Arts and Crafts Books

EXPRESSIONS OF INNOCENCE AND ELOQUENCE: SELECTIONs From the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana was given as a gift. Recepient was delighted. Especially interesting was how Jane Katcher began her collection and her descriptions of the treasures.

I read the book cover to cover immediately and was totally engaged. To miss the beauty and joy in these examples of folk art is impossible.

The book is a delight to look at but more importantly it is an essential reference catalogue of the Katcher collection.

A beautiful book for the Folk Art enthusiast! Photography is fantastic and includes so many items that have not been published before. Wonderful!

Well produced book with excellent photography. The essays by noted folk art experts was a great concept however they were primarily geared towards historical context and overall presentation of photographed works in the book.

A better format would have been these same individuals critiquing the relative merits of the pieces -- their strengths and their weaknesses, thus defining clearer for the reader how to assess the overall merits and quality of differing pieces within a sub-group -- in effect, their eyes educating the reader in the details and nuances of good folk art.

I am very pleased with this book and I think it gives a load of information for a very reasonable price.

The book (together with vol.2) is overfilled with all kinds of garments you can imagine and for each sort of garment there are always many styles.

It is not directly a drafting book, it does not tell you how to draft your own bodice etc. by using your measurements, but the method of using the patterns and the enlarging rulers is very close to that and, as I think, it might produce a very good substitution for a custom-drafted dress with saving a lot of your time and being very simple to do. It is something between custom drafting and pre-sized patterns, because you create the garments by using your bust and back length measurement, which are the two most important measurements for making a garment suited to your proportions and it will probably need only little easy modifications like adding/substracting from waist and hip width and maybe some changes for the front length. But all possible and most frequent modifications are very well explained in the book.

It is all written in such a way that even with no or little knowledge of drafting, you'll be able to produce a probably very well fitted garments.

For a drafting professional, it's a good help when doing things like skirts, especially draped overskirts and all garments creating a shape or silhouette that is hard to figure out. Even if you won't use the patterns for enlarging and draft the things yourself, you can very well keep to the shape of the patterns as you can see, unlike in so many pattern books, NUMBERS.

I think this book has the best ratio of the price and the information given of all costume book I've come through. It's a pity that there are no such books for earlier periods:-(

This is a great book for seamstresses with some experience(I think it would be too hard for beginners.It would be good if you have some comprehenesion on sizing(drafting patterns yourself for example)but that isn't even necessary.I think it would be easier though:)

Frances Grimble gives clear instructions for changing patterns to size and even to different body shapes(large bust, short back etc.
You do need to take some time for this, but well, you'll have an authentic pattern in your hands, how great is that?;)And there are so many in this book! I was having a very hard time finding real historical patterns in The Netherlands(so far found one french journal from 1902)and I feel like a kid in a candystore now.:)I <3 this book already.

You can make a complete outfit, from undergarments to overgarments.

If you have some sewing experience and you love this period it is really a great book!



Amazon's service is excellent too. It didn't take very long for the item to arrive(from US to the Netherlands)(with one step faster shipping, expidited?)it was even a lot faster then the estimated arrival time.

This book is wonderful. I believe I own every book Frances Grimble has written and anxiously await more. The variety of patterns is amazing and allows the experienced sewer to create their own designs from various components, like sleeves and collars. This sure beats trying to decipher the patterns in an original 1890's issue of Harpers!

This book contains patterns for the following:
corsets, hoopskirts and bustles (some)
underclothing and negligee wear (quite a few)
day and evening skirts (only about four)
day bodices (quite a few)
evening bodices (some)
overskirts (some)
polonaises (some)
day dresses (quite a few)

some = around ten
quite a few = over 20

I would recommend this book for anyone who likes victorian costuming. It not only works as a pattern book, but as a source book, having lots of pictures you can use for reference. Even if you just look through it, it really can help you understand the styles of that era.

The pictures and descriptions within the book are an excellent reference if you are researching and intending on recreating one of these beautiful designs. Advanced knowledge of sewing skills is a must for those who wish to recreate these (definantly not for the novice sewer). Frances Grimble, you've done it again. Please keep them coming. I will buy every book you put out.

This is the greatest book. I would highly recommend it to whomever wants an easy way to make felted items. Very easy to follow. Great ideas!!

I did order and receive Felt It! Stitch It! Fabulous!: Creative Wearables from Flea Market Finds and it is filled with fun and innovative ideas that I wish I had thought of. When you use the flea market wools you will get an idea on how wools felt into such a tightly woven fabric that you can treat it like regular material and use regular sewing patterns when cutting out the pieces to be sewn together. Think of the endless possibilities for new sources of exquisite materials. In the above pictures you can see a few of the fun projects presented in this book. We should have everyone we know looking for used wools. What an outstanding book for all of us felters and seamstresses. I know what I will be doing in the near future with my old wools. Katheryn shows you how to dye the wools, felt and block the wools and has all the patterns and instructions for every project in this wonderful book. There are so many projects in this book that we can do with our children too.

Katheryn Introduction in the book: My eureka moment came as I was standing heartbroken in the laundry room. It was a scene you can probably relate to: a favorite wool sweater, a busy day, a large wash load, and...out came something fit for a teddy bear. I "was miserable until it suddenly occurred to me that I was holding a lovely piece of felted fabric. Soft, warm material I could cut up and stitch into something new. Within days, I was back in the laundry room purposely shrinking dozens of thrift store wool sweaters and then turning their durable felted fabrics into zillions of great projects.What I'd stumbled upon was a fabulous way to recycle old knits into smart, stylish wearable's and accessories. With a few unloved wool sweaters, a washer and dryer, and some basic sewing skills, you, too, can start with ready-made knits and end up "with hats, wraps, purses, and more, all created with a loving, handcrafted touch. The trick is in the magic of felting. Because felted knits don't unravel, they can be cut into any shape and sewn easily by hand or machine. And felted knits are so warm and soft that they're wonderfully touchable and perfect for countless projects.Felted knits are very popular now, but the conventional way to make a felted item, such as a purse, is to knit a very large loose one and shrink it. This tends to be both time-consuming and (since wool yarn can be pricey) expensive. The approach I'll teach you is easy on the piggy bank, as it relies on back-of-the-closet or thrift store finds, and it's fast. If you're like me, you love the look of handcrafted knits and you take great pleasure in giving gifts you've created yourself rather than bought at the mall. But even if you have the knitting skills required, the magic ingredient that knitting requires, time, and can be elusive. Every project in this book has that "hand-knit-with-love" look but can be completed in one afternoon.Take a look at the Basics chapter first, and you'll learn how to do on purpose what you once did by accident (shrink sweaters). I'll show you how to cut the new fabric up into perfect fabric pieces, and we'll take a quick look at the very simple sewing skills you'll need to complete the projects in the book. All of the projects can be sewn by hand, though in many instances you can use a sewing machine for even more time-saving power. Then, I'll introduce you to ways to enhance your creations with needle felting and powdered drink-mix dyeing. I have lots of tips and tricks I've learned from years as a designer and fabric artist to share with you. And if you do knit, I'll show you how to combine knitting with fast felting to add an exciting new dimension to your work.The 39 projects in this book range from a simple flower to embellish a favorite hat to a shoulder pack I've carried on trails and in trendy restaurants. Because you'll be finding your own knits to shrink, cut, and stitch, your creations will automatically be unique. And in no time you'll be able to take what you've learned here and dream up your own fabulous felted treasures.Hurry, what are you waiting for? Go over to Amazon and pick up this beautiful hard covered book at a good price and while you are there get the Nordic Felted knits, next on my review list and this way you will get the free shipping with your twenty five dollar purchase.

Very clever ideas for using old wool garments that are felted in the washing machine. The projects are upscale style wise and not hokey or crafty. The photos are beautiful. I was inspired by what I read and saw here. I would certainly reccomend this book for anyone interested in this process.

For a couple of years, I've been making felted articles from thrift store sweaters, based on limited information available in the knitting mags. Finally, a book on this unlimited subject has been published, providing much needed guidance and creative inspiration. Felt It starts with the basics, where to find inexpensive feltable garments and then how to shrink them (the felting process). Actually cutting into one of these sweaters is daunting, but the section on cutting and piecing calms that apprehension. With easy to follow instructions and patterns for 39 projects, ranging from delicate flowers to Christmas stockings to sturdy backpacks, this book can keep the felter busy for months if not longer. A section on needlefelting (by hand and by sewing machine) is included. Felt It! Stitch It! is a Fabulous! resource.

Reading and enjoying the photos of finished projects has inspired me to make use of my wool sweaters that are outdated, moth damaged, and shrunk when mixed accidentally with normal laundry. I enjoy recycling old into new, useful items. With the holidays fast approaching, there are many great ideas for gifts.

This was the 4th book in series of high quality and comprehensive books about doll making. I finally got around to buying the last one. I highly recommend getting these books before there are no more. The other three are Fantastic Figures, Anatomy of a Doll and Designing the Doll. Susanna was a great doll artist and long time member of NIADA. She was active with her local UFDC and other doll activities. She was a successful teacher and a supporter of promoting all things creative with doll art. She encouraged and gave inspiration to all learning to make original dolls and those that are successful doll artists. She was a prolific contributor to articles in many doll magazines. She was proficient in a variety of media, including polymer clay, paperclay, and cloth. This particular book features many well known doll artists work along with her own. This book has a large variety of styles and techniques depicted. Many of the doll artists were happy to support and show their work in her books because they also believed in promoting original doll art and also recognized the fact that many doll artists can use the same type of technique but each doll will be different in some way. Most doll artists share the fundamental belief that creativity in the hands is the window to the soul, mind and imagination. No two are alike! Mine will be different then yours! If you have never seen a doll challenge, do a search on line, you will be amazed. They may feature one or two doll patterns, a set of rules and parameters, but look at how many different and wonderful creative interpretations are produced! Susanna has done the doll artist world a great favor by publishing so may techniques and styles in her books. Making these public they helped discourage any one artist claiming a certain technique all to them selves or hopefully trying to patent a technique. Her books have wonderful details, tips, examples and fantastic photos. Very high quality, a joy to have and worthy to be in any collector or doll artist's library. This book has a nice index of the artists featured in it along with a contact list. These are "forever keep books"! You will not be disappointed. I was ecstatic reading mine and I very much enjoyed viewing my "Doll Buddies" work! Susanna was a top notch award winning artist, her book "Anatomy of the Doll" was honored by the Scientific American magazine as "Best Technical Book for Youth" in 1997. She also received the award for "Best Dollmaker" of the year for teaching and publication from the National Association of Cloth Doll Makers in 1995. Susanna will be ever so missed and we were all sad to see cancer take such a wonderful person from our doll world. Her legacy of creativity and inspiration will continue to encourage us all. Susanna Oroyan 1942 - 2007.

Heavily illustrated with excellent diagrams and color photos, this book is not only for anyone learning the art of art-doll making but will also appeal to anyone who enjoys seeing what the creative, human imagination can devise. Just a joy to read from cover to cover and the beautiful photos will provide inspiration for many different types of artist.
Susanna Oroyan gives us the best contemporary information available from the art doll world while also providing the historical bones of costume design.

Susan Oroyan has done an excellent work. I bought both of her books "Designing the Doll" and "Finishing the Figure" If you own one of the books, you have to own the other one, they go together. The books have a great deal of information and details on doll making. The book is good for beginners or professional doll makers.You will love it.

This is the fourth book I own of Susanna Oroyan's and each one is an absolute must for the libraries of serious dollmakers. This book goes into depth about accessorizing dolls and has great illustrations for making shoes, for fitting costumes to dolls, for creating doll-sized animals, etc. It's fantastic and very easy to follow. The best part of Susanna Oroyan's books are the photographs of dolls by a wide variety of artists. It's like going to a museum. Someday I hope that my dolls are pictured in one of her books. That's a definite goal to work towards! And with her books in my library, I feel I have a great teacher to help get me there!

I just picked this book up in a local bookstore and immediately got the itch to pick up some clay. I did not have time to read much, the photographs were what enthralled me. Oroyan picked some fine dolls to illustrate her book and it offers a wealth of imagination to the doll artist. The detail in some of the cosuming is fabulous and the characters of some of the dolls unforgetable!

Excellent book for a beginner. A step by step approach is taken and each step gives you a small project to work on. Overall, this is one of the best books that I was able to follow and learn the beginning steps of enamelling on my own.

this was a very good book for learning enamelling techniques. The book includes good pictures and advices. In Finland we have nothing like that in Finnish language so first we have to learn english and then try to translate all those ways to enamel. There are so many amazing books for jewellery workers in english and this was one of them.

It is everything I need to know about enamaling. I found this book to be extremely helpful in buying products to start enameling. Iis has great pictures and explanations. Good projects. I learned alot from this book before I took my first class.

Linda

This is a very good starting book to answer questions about what you need to know and have and also do to get started in enamel. This will be a reference book you will keep if you choose to continue in the craft. This book on the craft of enameling. Is up to her other works in the jewelry/metal art fields. It starts out to ground the newbie in the basics. The publisher also chimes in with the standard warnings about materials and equipment. My only warning is if you have no uncommon sense, please take up something else. She covers intro to enameling, equipment and materials and working with enamels. Moving on to seven easy type projects that you can make changes to if they do not suit you. All without loosing any of the instruction. Then moves on to some more techniques. Following up with seven more projects. Ending with a couple of pages of troubleshooting info which a lot of craft books lack. A glossary and the resource guides.
The pictures are clear, crisp and in color. With only enough work table shown for balance. They are of a size that gives a good visual of the descriptions along with the numbers on both. The gallery pages are dispersed thru the book. With an assortment of Jinks and other artists work. I own it I am planning on keeping it.

Great book, has just the amount of instructions to help you get started.

This book is a gem with exciting stories and/or experiments with elements. Written in a simple manner with cartoon illustrations, parents and teachers should have fun sharing this with children and everyone will learn some chemistry!

When my son's third-grade teacher said the students could get extra credit for doing science experiments in front of the class, I began a search for a great book that would not only give simple, interesting experiments, but that would provide information about the concepts behind the projects. This book fit the bill perfectly! We've done two or three of these in front of the class already -- the kids were interested, and my son was able to convey some interesting scientific principles. Great for teachers, home schoolers, or parents intent on getting their kids extra credit. :)

If you teach the elements and/or the periodic table to elementary students and want to make them come alive, this book is a definite must have. It is chock full of easy to prepare investigations as well as "element essentials" thumbnail sketches of various elements. Most materials are ones you have on hand either at home or school. Without a doubt, it is the best elementary chemistry book I have ever seen.

I bought this for my 3rd and 4th grade homeschooled children. There are no concepts that make the Periodic Table seem dull or uninteresting in this book. Instead, it uses simple language for the elementary aged - middle school student, nice black and white drawings, and silly rhymes to make it seem so understandable and fascinating. You'll find it loaded with facts that interest children to help them draw it all together. The idea my kids are left with is that science is "so cool!" Many experiments, using everyday items, are throughout the book. This enhances the fun and learning. Science should be interesting and not boring. This book exceeded my expectations. I'm sure we'll continue to use this book for several years.

Calling all home educators! Here is a way to teach the periodic
table to your children using witty text, amusing illustrations, and
fascinating do-at-home experiments. Dr. Brandolini really helps
young and old alike to understand the science found in our everyday lives
through this intriguing book. This is one of those books that your kids will WANT to pull down from the home library shelves to enjoy.

This book is just what the title says - the author uses some humor and information is aimed toward a casual collector rather than a scientist or a super-rich collector. Besides the usual information about the make-up of a gemstone, there is also comparisons of the gem if it is found in more than one location, a bit of history of the discovery of a gemstone, and even a bit of information about the beliefs in the health benefits of some stones. It is not absolutely a complete guide, but more than just an overview of the main gems such as diamonds, sapphires, etc. The photos are very good, although not all are labeled.

I very much enjoyed this book mostly because it is written in plain ordinary English for the average person. With all the internet shopping that is now available, it is advisable to know something about the various gems so you know what you're getting.
This book fills the bill perfectly!

This man knows his gems and he has great stories behind each piece. He has great ways of romancing the stones like no one else. I get so excited hearing the little background stories he tells about each gem and the history behind the locations they come from. A great book by a renowned expert of gemology. I highly recommend this book.

I can't begin to say how wonderful this book is. Whether you are a layman or a professional, this is THE book to turn to. Not only is it highly informative, but it is written so well that you actually WANT to read it. Dan's sense of humor and his love for gems shines here. I wouldn't trade this book for anything.

This book is very insightful. If you want to know anything about gems - how to care for them, where they come from, etc. - this book is a must. Highly recommended!

This is a good book for someone who is just beginning to be interested in beading. It starts with the types of seed beads. Who knew that there were so many!? It clearly explains the basic materials and even has some patterns. Right now I'm gathering the beads to make the bracelet on the cover. I'm glad that I bought it.

The title of this book should really be "Getting Started AND Continuing with Seed Beads!" The book has everything a beginning beader needs to not only get started, but to successfully complete the projects. I'm NOT a beginning beader but I've still found many of the projects to be ones I want to make--and I have.

Directions are terrific; diagrams are terrific, and the projects are things you'll actually want to do (well, maybe not the sequined Easter eggs, but hey...that's SO minor and just a matter of personal taste!)

The instructions on all the various beading techniques are some of the best I've seen. Wish I'd have had them when *I* started! Life would have been SO much easier!

So YES, this is a "gotta have" book! It'll also make a great gift for your favorite beader!

This book is as the title suggests. It is a book for people getting started. If you are begining then buy this book.

I love the photography of this book. The pictures are beautiful and Dustin is truly a great beads artist. A great book to look at even if you are not going to be doing a lot of beading.

I am an experienced seed beader, but recently was working on a project that required some use of a technique I had never done before (gluing beads to a surface) and as I was figuring out what adhesive to use and in what order to do things, it occurred to me that it would be useful to have a book on the shelf that contained information like this so that I didn't have to spend a bunch of time re-inventing the wheel -- especially when I'm approaching a deadline!

When I saw the cute beaded tins in this book, I decided to add it to my library. I have enjoyed looking at all the techniques and projects in the book. I particularly like the introduction to seed beads with its great explanation of the different sizes, including the difference between Czech and Japanese beads.

The ideas about storing beads and organizing the workspace so beads aren't jumping all over the place would have helped me out when I was getting started with seed beads.

This book is good looking and useful. What more could you ask?

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I recently got into scrapbooking and have found that it makes a lot more sense to use my own writing rather than buying the alphabet sticker sheets to write different words and saying for my scrapbook pages. There are a bunch of pages with different styles of lettering that you can trace to make whatever words, phrases, etc. that you want.

Debra's creative abilities are very inspirational. Calligraphy and other creative lettering seems so intimidating until you delve into her easy techniques. I read this book cover to cover as soon as I received it! I buy lots of idea books and I have never gotten a lettering book with this much jam packed information! You get tons and tons of new alphabets and loads of scrapbooking, home decorating and crafting ideas. Debra is the Creative Lettering Queen!

This was the first lettering book that I've used and it was very easy to follow. It's a great tool, even for beginners!

This book is a dream for anyone who had longed for beautiful handwriting and how to execute it. Debra does a wonderful job of presenting numerous alphabets and even shows how simple little embellishments drawn all around your writing can be. It is the best money I've ever spent and it covers everything. Buy this book and you own't be disappointed. I'd rate it 8 stars but 5 is the highest rating.

The tips and tricks were easy to follow. It makes lettering your own titles a snap! Saves you a TON of money on stickers, and computer font programs.

This was purchased for our 4 year old who is a major Hot Wheels fan. He and dad pour through the colorful photographs and line up all their cars that match those found in the book. I am sure from a collectors point the information of the value along with the detailed picture would be very useful. It is a nice thick, heavy paged book that will be around this house for a long time.

I find this book extremely helpful in listing a very large percentage of the current (1989 onwards) Hot Wheels variations. The book follows on from the earlier editions and I find it a very useful refererence source.

Awesome very fast shipping. Arrived in excellent condition. Will buy from again. Thanks so much.

If you collect variations of Hot Wheels, you have probably heard of the Godfather of Variations, Michael Zarnock. This guy is nuts about variations and has put together one of the top 3 Hot Wheels collector books ever published. I love the book and have loved it since volume 1 because it has fantastic Blue Card identification pictures and very accurate price guide. If you don't know if a variation is real or fake, just check the Grail, it will let you know if you are dealing with fraud or not. In other words, if it is not in this book you are probably not dealing with a variation. Indispensible to a serious Hot Wheel collector. Gratzi, Don Zarnock.

I just got got this book today and It was more than I expected there were tons and tons of pictures, mr. zarnock give yourself a pat on the back because you did one heke of a job.