The three twenty-something co-owners of Stitch Lounge, an urban sewing studio in San Francisco, teach you, in plain, fun language, how to do it, whether you're hand sewing, machine sewing, or, in a few cases, simply wielding a pair of scissors.The first three chapters lay the ground work: Hand Sewing Basics, You and Your Machine, and Gearing Up, which includes Fabric 101, how to set up a sewing space, and a run-through first project on the sewing machine. Then the fun begins with Embellishing and Customizing projects, including adorning your pant legs with ribboning, turning a computer-scanned image into an iron-on that you can apply to a t-shirt or skirt, taking in a skirt, or untapering a pair of pants (the authors believe tapered pants are the devil's work). Then move onto Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes and turn a t-shirt into a skirt, a sweater into a halter top or legwarmers, or a pair of pants into a hip belt. There are 22 projects in all, some of which only require an iron and/or pair of scissors, while others can be sewn by hand, for those readers who haven't yet made the sewing machine plunge.

    Each braid features a beautiful close-up photograph, materials list, step-by-step instructions, and easy-to-follow color illustrations to guide crafters along. Each technique is explored indepth, followed by tips on starting and finishing braids and advice for incorporating braids into other textile projects.

    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.

    1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contains a cutting edge collection of the most inventive work being made with re-used, upcycled, and already existing materials. The work in this book ranges from clever and humble personal accessories to unique and important large-scale works of art, including paper art, fashion, jewelry, housewares, interiors, and installations.

    There's something for everyone at this art expo. Whether you want to sharpen digital-imaging skills, make your own jewelry or listen to the stories behind provocative works, you're sure to find plenty to keep you busy--all included with the price of admission.Amidst a full-color feast for your eyes, you will: Discover ways to turn your art mistakes" into meaningful creationsSit in on mixed-media demonstrations, guiding you through techniques for layering, transferring, altering and moreBe introduced to the works and inspiration of 36 artists, including: Lisa Falzon, Sheri Gaynor, Claudine Hellmuth, Katie Kendrick, Deryn Mentock, Karen Michel, Ted Orland, Izabella Pierce, Richard Salley, Suzanne Simanaitis, Roben-Marie Smith, Jonathan Talbot and many more!Take on creative challenges to push your art-making into new directions Enter the "Exhibition 36" experience--your ticket to an amazing gallery of mixed-media inspiration."

    In Draw Your Day, Baker guides you through her inspirational practice and provides guidance for starting your own. Part instructional guide and part encouraging manifesto about how making art--even art that's not museum-worthy--can make your life more mindful and meaningful, Draw Your Day is ideal for both seasoned artists looking for fresh inspiration, as well as aspiring artists who need a friendly nudge to get started.

    It shows watercolour painters of all levels how to loosen up their paintings and maintain spontaneity by painting simple watercolour studies in no more than 10 minutes.Written by popular artist Hazel Soan, the book is arranged in three parts: the first section explains all about the equipment you will need; the second section covers techniques and shows what can be achieved with watercolour in a short time span; the third section looks at various subjects that are ideal for painting quickly.All the essential techniques are covered, focusing particularly on maximizing brushstrokes and exploring colours, and there is useful advice on deciding what to include and what to leave out. With helpful chapters on painting a wide range of subjects – people, landscapes, seascapes, buildings, gardens, flowers and still life – this little guide is ideal for quick reference when working in the studio or out in the field.

    This book can help you bring all of these together in one beautiful creation.Here you'll see magnificent collages by leading artists who show you--in step-by-step demonstrations--how to begin, how to design, how to apply collage techniques in exciting ways.Plus you'll get your chance to use those techniques with nearly fifty projects that challenge you to do your most creative work.

    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.

    Beginners can join in the sudsy fun with detailed tutorials and step-by-step photographs for making traditional cold-process soap and the more modern hot-process method with a slow cooker. Jan presents 50 easy, unique soap recipes with ingredients and scents inspired by the herb garden, veggie garden, farm, forest and more. Sample soap recipes you won’t want to miss are Lavender Milk Bath Bars, Sweet Honey & Shea Layers Soap, Creamy Avocado Soap, Citrus Breeze Brine Bars, Mountain Man Beard & Body Bars and Classic Cedarwood & Coconut Milk Shave Soap. Featured resources are Jan’s handy guides to common soapmaking essential oils and their properties, oil and milk infusions with healing herbs and easy decoration techniques. The book also contains Jan’s highly anticipated natural colorants gallery showcasing more than 50 soaps that span the rainbow. Soap crafters of all levels will enjoy referencing this book for years to come. All recipes are sustainably palm-free!

    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.

    Color photos accompany detailed step-by-step instructions for transforming the original square pattern into rectangles, triangles, and circles with eight wonderful designs. Featuring seven unique projects—including an afghan, a basket, a table runner, a hat, and a scarf—this creative manual illustrates how this perfect, two-round stitch offers versatility of color because of its unique, textured color overlap.

    Inside you'll find guidelines for rendering accurate skin tones in a variety of media, including watercolor, oil and pastel.You'll begin with a review of the five essential painting elements (drawing, value, color, composition and edges), then learn how light and color influence the appearance of skin tones. Artist Chris Saper provides the advice and examples that make every lesson and technique easy to understand--immediately improving the quality of your work. You'll discover how to:Paint the four major skin color groups (Caucasian, African American, Asian and Hispanic)Refine these colors into dozens of possible variations within each groupSelect your palette and mix hues for clean, beautiful colorsDetermine the color and temperature of light that falls on your subjectPaint direct and indirect sunlight, artificial light and highlights of lightMaster the four elements that determine color in shadowUse photographic references when you can't paint directly from lifeYou'll also find seven step-by-step demonstrations and an appendix of sample color charts for each major skin type under a range of lighting variations. It's all you need to bring your portraits to life!

    Plus, get inspired by--and learn from the mistakes of--artists/business owners such as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, Jill Bliss, and many more.

    But if it's hip to make squares, imagine the excitement of making circles, stars, triangles, and hexagons. Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs introduces crocheters to more than 150 designs of every size and shape. Full-color photographs capture the intricate details and color work of each motif, and clear step-by-step instructions are presented in both text and visual formats. With its unexpected range of shapes, designs, and color ideas, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs will keep enthusiasts happy for a very long time!