{Tinkered Treasures} Book Review & Giveaway!

If you’re dreaming of a magical wedding day filled with vintage charm and sweet surprises, be sure to grab a copy of Tinkered Treasures by Elyse Major! This lovely book is brimming over with ideas including more than 35 handmade projects that will add a touch of whimsy to your wedding celebrations and beyond. I’ve long been a fan of Elyse’s charming blog, also called Tinkered Treasures, and was thrilled when I received a copy from Cico Books to review. The official release date for the book is February 14th, but if you can’t wait till then don’t fret, I’m giving away a copy of the book here on the DIY Weddings blog! Simply leave a comment in this post by midnight CST on Monday, February 11th, 2013 for your chance to win!

In the meantime, here are some snippets from the book to inspire and delight you!

I can think of so many uses for these pretty little paper-covered wooden clothespins found in Chapter 1: Tinkering Sundries! Attach magnets to the back for favors, use them to string photos, bunting, or even escort cards at showers and receptions. Or clip them to the top of trinket or candy-filled bags to secure them.

Chapter 2: Tinkering Supplies, offers wonderful ways to elevate practical objects like ceramic tiles, magnets, shipping tags, or even the humble toothpick, as in the cupcake flags and bunting shown above. You’ll never look at the office supply store, home improvement center, or even the baking aisle the same way again!

Go eco-chic with the fun ideas in Chapter 3: Tinkering Recyclables. Discarded glass spice jars become objects of beauty with a bit of pretty paper, some wire, and a few posies. Tin cans are transformed into pretty containers, and paper lunch bags become stylish favors for your guests.

Chapter 4: Tinkering Bits & Bobs, shares how to turn all those lovely little scraps we stash away into fanciful journals, fabric garlands, bunting, bookmarks, and loads of other embellished accessories.

As a little girl, I loved pretty little bits and pieces, and I still remember the small boxes I used to gather my treasures, and the many happy hours I spent sifting through them and arranging them. Reading Tinkered Treasures is like opening up those boxes all over again and rediscovering the magic and delight that everyday objects can hold. I’m so happy to share this wonderful book with all the readers here at DIY Weddings, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do! Be sure to leave your comment on this post for your chance to win a copy of Tinkered Treasures. Best wishes to all the entrants, and many thanks to Elyse Major and Cico Books for this lovely read!

As a knitter, I love a good sheep motif, so let’s take a look at some cute sheep cross stitch patterns.

If you want to stitch a little sheep, this mini square from Good Dog Needleworks is a nice choice. It uses just three colors and measures 32 by 32 stitches. That’s 2.2 inches or about 5.5 cm square if you stitch it on 14 count fabric.

I also love these two little sheep, which you can stitch together or in individual hoops and shown. The designs are form Threadbound Art and use six colors. They are slightly different in size, with one being 21 by 17 stitches and the other 21 by 20. They fit in four inch frames if you work them on 14 count fabric.

You can stitch a sweet sheep bookmark with this design from Kits by SA Stitch. This is not for the person who doesn’t like back stitch, because there’s a lot of that here, but it is really cute. It measures 30 by 91 stitches and uses 10 colors. That will make your bookmark about 2.4 by 6.5 inches, or 6 by 16.5 cm on 14 count fabric.

Stitch a pretty scene of sheep in a meadow with this design from Motok Nytok. It uses 21 colors and the design is 99 by 73 stitches. On 14 count fabric that makes it about 7.07 by 5.21 inches, or 17.96 by 13.24 cm.

This yarn full of cross stitch sheep has a bit of a knitting twist because the sheep all look like they have sweaters on. The design is from Soda Stitch Design and it measures 179 by 216 stitches. The full design uses 27 colors. On 14 count fabric it will work out to 12.78 by 15.42 inches, or 32.48 by 39.19 cm.

Another great one with a knitting theme is this one where the wool is coming off the sheep and straight onto the needles. This one is from Happy Cross Stitchers and uses 12 colors. The pattern is 137 by 137 stitches, which comes out to 9.7 inches or 24.86 cm square on 14 count fabric. This would be a fun one to stitch for the knitter in your life (even if that is you).

Or you can stitch the field of sheep of a knitter’s dreams with the Happy Sheep chart from Charts and Stuff. These per-colored sheep can be stitched as shown or worked in any colors you like. The eyes are French knots but you can just stitch them in white if you’d rather.

Have you read?