Erik HOMEMADE

Pack-o-Fun November 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Fall is a very exciting time of year at the newsstand for the avid crafter! Halloween is at the doorstep and the Holidays are just 'round the corner! Among the glossy, eye-catching covers, we found our copy of the latest Pack-o-Fun, November 2009!

Pack-o-Fun, published six times a year by Amos Craft Publishing, has been around for quite some time. It has made it through thick and thin for the simple fact that it is chock-full of creative ideas for teachers, scout leaders, Sunday school teachers, camp instructors, and just about anyone else who needs or wants to craft with children. Few are the kids in our entourage, yet we never cease to be amazed at what the Fun Bunch at Pack-o-Fun has in store! We enjoy the budget-friendly, extremely clever, concoctions that has forever defined Pack-o-Fun since its early beginnings. Recycled materials, quick-to-make, and "easy-peasy" might be the magazine's buzz-words.

The Ebenezer Cookbook - The wonder of it all

 

Of the many community cookbooks I own, the book from the Ebenezer Luther League of Minneapolis, MN is by far my most intriguing. Compiled by the "Editorial Commitee" in 1924 in the hopes of raising funds for a proposed church, I gleefully doubt that anyone who contributed a recipe would realize how fascinated I would be some eighty-odd years later!

The small, pale book's history is a mysterious one; our meeting pure happenstance; I found the book this past Spring in an antique shop in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The shop owner had no information on its provenance. How this simple, straight-forward attempt at fundraising for a new church building ended its adventure in my hands I do not not know, yet I am very happy it did...I love to wonder about its journey, its beginning, its middle, now me.

Creating Keepsakes - June 2009

  

Scrapbooking has long been a hobby, but now days, it has become a favorite past-time! There are so many wonderful designers, paper suppliers, gadget makers, and gizmo creators. In fact, a simple trip to your favorite scrapbook shop may result in "brain blaze", a wonderful condition that can trigger a sleepless night and the senseless, lost feeling, of wanting to retain, remember, and recreate everything you have seen! But oh, the creative surge that follows!

Published by CK Media, the editors of Creating Keepsakes(tm) understand "brain blaze"...they may even be afflicted as well! They regularly offer a magazine that keeps the embers of "brain blaze" glowing with interesting articles, layout ideas, product reviews, useful tips, and so very much more! Creative Keepsakes(tm) June 2009 is no exception to the rule!

Why I subscribe? Scrapbooking is a new pursuit for me.  A trip to the scrapbook shop is overwhelming: there are so many things I wish to make! Creative Keepsakes(tm) prepares me for the trip and keeps me focused once I am there. I find most of the articles, even though they may be on a different level than I am, useful and informative...I am building an "idea library" as I learn and this magazine helps me.

American Patchwork and Quilting magazine - June 2009

  

My copy of the June 2009 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting arrived amid a flurry of monthly bills for the studio, which made this month's issue even more of a treat! I always look forward to my copy. In fact, I have always said that if I could only subscribe to one quilt magazine (heaven forbid!) that it would probably be American Patchwork & Quilting! From the publishers of Better Homes and Gardens, editors Jennifer Erbe Keltner and Elizabeth Tisinger, and their crew, provide consistant inspiration for more than just quilt projects, but also the quilt lifestyle, issue after issue. They include tips, tricks, alternate colorways, reviews, products, shop information, and so much more! There is so much packed between the covers, you may have to read and re-read, like I do, just to make sure you have digested it all!

Why I subscribe?  Simply put, I enjoy the magazine. I like its style, I like its content. I like its photograph, I like its design. I like its consistancy, and I like its reliability. Although I may not make every project in each issue, on the whole, I enjoy reading the magazine.

Projects I think I will make (someday)?  Summertime Blues (p36)--maybe in a different color...My Guy Quilt (p46)--fast and easy, Pick and Choose (p70)--to use up my scraps!, Checkerboard Farm (p78)--I love vintage quilts with lots of little patches! and Mix It Up (p104)--to pull from my stash of 30's fabrics!

Project I can't wait to start?  A Little Star Struck (p112)--I think I even have the fabrics in my stash and it looks quick to make!

What caught me off guard?  The article about the International Study Center and Museum (p26)--what an amazing place; I didn't know a place like this could exist!

What not to miss?  Definately the Permission Slip on page 1! How true it is!

American Patchwork & Quilting has projects that vary in difficulty; this magazine can honestly appeal to quilters and sewers with different levels of experience and knowledge.

American Patchwork & Quilting's June 2009 issue is available on newstands nationwide until June 2, 2009. For subscription information visit www.AllPeopleQuilt.com (a great resource in itself!) or write American Patchwork & Quilting, PO Box 37445, Boone Iowa, 50037-0445, USA.