I heart Martha: Book Reviews

Last year for Christmas I received Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts from my mom. I've always loved Martha and looked up to her as an incredibly successful creative woman, but most of all I just love the "look" she creates. The WonderCraft gals and I have been inspired by several of her projects in the Encyclopedia of Crafts from glass etching to rubber stamp carving. Its by no means an exhaustive text of all crafts under the sun and I was disappointed to not find certain crafts, such as needle felting. As the hallmark of Martha, it is a beautiful book with relatively easy to follow instructions and inspiring projects with gorgeous pictures.


This year I put Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts on my wish list and luckily my Mother-in-law got it for me. Its as beautiful and inspiring as her earlier book and a bit more in-depth in terms of sewing instruction and hand sewing techniques. Its also filled with great projects and I've already done one. I used her instructions and pattern to make a semi-quilted crib bumper (pics of that to come!). As in her previous book, the instructions are meant for people with some crafting experience and the projects may require some trial and error, but again Martha provides some awesome inspiration.
This hefty tome is another Martha item from my wishlist. Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook is filled with detailed instructions and handy tips for "caring for everything in your home". Now to be honest I've only read the laundry section, but its amazing, she even includes a spreadsheet on how best to remove specific stains on specific fabrics and recommends printing out a copy of it to post in the laundry room. I'm excited to consult it further on the myriad of things to care for around the house. Unfortunately its 752 pages are inspiring only in their explanations & detail, all the pictures are in black and white.

Do you love Martha? Have you completed any projects from her books, magazines, or shows? Please share!