CasaSugar

Sale Alert: Chronicle Friends and Family Sale

CasaSugar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:57:17 -0800

Chronicle Books is one of my go-to sources for gift ideas. Its selection of titles, which range from arts and crafts to children's and design (and much, much more), is a welcome assurance that I can find something for everyone on my gift list.

Through Wednesday, when you shop Chronicle online, you'll save 35 percent off on all purchases, plus free shipping. Just enter FRIENDS at checkout to take advantage of this great offer.

Want some ideas for titles to buy? For your crafty friends, try Stencil 101 Decor or Lotta's Printing Studio. Or for your design-savvy family members, look to titles like Creative Space: Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators to inspire their next decorating project.

Check out a few more titles that might tickle your gift-giving fancy below!

Sale Alert: Chronicle Books Friends and Family Summer Sale

CasaSugar — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:30:41 -0700

You've got friends in high places. Now through Aug. 5, Chronicle Books is treating its pals (you) to some sweet discounts on Summer reading. Just enter the code FRIENDS at checkout and you'll get 35 percent off all titles, and free shipping. Chronicle has a great selection of art and design books, as well as lifestyle/home books. Want suggestions before you buy? Read my reviews on Chronicle's titles Mexicasa, To Each His Home, Stencil 101, Home Sewn, Handmade Hellos, and Squeaky Green.

Happy Hour: Start a Wine Journal

partysugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:15:53 -0700

If you're looking for a great way to learn more about wine, consider investing in a wine journal. My sister gave me this lovely leather-bound journal ($30) by Chronicle Books for Christmas. Part resource and part journal, this book is organized by varietal. There's a section for recording reds, whites, and other wines. With places to note the color, clarity, aroma, and flavor, it's incredibly easy to fill in and follow. There's also space to remember fabulous food and wine pairings, wines worth saving, and trips to wineries. The pages are filled with grape definitions, pronunciations, and helpful hints on how to taste. When making note of each wine, there is a spot to write where and when you taste a specific wine.

It will be fun to look back in a year or two and think about these memorable experiences. Does anyone else keep a wine journal?

View 14 Photos ›

Home Library: To Each His Home

CasaSugar — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:30:00 -0800

In a rare place where eclectic is the norm, where the title "interior designer" is alien, and flea markets and thrift stores replace big box and e-commerce retailers, To Each His Home ($45) by Bilyana Dimitrova would be the go-to design book. But, in a climate where design trends rule many of us, where finding one-of-a-kind, well-loved artifacts takes more effort than swooping up the hottest decorative accessory, Dimitrova's book isn't a design guide but simply a refreshing reminder that
our houses speak for ourselves, for better or worse. To see the rest of my review, read more.

For the eight free-spirited, creative types spotlighted in this book, their homes speak louder than others. From the colorful photographs of an accomplished architectural photographer and the multi-topic, meandering interviews with each homeowner (or renter), come clear portraits not only of idiosyncratic spaces, each more distinct than the next, but of people who couldn't exist anywhere but the homes they've created. You might find that the waterfront cottage and totem pole of a Native American or the creative city escape of a musician and a marionette maker don't inspire you, but that's the point. In your own habitat, you can coin your own how-to book. This book won't offer you any design tips, but it'll call on you to let your freak flag (or totem pole) fly.

Home Library: Stencil101

CasaSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:30:31 -0800

Growing up, I remember visiting many homes whose walls were stenciled with cabbage roses and ivy. These shabby chic delights were never my preference, even as a kid, but I did admire the technique of stenciling. Years later, stenciling became an integral part of graffiti culture, and Shepherd Fairey's Obey stencil, which he created nearly 20 years ago, launched an army of Obey stencils graffitied across the country.

Now, graphic designer Ed Roth is bringing stencils back to the home front. Roth, who founded Stencil1 in Brooklyn in 2005, makes reusable stencils that look perfectly at home on a kitchen wall or a pillowcase. His designs have been covered by ReadyMade, The New York Times, and featured on The Martha Stewart Show.

To hear about Roth's new book, read more.

With Stencil101: Make Your Mark With 25 Reusable Stencils and Step-by-Step Instructions ($24.95), Roth has made his iconic stencils available to the general public. The book contains 25 reusable card-stock laminated stencils, and directions simple enough for even the extreme novice to master. While some of the stencils are more suited for a teenager's room (think: cassette tapes, gorilla heads), others are very design-savvy, and would look lovely in any number of rooms of your home. If you're a home DIYer looking to add some simple, cheap style to your home, I highly recommend this book.

Home Library: French General: Home Sewn

CasaSugar — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:00:47 -0800

On Project Runway, co-host Tim Gunn's most dismissive comment on a garment was that it looked home sewn. Given this unfavorable recent pop culture reference, it's refreshing to see a beautiful book proudly bearing a title of the same name.

Kaari Meng, owner of the adorable Hollywood crafts and notion store French General, has extended her expertise to the book world with French General: Home Sewn ($24.95). The book takes readers through through 30 projects for the home, from scalloped tablecloths to luxurious toile shower curtains, and makes adding traditional French style to your home pattern-book easy.

To find out about Kaari Meng's book and Hollywood store, as well as to see more photos, read more.

With photography from Jon Zabala that will give you major home lust, the book includes six pattern pages, embroidery transfers, and color photographs, as well as illustrations. Helpful guides outline the difficulty level for each project, and the directions are simple and straightforward. Though this isn't a book the first-time sewer would want to tackle, anyone with basic curtain-making skills could easily excel at most of these projects.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, stop by French General for special events, workshops, or simply some fantastic browsing. And of course, even if you're halfway across the world, you can enjoy some of French General's goodness by browsing products online.

View 5 Photos ›

Home Library: Handmade Hellos

CasaSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:00:30 -0800

Signed, sealed, and delivered from the ladies of Hello!Lucky letterpress, the new how-to book Handmade Hellos ($19.95) gives rebirth to a long-lost craft: card making. It's one thing to hand write a note in today's world of email, SMS, MMS, IM, BBM, etc. - a good thing. But to forgo Papyrus and make a card by hand shows nonpareil thoughtfulness. Thanks to this delightful book, which is a compilation of over 25 projects from today's most talented card makers, you can choose your own level of thoughtfulness: basic (30 minutes or less), moderate (two hours or less), or advanced (an afternoon). For a handsome catch you're trying to impress, this volume will show you how to silk-screen a wooden card reading, "Wood You Be My Valentine?" For a quick but humorous birthday card, you can make a cocktail hour card using vintage photographs and a wry one-liner. Straightforward instructions make even the advanced projects unintimidating, and ready-to-use patterns cut out the creativity requirement for those of you who aren't artistes. But perhaps most notably, after page after page of adorable illustrations and cheerful designs, you won't want to say goodbye to Handmade Hellos.

Foodie Fight = Fantastic Fun

partysugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:15:10 -0700

Last Friday night, my sister surprised me with a new trivia game by publishing house Chronicle Books. Created for serious food lovers, the game is addictive and informative. The Foodie Fight ($18.95) is like Trivial Pursuit but with questions related to food history, celebrity chefs, cultural cuisines, cooking techniques, and more. The game can be played in teams or alone. Each correct answer is rewarded with a small playing piece that fits into the color coded cards. The first team to answer the most questions, and completely fill in the card, wins. To find out what I thought of the game, read more.

I love the concept and even though my team lost (!), I had a fabulous time playing. Many of the questions (Whose best-selling 1980 chocolate cookbook was recently republished?, What chef was known for his Italian cooking show in the 1970s?) seem geared toward an older generation of foodies and proved to be very difficult to answer.

Other stumping questions were related to pop culture (What was the name of the deli frequented on the series Roseanne?) and food processing techniques (in the produce and vegetable freezing process, what does IFQ stand for?). The easiest to answer were those about cooking and food identification.

The game's main flaw isn't the puzzling questions (trivia wouldn't be trivia without baffling questions!), but the lack of trivia cards. The compact box contains only 168 trivia cards and while this may seem like plenty, if playing more than one round or several times over the weekend, there aren't enough questions. When played infrequently, the game will retain its mystery.

Despite the shortage of trivia cards and the occasional head-scratching question, the game is superb fun and makes an excellent gift for any food lover. Have you played? What did you think?

View 11 Photos ›

The Card Shop: The Perfect Note

CasaSugar — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:15:11 -0700

Inspired by the work of calligrapher Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls (a past collaborator) and their sheer delight in receiving her handwritten notes, the folks at Chronicle Books set out to design The Perfect Note ($24.95). And so they did. The desktop kit is "a stationery-lover's dream," which includes 24 cards and envelopes, an ink pad and stamps, a variety of stickers and labels as well as a 48-page booklet chock-full of tips and templates — all of which are blessed with Imasa-Stukuls's calligraphy skills and Chronicle's unrelenting devotion to good design.

Home Library: Mexicasa

CasaSugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:46 -0700

If Cinco de Mayo has you yearning for more tropical climes, then scratch that itch with a look through Mexicasa, a coffee-table book that features dreamy retreats of Mexico. Photographer Melba Levick takes stunning pictures of vibrant patios, sparkling pools, and restful bedrooms, while author Gina Hyams tells the story of each inn and hacienda. For instance, the pictures featured below are from El Tamarindo, a resort located on a 2,000-acre nature reserve, and which was designed to blend in with its natural surroundings, with the builders going so far as to bury every electrical wire and water pipe. Whether you're looking to travel to one of the inns featured in the book (there's contact information for each),or you're simply looking for some design inspiration, this is a book that offers plenty of inspiration. You can order it here from Chronicle Books.

View 7 Photos ›

Source