Kawaii Craft Life - Book Review

Super-cute projects for home, work & play

Kawaii

The word Kawaii means “cute” in Japanese.  It has the power to make you smile. It is the precious, the cuddly, and the silly.  Kawaii is all things super-cute.

The Kawaii Craft Life Book

The first part of the Kawaii Craft Life craft book lists the tools you need for each craft (Needlecraft Essentials), plus materials lists and hand-stitching basics, with illustrations and directions on how-to-do each craft.  Then the book is divided into sections filled with patterns and instructions.

The sections include:

Feltcraft 

These include tiny plushies, woodland critters, coasters, pencil toppers and more.

Counted Cross-Stitch

Patterns include cute animals wineglass charms, gift tags, greeting cards, cupcake toppers, napkin rings, magnets and even earrings.  Color charts of a seal, a penguin, a panda and a cat, bunny, frog, acorns and mushrooms, and even designs of Sushi food, are among the cute designs to cross stitch or use in other needlework crafts.

Embroidery

Stitch a cheerful blooms coin purse, an apple pie apron, tea towels and and a Little Monster onesie.  Embroider a tote or a dragon bookmark.  Stitch cute veggies on napkins or create a magic unicorn wall art.  Woodland critters look darling on just about anything. 

The Authors

The authors of Kawaii Craft Life are Sosae and Dennis Caetano.  Years ago they began their crafting journey with needle and thread and found it was a wonderful way to deal with stress – a way to unwind and express their creativity.  They began to design needlecraft projects – from felt animals to cottage ornaments to Kawaii monsters. Whether they are creating a pattern or stitching it to life, needlecraft brings them happiness.  Sosae & Dennis hope that with this Kawaii Craft Life book it does the same to you.

Summary

Kawaii Craft Life is a fun crafting book filled with home décor and playtime pals, all with the  'cuteness factor'.  It will bring “adorable” and “lovable” into your crafting world. Few can resist the charm of Kawaii, so come create a cute and cuddly craft. 

For more craft reviews, check out ReviewThisCrafts.com 

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*Kawaii Craft Life Book Review written by

Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Baby Crochet Pattern Book Review

Baby Crochet available on Etsy and Amazon

When you create a handmade gift for a baby shower, or to welcome a new arrival in the family, your gift becomes extra special. A 'Made with Love' gift.

For those who love to crochet, this pattern booklet by Lois Daykin called 'Baby Crochet' is filled with 20 wonderful designs for newborns and little toddlers. 

The collection includes garments such as booties, a wrap cardigan, and practical & pretty bibs and bottle warmers.  There are also patterns for soft toys and nursery decor, along with a crochet cushion and blanket set.

Teddy Bear Scarf and Hat

The teddy scarf and hat for a toddler is adorable. The scarf has pockets for tots to carry around little stuffed animals. This pattern is very easy to crochet if you do the simplest form (as seen in the image on the left).  

There is an alternative version that has little teddy decorations that are crocheted and stitched on after the scarf and hat are finished (image on right). The little teddy bear motifs take a bit more crochet skill, but are not all that difficult and add a really cute finish, along with the bear ears with tassels, making the set truly TEDDY!

Nursery Decor

This pattern book also has cool accessories for decorating the nursery, such as a little rabbit diaper holder and a mobile of crochet hearts.  

Soft Plush Toys

Soft plush toys for toddlers are also included in this baby crochet book.  Choose a cat, a curly snake or some big soft crochet building blocks!  Use simple bright primary colors for these soft toys, to catch baby's eye, or choose soft baby pastels.  Any color yarn makes crocheting for babies fun to do. 

Baby Crochet

Many of the projects in this book can be done in a few hours and the instructions are easy enough for even novices to make successfully.  

The book was published in 2007.  It is a soft cover book with 120 pages and is nicely illustrated with color photographs.

Author Lois Daykin

Lois Daykin is a very successful knitwear designer whose designs are regularly featured in the prestigious Rowan magazine. She is the author of some of their best-selling pattern booklets, including Little Treasures. 

Baby Crochet, along with Baby Knits, is her first book to be published in the United States. She lives in Derbyshire, England with her husband and their three small children.

Little Treasures and Baby Knits

 

Little Treasures on Abe Books & Baby Knits on Amazon

Baby Crochet Front & Back Covers

Quick Links:

• Baby Crochet on Amazon
• Baby Crochet on Etsy
• Little Treasures on Abe Books
• Baby Knits on Amazon

(c) Wednesday Elf 10/28/2017


*Images shown in this article were photographed by or compiled from stock photos by (c) Wednesday Elf.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest Reviewed

I have a very extensive craft library in my craft room, but there are a few books that stand out as the very best.  The Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest is by far the very best craft reference book I own.  I refer to it more often than any other book in my library.

Actually, I use the book for reference, but anyone who wanted to learn basic techniques in embroidery, smocking, quilting, needlepoint, knitting, crochet, tatting, or just about any other needlework technique, will find excellent "how-to" guides for beginners in this book.

Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest

 Reader's Digest COMPLETE GUIDE TO NEEDLEWORKI know this book was published in 1979, but it is far from outdated.  Basic needlework techniques don't change with time.  As a matter of fact, we need these types of instructional books to ensure the techniques won't be lost in time.

Because I enjoy all of these crafts, I tend to set one aside for a while and pick up another.  Eventually, I go back to the first one and I need to refresh my memory on certain stitches or even reading a pattern.  I pull this book off the shelf, look it up and, voilà, I am ready to stitch again! 

For example, I recently came across "featherstitch" in an embroidery pattern.  I sat staring into space as if the vision of how to make that stitch would miraculously appear before my eyes.  It only "miraculously appeared" when I pulled my Complete Guide to Needlework down and looked it up.  On page 214, I found exactly what I needed.  A verbal description as well as excellent illustrations.  

I have also found that I tend to forget certain crochet pattern abbreviations if I have not used them in a while.  For those of you who crochet, you will laugh when I tell you I recently had to look up what "dec" meant on a pattern.  Yes, I was embarrassed when my trusty book gave me the answer, but amazingly, the pages didn't laugh at me.  Another crocheter would have laughed with reckless abandon.

Patterns in Complete Guide to Needlework

There are also some wonderful patterns in the Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest.  I tend to forget that those are there.  While flipping through the book today, I came across this awesome pattern for a baby quilt appliqued with baby animals.  The pattern includes the drawn animals and gives the instructions on how to enlarge the animals on a grid.  I love the detail!  It is so wonderful to have a step by step tutorial with the pattern.  

This particular pattern uses several needlework techniques to complete the baby quilt as shown.  Applique, quilting and embroidery are all a part of this fabulous piece, but you could make the quilt based on your own skill level.  Leave off the quilting and the embroidery to simplify it.  It would be an excellent way to learn how to enlarge the pattern with a grid and make a lovely applique baby quilt that would be forever treasured.

There are patterns for many of the needlework techniques.  It truly is a "complete" guide to needlework!

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Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest Book Review Written by:

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