Arts and Crafts Books

This book is very inspiring and has clear directions and notes - a good buy. I think it will be very good for people like me - beginners.

Plenty of basic information about techniques, stitches and supplies. There are coloured photographs of all the projects towards the back of the book. Everything is clearly explained so a beginner would be able to make a start.

This is a very inspirational book for stumpwork enthusiasts. I have made many projects from this book, and use it as a cross reference when using other patterns, as Jane's techniques are often easier and give better results. Hopefully for most embroidery enthusiasts it won't prove too difficult to understand as her instructions are very clear and precise. She has alternative lists of materials at the back of the book if you can't find the threads she recommends, and one of the nice things about her books is that she encourages people to take the initiative to be bold and use materials you might find hidden in your sewing box at home.

This book is simply enchanting. The author's examples are masterpieces, her instructions are very clear. A must buy for a needlework enthusiast.

I bought this book about 2 years ago while I was exploring the world of raised embroidery and I got this book and I was floored!!!
Everything in this book is so life-like and beautiful!
I really need to get all of her books! If you are an embroiderer this MUST be in your reference library!
I have plans for this technique in my planned projects and everytime I look at this book I just gush!
Believe me, this book is worth it!
This is a great book. Learn stumpwork from Jane, she's got "TALENT"!!!!!

As a new weaver, I am finding this book to be very informative. It covers all the basics from equipment , estimating materials, techniques for tapestry weaving, as well as patterns for projects. The photographs are lovely and an inspiration to me to design my own tapestries. Like the author, I already have many ideas and not enough time to accomplish all I can imagine. I am reading through the book now in anticipation of beginning a project.
Tapestry Weaving is going to become a valuable reference guide to my weaving library.

This easy to understand and encouraging guide to tapestry weaving is like having a best friend watching over you while you learn. Anhd the projects are not boring or too chaallenging, but just right in leading you by the hand and helping you build your skills

A very comprehensive and detailed guide, gives detailed drawings and clear explanation, to explain each element of tapestry weaving. With samples of each element, for the weaver to try, this study guide is a must for the beginning tapestry weaver.

I felt this was a very comprehensive guide to the "want to be". It answered many questions I had before I decided to begin.

Beautiful book and so filled with info. I want to use it with my Navajo loom.

I've taken a class here and there, read a little bit on the subject, but nothing has come close to the craft of writing like this book. The author gets right into the heart of what makes the written word fly off the page and into the readers imagination. The book is broken up into easily digestible chapters and she sites numerous examples to back up her opinions.

The book is definitely about craft and not the fundamentals of writing which, is good if your looking to get past the basics. The narrative is quite laid back and doesn't try to get overly high-brow with the topic.

After reading it, I have a greater appreciation for all that goes into crafting a story. And too, I can look at novels or short stories with a greater understanding and more critical eye, which helps to appreciate the reading even more.

Overall, I was very happy and feel I've been let in on some great secrets for contemporary writing.

The author uses many analogies from theater to put together a way of thinking about writing and reading which can clarify many of the issues which tend to dog fiction writers. I strongly recommend this book.

I've taken several classes from Sands, and she is the only writing instructor that I've come back to repeatedly. Her classes are superb, and I wanted to "live with the book" and use it on it's own before reviewing it.

This is one of those books whose title really does tell you what you need to know about the contents and the approach the author takes to teaching.
This is a fairly broad exploration of writing, but tends to focus on development of scene, voice and point of view. The latter is used as the 'key' or touchstone for exploring and working with the other elements. Within this, Sand really does approach writing as a "craft". The book explores writing in a very concrete and practical way, attempting to define and develop the "tools" in a writer's kit. The exercises are excellent, and are structured to assist in developing those skills or tools. They are second only to the wonderful exercise's in Garder's Art Of Fiction, but less intimidating and more intimately tied to the instruction sections.

In short, one of the most valuable and practical guides I've read, and certainly the most likely to have an immediate impact on your writing.

I read this book and it's terrific! This is a useful, down-to-earth explanation of point of view and what it means to a writer. It teaches writer how to use these tools and bring their writing to a new, more professional level.

I have taken four writing classes with Sands Hall and she is an excellent teacher. She loves teaching want-to-be writers the craft of writing, the nuts and bolts. Like a mechanic, tools are necessary to do the job right. This book is a necessary tool for any writer - we all have writing books on our shelves don't we? This one is a must. I refer to it time and time again to be reminded on the "how to's" of putting words together to create something worth reading. She has a wonderful checklist that can be used when working on your own scenes - it can be laminated and pasted to your work space - any time you finish a scene you can refer to this checklist and see if your scene covers everything - setting, objects, activity, to name a few - to be sure that scene is alive and says what you really want it to say. She teaches on point of view, characterization, metaphor, everything relating to the writer's craft you can possibly need and she uses examples from other works to help you understand clearly what she is getting at. If you are looking for a good book on how to write, this one is a must.

This is an absolutely wonderful book packed with lots of different techniques and ideas. It's much better with a hard cover though. Worth the money.

This book has a great variety of projects using many different techniques and media. Full color photographs and explanations for each project make them easy to duplicate. Also, there are many pictures of other projects done using similar techniques. As a homeschooling parent of elementary-age students, I found this book to be a great addition to our art curriculum. I can teach art concepts and then find projects from this book to reinforce those concepts. I highly recommend this book.

This is a great book for techniques for art for all ages projects can be tailored for a variety of age groups.

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! FULL OF GREAT ART IDEAS AND COMPLETE PROJECTS. VERY WELL ILLUSTRATED (ALL THE PAGES ARE IN FULL-COLOR) AND EASY TO READ. THE DIRECTIONS ARE CLEAR AND YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN VERSION OF THE PROJECTS. MY DAUGHTER LOVES THIS BOOK AND I REALLY LOVE HER LITTLE "WOW!" FACE AFTER EACH PROJECT.

This is an excellent book. I first checked it out from the library & then HAD to buy my own copy. It has great techniques; many of which I've seen illustrated in adult painting/crafting books too. This book is leaps & bounds beyond most of the "same old, same old" kids art books out there.

This book was great for helping plan my son's kindergarten valentine party. The snack ideas were super and pretty easy to assemble. The highlight of the book is the valentine bingo game where everyone wins at the same time. The children just loved the game as they all shouted "bingo" at the same time. We also did the ice cube game and the cupid game. Both were also big hits with the children! I would highly recommend this book for any class parent needing some creative ideas for kids from 5+.

With all the crafts, snacks, and games, you will have everyone entertained for years to come. This book is great for classrooms, parents, day cares, work, & more. Perfect paired with Valentine Boxes.

Wonderful Book - Pleae make more like this!!

What a wonderful book. Valentine parties are always a favorite the crafts/activies are warming to ones heart. Every room parents or hostess/host needs this book for any type of party. Suggestion purchase the complete set.

I run an after-school program for a non-profit organization with children that range in age from 6 to 14. It's very difficult to plan holiday events that will interest all the kids, but I got some great ideas from this book! It covers everything from games, to crafts and special treats. While most of the activities are geared towards the younger crowd, I was able to extract some ideas for the older kids as well. A very well organized and creative book!

I found this book contains everything for a beginner to get started in the craft of polmer clay. My 15 year-old has already started her project, and I'm into my 4th project. All this production and we have had the book for only 2 weeks. I'm already ordering the polymer clay by the pound. The two ounce packages are wa-a-a-a-y to small for this new found medium! If you are looking for summer projects to keep the kids busy, this is the book for you. Both Mom and the kids will be hooked in no time.

I enjoyed this book because it offered some fresh new concepts and interesting projects. I feel anyone from the beginning clayer to the accomplished artist would enjoy this book. Photography was very good. Easy to follow directions make 20 Weekend Projects with Polymer Clay a great book for all clayers. We need more like it and hopefully the author will have another one for us soon.

This book is a must for any beginning to intermediate polymer clay crafter or artisan. The projects are beautiful and very "do-able"! Irene's own projects are displayed in very good photos, and are a marvelous source of inspiration for combining techniques and textures. Her tiled mirrors and wall pieces are breathtaking.

...this is the one I'd recommend. I've been working with polymer clay for 17 years, and I have seen *all* the books. This is the one I recommend to either beginning OR more experienced clayers. A beautiful, interesting, well-done book.

This is my favorite polymer clay book -- the first book I "ask" whenever I have a question. Irene gives clear explanations, painlessly taking the reader through 20 gorgeous projects....

This book started me on yet another new craft obsession - carving my own stamps has turned out to be so much easier than I thought it would be!

I don't think there's anything the author could have added in this textbook - there are already wonderful stamps, a gallery, thorough instructions that are beautifully illustrated and tons of inspiration. Also a nice section for troubleshooting and fixing mistakes when something goes wrong in your carving - very helpful!

Very happy to have purchased this book!

Zig

If you are interested in learning how to carve your own art rubber stamps then you need this book as well as Art Stamping Workshop. Both books provide clear cut instructions on how to carve your own stamps to make artistic and fun stamps that are one of a kind. Well worth the 10 bucks here on Amazon! I recommend it.
5 stars!

I've been a stamp carver and art teacher for many years. This book is the best instruction guide for learning to carve that I have ever seen. The author has described all aspects of carving soft blocks for printmaking. Her step by step carving instructions are beautifully illustrated with good, clear photographs. This is a guide that can be followed by an absolute novice carver AND is very useful to the intermediate or advanced carver. As carving teacher that has given workshops all over the country, I found many of her carving tips useful. If I ever write a "how to" book, I hope it would be as helpful as this one. This book answers and illustrates with excellent photographs all of the FAQ's (frequently asked questions) that have come up in the carving workshops that I have taught. I own or at least have read nearly every stamp carving pamphlet and block printing "how to" book on the market. This book is the best I've ever seen. Sure wish I had written it!!

I think a new carver or Seasoned carver would be inspired to carve after taking a look at this book! Great job, Luann!

This book clearly details the ins and outs of carving your own rubber stamps, for those whose creative instincts urge them to follow their own path in the world of stamping. With clear, non-technical language, the author shows in words and pictures how even the simplest and most modest of tools can create lively stamped images which can stand on their own or be incorporated into larger and more complex works.

This is a good "inspiration" book for either the novice entry-level artist/stamper or for the seasoned creator who is looking for new directions for their art. Luann strikes a nice balance with her presentation, with an instruction book that is user friendly and free of "tech-talk". The "how-to" instructions are clearly written and well complemented by excellent photos showing exactly how to proceed. This book will be appreciated by any who purchase it as a springboard into new areas and levels of creativity.

Karen McTavish has created one of the most beautiful books that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Such gorgeous quilts can only be called the ultimate in the quilter's passionate attempt to make personal works of art that will be cherished! I am so happy that this book is coming back into print so that I can get a copy of my own(and not just keep getting it out of the library!! Ha ha!!)

I am a novice machine quilter and I have always loved wholecloth quilts. But I know that, unlike pieced-top quilts, the quilting provides ALL of the beauty of a wholecloth quilt. I didn't think I could do it until I purchased this book. I've seen Karen McTavish on television programs a couple of times so I was excited to buy her book and read all the details of this beautiful art form. The book is very well done, it even has a ribbon bookmark! The chapters are very detailed so you clearly understand how to get going on your particular project, whether it be wholecloth, trapunto, McTavishing, etc. There's an amazing number of full-page color photographs and close-ups so you can easily see stitching details. There are also lots of comments from Karen's students, who were also novices like me. You can see by their own quilts, which are pictured in the book, that they completed beautiful quilts on their first try! This book gave me the backbone I needed to try my own quilt - I'm in the marking process right now! Thankyou Karen McTavish! And thankyou, Amazon.com, for the price of this book. It was much cheaper from you than it would have been for me to buy it at my local fabric store!

This book is absolutely full of eye candy. Reading it is just like being in class with Karen...she is so warm and bubbly! This is a must-have book for every quilter.

This is an educational book and i am pleased that i was able to get it for myself; very well illustrated and easy to follow directions; book gave me different prospective on whitework. recommened for those who whould like to extend their knowlege and techniques of quilting.

For years I have been hand quilting and last year designed and quilted my first wholecloth quilt. Since I had no previous intruction, it is fair to say that had I had Karen's book, life with my wholecloth venture would have been a lot easier. This book is in the top 3 in my library. It is not only beautifully bound and comes with an attached satin ribbon for page marking, but the information is invaluable and the pictures are remarkably gorgeous! (Perhaps because the quilts are the same.....gorgeous!) Packed with ideas, this book contains explicit directions for choosing fabric, stencils, designing, marking, shadow trapunto, and more. Particularly special is the fact that Karen not only instructs and displays her own quilts, but she spotlights the quilts of other quilters and allows them to give narration on the drawbacks and the values of different techniques and products, mistakes and victories! If one cannot be inspired by the beauty and simplicity of directions in this book, that person is not cut out to be a quilter! Although written with instructions for machine quilting, this book is invaluable for hand quilters, as well.

We love this book. I love this better than the new brown cover with the sun on it. I have 2 boys, and there are more dinosaurs, cars and trucks in this book than the new one. Also love the Christams one. A must Have.

Not only did my neices LOVE this but it was hard to tear me away from it too! It is easy and fun and encourages lots of creativity!
I am trying to figure out just what that "paint" is made up of and I think I figured it out. It's regular glue that has been tinted. Remember when you were a kid and would coat your palm with white glue, let it dry, then peel it off? It's the same idea.

This book is really amazing. It comes with paint, so you can get started the minute you get it. It also has a whole bunch of patterns for you to trace. The only bad thing is the waiting--when you have done the outline, you have to wait an hour for it to dry, and then when you have filled in the colors, you have to wait 24 whole hours before you can peel your design off!!!!! ( a note: be sure to wait 24 hours. If you peel it off when you think it is dry, it might not be dry underneith, and then your work will be ruined.) The book also shows that you can decorate glasses and cars with Window Art, although I do not suggest the car idea. At my house, we now have a window that is soon going to be filled with Window Art.

I bought this book to help my 6-year-old fill in his time when my wife was away on a business trip. My son has since been completely enthralled by it. It is the first thing he would pick up in the morning, since it takes the border several hours to dry, and the last thing he would do at nite before bedtime to make sure that he would have a new piece to work on the next morning.
Our windows have not been the same ever since the purchase.
I highly recommend it for kids at any age.
There is also a refill set of 18 available through Klutz. I would love to have that as well.

My two girls (ages 9 and 10) absolutely love this! One got the book for her birthday, and I ended up buying another one for my other daughter! I also bought the refill set. I just wish that the refills were easier to find--right now the wait is 3 to 5 weeks for the refill set to ship. Not only is this fun for the girls, the things they make are really pretty! Luckily, we have lots of windows! I highly recommend this product!

As mentioned in the previous reviews this book is for the entire family and for all ages. My three-year-old daughter loves the illustrations in the book and wants us to read the book to her. So with a little tweaking she enjoys the book and participating in word play with us. Michael Kline's creativity is incredible. This book will not only improve your verbal skills but also your visual imagination. If you have never had a creative block this book with certainly help you out. I use some of the word games in my classes to increase my student's abilities to visually communicate.

Michael Kline has hit the hail on the nead with WordPlay Cafe. It's an invitation to look at and practice language in a completely different way. It takes some practice but I guarantee, once you let the imagination go, you will want to keep delving into the world of wordplay and punzles!

In WordPlay Cafe Michael Kline's banquet of word fun and lively illustrations guarantee a feast of food for thought. This guy Kline says a mouthful. He knows language and he knows how to make children want to eat their words.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Pun & Games and The Circus of Words

First there were words. Then the words were made fun. And in Wordplay Cafe author Mike Kline shows you, oh so successfully, how to make more fun with words. This interactive book teaches kids of all ages the power of words and ways to be creative with their meanings and sounds. It's a great way for kids and parents to have quality time with each other.
Mary K. Baumann and Will Hopkins
Art Directors, Kids Discover magazine
New York, NY

Kline has a wonderful sense of humour that can be appreciated by any age group. He really challenges kids (and adults) to look at language in a different way - the fun way! The book reads like a rollercoaster ride...or maybe a better analogy would pinball machine: it bounces off topics and tangents in a delightfully free-wheeling manner. Not for ADD kids, this book is meant for children who are willing to engage with subject matter for a wonderful reward. Kline's book belongs in the category of "children's books" the way that Bloom County belonged in the same comics section of the paper with Funky Winkerbean and Family Circus. This book truly works best when the whole family joins in on the fun. The activities are perfect for getting fun discussions going between children and adults. A highly recommended read for anyone (at any age) who wants to re-discover language and have fun along the way.