Summary: Sedaris shows how to make popular crafts, such as crab-claw roach clips, tinfoil balls, and crepe-paper moccasins; how to remember which kind of glue to use with which material; how to create your own craft room and avoid the most common crafting accidents; and, how to cook your own edible crafts, from a Crafty Candle Salad to Sugar Skulls, and many more recipes.
The New York Times bestselling craft guide that inspired the hit new TV show, At Home With Amy Sedaris
It's often been said that ugly people craft and attractive people have sex. In Simple Times, Amy Sedaris sets the record straight and delivers a book that will forever change the world of crafting. Demonstrating that crafting is one of life's more pleasurable and constructive leisure activities, Sedaris shows that anyone with a couple of hours to kill and access to pipe cleaners can join the elite society of crafters.
You will discover how to make popular crafts such as Pompom Ringworms and Seashell Toilet Seat Covers, all while avoiding the most common crafting accidents (sawdust fires, feather asphyxia, pine cone lodged in throat). You will cook your own edible crafts, from a Crafty Candle Salad to Sugar Skulls, with many more recipes and craft ideas that will inspire you to create your very own hastily constructed obscure d'arts.
Praise for Simple Times "Amy Sedaris is a kookier, kitschier version of Martha Stewart... Simple Time s is an ideal gift for the crafter who has crafted everything." - Associated Press
"A wildly cheeky guide." -- InStyle
"For anyone who's ever collected hats crocheted together...or simply for fans of Amy Sedaris and her idiosyncratic sense of humor." -- New York Times Book Review
Includes index.
Sedaris shows how to make popular crafts, such as crab-claw roach clips, tinfoil balls, and crepe-paper moccasins; how to remember which kind of glue to use with which material; how to create your own craft room and avoid the most common crafting accidents; and, how to cook your own edible crafts, from a Crafty Candle Salad to Sugar Skulls, and many more recipes.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Comedian, actress, and author of I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, Sedaris here addresses topics like "Crafting for Jesus," gifts for shut-ins, pre- and postcrafting stretches, and even the "Craft of Lovemaking." Through the "Healing Power of Crafting," readers learn that a Rusty Nail Wind Chime is the perfect gift for those suffering from bipolar disorder. Some projects include instructions; some don't. Making a Tea Cozy Kitten, for example, is "self-explanatory." Included with the handicrafts are recipes for treats like sausages, Damn Its (macaroons), and other baked goods. This book is a visual delight-kitschy projects are displayed with wonderfully garish sets, costuming, and illustrations. Sedaris isn't afraid to go from lovely to whimsical to wildly unflattering in her wardrobe, hair, and makeup. VERDICT Sedaris is actually quite crafty and known for her baking. In her latest irreverent take on home economics, she provides a fun, complementary balance to recent "serious" books in this genre. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/10; eight-city tour.]-Meagan Storey, Virginia Beach (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In her follow-up to the best-selling I Like You (2006), Sedaris once again invites us all to remember the good old days with her off-the-wall crafting and entertaining suggestions. Did you know that inside your featureless well-worn husk is a creative you? she asks. No doubt drawing on and making light of the current economic atmosphere, she notes, Being poor is a wonderful motivation to be creative ; and most crafts are made with found or salvaged materials. More a vehicle for Sedaris' knack for farce and costume than a real how-to guide (unless the formula for a wizard duck costume marks the realization of your wildest dreams), it nevertheless contains a few useful facts, ideas, and recipes. The true joy of this book lies in its hilarious and amazingly well-styled photo spreads, many featuring Sedaris in one of her uncanny disguises, including a teenager, an elderly shut-in, and Jesus. She devotes equal time to instruction on making homemade sausage, gift-giving, crafting safety, and lovemaking (aka fornicrafting ). Those looking to make conventional crafts, obviously, should look elsewhere. Everyone else should sit down, have a laugh, and make your very own bean-and-leaf James Brown mosaic. The author and her brother have a considerable following among hip readers of humor, and the appeal of this book will certainly transcend the world of crafters.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2010 Booklist
TextPublication details: New York : Grand Central Pub., 2010.Edition: 1st edDescription: 304 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 27 cmISBN: