Crafts Hobbies Books

Yes, this book has many art ideas suitable for littles. Many, however, are pretty simple and obvious, so there isn't as much really helpful information as you'd think. Lots of them are the same as what you'd find in any other craft book geared to this age. That's ok, because you might not have all the other craft books, but it's something to keep in mind. Since I already have a fairly extensive collection of craft books, I didn't find a lot of new ideas in this one.

I'm SO surprised to see the negative reviews on this book. No, the projects are not elaborate, but the cover states "It's the process, not the product"...which should clue you in. I sort of see it as an art meets science type book. This is what happens when you squirt water on marker drawing...this is what happens when you draw with wet chalk...it's about exploring the creative process.

I checked this out of my Parents as Teachers library, and liked it so much am now looking to buy it.

I own an art store and take projects right out of this book and other books by MaryAnn Kohl. Her instructions and pictures are easy to follow and if you have even an ounce of creativity, you can adjust the ideas to suit your tastes, the situation, the available materials or the ages of your students. I teach somewhere between 5 to 8 pre-schoolers every saturday morning. I can say from experience that the Process really is more important to the child than the outcome. They don't come in to art class thinking like adults "Oh, what kind of masterpiece can I create for my portfolio today?" They just want to have fun, get messy and live in the moment. But while they are processing, they are learning quite a bit. The parents of my students really love the projects and I come up with new ideas almost every week because I have a huge library of books. The simplest looking projects that may seem dull to an adult, delight the children. So you really need to try them! Some people laugh when I tell them I teach art to 2-year-olds. They think that children so young cannot benefit from art education. But my little artists are so creative and fun. They really do make art! Get a few good books with projects like this and get involved with your children making art. You won't be sorry!

This is a wonderful book! Well organized and easy to use. I love the illustrations which really help with the projects and my 2 and 3 1/2 year olds love the ideas. The author's enthusiasm for art and creativity really show! I highly recommend this book for all who want to see thier children develop a love for creativity and art!

While I see how this book may be helpful for those with no art teaching experience, as an art teacher looking for some ideas for preschool projects I found this book useless. I am only writing this review because if someone had written one like I would not have purchased the book!

This is a late review for me as I purchased this book in 2006. I have lived in Japan for about two years. prior to that I did some work in remodeling and small buildings. I had training in the technology. So when I watched Japanese woodworkers building in a new suburb in southern japan, I was suprised to see more of a timber frame construction process using round timbers. The masters of joinery at work. I thought to myself how strange?

As I said two years ago I purchased this book on my quest to understand beauty and craftsmanship. I still use the phrase of the carpenters training manual to bring me to "reality" when I am involved in "More Power!", "More power tools!" It says find a place under a tree and set up your tools. When I read this I laughed heartily at myself. I had been a tool envious "Norm" follower for many years. He always has bigger and better, even when I was catching up!

This is about wood. Hand tools! Craftsmanship! And the heart of the samauri wood worker. These joints have evolved and at one time were secrets of the particular trade guild, only taught to people after long apprenticeships. Look at the joints! Get the spirit of working with the wood. Learn secrets of joining.

I liked this book so much that when it got lost in my piles, I bought another.

Marc Adams of the Marc Adams school uses a phrase he stole from someone. "See one, do one." It's the way of wood!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pics are black and white, but good. I've spent hours reading, and re-reading it. Good resource for carpenters who want to add something to their work or understanding. Also could be great for imaginitive furniture building.

I'm fascinated by art and lifestyle in Japan. I bought this one in the hope of getting good information about "how to"s in joining wood in a woodword project without using any metal parts (nails etc). For starters, all drawings are black and white so this may dissapoint some of you. But are very well done and the book has a very interesting introductory section about japanese woodworking tools that provide a lot of information and some less expected aspects of japanese woodworking like, for example, tradition (I expected that) and an entire philosophical system (I didn't expected that). Very interesting, a lot. However, it is quite complicated to follow drawings and I sometimes felt that a better 3D rendering of the cuts should be done in order to better understand japanese joinery techniques (which ARE very complicated). I would recommend the book in the first place as a very instructive reading (which it is) and less for actually doing something being guided by its instructional content. Anyway I'm glad I bought it because it gave me more insight into japanese traditional woodworking.

When i bought it, i was looking for a manual to learn some basic about making japanese joinery in small amatorial woodworking projects. I'm not a carpenter, i'm just an hobbist.

Every page of this book is a precious pearl of a deep knowledge, surrounded by Japanese philosophy as well.

If you are patient to read very carefully and then practise, you'll find a pleasant surprise: a good job made with less tiredness and an happy mind.

This book is really neat--definitely worth $16. There are dozens and dozens of joints detailed but almost all of them are for framing buildings. Even so, these multitude of ideas presented can really start the creative process for furniture makers, like myself. In fact, this book provided a joint that solved a problem that I had dwelled on for months. Without this book, I never would have thought of this joint.

Most of the joints described are described well. But you will need to read the material carefully because some of the joints are quite complex. A lot of the joints are described with "drafting style" drawings--a front view, side view and top view. The book could benefit from more drawings that are in perspective.

The description of the use of Japanese tools is brief. In fact, if I were the publisher I'd delete "Japanese Tool Use" from the title because this book really doesn't focus much on tool use. Yeah, it's covered but there are other, more detailed texts n the topic.

At times, the text is awkward. If I recall correctly, this book was translated from Japanese, which likely accounts for the awkward phrases.

Whether you are new to sewing or an old pro, you are sure to benefit from the wealth of information and ideas in this book. The fly front instructions are worth the price of the whole book!

This book is not a learn to sew book. This book is to refine the sewing skills that you already have. This book is what would turn a beginner into an intermediate sewer.

This book is hard to categorize. It is not a typical reference book as the topics included appear to have been selected at random, it appears to be an assortment of loosely related tips and techniques.

I love the creativity this book encourages.

This is one of those books that should be in every sewing library no matter what you like to sew because you learn techniques that can be carried over from sewing clothes to sewing home decor, etc. I have been sewing for 50 years, and sewing has changed considerably during that time. This book is like going to class once again. I purchased it to go with my new computerized sewing machine, and I'm learning new skills to go with my new machine.

Great instructions. Wonderful close up pictures. Well worth the purchase price.

Of all the excellent books that I own on the subject of sewing, "Power Sewing" is the book that I pull out every day for reference. As I make my pattern, cut it out and then assemble the garment, there is always some little trick that I recall seeing in this book that causes me to flip through the pages once again until my memory is refreshed by one of Ms. Betzina's bullet-points or by one of the pictures. There are no long paragraphs in this book -- all instructions deal directly with the matter at hand and are clearly illustrated in a format which leaves no question unanswered. Without a doubt, this book alone has guided me so that I have been producing wonderfully-constructed projects. This is a book that is practical and extremely useful for anybody that sews.

This is a good book if you are an intermediate or advanced sewer looking for ways to create designer quality garments at home. The photography in this book is amazing, and is great for ideas. Power Sewing is very much geared towards mimicking upscale clothing that lasts a lifetime. Some of the techniques are good for everyday clothing, but in general if you want to follow her techniques and suggestions be prepared to spend some time and money. Many of her suggestions require using expensive materials that can be difficult to find locally.

For beginners, I suggest any of the Easy Guide to Sewing books published by Taunton. They are easier for a beginner to follow, and really go into "why", not just "how". Power Sewing is more of a manual for more experienced sewers looking to solve sewing problems.

I love knitting for babies. They are quick, pretty and appreciated. This book takes it a step further. This patterns are interesting, easy to adapt and functional. The layette sets make sense - blanket+jacket+mittens+bunny, cardigan+hat+blanket, pillow+slippers+sweater, blanket+cardigan+hat+booties+rattle. And the extras are adorables - I immediately made 4 mice and 3 dummy clips for a newborn. This book is fabulous.

What you need to know:
- patterns may include crochet and embroidery.
- range from beginner to high intermediate.
- there is quite a bit of how-to for beginners.
- the book is from US with US needle sizes, gauge and measurements (no metrics given).
- some patterns are quite fiddly - meaning there is a lot of sewing of little things in some patterns.
- needle sizes range from US size 3 to US size 8. (So there are some fine knits and some chunky knits).

Would I buy this book again? Absolutely.

From basic, elegant designs (cardigans made from squares) to truly drool-worthy cute patterns (the cupcake and tea set) this book covers adorable knit projects that take up very little time. I've already made two toys from the book and am looking forward to knitting the rest. The patterns are very well written so that you can clearly see where you're going (definitely helpful for a beginner - and a lot of patterns use garter stitch).

Some wonderful patterns to embellish inside this book - basic hats, but fun to knit!

I received this book as a Christmas gift. I am an occasional knitter so after a long lapse, I need a refresher on knitting. After my obstetrician put me on bedrest, I cracked open this book and started reading. My first project was the Frenchie hat. The instructions were easy enough for me to follow and not too time consuming. The yarns recommended are beautiful, but expensive (it's a good thing that babies aren't too big!). The author does a good job on explaining how to knit. She also has a blog which has video for some of the more difficult techniques http://susanbanderson.blogspot.com [...] I am looking forward to receiving Itty Bitty Hats!

I was leery to purchase this book online as I could not peruse the patterns. I came across it at a local book store and immediately fell in love! I left the bookstore and went to the yarn store to get started! SO MANY great patterns. Sure to please anyone having a baby or making gifts for friends!

Martha Stewart has been my role model and continues to inspire me. Her magazines are worth subscribing to. They are filled with lots of ideas. she is a remarkable teacher.

I checked this book out at the library and had to keep renewing it! I used this for so many ideas for my wedding, and we spent less than 10k on the WHOLE thing by doing a lot of the things ourselves. Many people remarked it was the best wedding they've ever been to. I would have bought the book if I could have found it used, but it was too much new for my budget. Get this book! You won't regret it! Another great book for modern but charming wedding ideas is Jo Gartin's Weddings: An Inspiring Guide for the Stylish Bride. You can have a charming wedding without going into debt!

First, I would like to personally thank Martha (and her team) for the wonderful inspiration and pleasure that my family and I gleaned from this book. After having copied flower ideas and taken on board general tips given, on the big day we were bowled over with the amount of appreciation shown and praise given by guests. The results were truly wonderful.

I would like to point out that even though at first glance, it appears that a small fortune would have to be spent to achieve any of the ideas sold in this book, that is simply NOT the case. (In our case, where we took advice we saved quite a lot of money.)

In fact, the ideas that we realized turned out to be the cheapest yet offered the most 'wow factor'. Truly, Martha is a wizard at making the most out of the simplest things. She absolutely knows what she is talking about and I recommend this book highly.

This book is beautiful. The pictures are great and there are a ton of ideas in it. I am having an outdoor wedding in September/October and I could not have bought a better book. There are ideas about everything from the flowers to soaps to put in the bathroom during the reception. I am using quite a few of the ideas I found in the book. Love it Love it Love it

I wish I hadn't bought this book. I love the magazine so I was hoping that the book would be like a whole bunch of the magazines condensed into one huge helpful book. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

There weren't that many pictures with tips and most of the book seems to be a collection of comments on all the weddings Martha and her family and friends have ever had, from her grandmother to daughter to close friends. That was a little odd. The pictures were beautiful but not very helpful. There really weren't too many new ideas or good tips. I was very disappointed.

As long as you don't expect this book to be like a condensed version of the magazine, you might like it. I read the whole thing and put it on the shelf. Hopefully I can pass it on to someone who will appreciate it at some point.

This book is clearly presented. The book covers the basics, particularly for counterbalance, countermarch looms. It presents warping from back to front. Many helpful tips are given for basic weaving techniques. There are interesting Swedish style patterns and illustrations.

I learned to weave, many years ago, while living in Norway, gave it up for another number of years but have now had the time to return to this wonderful past time. Weaving in the Swedish Tradition book was a Bible for Weavers back then and I'm thrilled to see that it has been translated into English.
I highly recommend this book for both novice and experienced weavers!
Thanks,
Happy Weaver

This English translation of the Swedish version of this book makes it possible for more weavers to recreate awesome handwoven pieces. The directions are clear and the photography inspiring.

This book is a must for the library of most weaver's
especially those with counter march or counter balance looms.
Doug. 8th April 2008

I purchased this book for a very specific reason - to figure out how to make my 4 harness Glimakra into an 8 harness. It did that and so much more. If I were a beginning weaver, this book would be a "must have" in my library. As a more seasoned weaver, I feel much the same way. Every technique has not only a verbal description but good diagrams as well. It covers the basics with good hints for making things easier. It goes beyond the basics with very useful information on patterns and materials. Thank you to the translator for making this available to us in English. A great resource!

This book isn't just about making bows. It has a great section on making bow strings from primative materials or modern ones. Includes design of stings, types, features. Great to learn to make a string for that bow you just made.

This book is written by several experts and is essentially a compilation of individual articles, each of which is outstanding in the detail of the direction given. However, for a person seeking to make a particular bow, all 3 books of the series are needed and there is not an orderly progression. Just count on buying all three, reading them all, making decisions based on what you've learned, and then picking chapters to help you as you go along.

Great book this has all of the details of making a good bow and more. I am very pleased with its content and recomend all three volumes.

This volume is very explicative and not lost any details of his points. All the volumes makes a great help, and even a single powerfull source of information, to anyone who want to make the finest traditional bows, i recomend !

If someone need to know all regarding archery and bow-making has to buy all these 3 volumes. Here you can find a huge quantity of informations and suggestions regarding it.
The books are also improved with a lot of imagines.
Andreas from Italy

My children absolutley loved this product. They played for hours with it and want to get more supplies.

My 8-yr-old daughter loves this book and I enjoy it along with her. It's quick, it's easy, it's fun--and the resulting window clings are quite beautiful. My daughter quickly got the hang of marbleizing the colors and blending colors with a toothpick and has enjoyed experimenting with different techniques.

My only quibble is that this activity really eats up the paint since essentially you build a wall with black outlining paint then fill it in with the colored paint. Expecting to run through paint quickly from reading other reviews, I bought a refill set along with the book at the onset. Still, we used up all our black outlining paint (and much of the rest of the paint as well) in an afternoon, making maybe a dozen clings.

Turns out that we so like making window art and so enjoy the results that I'm regularly buying more paint. In fact, right now we're waiting for the fanatic pack to arrive along with a spare extra large bottle of the black outlining paint. (And I already wish I'd ordered more black than that!)

So, I'd highly recommend this product, but warn that you'll be buying lots and lots of extra paint, so you should probably order a refill or two while you're ordering the book. It's worth it, though, and I can't imagine anybody who wouldn't enjoy making window art so much that they wouldn't want more paint.

My daughter recieved this as a gift when she turned 4 or 5. It is a wonderful gift for ages 4 and up. At the younger ages it helps if an adult does the outline, but it is easy to use and unlike most art projects you can use it forever if you buy new paint. It is now our favorite birthday gift!

I bought this for my 7 year old daughter and it is absolutely my favorite craft product. It is easy to use and the colors, especially the 2 glittery colors, look great. After using it I went back and bought several more to give as birthday presents.

I bought this book along with the twizzle art book for my niece who is eleven. She couldn't put it down. She is somewhat of a tomboy and loves to craft. I was trying to find something other than jewelry or purse or bracelet type crafts. She loved both books very much.

This book is adorable! My daughters love the designs. I will say up front that the polish it comes with gets no stars. There's no way you could make those designs with that polish/brush. I used regular polish and sometimes regular acrylic paint from the craft store. I also used very small painting brushes and other small tools to get the right effect. The designs are pretty intricate. If you're crafty, the book is worth having to buy your own supplies to go with it, just to use for the ideas. Having bees, bears, dogs, ladybugs, etc... on your kids (and yourself!) is so cute! I usually did just the toes - it's too much work to get rubbed off as fast as it would on fingers. A good top coat will make it last much longer. If you're not crafty, it's probably not for you.

This book is so nice. In the stores it sells for about $19. I got it on Amazon for $6. The nail designs in this book are so pretty that I want to try them all. They are also easy to try and do yourself. I just used the book to paint hearts on my finger nails and using the directions they came out well. I love this book. It even comes with it's own nail polishes, even though I chose to use my own polish.

I purchased the product for my ten year old daughter. I thought that it would have a more thorough discussion on nail preparation than it did. I also thought that the nail polish would stay on longer than a day, it didn't. Even the amount of designs were very limited. I guess I am comparing to a nail book I saw once and haven't been able to replace. This book is very lacking in comparison even though the other one was a young adult book as well. Any way, if you have very young children who doesn't care about how long the polish stays on or how good it REALLY looks then this book and paints are okay otherwise steer clear.

My daughter, age 11, and I have so much fun with the ideas for designs. I gave it four starts because of the polish. We got nail art pens that work great and give fine detail.

I ordered the Klutz Nail Art from Amazon. I was very disappointed when 2 of the nail polishes were dried SOLID with the brush broken and the rest were very dry and a horrible consistency. Just get this at Barnes and Nobles. Not worth the disappointment.

WONDERFULLY INSPIRING BOOK - I just LOVED it - have studied all the examples and will use them to try my own carvings and paintings on Aussie gourds.
THANKS for writing the book.
Melody Haskins (Downunder, in Australia)

I baught and loved the hard cover of this book. When I saw the paperback version with the fish gourd on the cover (a picture of a
different equily beautiful gourd apears on the hard cover version) I thought yahoo, David Mcfarlane wrote a new book,Gourd art 2. Boy was I wrong. Its the same book, a very good book but the same. Rookie mistake, live and learn.

Beyond the Basics Gourd Art is an excellent book, with exquisite photos, and diverse projects presented by several different artists. A must-have for gourd enthusiasts of all levels!

Great Book even for beginners, easy to follow steps allows creative people to quickly hone their gourd crafting skills.

I really liked this book and found it one of the best for gourd artists. There are so many styles, examples, techniques, designs and suggestions.

It is fabulous for the beginner through the expert. A definite book for your collection.