Once again PageSage has given us another phenomenal resource for learning new techniques and product information. This time though, with Tim Holtz to guide us, we have a DVD that will cater to people who are craving something beyond the basics. This DVD will inspire just about anyone who wants to learn. The DVD is so well done that even a person new to stamping could easily understand and follow along, but it also caters to those of us who crave more advanced techniques and information. At the HIA convention early this year (2004), Ranger Industries showcased several new products. Some of these new products from Ranger Industries are used by Tim in this DVD.

PageSage has certainly raised the bar for ALL instructional DVD’s that will ever come out on the market. It has a totally interactive menu and you can watch it all the way through, or jump to specific topics, tips or galleries of interest. So, not only is it an awesome learning tool, it provides you with the ability to easily use it as a reference. From the main menu, with a click of your mouse (or using the TV remote for your DVD player), you can quickly access any topic on the menu. You can just jump to the section you wish to review. The quality of the DVD (video and audio) is outstanding. Footage is crisp and clear, shot at just the right angle so you are never left wondering about anything. This is MUCH more than a simple instructional video. It is a resource I know I will personally use over and over again in the years to come. I quite look forward to all new DVD’s by PageSage.

As I watched this DVD, I quickly became enthralled with the multitude of techniques and useful information and tips. The DVD itself is 127+ minutes long, a full 2+ hours of information and demo’s without having to stand in line or bump elbows with a crowd. The PageSage camera crew is fantastic and I never once felt that I didn’t have a good view or felt that I was not able to see anything I wanted. The topics and demos are covered fully, in total…..without leaving any steps out or making you wonder how they got from one point to another. After each project is finished, you are also shown several ideas on how to create other projects using the same techniques and products. I watched the DVD once…..and then over the next two days I watched it three more times. It seems like every time you watch it, you see something you missed the time before – it is simply AMAZING.

I thought the way this DVD was presented was nothing short of charming and highly creative. They take you on a “journey” with Tim, complete with the suitcase!!!! You are shown how to get the most out of the supplies used and never once did I hear Tim say…”You can ONLY use this supply”…or “this is the BEST supply on the market.” I heard Tim say…”This is what I use; this is why I use it and this how I use.” It wasn’t a big advertising campaign for Ranger Industries or any other company. Quite honestly, I felt like Tim was right there in my home, face to face with me, teaching me the best techniques he knew.

The main menu of the DVD gives you the following choices:

PROJECTS
-Brushless Watercolor
-Distressing with Ink: this project section highlights the new Distress Inks from Ranger industries.
-Alcohol Ink Agates: this project section highlights the new Adirondack Alcohol Inks from Ranger Industries. -Brayered Embossing
-Faux Batik: this project section highlights the new Color Wash inks from Ranger Industries. (Who knew they were permanent on fabrics???WOW !!!)
-Fragments from Clay
-Domino Diary: another amazing project that even teaches you the basics of handmade/hand bound books in way that is not confusing or intimidating. Wow!
-Faux Soldering
-Altered Scrapbooking: I’m no scrapbooker, but I tell you what….this project has given me ideas on things to create that I never considered before. Talk about taking it my art to the next level…wow, this will surely provide me with another avenue of creativity to explore!

GALLERY
-this gallery is 100% interactive with the Projects portion of the DVD. Lots of eye candy here and it is fully narrated by Tim, giving you even more information on each project. As you see more possibilities in the gallery for each Project, you also can jump to that specific project.

EXTRAS
-Tips from Projects: more tips which are arranged beautifully by topic. Click on the topic of choice, you immediately see the relevant tips and you can jump back to that section of the DVD if desired. FULLY interactive.
-Bloopers: one of my favorites!! See several outtakes from when they were creating the DVD.
-Stamps used in Projects: a complete listing of all stamps used listed by specific Project with the manufacturer names and specific stamp identification numbers when available.
-Supplies used in Projects: a complete list, with photos, of each product used with the product and manufacturer names. Web sites are given when available.
-Metric Conversions
-More Tim Holtz
-PageSage DVD’s: a beautifully done listing of PageSage DVD’s ones available now and ones soon to be released). It includes a listing of the projects in each DVD and also includes pictures of projects that will be completed in each DVD. This is a wonderful way of informing us about the DVD’s so we can decide if they are ones we may like to purchase in the future. As for me, it is fairly evident I’ll need ALL the DVD’s PageSage makes.
-DVD Credits

This DVD is not just for stampers or scrapbookers or even just paper artists. It will appeal to many people on a wide range of levels. But let me tell you one advantage this DVD gave to me that I NEVER expected. As many of you know, I have three children ranging in age from “almost” 16 (Kara/daughter), “almost 13” (Blake/son) and 9 (Angel/daughter). For the record, my oldest two are not inclined to stamp or even interested in arts and crafts. My oldest daughter, being the teenager she is, rarely even talks to me right now. My youngest daughter is highly creative and very much into arts and crafts. With this being said, let me share with you what my children thought of this DVD. I was totally amazed they even wanted to watch it – especially my son. Here are the comments from my peanut gallery!

Kara (age almost 16) says that if Tim looks like the rest of the “men in Mom’s stamping world”, she just might have to become creative and take up stamping. She’s holding off for a while, due to softball (a girl must have her priorities you know). Kara is NOT artistically inclined at all, unless her outstanding sense of humor and dry wit count! Kara would like to meet Tim.

Blake (age almost 13) says...”Men stamp?” I said...”Yes, and they eat quiche too.” Blake wants to know if Tim likes to fish and play baseball and Nintendo. (another non-artistically inclined child) He asked me also..”What is quiche?”, I told him to ask his dad when he gets home from work tonight! Blake asked me if I had the supplies Tim used, I said I did or would have quite soon. He thinks he might have to try a few of them out. The polymer clay is interesting to him.

Angel (age 9 and she IS extremely artistic and highly creative) says...”oh wow mom, he’s CUTE”. Seems Tim is even cuter than the new boy in her third grade class that she has a crush on. Angel got her “Tim fix” the first time we watched the DVD, then she watched it again more closely. She would like to know if she can use Elmer’s glue in place of the UTEE. Hold it...she’s said to tell you not to worry about that question, she’ll try it herself and figure it out. (I wonder how many bottles of Elmer’s glue she’s got squirreled away in her room? Thank goodness I’ve hidden all my push molds!)

I wanted you to hear what my children said about that DVD because it shows just how informative and educational it is. Seriously, if you can catch and hold the attention of an almost 16 year-old, an almost 13 year-old and 9 year-old and their mother for 2+ hours and then one of them watches it AGAIN......and two of those kids don’t even stamp....that is probably the BEST review you could possibly receive. And even though my almost 16 year old daughter was stuck on how cute Tim is, she actually is asking me questions about the projects he did. There was something in the DVD that interested all three of my children to the point that they are asking if we can try this thing or that. Geesh...my oldest daughter rarely speaks to me (being a teenager and all) and now she’s WANTING (dare I even say ASKING??) me to help her “try something artistic”? This is not just a DVD for stampers, scrapbookers, altered book artists and other artists; it’s a DVD for the entire family. Anything that gives me another avenue for communication and interaction with my children is MORE than worth the asking price. Of course, there are TONS of things in this DVD that also interest me.