LINSLEY, Leslie

PERSONAL: Married Jon Aron (a photographer and illustrator).

ADDRESSES: Home—Nantucket, RI. Office—Zero India St., Nantucket Island, MA 02554. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and designer. Craftclick.com, chief editorial consultant; former craft-pages editor, Family Circle magazine. Owner and operater of Leslie Linsley Nantucket (studio and crafts store), Nantucket, RI. Commercial spokesperson. Frequent guest on television shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, and Today. Lecturer and guest speaker at women's groups throughout the country.

WRITINGS:

Decoupage: A New Look at an Old Craft, photography by husband, Jon Aron, Nelson (London, England), 1975.

Decoupage Designs: Seventy-five Projects You Can Do with Color Prints, line drawings by Jon Aron, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1975.

You Can Decoupage the Plain and Uglies around Your House, illustrated by Jon Aron, C. R. Gibson Co. (Norwalk, CT), 1975.

The Art of Creative Acrylic (Hyplar) Crafts, photography by Jon Aron, M. Grumbacher (New York, NY), 1976.

The Decoupage Workshop, photography by Jon Aron, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1976.

Scrimshaw: A Traditional Folk Art, a Contemporary Craft, photography by Jon Aron, Hawthorn Books (New York, NY), 1976.

Decoupage for Young Crafters, photography by Jon Aron, Dutton (New York, NY), 1977.

Decoupage on Glass, Wood, Metal, Rocks, Shells, Wax, Soap, Plastic, Canvas, Ceramic, photographs by Jon Aron, Chilton Book Co. (Radnor, PA), 1977.

Wildcrafts, photography by Jon Aron, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1977.

Fabulous Furniture Decorations, photography by Jon Aron, Crowell (New York, NY), 1978.

Army/Navy Surplus: A Unique Source of Decorating Ideas, photography by Jon Aron, Dell (New York, NY), 1979.

Custom Made, photographs by Jon Aron, Harper & Row (New York, NY) 1979.

New Ideas for Old Furniture, photographs by Jon Aron, Crowell (New York, NY) 1980.

(With Jon Aron) Photocraft, Dell (New York, NY), 1980.

The Great Bazaar, photographs by Jon Aron, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1981.

Making It Personal with Monograms, Initials, and Names, photographs by Jon Aron, R. Marek Publishers (New York, NY), 1981.

Air Crafts: Playthings to Make and Fly, photographs by Jon Aron, Lodestar Books (New York, NY), 1982.

Leslie Linsley's Christmas Ornaments and Stockings, photographs by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Million-Dollar Projects from the Five-and-Ten-Cent Store, photographs by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1982.

America's Favorite Quilts, illustrations by Michael Strahm and Jeffrey Tarr, photographs by O. E. Nelson, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1983.

Quick and Easy Knit and Crochet, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1983.

Afghans to Knit and Crochet, photographs by Jon Aron, illustrated by Greg Worth, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

Leslie Linsley's Night before Christmas Craft Book, design and photographs by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

Carry-along Crochet, Sedgewood Press (New York, NY), 1985.

Country Decorating with Fabric Crafts, photographs by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1985.

First Steps in Quilting, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1986.

First Steps in Stenciling, illustrations by Peter Peluso, Jr., photographs by Jon Aron, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1986.

The Weekend Quilt, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1986.

Calico Country Crafts, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1987.

First Steps in Counted Cross Stitch, photographs by Jon Aron, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1987.

Country Patchwork and Quilting, illustrations by Peter Peluso, Jr., and Robby Smith, photographs by Jon Aron, Sedgewood Press (New York, NY), 1988.

(With the National Needlework Association) Quilts across America: The Making of the Great American Quilt Banner, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1988.

A Rainbow of Afghans, photographs by Jon Aron, Sedgewood Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Country Weekend Patchwork Quilts: Twenty-six Quilts to Make with Time-saving Shortcuts and Techniques, illustrations by Robby Smith and Peter Peluso, Jr., photographs by Jon Aron, Sedgewood Press (New York, NY), 1990.

The Illustrated Afghan, photographs by Jon Aron, Sedgewood Press (New York, NY), 1990.

Nantucket Style, photographs by Jon Aron, Rizzoli International Publications (New York, NY), 1990.

A Quilter's Country Christmas: More than Fifty Projects to Make Your Home, Gifts, and Decorations Extra Special for the Holidays, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1990.

Hooked Rugs: An American Folk Art, photographs by Jon Aron, C. Potter (New York, NY), 1992.

Key West Houses, photographs by Jon Aron, Rizzoli International Publications (New York, NY), 1992.

Leslie Linsley's Weekend Decorating: 1,001 Quick Home Decorating Ideas, Tips, and How-Tos, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1993.

More Weekend Quilts: Nineteen Classic Quilts to Make with Shortcuts and Quick Techniques, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Pretty Patchwork, photographs by Jon Aron, Meredith Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Small Patchwork and Quilting, illustrations by Robby Savonen, photographs by Jon Aron, Meredith Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Leslie Linsley's Country Christmas Crafts: More than Fifty Quick-and-Easy Projects to Make for Holiday Gifts, Decorations, Stockings, and Tree Ornaments, photographs by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1995.

Leslie Linsley's Fifteen-Minute Decorating Ideas, illustrations by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1996.

Leslie Linsley's Quick Christmas Decorating Ideas, illustrations by Jon Aron, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1996.

Totally Cool Grandparenting: A Practical Handbook of Time-tested Tips, Activities, and Memorable Moments to Share—for the Modern Grandparent, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1997.

First Home: A Decorating Guide and Sourcebook for the First Time Around, illustrations by Jon Aron, Quill (New York, NY), 1998.

Crafts for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN), 1999.

Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1999.

Leslie Linsley's Decoupage: Design, Create, Display, photographs by Jon Aron, Bulfinch Press (New York, NY), 2004.

A Nantucket Christmas, photographs by Jeffrey Allen, Bulfinch Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Boston Herald. Author of weekly column, "Home Style," for Nantucket Inquirer.

SIDELIGHTS: Author, crafts expert, and style specialist Leslie Linsley is the prolific author of more than sixty books on handcrafts, home decorating, and related subjects. She is a frequent guest on television shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, and Today, and is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker at women's groups throughout the country. Due to her broad area of expertise, Linsley has served as a commercial spokesperson for a variety of popular home and craft products.

One of Linsley's specialties is decoupage, the art of applying decorative paper cutouts to furniture, storage boxes, plates, and other accessories. Her own decoupage projects sold at high-end retailers such as Tiffany & Co. and Bergdorf-Goodman when interest in the art form was at its height during the 1970s, and these sales helped Linsley fund her college education, noted a writer in Good Housekeeping. In Leslie Linsley's Decoupage: Design, Create, Display Linsley offers "many inspiring ideas" and "easy-to-follow instructions" for using decoupage to decorate and embellish a room or object's style, commented Gayle Williamson in Library Journal. Linsley guides readers through the process of locating pieces that lend themselves to decoupage decoration, determining which design to use, and creating the decoupage applique itself. She covers use of materials such as flowers, wallpaper, fabric, and paper. Thorough information on the materials needed for decoupage arms the reader with the techniques and know-how to successfully begin practicing the art. Linsley also includes instructions for making her specialty item: decoupaged glass plates.

Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas provides a detailed selection of budget-minded decorating tips and techniques. Linsley suggests starting with designs found at popular commercial outlets such as Pier 1 or Crate & Barrel. She gives advice on effects created by innovative painting; luxurious-looking but economical sewing projects; and small touches such as cashmere rugs that enhance a room's appeal. Linsley outlines "almost infinite possibilities for dollar-stretching decorating," commented Barbara Jacobs in Booklist.

Linsley addresses one of America's favorite traditional handcrafts in America's Favorite Quilts, and includes detailed designs and pattern pieces for well-known quilt styles such as Broken Star, Tree of Life, Log Cabin, Little Red Schoolhouse, and Turkey Tracks. Linsley provides guidance and instructions that are "clear and perfectly geared for beginners," according to a reviewer in People.

For crafters and decorators short on time, Linsley offers suggestions on what can be accomplished with a quarter of an hour in Leslie Linsley's Fifteen-Minute Decorating Ideas. The author offers quick decorating ideas applicable to every room in the house. She covers seasonal decorating, professional shortcuts, outdoor decorating, new products and materials, and holiday decorating. New trends in decorating are condensed to allow readers to apply the latest style techniques in the shortest amount of time. Linsley also provides tips on lifestyle issues such as time management and control of clutter. "Decorating creativity (and common sense) abounds" in Linsley's book, commented Jacobs in a Booklist review.

First Home: A Decorating Guide and Sourcebook for the First Time Around focuses on the decorating needs of first-time homeowners who wish to infuse their new dwellings with a stylish flair. Linsley gives readers what Jacobs called a "very logical sequence of how-to-think decorating," and carefully explains the many options available to first-time home decorators as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different decorating styles and choices. She includes a number of resources for the best places to find additional information on all aspects of decorating, including online resources. Linsley endorses creating a master plan for home decorating, but she also encourages readers to veer from it if the circumstances, and decorating opportunities, are right. Practical and budget-conscious tips are interspersed with style-minded suggestions. She also provides instructions for the motivated do-it-yourselfer desiring to take on painting, carpeting, and wallpapering tasks. Her suggestions encourage first-timers to find their own style while creating comfortable and practical decor.

Leslie Linsley's Quick Christmas Decorating Ideas contains a series of Yuletide-themed decorating ideas. The author covers topics such as ornaments, table decorations and centerpieces, gift wrapping, lighting, wreaths, door decorations, and more. She includes tips on creating appealing Christmas card and floral displays as well as decorations for the ubiquitous Christmas tree. Many of her suggestions revolve around holiday entertaining and decorating for Christmas get-togethers. All of Linsley's suggestions are "eminently workable," Jacobs noted.

Linsley is also the author of Crafts for Dummies, part of IDG Books' enormously popular series of subject guidebooks for absolute beginners. Here Linsley focuses largely on the fundamentals of crafting, with detailed information on basic tools, materials, and techniques. The book includes suggestions on crafting with paint, fabric, paper, needlework, and other materials and dispenses simple yet practical advice for making quilts, pillows, decorative frames, and other handcrafts.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1996, Barbara Jacobs, review of Leslie Linsley's Fifteen-Minute Decorating Ideas, p. 981; October 15, 1996, review of Leslie Linsley's Quick Christmas Decorating Ideas, p. 382; March 1, 1998, Barbara Jacobs, review of First Home: A Decorating Guide and Sourcebook for the First Time Around, p. 1085; July, 1999, Barbara Jacobs, review of Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas, p. 1916.

Crafts 'n' Things, November, 1990, review of A Quilter's Country Christmas, p. 16.

Creative Crafts, April, 1982, review of Making It Personal with Monograms, Initials, and Names, p. 12.

Good Housekeeping, May, 2004, "Discover Decoupage: To Give Your Furniture a Pretty Face-Lift, Says Author and Expert Leslie Linsley, All You Need Are Scissors, Glue, and an Amazing Glaze," p. 170; December, 2004, Caroline Hwang, "Trimmed with Tradition: In Her New Book, A Nantucket Christmas, Leslie Linsley Shows How the Simplest Decorations Can Be the Most Stylish," p. 110.

Horn Book, August, 1982, Karen Jameyson, review of Air Crafts: Playthings to Make and Fly, p. 423.

Houston Chronicle, October 2, 1999, Madeleine McDermott Hamm, review of Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas, p. 1.

Library Journal, June 1, 1980, Constance Ashmore Fairchild, review of Photocraft, p. 1297; June 1, 1980, Constance Ashmore Fairchild, review of New Ideas for Old Furniture, p. 1297; March 1, 1981, Constance Ashmore Fairchild, review of The Great Bazaar, p. 549; January 1, 1982, review of Making It Personal with Monograms, Initials, and Names, p. 88; November 1, 1982, review of Leslie Linsley's Christmas Ornaments and Stockings, p. 2088; May 1, 1983, Janice Zlendich, review of Quick and Easy Knit and Crochet, p. 900; May 1, 1986, Janice Zlendich, review of First Steps in Quilting, p. 115; November 1, 1986, Mary Hemmings, review of The Weekend Quilt, p. 89; September 1, 1990, Barbara Bartos, review of Nantucket Style, p. 218; June 1, 1995, review of Leslie Linsley's Weekend Decorating, p. 70; May 15, 1996, Gayle A. Williamson, review of Leslie Linsley's Fifteen-Minute Decorating Ideas, p. 60; May 15, 1998, Gayle A. Williamson, review of First Home: A Decorating Guide and Source-book for the First Time Around, p. 84; May 15, 1999, Gayle A. Williamson, review of Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas, p. 94; September 15, 2004, Gayle A. Williamson, review of Leslie Linsley's Decoupage: Design, Create, Display, p. 56.

People, April 9, 1984, review of America's Favorite Quilts, p. 22.

Publishers Weekly, March 21, 1980, review of New Ideas for Old Furniture, p. 65; October 16, 1981, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Making It Personal with Monograms, Initials, and Names, p. 73; August 20, 1982, review of Leslie Linsley's Christmas Ornaments and Stockings, p. 67; April 22, 1983, review of Quick and Easy Knit and Crochet, p. 97; November 18, 1983, review of America's Favorite Quilts, p. 64; May 16, 1986, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Weekend Quilt, p. 68; June 8, 1990, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Nantucket Style, p. 41; April 6, 1998, review of First Home, p. 75; June 7, 1999, review of Leslie Linsley's High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas, p. 79.

School Library Journal, December, 1982, review of Million-Dollar Projects from the Five-and-Ten-Cent Store, p. 90; February, 1983, Patricia Homer, review of Air Crafts: Playthings to Make and Fly, p. 70.

ONLINE

Leslie Linsley Home Page, http://www.lesleylinsley.com (April 21, 2005).