My mother (creatively) used cereal boxes cut to magazine holders. Sometimes she decorated them with gift wrap but quite often I'd see the nutrition info of the cereal on the spine.
To tame my magazine collection I remove the pattern from the magazine and staple/punch each one; then I use a 3 ring binder. The organization part is primitive but I just put my "favorite" or next project(s) at the front of the notebook - that way they're readily available.
Sometimes I just page through the binder like I would enjoy a magazine, only this time the pics/patterns are already in the "like" category.