Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts: An A-to-Z Guide with Detailed Instructions and Endless Inspiration Hardcover – March 31, 2009

I love it. Informative well written and I can hear her voice as I read lol.

With just a brief look through I already got several ideas that I can incorporate into my work.I like that Martha makes use of natural items and the quality of what she makes will make marvelous elegant gifts and home decor.The book has nice photos and explanations.I cannot wait to read through each project.Even if I learn 1 new thing I consider it money well spent...In my initial look through I learned quite a few new ideas....for me this is a 10!

This book could be helpful for the incarcerated.

This really IS like an encyclopedia of crafts. Martha, love her or hate her, knows her way around all this home-y, domestic stuff. (I have been known to watch her PBS baking and cooking shows.) She kind of reminds me of my mom and grandmother that way (her cooking/baking shows do too); they always had some little crafting-type tricks (or cooking/baking tips) for entertaining, or for quick/easy but surprisingly elegant decorations. There's a lot of that in here, too.There is stuff in here I know I'll never do. And in truth I'm more likely to read about a lot of crafts than do most of them. But when I do want to craft something specific, say for low-cost home decor or party favors/decorations/gifts, this book will have what I need to know. The paper crafts especially are enticing.There are sample projects, of course. But you can easily extrapolate from the sample crafts to create your own. There are some really nice, old-fashioned crafts in here, too, like curled paper crafts, which always look so refined (I had no idea how easy they actually are). Of course, you must have the right supplies (and if you buy what every project says you'll need, it'll cost a fortune, if you don't already have the tools and materials on hand).Supply lists (tools and materials) are clear, instructions are clear. There are diagrams and photos and step by step instructions. It's pretty great for a beginner, or even for someone at intermediate level. There are some more advanced crafts as well -- the ones I'll probably never do -- something for everyone.I bought Mark Mantano's Big Ass Book Of Crafts at the same time as I bought this book (both used) off Amazon. Even though some of Mark's stuff seems hipper or cooler or more chic or edgy, some of it also seems cheesier, cheap-looking (or downright trashy).The crafts in this book are much more elegant and classic. But you could use the craft techniques and projects here in Martha's book to make things as edgy-cool as you want, just by varying colors or materials slightly.So I think I'll get more use out of this book.That being said -- some of the crafts in this book are just too old-fashioned and kind of fuddy-duddy. I don't see myself ever doing them. And anything requiring needle-craft -- forget it; I couldn't crochet my way out of a paper bag.

So many crafts, not always as easy as you think to replicate.

If you are at all into crafts and are looking for great new projects, or just some inspiration, this is the book for you.I am neither a chef, nor a crafts person, but I like Martha Stewart. She did her five month stint in Federal Prison with grace and good humor, leaving prison apparently fully rehabilitated, and much more relatable. And to top it off, she's friends with Snoop Dogg.Martha's "Encyclopedia of Crafts" is a winner. Illustrated with hundreds of beautiful photographs, this book also has detailed instructions and lists of materials needed for many different projects using many different craft-making techniques (beading, clay, candlemaking, origami, silkscreening, tin punching, and many many others).The projects in this book range from seemingly easy to pretty difficult, and some of them require special equipment or supplies. But many of these projects are relatively easy and require only household, or otherwise easily obtained supplies or equipment. I bought this book as a gift for a coworker who is into crafts and she absolutely loved it.

I wanted this book so badly even after reading a few reviews that said it wasn't that great. I want to say that I love Martha Stewart and her magazines, but I wasn't that impressed with the craft ideas in this book.There were a few projects that involved sea shells, which are way out-dated for my taste, some crafts that involved glitter, which I've always thought was common sense, a section on beading, which peaked my interest, but not enough to run out and purchase the necessary supplies, a section on botanical pressing...another that is out-dated for my taste, and so on.I saw where another woman reviewed this poorly because there was no section on sewing, which is true. There is only one project that involves any sewing and that is the one where you make a tiny acorn with a real acorn top and a fabric bottom. You may sew an inch by hand and that's it.The projects I found interesting were the glass etching project, which I've successfully completed. I was a little disappointed that you can find this on her website with the same exact photos and all, and it's FREE there! I found the stamping projects, and screen printing projects very interesting and I may attempt those as well. The stamping section sparked some interest as well and I'm probably going to give it a whirl too.My advice is to look at this book in a library or book store before you purchase it! Then, if you are still interested, purchase the book from here, of course. Also, check her website for the crafts featured in the book. I think they are all there with similar if not the same photos...and once again, they are FREE there. I hope this helps=)