Craftside

Hot off the press! My favorite new book on handmade books: 1,000 Artists' Books

My favorite series of books is the Quarry Books 1,000 series, and the latest installment 1,000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art is soooooooo amazing and packed with eye candy I can't put it down!

The first inside peek I want to share is this page that features a book made out of a toy horse by Jessica Spring. I love the idea of cutting a toy in half and putting accordion pages in the opening to turn it into a book!

If you are like me and love, love, love books on artists and unique books made out of all sorts of things, run (or click) to your favorite place to get yourself a copy of:

1,000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art

by

Sandra Salamony

and

Peter and Donna Thomas

The book is a timeless art form, one that is as alive today as ever before, and artists continue to explore and explode the boundaries of what a book is and can be. In this beautiful collection, you will experience close-up various aspects of hand-crafted books: covers, bindings, scrolls, folded and origami structures and books made from found objects. You will find richly illustrated and calligraphed pages as well as books created from a variety of printed processes. Ingenuity and creativity abounds in this carefully curated collection of both historically important and modern works.

Sandra Salamony is a professional book designer. She has authored, coauthored, and curated several books on artisan topics. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan. Visit her online at http://www.sandrasalamony.com.

Peter and Donna Thomas are book artists and coauthors of More Making Books by Hand. They live in Santa Cruz, California.

 

Crafty links to kick off the summer

While it is a Monday, usually the first day back to work for most, today is Memorial Day, a special holiday for remembering those who have fought for this great country. As we take a moment to honor them and celebrate how great it is to be here, enjoy some good craftiness from around the "www" with me.

RockPaperInk.com
Create Self-promotional Materials that are Deceptively Simple

Craft Buds
Learn how to make a car trash bag or reusable lunch bag with a handle slot, perfect for those summer road trips.

Carmi's Art/Life World
The Go Baby! has made sewing fun again!

CraftFoxes
Take a look at a gallery of stunning quilts and booths from Quilt Market in Kansas City.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's family finished up their wonderful trip to Italy in Rome!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Do you know how to repair cracked ceramics? Eileen shares two methods.

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess continues to relearn cross stitch; this time she rediscovers outlining.

Also if you are lookin' to do a bit of book shopping today there is a great sale on EVERYTHING over at Qbookshop.com through today!

 

Individual salad serving idea from the book Salad Days

Isn't this idea for serving little individual salad cups and displaying them on a three-tiered tidbit tray featured in the book Salad Days: Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season just beautiful?

If you love yummy salad recipes along with ideas for serving them in pretty ways, check out the Voyageur Press book:

Salad Days:
Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season

by

Pam Powell

Photographer: Paul Markert

This book includes 150 recipes for creating delicious salads and dressings using organic, locally grown ingredients. Recipes include Apple and Roasted Beet Salad with Fruit, Nuts, Gorgonzola, and Watercress; Green Apple Sassy Slaw with Crisp Apple Maple Dressing; Pear and Grape Salad with Big Woods Blue Cheese and Concord Grapes; Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese and Micro Greens with Crisp Apple Maple-Brushed Crostini; Chilled Moroccan Couscous Salad; Curry Chicken and Apricot Salad; Harvest Moon Salad; and many more. Sixty color photos and colorful illustrations from the author accompany the recipes. Sidebars and tips for green ways to prepare salads are included.

Pam Powell is the founder and creator of Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressing Company, with products that can be found nationwide in co-ops, Whole Foods markets, and other supermarkets. Pam shares recipes for her organic salads regularly on her Salad Girl blog. She lives in Minnesota. Visit her at www.saladgirldressings.com.

 

How to make polymer clay cabochons from the book Polymer Clay 101

If you like to make art and are looking for a new surface to create tiny bits of art, try this technique for making your own polymer clay cabochons featured in the book Polymer Clay 101: Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction. I plan on using this technique to fix a few pieces of jewelry that are missing some gems, as I bet I can make something that will coordinate at least in color!

Love this project and want to learn more great polymer clay techniques? Then grab yourself a copy of:

Polymer Clay 101:

Master Basic Skills and Techniques Easily through Step-by-Step Instruction

By

Kim Otterbein

and

Angela Mabray

Polymer Clay 101 teaches all the basics for crafting with polymer clay. With hundreds of detailed photos and an accompanying DVD, it covers tools and supplies, all types of beading techniques, and terrific projects that will get you started and inspire you to take your skills and make your own custom designs.

Angela Mabray first happened upon polymer clay in a toy store. While she quickly realized it wasn't just for kids, she still feels a childlike joy each time she finds something new to do with polymer clay. She writes about polymer clay at www.craftygoat.com.

Kim Otterbein has had a love for beads all her life and still has a baggie of seed beads from the 1960s. Kim's training as a textile designer and painter blends right in with jewelry making. To see her work, go to www.thebeadhouse.com and click on KO Design.

 

How to transfer muslin markings to a pattern from the book The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting

If you are like me and always have to alter clothing and patterns (or just like to make them to fit your own style), I bet you will love this tutorial on how to transfer muslin markings to a pattern from the book The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting.

Click on these pages from The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting to enlarge and read the step by step instructions on how to transfer muslin markings to a pattern.

More about the CPi book:

The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting

by

Sarah Veblen

No matter what size or shape you are, wearing garments that fit perfectly makes you look and feel better. Rather than making commonly accepted changes to a commercial pattern, the method presented in this guide focuses on the way a test garment fits the body. The fabric is manipulated to improve the fit, and then those specific changes are made to the pattern. The result: patterns that fit perfectly!

Sarah Veblen is a custom fashion designer who focuses on teaching, creating clothing for her clientele, patternmaking and design consultation for young designers, and writing in several venues.