Well, high art it is not, but for fun, reasonably quick, Star Wars themed crafts, The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton is a really fun resource. It includes a variety of projects around five different themes: playtime, home decor, holiday crafts, nature & science crafts, and Star Wars style.

The projects range from very simple finger puppets (cute!) to a Jabba the Hutt body pillow (slightly creepy) to a very detailed R2-D2 beanie (want!!). Most projects can be completed within a couple of hours or less, as long as you have all the supplies you need, but there are several more-detailed, more-complicated projects for adult crafters. Some of the projects, especially in the nature and science crafts section, provide fun ways to teach kids about everything from carnivorous plants to figuring out an object’s center of gravity.

Some of the projects are a bit tacky (milk jug Chewbacca bird feeder? really?), but most of them are quite cute and look like fun. Each project comes with detailed directions and good, clear pictures. Several also have life-sized patterns printed in the back of the book.

While you will need some specialty supplies for some of the projects (fake fur for the Wookie-themed projects, particular colors of paint or yarn for some of the others), crafters are likely to have most of the supplies they’ll need already in their stashes.

The projects are mostly pretty kid-centric, and a lot of them are just vaguely-Star-Wars takes on standard grade school craft projects–hence my less-than-perfect rating. But, for what it is, The Star Wars Craft Book is a really fun little book. And, with all the cutesie-pink craft stuff out there, I found it quite refreshing to read a craft book with projects that could delight children, regardless of age or gender.

Release Date: March 29, 2011 (USA)
ISBNs: 0345511166 (9780345511164)
Publisher: LucasBooks / Del Rey

MySF Rating: Four point zero stars
Family Friendliness: 100%

Content:

Alcohol/Drugs: 0
Language: 0
Nudity: 0
Sexuality: 0 (Not even the faintest hint of Slave Leia.)
Violence: 0 (Other than maybe giving yourself a papercut or a hot glue burn while trying out projects, this book is safe as safe can be.)