Feeling Crafty? Whip Up an Amazing Card With Martha Stewart’s CraftStudio
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As a long time crafter, I’ve always been a fan of Martha Stewart, who is able to construct gorgeous decorations and recipes from mundane household ingredients.
Martha Stewart’s magazines are always a source of inspiration, so I was excited to check out her new iPad app, CraftStudio, which is designed to allow users to create and customize cards, invitations, scrapbook pages, and more.
CraftStudio opens with a video tutorial that takes you through all of the things that you can do with the app. This is a digital paper crafting app, so you will be able to construct all kinds of paper works with unique themes, backgrounds, and art.
First, you will need to choose a project size. Your options are a 5”x7” horizontal or vertical card, or a 5”x5” square card, all of which are standard print sizes. From there, you’re able to choose a theme.
There are quite a few themes available, from the every day, to birthdays, lace, nature, spring, summer, and vacation adventure, among others. Some themes are included, while others can be purchased in app for $1.99. Selecting a theme changes all of your available tools to fit the theme.
For example, selecting the birthday theme will give you a selection of matching birthday backgrounds to choose from, along with matching glitter, pens, and stickers. You’ll probably want to start with a background, and there are plenty of patterned backgrounds to choose from, along with a rainbow of solid colors.
After adding a background to your page, you can add another and layer them with the resizing tools (use pinch gestures to resize objects) or add other decorative elements like stamps, glitter, text, and stickers. You can also give your page a unique look with cutout designs.
Stamps are transparent, while stickers are not. Both come in a variety of shapes and designs. Playing with glitter is especially fun, because you choose a thickness of glue, draw with it, and then tilt your iPad to add the glitter. Text can be added, or you can draw on your card freehand with markers. You can even insert your own photos.
If you’re having trouble coming up with a creative inspiration (though I doubt that will happen with all of the tools in this app) you can check out design ideas in the gallery, and edit those to use yourself.
When you’ve completed a project, you can share it using email, Facebook, or Twitter, print it at home, or send it to Snapfish for professional printing. You can use your digital versions as keepsakes or for online invitations to events, and the printed versions can be used just like traditional cards.
What I liked: This app is beautifully designed, and it looks just like I’d expect a Martha Stewart app to look – polished, smooth, and refined. It’s got so many design options and it’s a lot of fun to play with, even if you’re not making anything serious. Kids and adults alike will love this app.
What I didn’t like: This app has a few bugs. After swapping one paper for another, I was unable to delete the paper from my card or modify it in any way. I also experienced several crashes. While this app is free right now, it will eventually be a paid app. I’m hoping the current in-app purchases will be included in the paid download, because $1.99 for extra themes in addition to $4.99 for the app is a bit pricy.
To buy or not to buy: This app is free, so grab it while you can! It’s definitely worth the download.
- App Name: Martha Stewart CraftStudio
- Version Reviewed: 1.0
- Category: Lifestyle
- Developer: Martha Stewart Living
- Price: Free ($4.99 in the future)
- Score:
