Here are 100 books that The Art of Handmade Living fans have personally recommended if you like
The Art of Handmade Living.
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I am a children’s author and have written over 100 picture book texts for young children, including the best-selling Aliens Love Underpants series. I also enjoy making beautiful things for my home and garden, and for friends and family. Whilst writing is hard work, this other creative side is pure relaxation and ‘switch off’ time. But any projects have to be easily achievable within snatched moments in a busy work life. So here are my top crafting books for people who love creating things but, like me, don’t have much time...
With over 150 Step-by-step Techniques and Projects and Over 1000 Photographs, this great book gives you card ideas for every occasion. It also shows you how to make easy but professional-looking envelopes, invitations, tags, and papers in a host of different styles. Takes less time to make a card than going out and buying one!
200 step-by-step techniques and projects with 1100 photographs -- a comprehensive course in making cards, envelopes, invitations, tags and papers in a host of different styles
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I am a children’s author and have written over 100 picture book texts for young children, including the best-selling Aliens Love Underpants series. I also enjoy making beautiful things for my home and garden, and for friends and family. Whilst writing is hard work, this other creative side is pure relaxation and ‘switch off’ time. But any projects have to be easily achievable within snatched moments in a busy work life. So here are my top crafting books for people who love creating things but, like me, don’t have much time...
This is an adorable book of seaside makes and beach-inspired projects. It's a beautiful book to look through with lots of inspirational photos to spark your imagination. Some of the projects are more complicated but I found it easy to simplify them myself and the end results still looked great. However busy you are, you’ll definitely have time to make the fabric flowers – easy-peasy and so pretty. I use them on gift tags.
Recreate memories of the seaside with simple sewing, papercraft, crochet and knitting projects using beautiful Tilda fabrics, yarn and embellishments. Be inspired by life at the beach and in the ocean to make gifts, toys and pretty accessories for your home. From adorable whales and fishing girl dolls to hanging mobiles, applique blankets and summer scarves, the designs will take you on a journey of the perfect seaside holiday.
I am a children’s author and have written over 100 picture book texts for young children, including the best-selling Aliens Love Underpants series. I also enjoy making beautiful things for my home and garden, and for friends and family. Whilst writing is hard work, this other creative side is pure relaxation and ‘switch off’ time. But any projects have to be easily achievable within snatched moments in a busy work life. So here are my top crafting books for people who love creating things but, like me, don’t have much time...
Twenty five quick and easy sewing makes for using up fat quarters or leftover remnants of fabric. Lots of cute ideas to pretty up your home, or great little stocking fillers for Christmas. There is a series of these books if you get hooked!
Fat Quarter: Quick Makes is part of a fantastic new series of stash-busting sewing books aimed at beginner to intermediate crafters. There are 25 super-quick and easy projects to make, all from fat quarters to fabric scraps. Each project has easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and beautiful accompanying photography, as well as a useful tools and techniques section. This book is ideal for using up leftover remnants of fabric from your stash to create a range of decorative and useful items in a flash. Projects include: book bag, baby dress, eye mask, bunting, festival flag, owl brooch passport cover, makeup bag.
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I am a children’s author and have written over 100 picture book texts for young children, including the best-selling Aliens Love Underpants series. I also enjoy making beautiful things for my home and garden, and for friends and family. Whilst writing is hard work, this other creative side is pure relaxation and ‘switch off’ time. But any projects have to be easily achievable within snatched moments in a busy work life. So here are my top crafting books for people who love creating things but, like me, don’t have much time...
Now you can enjoy crafting without harming the planet! All you need to do is save up some recyclable or foraged items such as cardboard, newspaper, wine bottle corks, twigs and pine cones. You can choose your own colour schemes to match your home and, because the materials are recyclable, you could make new ones every year!
If you love Christmas, you'll love this book! It's the perfect antidote to the traditional tinsel and glitter that shed harmful microplastics, polluting our oceans and waterways.
The Eco-Christmas Craft Book is filled with lots of ideas to create your own stylishly beautiful, eco-friendly Christmas.
All you need to do is save up some recyclable or foraged items such as cardboard, newspaper, wine bottle corks, twigs and pine cones. You can choose your own colour scheme to match your home and, because the materials are recyclable, you could make new ones every year!
When I was at one of the lowest points of my life, color saved me. I started my color journey over a decade ago with a pack of Pantone postcards and walks around my neighborhood, and now I have the privilege of writing about color full-time. It’s amazing what a change of perspective color can bring. I hope that the books on this list spark something within you to add more joy to your day to day. Because life is too short not to have fun—especially with color!
This is one of those books that you pick up in a bookstore and don’t want to put down because it’s just too beautiful. The pages are thoughtfully crafted, and the projects make you see just how chic DIY can be when you do it correctly.
I loved the hybrid of crafting with colorful facts and tips on how to use a specific color. The first time I read the book, I immediately wanted to start making and adding color everywhere!
What began as an Instagram hashtag and project collection (#CrafttheRainbow) that quickly went viral has become a showstopping book, offering a rainbow of completely new project ideas. Learn how to make playful party decorations, luscious flowers, amazing cards, and sophisticated wreaths, garlands, centerpieces, and more than you can imagine-all with nothing but the creative power of paper. Sought-after designer Brittany Watson Jepsen is known for the unusually imaginative and amazingly beautiful designs she creates for her website and host of clients (including Anthropologie). In Craft the Rainbow, Jepsen walks readers through the easy basics of transforming simple paper-including tissue, crepe,…
I am an award-winning art director, creative mentor, and print and pattern designer with nearly two decades of experience working successfully in the creative industries. As a young person, I loved drama, dance, and art, and was constantly bursting with creative passion. As I grew older, I faced doubt from the people around me about pursuing a creative career. I stubbornly pursued it anyway and ignored the naysayers who told me to “stop dreaming” or to “get a real job.” I am now described as a “powerhouse” in the design world and someone who fearlessly strives forward in her creative career and helps thousands around the world to believe in their own creative power.
I originally sought out this book as a way to inspire some hands-on creativity for a time when I was feeling uninspired, and gosh did it deliver! Joy is someone who I’ve followed for a long time, and I’ve always loved how "joy" has become more than just a name for her.
All of the exercises with flowers in particular were my favourite and Joy offered so many ways to play with them that I had never even thought of. The floral pop print and blooming background exercises were so much fun. My little boy and I also had an amazing time with all of the recipes, and playing with food.
Such a special book that really gets the creative juices flowing.
A beautiful, colorful, inspired guide to help anyone bring joy and whimsy into their lives with stylish projects, from home decor to food to fashion, from the popular Oh Joy blogger and Pinterest sensation.
Thirteen million Pinterest members look to Joy Cho, a designer, blogger, mother, and founder of the Oh Joy blog, for creative inspiration. Now, she builds on that success to offer a cornucopia of new ideas in this simple yet sophisticated full-color book. Following the unique aesthetic and joyful tone of her blog, Oh Joy! shows you how to add style, detail, color, flavor, and bliss to…
A fake date, romance, and a conniving co-worker you'd love to shut down. Fun summer reading!
Liza loves helping people and creating designer shoes that feel as good as they look. Financially overextended and recovering from a divorce, her last-ditch opportunity to pitch her firm for investment falls flat. Then…
I am an author, illustrator, and award-winning creative director. I have loved to draw and make things since a young age, mostly wacky contraptions (inspired by my love of the Hanna-Barbera Wacky Races cartoons). I’m particularly passionate about making the process of creating fun, the five books below definitely achieve that, each in its own unique way.
Todd Davis, the author of Handy Dad: 25 Awesome Projects for Dads was a competitive snowboarder and a stuntman, and this is reflected in the choice of some of his projects, like the half-pipe, skate longboard, zip line, and climbing wall. Somewhat similar to Mike Adamick's Dad's Book of Awesome Projects, this book has a much more adventurous feel. I know my boys would have loved the bike jump and who wouldn't love a Jumanji-style rope bridge. The cover doesn't quite do justice to what's inside, which includes plenty of colour photography and nice design touches.
Skate ramps, zip lines, go-carts, and more! In this super-fun book, Todd Davisextreme sports athlete and host of HGTV's Over Your Head presents 25 awesome projects for dads to build with their kids. Busy dads can choose projects that range from simple to challenging and take anywhere from five minutes to a full weekend. Readers are given all the directions they need to grab materials that can be found around the house or at the local hardware store and get to work banging up a sweet BMX ramp or half-pipe, building a tree house or tire swing, or throwing together…
I am an author, illustrator, and award-winning creative director. I have loved to draw and make things since a young age, mostly wacky contraptions (inspired by my love of the Hanna-Barbera Wacky Races cartoons). I’m particularly passionate about making the process of creating fun, the five books below definitely achieve that, each in its own unique way.
Mike Adamick's book zeroes in on make-ability, projects that kids can actually make with their Dads. To this end, no project is overly ambitious, also, and this is something I like a lot, each project is photographed and presented as it would look if you were to tackle the project for real with your kids. There's a certain nostalgic charm to many of the projects, which include, rope swings, circus stilts, balance boards, and an ol'-fashioned fruit crate scooter, and while some of the more eye-catching projects involve working with wood, the designs are kept simple, favouring ease of construction over fancy design flourishes.
Get ready to take playtime to the next level with Dad's Book of Awesome Projects! Inside, you;ll find step-by-step instructions and photographs detailing projects so imaginative and fun, no one will complain about turning off the TV. From wooden "swords" to slay the most vicious of dragons to circus stilts that will send you soaring to new heights, these projects are sure to spark everyone's creative spirit. And the fun doesn't stop there! This book shows you and your kids how to build:
Comic book shoes
Rope swings
Homemade goo slime
Eggshell cupcakes
Ol'-fashioned…
My whole life has been about the power of making. I’m a writer and educator specialising in craft. Previously, I worked at the Crafts Council in London, and now I write for craft magazines with a particular interest in the connective nature of craft in communities and the relationship between craft and wellbeing. I’m also a parent to a learning-disabled adult, so understand learning differences (and care). I recently started Quickthorn Books to showcase more makers. I run workshops in darning, crochet, knitting, and, most recently, making rag rugs. I’m proud to be a trustee of Heritage Crafts, and I can usually be found knitting in the corner.
Sarah runs the Craftivist Collective, and her work proves that it’s possible to protest in a gentle and mindful way.
Her book outlines some of the ways she has managed to create change through quiet activism, and she has a new book coming out soon, which I’m looking forward to reading.
'This is mindful activism . . . thought-out, strategic and engaging' Guardian
'I love what Sarah does! It's quiet activism for everyone including introverts' Jon Ronson
'Sarah Corbett mixes an A-grade mind with astonishing creativity and emotional awareness' Lucy Siegle
If we want a world that is beautiful, kind and fair, shouldn't our activism be beautiful, kind and fair?
Award-winning campaigner and founder of the global Craftivist Collective Sarah Corbett shows how to respond to injustice not with apathy or aggression, but with gentle, effective protest.
This is a manifesto - for a more respectful and contemplative activism; for conversation…
“Rowdy” Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian who has been single for twenty years and is trying to date again.
At the end of a long, exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse…
My latest picture book was conceived when I participated in art fairs as a weaver and quilter. I was struck by how each craft, whether it be woodworking, metallurgy, glassblowing, pottery, etc., had a unique vocabulary and origins in many different cultures. My goal is to cultivate appreciation of the work of artisans around the world who are carrying on cultural traditions. I also saw an opportunity to expand vocabulary by sharing the language of the crafts, and to encourage children to think about a craft they may want to try. It is my hope that art teachers, parents and grandparents, artisans, and lovers of crafts will enjoy sharing this inspirational book.
This book consists of a series of stories that show how crafts from the past were designed and created. The book invites readers to appreciate the time, effort, and care that went into making objects such as toys and tools without machinery. I have included this book because it emphasizes the satisfaction of creating treasures by hand.
A beautiful, one-of-a-kind volume invites readers to marvel at the time, effort, and care that went into creating handmade toys, tools, and treasures of the past.
Whirr, buzz, hum. Before busy machines in factories turned out most of what we need and use, people crafted these items by hand. From a globe to a pie crimper, a butter churn to a rocking horse, this unique collection highlights fourteen one-of-a-kind objects — each one drafted, stitched, painted, or engraved by hand. Author Carole Lexa Schaefer draws inspiration from real historical artifacts to create thirteen short works of fiction, imagining the hands…
