I was pleasantly surprised by how inspiring this book was. I have a pretty big collection of books I keep for creative inspiration and this one is a delightful addition! I was immediately inspired to go out and collect flowers to dry to use in the collage and mandala projects the book described. Unfortunately, it's near the end of the growing season around here so I'll have to wait till next spring. But I definitely enjoyed this book and I plan to pull it out before my next hike to get some more ideas.

For me I think this is a great art/DIY book. There are different levels of works and different things to make and make things out of. Anyone who wants to incorporate nature into their crafts this can be one of them.

Creative, modern and approachable. Would be a good book for Activity Directors, scout leaders, youth groups, and 4H clubs.

Two of the things I like the most reusing and nature. This book fills that need. It has everything from flower art, pressing flowers, stones, shells, wood, leaves and feathers and such. I especially liked the Shell Mandela and Wood Calligraphy Planters. This is for adults or older children to do crafts with. I found the directions to be very through and helpful. It may even inspire me to paint. (not one of my talents). It is a beautifully illustrated book and full of great ideas I never thought of.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very beautiful art projects created with found materials in nature. I’m not sure the context in which you would do a few of them, but I’m sure if you’re into this, you would know. My favorite project was the flamingo pressed flower collage. There are copious pictures and instructions throughout, so this is great for people who are completely new to creating this type of art.

Nature Art Workshop by Katie Brooks, Sarah Lorraine Edwards, Allison Hetzell and Mikko Sumulong is, as the name suggests, an art workbook inspired by nature. There are several nice projects to realize which use a bit of supplies from nature. However, many of the projects are more a crafts or school children art activity kind than what I'd actually considered to be an art workshop activity.

Instead of just concentrating on cute and easy, the authors of the book could have planned projects that would have been really in the spirit of nature art, creating art using only natural materials, maybe even outdoors as environmental art.

As it is, I'd recommend this book as a craft session inspiration.

Loved this! It was a great book to look through on a Sunday with loads of coffee and all the free craft time. The instructions are so clear and easy to follow! Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy!!!

Roses made from fallen leaves, pressed flower candles, painted shells, using wood for stamps, caligraphy, woodburning, feathers, and so much more. A book packed with ideas for things to do with what you can find/collect in nature.

Wonderful step-by-step pictured guides to help you recreate the wonderful nature art in this book.

Most of the time, when I pick up a book that's project-based, I'm looking for techniques I can springboard into projects of my own devising. It works well for me that way -- I can take the inspiration and keep my own style.

I have to tell you, though: this book? I kinda wanted to make a bunch of these exactly as pictured. There's an earthy style to them (as one would probably expect from a nature art book, natch), and it doesn't skew toward the cutesy or too far into the technical. It's a nice mix of projects, broken down into the natural material from which the project is made, ranging from rocks and seashells to wood and flowers.

I will say that some things were a little simplistic, probably better suited for children, maybe. Or as a parent-and-me craftalong. And there are quite a few that might feel a little like those wine-and-canvas workshops, where you're shown how to paint an exact scene exactly as the artist does. Fair warning, if you don't like that kind of step by step.

That said, I absolutely LOVED a lot of it. Including pretty much the entire wood section, where the author did really fun things with wood slices, including a leaf study garland that I'm planning on making pretty much right now. (I have the wood slices cut, even, and sitting on my desk waiting for me to drill holes in them.) I loved the idea of painting on shells at the beach -- I've done rock painting/abandoning before, and loved it, but somehow never thought about using shells, too. And next on my project list is an herb rack, because that thing came out amazing in the book.

A note, too, on the book itself: the photography is beautiful. They did an amazing job with it. Sometimes, books will skimp a little on styling the stuff that's more "filler" (page/chapter headers, etc.), but even the section headers are really beautifully done. It makes the book really beautiful overall, as an object itself.

If you like to work with natural materials, or want to start incorporating them into your work, this is a very good place to start.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this beautiful book. The opinions expressed are my own. Overall I really like this book. It's beautifully put together and would make a lovely coffee table book. There are some unique projects that I can't wait to try out. I think this book would inspire anyone to get out into nature and create something beautiful. While there are some beginner level projects, there are A LOT of painting projects. I'm not a painter in any way so that makes this book a bit less appealing to me. I think it's a lovely book and would make a fantastic gift, or a book for some self-care and creativity.

Not at all what I had expected, but a lot more! Please do not buy this as a Christmas gift, unless you know the person loves arty crafts and making things. If you are the person who loves to give personalised, special handmade gifts, this is the book for you! Instagrammers, social media photo show-offs, this is one book that gives you a lot of ideas on what you can make and show off your handicraft skills.
Definitely a keeper

This gorgeous book has sharp photographs to inspire crafts using flowers, wood, shells, feathers, acorns, and other items found in nature. These projects show that natural elements found in a backyard or nearby park can be used to make pictures, candles, and other art projects. A lovely book to have around the classroom for children and youth to get ideas for their projects.

Is there anything more inspiring than nature? Here, multiple artists contribute a wide variety of projects inspired by nature, many using natural elements as the canvas or the medium. I especially loved the pressed flower collage, painted stones and shells, leaf study garland and screenprinting project. The skill level needed varies throughout the projects as well so there's something for everyone from beginner to more experienced artist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this fun book. All comments are my own, unbiased opinion.

This book has some beautiful projects, unfortunately for me, many are painting related. I am not good at painting pictures but I still enjoyed seeing the creations of these works.
There were other projects that didn't include painting that I am really excited especially the candle project.
I loved how colorful the book was and it provided pictures every step of the way, making it easy to replicate the project.

Simply a wonderfull book. So many ideas that are easy to create yourself.
I never used natural resources for art but after this book I really wanna start. There are so many ideas you want to try asap. It's a fun and beautiful approach to mixed media art.

Well this is not what one expects from this book - it will give a lovely surprise to find that this book was not about painting nature, but using nature in art. The ideas are fabulous and just so imaginative yet simple and understated. I would certainly use many as gifts and displayed in my home.
The artists take simple thing from nature and make them fabulous - I love the rose made out of autumn leaves, the beautiful seaside scenes painted on simple clam shell. There are many more examples, all using nature products and achieving beautiful creative things with a twist.
I love this book, beautifully illustrated and very easily explained - it is just the best.

Nature Art Workshop by Katie Brooks, Sarah Lorraine Edwards, Allison Hetzell & Mikko Sumulong is a gorgeous and intensely creatively inspiring book. The book is a visual feast for the eye. The photos are spectacular and the drawing and painting are enticing. This is the perfect book for the creative person who would like to combine their artist desires and combine them with the natural world. The first chapter is about flowers. Gorgeous ideas for flowers from fresh to pressed to making a mandella. The second chapter is all about stones and shells. There are many ideas and inspiration for painting on stones. Small landscapes painted on stones and shells. There is also a section here about working with negative space. The next chapter is about wood. How to use wood for stamping, how to decorate wood for your home as well as painting and burning on wood. The next chapter is on using natural elements like feathers and acorns.
Loved this book. I would leave it out so I could pick it up and be inspired daily. Well done. Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster Walter Foster Publishing, the authors Katie Brooks, Sarah Lorraine Edwards, Allison Hetzell & Mikko Sumulong and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful and inspiring book. It is overflowing with pictures and illustrations. The projects are fully explained with clear step by step instructions. I love the way different materials from the natural world are used as canvasses for painting and drawing scenes. My favourite is the landscape painted on a feather. The projects and very imaginative and a variety of techniques are used. I think it would be a brilliant book to use with children too. Overall an excellent book. Thank you

Every page brought fresh ideas to use in creating wonderful gifts or projects to do with children or friends. I enjoyed seeing the use of natural items to create with as well as inspiration for artistic endeavors. This is a book I would like to spend time with so I could try pressing flowers and then making collages with those flowers or using slices of wood to make coasters or jewelry or for the Day of the Dead a skull made of flower petals might be splendid. I had never seen how a crown of flowers was made and enjoyed the illustrations and might want to try that, too.

I guess I would really like to get this for my library in the future OR perhaps give it to a friend that might enjoy some of the projects…actually have one or two friends in mind ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing-Walter Foster for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

There is much to inspire crafters and would-be crafters in this book filled to the brim with mixed media projects based on natural materials. Flowers, stones and shells, wood, and other materials all take their turns in the spotlight with projects by several artists.

The book is visually appealing as well and would make a nice addition to any crafters library.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto - Walter Foster Publishing for allowing me the privilege to review this book.