Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas & Weekend Wonders

Book Description

Finally, the ultimate answer to But what will I do with this? Turn second-hand treasures into artful, eclectic design elements with Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas and Weekend Wonders, the first book in a new series by Leisure Arts. Garage sale enthusiasts, thrift store devotees, consignment shop regularsanyone who loves the thrill of the hunt will discover new ways to creatively transform random finds into todays popular shabby chic dcor. With very little effort and a variety of found items, these simple ideas and unusual approaches will help flea market aficionados define a style that conveys their unique personality and enhances every room in the house.

Customer Reviews:

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas.......2003-01-29

I found a few ideas to try that I never would have tried prior. Not everything is for everyone, but most should be able to pick out one or two projects that pay in themselves for the cost of the book. I would have, however, appreciated more step - wise pictures and having the instructions with the item, instead of in the back of the book.

Wish I Had Thought of That.......2003-01-24

I have to admit, I actually borrowed this book from the library first to see if it was worth purchasing and it definitely is!! Great ideas on fairly easy projects that I can't wait to try. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I think I could actually DO most of the projects in this book. Very inspirational and the projects actually look NICE, not like grade school crafts. I recommend it!

Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas & Weekend Wonders.......2003-01-22

On the positive side, the photographs are excellent. That's the only good news. This book does nothing but tell you how to make ... out of ... I'd return it if I could. The directions are sparse and usually say, use according to manufacturer's directions. Oh yea, I paid for that little tidbit. You have to be a moron not to have come up with anything in this publication.

No-Sew, Low-Sew Interior Decor: Instant Style Using Easy Techniques : Gluing, Stapling, Fusing, Draping, Gathering

Average customer rating:

Definitely Worth A Look
Save your money and learn to sew
Easy as Pie

No-Sew, Low-Sew Interior Decor: Instant Style Using Easy Techniques : Gluing, Stapling, Fusing, Draping, Gathering
Janis Bullis
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Textile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

No-Sew Fabric Decor: Transform Your Home without Sewing a Stitch
Say It Isn't Sew! Make All this Without a Stitch! (Leisure Arts #3659)
Curtains, Etc.: 58 Creative No-Sew Window Treatments
Glue Gun Decor: How to Dress Up Your Home-from Pillows and Curtains to Sofas and Lampshades
Window Basics: Easy & No Sew Treatments

ASIN: 0801987474

Amazon.com

Janice Bullis's No-Sew, Low-Sew Interior Decor will help you whip up some simple, soft furnishings and give your rooms an instant facelift. Bedding, window treatments, table toppers, super-easy slipcovers, desk accessories, pillows, and other basics are a cinch to make and require only minimal sewing skills. Plus, there are plenty of allowable shortcuts, including fusible webbing, fabric glue, drapery construction tape, or using pretty bed sheets or dishtowels for certain items instead of decorator fabric yardage. The project sequence seems a bit disorganized, but that doesn't affect the good directions, nor should it interfere with anyone's ability to make these winning home-decor items. --Amy Handy

Customer Reviews:

Definitely Worth A Look.......2001-12-09

Even though I can sew, I still really liked this book. Most of the ideas are creative, unusual, and easy to implement. You truly can transform things and rooms with fabric, if you're willing to take a little time. It also doesn't lean too much toward gingham/ruffles/cutesy stuff, which is also a plus.

Save your money and learn to sew.......2001-05-04

While the book has some easy no-sew/low sew ideas the styles are way out dated. I bought the book soley on what the other reviews had said. Once I fliped through the book and knew I had to return it. A perfect example is the chair on the front of the book it has a sheet thrown over it with visible safety pins holding it together...need I say more? There was not one idea in the book that would do my house justice. This year I will learn TO SEW.

Easy as Pie.......2000-08-24

This book allows the non sewer to make all sorts of great things. I just built a new house, and I wanted to decorate without spending a lot of money. I saved over $500 making these things rather than purchasing them. I do not own a sewing machine, but I made pillows, lampshades, draperies, and much more. This book tops my "Best Buy" list. Incredibily easy to follow!

Average customer rating:

Not easy
Ok

Quick & Clever Instant Cards
Julie Hickey
Manufacturer: David & Charles Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Creating Cards With Scrapbook Embellishments
Quick and Clever Handmade Cards (Quick and Clever)
The Big Book Of Handmade Cards and Giftwrap: Over 50 Step-by-Step Projects
Surprisingly Simple Novelty Cards
Quick and Easy Handmade Cards

ASIN: 0715320904

Book Description

-Over 75 easy-to-make designs for popular celebrations including birthdays, weddings, and Christmas

-Includes dozens of time-saving tips for clever organization and storage

-Provides creative inspiration with card variation ideas In this colorful and exciting guide, bestselling author Julie Hickey shows readers how to create fantastic greeting cards in three simple and timesaving steps.

From the must-have materials needed to create designs at any time -- the right paper and adhesives, shop-bought and home made embellishments -- to crafty time-saving equipment, techniques, and storage ideas, this guide includes all the instruction readers need.

With 75 quick and easy-to-make designs for popular holidays, as well as time-saving tips and variation ideas, this book will ensure readers never need to spend another second buying ready-made cards again.

Customer Reviews:

Not easy.......2007-08-21

This book has alot of great ideas, but they took too much time for me to make and the supplies were costly.

Ok.......2005-12-20

I have Julies first book and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one.
It is ok with lots of ideas but I found it very similar to her first book. Having said that it is good book for those just starting out.

Average customer rating:

Too broad

Instant Expert: Beading
Lucinda Ganderton
Manufacturer: Thunder Bay Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Beadwork | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Jewelry | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

1001 Beads: Create and Embellish Using Beading and Wirework Technique
Quick & Clever Beading
Beading for Beginners
Complete Beading: Jewelry & Accessories
Quick & Easy Beaded Jewelry (Beadwork Books)

ASIN: 1592233449

Book Description

From the multicolored African beads of the Masai tribes to the designs of Native Americans, to the sparkly fashions of the 1920s, beading adds texture, color, shine, and an appealing dress-up quality to clothing, jewelry, pillows, and bags. Even complete novices will quickly acquire the skills to create beaded treasures by using Instant Expert: Beading. This book begins with a complete introduction to the required materials and tools, followed by step-by-step technique instructions, and 28 projects that lead the reader through advancing levels of difficulty. 20 techniques are taught that include threading, fringes and tassels, knotting and crochet. There is also helpful advice for beginners and inspiration for advanced beaders, as well as over 200 beautiful photographs in this informative and lovely look at the art of beading.

Customer Reviews:

Too broad.......2007-09-24

Have you ever tried to follow beading instructions while holding a book open in one hand and beading with the other? Lucinda's book has the answer to that bothersome problem: the book is spiral-bound! Why haven't other publishers gone this route?

Here's a bit of trouble with the instructions -- the actual steps shown are not for a beginner. Lucinda assumes the reader has used, say, crimps with success, knows how to open and close a jump ring, or how to make a loop in a head pin. Those of us who have completed a necklace only to have the beads roll onto the floor after making a too-tight crimp might have appreciated a bit more step-by-step detail. Although this book is a good overview of the various beading techniques, too little time is spent on each. "Knotting and crochet" rates three pages and "polymer clay," about which entire books have been written, is allowed only one page.

I cannot completely dismiss the book, though, because Lucinda shows how to make a darling curtain using silk flower heads and origami paper beads rolled over drinking straws, a very clever project I've not seen elsewhere.

The Impatient Beader Gets Inspired: A Crafty Chick's Guide to Instant Inspiration

Average customer rating:

Cute - Fun - Cute - Fun
Fun & Informative
Impatiently Creative!
Another fabulicious beading book by Margot Potter!
Key word: INSPIRATION! ...with a dash of sass and wit!

The Impatient Beader Gets Inspired: A Crafty Chick's Guide to Instant Inspiration
Margot Potter
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Beadwork | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Jewelry | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Impatient Beader
Sparkletastic: Dazzling Jewelry and Fashion Projects for the Discriminating Diva (Impatient Beader)
Hip to Bead: 32 Contemporary Projects for Today's Beader (Hip to . . . Series)
Simply Beautiful Beaded Jewelry: 50 Quick and Easy Projects
Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes

ASIN: 1581808542

Book Description

INSPIRATION IS ALL AROUND YOU, and this is the book to help you make the most of it! Every chapter is a celebration of all things arts and craftastic. Every project is fun to make and every technique is easy to master. So, get out a smock and beret and forget the naysayers--you are about to reintroduce yourself to your inner art girl! Hip, Hip Hooray!

Throughout the pages of The Impatient Beader Gets Inspired, you'll learn easy ways to full design inspiration from your day-to-day world to make fabulous jewelry and accessories. You'll discover a delightful diversity of fun techniques like jewelry making, découpage, soldering, embroidery, Hot Fix crystal application, polymer clay and more.

Inside you'll find:
* an accessible and friendly guide to design principles, from how to keep an art journal to the basics of color theory
* a huge selection of gorgeous, one-of-a-kind jewelry andaccessory projects including necklaces, bracelets, rings, pins,embellished tops, handbags and more
* the design inspiration for each project, including a picture of the object that inspired the piece
* an easy-to-follow skill level guide that tells you whether a project calls for the skills of a "Crafty Virgin," a "Crafty Vixen" or a "Crafty Goddess"
* "Patience Booster" and "Take It from Me" tips to help make your beading go smoothly

Meet the Impatient Beader
Margot Potter is a woman of many talents...author, designer, actress, vocalist, poet, songwriter, TV personality, thrift store treasure repurposer and mom to the world's coolest kid. She resides with her family, a flock of pecky chickens and a snarky, barky terrier named Mrs. Fellerbee near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Having completed the world's sparkliest tiara, Margot is now hard at work on the world's largest ball of string...ok, not really...but she is busy packing her bags for a new adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Cute - Fun - Cute - Fun.......2007-09-25

Margot Potter's Impatient Beader books are all about beading fun and reflect her wide variety of interests. A QVC jewelry line spokesperson, her obvious joy in creation extends to her chapter headings: "All Hail the Bead Queen," "Wild Women," and "Brave New Girls." She gives a quick and thorough step-by-step guide on techniques at the outset which includes how to attach a crimp tube, open and close a jump ring, turn a loop in a head pin, how to use a wire guardian, and make a wrapped loop. These instructions are followed by numerous, whimsical projects, none of which will tax the novice beader.

Fun & Informative.......2007-01-29

What a great follow-up to Margot Potter's first book. This one is also filled with inspiration and humor. If you are a new beader, start with the first one. If you are a seasoned beader, you'll enjoy this book very much!

Impatiently Creative!.......2007-01-10

The 1st edition of Impatient Beader is one of my favorite book in beading. The 2nd edition is even better! Margot Potter is absolutely creative in combining materials and creating outstanding projects. With her, beads are not only apply as jewellry and accesories. More than that, you can use beads in creating t'shirts, pins and other crafty projects. However I find the 2nd edition is more to advance level. For beginners, before you jump impatiently to this book, I suggest you to start with the 1st book.

Another fabulicious beading book by Margot Potter!.......2007-01-04

Margot's bead designs are just as vibrant, shiny and sparkly as her heart. I'm amazed at all the colorful energy she pours into each new book, such as "IB Gets Inspired". Each project is original, edgy - yet classy and chic too. The chapters in this book are sorted by personality and they come with cute and kitschy visuals, directions and illustrations. As a craft columnist, I see a lot of craft books on the market and I find Margot's among the best because of her playful kitty kat style and sense of humor!! This book is a treasure, buy a copy and have fun with it!!

Key word: INSPIRATION! ...with a dash of sass and wit!.......2006-08-13

Margot Potter's second craft and jewelry book, THE IMPATIENT BEADER GETS INSPIRED!, is an appealingly written, informative collection of ideas and techniques designed to encourage the inner artist in all of us to wake up, look about at the world and create! As a jewelry designer,I was enthralled by every page of this book. More than once I found myself interested in the more crafty projects, which are not within my specific arena. THAT IS HOW GOOD MARGOT POTTER IS! She makes you want to do things you don't normally do. She is so vibrant and encouraging! Additionally, her projects are inventive and original, yet not so very difficult that you couldn't try something you have always wished to take a shot at (like soldering, or polymer clay). She works with fabric, feathers, polymer clay, wall paper, vintage magazines, grommets, Mod Podge, traditional jewelry findings and you name it!!! You have to read it to believe it, and I guarantee you, you will love it!
I was happy to see that she continues to categorize her projects from easy to difficult ("crafty virgin", "crafty vixen", "crafty goddess"), and to give excellent "patience booster" tips. This is so helpful.

Additionally, however, she has added a new measure of fun by give the reader chapters such as "Wild Women" and "Brave New Girls". Her trademark little Margot cartoon has a cute and appropriate change of clothes for each of these chapters. I love this!

Margot Potter is a very fascinating teacher. Her projects are uniformly cool, well thought out, and always, when she addresses color, you learn something new. This is one of my favorite things about her projects. I spent a long time looking at her wallpaper earrings (terrific!), her net bracelet, ALL of her bags and pocketbooks (WOW!) and my special favorite, her advertastic earrings.

I was pleased to see that the basic tools and tutorials required for anyone to utilize this book properly are right up there in the front, pure and simple.
I was also happy to read some inspiring quotes from people as diverse as Mark Twain to Dorothy Parker.

When you enter Margot Potter's world via this book, you truly come away energized! I found THE IMPATIENT BEADER GETS INSPIRED! to be worth my time and money! I know I will read it over and over, and get something fresh and different out of it every time!

Instant Impact: Low-Cost, Fast Projects with Attitude (Trading Spaces)

Average customer rating:

Best of the Trading Spaces books

Instant Impact: Low-Cost, Fast Projects with Attitude (Trading Spaces)

Manufacturer: TLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Rooms For Living: Great Ideas for Living Rooms, Family Rooms, Bonus Rooms (Trading Spaces)
$100 to $1,000 Makeovers: Maximizing Your Decorating Dollars (Trading Spaces)
48-Hour Makeovers: Get a New Look in a Weekend! (Trading Spaces)
Trading Spaces: Color!
Trading Spaces - Make It Yours! Customize And Personalize - The Trading Spaces Way!

ASIN: 0696221306

Book Description

Hit television show inspires more than a dozen ideas to decorate any surface in any room.

Power decorating techniques for anyone with limited time or money.

Chapters are organized by decorating topic so readers can choose a technique and instantly engage.

Room tours and advice for many decorating styles and room types.

Easy-to-finish projects require a few simple steps and readily available materials.

Ideas for adding architectural details to a room, embellishing furnishings, creating decorative accessories, and beyond.

Customer Reviews:

Best of the Trading Spaces books.......2006-06-30

"Instant Impact" is definitely the best of the Trading Spaces books! They have a great ideas and wonderful photos from the shows. Another great book is Martha Stewart's "Decorating with Color." Sadly, I was disappointed by HGTV's "Before and After."

Instant Style: Over 40 Projects to Do in an Hour or a Weekend

Average customer rating:

Instant Style: Over 40 Projects to Do in an Hour or a Weekend
Maggie Colvin
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Simple ideas and easy techniques--a top decorator proves how uncomplicated it can be to craft the very best in stylish accessories and stunning decorative effects! Packed with more than forty nifty and inexpensive ways to turn everyday "junk" into treasures, each project includes the time needed from inception to completion. Make a lampshade using photocopied sheet music in less than an hour or completely redo a bathroom in just a weekend. Full-color photographs and illustrations help you along the way, accompanied by an assortment of decorating tips, including paint finish, trompe l'oeil, stenciling, and découpage. Arrange a beautiful bouquet of flowers, handpaint and glaze terra-cotta ware, or woodgrain and stencil an old tabletop.

Instant Decorating: Innovative Interiors with Impact--100 Sensational Effects That You Can Achieve in a Weekend

Average customer rating:

Instant Decorating: Innovative Interiors with Impact--100 Sensational Effects That You Can Achieve in a Weekend
Walton
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1859674534

Amazon.com

Luscious photographs and a large, color-filled format make this volume instantly appealing. Open to almost any page at random and you'll be greeted by an innovative and often quirky home-decorating idea. The good step-by-step instructions and plethora of photos make the easy projects even easier, as do shortcuts like using interesting blankets or beach mats for window treatments; personalizing store-bought items like napkins or lamps with your own embellishments; or using such inexpensive and readily available supplies as muslin (curtains, canopies), discarded containers, or rope (wound around chair frames, headboards, lamps, and odd-shaped bottles). Some items are a bit more traditional (a wooden chair swathed in yards of organza, a small bench with purchased carved-wood accents, a chintz-covered headboard), but many are on the decidedly funky side: chairs covered in AstroTurf, space-age fabric, fake fur, rush brooms, and bamboo stalks (the "Polynesian throne"), or made entirely of cardboard; light fixtures bedecked with plastic baubles, raffia, or tiny fabric birds; a window drenched in layers of pink tulle and a feather boa. Kitsch it may be, but it is kitsch well done, with an energy and tastefulness all its own. --Amy Handy

Book Description

If you are short on time, have a limited budget, and more imagination than skill, this book provides over 100 fabulous solutions for instant, affordable and long-lasting decorating ideas.

Customer Reviews:

sux.......1999-03-19

this book sux compared to other decorating books i have read DONT GET IT

Instant Interiors: Quick Fix, Cheap Chic, Fast Style

Average customer rating:

Instant Interiors: Quick Fix, Cheap Chic, Fast Style
Richard Randall
Manufacturer: David & Charles Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0715310968

Book Description

Bursting with more ideas than cash? Desperate for an instant re-style? Interior designer Richard Randall shares his secrets and down-to-earth decorating advice in this collection of hip and easy ideas. From fast fabric wall hangings to funky party lighting, every project is fast, simple and inexpensive. A must for the cash-strapped, style conscious decorator.

Instant Gratification: Ornaments: Fast and Fabulous Projects (Instant Gratification) (Instant Gratification)

Average customer rating:

I expected more ideas and less complicated ones!
At least the photography is beautiful
not really instant

Instant Gratification: Ornaments: Fast and Fabulous Projects (Instant Gratification) (Instant Gratification)
Carol Endler Sterbenz , and Genevieve Sterbenz
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Seasonal | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

An Ornament a Day (25 Sparkling Holiday Trims to Make)
Christmas Ornaments to Make: 101 Sparkling Holiday Trims (Better Homes & Gardens)
Christmas: Make It Sparkle--225 Simple Crafts, Food & Decorating Ideas for Your Holiday Home
Simply Christmas: 201 Easy Crafts, Food and Decorating Ideas
Holiday Inspirations (Better Homes & Gardens)

ASIN: 0811830233

Book Description

Spread the joy and magic of the Christmas season with beautiful ornaments you make yourself. The projects in Instant Gratification: Ornaments range from elegant beaded affairs to adorable miniature toys. Readily available materials, inspiring photographs, and clear and thorough instructions make it simple to assemble and complete each sparkling piece in the space of an afternoon. With unique gifts for sharing or for hanging right on the family tree, Instant Gratification: Ornaments takes the stress out of the holidays.

Customer Reviews:

I expected more ideas and less complicated ones!.......2002-10-14

I bought this book last year when it was published so there were no customer reviews thenm, and i wish there were.

I bought the book based on the title, i expected easy and fast projects which give creative and lovely results. While the book is wonderful to browse because of its excellent photography, the projects are FAR from being easy and "instant gratification".

Most of the projects have a long list of needed supplies, and the ideas weren't the "ah, why didn't I think of that" kind either. I was particularly annoyed by the large number of projects that do not CREATE anything, but rather decorate a glass ornament. I can think of ways to spice up a glass ball, thank you very much.

I do NOT recommend this book only as a viewbook for getting in christmas mood, but there are better books out there for that. I give it two stars for the photography and design, but for contents it doesn't deserve it.

At least the photography is beautiful.......2002-02-04

I was a little disappointed with this book but that was because I was expecting a little more sophisticated ornaments. My fault, actually, because the title is 'Instant Gratification'. The projects aren't very complicated, and many can be done by children.

My biggest complaint is that the print is so small, it is very difficult for me to read the supply list and instructions.

However, the photography is fabulous! It really shows off how elegent these simple projects can be.

not really instant.......2001-11-29

There were some good ideas in this nook, but the majority are a bit more involved than the title implies. Plus there were several projects that were for light strand bulb covers, not really ornaments. There were about 5 that were quite simple, the rest were of varying degrees of difficulty. Some due to the supplies needed.

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