Crafts and Decorative arts

For the first time, the history of spalted wood—wood coloration caused by fungi—is detailed in a comprehensive resource covering the science, the history, and the applications of spalting. Featuring 870 photos and photomicrographs, this resource goes back 700 years to the beginning of written records of spalting, and follows its evolution from closely guarded guild secret to scientific curiosity ...

A book of 25 floral sketches printed on lovely watercolor paper invites artistic experimentation with only a brush and paint. Each page is double-sided, offering the opportunity to paint the same page in different ways. The author shares painting tips for each sketch and advice for discovering the artist within. Also included is a painting tutorial and handy color wheel.

A book of 25 pattern sketches printed on lovely watercolor paper invites artistic experimentation with only a brush and paint. Each page is double-sided, offering the opportunity to paint the same page in different ways. The author shares painting tips for each sketch and advice for discovering the artist within. Also included is a painting tutorial and handy color wheel.

A book of 25 pattern sketches printed on lovely watercolor paper invites artistic experimentation with only a brush and paint. Each page is double-sided, offering the opportunity to paint the same page in different ways. The author shares painting tips for each sketch and advice for discovering the artist within. Also included is a painting tutorial and handy color wheel.

Discover magic! Join the vibrant, prismatic world of luminous alcohol inks. Mercurial, versatile, inexpensive, and wildly colorful, alcohol inks are one of the newest mediums to hit the art community. This essential guide for working with alcohol inks has been greatly expanded, with  new tips and techniques and more than 50 additional works from guest artists in an inspiring gallery.

Clear instructions and 148 photos welcome you to the subtle, fascinating world of Japanese calligraphy. Beginning with a summary of the art's history, this guide then helps you understand the two systems of script that Japanese uses together: kanji, the ideogram-like characters borrowed from the Chinese language; and kana, the purely phonetic characters.

Clear instructions and 129 photos welcome you to the world of calligraphy. Starting with the pens, inks, and writing surfaces you'll need, the book explains the basics, from filling the pen to holding the nib at the right angle. Practice exercises help you understand upstrokes, downstrokes, the optical center, and more.

Learn how to curate, create, and gift one-of-a-kind napkin ring sets made from vintage brooches and costume jewelry, preferably from your very own jewelry box. TV personality Lisa Guerrero shares the story of how she created this original craft to honor her family's heritage and upcycle treasures found in her community.

Take a twisted trip through the mind's eye of pop culture legend Dirty Donny Gillies as he brings us the best of his black-and-white ink drawings for artists to color and customize. Deemed one of today's most influential artists, Donny has been spreading his art across all mediums for decades, including work for Metallica, Snap-on Tools, Vans skate shoes, Creature Skateboards, and Stern Pinball, ...

Create lovely new "once upon a time" keepsakes with these 44 cross-stitch patterns, blending the traditional style of France with a charming contemporary simplicity. The designs are eye-catchingly lovely with their subtle colors, gentle humor, and delicate lines. They're all here: wily foxes, big bad wolves, city mice and country mice . . .

Enter this deliciously vintage universe of 500 patterns and add a touch of nostalgia to your stitchwork. Re-create designs from 1800s and 1900s fashion houses and milliners’ catalogs. Take your cross stitch on a bon voyage into the past with traveling motifs like trunk labels of exotic destinations and railroad advertising posters.

This book shows how to make 40 bags and miscellaneous goods with very simple, clear-cut instructions that even total beginners can follow. What makes this book special is that it has patterns with stitch marks at the end of the book. Leather is usually sewn after piercing holes for stitching, which means that punching the holes is the most important part.

This guide to printmaking plunges you into dozens of ways to leave your mark on the world—and on your walls, tablecloths, garments, and every other surface imaginable. Emphasizing the joy and energy of printmaking, the 41 projects use everyday materials, and don't require any previous experience.

Illustrated with more than 300 photos, this guide covers everything you need to know to begin working with glass. Learn the materials and tools needed, types of glass, and successful techniques, focusing on the copper foil method.

Using your creativity and the vibrant medium of alcohol inks, create these 20 beautiful representational paintings. With a broad range of painting subjects including florals, animals, landscapes, and more, these projects demonstrate a variety of approaches to alcohol ink painting to inspire and ignite creativity. Step-by-step photos make each project a learning opportunity.

Handmade textiles are personal, no matter where in the world they're created, and these photos and explanations of 25 diverse world cultures' techniques vividly share the details. Take a voyage through these pages and see how today's artisans continue to create traditional fiber arts with age-old methods.

The best way to start in knifemaking is usually to make a fixed-blade knife, and this photo-rich guide with carefully detailed instructions offers a full tang knife and a hidden tang knife. Make each of these two projects by following the individual construction principles here, and learn all phases of the knifemaking process.

With the delicacy of a spider's web, the traditional, Amerindian dream catcher traps bad dreams in its weave and lets good dreams slide along its feathers to the sleeper. Dream catchers have become an essential item in decoration, but they remain highly symbolic.

The knife—a staple in every household and long considered one of mankind's most important tools. Despite our long history, in today's fast-paced world many no longer know how to recognize a good knife or the characteristics that define one.

Upholstery doesn't have to be intimidating! Expert Shelly Miller Leer, founder of HomeRoom and Upholstery Club and former writer and contributor for curbly.com, apartmenttherapy.com, and many other online crafting communities uses her trademark fresh, casual teaching style to empower you with the confidence and skills to get started right away.