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).

The first-ever accessible guide on making DIY furniture from live-edge slabs, this book will show you everything you need to know about incorporating organic, natural wood pieces into your home. After learning techniques for milling, drying, and preparing your own slab, adding inlays, using resin and epoxy, creating waterfall edges, and more, you'll then move on to complete seven projects that range in size and offer additional ideas and inspiration to implement in your own projects while using the techniques you've learned! From charcuterie boards and floating shelves to desks, river tables, benches, and more, both beginner and advanced DIYers can accomplish these stunning woodworking projects!

A practical and attractive handbook with more than 850 essential life skills to get anything done faster and easier The editors and scientists at Good Housekeeping and its lab, the Good Housekeeping Institute, share genius solutions and trusted, expert advice in this how-to guide to making life simpler. With chapters on the kitchen, organizing and cleaning, decorating, home maintenance, outdoor living, and entertaining and celebrating, this go-to resource offers step-by-step illustrated instructions, inspiring photos and sometimes surprising but always practical guidance to get things done. Plus, you'll save time and money and even have fun along the way. The 850+ skills include how to: Store and make your own spice mixes Clean your house in 15 minutes Seal a drafty window Remove water rings from your tables Perk up a grocery-store bouquet Sew a button Plant an outdoor herb garden (and keep herbs fresh after they are picked!) Make the perfect boiled egg Uncork champagne Cure a hangover and so much more! QR codes throughout the pages offer additional lessons and video instruction. Whatever home means to you, this book is brimming with invaluable know-how to keep your home in tip-top shape and to help you inject more fun and flair into your every day.

In this book, the natural beauty and texture of sticks, wood, stones and pebbles are celebrated in inspirational and practical designs. 25 original projects include a wall-hanging cabinet made from driftwood; a beautiful twig candelabra; door-stops made from stone; and pebble-mosaic slabs for a garden path or patio. It offers exciting projects from today's leading craft artists. It is a comprehensive guide with everything you need to know about materials, equipment and techniques. It offers clear step-by-step instructions with over 300 specially commissioned photographs. It presents a contemporary approach to working with timeless, natural materials. The use of stone and wood for decorative and symbolic purposes is as ancient as the materials themselves: from basket-making to a Roman pebble mosaic; from African statuettes to the mysterious circle at Stonehenge, the use of the earth's simplest materials is still effective today. This is a unique collection of 25 practical ideas for decorating your home, created by a professional artisan. Every project is self-contained, and step-by-step photographs guide the reader through each stage. The introductory section covers some of the basic skills and equipment required, while exploring the different materials involved. For inspiration, there is a gallery of original pieces from contemporary artists. With its inventive designs, this is the first practical craft book to explore the beautiful potential of these natural materials.

From hand-forged axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader's felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.

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.

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.

Each season is divided into chapters for early, mid, and late, with each chapter opening by identifying signs of the times: mud, flood, blossoms and baby animals mean early spring, for instance, while grass growth and insect populations both peak in early summer. Handy lists and accessible sidebars highlight the season's tasks and priorities, while narrative sections focus on one especially timely topic for each chapter, including plant rotations and soil building in late spring and sustainable woodlot management in mid-autumn. Individual season-by-season charts on what to do when for each topic, such as tractor or equipment maintenance, orchard care, and animal cycles fill out the appendix. Readers have plenty of room to check items off lists or leave notes such as, "Didn't do this in Feb, remember in March!" or "Need new gate latch by summer," making the format of this book a welcomed workhorse.

The immensely popular blogger behind Little House Living provides a timeless and "heartwarming guide to modern homesteading" (BookPage) that will inspire you to live your life simply and frugally-perfect for fans of The Pioneer Woman and The Hands-On Home. Shortly after getting married, Merissa Alink and her husband found themselves with nothing in their pantry but a package of spaghetti and some breadcrumbs. Their life had seemingly hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get back on their feet again. Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa was determined to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, and as a result, she rescued her household budget-saving thousands of dollars a year. Now, she reveals the powerful and moving lessons she's learned after years of homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch. Filled with charm, practical advice, and gorgeous full-color photographs, Merissa shares everything from tips on budgeting to natural, easy-to-make recipes for taco seasoning mix, sunscreen, lemon poppy hand scrub, furniture polish, and much more. Inviting and charming, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.

All woodworkers worth their sawdust know that joinery - good, bad, or indifferent - tells the unvarnished truth of how well a piece is made and how skilled the maker is. As a result, joinery is always a hot, and sometimes controversial, topic because even the masters will agree that there is no one right way to do it. Over the decades, no one has proven better at teaching readers how to make beautiful, enduring joinery than Fine Woodworking. This comprehensive and practical book demystifies the all-important subject of choosing, designing, and cutting woodworking joints. It's packed with insightful information and tricks of the trade that will advance the work of novices and seasoned craftsmen alike. Because whatever your skill level, there's always room for improvement when it comes to joinery.

A woodland craftsman's workshop should bring immense pleasure and the tools and devices that furnish it are unique to woodland work and have formed the heritage of woodland crafts that we have today. Following on from his successful book Woodland Craft, woodsman Ben Law explains what makes a good workshop, outlines the key tools needed, gives information on how to sharpen them and shows us how to make an array of fascinating devices from scratch. Projects include: peeling jig, pole lathe, woodsman's grip, cleaving brake 16 step-by-step woodland device projects Beautiful photography and illustrations A foundation book for every green woodworker to use as reference Coupled with interesting titbits of historical and practical information, this is an invaluable guide for every green woodworker.

Collins Complete DIY Manual has sold over 3 million copies and is the most comprehensive and authoritative DIY manual ever produced. For novices, DIY enthusiasts or professionals, this essential book continues to be the most in-depth, up-to-date and user-friendly DIY book on the market, covering everything from decorating and repairs to electricity, plumbing and much more. This fully updated version features an even more accessible design to help you navigate easily through the info, and thousands of new photographs and illustrations to make sure you get your job done quickly and safely. There have been many changes to regulations in recent years, particularly in electricity (the new Part P legislation and changes to cable colours) - the Manual not only lists but also clearly explains these new regs and helps you work with them. And as we all become much more conscious of the environmental impact our homes have, new material on energy-saving DIY is essential reading for any householder - saving you money too in the process.

How to Weed Your Attic: Getting Rid of Junk without Destroying History provides answers to the question: when someone dies or it's time to move --- or just clean out the attic, garage, or basement, what papers and other things should we save for the sake of history and what can we safely toss? After reading this clearly written book by a retired archivist and a retired museum curator, you can comfortably clean out your attic - or office, garage, basement, cupboards - with confidence that you're not tossing out historically valuable (or invaluable) things, and that you will not ask your local museum to take things that really belong in a thrift store, junk yard, or recycle center. The book first describes how to identify historically important documents and artifacts. The authors explain a few simple rules: 1) a complete or long collection has more value than a partial one; 2) emotive material provides a richer picture than factual material; 3) unique usually has more value than mass produced; 4) documents and objects carry more information than they intend to; and 5) a 25-year rule exists without our consciously recognizing it. They then apply the rules and assess the probable historical value of four different types of materials: mass produced (from books to vehicles), individually created (from art work to toys), business materials (from governance documents to uniforms), and commemorative materials (from awards to wedding dresses). The book includes a brief description of the basics for preserving materials the reader wants to keep and references sources for more detail. It also recognizes that the reader may not want to keep stuff that clearly has historical value. For those readers, the authors describe how to donate materials to a cultural repository. In broad strokes, they explain how repositories differ, what the repository will want to know about the stuff you're offering, where an appraiser and/or tax advisor fits into the process, and what the reader can expect the repository to do and not do. Finally, the book addresses unexpected issues that may arise around questions of legal ownership and privacy. Throughout the book, the authors illustrate their points using photographs and vignettes.

In a world of heavy and expensive handplanes, traditional wood handplanes are affordable, light in weight, low in friction, comfortable to use and available in a wide variety of blade angles. Author and woodworking instructor Scott Wynn has been working with this versatile tool for four decades. In Traditional Wooden Handplanes he shows you how to make, modify, restore and use antique planes. Scott reveals how traditional wood planes work, how to set up a flea market find and how to tune up a new plane for peak performance. You'll learn about the different types and how to use them to their best advantage; which blades angles are best, which blade steel you might want to use, and finally, how to make your own set of planes using some modern techniques that simplify construction and improve performance.

Inside this book you ll find ingenious plans for making wildly inspired mechanical marvels from wood. These working wooden wonders might just be the most enjoyable projects you ever build in your shop! Well-illustrated step-by-step projects are arranged by skill level from beginner to advanced, with full-sized patterns attached to the book in a handy pouch. Projects range from a Rapid-Fire Rubber Band Gun and a Kicker Treat Gumball Machine, to whirligigs and classic automatons for cowboys, ballerinas, cats, ships, and more. Create fun games and toys for the whole family, and discover the secrets of kinetic sculpture to build your own interactive wooden gear machine. Learn from woodworking experts like: Clayton Boyer Bob Gilsdorf Dug North Richard Packer David Wakefield ...and many more!"

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.

The wildlife patterns featured in this collection represent animals from around the world. As well as patterns, information on choosing the best blade, wood, and technique with which to create a work of art is provided. Readers will learn how to create patterns from their own photographs--allowing them to make scroll saw portraits of their loved ones. Tips on finishing, framing, and displaying finished pieces rounds out this woodworker's reference.

Being a homesteader today may seem difficult; the world is full of so many gadgets and conveniences, many of which most of us consider necessary to live a full and happy life. In this collection, edited and arranged by Jay Cassell, you'll see that going off the grid, adapting to your surroundings, and depending on yourself and your land is really not as challenging as one may think. With the information and tips you learn in this book, you'll easily find success as a modern-day homesteader.

The essays featured in "The Ultimate Guide to Self-Reliant Living" were written by some of today's most respected outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, nature enthusiasts, agricultural professionals, and successful homesteaders. Through the information on these pages, you will learn the best techniques and approaches concerning:
Hunting, fishing, and trappingForagingGrowing and preparing your own foodAnimal husbandryLiving off the gridBuilding barns and outbuildingsGreen livingCountry skillsAlternative energy, such as solar panels and windmillsPrimitive survival skills, such as making fires and finding shelter

Authors David and Jeannie Stiles give readers all the information they need to build their own cabins -- whether it be as a wilderness retreat or a backyard studio. The authors describe each step in the process from buying land to obtaining services, from finding qualified construction help to deciding on and developing plans for a structure that suits their lifestyle and budget. Cabins is packed with detailed illustrations, plans and common-sense advice.

Chapters include classic construction methods: how to build a log cabin, pole-built and stick-built cabin, post-and-beam, stone, cordwood and kit cabins. Construction methods are clearly illustrated in photographs and drawings and the advantages of each are explained in detail. Foundations, windows, doors, insulation, roofing, installing utilities, water and sanitary systems and heating are all discussed.

Many designs are presented as inspiration and to help readers select the cabin that is perfect for them: homesteader log cabin, writing cabin, guest cabin, Japanese moon-gazing cabin, lakeside retreat, pyramid and A-frame, and hillside Mediterranean cabin. The authors include personal reminiscences from successful builders and cabin owners, and discuss furnishings and accessories that can help readers get the most enjoyment out of their newly built wilderness retreat.