3 comments about Scrapbooking with Cricut (Annie's Attic: Paper Crafts).

1. I was very disappointed. Even though Cricut is a new techique for scrapbookers, this book is outdated, presents basic, very poor projects to be done with Cricut. There is nothing new. It seems it was made to be used by children... I wish I could have my money back.



2. I bought this for my wife and its really gotten her creative juices flowing. She routinely flips through it, with notepad in hand scratching out new designs for cards and layouts. She's a beginning crafter and though some of designs are beyond her capability (for now) there are enough designs at variety of skill levels to prevent her from being frustrated. The variety of themes will also give her enough ideas for layouts for all the hundreds of pictures sitting in the shoe box in my office.
   
   This makes a great gift for any beginning crafter or to reignite the creative juices of the craft veteran.



3. I thought this book would provide me with new ideas and techniques; it did not. I thought the scrapbook layouts were unintersting and not very creative. It won't be much of a resource for me.

5 comments about Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects (Lab Series).

1. I have found the book no use at all. Maybe if you're brand new to any kind of collage or mixed media you might find some inspiration so that you could go on and find out how to implement your ideas on your own. I usually consider a book worth having if I can find at least two projects that get me excited. I didn't find any here. I've been working professionally with mixed media and collage for 7 years, and I was looking forward to receiving such a well reviewed book.
   
   There's not much "how to", just a lot of generalities, and the only images that got my attention and thinking, "Hey, now this is more like it", when I turned the page, the instructions are for entirely different pieces.
   
   Here's one example of the instructions:
   
   Page 78 "Handmade"
   "Learning Objective: To investigate handmade papers.
   Materials * Papermaking kit which should include a deckle, mold, and pulp materials as well as instructions.
   or
   * Plan a field trip to a paper store and purchase at least five different sheets of handmade paper.
   
   Step 1. If the option to make paper was chosen, follow the kit instructions and make paper."
   
   I'm only slightly irritated about having purchased the book, and I'll keep it till I clean out my shelves and donate it, but when a book just doesn't cut it, I wish reviewers would review the negatives as well. This system fails when all we do is write glowing reports about everything because those are the only ones that get chosen as "helpful".



2. I read this book cover to cover and plan to go through some of the workshops. I found some new techniques as well as some experiments to do with old techniques. The process given to work through makes you ask yourself some questions like whether you liked the technique, whether you thought you could change it etc. A different approach to learning something. More like experiments to perform and learn from.



3. This series has been great for me in terms of being able to do an exercise every day, know that I'm improving, but not completely stressing out! Instructions are clear, the labs don't take more than an hour, the results are fantastic, everything is usable. Great value.



4. I'm enjoying this book a lot - very inspiring. I've only tried a couple of things but am looking forward to doing a lot more. Wait til summer vacation!



5. I would recommend this book for artists just getting started and needing to know the basics. There is a lot of techniques that I was already familiar with. It has amazing inspiration though. Still, a great reference book.

No comments about Bunny Williams' Scrapbook for Living.

5 comments about The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict.

1. This book is beautiful and so helpful! I love it and have shared it with so many of my friends. Each of us has found something new and inspiring in it. It teaches techniques for application in your visual journal or any art, without being cookie cutter! So many books seem to show you how to make something that will look just like the pictures when you are done. This book is the spark for your own creativity!
   
   I bought this book after having been to a workshop with Eric and Dave, the authors. It is amazing! The workshop showed me many of the techniques in the book, but the setting was overwhelming and I missed many details. Having this book is a God send! I am able to go back and look up techniques I missed, or ones I hadn't seen before and apply it to my visual journal.
   
   I keep it near my work space and refer to it often! Thanks guys for such a great book!



2. Even though it's called "Journal" Junkies, this book isn't about the diary type of journaling. It's more about getting inspired to put something down on paper in your artist sketchbook every day than it is about adding visual interest to the pages of your written journal. But it has some really great ideas for various artsy techniques, and I'm enjoying working my way through, trying out all of them.



3. This is the best book on starting an art journal that I've seen, and refreshingly, is written by two men. In fact, every other art journling book I have is by a woman. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in starting an art journal.



4. I am an artist, but do not journal using my art. I find that when i I combine the two, they both lose. But, I totally enjoyed this book and thought it was a lot of fun, had great ideas.



5. This book is an easy and very interesting read. Down to earth so you can start and do it! Covers it all. They make it fun and the authors remove the "fear" of starting!! Loved it big time! Lynda

5 comments about Majestic Traditional Silver-Edged Bible Tabs.

1. I wish I had read these reviews before I ordered. I started putting the tabs on my new Bible, and realized too late that the tabs for Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Maccabees etc., are missing. Now I am very angry. I need to get these exact same tabs for Catholic Bibles. Where can I get them, since I cannot rely on Amazon to provide accurate discriptions of the products they sell on their website. Why is it assumed that the only people who would order this stuff are Protestant? Amazon, need help here.



2. I agree with another critical con reviewer. The photo says these tabs are for a Catholic Bible and although a few extra tabs are included, there are no tabs for Judith, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch. I am definitely disappointed. However, the quality of the tabs is fine. It is just that the product is NOT as advertised.



3. The tabs are great value and easy to put on. they make finding the books of the bible easier and faster.



4. I have been bitten twice now in trying to order Bible tabs for a Catholic Bible. Even though the image says there are 84 tabs, I keep getting sent the Protestant version that has 72 tabs.



5. Per my husband's request, I bought him a set and decided to buy me one too. He read the directions and stuck them on his Bible first. I read the directions the next day, and was not quite so comfortable doing it, so I asked him to show me instead. So, like other reviews have mentioned, read the directions first!
   
   The sticky part is strong and if you mess up, you can carefully peel it off and try again, but probably not twice on the same, thin page. It takes about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to install these.
   
   Beautiful results at the end, and everything is nicely visible and lined up for easy access.

5 comments about 1,000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages and Inspirations (1000 Series).

1. While this book is nice, the images are so small I would not have bought it in a store had I seen it. Fewer images would have allowed for bigger images. It is as if the number of images was the mission irregardless of quality.



2. I love this book and look at it often. I keep art journals and use this for inspiration. Yeah, some of the pictures are on the small side and there's no text, but that's just the way the book was put together. It's great if you love art journals. I hope the author creates more books on art journals.



3. I have been getting into art journaling myself in the last year and have scoured the internet for inspiration, and found a lot of artists recommending this book.. I didnt know until i received it today in the mail what to expect. It is beautiful - there are so many talented people out there doing what they love and I think its great they are willing to share their work with us - even their journal pages. There is a great range of different ideas and styles to be found... i read someones review complaining that the pictures weren't big enough, i didnt mind the size - at two pictures per page - you can see enough detail and vivid color and still appreciate the whole picture. This book inspired me and that is just the initial thumbing through it. I intend to study it closer asap. It is a great value and a great book!



4. Worth the price but for me a bit odd as regards the art. I thought it would be 1,000 artists (a big job) but it was several from each artist instead. If I saw it at the store I might not have bought it but if you like this type of art, well worth the price.



5. The book has no text, only pictures. That would be fine except that the pictures are tiny. It's impossible to see the details in the art. A waste of money. Also, this "new" book came with a torn page.

No comments about The Best of Card Creations (Leisure Arts #5278).

5 comments about Delight in the Details: 40+ Techniques for Charming Embellishments and Accents.

1. This book is packed full of specific and creative ways to add beautiful touches to artwork , personal cards and scrapbook pages. I can't stop looking at it. I am so inspired to try some of the creative details explained in my own work!!



2. I have been waiting for this book since its planning stages....I am fortunate to know the author personally! I love the crisp clear images that are perfectly sized and the instructions for the projects are easy to follow.
   Well done Lisa!! Hope you will do a second book!



3. I have bought 100's of craft books from Amazon, I looked so forward to this one coming out and it did not disappoint. I use this book every week to create something out of. I subscribe to several of her workshops online and she never fails to disappoint. She has to be the most talented crafter around today. I have followed her blog for a few years, and if you love this type of craft, you will not be disappointed by this book. Just check her site out and you will see.



4. With so many technique books out there, I hesitated to buy another one and risk looking at the same information just repeated in a different artist's style. This book goes beyond that. There are new techniques to explore and each comes with clear directions and photographs that make the process easy to understand and the results look beautiful. Delight in the Details is full of inspirational ideas that you can tailor to fit your own style. You'll be sure to come up with a million new ideas of your own to try.



5. Now this is a woman after my own heart!! I love and will do practically every project in this book. I learned many useful techniques as well. This book is loaded with beautiful photos and inspiring practical projects. I have most everything at home that it takes to complete most of the projects, which is always a bonus. If you believe that 'more is better' than you will love this book. Because I love my projects packed with flavor and details and so does this author. Total winner, will have this book forever and have already bought one for a friend.

5 comments about Journal Spilling: Mixed-Media Techniques for Free Expression.

1. Let me introduce you to one of my favorite books to come out in recent years. Diana Trout's Journal Spilling is about free expression but so much more. She says that every fear contains a wish, so scribble, scrawl and spill your innermost thoughts on the page of your personal journals to release those wishes and banish the demons. Diana's voice of encouragement is strong in person, on her blog and through the pages of her book. But she doesn't just deliver a kindly word and leave the rest to fate. She's there to back you up with techniques, prompts, ideas and enough art ammo to keep you journaling into the future.
   
   Included are lists of juicy words for spilling, a host of techniques like water transfer and wax paper resist, as well as acts of destruction suitable for journals. There are doodle spilling games and a variety of book form suggestions for composing your own daybook. Creating a lifeline journal, a wishing quilt or inner creature paper dolls will be a snap with her visual guides. Learn how to design a personal landscape and what to include in a field trip traveling kit. You'll get to peek inside Diana's own colorful mind as you browse through the bright, energetic illustrations from her own work.
   
   Diana says "give yourself the gift of time to learn about trusting the process; it's a matter of practice." Art is practice, like any skill, and she dishes a host of fun and inspiring ways to make practicing transcendant and joyful. Before you know it, you'll be creating delicious journals oozing with spilled color and content. I recommend Journal Spilling as a tasty treat for artists of all kinds.



2. This book was not what I expected, so I returned it.
   
   I do not live in San Diego.



3. This book has a lot of picture by picture instructions, good ideas and examples. It has some examples of completed journal pages but is more instructional and easy to follow. I find myself referring back to the book quite often. I have enjoyed it very much.



4. If you own even one or two other books on art journals, altered books, mixed media or anything of that ilk, you're not really going to find anything new in this book. I could have used more "how-to" and less personal stories from the author. Sure, it's a book about a personal thing (keeping a journal), but it would have been more helpful to hear more creative ideas instead of what the author's non-art-related likes, dislikes and fears are.



5. This book is really well written for people who are relatively new to the concept of art journaling. Diana Trout has shown in this book with photos and words how to do many different techniques common to art journaling, as well as prompts to start a page and resources for materials. The most important message from the book is to just do it!

No comments about Scrapbook Page Maps 2: More Sketches for Creative Layouts and Cards.