Craft-A- Day

I'm sure, like me, you get all sorts of e-mail spam 

and most of it I delete out of hand without even reading

 but for some reason one of them caught my eye the other week.

It was from a book publishing firm asking if I would be interested

 in reviewing a craft book that is being issued in the UK this month.

Well I'm always up for a challenge and this is something I have never 

done before so I thought why not.

A few days later a package arrived with my copy of 

A CRAFT- A- DAY

by

SARAH GOLDSHADT

“ Make something new every day of the year.” States the introduction on the back of this colourfully bound craft book which immediately got my interest.  “365 simple projects”

and thats exactly what you get--365 very simple but fun projects.  

The book,  which is very nicely produced with clear and bright photos,

is divided into 52 weeks each with a different theme.

 You have subjects such as Owl week or Cloud Week

 and every day has a project based on that weeks theme. 

So Cloud week( April 9-15) has a pin cushion, 

a mobile and a decorated t-shirt  amongst other things during the week. 

My personal favourite week is people week as you can mix and match 

heads and bodies to make different people. 

The first page of every week has a page of templates to trace 

and use in that weeks projects.  

Then you are given the list of supplies,

 written directions  and a photo of the finished article on a page by day basis. 

None of the materials used are expensive and

 no real skill is needed to make any of the projects.

The projects are easy to do which would be ideal for

someone who is a beginner at crafts or maybe for use 

entertaining children.

 For an experienced crafter it is a little basic but the motifs

could provide inspiration for other projects.

However I found it quite repetitive with alot of the crafts

 being repeated several times

through the book with the only difference between them being the motif  used 

and no development of the crafts skill level.

 The supplies page and how to section are at the rear of the book 

and I would have placed at the beginning because the introduction

 states that there is how-to photos but they were not immediately apparent 

when flicking through the book.

However the photos are clear and easy to follow.

I had great fun looking through this book and will pass 

my copy on to a family member who teaches 6/7 year olds.

It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a simple craft book  and would be a useful resource for entertaining the Grandchildren, a young Mum to use in the holidays or for a primary school with the templates being a great source of inspiration in other projects.

 It is produced by Quirk Books and is priced at £16.99 in the UK and $24.95 in the States. 

Gillx

Italy part 2

 I have been awake since 4.30 for some reason

so the house work has been done early and

has given me time to catch up with my favourite blogs.

Then I thought I would just finish off my holiday photos

before getting back to the serious business of 

of sewing and crafting. I have also got a book I have been ask to 

review but more on that later now back to Italy and

the amazing

Herculaneum which is a smaller site than Pompeii

but better preserved. It even has furniture still in situ,

as well as some fabulous mosaics and wall paintings.

This is a replica of a villa garden planted

with Medlar trees  which were there originally apparently.

Wall decoration still in place.

On to the Museum in Naples which houses the 

artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum.

in a stunning building

in to the Shopping Mall with it's beautiful roof

And amaze at the size of the cruise ships

Time for the Olive Harvest

and

Time to leave.

Hope you liked looking at a few of my holiday photos

and I'll see you again soon.

Gillx

Italy part 1

 This is going to have to be a 2 part post to show you 

the places we went on our week in Southern Italy.

There is so much to see in this part of the country

and our holiday was a guided tour where we went somewhere 

different everyday but were based in the same hotel in 

Sorrento.

Exhausting but fabulous as this is one of the places on my 

"Bucket List".

.

Sorrento.

The Amalfi Coast.

The plain of Vesuvius.

Pompeii and Vesuvius

 After 800 metres straight up to the crater.

Capri 

Just a few of the hundreds that we took between us.

The next one will be a bit shorter.

Gillx