What a Load of Craft! The Most Unusual and Original Craft Guides

In a machine-groaning world of microwavable roast dinners, flat-pack Billy Bookcases and mass-produced Primark garb, it’s strange to think that traditional crafts are enjoying a comeback. Considering the flood of convenience products, I think it’s rather nice that in our spare time we like to go the long way round by making and baking.

The world’s craftmania has produced a whole gallery of weird and wonderful handmade creations, which nimble-fingered crafters proudly showcase online. Here, pop culture meets traditional craft in a bizarrely pleasing mash-up: a crochet Gangham Style beanie hat, an Xbox controller made of soap, a set of Metallica Russian dolls, a supersize 3.3kg Jammy Dodger… and even a Harry Potter mosaic made entirely from jelly beans!

Here are some excellent (and easy) ways to spend a rainy crafternoon. We do declare these inspiring art and craft books are the best thing since sliced bread!

The Scribble Diary by Lisa Curie

Perfect for daydreamers, Lisa Currie’s charming diary is a blank canvas on which to doodle your day away. Create a pie chart of your thoughts of the day, draw your dinner, your shopping list or your predictions for tomorrow, these fun prompts will help to clear a fuzzy mind and let the imagination gallop freely. Currie’s The Scribble Diary requires only a pen and a little creativity, so give it a bash and let your imagination off its leash.

ISBN: 9780399537455, 192pp, p/b, £9.99, Published by Perigee

Kitty Crafts by Jen Curry

Jen Curry’s Kitty Jones Kitty Crafts presents easy-to-make and incredibly stylish projects for your favourite feline. Cats love crafts, well they love cute little catnip mice, stylish scratch pads and play houses. For any cat-less cat lovers, there’s also an entire section of cool furnishings, including cat book ends and lampshades. Cats and Crafts go together like birds of a feather –I’m smitten with this bright and beautiful craft guide (and I don’t even have a cat!).

ISBN: 9781935548218, 96pp, p/b, £13.99, Published by One Peace Books

Hoopla by Leanne Prain

Embroidery is now cool. The ancient pastime has been brought bang up to day in Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery. This excellent guide rebels against the quaint and familiar motifs of flowers and focuses instead on unusual, guerrilla-style patterns such as needlepoint nipple doilies and a random note pillow. Full-colour throughout and bursting with history, technique and sass, Hoopla includes 28 innovative embroidery patterns and profiles of contemporary embroidery artists.

ISBN: 9781551524061, 400pp, p/b, £21.99, Published by Arsenal Pulp Press