Kid Made Modern by Todd Oldham

I love modernist design. Bright colors and clean lines are really appealing to me. Unfortunately, I'm sort of messy, and I married a pack rat, so the odds of me having a beautifully modern home are pretty slim.


So, I was really excited when I found the book Kid Made Modern: 52 Kid Friendly Projects Inspired by Modernist Design by Todd Oldham. I am not that familiar with Oldham as a designer. I know he did an interiors line for Target, and was a mentor on Top Design, but I mostly remember him as that guy from House of Style on MTV. You know, in the Cindy Crawford years.

Oldham uses the work of mid-century designers such as Alexander Calder, Paul Rand and Charles + Ray Eames as a starting point for DIY projects for kids. I think this is a great hook for a kids craft book. Lots of craft books, particularly for kids, stray into "kitchy-cute" territory, so a book featuring modernist-based projects is unique.

Clay So Cute! by Sherri Habb

I am a crafty girl. I like to make stuff. I've variously gone through periods of being in love with scrapbooking, remade objects and altered books. However, my newest crafting fling is a torrid three way affair between polymer clay, jewelry making and me.
So when I saw Sherri Habb's new book, Clay So Cute!: 21 Polymer Clay Projects for Cool Charms, Itty-Bitty Animals and Tiny Treasures, I was excited. I said I like to craft; I am not necessarily skilled. Particularly when working with polymer clay. Guidebooks are a necessity.

As a newbie to the world of polymer clay, I appreciated that Habb took a few pages to explain about tools you need, tools that would be nice to have, and how to bake and work with clay. I like that she doesn't require you to run out and buy a ton of expensive tools to start.

This book lives up to it's title. It is full of very cute stuff. I features cute little robots, cute little cupcakes and cute little animals. Cute, cute, cute. As somebody who has a high, but very well defined, cute tolerance level, it got to be a bit much. Of course, complaining that there's too much cute in a book with "so cute" in the title is sort of smurfy, now isn't it?

I am totally making a cute robot pendant this weekend though.

I found this in the teen section of the library, but I think that the projects might skew a little young. My 8 year old daughter love, love, loved every project in this book (and is going to bankrupt me wanting to make them). I can also see these projects being popular with girls who “squee” over all things kawaii.

So, if you too are a crafty lass (or lad) and you are looking for some more cuteness in your life, this book would be a great one to pick up.