Chronicle Books Blog

Happy (almost) October, folks! In case the big bags of individually-wrapped candies in drugstores haven’t tipped you off, we’re deep into fall, which means Halloween mania has begun. But if you’re like me, you’re probably not crafting a whole month in advance, and are looking for something fun to do right now – perhaps even with the kiddies. Look no further than October 12, AKA Columbus Day, for your latest excuse to craft.

In Every Day’s a Holiday, Heidi Kenney of the popular My Paper Crane blog gives you a reason to craft with your kids on the conventional holidays (ahem, Halloween) as well as not-so-classic days to be celebrated, like World Origami Days in October and November.

For some Columbus Day fun, try making these adorable and easy little ships.

Walnut-Shell Sailing Ship (makes 1 ship)
Excerpt from Every Day’s a Holiday by Heidi Kenney.
Photographs by France Ruffenach

You will need
Scissors
2-in-square decorative
paper
Newspaper
1 walnut shell half
Taper candle
Matches
Toothpick

1. Using scissors, cut two small slits in the paper, one at the top and one near the bottom, so it will easily slide onto the toothpick.

2. Cover your workspace with newspaper. Place the walnut shell, hollow side up, on the newspaper.

3. The supervising adult should light the candle with the matches and drip wax into the inside of the walnut shell. The wax should be deep enough to stand the toothpick in. Hold the toothpick in place until the wax hardens.

4. Slide the paper sail down onto the toothpick mast.

5. Bring your walnut ship outside and place it in a puddle. Blow the sail or wait for a breeze to move it along.

Find this and many more holiday-inspired projects in Every Day’s a Holiday by Heidi Kenney.

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Lisa Tauber
Editorial Assistant

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This week’s guest blogger is Vanessa Barrington, co-author of Heirloom Beans, and author of the recently released D.I.Y. Delicious. With its 75 recipes and more than 50 step-by-step color photographs, D.I.Y. Delicious leads the way to outfitting a scratch pantry that uses fewer ingredients to make delicious staples at a much lower cost.

Let us know what you think of this recipe—is it appealing? Seem too hard? What would you change? What do you love about it? Leave a comment and you’ll be eligible to win copy we’ll give away to a random poster next week.

Ajvar

Ajvar is a wonderfully versatile eggplant spread for sandwiches and impromptu appetizers, and a handy cooking ingredient. It’s often found in specialty stores and I’ve always loved it. For years I assumed it was Middle Eastern, but I recently found out it’s Serbian. Since I’m Serbian on my mother’s side, and many of the recipes in this book originate in the house where she grew up, I love ajvar even more. Still, its unmistakable Middle Eastern character has me convinced that it came to the Balkans with the Turks. I don’t remember eating this as a child, so I’m happy to bring it back into the fold.

With the markets full of different varieties of eggplants and peppers, I’ve been making this dip for get-togethers and book events at least once a week. I never tire of it and even self-described “eggplant haters” have conceded that it’s quite delicious. If you take the time to really char the eggplant on a gas stovetop, you’ll be rewarded with a bold smokiness that serves as a nice counterpoint to the sweet peppers and pungent garlic. Easy and streamlined, this recipe only takes 30 minutes of active cooking. For a simple appetizer, serve with Whole Wheat Sesame Crackers (recipe also below). In the unlikely event that you have leftovers, whisk a little into white wine to make a marinade for grilled or baked fish.

Time Required: 30 minutes active; 30 minutes passive
Yield: about 2 cups

1 globe eggplant, about 1 pound
2 red bell peppers
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper or paprika
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

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An interview with Matt Warshaw, author of our newly released The History of Surfing, ran recently in the San Francisco Chronicle. You can read it here.

Matt, former editor of SURFER magazine, spent five years researching and writing The History of Surfing. The result? At nearly 500 pages, with 250,000 words and more than 250 rare photographs, The History of Surfing is an unprecedented history of the sport and the culture it has spawned.

For all of you surfers and surf fans who live in California, make sure to check out Matt’s upcoming events:

Monday 10/4
6:30-9pm
LitQuake
Park Chalet
1000 Great Hwy., San Francisco
Admission: $5-10 donation entitles you to order off the Happy Hour menu all night! Krista Comer and Elizabeth Pepin, Doug Dorst, Daniel Duane, Thomas Farber, Steven Kotler, emcee Mark Massara, Michael Scott Moore, and Matt Warshaw.

Friday 10/22
6-8pm
Pages Bookstore
904 Manhattan Avenue
Manhattan Beach
Surf art show with author book signing

Saturday 10/23
[2-part event]

10am-noon author signing
Surfing Heritage Foundation
110 Calle Iglesia, San Clemente

2-4pm author signing
Surfing Heritage Foundation
South Coast Plaza West retail store
3333 Bear St., Ste 303, Costa Mesa

Have a favorite surf spot? Leave a comment letting me know where you love to surf for a chance to win a copy of The History of Surfing. One lucky winner will be chosen on Monday, October 4th and notified by email.

Cheers,
Hannah deBree
Entertainment Marketing Manager

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Abe Lincoln is a familiar presence in the craft community. His striking portrait often pops up among the cupcakes, vintage typewriters, owls, and other woodland creatures that you’re likely to see in craft shows like the Renegade Fair. One quick search on Etsy will bring up Abe is a Babe notecards and a ton of Lincoln tees, prints, necklaces, tin cans, and more. You can get the Murphy Elliott Lincoln portrait on the bottom right below as print, canvas or greeting card.

I can’t think of another U.S. president who inspires more artists, especially contemporary ones, to depict his image. Lowbrow pop artist Mark Ryden has featured Mr. Lincoln in many of his paintings. In this post from the New York Times, artist Maira Kalman describes falling in love with Mr. Lincoln after visiting the Lincoln Archive at the Rosenbach Museum and Library.

As the vast amount of Lincoln publishing suggests, it’s not just his unusual image that ignites our interest and imagination. From scholarly studies like President Obama’s favorite Team of Rivals to the far less serious Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Mr. Lincoln is still very much a part of our national identity and discourse.

Perhaps with so much Lincoln art and publishing, it’s not surprising that there is even a typeface named after Old Abe, by John Studden for Letterhead Fonts. It’s also great to see how different illustrators render him for editorial purposes, like in this write-up by graphic designer and illustrator Matt Dorfman in a piece for Time Magazine.

And now, in our new book Lincoln in 3-D, we can see Mr. Lincoln’s image and other photos from his presidency the way they were originally intended to be viewed. The photos in this book—rare, historical, intimate, and classic—were originally rendered stereoscopically in the 3D technology of the time.

Lincoln in 3-D is a beautiful, debossed, hardcover book designed by Trina Hancock, with some awesome historical photos and a pair of 3-D glasses to go with it—unfortunately they are not wire-framed spectacles, but their design is inspired by them. Keeping in the tradition of Mr. Lincoln’s famous saying, “Whatever you are, be a good one,” this is no doubt a good one.

Suzanne LaGasa
Designer

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This month we released our third sewing book with Amy Butler. This one is called Style Stitches, and it’s packed full of what Amy is best known for—lush photos of her beautiful fabric and her amazing bag patterns. Below Amy talks about her new book, and from where she draws inspiration. Check it out, it’s a lovely video.

Purchase Amy Butler’s Style Stitches.

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Christina Loff
Craft Publicist

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