Sarah Jane Humke

So, here is another Christmas present book I’m reviewing (y’all had better get used to this, I got a lot of books for Christmas!).  So, disclaimer time, I love Martha.  I have been reading her magazine since I was a teenager.  Not all of the articles have always pertained to anyone except, perhaps, the very wealthy, but there is always at least one article in them that I find interesting.

So, with that caveat in place, I love this book.  There are detailed instructions for many different crafts including beading, paper folding and cutting, tin punching, soap and candle making, scrapbooking and nature crafts.  All of the instructions have a list of materials that are needed as well hints on ways to not, uh, mess-up the crafts in question.  I am really looking forward to making some bath fizzies as well as really perfecting my stitch markers for knitting with the jewelry making instructions.

There is, however, one glaring omission and that is all of the needle crafts.  There is nothing in it about crochet, knitting, embroidery, cross stitch or the like.  I have heard rumor that there is another book coming out that is going to be based around these solely and I sure hope that there is as there was nary a mention of them in this book.

Most of the crafts in this book were reasonably simple though a few did require power tools to complete.  There were a whole raft of crafts that I think could be done with children, so a good book to have if you do crafts with kids a lot.  It is also just a generally well written and well laid-out book in general.  So, all in all, 5 balls up (assuming that there is a needle craft book on the way, if not, then it’s only 4 balls!).