Ceramics for Kids: Creative Clay Projects to Pinch, Roll, Coil, Slam & Twist Review

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(More customer reviews)I used this book for a ceramics class I taught this summer with children between the ages of 6-14. This book contains clear instructions with plenty of great photos of finished pieces. I would highly recommend this book as an addition to any art teacher's collection!

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Do-It-Yourself Fabric Decor : Pillows, Window Treatments, and Slipcovers for Your Home Review

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(More customer reviews)What a great book! I'm not good with sewing... in fact, I've never done it before... but this book made everything so easy to understand, and therefore everything was so easy to make. Nobody wants to believe me that I did it all myself!

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About This Book:This collection of projects and techniques is a comprehensive guide to sewing fabric decor for the home. It includes a variety of unique designer pillows with lots of ideas for personalizing them. Window treatment projects cover a wide range of styles and forms, from tried-and-true pinch-pleated draperies to fun-and-funky triangle pointed valances; some that require minimal sewing and others that are a bit more elaborate. There are styles suitable for every room in the house, every skill level, with valuable information about window treatment hardware and installation. Slipcovering techniques also run the gamut from casual quick and easy to formal fitted, with expert advice for achievingprofessional-quality results. As an added bonus, each section includes pertinent information on selecting fabrics, working with patterns and colors, and developing a personal decorating style.Highlights:A comprehensive guide that covers all aspects of sewing for the home.Includes a wide range of styles; suitable for all decorating schemes.Covers a range of skill levels-includes something for everyone.Features step-by-step photos and concise directions for every project, with inspiring ideas for variations.Eliminates the need for expensive patterns. Measuring and cutting directions are part of each project.Includes information on window hardware options and resources for locating the right components for each job.

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Native American Crafts & Skills Review

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(More customer reviews)There are a number of useful details in this book, but also some details that are inauthentic, or stereotypically over generalized. For example, the tee pee instructions are for using canvas fabric, not hides. Also, most (but not all) of the items explained are for plains Indians / tribes only, and at that, only from latter periods. If you want to learn the skills of native peoples on the east coast during the 15 and 1600's, say, then this isn't the book (C. Keith Wilbur's books are EXCELLENT for native New England technologies). You'll find some useful informatin in that case, but not much. There is some information on foods eaten, including plant I.D. drawings, but the drawings leave A LOT to be desired. For example, the drawing of "Indian potatoes" is way off from what the plant actually looks like. You could not go out in the woods and pick out an "Indian potatoe" plant based on that picture alone. Neither is there information on where any of the plants grow wild. There is a short list of what natural ingredients would have been used for what ailments - a nice little start. The information on how to make clay pots for real end use (cooking) is far from enough to experience good success. Nothing is said, either, about where to get natural pottery clay, how to prepare it, and what precautions to take when "firing" it. The instructions given on clay pot making also are limited to the pots made in the southwest. One well done section is that on natural brain tanning of hides. There is enough information there to have good success. The section on making a bow is 95% complete - you can do it if you already know what sinew is, and where to take it off of a dead animal (and what kind of dead animals). No weaving instructions (exept for the under-gird of a hut shell). There is a nice map of where various tribes were located across the US, however no dates or information specifying if this is reservation sites, locations of origin, or a mixture of both. I give this book a four star because there are not enough books like this out there, and therefore we should be glad to have even this much documented for future generations. To round out what this work lacks I would recommend adding David Wescott's Primitive Technology books to your library of native how-to titles (and don't forget to check out C. Keith Wilbur's books).

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An excellent introduction to the study of Native American crafts and outdoor skills.

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Indian Crafts and Skills: An Illustrated Guide for Making Authentic Indian Clothing, Shelters, and Ornaments Review

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(More customer reviews)Do not be misled by the wonderful pictures on the front and back of the book. Inside is nothing but disappointments and a waste of time. David Montgomery may be a gifted crafter, but in no way is he capable of writing or illustrating a book. His illustrations are small, crude line drawings with no measurements or information to speak of. Before wasting money on this sub-par Cub Scout manual, I strongly suggest these better illustrated and information rich books. Complete How-To Book of Indian craft: 68 Projects for Authentic Indian Articles by W. Ben Hunt, or Indian Handcrafts by C. Keith Wilbur. Both contain measurements, step by step directions and more cultural information.

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Indian Crafts and Skills provides an excellent study of Indian work, both practical and artistic. The book not only describes the skills Indians have developed but gives specific instructins for creating many kinds of Indian handiwork yourself.The author, a skilled artist and craftsman, explains the various types of shelters and tools used by the Indians, as well as the weapons made for warfare or hunting. Trapping and tracking are vividly described, complete with diagrams for help in identifying most every kind of wild animal track.Step-by-step, you can learn brain tanning, the process of tanning leather that gives the most beautiful results, then learn how to make authentic Indian clothing - from elaborate war-bonnets to several varieties of moccasins. Concise, easy-to-read instructions will tell you all you need to know about creating Indian fashions.Discover the basics of the Indian "kitchen," including utensils and cookery, as well as the many foods comon to the Indian diet: meats and nuts, fruits and vegetables found in their wild surroundings; everything from buffalo to grasshoppers. Even drinks and seasonings used in daily food preparation, and many plants useful for food and medicine, are illustrated.Dogs, horses, and boats are cited as the main means of Indian transportation, and instructions for building saddles, travoises, and canoes are provided for the ambitious enthusiast of Indian skills. The book is full of illustrations depicting these items, as well as the pouchesscabbards, and cases used by the Indians to carry important personal items, much like their modern-day counterparts of purses, wallets, suitcases, and baby carriers. These, too, can be made by the modern outdoorsman in the authentic and distinctive style of the Indian peoples.Not only will you discover the practical aspects of Indian livelihood, but also their methods of adornment and amusement. The beauty and artistry of Indian jewelry, especially their skillful geometric beadwork, comes to life in the colorful description of the art of jewelry-making, an art you can begin learning through careful study of the chapter devoted to it.Another chapter takes a look at a variety of Indian games and musical instruments skillfully created for pure enjoyment.The author provides a complete list of reference books and supply sources to help in re-creating the magic and mystery of Indian handiwork. Indian Crafts and Skills is an authentic and exciting book for people who wish to share in the heritage of skill and artistry of a wide variety of Indian tribes.

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Little Hands Paper Plate Crafts: Creative Art Fun for 3 to 7 Year Olds (Williamson Little Hands Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well organized with original ideas for children's paper plate projects. Clear illustrations with lists of tools and time required. Hats, Masks, Flowers, Bugs, Toys, Games and Dinos. Great little craft book that will spark your own ideas on new paper plate arts and crafts. Kids will love it!

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Laura Check, drawing from her 10 years of experience as a preschool teacher, brings this kid-tested art form to a whole new level of ingenuity! Quick, easy, and inexpensive as always, these crafts are so innovative and exciting that kids of all ages will be clamouring to join in the fun. Kids create incredible works of art using foil, feathers, seeds, sequins, buttons, coloured paper, tempera paint, markers, paper streamers - and, of course, paper plates! Clear illustrations with concise directions make the 'doing' accessible to even the smallest hands. Kids imagine coloured creatures as individual as they are: a hard-shelled 'button' tortoise; a glittering rainbow fish; an octopus with moving tentacles; a sparkling, wall-long caterpillar; and wild-looking dinos of their own design. Hats, hats, and more hats! Kids try out different careers in 'Hats for a Day', where kids make paper plate hats for varied jobs. Plus wonderfully silly and funky hats, too. Kids join the adventure of here-to-here with a paper plate compass, an out-of-this-world flying saucer, a movable vehicle, and a spinning helicopter.Plus, stories to read when the projects are complete tie reading and doing together in the minds of emergent readers. All of this in a paper plate craft book? Why, yes! It's Williamson way.

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Shibori: Creating Color and Texture on Silk (Crafts Highlights) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a wonderful educational sourcebook for any dyer. The pieces shown in the book are elegant and sohisticated - grown folks fabrics. Mysterious, subtle, three-dimensional pieces. Silk is her fiber of choice yet the information in the book would be useful to anyone interested in dyeing any fiber.
Admittedly I am a baby dyer, however I do have a lot of experience in the area of learning processes from books. This book is all I had hoped for and more. Ms. Brito tells us what her aims are in creating this book. Her aims happen to coincide with my desires as a student: to inspire the reader with the artistic possibilities of shibori and at the same time provide the reader with technical information on a level that high standards will become a natural occurrence as one begins to understand and learn this process.
This book is not for the reader who is looking for shortcuts or baggie dyeing. Ms. Brito is a chemist and an artist. She explains the different dye types and processes very clearly. She even allows us to see her set-up. Discharge, various resist methods, overdyeing, setting texture and great photographs are only part of what this generous artist shares. She provides excercises that encourage observation and experimentation. That is how many of us are best educated. She offers formulas for different colors including neutrals so the reader has a good starting point.
I don't want the reader of this review to think that the book is so technical that it is inaccessible. It is both technical and reader friendly. The book is also great eye candy. This book belongs in the library of all fiber artists!

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Shibori is the Japanese art of what is popularly known as tie-dye. But this ancient resist-dyeing technique goes far beyond the simple craft that is typically used to embellish T-shirts. In Shibori: Creating Color & Texture on Silk, artist Karren K. Brito demonstrates the modern Americanrendition of shibori, or prismatic shibori, in which colored silk is pleated and tied around a pole, then overdyed. Only the tops of the pleats absorb the color fully so the hues shift subtly to create a shimmering iridescence. The book opens with a fascinating overview of the influences on the American version of the shibori technique. Then, it moves on to explain other important aspects of this unique process: "Dyeing Essentials," for example, discusses how to work with silk and acid dyes, which are easier to use and more environmentally sound than fiber-reactive or vat dyes; "Creating Resists" illustrates several styles of resist, each of which produces stunning color combinations and elegant pleated effects. Each step in the process is presented separately so that readers can combine them to create their own unique shibori designs. What's more, this wonderful guide brims with lavish, full-color photography as well as dazzling examples from prominent American shibori artists.

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Temari: How to Make Japanese Thread Balls Review

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(More customer reviews)I have found this book a wonderful apprenticeship to the art of Temari. It was as easy to follow as listening to her explain and demonstrate the techniques right there, first hand! The pictures are perfect, the directions are clear and idiot proof, and the results...all but guaranteed! Anyone who receives one of the fruits of your laybor will be amazed at the apparent intricacy of the design, and assume you have done the impossible in its creation--but, you will know it was not anywhere as difficult as it looks! This book will make you, too, look like a pro! Excellent first book, as well as a springboard for the creation of your own improvisations.

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Number one bestselling Temari beginner instruction book in English reveals Japan's superb tradition of stitchery on a ball. Inexpensive, easy-to-find materials produce exquisite patterns. An endless spectrum of colors and designs allow limitless possibilities. It is Elegantly Simple and Simply Elegant.

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Doodle Art: Totem Pole, super Review

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(More customer reviews)HOW CAN YOU TELL WHAT YOU ARE BUYING IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE PRODUCT? THIS IS THE MAIN REASON i HAVE NOT BOUGHT THE COLORING POSTER iI AM LOOKING FOR, NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ALL LISTED AS A BOOK AND I SURELY DIO NOT WISH TO PURCHASE A POSTER AND GET A BOOK. WHY CAN'T I SEE WHAT I AM BUYING? WHY IS IS LISTED AS A BOOK INSTEAD OF A POSTER? DOES A BOOK COME WITH THE POSTER YOU CHOOSE? HOW CAN ONE TELL THEY ARE BUYING WHAT THEY WANT IF THEY CANNOT SEE IT? I GUESS I WILL HAVE TI SEE IF THERE IS ANOTHER PLACE WHERE I CAN SEE WHAT I AM BUYING, I HAVE BEEN TO THIS WEB SITE MORE THAN A HUNDRED TIMES HOPING TO BEABLE TO VIEW WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR BEFORE I PURCHASE IT.

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Doodle Art(r), America's favorite line of color-your-own posters, has entered the new millennium with sleek, new packaging and an attractive, space-efficient display. Doodle Art(r) also comes with artist-quality colored pencils and a sharpener! Intricate wood carvings come dramatically to life.

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