Book Club: The Big-Ass Book of Crafts
August 13th, 2008 by Simone
So I thought we could have a virtual book club since I seem to have developed this craft book addiction.
How it Works
Every 4-6 weeks we “discuss” a craft book as follows:
- Make one project out of the book that is due for the next book club meet-up
- Explain why you chose that project
- Discuss the clarity of the instructions, the layout of the book, the illustrations, other projects in the book, and whether you liked the book or not
- Suggest one book for the next book club
You can submit your discussion either as a comment the day of the book club meet-up or by email (craftydaisies(at)gmail(dot)com). If you have pictures of your projects that you would like to share, email them to me or submit them to the Crafty Daisies Book Club Flickr group.
Finding the Book
As with any book club, this is not an endorsement of the featured book (of the ten or so books I read for my fiction book club I only liked three). If you already own the book under discussion, great, take a picture of your project and send me an email. If you think you want to join this endeavor, here are some ways to shop around for the book:
- See if a friend already owns it and lets you borrow the book
- Check with your local library (mine had three copies of this month’s book across the borough)
- Compare prices (I bought this month’s book at list price, but have since seen it significantly cheaper online)
In other words, I don’t want you to get mad at me in case you buy the book and take an extreme dislike to it.
First Meet-Up: 9/3/08
So, after all this preamble this is this month’s book:
The Big-Ass Book of Crafts by Mark Montano, ISBN-13:978-1-4169-3785-2, ISBN-10: 1-4169-3785-4. I selected it to kick off the club because it has a lot of different projects, it weighs in at 2 lbs 6 oz, and I figured it would appeal to a broad group of people.
The Crafty Daisies Book Club will virtually meet on
Wednesday, September 3rd
I’m looking forward to all of your discussions.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I’m in! Sounds like great motivation!
August 13th, 2008 at 7:14 am
I am SO in!! Not only am I ADDICTED to craft books… but I’m always looking for motivation to finish my projects… I have no trouble starting them, but finishing sometimes takes more focus then I’m always capable of.
I LOVE this idea!!!
August 13th, 2008 at 8:19 am
I totally LOVE this idea! What a great motivator to use my craft books!
Unfortunately, the first month’s book is one that I have resisted buying and is not at my library. But I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else makes from it, as I’m sure you’ll inspire me to buy it. (Wait… this might backfire for me…)
Well, I’ll be able to join you one of these months — I see some of my books in your stack.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Great idea! I am in. This will give me great motivation.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
i just saw this on craftzine, saw the book, ‘that’s the book i just bought!’ i love this idea and hope to join in every month!!
August 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
What an awesome idea! We have The Big Ass Book of Crafts and have been meaning to try something (else-we had an “incident” with the magazine bowls) from it… This will be some motivation.
~Sarah & Josh
August 13th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
this sounds like such a great idea!!! QUestion though, can some of us participate for some books and not others?? I ask this because Im in The Netherlands and Im looking now at that book online and I can’t seem to find it (probably because it is in another language). I could order it abroad but then it would take longer…
Is there a way we could actually know the next book in advance so those of us having to import it have time to do so?? Just a question!
I hope to be able to join, this really sounds interesting!
August 14th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I’m in! Great idea. I am always buying craft books and never getting round to making things from them. This is one I have picked up a few times, so I’ll take the plunge and get crafting straight away!
August 14th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Thanks for the heads up Simone. I’m so in! I had a chance to hang out with Mark when he stopped in Richmond for the book tour; he and the book are great! Now, what project shall I do…
August 14th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Finally, a book club with books that I love to buy and read! And I just bought the first one. A fun idea – I’m in!
August 14th, 2008 at 5:02 am
What a great idea. I’m in too!
August 14th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Oh I’m in! I’m in!
I recently purchased this book, SO MANY FUN PROJECTS! How will I ever choose?! Can’t wait to see what everyone chooses!!!!
August 14th, 2008 at 6:36 am
I AM SO IN….I just got this book for one of my bridesmaid’s as her present but I am sure she would not mind me looking through it first…or she just doesn’t have to know. Haha
August 14th, 2008 at 7:01 am
I saw this on craftzine, too! The Big-Ass Book of Crafts has been on my wishlist for a while, this is a good excuse… er, I mean VALID PURPOSEFUL REASON… to buy it! What an exciting idea!
August 14th, 2008 at 7:06 am
OK…I purchased the book (used-cheap) on amazon. I am SO not crafty, but who knows?
August 14th, 2008 at 7:22 am
I’m totally in!
August 14th, 2008 at 8:22 am
This sounds great! I am going back to school in a few weeks so my participation might be sporadic…but I know I can do the first one!
August 14th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Oh this will be so much fun!
I’m definately in!
August 14th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I’d like to try, too. I am not sure I can do the first one. It’s hard to find English language books in Mexico, but if I can find it, I’ll do it. Thanks!
August 14th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Looking forward to participating. This will give me an excuse to buy some craft books, not that I need one!
August 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I’ve just ordered this book, so I’ll give the book club a try!
August 16th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
oooohhh! this is so juicy! i just got this book two weeks ago which is just enough time to read, re-read, then make detailed lists of which ones to do and in what order. let the crafts begin!
August 17th, 2008 at 8:45 am
great idea! I love craft books and this is a good excuse to go to the bookstore and flip through some new ones.
August 17th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I rent kids (really, it’s cheaper than purchasing) and we’ve already done a few of the projects from this book and have a few more marked. I think I’ll ask them to contribute to my review, or maybe even do one of their own.
August 24th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Cool…I’m so gald to have stumbled upon this crafty part of the WWW. I LOVE craft books…browsing through them at the book store with a wonderful cup of coffee is a favorite way to pass the time!! I’m so in…one question! Are we all to pick different projects to complete…if so will these be posted as they are pick, as not to duplicate??
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