Spring Projects Ahead with CELESTIAL WATERCOLOR.

CELESTIAL WATERCOLOR
LEARN TO PAINT THE ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS AND SEASONAL NIGHT SKIES

CELESTIAL WATERCOLOR
By Elise Mahan and D. R. McElroy
On-Sale Date: April 2, 2019
$19.99 US · $25.99 CAN · 128 pages · Hardcover
ISBN: 9781631065880
Rock Point, an imprint of The Quarto Group

Celestial Watercolor takes visionary artists on a dreamlike journey – complete with an overview of the tools and techniques of watercolor painting, this instructional guide will teach you how to paint the beautiful night sky throughout the seasons and introduce the signs of astrology.

The zodiac has been used for a millennia to bridge the gap between the mysteries of the universe and mankind’s understanding of the world. Travel to the heavens with this collection of ethereal artwork and let your passion for creativity soar while learning about legends and myths of the night sky.

Featuring instructions on how to illustrate the constellations through the yearly cycle of four seasons, Celestial Watercolor also includes exquisitely detailed information about sun and moon signs, simple directions on how to paint the 12 moons from the Native American and spiritual traditions, and easy-to-follow steps for using the correct watercolor wash techniques. With this book, every aspiring artist and imaginative dreamer will have the opportunity to use elements of the environment, such as trees, lakes, and mountains, to design each painting with their own personal style and flair.

The topics of astronomy and natural history gave artist Elise Mahan the inspiration to begin creating open-ended mixed media art projects, from which she can educate children of all ages.  She believes every painting provides a chance for artists to draw upon ethereal elements that explore texture and pattern.

Co-author and professional writer D.R. McElroy has a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Resources. She has been pursuing work in the field of English for ten years and now lives in Michigan.

 My Thoughts:

Two of my favorite interests are wrapped up into this book by Elise Mahan and D.R McElroy, constellations and watercolor! As an art teacher, I knew I needed to add this book into my collection. Firstly, the art is so incredible. Gorgeous soft colors that just jump off of the page with every turn. It's relaxing to look at. I loved the information shared about each astrological sign, moon phases, along with the constellation shapes. It is perfect for anyone that is interested in learning more about the zodiac or an avid reader on all things astrology.

My favorite part though was certainly the projects. Each step was easy to understand and produced a beautiful outcome. They share the ideal colors to make to match their project, something I have not seen in other books I've had. It also shared the types of tools you may need to produce it.

Ultimately, this is a wonderful book that I highly recommend for any artist in your life and/or anyone you know interested in the constellations and moon phases. This book is going to be in my collection for a long time for my own projects and for my students.

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Holiday Gift Guide- A Stocking Stuffer for Art Lovers.

Description-

The instructions are quick visual exercises in Pocket Art: Portrait Drawing, the first book in the new Pocket Art series.

This lively, graphic approach to explaining concepts will have you looking and learning with step-by-step illustrations and expert tips straight from London-based artist Joanna Henly (aka Miss Led). This compact 112-page book is just right for carrying in a backpack or pocket for when you’re learning on the go.

Henly begins by guiding you through your initial set up, then moves on to "Understanding the Face." She takes you through every detail of capturing facial features and expressions, and mastering the rendering of hair and skin. Her exercises demonstrate and reinforce everything you learn as you go along.

The author-

Joanna Henly, well known by her professional name, Miss Led, is an illustrator, artist, and art director based in East London. As an illustrator, she works by commission for corporate brands, products, packaging, and advertising campaigns with specific experience within fashion, beauty, and technology sectors. As an artist, she works on projects from portrait commissions to large scale complex works. These are often in public spaces or live performances. In addition, she creates personal work, which is exhibited globally, and sells beautiful prints and originals online.

Jo is a strong promoter of professional practice within her art and illustration, including as a Global Ambassador for Liquitex paints and European Ambassador for Wacom. She is also a passionate educator, promoted via social media and podcasts to her online audience, which reaches 1.3 million people.

Specs-

Format: Paperback / softback, 112 Pages

ISBN: 9781631594694

Illustrations: 200 color images

Size: 5 in x 8 in / 127 mm x 203.2 mm

Published: April 24, 2018

My Thoughts-

As an art teacher, one of the projects my students struggle with the most are portraits. There's something about looking at a face and drawing it that make artists more critical of their work. Every year I usually assign a self portrait and a classmate portrait for them to work on their skills. When I heard of this book by author, Joanna Henly, I knew this would be the perfect addition to my classroom. 

Henly really did a fantastic job covering every area of portraits. Whether it is drawing facial structures, noses, lips, etc, it is covered in this book. Reading through it, I felt even more aware of better ways to do them myself and how to teach them. The imagery is absolutely beautiful with both black and white and colored images. The directions are easy to follow and provide a step by step guide for artists of all experience levels. It is the perfect size to carry around wherever you go too! 

If you are a budding artist or know someone who is, this is perfect for your holiday gift shopping. I can't recommend this book enough! 

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The Rx for boredom: Squishies, Slime, and Putty!

Super Squishies, Slime, and Putty

Over 35 Safe, Borax-Free Recipes

Tessa Sillars-Powell

PUB. DATE: AUGUST 2018

Paperback, 112 pp., 6 11/16 " x 8 7/8"

ISBN 978-1-4380-1253-7

$12.99, Can$15.99

Get ready to discover the cutest squishies, slimes, and putties on the planet! Who needs a plain old-fashioned craft project when you can create 36 incredible crafts, including a narwal, panda, poop emoji, skull, cactus, or cake? You'll also find:

Instructions for making your own squishies: the hottest trend for kids under 12
Breaking trends for slime-making and playing with it in cool ways
Next-level slime recipes and putty recipes, including a slime unicorn frappe, slime eggs on toast, fidget spinner putty, and farting putty (a kid crowd-pleaser)
Popular fluffy slime, clear slime, magnetic slime, spider web slime, and glow in the dark slime
Carefully designed projects that are safe for children to make with adult supervision
Ingredients that are all easy to find
and much more.
This is the perfect craft book for big kids who love getting their hands dirty—in a good way! (Ages 7 and up).

My Thoughts:

There are few things as fun and relaxing as making your own slime and putty. Upon seeing the fun designs on the cover of Super Squishies, Slime, and Putty I knew I needed to look through this book! With over thirty crafts from animals to food, there is something for every child and adult alike.

The imagery in the book was one of my favorite aspects. Plus, there are also recipes inside for making everything at home! There are even designs for creating your squishies into key chains to hang from your phone or other devices. One of my favorites was the fox I shared in the photo!

If you are looking for something fun to do with your family, I highly recommend this book! It's perfect for any arts and crafts library!

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Try a new art technique this summer with books from, The Quarto Group.

The lazy days of summer are great times to try out a new art technique, and The Quarto Group has you covered. Whether you want to create a collage with The Creature Garden, or improve your drawing skills with Ten-Step Drawing: Animals, these books provide step-by-step instruction and fun projects for you to tackle.

My Thoughts:

The Quarto Group was kind enough to allow me to review both of their fantastic books. As an art teacher year round, I'm always looking for new projects to add to my lesson plans. I also love doing these activities myself as a way to relax after a long day. The summaries were so good that I couldn't help but be excited to read these! I received both The Creature Garden and Ten-Step Drawing: Animals. Here are the descriptions:

The Creature Garden takes you on a step-by-step expedition through the natural world, teaching you how to draw and paint 50 beasts--both real and imagined--in a whimsical folk-art style.

The Creature Garden

An Illustrator's Guide to Beautiful Beasts & Fictional Fauna

By Harry & Zanna Goldhawk

$25.00 US / $33.00 CAN

Hardcover / 160 Pages

ISBN: 9781631064272

Rock Point Gift & Stationery

The blank page can be daunting, but Ten-Step Drawing: Animals offers a quick and easy starting point for any doodler, illustrator, or aspiring artist.

Ten-Step Drawing: Animals

Learn to Draw 75 Animals in Ten Easy Steps!

By Heather Kilgour

$14.99 US / $19.99 US

Paperback / 128 Pages

ISBN: 9781633224889

Walter Foster Publishing

I adored both of these books. The artwork was so unique. The best part was there's something for everyone. Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate artist, you are able to follow the instructions. The first picture is from Ten-Step Drawing: Animals and the second is from The Creature Garden. Those were two of my favorite designs as I'm a huge fan of Sloths and Narwals. I loved how vivid the designs were and detailed. It really added an element of both realism and fun. I cannot wait to take these books into my classroom for my students to enjoy!

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Relax and Unwind with a New Scratch & Create Book from The Quarto Group!

Scratch and create is the newest form of art therapy for adults! Reconnect with your creativity, reduce stress, and unwind form a long day by scratching your artistic itch with Enchanted Animals.

With the included stylus, you can embark immediately on your scratch and create journey with this book. When your meditation is complete, you will have charming work of art to display and share—and each page is perforated for easy removal.

My Thoughts:

One of my favorite activities growing up has been coloring and scratch art! When adult coloring books became the latest in meditative practices and stress relief, I was certainly excited to rekindle my love for the projects! Scratch & Draw Enchanted Animals by Marisa Redondo was right up my alley with these designs! I adore animals, nature, as well as abstract designs that have a little magic and mysticism to them. I couldn't wait to create with this book! 

As the description states:

Scratch & Draw Enchanted Animals

by Marisa Redondo

Paperback, 20 pages

US $19.99, CAN $25.99

9781631595110

Rockport Publishers

Scuff, scrape, and scratch dark metallic coating away to create inspirational and decorative illustrations of rabbits and dandelions, raccoons, owls, foxes, and a whole forest of enchanting wildlife.

Here is the rough draft of one of the projects I've been working on in the book! I found the creative designs to be fun, easy to follow, and extremely unique. Each scratch page has a different color and they're easy to draw on with the stylus included. Hours of fun for everyone, adults and children alike! I'm excited to bring this book into my classroom for my art students to try! I know they'll love it as much as I do!

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Book Review : Charm Love Friendship Bracelets

Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review.

In Charm Love Friendship Bracelets, bestselling crafts book author Sherri Haab offers a new take on the classic friendship bracelet that shows how to make pretty, chic, and wearable polymer clay charms and beads and combine them with traditional knotting/macrame, braiding, wrapping, and other techniques using inexpensive threads, cording, beads, and findings to create 35 fresh, fashionable, and modern designs.

The book covers essential supplies, knotting techniques (with step-by-step illustrations), and working with polymer clay. The designs take a timeless classic and give it a new twist with fun, fashion-forward projects that let you customize your creations with easy-to-make polymer clay charms and beads as well as other easy-to-find embellishments.

My thoughts:

I love this book!  I used to make regular friendship bracelets with just the colored string when I was a teenager.  Now there is so much more than just the colored string to make great friendship bracelets.  

This book is loaded with some beautiful bracelets creations.  And each page has step by step instructions in addition to a colorful picture of the bracelet.  I enjoyed working with the polymer clay an incorporating it in the bracelets.  And no one bracelet looks the same.  Each one is unique.

With working with the polymer clay, there is a section just on that with safety tips and how to work with it.  My eleven year old daughter had so much fun making bracelets with me from this book.  She even made a beautiful bracelet  from this book for her grandmom.  

I am looking forward to making many new bracelets out of this book.

     

My Fashion Doodles and Designs: 200 Activities to Sketch, Color and Create

Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review.

Doodle your way to a dream wardrobe.

Introducing “My Fashion Doodles and Designs,” a new activity book that will inspire any budding fashionista as she draws, doodles and designs outfits, accessories, shoes and more.

Guaranteed to spark the imagination, this innovative book is packed with 200 fun and fashionable prompts, including craft and color custom sneakers, create exciting celebrity hairstyles, play makeup artist for a runway model, sketch adorable accessories for your pets, design a head-to-toe London street style look and so much more. 

Unleash your inner creative diva with "My Fashion Doodles and Designs!"

My thoughts:

I myself had fun with this book. I haven't colored or doodled in some time. I have an eleven year old daughter who sat with me and did some of the activities also.   

In this book there are so many different things to do such as design a coat for a cat, design a front page of your own fashion blog, color shoes and boots, and design your own patterns on leggings just to name a few things to keep you busy in this book.

You will surprise yourself of your artistic side that you thought you never had.  This book makes you think about designs and fashions that you would want.  It really is a great book for just about anyone who loves to doodle and design.