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Betz White's latest release, Sewing Green offers 25 projects to make with natural and recycled materials, which means that you can do something good for the environment, while making something great for yourself.
The book starts with guides to working with recycled materials, thrifting for a bargain and hunting out a gem in the rough. Create a Striped Cafe Apron from an old work shirt, keep your feet warm with Recycled Sweater Slippers, create an Auto Sunshade with Caprisun packages, or give your home some outdoor charm with a Woodland Draft Buster.
The tutorials are all in depth and come with handy tips and tricks to help you along the way. Breath new life in to unwanted items and create wonderful new accessories for you, your bag and your home. 100% guilt free.
You can pick up a copy of the book from Abrams Books now.
Any domestic goddess would be proud to be seen in this adorable patchwork apron.
Check out the how-to from Moda Bake Shop.
King Charles is a musician and songwriter based in London. We caught up with him to hear about his music.
Who are you and where do you come from?
I am King Charles: I was born a Londoner and bred as an Englishman.
Where does your name come from?
It was given to me when I started making music. It stuck for a number of reasons; Prophecy, calling; Powerrrrrrr.
Who's in the band and where did you meet?
My backing band consist of a few boys, a few girls, a few laptops, we all met over the space of two or three years through friends, studios and the Apple store.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe it as a channel, or a vessel through which I can pipe ideas. The sounds you hear from the record/live show are a solution of these ideas designed to carry the idea to your ear where it will be distilled and directed to your head or your heart.
What makes your band unique?
Absolutely
Who are your musical influences?
There are people/musicians/bands who inspire me to play the guitar, to write songs, to learn different instruments; to think. From modern pop songs that mean nothing to me to Bob Dylan who means everything to me, I've learnt something from everything.
Tell us a bit about your current album and the inspirations behind it?
It’s my first album, 'In The World but not Of The World'. This album is solely inspired by girls and God, that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote it, and I'm still getting to grips with the identities of each. There are different themes within it but they all derive from the same stem.
Where are your favourite places to tour?
Kenya, The Caribbean, Bali, Capri between June and August.
Where do you look for inspiration when songwriting?
Inspiration, generally speaking, comes to me as a surprise, found in something or a moment when I wouldn't expect it. In my experience when sought, it can be elusive.
What would you be doing if you weren't in a band?
Spearing crocodiles on the Malagarasi.
What was the last record you bought?
Friska Viljor, Tour De Hearts .
Hopes and dreams for this year?
More fire on my head.
What's next for you?
Subtle summits.
You can find out more about King Charles and listen to his music on MySpace.
This cheescake claims to be the best recipe ever - we think it's worth a try.
Check out the recipe from My First Kitchen.
Not only is this paper trimmer portable, but it comes in a really cute design. Cutting up to 10 layers of paper at once, it comes complete with a nifty smudge guard, rubber feet to keep it steady, and extending measuring arm, so that you can trim larger pieces without needing a bigger trimmer.
Hard wearing and resilient, the trimmer has a reversible cutting bar and a detachable blade, so that you can replace blunt blades and use specialized and decorative rotary blades. Create a zig-zag with the Pinking blade, wavy edges with the Scallop and Wave blades, or create the look of ragged paper with the Deckle blade. With additional blades to perforate and score, this trimmer is very versatile.
The trimmer and additional blades are available to buy now from the Fiskars website.
Here's a clever way to repurpose a plastic fork - turn it in to a pair of fangs, ideal for Halloween.
Check out the post on atelier v.
We've got some Stitchable Stationary, glow in the dark thread, a LePetite Kit and four embroidery patterns to give away to one lucky winner in our Sublime Stitching craft contest.
For your chance of winning, simply enter your embroidery projects. You can enter up to 3 times, good luck!
If you were only going to buy one craft book in your life, then Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts would probably be your best bet.
The queen of all things homely has pulled together hundreds of instructions for testing out every craft under the sun, and in this physically gigantic book, you can make hundreds of projects for feathering and decorating your nest.
The tutorials are short and sweet, without step photos, but this offers extra space for more projects to be crammed in - keep your bits and pieces organizes with a Desk Tidy, turn shells in to Salt & Pepper Holders, mold Colorful Clay Buttons, and make unique Sand Castle candles. Papercraft, mosaic, framing, jewelry making, glittering, etching, calligraphy and beading are just some of the crafts you'll find in this book, and with projects big and small, there's a suitable project for every skill level.
You can pick up a copy of the book from Random House now.
Here's a way to have all of your breakfast in one bite. We're going to substitute the bacon for Quorn bacon and make them veggie.