Tag: crafts

Christmas Tree Crafts cover

Christmas Tree Crap, I mean Crafts

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies 4 comments

Christmas Tree Crafts
Tichenor
1975

I was a year old when this book was published. That makes it 47 years old this year. I’m all for holiday craft books for kids, but this one is old and tired. There are giant chunks of pages falling out. Some kid, probably 47 years ago, colored on many of the templates in this copy. That kid probably has these hand-made ornaments on her tree to this very day, and her grandkids think they’re sooo old and weird, but dang it, she loves them. Especially the Christmas frog (see below).

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Holly

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Celebrity Sewing Bee cover

Celebrity Sewing Bee

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies 14 comments

Francine Coffey’s Celebrity Sewing Bee
Coffey
1974

Submitter: When the title says “celebrity sewing bee” they really meant a lot of Dinah Shore. The one area that was really popular during the pandemic was our crafting section. So much so, you could spot the books that needed weeding by glancing over to that section and seeing what did not go out the door. This was one of them – and with reason.

Holly: I can’t imagine why a sewing book with celebrities from 47 years ago isn’t popular anymore. <sarcasm> There are all kinds of great ideas here: put fabric on your ceiling, or Elmer’s glue some fabric to your floor! Make a diet-friendly birthday cake-shaped bag! Re-purpose bandanas into a dress (hey, if you can make a skirt out of curtains, you can make a dress out of masks! I’m sure that’s the next craft craze.)

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T-shirting cover

T-Shirting

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies 11 comments

T-Shirting: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Getting it On Your Chest
Platt
1975

Submitter: I had high hopes from the cover this book might be a groovy book that, when put out on display might get someone to check it out. But alas, its one of those disappointing craft books with bad black and white images.

Holly: Fair warning before you scroll down: two of these images are potentially NSFW. One is a t-shirt model with “special skills” (image 6 below). This might have been a cool book in 1975, but I agree with Submitter: black and white images are just disappointing in a craft book. I want to see those chest handprints in living color (image 3 below…NSFW…).

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Apple Dumplings Soft Sculpture cover

Apple Dumplins’

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies 9 comments

Apple Dumplings Presents Soft Sculpture
Graham
1981

Submitter: This ye olde craft book comes from a local branch of the public library. Since automation in 1999 it has not circulated. Sad because that might mean it hasn’t circulated in over 20+ years. It certainly is a time capsule of crafting in the late 70’s and early 80s. My personal yikes – Aunt Bessie.

Holly: At first glance of the submission, I thought, “Oh good, more apple head dolls. Mary will love this.” These are cute, in an old-white-granny kind of way!

But oh my word, Aunt Bessie (last image, below).

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Macrame Hangers cover

Macrame Hangers for Small Spaces

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies 9 comments

Macramé Hangers for Small Spaces
Craft Course Publishers, Inc.
1975

Submission: I found this crafty little book hiding in our stacks recently. My family’s first apartment in the 80’s had the same wallpaper as page 13.

Holly: You know, the house I grew up in had similar wallpaper in our kitchen! We also had the macrame hanger.

Mary: I got a similar wall hanging (pg. 7) for a wedding present. I re-gifted it to a friend, and she did similar. I am sure it is in a landfill, where it belongs.

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