For All Craft Lovers
Written: Aug 18 '08 (Updated Aug 26 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Product Testing, Templates for projects, some unique craft content.
Cons: Length, short on details, personally I never received one of the gifts promised.
The Bottom Line: I recommend this if you like a quick read, fun crafts and tips. I do not if you are looking for something lengthy or only interested in one specific craft.
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| tandaw's Full Review: Today's Creative Home Arts Magazine |
Update: I sent the review link to the Creative Home Arts member center and they in return emailed me an apology for my not receiving the shoulder portfolio as promised. They very kindly re-ordered it for me and I should have it in the next 10 -14 days. I appreciate the fact that they were willing to admit a mistake and correct it without a lot of hassle.
The Basics:
Today’s Creative Home Art’s magazine is sent out bi-monthly
Subscription cost: $24 per year
In Every Issue Summary:
Between Friends- Letters submitted by readers with craft ideas, suggestions, helpful hints and tips and if your letter is used they will pay you $25.
Creative Connections- A few projects and fun things taken from the "meeting room" at the magazine website.
Coming Next- Summary of top features and crafts for the next issue.
Contest Announcements- Every issue offers a new crafting contest. You will find the details listed on the page.
Contest Winners- Winners from previous crafting contests are showcased here with a picture of their completed project. There are normally several top winners and many worthy nominations to be found here.
Contributors- A list of contributors and freelance authors included in the current issue. There are also a few paragraphs about the featured contributor for the issue. Recent contributors have include some well know faces such as Jane Seymour and Marie Osmond as well as popular craft teachers from do it yourself type television shows.
Great Giveaway- This is a list of the prizes you can win by sending in a postcard with your information or entering online. You can enter online once per day. You will also find a list of previous contest winners here.
Member Benefits- Here you will find a list of member privileges. There are many benefits to subscribing for a year and many more if you join the lifetime membership club.
Member Tested- As a member you can join the product testing club and receive FREE craft aids to try and review. In this department you will see the products sent out and what the reviewers had to say. The cost of the items are listed and an overall rating is given as well.
My Favorite Room- One member is featured in each issue by sending in a room they have remodeled or decorated.
The Basics/Patterns- How-to guides and templates for the craft projects featured.
What’s Hot, What’s Not- Reviews of a few popular craft products.
I received my first issue to Today’s Creative Home Art’s as a free promotion offered in a scrapbook newsletter I got by email. I enjoy many different types of crafts and this sounded like a magazine I would like. I don’t remember exactly what the ad description said but I do remember I was looking forward to finding new craft projects and learning how to improve my techniques, reading about other crafters and their projects and learning about new crafting aids when or before they came out. I do remember it specifically mentioned the benefit of free product testing because that sounded like a good enough reason to try the magazine’s offer of a free issue if only to find out more about that.
The day the magazine arrived I was very excited. The front cover was bright and cheerful and the bold writing listed feature articles and projects that sounded interesting. Even though I wanted to read it right then I had other things I had to finish first. I promised myself that as soon as the kids were tucked in for the night I would treat myself to a nice long read. I cheated a little though and flipped through the pages despite the fact I knew I should be doing other things. The fact that the pages were as bright and fun looking as the cover made it seem like 9:00. P.M. would never get here. I noticed however that there were not many pages, especially for a bi-monthly magazine. I still had high expectations and was hoping that the content would be so good that the length wouldn't matter.
Finally it was time for me to read my first copy of Today’s Creative Home Art’s. While I enjoyed the issue it was not all I expected it to be. It certainly did have information on a lot of new and fun products but they seemed to all be in the form of an advertisement. At least 1/3 but probably more of the magazine was advertising for craft stores or products. While many of the advertisements were informative or showed items I was interested in learning more about I still felt that the magazine was based more on selling products than what the subscribing members would like to read about.
I first read an article about a crafter that made many different crafts and was very creative with what she used and made. There were a couple of pictures of her items that were very good. The article however was short and to the point. Basically saying she was a crafter who made a lot of neat things. It didn’t talk about how she got started crafting, her unique style or the techniques she used or tell how to make any of the crafts shown. It may have been enough for most people but I would have liked more details. Over the past couple of years the magazine has improved somewhat on the details but I find that many of the articles are still written like that. They give you a paragraph or maybe two but the details seem to be lacking somewhat.
One of the things I love about the magazine is the way the project pages are set up. First of all the items you need are written in a separate box and you can see everything in one quick glance. There is always a picture of the completed item. Then each craft is rated in three areas and on three levels. They list the skill required to complete the project, time thought it will take to finish it and the cost estimated if you use exactly the items listed. Each project can include and combination of these three levels. The scale is as follows:
Level Skill Time Cost
1 Beginner 1 to 3 hours under $20
2 Intermediate 4 to 6 hours $25-$50
3 Advanced More than 6 hours over $50
Many times you will find templates included that you can cut out (or copy if you prefer not to cut your magazine up) and use to help you with a featured craft. Also you should watch for the circle showing you that there is more information listed about the project at the Creative Home Art’s website.
When you subscribe to the magazine you can fill out a profile to become a product tester. It is a simple for asking you about what your hobbies are and your favorite crafts so you can be sent items to review that you will actually use. The items are sent to you free of charge and they are yours to keep. Most of the reviews are in survey form and very easy to fill out. Then you write a couple of lines about what you thought of the item and that is all there is to it. The testers are chosen at random so it is a fair process. How many products you receive is mostly based on how many different crafts you enjoy doing and what you listed in y our profile. I have personally received 3 test products so far in the 2 years I have been a club member. The products range in price from a few cents to hundreds of dollars. You receive them in the mail or by email if it is a digital subscription site or a download. Once you try it out you fill out and return your opinion questionnaire. Often you can do this online or you may receive a small card or an 8x10 paper to fill out. As I said before though they questions are simple and it doesn’t take much time to write the review.
After my free issue I signed up for a 2 year subscription with a join for 1 year and get the 2nd year free coupon. Meaning that I would get 12 issues for $24 over two years I received a couple of free small gifts when I subscribed and subscribing allows you to access special internet content and includes a $10 rebate on featured items you can purchase through the club. The items change with each issue and you may find special offers on the website.
There is also an option to sign up for a lifetime membership. This offers many extra advantages and more free gifts however these gifts are worth much more than the small ones you get for your 1 year subscription. Lifetime membership costs $336 payable in monthly installments of $28. They do take off the amount you have paid for your subscription however so when I joined they took off the $24 I had already paid making my total $312.
Lifetime Member Benefits:
Magazine- Lifetime subscription to the magazine.
Product Testing- Lifetime eligibility for receiving and reviewing test products.
Website- Complete access to the website including special content for lifetime members only.
Customer Service- Life members have a 1-800 phone number to reach representatives just for life members. Avoid being on hold for long periods of time and reach someone trained to help with any questions you may have.
Gifts- When you join you receive a keychain, craftmat with a rotary cutter, a life member lapel pin, set of 6 rubber stamps, membership card with your life member number on the front and the toll-free customer service number listed on the back. At 6 months you receive a shoulder carry-all to hold your craft projects and tools you are using. With your 12th and final payment you receive a shoulder organizer and a rolling project tote carry all. (The carry
all alone cost anywhere from $99-$150 in stores.)
Total Value- The value of all the gifts and benefits is estimated to be $1,165.00
The only problem I have had with them is that I have still never received the shoulder organizer. I am not happy about that because the gifts are the reason I signed up for a lifetime membership. It is rather expensive and I do think they should follow through with the promises made. I haven’t found any other members that have complained about not receiving any of the gifts they were suppose to get though.
The website is listed as one of the benefits to life members. I have personally found a number of things that I enjoy about the website. In addition to the extra information about projects in the magazine you find there are many other projects listed with detailed instructions. There is a forum where you can share your craft ideas with other members and find many great suggestions and ideas. Once you are logged in you can enter the prize giveaway with one click daily. Look here for deals, discounts, bargains, rebate offers, links to other great bonuses and offers, and so much more. You can sign up for your subscription on the website however one thing I looked for but found was not included on the site was a bill pay option. I wanted to make my monthly payments for lifetime membership online but you can not do so. You can mail your dues or call a credit/debit card payment in but I think they would benefit with an online payment option.
Overall I really enjoy the magazine. I am still disappointed with the length of it and think more articles and projects would be a big improvement. I do understand that the magazine needs advertisers and I like seeing the products and finding links to store websites, but the ratio of ads and other content is off. Here again is where adding more content would be a benefit. At least it wouldn’t look like the magazine is made up of mostly advertisements. The articles and projects they do include are great though and I have made a couple of the crafts myself and have gotten many ideas for scrapbook pages.
Of course the product testing aids in making it worth subscribing and I like the reader reviews. I trust other crafters to be honest about how good a product is and whether it is worth the price you have to pay for it. Advertisers and anyone getting paid by a company will give good reviews regardless of how the product works.
If you like quick reads and fun projects then you will enjoy this magazine. You can find out more at the Creative Homearts website.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tandaw
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Member: Tania Dawson-Ellison
Location: Clanton,AL
Reviews written: 68
Trusted by: 20 members
About Me:
WAHM of Alex and Hannah , avid scrapbooker and a freebies/refund lover.
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