MAKING WINTER, Emma Mitchell’s highly-anticipated creative survival guide for cold and grey days, is published today in a beautiful illustrated hardback by Michael O’Mara.

From delicate silver jewellery, paper-craft decorations and crocheted mittens, to foraged infusions, delicious recipes and nature diaries, MAKING WINTER is filled with projects designed to fend off dreariness in the winter months. Step-by-step instructions and beautiful photographs, shot at Emma's cottage in the Fens, take you through each project, so that even beginners can enjoy the mood-boosting benefits of a craft-filled winter and snuggle down in their own cosy paradise.

Emma Mitchell is a designer-maker, naturalist and illustrator who has written for the Guardian, Mollie Makes and Standard Issue magazine. In 2011 she began a project on her blog silverpebble, encouraging readers to use creative, cosy and cake-based ways to prevent winter from becoming three months of incessant greyness. In the winter of 2015/16 so many people joined in with the project #MakingWinter that it trended on Twitter several times.

MAKING WINTER is Emma’s first book and each of the projects and recipes is designed to boost mood on dreary days; she is passionate about the potential of both craft and contact with nature for combatting depression.

Emma lives on the edge of the Fens in Eastern England with her husband, two daughters, two guinea pigs, and dog. She records her daily nature finds with photographs and illustrations on her Instagram (@silverpebble2) and Twitter (@silverpebble). Emma invented the Comic Relief Crafternoon project which has raised significant amounts for brilliant causes through the UK's love of craft.

The book was launched yesterday evening at LOOP knitting shop, and Emma will be hosting a number of events over the winter months, including a workshop at Henley Festival on Sunday 8th October and at Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green on Friday 27th October.