NUNO Magazine, Painted Desert, and Me

I'm off on holidays and away from my computer until Monday the 8th of August so I prepped a few tidbits before I left. Read on! ♥ M

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You may have noticed something new on Michele Made Me. I took the leap and added a "sponsors" category on my sidebar. I'm still fiddling with it and tweaking it forever... But I wanted to point it out because it is the first visible sign of me "monetizing" the blog in order to keep this whole crafty adventure rolling. Crazay stuff.

Now for the Disclosure Statement. I'm partnering with the eco-publication NUNO Magazine to spread the word about it. As part of that, I will be benefitting financially from any sales of the electronic magazine that I play some part in. However, I would like you to know that the opinions written in the following review are my very own.

Still with me? Great! Now for a little review, Q and A style, featuring me and myself. Yes, to be as confusing as possible I'm both asking the questions and answering them.

1) Sooo... what is NUNO Magazine exactly?

Well, NUNO Magazine is an independent, electronic, eco-friendly, quarterly craft magazine created, designed, written, and produced from start to finish by sisters Elizabeth and Rachel Abernathy with the help of Elizabeth's husband, Royce.

2) Painted Desert. What's that?

Painted Desert is the summer 2011 edition of NUNO. It was inspired by the arts and crafts of the Native Peoples of the American Southwest. It contains 23 craft, sewing, knitting and crochet projects over 116 pages and is advertisement-free. On top of that, "almost everything used to create the projects was recycled or re-purposed". It is available as a PDF download for the price of $5.00 US.

3) What do I like about Nuno Magazine and Painted Desert?

As you know, I'm mildly obsessed with recycling. So naturally, the fact that the Abernathys recycle till the cows come home is exceedingly appealing to me.

I also like the feel of the projects. It seems to me these women create with quiet abandon. The projects in this summer issue look to me un-selfconscious, real, and do-able. And the results have a sweet and understated beauty. Take this little one for instance:

As you can see, he was once a scrap of upholstery fabric but he has since changed. He's now become this soft and serene owl toy. Beautiful.

There's an element of clever whimsy in some of the projects which I get a real kick out of. The following small painting, for example, is framed with the serrated opening of a tissue box. Isn't that brilliant? It could easily be done by a child too of course, a fact true of many of the projects.

The range of crafts is wide. There are sewing projects, paper crafts, and things to knit and crochet. If you're anything like me (you get bored easy), Painted Desert promises to keep your mind and hands busy for weeks if not months.

In addition to all 116 pages of choice craftiness :

"Sales of Painted Desert will benefit a humanitarian project. With every issue sold between now and August 31st, 2011, we will donate one dollar to a project administered by ADRA, an organization which helps communities in Kenya support child-headed households."

Amazing!

4) What about Painted Desert's layout?

Briefly, the magazine is presented as follows: 1) a few introductory pages; 2) a whole slew of full-colour photo plates showing the finished projects; 3) instructions for all the projects including templates. And let me drive this point home: there are no advertisements in this magazine. There is however one page dedicated to previous issues of NUNO itself. But given that two women and one man have created the whole of 4 issues, I would say that's only fair, wouldn't you?

5) If this were my magazine, how would I change it?

Having never written a magazine before, this is a difficult question to answer. And there's so much to love about it! But as an avid crafter, I'd love to see one or two more complex recycled paper crafts thrown in for good measure. Something that makes me dig deep and really forces me to flex my crafty muscles. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing!

6) Could I have a little look-see at Painted Desert?

Funny I should ask. Here is a preview below.

Open publication - Free publishing - More acoma

Now if you'd like more info, click on the NUNO Mag icon (on the sidebar there), and it'll send you to the NUNO page where there are all kinds of goodies and more information about this very special, independently published e-magazine.

Shall I leave you to your explorations then? Great!

Have yourself a lovely day, and I'll see you soon!

P.S. Just an additional note to say that I've been thinking hard about how to make money from blogging. Anything I do to that end, or any sponsor I take on, will be something, someone I really believe in. I don't do it lightly. I have to be true to myself first. That's why I chose NUNO and the Abernathys. They fit perfectly into my vision for this blog.

Thanks for reading.