Mint

There is something sacred about a hardcover book. Therefore, I must confess my initial recoil at the cover images of The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects that Give Old Books New Life. Thankfully, author Lisa Occhipinti details her lifelong devotion to the craft of book making as a precursor to their deconstruction and “transformation.”

“I feel a deep connection to the weight of a book, the tooth of its paper, and the smell of its ink (or mustiness),” she writes. “I wonder where books have been…have they been on vacation, and if so, where did they go?”

Chapter One details, “Understanding the Value of Books” and “Which Books are Best to Repurpose?” Occhipinti targets the “orphaned” books: “with cracked spines or obsolete information” and the “unwanted, dusty volumes…at garage sales.” Ah, now I get it! I’m back on board and ready for further instruction.

She offers many delightful projects. I especially like the decoupage switch plate cover, the Pagework Quilt and the Lettered Wreath made of rosettes from book pages. However, the most clever is the Kindle Keeper. A classic hardcover that opens to reveal an electronic device is my kind of style and subtle commentary.

— Shelley Cline for Mint

O Paper! It deserves a Whitman-esque declaration. It is a constant source of inspiration. And the dazzling art of paper cutting is enjoying a renaissance as of late, as compiled by Laura Heyenga in a new book entitled Paper Cutting: Contemporary Artists, Timeless Craft.

In the introduction, expert Natalie Avella details its rich history. Originating in China in 610 C.E., moving to Japan, then to Baghdad, Turkey, and Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries before coming West across the Atlantic.

Avella writes, “Paper cutting puts us in touch with the need to ‘make,’ to use our hands creatively and escape the pixelated imagery that is everywhere in our screen-dominated lives.” In this book, you’ll find some familiar work, such as Nikki McClure and Real Simple‘s Matthew Sporzynski, as well as 24 other practitioners whose work is expertly photographed.

You generally won’t find a paper-cutting class in any art school. “It is almost always self-taught,” says Avella. So grab a copy of this book, and a sheet paper that’s just sitting in your printer, and your trusty craft blade and do some beautiful damage!

— Shelly Cline for Mint

In a time when many graphic designers are heading toward freelance (either because they want to, or because design jobs are just scarce), handbooks like this one become invaluable. Especially, I think, for recent grads hoping to take on projects while they look for full time employment. A Print Handbook was written by The Media Collective, and covers topics like Pantone versus CMYK, paper sizes, overprinting, trapping, different kinds of folds, and more, to take you from an on-screen project to printed piece. Says The Media Collective: “We really wanted something that was compact and included a lot of the questions we had about printing. There’s a lot of advice around about different areas of printing, but we wanted to see it in the flesh. For example, we had questions like ‘we know using a rich black with 40% cyan is often recommended by printers, but does this give you a black that is too cool in colour?’. So in the handbook we’ve got some examples for comparison.”

You can read more about it or pick up a copy right here.

Thanks TMC!

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Howdy Do It came from “how do you do It,” the question Ellie & Margot found themselves asking about their freelance lifestyles, and so Howdy Do It was born, a column about the things we do to keep ourselves organized, inspired and on track.

Thanks to all who entered the Decorate giveaway, and to Chronicle Books for hosting! The winner is Callie. If you didn’t win this one, stay tuned for more book giveaways, and pick up a copy of Decorate at Chronicle Books or Amazon.

Holly Becker, of the popular blog Decor8, and Joanna Copestick have recently published Decorate, a beautiful DIY interior design book that doubles as an objet d’art for your coffee table. Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler, Jonathan Adler, and others have shared their tips and solutions for every room, and they have included illustrations, checklists, shortcuts, and floor plans to make it easy to break the rooms apart piece by piece and recreate them in your own home.

Holly and Joanna help you pinpoint your own style (or two) through the use of mood boards and journals, and offer guidelines so you know where to start. Equally beautiful and useful!

But of course you want the giveaway details, yes? It’s a “quickie,” so enter soon!

There are four ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Tweet about the giveaway, and leave an additional comment with a link to your twitter feed.
3. Post the giveaway to your facebook page, and leave an additional comment letting us know.
4. Blog about the giveaway, and leave an additional comment with a link to your blog post.

The giveaway ends on Monday at midnight (EST) and the winner (randomly picked from among the comments) will be announced on Tuesday. Open to US residents only. Good luck!