The Big-Ass Book of Crafts [Paperback]

Mark Montano (Author), Auxy Espinoza (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2008

The Big-Ass Book of Crafts is packed with ideas for sprucing up your living space; concocting fabulous, all-natural body products; designing your own unique stationery; and creating countless other crafts that will convince your friends and loved ones that you're the secret love child of Martha Stewart (only much, much cooler).

Forget crocheted doilies and itchy knit sweaters -- TLC's While You Were Out top designer Mark Montano has created stylish and imaginative projects that range from a Warhol-esque Ultrasuede iPod case to photo-adorned boxer shorts to African mask patio chairs to wooden night-light boxes. Divided into sections that include Outdoorsy (ideas to enhance your backyard), Dishing It Out (decorating plates using different techniques), You've Been Framed (innovative picture framing ideas), and Can I Have a Light? (creating and decorating lamps, lanterns, and chandeliers), it's as entertaining to read as it is endlessly inspiring. With more than one hundred and fifty inventive and fun projects, The Big-Ass Book of Crafts is the perfect activity book for readers of every mood, budget, and skill level.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Montano is part of the design team for TLC’s While You Were Out and the host of TLC’s Ten Years Younger, as well as co-host of the Style network’s My Celebrity Home. He is a contributing editor to CosmoGIRL! magazine, and his weekly column, “Make Your Mark,” appears in more than seventy newspapers across the country. Mark is the author of Super Suite and Dollar Store DÉcor and co-author of Window Treatments and Slipcovers for Dummies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 377 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; Original edition (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416937854
• ISBN-13: 978-1416937852
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies

More About the Author

Hello everyone! Thank you for your interest in my books. Well, THE BIG-A#S BOOK OF CRAFTS 2 is officially on the shelves after 2 years of writing and gluing things together. It's filled with over 150 projects made with stuff you can find almost anywhere and probably already have! Make sure to join the Big A*# Blog: http://markmontanoblogs.blogspot.com/ (I'd love to see you there). Where do I begin? I guess you should know that I was a fashion designer in New York City for most of my career. Yup, I showed with the big designers in the tents and had HUGE fashion shows which you can see on Youtube if you're interested. Through a series of terrific opportunities I became a writer and editor for Hearst Publications at Cosmo Girl! Magazine and stayed there for 10 years writing the COOL ROOM column which I turned into a book called Super Suite: The Ultimate Bedroom Makeover Guide for Girls. I also wrote a syndicated column for Knight Ridder called Make Your Mark which ran in 70 newspaper across the country. During that time I was offered a designer role on the TLC show WHILE YOU WERE OUT and after several years I became the host of the show 10 YEARS YOUNGER, also on TLC. That's the show where we put people in a glass box and guess their age. After 10 YY I was lucky enough to land more TV roles. MY CELEBRITY HOME on Style and SHE'S MOVING IN on WE TV, a recurring role on THE TONY DANZA SHOW and then MY HOME 2.0 for FOX. All during this filming I've been writing books about craft, home decor and anything I can create using commonly found objects. Look under your kitchen sink and we'll find something amazing for a project! Thanks for visiting me here and you can always contact me at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm too --something--for this book!, March 22, 2010

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (Paperback)

I was leaning toward "too old" (refer to my title) to actually buy "The Big-Ass Book of Crafts." The language, you know, in the title. Indeed, it's a Big book, that's for sure, but full of the kinds of things I might have made in college when money was scarce. Still, one needs money to buy popsicle sticks to make lamp shades. But I get ahead of myself.

Back to the shopping mall found in the halls of Amazon. I was looking for more crafts to sew, saw this book and kept going, then came back. Reviews were pretty positive. OK, says I, let's try it, despite the big back area.

Wow, this IS a Big book--373 pages, including index, a list of things the author uses in making his crafts, and a list of resources. The dedication is to "all the people who think they aren't talented or crafty...." Between that dedication and the last of the indexed projects are over 150 different things to make. Author Mark Montano even advises the reader to brace him/herself against being called "artsy-fartsy" by friends and family.

I have examined every single project and found just maybe a dozen I will actually pursue. There is a term that comes to mind concerning the crafts found here: shabby chic. A few examples: that popsicle lampshade, bronze baby sculpture (made out of a doll), painted wood rug, pen flower arrangement, drinking straw starburst hanging lamp, a copper-scouring-pad wine sock, twig chandelier (don't ask), and a felt-leaf window treatment. Just because I don't find these projects desirable doesn't mean the next person won't.

On the other hand, here are some really clever projects:
1. Art switch plates (that cover electrical outlets)
2. 3-D photo looks really fun to do
3. David Hockney photo collage
4. Colorful lace glass plates
5. Laminated luggage tags (an excellent idea)
6. Stitched cards and envelopes (you take old books, cut out pictures, then stitch them onto colorful cardstock. The resulting product can be used as flashcards, or used to revive the ancient art of note writing.
7. Glazed note cards (precious)
8. Couture envelopes made out of magazine pages, shopping bags, printed papers from craft stores

Two pages are dedicated to each project with a detailed list of things to obtain and steps to follow. Photographs show every finished project! This surely is a thorough book!

In fact, as I was leafing through the book to write this review, I discovered more desirable projects to pursue than I initially thought. The paper crafts with envelopes and note cards are really attractive and appear fun to do. So, I'm adding another star to my review.

Meanwhile, my Amazon friends are reading Spinoza and I'm viewing photographs by Auxy Espinoza. I wonder if Espinoza ponders "the God-shaped universe?"

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Video Review, March 18, 2011

By 

BeachBrights "beachbrights blogspot" (TX) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (Paperback)

Length:: 4:28 Mins

I liked this book better than The Big-Ass Book of Home Decor. The Big-Ass Book of Home Decor: More Than 100 Inventive Projects for Cool Homes Like Yours In my opinion, this book had a few more crafts that I would consider attempting. There is still a lot of funkiness but that's why the Author is so popular. I feel like you "either love him or hate him" ;)

Take a moment to look at the video. If you are a fan of Mark's work, then you will not be disappointed!

XOXO

*This book was given to me by the author in return for my honest review*

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Completely Disappointing, April 15, 2009

By 

Trixieplum - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (Paperback)

I was excited to receive this book as I've seen so many wonderful reviews, but just a few pages in my excitement quickly soured. They may as well have called this the Big-Ass Book of Crap. Although there were a handful of projects I could conceivably see constructing and placing in my home (possibly warranting a 1.5 star rating), the vast majority of projects in this book are more suited to dorm-room living (and I'm not even 100% sure I'd use them there)! Admittedly, if you need ideas for fun things to do with kids, this book has some merit.....Additionally, a few of the projects could inspire the very crafty to create better results than the ones Montano presents in the book. However, if you're looking for a book that will show you great projects for the home from start to finish, this is not the one for you......unless, of course, you enjoy decorating with plastic baby doll heads coated in plaster and gold paint, drinking straw chandeliers, and crosses made of alphabet building blocks.

By the way, by far the weirdest and tackiest thing in the book is something called a "Two-Liter Sea-Creature Lamp" -- I'm still not entirely sure what on earth this is supposed to be or how "it's like having a lamp and a pet in one." I like to think I'm at least somewhat imaginative and creative, but this really just looks like exactly what it is: A couple of cut up plastic soda bottles hanging from a light cord. Why anyone, even a child, would find this fascinating or want it in their living space is beyond me.