Make and Craft Blog Tour - and Giveaway!

Welcome if you're following the blog tour and have arrived from Alice's blog - it's been a fascinating tour up to now!  And if you've not yet heard of the blog tour, where have you been?  Basically, this blog tour is about celebrating the launch of Make and Craft magazine - it's a brand new magazine with subscriptions available from just £1 for 3 digital copies (if you're not in the UK, then I promise you one British pound isn't much in anybody's money and means you can access this magazine easily from anywhere in the world!) and £3 for three print copies.

Let me introduce myself very briefly for those who don't know me:  I'm Wendy, I run a small but successful business selling my own hand painted (and usually personalised) plaques, canvases and clocks at 1st Unique Gifts

 sorry about the mess - personalised plaque

I write craft articles for magazines, I design sewing patterns and I am writing some e-books on the business side of crafting.

cosy sofa clock - a recent project

using fabric applique mixed with paint, paper and glue

I also have more ideas I haven't started working on yet! Sounding like a juggling act?  Yep, it most certainly is, and sometimes, some of those balls do fall down.  At the moment, I see the patterns and books as slow-works-in-progress - hopefully I'll get there in the end!  I've made a start with patterns on Craftsy and am looking forward to getting more patterns on there soon.

I also write this blog you're reading right now for the handmade community, and love to interview other makers and people involved in the craft world on here - so I was quite excited to be able to interview Katharine Jewitt, editor of the new Make and Craft magazine, right here on this blog - you can read the interview here (it opens in a new tab) - I was fascinated to discover more about Katharine's background and inspiration.

Each of the blogs on the Make and Craft tour is giving away a free book to one reader - and today is your chance to win a copy of The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos  by Heidi Adnum.

I am thrilled to be giving away this book for two reasons:

• it's such a brilliant book and will make a difference to absolutely anyone who sells online (or plans to)
• I get to keep a copy for myself! 

 The book includes a lot of nuggets of really valuable information, like:

• ways to take better photos even on a budget (it's not all about fancy new cameras)

• how best to utilise light (I thought I knew about making the most of big windows and daylight - but there's so much more to learn about using daylight than that)

• composition and what the type of accessories you include in a "lifestyle" shot might suggest about your product (really interesting!)

• making a light tent, light box or even a tripod for next to nothing (very clever!)

• interviews with crafters who use photography well (but might not always have done, so you see their learning curve) - there are some great tips in the interviews

• how to use Photoshop Elements (looks like a brilliant introduction so I'll definitely be looking at that part of the book much more closely)

• specific advice for specific craft genres

What I like best about this book is that it doesn't tell you what to do - instead,  it tells you which choices might be best for certain circumstances so you can very easily decide what might be best for you and your particular circumstances - this approach makes it an ideal book for anyone on a budget because it shows you how to get good photos with a simple point-and-shoot camera (or even a smartphone) as well as a more expensive camera - it explains quite clearly what your restrictions might be and how you can get around them.  It doesn't expect you to go out and buy the latest equipment, but details when and why an investment in new equipment could be a good move for some people.

I think it's one of those must-have books for anyone hoping to sell anything online - in fact, unless you're a professional photographer already, I'm pretty certain you'll learn something from this book.  The other bonus is that - of course! - it is beautifully illustrated with gorgeous photos, many of them in themselves offering inspiration and ideas you might be able to adapt.

It's written in easy-to-access layman's language and the few necessary technical terms are explained very simply.  Believe me, that matters a heck of a lot to some of us (yeah, my hand is up!) and is one of the (many) reasons I'd recommend that everyone who sells online should own a copy of this book.  I promise I'm not just saying that because I want you to enter the giveaway!

Want one of your own?

OK, to enter the giveaway you need to do two very simple things:

• leave a comment on this blog (ideally tell me why you'd like to win it, I'd love to know!)
• register on the Make and Craft website 

That's it!

The winning name will be drawn at random and I'll let you know the winner here on Tuesday 16th October.  Make sure you're contactable via your comment (if it links to a blog, that's ok - I can find you there).  I'll send to any UK postal address.  Pop back and check here just in case I have problems contacting you for any reason.

And if you're interested in craft books (why wouldn't you be?) you may well be interested in Make and Craft's book club  - check it out!  It's in its infancy right now, but I think it could get very interesting!

The blog tour continues tomorrow with  Sew Scrumptious - make sure you pop over there and see what book is on offer tomorrow, as well as following the rest of the tour. If you missed any previous posts on the tour, you can catch up with them via the links here.

PS: if you're not lucky enough to win this giveaway, I'd recommend putting this book on your Christmas list as it'll give you lots to think about as we start a new year!  Send this link to Santa (or just buy it yourself if Santa never seems to get it right - you can ring Search Press on 01892 510850 and get free postage by quoting "Make and Craft Blog Tour" - the ISBN is 978-1-84448-751-6 and the book is £12.99) - or maybe you could go to Search Press and find a few more craft books to add to your list!