Art

I won my copy of domino: Your Guide to a Stylish Home from a holiday giveaway from A Beautiful Mess and I was really excited about that. (I had hoped the book would arrive before Christmas so I could gift it to one of the kids but that didn’t happen so maybe that kid will receive it for another holiday… we’ll see.)

I enjoyed reading it, though the type is WAY too small and WAY too light (read other reviews, it’s not just me who felt that way.) I didn’t love a lot of the rooms that were shown but it was interesting to flip through and pick out bits and pieces that I did love. There’s one page with an orange wall… I need that orange wall… and another with a pink wall that I really loved, which surprised me. (It’s not pink pink, it’s a reddish pink but still… pink, who’d have thunk it?)

If you like domino magazine, you’ll like this book. Definitely.

Make: Over 40 Fantastic Sewing Projects is what happens when you’re in the library and see a pretty cover and the word “MAKE” in really big letters a completely misleading sub-title, (Please, click the link and look closely at the title of the book vs the sub-title visible on the cover… you wind up with a book about sewing projects that has absolutely no interest for you. Whatever.

Tinkering: Kids Learn By Making Stuff was awesome. Perfect for “Grandma Camp!”

Your Sharpie Style was a perfectly fine Sharpie project book.

I think with DIY, Dammit I’m going to call it quits with DIY craft books for awhile. I enjoyed it, but they’re beginning to feel pretty redundant, in terms of the kinds of projects included.

The best part of the book was the intro, the intermission, and amusing commentary. The projects themselves were fine but there wasn’t anything that called to me. Ho hum.

I can’t quite remember what led me to reserve A Fine Romance at the library. I saw it mentioned somewhere… a diary, with watercolors. Right up my alley. Except it wasn’t. Quite.

I enjoyed it. Really. It’s just not quite my style of storytelling/diary writing. I also don’t have that much love for Beatrix Potter. (I do have a lot more love for the Bloomsbury group and the Arts & Crafts Movement, which she learned to love a good bit on her trip.)

I couldn’t decide what to read last week so I reached for some non-fiction and then I just kept reaching for the non-fiction. I do that, quite a bit — in case you hadn’t noticed.

Materially Crafted wasn’t bad. Not great but not bad, either. I enjoyed it but I don’t think there’s anything in it I plan to do or make. It’s a nice reference if you don’t know much about some basic craft materials.

Oh Joy!: 100 Whimsical Projects to Create and Give Joy was fun. Lots of pretty pictures and color but not a lot of meaty projects.

The Alternative Jukebox was awesome. All the music, all the reasons why various bands and musicians were “alternative.” I got sucked down a Kurt Cobain hole and then I got sucked into listening to BBC 6 Music. What an awesome radio show. I love it.

Next, Art, Inc. No, I’m not planning on ditching my day job for a career in art. I grabbed the book from the shelf because I like Lisa Congdon and I thought it sounded interesting. It was interesting. I’m glad I read it.