The Tonic Craft Kit is a uniquely themed package of craft supplies from Tonic Studios containing exclusive products designed just for you. The Tonic Craft Kit contains an exclusive limited edition die and stamp set every month, along with a selection of Nuvo and Craft Perfect goodies. This kit is perfect for experienced crafters who are into mixed media, stamping, scrapbooking, and card making. This kit is $39.99 per kit plus shipping.
The Tonic Craft Kit will be accompanied by online step by step tutorials and inspiration from our talented design team. All customers will receive a free Tonic gift inside in your parcel each month.
My products were wrapped in bubble wrap and everything arrived safely to my mailbox.
I received Kit 10, also known as The Alphabet Frame Kit. I couldn’t find any instructions but the letter said I could find this info on their site, along with a website address. As of this writing I still haven’t found this kit on their site. I decided to visit the website.
Ok, so I guess I’m on my own here. I did internet searches and each and every one of them starred a serious crafter with an amazing craft room full of supplies. I basically only have a pair of scissors. I was in way over my head.
I thought everything was wrapped well and couldn’t wait to see what was in the box.
I found a folder with holes punched in the sides.
Inside the folders, I found a set of die cuts and stamps. These were unlike any stamps I have ever seen. I had no idea how to use them, and YouTube wasn’t very helpful.
Did I mention that I also lack a die cutting machine? I asked friends for help but most of them have computerized machines and my library had the same kind that I used at my local elementary school. I tried using a rolling-pin hack that I saw on YouTube and only succeeded in ruining my rolling-pin. I did a search and found a small machine for $39.99 at Michaels and used a half-off coupon to get it for $20. It turned out to be cheap and tiny, so I never got to use the alphabet frame die seen here, since the next machine up is closer to $100.
I received a folder.
The folder can be used to hold the other folder that had the die cuts and stamps. For the record, when I saw this kit had die cuts, I assumed they meant already pre-cut paper shapes. My bad.
They included the Nuvo Medium Flat Tipped Glue Pen ($3.29) and Nuvo Light Mist Spray Bottle ($4.27).
Next was a Tonic Studios 18mm Craft Knife ($3.49).
Instructions were included on the back.
Aren’t these beautiful? Nuvo Glitter Accents in Atlantic Drift ($7.22), Nuvo Shimmer Powder in Atlantis Burst ($4.99), and Nuvo Crystal Drops in English Mustard and Ripened Pumpkin ($2.69 each).
Even the lids are pretty!
There was a huge sticker.
I found a pack of several beautiful craft papers.
The shades all look like they are perfect for late summer or autumn. There were 7 papers in all in a variety of textures and some had patterns too.
This one is embossed to look like leather (I think it looks like ostrich skin).
This golden paper is embossed with roses.
As I mentioned earlier, these stamps were unlike any I have previously used. I consulted one of the other bloggers for some help, and Jenny suggested I use a cell phone to hold the stamp and it worked like a charm.
I didn’t have a stamp pad so I bought a basic black one thinking I could stamp it and then color it in. Nope. It just stamped it in black.
Next, I went over the stamp with a few different Crayola markers. I was much happier with this result, although it wasn’t perfect.
I also used the glue pen to go over the stamp, then stamped it on paper, then sprinkled it with glitter. Uh, just no. The stamps were easy to clean.
Here is the shimmer powder. I sprinkled a bit on some plain white paper.
Then I used the fine mist bottle to spray water over the paper.
The color was gorgeous! Maybe I should use card stock next time? I didn’t have any card stock on hand but it was only $2 for a package on sale at Michaels. When it came time to make my cards I was sad that I had misplaced this. I really wanted to use this on a card but it must have fallen out of the box somewhere and I haven’t been able to find it.
I was browsing the magazines at Barnes and Noble and discovered that Tonic Studios even has a magazine (imported from the UK!) but it was out of my price range. I bet it had a lot of good tips and it even has its own dies and stamps.
I have very little craft skills but managed to make this card using my tiny die cut machine and the banner dies. I used all the papers and even put some of those Crystal Drops on there. I used the glue pen and ended up with glue all over my fingers trying to place the letters so I used tweezers on the next card. I needed an awl to punch out the more intricate letters and I used a paper trimmer to get the sides even.
For this second card, I used the banner dies again, in two different sizes, and again I used the Crystal Drops. I’m actually quite happy with my results since I am a beginner. I don’t think I will be selling anytime soon on Etsy but I think my friends and family would like them.
I think the Tonic Craft Kit is perfect for serious crafters or those who are willing to put a lot of time and money into starting a new hobby. The products were of really good quality and I liked the assortment of colors and items sent. I was disappointed that this kit and instructions were not on the Tonic Studios website and I even reached out to them on Facebook and they never answered my question. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube where this kit was used but the crafters also used a lot of other products to get their finished results, such as other papers and accents, vellum and glitter to make windows, and so on. I am also disappointed that I didn’t get to use the alphabet frame but I don’t have the setup to do that. Maybe someday I will have those items but for now, I will store the dies in the folder for future use. I think I was expecting an “everything is included” kind of kit but that was my fault in misreading the site.
Update: I just found some “inspiration” on the Tonic Studios Site, so you can see what others did with their kits here. Also, Kit #11 ships July 1st and will have items to make Christmas and holiday themed cards.
What do you think of this month’s Tonic Craft Kit?
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