5 comments about The Pen Turner's Workbook: Making Pens from Simple to Stunning.

1. While not an absolute beginers book this book will take you to the next step. Many gems you can glean from reading carefully....



2. I recently bought this book. I has good examples that cover from the easiest pens to more complex ones (segmented for example). It's really good in showing step by step pictures on how to turn and finish pens. I covers all of the materials available in the market and it provides instructions for one finishing technique that seems to be reliable. It does not cover CA finishing, which is a common practice as well. It has a nice chapter about FAQ's and troubleshooting. It also has a few pages on how to market your products. It is not complete but it has more information than other books. If you are going to buy just one book, this is the one of choice!



3. I Have just bought a Rikon mini lathe and am very much a beginner. This book is perfect to help the beginner set up shop, select the correct tools, explains how to use them, and the basic steps to making pens. Several specific projects are also given at the end, some basic, and a few that are very advanced. Very good illustrations, and easy to read. This book was extremely helpful to me.



4. I'm new to pen turning and this book was all I needed to get started. It also had some great ideas for more advanced pens. Well illustrated and clearly written.



5. This is a great book, it will answer many of your pen turning questions. It will also inspire you to go on to bigger and better projects.

2 comments about The Craft of Natural Dyeing: Glowing Colours from the Plant World.

1. What a great resource this book is! As a teacher for young children, this book provided a great background of the craft, easy instructions and even a glossary of terms. For someone who has never experimented with the natural dyeing process, the book was a great place to begin. The wondeful colored pictures were also a delightful reference especially for showing children when presenting a lesson.



2. Excellent book! The other books by this lady are great. Good info with excellent instructions.

5 comments about Indygo Junction's Needle Felting: 22 Stylish Projects for Home & Fashion.

1. I waited months for this book...should have just looked at it at Borders and walked. The pictures are nice, ideas are somewhat "crafty" creative, but it totally lacked the true art of needle felting in my opinion. She used purchase felt in alot of the applications. She has a gallery of nice pics in the back of the book, but I was not inspired. Most of the technique info she used in the book is available on the internet. The author was lucky to have a few contributing artist help her with this book, because her projects were basically elementary. Maybe my expectations were high, but just look at the cover, and it does tell you where this is going. (Live and learn) More yarn and purchased wool felt than start from scratch roving techniques, but someone else might be into that. If you looking for a good needlefelting book using roving and being creative from scratch, look elsewhere.



2. I really enjoyed this book. It was well illustrated with color photos and the instructions were very clear. As a novice to this technique it has helped me get started and I will refer back to this book often as I explore this medium. There are lots of really creative and fun ideas that can be adapted to any number of projects. The button project is such fun and will make a wonderful addition to any ready to wear or handmade garment. Needlefelting was the "hot" thing at the Houston Quilt Festival this year and I am glad that I have a head start on learning this fun technique.



3. I will enjoy this book for a long time. It gives me the help I need as a beginner, and has more challenging projects as well.



4. I really enjoyed this book and I still refer to it to help me with my needle felting projects. The pictures are wonderful and very easy to follow; clear and precise instructions. I highly recommend.



5. I bought this book specifically for the instruction to Tangled Scarf. Now that I have it, I like every single project in the book. I don't think I own a single other craft book that I can say that about. The Plaid Mittens (not very useful in Florida, unfortunately) look like so much fun to make and wear. Maybe I'll make a set and line them for oven mitts. The Fern Pillow is simple, understated and gorgeous.
   
   Right now is the perfect time to try needle felting, with supplies being generally available in craft and sewing stores. This is the book you want to go along with your new supplies.

5 comments about Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders.

1. Most aircraft design texts are university textbooks or industry references, and out of hundreds of pages you might find a few dozen that are helpful for the amateur experimental aircraft designer/homebuilder. This book, however, wastes not a single page. After the obligatory "don't blame me if you kill yourself" intro (would sloppy designer/builders read a book like this anyway?), the book gets right down to business.
   
   The first four chapters cover the most important question: "Why?" Why do you want to design an airplane? The answer determines the aircraft configuration, size, wing loading, fuel capacity, etc., and all these items and more are discussed.
   
   Once that's sorted out, Chapter 5 begins the "How", starting with how to actually loft (draw) the overall airplane shape. This chapter has one of the most detailed and useful descriptions of conic and flat-wrap lofting I've seen in any design reference.
   
   Chapter 6 is only a few pages long, discussing crashworthiness and flutter prevention. Important stuff, but basically punted to other references.
   
   In Chapter 7 you analyze your drawing, calculate the basic aerodynamic coefficients and do a preliminary structural design and weight analysis. I commend the author for a halfway-decent overview of structural design--most of the aerodynamically-oriented texts seem to be afraid to touch this topic at all. Chapter 8 continues with range and performance calculations, and finally Chapter 9, titled "Let's Make It Better", covers the inevitable design reiteration when the analysis results indicate that your "How" and your "Why" are miles apart.
   
   Finally, there is a brief but great appendix with useful tables and graphs, such as the weight and horsepower of most of the engines commonly seen on homebuilts and the weight and density of common homebuilt aircraft materials and components.
   
   The foreword by Peter Garrison really summarizes this book nicely: an airplane designer needs to gather a disparate amount of material from a large number of different sources, and this book helps organize that task, and with a particular emphasis on the small planes of interest to the homebuilder.
   
   Hint to this author or others: what I haven't found *anywhere* is a good structures text oriented toward small aircraft design. "Stress Without Tears" isn't bad, but a marriage of Bruhn with Nui's composites book, with a focus on small GA planes, would fill a *huge* hole for amateur designers. To really impress me, include examples of using open source CFD and FEA programs to assist the design effort :-)



2. A great intro to engineering your own aircraft. An easy read even for someone like me, who abhors formulas and mathematical equations (even if they are necessary evils in this case). It holds true to its name, so, if you are an engineer, you might want to go for this writer's more complex titles. If you are an ordinary joe like me, who is interested in homebuilt aircraft, this is just right.



3. This is another my favorite introduction-type book. Very useful from homebuilder's and pilot's point of view. The book is also written in so interesting way that it is hard to not to read it from cover to cover in one evening. After receiving the book, I was totally hooked and lost some sleeping time because of the book. Highly recommended. The topics do not go to very advanced level, so EADS-engineers developing fairings to A380 tail section don't bother. But if you are a homebuilder and into aircraft design and want to learn what it is all about, this is a good place to start from.



4. This book is very well written and is a great foundation for further study. I am very happy that I bought it. Ever since I was a kid jumping off the roof with home made wings I have been looking for a book like this one. I have gone through a lot of books since then. No other book I have ever found covers the basics of aircraft design so well. For me, the best part is that the author steers the reader in the right direction to continue studying areas the reader may be interested in learning more about. Buy this book!



5. Based on the reviews and the author's other book "Aircraft Design, a Conceptual Approach" (which is a must have I think for anyone interested the topic of aircraft design) I was looking forward to this book. Sadly I was not impressed. Maybe I'm "past" the level the book is aimed at, but I found the book very light in content.
   
   Given the rather high cost of this book I can't recomend it to anyone that is serious about designing and building their own airplane. I don't believe after reading it you would be any closer to being able to design you own airplane. You weren't given any real information about aircraft structures, aerodynamics, materials or flight systems. For example wood is totally ignored as a potential materials.
   
   Skip this and consider the book from the author I mentioned earlier (Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach (Aiaa Education Series) or find the series of articles printed in Kitplane Magazine written by Donald R Crawford Airplane Design: A Series of Articles Printed First in Kitplanes Magazine

5 comments about The New Sewing Essentials (Singer).

1. I love the pictures in this book. They are very clear and go a long way in showing you what you should be doing and how it should look. This book is very helpful regarding the basics of sewing.



2. I was not very impressed with the information contained in this book. It started out with basic skills and jumped to advanced sewing. There was very little information for the average ability seamstress. Be aware that the book, "New Sewing Essentials" and "The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing" are by the same publisher and are virtually the same. Many identical photos and information.



3. This is a great book for all the persons that like to learn sewing. Is very easy to understand and is GREAT and usefull.



4. The product was all the seller had claimed and was just what I had been looking for. Thank you



5. I first purchased this book as a requirement for a college class in 1994 and still reference back to it when I need to brush up on a certain skill. The fact that a major college uses this to teach its fashion design and merchandising students how to sew says a lot. I highly recommend to everyone from the beginner to experienced seamstress.

5 comments about Photocraft: Cool Things to Do with the Pictures You Love.

1. What a wonderful addition to my burgeoning craft-book library! This book is visually engaging and can serve as a creative inspiration to novice crafters and seasoned ones alike. 'Photocraft' engages the imagination while providing practical instruction as to how to manipulate all types of images artisically. A great find!



2. Photocraft features fresh, inventive ways to display your photographs. I was inundated with photo storage boxes and was seeking a creative way to display cherished images when a friend gave me this book. Most of the projects are relatively simple and are accompanied with easy to follow instructions. I needed a quick fix wall treatment in my entranceway and borrowed an idea from page 100: using old CD cases, I created my own rotating photo gallery (FYI: I found that poster tabs keep the light weight plastic in place).
   
   I've found this book to be an invaluable resource for both displaying photos and making personalized gifts.



3. This book has some GREAT ideas for using those stored photographs! We've already gone through several boxes and made a really cool lampshade; a collage; and jewelry! The book has creative gift ideas, which will be cherished by the recipient. Fun projects for the whole family!



4. Many of the projects are pretty advanced, but there are some great ideas, and I always appreciate craft books that have sections on materials and step-by step instructions.



5. Great inspirational book. I have been taking pictures since I bought it. Haven't tried any of the projects in the book, but have came up with my own and now know so much more about things like photo paper, adhesives, etc. I do plan to try a project soon!

5 comments about Metal Clay The Complete Guide: Innovative Techniques to Inspire Any Artist.

1. This is a terrific metal clay techniques reference book. The spiral bound design is great, making it easy to keep it open to whatever page you are working on. It's loaded with tons of great techniques, tips and tricks. Although there are a few projects at the end, it's not really intended as a project book. Rather, it presents instructions and reference for all the various elements of design. Need to know how to make a bail? Want to know how to set a stone? With both a detailed table of contents AND a comprehensive index, it's a snap to find the information you need quickly and easily. I would say this book is an absolute must for any beginner in metal clay!



2. I've always wanted to do metal work settings of my own for jewelry, but I've not had the courage to try because in the past it required some major effort. My father was an amateur lapidary and enjoyed jewelry making. He made quite a few items with his carefully shaped stones, but he used purchased settings which I found disappointing. My mother, who was a professional artist, also did some jewelry making as a master's student when I was quite young, and I remember how much more esthetically satisfying were the pieces of jewelry she made. When I discovered through my investigation of beading and jewelry making that there was now a clay metal that could be used for making ones own settings and designs, I was very pleased and started looking for books on the process. This one seemed to have a little bit of everything, so I purchased it. I've started out working with polymer clay to familiarize myself with some of the techniques using this much cheaper material. Like the metal clay, the polymer makes wonderful beads and molded shapes. I've ordered the necessary metal clay recently, so I can get busy producing the metal settings I've wanted to do for so long. Now I can hardly wait!



3. I'm just starting to work with metal clay, and I read this book cover to cover as soon as I got it. It was packed with useful tips and ideas and I'm confident that I'll be off to a good start after reading it. The book has dozens of uses for metal clay that I would never have thought of on my own, but am eager to try. It is also beautifully designed. My only complaint is that some sections are a bit vague. With so many different techniques included, some aren't explained in enough detail. Also, few of the photos are captioned and what they're depicting is sometimes unclear. But despite those problems, I'm glad to have this book. It has really helped me to get started, and I know that I'll refer to it again and again.



4. Jackie Truty's book is very easy to use. The sprial binding in a hard back edition makes this easy to keep on your work bench for handy reference. Ms Truty has done an excellent job of presenting a complete non-biased overview of precious metal clay properties, techniques and uses. The illustrations are clear and easy to follow. I am both a precious metal clay artisan and instructor and I always recommend this book to all of my beginning students regardless of the precious metal clay product they choose to employ. I think this is the best overall reference book available for beginning students.



5. This book seems to have been designed to provide references to various techniques rather than give a series of step-by-steps for the reader to mimic. I really dislike that way of explaining...all you end up with is a collection of pieces that someone else designed. She has left room for YOUR imagination and ideas to flow. I would recommend it for new metal clay artists partly because it has such a good index and that makes specific information easy to locate. My sole criticism is that Trudy never touches on PMC, the Art Clay competitor. I realize that Trudy IS Art Clay as much as anyone in the U.S. could claim to be, so I expected her to focus on Art Clay, but not to even give firing temperatures for PMC and put the word "complete" in the subtitle seems just a little bit misleading. I do give her and her publisher the benefit of a doubt - I don't believe they intended to mislead any of us.

2 comments about Big Book of Quilting: Hundreds of Tips, Tricks & Techniques.

1. This is a very good reference book and design book. I refer to this quite a bit. Easy to use.



2. I have found few quilt books with as much valuable information as this book on crazy quilts. It is a good book for many types of quilts, but it EXCELS in the area of Crazy Quilts.

5 comments about Making Metal Beads: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration (Lark Jewelry Book).

1. I often look for great silver smith books that can either inspire me with some great design, or challenge me with some interesting techniques.
   
   This book does both. ALl techniques are cold-joining for the most part.
   
   Even if you do not make beads, the techniques can be applied to rings, pendants, brooches, and so much more. It is great to have a book that can inspire and teach less experienced and shake the cobwebs out the brains of those of us who have loved working with metal for years.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



2. WOW! I really love this book for it relates to both the beginner silversmith to advanced. Tools needed are covered in enough detail and yet shows that you don't need all the fancy tools in order to make incredible handmade metal beads. I believe that even the most amateur silver worker can master bead making with this book and learn to grow on their own using the guidelines/techniques that are shown in this book. As mentioned by other reviewers, I wish I had purchased this book over a year ago for I used to stumbled along using other references to make my own pendants and wish I knew more to make better metal/silver beads --- well this book is a great help and eye opener for me. I think all interested in silver or metal beads should have this book. I know I will apply techniques learned from this author in the making of my pendants, thus giving them a unique flair seen nowhere else. Thanks to the author for putting her experience and techniques in print and providing excellent images to help guide us in the development of these beautiful beads.



3. When I received this book, I read it from cover to cover. I became excited and enthused when I realized that I could DO these projects. The photographs are phenomenal, instructions are very clear, concise and easy to follow. There are several projects that do not need a torch, they are cold connections only. I design jewelry and am a beginning metalsmith student as well. This book gave me so many ideas my head was spinning. I highly recommend this book to those looking for inspiration, and as well for those who need a good technical book on making metal beads!



4. As a contemporary jeweller I was looking for alternative design ideas to create beaded jewellery that made a statement and utilised my skills - this book more than satisfied my creative quest and inspired a few new techniques I'd never tried. And generated a new group of buyers who loved the designs this book inspired.



5. I like this book. Lark books give nice examples and well-illustrated projects. I got lots of nice ideas, but I haven't gotten them into practice yet.

5 comments about Handmade Modern: Mid-Century Inspired Projects for Your Home.

1. The goods: The projects are cool and fun to make but not for the ordinary person who does not know how to use a lot of power tools or knows how to sew. The designs of the projects are nice and are pretty up to date with the retro style.
   The Bads: This has GOT to be the worst edited book i've ever seen!
   In each introduction of the project, the finished item is shown. Then the step-by-step comes but the photos of each step are horribly cropped and doesn't show much. Then the last step is shown and it seems as if there is a page missing. It doesn't feel like there is a "finish" to each and every project. It doesn't show you what the item looks like when it's completed....even if it means repeating the finished photo of the project. I much rather have the "finished" item be shown at the end than at the beginning. I keep turning the pages thinking there is another step to the project....but NO! It feels as if the instructions just abruptly ends. What a waste of my time and money! Don't bother buying this book! It certainly is one of the worst edited book i've seen so far.



2. This book was inspirational, and I love Todd Oldham but some of the projects are a little complicated for someone w/o any carpentry skills or lack of work space. I would recommend "Readymade" instead.



3. If you're a creative person who likes to get into hands on projects, this is a book for you. Each section begins with a photograph of an entire room, and the following pages used cropped images of each item with instructions on how to make them. Most of the projects do require some knowledge about construction & materials, however. Tools needed include a jigsaw, sewing machine, or a large space in which to do some of the projects. There are smaller projects though that do not require these things, and the book definitely promotes you to come up with your own creative ideas. One downside though, if you are interested in easy crafts - this isn't the book for you. Readers definitely need to understand the basics in order to find this book useful.



4. I'm a huge Todd Oldham fan but, over all, but this book is very disappointing. A lot of the projects seem complicated and/or expensive (also, I think the prices he lists for some of the supplies are too low, making some projects even more expensive than they seem). Given the cost of materials and tools, some things just don't seem worth making. I wish there were more simple, clever ideas for adding Modern design to your home, that don't require a lot of money, skill, tools, or a work space. The instructions and photos are sometimes confusing or incomplete, making them hard to follow. The one thing I like about this book is that Oldham talks about important Modern designers like Isamu Noguchi and Eva Zeisel, but I'm already familiar with their work, so this didn't teach me anything. I love Oldham's design aesthetic, but this is a very weak how-to book. Sorry, Todd!



5. Designer Todd Oldham, founder of Todd Oldham Studio in New York and host of the Bravo television series "Top Design," provides more nifty project ideas and DIY help in his 2005 book titled Handmade Modern: Mid-Century Inspired Projects for Your Home. Oldham's book contains more than 72 step-by-step projects inspired by mid-century modern aesthetics. Interspersed along with an array of design plans; Oldham's book contains a number of succinct bios on such prominent designers as Isamu Noguchi, Alexander Girard and Charles and Ray Eames.
   
   Oldham is well known for his contributions to the world of accessible design and has often struck me as a gifted mentor and educator. On first review,Oldham's book fulfills expectations with it's vivid "mod-podge" design and brilliantly conceived projects. Upon closer inspection however, Handmade Modern falls short of its expected accessibility with vague instructions and the absence of a much needed list of tools and materials for each project.
   
   From a design prospective Todd Oldham's book is a bit of a let down. Ultimately, the book exists to inform the reader, so how the book does this should be considered most critically. Aesthetically, the book is pleasing and the form is consistent, but unfortunately it falls short in its function.
   
   Copyright © 2007 Of My Own Design, Josh Crain. All Rights Reserved.