Last month a lovely lady from illustrated lifestyle publishers, Ryland Peters &
Small and CICO Books, contacted me to ask if I would be interested in receiving review copies of their books. So, I headed over to their site where I was greeted with titles like The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and Romantic Style by Selina Lake. How exciting!
I will be reading and reviewing a book a month from amongst their titles. Please note that my opinions are my own and I am not paid for these reviews (apart from receiving a free book, of course!).
This month I am reviewing Home-made Vintage by Christina Strutt. The author is the founder of country-chic lifestyle store, Cabbages & Roses, started in 2008, and Christina worked in interior design and styling before that. I chose this craft book as I love Cabbage & Roses' style, which is nostalgic, romantic and subtly eccentric.
In my opinion this is a charming book adorned with a wealth of fabulous inspirational photographs. From using scraps of fabrics to beads and ribbons, it inspires you to create an individual country cottage style home with a mix of modern and vintage.
It contains over 40 quick and easy sewing projects. Each item is beautifully styled by Christina Strutt and photographed by Lucinda Symons, with dedicated home sections for making beautiful accessories for your living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen which will brighten up any dull space and add some vintage chic. There are also clothes and accessories and a section for gifts, including stylish kitchen aprons, darling rabbit dolls, kitsch bunting and treasured pencil cups.
Not only is it a gorgeous looking book, but it is filled with great original ideas you'll want to make. The adorable hand illustrated instructions by Kate Simunek are clear and easy to understand and with sewing instructions by Jane Bolsover you can't go wrong! In addition to the illustrations and instructions the back is filled with useful templates and stockists.
If you, like myself, are a hoarder of fabrics and trims there are also creative ways to display your delicious collections.
At a recommended retail price of £12.99, it is good value for money as it contains so many great ideas. A perfect gift for those who are taking their first steps into the world of sewing.
Some of the delightful projects I'd like to have a go at are:
Seat Pillow - I would like to make a pretty duck egg blue seat pillow for my office chair, and I'm loving the big bows that secure it in place.
Cutlery roll - With some of the fabric I have left from my outdoor cushions, I think it would be super cute to make a cutlery roll to hold my pink and blue cutlery for summertime picnics.
Garden tool apron - I have some scraps of stone and white spot oilcloth that would be great for the garden tool apron. It would also match my garden shed curtains! The book suggests using the eyelets from the straps to hang it up.
Hot water bottle cover - As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, I will be giving a warm welcome to my hot water bottle by giving it a new sage green cover to match my bedroom.
Tied pillow cover - I wish I had seen this earlier, as I would have done my outdoor cushions with ties instead of buttons.
To summarise, Home-made Vintage by Christina Strutt is a beautiful book full of quick and easy ways to transform your home and delight your friends with a touch of vintage charm. You will want to pick up a needle and thread and get started, even if you have never given it a go before!
Have a sweet day!