Customer Reviews

Retro Revamp: Funky Projects from Handbags to Housewares

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fun book for anyone who fondly remembers wild Sixties style. It is also a valuable source of ideas and techniques for the crafter who enjoys making useful and decorative items from found objects and junk.

There is an introduction on basic techniques followed by 39 projects. There is great variety, including clothing and accessories, jewelry, furniture, décor items and toys. The materials used are just as varied and the style is colorful. Depending on your taste you could call it anything from modern folk art to tacky trash. The beauty of the book is that even if you don't like the style, many of the ideas could be easily adapted to other styles by using different materials.

For each project there is a list of exactly what you will need and step-by-step instructions with diagrams and a color photo of the finished piece. The spiral binding makes it easy to lay the book flat while you are working. This book is a great combination of practicality, whimsy and fun.

i was delighted to find this book...i am a chronic thrift store collector with gobs of cutie things i don't know what to do with. but now i have been inspired! **beautiful** pictures & so well written. i highly suggest anyone who's into the funkier side of crafts to buy this book!

and that's saying a LOT! I've been looking for a book that gave me inspiration in a folk-art, found-art, outsider-art type way, and this is IT! excellent directions, great pictures, great ideas. I can't recommend this book enough, and I hope the author writes more.

Tired of all those books that look like they're going to give you some concrete information on how YOU can redecorate, refinish, refurbish, redo or re-anything, but then deliver only complicated and expensive projects? Retro Revamp is here for you. This little book presents lots of easy, affordable, and adaptable projects that almost anyone can do with a little time and patience. It also nudges you towards seeing the possibilities inherent in so much of the stuff we all have lying around the house. This one is worth every penny; you will love it!

O love this book! Its got a lot of cool things that you can make from stuff you find dumpster diving for you first apt! This book is great for kitchy crafty type people!

The DIY (Do It Yourself) and straightedge punk movements have embraced crafting as creative expression and a means for bartering. This book could very well be their bible. Very little skill and a lot of kitschy [material] can evolve into cool projects. Fake flowers line a bike basket, bottle caps trim a frame, buttons cover a vintage bustier, and old school iron-on t-shirts become a quilt. The book itself is a lush work of art, lined with marbled sparkly paper, bound in spirals, and adorned with retro graphics.

I love this book. It is a great source of ideas and inspiration for creating with "found objects." For years I've collected weird little things: fortune cards from coin "fortune tellers," casino dice, beads, etc, etc. This book shows you how to create knick knacks, furniture, purses, jewelry, and more by integrating these "collections" into creative projects. Very funky and very fun.

This book it great! It has unique and fun craft projects for those of us who don't like the run-of-the-mill cute snowman dolls that are frequent in todays craft world. I've done many of the projects and they have been fun to do and even better to look at afterwards. This book is a must-have for anyone interested in folk art crafts!

This was the first craft book that I have bought in a long time. I wasn't sure what to expect but all the reviews that I read on it were great. So I decided to take a chance and buy the book, and I am glad that I did! The projects are creative and easy to change to your style, there are no "rules" for making these projects, the instructions are mainly just guidelines. Just use your imagination and have fun.

Well I haven't done much of the projects here except for about 3 of them. It's a good book, though. I learned how to use all my junk and make them into something that really is an eye-catcher. I'd recommend this to anyone with a crafty mind!