Customer Reviews

Good things: The best of Martha Stewart living

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For any Martha Stewart fan, a must. This is a collection of her easiest projects, yet they really pack a punch. Try giving someone a gift wrapped in a paper bag tied with raffia and a fall leaf gift tag with their name written in gold ink. Faster than all that tape and expensive paper, and just see how impressed they will be with such a simple statement. The book is full of ideas like this. And they can be translated from one use to another. (You never entertain and use place cards? Try those ideas for gift tags.) The book is slightly overpriced for a softbound volume, but it it worth it not having to wade through three years of Marth Stewart Living trying to remember what issue that pilow project you are thinking of was in.

In the introduction to this book, Martha Stewart defines what she and her staff consider a "good thing". It must be uncomplicated, useful, aesthetically pleasing, interesting, pertinent, unusual, and done with materials that are easily found. I would say that about 75% of the projects in this book meet those criteria as I would apply them.

The book is well organized into seven sections: entertaining, cooking, celebrating, giving, gardening, decorating, and homekeeping. I found useful ideas in each section - some sections were better than others for me - but even the ones of lesser interest to me were still lovely to look at. At the end of the book, Stewart includes a source guide for most of the materials used in this book.

I especially liked the kitchen tips (in the cooking section); the easy instruction for handmade soaps; tole painting on tin buckets; and the organizing hints which included record-keeping.

Some of the ideas did not appeal to me at all (like gluing live ivy leaves along the edges of a tablecloth, making a linen table-sized mat, making linen basket liners, and constructing wraps for bottles) but then again, they were fun to look at!

The beautiful arrangement of this book and its photos made it worth buying.

This book puts the best of the best right where you need them. I have used this book so many times I can't even count. My apartment is a testament to Martha Stewart, and when I buy a house, it will be even worse. I can't tell you how the dishwashing soap bottle just improves the look of the kitchen, not to mention using the concentrated stuff and diluting it with water saves money and the environment. Just so many things, I can't count. . .little things, that make it go a long way. See also Good Things For Organizing, which gave me four things to use the night I got it.

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.

This book is fab!!! It contains neat little projects on everything from food to tools!! I f you want a Martha book tht's not just focused on one topic such as gardening or cooking, this book is definately for you! It contains the best projects on entertaining, cooking, celebrating, giving, gardening, decorating, and homekeeping. As usual Martha throws in a couple X-tra tips too! In one word.......FABULOUS!!!!

I am not a typical Martha lover but am time & time again impressed with what the trademark of Martha Stewart comes up with (I say trademark because she has a staff of like 50 people or so). This book is an interesting conglomeration of some cool ideas. Even my anti-Martha husband found some interesting things to check out!

Another excellent effort by Martha! The photos are pristine in their color and clarity. Her ideas are excellent and, as usual, serve to inspire those of us who enjoy our homes as our "castles"!!!

The "Good Things" segment of Martha Stewart Living magazine and television show has always been my favorite. The book is brimming with concise ways to make life more pleasant. In all, very delightful and beautifully done. From cover to cover, it's full of fresh ideas that can be accomplished in a short amount of time. For the busy woman who wants to take pride in her home, these ideas are just right. The best part is....all my favorite "good things" are now in one place. Thank you Martha, for a very good thing

In the introduction to this book, Martha Stewart defines what she and her staff consider a "good thing". It must be uncomplicated, useful, aesthetically pleasing, interesting, pertinent, unusual, and done with materials that are easily found. I would say that about 75% of the projects in this book meet those criteria as I would apply them.

The book is well organized into seven sections: entertaining, cooking, celebrating, giving, gardening, decorating, and homekeeping. I found useful ideas in each section - some sections were better than others for me - but even the ones of lesser interest to me were still lovely to look at. At the end of the book, Stewart includes a source guide for most of the materials used in this book.

I especially liked the kitchen tips (in the cooking section); the easy instruction for handmade soaps; tole painting on tin buckets; and the organizing hints which included record-keeping.

Some of the ideas did not appeal to me at all (like gluing live ivy leaves along the edges of a tablecloth, making a linen table-sized mat, making linen basket liners, and constructing wraps for bottles) but then again, they were fun to look at!

The beautiful arrangement of this book and its photos made it worth buying.

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.