Crafts Hobbies Books

It is a Dangerous, if you want a helpful book try U.S. Army Survival Manual.

This is a great father/son book. There are things in there that I was never taught to do, so both my son and I are learning. Great stuff to do together!

My nine year old twin girls love the book. Sure, they have no interest in hunting rabbits (they're vegetarians) or famous battles in history (at least not yet), but there's a lot in here for any kid who is not on too tight of a parental leash. Get this and the girls' book too. A lot of worthwhile bits in each.

I originally bought this book for my son, he's 11. He loves it. Unfortunately my husband and 6 brothers won't give it back to him, yet. They've enjoyed the 'projects' as much as my son has.

I bought this for my 9 year old grandson and he has really enjoyed it so far and will for years to come. I told him that since I hate to hear the words "I'm bored" he now has no excuse to say them around me again. He can pull out this book and find plenty of amusement!

I only just discovered Lena Corwin yesterday and was so inspired by the cover that I ran right out to the bookstore to get it. There are a variety of techniques with simple, detailed instructions and beautiful pictures. I am so inspired and can't wait to start printing.

...and you will see different things in the pages each time. I am one of the lucky artists in this book and I am amazed at the results. To put this much work together from so many artists had to be tough. My favorite aspect is the fact that there is so much diversity. Each artist bring their own voice to their work and it bounces off the other artist's work to create a harmony of color, shapes, images and words. ... Wow maybe that was a little too tooooo....but I want to convey that this lively book is a real treat to look at and a good source of inspiration for what ever art you do or enjoy. Great job Dawn. Thanks for including my work.

This book is wonderful. As I leafed thru the pages I had amazing inspiration to grab various art supplies and try something new. A great book for when you're stuck in a non-creative but want to be creative moment. This is an art journaling book you won't regret buying.

Huge, colorful, and important. Open to any two-page spread and you will find yourself getting lost in the creativity and playfulness (images, words, ephemera, and montages) of hundreds of brilliant people. Thank the Good Lord for all of them, but especially for "author/assembler" Dawn DeVries Sokol and her passionate work. As a life-long sketcher, doodler, cartoonist, journaler, and collector of "beautiful scraps" I am inspired beyond imagining with the turn of each giant page in this book. It will be a long time (if ever) before it gets slid into my studio bookshelves for I will be pouring over it daily. This is a portable library, a floating museum, a veritable mountain of inspiration. THIS is the "movable feast!" I have already added it to my list of books that inspire me on my blog: www.TeaWithMcNair.typepad.com. I am eager to meet Dawn at the ZNE Convenzione here in the Bay area (Aug. 22-24, 2008) Meanwhile, I have ONE THOUSAND pages of creativity to sit with at Cafe Zoetrope and make me giggle, tear up, and want to crack open my sketchbook many more minutes each day.

Call your local independent bookshop and get it today. Mine came in two days--it is well-worth the cover price.

Fabulous book! The entries are wonderful. This book shows the way various artists around the world create pages in their journals. The diversity is amazing. The insipation is limitless. I look at this book every day. My non-artist, non-writing friends find the book fascinating as well. It's like having a journaling museum in miniature. Buy it if you're interested in art, journals, writing, illustrated reading material, or interesting, different books.

Rev. Ruth

Whether you use (or would like to start using!) an art journal to document your days or access and express your inner creativity, this book will inspire. It's so huge, by the time you finish you already want to flick through it again to remember your favorite pages. It's interesting to see the diversity of examples from other countries. Apparently when the project got up and running they were inundated by examples from people around the world wanting their work included in the book. While some pages are completely magnificent artworks there are also some very simple, playful, even childish pages - so you won't feel intimidated or dissuaded from taking up pen/paint and paper yourself, always a risk with these types of books - you can buy them in a bid to become inspired but actually end up the opposite! Not so here. There are naive scribblings that can be as insightful and interesting as beautifully designed masterpieces. This book will give you ideas and inspiration on two levels - technique and topics. Some pages have clearly taken hours and hours to complete, some are of a quick and simple style that seems easier to accomplish amid a busy lifestyle. Either way you'll get ideas. Then there's the dilemma of 'what can I write about?' From incidental observations to spiritual contemplation, you'll come across triggers and ideas in other people's work you might like to explore. And even if you prefer to just look at art rather than create your own, this is simply a beautiful book and reading other people's art journal entries can reveal sometimes intimate and always intersting glimpses into the creative process.

We found this book in the library and I had to buy it. I got my daughters and some of their friends together and we cut and sewed and followed the directions. The best part was seeing the creative possibilities. The worst part was seeing that the T you make would not be able to withstand a lot of wear. I realized that if you want to keep the creation you make then you would have to get out the sewing machine and do some real sewing.

We did notice that the t need to be fited and looked at on your body before you cut. We had one girl that wanted to make the halter and following the directions in the book made the halter so small and short that she was uncomfortable with the whole project (even though the picture shows a lot of room in the torso). So making sure of the design before hand is very important.

But the girls did have fun and will be doing it again.

Pressed to find a great birthday gift for the girl who has everything? Or do you just want to give something unique and special? Why not give the gift that keeps on giving: a fun, edgy and easy-to-use craft book! Generation T is a gift for any lady!! It was given to me when I turned 18, and I have since given it to my friend on her 17th, my co-worker on her 25th and my T.A. on her 30th!! There are projects in this book that can appeal to everyone's tastes, and as a present it is a great conversation starter at a birthday dinner. I simply cannot tell you how great this book is, you must really have a peek at it for yourself!

After checking out MULTIPLE books before and after buying this one, I'm still totally satisfied that this is definitely the one to keep on hand. Some ideas are silly in that anyone who's ripped something apart and put it back together as something else wouldn't necessarily need the instructions (wristband or satchel) but most are both easy and super-cute (halter top featured on the cover; hoodie t-shirts). They mark the designs that are 'No-Sew' and those that require sewing are given an estimated time. Other books may have a few other ideas but, if you have this book, you can pretty much figure any others out on your own.

...I'm not small enough for these outfits! All the girls modeling the clothes in the books pages are tiny thin; I should have taken that as a clue. I love the ideas in this book and it's a lot of fun; unfortunately I don't think they work unless you're very thin (if I'm wrong please say so - I'm dying to make a Simpsons altered tee!).

Pros: simple, easy to read, good starter ideas
Cons: styles not for everyone, designs generally for petite girls

I had been eying this book for several months and finally broke down and bought it.
To let you know, I am a beginner when it comes to sewing. I am essentially self taught, starting with some needle and thread stuff when I was in middle school and working up to a simple cheap sewing machine that I use now.
I bought this book after flipping through it a few times, it seemed like it had a variety of different t-shirt ideas and that even if I didn't use them all at least they would provide some inspiration.
I agree with some of the other reviews, the safety pin thing gets a bit old, but then again even if you don't like that the book does show you other techniques that could be used as well (sewing seams, using a lace and holes to thread two pieces together, buttons, etc).
THIS BOOK WAS NOT MADE FOR OLDER GENERATIONS NOR FOR HIGH FASHION. It makes it clear on every project that these are designs for punk or hipster types. They are fun ways to transform your old useless clothes into something you might want to wear without too much effort.
Yes, the clothes look better on the super-skinny New York girls that are pictured in the book, but I am a size 18-22 and I was able to pull off many of the designs with little to no adjustments.

In conclusion this is a fun book, it is not a highly technical sewing manual, but an introduction to the possibilities of DIY and to the basics of sewing that would be great for anyone just getting started in sewing or who likes the "deconstructed" look.

A great book with innovative no-sew options - including some interesting uses for duct tape. The bags are very cute, the instructions easy, and the tone is very much appreciated.

I'm a friend of Jodi's and I saw many of the samples as she made them. The bags are adorable: fun, whimsical and useful. Whether you're looking for a fun craft project or creative inspiration, check this out!

My mom got this book for me: "Simply Sublime Bags", and I love it! I already made the CAUTION tape bag and all my friends think it's adorable. My mom is going to make the Nights in white Satin bag too. I would recomend this book for any kid who likes bags and wants to look super cool ; )

While I'm not one to have the need to carry a bag, I love creative things and I love great gift ideas -- and this is all of that and more! Jodi Kahn is funny, inventive and full of wonderful ideas for things you can do yourself. This is a must-have for anyone who likes to make things for themselves and come up with their own individual sense of style! It's a must-have for friends and family who like to do this stuff together.

Buy yourself a copy...then some more for gifts! Anyone with a proclivity for crafts, homemade projects, etc. will absolutely love it!

Lots of inspiration and great eye-candy. If you need written step-by-step instructions, this isn't the book for you.

What a wonderful book! 500 Handmade Books includes artist's books made of metal, paper, clay, leather, wood, polymer clay, wool, plexiglas, fabric, a ukulele, bark and more. There is a huge range of books, from beautiful traditional leather and book board codices, to books that are so odd or surprising. There are books with a sense of humor and books with a serious message. I could name names, but that would leave out hundreds of other incredible books.

For me, it's the more daring artist's books that make this book worth purchasing. These are books made by people who love books, and they love the materials they work with. They bring the two together to make books that will make you think about "bookness."

I have seen a few of these books before, mostly on the internet. But many of them are new to me. (Not that I'm an expert.) I want to search for so many of these artists, I'll be busy for weeks.

It's true, as others have said, there is only one photo of many of the books, so you can't see the inside, or the cover. There are no how-to instructions. But the caption for each book usually lists the binding style, materials and techniques, so you can look for some information elsewhere.

Turn the pages (slowly) and you will be amazed that there are so many ways to make a book. Inspired by words, paper, ideas, images, materials, photos, life and memory, music and dance -- each of the artists has chosen from a realm of seemingly endless possibilities.

Each of these artist books is presented and placed on the pages in a way that invites you to observe and examine. Not about which is the best, but to consider the choices that each artist made in presenting similar ideas or themes. How distinct and remarkable we are. 500 HANDMADE BOOKS inspires the imagination.

The book was in perfect condition, even though was used. The content of the book inspired so much because it has a bunch of nice, amazing and super creative books, papers, materials and ideas. Sometimes I wonder how they make it, so it's going to be a good deal to have another book where it explains all the process to stitch, glue or construct such as nice ideas.

Wow,the positive reviews make me feel like I don't have a leg to stand on in critiquing this book.Maybe I don't,I am not a book-maker.I read the positive reveiws,and decided to order it...I didn't like it.Sigh...Sorry,I bet alot of people will love it,Lark books are generally wonderfilled.I wanted something in a different art vein to learn about,I have seen some amazing handmadebooks,in art college.
I found my initial reaction to the book very dissappointing.

A good review of history of the electric car, best vehicles to convert, lists of sources for kits and parts, diagrams of how to do it, etc.
Highly recommended.

A good place to start if you prefer to look at paper vs. the computer screen. Much more & better info available on the internet.

Does cover the basics - what exactly is involved in a conversion, batteries, controller, charger, motor & the "extras" - main contactor etc.

Others complained about too much math, but I found it was too basic to make any engineering decisions or judgments.

I've read several books on Electric Vehicles and this is, by far, the definitive resource for the DIY Electric Vehicle designer. It provides details and pictures on every topic necessary to design and build an electric vehicle from an existing gas vehicle.

I read the book because I was interested in converting a car. At times, it became waaay more technical than I bargained for. But it gave me the confidence to go ahead with my project.

I later learned that what I wanted to build was going to be so expensive, that I would not be able to afford it. This led me to see the book on a different light. For example, I would have liked it to be more specific info on the ranges and speeds one could get with a certain system. I did not find that... maybe I skipped it when I blew off the extremely technical info.

But other than that I thought the book was AWESOME. I would not recommend anyone to start a project like this without first talking to people who have done it already. (That is how I found out that I was being too ambitious).

I have not converted a car yet, since I decided to wait until batteries get better so I can get the range and speeds I need. But when the time comes, I going to pick up this book again. This puppy is NOT going to the used-book bookstore.

This book was written in the early 90's. It's so out of date that it's almost usless. Whish I had know before I spent $$$.

I was very happy with this book ! Very versitile for Jelly roll lovers .

Very rarely does a craft book come along when I want to make all of the patterns. Great book, detailed instructions and beautiful photos. A must have..

This is a great book. With lots of quick and easy quilt Ideas. Easy even for a beginner.

This book has some great patterns for the use of those jelly rolls we all collect. I have not tried any of the patterns yet, but I have one picked out that I am going to try as soon as I finish the quilt I am currently making. These patterns seem pretty easy to make and the directions are very detailed. They have some great pictures of some beautiful quilts. If anyone likes looking at just the pictures and dreaming about one day making that quilt, this is the book to fill that dream. Happy quilting.

this is also a nice book, but very predictble. out of this whole book there was only one quilt that I had not already seen in something that was not from jelly rolls...

This is a great beginner embroidery book. The directions are easy to follow and each project had good pictures. The print is also large enough to read easily, which isn't true of many craft books. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I've purchased many craft books, only to return immediately because the cover/description were completely misleading, but this is not one. Clear pictures and descriptions, and I love that it provides instructions not only for the embroidery, but sewing the projects as well.

I have been in search for a book like this for years, honestly. There are very little options for cute, casual embroidery out there and this one has several patterns that can be used on much more than the depicted use. One reviewer noted that there are several pages that have patterns not included in the book. I agree, this is disappointing but you can find a couple of these patterns on the author's etsy page ([...]) and she will send them to you as a PDF. The step by step instructions are so thorough that even an embroidered quilt doesn't seem daunting and I'm actually excited about putting it all together. That's a first. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because I was a little disappointed in the actual projects - I'd love to have seen more projects like placemats and tablecloths, baby onesies and bibs... things like that. Otherwise, this book is very exciting. Highly recommended for the thorough details that make the prospect easy, plus the complete guide to the stitches - excellent for a beginner!

I have been greatly inspired by Aimee Ray's embroidery. Picking up this book was great because I was able to get a good idea of stitches and see some wonderful project ideas. I had never embroidered before I had seen her work, so I can vouch for this being a great source for a beginner. Some customers complain that some items lack patterns, and while this is true they are available on the author's etsy page. I saw those as an example of what works using stitches taught could turn out like. The nature of the works Aimee Ray is exhibiting in her book is just like the title, doodle-stitching. I don't see it as wanting the readers to necessarily copy each thing from the book, but inciting them to be creative.

Even though transfer methods are discussed, which is greatly beneficial, depending on one's resources it can be rather difficult. If there are no other resources (copier or a light box), I would recommend having carbon paper on hand. Tracing paper may also be very useful, but a transfer pen or pencil would also be necessary.

I bought this book, thinking it was connected to Jenny Hart and Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-To. Much to my amazement - actually, just now, more or less - they are not. But the styles are very, VERY similar. The main difference is that in this book, you will get mostly craft ideas and some designs. In Sublime Stitching you'll get mostly designs (iron-on). Both are geared towards beginners - and both have very lengthy introductions into the basic steps and stitches.

While I'm now very startled that I did not in fact buy a Jenny Hart title, I am very pleased to have found a new embroidery sensei to follow in Aimee Ray.

One last note: the model used in the book is attractive, but has the weirdest pseudo-smile that unnerves me. Be on your guard. The crafts are worth it, though.

EZ's Knitter's Almanac was, to me a beautifuly done book. Half story book, half knitting instruction, EZ's wit and wisdom really shine in this lovely colection of patterns and shared stories.

I do not, however, feel that this book is for everyone. If you are a straight forward, k1,p2 type of knitter, you may want to borrow a copy from the library or a knitting friend. What is meant by that is this book is a guide, not a set pattern book. (Do this with these needles and this yarn, then that, this is the result.)

EZ lets you decide how your item will look... If you like a lace pattern, insert it in the shawl! Don't like a certain stitch in your Aran sweater? Do something differant there! But overall, enjoy it for the process, not only the product.

In this great little book, elizabeth Zimmerman, that great knitting guru who is no longer with us, has given us a ton of great ideas to keep us busy much more than the 12 months of the almanac. She has included some of her true classics in a chatty format, so we learn not just how to make an item, but how she went about creating it in the first place. Then, for those that need a quick read for a pattern, at the end of each chatty pattern, she gives the pithy, no-nonsense version.

This is a book that will be used over and over many times, so it might be a wise ides, when using a patterns, to xerox the pithy version and keep that in your knitting bag.

But don't ignore the chatty parts of the book. You learn how her mind worked in the creative process, and you might decide that there are some techniques that don't suit you for this pattern. If so, just drop that part and use the rest as a springboard for your own techniques. After all, as Elizabeth said, you are the boss of your knitting.
Priscilla Bouic

As always, EZ gives great, although not specific, instructions. As many of us learned from making our first Baby Surprise Jacket, if you just have faith in her ability and follow through, the results are exactly what she said they would be. I bought this for the February Sweater pattern (baby sweater on two needles), but I think I'll be using many of the patterns here. EZ strikes again.

EZ is a wonderful writer - entertaining and also very informative. If this book was republished with better photographs, it would easily be a five-star product.

I love Zimmermann's technic and pattern. The only negative thing I could find is that the object isn't so top fashion. But the book is absolutely quality and something you need in your knitting collection.