After the Purge, Part 4

As promised, I'd like to share some of my favorite tools and supplies with you. These are work-a-day items for which I'm extremely grateful. Perhaps you already have tools and supplies you love (feel free to share them in the comments!), and perhaps you'll get a few ideas for things to try.

1. The Scor-Pal. This is the original pal, which I purchased at an Archiver's many years ago with a coupon. The scoring tool that came with it wore down very quickly, so I used my sturdier bone folder (the bottom ivory-colored one), which has worked well for many years. The folder on top is a teflon folder that is BRILLIANT! No matter how much you rub the paper, it won't leave shiny marks. It's too soft to score with, but once I score a piece of paper with the harder tool on the Scor-Pal, I fold the paper and burnish the fold with the teflon tool. When one tool won't do, use two!

Every now and then, I wish I had the more current Scor-Pal or the Martha Stewart score board with lines every 1/8". The oddly-spaced scores on this board do irritate me on occasion...but not enough to buy the new one until this one cracks!

2. Ott-Lites. I have two on my desk and love, love, love them. The bulbs last forever and give such clean light that stamping at night is no problem. The clarity of the light is easy on my eyes and shows the true colors of ink, paper, and embellishments.

3. Adhesives. These are my favorite adhesives. The Tombow Mono Multi and Scotch Tacky Glue are white liquid glues that won't warp cardstock. Ninety percent of my sticking happens with them. The glue pens from Zig have different tips: one a ball-point for tiny glueing and one a felt tip for bigger gluing. They work perfectly for gluing die cuts or punched shapes. The Scotch temporary tape runner serves all sorts of purposes...especially for attaching masks to cardstock for sponged or stippled backgrounds. The large tape role at top is Scor-Tape, which I keep in 1/8", 1/4", and 1/2" widths. Because. You know. Options. For dimensional tape, I mainly use StampinUp or the squares from Michael's, but recently, my new favorite is Thin 3D Foam Squares, which are very thin and perfect for subtler dimensional pieces that are ever so much easier to mail. I've also combined them with thicker pieces to add two layers of pop to a card, which is ever so cool!

I have a whole drawer full of other adhesives for specialty applications. Again. Options.

4. Stamp cleaning. Such a mundane topic, but cleaning stamps is rather important, as anyone knows who's gone to stamp an image in a light pink only to realize that residual ink on the stamp turned that light pink into mud. Mud, I say! The Huggies container holds a damp washcloth for general cleaning needs, but to remove the residue, I spray Hero Arts Extra Clean stamp cleaner onto one side of the stamp scrubber. That stuff gets off anything and makes your next image true color every time. I do generally wipe a stamp on the damp washcloth after using the scrubber...just to be sure.

OCD? Me? Heavens, yes!

5. For small cutting, my 6" Omnigrid quilting ruler and craft knife work splendidly. The guidelines allow me to cut in 1/8" increments very easily, and as long as I keep my fingers out of the way, nothing gets stained with blood. Yay!

6. Must give a shout-out to Tina S., who gave me a MISTI a few years back. What a handy tool this is, especially for all the multi-step layering stamps that are so popular these days. I did spring for the magnet bars to hold paper down and wrapped them in a few layers of washi tape to give them tabs for easy placement.

A word of caution...these magnet bars are strong, and if you get them too close together, it might take a big, strong man to separate them. Very frustrating.

7. A mascot. He's my fuzzy good-luck charm lording benevolently over my workspace. And when I ruin something despite his good influence, holding this soft, warm squishy owl calms me down.

8. Dear hubby bought me a Fiskars 12" cutter about 17 years ago for Christmas. This workhorse has cut perfectly straight lines at perfectly right angles for me all these years. I replace the blade and cutting track periodically...and have several of each on hand just in case. (One note: the cutting track rotates on four sides before needing to be replaced. Those things last a very long time!)

9. To store paper, nothing beats these Cropper Hopper paper holders. The accordion files hold scraps, and the magazine holders hold full 8.5"x11" sheets. Dividers keep the different white cardstocks labeled clearly and also separate my PTI and StampinUp colored cardstocks.

My favorite white cardstocks are Papertrey Stampers Select, Neenah Solar White in 80# and 110#, and Gina K Deluxe White. The Gina K is coated and perfect for coloring with Copics on one-layer cards...no bleed-through.

10. Sterilite Storage Drawers. These 3-drawer plastic storage units are indispensable for me. The three drawers in the picture hold embellishments, but I have plastic drawer units stacked all over my craft area to store everything from fabric scraps to stencils to envelopes to inks to spare blades for my craft knife. The drawers are labeled with simple return address Avery labels, which peel easily off if I decide to rearrange things. The drawers are removable, which makes them super handy. 

11. My embellishment drawers sort my doo-dads and gee-gaws by color. Shown is my neutrals drawer. It's representative of what's held in the drawers for other colors: rhinestones, sequins, Stickles, Smooch, Stardust pens, Wink of Stella (although I only have those in clear). The neutrals overflow into the next drawer, which contains thread, twine, and other embellishments.

If you don't sort your embellishments by color, consider giving it a try. It's pretty awesome.

12. This darling Irish tea mug was a gift from my sister. It holds my Tim Holtz watercolor brushes and aqua brushes. These brushes work very well for cardmaking purposes and come in a nice assortment of sizes and shapes. I do have some finer watercolor brushes purchased in my book illumination days, and those are in a protected case for when I get back to illuminating.

13. Tools in my cup. A sturdy metal cup next to an OttLite holds my tools. The needle-nose pliers are handy for holding paper that's being heat embossed, and the scallop scissors snip the corners off a piece of cardstock to give a more finished look. The butter knife is handy for all sorts of odd jobs, including scoring, removing staples, and such. CutterBee scissors cut fussy or otherwise very precisely. The tweezers are ever so helpful for placing small die cuts or punched shapes, and the wood-handled awl on the end with a wine cork protecting me from punctures pokes holes where needed. It's proof that once upon a time, I practiced bookbinding.

14. Thanks to my friend Eva, I have a Cuttlebug. And this little darling makes me very happy indeed!

What tools and supplies do you find indispensable in your stash? I invite you to share!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan