Prepare to be bombarded with ideas, techniques and suggestions as you allow your creativity to take hold. "The Journal Fodder Junkies" are on a mission, ready to arm you with all that you need to explore artistic ways of recording your life and thoughts. Part sketchbook, part diary, part notebook, part dream journal, part daily planner, part to-do list and part doodle pad, the art journal is different things to different people. Whatever it is for you, the Journal Junkies Workshop contains all the covert inspiration and know-how you'll need to get started. Uncover your own path, your own voice, your own style. Inside you'll find:Basic information on the supplies and materials you'll need to start your journal experienceStep-by-step presentation of techniques using water colors, acrylic paint, image transfers and moreChapter-by-chapter demonstration that follows the Junkies' techniques as they layer a page, taking it from blank canvas to dynamic documentIdeas on how to get started writing in your journal, covering both what to write and inventive ways of writing itGallery spreads taken straight from the authors' journals that give you a unique opportunity to peer inside the heads of two experienced art journalistsGrab a journal and begin basic training today with Eric Scott and David Modler to become a Journal Fodder Junkie!

    

    From wire wrapping and knotting to weaving and polishing, you'll get all the skills you need to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, key chains, wine charms and items for the home. Discover how to * Create funky and elegant designs * Work with leather, silver, and stones * String, knot, and weave beads * Avoid common mistakes * Host a trendy jewelry party

    Christi Johnson offers unique patterns inspired by botanicals, animals, numbers, the cosmos, earth elements, zodiac signs, and mythical beasts, for novice or well-practiced crafters to combine into talismans with personal meaning. Johnson’s folk art style is vibrant and unintimidating and provides a framework for bringing spiritual elements into physical form.

    From the clever decorations and take-home gifts, to classes, games, and a Hogwarts-worthy feast, no detail is forgotten. Your party guests will marvel at every magical moment of their journey into the world of witchcraft and wizardry.

    Try your hand at 9 projects, including an elegant sampler with 51 mix-and-match blocks. For quilt as-you-go enthusiasts, Jera shares 3 optional joining methods, including her new technique that makes your quilt reversible! No matter how busy your schedule, you can set attainable goals and practice quilting patchwork blocks in small, manageable pieces.

    The twenty-five simple sewing projects in this book offer home accessories made from linen, wool, and cotton, from durable linen aprons to cozy wool blankets and washable cotton lunch bags. This book is full of beautiful photographs, clear step-by-step instruction, and detailed diagrams that are reflective of the Japanese craft style. All of the projects are perfect for those new to sewing, yet the unsophisticated charm and useful nature of each item will appeal to every sewer. Make the projects in this book and add a little bit of comfort and style to your home.Projects include:   • Linen: Sarong Apron, Handkerchief, Slouch Bag, Hand Towel, Wastebasket Cover, Duvet Cover, Pillow Case, Kitchen Cloth, Fruit Bag, Apron    • Wool: Muffler, Socks, Room Shoes, Blanket, Bottle  Cover, Lap Blanket, Messenger’s Bag    • Cotton: Jumper, Wall Pocket, Bath Mat, Small Bag, Sweets Mat, Lingerie Case, Lunch Bag, Parent and Child’s Bag

    They offer viewers rich, visual inspiration. There is a fascination with these revealing and often beautiful pages of self-exploration and personal expression. Journals offer a tantalizing, voyeuristic view of an interior life. Journaling has seeped into popular culture in a big way and this collection provides a wide array of ideas, techniques and themes to inspire and inform mixed media and journaling enthusiasts.This is the first book to offer examples of over 1000 journal pages in one eye-catching, visual format. Artists can embrace and experiment with this medium and will benefit from this rich collection.

    550+ photos.

    Written with Amy's characteristic warmth and flair, you'll find information on basic equipment and supplies, advice on choosing and using fabrics, and a fantastic section on techniques. In addition, Amy walks readers through easy, inspiring patterns designed for the fashion-savvy crafter. Playful, modern projects, which include pillows, aprons, and purses, help novices master sewing skills while providing immediate sewing gratification--and confidence. Best of all, Amy explains what's easy, what's hard, and when not to sweat the small stuff. With its best-friend tone, solid reference section, and supercute projects, this is the introduction to sewing that you won't want to be without.

    Following an overview of painting fundamentals, illustrated step-by-step instructions accompanied by lessons on specific techniques lead your way. This unique book is a complete course in acrylic painting, built up from key techniques. As you progress through the sections of the book, the author demonstrates each technique with the creation of a mini painting, measuring 5-inches squared. So by the time you have worked right through to the end, you will have an amazing collection of 50 mini paintings—on board, paper, or canvas—that will be a testament to your skill and creativity. The subject matter for these squares varies from abstracts and simple color-mixing exercises, through to figurative subjects: a flower, a sunset, a busy street scene—and many more. These can be mounted, exhibited, or simply collected in a portfolio, or given away as gifts for friends to cherish. If you are coming to acrylics for the first time, or keen to improve your skills and sometimes daunted by the thought of filling a large empty canvas or blank piece of board, this is your ideal guide. Instead, it will free you from creative hang-ups and replace them with an addictive desire to create that next 5-inch square!

    With bright photographs and clear diagrams.

    In Steampunk circles, jewelry-makers are often master metalsmiths who combine found objects with fine metals to create elaborate pieces. In Steampunk-Style Jewelry, the projects focus on "no fire" techniques—like simple stringing, wirework, hammering, stamping, gluing, stitching, and off-loom beadwork—so that even a beginner can create pieces in the style. Each project provides a complete materials and tools list, step-by-step instructions, and clear illustrations. This book offers a broad overview of a growing design trend that is part of the literary, industrial design, fashion, and popular culture scene. Readers will learn about the art movement through the many photographic sidebars that explore the many aspects of the trend.

    For those who have always wanted to or tried and failed to learn to draw it provides simple step-by-step instruction, plus easy-to-follow practice exercises, and provides the motivation and inspiration readers need to be successful. For those who already draw, Everyday Sketching and Drawing offers another technique to add to their drawing arsenal.Why do so many adults come to view drawing as difficult or fraught with anxiety? Traditional art instruction is often bogged down with jargon, rules, and admonishments that unintentionally stifle the joy of drawing for its own sake.Steven Reddy's new and easy approach to drawing instructs sketchers to document their unique and compelling lives in realistic yet playful sketches that record the places, spaces, and objects that help define them as individuals. He reminds artists to slow down, notice, and attend to the sketch-worthy scenes and subjects that are unstaged and always there in our everyday lives. He offers a versatile technique that can lead to a skill that fills sketchbooks with the visual details that differentiate one life from another. This approach is a meditative, relaxing alternative to academic concerns about perspective, proportion, and accuracy. Reddy encourages artists to capture in whimsical but detail-specific illustrations their unique, subjective interpretation of their visual surroundings.Steven Reddy's drawing method produces extremely detailed and realistic scenes of objects and scenes in everyday life in a relatively short period of time (60 minutes to 3 hours or more, depending on the sketcher's preference). Modifying a technique utilized by Old Master oil painters, the drawings pass through 5 clearly articulated stages where each step focuses on one visual concept at a time.

    . . oh no, a dropped stitch three rows back! Help! If only there was a 24-hour hotline to answer every question a knitter might encounter. Well, now there is, with The Knitting Answer Book . The expert authors, Margaret Radcliffe and Edie Eckman, leave no question unanswered, no quandry unaddressed. Each book contains detailed, illustrated answers to literally hundreds of questions, from the common to the more unusual: - Are certain needles better for certain yarns? - What if I dropped a stitch several rows back? - Why do my edges tend to curl up? - Can you use a different weight yarn than the pattern calls for? - What can I do to keep my yarns from tangling up? - Oops, I see my ribbing is way too tight. Now what? Covering the whole range of situations a beginner is likely to face, along with the problems that may arise for those working more advanced patterns, this Answer Book will help knitters and crocheters of all levels. Each book is packaged in a small, take-along trim size, in a friendly-to-use Q&A format, and belongs in the bag of every knitter. Available 24/7, The Knitting Answer Book is always open, ready for yarn lovers to browse and consult to their heart's content.