Floret Farm's Discovering Dahlias ~ Book Review

If there is one place and time you could go right now, where and when would you pick? I would say Floret flower Farm during the summer. I was given the chance to review celebrated farmer-florist and New York Times bestselling author Erin Benzakein's new book Discovering Dahlias and it was such a pleasure from the very first page. As you can tell from the title, this book all about Dahlias (her previous books were Cut Flower Garden and A Year in Flowers) and gives excellent advice for growing, harvesting and arranging Dahlias.

I think one of the reasons her book is set apart from the rest in the same genre are breath taking photos taken by her husband Chris Benzakein. I feel like his pictures not only showcase the beautiful flowers, but they tell a story. I wish I could stand in the middle of the flower field during the sunset and enjoy the luscious colors and fresh air. I am a visual person, so I really appreciated that her book is not just a "how to" book. I have never ever read a gardening/farming book cover to cover in the past like I did with Discovering Dahlias.

I had no idea that there were so many variety of sizes, forms, and colors if Dahlias. I am sad that I can't share all the pages with you, but it is so interesting to see the varieties. It's like looking at an encyclopedia for Dahlias!

Ok, I don't have a green thumb and I failed many times in the past and I wish I had the magic touch to grow anything. As I was reading her book, it made me realized that Erin also had a fair share of trial and errors, lots of learning and put in years of hard work. In the first part of her book, she shares some basic advice for how to grow and care Dahlias (of course with some great photos!). As I kept reading these pages, more and more my desire to try to grow dahlias in my backyard started to sprout within me. Maybe I could do this too?

Look at these gorgeous colors! They are truly the fruits of her labors.

Last but not least... this might be my most favorite part of this book: "Variety finder". Erin and her crew grew more than 800 varieties in her fields when they were working on this book, and they narrowed down their top picks to 360 dahlias to create this directory. They are arranged by color groups, timeless and classy white to dramatic and bold maroon/black. I love making flower arrangements and the dahlia is one of my favorite flowers to work with. I flipped through these pages many times just to see and imagine what it would like to make arrangement with them.

I HIGHLY recommend Discoverying Dahlias even if you are total beginner like me or an experienced gardener. The title of this book "Discovering Dahlias" perfectly fits and is truly genius, because that exactly what I felt I was doing.

Book Review ~ I Modify IKEA

I was given the chance to review a new book called "I Modify IKEA". Being a big IKEA fan (and yes, we do have many pieces from IKEA in my house), the title alone was very intriguing and I jumped at the opportunity. :)

The clever duo, authors of this book, Charlotte Rivers and Elyse Major did a wonderful job introducing 50 DIY projects! Each project in the book offers illustrations and step-by-step instructions to recreate the examples. Depending on what paint colors or fabrics you choose to use, you can create your own unique look for your home.

Let me share some of the projects I would love to try...

Using Runnen, you can create a neat bathmat. By using more of them you can make it as big as you wish. I personally like this for inside my garage where we take our shoes off.

I am a sucker for baskets, and I fell in love with this look. The basket they used for this project "Nipprig" is discontinued, but I can use the same idea for the baskets I already have and personalize it for a fraction of the cost. How cute!

This reading bench was created using Kallax; it is very stylish and practical. I can totally see how things like this can be a great use in the living room or kids room. Just imagine... with different fabric choices and pillows you can totally customize the look for you.

Last but not least... check this couch out... how unique and adorable!! It's like a couch you see in a high end furniture catalog. It is a much bigger project (and a bit scary to try), but the fabric lover in me REALLY wants to do this someday.

I have a long "To Make" list, but I am sure I just added more to that list. I love IKEA items because of their versatile and stylish designs, but I think I will see them in a different light on my next visit. There are a lot more unique and practical projects in this book "I Modify IKEA" , I highly recommend you check it out.

Book Review ~ American Heroes Quilts

Who is your hero in American history? Do you like quilts? Do you like reading historical books?
If you answer yes to any of these questions then American Heroes Quilts ~ Past & Present" by Don Beld is for you. All my answers to the previous questions are "yes".

I grew up in Japan and learned very little about American history, but I am always fascinated by reading about the people before us... that, mixed with stories about quilts! I was very excited to start reading the book.

American Heroes and Quilts, Past & Present contains 400 color and black-and-white images. It explores 55 American Heroes that quilters have honored through the centuries. Included are such familiar names as (even for me), George Washington, Charles Lindbergh, Abraham Lincoln and more. There are others that I have never even heard of, but their stories are so intriguing; it really brought them to life! Do you know the story of Thomas(Stonewall)Jackson? For his high ethics and moral character, he is one of my favorite American heroes now. There are so many other stories that I couldn't put the book down.

With over 100 quilts and close-up photographs of all 112 patterns I was visually entertained as well. They gave me a lot of ideas for future quilt designs. Let me share some of my favorite quilts.

This quilt is called "Washington's Puzzle". I love the simplicity of this quilt. Don't you think it looks modern?

There are many quilts named after George Washington's wife Martha. One in particular caught my eye; "Martha's choice" made in 1900. This quilt went on my "To-make" list instantly!

One of my favorite blocks, "Orange Peel", is actually called "Lafayette's Orange Peel": named after Gilbert Du Montier, the Marquis De Lafayette. The story is so interesting!

I. LOVE. THIS. QUILT!!! Yes, without a doubt this one also went on my list of quilts to make someday. Isn't it so pretty?

Let me share one more (there are many others, but you need to look for yourself. :) ). A quilt block in the fourth row, second block from the left is called "Lincoln block". I love the blocks in this quilt and the use of colors. It is so fun to look at.

I thoroughly enjoyed American Heroes Quilt, Past & Present and highly recommenced it.

Book Review ~ The Botanical Hand - Lettering Workbook

This beautiful book was sent to me for a review one day... The Botanical Hand-Lettering Workbook, a step-by-step guide that teaches you how to create pretty letters and different types of flowers. The author Bethany Robertson is a professional illustrator, designer, and typographer based in Brooklyn. She states "I hope this book inspires the botanical letterer in you...". I love doodling, I love flowers; I was so excited to learn from her book!!

She covers everything from the anatomy of letters to...

How to draw adorable various flowers, leaves and other objects, which leads into...

Creating unique logos with what you learned! How wonderful would that be if you could come up with your own cards, banners, tags and other fun projects?

Intrigued? I can't wait to dig in deeper to the book and practice more once the kids go back to school after the Christmas break. If you are someone who wants to create something beautiful with doodling and drawing, this book will inspire you and help you to learn the skills. I LOVED it! :)

Book Review ~ The Knitter's Handbook

It has been so cold where I live the last few days. The hard wood floor is one of my favorite parts of my house, but I needed to find my fluffy slippers. It takes a little adjustment, but the cold season has its own flare and ways to be enjoyed. Around this time I always want to break out my yarn and play with them. I know some basics of crocheting and knitting, but I am self taught and not confident enough to say that I am a knitter.

The book I am reviewing today is The Knitter's Handbook by Eleanor Van Zandt. It's beautiful cover made me excited to turn the pages right away. There I found many useful and comprehensive information for yarns and patterns.

This book will guide you through more than 90 stitches and techniques. Clear and easy-to-follow instructions and 250 step-by-step illustrations are surely encouraging for me to try it. Look at all these beautiful patterns. Wouldn't it be fun to knit a beautiful hat or a sweater using those stitches??

Oh, one more pretty picture from this book... I couldn't resist. :)

Whether you are new to knitting and want to learn more (me!) or an experienced knitter who wants to try advanced patterns, the Knitter's Handbook will be the go-to book.

Book Review ~ Learn to Sew with Lauren

In case you are wondering... yes, how to make this cute top she is wearing in the photo is also included in the book!
I was so thrilled when I received a copy of "Learn to Sew with Lauren" to review. Lauren Guthrie was a very popular finalist in BBC TV's Great British Sewing Bee. You can learn more about her, news, projets and tutorials on her blog.

Flipping through the pages, the thought came to my mind was, "I wish I had a book like this when I was learning to sew as a little girl!". The title "Learn to sew..." seems perfect for this book, because she took great effort to help you from choosing fabrics, sewing equipment, and many well explained basic techniques for people who are very new to sewing. Though, this book is not just for beginners. What is unique about this book is that the projects advances in difficulty from "beginners-Easy Peasy" to "improvers" and to "More Tricky". There are 20 projects in the book with full size patterns. Let me name a few; napkins, potholders, quilts, purses, blouses (yep, that would be one of the more tricky ones). You see, this book is for everybody who loves to sew. What I really love about her projects are her fabric choices. I am nowhere near an expert but I can pretty much sew everything in her book. But looking at her take on each item, fabric choices, and combinations inspired me to sew more!

Let me show you some of my favorites...

Envelope cushion cover is a very simple thing to make and perfect for a beginner. This is the perfect example of making something useful and stylish that doesn't have to be complicated. I adore her fabric choices.

This picture is actually for the trimmed cushion cover. This picture also inspired me with the texture and color. Simply beautiful.

Everybody need a Big bag. Some of the people who are close to me knows that I love bags. I seem to have things to carry all the time; my projects and sketch book to go, kids' library books, snacks in the car... so on so forth. This bag seems very roomy and I love the side pocket. This might accommodate all my needs...

The last one is the Placemats. I love the variation she shared; the one with cutlery pockets. How cute is that?? I might need to make some and invite my friends for lunch!

There are a LOT more pretty items to make in this book and I am sure that you will fall in love with her style. :)

Fabric Blooms ~ Book Review and Giveaway!

Oh I so am excited about today's post! Not only was I given an opportunity to review this new book by Megan Hunt, I can do a giveaway for my readers as well. Before I get to the giveaway details, let me share something about this book with you...

Megan is the voice and creativity behind the popular blog Princess Lasertron. She is a wedding designer (and much more!) and her beautiful works have been featured in leading magazines several times. She has a keen eye for combining colors and I love how all of the flowers in the book are made from common materials.

There are 42 flower projects in the book. That is a lot of different styles of flowers you can learn to make! If you have been reading my blog you know how I love incorporating flowers in to my projects to add character and flair. The book is not just pretty to look at, it is a very useful reference book that you will enjoy for years to come. I totally recommend this book for someone who has been wanting to get their creative juices flowing.

Here is one of my most favorite project Prom Nosegay...

It has a really nice assembly diagram.

* Note: The images are posted with permission from Fabric Blooms © 2014 by Megan Hunt, Lark, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by Lark Crafts

Hmm... Dreamy...

So ladies! Are you all dying to see the rest of the beautiful book? Here are the giveaway rules:

1. To enter for the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. I would love to hear what you would like to use the flowers for!

2. For an extra entry, share this giveaway on your social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and leave the link in the comment section. (Sorry, without the link, I can't count it as an entry)

3. I will run the giveaway until April 9th and announce the winner on the morning of the 10th. If I don't hear from the winner over the weekend, I will choose a different winner on Monday the 14th. If you are the lucky winner, please send me an email with your shipping info. I will forward that to Lark and they will send you a copy of the book.

Spring is near and what an appropriate giveaway for the season. :) Good luck every one!