'Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts' I stumbled upon this book while looking at one of my favorite aisles at the library. I had seen it out and about in blog land and I added it to my pile of books without a second glance. I have a bit of a soft spot for Martha.
Once home, coffee in hand and child napping, I had an initial flick through it's pages.
At first I was a little disappointed. Having been touted as leaving no craft behind, I like many other crafters, wondered at the use of the word 'encyclopedia'. Sure there is glass etching, tin punching, calligraphy and leaf pressing, as well as beading and 'glittering'. And perhaps the many other crafts we know and love have already been featured in several of Martha's previous books, but I still felt that the dear encyclopedia wasn't really living up to it's name.
On a closer reading though I saw that 32 subjects had been well covered, each with an overview and tips on tools. Each with gorgeous and inspiring photography. I just love those photographs and the neat crafting areas they feature. The projects seem doable, some more difficult and time consuming than others, suited to beginners and advanced crafters. For the first time in my life I felt the urge to do some tin punching.
In the end it really is a great book. I think it would make a wonderful gift or be a great reference book for any crafter.
