Craft Test Dummies

It’s Friday again, and I really liked the mojo we had going on last week- I share a few cool crafty finds on the web, and you all comment for a chance to win some crafty goodies. You up for that again today? Yes? Me too. Let’s roll. So this week I found a few [...]

Earlier this month I received a box of goodies from the folks at Plaid, the makers of the NEW Martha Stewart Crafts Jewelry line. It’s got tools, components, enameling supplies, glazes- WOW. So much good stuff! I just had to make you a video & show you! Stay tuned- there will be multiple product reviews [...]

I asked my Facebook Crew today if I should share some crafty inspiration I found on the interwebs or do a giveaway of a mystery craft box. You know what they said, right? BOTH. *duh* Okay, I guess I can do that. SO here are some wonderfully crafty thinks I found on the interwebs this [...]

It’s that time again- I’m heading down to sunny Florida to work at HSN representing the 3 Birds/ Estate Collection line! It’s another 2-day show block, and some of those times are EARLY…but you can always set your DVRs if you don’t want to get up! Here’s the rundown! All times are EST, and of [...]

Lovers of craft shows, REJOICE! Crafter and designer Mark Montano of the “Big Ass” series of crafting books, as well as “10 Years Younger” on the Style Network, has announced that he’s bringing a brand-new crafting show to a public broadcasting station near you. Based off of his YouTube webseries “Make Your Mark,” the new [...]

Today I want to give you a little introduction to a craft company that might be new to you: docrafts! I first saw products in the UK-based docrafts Creativity magazine, which I purchase at Barnes and Noble. Then, when I visited the UK over the past couple of years I saw some of their fun [...]

Another confession: I hoard fabric scraps. Sometimes is the color, sometimes it’s the texture, sometimes it’s just that it’s a bit of a piece of clothing or reminds me of something I can’t let go of yet. So I hold on to a ton of fabric scraps! Today, I have a ton of great ideas [...]

It seems like just yesterday, but it’s here again- Craft Shows on HSN! I’m getting ready to fly down Monday and I’ll be appearing on Tuesday AND Wednesday. So I thought I’d give you the scoop so you can set your DVRs or plan to tune in live.   First off, let me share that [...]

Yesterday I showed you how I transform paper scraps into paper beads that mimic glass lampwork beads- and today, I bring you more projects to use up, transform and recycle paper, newsprint, sheet music, and more! I’ve got some amazing projects for you to check you- and there’s a giveaway, too! Now, If you are [...]

Last week I took a vacation with my family to Florida. Funny, I’ve been there 5 times since December but haven’t had a chance to actually enjoy the sunshine! So of course I soaked up some rays, visited some theme parks, and took a field trip to a scrapbook store, Piktails! (Side note: actually, we [...]

Wow! I can’t believe that the month has flown by this fast- but it has. National Crafting Month is almost over. I’ve decided we should go out in a blaze of glory with our biggest giveaway yet- a Fiskars Fuse Creativity System! If you read my initial review, you know that this is my new [...]

It seems like I was just there yesterday, but here we go again- another trip to HSN! Monday, March 25th is going to be a BIG craft day! In addition to the regular 3 Birds Estate Collections I usually demo, this time I’ve got designer products to show, too.   This time I’ll be sharing [...]

Have you all been having a great craft month? I have! As a matter of fact, I even got to celebrate my birthday a few days ago and got some great handmade cards that brightened my day!   Hmm… notice the “green” theme? I wonder if St. Patrick’s Day was seeping in…. ? And this [...]

Here is Wendy Vecchi again at the Ranger Ink booth showing off a fun technique using her brand new Studio 490 metallic embossing pastes!   Amazon.com Widgets

It really HAS been a great week at CTD. You may know that we have a Facebook Page, and over there I share behind-the-scenes pictures of what product is coming in for future reviews, what is on my worktable, organization ideas, crafts in progress, HSN updates, giveaways from crafty blogs…you know, all the “extra” stuff [...]

WOW! It’s been a great week here at Craft Test Dummies World Headquarters. I’m so excited about some new reviews were working on, and I am *thisclose* to 6 THOUSAND Facebook Fans! So let’s celebrate with a giveaway, shall we?   Earlier this week I showed you the SliderWriter laser guide tool. While I’m not [...]

Here is the fabulous Wendy Vecchi showing us some fun tips and techniques using her Studio 490 Art Parts and Tim Holtz’ new distress paints!   Jenny’s note: I love all of that sparkle and layering. Do you layer inks, paints, and sprays? We’d love to hear what products you use and how you layer [...]

Today I have the third installment of the Envelope Punch Board Saga. As you may recall, the Envelope Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers took CHA by storm and generated quite the buzz. I then got to take one home to test out. At that time I discovered that there were some measurements that [...]

As some of you may know, I LOVE me some polymer clay. I started playing with PC years ago, and for a while I was active in  my area teaching PC workshops, jewelry classes, and creative expression classes using. Along the way, I became aware of Lisa Pavelka’s amazing work and her wonderful products. Fast-forward [...]

Here is Tim Holtz at Winter CHA demonstrating his new line of paper with Core’dinations, Shattered Kraft-Core.  What a fun pack of paper this will be to play with and try all different kinds of inks, stains and sprays on! Here is a photo of the paper that Tim worked on in the video:   [...]

This year at CHA I noticed the trend of using stencils in paper crafting, home decor, and mixed media is still going strong. I picked up some samples to play with and got inspired! I am personally drawn to the geometrics, tribals, and city scapes. I even made a little video!   I misspoke about [...]

Happy National Craft Month and first day of March! I confess, I LOVE March. (It’s also my birthday month and I have a thing for St. Patrick’s Day, as I’m part Irish! Today, we are going to kick off this month with … a GIVEAWAY! But first, I want to share that I just got [...]

  Hello, crafty friends! I just wanted to let you all know that I’m heading off to Florida soon for another round of shows on HSN. Just a reminder that shows are LIVE and therefore subject to changes…but as of right now, I’ve got three airing times and a whopping SIX products! Here’s the list: [...]

It was the third day of CHA and a dead-eyed, glazed-over expression had started to permeate accross my face as I walked the show floor.  Up and down the aisles I went glancing from booth to booth to see if I had missed anything.  All of a sudden I heard someone say my name.  I [...]

Hello, Crafty Friends! I just got back from my most recent appearance on HSN representing the 3 Birds Estate Collection. I shared some photos and behind-the-scenes action as it happend on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but just in case you missed it, I wanted to share here, too. My trips are whirlwind and I [...]

Last year at Summer CHA in Chicago I picked Tim’s Rock Candy Distress Stickles dry glitter as one of my top product picks of the show.  I guess it was a good pick, because this CHA Tim debuted a brand new larger size!  Now in 210 grams, this will let you cover just about anything [...]

Making bows is not really my forte in crafts.  I mean, I can barely even cut in a straight line. How am I supposed to make those fancy shmancy bows you see in magazines adorning perfectly wrapped presents? How am I supposed to make those teeny tiny bows for cards and scrapbook layouts? Oh, by [...]

I had already reviewed the Epic 6 by Lifestyle Crafts and I was so super excited to get this fabulous demo by the very sweet Missy at Winter CHA 2013.  This looks like a great machine if you are interested in getting into Letterpressing or want to upgrade your current Epic 6.  I know I [...]

Just when you thought my Blogaversary Giveaways had all been announced, I have one more up my sleeve! This one is from our friends at ProvoCraft- YOU CAN WIN A CRICUT MINI! You may remember that I reviewed it here and found it remarkably easy to use. Since you don’t need to buy bulky (and [...]

Hello Crafters!  It’s that time again!  Time for me to round-up some of my favorite products from this CHA!  There was a lot of excitement at the show this year; lots of fun new paper lines debuting with a handful of tools and machines.  Below, in no particular order, are some that caught my little [...]