The Encyclopedia of Country Living


Carla Emery - 1977
    It is the most complete source of step-by-step information about growing, processing, cooking, and preserving homegrown foods from garden, orchard, field, or barnyard. This book is so basic, so thorough, so reliable, that it deserves a place in every home whether country, city, or in between. Carla Emery started writing The Encyclopedia of Country Living in 1969 during the back-to-the-land movement of that time. She continued to add content and refine the information over the years ad the book went from a self-published mimeographed document to a book published by Bantam and then Sasquatch. The 10th Edition reflects the most up-to-date and the most personal version of the book that became Carla Emery’s life work. It is the original manual of basic country skills that have proved essential and necessary for people living in the country and the city, and everywhere in between. The practical advice in this exhaustive reference tool includes how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animals, make sausage, can peaches, milk a goat, grow herbs, churn butter, build a chicken coop, catch a pig, cook on a wood stove, and much, much more.

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be


Paul Arden - 2003
    If you want to succeed in life or business, this book is a must.

A Simplified Life: Tactical Tools for Intentional Living


Emily Ley - 2017
    With a growing family, increased work demands, and more, she understands the struggle it is to keep the plates spinning.In A Simplified Life, you’ll find Emily’s strategies, systems, and methods for permanently clearing the clutter, organizing your priorities, and living intentionally in 10 key areas—from your home and meal planning, to style and finances, parenting, faith life, and more. Emily will show you how to truly make the most of your days with realistic, achievable, and tactical tools.Walk alongside Emily through each page of the book, working through her simple strategies toward your own goals as you simplify and make space for what matters most.

Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age


Jeff Goins - 2017
    But the truth is that the world's most successful artists did not starve. In fact, they capitalized on the power of their creative strength. In Real Artists Don't Starve, Jeff Goins debunks the myth of the starving artist by unveiling the ideas that created it and replacing them with timeless strategies for thriving, including:steal from your influences (don't wait for inspiration),collaborate with others (working alone is a surefire way to starve),take strategic risks (instead of reckless ones),make money in order to make more art (it's not selling out), andapprentice under a master (a "lone genius" can never reach full potential).Through inspiring anecdotes of successful creatives both past and present, Goins shows that living by these rules is not only doable but it's also a fulfilling way to thrive.From graphic designers and writers to artists and business professionals, creatives already know that no one is born an artist. Goins' revolutionary rules celebrate the process of becoming an artist, a person who utilizes the imagination in fundamental ways. He reminds creatives that business and art are not mutually exclusive pursuits. In fact, success in business and in life flow from a healthy exercise of creativity.Expanding upon the groundbreaking work in his previous bestseller The Art of Work, Goins explores the tension every creative person and organization faces in an effort to blend the inspired life with a practical path to success. Being creative isn't a disadvantage for success; rather, it is a powerful tool to be harnessed.

Flea Market Chic


Liz Bauwens - 2012
    And in traditional decorating schemes, fleamarket chic is a key part of the mix: faded textiles, weathered furniture, mis-matched china, and the occasional flamboyant lamp or work of art are all part of the charm. Of course, Fleamarket Chic is about saving you money, along with recycling, upcycling, and repurposing. But it’s also about a sense of history and place, about individuality, and creating a home that reflects your life and personality. Every piece in a Fleamarket Chic interior has a story: the colorful pitcher you found at a garage sale, the vintage telephone you reclaimed when a favorite aunt finally bought a modern handset, the little chair you found in a county junk store, or the old trash cans that have been converted into fashionable zinc planters. In Fleamarket Chic, we’ll show you how to spot the clever find in a pile of junk, where to look and how to negotiate, how to smarten up (and when not to smarten up) second-hand items, and how to re-discover and re-use things you or your family already have.

Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You


Bill Burnett - 2016
    Now in book form for the first time, their simple method will teach you how to use basic design tools to create a life that will work for you.Using real-life stories and proven techniques like reframing, prototyping and mind-mapping, you will learn how to build your way forwards, step-by-positive-step, to a life that’s better by a design of your own making.Because a well-designed life means a life well-lived.

Creative Walls: How to display and enjoy your treasured collections


Geraldine James - 2011
    In this inspirational guide, Geraldine James, veteran collector of all things beautiful, shows you ways to organize and display your treasured collections to celebrate their uniqueness and your creativity. Collections of quirky items can illuminate a little corner, whereas a teenager’s bedroom will transform instantly when hoarded sports memorabilia makes the leap from the floor to the wall in a bold, clever arrangement. Look for unusual spaces and items: line up a series of themed prints above a picture rail, set heaps of floral china plates in grand style above the fireplace or simply add a mirror into a display to instantly create another in its image. Chapter by chapter, discover how to arrange virtually anything from scratch, rearrange the collections you treasure to best effect and begin a journey into colour, texture and themes to create elegant displays that give a home character and charm. From a memory wall of sepia family photographs to witty collections of kitsch art, this clever guide shows how to create a look that will bring any space to life.

Mending Life: A Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts


Nina Montenegro - 2020
    It is also an exploration of how mending can be a gently healing practice in our daily lives and a small act of rebellion in a world where many things are discarded without thought.Mending Life encourages us to cherish our things by repairing them rather than discarding them. It also encourages us to change our consumption habits so that with small mends here and there, we extend the life of our garments and other household items. This handbook is for beginners but also offers more advanced techniques to those with some experience in mending. You'll learn basic techniques such as patching, but will have options to take it a step further with decorative sashiko stitching; you'll also learn how to darn socks and mend sweaters, as well as things like a tear in a bedsheet or down jacket. And along the way, the authors share heartfelt stories about the powerful act of mending, which strengthens not only the object we are repairing, but ourselves as well. Vibrant, full-color illustrations are woven throughout the handbook. Mending Life is a timeless, practical guide to cherishing and caring for our belongings.

Everyday Watercolor: Learn to Paint Watercolor in 30 Days


Jenna Rainey - 2017
    This beautifully illustrated and inspiring guided watercolor-a-day book is perfect for beginning watercolor artists, artists who want to improve their watercolor skills, and visual creatives. From strokes to shapes, this book covers the basics and helps painters gain confidence in themselves along with inspiration to develop their own style over the course of 30 days. Featuring colorful contemporary art from Mon Voir design agency founder and Instagram trendsetter Jenna Rainey, this book's fresh perspective paints watercolor in a whole new light.

SoulSpace: Creating a Home That Is Free of Clutter, Full of Beauty, and Inspired by You


Xorin Balbes - 2011
    Through the stages--assess, release, cleanse, dream, discover, create, elevate, and celebrate--readers explore not only the design of their living spaces but also their own interiors: the ways they think, feel, and sense.

The Art of Neil Gaiman


Hayley Campbell - 2014
    This tells the full story of his amazing creative life. Never-before-seen manuscripts, notes, cartoons, drawings and personal photographs from Neil's own archive are complemented by artwork and sketches from all of his major works, and his own intimate recollections. Each project is examined from genesis to fruition, and positioned in the wider narrative of Gaiman's crative life, affording unparalleled access to the inner workings of the writers mind

The Art of HomeMaking


Alison May - 2015
    And so with this in mind gathered all her domestic wisdom together into a thirty day plan you can use to subtly (or dramatically!) shift your way of life and finally embrace the routines, rituals and seasonal celebrations Alison has long been advocating.From going organic, to creating a weekly and daily routine, choosing a creative path and making space for your very personal sense of spirituality, this precious book will provide a map directing you to the heart of your home: a place where you can be yourself without drowning under a relentless pile of laundry. A place my gorgeous housekeepers where rituals will shape your days and puttery treats will sprinkle a little glitter over them. A place you will want to come home to because it encapsulates all that you are today and everything you intend to be tomorrow.What Alison has created is a step by step guide to re-inventing your housekeeping existence. A guide to making friends with your house so that it will hug you instead of kicking you in the teeth day after day and remind you, through the voices of housewives gone by, that the urge, or perhaps more significantly the need to keep house is neither anti-feminist, nor futile but is in fact exactly what we must do if we are to nourish our hearts and souls daily and in the long run create a beautiful museum of all that we were: women in control of our own environments and ultimately our destinies, because home is where we begin…

Apartment Gardening: Plants, Projects, and Recipes for Growing Food in Your Urban Home


Amy Pennington - 2011
    Apartment Gardening details how to start a garden in the heart of the city. From building a window box to planting seeds in jars on the counter, every space is plantable, and this book reveals that the DIY future is now by providing hands-on, accessible advice. Amy Pennington's friendly voice paired with Kate Bingham-Burt's crafty illustrations make greener living an accessible reality, even if readers have only a few hundred square feet and two windowsills. Save money by planting the same things available at the grocery store, and create an eccentric garden right in the heart of any living space.

Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics


Francesca DenHartog - 2005
    This spiral-bound book lays flat for easy reference and features full-color photographs of 16 sample skirts, with illustrated step-by-step instructions for completing each one. Encouraging you to experiment with bold patterns and unique fabrics, Francesca DenHartog and Carole Ann Camp provide simple guidelines for translating body measurements into panel dimensions. Create a custom-tailored wardrobe that fits perfectly and showcases your unique and personal style.

Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist


Lisa Congdon - 2014
    Build a career doing what you love. In this practical guide, professional artist Lisa Congdon reveals the many ways you can earn a living by making art—through illustration, licensing, fine art sales, print sales, teaching, and beyond. Including industry advice from such successful art-world pros as Nikki McClure, Mark Hearld, Paula Scher, and more, Art, Inc. will equip you with the tools—and the confidence—to turn your passion into a profitable business.LEARN HOW TO: • Set actionable goals • Diversify your income • Manage your bookkeeping • Copyright your work • Promote with social media • Build a standout website • Exhibit with galleries • Sell and price your work • License your art • Acquire an agent • And much more