Craft Test Dummies

The summer has officially started at CTD WHQ, and it’s been a doozy. It actually started last week with my trip to the studio set of Scrapbook Soup and the days and days and days of prep that went into that. Then, on the same day, my 91-year-old grandfather passed (you might remember the photos [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I love the end of the calendar year- it’s a great opportunity to look back and see what projects, reviews, and articles resonate with you, my readers. So here are the most-viewed posts that were written in 2012.   Just click the photo to see the full post, if you missed it this year…. I’m [...]

Holy cats, it’s been a busy week! We got home from CHA Summer 2012 last weekend, and it took me a full four days to unpack, do laundry, and catch up on sleep. Then this week my son was in volunteer camp and soccer cam every day, so I ran around like a mad woman. [...]

I’m always surprised at how quickly the week flies by and it’s time to look over the week again. This week, many of us were crafting for Mother’s Day- and in fact, here are 3 projects you can make in 2 hours or less, so you still have time to craft today and give tomorrow! [...]

It was another whirl-wind week at CTD WHQ. Lately I’ve had so cool products coming in, I’m having a hard time choosing what to test next! Some of the great products include: Candi By CraftWorkCards from the UK- lovely little dots to use in crafting. SweetHeart Inkers by We R Memory Keepers. Those handles are [...]

This weekend has been SO much fun that I am a day late in getting my Week in Review post in. But it just goes to show that sometimes you have to postpone blogging about crafting so that you can have more time DOING it! This week, my dear crafty BFF Vicki O’Dell make the [...]

Id barely recovered from last week’s trip to Washington, DC when I got a fabulous call to come tape a segment for the PBS show, Scrapbook Soup. I’d chatted with the producer months before….but like so many things, it was kind of in a holding pattern and nothing was set. So I scrambled to get [...]

This was a one of those weird weeks at CTD- I was traveling all week with my family over our spring break and wasn’t even at CTD WHQ. However, I was out and about in Washington DC, snapping pics, getting inspired, and thinking of all the projects I have bubbling as a result! I’ve got [...]

This is one of my favorite months. Despite my birthday being in March, all of the pretty spring flowers bust out in April. And there is both Easter and Earth Day, so I get to surround myself with “renewal.” I generally hit the recycle-crafting big time, and that makes me happy. So let’s take a [...]

Oh, it’s been such a great month! I’ve taken some crafty field trips, met up with crafter  friends, hosted quite a few crafting giveaways, and shared some craft tutorials. And now National Crafting Month is OVER. But is the craftiness over at CTD?? Of course not! We will use April, though, to spotlight crafting companies [...]

So, yea- it was my birthday this week. Since the actual day was Tuesday, it was pretty low-key. I got a nice dinner with my family, and my CBFF (and #TeamCTD member) Vicki O’Dell made the trek up to see me the day after and give me some wonderful homemade gifties. I’m so lucky. Home-made [...]

I have kids in elementary school, and I really love encouraging them to craft. Not just because it gives us the chance to bond over a shared activity (and n0n-verbally) but also because it teaches my kids to problem solve, work through frustration, and value the things that are made by hand verses what is [...]

Well, after weeks in which I took trips to the ER and suffered a hacking, this week was blessedly quiet. I discovered a new obsession- fabric dyeing. However, if you know me, you’ll know that I didn’t/couldn’t escape unscathed: Blue dye sloshed onto feet (with slippers) = blue tootsies. And now blue slippers, too!  Luckily [...]

Well, my friends- there is a first time for everything, and this week was the first time…. my site was hacked! It was a very stressful 36 hours, but thanks to an amazing friend and technical guru, CTD was hacked, secured, blacklisted by Google and cleared all within 48 hours. I’m happy to report that [...]

Well, this week was certainly….interesting. It started on SUNDAY with a trip to the Emergency Room. Contrary to logic, I did not suffer a crafting accident. Instead, it was a sad mishap involving a very sharp ceramic knife and an avocado. Public Service Announcement: If you are trying to pit an avocado with a knife, [...]

It’s hard to believe that February is already half over. This week at CTD WHQ we are wrapped up our CHA Winter 2012 show coverage and started getting in new samples to review. You are going to LOVE some of the reviews we have coming up!  But in the meanwhile, here are this weeks posts, [...]

Whee! This week we chose winners for the CTD 4th Blogiversary Giveaway! Our winners were chosen at random from the folks who are subscribed AND CONFIRMED members of the CTD email list. (If you didn’t confirm your subscription, you email didn’t get added to my list.) But anyway, here are our big winners: Michele from [...]

Holy moly- what a week! It was the Craft and Hobby Tradeshow this week, starting last Saturday and ending on Wednesday, February 1st. It was both exhausting and exhilarating- the new products, the gorgeous displays, the wonderful industry friends, and best of all…all of us Craft Test Dummies were together for the first time! Sadly, [...]

As you read this, I am winging my way across the America- from the cold clutches of a Midwest winter, to the sunny shores of Anaheim, California. No, I’m not heading to Disneyland- I’m going to the Craft and Hobby Association Tradeshow! So while I recap this week’s posts, you should stay tuned- there will [...]

It’s been a busy week at CTD WHQ- the kids where home for tow days this week, and I’m still muddling through my New Year’s reorganization and purge project. AND I got 2 bonus posts in this week. Just in case you missed it, here’s a list of this week’s posts. Tutorial: How to Make [...]

  It was another fun week at CTD WHQ. Let’s do a rundown of the posts, just in case you missed something! Monday there was a tutorial on making Lego molds and cream cheese candies. Yum! Tuesday Team CTD reporter Jen gave us the rundown on Sizzix Sizzlits dies. Wednesday I provided an overview of [...]

(This is a new weekly feature, summarizing all of the posts on CraftTestDummies- just in case you missed some of the crafty goodness!) It was a busy week at Craft Test Dummies, with more posts than usual. It was a mix of craft product reviews, special-interest articles, and TWO craft tutorials! CRAFT PRODUCT REVIEWS Craft [...]