On her award-winning blog, Dainty Dress Diaries, Catherine Carton welcomes us into her 'floral, chalk-painted, tea-dress-wearing corner of the internet'.

Here, in her first book, she shares over fifty of her favourite creative projects - upcycling, crafting, sewing, painting and gardening - many of which take unloved items and make them shine again.

Getting crafty is fun, but it also gives us a few moments of peace in our hectic, plugged-in lives. Spend an afternoon making rose-scented soaps or sewing a memory cushion; reuse old crockery and learn to strip paint and upcycle furniture; or get your garden blooming with simple raised beds or a buzzin' bee hotel.

The projects within these pages are for everyone, so take a break from the world, reignite your creative spark, and make your home a little bit more beautiful!

About the Author
Catherine Carton is the lady behind the award-winning interiors and lifestyle blog daintydressdiaries.com. She is a lover of upcycling, recycling and making the old new again. In the beginning, Catherine mostly blogged about vintage style, fashion and homeware, but over the years she has become known for her warm personality and the unique creative projects she shares with her online community. Catherine's first book for The O'Brien Press was Dainty Dress Diaries (2022). daintydressdiaries.com youtube.com/daintydiaries instagram.com/daintydressdiaries

Reviews

a new book with sustainability credentials offering multiple chances to creatively vamp up gaff in the process, involving minimal cost, if any. Written by Catherine Carton, our home-grown queen of DIY, upcycling, and make do and mend, she's made it all nice and easy for us to grasp so far on her YouTube channel, Dainty Diaries, where 225,000 of us follow her, and on her Instagram, Dainty Dress Diaries, where 85,000 track and imitate her DIY crafting escapades ... Her first book, Dainty Dress Diaries is especially good for those who believe they haven't a creative or practical DIY-related thought in your head

-- Irish Examiner

I encourage everybody to go out and get your hands on a copy

-- Ireland Creates podcast

if you're looking to spruce up your home over the summer or get a few crafty ideas for your school holidays ... a new book with endless ideas ... gorgeous ... a beautiful thing

-- RTE Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne

with good photos to clarify the instructions

-- Sunday Times, Ireland

upcycling guru [Catherine Carton] urging us to ditch perfectionism and give cute home crafts a go ... the creative social media star has captured the magic of sewing, painting and gardening in a new book, further cementing why her tea-dress-wearing corner of the internet is a must-visit

-- Sunday World

absolutely stunning ... lots of ideas for the garden, I love your teacup bird feeders ... your Pom Pom cushion is a joy to behold ... the book is a joy and you've been an absolute joy to chat with

-- Cork Today with Patricia Messenger * Cork's 96FM and C103 *

I just came across your channel, one of your videos and I saw you had a lovely vintage-y dress on and I was like oh I like that ... the next video I saw you were this little pocket terminator, produced this power tool and started putting up shelves and I thought this girl is brilliant I love her ... You're a good teacher and you have a lovely way about you in explaining things ... It is a stunning book, your photography is brilliant... there's so many different projects in it, anyone who's into upcycling or sewing or anything, a bit of DIY... there's something in this book for all of those people ... You've given Monty Don a run for his money

-- WLR FM's Saturday Cafe

a brilliantly clear explainer of otherwise daunting DIY projects, which she also videos, bridging the gap between frills, flowery teapots, and power tools. It's all very empowering and deeply practical. She also knows when to draw the line between projects that she does herself and ones where she needs to hire someone with specific skills

-- Irish Independent



Book Information
ISBN 9781788492966
Author Catherine Carton
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint O'Brien Press Ltd
Publisher O'Brien Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 818g
Dimensions(mm) 246mm * 189mm * 17mm