Printmaking + Mixed Media


Dorit Elisha - 2009
    From screen printing to collagraphy to sun printing, the techniques are shown with step-by-step photographs and can be done without printing presses or special papers. A variety of projects are included to demonstrate a wide range of possible creations, such as fabric-arts books, hand-printed calendars, wall-art collages, aprons, holiday books, greeting cards, and more. For further inspiration beyond the projects, a gallery of completed works by the author and other artists make up the final portion of this resource.

Hand Lettering: Simple, Creative Styles for Cards, Scrapbooks More


Marci Donley - 2009
    They provide examples of a dozen alphabet styles, as well as many decorative details. Color photography reveals more than merely the necessary brush and pen techniques—it also shows a vast range of ideas for using calligraphy in new and surprising ways.

Productivity Tools for Writers


Gwen Hernandez - 2013
    Can't find that amazing idea in your pile of sticky notes? Distracted by blog posts, social media, and email? Looking for an easy way to keep track of your research?This booklet (about 30 pages) introduces handy--and often free or inexpensive--computer-based tools to help you eliminate distractions, track your progress, organize your research, capture new ideas anywhere, streamline your writing process, and safeguard your hard work.Lessons in this booklet are based on a week-long class Gwen taught for the Romance Writers of America in June 2013.

The Fine Art of Paper Flowers: A Guide to Making Beautiful and Lifelike Botanicals


Tiffanie Turner - 2017
    The Fine Art of Paper Flowers is an elevated art and craft guide that features complete step-by-step instructions for over 30 of Tiffanie Turner's widely admired, unique, lifelike paper flowers and their foliage, from bougainvillea to English roses to zinnias. In the book, Turner also guides readers through making her signature giant paper peony, shares all of her secrets for special paper treatments, candy-striping, playing with color and creating botanical imperfections, and shows how to turn paper flowers into gorgeous garlands, headdresses, bouquets and more. These stunning creations can be made from simple and inexpensive materials and the book's detailed tutorials and beautiful photography make it easy to achieve dramatic and lifelike results.

The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals


Sue Bleiweiss - 2012
    Imagine a supportive community of artists sharing the innermost pages of their sketchbooks and offering you tips and techniques for overcoming creative blocks. That's what The Sketchbook Challenge is all about, and the popular blog of the same name has already inspired thousands. Inside this book, you'll find:   · Themes that will motivate you to start your sketchbook—and, more important, keep at it · Tutorials spotlighting such mixed-media techniques as thread sketching, painted papers for collage, digital printing, and much more · Strategies to get off the sketchbook page and start creating inspired art—whether you're into painting, collage, fiber art, or beyond. · In-depth profiles of artists who have taken the Sketchbook Challenge and used it as a launching pad for their own meaningful artwork

The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line


Kari Chapin - 2010
    Learn to determine your cost of goods, set prices, identify the competition, and understand the ins and outs of wholesale and retail sales. Explore the various sales venues available, including independent craft fairs, Web sites such as Etsy, and traditional stores, and learn to maximize your visibility and sales in each one. Want to start your own website? Chapin shows you how to style and prop your crafts for photography and explains how the most popular Web marketplaces operate. You’ll find everything you need to turn your talent into profits.

Good Vibes Coloring Book


Thaneeya McArdle - 2015
    Inside you'll find 30 amazing art activities that will take you to a happy place of patterning, shading, and coloring. These whimsical images offer a easy way to de-stress and unleash your inner artist. Thaneeya McArdle's transcendental art explores a visual language of shape, form, line, and color. Each vibrantly detailed illustration is designed to exercise your creativity. Beautifully colored finished examples are provided, along with a handy guide to basic art techniques, from patterning and combinations to shading and color theory. This therapeutic coloring book is perfect for decorating with markers, colored pencils, gel pens, or watercolors. Printed on high-quality, extra-thick paper, all of the pages are pre-perforated for easy removal and display.

A Rainbow of Stitches: Embroidery and Cross-Stitch Basics Plus More Than 1,000 Motifs and 80 Project Ideas


Agnès Delage-Calvet - 2009
    Begin by choosing a motif from this extensive collection, which ranges from elegant alphabets to 1970s-inspired flowers and leaves, from sweet fairies to vintage-chic ladies in classic Dior dresses. The "Get Stitching" section gives you the basics you need to get started, along with an illustrated how-to of the simple stitches that are used to create all of the motifs. Each of the following sections, which are arranged by color–fresh greens, pretty pinks, timeless blues, rich reds, and elegant white and taupe–presents ideas for embroidering motifs in single colors, showing how much can be achieved with just one color of embroidery floss on a plain background. Includes more than eighty beautifully photographed, inspiring ideas for stitched embellishment, from wearables and personal accessories to a variety of decorative items for every room in your home.

The Simple Secret to Better Painting


Greg Albert - 2003
    It's an insightful artistic philosophy that boils down the many technical principles of composition into a single master rule that's easy to remember and apply: Never make any two intervals the same.You can make every painting more interesting, dynamic and technically sound by varying intervals of distance, length and space, as well as intervals of value and color. The rule also applies to balance, shape and the location of your painting's focal point.Greg Albert illustrates these lessons with eye-opening examples from both beginning and professional artists, including Frank Webb, Tony Couch, Kevin Macpherson, Charles Reid, Tony Van Hasselt and more.You'll discover that the ONE RULE is the only rule of composition you need to immediately improve your work - the moment your brush touches the canvas.

Creative Lettering: Techniques Tips from Top Artists


Jenny Doh - 2013
    Sixteen accomplished contributors—including calligraphers, painters, collagists, card makers, fiber artists, and graphic designers—give their personal perspectives on lettering. They all offer their favorite tools, how they use them, their signature technique with step-by-step instructions and photos, and an alphabet sampler of their own font. Gorgeous gallery images of each contributors work are also included. Contributors include:Andy Ainger   •   Francois Begnez   •   Flora Chang   •   Barbara Close   •   Philippe Debongnie   •  Karyn Denten   •   Aimee Dolich   •   Lisa Engelbrecht   •   Pam Garrison  •   Stine Kaasa   •   Rhianna Lederman   •   Martha Lever   •   Linda Schneider   •   Jessica Swift   •   Madeline Tomkins   •   Lori Vilegen   •

Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual


Eleanor Winters - 1989
    It is the most popular style for social correspondence, invitations, and other communications requiring an elegant hand. In this practical manual, a noted calligraphy teacher offers a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for the student. Beginning with a brief but fascinating history of copperplate, she moves quickly to an in-depth examination of the alphabet, numbers, and punctuation. Each letter is demonstrated stroke by stroke with a clear explanation. Readers will also find detailed discussions of writing in color, using the proper paper, and learning how to retouch, correct, and crop. Ms. Winters then shows how copperplate can be used to write a simple paragraph, a short quotation, or poetry, and explains how to use the script commercially for addressing envelopes and writing name cards and invitations. With this easy-to-follow manual and some practice, calligraphers will be able to create copperplate scripts with the rhythm, grace, and ease of the great writing masters.

Stray Sock Sewing: Making One of a Kind Creatures from Socks


Dan Ta - 2008
    Readers will learn how to make odd and endearing one-of-a-kind creatures from a variety of sock styles. Softcover F&W Media Inc

Rethinking Acrylic: Radical Solutions for Exploiting the World's Most Versatile Medium


Patti Brady - 2008
    But what it lacks in years, it makes up for in its range of use. Acrylics appeared on the market for artists in the late 1940s as a quick-drying alternative to oil paint. In its early manifestations, it dried so quickly that more than a few brushes stuck immediately to the canvas!Although acrylic has been around for more than fifty years, incredible advances continue to be made in the research and development of acrylic polymers and pigments. These advancements are attributable not only to the efforts of a few dedicated chemists, but also to the work of an entire community devoted to acrylic. There are a lot of brilliant minds taking these minute molecules very seriously.

The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners: Do-It-Yourself Soaps Using All-Natural Herbs, Spices, and Essential Oils


Kelly Cable - 2017
    The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners will show you how easy and simple it is to make your very own homemade soaps without artificial dyes and chemicals. Your senses will tingle as you master the art of cold-process soap making using fresh, floral, woody, and amber scents to create your own handcrafted soaps.Get your hands wet with The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners when you soak in: Over 55 diverse recipes to choose from such as castile soap, shampoo bars, shaving bars, anti-aging soaps, salt soaps, goat-milk soaps, and more. Step-by-step instructions, tips, and tricks for mastering cold-process soap making, decorating techniques, and scent pairing―designed specifically with beginners in mind. Natural ingredients that avoid harsh chemicals and artificial dyes, which can dry out and irritate your skin. Illustrated charts detailing how and when to use natural colorants, essential oils, and herbal infusions. Join Kelly Cable, a longtime soap maker, herbalist, teacher, and creator of the popular blog Simple Life Mom, as she shares the simple tips and tricks of her craft in The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners.

Sketching People: An Urban Sketcher's Manual to Drawing Figures and Faces


Lynne Chapman - 2016
    But it can also be a challenge. How do you spot a likely subject? How do you choose the person most likely to stay still? How do you draw movement for the person that refuses to sit still? "Sketching People" offers straightforward, practical help to give beginning artists the confidence and ability to draw all sorts of people in many different settings. In the pages of this book, readers will find: How to capture the essence of characterDifferent line-work stylesTechniques for creating realistic skin tonesThe key to capturing the details of street lifeWays to create fabric foldsMastering tonal drawingsConveying age differences, and moreThis clearly written, fun to read book is bursting with inspirational artwork and candid advice that will help you improve your drawing skills and change the way you sketch for the better.