Projects Books

This book was invaluable in our bathroom project. First it gave us the confidence to get started, and then it answered all our questions during the project. With the aid of this book we ripped our bathroom out to the studs, and put in a completely new bathroom. The book covers materials, techniques, helpful hints, and cleanup. Just as an example, after we got the tile off the walls and were faced with a 300lb cast iron tub, we checked the book and found that we could smash the tub into pieces with a sledgehammer for easy removal. Problem solved.

Now we're thinking about doing the kitchen.

An excellent book for beginners. Like Nikitas's other books, I found this one thorough, and clearly written. The projects are laid out just in the right order for an on-again-off-again home improvement dude like me to follow. I tried a mortar bed for the first time and it came out amazingly well: this goes in my reference library.

Cheryl Carter New and James Aaron Quick have put together a complete collection of MUST HAVE books for the Grant Seeker. Getting the Grant funded is just part of the process, "The Grant Winner's Toolkit" walks you through the "Now What?" phase of grant seeking. I never put Cheryl and James's books back on the shelf, they are ALWAYS on my desk, where I can easily reach for them...they are the BEST!

Too many grant seekers think that winning a grant is a job well done. The reality is that winning the grant is only a first step in a long process. This book has all the information anyone needs to effectively manage their grant programs. The text is well written and easy to read and follow. The examples and sample documents are worth their weight in gold! I would highly recommend this book to begining grant writers who have never had the opportuntiy to work on a grant project. This book will help you avoid the pitfalls many of us had to discover the hard way.

Grizzly Country is a collection of stories of the first hand experiences of a man who lived his entire life in the wilderness with the great bears. It is a realistic view of the grizzly as he really is, not a blood and guts story of how "It's us or them" nor is it a highly emotional story about the plight of the bears, but rather a realistic view of the bear and of his past and future.

Andy Russell is a man who knows the true character of the bear and has a realistic understanding of the dangers and joys of living in bear country. This book is entertaining, very informative and at many times very humorous. The format is wonderful, it is like sitting on the porch and listening to the tales of an old man's lifetime of adventures and it's never dull or boring. From his childhood to his experiences as a hunting guide and wildlife photographer in bear country, you will sense that this is a man who knows what he's talking about.

Whether you are a hunter, an environmentalist or just a lover of the outdoors this is certain to be a wonderful addition to your collection.

Andy Russell grew up in grizzly country, married a young woman who had also grown up in grizzly, and raised a family in grizzly country. The stories are the real thing, with all the wonder and humor that comes from lifetimes of experience with wildlife. This book, with Frank Duqesne's NO ROOM FOR BEARS, and Enos Mills' THE GRIZZLY, is a classic that belongs on the shelf of everyone interested in the grizzly and its future in North America.

Andy Russell's Grizzly Country blends a rich history of concern for this bear with some gentle and telling words to the wise. He even got ahead of the scientists in some cases. For instance, biologists used to insist that the bears living on the coast of Alaska were not the same species as the bears living inland. Russell wryly wrote how strange it was to see a bear moving up one side of a mountain, and become another species just by crossing the ridge and moving inland, down the other side of the mountain.

Russell saw grizzlies as a child, and raised his kids around the bears. He has great stories to tell, stories of humor, and depth. This is a very fine book, cover to cover.

As a longtime ceramic art instructor working with children of all ages, this is a fun book to refer to and I've added it to my list of books to tell the parents about with many students wanting to continue to work at home on projects. It's also a good book for adult beginning ceramic crafters. You just need an electric kiln or access to one. I really enjoyed the book!

I love this book and highly recommend it. It could help craft or school teachers, studio owners or adults who want to work in clay. There are great step by step photographs allowing you to make delightful projects in minutes. Handmade Clay Crafts is written for the person who likes to make crafts not the serious potter unless they want to have fun with clay. I've make most of the projects in the book and I am planning to sell them craft fairs. The author's second book is a soft cover version of the first book with almost the exact information in both so buy one or the other, not both.

Being a Latina artist, I was very impressed at the uniqueness of these projects. Each one is a twist on a traditional method. They are easy to read and follow and offer a bit of history about where they came from. If I had any complaint it would be that I didn't have time to finish all the projects in one weekend! That's a good thing though, because now I can stay busy for quite a while ;-)

This book takes me back to the time I spent in Mexico a few years ago. It features a variety of decorative home accessory projects for people with different skills from sewing to woodworking. I love the vibrant colors and variety of designs offered here. The book is in full-color and there are step-by-step instructions, accompanied by photos, for each of the 20 projects. Conveniently there are templates and a resource list in back.

Some of my favorite projects include brightly colored circular woven table mats, a copper wire fruit basket, a decorative hot chocolate whisk, cactus pots, a tin wall border, beautiful cut paper candles, an Aztec floor runner and a mosaic heart and spiral pattern table top.

Three projects requiring basic sewing skills and a sewing machine are a cross-stitch table cloth (cross-stitches are painted), appliqued bath towels and drawn-thread curtain. Two others including pillowcases decorated with roses and a butterfly blanket require basic embroidery skill. If you wish to make a lime waxed shelf or a beautiful suede covered stool you will also need basic woodworking skills and power tools such as a jigsaw and an electric drill.

These projects require a little time and effort but none of them are too difficult and the instructions are great. They will make some spectacular and unique accent pieces for your home.

As a high school special ed teacher, I continually hear students ask, "Why do I need to learn this?" Hands-On Math Projects has great, practical, and FUN ideas that show real-life applications to ways math can be used in both regular and special needs classrooms. Book includes lots of great project ideas and printables to go along with them.

The Projects in this book help stretch the math skills of children and make them practical at the same time. The children have fun learning and seeing math skilss applied in everyday situations.

As a student of naturalhorsemanship I can't say enough good things about this book. Kate has created a wonderful blend of story and infomation. Books on NHS can be difficult to read and absorb. They also tend not to give a sense of the time that can be involved along the way. Of elements like learning your timing and feel, and how that plays into the learning process...for the trainer and the horse. Kate provides a wonderful narative along with the information that gives others interested in this approach a sense of the time involved. Not that it takes a LONG time, but when you see an experienced horseman get through to a horse in a few hours... and it takes you a few weeks, that can be discouraging ... you see in Kates story it does take some time..it does for EVERYONE that adopts this approach to working with horses... and sometimes it cold out, and sometimes its raining and you are wet to the skin... and that you're there for as long as it takes... and when you look back in a few months to see how far you and your horses have come, thats when you see the results and the progress in both of you...

This approach works for all horses, all owners/trainers and you don't have to be 'handy' with a rope when you start.. you just have to have the conviction to keep going out there and trying again.. and again.. until it starts to come together...

A really good read for those curious about the 'horse whisperer' tactics to find out whats really happening and that its not magic, its basic communication...

Thank you so much Kate for documenting your experience.

I have read this book from cover to cover 4 times now and keep going back for reference. An invaluable training aid for those of us with youngsters and of course anyone interested in Natural Horsemanship looking to broaden your understanding of the equine mind. The book is brilliant and congratulations to the aurthor it has been a fantastic tool in the training of my horses.

Edward Zigler and Susan Muenchow's "Head Start," should be required reading for professionals in quality Early Childhood Development programs, policy-makers, public school educators and administrators, and civic minded citizens of all walks of life. The book is a wonderful telling of the grassroots movement of Head Start and how it gained public support at the highest levels of the government. The beautiful thing about the book is it is a first-hand account told from one of the program designers, Ed Zigler who has interacted with each administration and congress since 1965 in shepherding the program to its crucial and critical place serving society today.

The only critique of the book is the writing style can sometimes come across as slightly dry so it's more of a study instead of a page turner. But the reading effort is worth the study, since the book tells why Head Start has become a model for public education in its comprehensive family-centered approach to the education of children and parents. The last 40-odd pages are alone worth the price of the book. In chapter 10, "Head Start: The Next Generation," Zigler gives a prescient telling of where Head Start stands today and levels prescriptive recommendations towards where Head Start should go from here.

These are words from one of the founders and should be heeded as smart public policy, because so much Zigler has touched in the program has turned to gold, enriched the quality of life of low-income children and by such benefiting society at large. Do not miss reading this book. It should be required reading to work in a Head Start program across the nation.
--MMW

This book is a first-hand account of the history of Head Start. It's concise, fair, balanced, well-voiced and full of information. Also, it opened my eyes to the truly revolutionary nature of Head Start. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in public policy, education, civil rights, the 60's, etc.

20 innovative projects with a modern flair, using traditional embroidery stitches. Two projects use a sewing machine to layer thread using free motion stitching inside an outline. Nice technique that can be adapted to many ideas.
I enjoy learning new hand embroidery stitches, so I'm happy to report that there are nice diagrams and instructions for 38 different stitches. The first project is a stitch reference and needle storage book. That'll be nice to have once you've given the cute project away and can't remember what you did...

Never thought of making your own thimbles? Their Korean-inspired fabric and leather thimbles are colorfully embroidered, and look like they'd work up pretty quick. Another quick project is the hair ties. Shapes are stitched on a scrap of cotton and put on cover buttons attached to hair elastics.

All of the projects in this book are small items and probably finish quickly, except for the purse and mittens, since those items are handmade. The other projects are embellishments added to pre-made items - A baby bib stitched with tiny insect designs, an apron decorated with kitchen utensil outlines and measurement conversions.

Favorite projects - Happy Birthday stitched velvet ribbons, embroidered map journal cover and the chicken napkin ring. This is a great book for your craft library. Learn lots of stitches while making quick modern designs.

The book is nicely designed, with many color photos, illustrations and interesting info in sidebar sections. The first chapter discusses notions and materials thoroughly. A beginner could learn embroidery with this book, while most any stitcher will enjoy the stitches and projects.

Twenty modern projects use thread embellishments to turn an accessory into something hip and eye-catching, from hair ties and purses to ordinary one-color mittens and picture frames. Geared to the beginning stitcher, chapters in Hip To Stitch: 20 Contemporary Projects Embellished With Thread provide easy steps, many ideas, and clear pictorial examples of stitches to help new embroiderers and sewers get a feel for different techniques.

This is a very useful book for anyone who has a role in a historic preservation project. It's the only book I've seen that looks at the whole project from feasibility and financing to contracts and construction.

Not all of this book is riveting reading, but all of it is necessary to understanding what a large-scale preservation project might entail.

The authors have vast experience in some of the biggest and most important (e.g. the Statue of Liberty) preservation projects undertaken in recent times.

The only real flaw I noticed was in the discussion of using historic preservation tax credits: No mention was made of syndicating -- a process akin to selling -- tax credits so that nonprofits can take advantage of them.

The American construction industry has been waiting for this book for a long time. Its practical information can make this type of work a usual business practice, with profit for practitioners and retention of the public's cultural heritage. It can be done on time, on budget and still sensitive to original design and fabric, if the team has a well-rounded education.