Martha Stewart Crafts

Trend | Tags

February 4, 2012 By May Flaum 5 Comments

From small to large, plain tags and journaling tags have been around for quite a while. At this CHA however, I’m noticing an emerging trend of more pre-decorated tags and with so many fantastic options being released, I wanted to share my picks from the CHA show floor.

The most exciting tags for me, are the Pink Paislee printed shipping tags. The printed style that they do can be accomplished at home with a plain shipping tag and digital kits, but it is time-consuming and difficult to get perfect printing all the way to the edges. These are beautifully done, and I can not wait to get them in my hands and create with them.

CHA Winter 2012 | Martha Stewart ClayCraft Clay by EK Success

February 3, 2012 By Melissa Stinson 6 Comments

EK Success demonstrated Martha Stewart’s ClayCraft air-drying clay at CHA Winter 2012. The video below shows how the clay can be easily molded or sculpted.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: CHA, News Tagged With: CHA Winter 2012, Martha Stewart Crafts

Valentine’s Day Scrapbooking Paper Lines Roundup

January 6, 2012 By Melissa Stinson 30 Comments

The scrapbooking world is emerging from a barrage of Christmas projects just in time to start crafting for the next holiday: Valentine’s Day! Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about what paper line(s) you’re going to use for your Valentine’s Day cards, since the big day of all things pink, hearted, and mushy is a mere six weeks away! Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to shop for your supplies and make your cards without feeling rushed.

After my roundup of Christmas scrapbooking lines went live here on Scrapbook Update, I received many, many requests to do a similar article for each holiday. I can’t promise that I’ll do one for every special day on the calendar (there just aren’t that many paper lines for Talk Like a Pirate Day, you know?), but when there are enough themed lines to warrant a roundup, I’ll be sure to post them to keep you all informed!

As with the Christmas roundup, I’m listing all the Valentine’s Day paper lines that were released either at or after CHA Summer 2011 and have scoured the vastness of the interwebs to bring you representative photos of each. They’re listed in alphabetical order, and, since there aren’t nearly so many of them as there were Christmas lines, I’ll also give a little commentary on each.

Ready to start seeing pink? Let’s get going!

Basic Grey – Kissing Booth

Kissing Booth is a mix of basic patterns (I spy doilies and herringbone in the mix) and sweet watercolor images. This line uses brown as a contrast color and is one of the few cream-based collections in the roundup.

Trend Watch | Baker’s Twine

September 19, 2011 By Melissa Stinson 18 Comments

I’ve been scrapbooking long enough (and I’m sure that many of you have, too) to remember a time when “fibers” were all the rage. Whether brightly colored or muted, sleek or fuzzy, thick or thin, fibers could be found in almost any color and made with nearly any material imaginable. The fiber craze eventually gave way to the sleeker, more elegant ribbon trend, but recently a more sophisticated type of “fiber” has emerged as a new scrapbooking must-have: baker’s twine.

Baker’s twine can be purchased in massive spools (that are literally measured by the pound rather than by length) at baking and restaurant supply stores, but many scrapbooking and crafts manufacturers are producing this new staple product in both smaller quantities and a larger selection of colors to cater to those who need a bit more variety (and a smaller size) than, say a 10 pound spool of nothing but red and white twisted cotton string.

Some stores such as The Twinery have popped up in the last year or so and offer baker’s twine as either their only product or their main product. Twine from The Twinery is available in fourteen different colors with new additions occasionally being made (Stone, Buttercream, and Denim are the most recent new colors to join the lineup). Consumers have the option to buy The Twinery’s twine in either large 240 yard single-color spools or in a smaller sampler pack that includes all of the company’s colors in less expensive (and easier to store) 15 yard skeins.

Divine Twine is another all twine, all the time seller with a selection of twelve different colors. They carry both the traditional color/white twist variety of twine as well as a specialty “Air Mail” spool with a red, white, and blue color scheme. Divine Twine is only available in large 240 yard spools from their online store, though a search on Etsy turned up several sellers offering the colored strings in shorter length variety packs. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Crate Paper, Divine Twine, Doodlebug Design, Jen Allyson, Jillibean Soup, Martha Stewart Crafts, My Minds Eye, October Afternoon, Pink Paislee, Splendid Fiins, Teresa Collins, The Twinery, We R Memory Keepers

Review | Button Making Tools

August 18, 2011 By Melissa Stinson 32 Comments

Buttons are arguably one of the most popular basic embellishments in all of papercrafting, especially among scrapbookers and cardmakers. Even though buttons are commercially available in almost any color, shape, or size available, sometimes you want to be able to use your own supplies to make that perfect button as an accent for your project. There are several tools on the market designed to help you do exactly that, and we’re going to give you a closer look at three of them – Epiphany Crafts’ Button Studio, the Double Embossed Button Punch from Martha Stewart Crafts, and Papertrey Ink’s Buttoned Up #1 Die Set.

To do this, I’ve tested each one in my craft studio using a variety of materials- patterned paper, coasterboard, and 100% wool felt (wool felt has less “stretch” to it than synthetic and is better for die cutting in general) – and recorded the results to help you decide which of these tools might be right for you.

Button Studio by Epiphany Crafts:

The Button Studio from Epiphany Crafts is first up on our tour of button making tools. This little gadget is a self-contained one-stop shop for punching and assembling your own customized buttons. It allows you to easily select the exact part of the patterned paper that you want to use for your button. Several models of the tool are available to produce a variety of sizes and shapes of buttons, and the similar Shape Studio line of tools from Epiphany Crafts allows you to create acrylic shapes without the button holes in the middle.

Using the Button Studio tool is quite simple. You start out with just the base and an open lid…

…and then slide your patterned paper in until it completely covers the punch opening and displays the portion of the pattern that you want to use on your button.

A button blank (must be purchased separately) is then placed on top of the patterned paper but is not yet “pushed down” to adhere it.

The final piece of the tool is a plastic guide that helps line up the holes in the button blank with the “holes” in the (now obscured by patterned paper) punch mechanism below – thus the reason for not adhering the button blank to the patterned paper in the step above.

After everything is assembled, you close the lid, give the top of the mechanism a quick, firm (it requires some pressure, but not ridiculous amounts of it) press…

…and remove your completed button. I like the look of the plastic cover on top of the button, but I do need to point out that the punched paper never seems to line up perfectly with the button blank. It leaves a millimeter or so on one side hanging out from under the edge of the plastic top.

I experimented with some of the other test materials I had on hand and was able to punch through uncovered coasterboard to create a button, though one of the holes didn’t punch all of the way through. Covered coasterboard wouldn’t cut, and wool felt was too thick to even load into the paper slot.

Strengths

Allows you to easily use the exact part of the patterned paper that you want shown on your button
Produces the most realistic looking buttons of the tools reviewed due to the clear plastic blanks used to top the patterned paper

Weaknesses

Requires the purchase of blank plastic buttons specifically made for the tool
If you wish to make other shapes or sizes of buttons, a whole new tool and set of blanks must be purchased for each size and shape
Loose tolerances in either the punch alignment or button blank size cause a small (1mm or less) amount of patterned paper overhang on at least one side of the button

Martha Stewart Crafts Double Embossed Button Punch

The Martha Stewart Double Embossed Button Punch is definitely the simplest to use of the three tools being reviewed today.

The tool works just like any other paper punch: insert the paper you want to cut, squeeze the handle, release, and remove your completed button.

This punch adds a nice, heavy embossed edge to the cut for a more dimensional (and thus more realistic) look.

I was quite surprised to find that the punch actually cut through and embossed coasterboard, as most punches I’ve used in the past aren’t strong enough for anything thicker than heavy cardstock. Coasterboard covered in patterned paper though was, unfortunately, a no-go with this tool.

If I was surprised that this punch cut through coasterboard, I was even more shocked to find that it cut through wool felt, as well! The felt did not emboss, as is expected since it’s closer to cloth than paper and doesn’t hold creases in the same way, but the cut (including the holes in the middle) was nice and clean.

Strengths:

Does not require the use of any additional tools or supplies – all you need is the punch and the material to be punched

Weaknesses:

Closed punch mechanism does not allow you to see exactly where on the paper you are punching
Can only punch one size of button

Papertrey Ink Buttoned Up #1 die set

The last stop on our tour of button making tools is Papertrey Ink’s Buttoned Up #1 die set (a Buttoned Up #2 set with scalloped edges is also available). It’s definitely the smallest tool on the list, if you don’t take into account the fact that you also need a manual die cutter (the die is compatible with the Cuttlebug, Sizzix Big Kick/Big Shot, and many other popular die cutting tools) to use it.

I used this die in my Sizzix Big Kick, making my cutting “sandwich” with the multi-purpose platform (using all the tabs), an acrylic cutting plate, coasterboard covered in patterned paper, the die (face-down on the coasterboard), and then finally another acrylic cutting plate covering it all.

I then ran the sandwich through my Big Kick…

…and out came perfectly covered and shaped little buttons. The dies give a slightly rounded finish to the edges of the cuts, eliminating any layering effects from the paper that’s adhered over the coasterboard. These dies can also cut plain paper and felt.

If you are into stamping and would like to make more decorative buttons, this die has a matching stamp set called “Button Boutique” from Papertrey Ink that can be used to create less plain buttons.

Strengths:

Die can be placed over the exact portion of the patterned paper you wish to cut
Can cut several sizes of buttons with the same tool
Affordable – die is only $5 if you already own a die cut machine
Matching stamp set available to create decorative effects

Weaknesses:

Requires that you also own or have access to a manual die cutting machine that is compatible with the die

At the end of the day, all of these tools do the same thing: produce realistic-looking paper buttons that can be used on your layouts, cards, or other projects. In fact, all of the buttons styles coordinate together well when used in a single project, such as the layout below that uses examples produced by all three tools.

Supplies | Patterned Paper: Bella Blvd “Making The Team” (Borders, Football, Quadrants, Fan Club). Cardstock: Core’dinations (Elephant) . Letter and Decorative Stickers: Bella Blvd “Making the Team”(Alpha + Bits, Journaling Stickers, Miniatures). Yellow Label Stickers: Studio Calico “State Fair” (Yellow Labels). Flair Badge: American Crafts (Peep Backyard Flair). Journaling Spot: Elle’s Studio (Handmade Layers Cutouts). Twine: Doodlebug Designs (Beetle Black, Ladybug). Color Mist: October Afternoon (Paper Doily Sprinkler). Button Tools: Papertrey Ink, Epiphany Crafts, Martha Stewart Crafts. Punch: Martha Stewart Crafts (Star Border). Date Stamp, Tag: Office Supply. Pen: Zig Millennium (Black .03).

All of these tools are easy to use and produce attractive buttons. If you’re in the market for a button making tool, take some time to think about what shapes and sizes you may need and what materials you’ll want to use, then review the strengths and weaknesses of each option to help guide your choice.