You will be amazed by what you can create with polymer and air-dry clay. These affordable, easy-to-find clays present endless possibilities for artisan-quality home decor and gifts. Francesca Stone, creator of the decor blog Fall For DIY, presents simple step-by-step techniques for shaping and decorating clay with just a few household tools. All final pieces can be air-dried or baked in a standard home oven. Featuring a gorgeous, modern palette of natural colours, these projects are deceptively easy and effortlessly chic. Personalize your home with practical and beautiful items like the Terra-Cotta Jewellery Dish, Hanging Herb Garden Planter and Salt-and-Pepper Pinch Pot. Get creative with colour and geometric shapes in home accents such as the Colour-Block Photo Holder and Abstract Floral Block Platter. This book is the perfect primer to start making beautiful clay pieces at home and get that handmade ceramic look without the expenses and challenges of traditional pottery.

Making more from less is today's trend in crafting, and renowned craft instructor Miriam Joy reveals the amazing design boost you can give your projects by using crayons as an economical source of wax. Try the 15 basic wax designs taught here, from circles to waves to flowers, and then combine them with your own creativity to turn your crafts-or everyday objects from the thrift shop or dollar store-into colorful and eye-catching works of art. The book covers the basic materials needed, the techniques, and the many types of surfaces to which wax can be applied, from wood to glass to felt. Then 11 "starter" projects help you discover the unlimited things you can transform with wax decorating, from a simple tile magnet to more advanced projects like a masquerade party mask, wall art, and a transformed old guitar. Bonus video links help you learn even more.

Decoupage (from the French, decoupe, meaning to cut out) entails gluing cut-out pictures to an object and covering with varnish. It's a fun and easy way to decorate just about anything, from small household items to large pieces of furniture. Find out just how simple it is to personalize your favorite things with these twelve gorgeous projects, suitable for beginners and also as a source of inspiration for those who have already got some experience with this lovely craft.

Learn to make beautiful jewelry with enamel. Step-by-step instructions and 252 color photos guide newcomers to enameling through 8 projects, including creating test enamel tiles, reversible earrings, bracelets, multiple piece pendants, a flower pin, enameled beads, and words with enamel. Features different techniques including scrolling and sgraffito, counter enamel, adding non-glass objects, and stenciling. Some common mistakes are identified and how to fix them. The thorough text also explains about how to prepare your space and materials for greatest efficiency. Essential safety tips are provided. This book is especially written with the beginning enamelist in mind.

Appealing to readers of various skill levels, Christine Schmidt shares new printing techniques, motifs and mediums, empowering readers to design anything at home exactly how they like it. Create stationery with inexpensive craft foam; jazz up a plain Ikea dresser with a gorgeous art deco design; or put together the easiest no-sew quilt ever with indigo dye. Then, take those same strategies - stamping, stenciling, resist dyeing (and more) - and use them with any of the other patterns throughout the book. Yellow Owl's Make It Yours is loaded with ideas for ways to use the book's cool, modern motif collections (geometries, florals, animals, travel, and seasonal) even beyond the nearly 40 step-by-step projects it shares. With this vast library of interchangeable graphics, readers will discover endless combinations for using at-home printing to customize home decor, wearables, paper products and more.

This book features 25 handcrafted projects shown in 280 step-by-step photographs. Features: the centuries-old craft of decoupage celebrated in exciting designs and practical projects; complete step-by-step instructions for 25 original projects, from a simple album cover for your photographs to a bright and cheerful kitchen table; an inspirational gallery features classic and innovative examples of decoupage from contemporary artists; a comprehensive guide to the art of decoupage, from cutting intricate paper scraps to applying crackle glaze and sealing the finish with varnish; the definitive modern approach to a traditional craft; and useful advice on preparing surfaces, applying adhesives and enhancing decoupage with decorative backgrounds. The art of applying paper-cuts to a background is a versatile and accessible craft. All you need is a pair of scissors, cut-out pictures, adhesive and a clean background surface. The principles of decoupage are easy to master, and this inspiring new book gives practical advice on all the basic techniques. An introduction details all the materials you will need to produce your own decoupage projects. There are 25 varied and exciting projects to create, including beautiful and functional objects as diverse as a painted chest of drawers decorated with a zebra design, an elegant gilded mirror frame and a headboard for a child's bed. There are traditional designs such as a simple bead tie-back for a stylish curtain, a wastebasket and a Victorian scrap table. Contemporary treatments include a bathroom cabinet with a nautilus design, and a bright kitchen table. With innovative ideas in many styles, this book is both a visual sourcebook and a practical reference guide to a classic craft.

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.

Over 128 pages of 60 stunning designs from Britain's champion latte artist. From free pouring to etching, stencilling and more complicated designs for the black belt barista, you'll have fun emulating innovative designs such as The Swan, The Unicorn, and frothy 3-D babyccino animals. The book even includes 9 stencil patterns for you to trace and try. Starting with basic skills and patterns, readers will learn how to create the crema (the froth that acts as a canvas in the coffee cup) and how to produce the hearts, rosettas and tulips that will be used as the basis to form more complicated artworks. Dhan Tamang is a world-renowned latte artist particularly known for his use of colour, and now you too can create impressive multicoloured designs following Dhan's step-by-step instructions. By the end of this book you will be able to create fabulous designs to delight family members and dinner party guests alike.

Re-energize your crafting space with innovative ideas for organization and accessibility! Packed with over 150 photos of studios, storage, and ideas to help keep creativity flowing.

This extensively illustrated volume focuses on William Morris (1834-1896), placing his wallpaper designs within the context of the radical changes in taste witnessed during the Victorian era. Against a backdrop of the fanciful, naturalistic patterns that typified fashionable papers in Morris's youth, the impact of the Reform Movement of the mid-19th century is underscored, particularly the reformers' crusade against such multi-coloured ornamental decoration. Instead, the insistence on the concepts of honesty and propriety as promoted by A. W. N. Pugin and Owen Jones, are demonstrated as influences on Morris. The role of imported Japanese wallpapers is also explored, giving insight into a seldom-discussed cultural exchange evidenced within the story of Morris & Co, which produced wallpapers from 1864 until 1940 and, after a post-war hiatus, from the 1960s to the present. Amplifying Morris's role in the creation of an influential and lasting style, his work is set within a selection by other designers, including Christopher Dresser and C. F. A. Voysey. Also introduced are firms of significance including Jeffrey & Co. and Arthur Sanderson & Sons, both of whom block-printed the Morris wallpapers. In a highly visual presentation, what is revealed are influences across time and within a global context, as pertinent to the creation of wallpaper art in the 19th century as it is today.

With this book in one hand and a brush in the other, you can learn how to transform everyday furniture into something special, all for the price of a pot of paint. Annie Sloan is a paint legend and one of the world's most popular experts in the field of decorative painting. In Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and more, Annie presents 40 new projects and ideas, showing you the easy way to update tired furniture and transform your home. Working with her own range of chalk paints, Annie shows how to mix colours and how to achieve certain looks. Whether your taste is for colourful boho chic or restrained Swedish hues, cosy and comforting rustic shades, a modern and contemporary approach or an elegant French look, here you will find a project to suit you. Start off by mastering the simple art of colourwashing, and work your way up to transfer printing, gilding, stencilling and glazing. There are even instructions for dyeing fabric using paint. As well as painting furniture, the projects range from a staircase painted in a rainbow of colours to stencilled walls, transforming floors with a coat of paint to dyeing linen curtains and even painting a vintage chandelier. Throughout the book, Annie offers expert tips, techniques, shortcuts and guidance, showing you the easy way to create a stylish home.

Whether you want to fill your home with a riot of different patterns, or are looking for a single motif for a feature wall, there's an amazing array to choose from, and Love Pattern and Colour is the perfect place to start. Bursting with beautiful images of pattern designs from all over the world, this book shows how clever use of pattern can change a room: it can create a bold and striking space filled with drama, a cosy, comforting corner, or a cheery, colourful place that lifts the spirits. Being creative with pattern doesn't just mean choosing it for your walls: there's a feast of styles displayed here for furniture, lampshades, floors, tableware, curtains and cushions. Looking at eight popular themes and how they can be used in a huge variety of ways, Love Pattern and Colour shows you designs and styles that can transform your home. Chapters and motifs featured include: Abstracts - brush strokes, marbling, random swirls Botanicals - trees, leaves, grasses, seedheads Scenes and Stories - Chinoiserie, toile du jouy Florals - spectacular blooms, country garden Cultural Travellers - paisley, Ikat, Islamic arabesques Geometrics - stripes, spots, squares Animal Kingdom - animal motifs and prints Textures - visual and tactile Charlotte Abrahams loves pattern and wants you to love it too. With her expert advice on how to choose and use pattern, and how to make it work in different spaces, you can find your personal style and decorate your home with flair.

Making wooden boxes is one of the best ways to develop overall proficiency in woodworking. Boxes are relatively quick to build, require only a small amount of material and can be made in the smallest of woodshops. And, of course, they make wonderful gifts! In this all-new collection, discover how to design and build ten tiny boxes, including an inlaid sawn box, a box made with hand tools and a finger jointed box with dovetails.

Crafting with Mod Podge products is the modern approach to decoupage, making it fast and easy to add personality to home decor, upcycling, kids' crafts, and gifts. Beginner's Guide to Mod Podge explains how to create unique home accessories and crafts. Projects include: Favorite Things Wood Tray, Washer Necklaces, Out of This World Letter, Maps & Flowers Table, Home Sweet Home Tote Bag, Upcycled Drawer Shelves, Doily Bowl, Tin Can Bird Feeders, Sparkle Jar, Birthday Plate and Gift Bag.

The art of fire-writing is a returning trend, and there is no better way to learn the technique and inspire yourself than through this up-to-date edition of Daniel Wright's ultimate introduction to pyrography. Daniel Wright's enthusiasm for his subject is beautifully captured in a sequence of clear, easy-to-follow step-by-step photographs and unique projects. Taking his inspiration from pen-and-ink, engraving and watercolour techniques, he demonstrates many exciting methods and traditional ways of woodburning to create myriad patterns, pictures and motifs including landscapes, trees, flowers, animals and buildings. Information is included on the types of wood to use, how to prepare surfaces, working with the grain and enhancing designs. He goes on to illustrate shading and faux marquetry, and there's a section on using photographs and sketches to produce your own designs. With each new technique, a project is introduced by Daniel to help you learn and explore your new skill - from burning your own chessboard to a stunning fairytale stool design for your little one's bedroom. Finally, advice and demonstrations are provided on decorating old wooden objects, revitalizing much-loved pieces by working patterns into their worn, textured surfaces. This book will inspire, entertain and instruct you, whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced pyrographer.