one for the crafters...

OK then, I have been 'tagged' by my very dearest friend Tif who is a crafter and sells her beautiful creations on Etsy. Apparently by being tagged I now have to tell you all 7 interesting things about myself (I'll work on that one and come back to you) and then tag a further 7 bloggers myself (watch this space).

So thinking that many of Tif's readers are also crafters and may be popping over here as a result of my being tagged, I thought I would share some crafting within the Barefoot Books range.

If children's books are not your bag then please bear with me, the artwork I'm about to share may surprise you. If you're new to Barefoot Books then I do urge you to take a look at their website. They even have a section called the 'artists cafe' where you can meet all the 'barefoot artists' AND learn about submitting your own work for consideration in publications. Had you ever thought about that as a business opportunity??? Go on, take a look, who knows where it may lead to?

In the meantime, I'll share a couple of my favourites with you.

First up is Siobhan Bell who creates her pictures from cotton bedsheets. This picture is taken from 'Ship Shapes' - I'm sure it's not big enough for her work to be appreciated but if you go over to the website you can zoom in and see more detail:

You can find out more about Siobhan and her techniques here.

Next we have Clare Beaton who is a self professed hoarder and collector of craft books, fabrics, buttons etc. etc. (sounds like some of the people I have come to learn of through Tif's blog!!). She has a particular interest in old craft techniques and folk art from all over the world. This first picture is taken from 'Mother Goose Remembers':

and this one is from 'I dreamt I was a dinosaur'

Again you will be able to zoom in and see more detail at the website.

Before I came across Barefoot Books I seldom appreciated the artwork in children's books but at Barefoot it holds equal importance and the artists are truly appreciated. For me it adds to the whole story telling experience and it also opens the minds of children to think of visual imagery in a multi-dimensional way. I'd love to hear what you all think and I'd also love to be introduced to other 'art rich' children's books if you know of any.

D