Projects Books

This book was given to me by someone who knows that we have a vintage sailboat that responds well to TLC and who also knows that I like knots. It is an excellent book: beautiful enough for the coffee-table, and funny enough to read just for the author's anecdotes.

But this is a craft book. It describes 47 projects that can turn a ship into a gallery of engaging personalized details. It also turns those inevitable hours spent on boat maintenance into time that is creative, fun and even rewarding (though I confess, my boat doesn't seem to come out looking quite like the author's).

The best part is the knots - all those complex decorative rope puzzles that so many of us have struggled to recreate are here, and the diagrams and instructions are so clear they actually work!!

This is definitely not a book a yachting family will stow and forget, it earns its keep year `round. Great resource, great gift. Strong recommendation -- to give, to get, or to put on your list for Christmas.

I have just finished reading Linda Buckingham's wonderful new book on ideas and projects for on board boat folks. What a great book! I found not only several great ideas that I can hardly wait to do on board for our own boat but also many, many slick craft ideas for gifts appropriate for anyone living on or near the water. These ideas (not limited to us seafarers) are not the usual crafty dust collectors but are professional looking, useful projects, easy to do with readily available materials. Even if you live nowhere near the water this book is a must if you like to craft quality items. Congratulations to Linda Buckingham on what I'm sure will be a very successful book.

What a unique approach to the stories of the Bible!
One can feel the quality of the leaves, the sharpness of the
of the end of Autumn, the end of Paradise.
The human condition is exemplified in all the paintings; one can relate these situations to our own lives.

Many readers may be surprised and thrilled to see this wondrous collection of paintings which illustrate stories from the old testament in relation to contemporary events. The artist's accompanying explanatory texts are fascinating to me.

A book to be cherished for its thoughtful insights into the origins and history of religious beliefs.

The Big Book of Beautiful Beads has pages and pages of projects and nearly everyone can find something they love in this book. It is actually 4 previously published books in one: Quick and Easy Beaded Jewelry, Beaded Adornment, The Complete Guide to Beading Techniques, and French-Beaded Flowers: New Millennium Collection. So, if you are like myself and love bead books, buying this giant book rather than each separately will save a lot of money. I was most interested in the fourth book, beaded flowers, but after looking through this book I have found lots of projects that I would really like to try. The first three books have lots of stringing and weaving and for those who like to design their own woven jewerly or decorate their home, there are a few pages of graph paper to copy for loom weaving, brick and peyote stitch, herringbone graph, 5 bead netting, right angle weave, etc.

This book is actually a compillation of four books, as listed in the description, and among the four of them, you're sure to find the technique you're looking for.

The Complete Guide to Beading Techniques is probably the most comprehensive reference in the book. It includes instructions on various forms of beadweaving (peyote, brick, herringbone, netting, right-angle weave); bead embroidery; bead tetting, knitting, and crochet; wirework; and stringing. A few patterns are included for each technique, including a little sample. There are no instructions on the basics of crochet, knitting, or tatting, but those can be found elsewhere. The directions are clearly illustrated, and it's easy to figure out each technique. The book also includes invaluable information on various beading supplies, as well as beading tips. My biggest complaint is that there were many beautiful-looking beaded items in the book, but no directions to make them!

Quick & Easy Beaded Jewelry was really not my taste, but does provide beginners with some projects to get their feet wet. Personally, I found the pieces in there to be sloppy-looking, but they do teach you the basics.

Beaded Adornment is also not really my taste, but the pieces sure are stunning. This book deals mostly with beading cabochons, fringeing, and peyote/brick weaving.

French-Beaded Flowers: New Millennium Collection is a wonderful collection of instructions for making beaded flowers. They look gorgeous, and the directions seem pretty clear.

Overall, this is a GREAT volume, especially at its price. You really won't need another reference book if you have this one.

This is by far the best nature project book I have seen. Visually, it is very appealing--beautifully organized, with full color photos. The lessons are clearly presented, and differences between geographic regions are noted, making this book relevant for any part of the country. It is a very hands-on approach to learning about nature, which is so often absent these days. While it is geared toward activities for younger children, I found it to be a very inspiring book--made me want to walk out the door and start exploring NOW.

This is the best hands on science book I have seen yet. Great for kids to go out on their own or for parents to do with their kids as family outings and such. Has field trip ideas for each topic. Very highly recommended.

They help make them, they enjoy them, they learn from them. Kids cooperating on the design and display makes these ideas winners for year after year of fun teaching.

If you teach, you have bulletin boards. That's a given. And there are many books that can give you ideas for displays. But this book gives the KIDS ideas for making their own bulletin boards with your help. It's called a cooperative approach to bulletin boards, and I love it.

Big-Block Magic is recently published, 2006, and comes at a great time. Just when my creative thoughts were wondering what to do for lap and king sized quilts, Ms. Johnson-Srebro provides the answer. This book gives seven patterns and each pattern has three sizes provided therein - lap, wall and queen/king sized!

Along with the "how to read" the charts section, each quilt pattern has a "No-Fail" tip with it. The Basics section is a good review for the long-time quilter or a good place to start for the newbie. In this section, there are also "No-fail" tips along with "My Favorite Things". I love this as you never have too many tips and even if you new the tip, it may present a slightly different approach and give you a new idea. And once you have created your lap, wall or queen/king quilt, each pattern has two quilting designs for you to give your quilt the final touch.

Each pattern has easy to follow graphics of each step needed to create the quilt. It is all color-coordinated--the yardage and cutting charts to the actual sewing steps so you know exactly what piece goes where.

There is even a pillowcase pattern in standard, queen and king and an accent pillow pattern with NO ZIPPER NEEDED to provide your quilt a coordinated extra. This is a very simple but elegant accent pillow and one that everyone should try at least one. Who knows? You may want to make several more once you see how easy it is to make accent pillows.

The final pages have a photo gallery and the very last page is a resource listing and information about the stencils. You get all of this for a very reasonable price. This is one book that should be in every quilter's collection.

The instructions are very easy to follow and she has included great tips to help make your quilts look sharp. The patterns are very attractive and up-to-date!

As a Project Manager and Program Manager from a large organization, I've seen success and failure and often wondered why some PMs are always successful while others are not. Blue Sky Project Management outlines the successful path. The techniques to manage risk, innovation and communication in the book are invaluable to PMs and often separate success from failure. I'd recommend this book to professionals who are interested in the intangible components of successful projects.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R8IMDKMPEY84S Learn how Blue Sky Project Management is different than traditional project management methodologies.

I really enjoyed the book. It is concise with practical advice on creating new habits and organizing your business life and gear it up for success, and not just spin your wheels or cower from difficult situations. I learned how to be proactive in business situations and not just eek by. You can read this book in a short amount of time and keep it on hand for reference - or even get all managers in your company to read it.

Become the type of leader with meaning. Purpose. Intention.

... And poise.

How? Start by reading this book and you will be moved - it is another sharp and poignant work from savvy businesswoman Jane Schulte. Similar to the book WORK SMART, Not Hard!, BOLD Leadership points toward Schulte's proclivity for upbeat and distinctive concepts.

The crisp and concise language of the book allows for a quick and pleasurable read. My favorite chapter was Chapter Three: Defining Success. Schulte shares with readers the importance of defining success for yourself and not living from someone else's definition. She also writes in this chapter that it is possible (and necessary) to find joy at work and that we should strive to create our jobs into something we want to do - no matter what your job is! Chapter Four: What's Your Mission? is also a great chapter on choosing how you will live each day, which is a concept that can really change your life.

This special book helps you define yourself as a leader and offers smart suggestions on how to propel your business toward success. I definitely recommend it!

I first encountered this book in the library and checked it out so many times that I finally gave in and bought my own copy. I've made gifts using the instructions and patterns in this book, and found that the guidelines and levels of difficulty ratings are dead accurate. I've used this book as a springboard to go further into this craft.

One word of advice - I have found origami paper the best suited paper for most of these projects. Regular silhouette paper is hard to come by and expensive. Construction paper is much too thick, hard to cut, and usually not acid-free.

This is a very nice first book for someone who thinks they might be interested in paper cutting. It reviews different countries approaches to paper cutting. It contains patterns and directions for lots of different projects. Best of all, it has things simple enough to convince you to try the craft out while at the same time including enough complex, exciting projects to fire your imagination. The Polish style was particularly appealing to me and I've ordered 2 books on that type of cutting.

This is a must have resource for any teacher. The projects are easy to follow and extremely useful in the classroom. These projects have brought the life back into my classroom as well as helping to keep my students organized and engaged. Each project has a picture in the book to show you what the finished project should look like. I found this very helpful. The materials you need for the projects are very reasonable to purchase or can be gotten for free from local vendors. Not only are these great for the curriculum but they are also "green" in that these clever teachers have used recycled cd cases, bags, etc. to make these wonderful additions to your classroom. I highly recommend this book for all teachers whether they have just started teaching or are veterans. The children love the projects and you will too. I hope they write many more books to keep teachers and students stimulated.

One of the most truly useful books to come along in a long time. This book needs to be in the hands of every elementary teacher. The ideas are useful, practical and easy to implement. Once more, all of the suggestions that I have used in both my elementary class and my masters college classes have been met with success. They show ways to bring the joy back into learning in this test concious atmosphere. As adjunct faculty to Nova Southeastren University in Ft. Lauderdale, I recommend this book to all of my college students as a source they must have. It is always wonderful to see a book by real teachers for teachers. My thanks to them for sharing some of their "tricks of the trade" that make them such successful teachers. Education needs more like them.