Beautiful Books

Over Christmas and a treat to myself I received the following gorgeous books:

Eric Lanlard's Glamour Cakes

This book is more about making delicious cakes with sophisticated decoration. It's not an out and out cake decorator's book, more at the level of a top quality patisserie/ cake shop. Eric is a top French patissier, although he lives and works in London, UK. This is a great book to push me up a level or 3 in baking!

Ellisa Straus' Confetti Cakes for Kids

This book is such fun, will I ever achieve any of these cakes, I don't know, but they are very inspiring, and I do take elements of her designs to put into my own cakes for my children. My eldest is 6 soon, and has requested the Monster Cake on the front!!!! It looks AMAZING and the step by step guide is VERY LONG!!!! Want to do it, but I need to be realistic!

Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me

What a beautiful book, especially for a first time sewer, with the level of information in the first section of the book. I find this information very helpful, as projects you do from other sources might not give you all the info you need, so I use these sewing books as much as reference guides as much as to make the projects.

My eyes have told me to make the taxi tote, the patchwork I want all of those bag, possible the wall hanging, the play along quilt (I have an idea of doing a block here and a block there, so it's a long term project with no rush to it!) Possibly the dress cover bag, and the fabric cube storage.

Quite a lot there then!

The patterns are in the back, fantastic, and it's all spiral bound so the book will not get damaged as your hold the pages open. Plus the graphic design is wonderful, with fabric designs around the page borders. The steps are highlighted if they have a diagram associated with it. Plus loads of colour and design advice for each project.

This is a very well thought out book. Should be an example in how to do it for other pattern book writers.

(pics next week, in-laws here!)