Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Knife SharpeningThis is a training booklet that applies to all walks of life, including the sharpness of the knife one chooses to use in survival. The time taken to master knife sharpening is highly variable. Once you know what to do the fast learner takes about 4 accumulated hours to put a shaving edge on his or her knife the first time, after which it takes moments to re-establish your edge.Written by Mors Kochanski

A complete course for the can't-wait-to-get-started beginner!Got the urge to draw? What are you waiting for?! Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3 with Grant Fuller's Start Sketching & Drawing Now! Packed full of easy and fun techniques, readers will learn to create accurate and expressive likenesses of people, animals, landscapes, and objects. Suddenly rendering even something as mundane as an electrical plug will become an adventure in seeing-and as you'l...

You won't believe the incredible drawings you can create using common pencils and the special techniques illustrated in this book. These methods are so easy that anyone-from doodler to advanced artist-can master them in minutes! Step by step, you'll learn how to capture the look of metal, glass, weathered wood, skin, hair and other textures. Two detailed start-to-finish demonstrations show you how to use these textures to create drawings that look so real they seem to leap right off the pa...

Learn great lessons about how you can incorporate great design elements into your composition, including five easy formulas that will ensure a strong image every single time. But don't let your great design be ruined by muddy colors! These lessons go beyond color wheel instruction to teach how to achieve tones from skin color to sky and foliage, all of which sets up the final section, where you'll learn great approaches to popular subjects ranging from animals and nature to man-made object...

Advice & information for choosing, designing & building a greenhouse or potting shed Few outdoor structures are as rich with romance and promise as greenhouses and potting sheds. Inspired gardeners appreciate them for their utility as well as their charm. Even homeowners who are not avid gardeners enjoy the unique ability of these structures to lend a taste of English countryside to any property. Greenhouses & Garden Sheds contains hundreds of beautiful photographs featuring the finest exa...

A must-have reference for every watercolorist!This is your complete guide to watercolor-from basic art concepts and techniques to fun special effects and pointers for painting popular subjects. Secrets of Watercolor, From Basics to Special Effects is a handy reference that beginners and experienced artists simply can't be without.Learn how to:• Work with the right materials• Master all essential techniques• Choose, mix and app...

Artist Craig Nelson shares secrets to drawing faces. From basics like materials, proportion and tone to finer details such as rendering noses from various angles, you will have all the essentials you need to get started drawing portraits immediately. Clear instruction and two step-by-step portrait demonstrations help you to create realistic faces with accuracy and ease.

Artist Craig Nelson covers all the basics of composition. From perspective to proportion, you will discover the keys to unlocking the secrets needed to improve your skills and create outstanding works of art.

Working Wood, Not Machining ItIf you're more interested in working with wood rather than machining it, you will be relieved to learn that expensive powered machinery isn't required to build furniture. You can also forget the dust masks, face shields and hearing protection since many of the safety concerns related to woodworking-the use of power tools-are eliminated. In this book, you'll learn to set up a hand-tool woodworking shop, then discover the toolset, practi...

Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry for Beginners combines beading and wire-working techniques with the intense beauty of torch-fired enameled beads. Metal becomes your canvas as you learn the basics of enameling with a torch, then create five exquisite pieces, including a bracelet, ring, necklace and two sets of earrings. Find out how easy it is to create unique and colorful enamel pieces in this innovative, comprehensive guide to the world of torch-fired enameling.

Build your way to a more self-sufficient lifestyle with step-by-step projects for backup and supplementary utilities--including independent water, heat, and electricity--growing and storing food, raising small livestock, beekeeping, and more. Many of the projects require basic materials available at your everyday home center, but this book also provides valuable DIY resources for solar, hydro, greenhouse, and gardening needs. This book will help you build security with utility backup syste...