Vintage Craft Workshop by Cathy Callahan takes projects from the past and updates them to today's materials and style.
I've been collecting vintage craft books for years, and this book takes a lot of it's inspiration from my favorite time period, mid 1960s to the late 1970s. A heyday of crafting that matches today's recycling and DIY ethics perfectly. With themes that are whimsical and earthy both, based frequently in things found in nature interpreted in bright happy colors.
The whole book is filled with photos of vintage crafts as well as their modern versions and tidbits of information about groundbreaking artists and craft designers.
The crafts are wonderful. The author collected some of the best designers around for the projects.
Each chapter has a few projects with well written instructions and there is a pattern section in the back of the book.
Chapters and my favorite projects in them-
Burlap, which features that adorable mushroom pin cushion that's on the cover. It also has a cute fish purse inspired by a vintage photo that is one of my favorite projects in the book.
Raffia and Yarn has flower loom projects, wonderful crochet projects and my favorite project, designed by Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod, plastic canvas placemats that really make you rethink both canvas and raffia.
Crewelwork, Craft Kits and Appliques has a snail applique and embroidered pillow that's just wonderful as well as an apron with great big tulip pockets.
Craft Trends of the '60s and '70s is all about those crafts that you most associate with the era. Bottle cutting, macrame, string art, that sort of thing. The macrame plant holders are made more modern with nautical rope and knot tying techniques. They are very clean looking and would fit into a masculine decorating scheme very well. I also love the glass bottle wind chimes.
Paper has a tissue paper painted mosaic pizza tray. If you can find a steel pizza tray, this would be perfect with marble magnets as a bulletin board.
Paper mâché has darling butterfly scatter pins made from one of my favorite craft materials, lightweight cardboard packaging. These would be wonderful as a gift pinned to a card and a great project to do with children for a grandparent.
If you love vintage crafts as much as I do, you'll really enjoy this book.
Edited to add- The Turnip Girl also loved this book. In fact, the review would have been posted last week if she hadn't wandered off with it!
You can get this book directly from the publisher, Chronicle Books
My reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.
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