Showing posts with label hobby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hobby. Show all posts

Successful Bonsai: Raising Exotic Miniature Trees Review

Successful Bonsai: Raising Exotic Miniature Trees
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I bought a small bonsai to try out a new hobby and I realized that I didn't have the courage to strike out on my own. This book really gave me the practical step by step sequence. It also gives a thorough explanation as to why each step is important. I then bought another copy as a gift and another bonsai!

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An essential reference for growing indoor and outdoor bonsai.

The popularity of raising exotic miniature trees continues to grow, with bonsai gardeners cultivating tropical and subtropical species. Successful Bonsai is an essential reference, providing a wide range of bonsai styles and shapes, along with step-by-step instructions and illustrations that expertly guide the gardener through the many pruning and wiring techniques.

This easy-to-use book explains how to grow bonsai both indoors and outdoors; features an illustrated A-Z list of bonsai species with detailed descriptions of 80 plants, including 15 classic species; and recommends a proven pruning regimen. It includes information on:

Choosing appropriate training styles
Cultivating and propagating
Dealing with diseases and pests
Shaping an established plant
Sowing seedlings
Building a collection.

Successful Bonsai is not only an informative and practical guide, but also a superb source of inspiration. It will instill confidence in the beginner and spark the imagination of the experienced bonsai artist.


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Shibori: Creating Color and Texture On Silk (Crafts Highlights) Review

Shibori: Creating Color and Texture On Silk (Crafts Highlights)
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This book is a wonderful educational sourcebook for any dyer. The pieces shown in the book are elegant and sohisticated - grown folks fabrics. Mysterious, subtle, three-dimensional pieces. Silk is her fiber of choice yet the information in the book would be useful to anyone interested in dyeing any fiber.
Admittedly I am a baby dyer, however I do have a lot of experience in the area of learning processes from books. This book is all I had hoped for and more. Ms. Brito tells us what her aims are in creating this book. Her aims happen to coincide with my desires as a student: to inspire the reader with the artistic possibilities of shibori and at the same time provide the reader with technical information on a level that high standards will become a natural occurrence as one begins to understand and learn this process.
This book is not for the reader who is looking for shortcuts or baggie dyeing. Ms. Brito is a chemist and an artist. She explains the different dye types and processes very clearly. She even allows us to see her set-up. Discharge, various resist methods, overdyeing, setting texture and great photographs are only part of what this generous artist shares. She provides excercises that encourage observation and experimentation. That is how many of us are best educated. She offers formulas for different colors including neutrals so the reader has a good starting point.
I don't want the reader of this review to think that the book is so technical that it is inaccessible. It is both technical and reader friendly. The book is also great eye candy. This book belongs in the library of all fiber artists!

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Shibori is the Japanese art of what is popularly known as tie-dye. But this ancient resist-dyeing technique goes far beyond the simple craft that is typically used to embellish T-shirts.In Shibori: Creating Color & Texture on Silk, artist Karren K. Brito demonstrates the modern American rendition of shibori, or prismatic shibori, in which colored silk is pleated and tied around a pole, then overdyed. Only the tops of the pleats absorb the color fully so the hues shift subtly to create a shimmering iridescence.The book opens with a fascinating overview of the influences on the American version of the shibori technique. Then, it moves on to explain other important aspects of this unique process: "Dyeing Essentials," for example, discusses how to work with silk and acid dyes, which are easier to use and more environmentally sound than fiber-reactive, vat, or the so-called "natural" dyes; "Creating Resists" illustrates several styles of resist, each of which produces stunning color combinations and elegant pleated effects. Each step in the process is presented separately so that readers can combine them to create their own unique shibori designs.What's more, this wonderful guide brims with lavish, full-color photography as well as dazzling examples from prominent American shibori artists.• Features beautiful projects and gorgeous photography throughout• Exploits the interest in accessorizing with an easy-to-do craft• Provides essential information on dyes and the dyeing process

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A Dazzle of Dragonflies Review

A Dazzle of Dragonflies
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As soon as I heard this book was being released, I was dying to buy it. The authors have pioneered a method of scanning dragonflies on standard flatbed scanners and have produced some magnificent images of these insects, which they display online. As an entomologist and a woman fascinated by dragonflies, I have always admired their work and knew this book would be gorgeous if nothing else. I was not disappointed. The photos and scans of dragonflies in this book are spectacular. Even people who are squeamish of bugs could learn to appreciate the beauty of these magnificent insects after reading this book. Aside from the lovely images, the book also contains some very interesting information about dragonflies. I am particularly fond of the chapter called Dragonfly Tales, which covers dragonfly myths and folklore in more detail than I've seen in any other dragonfly book to date. Other chapters cover information rarely included in other books such as imaging, gardening for, and collecting dragonflies. It also discusses more commonly covered topics such as dragonfly life histories, structure, evolution, and development.
This is an impressive collection of amazing images and interesting, rarely published information. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in dragonflies, novice and expert alike.

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Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes: Discovering and Crafting Your Personal Fragrances Review

Perfumes, Splashes and Colognes: Discovering and Crafting Your Personal Fragrances
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Nancy Booth has taken what can sometimes seem a confusing hobby, creating your own fragrances, and broken it down into easy to understand language. Her brief description of the history of fragrances was interesting and informative. I also appreciated the list she provides categorizing many popular scents on the market today. The quick and simple quiz included allows you to pinpoint what types of fragrances you or your friends are most drawn to. Her descriptions of the various scent profiles also helped me pinpoint which fragrances would appeal to friends and relatives. In addition to all of this she provides numerous, easy to follow recipes for perfumes and colognes that can be created quite easily at home. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in creating their own fragrances.

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With Nancy Booth's easy instructions and "Personal Scent Profile Quiz," readers will learn how to create customized perfume blends and re-create favorite commercial perfumes at a fraction of their retail price.

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How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time Review

How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time
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Like most homebrewers, I started out with Charlie Papazian's book "The New Joy of Homebrewing". I had the second edition. It was a good book, but comparing it to this text, it seems hopelessly dated.
With the explosion of microbreweries across the country, lots of people got turned on to GOOD beer - and many of those looked into homebrewing. With so many people trying different methods and equipment, over time, brewing became simpler and much of what was deemed necessary in the earlier days was discarded. Many of the techniques and equipment listed here are the results of years of trial-and-error streamlining by other homebrewers. In addition, there's never been so many resources available via mail order and on the net. Homebrewing really is easy at this point.
This is the best basic brewing text I've found. You can start with it by making extract only beers, graduating to specialty grains in addition to extract, then to all grain brewing and making your own recipes and beer styles. The book is linear, presents the information as you need it and the information ranges from the most basic (like sanitation) to as technical as you could possibly want (water chemistry).
For years I've been an extract and specialty grain brewer. I never completely understood the process of all-grain brewing until I bought this text. It gave me the courage to build my own lautering tun and brew my first batch of beer made completely from scratch. It was a pale ale, nothing exotic, but man was it good beer. Check out the author's website and read the first edition online. The second edition is improved, so if you like the online text buy the hard copy book.
There are other good texts out there (the author lists many of them in the back of the book) but if you only want one homebrewing text, buy this one. It's a shame that Amazon doesn't carry it anymore. Track it down.

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Everything needed to brew beer right the first time. Presented in a light-hearted style without frivolous interruptions, this authoritative text introduces brewing in a easy step-by-step review.

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