This volume captures the heart and soul of social gatherings for special occassions - expressing your love for family and friends in the DIY spirit of decorating, baking, and sewing. The authors show you how easy and stress-free it can be to plan and create stylishly themed parties for all ages without breaking the bank.

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.

Create, craft and bake - Cherry Menlove shows you how to make your house a warm and cosy home all year round. A love of home is Cherry's philosophy and at the heart of everything she does. Covering all aspects of homemaking and lifestyle from her own stunning house in West Sussex, Cherry Menlove presents a host of inspirational ideas to make your home feel special to you and your family. Including cookery, crafting, design, gardening and re-upholstery, Cherry is the expert at transforming a house into a cosy, warm and happy home. In this beautifully illustrated book, Cherry transports you into a world of homemade luxury, teaching you everything from how to create a patchwork quilt to baking delicious cupcakes and hosting the perfect children's party. With 12 self-contained and easy-to-follow chapters, Cherry will show you that preparing for any occasion can be inspiring, adventurous, but most of all, simple.

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.

Through her books, articles, and periodicals, Barbara Brabec has been showing people how to profit from their creative talents and know-how for over twenty-five years.

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.

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