Ooh la la! Isn't this so cool? It's from a new book called
Upcycled Jewelry, Bags, Belts, and More by
Linda Peterson. I'm so happy to be part of this blog tour especially since Linda and I both like making wonderful somethings out of everyday nothings.
I almost feel like Linda and I are co-workers because we share the same publisher,
CICO Books. Linda calls us Page Buddies since our books are neighbors in the CICO Books
catalog. I love that! As a stop on Linda's online book tour I thought it would be fun to interview her. In between I'll share some of my favorite projects from her latest effort. The entire book is really cool and very inventive.
Hi Linda! How fun to be acquainted with another CICO
Books author. As soon as your cool book arrived in the mail, I thought, yep 35
projects! Which is of course, the standard CICO format. I think your
book is brilliant and our MO's of making beauty from the everyday is quite
similar!
Hi Elyse! I'm so glad to be able to talk to a fellow
CICO author! Congratulations on being on the Amazon Best Seller List for
Craft and Hobbies! That's AWESOME!!
I can't help but check my rankings constantly. Thank you!
Thanks for the sweet compliments on my book. We do
have the same MO of making beauty from the ordinary! I absolutely love and
adore your style. It speaks to my heart. I was raised in a family who
loved pretty, dainty little things and knick knacks everywhere. It
reminds me of my great childhood. But, I don't think my husband, who is an avid
outdoorsman appreciates the dainty quite as much as me so in order to reach a
compromise in our decor, I tend to create with a little more upcycle, rustic,
kind of industrial style and every once in a while when he isn't looking, I
throw in some dainty stuff. I think he's okay with that.
That's awesome, Linda. I love how in your introduction you describe your
"rat-packing" ways because it's so true that when recyclable items is
a main supply source, you begin to walk a fine line with hoarding. I actually
have baskets of jars and cans and even colorful plastic bags, so I'm right there
with you. As you know, I call what I like to do
"tinkering" and was wondering if you had a stock term that you use
for yourself?
We have this great little farm in Iowa where there are
tons of what I call "treasure ditches". Full of thrown away things like old
metal pans, real tin cans, bed springs and the like. It's where my
upcycling addiction kinda took off.
As for what I call my addiction? I'm not sure I
have a specific name for it, dare I call it hoarding? Hmmm... It is hard
to keep a balance. I keep a tub of cans, a tub for rusty metal etc.
I try to keep the rule that when the tub fills up, sometime has to get
thrown out before a new item is placed in there. Ordinary things, I don't
tend to keep as much like soda cans, etc. unless they're from another country
or have great artwork on them. However, just dumpster diving, you do pick
up those things out of the ordinary that have potential for something in the
future - that's kinda a problem if you don't have a lot of storage space.
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| lone star earrings |
That's why upcycling jewelry is a perfect balance.
Find objects, keep them small, make really fun and trendy jewelry!
When I created my books for CICO, I took step by step
pictures which I emailed to be illustrated for the instructions but all of the
projects were shipped from RI to the UK for shooting and styling on-location.
Lots of trust on both ends. Tell me about your process.
After working out
the concept of the book with the publisher, I create the first 10 projects
which are sent to the UK to begin work on the blad (a little booklet that
gives an overview of the book). From those projects they create the front
and back cover. It takes me a good solid 8 to 10 weeks to create all the
projects in the book. I actually like to create a little more, then I
exchange projects based on complexity, or maybe I think another one will fit
the theme better, etc.
When all the projects are done, I hop a plane to the
London where I meet up with my editorial team and photography team. We
outline the book, shoot all the photographs and write all the draft copy in
about a week. The projects all stay in the UK and are sent to a stylist and a
styling photographer, however I come home then with the step-out photos,
the draft copy and I fill in the gaps, write my intros and romance copy. This
generally takes a good 2 weeks at the computer to get everything down right so
that it's logical and explained well. I like to leave the book rest a few
days and before I send the copy over to the publisher, I read it over and
double check what I wrote.
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| loop de loop ring from a BICYCLE INNER TUBE! |
Next, the copy, photos, tips and styled photographs are
sent to a book designer who lays out the book. After a few weeks, I get a
PDF preview copy where I can make any changes or give additional input. The publishers are so kind to take my input. Sometimes, they adjust
things with my suggestions and other times they don't. But, I always get
a good reason as to why not and I learn from them about what works and what
doesn't. In all honesty though, I leave a lot of that up to them as they
are the book publishing professionals.
The books go through a series of proofreaders to make
sure that everything is clear and understandable and follows a consistent
format. Finally it goes to press! This whole process takes less
than a year - which is incredible in the book publishing industry.
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| cell phone pouch |
I have always been impressed with CICO books. I am
proud to have my name on them. They are truly the best at what they do!
And I have to give a shout out to Marie Clayton - OUR editor! I have worked
with Marie on all my books and she is so great at what she does. She
really puts a lot of time in to making the books successful as well - See
that's another thing we have in common! :)
I agree. CICO assembles an extraordinary team of people. I couldn't be happier with how lovely my books are.
I think I enjoy the making just as much as the writing of
the books. How about you?
I LOVE ...THRIVE on this whole process! I love the
making process, and really I don't even mind the writing process. I
thrive on the challenge and when the books are finished, there is a big sense
of accomplishment and I'm ready to do it all over again!
Like I always say, creating a craft book isn't like brick-laying but it sure is a lot of work but quite a labor of love.
xo
elyse
