The New Hexagon: 52 Blocks to English Paper Piece


Katja Marek - 2014
    Learn the glue-basting method of English paper piecing and use it to create exciting designs. You'll enjoy relaxing handwork as you incorporate hexagons into decorative projects. Select from 52 patterns for 6" blocks Divide the shapes within the hexagon outline and discover new shapes Stitch projects ranging from a mug rug and candle mat to a bed-sized quilt

Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching


Heather Ross - 2009
    In Weekend Sewing, designer Heather Ross presents creative projects for clothing, accessories, and home items that can be made in a weekend or less. Some, like the Quick Garden Gloves and Ruby’s Bloomers, take a few hours; others, like the Weekend-Away Travel Bag and Trapeze Sundress, require a day or two—but all of them capture that weekend feeling.  And because weekends are often the most fun when they’re social, Ross features ideas that encourage us to share our stitching and our time, such as a recipe for soup to simmer while sewing, then serve to guests later in the day, and tips for transporting a sewing machine to a friend’s house for an afternoon of social stitching.The sewing instructions are beautifully illustrated, and patterns for the projects are included on pullout sheets.

Furniture Makeovers: Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper, Stencils, and More


Barbara Blair - 2013
    You'll never look at a hand-me-down dresser the same way again! The book offers 26 easy-to-follow techniques that can be applied to all different types of pieces, from bookshelves to desks: painting, applying gold leaf, wallpapering, distressing, dip dyeing, and more. In addition to the core techniques, author and Knack Studios founder Barb Blair shares 30 beautiful before-and-after makeovers from her studio and outlines how to achieve each look. With helpful step-by-step photographs, a visual glossary explaining all the tools and materials needed, and a lovely contemporary aesthetic, Furniture Makeovers is a treasure trove of ideas and instruction for the home decorator.

Quilt As-You-Go Made Vintage: 51 Blocks, 9 Projects, 3 Joining Methods


Jera Brandvig - 2017
    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.

Mamarazzi: A Mother's Guide to Children's Photography


Stacy Wasmuth - 2011
    Now you can learn how to photograph children with the style, clarity, color, and beauty you see in professional photographs. This fun guide combines humor with solid know-how to show you how to compose shots, handle cameras from basic compacts to advanced dSLRs, take portraits or candids, create prints that impress, and even work with kids Packed with beautiful examples and written in a down-to-earth style from one mom to another, this book will help mamarazzis everywhere take better photos.Moms are one of the fastest-growing segments of the camera-toting demographic, and the blogosphere has a term for them, "mamarazzis"Mixes information, inspiration, and fun for women who want to take better photographs of the children in their livesExplains how to set up a camera and use the controls on basic compacts up to advanced dSLR camerasCovers shot composition, determining settings, exposing images correctly, the essentials of printing images, how to process for clear and bright color, and moreIncludes stunning examples of portraits and candids of childrenBecome a better mamarazzi with this fun and informative guide

Crafting Calm: Projects and Practices for Creativity and Contemplation


Maggie Oman Shannon - 2013
    guide to peace of mind, you'll find inspiring ideas for how to do exactly that through a wide range of creative exercises. In this book, author Maggie Oman Shannon explores crafts and creativity as a practice with enormous physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. By immersing ourselves in a craft with intention and mindfulness, we can quiet those voices around us and in us--we can enter sacred stillness. Through revealing interviews, personal stories, and forty suggested activities, the author shows how creative processes can become spiritual practices. Whether you're an aspiring artist, longtime craftsperson, or someone who has never set foot in a craft-store (yet!), you'll find something in Crafting Calm to inspire you.Crafts and how-to ideas include contemplation candles, visual journals, prayer shawls, collage mandalas, intention beads, finger labyrinths, personal prayer flags, spiritual toolkits, and tabletop altars.Features inspired craft ideas from luminaries such as Angeles Arrien, Mary Ann Radmcher, Shiloh Sophia McCloud, Sister Marianne Heib, May Ann Brussat, and many more.

Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines: Patterns, Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds, and Familiar Ones, Too


Kay Gardiner - 2008
    Building on the success of their website and blog, authors Gardiner and Shayne wind their way through patterns for adults, children and homes.

Making It in the Art World: New Approaches to Galleries, Shows, and Raising Money


Brainard Carey - 2011
    Whether you re a beginner, a student, or a career artist looking to be in the best museum shows, this book provides ways of advancing your plans on any level. Making It in the Art World is an invaluable resource for artists at every stage, offering readers a plethora of strategies and helpful tips to plan and execute a successful artistic career. Topics include how to evaluate your own work, how to submit art, how to present work to the public, how to avoid distractions in the studio, and much more.

One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects; Look How Much You Can Make with Just One Yard of Fabric!


Rebecca Yaker - 2009
    With simple step-by-step instructions that are accompanied by templates and pattern pieces, each project is designed to be completed in just a few hours. Get inspired and turn a yard of your favorite fabric into a quilted lunch bag, bright sundress, or a cuddly plush turtle.

The Ultimate Brush Lettering Guide: A Complete Step-By-Step Creative Workbook to Jump-Start Modern Calligraphy Skills


Peggy Dean - 2018
    From choosing the best pens and paper and knowing the different styles of lettering, to adding color to your finished pieces--this book covers it all. The book includes templates for labels, cards, handmade bunting, and word collages. It even includes a how to guide for posting your best work on social media. Each lesson builds on itself, unlocking endless opportunities inside the playful art of brush lettering. As a self-taught artist who left her day job to pursue a creative life, Peggy Dean is the ideal teacher for artists and non-artists alike.

Sewing Happiness: A Year of Simple Projects for Living Well


Sanae Ishida - 2016
    Each seasonal project, specially designed to promote health, creativity, relationships and more, provides gentle inspiration to live your best life. When Ishida was diagnosed with a chronic illness and lost her corporate job, she thought her life was over. But these challenges ended up being the best thing that ever happened to her because they forced her to take stock of her life and focus on the important things, and enabled her to rediscover sewing--her true passion.   Inspired to succeed at just one thing, Ishida vowed to sew all of her daughter's clothes (and most of her own) for one year. Sewing Happiness includes 20 projects plus variations (including Japanese-inspired home goods and children’s and women’s clothing) organized by season, and stitched together with Ishida’s charming personal story.

Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets and Keepsakes


Sally Jean Alexander - 2006
    The 27 projects and 30 variations feature vintage ephemera soldered within glass, for finished works that tell a romantic or whimsical story. All exhibit Sally Jean Alexander's signature style - a style that brings new life to antique papers, vintage photographs, found projects, scavenged text, and more.

Harmony Guide: Knit & Purl: 250 Stitches to Knit (Harmony Guides)


Erika Knight - 2007
    Featuring more than 250 classic and contemporary stitch patterns, this updated guide includes instructions for knitters of all levels. From the basic knit and purl stitch to the seed stitch to a fanciful ladder pattern, each of the featured stitches is detailed with a color photograph and handy how-to instructions. Both new and classic yarn varieties are covered, and insider tips designed to facilitate personalization are featured throughout. For projects ranging from the simple to the ornate, this extensive catalog is brimming with stitch inspiration.

One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-Of-A-Kind Quilts


Maxine Rosenthal - 2006
    The projects produce high-impact quilts made with simple cutting and construction, therefore no fussy cutting or Y-seams are required.

Itty-Bitty Nursery: Sweet, Adorable Knits for the Baby and Beyond


Susan B. Anderson - 2007
    At sleep, at play, in the nursery, and on the go, adorable babies need adorable knits. And here are 40 gloriously unique projects that manage to be utterly charming, fabulous, and usable all at the same time. Baby sets and toys; stroller blankets, jackets, and mittens; and a pure and sweet layette are just the tip of the knitting frenzy that is Itty-Bitty Nursery. Picture cute garden mice on an amazing mobile and a knitted clothesline of miniature knitwear adorning the nursery. Coo at the baby sporting a striped hat called "Frenchie" or Mom with her Fruit Loops felted bag. Marvel at the amazing Cupcake Tea Set and the Three Pigs and a Wolf finger puppets, both perfect for the toddler at play. All of the projects are fresh, lively, and fun. With precisely illustrated instructions, there's something here for every level of knitter, from the greenest beginner to the most experienced craftsperson.