Craft Critique: Craft product reviews, crafty news and crafting events!

The Hunger Games-Inspired Crafting: A New Generation of Old-School Crafters

noreply@blogger.com (Dana (*danavee*)) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:25:18 PDT

Reported by Dana Vitek

Frankly, I've had it with all the stuff in my craft room. Had. It. I have way too much stuff, and most of it is made of the dreaded plastic or other non-environmentally-friendly stuff. Think about all the plastic you have... die cutting machines and pressure plates, photo-polymer (or worse, clear vinyl) stamps, even embossing powder is plastic!

With the eco/green crafting trend still going strong, and The Hunger Games taking over the entertainment realm, it was only natural to combine these forces of nature to revamp the way I craft.

Well, I decided to go back-to-basics with my crafting. I mean WAY back. And I think when you see what I've created, you'll want to come back with me.

I decided to make a card to commemorate the opening of The Hunger Games movie, based on the book by Suzanne Collins. Don't worry, I'm not going to give anything away, in case you you're one of the three people who haven't read the book. Just know that there's lots of nature, and hunting and gathering, which I think I captured both in this card's creation and materials.

First, I made the paper from scratch. You could definitely buy handmade paper if you want to skip this step, but I was committed. I was going to blend up some junk mail in a blender with some tap water, but really, there are no blenders in nature, right? So I chewed up some junk mail (soy-based ink, naturally) and made a slurry with some water in from my rain barrel. I stirred it up well, mashed it onto a linen napkin, and weighed it down overnight. I gave it a couple of days to dry out, and was left with the perfect canvas for my card!

Chew, chew, chew... this took longer than you'd think it would.

Next came time for embellishing! I went hunting around my yard to find the perfect ingredients, and I think you'll agree that I found them! Brown soil and compost are great for distressing, and *so* much more natural than some of those inks you can buy. I found some light gray silt from the rock pile for highlighting. Plenty of red clay. Some little red berries instead of those mass-produced brads. Actual clover for the grass... I mean, what could be more natural than that?!

I climbed a fence to get this.

I gave one of the layers some texture, but not with a embossing plate and die-cut machine. No, I laid out some pebbles, added the paper, some more pebbles, and then used a rolling pin to apply the needed pressure. This is my grandmother's wooden rolling pin. I'm sure she won't mind. I obviously couldn't use my Teflon(TM)-coated one!

I used some flour mixed with rainwater as glue, and some pine needles as a brush. Now, of course, you could use your toxin-laden adhesives and synthetic foam brushes, and I won't judge you. Really.

Twig pencil. TWIG PENCIL!

To finish the front of the card off, and as a hat-tip to the protagonist Katniss' home, District 12, I burned the edges (I'll admit to cheating here; I used a lighter. But I'm definitely going to find some flint and steel for future burning needs).

Check out that linen texture from the napkin!

I even took a sprig of rosemary from my herb garden and rubbed it all over the card, so it smells fantastic!

Finally, I used a natural graphite pencil and added the greeting inside. If you've read the book or seen the movie, you can guess what it says...

Oh. You were expecting something else? Huh. Guess the odds weren't in your favor after all ;-)

Sizzix Letterpress Plates

noreply@blogger.com (c.darwin) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:43:47 PDT

Reported by Cassandra Darwin

Last year I bought this "Lots of Love" letterpress plate from Stampin' Up to make some homemade valentines. That didn't actually happen, but I finally pulled it out this year to give it a try. And I am hooked! Here is a quick rundown on my experience with the Sizzix letterpress plate, as well as a few tricks I learned.

The basic instructions are:

Apply ink directly to the letterpress plate
Create the proper sandwich of plates for your die cutting machine
Run through the die cutter

The Sizzix letterpress plate is specifically marketed for Big Shot users, but I have a Cuttlebug. So after reading the instructions, I had to make a few guesses to adapt for a different die cut machine. This is the sandwich I started with: Platform "A," inked Letterpress Plate, Cardstock, Cutting Pad "B."

This worked just fine for transferring the ink to the cardstock, but did not create a letterpress impression in the cardstock. So I added two more pieces of cardstock as shims and got a great result. You can see the difference here - original sandwich on the left and altered sandwich with shims on the right.

The piece on the right used shims for a deeper impression.

Back view, so you can really see the difference a shim makes.

I also tried using the letterpress plate with some pink cardstock tabs and without any ink. I like the results, but I think I needed one more piece of cardstock shim for a deeper impression.

Although the instructions specifically mention Sizzix die cutting machines, they did have some very helpful hints. One is that your letterpress images may get skewed if you are using an older cutting pad that has a lot of impressions already on it. So I elected not to use this one:

I used a new cutting pad and didn't have any issues. The instructions also give a few inking tips for the letterpress plates, especially if you plan to use different colors. Since I only used one color, I inked the plate directly using a regular-size Brilliance inkpad.

Pros:

Really inexpensive way to get the look of letterpress at home - plates retail for under $10
Can be adapted for any brand of die cut machine
Easy to use and clean

Cons:

Instructions are geared for the Big Shot, so you will need to do some testing if you have a different machine
Had a little trouble with ink smearing as you create the sandwich
Not enough designs available - most are holiday specific

What do you think? Have you tried the Sizzix letterpress plates? Do you plan to now? Leave a comment and let us know!

Scrapbooking and Papercrafting Adhesives

noreply@blogger.com (Susan) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:50:48 PDT

Reported by Susan Reidy

During a recent scrapbook room reorganization, I was alarmed to find my adhesive storage had overflowed. I clearly I needed to purge what wasn't being used.

But as I emptied my basket, I realized I used nearly every item in it, depending on the project. Some adhesives were meant for paper, some for ribbon, some for fabric, others to provide dimension, and still others that would act as a sealer, either glossy or matte. I needed them all.

So while I searched for a bigger storage basket, I thought it would be the perfect time for an article on some adhesive basics for scrapbookers, and papercrafters in general.

Tape
Tape for me is by far the go-to adhesive. If I was trapped on a desert island with my scrapbook supplies, I would want a never ending supply of permanent Tombow Mono Adhesive at my side. It took a little trial and error, but I finally found the perfect tape runner in this little blue package.

In all my years of using it, I've only had one refill break on me before the tape ran out. The runner is easy to use, the adhesive comes out smoothly, it holds well (kind of important in an adhesive), it's easy to refill, and it's relatively inexpensive, especially in larger packs and with a coupon. It's also readily available at big box craft stores. I use it for basic scrapbooking, like adhering paper, photos, some embellishments, and occasionally ribbon.

My only issue is the little boogers of adhesive that build up in the corners. They can impact the smoothness of application, if you don't do a little pickin'. You can see them here.

Annoying, and a little sticky, but no big deal.

A new love of mine also comes from the Tombow people -- the Stamp Runner Dot Pattern Adhesive. This is a tape runner, but you can also apply just a stamp of adhesive, kind of like those old-school adhesive tabs that used to annoy me with their tiny little paper tabs.

When you turn it on end and push down on the pink part, it makes a little square of adhesive in a dot pattern. The blue version makes a solid square, no dots. Awesome.

I did find that after using it as a tape runner for awhile, it took a few pushes to get a nice even adhesive square. On a side note, this type of dispenser was indispensable when crafting after breaking my shoulder blade. I couldn't seem to master the pulling motion of a tape runner (without denting my photos), but I could easily use the stamp function.

Like the Mono, it is easy to use and refill, and readily available. It's also good for basic scrapbooking uses, paper, photos, etc.

When I really want things to stick, whether in scrapbooking or on an altered project, my go-to adhesive is Scor-Tape. You can read a review comparing it to redline adhesive here.

It comes in several different widths as well as sheets, but I use the 1/4 inch the most often. It's super simple to use, and I love that you can tear it instead of having to use scissors. I use it most often when covering chipboard sheets with patterned paper, or creating a mini book or other 3-D project from scratch. I know everything is going to stay stuck.

I love how it works with glitter, and that I can also pour on embossing powder and heat it up. It even works great on ribbon.

Foam adhesive
Through the years, I've used several different brands of foam adhesives to add some dimension to my projects. A few years ago, I finally settled on my favorite, Stampin' Up's dimensionals. What I like most about them is the lack of waste; there's only a tiny border around the edge of the backing sheet, which you can cut up and use.

With other types, like pop dots, there's all that extra foam. Now, I know you can cut that up and use it, but it still annoyed me that one sheet contained so few actual dots.

The down side of Stampin' Up is that you have to order from a demonstrator or online; they're not available in a store.

I recently bought my first box of American Crafts This to That foam adhesive. These little guys have no waste at all. They're also more readily available, and come in circle and squares.

Wet glue

Wet glue is a category that I could write six articles about. But I'm only going to highlight my top three, go-to, must have at least two bottles of, in this category.

The first, I think is safe to say, is a favorite of many crafters -- Glossy Accents. It is super sticky, has a fine tip applicator, and dries to a nice, shiny clear finish. I like that I can use it as a glue, but also use it to add shiny dimension to stamped images, die cuts and more.

One drawback, and one that frustrates me constantly, is the clogging of the tip. I have one bottle that drove me so batty, I cut off that fine point tip. I use that one when I want to fill in a large area. I've since learned that keeping a pin in the top will help eliminate the clogging issue.

You should also avoid shaking the bottle because that will create bubbles, and bubbles on your project are bad, unless that's the look you're going for.

Another liquid glue that I always keep nearby is the Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. I use this as my multipurpose glue when papercrafting. It works great with paper, ribbon, buttons, paper flowers, chipboard and more.

I love that it has a precision tip (which I use the most) and a round tip, if you need to apply glue to a larger area. It dries clear, and has a super strong hold. I've heard that the Aqua is just like the Mono Multi Liquid Glue, except the Multi Liquid can also be used as a repositionable adhesive.

I've used both, and tend to favor the Aqua. I don't need a lot of temporary adhesive, and I've found that when the Multi gets low, it's hard to squeeze out the last few bits. I've not had that packaging problem with the Aqua.

My last, but not least, in my top three liquid glues is the Inkssentials Glue N' Seal in matte. I started using this several months ago, instead of Mod Podge, and I have to admit that I like the Glue N' Seal better. It's not that I don't like Mod Podge, because I do, but I've just had better success with the Glue N' Seal.

For one, it has a thicker texture, which makes it easy for me to apply an even coat. The 1 oz. size has a built in brush, which means less mess. In fact, I now fill my smaller one from the larger 4 oz. size so I can keep using that brush. It comes in matte or glossy.

I like to use it for adhering patterned paper to chipboard. I find I have much fewer air bubbles using the Glue N' Seal then when I use Mod Podge, and better adhesion overall. It's also great for attaching doilies, which seem to be all the rage now.

One more often-used adhesive for me, that isn't really a tape, a wet glue or dimensional (although it can be) is Glue Dots. These little gooey drops of goodness are great for bulky stuff, like buttons or metal, and they stick right away, no need to wait for glue to dry. I've seen some people use them for photos on layouts, but that's too rich for my blood.

They come in a range of sizes from micro to mini, some are dimensional, some are removable -- there's tons of choices. You can get them on a roll, on a sheet or even in a dispenser. I've used both the roll and sheet varieties, and find I prefer the sheet method. Somehow, my rolls always seem to come undone, and I have a hard time seeing the adhesive dot. Plus, with the sheets, you can tear them into individual dots, say if you're doing a craft project with your Girl Scout troop.

After assessing my stash, I feel confident I have the right adhesive for just about any job. But I still have a storage problem.

What are your go-to adhesives for papercrafting? What can't you go without?