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Arts & Entertainment

Craft Books to Keep You Busy During the Holidays

From geek to chic, you'll find plenty to do!

Whether you're gearing up for holiday decorating or looking to keep kids busy during school holidays, here are three wildly different books filled with creative crafts for all ages and levels.

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts

This book is exactly what you would expect - beautifully made, beautifully photographed, and, to be honest, kind of dizzying with possibilities. The projects run from New Year's to Christmas, with several ideas for each holiday ranging from simple to so complex that you'll need a glass cutter. I'm especially impressed with the glamorous centerpieces and other projects that will really make your holiday table shine. Try the Candy Cane Mice or Winter Wonderland Snow Globes to keep little ones busy this December.

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World of Geekcraft by Susan Beal

As you can guess from the name, this book is dedicated to all things geek. Crafts cover the geek canon basics from Star Wars and Battlestar Gallactica to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter. The projects aren't holiday based and they're more for adults than kids, but this book would make a fantastic holiday gift for the crafty geek in your life. There's even an Oregon Trail cross-stitch project. And who wouldn't want a stocking full of Tribbles?

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Unstuck by Noah Scalin

Back in 2007, Noah Scalin came up with a simple but brilliant idea: he would make an image of a skull every day for a year. You can see them all on his Skull-a-Day blog. That project led to his first book, SKULLS, and Unstuck is a continuation of his attempt to tackle stymied creativity. Unstuck has 52 different exercises for any level of experience that will help get your creativity unstuck, as well as plenty of room to sketch, scribble and journal your experience.

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