The Sunday Times bestseller, Making It is an inspirational memoir about beating the odds and turning things around even when it all seems hopeless, by Jay Blades, the beloved star of hit BBC One show The Repair Shop. We had our hardships, and there were times that we didn't have a lot of food and didn't have a lot of money. But that didn't stop me having the time of my life. In his book, Jay shares the details of his life, from his childhood growing up sheltered and innocent on a council estate in Hackney, to his adolescence when he was introduced to violent racism at secondary school, to being brutalized by police as a teen, to finally becoming the presenter of the hit primetime show The Repair Shop. Jay reflects on strength, weakness and what it means to be a man. He questions the boundaries society places on male vulnerability and how letting himself be nurtured helped him flourish into the person he is today. An expert at giving a second life to cherished items, Jay's positivity, pragmatism and kindness shine through these pages and show that with care and love, anything can be mended.

Recipes for natural cleaning products from green living blogger Wendy Graham.

Learn how to make your home smell as fresh as a daisy with these eco-friendly, money-saving, germ-busting recipes. Using a base of essential oils and natural ingredients, these cleaning products are easy to make, are kinder to your skin and to the environment, while being as effective as any shop-bought solution. The recipes use simple, inexpensive ingredients that are widely available such as bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, salt and citrus fruit, and will leave your home sparkling clean. You can even customise the fragrances to make your home smell crisp, time and time again.

Fresh Clean Home guides the reader from the kitchen to laundry and the bathroom, and also includes a section of recipes for specific household cleaning products, such as window and mirror cleaner, carpet and upholstery spot cleaner and sticky stuff remover. Clean every nook and cranny, with surface cleaners and bathroom shiners, laundry powder and fabric conditioner, kettle descaler and more, for a beautiful, fresh clean home.

There are other manuals on how to build cabins, but W. Ben Hunt's is the only one that shows you how to build and furnish an authentic pioneer cabin the easy way, natural, using only hand tools and the woods around you. Our ancestors used logs and hand tools to build durable, dry, windproof, and protective dwellings; and they fashioned chairs, beds, and tables out of half logs, twigs branches, and bushes. In this day of power saws, lumberyards, and high prices, it's good to know that you can build in the same way.

An updated edition of the best-selling DIY manual you can’t afford to be without, with expert know-how for success every time.

Whether you need to do a quick fix or a large DIY project, find out how to tackle any DIY task with confidence following this revised and updated step-by-step guide.

From fitting a shower cubicle to applying different painting techniques, the simple, clear, unintimidating instructions ensure even hard jobs are made easy, whatever your level of ability.

With step-by-step photographs of every technique and process, DIY breaks down every stage of every task, from choosing tools and essential safety guidance to advice for tackling big jobs and fixing common problems. Including the latest home features like boiling-water taps and smart security systems, up-to-date safety guidelines, and eco-conscious solutions from paint choices to solar panels, this is the tried-and-trusted guide that no homeowner should be without.

Carving Kitchen Tools is the beginning of your woodworking journey and is a practical guide to creating your own beautiful utensils. From the all-important wooden spoon to butter knives, salad servers and spatulas, Moa Brannstroem Ott shows you how to create kitchen implements that will bring individuality and personality to your home. As well as this, Carving Kitchen Tools explores the variety of different woods, their properties and the whittling techniques to which they are most suited. With step-by-steps to illustrate the correct grips for knife and wood, tips on how to source your wood and details on the tools you need, this book is the perfect guide to this surprisingly simple and mindful craft. Projects include: Butter knives Frying utensils Straight spoons Curved spoons Salad servers Kuksa cups

.After opening with detailed sections on the scroll saw basics, wood selection, safety, child-safe finishes, and more, a helpful step-by-step tutorial will show you how to make a puzzle project from start to finish. From there, be inspired by 56 high-quality, full-size scroll saw patterns and make a collection of classic yet one-of-a-kind wooden toys and puzzles, consisting of sloths, koalas, unicorns, safari animals, and sea creatures

Whether you've just unpacked your first table saw or have been using one for years, this complete guide features essential and up-to-date information needed to set up and tune your table saw and expand your table saw skillset. Featuring all of the most critical table saw techniques, including preparing lumber, selecting and truing blades, mastering basic to advanced cuts, and joinery techniques, this revised edition also features updated and exclusive information on new SawStop technology, as well as other safety products, tips, and precautions, new table saw types, new aid projects, and more. With step-by-step instructions and detailed diagrams, you'll also complete 10 custom table saw projects to put all your acquired techniques and skills to use.

How to achieve beautiful paint finishes, including sponging, dragging, stippling, distressing and lacquering? It explains the ways to master patterned effects and faux finishes, from simple stamping to imitating the appearance of oak, mahogany, beech, marble and even a trompe l'oeil sky. This title helps you learn how to create a tiled look and to stamp panels with gold leaf for a luxurious effect. It offers an expert guide to the paints, varnishes, brushes, rollers and specialist tools you will need to achieve decorative paint effects. It includes ways to remove old paint and prepare different surfaces for new finishes. It is suitable for anyone who wants to give their home a facelift, creative paint finishes can alter a room easily and cheaply. Many effects are possible, from paint finishes that imitate wood and marble and stamped gilded panels, to trompe l'oeil, which tricks the eye into seeing a three-dimensional surface that is in fact, flat. This practical book shows you step-by-step how to transform your home.

This title offers expert advice on essential home decoration and maintenance, including painting, papering, tiling, laying floors, carpentry skills, insulation, and outdoor projects and repairs. Projects include painting and varnishing wood, tiling a work surface, laying foam-backed carpet, replacing window panes, fitting window locks, making a garage storage wall, insulating roofs, repairing roofs and guttering, laying decking, making pergolas, building rock gardens, installing water features, and many more. It features a guide to tools for a wide range of do-it-yourself jobs, including using chisels, saws, drills, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers and sanders. Over 2400 photographs illustrate each step-by-step project, to provide instant reference. Looking after your home is economical and satisfying, and this book is filled with practical tips for do-it-yourself jobs. All areas of the home are covered, both indoors and out. There is clear step-by-step advice on internal and external maintenance, repairs, carpentry, flooring, brickwork, roofing, fences, walls and paths.The book includes instructions for painting and papering walls and ceilings, laying ceramic tiles, fitting floor coverings and carpets, making bookshelves, draught-proofing doors, repointing brickwork, laying patios and installing ponds and fountains. The book also contains a guide to tools, from saws and drills to spanners and paintbrushes. A reference for beginners and experienced do-it-yourselfers alike, this is an essential manual that you will refer to again and again.

Protect your health, reduce waste, and be a better steward of the Earth by making the switch to natural cleaning products with these 43 easy recipes!A clean house should not come at the expense of your health. Common household cleaners are not kid-friendly or pet-friendly-or lung-friendly, or skin-friendly. Store-bought cleaners that contain bleach and ammonia, drain cleaners, toilet cleaners, and more are the cause of thousands of household emergencies each year. These harsh cleaners and artificial fragrances can irritate your eyes and lungs, and exacerbate allergies and asthma. Not to mention how all these chemicals and packaging materials are affecting the environment. Bottom line, your home-and the planet-are simply safer without them. Most people think natural cleaners either: don't work are difficult / annoying to make involve a lot of exotic, expensive ingredients that are too hard to find all of the above! The truth is, you can clean every room in your house-curtains, carpet, toilet, tile grout, whatever-without ever touching another bottle of Clorox. In this book, you'll learn why these cleaners work, how to stock your home with a few basic ingredients you can grab as needed-and why you shouldn't use some of the DIY cleaning recipes you see online. You'll also learn: How to safely and naturally clean every surface in your home, from stainless steel appliances to moldy showers Which natural cleaning ingredients should never be mixed (and why) How to customize your cleaners with essential oils Why you should use distilled water instead of tap water There's even a recipe for cleaning dog toys! Make the switch to non-toxic DIY cleaning solutions now!

Learn how to make beautiful, bespoke candles for you and your home in this easy-to-follow guide. Sarah Ditchfield, founder of Candle by Events, shares her secrets for crafting 20 of her best-selling candle designs, so that you too can make both modern and traditional waxed creations at home - from elegantly simple taper candles to show-stopping ice pillars. Invaluable advice is included on the essential materials and tools you'll need to get started, along with handy measuring and heating charts. Every candle project is accompanied by simple instructions, step-by-step photographs and a gorgeous finished picture. There's even a chapter on how to decorate and package your candles if you'd like to give them away as thoughtful, hand-crafted gifts. If you are looking for a craft that you can truly immerse yourself in, and one that's perfect for the beginner candlemaker looking for professional results, this is the book for you. This is a revitalized edition of Making Candles: Create 20 decorative candles to keep or to give (2017).

Kumiko is a delicate and sophisticated art created by assembling small wooden pieces into beautiful patterns, and Matt Kenney's latest book offers step-by-step instructions for 10 patterns, with a level of detail that cannot be found in print elsewhere. Also included are cutting diagrams for several original decorative wall panels that make use of the patterns taught in the book. In The Art of Kumiko you'll learn Kenney's methods for making Kumiko, which combine the accuracy and efficiency of modern woodworking equipment with the precision of hand tools to create beautiful pieces. You'll also learn how to incorporate Kumiko in both furniture designs and as stand-alone framed panels that pay homage to this centuries-old craft.

Did you remember your goggles? There used to be a time when pretty much every high school offered Shop class, where students learned to use a circular saw or rewire a busted lamp- all while discovering the satisfaction of being self-reliant and doing it yourself. Shop Class for Everyone now offers anyone who might have missed this vital class a crash course in these practical life skills. Packed with illustrated step by step instructions, plus relevant charts, lists, and handy graphics, here's how to plaster a wall, build a bookcase from scratch, unclog a drain, and change a flat tire (on your car or bike). It's all made clear in plain, nontechnical language for any level of DIYer, and it comes with a guarantee: No matter how simple the task, doing it with your own two hands provides a feeling of accomplishment that no app or device will ever give you.

Wood is one of the oldest known natural resources, and its universal appeal remains timeless. As every woodworker will testify, to work with this material is to appreciate its amazing versatility. This practical book demonstrates the basic techniques of woodworking, providing the foundation on which to build your skills. It begins with an introduction to timber and a guide to tools. Advice on getting started is given, as well as in-depth guides to fixings and fastening, joints, and advanced techniques. There are 20 step-by-step projects, from basic tasks such as a wine rack and picture frame, to complex ventures for experts such as a bedside cabinet and dining table.

Supplemented with clear workshop photography, each insightful pointer has been workplace-tested by the editors. Sharpen your woodworking skills for drilling, sawing, routing, clamping, gluing, joinery, finishing and much more.Avoid common pitfalls and solve everyday problems with materials, tools, techniques, shop organization and maintenance. Even the most experienced woodworker doesn't have all the answers, but this big, well-organized book is the place to find them.

This book features a survey of circular work of both single and double curvature.

This is a colourful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting. Wood Pallet Projects shows how anyone can upcycle salvaged pallet wood to create truly one-of-a-kind projects. Maverick craftsman Chris Gleason combines sound woodworking techniques with a hip designer's sensibility to unleash the limitless possibilities of the common skid. Inside you'll find 15 of his inspired projects for rescuing and repurposing pallets. He shows how to construct both indoor and outdoor furniture in a variety of styles, along with other useful items such as a birdhouse, a toolbox and even a ukulele. The author provides important advice on how to make sure that your pallets are safe and not sprayed with harmful chemicals. A colourful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting.

Since the times of ancient Egypt, humans have had a passion for style, decor, and architecture. Amazingly, styles from many of these bygone eras are still enjoyed and are often implemented into our modern decor and architecture. Past + Present is a collection of 24 pairs of essays and craft projects that explore this connection between decorative arts history and present day design trends. The projects have been contributed by some of the best known modern designers of today, such as Todd Oldham, Jonathan Adler, Erica Domesek, Grace Bonney, and David Stark, adding extra allure to an already fascinating topic. The book, which is based on Azzarito's successful Past + Present column for Design*Sponge, takes the academic subject of decorative arts history and makes it accessible, approachable, and engaging to the average design and craft enthusiast. Included here are not just dates and events, but also the stories, passions, and quirky facts behind many great decorative arts movements. Each essay is accompanied by whimsical illustrations by beloved illustrator Julia Rothman, as well as a few representative historical photos when relevant. Each project has been beautifully photographed in a modern home setting, and the instructions are clear and accessible, even to novice DIYers.

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how. Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use. Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed by lean-tos, a tree hut, and a Tarzan-style jungle hideaway. There are also forts of every description, including a 21-foot-tall lookout tower modeled on one George Washington built to keep an eye on the redcoats. Stiles also adds a design for a snowball catapult, an igloo and even a Nerf-loaded cannon. Written for children, with an adult peeking over their shoulder, Stiles's TREEHOUSES, HUTS, & FORTS is a dreamer's handbook, offering practical results.