Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer–and a lot more fun, too! As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself!Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country–as well as modern-day experts–and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to• polish your image by shining your own shoes• grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter)• sweeten your day by making your own jam• use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals• feel beautiful by perfecting your posture• roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven• fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection• waltz without stepping on any toesComplete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm, How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.

    A must-have book for any quilt or craft library." --Denyse Schmidt (author of Denyse Schmidt Quilts). . . My approach to quilting is an approach for true beginners. I don't like triangles, circles, hexagons, diamonds, rhombuses, or any shape that makes measuring a chore. (Can we stop right here and ponder the word rhombus? Man, that word is hilarious.) In this book, every project is designed using only squares and rectangles. Why just squares and rectangles? Because straight seams are easy to stitch!Craft a modern quilt with independent quilt-maker Boo Davis, whose fun, slightly quirky designs take quilts into new graphic territory. Using only simple shapes like rectangles and squares you'll see robots, skulls, alarm clocks, and owls come to life as fabulous, full-size quilts. With 10 charming quilt patterns, and 15 eye-popping patchwork projects perfect for afternoon or weekend crafting, Dare to Be Square Quilting reinterprets quilt traditions such as basket weave, rail fence, and housetop designs in a bold new way. With advice on color and fabric selection, and an extensive how-to section on quilting, Davis teaches the fastest, simplest, and most reliable methods modern quilting has to offer.Dare to make a quilt that's funny, fabulous, and from the heart . . . Dare to be square!

    Learn the basic techniques for crafting oil-, cream-, and vegetable-based soaps, and then start experimenting with your own personalized scents and effects. Cavitch provides tips for making more than 40 different specialty soaps, showing you how to design colorful marbled bars and expertly blend ingredients to create custom fragrances. You’ll soon be making luxurious soaps at a fraction of the cost of boutique products.Important Notice Early printings of this book contain a recipe variation in a sidebar note on page 36. As a result of further testing, author Susan Miller Cavitch and Storey Publishing strongly recommend that you do not try this variation. Adding honey when you are combining the sodium hydroxide and water may result in a stronger reaction with more intense heat. The mixture may bubble up quickly and come out of the pot, posing a potential hazard.

    Need some pillows for your new couch, and have a bunch of old wool sweaters? Turn those sweaters into felt! Knitting, felting, leather tooling, glass and metal work––it's all here. CRAFTIVITY is filled with 60 amazing DIY projects that make the most of what you have by taking old stuff and turning it into functional, breathtaking art.

    Unlike the typical watercolor textbooks, this unique, beautiful volume is a field book of inspiration, creative ideas, how to's, and projects, all from an artist's perspective. Each creative exercise features a technique, shows step-by-step photographs, and includes a clever idea for a gift or project that can be made from the painted samples.

    Containing more than 200 swatch designs in her signature style, this is a must-have manual for beginning and experienced stitchers alike.

    It's not colorful enough. It's intimidating!With the fun and easy techniques in Gina Rossi Armfield's No Excuses Watercolor, your excuses for not painting with watercolor don't stand a chance! As you try the demonstrations and exercises, you'll learn the techniques and tricks necessary to achieve amazing, colorful results in your artist's sketchbook.After getting to know your materials, you'll try your hand at thirteen exercises that will help train your hand, and help you identify and refine your artistic style. Along the way, you'll get tips and suggestions for adding journaling and writing to your art. Finally, you'll find an inspirational resource guide packed with reference photos, starter sketches, color palettes, journaling prompts and more to help you fill your watercolor journal!Grab your sketchbook and watercolors--it's time to paint, no excuses!- 22 demonstrations for sketching and watercolor painting. - 13 exercises for practicing backgrounds, focal images, color mixing, layering and details. - 13 resource sections loaded with journaling and painting prompts to keep you inspired.

    Walker, author of Treasury of Knitting Patterns.Elizabeth Zimmerman once wrote, "So please bear with me, and put up with my opinionated, nay, sometimes cantankerous attitude. I feel strongly about knitting." Perhaps her passionate opinions, as well as her love of wool craft and her delightful style, hark back to her English upbringing or long residence in the Wisconsin woods; in any case, the "Busy Knitter," as she calls herself, is one of the most charming and informative, as well as "un"ventive (her word) knitter-authors anywhere. This book gives full scope to her tireless imagination through a year's worth of projects, fitted to the seasons, moods, and needs of knitters who would like to design their own work.The year begins with an Aran sweater and proceeds to February baby things, a March Shetland, April blanket, May mittens, and so on through the months, completing the zodiac with November moccasin socks and a December last-minute wishbone sweater. Projects are completed in the midst of canoe trips, fishing expeditions, travel, and snowstorms. The author continuously comments on the project, its history, other ancient and modern customs, and personal beliefs.Mrs. Zimmerman works step by step with the reader, suggesting alternative methods and ideas as she goes. Her patterns are "classic," historically suited to wool, thus remaining ever-fashionable as well as tasteful and attractive. The knitter may easily adapt the designs at will, creating new, individual projects. Mrs. Zimmerman's hints (such as how to measure gauge when working a pattern and tips for baby's items) help ease the way and will instruct even the most experienced knitter. This corrected edition of the Knitter's Almanac will provide at the very least a year's worth of knitting pleasure to intermediate and advanced knitters and may even help stimulate a knitting passion.

    Both beginners and experienced weavers will value its thriftiness and versatility.

    Learn how to find the perfect paper to work with your photos. Learn how to place patterns on your pages for maximum impact. You will learn how to mix and match a variety of patterns. Includes great tips on how to store and organize you pattered paper for easy access.

    The Book A lively how to and why to sew tutorial that marries attitude and instruction while teaching everything you need to know:How to find the right machine, and become one with itEssential skills, from winding a bobbin to sewing a dart to customizing a patternPreparing a workspaceThe Ten Fabric CommandmentsLaying out and cutting patternsWith step-by-step instructions and full-color photographs and illustrations throughoutThe ProjectsCuddle-Up CardiganTender is the NightieFoxy BoxersCanine Couture CoatCape ModPower TieTokyo Tie BagLucky Scrap ScarfNaughty Secretary SkirtFouncy Tank TopKnockout KnickersAnd more!The Patterns Includes ten original patterns—an $80.00 retail value—rated from One Spool (easy) to Three Spools (advanced Beginner) and designed to build skills.

    Author Molly Suber Thorpe, an award-winning designer and calligrapher based in Los Angeles, works closely with her international clients to give them the distinctive products they're looking for. Now you can learn from this experienced expert how to master this fresh modern lettering style. The first book to teach this bold new style breaks the calligraphy process down into simple steps so anyone can learn to create their own stunning wedding invitations, thank you cards, gift tags, and more. Starting with an overview of the supplies—from paper to ink to pens—you will learn how to form letters, words, and then phrases by following Molly’s clear step-by-step instructions, and by practicing with the provided templates. After mastering letter forms using a pointed pen and ink you can take it to the next level by learning how to use watercolor and gouache, or how to digitize your calligraphy. The twenty projects in the book provide lots of inspiration for making your own and are grouped into three sections: weddings, entertainment, and personal stationery. With loads of ideas, practice exercises, and helpful tips, soon you will be turning out gorgeous script calligraphy pieces like the ones featured in wedding magazines and popular websites like Pinterest

    Mail art is a collaborative art form with a long and fascinating history populated by famous artists as well as everyday practitioners. The term “mail art” refers to pieces of art sent through the mail rather than displayed or sold in traditional venues. Mail artists often use inexpensive and recycled materials including postcards, collage, rubber stamps, and photocopied images. Mail art is a truly international activity and a fun way to connect with people in every corner of the globe. Readers will learn to create decorated and illustrated envelopes, faux postage and artistamps, find penpals, make a mail art kit, and much more!

    You decide how simple or elaborate your journal will be, and what goes in there:- Lists of your to-dos, to-don’ts, and more- Symbols that will make those lists efficient and effective- Spreads to plan your day, week, month, or year- Trackers for your habits and goals (think health, money, travel)- Accoutrements such as washi tape, book darts, and more!

    Lauren's dream was to create the ultimate self-empowering resource, a book to help women of all ages realize their dreams. Inspired by her beloved Girl Scout badges, nurtured to publication by her family and friendsled by Lauren's two sisters, Vaughn and DaraYou Can Do It! is the merit badge handbook for every grown-up girl who's said, "I wish I could..." Jam-packed with practical advice, here is step-by-step instruction and kick-in-the-pants encouragement for achieving 60 exciting badge activities. Start your own business, go back to school, speak in public, play a musical instrument, fix the carwhatever the ambition, each activity features a female expert to mentor the reader and guide her to success with clear how-to, practical resources, and the wisdom of experience. Learn a new language with Susan Carvalho of Middlebury College, take a great photograph with Lauren Greenfield, climb a mountain with Annapurna expedition leader Arlene Blum. These 512 can-do pages are about dusting off fantasies, overcoming fears, and achieving long-held desires. And to top it all off, the book includes 60 colorful badge stickersa fun reward for goals accomplished. With its warm and encouraging message, You Can Do It! will help women everywhere discover that, yes, they can!A portion of the proceeds from You Can Do It! will go to the Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas Foundation, which supports charitable causes and scholarships for women.