
Signed, sealed, and delivered from the ladies of
Hello!Lucky letterpress, the new how-to book
Handmade Hellos ($19.95) gives rebirth to a long-lost craft: card making. It's one thing to hand write a note in today's world of email, SMS, MMS, IM, BBM, etc. — a good thing.

Domino is one of my favorite shelter magazines simply because it offers so much to so many people. From approachable DIY ideas to luxurious furniture options, the magazine manages to mix styles and budgets while always looking effortlessly chic. Continuing in that tradition, the magazine's new book,
Domino: The Book of Decorating: A Room-by-Room Guide to Creating a Home That Makes You Happy ($32) offers something for everyone.

If you're an avid Casa reader, I'm sure you've heard of
Amy Butler, whose textiles are all the rage these days. Aside from designing beautiful fabrics, Butler is also the author of
Midwest Modern and
Found Style, which I've told you about in the past. Her book,
In Stitches ($12.48, reduced from $24.95), a collection of 25 sewing projects ranging from floor cushions to handbags, which includes inspiring photographs, easy-to-use pattern sheets, and how-to illustrations, along with descriptive text, is on sale at Kate's Paperie.

If you're looking for ideas on how to decorate a shared space with your new spouse,
The Nest Home Design Handbook ($25.95) by Carla Roney is a great place to begin your search. Roney, editor in chief of
The Knot and its sister site,
The Nest, offers practical tips and advice for first-time home decorators, and is also a great resource for couples and newlyweds that are moving in together for the first time.
The Next Home Design Handbook takes newbie decorators through all of the steps of making a home, from choosing paint colors to controlling clutter in your home.

Sometimes I like to revisit books that may be oldies but are definitely goodies, like Amy and David Butler's
Found Style, published back in 2003. Since it's also prime season for antiquing and garage sales, it seemed only appropriate to introduce you all to a book that offers sensible, inspired advice on integrating "found" objects into your home. Amy Butler, whose
fabric designs I love, brilliantly combines garage sale $1 finds with midcentury furniture, Pottery Barn accessories, and practical, Ikea pieces in this book.
Remember when I told you, many moons ago, about the very cool project
Edible Estates? Dreamed up and spearheaded by Los Angeles-based architect Fritz Haeg, the project pushes the idea that lawns, which are, in many parts of the world, unnatural groundcover, should be replaced with native plants and edible crops. Now, Haeg, along with contributors, has given urban, suburban, and rural gardeners the world over some serious inspiration with his book
Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn.

What better book to review during June, when our theme is focused on
eco chic living, than Emily Anderson's wonderful guide
Eco-Chic Weddings? Since I'm trying to plan my wedding as
DIY and green as possible, I knew that Anderson's book was a must-read for my planning. With simple, quick, and often economic ideas for making your ceremony and reception more eco-friendly, Eco-Chic Weddings was just the thing I needed to both inspire new ideas and reinforce other plans I'd already made.

If you've ever dreamed about building a backyard escape, then Debra Prinzing's book Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways is a must-read. The book highlights 28 crave-worthy backyard or backwoods spaces across the US. Whether it's a modest suburban shed that's been turned into a writing space or an elegant gallery created from a renovated boathouse, this book offers much in the way of inspiration to its readers.

After months of heated anticipation, I've finally had the blessing to read
Bazaar Style, an interior design book from beloved Designer Spotlight, stylist
Selina Lake, interiors writer Joanna Simmons, and interiors photographer Debi Treloar, which was just released in April. Chock full of salivating images of homes furnished with French flea market and
Moroccan bazaar finds, alongside modern design classics, big-box buys, and inherited antiques, the book will reveal the potential in your beat-up furniture and a can of
paint, inspire you to paint the surround of a window to frame the view, and liberate you to break conventions, be it by setting your table with mismatched china, or duct taping fresh flowers to the wall. While the photography alone would be enough to sell me on this title, unlike
some of its contemporaries, the ratio of editorial advice to image content is not negative, let alone meager; Lake and Simmons have channeled their industry expertise into hundreds of tips, suggestions, and solutions for achieving this unprecedented style in your home.

If Cinco de Mayo has you yearning for more tropical climes, then scratch that itch with a look through Mexicasa, a coffee-table book that features dreamy retreats of Mexico. Photographer Melba Levick takes stunning pictures of vibrant patios, sparkling pools, and restful bedrooms, while author Gina Hyams tells the story of each inn and hacienda. For instance, the pictures featured below are from El Tamarindo, a resort located on a 2,000-acre nature reserve, and which was designed to blend in with its natural surroundings, with the builders going so far as to bury every electrical wire and water pipe.