Sewing Edges & Corners

Tsia Carson

Craftivity: 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle

From the creators of the hugely popular craft site, Supernaturale.com, comes a hip and funky compendium of new DIY projects that reshape, reuse, and redefine the concept of "handmade," moving away from country-cutesy, granny craft into utilitarian craft art for the 21st century. Got a pile of extra buttons and don't know what to do with them? Make a cool bracelet. Need some pillows for your new couch, and have a bunch of old wool sweaters? Turn those sweaters into felt! Knitting, felting, leather tooling, glass and metal work--it's all here. CRAFTIVITY is filled with 60 amazing DIY projects that make the most of what you have by taking old stuff and turning it into functional, breathtaking art.

Gustie L. Herrigel

Zen in the Art of Flower Arrangement: The Classic Account of the Meaning and Symbolism of the Japanese Art of Ikebana

Japanese masters have developed the techniques of ikebana over centuries and, while many different styles have evolved, they all share the same fundamental principles. The art embodies aesthetic considerations, knowledge of the natural forms of plants, and a profound understanding of the space around them. This book explains these principles by describing the lessons learned from master arranger Bokuyo Takeda and the underlying Zen symbolism in the art of ikebana. Readers will learn that training in ikebana is a process of achieving spiritual enlightenment and that the craft of arranging flowers is a form of meditation. These lessons provide a perfect escape from the stresses of everyday life and the incomparable satisfaction of creating beauty in the home.

Mastini Frank, Frank Mastini

Ship Modeling Simplified: Tips and Techniques for Model Construction from Kits

In Ship Modeling Simplified, master model builder Frank Mastini puts to paper the methods he's developed over 30 years at the workbench to help novices take their first steps in an exciting pastime. You don't need the deftness of a surgeon or the vocabulary of an old salt to build a model. What you need is an understanding coach. Mastini leads readers from the mysteries of choosing a kit and setting up a workshop through deciphering complicated instructions and on to painting, decorating, and displaying finished models--with patience and clarity, not condescension. He reveals dozens of shortcuts: How to plank a hull "egg-shell tight"; how to build and rig complicated mast assmeblies without profanity; how to create sails that look like sails. . . . And along the way he points out things that beginners usually do wrong--beforehand, not after they've taken hammers to their projects. Ship Modeling Simplified even includes an Italian-English dictionary of nautical terms, the key to assembling the many high-quality Italian kits on the American market. Model building is fun, and not nearly as difficult as some experts would have you believe. Here is everything you'll ever need to get ...