Hey there, can you introduce yourself?

We're Cat & Tom the founders of Cut Out + Keep and we're so excited that to have our first book and get to be Book Of The Week on our site!

Tell us a bit about the book?

Around The USA in 50 Projects covers an epic road-trip we took around the USA, visiting all 50 states while seeing unusual sites, eating amazing local food and sleeping in quirky motels. Inspired by our adventures, we crafted a tutorial (or recipe) for each state and there’s a huge mix of crafts - knit, crochet, bake, and DIY along while finding unique roadside stop offs and travel tips.

What was the inspiration behind it?

After we both went full-time on CO+K, we decided to take our site on the road, and moved to Omaha, Nebraska. From there, we learned to drive, bought our first car, and took it 15,000 miles across each state. As we travelled, we couldn’t help but be inspired by the unique personality of each state. We had a fair amount of thinking time on the long drives, and began to come up with ideas for the perfect handmade souvenir for each one.

Which is your favourite project?

Tom loves the licence plate notebooks he made for Michigan while Cat loves the sparkly ruby red shoes she made for Kansas, which was the first idea we had for the book!

What is your craft space like?

We work from home, so we try and keep our space inspiring. We’ve got a rainbow-colored bookcase filled with craft and cooking books, and a giant pegboard full of tools and supplies. When we returned from our road-trip, we made a giant cut-out corkboard map of the world and put a pin in everywhere we had visited. When we get cabin fever, we’ll usually head out to a local coffee shop and work from there for a change of scenery.

Have you always been creative?

We’ve always been creative but it really hit in when we moved to University and had our first flat to decorate. Tom made music and designed websites, while Cat crafted every idea she could think of.

When did you first start crafting?

Cat grew up crafting with her Mum and every Halloween, they would make the most amazing Halloween costumes. We recently found a box in the attic which was filled with all of Cat’s school crafts and projects including decorated Easter eggs, macaroni necklaces and lots of art.

Who are your crafty heroes?

There are so many amazing crafters out there and we find them all so inspiring but our favourite include Twinkie Chan with her crocheted food designs, Debbie Stoller with her awesome knits and Vivienne Westwood for her amazing clothes. Phil Davidson’s crochet designs,

Where do you find inspiration?

We don’t have to look very far for inspiration because we’ve always got a million ideas we want to work on. Travelling is one of the most inspiring things for us, so if we’re ever having a dull day, we’ll head out on an adventure and see where the road takes us.

What's next for you?

We just bought a super cute retro car so we’re looking forward to road-tripping around the UK and maybe further afield to Europe. We’re always busy with the site but hopefully we’ll get a chance to craft more in the near future!

Join us on a road trip with a difference. Intrepid crafters Cat Morley and Tom Waddington set off around the United States using recommendations and tips from visitors to their popular website Cut Out + Keep. Inspired by the distinctive history and culture Cat and Tom found in each state, they created a step-by-step project for every one. The states are brought to life with the authors' recommendations of cool places to visit, plus plenty of color photographs.

The projects cover the full range of crafts from knitting, sewing, and papercraft to jewelry making, as well as fun things to eat. Why not felt a Mini Cactus inspired by Arizona's desert scenery, or make a License Plate Notebook in tribute to Michigan's automobile heritage? A Hollywood Lampshade recreates the bright lights of California's movie culture, while an Fall Color Napkins celebrate New Hampshire on the other side of the continent. Whatever you choose, you'll take away new inspiration for your crafting life.