Arts and Crafts Books

I tell you if I were not in between jobs (gotta save my pennies for the rent) I would have ran out to the nearest art supply store and purchased some "sculpey" clay to begin my new hobby as a sculptor.

That's how easy Dottie Erdmann, the author, makes sculpture look. Erdman, a self-taught sculptor, echoed my sentiments exactly when she explained she had an interest in sculpture but didn't know where to begin. Armed with a little information she had gathered about sculpting she headed to her art supply store to purchase some clay and tools. A sculptress was born.

The book is an easy step-by-step guide complete with black and white photos and drawings. She starts off with super easy small objects: a lemon, followed by an apple, etc. She builds your skills and confidence with the smaller objects while advancing you to the more difficult projects in the book.

The only disappointment I had with the book were the tools she used to put the lines and detail in the clay. I couldn't tell which ones were being used for which project. But, as I read through the book, I began to learn the sculptor developes a feeling (comes with experience - trial and error) for which tool to use to make certain impressions in the clay. Besides that, the book was EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!

As a provessional who works with patients who are recovering from physical and mental challenges I found Hands On Sculpting an enormously useful book. It doesn't "talk down" to the patients, but "talks with" them encouraging them to work with their hands and use their creativity while sculpting anything from very, very simple projects to projects of more complexity. The feeling of accomplishment, which builds self-esteem, is magnificent therapy during the recovery period.

My son was fortunate to have the author, Dottie Erdmann visit and instruct his third grade class. The entire class was completely thrilled and amazed with what their hands can do. Hands on Sculpting is a must for every school.

I enjoy Mrs. Erdmann's sculpting techniques very much. She came to my school and taught our class a lot of really neat stuff! Thanks to Mrs. Erdmann I am really having fun with sculpting.

Eric Martin

My family found this book to be informative as well as creative and fun for all ages and skill levels. It's written in an easy to read format, just as if you were sitting in a private lesson. The pictures and drawings are very clear and helpful.

This was a very helpful book - straightforward and practical ideas for plantings around my house & yard. It included planting layout diagrams, plant list and sketches of what things might look like during different seasons.

A big problem I've had with gardening books is that they so often cover areas with different climates (such as the wet Pacific Northwest) than that which I have to face here in the American Midwest. This book, however, has shown itself to be an excellent resource!

It starts out with a portfolio of 23 designs, giving the reader excellent advice on appearance and what plants to use, complete with color pictures, and a sample graph paper design. After that, it has step-by-step instructions (again with great color illustrations) on building projects, such as sidewalks, walls, patios and so much more. The final part of the book is a series of plant profiles that looks at garden plants and their needs.

So, just to make everything perfectly clear, I loved this book, and highly recommend it to every gardener in the American Midwest!

This book is a tremendous resource for landscaping in the midwest. It provides great ideas for landscaping for different seasons, conditions, and locations. Most of the recommended varieties of plants are easy to find at your local nursery which has always been a problem with other books I have used. The pictures and drawings really provide extreme value when trying to picture how plants will look together. It has already given me enumerous great ideas and suggestions.

This book is a good source for midwest-specific plantings and landscape ideas. I found I didn't have to look up the growing zones of plants I found interesting, wondering "Would this plant grow well around here?"

I also enjoy the overall friendly tone of the text. Some other books of this type that I own are written in a stuffy, almost highbrow manner.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen more of in this book is more actual photographs of the landscapes. There are many photos of the featured plants, but the book relies heavily on artwork for the landscape design images.

Excellent ideas and designs with excellent plant choices. Great for the beginner or designer to create updated and hardy garden designs that put on a show throughout the seasons.I am a designer and love books, this is once of the easiest to understand and carry out.

This was the only framing book we used for building our house. My only previous framing experience was some volunteer work a few years ago. The book was fun for daydreaming before we started building, and helped us to eventually work up the courage to build. Our daughter and son-in-law helped us put up some of the heavier framing sections, and some other friends helped us insall the sheathing and sheetrock. Basically this was an owner-built house with no contractor involvement. Our building inspector is known for being very strict, and the house passed the framing inspection with compliments.

I'm getting ready to build a small addition on my house. This was the perfect book for me. The book is well organized and it covers just about every question I had about how to frame my addition. The text is easy to understand, with lots of pictures, and the author defines all of the terms he uses that the general public might not be familiar with. There is also a glossary in the back.

In addition to "how to frame", the book goes over what kind of lumber, nails, and screws you should use, and has charts to tell you how large joists, etc., should be.

House Framing: Plan, Design, Build by housing construction expert John Wagner clearly and coherently lays out illustrated construction techniques that will enable any do-it-yourself enthusiast to built a room addition, install windows and doors, finish a basement, create a shed, or construct a garage. More than 55 detailed step-by-step construction techniques are enhanced with more than 750 photos and illustrations that guide the reader through every layout and framing process. In addition to framing techniques for building floors, walls, and roofs, as well as "how to" information on steel framing, stairs, windows, and doors, the reader is provided with up-to-date information on the best tools and materials for their building project. House Framing is a welcome and invaluable addition to any personal or community library Architecture, Design & Construction reference collection.

book is ok but lacks the detail and flow of say Graphic Guide to Framing ...or Journal of Light Construction guides. If your a reader and not really a hands on learner then the book may be a better fit for you. If however like me you learn by seeing a detailed picture and prefer to skip the long winded stuff..then this book is not a good fit. Also note the book does not give a lot of options...they show you one way to complete you project (except for the dormer plan)...were as say Graphic Guide gives you every way; plus a detailed drawing ie: say for a facia board trim out or venting options on a facia. As a guy that does this for a living I say your much better having all your options explained so that you can choose the best option for your situation.

You can learn how to frame an entire house with this book. The basics are all in there. Of course you'll be lacking some serious, somewhat required, experience if you just read this book and try to build a 3 bdrm, 2 story house. But it really helped clear things up for me.

I'm using many of the techniques addressed in this book for my tree house. I'm also using the techniques to build a separate utility shed. The book makes it easy to refer back to something you've already read. I do this constantly since I seriously lack framing experience.

The structural materials and engineering chapters were the most helpful to me. Combine this book with "Working Along" by John Carroll and you'll be dangerous in no time.

aloha,
-Brent
[...]

This is a fabulous book. It gave me all kinds of inspiration for decorating my home and for using creative displays for my retail store.

How do they think of these creative ways to re-use "junk"? Awesome pair of ladies!!!

The bulk of the book is structured in a much more mainstream way, showing some kinda suburbian translations of their look. Yes, I do understand that salvaged, re-viewed materials can have a place in ANY home ... but I miss the funkifying DIY of both the magazine and the first book. There is SOME of that here, but for my taste, nowhere near enough. I LOVED the early zany repurposing, the ways of recycling that were, ok, green (the Junk Ladies were green when green wasn't cool), sure -- but just amazingly creative. Uh, using old stock girdles for a curtain valance, with the garter tab for clipping the drapes below?! The bird-cage office organizer? The roller-skate vase? Hel-LO, Genius! I still love them and wholly endorse what they do. But I have to say, the book did disappoint me a bit. Don't BLEND, ladies! Please!

Great ideas that I will definitely be using in my house! They are so simple and unique - great photos - it's definitely started me on the junking trek...

This is truly a fabulous book. The ideas are not only unique and innovative, but practical as well. When we must all strive to make this planet more green, what could benefit all of us more than the re-use of "junk" as beautifully displayed in this book. Besides the wonderful ideas, the photography is gorgeous, making it easy to spend several hours just browsing through the book. If one is looking for a great gift for that special person, this is the book to fill the bill. Thanks, Sue and Ki,and photographer Douglas Smith, for an exciting and creative book.

I had a problem building my gas kiln. I didnt understand how it works. This book helped me understand the mechanisms of it. Excelent purchase!

I love this book! It makes you think about how to make a kiln that is just right for you and your tastes. I can't wait to start building my kiln.

I doubt there is a better resource for learning about kilns, aside from buiding one yourself. The book is very comprhensive and leaves nothing out. If you want to know everything about the construction of kilns, this book is a must read. Fredrick Olsen is one guy who knows what he is talking about.

Between this book and Kiln Construction by Joe Finch you can build a very succesful pottery kiln. The information within is nothing less than outstanding in understanding the various kiln options being used around the world. This is a must have book for those with an interest in kilns or in building their own pottery kiln.

This book was recomended by a college instructor who worked directly with author. I highly recomend this book if you want to build your own kiln.

This is a great book for anyone considering building their own airplane, it goes into great detail about every facet of building your own plane, and excellent book!

An amazing amount of information for the homebuilder. Very well written, entertaining and up to date.

This is another great addition to my library. Very informative, I really like the case studies.

The book helped me most in the following areas:

1) What is involved in kitplane construction - risks and benifits, even the benifits of purchasing a used certified aeroplane.
2) Showed me how to think in terms of aviation building with safety as a priority.
3) Covers info from the kit purchase stage to the test flight.
4) Emphasized that it is helpful to understand all forms of construction (metal, wood) no matter what kind of aeroplane you are building. The book covers composite, metal, metal monocoque, wood construction.

This is a must buy for people who are wondering what it takes to build a kitplane and are undecided about whether they should build one.

This book is not biased in stating everyone can build a homebuilt. Infact early on Ron makes it clear that homebuilding is not for everyone. He takes you through the different construction materials as well as things that you don't think about. The case studies are what realy makes this book standout. These are planes being built by people with the same amount of aircraft construction as any person contemplating building.

This teaching resource is definitely a keeper! My kinders loved making their own alphabet books. I copied the letters onto tagboard. Then, the kinders completed their letter art projects. Next, I cut the letters out and glued them to another piece of tagboard. Underneath the letter, the students completed a fill in the blank statement about each of the letters related to the art projects they completed. Finally, all of the letters were bound into a book. Wow! The kinders loved reading and sharing their books over and over with each other! This resource was a wonderful reading, writing, and tactile experience all in one! It's important to note that there's flexibility if you want to change what each letter stands for when you complete the art projects and there are additional teaching tips for each letter too!

Learn-the-Alphabet is a well organized book with ideas that are
easy to adapt to any classroom curriculum. A must for the early
childhood classroom.

As a childcare provider I love this book it is a creative way to learn the alphabet a great resources if you make up your own curriculum. You may photo copy it for many years of use instead of purchasing a boxed curriculum every month for a certain number of children. Parent's are always interested to see what their children have learned. With each letter of the alphabet it is always different and interesting. But most important children have fun as they learn.

I'm a teacher, and I have to say that this is a great book! I love how it breaks down activities by letter and also gives lesson ideas, too! It's very user-friendly!

I used this book with my 2004-2005 Pre-K class. It's very easy to incorporate the lessons into your daily/weekly calendar. My students particularly enjoyed the letter bag game (put mystery items into a pillowcase that begin with the letter you are teaching. Pass it around and have the children grab out 1 item and try to guess what it is). I incorporated it into show-n-tell Fridays. IE: Bring in something that starts with letter B. I would put those show n tell items into the letter bag & the kids loved seeing their item pulled out of the letter bag by other children.

Be sure you collect the work pages in an organized fashion because at the end of the year, you'll find yourself overwhelmed! I'd recommend creating the books as you go rather than at the end of the school year. I used pipe-cleaner to bind my books and it worked quite well.

I will use this book again!

As soon as I opened the cover I knew this book was perfect. On the front and back inside covers there are the pictures and how-tos for every knot for quick reference. It's full of great works of art for inspiration and easy in depth instructions for each knot later in the book. It is definitely what I was looking for and then some. I highly recommend it. :)

Yes, this book is an excellent basic book, for people who are just knitting their first knots, which in this book are clearly explained, drawings included. So beginners, this is an ideal book. The book also offers instructions for some projects (not instructions for all of them), which could be inspiring. However, I think these projects belong to traditional art (folk art, I mean); they are not fashionable. Perhaps the challenge is to create up-to-date clothes from the basic knots.

The expanded illustrations of knots are very clear, and the art gallery and the examples are inspiring. I particularly liked the suggestions for combining macrame with other techniques.

I have been doing Macramé for quite some time and recently I have started to teach it as well. I own a number of Macramé books and I still think this is the best book for beginners to start out with. The illustrations for how to tie the knots are the best that I have seen and there are hundreds of ideas for projects.

I really enjoyed this book on macrame. I learned a lot and find that many of the techniques which I had thought were difficult are really quite easy once you get the hang of it. My sister and I go through this book together and have a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in this hobby.

India has always been famous for her amazing jewels, be it structures like the Taj Mahal or amazing Maharajas stones. This book is exquisite, the images are vivid and crisp and the text scholarly. It is just amazing to see these jewels, you just cannot imagine this sort of wealth. When I think of jewels of India I always think of Louis XIV's French Blue, that came from a Maharaja and now is known as the Hope Diamond, it is simply spectacular, it's a shame it was recut after it was stolen during the French Revolution, but it is still one of the most beautiful diamond's in the world. If you have any interest in beautiful jewelery or Indian history in general then you will love this book.

Forget those diamonds that are supposed to be a girl's best friend - they're mere baubles compared to the opulent jewels that covered India's maharajas from turban tips to beringed fingers. Their palaces needed no artificial light as rooms shone with the brilliance of thousands of precious gems.

"Too much" was not in the vocabulary of these rulers as to many possessing and adorning themselves with fabulous jewelry was their raison d'etre. "The Maharaja of Baroda owned five long strands of perfectly matched, pigeon-sized, cream-colored pearls," which he wore in a bib-like drape. Rubies from Burma, emeralds from Brazil, Golconda diamonds and Kashmir sapphires were the decorations of the day.

Some 300 eye-popping photos in this sumptuous folio-size volume attest to princely extravagance, and to the artistry of great jewelers such as Cartier and Boucheron whom the royals commissioned to set their gems. The accompanying text is rich with insights for all who are fascinated by once princely India and enjoy jewels of unparalleled beauty.

This epoch of luxury came to an end in 1947 with India's independence. The maharajahs resigned and their treasures were either exported or hidden. Fortunately, they're gathered once more in this stunning volume.

I had bought the book "Maharaja's Jewels" by Katherine Prior and John Adamson and I must say that it was truly a wonderful book. For those who have interest in Jewels, Indian history, Royalty, Photography and I think for any one it will be a great experience to read it.

The Authors have brought out the richness of the land in an excellent presentation. The quality of the book in terms of the content, pictures, presentation, the collection of the jewels shown and the history behind them is very well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and certainly recommend to any one with interest in such a book. it should be in any interested person's collection.

Amazing. I spent outside my budget to get this book and it's worth every cent.

Maharajahs' Jewels provides an oversized, lavish examination of maharaja jewelry, considering the history behind royal jewelry making in India and the conditions under which some of the most famous jewelry pieces were manufactured. The stories of the Indian princes and their jewelry will appeal to any interested in Indian history in general and jewelry-making in particular.

I am in the process of making and decorating my first birdhouse from this book. I chose the Mercantile.I have just barely started by I am already enjoying it immensely.

The reason for writing this book came from all the requests to purchase one of my birdhouse creations. I make one of a kind birdhouses and had no desire to mass produce them. I am a self taught artist and woodworker. Whenever I made a birdhouse I would draw the design on the wood, cut it out and then draw and paint the design on every individual birdhouse. It took me a year to write this book because I wanted to make it possible for everyone to own one of my original birdhouse designs. With precise prints and painting instructions I felt poeple could make many birdhouses, by changing around the window treatments and house designs, or the eleven birdhouses in the book could be made exactly as featured showing all sides from start to finish of all the houses. I wrote this book using an old fashion typewriter and took all my own pictures. I toiled over the prints of each birdhouse for many hours so the majority of them could be made with basically the same width of boards. I tried to make this as simple as I could to demonstrate painting stones, bricks, flowers, stained glass church windows, and frilly curtains. I have been told by people who purchase my book that it is one of the most thoroughly explained and pictured birdhouse books they have ever found. I am very pleased because it was what I wanted people to feel when they opened the pages. The birdhouses in this book have been put on display in an art gallery and public functions and have received rave reviews. I hope the people who buy my book get hours of enjoyment making them and displaying them, and the answer is yes I do put mine outside for the birds to enjoy. I explain in the book how the houses can be built to remove the back for cleaning. I wanted my readers to feel they had ended up with a true masterpiece when they were finished, a birdhouse they could keep of give as a gift. This probably explains why it took me a year to write it.

I received this book as a gift because I love birdhouses and I am always talking about trying to build some of my own. When I would see a really cute birdhouse I always say "I could build this" so my friend got tired of me saying this and gave me this book, and said now you can build as many as you want. Thanks for a really good birdhouse book, I love it. Housewife in Iowa

Most of us can cut and nail boards but who would of thought I could build something that looks like art. Houses look great and the birds can't wait to move in.

I purchased 3 of these books, one for myself, one for my daughter and one for my daughter-in-law. Everytime I would see beautiful birdhouses like these, I would think,I would love to try and make them, now I can. The directions are so well done it seems impossible to make a mistake. The church will be my first project. Thanks again.