Tuesday, December 14, 2010

CraftSanity Magazine Review

I have found myself on a quest for a new craft magazine. Recently, I have found myself staring longingly into the whole where Craft magazine once was. Don’t get me wrong, I am always excited to see Ready Made in my mailbox but it’s not quite the same. For one thing, although I enjoy reading about the projects in Ready Made I rarely want to actually go buy the table saw or other special piece of equipment required to make them. I have been looking for a craft magazine that has a wide range of projects from knitting to ukulele making with a trend towards the do-it-youselfer practical gal/guy.


Along this quest I stumbled upon CraftSanity out of Grand Rapids, MI. You can find the first edition here. The cover promises to be “a magazine for those who love all things handmade” and includes patterns, recipes interviews and other assorted goodies. It is created by the loving hands of Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood who some of you might know from her CraftSanity podcasts. It is currently sold in both print edition and PDF format.



I love that she is offering a print edition, I see the merits to selling izines but I have to say for me there is nothing quite as good as getting a lovely piece of craftiness sent to me in the mail. Plus the print version comes with an extra special bonus hexagon template and fabric.

I am excited to see how CraftSanity grows. Compared with some other indie craft zines this has a solid professional feel. The patterns have clearly been proof read and the photographs are well done. It has a little something for everyone, knitters, crocheters, paper doll lovers, bakers, quilters and even old school pot holder makers. The interviews are well done and not from the same list of crafter that you have heard from before, although she does have a bit from Debbie Bliss which is quite fun. I think it is solid choice for a beginner crafter, the projects are small and manageable, well laid out and easy to follow.

2 comments:

Liz B-H said...

Oh yay! I just ordered 2 copies of it, one for me and one for a gift! And I totally agree - I miss Craft and ReadyMade is a bit more than I am looking (or equipped) for... Thank goodness for blogs to help feed the craftiness.

Mahka Crafts said...

Glad to be of assistance! :)