book review: Bent, Bound and Stitched: Collage, Cards and Jewelry with a Twist (paperback) by Giuseppina Cirincione

I have to tell you, I fell in love with this book even before I opened it. The front cover reached out to me with it’s vintage quality that told me the contents was to be worth the wait to get home before I could open it. If you can’t wait, clicking on any of the links here will take you to Amazon where you can look inside this wonderful book.

I wasn’t at all disappointed. Even if all you want to do is drool over pictures then this book still won’t disappoint. The author has turned her creations into very appealing and easy to follow projects that teach the basics of the techniques she uses. I have already spent many a happy hour thumbing through the pages and I have only owned the book for three days.

Amongst the many projects in the book, the author shows how to turn a single piece of metal wire into beautiful artwork and then use that art to embellish a multitude of projects. She also demonstrates how to effectively use sewing to enhance papers that you probably have lying around anyway and how to turn found objects into stunning, individual pieces of jewellery, presenting the perfect way for me to use some of my button stash.

Without a doubt, my favourite project is the last one showing a simple technique for etching images onto copper and then using the etched copper to create a book using wire and rivets, not forgetting an opportunity to recycle any leather you happen to have in your home.

There are plenty of step-by-step photos in this book and coupled with the easy to follow instructions I would say you’re guaranteed success. The book goes way beyond the projects contained therein though; the techniques you learn will serve you well for your own creations and your imagination will be well fired once you’ve explored the content for even a few minutes.

The author has also written Collage Lost and Found: Creating Unique Projects with Vintage Ephemera. It’s not to my taste simply because I don’t do ephemera; however still well worth a look if you enjoy mixed media collage.