[.uk] Good Things (Best of Martha Stewart Living) (ISBN 0517886901)

The best of the magazine !:
If you don't subscribe to Martha's expensive magazine (I don't), then this book is the only thing you need to own. It is the best of all the good ideas without weeding through ads.

Cut & Paste Job. Avoid:
Rehash of articles in her magazine. Avoid.

Nothing Good Here But Try....:
...these others books that I think are grand: The New Decorating Book (Better Homes and Gardens(R)) by Better Homes and Gardens, Elegant and Easy Rooms: 250 Trade Secrets for Decorating Your Home, Elegant and Easy Living Rooms: 100 Trade Secrets for Designing With Style (Elegant and Easy). I used all three with my designer and the results were delightful. Martha is just so passe anymore.

It's a "good thing" if you have the time and skill.:
This book is a complilation of the "good things" column from Martha Stewart Living, 1990-1996. A few of the ideas, a customized sewing kit, decanting liquid dish soap from a bottle, slicing onions near a flame to keep from crying, tossing shellfish with corn meal to get rid of excess sand, keeping appliance warranties in an accordian file, preaparing a fruit butter with only a few ingredients, and using tea towels as simple window treatments, are easily accomplished by just about anyone. Yet, some of these ideas require being rooted in a skill that requires good hand and eye coordination. A nice knick knack shelf needs dedicated carpentry skills. An attractive table mat needs basic sewing skills and a sewing machine. Napkins become lovely unique after several minutes of hand embroidery. Look at this book at a library before committing to buying it.

"GOOD THINGS" from Martha's early TV shows:
Many of the ideas in this book come from Martha Stewart's early TV shows,shown in the 1990's (ie: but NOT the new TV shows that are now being shown). For those of you that are not familiar with Martha's early 1990's TV shows, I can add that those shows were fun to watch. There was not an audience, as the current Stewart TV shows have, and thus, Martha was able to pack more ideas in her earlier shows. Also, her earlier shows showed the projects much more carefully, and were ,thus, easier to follow. Well, this book is filled with many of those "good things" ideas & projects from her early TV shows, and are still inspiring today. Some of the ideas may look out-of-date (at first glance), such as the ribbon plate holders. However, the photos are still very pretty and the color combinations that Martha uses in this book hold up well even today. This book is now available for bargain prices at most AMAZON stores, so for the lower price, this book might be fun for novice admirers of Martha Stewart to read.