Just Add Watercolor: Inspiration and Painting Techniques from Contemporary Artists


Helen Birch - 2015
    Featuring 200 of the best works of young, modern watercolor painters, paired with bite-sized painting tips and art instruction, Just Add Watercolor gives aspiring artists access to information about-and examples of-top work in the medium. Artist and instructor Helen Birch breaks down each painting by techniques, subject matter, and tools, providing art enthusiasts and painters with a one-stop resource and gallery of the best that modern watercolor has to offer. Its small trim size with one painting per spread provides a bold, but user-friendly alternative to traditional, process-heavy painting instruction texts. Just Add Watercolor shines the spotlight on featured paintings, while still giving readers all the insights needed to get started painting in this popular medium.

Stitch Stories: Personal places, spaces and traces in textile art


Cas Holmes - 2015
    This inspiring book shows you how to record your experiences, using sketchbooks, journals and photography, to create personal narratives that can form a starting point for more finished stitched-textile pieces. Acclaimed textile artist and teacher Cas Holmes, whose work is often inspired by her life and the journeys she makes, helps you find inspiration through your own life and explains how to record what you see in sketchbooks and journals, which can often become beautiful objects in themselves. She explains how you can use photography, both as documentation and as inspiration, and sometimes incorporate it into the work itself, along with found objects and ephemera. Throughout the book are useful techniques that can be harnessed to add extra interest to your work, such as methods for making layered collages, how to 'sketch' with stitch, and advice on design and colour. If you want to create beautiful, unique work inspired by your life and travels, this is the perfect book for you.

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.

Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the Life of Your Dreams Through Art


Sheri Gaynor - 2009
    Work in the spirit of the laws of attraction to visualize the life of your dreams. Follow the journey of twelve artists, each who will set a personal dream or intention. Witness the process that each artist takes, as they create a mixed-media piece that sows the seeds of their intention. Step-by-step techniques for a variety of mixed-media processes accompany each piece of finished art. Read about how their lives changed as a result and learn how to set intentions of your own using the bonus tear-out "dream-prompt" cards.

99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Special


Faith Blakeney - 2006
    The pattern techniques are simple, and the supplies you’ll need are easy to find: T-shirts, scissors, sewing needle, and thread. The difficulty of each project is rated from 1 to 4, and none take more than 30 minutes to create. You’ll never look plain wearing a T-shirt and jeans again.

Make and Give: Simple and Modern Crafts to Brighten Every Day


Steph Hung - 2014
    This is a book of 35 simple, modern craft projects to make any day special for the people we love. A handmade gift--even the smallest and simplest of gestures--brings a smile and makes a moment more meaningful. Any day, not just holidays and specific occasions, is an opportunity to create and gift. These versatile projects require no special skills and work for a range of people--from children to house guests--and occasions. Visually driven in its presentation, Make and Give stands apart from the traditional craft book with its bright colors and modern, graphic look. Each project is illustrated with step-by-step photographs, charts, and unique infographics. Less text, more photos, and illustrated designs guide the reader. The projects are inspired by the things the authors--designers and crafters by trade--make for their own friends and family. The book includes the authors' personal inspiration for each project, as well as "Make This For" tips to encourage readers to think about the special people for whom they could make these crafts. Projects include fill-in-the-blank tattoos, pressed herb prints, a weekday advent, a family tree embroidery, hand-drawn pillows, and candy capsule necklaces.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well


Deborah Needleman - 2011
    Her conclusion: It's not hard to create a relaxed, stylish, and comfortable home. Just a few well-considered items can completely change the feel of your space, and The Perfectly Imperfect Home reveals them all.Ranging from classics such as "A Really Good Sofa" and "Pretty Table Settings" to unusual surprises like "A Bit of Quirk" and "Cozifications," the essential elements of style are treated in witty and wonderfully useful little essays. You'll learn what to look for, whether you are at a flea market or a fancy boutique--or just mining what you already own.Celebrated artist Virginia Johnson's original watercolor illustrations bring the items and the inspiring rooms of world-famous tastemakers to vibrant life. Styling tips and simple how-tos show you techniques to put it all together to create, say, a beautifully made bed (the fast way and the fancy way), an inviting reading nook, or an effortlessly chic display of pictures.According to Deborah, the point of decorating is to create the background for the best life you can have, with all its joys and imperfections. This book will show you how.Deborah Needleman is the editor in chief of WSJ. Magazine and creator of the Off Duty section of The Wall Street Journal. She was the founding editor in chief of domino magazine and coauthor of domino: the book of decorating.Virginia Johnson's illustrations have appeared in books by Kate Spade and on textiles carried in more than one hundred stores, including Barneys, Liberty of London, and Net-A-Porter.perfectlyimperfect.com

Organizing Your Craft Space


Jo Packham - 2006
    Inside this spiral-bound guide, with colour-coded pages for easy reference, are hints, tips, and dos and don'ts for each individual craft. There are craft categories so that individual problems are addressed (Mosaic and stained glass, knitting and crocheting, needlepoint and embroidery, scrapbooking and papercrafts, painting, beading, stencilling and rubber stamping, and sewing and fabric crafts). Plus, professional artists invite you into their studios to see how they keep things orderly, from smart storage to functional surfaces.

Craft Business Power: 15 Days To A Profitable Online Craft Business


Jason Miles - 2013
    It has never been easier to start a craft business. But how do you sell your art or craft products in the age of Amazon? How do you use the Internet to find and serve high-quality customers?In Craft Business Power the founders of Liberty Jane Clothing share their journey to build a profitable online craft business. They've sold over a million dollars of products online and they outline a 15 day plan for launching a profitable craft business that is easy to follow, filled with practical advice, and proven to work.If you want to start or expand a craft business buy Craft Business Power today!

Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces


Michelle Slatalla - 2016
    The team behind the inspirational design sites Gardenista.com and Remodelista.com presents an all-in-one manual for making your outdoor space as welcoming as your living room. Tour personality-filled gardens around the world and re-create the looks with no-fail planting palettes. Find hundreds of design tips and easy DIYs, editors’ picks of 100 classic (and stylish) objects, a landscaping primer with tips from pros, over 200 resources, and so much more.

Homespun Style


Selina Lake - 2012
    Showcasing inspiring homes around the world, the book reflects our growing passion for crafting, stitching and painting. These are homes packed with personality and interest, full of homemade pieces, restored junk-shop finds and one-off treasures. Interiors stylist Selina Lake and writer Joanna Simmons will show you how this homely, crafty look has been given a modern twist with vivid colours, tactile fabrics and bold combinations. The book begins with the Themes, from the basics of modern craft to making colour and pattern work. It also focuses on imaginative ways to recycle and reuse, from transforming furniture with a lick of paint to finding inspired new uses for everyday items. Next, Details looks at textiles, furniture and display, while the third section, Spaces, shows how the style works beautifully in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, children's rooms, workrooms and even out of doors.

Carve Stamp Play: Designing and Creating Custom Stamps


Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - 2013
    Find your "authentic" design voice and get carving today!

The Little Spark - 30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity


Carrie Bloomston - 2014
    Do you look at yourself now and wonder if the spark has gone out? Ignite that inner fire with the 30 engaging exercises, fun activities, inspirational images, and motivating ideas in this book. Learn what your Little Spark of creative passion looks like, how to capture it, and how to make room for it in your life. Read the book cover-to-cover and use it as a month-long creative roadmap, or just dip into the exercises as your time and inclination allow. Either way, you will change your life.

Gelli Plate Printing: Mixed-Media Monoprinting Without a Press


Joan Bess - 2014
    Simply apply paint with a soft rubber brayer, make your marks and pull your print. It's that simple! Wipe the plate down with a spritz of water and a paper towel, and you're ready to go again.In this premier guide, artist Joan Bess--inventor of the concept for the Gelli plate--unleashes the fun through more than 60 step-by-step techniques. Create intriguing patterns using tools like sponges, textured rollers and homemade combs. Learn how to incorporate stencils and rubber stamps. Experiment with metallic paint, dimensional paint and gel medium. Become a texture-hunter, creating a wide world of effects using embossed papers, natural objects, rubber bands, lace, corrugated cardboard, metal tape, die cut letters...anything goes!Even beginners can enjoy immediate gratification--just grab a textured surface, smoosh it into your painted Gelli plate, and you'll have a stack of amazing prints in no time. For experienced printmakers, the inspirations in these pages will push you to experiment, adapt, combine and layer. It's easy, fun and totally addicting!Printmaking just got easier!- Expert tips from the creator of the Gelli plate - 60+ awesome step-by-step techniques - Ideas for incorporating stamps and stencils, using ghost prints, salvaging uninspired prints, and more - 26-page gallery shows the many wonderful ways artists are incorporating Gelli printing into their work

Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet: Learn How with 13 Projects


Sheryl Thies - 2011
    Also known as afghan stitch, this versatile technique is worked on a long needle with a crochet hook at one end. Choose from 13 gorgeous projects, including women's garments and accessories as well as home accents Learn a variety of stitches, from basic to more advanced, including some that look just like knitting Read a brief history of Tunisian crochet and find out why it's experiencing such a resurgenceVideo