I’ve always loved pretty paper and stationery, and I enjoyed dabbling in hand lettering in my youth. But calligraphy made me think, it’s lovely, but I’ll never possess the patience to build that skill. So I’m pleased to find these words from calligrapher Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls in the opening of her gorgeous new book: “I found that once I let go of the idea that my letterforms had to be ‘perfect,’ I felt a weight was lifted and everything started to flow.” With that encouraging tone, The Gift of Calligraphy: A Modern Approach to Hand Lettering with 25 Projects to Give and to Keep welcomes you to slow down, relax and dip a metal nib in ink and use it to make your mark. Imasa-Stukuls first covers basics like tools, guide sheets, warm-up strokes and forming and connecting letters. She then outlines projects like a message in a bottle, gift wrap, labels, tags and place cards, and in a nice touch, the visual how-tos are hand-drawn.

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Over here at Lifestyles central, I see my fair share of whimsical books, and many of them I unabashedly love. This month’s whimsy award goes to Blanket Fort: Growing Up Is Optional by a husband-and-wife creative team who are mysteriously (and whimsically) only known to readers as Grackle + Pigeon. Everyone knows kids love to build blanket forts, but why should they have all the fun? “Let’s face it—adulting is hard,” the book’s intro reads. “Can’t we just not deal for a while and take refuge in a pile of pillows and blankets and maybe, just maybe, redefine what adulting actually means?” In Blanket Fort, it means getting your craft on with aluminum tent poles, clamps and all the fabrics you can find. Use them to drape and clip your way to a reading nook, office space, movie-viewing nest, campsite chill-out zone and other enchanting, tentlike spaces. Textile lovers will bask in the ideas presented here, many of which seem like a cool way to level up your next party’s decor.

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Top Pick in Lifestyles, October 2018

“Natural ink is a whole landscape condensed into a little bottle,” writes Jason Logan, author of Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking, a visually rich guide to making ink from foraged materials. We first encounter Logan, founder of the Toronto Ink Company, as he combs the wilds of Red Hook, Brooklyn, for source materials both plant-based and man-made: wild grapes, acorn caps, paint chips, rusted nails. Turning these things into ink is little more complicated than “waiting and stirring and waiting some more,” and his basic recipe for natural ink is indeed quite simple. Logan includes recipe variations for attaining specific colors such as Vine Charcoal, Pokeberry and Silvery Acorn Cap. The final third of the book relaxes into art with examples of Logan’s own ink tests as well as work from others who have experimented with his inks, such as Dave Eggers and Margaret Atwood. (“At least one bottle of wild grape ink almost exploded on its way to Stephen King,” he writes.) A conversation with author Michael Ondaatje rounds out this exquisite volume.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Every so often, a lifestyle book comes along that makes me feel less alone. In the introduction to Lotta Jansdotter Paper, Pattern, Play, author and designer Jansdotter mentions that for her, the process of looking at patterns and working with paper triggers an Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a soothing, pleasurable feeling. I never thought of paper and patterns as one of my own ASMR triggers—but yes! Most of the book’s pages are meant to be removed and used in the projects included, and each features one of Jansdotter’s own patterns, ranging from geometric to floral. How wonderful to have your main materials provided. Projects run from simple, such as paper leaves that can be affixed to bare branches, to more complex, including party favors. I love the way Jansdotter livens up something as simple as a binder clip with a small rectangle of red-and-white paper. “Paper is such a great medium for experimentation,” she writes. “It is low risk . . . and not too precious.” Pass the scissors.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Presents from the kitchen are a lovely gesture. Whether baked, mixed, cooked or assembled from store-bought goodies, they are proof of time spent preparing something special. But how often do we end up stuffing a carefully created gift into a boring plastic zipper bag or disposable pan? Creative packaging ideas can make gifts from the kitchen twice as nice. The Creative Kitchen has recipes for drinks, breads, candy, cookies, pies, cakes, sauces, mixes, jams, snacks and holiday fare, but recipes are only half the story. The other half is presentation. The book pairs each recipe with quick and cute packaging suggestions. Choose from sew and no-sew fabric options, ribbons, fancy cupcake liners, papers, labels and non-traditional containers to spice up offerings. Templates and images to scan, trace and photocopy are included. Next time you need an edible gift for a host, sick friend or new baby, check here first. Plus, any of these recipes and wrappings will guarantee sell-outs at a bake sale.
 

The word terrarium may conjure grade-school memories of empty peanut butter jars and dead plants, but Terrarium Craft will dispel that notion at a glance. Artist and boutique owner Amy Bryant Aiello and garden writer Kate Bryant redefine the terrarium as art form, gardening complement and undeniable “eye candy.” They present 50 step-by-step projects adaptable to any mood or style and incorporating tiny treasures like found objects, trinkets and special shells or rocks. Plants are optional, believe it or not, but most projects recommend specific varieties selected for size, shape, color and habitat, and are easy to maintain. Terrariums can be almost any size—even wee glass baubles on a string—and can have a lid or remain open. After an introduction that takes readers through the basics—containers, foundations, materials and plants—the book divides the projects into Forest, Beach, Desert and Fantasy landscapes. The photographs throughout are simply gorgeous. Readers will be inspired to look for potential containers everywhere, to try and match the creativity and charm on display.