No previous crafting experience or pricey materials are necessary--just a love of all things small!

    Plus, the projects are cute to boot!” —Sue Daly, founder of the Renegade Craft FairNo more spending more than you can afford on clothes! Chic & Simple Sewing shows you how to make modern, stylish, and fun clothes you’ll want to wear every day. Plus, you’re in control. You pick the fabrics, the cut, the size—all tailored just for you, not mass-manufactured on an assembly line. For about the price of two or three commercial sewing patterns, this book will give you full-size patterns to make the more than 20 garments, including a classic shift, A-line skirt, and figure-flattering wrap dress. What are you waiting for? Your new, one-of-a-kind wardrobe awaits!

    Features include 10 new patterns and 20 quilting designs, cu tting and sewing guides, quick cutting and quick piecing tec hniques and exercises. '

    - Easy-to-follow instructions for creating beautiful, elaborate designs with more than 90 Sashiko patterns- 33 projects incorporate different designs and techniques- Features a full-color inspirational gallery of Sashiko work from contemporary textile artists.

    she inspires a love of sewing itself. A contemporary classic, Power Sewing is clearly written with detailed photos; it guides the reader through every facet of garment construction with ease.

    Unique statements, passionate emotions and favorite interests can all be expressed in these miniature works of art that are always traded, never sold."Artist Trading Cards Workshop" will not only teach you how to create your own cards, combining one or more of the 25+ techniques demonstrated in step-by-step photos, it will also share the ins and outs of trading, finding and organizing card swaps and how to trade with others across the miles or even the continents.Discover ways to create colorful collage backgrounds, make cards from fabric, incorporate painting, stamping, phone book pages, tissue paper, string, stencils and much moreall is revealed in step-by-step photos, but that's not all. You'll also: Learn the ins and outs of tradingwhere to look, what to swap.Find creative ways to store the cards you'll soon be collecting.Be inspired by the cards from 60 talented contributors and over 200 beautiful cards.Become a part of the world-wide phenomenon that starts with "Artist Trading Cards Workshop," and share a piece of yourself today! Create. Collect. Swap."

    This book presents step-by-step techniques for 35 image transfer processes, extensive tips for fixing mishaps and examples of how to combine transfers in finished pieces of mixed-media art.This comprehensive guide features:35 Techniques: This book focuses exclusively on making transfers--from simple tape and gel medium transfers to more complex and out of the box techniques, like solar silk screens and plastic wrap transfers.Troubleshooting: Image Transfer Workshop includes extensive answers to help fix problems in transfers gone wrong. You'll learn what to watch for, what to do to get great transfers every time.Dual Styles, Dual Approaches: The authors' different styles illustrate how transfer techniques can take on completely different looks. Finished pieces of art for each technique and a section of completely stepped-out projects are sure to inspire you!Let Image Transfer Workshop help build your image transfer confidence.

    Every idea is amazingly clever: who would ever have imagined that plastic six-pack can holders could become a chic Moorish-inspired filigree tri-fold screen? Or that glass baby food jars would make a charming candle chandelier? Every project features at least one beauty shot in a modern home setting, easy-to-follow instructions, and step-by-step color photos, while handy icons spotlight the key techniques, materials, and the estimated time to complete each project.

    Devised by an award-winning botanical artist who teaches at the Eden Project, this course takes you from basic drawing techniques to advanced skills required for the analysis of complex forms in watercolour. Following the syllabus of the botanical illustration course at the acclaimed Eden Project in Cornwall, this book offers you the opportunity to perfect the many techniques used to produce beautiful and informative plant portraits.Full of practical information, and with easy-to-follow exercises, the book includes: Pencil Drawing; Shapes in Nature; Plant dissection and bisection; Perspective; Use of tonal contrast; Line drawing and pencil shading; Colour and pigment mixing; Application of watercolour; Highlights and shiny surfaces; Composition and arrangement.

    Featuring 250 texture-friendly designs for knitters of all skill levels, this handbook gives techniques for cable, ripple, knot, and twist stitches. The reference provides a multitude of new knitting patterns both for the home and to wear--such as a honeycomb afghan, medallion-rippled sweater, and twisted-arches scarf. Beautifully photographed swatches are displayed with the latest yarns and include easy-to-follow instructions and design tips. An all-in-one guide to creating textures and cables, this crafting resource is the perfect knitting companion.

    Many crocheters make mandalas as a meditative activity, while others love them simply for the wonderful opportunities they offer for mixing colors and stitch textures. A new take on traditional shapes, like granny squares or hexagons, these attractive crocheted circles are causing a real buzz in the crochet community.Included are complete written and charted directions for a variety of types of circular designs, plus a range of creative techniques and ideas to make yours stand out from the crowd. With full patterns and inspiring photos, a review of crochet techniques, a discussion of materials, colors, finishing techniques, and lots of project ideas including bags, shawls, blankets, and pillows, this book guarantees many hours of happy mandala-making.

    Then step by step they make that idea a reality. They design, cut, stitch, layer, and quilt. It's the work of many hands, many hours, and many stories. And the result is something warm and wonderful they all can share.Lizzy Rockwell is the artistic director and organizing force behind the Norwalk Community Quilt Project: Peace by Piece, and this book is inspired by all the people who have gathered over the years to teach and learn and to make something beautiful together.

    And who better to teach us how to DIY our lives than the über-crafty editors of BUST, the quirky, raw, and real magazine “for women who have something to get off their chests”? In The BUST DIY Guide to Life, magazine founders Debbie Stoller (of Stitch ’n Bitch fame) and Laurie Henzel have culled more than 250 of the best DIY and craft projects from its 15-year history. Organized by category—beauty and health, fashion, food and entertaining, career, finance, travel, and sex—and written in BUST’s trademark brazen and witty style, this quintessential DIY encyclopedia from the quintessential DIY magazine is eclectic, empowering, hilarious, and downright practical, truly capturing the spirit of women today.Praise for the BUST DIY Guide to Life:“This lifestyle manual will come in handy when you need anything from a headache remedy to a dirt-cheap wedding.” —Entertainment Weekly“Has tips on beauty, fashion, and finance, too, all with attitude. But our dog-eared pages? Decorating, all the way.” -- Los Angeles Times“It’s a rare do-it-yourself book that combines instructions for both homemade pot holders and Tantric sex. But The Bust DIY Guide to Life isn’t your typical how-to manual. The book, by Bust magazine cofounders Laurie Henzel and Debbie Stoller, is an irreverent yet informative guide to much of what life throws your way—removing laundry stains, lubricating a bicycle chain, even planning a wedding on the cheap.” —Akron Beacon Journal "Looking for one source to provide answers on how to do practical things? This is it! A friendly compendium that shows you (with many pictures and diagrams) how to replace a broken zipper, make soap, turn your bell bottoms into straight-leg jeans, how to buy an old house, how to buy a vintage car, how to skateboard and lots more." —The Fresno Bee

    Several projects are easy enough for children to make for their own toybox, but you'll want a bunch of these irresistible cuties for yourself, too! Socks Appeal is a finalist in the 2010 Foreword Book of the Year Awards.

    Ideal for both experienced makers as well as younger friendship bracelet makers, Dorothy shows you how to master hundreds of knotting and braiding techniques to create stunning jewelry and accessories. Techniques cover kumihimo (braiding), plaiting, knotting (including macrame) and fusion, with techniques for adding beads, using different cords/wire and attaching findings. Easy to follow step-by-step instruction and photography will help you to learn each of the different techniques. Choose from a selection of project ideas to refine your new skills including jewelry, accessories and home decor to create beautiful gifts and home decorations.