CaraOnSugar

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I love the beach. And this is entirely my parents' doing. For as long as I can remember, our week-ends and vacations were spent visiting the shores in various parts of the Philippines.

When my parents prospered, they acquired an ocean front property in Anilao, a coastal destination at the southeast tip of Batangas. I spent a lot of summers learning how to snorkel by the rocky coast, and once I was used to it I could stay in the water until sunset, or when my parents began to worry. We also sailed to the nearby Sombrero Island, which had a beautiful white sand beach. The coral reef was breathtaking, but I was careful not to stray too far from the shore with the sharks dwelling nearby.

Besides being in the waters and listening to the waves, birds, and the wind, I have become very fond of collecting items, such as shells, corals, stones, and other gifts the beach had to offer. The trinkets I amassed were stored in a secret place in the beach house.

Through the years, as I got older and had acquired other interests, our family visits to Anilao were fewer and farther in between . I took it for granted that I had time to one day retrieve my treasures. Unfortunately, that day never came as news of my summer mecca was recently sold. My collection was lost.

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I love browsing at Ornamentea, which I consider to be a  perfect one-stop destination for any jewelry crafts. It offers beautiful, but very easy to make, tutorials that you can follow and embellish according to your personal taste. You can even do print outs to share or keep for future use!

I am also a regular reader of their 'Shiny Little Things' blog, where more video DIY projects, freebie contests, and inspiring creations are shared.

For supplies, you can look no further because Ornamentea offers this too! From beads, rings, pins, and other jewelry parts, they have it all!

The only caveat is not being able to avail of their personalized lessons, so for those who live in Raleigh, North Carolina you are definitely in luck! Ornamentea offers weekly classes and various craft clubs you can easily participate in. Fortunately, they share much on their website, and stopping by there makes me feel like I am in their store!

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Title: Handmade Chic: Fashionable Projects That Look High-End, Not Homespun (ARC copy*)

Author: Laura Bennett

Release Date: November 8, 2011

About the Book:

In Handmade Chic, Laura shares simple strategies for creating 40 small luxuries and high-fashion accessories, from a smart leather iPad portfolio to a feather-embellished evening bag. With sections organized in skill-building order and based on type of accessory-small leather goods, agendas and notepads, electronics, bags and wallets, and evening items-Laura offers patterns, easy-to-follow diagrams, and detailed instructions for fabricating each glamorous project, whether it involves sewing from scratch or embellishing a prepurchased garment. While showcasing her own creative designs, she provides readers with the basic techniques and encouragement they need to come up with variations and create their own signature pieces.

Packed with Laura's signature flair and finesse, vibrant four-color photos, step-by-step drawings, and a complete list of suggestions on where to purchase materials, Handmade Chic is an accessible guide to at-home crafting that is elegant enough for the most modern, fashion-savvy of women.

Laura Bennett was a finalist on the TV series Project Runway. She has designed a line of clothing for QVC and appears regularly on CBS's The Early Show presenting craft segments. She lives in New York City.

Book Review:

Project Runway is one of my favorite shows with Season Three in particular because I was enamored by the smart, sassy, and witty redheaded New Yorker and Mom of six boys (one in the oven at the time of the show) who ended up placing second runner-up. She is Laura Bennett and she is simply remarkable. Here is a woman who is oozing with elegance and finesse, whose designs are classy and impeccable, and then quite unexpectedly, she tackles a feat of raising that many kids in the busiest city in the world.

So when an opportunity came to review an ARC copy* of her book, 'Handmade Chic: Fashionable Items that look High-End, Not Homespun', it was insane to pass up! The read was delightful because the book was really well-written, thoughtful, and engaging. The projects she teaches you is a far cry from the average country-style quilt-making or basic pattern dress-making books you typically see displayed in a crafts store. They are absolutely 100% chic, the type of assortment many would think you paid hundreds of dollars for when in truth it only cost you thirty bucks to make!

Now if you think that sounds enticing, here comes the best part -  this Do It Yourself publication is EASY! Absolutely simple to follow with no complicated technical skills required apart from basic stitching and sewing. And if you were previously hesitant to use the sewing machine, the pretty items you could create will encourage you to learn!

This book comes out in November, which gives you plenty of time to create urbane holiday gifts for family and friends. I am just glad I was able to get a head start!

*Disclosure: This book review is based on an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher. Please note that ARC copies may not reflect the final edition and changes could be made prior to publication.

Here's a sample video of Laura Bennett creating a chic notebook case. This project is found in her book!:

Here are Chic DYI Projects You Can Learn to Create: