It shouldn’t be a big surprise that Ranger Ink is my favorite booth to visit at CHA! I love seeing all of the happy, familiar faces of people that work with the company and running into my friends from Ranger U. I also love watching and taking video demo’s from the designer’s and getting to see how their crafty brains work! (Make sure to check out Craft Test Dummies YouTube Channel to see all of the awesome demo’s we got […]
CHA 2014 – Tim Holtz Idea-ology Booth Tour
Hello Crafters! It was a great season for Tim Holtz‘ idea-ology line with so many new products to ogle over! Personally, I love the new adornments, letterpress blocks, Found Relatives cards and ephemera packs! But don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty more to see and get excited over! I filmed a little video tour of the booth, but as it’s movin’ and groovin’ on the show floor, I dance around other crafty patrons and the camera gets a little shaky. […]
CHA 2014 – Spellbinders A Gilded Life Booth and Video Demo
This year at CHA 2014, Spellbinders debuted their new line with A Gilded Life. We caught up with A Gilded Life desiner, Shea Fragoso, at CHA 2014 where she demonstrated a make-and-take for us, creating a gorgeous necklace in mere minutes! I was very excited to see the new acrylic covers that come with all of the bezels; now you don’t need to wait overnight for resin to set, you can just glue a quick cover on and you’ve completed […]
CHA 2014 – Art Anthology – Video Paint Demo with Jen Starr
Greetings from CHA, Craft Test Dummies! I was so happy to find Jen Starr at the Art Anthology booth and see all of the amazing paints available from the velvet dimensional paint to the color sprays in amazing colors. It is so cool to see just how versatile these paints are and watching Jen demonstrate them was even more of a treat! I hope you all enjoyed this video from Art Anthology at CHA 2014! Please let […]
CHA 2014 Video Demo – Ranger Ink – Dyan Reaveley – Dylusions White Ink Spray Pad Technique –
Hello Crafters! We are at CHA 2014 and here is Ranger Signature Designer Dyan Reaveley showing us a FAB technique using her Dylusions Ink Spray Pad with Ranger Ink and how to get the perfect white ink pad in conjunction with her White Linen ink spray! Finding that perfect white ink pad can prove to be difficult for us stampers, paper crafters and art journaling enthusiasts and Dyan has solved that problem for us using her products in the Ranger […]
Video Review – Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks Review and Refresher
Hey there crafters! Today I wanted to re-energize your creative brains with Alcohol Inks by Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink. Alcohol Inks are one of my all-time favorite products by Ranger and seeing as how we haven’t reviewed them here at Craft Test Dummies, I wanted to give a quick run down of what they are and just how amazingly versatile they are! Alcohol Inks are available in, “big box,” stores like JoAnns, Hobby Lobby and Michaels and come […]
Craft App Review: Rhonna Designs by Rhonna Farrer
When Rhonna Farrer debuted her app in the Apple app store, it quickly shot to the top of the Most Popular list and I was not surprised! For those of you that aren’t familiar with Rhonna she has been an amazing artist on the digital scene since she won Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame scrapbooking contest in 2004. She was also lead digital designer for Two Peas in A Bucket as well as one of their Garden Girl’s and is […]
Craft Product Review: Tsukineko All-Purpose Inks
Hello crafters! Today we are going to take a look at Tsukineko all-purpose inks! I have to admit, I scratched my head a bit when I first received these; what do these little cuties do? Looking at them a little closer, these are very fluid inks with a watery consistancy. You can use them with a paintbrush or as Tsukineko reccomends, Fantastix. (Fantastix are uninked applicators that you can use for applying a multiple amount of mediums.) Tsukineko describes all-purpose […]
Ranger Ink Tim Holtz Distress Glitter Video Review
Hello Crafters! As you know Craft Test Dummies was at this last CHA in Las Vegas when Tim Holtz debuted his new Distress glitter with Ranger Ink. Here’s how it’s described on the Ranger Ink website: Distress Glitter complements the nostalgic palette of other Distress products with its unique glitter type to mimic the look of vintage mica. Twenty-four timeless Distress shades are available in 18 gm clear jars with a brushed aluminum lid. Use with Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder, Wonder Tape and […]
Craft App Review: A Beautiful Mess by Red Velvet Art
I’m going to briefly transport y’all back in time… A time when I first returned to scrapbooking after a baby-making hiatus. I will never forget opening up the pages of Creating Keepsakes and being hit in the face with S.T.Y.L.E. Fun, quirky, bright, doodled and like nothing else I had ever seen. That style and breath of fresh air was brought to me by the fabulous Elsie Larson (previously Elsie Flannigan). Elsie’s style quickly took off in the industry and […]
Craft Product Review: Imagine Crafts Creative Medium
Hello crafters, today we are reviewing Imagine Crafts Creative Mediums. There are three kinds of Creative Medium; Clear, vintage and shimmer. Today I’m going to be showing you the clear and vintage mediums. So what are Creative Mediums? ” Acrylic-based Creative Medium, an incredibly versatile crafting tool. For collage artists, this will be your first choice for both an adhesive and finishing layers that dries translucent. Use with our PHOTO Elements or your own toner-based copies of photographs to transfer […]
CHA Summer 2013 – Tim Holtz Alterations Stamp and Die Packs
This Summer at CHA Tim Holtz revelaed he has an exciting collaboration with Stampers Anonymous and Sizzix in the form of Stamp and Die packs! These fabulous packs include a set of rubber stamps and multiple thin-ruled dies for each stamp so you can layer these images to your heart’s desire! These were created with the crafter’s in mind that do not own the Sizzix eClips but still wanted to die-cut around your favorite Tim Holtz stamps and images. Take […]
CHA Summer 2013 – Ranger Ink – Dyan Reaveley Ink Spray Pad Demos – Part ONE
Hello Crafters! It was hustling and bustling around Dyan Reaveley‘s table at the Ranger Ink booth at this Summer’s CHA; Everyone wanted to see what Dyan was going to be doing with her brand new Ink Spray pad. Below is the first of two videos of Dyan showing off some incredible and fun techniques using this new and versatile product! Dyan was kind enough to autograph one of the tags she made in the above video for us to giveaway […]
CHA Summer 2013 Ranger Ink Tim Holtz New Distress Glitter Video
The week before CHA is always filled with sneak peaks from different companies and this was no exception for Ranger Ink and Tim Holtz. But Tim and Ranger had an extra sneaky peak for everyone… But we had to wait until Tuesday morning at CHA to actually see what the new big release was. We were so excited to see that Tim was debuting brand new distress glitter. These sparkly little beauties will be available in 24 colors in adorable […]
Craft Product Review: Piccolo Vintage Embossing Powders by GlobeCraft
Hello crafters! Remember that first time you picked up a heat gun and embossed your first stamped image? Remember how magical you thought it was as you watched the powders melt into a gorgeous enamel? Well Piccolo Vintage embossing powders by GlobeCraft take your distressed and vintage embossing to a new level! Here’s what the company website has to say: Piccolo Embossing Powders are made of varying-sized particles that create a unique depth and dimension not available with traditional embossing […]
Product Review: Ranger Ink Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Art Journal
Hey Crafters! Today I’m doing a quick video demo of Dyan Reaveley’s Dylusions Art Journal for Ranger Ink! I am completely in love with this Art Journal. It is the perfect size and the paper inside is super high-quality. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think in the comments! You can purchase the Dylusions journal at many online retailers as well as a few big box stores like Hobby Lobby. These retail at about […]
Craft Product Review: Ranger Ink Tim Holtz Distress Paint
I couldn’t be more excited to share with you today’s review! For starters, I am officially a Ranger U graduate and am a Ranger certified instructor! Last month I travelled to New Jersey to the Ranger Ink factory to learn some amazing tips and techniques taught to us by Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth, Dyan Reaveley and Mackie Mullane. It was an amazing experience; you can read more about it over at my blog! With that being said, I also got […]
Product Review: Creativity for Kids – Tie Dye Kit
I admit it, I have never, ever tie dyed anything before. It’s always seemed messy and a little daunting to me. My oldest daughter Emma picked up this Tie Dye kit by Creativity for Kids (which is owned by CTD favorite, Faber-Castell) up at the local Target with some of her allowance money. I kind of rolled my eyes when she and my husband brought it home and he disappeared into the other room. Upon closer look, I noticed that […]
eBook Review: Fashionably Fast by May Flaum
Are you like me when it comes to scrapbooking? Over-obsessing over every embellishment, color choice and photo placement? Does it take you two days to finish a page? Do you sometimes NEVER finish a layout? Well the fabulous May Flaum comes to our rescue with, “Fashionably Fast: Ten Strategies for stylish, speedy scrapbook pages.” This is an eBook available through Big Pictures Classes. According to the publisher: Join the speediest scrapbooker on the block, May Flaum, as she joins forces […]
Craft Product Review: Faber-Castell Paper Crafter Crayons
Today we are playing with Faber-Castell’s Crafter Crayons. These are part of their Design-Memory-Craft division that is geared towards using high-quality art products in mixed media and paper crafts. So, these aren’t your average crayola’s! According to Faber-Castell, “Paper Crafter Crayons™ are highly-pigmented wax crayons that can be used on all types of crafting surfaces.” These crayons pack a powerful punch of color when using. They are housed in a plastic casings that have a twist-top which is great for […]