button it up :: Book Review + Giveaway!

Last spring I was contacted about being a guest designer in an amazing new project book by Susan Beal! I have had such a hard time keeping my mouth shut about it as I was really excited. First I love Susan Beal’s other book Bead Simple and it turns out that I like her too in general – she is a super nice very creative woman. A force to be recond with for sure!

She has started a compainion website that you can visit here and a flickr pool for all us crafty folk making projects from the book.

It is just about the cutest book I have ever seen! The photography is stunning and everything looks wonderful! And with “80 amazing vintage button projects” – which truly are amazing – I could not be happier to both have it in my hands to enjoy and use and love as well as be a small part of.

I was lucky enough to be sharing a spread with Diane of the CraftyPod (what an honor for sure!). My project is the Spring Roll Market Bag on the left.

And other than my own and Diane’s there are 78 other fun button loving projects. Being a particular sucker for buttons, I love this! These are some of my favorites:

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And being that Susan Beal has a keen eye for jewelry projects and instructions, there are a ton of great projects for adorning youself with beautiful vintage buttons AND great tutorials on how to exicute the techniques needed. Like weaving buttons together into a chain:

Not only is this book really inspiring, it’s packed full of great how to information.

She has instructions for many button specific techniques that I have never seen before. I can’t wait to make some necklaces from the book and then branch out with my new arsenal of button manipulation knowledge and make some of my own designs.

If you love vintage buttons – or have an inherited stock pile that needs using – this book is perfect for you. Learn, be inspired, and create!

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And here is the fun part! A giveaway! [for a free copy of the book+some buttons+a craft kit! – sorry I forgot those details before :)] And because my mailbox is feeling lonely, I’m going to make it a mail in giveaway!

Just send a post card or letter to:

Craft Leftovers
217 Welch Ave, #101
Ames, IA 50014

Make sure to Include:
Your name
Your blog or etsy shop or website
Your physical address
Your email address
AND the answer to the following: what is your favorite thing to do with your vintage buttons?

I want to post the results to the submissions so I’ll be putting your name (first only), blog, and answer and a possibly a picture of your postcard (especially if there are buttons one it :) If you don’t want to be mentioned on the blog, just say “please keep me anonymous” and I will respect that completely.

Your submission must be postmarked by Saturday, March 7th, 2009 and I’ll post the results of the drawing March 16th (to give international post enough time to get here).

You can see quite a few other reviews (I’m quoting this from the review section for the website):

“Susan Martin of The Buffalo News: Susan Beal has some clever ideas about what to do with those buttons you’ve been saving all these years. Or the vintage ones you find yourself admiring at thrift shops, estate sales or in your grandmother’s button box.

Sarah Schlosser-Moon of Sewer-Sewist: If you’re familiar with Susan’s jewelry-making book, Bead Simple (a well put together and highly approachable book, if you’re interested in jewelry making), you’ll appreciate that Button it Up follows a similar format — lots of great “recipes” (that’s how I think of them) for making unique projects, this time using buttons.

Diane Gilleland of Craftypod: I think that’s part of the fun of Button It Up — not only are the projects are wonderful, you also get a huge dose of button eye-candy. Yum yum.

Sally Shim of Shim + Sons: If you have a love for buttons + crafting this is the perfect book for you.”