I had been lamenting the fact that when we moved into our shoe box sized abode that there would be no place for my stacks and stacks of back issues of Martha Stewart Living or my beloved Blueprint. I love me some Martha, so this was on par with having to choose which fur baby we were going to have to keep. Fortunately for my dogs I opted to get rid of my MS magazine collection so I would have room for them and their sundries. I was crushed as only a hardcore fan could be. If you too are a fanatic I am sure you can empathize with my plight. About a month ago I ordered the Craft Encyclopedia because I would be remiss if I couldn't keep Martha in one of her many homes by throwing my dollars into her empire. She makes me happy, what can I say? The book arrived yesterday and was as heavy as a phone book, this is when I started salivating uncontrollably. I hadn't seen a live copy of the book so I wasn't sure what to expect (except greatness of course) but in between the marbled book end papers was a tome filled with all of my favorite projects from past issues and some of the great Blueprint magazine projects thrown in for good measure! I was in heaven. I wanted to scan some of my favorite projects so you could get a glimpse and maybe get inspired but I don't think lugging an encyclopedia to the office and pretending that I am scanning work related items was going to go over so well so I will wait for the weekend. I can tell you my favorites were the rubber stamp projects, screen printing, marbled paper, the photo crafts, calligraphy (although I doubt I will become proficient from the book but a girl can dream). I could have done without the paper quilling but what do I know?
The only thing that I think I need to address is the candle section and this should have been in bold, red letters. They should have had a contract that the readers are asked to sign (in blood) that they acknowledge the dangers of working with paraffin. I IMPLORE you that if you decide to work with paraffin wax not to leave it unattended. Most commercial candles are paraffin and I do think there is a project to melt down some of your old candles to re-use in projects. Paraffin is HIGHLY flammable and if you try to throw water on a paraffin fire it spreads. I know this because I nearly burnt down the house I was living in once and it scared the *S* out of me. I have never worked with paraffin again. The flames coming out of the pot where the wax was on fire shot to the ceiling and as I ran outside with an inferno in my paws I considered throwing it in the swimming pool but only reconsidered when I was worried that the chemicals in the pool would ignite and I would blow up the neighborhood. I ended up throwing rocks into the pot which turned out to be a good call as I smothered the fire. I was lucky and trust me I felt lucky but I am serious about this do not leave it unattended or use soy wax instead (my preference). I will one day before the holidays post an easy peasy (technical term) tutorial on making soy candles because they will impress the heck out of your friends and family...
The only thing that I think I need to address is the candle section and this should have been in bold, red letters. They should have had a contract that the readers are asked to sign (in blood) that they acknowledge the dangers of working with paraffin. I IMPLORE you that if you decide to work with paraffin wax not to leave it unattended. Most commercial candles are paraffin and I do think there is a project to melt down some of your old candles to re-use in projects. Paraffin is HIGHLY flammable and if you try to throw water on a paraffin fire it spreads. I know this because I nearly burnt down the house I was living in once and it scared the *S* out of me. I have never worked with paraffin again. The flames coming out of the pot where the wax was on fire shot to the ceiling and as I ran outside with an inferno in my paws I considered throwing it in the swimming pool but only reconsidered when I was worried that the chemicals in the pool would ignite and I would blow up the neighborhood. I ended up throwing rocks into the pot which turned out to be a good call as I smothered the fire. I was lucky and trust me I felt lucky but I am serious about this do not leave it unattended or use soy wax instead (my preference). I will one day before the holidays post an easy peasy (technical term) tutorial on making soy candles because they will impress the heck out of your friends and family...
