Devices can either be a distraction from crafting projects or a tool. These applications turn a tablet or phone into one of the best crafting tools out there, creating inspiration and providing instruction.
Etsy Addict is a quick door to the largest online crafting marketplace. It allows the user to view items, mark their favorites and track ratings. This craft app is especially handy for a crafter with an Etsy account, to track sales and keep tabs on his or her store.
Use all the resources of the super crafting chain to peruse unique projects and helpful how-tos. It's also got the inside scoop on what's on sale at
Michael's. Best part? It's free.
A free craft app from
Joann Fabric and Craft Stores is loaded with tutorials, videos and photos of great projects. It also has a shopping list tool to keep track of all the things a crafter needs for her next project. And, of course, this app has updates on the weekly sales at JoAnn to help crafters stay within their budget.
If you've made the jump from paper scrapbooks to digital ones, you might already know about
ScrapPad. It's a $4.99 craft app, and it's dangerously addictive. There are also a lot of add-on packages available to make your scrapbooks as customized as they were when they were tangible. One of the benefits of ScrapPad and other digital scrapbooks is the space they save. The crafting area is pristine no matter when you decide to stop.
Ideal for interior design and remodeling projects,
Home 3D allows the user to create their dream home. A versatile feature allows a designer to use any photo in their iPad's library as a floor or wall material. At $8.99, it initially looks a bit pricey; however, the furniture and additional materials are free, unlike with similar craft apps.
JKnit HD Pro is a library of patterns stored as PDFs and viewed via their custom knitting web portals. Knitters can upload their own patterns, or download some from the app's site. It also gives reminders for events in each row of a project, and keeps track of where the user stopped in their project. If you're not ready to spend $10 on a knitting app, check out the
lite version for free.
For those of us who need a new craft project like a nightstand to refinish or some cheap shirts to scrap for fabric,
Rumgr is a great free craft app for the iPhone that will help the user find garage sales around the neighborhood, displaying the goods for sale in an aesthetically pleasing way. It's perhaps the new best way to find hidden gems.
With over 550,000 images of gorgeous, crafty ideas for home design,
Houzz Interior Design Ideas is a beautiful craft app and home decor tool. Users can create ideabooks, purchase inspiring products or hire a contractor or architect all from within the app.
HGTV Shelf is a craft app for home decor enthusiasts. It has dozens of DIY video and photo tutorials and articles that can be used to organize, optimize and decorate homes and gardens with advice from the experts at HGTV.
With the most extensive range of food decorating products, it makes sense that
Wilton's craft app would have a ton of great ideas and new designs. The decorating mode makes it easy to follow step-by-step instructions while the user is in the kitchen, and they also have a bunch of Wilton recipes built into this handy cake decorating tool.