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Nothing adds more warmth and charm to a home than the simple, rustic beauty of natural wood. Now, thanks to the inspiring and creative ideas of woodworker Chris Lubkemann, bringing the natural elegance of the outdoors into your home is easier than you think. With little effort that can produce amazing results, twigs, branches and fallen trees can be transformed into artfully designed candleholders, coat racks and coffee tables that will flavor your home with an eco-chic style.

If you're creative, have an appreciation for wood, and can work with a few basic tools, you can create these 35 unique and practical projects using the easy-to-follow instructions and some found wood.

Among the distinctive projects in Tree Craft, you'll find:

• A gallery of knotted-wood photo frames to hold your favorite pictures
• Attractive table lamps in a variety of styles
• One-of-a-kind décor items such as curtain rods, clocks and planters
• Beautiful and practical coasters, napkin rings and spoon holders

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There has never been a better time to make and sell great cheese. People worldwide are consuming more high-quality, handmade cheese than ever before. The number of artisan cheesemakers has doubled in recent years, and many of the industry's newcomers are "farmstead" producers — those who work only with the milk of their own animals. More than ever before, the people who choose to become farmer-cheesemakers need access to the knowledge of established cheese artisans who can help them build their dream.

Few career choices lead to such extremes of labor, emotion and monetary challenge. In The Farmstead Creamery Advisor, respected cheesemaker, instructor and speaker Gianaclis Caldwell walks would-be producers through the many, and often confusing, steps and decisions they will face when considering a career in this burgeoning cottage industry. This book fills the gap that exists between the pasture and cheese plate. It goes far beyond issues of caring for livestock and basic cheesemaking, explaining business issues such as:

• Analyzing your suitability for the career
• Designing and building the cheese facility
• Sizing up the market
• Negotiating day-to-day obstacles
• Ensuring maximum safety and efficiency

Drawing from her own and other cheesemakers' experiences, Caldwell brings to life the story of creating a successful cheesemaking business in a practical, organized manner. Absolutely essential for anyone interested in becoming a licensed artisan cheesemaker, The Farmstead Creamery Advisor will also appeal to the many small and hobby-farm owners who already have milking animals and who wish to improve their home dairy practices and facilities.

Recommended Product for Wiser Living: Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, MOTHER EARTH NEWS is recommending books to readers. For 40 years, MOTHER EARTH NEWS has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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This second collection of Mother Earth News' most popular DIY articles provides enough fun, rewarding projects to keep you and your family busy all year long. Made available to you in an easy-to-use CD-ROM format, just like our popular Mother Earth News Archive on CD-ROM.

Selected from nearly 40 years of material, this collection provides 147 articles for enough fun, rewarding projects to keep you busy every single weekend for a full year!

You can learn how to:

• build a rabbit hutch
• make your own tiles
• build a log cabin
• build a solar water heater
• build a natural swimming pool
• make a kite from recycled materials
• And more!!!

• With an IBM-compatible computer: Microsoft® Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) or newer; with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or newer. You also will need Java Virtual Machine (VM) version 1.3 (free download from www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp) or newer browser plug-in with Java enabled on your browser and computer.
• With an Apple Computer: Mac OS X with Safari 3.2.525.27.1 or newer and Java. Use the Software Update feature (available on the Apple menu) to check that you have the most up-to-date version of Java for your Mac.
• For Mac OS 9.2.2, this CD must be run in Netscape 7.0.2 with Apple MRJ 2.2.5. (Both available free from www.versiontracker.com.)
• A CD-ROM drive (auto-start should be enabled).

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From a lakeside cabin to a hilltop farmhouse, from an urban brownstone to a suburban ranch — any house can be beautified with decorative pieces crafted from found bits of the woodland landscape, such as pine cones, moss, bark, twigs and river rocks. Artist and author Marlene Hurley Marshall shows you how to use responsibly collected materials to create stylish wreaths, frames, furniture, collages, potpourri, birdhouses, garden pots and much more. Featuring luscious photography by Sabine Vollmer von Falken, Woodland Style gives you the inspiration and instruction you need to enjoy the peace and beauty of the woods and meadows in your own home.

About the author
Marlene Marshall is a painter/collage artist, arts educator, designer, and author of Making Bits and Pieces Mosaics (Storey, 1998), Shell Chic (Storey, 2002) and Woodland Style (Storey, 2010). For more than a decade, Marshall has been conducting studio art classes in mosaic and shell design applications, as well as the visual arts. She frequently lectures at museums, art schools and private clubs along the East Coast. She also designs and consults with communities on outdoor mosaic projects for public walkways and parks. Marshall has appeared on both the Home and Garden and DIY networks. Her work has been exhibited and sold in galleries and museum shops throughout North America. She lives in Hudson, N.Y.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $19.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! Find, cut and dry your own lumber. This essential guide will save you money and expand your knowledge of wood.

For woodworkers who want to purchase wood wisely and save money by finding, cutting and drying it on their own, this guide from the experts at American Woodworker is a must. Along with learning the most economical way to buy and process lumber, there are a number of how-to's in this book, including:

• Interpreting rough lumber
• Working with defects
• Deciding which grade is most economical for the project
• Re-sawing thick wood
• Storing lumber
• Using boards that are not perfect

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $17.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

This celebrated, essential handbook for the urban homesteading movement shows how to grow and preserve your own food, clean your house without toxins, raise chickens, gain energy independence, and more. Step-by-step projects, tips and anecdotes will help get you started homesteading immediately. The Urban Homestead is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics.

Written by city dwellers for city dwellers, this copiously illustrated, two-color instruction book proposes a paradigm shift that will improve our lives, our community and our planet. By growing our own food and harnessing natural energy, we are planting seeds for the future of our cities.

Recommended Product for Wiser Living: Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, MOTHER EARTH NEWS is recommending books to readers. For 40 years, MOTHER EARTH NEWS has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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Here's where simple techniques meet 100% natural soaps that please the eye, the nose and the environment! Made with the safe and simple melt-and-pour method, these projects feature a delicious range of eco-friendly and animal-free ingredients — from oatmeal and lavender to honeysuckle and clay. The ins-and-outs of soap bases, colorants and essential oils all receive detailed attention. Soapmaking the Natural Way is an affordable, informative and inspiring resource.

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This definitive guide covers commercial and residential geothermal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technologies and explains how to take advantage of their money- and energy-saving features. Geothermal HVAC: Green Heating and Cooling reviews the array of choices currently available, offers market values for systems based on varying options and conditions, and describes how to pair the best systems for each application and budget. Whether you're a contractor or a consumer, you'll find out what you need to know to implement a geothermal HVAC system in a retrofit or new construction project, and start benefiting from this sustainable, affordable technology.

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CLEARANCE ITEM. PREVIOUS RETAIL PRICE WAS $19.95 AVAILABLE ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Sharpening woodworking tools is a task many put off until it is necessary. Learn how to embrace the fun and essence of sharpening tools, and why regular attention to sharpening can increase efficiency and improve quality. This book contains techniques for keeping hand tools like saws, chisels, gouges, and planes razor sharp. It also shows how to extend the life of power tools with well maintained blades and bits.

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More and more homebuyers and homebuilders are focusing on "right-sizing" their dream home instead of mortgaging their dreams away. Building Today's Dream Home gives you instruction and advice on best practices for building a smaller, more cost-effective house without compromising comfort or quality. Building a right-sized, energy-efficient home can free up your investment capital for the retirement years, and this book gives you the information you need to build the right home for your needs.