The Design Library: Hearts & Flowers

April 12

If you are wondering what Search Press is going to do for a follow up to their bestselling Design Source Book series then here it is - the Design Library. Each title contains a hundred motifs in print plus a CD ROM with them all in both .jpeg and .tiff format. This second entry features a heart and flower designs. If you have read my review of the first book in the series Art Nouveau Designs by Penny Brown (also featured on this site) then you will know what to expect. The first page has a brief introduction to what lies within, and the rest of the book is the designs themselves. Each page has a line drawing or two and in this book you can find borders, frames, cartouches and motifs all on the hearts and flowers theme. There are hearts filled with flowers, hearts made of flowers, borders featuring both as well as motifs of either one or the other. If you are a fan of art nouveau then you will be pleased to see that the style many of these are drawn in echoes this movement, as well as art deco and typical Victorian romantic artwork. As with the earlier Design Source Books these are not copyright free, but the small print at the back permits you to use up to fifteen of the drawings on a single project as long as you give a quote as to where they came from. What projects you use them on it up to you; scale them up or down and use them for whatever art or craft you enjoy. I look forward to seeing the rest of the titles in this series.

Jun/Jul 12

Simple line drawings can provide the inspiration for all sorts of techniques, and heart and flower designs can be useful for so many occasions. This book is full of stylised heart outlines that cover a range of styles, from Celtic to Art Nouveau. Some designs are embellished with flowers, but others are plainer and quite contemporary. All of the designs are on the accompanying CD-ROM, which gives you the opportunity to use the same design at different sizes, which is particularly useful if you want to use the same basic design on a variety of items. If you prefer, you can always use a photocopier to enlarge or reduce the designs that are printed in the book. All that you need to add are threads... and stitches of your choice.

Judy Balchin studied art at Cardiff College of Art. Following this, she specialised in graphic design at Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone.
After working as a graphics assistant at the BBC Television Centre, she joined Adverkit International Ltd as a lettering artist. This began her love affair with letters, producing book jackets, advertising logos and television titles over many years. During this time, she also became involved in the craft world.

She has appeared on television, worked as a craft demonstrator, designed craft kits and run workshops. She has produced more than twenty books on various crafts and is the author of many articles for craft magazines. She continues to enjoy her creative world and is currently working on her latest book.