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The Crafting Blog for Crafters, By Crafters

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New Cuttlebug Design Debuts at CHA Summer 2010

August 2, 2010

While visiting the ProvoCraft booth and checking out the Cricut Imagine (see my posts here and here), I got to take a peek at the newly redesigned Cuttlebug manual die-cutting machine. The biggest improvements to the design are a flip-up handle, sleeker design (a handle that can be used for transporting and stabilizing while cranking), and reportedly it’s also lighter. Don’t take my word for it, though- listen to the wonderful lilting tones of Maggie LaMarre, who is a ProvoCraft […]

Posted in CHA Coverage, Craft News, Crafty Tools |

Cricut Imagine Overview & Gala at CHA Summer 2010

July 28, 2010

One of the things I really admire about Provocraft is their releases of new products (such as the Cricut Imagine!) For example, they have teams of folks on the show floor just waiting to give your a personalized tour. I had some time and taped part of my “tour” for you- after all, the Imagine both prints AND cuts, and there are a lot of cool functions to this machine. Here’s PART of what I got- YouTube will only allow […]

Posted in Books, Magazines, Events, CHA Coverage, Craft News, Crafty Tools |

Cricut Imagine is the Next Big Thing

July 27, 2010

  So, the new Cricut machine was leaked out to the Cricut Circle members last night, and debuted at CHA today to consumers and the media. Yes, the rumors were accurate- this is a machine that can print AND cut! This is the info I got from ProvoCraft: As a Cricut Circle member, we wanted to introduce you to the exciting new product being revealed and celebrated at CHA. Let’s hear a warm round of applause for Cricut Imagine, the […]

Posted in Craft News, Crafty Tools, Paper Crafts |

Craft Product Review: Cricut Cake, Part One

July 5, 2010

Well… after much debate, I finally plunked down my cash for a CricutCake machine. If you remember, I had attended CHA in January, and was supposed to receive one from Provocraft for free. (!!!) However, on the long trip home with kids and a side trip to Disney, I LOST my coupon for the freebie. I let the folks-that-be know, and I was assured it would still come. BUT, 6 months and many e-mails later, no Cake for me! Poo. […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Food Crafting/ Party Crafts |

Craft Product Review of the X-Acto Designer Swivel Blade

May 28, 2010

This post originally was written for and was posted on CraftCritique.com. I have a love/hate relationship with craft blades. Every crafter needs one- or a few- but sometimes they are tricky to work with. Either they are uncomfortable to hold, or it’s difficult to change the blade without nicking yourself, or they are just unwieldy it’s hard to make delicate cuts. And I have to admit, the only swivel blade I’ve ever owned is languishing in the bottom of a […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Paper Crafts |

Craft Tool Review: Craft-n-Spin

March 18, 2010

What I really love about the crafting community is INNOVATION. Craft companies are always trying to come up with the newest, best tool or project to help crafters create more efficiently, easily, or creatively. The Craft-n-Spin is one of those “new tools on the block.” The concept of the Craft-n-Spin is simple: it’s a “lazy susan” rotating base, with a series of arms and pointy pyramids on the top. These pyramids slide back and forth along the arms to support […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools |

Craft Tool Review: Westcott Spring-Assist Scissors

March 16, 2010

Every crafter I know has a ka-jillion pairs of scissors. And every crafter I know probably needs or will buy one more pair if they are worth it. Today I’m talking about that pair- Westcott Spring-Assist Scissors. Actually I have TWO pairs of Spring-Assist scissors- the 9″ Titanium Ultra-Smooth scissors and the 6″ “Blooms” . Let’s start with the larger of the two, the Titanium Ultra-Smooth, which have a mildly blunted tip. The overall length is 9″, but the blade […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts, Paper Crafts |

Craft Product Review: Freestyle Mouse by Purple Cow

March 11, 2010

I love my rotary cutter for cutting fabric. And I love my paper trimmer for cutting paper. If those two tools got together and had a love-child, it would be the Free Style Mouse by Purple Cow- and I would adopt it and take it home! As you can see from the picture, it looks a little different from most of the other paper-trimmers and rotary cutters out there on the market. Why, it looks kind of like a computer […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts, Paper Crafts |

Shamrock Yo-Yo Maker by Clover

March 10, 2010

If you’ve been around CraftTestDummies a while, you know I’m a huge fan of Yo-Yo makers by Clover. (Read my review of the heart-shaped yo-yo maker here.) This year I saw that they came out with the “shamrock” shape and I had. To. Have. It. Like the other yo-yo makers, the Shamrock Yo-Yo Maker set consists of a template and a tray, which pop together. You put your fabric, right side down into the tray, then pop in the template […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts |

Glitz-Up Hot Fix Crystal Review up on Craft Critique!

March 4, 2010

Yeah, I’m crafting like a fiend these days…and my latest crafty play date and resulting review is on a vacuum-powered hot-fix crystal setter by Viva-Decor called the “Glitz-Up.” While I loved the idea, but it had a few issues. It didn’t knock my socks off, but still it’s a pretty cool tool. Head over to Craft Critique to read my review of the Glitz-Up (disclosure), and then follow this link to read my review of the Crystal Crafter (disclosure) to […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts |

Crystal Crafter Hot Fix Tool Product Review

August 17, 2009

It goes without saying that I like a little bling in my world.  Last year I was at the Sewing and Quilting Expo and pick up one of these cute hot-fix crystal-setters, made by Kandi Corp and sold as the Victoria Lynne Crystal Crafter. I finally broke it out of the box and kicked the tires, which for ME means trying it out on fabric, paper, plastic, and polymer clay. The bottom line is that it is a great price […]

Posted in Beads/Jewelry Products, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts, Paper Crafts, Polymer Clay & Tools |

Planet June is Crafty!

August 29, 2008

And I mean that as the highest compliment… she took a normal, cheap-o electric toothbrush, and turned it into a detail sander for polymer clay. (Although it would be handy for any small, detailing job.) She went from this: to this: to this: How clever is that?? I need to get over to the dollar store ASAP… I’ve got some lentil beads that need sanding, and I’m thinking that this is just the ticket. Surf on over to see her […]

Posted in Craft News, Crafty Tools, Polymer & Air-Dry Clays |

Product Review: Dremel Stylus for Crafting

August 13, 2008

I got a new favorite tool in my studio – it’s the Dremel Stylus rotary tool.  I had a traditional Dremel, and used it when I had to. I found that it’s thick barrel made it difficult for me to hold and drill with accurately. The folks at Dremel seemed to have read my mind and felt my pain, because the new Stylus is just the ticket! First of all, it has a rechargeable battery, and it fits into a […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Polymer Clay & Tools |

Craft Product Review: Love My Makin’s Clay Extruder!

March 7, 2008

This is the third extruder I’ve tried, and by gum, we’ve found a winner! My hands are not so strong and they tire easily. I’ve used both the Kemper clay gun, and a version of Makin’s that is a push extruder. Both are lost causes for me… by the time I get 2 inches of usable extruded clay, my hands are shot. I ordered the “Makin’s Professional Ultimate Clay Extruder” from E-bay (regular retail price about $20.00 , hoping that […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Polymer Clay & Tools |

Craft Product Review: 5-in-1 Clay Tool by Studio By Sculpey

February 6, 2008

Yesterday I test-drove the new 5-in-1 tool in the Donna Dewberry Line of Studio by Sculpey. I tried to like it. Really. But it fell short of my expectations in a number of ways. The idea was brilliant: a stylus type tool with interchangeable tips to make clay work more efficient. The set includes a ball tip, a blade, a needle tool, a chisel tip, and a bullet tip, all with a handy tip holder. So I crack it out […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Polymer Clay & Tools |

Craft Product Review: Clover Heart Yo-Yo Maker

February 3, 2008

OK, so I sew. Usually on the machine, but occasionally I do some hand-work. And for some reason I am captivated by yo-yo’s. I was out at JoAnn’s the other day, ran across the Clover Heart Yo-Yo Maker, and got sucked in. Since I’d never made them before – any type of yo-yo – I thought it would be great to buy the tool and check it out. First off, had to say that the instructions were great! They included […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts |

Craft Product Review: Studio by Sculpey Super Slicer Blades

January 29, 2008

I’m continuing to explore the Studio by Sculpey clay and tool lines, and today I’m giving you the poop on the new Super Slicer blades.The retail price of the package was $14.99 (available at JoAnn’s ETC stores, and online) and includes 4 blades: a stiff, shorter blade, a long, flexible tissue blade, a scallop blade, and a crinkle blade. There are also 2 handles that can used with any blade. Initially, I was very excited about the handle concept. I’ve […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools, Polymer Clay & Tools |

My Craft Light is Giving Me a Seizure!

January 14, 2008

Attempting to be eco-friendly, I am slowly replacing regular light bulbs in my house… so when the one went out on my craft table, I decided to replace it with a Sylvania 13w energy-efficient bulb. Gadzooks! Every time I turn the sucker on, it flickers like that scene from Flashdance! I’ve heard that some compact fluorescent bulbs have so many hours of ” burn time” before they settle down and just work like they are supposed to. Let’s hope this […]

Posted in Craft Product Reviews, Crafty Tools |

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Hi! I’m Jenny, the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS and the Head Dummy behind CraftTestDummies.com where you’ll find craft product reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news.

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Jenny Barnett Rohrs is Head Dummy and Pied Piper behind CTD, which focuses on reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news. Jenny has appeared on HSN, Scrapbook Soup PBS series, and is currently the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS.

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Copyrighted Content Permission All images and tutorials on this blog are copyrighted material. Please contact me if you would like to borrow any media (photos, video or audio files), tutorials, or ideas from this blog. 99% of the time I would be happy to allow you to use one photo with appropriate credit and link back to CraftTestDummies.com (preferably to the same post it was borrowed from.)
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