---
product_id: 50007270
title: "Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes"
price: "1419820₫"
currency: VND
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.vn/products/50007270-mess-the-manual-of-accidents-and-mistakes
store_origin: VN
region: Vietnam
---

# Explores textures & techniques Interactive art workbook Boosts creative mindset Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes

**Price:** 1419820₫
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎨 Embrace the art of imperfection—where every mess tells a masterpiece story!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes
- **How much does it cost?** 1419820₫ with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vn](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/50007270-mess-the-manual-of-accidents-and-mistakes)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Learn Through Play:** Engage with playful, educational prompts inspired by renowned artists and art movements for a deeper creative journey.
- • **Perfect for On-the-Go:** Compact, durable binding designed to withstand hands-on use anywhere—ditch your phone, embrace tactile creativity.
- • **Unleash Creative Freedom:** Break free from perfectionism with guided messy art exercises that challenge your artistic boundaries.
- • **Multi-Generational Appeal:** Ideal for art students, professionals, and curious minds of all ages seeking fresh inspiration and stress relief.
- • **Cultivate Mindful Experimentation:** Transform ‘mistakes’ into unique art moments that capture spontaneity and personal expression.

## Overview

Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes is an interactive art workbook blending playful destruction with educational art techniques. With 203 glowing reviews and a 4.7-star rating, it invites users to experiment with textures, colors, and creative prompts inspired by modern art, making it a must-have for millennials craving mindful creativity and artistic freedom.

## Description

Buy Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes by Smith, Keri (ISBN: 9781846144479) from desertcart's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.

Review: Great Fun & Mildly Educational - I purchased this book along with Wreck this Journal on recommendation of my psychology student friend who suggested it for me as I do suffer with minor obsessive compulsive disorder in the sense that I need things to be organized and perfect. This book is very similar to Wreck this Journal, as a matter of fact some of the pages are identical, the front of the book is more about general destruction, while the latter parts of the book are more about exploration of textures, materials, different paints, colours, techniques and also tells the user to reference people, places, things etc. There is a lot of general doodling, but usually with some sort of instruction - ie photo of landscape with instructions to draw a storm of some description. I am not looking forward to burying it for 3 days! I must say! I will probably do that when I am done with it. I love that this book is a bit more educational to artistic techniques, people etc. The beginning of the book speaks about an interview with a Dutch Sailor summing up the work of Bas Jan Ader referencing a piece called "Broken Fall" which shows a man bouncing up and down swinging on a branch over a creek. The sailor references that "moment of transcendence when you leave everything behind and leap into the unknown". I feel this book encapsulates that statement very well. There is a lot of experimentation and tasks that do not have a particularly obvious outcome, and while not dangerous, the book challenges your views on what art or perfection is. I have done a few pages and in describing them verbally it sounds like I am destroying a perfectly good book, but actually when I look at pages there are little bits and pieces on some pages I love, some I hate. But the unknown has become known and I have referenced a lot of Ader's work, who i have become very intrigued with. This book has become a permanent fixture with me along with Wreck this Journal. I find rather than pulling out a phone and going into my own little world on a bus, train etc this is a fun way to pass the time. Ive had several strangers ask me about the books and I've happily filled them in. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. Some pages are fun to do with younger children. I feel it would be particularly good for an art student or fan. I haven't got to the pages yet, but I am looking forward to pages exploring textiles and texture. Its great fun, and I love it.
Review: Great fun and could bring new dimensions to your own art - Sometimes watercolour painting can be infuriating because the paint never does quite what I want it to. This book is teaching me a different perspective - art does not always have to be about the perfect execution of an idea, sometimes the randomness of a 'messy bit' brings energy, freedom, or something else to a work that cannot be repeated and captures a moment in time. Children will love the anarchy of defying conventions as this book encourages, but it's not necessarily a children's book. Frequently an exercise cites the name of an artist or art movement for further research and this opens doors to learn about a world of modern art that we might not otherwise hear of. Add to this a new found freedom that an adult artist might learn from it and you have a book for all ages. It's great fun trying out the exercises, even if some of them are too off the wall for me I'm having a go in the spirit of challenging my inhibitions. Some reviewers have said the book would be better if spiral bound but I disagree. Sure it would be tidier that way, but that's not in the spirit of the book. The binding is of good quality so although mine is bulging it is not falling apart. If it does then I already have a plan to spiral bind it myself, by hand, with an untidy Heath-Robinson approach.

## Features

- New Store Stock

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 378,257 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 1,493 in Art Relaxation & Therapy 5,402 in Colouring Books for Grown-Ups 12,844 in General Humour |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 203 Reviews |

## Images

![Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A19L7nq2lzL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Fun & Mildly Educational
*by D***B on 17 February 2014*

I purchased this book along with Wreck this Journal on recommendation of my psychology student friend who suggested it for me as I do suffer with minor obsessive compulsive disorder in the sense that I need things to be organized and perfect. This book is very similar to Wreck this Journal, as a matter of fact some of the pages are identical, the front of the book is more about general destruction, while the latter parts of the book are more about exploration of textures, materials, different paints, colours, techniques and also tells the user to reference people, places, things etc. There is a lot of general doodling, but usually with some sort of instruction - ie photo of landscape with instructions to draw a storm of some description. I am not looking forward to burying it for 3 days! I must say! I will probably do that when I am done with it. I love that this book is a bit more educational to artistic techniques, people etc. The beginning of the book speaks about an interview with a Dutch Sailor summing up the work of Bas Jan Ader referencing a piece called "Broken Fall" which shows a man bouncing up and down swinging on a branch over a creek. The sailor references that "moment of transcendence when you leave everything behind and leap into the unknown". I feel this book encapsulates that statement very well. There is a lot of experimentation and tasks that do not have a particularly obvious outcome, and while not dangerous, the book challenges your views on what art or perfection is. I have done a few pages and in describing them verbally it sounds like I am destroying a perfectly good book, but actually when I look at pages there are little bits and pieces on some pages I love, some I hate. But the unknown has become known and I have referenced a lot of Ader's work, who i have become very intrigued with. This book has become a permanent fixture with me along with Wreck this Journal. I find rather than pulling out a phone and going into my own little world on a bus, train etc this is a fun way to pass the time. Ive had several strangers ask me about the books and I've happily filled them in. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. Some pages are fun to do with younger children. I feel it would be particularly good for an art student or fan. I haven't got to the pages yet, but I am looking forward to pages exploring textiles and texture. Its great fun, and I love it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great fun and could bring new dimensions to your own art
*by G***R on 27 February 2016*

Sometimes watercolour painting can be infuriating because the paint never does quite what I want it to. This book is teaching me a different perspective - art does not always have to be about the perfect execution of an idea, sometimes the randomness of a 'messy bit' brings energy, freedom, or something else to a work that cannot be repeated and captures a moment in time. Children will love the anarchy of defying conventions as this book encourages, but it's not necessarily a children's book. Frequently an exercise cites the name of an artist or art movement for further research and this opens doors to learn about a world of modern art that we might not otherwise hear of. Add to this a new found freedom that an adult artist might learn from it and you have a book for all ages. It's great fun trying out the exercises, even if some of them are too off the wall for me I'm having a go in the spirit of challenging my inhibitions. Some reviewers have said the book would be better if spiral bound but I disagree. Sure it would be tidier that way, but that's not in the spirit of the book. The binding is of good quality so although mine is bulging it is not falling apart. If it does then I already have a plan to spiral bind it myself, by hand, with an untidy Heath-Robinson approach.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lots of fun
*by L***N on 23 October 2013*

I bought this book with a couple of other Keri Smith books, and I found them really entertaining. This one was a lot of fun as you got to make mess with lots of different mediums and it was very creative. I did notice that some of the ideas were similar or the same as those in 'Wreck this Journal', as well as it required you to use things that were not found around the house or could be bought cheaply. So not all the activities were done. But would recommend.

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*Product available on Desertcart Vietnam*
*Store origin: VN*
*Last updated: 2026-02-21*