Best Doll Crafts
With just felt sheets and a handful of simple notions, you will learn how to sew the simple yet delightful doll pattern and then discover 11 imaginative variations on the design, plus over 40 accompanying accessories – from a mermaid to a witch, from a princess to a superhero and from a ballerina to a bride – guaranteed to delight little girls everywhere. Her dolls and toys are inspired by the adorably sweet Chibis found in Japanese manga art.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In the three months I've owned this book, I have already made four regular sized dolls and one tiny doll (by copying the pattern at 50%)."
"I think the dolls in this book are absolutely adorable! I was super excited to try my hand at one. I had a lot of trouble attaching her head. It's suggested to stitch until the head is firmly held in place but I couldn't fit anymore stitches as it was already becoming a jumbled nest of stitches in such a tiny place..I will keep trying. I think with practice, she'll look better, but wish there was a trouble shooting or maybe a link for a youtube channel to see the assembly taking place .. however, as I type that, I'm sure there IS a youtube video someplace, somewhere, showing just that :). The book is so adorable that it motivates me to keep trying!"
"I would recommend this book to dollmakers of all ages and abilities, even dollmakers who haven't made their first doll yet."
"I bought this book and have made two lovely felt dolls so far."
"The instructions are easy to follow because there step by step on what you need to do with colorful pictures."
"I am currently gathering the materials to make my first doll from the patterns and instructions in the book."
"As with all her patterns this book is well written with clear instructions and well thought out design."
"Love the book and the dolls but I was hoping I could make these to sell and apparently you can not recreate the dolls for resale so that’s the only reason I gave it a four star instead of a five but the instructions on sewing and learning stitches and patterns are great!"
Each project is presented as a mini story to bring your crochet doll to life with a whole heap of extras to complete each scene, including: At the Beach with a bucket, paddling pool and air bed, Good Night! Isabelle Kessedjian is a painter, sculptor, teacher and serial crocheter.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love the patterns, but I wish there were just a few more details or diagrams for some parts, like assembly or joining pieces."
"Very fun designs and easy to understand."
"I don't know if the author intended the clothing to be non-removable or if its just that one pattern but I ended up pulling the sleeves out and making it more of a spaghetti strap dress."
"I love the instructions and it helped me over a hurdle I was having for designing doll clothes."
"The book is full of gorgeous photos of the doll and various items of her wardrobe.There's clothes and accessories for every occasion, including pajamas, a teddy bear, clothes for holiday, a raincoat and boots, superhero costume, even little undies. The instructions do not include photos so you'd already need to have a basic understanding of how to literally put the pieces together. Materials needed for projects are things you'd probably already have: yarn, ribbon, buttons, thread, stuffing and crochet hooks."
"I love this book."
"I hemmed and hawed over buying this book."
"I changed the basic doll pattern a little and used different yarn and a bigger hook and the doll came out bigger."
Make adorable outfits for an entire year of fun adventures and special occasions! She teaches needlework and sewing around the country, and has appeared on Sue Hausmann's PBS series.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I watched the episodes with Joan Hinds on "Sewing with Nancy" and could not wait to order this book and patterns. Fabric scraps and remnants are all that are necessary to use, so it will be a help to me to use my scraps and at the same time make some little girls very happy."
"It doesn't tell you which end of the skirt is the bottom and which is the top, or if you are supposed to match the seams, so I just guessed, and did both dresses different, but both look fine."
"This is a fun book for doll lovers of any age."
"Most of the patterns are easier than conventional fabric store patterns and the instructions are very well written and clear."
"This book has lots of cute clothes in it, and the first things that I made turned out very well."
"I love the selection of patterns in this book!"
"I was very disappointed in the pattern itself."
Best Antique & Collectible Dolls
Make adorable outfits for an entire year of fun adventures and special occasions! She teaches needlework and sewing around the country, and has appeared on Sue Hausmann's PBS series.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I watched the episodes with Joan Hinds on "Sewing with Nancy" and could not wait to order this book and patterns. Fabric scraps and remnants are all that are necessary to use, so it will be a help to me to use my scraps and at the same time make some little girls very happy."
"It doesn't tell you which end of the skirt is the bottom and which is the top, or if you are supposed to match the seams, so I just guessed, and did both dresses different, but both look fine."
"This is a fun book for doll lovers of any age."
"Most of the patterns are easier than conventional fabric store patterns and the instructions are very well written and clear."
"This book has lots of cute clothes in it, and the first things that I made turned out very well."
"I love the selection of patterns in this book!"
"I was very disappointed in the pattern itself."
Best Dollhouses
Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crimes are revealed to those who study the scenes carefully. Bizarre and utterly fascinating, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is a dark and disturbing photographic journey through criminal cases and the mind of Frances Glessner Lee--grandmother, dollhouse-maker, and master criminal investigator. To train investigators of sudden and violent deaths to better assess visual evidence, Lee created the Nutshell Studies--dollhouses that students could study from every angle, with minute crime scenes details taken from actual cases.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This was a wonderful gift for my partner."
"I guess it sounds macabre to look forward on a book that deals with murder, death; however I'm a Chicago detective and I ran across an article on Frances Glessner."
"Lee painstakingly created the scenarios in the 1940s and 50s for a very serious purpose: training investigating police on the correct scientific methods of approaching crime scenes, observing all details which may bear on the case. Frances Glessner Lee, a Chicago heiress, founded Harvard’s Department of Legal Medicine and built these gruesome displays of domestic murder, mishap and accidental death to train police in observation. There are tiny calendars and books (including The Sign of the Four), miniature tools and household implements, medically accurate colouring (bright red skin for victims of carbon monoxide poisoning) and domestic details recreated to scale. There is a wealthy woman’s philanthropic role in promoting the ways in which the law and medicine interacted (in early years, coroners didn’t have to have medical expertise at all – some were elected to the position and were pretty much useless for the purpose of autopsies and crime solving)."
"The charm in the dioramas is that they are so intricate and meticulous, and most of the photos have this blurry outline where I'd really just like to see the entire picture."
"This book starts out with a fascinating essay on Frances Glessner Lee, including the incredible lengths to which she went to produce the pinpoint detail in her dioramas."
Best Stuffed Animal Crafts
With just two weeks to go before baby Edward's due date, yarn enthusiast Kerry Lord picked up a crochet hook for the first time and a new obsession began. Kerry Lord is the designer and founder of the TOFT Alpaca Shop, a modern British knitwear company offering exclusive knitting and crochet patterns, alpaca yarns and workshops.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However, there are several negatives that kept this from being one of my favorite books. The author happens to be fortunate enough to have grown up on an Alpaca farm and be an owner of a luxury yarn co. All the animals derive their wooly huggable appearance from the texture of alpaca yarn, which is not available to everyone and is not especially practical for children's toys. I thought I might use the patterns to create my own versions, but it is simply too much frustration and there are many other books and patterns available that are much easier to use."
"Great directions that are clear and concise."
"The patterns online are great but inconsistent in size."
"Fantastic book and patterns."
"My girlfriend loves this book and has made several of the designs that are included in the book."
"ABSOLUTELY LOVE and will be ordering Kerry Lord's other book so I can crochet some wonderful looking birds for my grandbabies!"
"I have found a couple pattern errors and agree with other posts that there could be more pictures for direction and details."
"I wasn't crazy about having to flip back and forth for the directions, but the book would be a million pages long if they hadn't written this way."
Best Model Trains
Offers over a thousand repair and maintenance tips for Lionel locomotives, operating cars, accessories, transformers, light bulbs, and switches.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The paper is certainly superior to the coarse paper found in mass-market paperbacks, though not of the very best quality which would have made the book more expensive."
"Since I bought this book I have repaired a 342 culvert loader, two semaphores, a 140 banjo signal, a 252 crossing gate, and a 221 steam engine. This book has been a great resource and has allowed me to buy items in fair or poor condition (at a fraction of the cost of something new) and refurbish it to something that looks good and works very well."
"Here is a link to Maintenance DVD that I purchases and reviewed: Maintenance & Repair Guide for Lionel Electric Trains & Accessories. Modern Toy Train Repair & Maintenance (Classic Toy Trains Books)."
"Good book, but the "photocopy" of older Lionel printing is like trying to read Sears catalogs from the 1920's at a distance."
"Every single engine, car, transformer and accessories are explained with diagrams (most look like the actual Lionel prints), wiring, part numbers, and repair hints."
"If you are into prewar and Postwar this is the book you NEED!!!!"
Best Toy Making
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Indeed as I was reading through the entire series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) I had thoughts and feelings which I have only experienced when reading books of supreme quality and worth such as Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey series, or Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence."
"Favorite childhood series. A fantastical adventure series that challenges concepts of innocence, experience, and antiquated belief systems."
"The author seems to have researched a bit on what he describes throughout the book, and whoever has read books like "The Tao of Physics (Ftitijoff Kapra), the Bible or the Tao Te King (Lao Tzu) will be familiar with at least some developments."
"Awesome series, I really enjoyed it!"
"A great read, somewhat disheartened to learn that some people see it as 'young adult reading' ... while I understand that the main characters are young .. the themes running through the books are valid to all and still relevant today."
"There are two kinds of great stories -- those that fit seamlessly into the body of thought and make you wonder why no one thought of it before, and those that are remarkably imaginative and compelling and make you wonder how the author thought it up at all. Pullman's trilogy fits into the latter category."
"Each chapter of book 3 is preface with poetry that reveals the writers knowledge of biblical truths and vastly diversed types of writings."
Best Wooden Toys
Professional designer and woodworker Jim Makowicki's 22-project collection reflects uncanny historical detail and technical accuracy. Two introductory chapters explain the fine points of toymaking techniques, with helpful hints on working with small parts and choosing the best finish for your toy. Two introductory chapters explain the fine points of toymaking techniques, with helpful hints on working with small parts and choosing the best finish for your toy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I can't say enough good things about this book."
"This book and lots of projects for children's toys!"
"Nice Book...Now I need to get busy and make grandkids some toys."
"Good book for following the patterns of making heirloom toys."
"I did not find the fact that not all plans were full-sized a problem This is common and the %enlargement (if needed) is given The instructions were clear. Makowicki is concerned with toy safety, e.g., the crane uses a magnet to lift barrels, not a hook, and he specifies child-safe finishes - references in appendix. (If you aren't going to produce for sale, in many cases you can use a band saw with a narrow blade or a scroll saw and sand smooth, instead of making the jig.)."
"If you are new to wood working these instructions will be good to use the rest of your woodworking journey!"
Best Miniatures
Fairy House is a fascinating adventure into the making of miniscule kingdoms of the fairytale realm from objects found in nature. Through more than 350 clear, detailed, full-color photographs and understandable yet whimsical guidance, the reader will learn to fashion intricate, tiny cups from acorn pods and grapevine tendrils, dreamlike beds from delicate flowers and leaves, and an amazing array of other beautiful and unique pieces that will inspire the reader to find their true artistic ability and imagination. Mike and Debbie's beautiful art pieces have been in New York department stores as well as in show rooms, art auctions and major art and miniature shows in other parts of the country as well.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Absolutely amazing!"
"it's a nice book, gives instructions, but I don't know why it's called fairy house, it's all furniture, no houses, ."
"Very good book for adding your own houses to your Fairy Garden."
"Best instructions on creating fairy house/furniture."
"My granddaughters adore this book."
Best Model Building
You'll also learn essential building techniques like how to use beams, gears, and connector blocks effectively in your own designs. The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car ANTY, a six-legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move the infrared beacon LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks. Each chapter contains several short challenges, dubbed "discoveries," which are cleverly accompanied by a legend: whimsical gear wheels represent the estimated amount of building time; tiny Microsoft Windows-esque blocks show the expected level of programming expertise; and a small clock estimates the length of time it should take to solve the challenge. The size, advanced vocabulary, and organization of the book evokes a science or physics textbook, which is warranted due to the amount of complex and detailed programming information contained within.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is super for those who want to understand this Lego Robot machine and programming better."
"As to the educational version vs the home version..... The educational packs has all of the motors and sensors of the home version with two exceptions: the remote control sensor and related beacon. There may be a few add'l pieces that we'll need in the future to build all of the projects in this book, but we are 1/4 the way thru and haven't found them. The author has also kindly responded to specific questions (relating to education vs home versions), and has been quite helpful."
"Outstanding book I love the paper edition but also bought the Kindle edition too!"
"My grandson has built just about every project in the book and he loves it."
"I bought the book (and the Mindstorms kit) for my grandsons, but first I wanted to build one of the robots in the book and to do some programming for it in case I needed to help my grandsons with the versions they build."
"The book includes 132 practice modules spread throughout the chapters which allow for an iterative process of learning. My two sons and I (ages 9 and 11) are separately going through the book and practice/design modules with each of us tracking our progress on a tracking sheet."
"The book gives you all the information you need to understand the LabView environment and each of the basic programming blocks."
"Fantastic and thorough book."