Craft Test Dummies

I love fabric- it’s such an easy, inexpensive way to add or change the color and style of a room! So when Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores offered me some brand new, exclusive HGTV fabrics to play with, I said sure. Here are the fabrics they sent me: Now I’ll give you a peek at [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Ok- Time for a show of hands- who here is a paper hoarder?? Don’t worry- you are among friends. No judgment here. I find that not only that sometimes to I have a hard time cutting into my favorite sheets of paper, but sometimes when I do, I can’t even toss the little baby scraps. [...]

This is a craft that I’ve done with the kids, but I’ve also done by myself for fun. It’s also eco-friendly, because you can re-use tissue and crepe paper from parties, presents, and packaging. The idea is to use the wet the tissue paper onto watercolor paper and let it “bleed” to create a picture. [...]

A big hello to first-time “Guest Dummy” Ashlee from I’m Topsy Turvy. She’s got great tutorials for the crafters, and cakes to DIE for. I mean really spectacular! Anyway, I love what Ashlee did with these eggs- and you all know that I LOVE my pistol-grip Dremel. Can’t wait to try these out myself! I [...]

Last month hubby and I headed to London for a week. I love that city, and it was my first time being there around the holiday season. I was entranced by  English Christmas Crackers (not the food, the party favors!) and even took a class at Handmade London on how to make them. Sadly, you cannot [...]

Last week I shared my review of the Martha Stewart Crafts Glass Paints from Plaid and you got a sneaky peek of a work in progress. But today you get the whole tutorial of how I transformed a “blah” glass serving dish into a lovely fall focal point! Can you believe that I found a [...]

Yesterday I shared my review and video overview of Scrapbooking Attitude by Avatrex- that whole “printable film” thing is wicked cool! And if you remember, what I was most excited about was not its uses for paper, but for cool substrates like leather, wood, and craft foam.  As I was doing my swatch tests, I kind [...]

Hooray! Today we have a guest post from a lady I totally admire for her recycled crafting misson! Thank you Becky for being our guest today on CTD & sharing a totally practical and CUTE craft using recycled neckties.Take it away…  Hi there! My name is Becky Striepe, and I am a freelance writer and [...]

I love a good upcycling craft, I love little storage containers, and I also love Washi Tape. This, my friends, is therefore my “Trifecta” of crafting- a project that recycles mint tins- like the ones for Altoids- into happy little storage tins! To make them, you’ll need: Recycled mint tin (I used Altoids) Sandpaper/spraypaint (optional) [...]

If you’ve been to CraftTestDummies even a handful of times, you know that I love to craft with found/recycled objects. (Or make “outsider art”- we don’t get hung up on semantics here.) I was invited to participate in a challenge for the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo- a “Runway Re-View”! Here were the challenge guidelines: [...]

I’ve you’ve visit CTD before, you know that I love recycling/”green” crafts. So when the lovely Lish sent me a bag of empty thread spools, my wheels got spinning. We’re not talking cool, vintage spools, either. We’re talking new, plastic spools. So it was an extra challenge to turn today’s trash into something worth keeping. [...]

A few years ago, we planted some globe allium at our new house. It’s a member of the garlic family- actually, it reminds me of giant chives. These blooms are HUGE- they are at least 5 inches in diameter. And when the bloom fades, they dry out and look like this: So… I was looking [...]

  This post originally ran on CraftsUnleashed.com last year- but I thought y’all might like it here, as well! Get your fabric scraps ready and craft it up! I love to be able to recycle- it means I can stretch my money and save more for my craft shopping! Well, this handy-dandy flower is made [...]

Happy Earth Day! As a craft product reviewer, there are certain issues I care about deeply. One of those is “green” crafting- craft projects, products, and companies that focus on eco-friendly, sustainable, and/or recycled components that make our world a healthier place to craft! Today I’m going to share five products/companies that offer GREAT products [...]

It’s no secret- I love recycle/”green” crafts. There’s something about taking something that is headed for the garbage or donation bin and then transforming it into a new, useful or beautiful object. Today’s tutorial is both useful AND  beautiful- we’re going to make luggage handle cozies and tags from old neckties- the wilder the print, [...]

Today’s review is a fun one for me- I’m reviewing the Pick Punch that my dear, sweet son bought me for Christmas last year. I geeked out when I saw it in a catalog because it’s a great way to reuse old bank cards, gift cards etc. And you all know that I love “green” [...]

By now, you know that I have an obsession with Washi Tapes and Paper Tapes. I’ve accumulated quite a few rolls….and now the question is “How do I store all this decorative tape!?” I’ve installed a paper towel dispenser right above my desk that is serving nicely. But of course, it will only hold so [...]

So, this is new to me: my kids celebrate the first 100 days of school. (We didn’t do this back in the day.) As a result, my first grader was required to bring in 100 items- anything, really- and display them for the class. The purpose is counting, I suppose. But I saw this as [...]

Every now and then I get an idea and can’t wait to try it on my own. Lately artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer has been talking about her new obsession- stamp carving- and it gave me an idea for some erasers that I’d bought at the Dollar Store: (Don’t tell my daughter- they were supposed to [...]

Chronicle Quilts are so named because they were made by sewing strips of fabric on newspaper- like the Chronicle- to make warm, inexpensive quilts during the Depression. In the time when the motto was “Use it up, wear it out: Just make do, or do without.” ….this quilt can help you “use it up”- all [...]

Last week I played with the new Martha Stewart Paints line, and got really excited- maybe over-enthusiastic- with the glitter paint and Tintable Fabric Medium. The result? Some rockin’ witchy shoes to round out my Halloween costume. Here’s how I did it. First, I mixed the Tintable Fabric Medium with Sugar Cube Glitter Paint by [...]

Wow! What a week! This weekend I got my Martha Stewart Paints by Plaid (available exclusively at Michael’s, by the way) and I got to business testing them out. By now, I hope you’ve read my overview of the Martha Stewart Paints as well as the review of tools and accessories that I received. Now [...]

This is the most amazing idea ever, and I can say that because it isn’t MINE.  Let this sink in a minute: Decoupaged Suitcase Shrines. Yeah. My friend E is a Roller Derby gal and is also the league historian- and she chose to commemorate the 5th anniversary by making a traveling exhibit out of [...]

Here’s a tutorial I wrote from CraftsUnleashed.com as part of their design team- but since it’s Earth month, I thought I’d share it here as part of my #GoGreen theme. Most of the materials can be found on ConsumerCrafts.com. I love to be able to recycle- it means I can stretch my money and save [...]

It’s amazing to me what the right tool can do for you- and in this case, the tool is the Cuttlebug  This little hand-cranked gem can help you transform old aluminum soda cans into cool, kitchy blooms that you can wear as pins! For this craft, you will need: Aluminum can, rinsed well Craft Blade [...]

In my previous career as a Music Therapist, I came up with a number of crafty projects, and making musical instruments was my favorite! We were always working on a super-tight budget, with an eye toward recycling when we could, and making instruments that adults wouldn’t be embarrassed to play. One year, I came up [...]

I loved reviewing the Clover Flower Frill Template, and it kind of got my creative juices flowing.  I started thinking of all the ways I could use the template to upcycle and recycle fabric to make chic, fun hair pins and corsages. I thought I’d share my technique with you, so you can try it, [...]

This imaginative book by Terry Taylor totally got my juices flowing- and that’s just when I read the title on Amazon.com. When it arrived, Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin didn’t disappoint me. I consider myself a medium-to-advanced recycle crafter, in that I use about 50% recycled materials in a lot of the [...]