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The Crafting Blog for Crafters, By Crafters

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Reverse Reveal Stencil Technique

April 26, 2016

Today we are going to REVERSE stencil- that is REMOVE color through a stencil to REVEAL the color underneath! All you need is a baby wipe, watercolor crayons, stencils, and plain cardstock.

Lately I’ve been the Queen of all Watercolor Crayons- I’ve been testing out Distress Crayons, Recollections, Faber Castell Gel Crayons, Target, Crayola, as well as a few “off” brands. As I was playing with them, I made a discovery- you can layer them and then REMOVE a layer to create a two-toned effect. I’m calling it the “Reverse Reveal” stencil technique because you REMOVE the color (reverse) to REVEAL the color underneath. You only need a few items: watercolor crayons […]

Posted in Paper Crafts |

Pressed Flower Pendants for Mother’s Day Jewelry!

April 1, 2016

Pressed flower pendant jewelry with a vintage steampunk vibe featuring resin and bookplates!

I love handmade gifts and jewelry, and I love flowers, too! So why not put them together and make a vintage-themed pendant that features pressed flowers that you can wear? Right on! Disclosure: GreetingsofGrace.com sponsored this video for YouTube and supplied the flowers for the project. Some links below are affiliate links. For this project, you’ll need: Bookplates that have FOUR SIDES- new or recycled 2 part epoxy resin pressed flowers (you can use your own or use some from […]

Posted in Beads/Jewelry Projects |

Leprechaun Hats from Recycled K-Cups

March 21, 2016

If you look at the date, you’ll see it’s past St. Patrick’s day. Yes, I’m a day late and a dollar short, but I was sick last week and I ran out of steam. However, I’m hoping you all will still love this craft and pin it for next year-because it’s so cute and easy to transform K-Cups into Lucky Leprechaun Hats! Some links contained in the post are affiliate links.  You can whip these out in an afternoon and […]

Posted in Recycled & Green, Spring/Easter |

Make Distress Paints into MARKERS!

March 15, 2016

Hey Crafters!  Whenever I’m at the craft store I’m always on the look out for new, or even new-to-me, products.  About two weeks ago I was picking up some Montana markers  at Michael’s and noticed they had empty acrylic paint markers! EMPTY PAINT MARKERS!!!  I had never seen or heard of these before! Disclosure: some links below are affiliate shopping links for your convenience.    The possibilities quickly flooded my crafty brain, but the first thought I had was of […]

Posted in art supplies/mixed media, Paper Crafts |

Easy Quilled Shamrock Card for St. Patrick’s Day

March 7, 2016

I love quilling! The act of twirling little paper strips into something lovely is a bit magical for me. While I came up with the card idea a few years ago, I’ve now updated it to include a quick 2-minute video showing you how to make this cut quilled shamrock. And if you need a lucky clover, just add one more leaf and you are good to go! There are some handy links affiliate shopping links below for your convenience. […]

Posted in Craft Projects, Paper Crafts |

Recycled Bottle Rocket Ship

February 27, 2016

I LOVE it when we can recycle “garbage” into fun crafts for the kids. This is a craft I shared on my PBS show, “Hands on Crafts for Kids” this year. But I wanted to share the segment and instructions with you here, too! Here is the full segment for you to enjoy (I hope) and you can see me crafting right along- so you know it’s DO-able! Here’s that list of materials: Acrylic Paint or markers 12” FloraCraft® Styrofoam™ […]

Posted in Kids Stuff, Recycled & Green |

Recycle Craft: Cardboard Tube Drums

January 26, 2016

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 with drums made of tubes and shrink wrap- and today, I’m sharing it with you! This is a great rainy day craft, scout craft, vacation […]

Posted in Kids Stuff, Recycled & Green |

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Place Card Holders using Recycled K-Cups

November 4, 2015

I love to make special place settings for holidays- and it helps me gently communicate to my guests where I’d like everyone to sit. And with these Pilgrim Hat Place Card Holders for Thanksgiving, I can recycle AND share a little after-dinner candy, too! How fun is that? I was inspired by the Frosty Hat Ornaments I made last year. But for this version, I wanted to make it really kid-friendly & extra “recycle-y.” (Is that a word? It is […]

Posted in Recycled & Green, Thanksgiving/Fall Crafts |

Hands On Crafts For Kids: Spray Dyed T-Shirts

November 3, 2015

Here’s a fun craft I shared on Hands On Crafts for Kids– using plastic utensils to make a resist for spray-dyed shirts. It’s a lot less mess (and more immediately gratifying) than tie-dying. It’s a great group craft for scouts, school groups, even family reunions! And you can change the colors to match your school, season, or holiday. Enjoy! PS- don’t forget to visit my Kids Crafts YouTube playlist for more great segments from the show, and you can watch a […]

Posted in Fabric Crafts |

How-To: Glow-In-The-Dark Polymer Clay Sugar Skulls (Calaveras)

October 28, 2015

I’m a big fan of Halloween- always have been. And when I learned about Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos), I was even more smitten. To celebrate both, I created these glow-in-the-dark Calaveras of polymer clay, my version of the traditional sugar skulls.     I’ve made a few photo collages to help you learn how I did it. You don’t need much- some Glow-In-The-Dark polymer clay, scraps of colored clay, and a frame of your choosing. […]

Posted in Halloween Crafts, Polymer & Air-Dry Clays |

Thrifty Tissue Pom Decorations

October 21, 2015

Last weekend our Music Boosters held a fundraiser- and guess who got to make some decorations. (Like, obvious, right?) But here’s the catch- we are on a STRICT budget. I love the Martha Stewart Tissue Poms- but they run about $20 for 20. But why spend that extra cash when you can make your own with tissue paper and SPRAYPAINT? (And get the exact color you need!) I’ll show you how I did it today. Disclosure: Krylon supplied me with […]

Posted in Wedding Crafts |

Picnic Basket Makeover with Krylon

August 5, 2015

We are in full-on summertime mode here, with hikes, road trips and picnics! I got our “new” picnic basket at a yard sale for $10- it’s clean, sturdy and BIG! But it was also pretty plain. So I gave it a makeover using Krylon spraypaint! Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Krylon brand but all opinions are my own.  For this Krylon challenge, our color of the month was “Honeydew.” We were asked to pick some accent colors, too. And […]

Posted in Recycled & Green, Sponsored Posts, Summer Crafts |

Hostess Tray Fit for a Queen (Or a Princess Charlotte!)

June 1, 2015

I had this old hostess tray sitting around, and it really needed….something. It was plain and cheap, and faded into the background. I decided it needed some “oomph” and that when I used it, my guests should feel like a royalty! (Or maybe even me, on Mother’s Day?)  So I set to work. Here’s a sneak peek! (Disclosure: this is a sponsored tutorial designed my little ol’ me on behalf of Krylon. They supplied the paint and compensation. Thanks, Krylon!)    […]

Posted in Craft Projects, Home Decor, Mother's Day Crafts, Recycled & Green, Sponsored Posts |

Using The PixScan Mat with the Silhouette Studio Software- LIVE DEMO

May 12, 2015

Last week I gave you an overview of the PixSxan Mat, showing you how it scanned & cut out shapes. Today I have a LIVE demo for you, via screen capture. This 8-minute demo is for folks who might want start scanning, but who may be intimidated- but I’ll walk you through it! In this video, I walk you through how to import your file, which icons to use, how to trace, and even adding an offset (border) around a stamped […]

Posted in Craft Storage and Tips, Paper Crafts |

24 Ideas to Use Up Fabric Scraps

April 22, 2015

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 for using up fabric scraps- some from me, but a bunch from other talented crafters/bloggers/designers. SO many great ideas here!     So…now are you […]

Posted in Fabric Crafts, Giveaways, Recycled & Green |

Speed Color Using Zig Clean Color Real Brushes

April 21, 2015

Yesterday I reviewed the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers– and they really are like having the look of  watercolor with the ease of a marker and the semi-permanence of dye, all in one! But I digress. I colored in this little froggy and wanted to show you how I did it. I used 5 markers and a spritz of water to get this look- and I think because you can lighten the colors with water, it’s a lot easier […]

Posted in Paper Crafts |

Simon Says Stamp April 2015 Card Kit & Inspiration

April 17, 2015

Hey Crafty Friends! I’m finally back from an early spring’s worth of travel,  and now I’m really enjoying getting back into the swing of things in the studio. First, I’m cracking open the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit for April 2015 and getting my creative juices flowing! This kit challenged me a bit- while I loved the stamp set, the bright neon colors (to me) didn’t gel well with the kraft and gold-foiled accent papers. So take a look at […]

Posted in Paper Crafts |

Glue Resist Wall Art Featuring Faber-Castel Gel Crayons

April 2, 2015

Here’s a fun project that you can do with your kids or even for yourself! Make some wall art that speaks to you! You’ll need: canvas paper (it comes in pads and is very economical) or a stretched canvas if you prefer Gesso (read my primer on gesso if you are not sure what that is or why you should use it pencil white glue or gel-style glue. I found that the glitter glue from Elmer’s worked best. (affiliate link) Faber Castell […]

Posted in Kids Stuff, Paper Crafts, Sponsored Posts |

DIY Travel Accessories Tutorial

March 30, 2015

Thanks again to Fairfield World for sponsoring content on CTD. Please visit their site for more product information and free projects!  As I was preparing my post about Poly Pellets and Micro Beads for Fairfield World, I got inspired to get out my machine and make a few things. I had a pair of my daughter’s old leggings and knew that the knit fabric would be great to recycle – so I created a travel neck pillow AND a stress/sleeping […]

Posted in Fabric Crafts, Recycled & Green, Sponsored Posts |

Overview of Oly-Fun

February 26, 2015

Disclosure: Oly-Fun sponsored this video, but all opinions or my own and based on my first-hand experience with the product.  I’m so excited to bring you today’s post- I’m going to show you what I learned about Oly-Fun! Ever heard of it? From the Oly-Fun website: “The everything material” This is one of the easiest, most versatile materials you will ever find. You can sew it, glue it, staple it, pin it or tie it. You can write on it, […]

Posted in NeedleCraft, Sponsored Posts |

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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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