Book To Check Out: You Are Awesome
Hi everyone! I love a good book, don’t you? That is why I have to share this sweet crafting title from blogger Abbey Hendrickson of Aesthetic Outburst today. In addition to her life as a blogger, she’s a freelance artist and craft stylist living with her family on a farm in rural New York. I’m guessing that living away from the big city is what makes Abbey so super creative when it comes to crafting — often when you have less to work with you are forced to think and create and DO stuff. Of course, everyone is different, but personally I find that the less I have the more I find creative ways to get what I need.
In her new book, You Are Awesome – 21 Crafts To Make You Happy, published by Cicada Books, Abbey will show you how to get crafty with basic things you can find either already in your crafting closet or that you can pick up anywhere – and each project is really cute, too!
About You Are Awesome, “In between DIY disasters, childcare catastrophes, book obsessions and cultural consumption, Abbey makes some fantastic and funky craft projects, which she sells through her Etsy shop. You Are Awesome collects together 21 of her craft ideas from her blog and her “20 in 20″ challenge (for which she made 20 crafts in 20 days), each one presented in color and clearly explained step by step. They range from an embroidery sampler to a bookshelf to a laptop toy made from a cardboard box. The projects are fairly simple, but all distinctive and quirky, and will appeal to novices and crafting professionals alike. Each one captures the warmth and humor that Abbey herself radiates and which has made her and her blog so popular.” Sounds about right to me! Here are some spreads and more pics from it to whet your appetite!
What I loved about this book: First, the gorgeous neon orange spine and the lovely cover – from the project featured to the font chosen, it looks really fresh and clean. I also love that the end papers are the most gorgeous pastel blue, so serene and such a nice complement to the neon orange accents throughout the book. The entire book feels very fresh as you flip through it, too – the layouts are simple yet striking and the font choices throughout are quite lovely. Another favorite is that it’s small enough to fit into your handbag yet it still feels special because it’s hardbound in some cool cardboard, I’ve not seen this often and totally like it because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
I also really appreciate the title, even though I’m sure being a bit vague (it’s hard to tell it’s a craft book when you first see it) may make it hard to find for those who don’t know Abbey. Despite that though, I still love the title for one reason: it makes you feel good. I think that lots of people feel intimated by all of the perfection out there from what we are seeing on Pinterest to the pages of gorgeous magazines – it’s very easy to feel like you sorta suck in comparison. That’s why YOU ARE AWESOME is such a nice, “There, there, you can do it!” pat on the back kind of message. I like that.
In addition to the design of the book and title, the photography shot by Garry Maclennan is beautifully done and the illustrations throughout by Fiona Biddington from Pink Paper Circus are equally charming – what a great team Abbey had assigned to her book!
Some of my favorite projects include the Awesome pegs on p. 16/17, rainbow necklace on p. 18-21, Faceted necklace p. 34-37, Geometric ornaments p. 22/23 and the Valentine medals p. 64/65. The book also comes with handy templates in the back.
All in all, this is lovely little craft book – nice job Abbey!
(images: holly becker and pages from You Are Awesome)
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February 13th, 2013 at 3:43pm
My sister and I have a craft night together every month. This looks like such a fun resource! Im so excited to learn about this new book! It looks like she has so many fun projects! I love the title of her book! It makes you feel confident in your crafting skills even before you begin! LOL!
Lauren Kellim´s last [type] ..Heath Ceramics
February 13th, 2013 at 3:50pm
Looks like it would make a great gift! I agree with you about the title- it’s nice to have some encouragement :)
Lauren´s last [type] ..the bump
February 13th, 2013 at 3:58pm
what a fantastic book! congratulations to abbey!
Molly {Dreams in HD}´s last [type] ..Love-ly Decor
February 13th, 2013 at 4:25pm
Hello Holly,
I´m a great fan of your work and I just wanted to let you know that I watched “two broke girls” on TV yesterday and in one minute there was your book “decorate” in the backround on a shelve! I found that very funny because I recognized it immediately :)
Greetings Katharina
February 13th, 2013 at 5:36pm
The book seems interesting..Thanks for sharing
janika R´s last [type] ..DIY Table Decor/Gift
February 13th, 2013 at 6:02pm
I love crafts! It can really add a touch of “home” to your house. Sounds like a great book.
Tanya´s last [type] ..The Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins for 2012-2013
February 13th, 2013 at 7:29pm
This seems like a fun book. Did you have to order it from a website?
February 13th, 2013 at 9:14pm
This book seems so interesting and fun ! I’d love to get it for my birthday :-)
Mnêmosunê´s last [type] ..Soupe complète
February 13th, 2013 at 9:16pm
Just went on amazon to buy it (being a fan of your blog often costs me money, but it always money well spent!), and if you hadn’t reviewed it and shown the photos you have here, I wouldn’t have given it a second look! You did a much better job promoting it than amazon. Thanks for sharing!!
Tracy´s last [type] ..Vintage Fruit And Vegetable Label Tissue Box Cover by MakingHappy
February 13th, 2013 at 9:45pm
Can’t wait to order the book – thank you for the inspiration
Sue´s last [type] ..pancakes………….
February 13th, 2013 at 10:39pm
Love it! All such cute ideas, I love to make crafts.
Murray Insulation´s last [type] ..The Advantages Of Automated Buildings
February 13th, 2013 at 11:22pm
I’ve been enjoying your posts via email for some time, but I rarely comment. Today, I just had to pop in to tell you that I think YOU’RE awesome….and yes, I’ll have to check out the book too….it looks interesting!
Stop by and visit with me sometime.
Ciao Bella
Creative Carmelina
February 14th, 2013 at 12:18am
I have this book. It is great and full of clever ideas which are straight forward to make. My daughter and I made the letter boxes and I made the pennant for her room. I’m looking forward to more craft!
February 14th, 2013 at 8:42am
Hi Holly, me and my friend Carola baked a cake to all blog readers in the world that are celebrating Valentines Day, you are welcome to taste a bite. Thank you for your fantastic blog!
February 14th, 2013 at 12:52pm
I loved the title too! It just makes you want to flip the book! And it seems so well designed! I want it! Thanks for sharing!
Rosa Paula´s last [type] ..Valentine’s Day
February 14th, 2013 at 2:01pm
The book looks great. I really enjoyed the homespun style of Abbey’s blog too.
February 14th, 2013 at 2:59pm
Definitely a book I want to pick up. I love the illustrations!
Jessica @shimmerkai´s last [type] ..Handmade Tropical Flower Greeting Card
February 14th, 2013 at 5:02pm
Delighted to know about this book. I’m going to order it right now!
Silky Hart´s last [type] ..Vision Board Workshop
February 15th, 2013 at 1:08am
This is such a great book. I had the chance to browse through it the other day and I’ve already added it to my wishlist :-)
Margarida´s last [type] ..Meet the blogger: Sofia & André @BrancoPrata
February 15th, 2013 at 8:02am
Hi Holly, I’ve never visited Abbey’s blog so thanks for sharing, I’ll pop over. The title of the book really speaks to me also, especially for a non crafty although wish I could be type! Mel x
mel´s last [type] ..How to Eat a Whole Flat Fish
February 17th, 2013 at 10:13pm
Love DIY, and wish I had more time to actually try some. More. Cheers.
Lisbeth´s last [type] ..Add wood!
February 18th, 2013 at 8:18pm
I love the colors in this post. Super awesome.
R. Joyce´s last [type] ..Closet Home Office: The Big Reveal
February 25th, 2013 at 6:38pm
Thanks so much for sharing my book, Holly! So happy to hear that you liked it. And thank you all for your lovely comments! I’m grinning ear to ear. :)
Abbey H´s last [type] ..Positive change…