Mix and match the front and back of farm animals to create funny new species! If you could cross a calf with a chicken, would that be a cacken? How on earth do you make a chiglet? Would a kippy satisfy folks who love kittens and puppies? With this inventive book, children are invited to flip the pages to make outlandish creatures with silly hybrid names. Featuring boldly colored, simply shaped animals ready to be mixed up again and again, these sturdy board-book pages open to the left and the right for easy manipulation by little hands.

This early work is fascinating read for sewing enthusiasts and contains much information that is useful and practical today. Its 240 pages are extensively illustrated with diagrams and photographs and 18 full page plates, forming a complete how-to guide to sewing. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Artist's Way for the 21st century—from esteemed creative counselor Beth Pickens. If you are an artist, you need to make your art. That's not an overstatement—it's a fact; if you stop doing your creative work, your quality of life is diminished. But what do you do when life gets in the way? In this down-to-earth handbook, experienced artist coach Beth Pickens offers practical advice for developing a lasting and meaningful artistic practice in the face of life's inevitable obstacles and distractions. This thoughtful volume suggests creative ways to address the challenges all artists must overcome—from making decisions about time, money, and education, to grappling with isolation, fear, and anxiety. No matter where you are in your art-making journey, this book will motivate and inspire you. Because not only do you need your art—the world needs it, too. • EXPERT ADVICE: Beth Pickens is an experienced and passionate arts advocate with extensive insight into working through creative obstacles. She has spent the last decade advising artists on everything from financial strategy to coping with grief. • PRACTICAL AND POSITIVE: This book is both a love letter to art and artists and a hands-on guide to approaching the thorniest problems those artists might face. Pickens offers a warm reminder that you are not alone, that what you do matters, and that someone out there wants you to succeed. • TIMELESS TOPIC: Like a trusted advisor, this book is an invaluable resource jam-packed with strategies for building a successful creative practice. From mixing business and friendship to marketing yourself on social media, this book can help. And it will—again and again. Perfect for: • Visual artists and makers • Writers, musicians, filmmakers, and other creatives • Art and design school graduates and grad-gift givers

A familiar is a special magical creature that is summoned by a witch or wizard when they turn fourteen years of age. This connection is the most important relationship that a magic user will ever have. The familiars are from a realm where they are chosen for the witch or wizard who are destined to bring them into their world. On her fourteenth birthday, April Alexandrite Wolfsteller summons a black cat named Asriel Mords. After she calls him, she starts to have visions of someone that seems awfully familiar. Could the old hag’s tale of black cats being a misfortune omen be true? With midterms fast approaching and these premonitions, our heroine has a tremendous amount of pressure on her plate.

“The Mary Brooks Picken Method Of Modern Dressmaking” is a complete guide to tailoring, originally written with the amateur in mind. With simple, step-by-step instructions and helpful illustrations and photographs, this classic handbook will be of considerable utility to modern readers with an interest in traditional dressmaking. Contents include: “Dressmaking and Tailoring”, “Modern Methods Make Dressmaking Easy”, “Threads, Needles, Sewing Tools”, “Using Your Sewing Machine”, “How to Handle Fabrics Successfully”, “How to Make Seams and Finishes”, “Essential Needle Stitches and Seams”, “Making Seams in Garments”, “The Art of Tailoring Seams”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on dressmaking and tailoring.

Shinto is finally receiving the attention it deserves as a fundamental component of Japanese culture. Nevertheless, it remains a remarkably complex and elusive phenomenon to which Western categories of religion do not readily apply. A knowledge of Shinto can only proceed from a basic understanding of Japanese shrines and civilization, for it is closely intermingled with the Japanese way of life and continues to be a vital natural religion. This book is a convenient guide to Shinto thought. As a reference work, the volume does not offer a detailed critical study of all aspects of Shinto. Instead, it overviews the essential teachings of Shinto and provides the necessary cultural and historical context for understanding Shinto as a dynamic force in Japanese civilization. The book begins with an historical overview of Shinto, followed by a discussion of Japanese myths. The volume then discusses the role of shrines, which are central to Shinto rituals. Other portions of the book discuss the various Shinto sects and the evolution of Shinto from the Heian period to the present. Because Japanese terms are central to Shinto, the work includes a glossary.