Blog Book Tour of Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo -- Review and Giveaway

CLOSED.

And, the winner is:

Congrats to:  Ruth Jacobs

Published by: GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING

Genre: FICTION

Hardcover: 352 pages

Published on: 3/08/2011

Format: TRADE PAPERBACK

Summary:

Sometimes to find your life's true path, you have to stray outside the lines . . .

Scarlet Santana is never happier than when creating fabulous fashions for women of all shapes and sizes. Now, after years of hard work, she finally has the chance to live her dream and study under the hottest designer in New York. To raise money for her move, Scarlet opens an after-hours sewing school in a local record shop, teaching a type-A working mom whose rigid parenting style is causing her family to unravel and an enigmatic seamstress with a mysterious past.

But as stitches give way to secrets and classmates become friends, the women realize an important truth: There is no single pattern for a good life. Happiness is always a custom fit.

 

My Review:

4 stars out of 5

I just loved Kathy's book, Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing.  You don't have to be crafty or a sewer to enjoy this book.  Kathy draws the reader in with his quirky and fun characters.  You feel as if these characters could be your friends and want to follow them on their journeys.  Each character is likeable and has their own vision on what they want in life, while dealing with life's unexpected up and downs. 

Kathy takes the reader on a ride through friendship, love, success with this book. And. just when you think you know how the story will turn out, Kathy takes you for a spin of the unexpected.  

 I found inspiration in this book, as Scarlett left her job as an engineer to follow her true passion and love of being a fashion designer.  I have done the same, leaving my job as a health educator to become a mom entrepreneur and develop products and services that will help makes moms (and dads) lives easier.   

Don't forget to check out the Author's website, as well as follow her on Twitter (@CraftyChica).  If you like Kathy's writing style and see what other books she wrote, click here to see them now.  You can also catch Crafty Chica on YouTube.

About the Author:

With a life motto of “Crafts! Drama! Glitter!” Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo is a creative force of nature. A former syndicated columnist for The Arizona Republic, she is the founder of the award-winning Web site, CraftyChica.com and the author of seven nonfiction craft books and a Web series on LifetimeTV.com. Kathy has a Crafty Chica line of art supplies that are sold nationwide. She also has been featured in numerous media outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, NPR’s Weekend Edition, USA Today, Bust, and Latina magazine. She has shared her crafty ideas on local television, as well as on Sí TV, HGTV, and DIY network. She has been writing stories longer than she has been crafting. Inspired by Judy Blume and Erma Bombeck, she caught the literary bug in grade school, where she used to draw a picture and then write a colorful story to go with it. It’s a creativity exercise she still practices to this day! Kathy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, two kids, and five Chihuahuas. This is her first novel.

---GIVEAWAY---

One lucky Inspired by Savannah reader will receive a gift pack thanks to Kathy.  The prize pack will include:  1 copy of MISS SCARLET'S SCHOOL OF PATTERNLESS SEWING & 1 copy of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter.  To enter, please complete the MANDATORY ENTRY first, and then as many EXTRA ENTRIES as you like.  Make sure to include your email address in each comment, so that I can contact you if you win.  Good luck!

MANDATORY ENTRY:  "Like" Kathy's Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment letting her know Inspired by Savannah sent you, along with the URL to this review/giveaway.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

(Please leave separate entries for each, along with your email address)

1) Vote for me in StartUp Nations 2011 Leading Moms Contest (3 Entries)

2) Subscribe to my blog via email (2 entries)

3) Follow me on Facebook (1 entry) 

4) Enter any of my other giveaways, leaving a comment with the name of the giveaway (1entry per giveaway entered)

5) Blog about this giveaway. It must include a link to this specific post, as well as a link to my blog, http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/. (In your comment, please leave a link directly to your post – 5 Entries)

6) Follow me on Twitter (1entry)

7) Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per tweet, per day; please include link to tweet in comment below)

Enter to #win a Set of Books by Kathy Cano-Murillo, Crafty Chica @rmccoy1234 http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/ #giveaway (Ends 3/18)

8) Like my Inspired by Savannah Facebook Fan Page! Please include your Facebook name with your entry, so I can follow you back. (4 entries)

9) Follow my blog via Networked Blogs (3 entries)

10) Vote for me on picket fence blogs (See button on right side of blog -- One entry per vote, per day)

Open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO BOXES). Giveaway ends on March 18, 2011 at 11:59PM EST. I will then use Random.org to choose a winner. Winner will have 48 hrs. to respond to my email to claim prize. If I don't hear back from selected winner, I will draw another winner 

Disclosure:  I was given a copy of this book by the Hachette Book Group, in order to provide an honest review on.  The views/comments stated above are mine and mine alone.