'Hand Made' is a great book for all who are tired of participating in a rat race and would like to slow down a bit. The book is full of recipies that will remind you of your grandma's cuisine. Zero waste recipies (not only for food) will make every environmentalist happy. Going back to the roots a reader reconnects with handicraft and heritage of previous generations. I highly recommend!

Hand-Made by Melissa K. Norris features a mix of old-fashioned and modern recipes, home arts and housekeeping recipes or techniques. The author intertwines her recipes or techniques with faith-based comments. 

What I liked most about her book was her written commentary telling about her daily life and how she baked, cooked, and cared for her family while trying to maintain a back-to-the basics lifestyle. 

I also liked how she included safety information when it came to using herbs for medicinal purposes.

Her book contains the following chapters:

Come On In
Bake
Simmer
Culture
Thrive
Simplify
Homespun Holidays
Recipe Index

Some of the recipes you’ll find include:

Buttermilk (how to make your own from scratch)
Son of a Gun Stew
Old-Fashioned Christmas Fudge (and how to fix grainy fudge)
Pumpkin Puree (you can use the puree to bake Pumpkin Sugar Cookies)

Some of the crafts you’ll find include:

Melt-and-Pour Soap
Cinnamon Salt Dough Ornaments
Beeswax Candles

She also writes about growing and using herbs. In this chapter she gives planting and growing times; how to dry the herbs; and how to use herbs in cooking and medicine. She includes safety information when needed for each herb. For example she writes “Do not take by mouth or Arnica internally, as this can cause serious side effects.” I appreciate her taking the time to warn readers about her usage.  She also includes recipes to make your own Taco Seasoning Mix or Ranch Dressing Mix.

Later in the chapter she gives information on how to make your own herb tinctures and how to use them.

I liked her vignettes about her life and how she used Christian teachings to emphasize how you can apply those principles in daily living.

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from Net Galley.

The book is filled with many, many recipes as well as a few non-edible recipes that could make for great gifts; however, nothing within the volume really came across as different or unique to me. Most of these recipes are ones I could find anywhere, with perhaps just the slightest tweak, and there were not many tips or tricks that came across as useful to someone who has read plenty of crafting or recipe books. While some of the content could still be of interest to others, it was not to me.

The author has put together a vast amount of information for the homemaker who wants to be frugal and make things from scratch like bread, meals etc. I thought the Bible references were excessive and detracted from the message of the book. There isn'tmuch comparion to how people lived in the Middle East 2000 years ago and how we live today.

This book is simply cozy. I love all the various ideas for making your house a home. This is a book that I'm going to purchase in paperback because it would make the perfect coffee-table book! It's well-written and doable.

This had some good aspects to it. It was interesting to see the passion for hand made. I was not expecting the very Christian overtones. This was a surprise.

This book had many great ideas, and long forgotten crafts. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to go back to basics with life.
It was well written with clear instructions.

I was really interested in this book and although I knew it would have somewhat of a religious overtone from the description, I only made it to the introduction. The intro was more religion than handmade, so I deleted it.

UMMMMM! I don't know what I was thinking when I requested this book; I believe I thought it was a craft book! Baking book is just as good! Happy mistake on my part! The recipes sound lovely! Not sure if the book will contain photos, the Kindle version didn't. But I am looking forward to trying out a few of them!

Hand Made by Melissa K Norris is useful for people who are just starting out to make things at home from scratch and want to save the time it takes to find good basic recipes. Instead of long trial and error, you can dive right in and be successful at replacing a variety of store bought food and other items with less expensive and higher quality ones made at home. 
Several recipes in Melissa Norris' book are credited to other authors than herself. She put them in her book for a good reason: They are simple, inexpensive, and they work. 
Two recipes that caught my eyes in the baking section were the recipe for flaky buttermilk biscuits with its detailed instructions and the recipe for a delicious carrot cake. The advice about cultivating yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, and sour cream is especially useful.  I will definitely make the candles, something I have not made before.
After reading the introduction of the book,  I was expecting more anecdotes about the Depression era and the author's experience growing up in a family that had to make ends meet on a restricted income. Melissa Norris' biblical references at times disrupt the flow of the book. But putting this aside, the recipes and tips in the book are good and practical.

Thank you so much to Harvest house publications via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of Hand Made by Melissa K. Norris.  

It was a cookbook with a message and story behind their experiences in the kitchen. How Norris deals with life, family and food and i thought the introduction was beautifully done. 

The recipes sound delightful and delicious and i cannot wait to try them!

A great collection of both new and old recipes. It's nice to find a cookbook that has recipes for more natural cooking, as well as giving recipes to make items to use rather than eat. The layout of the cookbook is easy to follow and gives lots of informative tid bits.

We have already pre-ordered this book to have on hand when it comes out.  It is chock full of recipes and ideas from the old homestead, but updated and modernized to be applicable today.  We've followed Melissa's blog for a long time now, and she has great wisdom to pass on to others.  She also does these video classes, which are excellent for kids and newbies, that would make a nice addition to your book purchase.

I found this to be your average kinda cookbook. The references to the great depression were interesting but really didn't add to the recipes or why they were being used other than they were hand made, homemade. 
Some of the recipes were interesting and different but most were basic and in all other cookbooks. 
Making your own crackers is pretty cool. Be forewarned there are not a lot of pictures, none of the finished recipes which was disappointing.

Don't read this book...BUY IT.  There is so much information here, you will want to have it on hand to reference back to time and time again.  There are recipes for everything from chocolate gravy (is that a thing?) to candles to soap.  Find tips on simplifying and organization.  Yes, there is some scripture and I found it thought provoking, but it isn't distracting if that's not your thing.  If you read a lot of this type of book, there is a bit of duplicate information (as there often is), but I found so much good, new information, I recommend this without hesitation.  Now I just need to find time to try all of the tips!!

This book is full of recipes and great ideas for homemaking.  I enjoying reading about the things I know I will never do such as grind my own flour !! and I got some ideas for things to try myself.  I liked hearing about the authors home and upbringing.  This book does have lots of bible quotes and religious references but there is no reason why anyone who is not religious couldn't read it and just skim over those bits.  A lovely homely book - thank you

Hand Made is not just a book of recipes although it does have plenty of them. Melissa shares memories from her childhood. She gives tips on simplifying your life, cooking from scratch, soap making, herbal solutions, money saving tips, tips on making the holidays special and much more. Although she did not grow up during the depression she had loved ones who passed on their stories and tips to her. 

I had read her previous book The Made-from-Scratch Life and enjoyed it so I knew this book would be just as enjoyable. I follow her blog and listen to her podcast regularly. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Harvest House Publishers for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book. This book is due to be released on October 1, 2017 just in time to order and give as a Christmas gift to that special lady in your life.

Tons of recipes and the kind of homemade, handmade life I aspire to live when my time is once again my own. Lots of useful tips and ideas for starting small or big.

Wonderful book! Depression Era advice, pace, traditions and stories read with a romantic and nostalgic feel. I absolutely loved reading every bit of this book! A joy to read!