This comprehensive collection offers a wide range of easy and creative decorating projects that can be done on a budget in a weekend. Whether you're an accomplished home decorator or an aspiring novice, a lover of tradition or a champion of contemporary style, you'll find inspiration and ideas that will suit your skill level and complement your taste.
Build Your Daughter's Confidence and Creativity Tween girls are surrounded by technology, but cell phones and tablets can't replace the simple joy of making something of your very own. Encourage the artist in your daughter with these 52 DIY activities designed to help her believe in herself and convince her she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. From the creative dynamo behind the popular Thistlewood Farms blog, KariAnne Wood, along with her twin "mini-thistles" Whitney and Westleigh and illustrator extraordinaire Michal Sparks comes this amazing collection of crafts designed with your tween girl in mind—a new project for every week of the year. Each craft is illustrated by Michal Sparks with an easy-to-understand, hand-drawn DIY with a simple set of instructions. In addition, each DIY comes with a supply list, skill level projection, approximate cost, and estimated timeframe to complete the project. Nothing hard. Nothing complicated. Just easy and fun projects for your girl to enjoy by herself, with friends, or with you!
Create the home--and life--you've always wanted with the help of popular blogger and author of Cozy Minimalist Home Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) as she helps you free yourself to take risks and find beauty in imperfection. Myquillyn Smith is all about embracing reality--especially when it comes to decorating a home bursting with kids, pets, and all the unpredictable messes of life. In The Nesting Place, Myquillyn shares the secrets of decorating for real people--and it has nothing to do with creating a flawless look to wow your guests and everything to do with making peace with the natural imperfection and joy of daily living. Drawing on her years of experience creating beauty in her 13 different homes and countless seasons of life, Myquillyn will show you how to think differently about the true purpose of your home, and simply and creatively tailor it to reflect you and your unique style--without breaking the bank. Full of simple steps, practical advice, and beautiful, full-color photos, The Nesting Place gives you the tools you need to: Cultivate a home that works for you and your family Transform your home into a place that's inviting and warm for family and friends Discover your own personal style There is beauty in embracing the lived-in, loved-on, and just-about-used-up aspects of our homes and our daily lives--let Myquillyn show you how. Praise for The Nesting Place: "This book made me look at every room in my house differently, with a new lens of creativity and beauty and possibility. It inspired me to reclaim my home as sacred space, ripe with opportunities to celebrate and create memories and moments." --Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect and I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet "This highly personal account about embracing imperfection and finding contentment in your home is like sitting down with a good friend and talking about the stuff that really matters. The Nesting Place is full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart." --Sherry Petersik, home blogger; bestselling author of Young House Love
“With its diverse selection of fabrics and designs, A Quilting Life is a fine pick for any quilter looking to produce family-oriented keepsake results.” —The Needlecraft Shelf Bring the handmade tradition home with these charming quilts and home accessories. Inspired by a grandmother who loved to sew for her family, quilter and blogger Sherri McConnell gives traditional patterns like hexagons, stars, snowballs, and Dresden Plates a new look featuring fabrics by some of today’s most popular designers. Nineteen cozy projects include pillows, tote bags, table runners, and larger quilts—quick and easy designs that make great gifts. “Sherri’s book is a treasure! It’s full of fun and straight-forward patterns for quilts, table toppers, pillows, bags and more—all the goodies to make a cozy home.” —Thimbleanna “Would you like the opportunity to make tomorrow’s heirlooms in today’s vast selection of prints? . . . If so, this could be the reference book that will get you started. There are 19 projects, mainly focusing on handmade household items but including some larger quilts too.” —Fabrications Quilting for You “Beautiful inspiration if you are a seasoned quilter, but also a great resource with clear and in some cases, simple patterns for newbies as well.” —Diary of a Quilter “Color photos of finished needlework projects accompany step-by-step diagrams and assembly patterns, while at-a-glance sidebars covering materials and cutting allow needleworkers to gauge the complexity of each project.” —The Needlecraft Shelf
Just as a home's hearth warms the family, this collection of quilts, pillows, table runners, and other delightful objects from designer Sherri McConnell will warm the hearts of your family and friends. Brimming with 14 pretty and practical projects, this book is a must-have addition to every quilter's library. McConnell, perhaps best known for her fan-favorite blog, AQuiltingLife.com, also shares helpful advice for featuring quilts and smaller projects to create the home you love.
Discover easy, accessible, and fun techniques for making beautifully decorated cupcakes with Cupcake Decorating Lab! This inspiring guide starts out with basic techniques, such as frosting cupcakes with an offset spatula; using a piping bag and tips; flooding cupcake tops with icing; frosting with chocolate ganache; and tinting buttercream. The labs in the book cover a wide variety of exciting decorating techniques, such as how to make sugared and candied fruit and flower garnishes; stamping, stenciling, and piping on fondant; and scroll work, writing, and borders. You’ll also find fun ideas for children, weddings, holidays, entertaining, nature themes, and more. Plus, the author includes all of her favorite cake and icing recipes! Create the most delicious and stylish cupcakes imaginable with Cupcake Decorating Lab!
A powerful portfolio involves so much more than just a strong grasp of the technical aspects of photography–it’s a complex mix of style, techniques, and intriguing ideas. Many photographers struggle to achieve a high-impactportfolio, feeling that they lack the creative spark to invigorate them andmove their work forward. Creative 52 is that spark–and your guide to a new and more creative portfolio in just one year! A remedy for that “average” portfolio, this collection of innovative projects will help portrait, wedding, and fashion photographers build a portfolio that draws the attention of editors and clients–leaving the competition behind. While other how-to books often use bland imagery simply to prove a technical point, and many fine art books are filled with beautiful imagery but contain minimal (if any) educational insights to help working photographers, this book blends both: inspiration and knowledge that you can use to create images that attract potential clients. Divided into three parts–concept, technique, and post-processing–author Lindsay Adler’s 52 challenges each contain a description of the project, potential inspiration and suggestions of other artists to check out, and her own unique solution to the challenge–all to push you beyond your comfort zone to explore new ideas and approaches to your work. Includes a year’s worth of weekly projects that motivate you to experiment with new concepts, techniques, and software tools like Adobe Photoshop to achieve more eye-catching images Offers the cure for “expected” imagery, showing how to produce memorable photographs that are distinct from the competition, enabling you to reach new clients Empowers you with the encouragement and expertise necessary to create spectacular images
"Your daughter's room is special...just like her! A girl's bedroom is an important part of her identity, maybe the only place in the world that she can truly call her own. Now your daughter can decorate her space to make her room a reflection of her unique personality. From twins Whitney and Westleigh Wood, creators of 52 DIY Crafts for Girls and the daughters of home décor expert Karianne Wood, comes a year's worth of pretty projects that will transform your girl's room to fit her one-of-a-kind style. Your daughter will discover fun and colorful crafts for her windows, walls, door, and so much more! Each craft has illustrated and easy-to-follow instructions, including a supply list, skill level projection, approximate cost, and estimated timeframe to complete the project. Your daughter will also get some practical advice and encouragement from Whitney and Westleigh along the way. Give the special girl in your life the room to make, create, draw, and paint and watch her creativity and confidence grow"--
