T-Shirt Confetti Necklace from Generation-T.com

Who says upcycling can’t be glamorous? Click here for necklace-making instructions and general T-Shirt love.

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Slash a tee, scrunch a tee, sew a tee. With 120 projects for every occasion, Megan Nicolay’s Generation T: Beyond Fashion takes the humble tee in dozens of directions, from fashion to home decor.There’s a basic primer on techniques—knotting, sewing, braiding, lacing—plus a full tutorial on embellishing. Projects range from the simplest no-sew to intermediate, with easy-to-follow illustrated directions.

Megan Nicolay of Generation T has more than scissors up her T-shirt sleeve! Here are four spring craft projects that you can do right now in time for the Easter egg hunt. Just click on each image to follow along with the video tutorials.

A visual demonstration of what happens when you accept Workman Publishing as your nonexclusive, no-strings-attached Valentine.

Things may get racy.

Continue Reading »

Welcome to another installment of Inside the Author’s Studio, where we give you a peek into the minds and studios of your favorite Workman authors.

Today, in anticipation of Star Wars Reads Day on October 6th–stay tuned for lots more Star Wars action this week!–we venture into the studio of Chris Alexander, author of Star Wars Origami for a little Q&A, speed-round style.

Recent book you loved/learned from

I just finished is The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. It’s about the exponential increase in levels of technology and how it will effect our daily lives. Some of it is scary, and some very inspiring. These are exciting times we’re living in.

Favorite bookstore

My local Barnes and Noble.

Hidden talent

Stupid trivia and bar games. I’’m the guy you want on your team for trivial pursuit.

Bookmark, dog-ear, or virtuality?

Bookmark. For some reason people like to give me bookmarks as gifts, so I’’m always upgrading.

Book you are most ashamed never to have read

I don’’t really have one, but there are a lot of movies I’’ve never seen that everyone else has. Does that count?

Most frequent form of writerly procrastination

Youtube. Whoever invented that evil time waster should be given commendations for cleverness and then shot.

Favorite childhood book

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and I’’m in the middle of it again.

Alternate ambition (i.e. If you weren’t an air traffic controller/origami expert, you’d be…)

I wanted to be an archeologist–long before Indiana Jones existed! So, in a parallel universe I’’m in the desert someplace looking for my mummy.

Your perfect meal

Lobster (that I caught myself) over pasta, surrounded by good friends.

Big dream

To someday be counted among the greatest origami artists of all time.

Super power of choice

The ability to stop time! I’’ve fantasized about that since I was about seven years old. I have a lot of plans for its use when I achieve it.

If you could be any character from the Star Wars universe, who would you choose?

Luke Skywalker. Who wouldn’’t want to be the hero?

What is your favorite origami model of all time? (Yours or someone else’s, Star Wars-themed or not!)

There are so many to choose from. Robert Lang’’s Black Forrest Cuckoo Clock is amazing. Joseph Wu’’s one-fold stegosaurus is a classic. But I think my favorite is the Full Rigged Ship designed by Patricia Crawford; it’s a thing of beauty.

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Chris Alexander has been doing origami since the age of four, when his mother showed him how to fold a simple cup and he did—just like that. Since then he’s created over 150 original origami designs—more than 50 of them themed around the world of Star Wars. He created StarWarsOrigami.com and tours around the country folding at conventions and museums when his real job (air traffic controller) allows.

Halloween is quickly approaching, and this year promises to be Spooktacular! Impress the ghouls & goblins in your life by making your own delicious candy from The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook. From classics like Nutty Bars and mouthwatering Sea Salt Caramels to family-friendly treats like lollipops, this cookbook has everything you need!

Need help with candy making recipes or methods? Tweet using the #Liddabit hashtag, and send us your tips or questions about how to replicate your favorite candies. Your tweet will qualify as an entry for a chance to win a copy of The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook by Liz Gutman and Jen King!

On Tuesday 10/16/2012 at 8pm ET/7PM CT, we will announce the winners during a live Twitter chat with the authors (@liddabitsweets). Follow the chat with the hashtag #Liddabit and get the answers to all of your questions & more!

5 Winners will receive:
1 copy of The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook

To enter the #Liddabit contest, follow these steps:

1)         Follow WorkmanPub on Twitter (so we can contact you via DM if you win!).

2)         Tweet at Workman Publishing using the #Liddabit hashtag with your tips or questions about candy making recipes or methods. Both qualify as an entry for a chance to win. Entries must be received between noon ET on Tuesday 10/2/2012 and midnight ET on Tuesday 10/16/2012.

3)         Each Twitter account is allowed multiple entries – keep entering!

4)         Join the live Twitter chat with the authors (@liddabitsweets) on Tuesday 10/16/2012 at 8pm ET/7PM CT with the hashtag #Liddabit, to find out if you’ve won!

   Authors’ Site

Authors on Twitter

Authors on Facebook

See the official rules here.

In this week’s Wednesday Cute: a rainbow pony made of paper, adorable kids reading in an adorable underground library, and the gift of literacy from a sweet dad to his high school grad. Happy Wednesday!

If you like books (duh!), you’ll love the Underground New York Public Library, a charming blog by a photographer who snaps pictures of people reading on the NYC subway. Below, two young bibliophiles devour Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney and Warriors by Erin Hunter while their parents look on. (Here’s another of my favorites. And look, someone reading Water for Elephants!)

• Speaking of parents and books, awesome dad Bryan Martin gave his daughter Brenna the sweetest high school graduation gift of all time: a copy of the fairly typical Oh, the Places You’ll Go!—inscribed with messages from every one of her teachers, principals, and sports coaches since kindergarten. Awww.

We love all things paper-crafty (exhibit A: Paper Made!), and these animals are no exception. Artist Diana Herrera has made a veritable menagerie of adorable paper craft creatures; you can see them on her Flickr site divided into birds and other animals. Here, a rainbow horse! (via The Mary Sue)

• These papertoy monster robots are kind of intimidating…and also CUTE.
• Ever wonder what life looks like from a dog’s point of view? Check out this video of pups at play, captured by a camera attached to a dog’s collar. They are clearly having so. Much. FUN.
• You’re more of a cat person, you say? Here’s a live stream of seven kittens in a box. You’re welcome.

In honor of the “My Dog Needs Glasses!” Pinterest contest, enjoy this collection of bespectacled dogs (and cats).

• AND AN ENORMOUS PINK KNITTED RABBIT. Ahem.

—Avery, who wants to open a papercraft zoo

Last weekend was FULL of Workman author events! There was a crew dispatched to Washington, D.C. to the USA Science and Engineering Festival (#scifest) to celebrate BrainQuest‘s 20th anniversary. In the fray, too, were authors Sean Connolly and Allen Kurzweil, conducting totally irresponsible, potentially catastrophic, and otherwise potato-related science experiments. Back in Brooklyn, the Godfather of Sudoku himself, Maki Kaji, was tending to the crowds that flocked to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to see the cherry blossoms and celebrate Sakura Matsuri. More on all those events in the coming days, but in the meantime, we hopped a train into Manhattan where author Kayte Terry (the creative brain behind this amazing chandelier) demonstrated a project from her new book at Etsy’s first ever wedding expo!

More than 700 visitors (mostly brides-to-be, their grooms, moms, and bridal brigades) came through the intimate space festooned in handmade goodness. There were baked treats, signature cocktails, letterpress stationery, gowns, neckties, shoes, head pieces, and other keepsakes, and in the midst of it all, Kayte (the only craft star in attendance with a make-and-take activity!) helped guests fold paper favor boxes from scavenged decorative papers (old book pages, vintage maps, magazine clippings, scrapbook bits, etc.).

Did you catch that paper fascinator in Kayte’s hair? Perfect for the Paper Made! bride… (also found on page 126 in the book!).

So many adorable brides….

So many favor boxes…wrangle those bridesmaids together for a pre-wedding paper folding extravaganza!

This happy duo happen to be getting hitched on my 5-year anniversary!

So much paper folding, so many sparkling ring fingers!

Some stunning save-the-date cards on display…

Cake toppers, anyone?

All the ribbon and trim decor was subtle and fairy tale-like — so dreamy!

One of our editorial assistants was totally crushing on this dress; I’m feeling smitten with this Fantastic Mr. Fox-inspired neckwear.

And it’s nice to know that some wedding decor can last well after the honeymoon — that bridge poster print hangs in my baby’s nursery! And a lasting sentiment to honor the day…

If you missed the Etsy event last weekend, COME THIS MONDAY May 7, 2012 to PowerHouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn,where Kayte will be launching her book officially with more paper crafting make-and-takes, a photo booth, some bubbly concoctions (will they be served in paper cups?), books for sale, books for signing, and more!

In anticipation of Earth Day on Sunday, we’re offering a free project  via Etsy’s How-Tuesday from forthcoming book, Paper Made! 101 Exceptional Projects to Make Out of Everyday Paper by Kayte Terry. So before you practice the third of the three Rs (Recycle), dig through that bin and practice the second R — reuse that cardboard box by transforming it into a Modern Fete Silhouette Chandelier!

And there are plenty more where that came from… 100 more projects, to be exact. So dig into your stash of candy wrappers, wall paper scraps, junk mail, leftover wrapping paper, and old office materials — and get making! (Forget Earth Month, I have a feeling Earth Day might turn into Earth Year…)

When you were a kid, the first day of Spring-like weather probably meant it was time to dust off your bike and take a spin around the neighborhood.  But we’ve come a long way from those carefree days.  As cycling becomes more popular, especially in big cities, it brings with it some unexpected downsides, many of which Grant Petersen takes on in Just Ride, his book about opting out of racer culture and into enjoying your bike the way you did as a kid.  Petersen is the founder and owner of Rivendell Bicycle Works, and a well-known figure in the bike world.  His argument?  “A lot of the advice you’ve been getting ever since you became a bike rider is flat-out wrong and is actually bad for your health.”  Just Ride is against all of the following: helmets, carbohydrates, biking as a way to lose weight, and wearing silly riding outfits. Well, he’s not exactly against those things, but Petersen has some unconventional opinions about them.  If you’ve ever ridden in the bicycle lane, rode in a charity race, or watched the Tour de France (or, as Petersen calls it, the BORAF, for Big Old Race Around France), you’ll want to read what he has to say.  The book comes out in May, and until then, the Atlantic has an excerpt to tide you over.

Monster lovers, it’s officially the best and creepiest Tuesday of the year. It’s Papertoy Monster Day! Last year, there were all sorts of invasions as the papertoy monsters clawed their way into our tortured hearts and our libraries full of the macabre. How are the monsters celebrating this year?

Pharaoh Thoth Amon selects a giant cake as his unsuspecting party snack....er, date.

Scorpion Robot prefers to party in a too-large, seasonally-inappropriate hat.

And Wingy Wingy takes a joy ride on a private jet with her new fiend.

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……What? Why the intense stares, little monsters? Oh! Presents? Fine.

How about two Valentine’s Day Papertoy Monsters: “Be Mine” Cupid and Monster Mutant Cupid?

Or the Super Bowl Papertoy Monsters, the SuperBowl Ghouls?

Maybe a creepy little bloodsucker, Li’l Vamp?

Or one of three Papertoy Monsters masks?

Want to join in on the Papertoy Monsters conversation? Check us out on twitter (@PapertoyMonster) or Facebook.

Until next year, my fiendish friends, keep on partying like true party monsters.