If at the end of the year your creativity needs a boost, here’s a baker’s dozen of recent titles that’ll surely help.
FOR FAMILIES:
Let’s start with a charmer: In “Playful” (STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book), author Merrilee Liddiard uses her skills as an illustrator to give children’s crafts some modern flair. Many of the crafts, which include wooden doll-face necklaces and trucks made from recycled cracker boxes, may be made with kids. Others, such as the machine-sewn tent and trapeze doll, may be more appropriate to make as gifts.
Amanda Kingloff’s “Project Kid: 100 Ingenious Crafts for Family Fun” (Artisan) provides similar crafting entertainment for families, and children can learn some basics, from fringing paper to threading a needle. The most crafts-inclined will enjoy choosing projects from this heavy compendium.
Hello Kitty has never been more adorable than in “Hello Kitty Crochet: Supercute Amigurumi Patterns for Sanrio Friends” (Quirk Books), by Mei Li Lee. The book includes more than a dozen patterns, from easy to advanced. A crocheter could get stuck in this Sanrio world for quite some time.