By ALMA E. HILL

ahill@ajc.com

Kimberly Smith/Staff Photographer (ENLARGE)

Mary Katherine Solley , 35, of Alpharetta, was a financial adviser when she joined the Martha Stewart Good Things group. Now she stays home with her three young children and, among other things, makes fabric tote bags that she sells online at www.solleybags.com.

Calvin Cruce/Staff (ENLARGE)

Ana Ruiz, leader of a group of nine women who have met monthly for the last nine years to test Martha Stewart projects, shows off a food scrapbook she's making as she tries out recipes from hundreds of cookbooks she has.

PHOTOS • Projects [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Flipping through Martha Stewart's magazines and watching her uber-perfect cooking, decorating and gardening projects on TV makes one wonder, who on earth has the time, let alone the inclination, to do this stuff at home?

The local fans who formed the Martha Stewart Good Things group, that's who.

Every month for the past nine years eight metro Atlanta women have come together to share their excitement, and sometimes their angst, about a project they learned from their beloved mentor who until recently didn't know they existed.

Often it's a craft project gleaned from the "Good Things" section of Stewart's Martha Stewart Living magazine, or a recipe from her "Everyday Food" cookbook. Occasionally they try something picked up from her TV show or they improvise by creating their own projects, using Stewart as inspiration.

"We've tested hundreds. Some people would say it's a lot of work, but to us, it's not," says Ana Raquel Ruiz, the self-proclaimed "Spanglish Domestic Diva" who leads the group. "It's fun experimenting with things that make our life easier."

"I just love her," says Mary Katherine Solley. "I think she's got great ideas. I can take her stuff and incorporate it in my family. It takes the guesswork out of the creativity."

The fun doesn't stop there.

The diverse group of women, who range in age from 19 to 44, only had their love for Martha in common when they first met in 1998. Borders bookstore in Buckhead initially organized the group and subsequently added it to the list of monthly book club meetings. When the store discontinued the meetings about five years ago, the women continued their monthly get-togethers.

Over the years, they have bonded like hot glue as they watched each other marry, start families and morph from career women to stay-at-home moms.

They had never met Stewart until January, when she hosted a book signing at the Lenox Square mall Williams Sonoma store to promote her "Homekeeping Handbook." They met her again in April, when they got tickets to see her show live in New York. But they have done their mentor proud by perfecting their entertaining, cooking and decorating skills at home.

MEET THESE MEMBERS OF THE 'GOOD THINGS' GROUP

ANA RAQUEL RUIZ

• Age: 44
• Hometown: Powder Springs
• Special Martha-esque talent: Covers switch plates with fabric to spice up a wall. Also makes napkins adorned with buttons to look like fruit.
• What Martha means to her: "Martha Stewart is like my mom. ... My mom was also very crafty and she liked to do knitting and macrame. Martha is very much like that. It's amazing to see the similarities."

MARY KATHERINE SOLLEY

• Age: 35
• Hometown: Alpharetta
• Special Martha-esque talent: Making fabric tote bags that she sells online. Sews curtains, bedding and accessories for her baby's nursery.
• What Martha means to her: "I had seen Martha do a lot of sewing projects, and she
makes them look so simple, so I made one."

VICTORIA ROMERO CLEARFIELD

• Age: 38
• Hometown: Norcross
• Special Martha-esque talent: Greeting cards written in Spanish with simple statements like "Happy Birthday" or "I miss you."
• What Martha means to her: "Martha has always said don't follow the trend, set the trend. That's what I'm working on right now."