clips and pony tail holders in her hair, but storing and organizing them all has become a real pain in the butt. Last weekend I decided to do something about that and decided to hit my craft …
When I was a little girl, I would sit and watch my paternal grandmother build some of the most beautiful miniature doll houses that I have ever seen. Over the years, she has built at least 30 of them and they are beautiful pieces of …
How many of our readers here love to craft? sew? Well guess what? We have a great book review for all of you today! The craft book is called “How to Make Stuffed Animals” by Sian Keegan. This book contains modern, simple patterns + instructions for 18 fun craft projects! The book is great for beginners and experts who love to sew.
Synopsis: Making stuffed animals is fun, addictive and much easier than most people think! Anyone who has completed the most basic of sewing projects can master the projects in this book. How to Make Stuffed Animals includes original sewing patterns and fully-illustrated instructions for 18 adorable animals, plus an overview of all basic techniques and materials.
Inside, you’ll find these adorable animals to make:
* Squirrel and his Acorn
* Grizzly Bear
* Raccoon
* Tiger
* Fox
* And many more!
All projects in this book can be completed with about 1/4 yard of fabric. Fat Quarters, commonly found at fabric quilting shops work perfectly. It is also easy to use old clothes or household linens from your home or local thrift store.
Whatever they are made from, these charming animals can be used as decorative objects for the home or as great handmade gifts. Special projects illustrate how the animals can also become cake toppers, a hanging mobile or a holiday ornament.
About the Author: Sian Keegan is a stuffed-animal maker and freelance designer based in New York City. Her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Every Day with Rachel Ray, and Uppercase Magazine. Visit SianKeegan for more information on Sian’s stuffed animals.
My Thoughts: I am a big time crafter, seriously…I live for crafting! I dabble in sewing, scrapbooking, cardmaking, painting, crocheting, you name it, I have probably tried it! This book is one of the easiest-to-understand animal-making books, I have ever seen!
It is a large soft-cover book containing 128 pages with 18 really cool animal projects. The patterns are all inside the book (not full-size) so you will have to enlarge them with a copying machine. The instructions in the book tell you how to do that. There are color photos that accompany each project along with step-by-step diagrams on how to make the stuffed animal you are working on. Each project lists a material list and let’s you know upfront which materials and how much of those materials you will need for each project.
I sat down with this book last week and wow…I was super impressed! As you all know, my house is completely packed up as we will be moving into our new house in about 3 to 4 weeks. Once we get moved, I am going to make some of these projects and turn them into holiday ornaments and little package toppers for holiday gifts. I think they are absolutely adorable and you can certainly whip up one or two in just one afternoon!
Everyone loves little stuffed animals and the ones in this book are adorable and look super easy to make! I am really excited to get moved and unpacked so I can get busy creating some stuffed animals that are featured in this wonderful book!
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Shelly has personally reviewed the product listed above. Shelly has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Shelly did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. Two Classy Chics is not responsible for delivery of any giveaway items won from this blog. We are not responsible for injury or mis-use of any products won from the Two Classy Chics Blog. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering our giveaways. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook or Google+ in any way. Thanks!
As many of you know, I absolutely love to craft and sew, and have been doing both since I was a small child. One of the things I have always wanted to learn about is how to do needle felting. In the past when I …
Today we are reviewing another fabulous book for all of you and this one is called “Art Lab for Kids” by Susan Schwake and published by Quarry Books. Art Lab for Kids will bring out your own creative style & voice with 52 fun, refreshing, …
One of the things I love to do in my spare time is arts and crafts! Yes folks, I am a big time crafter when I have time to do it! One of the crafting mediums I dabble in from time to time happens to be painting, decorating paint to be exact. Well today, I am bringing to all of you a book review on the book called: “Daring Adventures in Paint” Techniques for painting, sketching and mixed media, by author and talented painter ~ Mati Rose McDonough.
The book was just released in July of 2012 and contains 128 pages with 250 illustrations. It’s a paperback book with the suggested retail price of $22.99. The ISBN: 13: 978-1-59253-7-709 and is by Quarry Books.
Synopsis: Daring Adventures in Paint is a colorful, whimsical book of paint and mixed-media techniques authored by the well-loved & popular artist, illustrator and blogger Mati Rose McDonough. Mati’s approach to making art is a bit like uncovering a hidden treasure, a treasure that resides within each aspiring artist. Through both practical applications and creative exercises which take you to a myriad exciting locales, Mati shows you how to “find your magic”, the place of confidence from which you can access the vision of what you want to share with the world.
Daring Adventures in Paint shows you how to:
* Create lush, painted backgrounds using brayering, squeegeeing, dry brushing and sanding.
* Make a patchwork paper collage.
* Use silver leaf.
* Create spray-paint patterns with doilies.
* Transfer sketches to a painting.
* Collaborate with other artists & create an art space.
About the Author: Mati Rose McDonough is an artist & illustrator who lives in San Francisco, CA. Mati studied painting at the California College of Arts and has had numerous shows around the country. She has taught painting retreats in the U.S. and in Italy.
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
My Thoughts: As I previously explained, I love to do arts & crafts and don’t nearly get enough time to do them! I have always wanted to learn some painting techniques but have never had the time to go pick up some courses. This book is absolutely fantastic! It has a slew of colored photos which show you step-by-step how to do the projects. I love how easily everything is explained and it’s in a language that even a beginner like myself, can understand.
There are a total of 8 chapters in the book which are as follows:
* Chapter 1: Beginning Your Journey ~ Finding inspiration, creating your painted background.
* Chapter 2: Navigating Your Route ~ Trusting your path; creating a patchwork paper collage.
* Chapter 3: Setting Sail ~ Show the world your magic; A silver-leafing exercise.
* Chapter 4: Staying the Course ~ Follow your compass; exploring doily stencils.
* Chapter 5: Anchoring ~ Finding your voice; Transferring your sketches to paint.
* Chapter 6: Finding Flow ~ Filling up the well; Collaborating with another artist.
* Chapter 7: Treasures ~ Telling your story; Dropping into your own narrative.
* Chapter 8: Tying It All Together ~ Layering your painting with all the techniques.
I have read this book cover-to-cover twice and I am really excited about it! Right now we are getting ready to move so my craft room is already packed up. Once we get moved and unpacked, I will be digging into this book even more! I am really excited about trying out some of the techniques and since I am also a paper crafter, I definitely want to try the patchwork paper collage! Yeah!
Disclaimer: Shelly has personally reviewed the product listed above. Shelly has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Shelly did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. Two Classy Chics is not responsible for delivery of any giveaway items won from this blog. We are not responsible for injury or mis-use of any products won from the Two Classy Chics Blog. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering our giveaways. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook or Google+ in any way. Thanks!
Have I got a treat for all you crocheter’s out there. I received the book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi and can’t wait to get my crochet hook working on some of the projects in this paperback book. Its fantastic! Amigurumi (pronounced ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) is …
Today is another great review & giveaway for our Holiday Gift-Giving Guide! I would like to talk to you about a company and their products which I think are absolutely fantastic and these craft products and kits are perfect for kid’s birthdays, school crafts, scouting …