The Ultimate Crafter's Companion

The Ultimate Crafter’s Companion is a multi-function crafter’s tool, or as it says on it’s package “the ultimate all-in-one scoring tool.”

The tool retails for $59.99 and is available worldwide. Packed in a neat and compact hinged 14” x 12” magenta plastic case, the tool opens flat to approx. 14” x 24” of workspace.

Each of the surfaces contains a variety of embossing shapes, borders & scoring lines. One surface is dedicated to envelope making, another to card folding (gate folds, accordion folds, half folds). Underneath one of the interior surfaces is a small storage area that holds the cutting tools, bone folders &  bow making pegs. Along with a complete instruction booklet and a  3 hour dvd,  the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion can help you “score, measure, trim, embellish, create boxes, shaped card blanks, envelopes and more” The features and tasks listed on the packaging of this multi-purpose tool are:

·       Cardmaking

·       Envelope scorer

·       Box folder

·       Envelobox creator

·       Embossing designs

·       Decorative lines and corners

·       Popout & K-card creator

·       Bow maker

·       Built in paper trimmer

·       Storage compartment

I tried each of the features listed above and felt the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion delivered on all points. I was particularly surprised by the paper trimmer, which seems flimsy but actually makes very straight, crisp cuts. The cutting mouse can be used with or without the trimming tool and is extremely easy to handle. 

The Ultimate Crafter’s Companion comes with detailed instructions and an informative dvd. If you are not familiar with using a scoreboard, like me, these items are essential for making the more complicated assemblies – like the popout and K-cards, and for exploring the full potential of this multi-function tool. With a small amount of tutorial time, you can make some pretty impressive projects.

Here are a few of the projects I made with the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion.

I followed the simple directions in the booklet to make these cute triangle boxes (they’d make great Christmas ornaments, too)

The envelope maker board is particulary easy to navigate when used in conjunction with the handy paper size chart included in the booklet – this little one fits an ATC:

The board surfaces (4 all together) have a variety of embossing channels. I found the scallop embossing groove very handy when making this card:

And here’s a variation on the scallop border with this card:

My only complaints:

·       When you open the Crafter’s Companion from the ‘wrong’ side, all of the loose items, including the ruler and cutting blade, fall out.

·       The clip that holds the 2 sides of the case together is on the loose side and is not attached to the case – making it very easy to lose. Since the case needs the clip to stay closed, this could be a problem when you want to store or transport the item.

·       To put the cutting blade in place in the ‘cutting mouse’ you must handle the sharp, unprotected razor blade.

This tool would be handy for any level papercrafter. Its functions range from simple to advanced and the possibilities of what you can create are endless.   

The Glitter Girls Collection Embossing Boards

There are nearly 40 embossing boards in The Glitter Girls Collection, ranging in price from £7.50 and £19.99 and I was given two to review today.  Each board has a variety of designs on it allowing you to mix and match on both cards and scrapbook pages. These boards were were sent to us from The Happy Crafters

The Glitter Girls say that the ‘lovely designs provide a wealth of cardmaking possibilities’ and I would have to agree. The boards available cover loads and loads of occasions and using a tool (like the 6mm glitter ball tool from The Glitter Girls for just £2.50) you can create gorgeous embossed images.

The two multi-design embossing boards I had were the 12x12 Keepsake Card Craft ‘Treasured Memories’ (£19.99) and the ‘Boudoir ‘Embossing Boards (£14.99).  They are both double sided, maximising the number of designs available to you.  Both have comprehensive instructions printed on the packaging but if you need any further help then there’s a great website with videos, a gallery and contact details.  I did get a little confused by the instructions but they made more sense once I’d looked at the website and I was able to create a scrapbook page that used the edging and journaling square from the ‘Treasured Memories’ embossing board.  I highlighted them on the paper using ink.  The boards can be used for cards AND scrapbooks, however the designs are perhaps more suited to card making since they are large and make great focal points.  However elements on both boards can be used in scrapbooking. 

‘Treasured Memories’ has 12x12 lines that can be used to make a frame for the whole page plus ovals, circles, hearts, buttons, cupcake and candle and a fan.  ‘Boudoir’ has gems, curtains, hats, shoes, coat hanger, dressing screen, and female garments for those girly cards and girly pages. 

The Glitter Girls collection can be ordered worldwide and shipping is charged dependent on the weight of your order.  These embossing boards may seem expensive, however I think that the cost of these boards is justified for cardmaking where you could use them again and again to make gorgeous cards with your signature design. However I think that for scrapbooking the cost would seem less justified as you’re unlikely to use many of the designs over and over again.  Having said that, I would definitely use the board 12x12 Keepsake Card Craft ‘Treasured Memories’ again for scrapbooking.  The boards are extremely well made and appear hard wearing and from that respect they can be used again and again. 

All in all the boards are a great buy for card makers and the cost could be justified by the number of cards that can be made with them and it’s to card makers that these boards will appeal the most.  Scrapbookers will love some elements on each board but might not be able to justify the price with the elements having limited repeated use.

Crafters Workshop Templates

The Crafter’s Workshop provided us with a selection of their 6” x 6” and 12” x 12” templates to review.   

Each 6 x 6 template retails for $4.39, (£4.95) and the 12 x 12 templates retail for $6.59 (£7.95). Templates are readily available worldwide via online retailers.

There is one plastic template per package. Crafter’s Workshop says the templates are “for cardmaking, doodling, tracing, stenciling, quilting, sponging, stippling, sprtizing, chalking & more.”  I tried a variety of these techniques with several of the templates, for both cards and scrapbook layouts, and had success with all of them.  As I worked with them, I realized the possibilities are pretty endless with this product. You could use any ink, paint or pen – or combo of those mediums. You could work on paper or fabric or any other surface you can think of, even cake! They are extremely easy to use, durable and clean up very easily. Below are just a few of my samples. I feel I could have worked for an entire week and come up something new every day.

Spray ink is a great way to achieve a quick and dramatic result with these templates. An interesting by-product  of this technique is to ‘stamp’ with the inked side of the stencil after spraying through the template. This results in a positive impression of the template, which is quite striking. I used the Gathered Flowers  12 x 12 template for this example of positive/negative misting:

I used the positive print for background paper of this project:

Here is another spray ink technique with the Cherry Blossoms template, a pretty  ‘scenic’ 6 x 6 template with branches, small flowers and birds. The 6 x 6 is an ideal size for cardmaking.  I misted this with a brown glimmer mist onto a patterned paper:

Paper piercing + distress ink

The finer templates, like the Mini Dotted Scallop 6 x6 template, is an excellent tool for the paper piercing technique:

I did notice the templates with smaller openings produce the best results with an ink applicator or direct ink pad to template technique.

I made this card with the technique pictured above:

In addition to cardmaking and scrapbooking, the templates would also be suitable for quilters and even bakers. I decorated this batch of brownies with the Gathered Flowers template and some powdered sugar.

The Crafter’s Workshop is a family owned business that manufactures in the U.S. The wide variety of options and attention to detail make their products a pleasure to work with. Their templates are versatile and produce beautiful results.