Book: How to Make Scarecrows

If you've made garden scarecrows before, you'll find new inspiration in "Creative Scarecrows; and if you haven't, you'll wonder why not?! A fine resource on making garden scarecrows for serious crafter and novice alike. Even traditional garden scarecrows add great impact to outdoor fall displays; but "Creative Scarecrows" goes well beyond stuffing old clothes with hay and hanging them on a crosspiece! In fact, many of these scarecrows aren't autumn-specific and can be displayed year-round.

This is a review of "Creative Scarecrows," a book by Marcianne Miller (with Merry Miller) on how to make garden scarecrows.

But this book is more than a crafts book. I found the book genuinely entertaining. Many of the garden scarecrows pictured were obviously created by people with a great sense of humor! Miller sets the tone in her introduction, quipping that, belying their name, her garden scarecrows attract birds: "'Scarecrow' does seem an odd word for the lifesize figures my family and I make every year. No matter how fierce I intend them to look, none of them ever really scares anybody, much less the bold and raucous crows."

The book begins with a brief history of garden scarecrows and widens the scope of the subject to include yard figures, as well. Before launching into the 35 scarecrow projects that form the book's centerpiece, Miller provides introductory tips on structural considerations, craft materials to be gathered, etc.

The instructions for the scarecrow projects are detailed, yet Miller is surely correct in asserting that "Making scarecrows is a perfect craft for people who like to create without having to be perfect." If you don't wish to read every last instruction, just consult the pictures: they tell much of the story on their own!