Best Book Making & Binding

Culled from the author's best-selling books Creating Handmade Books , Unique Handmade Books , and Expressive Handmade Books , these projects will fuel bookbinding adventures for years to come. Alisa Golden's work is collected by such institutions as the New York Public Library; the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the V&A.

In an invitingly tactile history of this 2,000-year-old medium, Houston follows the development of writing, printing, the art of illustrations, and binding to show how we have moved from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the hardcovers and paperbacks of today. “A lovingly designed and illustrated deep history of the book.”. - John Williams, New York Times. As befits its subject, The Book is pleasingly designed―with an offbeat self-consciousness about its sturdy appearance―and Mr. Houston’s unapologetic nerdiness is matched by a jaunty style. Mr. Houston is an eager, affable guide, and his detailed history is a welcome reminder that this ‘unrepentantly analog contraption’ is one of the truly great pieces of technology.”. - Henry Hitchings, Wall Street Journal. “Keith Houston's deft history of the object wraps entire civilizations into the telling, propelling us through the evolution of writing, printing, binding and illustration with gusto.”. - Barbara Kiser, books and arts editor of Nature magazine. He's an enthusiast if not an obsessive, with a voracious appetite for details, from the daily grind in a medieval scriptorium to the intricate workings of a modern offset press. Houston is both witty and intensely detailed, thus appealing both to general readers and to bibliophiles who will wish to know the specifics of making papyrus, of stitching together pages, and of learning how we arrived at today's paper sizes. “Houston’s fixation with this object is a delight, and his understanding of how history is written and his clear delineation between speculation and established fact are very refreshing.”. - Publishers Weekly (starred review). “This engaging volume should satisfy a wide cross-section of book lovers, history buffs, and those interested in the dynamic relationship among language, the written word, and human ingenuity.”. - Rebecca Brody, Library Journal. “[A] masterful and overwhelmingly entertaining volume, both an homage to the book and one itself to be cherished by readers everywhere.”. - Clea Simon, The Boston Globe. It’s an optimistic ode to one of mankind’s greatest inventions, which continues to thrive even against the onslaught of e-readers.”. “Everybody who has ever read a book will benefit from the way Keith Houston explores the most powerful object of our time. And everybody who has read it will agree that reports of the book’s death have been greatly exaggerated.”. - Erik Spiekermann, Professor at University of the Arts Bremen.

Vintage aprons help us remember home and family the way they used to be, while bright and sassy contemporary aprons confirm that nesting is all the rage. The Apron Book provides full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from the author's collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the author's traveling apron exhibit. EllynAnne Geisel, who lives in Pueblo, Colorado, is the author of The Apron Book and the creator of Apron Chronicles , the traveling exhibit.

Want to ignite your creativity, boost your gratitude, and skyrocket your happiness in ten minutes a day? This creative and motivational book invites you along as I discovered the Happy Journal method. A happy journal's premise is you drawing images to describe what brings you joy, so you end up illustrating your life. - Notice the little things that make up your beautiful life. - Combat negative mindsets that will kill your happy journal before it starts. - Start your own happy journal with a couple of supplies. - Pass on the gift of a happy journal to your children and friends.

Grand in scope and handsomely produced, Four Centuries of Quilts: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection is sure to be one of the most useful and beloved references on quilts and quilting for years to come. "The book Four Centuries of Quilts: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection , by the curators Linda Baumgarten and Kimberly Smith Ivey, . delves into the genealogies of craftswomen, including a Maine blueberry farmer, a Brooklyn philanthropist and an Alabama housekeeper. As historical documents, for example, they show the ways women reacted to the Civil War and how far-flung countries traded with each other at an early date. The book catalogs nearly 180 quilts from the museum’s collection, dating back more than 400 years, and tells the stories of the quilt-makers . "[ Four Centuries of Quilts ] is a joint publication by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Yale University Press. With those credentials you know that this big, attractive book is the word on quilt making in America. "Each quilt in the book is both a work of art as well as a historic document offering revealing clues to the past. "An important addition to any decorative arts library, for it contains the most recent quilt scholarship, carefully footnoted. This volume highlights scads of exquisite eye candy, but it's those lovely 'Baltimore album quilts' that made me gasp. In Four Centuries of Quilts , an expansive new survey published by Yale University Press, authors Linda Baumgarten and Kimberly Smith Ivey say yes. "The substance and breadth of this lavishly illustrated museum collection catalog make it a worthy addition to the well-established scholarly literature on the history and significance of quilts and quilt making in American culture. Book design is first-rate, with period photographs, portraits, related artifacts, detail close-ups, and black-and-white diagrams providing context for 130-plus full-page color plates." "A wonderful book, an enormous, fabulous overview devoted to the world-famous collection of Colonial Williamsburg. The two textile conservators responsible for the collection offer us in this book a fabulous journey to a land of richly documented quilts and hundreds of photos of extraordinary pieces. The book’s historical references are supplemented with spectacular full-page photos as well as close-up detail photograph.

This farting animal coloring book for kids (of all ages) is just what you've been looking for, even though you probably didn't know it! Be sure to check out his FARTING MAGICAL CREATURES COLORING BOOK too!

These 20 beautiful projects--including cards, an embellished journal and tote, and decorative wall pieces--provide the keys to Geninne's creative process and image-making process. From tags, stationery, wrapping paper to a garden journal and more, this book teaches you how easy and empowering the art of carving rubber can be." "(Geninne's) passion for nature and color seeps through every page, instantly grabbing the reader's attention, and her straightforward writing style encourages even the non-crafter to pick up a carving block and simple cutting tools.

The epic story that takes us through the three novels is not only a spellbinding adventure featuring armored polar bears, magical devices, witches, and daemons, it is also an audacious and profound reimagining of Milton's Paradise Lost that has already inspired a number of serious books of literary criticism. I began to write this novel with little sense of the plot, even less notion of the theme, and only the vaguest idea of the characters. I suppose these things are partly temperamental; I know that some excellent writers make a great thing of planning every book before they write it; but it doesn't work for me. One thing such a technique prevents is what I think every long book must have if I'm not to go mad writing it, and that's the element of surprise. A book, especially a long book like His Dark Materials , has to have some sort of theme, or else you'll be working for a long time (this story took me seven years) in a moral vacuum. If you're working as seriously as you know how to, for a matter of years, then a theme will emerge whether you want it to or not. Next time I shall remember: the story should lead, and the theme will emerge in its own time and its own way.

Here is a collection of 32 simple projects for novice origami hobbyists — clearly illustrated and with easy-to-follow instructions that even beginning papercrafters can follow with success. Internationally renowned author John Montroll has significantly increased the origami repertoire with his original designs.