Paperie for Inspired Living Book Review and Giveaway

No matter what your fiber of choice, you will stockpile inspiration from Karen Bartolomei’s “Paperie for Inspired Living”. First off this book is a beautiful hard covered addition for your library and brilliantly illustrated. Each page holds divine designs from stunning invitations, awesome decorations, gift tags, place holders and so many ideas even for the budget conscious crafter. If you have never created a card this book will force you to make one or several and you will never want to buy a card or invitation again. Karen shows us how to customize and coordinate fabulous paper products for any occasion from the most elegant event to your most casual outdoor picnic. Each chapter contains several projects, from the all important invitation to smaller touches like labels, tags, and keepsakes. How unforgettable your personal stationary be when Karen demonstrates step-by-step how to make a monogrammed, Thank-You cards, Mailing Labels, Business Cards, Letterhead, and Note Cards. The chapter on New Year’s Eve projects includes Invitations, Menus, Resolution Sign-in/Postcards and Drink Signs.

Karen also offers us vital advice for invitation wording and etiquette, and provides tips for throwing unforgettable parties, like choosing a color scheme and ideas for breaking the ice. She has also thoughtfully included several useful templates and source ideas as to where we can purchase your materials for these paper fiber creations. I am sure you all have some of the materials needed for many of her projects in your craft areas. Have this book on hand as the summer fades and fall explodes into radiant colors signifying holiday parties are close at hand and the gifts and cards desired that will bring you back to this book over and over for ideas. Maybe you saw something in the book and stored it in your mind for a special occasion and you know just where to find it and put your own spin on Karen’s idea.

Are you getting married in the near future and need invitation and planning ideas? Well, you do not have to spend a fortune using ideas from Karen’s book. “Paperie for Inspired Living” can be pre-ordered today at Amazon.com or nay of the favorite book stores. The release date is July 7th 2009 so put your order in today.

Karen Bartolomei’s

Here is a lovely video by Karen Bartolomei of Grapevine grapevinepaperie.com, she designs elegant and expensive wedding invitations. This video will offer a little about Karen and above is also the link to her site. Now you can reproduce some of her stunning ideas by using this book.

For this giveaway, in the comment area, tell what event you are planning and why this book would be a money saver for you. This giveaway will begin July 1, 2009 through July 12, 2009. Good luck!

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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