A Beautiful New Book - Stamp Stencil Paint + A Giveaway!

I love the arrival of new books in the fall. Maybe it is a throwback to "going back to school" and since I haven't been in school in forever, books arriving in the marketplace replace those boring textbooks. Today I have another new book to share with you all. And a giveaway at the end of the post. (Please excuse the dark photos - it has been so gray here this week and these really do not do justice to the beauty of this book.)

Stamp Stencil Paint: Making Extraordinary Patterned Projects by Hand is Anna Joyce's first book. Anna is a successful maker with a popular shop on Etsy. She has been featured in a lot of print and digital design media including SFGirl by Bay and Real Simple Magazine. Anna's aesthetic is simple, graphic and modern as you can see by the cover of Stamp Stencil Paint. 

Stamp Stencil Paint begins with a good introduction to Anna's design background and philosophies. Next up, she introduces the supplies, tools and paints she uses. 

Stamp Stencil Paint is beautifully designed and features photos by Lisa Warninger. It is published by STC Craft and was edited by Melanie Falick. I like what Anna writes in the Getting Started section and I am including it here because I think it explains the aesthetic of the book - including the projects and book design. 

"Each project in Stamp Stencil Paint was designed to be simple, effective, and deliver great results . For some projects you will need to know basic sewing skills or purchase a few special supplies, but most require just the courage to jump in and get started. You will need to relieve yourself of fear and simply make a pattern, by hand, and I will show you how."

The book is divided into the following chapters: 

Stamp

Stencil

Paint

After Anna introduces each techniques tools, supplies, and techniques - complete with how-to photos, she includes 7 or 8 projects she made with each technique. Here are my favorite ideas from each chapter. 

From the Stamping Chapter, these "Blooming Market Bags" look like a quick fun project. Anna includes 6 different floral motif ideas. I think this project would be fun to do with kids or to whip out as holiday gifts. You could also use the motifs on purchased canvas bags. 

In the Stencil Chapter, Anna includes some more lovely floral projects. The Floral Totebag has a kind of Hawaiian feel to it. Stenciling is done in two colors. 

The Bright Table Linens feature a pretty modern flower with Orla Kiely-ish leaves. Anna has designed the stencils so that they are beginner friendly. This design in particular gives a lot of empty space which helps with the stenciling technique which can be a bit fiddly. 

The Paint Chapter is my favorite - probably because the projects are more free-form and loose. These Brushstroke Kitchen Linens are super simple and stunning. 

The Simple Cotton Quilt is a bigger project but offers tons and tons of possibilities when playing with color. I love to play with blocks of color and I can see this project as a super fun learning experience. 

Lastly, Anna has included painting on ceramics. She gives the supplies you will need to produce handpainted ceramics on plates and this salt cellar. The paints she recommends are for porcelain and do not need to be fired in a pottery kiln. 

Nice job Anna! I hope you all will check out this book and maybe purchase it for a crafty friend or family member for a holiday gift. 

Thanks to STC Craft for supplying my review copy and the lucky winners copy. That's right, one of my lucky readers will win their very own copy of Stamp Stencil Paint. Here's how you enter.......

Answer the following question in the Comments Section: 
If you were to stamp, stencil or paint - which technique would be your first to attempt? If you have no opinion, share your experiences of a DIY project you have done, or want to do with paint. 

U.S. Residents only. Contest ends Monday November 16th at 11:59 p.m. 

As always, please leave an easy way to get a hold of you - blogger id, email, or Rav id. Thanks for that - it makes running these giveaways so much easier for me not having to track someone down in crazy fashion.