Handmade Hostess


Book Description

In this book, Kelly and Rebecca have captured the heart of social gatherings for special occasions—expressing your love for family and friends in the DIY spirit of decorating, baking, and sewing. Discover how easy it can be to plan and create stylishly themed parties for all ages without breaking the bank. Have fun stitching and crafting creative décor projects along with matching party favors for your guests…plus, each party theme comes with its own signature dessert recipe. Dozens of sewing and no-sew projects for all skill levels, ranging from chic and elegant to festive and whimsical.




A Handmade Life


Book Description

William Coperthwaite is a teacher, builder, designer, and writer who for many years hasexplored the possibilities of true simplicity on a homestead on the north coast of Maine. In the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, and Helen and Scott Nearing, Coperthwaite has fashioned a livelihood of integrity and completeness-buying almost nothing, providing for his own needs, and serving as a guide and companion to hundreds of apprentices drawn to his unique way of being. A Handmade Life carries Coperthwaite's ongoing experiments with hand tools, hand-grown and gathered food, and handmade shelter, clothing, and furnishings out into the world to challenge and inspire. His writing is both philosophical and practical, exploring themes of beauty, work, education, and design while giving instruction on the hand-crafting of the necessities of life. Richly illustrated with luminous color photographs by Peter Forbes, the book is a moving and inspirational testament to a new practice of old ways of life.




What's a Hostess to Do?


Book Description

In What's a Hostess to Do?, entertaining expert Susan Spungen explains everything you need to know to host a party effortlessly and with elegance. Susan shows the hostess how to make it look easy--whether the occasion is an informal brunch, a sit-down dinner, a buffet for a crowd, or an impromptu birthday celebration. It's all arranged in 313 easy-to-digest entries that take readers through every aspect of entertaining. The tips are time-saving ("Ten Great Assembled Dessets"), money-saving ("In Praise of Cheap Wine"), energy-saving ("Ten Jobs to Delegate"), and face-saving ("How to Handle Uninvited Guests"), plus there are 121 recipes to make entertaining easier than ever berfore. With helpful illustrations and full-color photographs, What's a Hostess to Do? is a stylish and instructive guide filled with expert advice from a party-throwing pro.




Modern Holiday


Book Description

Dress up your home in contemporary Christmas cheer with these holiday sewing projects by the acclaimed fabric and quilt designer. These quilts and decorations from designer Amanda Murphy take Christmas in a bright new direction that updates the traditional reds and greens with blues, pinks, and whites. This illustrated guide features nine quilts and nine home decorations, including seasonal pillows, a tree skirt, an advent calendar, Christmas stocking, and more. • Create modern looks with favorite blocks like Flying Geese, Dresden Plate, and Hexagon • Use all your skills: piecing, appliqué, and hand embellishment • Make many of the quilts for any season with a simple change of fabrics




A Month of Sundays


Book Description

The author of Sunday Morning Quilts returns with a new volume of inspiring projects, personal journeys, and advice on how to savor quiet moments. Cheryl Arkison’s A Month of Sundays is a quilting book like no other. Exploring the themes of Relaxing, Eating, Shopping, and Exploring, Cheryl seeks to inspire both creativity and a quiet energy. She shares 16 family-friendly projects, all based on these themes and featuring low-volume fabrics. Along with gorgeous quilts, there are aprons, napkins, bags, and other items to be made. Arkison’s personal journeys and ideas are sure to inspire your own weekend explorations. Designed for the confident beginner, the patterns are simple and straightforward. This unique book is at once exciting and restful, much like the perfect Sunday stroll.




Sew a Backyard Adventure


Book Description

Get your kids camping, playing, and exploring with 21 fun-to-make projects that provide countless hours of indoor and outdoor enjoyment for both boys and girls. Everything you need to outfit a child to go adventuring is here: backpacks, teepees, sleeping bags, sun hats, cargo vests and shorts, outdoor-themed bedroom sets with quilts, and much more. The whole family will also enjoy the bonus nature-themed crafts and recipes for camp treats like Peanut Butter S’Mores. • Encourage children to put down their electronics and discover the joy of the outdoors • Projects include detailed, step-by-step instructions and template patterns • Bonus activities include finger puppets and reference cards for identifying animal tracks




This Can Be Beautiful


Book Description

A visual and creative feast for anyone who wants to imagine and build a more beautiful life. Stylist, designer, HGTV star and fairy godmother of glitter, Tiffany Pratt looks at the world as a blank canvas. With every choice she is presented or every decision she makes, she does it with one mantra in mind: that this--whatever "this" is--can be beautiful. Whether it's sprucing up some old wallpaper, rejuvenating your bedsheets, turning an accidental bleach stain into a multicolored sensation, or even hosting a party and re-thinking how you make lootbags, Tiffany's creative energy is fantastically contagious. In her much anticipated debut, Tiffany brings her vivacious attitude directly to readers, crafters, designers and DIY-ers. She'll guide you through over 45 creative and straightforward projects that will beautify your home, wardrobe, beauty routine, travel style and more. Whatever your taste, crafting skill, budget, or time, you'll find a project that inspires you to make Tiffany's visions your own. Break out the glitter, paintbrushes and colored duct tape! Let Tiffany empower you to create the styled life you want using what you already have. All it takes is a little effort, some love, and a bit of hot glue.




Sprinklebakes


Book Description

How can you make cakes, cookies, and candy even MORE fun? Award-winning blogger Heather Baird, a vibrant new voice in the culinary world, has the answer: Cook like an artist! Combining her awesome skills as a baker, confectioner, and painter, she has created a gorgeous, innovative cookbook, designed to unleash the creative side of every baker. Heather sees dessert making as one of the few truly creative outlets for the home cook. So, instead of arranging recipes by dessert type (cookies, tarts, cakes, etc.), she has organized them by line, color, and sculpture. As a result, SprinkleBakes is at once a breathtakingly comprehensive dessert cookbook and an artist's instructional that explains brush strokes, sculpture molds, color theory, and much more. With easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful step-by-step photographs, Heather shows how anyone can make her jaw-dropping creations, from Mehndi Hand Ginger Cookies to Snow Glass Apples to her seasonal masterpiece, a Duraflame(R)-inspired Yule Log..




Abandoned at Birth


Book Description

In Abandoned at Birth, Janet Sherlund explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity. Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act—a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime. Adoption can lead to feelings of loss and grief not just for the adoptee, but for the biological and adoptive parents as well. This startling fact comes vividly to life in Janet Sherlund’s heartbreaking memoir, Abandoned at Birth. In her literary debut, Janet Sherlund explores the complex issues so many adoptees and their parents grapple with, including the complicated emotions of rejection, loss, grief, denial, and shame. Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey to fulfill her lifetime longing for connection with her family of origin, her instinctive ache for connection with her birth mother, and what it was like to have a “borrowed identity.” In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one’s true identity. With 5 million adoptees in the U.S., many of whom are discovering their biological roots on DNA websites, Abandoned at Birth is the book for our time. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.




The Traveling Apron Cookbook


Book Description

From coast-to-coast, there is something universally common about our relationship with food. Its more than just the food we eat and the way we nourish our bodies. Its the way we feel when our food is shared and the manner in which we connect with others over a shared meal. But perhaps most importantly is the way in which a favorite heirloom recipe can allow a flood of treasured memories to invade our hearts with the simple aroma of ingredients. The traveling apron journey began with one simple goal in mind: to connect a community of women together around those beloved recipes. After 20,000-plus miles of travel, whether youre looking to update your weeknight dinner rotation, entertain friends on the back porch, or simply looking for a dessert for your next holiday bash, theres a little something for everyone.