Darby Smart review, April 2014

Today has been a busy day. I worked on a few freelance writing assignments, and just now got back from taking my dog, Henry, to a class at my local humane society. The class was intended to teach kids about puppy mills, and because Henry is a puppy mill rescue, he was the "spokesdog" for the evening. He had a lot of fun, and I was amazed at the passion the kids showed about the issue. If you take nothing else away from this blog, take away this: puppy mills are terrible places, and should be abolished.

Here's a picture of Henry giving the stink-eye to puppy mills:

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and get on to the real subject of this entry. I received my April Darby Smart shipment today, and was so excited that I had to post about it right away. Darby Smart is a subscription service that, every month, sends out all the tools and instructions you'll need to create a craft project. And these craft projects aren't just "cotton ball snowmen" types of things. Last month, I received two bamboo cutting boards and a woodburning wand with which I could decorate them. I was really excited to receive that project, and even more excited by what I found in this month's box.

Here's a picture of the box after I tore into it. (I wish I had the patience to take photos before I open my subscription boxes, but I'm always too excited to see what's inside of them.)

And here's what was in it. In case you can't see the writing on the card, this is a metal stamping kit. I've wanted to try out metal stamping for AGES. I've seen all kinds of cute, personalized jewelry on Pinterest, and would love to make my own, but didn't really have any idea how to go about doing it. Now, thanks to Darby Smart, I do!

The kit contains an eight-ounce hammer, a metal block, a set of letter stamps, and some metal pendants, along with instructions on how to personalize the pendants with your metal-stamped messages.

It's like Darby Smart read my mind and sent a kit perfectly tailored to my crafting interests! I love the fact that the projects it sends out have (so far) introduced me to a variety of techniques that I might not otherwise have attempted. Plus, the materials and the instructions it provides are very high quality. I probably won't get a chance to tackle this project right away, but I'll be saving it for a rainy day when I need a fun diversion. I'm seeing lots of personalized jewelry in my future!

If you want to join Darby Smart and get crafty for $19 a month, sign up here: Darby Smart subscription link.