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Craft Product Reviews
The nice people at Cricut sent a Cricut Mini for us to take on a test run and we were amazed with the results.
When invisioning cutting machines, you'd be forgiven for limiting the imagination to just papercraft projects but in reality, this little machine is capable of so much more. Offering a number of blade depths and pressures, you can cut through a wide variety of materials - from card and fabric to magnet and chipboard.
The machine itself is sleek and compact, making it look great on any craft desk. The second thing that impressed us about the Cricut Mini was how easy it was to set up. You simply plug it in, connect it to your computer and download the free software (which you can even use online). From there, you're all set to start playing with shapes and designing your first project in the Cricut Craft-Room.
The shapes you can cut are limited to the cartridges you own (of which there are hundreds available to buy) - but you can scale, stretch, scew and weld shapes together to create endless combintations. The software also allows you to create layers, making it easy to build a project out of different colours and combinations of materials.
We created five projects to give you an idea of the range of crafts that are possible, including cut-out felt placemats, shrink plastic name necklaces, magnets of the 50 American states, etched jars using stencils; and paper cut eyelashes.
The only negatives are that the catridges are slightly expensive although you get lots of shapes on each one and sometimes the software crashes but they seem to be putting out updates frequently. That being said, we'd definetly recommend adding one of these wonderful machines to your crafting arsenal.
The super friendly team at Photojojo sent us one of their new iPhone Rangefinders to test out. We think it might be the perfect accessory for your craft desk and taking photos for your how-to's!
The Case
Not only does the case protect your iPhone but it transforms it in to an awesome retro camera with a selection of snap-on lenses. It has its own rangefinder and shutter button meaning that you can use your phone just like a point-and-shoot camera.
The lenses attach magneticically so they're really easy to snap on and off. They work with the case but also come with magnetic rings so you can use them with any phone camera.
Fish Eye Lens
Let's start with the fish eye as this lens is the most fun, allowing you to take close-up distorted shots for a comedy effect. This is great for taking fun photos of your pets and friends. The fish eye works great at fitting way more in to a shot than you can ever imagine, which is perfect for taking photos of your friends crowded around a table.
Macro / Wide Angle Lense
We think the macro lens is the most impressive of the three and is perfect for taking photos of close-up details that you can't even see with the naked eye.
The iPhone really struggles with this kind of close-up shot but the macro lens allows you to get so close that you're almost touching the subject.
Even better, this lens doubles up as a wide angle lens allowing you to fit even more in your shot.
Telephoto Lens
The telephoto lens adds optical zoom to your camera, giving you a 2x close-up. You can also use this with the built-in zoom on the phone, allowing you to get even closer up. Perfect if you spot something in the distance while out and about.
Note: These lenses also work in video mode so they're not just for stills!
The Rangefinder also comes with an attachement for mounting your iPhone on to a tripod, which is great if you don't have a steady hand and for holding the camera while recording video.
This is perfect for crafting, as we're always wishing we had a third hand for taking photos while working on projects.
The other great thing is that you can also attach a camera strap, which is perfect for taking photos while out and about. If, like us, you worry you might drop your phone while taking pictures, this will make sure that doesn't happen. You can also carry your phone around you neck, meaning that you're camera is always ready for snapping.
We love the iPhone Rangerfinder and think you will too!