Photocraft by Herter, Frankel, Lovett hardback published by Bullfinch Press, Hachette Group US. Available in the UK, ISBN 978-0-8212-6195-8, price 16.99 from www.littlebrown.co.uk

Subtitled ‘Cool Things to do With the Pictures you Love’ this nicely crafted book shows a multitude of ideas and ways to use your digital photos. What better way to use your photos than to transform them and incorporate them into things you use every day. This book features more than forty affordable ideas to turn your photos into keepsakes.

Well-written and presented, this book provides the information you need to complete the projects. It has a guide for beginners including information on digital printing, scanners, software, papers and more. There are ideas for learning while you create using photo transfers to transform a plain piece of fabric or a tissue box and more. There are tips for antiquing a photo, decoupage, creating personal stationery and much more. Create your own Andy Warhol with today’s imaging software or hand-colour your black and white photographs. 

In the next level, this book shows you how to create blueprints, recycle jewel CD cases, create a silk scarf, create a quilt or a special box, a clock or folding screen.

This book is full of creative ideas with clear instructions. It presents superb ways to use your digital photos.

Sew U Making Your Own Wardrobe by Wendy Mullin with Eviana Hartman, hardback, spiral-bound published by Hachette Group, USA. Available in the UK, ISBN 978-0-8212-5740-1, price 18.99 from www.littlebrown.co.uk

From the indie fashion darling of the USA, Wendy Mullin helps you to create a complete wardrobe. This book begins by taking a look at what you need to make your clothes including how to buy the sewing machine that matches your needs. The professional hints and tips throughout the book make it something special. Wendy emphasizes organisation more than once – take note! This book provides patterns for skirts, shirts and pants (trousers to British readers). There are three Simplicity patterns included. 

Clear, concise, informative – it’s a neat guide to sewing for teens and young people.

Sew U Home Stretch by Wendy Mullin with Eviana Hartman, hardback, spiral bound, published by Hachette Group, USA. Available in the UK, ISBN 978-0-3161-1837-8, price 17.99 from www.littlebrown.co.uk

Start sewing with this comprehensive guide to using stretch fabrics. Everything you need to know from the basics to taking your sewing up a notch. Find patterns for t-shirts, dresses and hoodies and revamp your wardrobe. This book includes three Simplicity patterns.

This book is clearly written with easy-to-follow instructions and excellent line drawings. It covers many modern styles. Aimed at the younger market, this book has patterns for teens and people in their twenties.

One Hundred Flowers by Harold Feinstein, hardback, published by Bullfinch Press, Hachette Group USA. Available in the UK from Little Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-0-8212-2665-0, price 30.00 from www.littlebrown.co.uk

A sumptuous rendition of 100 gorgeous photographs of flowers. Harold Feinstein is a master of the art of photography. I have his tulip book. The subjects are well chosen. The book is supported by an introduction, and a couple of essays, but these will not satisy anyone looking for information on the flowers. Some of the flower names given are also out-of-date, see Karen Platt’s ‘Plant Synonyms’ for up-to-date nomenclature.

Some of the photographs are a little too dark, and overall the full frontal close-up gets too repetitive and leaves on e feeling a little flat. The detail is superb. The pansies in particular are wonderful at this enlarged size, similarly the poppies, but the iris and other photographs with the black backgrounds are not quite popping out of that lurking darkness.