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With Summer approaching (at least, in places other than the Northwest), this is a good book to have in your toolkit. Backcountry Betty: Crafting with Style is Jennifer Worick‘s follow-up to her similarly-named outdoors guide for chicks.
Backcountry Betty: Crafting with Style offers up 64 projects made with materials you can gather in the great outdoors. They range in skill level from absolute beginner to things involving power tools.
The book is divided into five sections: Into the Woods, At the Shore, In the Meadow, In Your Own Backyard, and In the Urban Jungle. There are great ideas in each, using interesting bits you’d find in these locales. (Jennifer is careful to point out that only fallen/downed stuff is fair game for crafting.)
This is one of my favorite projects – a bouquet of pinecones that doubles as an air freshener. The jar holds fragrance elements, which are absorbed into the pinecones. Cute – and smart!
The project set covers a wide range of crafts and ideas, including: candles made in clamshells, dyeing fabric with berry juice, kaleidoscopic art made from pressed flowers, and wet-felted rocks, to name a few.
The Urban Jungle section contains projects that repurpose various flotsam of city life. Such as this cute placemat collaged from take-out menus.
And throughout, Jennifer’s funny, sassy writing style makes for entertaining reading.
Backcountry Betty: Crafting with Style is a little outside the box in that it’s entirely illustrated (by Kate Quinby) – there are no project photographs. Many of the projects are simple enough that by reading the text directions and looking at the finished project illustration, you’ll have all the info you need to get started.
For more complex projects, like the beach glass jewelry above, there are a few technical drawings to illustrate key steps. And in a few cases, projects involve power tools, but have no illustration of those steps. So I’d recommend having some experience in that domain before plunging in.
I see this book as a good companion to Summer travels. You could do a lot of these projects with kids while on a camping trip, day at the beach, or just out in the backyard. Or, gather some of your grown-up crafty friends for alfresco making in a local park.
(A note on those kids, though – although the design of the book is very kid-friendly, quite a few of these projects involve tools or techniques that could be dangerous if unsupervised. I’d keep the book to yourself and share the projects with them.)
I love the idea of a book that brings the crafty outside! And what’s even better…
We have a giveaway!
Skipstone Press has donated a copy of Backcountry Betty: Crafting with Style so we can have a drawing. Woo!
To enter, leave a comment here and tell me what kinds of crafting you do while you travel. You have until noon PST Wednesday, May 13. I’ll draw a winner at random. Good luck!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Katie, our big winner!
Oops. I didn’t read that criteria very well did I?
I usually bring along a sketch book along with drawing utencils (pens, pencils, and watercolor pencils with one of those brushes that hold water). Lately, I’ve added a glue stick and scissors to add local ephemera into my sketchbook, otherwise I just lose it before I get home.
Oops. I didn’t read that criteria very well did I?
I usually bring along a sketch book along with drawing utencils (pens, pencils, and watercolor pencils with one of those brushes that hold water). Lately, I’ve added a glue stick and scissors to add local ephemera into my sketchbook, otherwise I just lose it before I get home.
Thanks for the review! I agree about the safety factor. Kids (and many adults) should not go near a jigsaw, drill, or Dremel tool. I surprisingly survived my experiments and now love, love, love my Dremel.
Thanks for the review! I agree about the safety factor. Kids (and many adults) should not go near a jigsaw, drill, or Dremel tool. I surprisingly survived my experiments and now love, love, love my Dremel.
I don’t get to travel much at all, but if I do, I bring along some yarn and crochet hooks.
Thats why I need a backyard craft book, I hardly ever go anywhere!
I don’t get to travel much at all, but if I do, I bring along some yarn and crochet hooks.
Thats why I need a backyard craft book, I hardly ever go anywhere!
Well, I don’t know if we consider drawing an art (Ah, the neverending “art vrs. craft” debate…), but I usually draw a lot when I’m in vacation and/or just traveling.
I may have a travel journal and illustrate my writing with some drawings.
It’s an interesting subject as crafting while travelling never occured to me that much. Let’s change that! ^-^
Well, I don’t know if we consider drawing an art (Ah, the neverending “art vrs. craft” debate…), but I usually draw a lot when I’m in vacation and/or just traveling.
I may have a travel journal and illustrate my writing with some drawings.
It’s an interesting subject as crafting while travelling never occured to me that much. Let’s change that! ^-^
We don’t travel much but when we do I like to bring along some yarn, crochet/knitting supplies. I also like to do some hand sewing…either hexagons or with some yummy felt :)
We don’t travel much but when we do I like to bring along some yarn, crochet/knitting supplies. I also like to do some hand sewing…either hexagons or with some yummy felt :)
This looks so, so cute!
This looks so, so cute!
Last summer my travel was too backcountry for anything but a sketchbook- two months in the bush in Tanzania dragging one’s gear behind them does not make for happy crafting. Usually, though, I carry lots and lots of knitting on my various adventures.
Last summer my travel was too backcountry for anything but a sketchbook- two months in the bush in Tanzania dragging one’s gear behind them does not make for happy crafting. Usually, though, I carry lots and lots of knitting on my various adventures.
It’s been a while since we’ve really “traveled” a long distance. But I like to bring something small that can be tucked away in a tote, like embriodery or some loom knitting!
This looks like a fun crafty book. Thanks for the review!
It’s been a while since we’ve really “traveled” a long distance. But I like to bring something small that can be tucked away in a tote, like embriodery or some loom knitting!
This looks like a fun crafty book. Thanks for the review!
I usually only bring craft things to read like mags, idea books, etc. I also bring a journal to document & a camera of course :)
I love to knit or crochet on long road trips. . .not while I am driving of course! ;)
I usually only bring craft things to read like mags, idea books, etc. I also bring a journal to document & a camera of course :)
I love to knit or crochet on long road trips. . .not while I am driving of course! ;)
I don’t get to travel much but when I do I always bring along an idea pad, some yarn to do finger knitting, or fabric and a sewing kit and lots of bags. Then if I find something interesting I can bag it up to keep for later.
I don’t get to travel much but when I do I always bring along an idea pad, some yarn to do finger knitting, or fabric and a sewing kit and lots of bags. Then if I find something interesting I can bag it up to keep for later.
I do a lot of crochet on planes and in cars. I have been in a position where I needed a bag to contain something acquired on the trip and had to fashion a quick little bag for it in the suitcase.
I do a lot of crochet on planes and in cars. I have been in a position where I needed a bag to contain something acquired on the trip and had to fashion a quick little bag for it in the suitcase.
I mostly only take pictures to later craft/blog/scrap with. Traveling with two little ones does not leave a lot of free time/hands to do much crafting.
I mostly only take pictures to later craft/blog/scrap with. Traveling with two little ones does not leave a lot of free time/hands to do much crafting.
I knit when I travel, too, but like to make daisy chains, fairy houses, and other ephemeral crafts when picnicking or hanging out in the great outdoors.
I knit when I travel, too, but like to make daisy chains, fairy houses, and other ephemeral crafts when picnicking or hanging out in the great outdoors.
When I travel, I take along my craft magazines and cut and snip all the ideas I want to make someday in my life and put them into my craft binders……….I have many! Craft on! Wendy
When I travel, I take along my craft magazines and cut and snip all the ideas I want to make someday in my life and put them into my craft binders……….I have many! Craft on! Wendy
I bring along hand sewing projects. Thanks for the giveaway!
I bring along hand sewing projects. Thanks for the giveaway!
When I travel, I just take pictures and count my children over and over. I’m a slacker.
When I travel, I just take pictures and count my children over and over. I’m a slacker.
Lots of things I do during travel. Knit, crochet, draw, watercolor, journal.
Lots of things I do during travel. Knit, crochet, draw, watercolor, journal.
I knit, crochet, embroider, or do plastic canvas on trips. I knitted a pair of socks while sitting with my Mother in a nursing home last month.
I knit, crochet, embroider, or do plastic canvas on trips. I knitted a pair of socks while sitting with my Mother in a nursing home last month.
i bring along my flower presses!:-)…then when i get home, i make flowerart!:-)
rebekah:-)
i bring along my flower presses!:-)…then when i get home, i make flowerart!:-)
rebekah:-)
If I’m not doing the driving, then I’m knitting or crocheting.
If I’m not doing the driving, then I’m knitting or crocheting.
I love to take pictures and journal when traveling. I’ve also been know to take knitting along. You can’t beat the click of knitting needles on an airplane to stay nice and relaxed
I love to take pictures and journal when traveling. I’ve also been know to take knitting along. You can’t beat the click of knitting needles on an airplane to stay nice and relaxed
What a neat looking book!
When I travel I like to knit and take lots of pictures.
What a neat looking book!
When I travel I like to knit and take lots of pictures.
such a cute giveaway! I like to bring a little handsewing when I travel. Embroidery is a fun way to relax while I’m away :)
such a cute giveaway! I like to bring a little handsewing when I travel. Embroidery is a fun way to relax while I’m away :)
When I travel, I usually take projects that need cutting or bibs that need snapping. When I tire of that, I read a trashy novel or zone in front of cable. Man, I really need this book! lol.
When I travel, I usually take projects that need cutting or bibs that need snapping. When I tire of that, I read a trashy novel or zone in front of cable. Man, I really need this book! lol.