CICO books

Make your own crocheted toy with this wonderful craft kit. It comes with everything you'll need to start crocheting so you can make your own adorable super-cutie, Melody the Kitten, plus all the items are packed in a handy re-usable tin.

Make your own Russian dolls with this fantastic craft kit. It comes with everything you'll need to make your very own super-cute Russian dolls, Natasha, Natosha and Natesha, plus all the items are packed in a handy re-usable tin.

Perfect Tables showcases twenty-six stunning ideas for tables by William Yeoward, a highly respected designer of fine tableware. Discover beautiful tables for Thanksgiving, Christmas, a midsummer wedding and Valentines Day, plus informal settings for a buffet supper, a childrens tea party and the perfect breakfast. William reveals his secrets for transforming tables with key items and with colour to enhance mood and theme. With tips on table etiquette and clever and inspiring ideas for everything from laying cutlery, china and glassware with precision to tying napkins and choosing flowers, William shows how attention to the tiniest detail adds to the ambience of any table.

The French interior evokes a way of life to aspire to, with its good food,unhurried pace and, above all, its past for which many people feel nostalgia.Developed over hundreds of years, the French look reflects all tastes, from the cultivated grandeur of the chateau to the simplicity of rural living, and can be adapted to every home, including the Mediterranean style villa and elegant town house. In this book, the look is divided into 'Chateau', 'Country', 'Provencial' and 'Parisian style', and applied to living room, kitchen and dining room, bedroom and bathroom, and to living space in the garden. As well as describing each overall look, focusing on colours and fabrics, Annie Sloan emphasizes the details and accents required by each one, and, aided by 25 clearly explained step-by-step projects, shows how to achieve it. Among other things, she explains how to paint and distress furniture, and describes how to cover an armoire door with embroidered voile. Whatever interior you desire, this book will guide your choices from the grand statement of the painted armoire to the finishing touch of a little posy of lavender.

Gardening in No Time is specially designed for people who are short on time but still keen to create stylish, productive and interesting gardens. Written by expert gardener Tessa Evelegh, this is an inspiring collection of 50 easy, step-by-step projects to suit you and your garden, whether you have an entire afternoon or just one hour, a good-sized garden or a small paved patio. Chapters include instant impact - quick, creative ways to achieve a colourful, blooming garden; easy care - techniques to revitalise your bedding plants and lawn; delicious and decorative - how to add those finishing touches, as well as successfully grow fruit and vegetables. You will learn about making a water feature, pruning and propagating, planting for year-round colour and much more. All projects have easy-to-follow step photography and great images of the finished result.

Carolyn Westbrook brings you her first-hand knowledge, acquired through years of combing French flea markets for unique treasures, of what makes a beautiful French interior. Designer and decorator Carolyn Westbrook's love affair with all that is French inspired began long before she ever travelled to France. Growing up in the US, her Southern heritage was infused by French influences - from the chic elegance of New Orleans to the romance of southern plantation houses. Subsequent travels to France filled her with a passion that has influenced her designs and interiors ever since and 'The French Inspired' has become her own signature style. Immerse yourself in her own beautiful plantation house, a sleek urban apartment or a classically elegant town house. Each home featured has its own distinctive style, but all are essentially 'French' in their inspiration, whether it comes from a distressed, gilded carved mirror, or a faded, frayed rug that exudes age in just the right places and could never be purchased from a department store. Carolyn Westbrook prides herself on these French-inspired interiors that are classic and timeless but never stuffy. These interiors are not about the latest trends, but meant to inspire longevity and a true romance with your own home. The French have mastered the art of this time-worn yet sophisticated style of living, and you too will fall in love with the colours, the textures and the inspiration that is truly French.

Rachel Ashwell created Shabby Chic: a peaceful, practical way of living that embraces a respect for the things in our lives we hold dear and keeps them at the heart of our homes. Romantic florals reclining against pure white linen, ruffles of muslin skirting a bed base against bleached floorboards, the deep comfort of a simple nest of fluffy towels - This is Rachel Ashwell's signature style that for the past 20 years has been a major influence in our modern lives. "Shabby Chic Interiors - My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets", an eclectic book of quirky inspiration, falls into chapters according to location, and begins with Rachel's breathtaking Los Angeles residence. Next, we wander into a photographer's minimalist mountain-top home in the Hollywood hills before heading to the coast and a beautiful Malibu beach cottage. A truly bohemian hideout in southern California is next on the journey, followed by a peek at celebrity homes, including the house that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. With rooms combining flea-market finds and objects of pure functionality - an elegant French mirror reflecting a painting, a bejewelled metallic candle holder sitting by a cluster of willow-patterned china, a single faded velvet pillow lounging under the twinkle of a vintage chandelier - this book celebrates all that is wonderfully Shabby Chic.

Rachel Ashwell created Shabby Chic: a peaceful, practical way of living that embraces a respect for the things in our lives we hold dear and keeps them at the heart of our homes. Romantic florals reclining against pure white linen, ruffles of muslin skirting a bed base against bleached floorboards, the deep comfort of a simple nest of fluffy towels - This is Rachel Ashwell's signature style that for the past 20 years has been a major influence in our modern lives. Shabby Chic Interiors - My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets, an eclectic book of quirky inspiration, falls into chapters according to location, and begins with Rachel's breathtaking Los Angeles residence. Next, we wander into a photographer's minimalist mountain-top home in the Hollywood hills before heading to the coast and a beautiful Malibu beach cottage. A truly bohemian hideout in southern California is next on the journey, followed by a peek at celebrity homes, including the house that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. With rooms combining flea-market finds and objects of pure functionality - an elegant French mirror reflecting a painting, a bejewelled metallic candle holder sitting by a cluster of willow-patterned china, a single faded velvet pillow lounging under the twinkle of a vintage chandelier - this book celebrates all that is wonderfully Shabby Chic.

Give your kids their first taste of crafting with My First Craft Book, a brilliant introduction to a world of endless creative possibilities. With Emma Hardy's 35 quick and easy ideas aimed at children aged from 7 to 11, there are hours of fun to be had. Every project comes with crystal clear instructions and cute artworks that guide your child through every step to make exciting toys, games, costumes and more. Kids who love to get messy will enjoy all the painting and printing projects, while tiny tailors can learn the basics of sewing by stitching together jewellery, toys and more. You'll find you can make lots of things with just paper and glue in the papercrafts section, and then kids can move onto bigger projects in the costumes section where there are lots of ideas for creative play. There's a whole range of projects using natural and recycled materials, too. Every activity expands your child's knowledge and once they have mastered the basics they can let their imagination run wild and start work on their own craft projects.

A unique collection of timeless French houses featuring original photography make this a book to treasure. From a chic and sophisticated Parisian pied-a-terre owned by an acclaimed musician to an authentically restored Alpine ski lodge, from a grand chateau filled with antiques collected by generations of the same family to writer Marcel Pagnol's beach cottage in St Tropez, Romantic French Homes presents a stunning selection of homes, most of which have never been photographed before. Author Lanie Goodman has gathered a collection of 14 amazing properties which sum up all that is French and romantic, from the city streets of Paris to Megeve in the French Alps, from the windswept coast of Normandy, to the heart of Provence and the sunbaked shores of the Riviera. There are classic country houses which have been in the same family for generations, tiny boltholes, city apartments, quirky seaside homes, and more. Each home has its own individual character, reflecting the people who live there and their passions. The book is divided into four chapters: Chateaux which covers castles, chateaux, grand country houses, and town houses; Bastides which features old manors and farmhouses; Maisons Bohemes which includes bohemian artist's, writer's, and seaside homes; and Paysannes and Pavilions, which focuses on small and simple, thrifty and humble town houses and country houses. With stunning photography capturing the grandeur, charm and mystery of these properties, their romance and sense of history shine through.

If you dream of growing, harvesting and eating your own produce, here's how to begin. Author Nicki Trench, who has created her own garden farm from scratch, shares with you everything there is to know about growing vegetables, fruit and herbs, including making your own compost, growing in raised beds and protecting your crops from pests and disease. Nicki also explains how to rear chickens for eggs and bees for honey, and gives advice on keeping goats and pigs. The benefits of creating your garden farm are not just economic - the energy once obsessively expended on the exercise bike can now be channelled more productively by digging the vegetable patch, turning the compost or cleaning out the hen coop. Communities are reappearing over garden fences as neighbours share their harvest of courgettes, spinach and eggs. Whatever you choose to grow or rear on your garden farm, this book offers a taste of the good life that is easy, satisfying and inexpensive to achieve.

Everyone has a dream of the perfect country house: beautiful, warm and welcoming with a sense of comfort and style that comes naturally. The word 'country' evokes a timeless simplicity, where classic form is married to a soft, decorative feel, where colour and pattern are used informally, and where light and space are at the heart of every room. The re-introduction of colour and pattern to interior design, and the perennial popularity of natural materials make a stylish, country look easy to attain. Chapters include specific country styles such as Shaker, New England and modern Ethnic, along with practical ways to really bring the outside in - from using natural textiles and textures, to incorporating seaside checks and country-style florals. With more than two hundred stunning colour photographs, Country in the City is an inspiration to those wanting to make every day in the city a dream of country living.

With this book in one hand and a brush in the other, you can learn how to transform everyday furniture into something special, all for the price of a pot of paint. Annie Sloan is a paint legend and one of the world's most popular experts in the field of decorative painting. In Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and more, Annie presents 40 new projects and ideas, showing you the easy way to update tired furniture and transform your home. Working with her own range of chalk paints, Annie shows how to mix colours and how to achieve certain looks. Whether your taste is for colourful boho chic or restrained Swedish hues, cosy and comforting rustic shades, a modern and contemporary approach or an elegant French look, here you will find a project to suit you. Start off by mastering the simple art of colourwashing, and work your way up to transfer printing, gilding, stencilling and glazing. There are even instructions for dyeing fabric using paint. As well as painting furniture, the projects range from a staircase painted in a rainbow of colours to stencilled walls, transforming floors with a coat of paint to dyeing linen curtains and even painting a vintage chandelier. Throughout the book, Annie offers expert tips, techniques, shortcuts and guidance, showing you the easy way to create a stylish home.

Designer and stylist Sania Pell provides 50 inspirational yet easy projects for you to make, all for next to nothing. Turn basic white bed linen into something special by adding ribbon borders and embroidered panels, and update lampshades by recovering with fabric or paper. Give old wooden furniture a facelift by repainting and adding paper collage decoration. Recycle glass jars into stylish tealight holders, and use old teacups as pretty plant holders. Create family heirlooms by framing special pieces of children's clothing, or display tiny treasures in wooden box frames. Turn felted sweaters into appliqueed cushion covers or cosy scarves, and use the contents of your button box to revamp an old cardigan. With easy-to-follow instructions and artworks, "The Homemade Home" will inspire you to get out the paintbrushes and dust off the sewing machine, and create a truly stylish and individual home.

Be inspired by Igigi's unique textures and natural palette to create your own haven of calm Zoe Ellison and Alex Legendre have created a beautiful shopping and interiors experience with their unique store i gigi - a haven of beautiful gifts and unique pieces for your home. The muted, earthy colour palette is chic and modern and yet utterly timeless, allowing their pieces to fit seamlessly into any home. In this, their first book, they share their secrets and open their hearts as they describe the journey they have taken, what makes them tick, their philosophy, their friendship, their inspirations, ideas and interiors. i gigi is a destination store, selling the idea of a beautiful yet practical and achievable lifestyle. Their interiors feature reclaimed and revamped pieces and rooms that have been created on a shoestring. With stunning photography throughout, this is a truly fascinating look into their world.

With this book in one hand and a brush in the other, you can learn how to create different finishes and effects with paint to change everyday rooms and furnishings into something special, all for the price of a pot of paint. The first section of the book tells you everything you need to know before you start - how to prepare surfaces properly, choose the right paint for the right place, use the best tools and select a colour scheme that will work with the room in question. Then, the 50 different techniques are divided into nine sections: colour washing; distressing and aging; fabric effects; wood effects; stone effects; metallic effects; stencilling and printing; stripes, checks, and spots; and, varnishing and glazing. There are step-by-step photos showing how to achieve the finished look, backed up by inspirational photos showing the effect used on walls and doors, furniture and floors. Learn how to bring old second-hand furniture bang up to date, or how to give modern pieces a softly aged appearance, as well as ways to treat and transform floorboards, doors and plastered walls, all with the aid of a pot of paint and a brush. Whatever the style of your interiors, "Quick and Easy Paint Transformations" will show you the best way to makeover your home.