At Home WIth Handmade Books - Review

I just received a copy of Erin Zamrzla's newest book At Home With Handmade Books (Released TODAY!!!!) I couldn't wait to throw it open it and be overcome with creative inspiration. I wasn't dissapointed!

The Breakdown
Zamrzla's book is filled with 190 pages of bookbinding projects. The Table of Contents is separated by the "type" of book binding techniques (i.e.: Accordian books, Flutter Books, Four-Hole Binding, Yamato Binding, etc.). Zamrzla goes further to give a brief history of the various bookbinding techniques. The lack of index at the end of the book goes unnoticed mainly because the Table of Contents does an excellent job of directing the reader. At the end of the book there is a Resources page, to help us locate the materials needed. I adore she included a photo and short bio at the back as I'm always intrigued what the author looks like. I'm not weird, come on, you wonder too, right?! Okay, maybe it's just me.

Project Details
28 unique projects fill this how-to book. Templates are included for the projects, so you can easily photocopy (or trace) the designs. Zanrzla does an excellent job of breaking down each project and goes into thorough explanation on the execution creating your very own. . Bookbinding can be a tricky technique to master, but reading through the book truly made me feel like these projects were all within my novice reach.

My Favs about this book
I appreciated the fact that all of the materials and tools needed are easy to find at any hardware or crafting store - I mean, who wants to have to locate (and buy!) an obscure tool that you'll use for one project, right?! Also, the Photography is beautiful. The entire book has a calm nature about it with photos that accentuate each project.

Big Gulp....Anything I would change about the book
Listen, I'm opinionated and generally have plenty to say about what I would change about this and that, but honestly, I wouldn't make any changes. What? Becky's speechless? Write this date down.

I certainly recommend this book to add to your crafting inspiration collection. Erin Zamrzla's book At Home with Handmade Books is available April 12th - TODAY!!!!

Okay, okay, I adore this book - let's do a GIVEAWAY! I will give 2 copies of this book away.

To enter giveaway:
Comment below answering the question: Who would be the recipient of your first bookbinding project?

**Get an extra entry if you Tweet this post (just put an extra comment that you did so please).

This giveaway will end Saturday, April 16th....gosh, TWO giveaways in one week??? I must be in a good mood! Enter the other one here.

Giveaway - Trendy Feather Earrings

The weather today is.......wait for it......SUNNY!!!!! WOOT! This has made me in the mood for a giveaway. A fun and funky artist Amy Corn has offered a cool set of great earrings for a lucky reader!

Visit AmyCorn's Etsy site or her Facebook site Here

To enter to win, just leave a comment below with your fav item she currently has listed for sale (make sure to include your email address).

Giveaway will end at midnight Wednesday, April 13th.

*If you Tweet this giveaway you'll get an extra entry, just tell me in a separate comment below.

Good luck!

Pattern Giveway from The Fuzzy Noggin

Adrienne from The Fuzzy Noggin is joining us today to throw some creative inspiration our way! Be sure to read the whole interview, as she's been kind enough to do a something special for our readers....

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.
A: I am a 33 year old stay at home mom of 4 kids (8, 6, 4 & 2), enough said. No but seriously, my day is filled with all things that pertain to having kids and running a household, it is very glamorous. I drink way too much Dr. Pepper and don't work out nearly as much as I should. I love all things crafts and get such enjoyment out of seeing something transform from nothing to something! I have knit for about 8 years and crocheted for only about 2 years, but once I started to crochet I could not stop. I love blogging and I think I may be the last person on earth still not on Facebook.

Q: What events and/or people have led you to become an artist?
A: I have always loved art. My brothers were very artistic and I wanted to keep up with them. I took a lot of art classes in high school and college and actually started out as a dance major (but it was way too time consuming so I switched degrees). Anyway I have always created things mostly just for my own pleasure. I see something and wonder if I could make it, and usually it doesn't turn out too bad. So anyway as far as my crochet patterns go, one day I saw this adorable hat on a little girl and I looked at it closely and realized it was not knit so it must be crochet. I did not know how to crochet so I went and bought an "I Taught Myself to Crochet" kit, watched some video tutorials on Youtube and before I knew it I was crocheting. Not long after that a friend of mine asked if I could make a monkey hat for her little girl. I could not find any patterns I really liked so after a few trials and errors I came up with my own. I put the pattern for sale on Etsy and it was a hit. Since then I have not been able to create all the patterns in my head fast enough.

Q: How do you come up with your creative ideas?
A: I find inspiration everywhere...changing fashion trends, hats my kids want, holidays, different yarns and textures, colors, requests etc.

Q: What’s your quirkiest attribute?
A: I am a bit OCD about organization. It drives me NUTS when things are out of place. I used to have dinner plates in 4 different colors (4 plates of each color) and I would make my husband put them away in the cabinet in sets of 2 and in the correct color order. It is much easier for him now that all of the plates are white. Just typing this makes me realize I have issues.

Q: What would you say to someone who says they aren’t creative?
A: I hear this all the time and I don't buy it. My response is always the same...you will never know how creative you are until you actually TRY to create something.

Q: Where are your items available for sale?
A: Etsy, Ravelry, & Annie's Attic (on their website as well as their catalog)

Q: What project/s do you currently have on your plate?
A: I want to branch out from just hats, although I do have like 5 hat patterns in my head right now. I want to do some leg warmers, bags, and a couple of other accessory type things.

Adrienne has been kind enough to offer our readers a GIVEAWAY from her Etsy store, The Fuzzy Noggin! Check out The Fuzzy Noggin and comment at the bottom of this post sharing which is your FAV pattern in her store! Every comment will be an entry to Adrienne's giveaway for 2 FREE PATTERNS! HOT DOG!!! Comments will be accepted until Monday, March 14th. Be sure to include your email address so I can easily contact the winner.

Giveaway Winner & Introduction of Jeanette Lim

Congrats to Fit Moms Fit Kids for winning our giveaway! I will email you for the details.


As for our details of the giveaway....


Jeanette Lim from "Big Little Felt Universe" was kind enough to offer her book to us as a giveaway! Her book has published in the United States this week. Check out her book on Amazon.com and check out her Etsy site here.

Truly....check out Jeanette's Etsy site...it's AMAZING! I've never seen felt food products so incredible! Seriously! It's worth your time to check out her products, really!!! Check it out here!

Giveaway from Jenny at The Wild Cards

I'm completely stoked! Jenny from The Wild Cards has offered a giveaway to our Liberate Creativity readers! Hot Off the Press, her book, ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs  is a trendy funky book that is now available for sale on Amazon.com. Because Jenny loves you all so much, she's giving away a copy! What a great way to get inspired.  Check out the video (below), and check out The Wild Cards  site and then (of course), enter this fun giveaway!

How to enter to win ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs by Jenny Wilding Cardon

1. Visit The Wild Cards site, and "Follow" them
2. "Follow" Liberate Creativity
3. Comment below and share with us something you have at home that you would love to repurpose, even if you don't know what the creation is  to become! (Include your email address so I can contact the winner).

(The rest is optional and just gives you extra entries!)
-Earn an extra entry if you Tweet about this giveaway (Click Tweet link below this post)
-Earn an extra entry if you "Like" us on Facebook here

Giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, February 21st. Winner will be chosen at random. Will ship to U.S. residents and Canada.

Amazon Giftcard Winner

Thanks to the help of Random.org, we have our winner for our very first giveaway!

Congrats Kate C., who said her favorite things on Amazon.com are "books, books, books"

I will touch base through email to get Kate C. the gift card!

Thanks for all who entered to win - keep checking back, we've got a lot of ideas of giveaways up our sleeves!

Our First Giveaway

Join in on our first giveaway! I adore Amazon because you can get such a variety of things in one place! If you haven't checked out the craft books and supplies available then you definitely should. Go ahead, I'll wait.....

You loved their site, right?! I know this to be true. Of course they have many  items available other than just crafting items. Because of my love, I think you should get a little extra fun while shopping there too! 

WIN $25 GIFT CARD!!!!

 Entering to win this giveaway follow these easy steps:

1. "Like" Liberate Creativity on Facebook here

2. Complete the form below (Your email address will not be shared with anyone)

3. Be sure to tell me one of your fav items from  Amazon.com

Giveaway entries will be accepted until Tuesday, Feb 8th at midnight. The winner will be chosen through at random through Random.org and announced on Wednesday.

Good luck - happy browsing!

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