Welcome to the Friends of Martha Book Club.

This is the place where we hope you will share your ideas, learn from other members and be inspired to try new recipes or projects.

Participating in the book club is easy. Here's how it works:

Each month or so we will feature a book of choice. Since our passion is for 'all things' Martha, we will frequently feature a Martha Stewart publication. There certainly are no limits however! We will take your suggestions for a future title, so feel free to submit your suggestions!

Book selections will vary. There will be cookbooks, craft books, gardening books, and books on decorating. We will try to have a little bit of everything for all to enjoy. It's a great way to build your own personal library of excellent resources! There are no requirements to buy the books however. If your local library has the book on hand, it's a great alternative!

As you read the book selection we would like to post your feedback. It's your opportunity to be a book critic for others to read and enjoy. If the selection is a cookbook and you've tried a recipe or two, we would love to hear about the results. If you choose to photograph your finished dish we'll post that too! If the book selection is a craft book we want to know what projects you're interested in. Once again, if you've finished a project and have a camera handy, send in your picture... we'd love to share it with other members.

You'll have the opportunity to comment on various posts to the blog. You can leave your comment at any time. Posts will be monitored. While we respect everyone's right to express themselves, please keep in mind that your comments need to be appropriate. Harmful, hurtful, or vulgar posts will not be accepted.

Along the sidebar of the blog you'll find extra news and information. We'll post the newest releases from MSLO, and we'll share with you "Tools We Love;" our own merchandise recommendations.

We hope you'll join and become an active member of this on line community. You'll find our email address in the sidebar. We welcome your contributions!

Baked Treats Sure to Delight!

One of our members shared this wonderful photo of his baked treats. Mike is obviously a great baker of cookies and breads!

Taking his inspiration from Martha, the plate of cookie treats would taste great with a tall glass of milk or a delicious cup of your favorite coffee. The beautifully packaged loaves of bread are gifts anyone would be happy to receive. We need to be on Mike's gift list!

Apple Pie Anyone?

Who doesn't love apple pie? One of our members, Elaine, from Carmichael, CA shared this picture of her delicious apple pie. Want the recipe? It's easy! Look in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook.

A nice slice of this apple pie with some vanilla ice cream... it sounds like a little bit of heaven!

Duck Cake

Cakes come in all shapes and sizes. From sheet cakes to elaborate wedding cakes the creativity is endless when it comes to cake baking and decorating.

This cake was created by Claudine. The adorable duck cake required a great deal of piping with the star tip to create the texture of the body. It looks far too good to eat!

Who wouldn't want to receive this little guy for a birthday or some other celebration?

My Very First Wedding Cake - Kenn

I was going through a few discs of photos and ran across this wedding cake.. it was my very first wedding cake. How I wish I could re-do it with all I know now about baking and cake assembly! I'll never forget this day.. it was SO hot and I used a whipped cream based frosting on it... It was melting before my very eyes! I felt such a sense of accomplishment with this one! Yet, looking back I've improved a great deal!

Cooking With Martha

Almost every home in America has at least one publication by Martha Stewart. From "Entertaining" to "Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes" MSLO has churned out book after book for the home cook.

As we begin this Friends of Martha Book Club, we celebrate the art of cooking and baking with the most recent release, "Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes."

As you page through this incredible volume, share your thoughts, your inspirations, your likes, your dislikes. Try your skill at attempting a layer of one of the cakes featured in the book and share your accomplishments with the rest of the community. There are no "requirements" to bake anything... but if you do, we certainly want to share in your celebration!

This month let's share baking tips, techniques, ideas, and stories. Have a cake horror story to share? Please send it! Have a great cake story to share? We'd love to hear it! Not sure about baking? You have a community of friends to help you!

This book club is a safe environment where all opinions are welcome. We hope you'll enjoy participating in this new venture!