Book Review: Glorious Embellishing with Gloria McKinnon

Sewing and crafting books are one of my favorite pieces of reading material.  I could flip through sewing books time after time and never get bored with them.  I find these books to be so inspiring and a wonderful resource for learning new tricks and techniques.   Most nights, before I fall asleep, I am looking at some sort of sewing / crafting magazine or book - it's just a great way to end the day!

I was recently sent a copy of a fabulous new book from the publishers of Sew Beautiful and Martha Pullen for my review and I am thrilled to share this new publication with you all............

Glorious Embellishing with Gloria McKinnon

The Ultimate Resource for Decorative Stitching and Beading

Have you ever been interested in embroidery or hand embellishing?  "Glorious Embellishing" with Gloria McKinnon includes seven different detail oriented projects in the first half of the book and then includes an invaluable embroidery stitch library in the second part of the book.  The projects are truly delicate works of art and are pieces that will be cherished for a lifetime.

 

Many of the projects include instructions on the piecing of fabric and then finish with the elaborate embellishing stitches that can be used.  The projects are meant to be inspiration and you really can make them into your own works of art.  The vintage women (seen in the project above) are included in the book so that you can put them on fabric transfer paper and use as part of your creation.

I am a big visual learner so I love all the illustrations that come with the embroidery stitch library.  They are very clear and easy to understand, especially for a novice when it comes to hand embroidery.  Most stitches start off showing you the most basic version and then go into more and more advance techniques.  The author also shows you how to add things such as beading or silk ribbons into your embroidery embellishment techniques.

Even if some of the projects are not necessarily your style, they can be adapted and made your own.  And again, I have to say that the embroidery stitch library in this book is like none I have ever seen.  I have always wanted to get more into embroidery and I think this book might be the push I need to make that happen.

If you are interested in reading more about "Glorious Embellishing with Gloria McKinnon", please visit the Martha Pullen Store where you can purchase this book as well as many other sewing and craft resources.

Mamarazzi by Stacy Wasmuth {Book Review and Giveaway}

I was recently sent a copy of "Mamarazzi - Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids" by Stacy Wasmuth for me to review here on the blog.  How adorable is that little girl on the front cover?  Seriously, I don't know if it gets much cuter than that!

I was so excited to get my hands on this book because, though I love to take pictures of my girls, and I do have a nice camera, I don't exactly know what I'm doing.  I hope that's ok to admit.  Yes, I'm outing myself - My name is Lindsay.  I have a dSLR camera. And I don't know exactly how to use it. 

But with that being said, I have been working really hard to learn more about photography and how to take good pictures, so this book came at the perfect time!  I find so many photography books are way to technical for my liking.  I am a visual learner, so I love pictures and examples and many of the books I've picked up are just filled to the brim with text.  I want to take good pictures of my kids, but I am by no means looking to become a true professional.

Mamarazzi by Stacy Wasmuth was written with a casual, friendly tone and addressed all of the issues I have with photographing children.  She covers a wide-range of topics that will interest many moms who just love, love, love taking pictures of their little ones.

Here is what the table of contents looks like so you can see what all the book entails: 

This book goes into some detail with how to use your dSLR camera but it also has other great photography tips for those that use basic point-and-shoot cameras as well.  I love that the author goes into some detail in regards to photo editing as well because I end up doing a lot of that with the pictures that I take.

She talks about shooting different children of all ages, what to have them wear for photo shoots and how to get those winning smiles out of them without them saying "cheese" (which if you've ever photographed kids before, you know that never looks attractive).

Mamarazzi has some of the best eye candy of any photography book I have ever seen.  The sample photographs are amazing and there are TONS of them.  Besides being very informative, who doesn't love looking at photographs of adorable babies, cute toddlers, beautiful children and happy families?

Here is some additional information from Amazon.com about Mamarazzi by Stacy Wasmuth:

Calling all mamarazzis! Every camera-toting mom will want this guide!

Moms, if you can't seem to take enough great photos of the children in your life, this is the book for you.  Now you can learn how to photograph children with the style, clarity, color, and beauty you see in professional photographs.  This fun guide combines humor with solid know-how to show you how to compose shots, handle cameras from basic compacts to advanced dSLRs, take portraits or candids, create prints that impress, and even work with kids! Packed with beautiful examples and written in a down-to-earth style from one mom to another, this book will help mamarazzis everywhere take better photos.

• Moms are one of the fastest-growing segments of the camera-toting demographic, and the blogosphere has a term for them, mamarazzis
• Mixes information, inspiration, and fun for women who want to take better photographs of the children in their lives
• Explains how to set up a camera and use the controls on basic compacts up to advanced dSLR cameras
• Covers shot composition, determining settings, exposing images correctly, the essentials of printing images, how to process for clear and bright color, and more
• Includes stunning examples of portraits and candids of children

So today, we are giving away one copy of "Mamarazzi - Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids" by Stacy Wasmuth to one lucky The Cottage Home blog reader.

Here's how to enter:
Please use a separate comment for each entry (enter all three times or just once....it's up to you).
1. Tell me who you love to photograph or why you need this book.
2. Become an official follower of The Cottage Home blog.
3. Become a fan of The Cottage Mama on Facebook (click HERE to do so).

Giveaway will be open until Friday, July 15, 2011 at midnight (CST).