Our reader, Joyce A. asks a great question.
“What craft mags do you get, or do you? I am very hesitant to subscribe to magazines anymore because I have neither the time nor the room for such stuff, but I am interested.”
Well Joyce ;),
I know what you mean, magazines can take up a lot of room and can pile up and collect dust, if you’re not reading them.
I like to be a scavenger and look at magazines that my in-laws are about to throw away. Those range from Woman’s day to Good Housekeeping, and are always good for a few ideas and some lovely pictures.
I subscribe to our church magazines, The Ensign (for adults) and the Friend (for children) because despite having EXCELLENT articles, the pictures are divine and there are no ads. 🙂
I also have an on-again, off-again subscription romance with Disney’s Family Fun magazine. You can find the site here.
This magazine has a lot of great ideas and the pictures are lovely. It’s also very inexpensive (especially if you catch one of their specials – which seem to always be going on). The amount of advertisements – almost every other page, is one of my biggest pet peeves with the magazine. Though, some of the ads can produce great pictures.
If you just want the ideas though, you can get most anything at the site itself. This is helpful if you don’t want the clutter, but is a pain if you do want the pictures.
I try to go through my magazines quickly, and only keep a few on hand at a time. Now, I’m trying to organize a system (accordion folder) to keep the things (ideas, pictures, etc.) that I really like.
I also clip pictures from cards and calendars.
I wish I could draw…
How about you?
Are there any craft magazines that you know of that are especially good?
What do you do with your magazines?
Tamarack Idea Factory 
See we live in the middle of nowhere, so no good used bookstores or family to get mags from. When I still lived in Mesa, I’d hit Bookmans (the best used book store on earth) every month or so for stuff for my school room. The only mag we get currently is the Ensign. I used to get National Review, but it was so ceribrial it made my head hurt. I did get an offer from Family Fun just yesterday, but the whole Disney aspect makes me want to hurl. I know I’m picky, huh?!
If you want them for the pictures and ads, you can use the coupon mailers that come out with the paper, or just come weekly (think red plum). Also, check with dentist/doctor offices, hair salons, or other establishments that have magazines – to see if they’ll let you have the extras. Even if they’re old, they’ll still have good ideas, and pictures.
Great idea Katie.
Another thing I read about just recently was using old children’s picture books. For most people, probably not a great idea, but since my girls have both been through a “destruction phase” it works for me. I may check out a thrift store sometime soon and see what I can find by way of books.