Martha's New Cookie App for i-Pad

November 1 marks the launch of Martha Stewart's new cookie application for i-Pad. Featuring more than 50 recipes from her vast library of cookie recipes (shortbreads, chocolate-chips, meringues, etc.) the application will feature a 'runway' interface that the user can scroll through with the touch of a finger, allowing her to select the cookie she would like to bake. Once selected, the user can access the recipe, the shopping list of ingredients, video tutorials, built in timers and a glossary of cooking tools. The application was designed by Callaway Digital Arts for Martha Stewart and Mac and will cost $8 to download.

Happy Halloween!

I want to wish everyone a frightfully good night tonight! Happy Halloween! For a bit of nostalgia, read about the history of vintage Halloween postcards, which are among the most highly collectible. As a collector of postcards myself, I've searched high and low for gems like this one below at antique shops and flea markets but have had no luck at all. Click here to see more examples and read about their history. Enjoy your All Hallows Eve!

New Holiday Issue!

Look what I got today! It's the new Holiday cookie issue, which is making its way to newsstands across North America even as I type this. The 116-page supplement (not available as a subscription: newsstands only) is devoted to baking and presenting the world's best cookies with a real emphasis on the recipient. Whether the receiver is intolerant of gluten, prefers her cookies crumbly over chewy, or lives in Japan, there is a cookie here for everyone, and myriad ideas and suggestions for packaging and shipping these baked good to friends in other cities or, indeed, other countries. The content is divided into eight sections: For Traditionalists; For Trendsetters; For Those Far Away; For Those Near and Dear; For The Little Ones; For Grown-Ups; For The Health-Conscious; For Hedonists. There are all the classics (chocolate chip, shortbread, etc.) and plenty of new selections (Smokey-Bacon Ginger Cookies, Rose-Water Cream Sandwiches) with varying levels of challenge for the baker. Collectors, be sure to pick up your copy soon. They sell out FAST!

Winnie's Craft Room

My good friend and colleague, Winnie Yeung, is an avid crafter. She works with me at Anthropologie in Toronto and we are constantly bouncing creative ideas off one other - work-related and otherwise. I was very inspired by Winnie's craft room at her home in Leslieville, a quaint Toronto neighbourhood famous for its vintage shopping, out-of-the-way but fabulous restaurants and cozy old homes. The room is where she creates adorable outfits for collectors of the world-famous Blythe dolls, a kooky doll created in 1972 that quickly became extinct - and which is now enjoying a mad resurgence in popularity. Winnie designs and creates special outfits for these dolls that are one-of-a-kind and completely unique. Her Etsy site is quiet at the moment but Winnie assures me she is still keeping busy with requests for new outfits from her regular customers. I thought it would be nice to share photos of her craft room with you. Perhaps you have a small spare room in your house you could devote to your hobby. If so, Winnie's attention to detail, organization and layout will hopefully inspire you to create your own charming space.

The room is bright and cozy, located on the second floor of her house.
On the right side of the room is Winnie's desk, which she uses to draw and paint, cut & paste, sew and stitch her creations. Winnie says she loves the view of her small garden from the window, which is always interesting, year-round.
Winnie wanted me to include this photo of the craft studio while it is in use. It's quite a change from the neat and tidy photo above: artistic ambition at its finest!
On the wall over her desk, Winnie created a fabric-covered bulletin board for inspiration photos and a place to hang some of the adorable doll clothes she makes.
"I love my fabric," Winnie says. "I drool over fabric with gorgeous colours and prints and I can't help but collect it. I have it organized somewhat by colour: neutrals, greens, etc." You will notice the self-healing cutting board by Martha Stewart Crafts, a line that Winnie loves. "A lot of my tools are Martha tools."
Winnie made this adorable pin cushion for her push-pins out of a mossy/grassy fabric. She says it often keeps her Mac mouse company when she's at work.
The left side of the room is fronted by a handy Ikea unit with cubbies for her supplies. All of them are organized in boxes, small drawers and Rubbermaid containers for easy access and storage.
To help organize her fabric, Winnie uses a vintage set of metal drawers.

Hooray For Merchandising!

In its third-quarter report, MSLO touted significant gains in its merchandising division: this segment of the company made $9.6 million this year, compared to $8.9 million the same quarter last year.

The gain is attributed to the following:

+Continued strength in the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's, led by sales in the soft home category (textiles, bedding).

+ The successful launch of the lower price point Martha Stewart Essentials program.

+ Strong performance of the Martha Stewart Living line at The Home Depot, driven by sales of a new carpet program. The cabinets, countertops and hardware program launched in the quarter and a holiday décor assortment began rolling out in early October and have proven to be highly successful thus far.

+ Expanded distribution of Martha Stewart Crafts, including shipments of seasonal Halloween products into Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, and Stewart's HSN products, which debuted in July.

+ A "robust debut" of Martha Stewart Pets at PetSmart; the line is expected to expand in Spring 2011.

+ Double-digit wholesale sales growth in Chef Emeril Lagasse's core partnerships.

These candy-cane gift boxes with labels and dividers from Martha Stewart Crafts at Michael's are just one example of a multitude of new holiday craft products launched by MSLO this year.

Charles Koppelman, executive chairman and principal executive officer, said, "For the past five years, we have been focused on diversifying and expanding our Merchandising business for long-term growth and we are seeing our efforts bear fruit in this quarter's results. We are applying the same aggressive mindset to our Broadcasting business with our slate of new programming on Hallmark Channel. Broadcasting has been challenging due largely to the remaining run-off results from syndication in the quarter. Our Internet business continues to perform very well and our Publishing business had a solid quarter."

Brian's Crafty Halloween

A devoted reader of this blog kindly allowed me to use his photographs of some of the Martha Stewart Living Halloween projects he has embarked on recently, most of which were used at a Halloween party he gave at his home this weekend. Brian Utz is inspired by the ideas and projects in Martha Stewart Living magazine and never wastes an opportunity to try them himself at home. I have been privy to many of his projects and they are usually highly successful, as you will see below.

Glittered gourds and pumpkins sparkle up the night. (Martha Stewart glitter, of course!)
The Spider-Web cake is from a past Halloween issue of Martha Stewart Living. It looks so decadent!
The dry-ice pumpkin cauldron, also a project from a past issue of MSL, looks amazing.

Brian downloaded all of the Halloween templates from MarthaStewart.com, including these butterflies from this year's October issue of MSL. They look amazing when they're printed in colour and hung to look as if they are magically fluttering out of an old specimen book.

Also from this year's October issue is this massive, six-foot tall dinosaur fossil.

He made meringue bones (a classic MSL recipe) for guests to gnaw on too! The dining room was set for a Halloween feast!

Small Pumpkins Dressed Up

Okay, we'll continue on a theme of sorts: dressing up your Halloween pumpkins instead of carving them up. I'm not sure why I am finding the mix of organic pumpkin flesh paired with fabric so intriguing this year, but I'm enjoying the decorative (and festive) possibilities - not to mention the classy understatement and the hasty simplicity these projects provide. A few days ago I shared with you the ingenious idea of dressing your pumpkins in fishnets (via Craftzine) and now I've compiled some little gems that have been dressed in nothing but thin stripes of ribbon, ric-rac and paint. The looks are subtle but charming and they work especially well on smaller pumpkins, which can be difficult to carve.

Eddie Ross dreamed up these gorgeous gourds and it's no surprise that Chanel was his inspiration. He painted the pumpkins white and dressed them in black ric-rac, attaching cardboard-cutout leaves to each of the larger pumpkins. Situated on a mantel with Spanish moss and surrounded by silver and Wedgwood, they are effortlessly elegant.

Good Housekeeping took the elementary but no-less-effective measure of simply painting stripes on these pumpkins. It is basic but still whimsical.

Another Good Housekeeping project: take your favourite strips of decorative ribbon and simply wrap a single strand around a small pumpkin. Gather an assortment of them together in a large vessel for a more impacting image and choose ribbon that coordinates nicely with the pumpkins' bright skin tone.

Ric-rac and ribbon combine for a variety of fun and festive stripes on these pumpkins.