Cicada Books

Abbey Hendrickson writes the highly trafficked blog Aesthetic Outburst, which documents her life in an old farmhouse in rural New York. In between DIY disasters, childcare catastrophes, book obsessions and cultural consumption, Abbey makes some fantastic and funky craft projects, which she sells through her online Etsy shop. "You Are Awesome" collects together 21 of her craft ideas from her blog and her "20 in 20" challenge (for which she made 20 crafts in 20 days), each one presented in color and clearly explained step by step. They range from an embroidery sampler to a bookshelf to a laptop toy made from a cardboard box. The projects are fairly simple, but all distinctive and quirky, and will appeal to novices and crafting professionals alike. Each one captures the warmth and humor that Abbey herself radiates and which has made her and her blog so popular. "You Are Awesome" follows Cicada Books' recent publication, "State of Craft," and will appeal to a new generation of young crafters seeking fresh inspiration for cultivating their own individual aesthetic. Small and chunky, with a hard-cut gray board cover and overflowing with illustrations and photography, it is itself a crafty object you will want to have and to hold, and makes a perfect feel-good gift for the holiday season.

The subject of table presentation has been revived in recent decades by the likes of Martha Stewart, but the amateur chef and cookery markets are well overdue an interesting, alternative take on the topic. "The Set Table: The Art of Small Gatherings" is a beautiful book of imaginative ideas for small gatherings, from supper for two on a candlelit urban roof terrace to a picnic lunch for friends on the living-room carpet. And don't worry: there's no need to invest in expensive dishes and flatware; instead, you will be inspired to use what is already at hand: to repurpose old tiles for butter dishes, say, or use a rolled-down brown paper bag for a bread basket. From linens to glasses, flowers to serving platters, you will learn how to make a handsome table with scant resources. With clever tips on how to unearth treasures in junk shops, easy guides for simple things to make at home, ingenious ideas for simple flower arrangements and recipes for delicious homemade condiments--every table you lay will be special. The favored look is simple, artistic and uncomplicated, celebrating the wonderful experience of eating well with the people you love. Beautiful photography and illustrations lend "The Set Table" an engagingly bohemian feel and the text by Hannah Shuckburgh--Feature Editor for Conde Nast's "Easy Living" magazine and popular blogger at Hanpicked--brings the subject matter to life, reflecting the effortless, informal styling of her tables.

Taxidermy is back in fashion again. It seems that almost every bar, restaurant or new boutique you walk into these days sports the mounted head of some animal or other gazing down from on high. For those of us who are--for whatever reason--reluctant to decorate our walls with the heads of decapitated mammals, a happy alternative has finally presented itself. Now, using sewing, crochet, knitting and papier-mache--and, in some cases, just cutting and pasting--the spirit of taxidermy can be summoned with none of the morbid overtones. Combining the twin pleasures of craft and taxidermy, "Craftydermy" presents the reader with a cabinet of curiosities to amuse, delight and inspire. Projects include a knitted fur stole, papier-mache antlers, a crocheted moose head and a felt tiger rug. The book is edited by Tracey Benton, a well-known figure in the UK crafting community who runs the Atelier Gallery in Southwest England and has been curating and exhibiting the work of emerging craft-oriented artists--including ceramicists, textile artists and sculptors--for the past ten years. Fun and offbeat, "Craftydermy" follows on from--and has a similar tactile feel to--"You Are Awesome: 21 Crafts to Make You Happy," and is sure to appeal to the gift/craft market.

Rosalind Miller is an up-and-coming name in the world of cake baking and decorating. The winner of Wedding Cake Designer of the Year for two years running, her cake creations are remarkable for their versatility and attention to detail. The beautifully assembled tiers are intricately decorated with an impressive variety of themes ranging from fairy tales to Georgian architecture to Art Deco motifs. Each sculptural cake shows ample evidence of Miller's past as a design lecturer at Central St. Martin's School of Art. This book is a luxuriously produced how-to of wedding-cake baking and decorating. With clear, accessible instructions and attractive step-by-step photography it takes the baker through the construction of each individual sugar paste flower and ribbon, with further mood-boards and tips for creating personalized wedding cake designs. The author's warm personal voice makes the journey especially enjoyable. Since the ascent of the cupcake, baking has been on an inexorable rise for the past five years, and has never been so fashionable; this publication takes the trend to its next level of artistry and excellence. The book itself is beautifully presented, bound in fabric with a sprayed fore-edge and varied high-quality paper stocks. This indispensable reference and inspiration is a must-have for the more ambitious bakery enthusiast.

Everybody loves a passport - especially children. With the exact shape and size of a passport, this delightful travel activity book will offer kids endless entertainment for those interminable hours waiting at the airport. Activities include drawing the logos on plane tails, identifying different time zones, designing a flag for a made-up country, saying "hello" in thirty different languages, and filling in a boarding pass.All this is immaculately packaged, with a tear-out sheet of stamps and a tiny folder attached to the inside back cover containing a miniature teddy passport adding extra charm. Perfect for design-savvy young globetrotters.

A big, boisterous activity book for soccer-crazed kids all over the world. Draw, color, and customize your way through the world of soccer. Design your own uniforms, badges and boots for your fantasy starting eleven. Pick your friends alongside the greatest players the game has ever seen to create your perfect club. Complete league tables and predictions for the season to come. Let your imagination run riot! Joseph Gamble is an illustrator that lives and breathes the beautiful game. His enthusiasm is conveyed in spontaneous line drawings that will appeal to both design-aware parents and sports-obsessed children.

A boldly illustrated, interactive alphabet book that invites the reader to complete each illustration by drawing, cutting and pasting or coloring in something to do with that letter. Draw the ants in A's anthill, paste a family picture in F's family. . . . Clever connections between the activities of the various letters bring the book to life. Printed on heavy cardstock, with numerous die cuts, stickers and flaps, this is interactive learning in action. Eleonora Marton has a bold gouache illustration style with a charming, vintage feel.

Make your own headline news! Fifty pages of tear-out newspaper layouts correspond to twenty sticker pages of partially drawn images and headlines. Kids are invited to color and complete the stickers, layering them up so that volcanoes erupt, schools explode, teachers are sent to prison, and moms win Oscars. Column space alongside gives plenty of room for hilarious accompanying stories. Humorous and warm, this book is a great way of getting kids excited about creative writing. Alice Bowsher's pen and ink drawings are exploding with fun. She is the author and illustrator of The Line (Cicada 2014) and Curious (Hato Press 2015

A fantastic concertina book that serves as a height chart and a measuring tool to help curious kids get excited about mathematics and measuring. On one side it's a beautiful vintage-style height chart that can be hung on a wall. Flip it over, and it's an activity book that kids are invited to take around the house filling it in; what's bigger--your teddy or a box of cereal? Your mom or your bathtub? When folded, the book measures exactly one foot long, helping make the concept of length more digestible. Weight and volume are also explored. With bold pantone colors and immaculate slipcase packaging, this is both utilitarian design and practical math in action! Eleonora Marton is an Italian illustrator and artist living and working in London. Her paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Bologna, Paris and London and her illustration work has featured in The New York Times and The Guardian. Her previous book, DIY ABC, was published by Cicada in 2016.

The exact size and shape of a mobile phone, this book takes the screen out of screen-time and brings distraction activities firmly into the ana - logue realm. Draw your best and worst selfie, copy out the funniest text exchange you’ve ever had, design your favourite game, do a faceswap with a cat, write out your life philosophies in 140 characters, and invent some new apps to suit your lifestyle. With a sheet of emoji stickers to colour and complete, this is a gorgeous activity book that is sur e to get your creative juices flowing, and bring a smile to the most hardened of screen-addicts.

Born Bad is an accessible and lighthearted picture book that cleverly introduces young readers to issues surrounding identity and transformation through humor and surprising animal facts. Stunning illustrations bring Wolf's journey and subsequent transition to life and are complemented by elegant packaging and production.

Adjusting to life in a new city is tough. When a young boy moves from the countryside, everyone around him seems so unfriendly. Lonely and home- sick, he sits on a bench outside his new apartment block and watches the busy urban lives going on behind the lit windows. A writer struggles with writers block, a cook creates magnificent meals for herself, a young woman cultivates a luxuriant garden on her balcony and mum struggles to keep four kids under control. Night after night he watches his neighbours’ lives unfold before him, observing the tiny details of each story, until one evening someone else is sitting on his bench. Gradually he begins to interact with the people around him, and decides to throw a big party to bring all the neighbours together.... This is a heartwarming tale about fitting in and making friends, illustrated in Aart Jan Venema’s distinctive, intricate style. Packed with hilarious details, Night Windows is a beautiful book that will keep children young and old entertained for hours.

Dirty DIY is a book of sexy postcards for adults to write/draw/otherwise complete and give to their partners/lovers. Activities such as "When I think about you I....." or partially drawn illustrations with missing bits, will prompt even the most reticent to get in touch with the creative lover within. Lucy Kirk's drawings are edgy and bold but have a humor and warmth that will bring out the sweetest pornographer in us all. All postcards can be torn out and used as postcards or love notes!

All around the world there are festivals that reach back through the sands of time to medieval carnival traditions, and beyond. The festivals in this book are often little known outside their locale and they are all characterised by spectacular costumes and compellingly bizarre rituals. The Jarramplas of Piornal, Spain is a spooky devil character dressed in rags, who is pelted by two tons of turnips every year. In Japan, the Kasedori wear a suit of straw and run barefoot through the snow as villagers douse them in freezing water to protect their houses from fire. The Courir de Mardi Gras is a lesser known cousin of the New Orleans carnival, in which members of rural Louisiana communities dress in Medieval French jester costumes and chase down chickens thrown from the roofs of local farmsteads.

It's Phil and Dale's favourite time of the week - the WASH! The two socks impress each other with their acrobatics; flipping, spinning and shrieking, much to the disapproval of the other clothes in the washing machine. But why should they care? They've got each other and that's all that matters... right? When Phil goes missing, Dale is left contemplating life in solitude. After a brief encounter with a red shirt, he finds himself alone in the washing machine, lost and pink. When he is finally reunited with his buddy, Phil fails to recognise him and the socks must decide what being a pair means if one of you has changed.... Written in comic book form, and brought to life in gorgeous crayon illustrations, this a tale of friendship and identity that will delight children and adults alike.

Mix and match the faces of the members of a family to hilarious effect. Family Flip Flap is a re-issue of a limited run book from 1982 (previously entitled Family Scramble), illustrated by classic children's illustrator, Maureen Roffey. The tops and bottoms of faces are bisected so that they can be mixed and matched to uproarious effect; Aunt Helen sucks a dummy, Tiny Tess mends a car, Mummy makes a mess and Daddy does his homework. Children ages two and up will delight in subverting traditional adult-child roles in this deceptively simple flip flap book. Clear, accessible illustrations maintain their vintage feel whilst being further revived by the use of neon colour throughout and gorgeous packaging.