Ok friends, I have a few favorite crafting tools that are non Stampin’ Up! items. These are items I reach for regularly. Let me share these with you along with a brief description. By the way, if you want to look at these items in more detail (or purchase them) you can click on the photo. It is an Amazon link. (I am an Amazon affiliate. If you use the link to direct you to Amazon, you will never pay more for any items, but I may earn a small commission from your purchase). Also, you can always find these shopping links easily in the “Show More” section below of each of my YouTube videos. You don’t need to always come back to this article. Ok, let’s go!
Sand Eraser: I have found this an effective tool to use to help cure (or camouflage) an inky “boo boo”. We all get an ink smudge or perhaps “catch the edge” of an inked stamp every now and then. It happens. Often, but not always you can use the sand eraser to “erase” that smudge. It depends on how bad the smudge is – it needs to be fairly light. (This “eraser” is not going to rid a dark or large inky mistake. You’ll need to use other methods to cure that). To use, simply use it like an eraser and gently rub out your mistake. The sand, or grit, in the eraser will actually scrape or mar the card stock mildly in such a way as to remove some of the ink, while scratching the surface of the card stock, effectively “removing” or “camouflaging” the spot. Use a light touch. If it helps, great! If not, you’ll need to try one of many other options for curing a mistake.
Adhesive Eraser: Now this little gem is a lifesaver, or should I say card saver! Stampin’ Up! has carried this in the past, but at this time is not offering it. Many of you have used an adhesive remover during one of my classes. The nubby, sticky-ish texture of this eraser will remove liquid glue and also Stampin’ Seal from an area that got sticky by mistake. Simply rub the eraser over the residue you want to remove and it will pick it up.
Metal 6″ ruler: This metal ruler comes in a 2-pack. So you can share one with a friend, or keep them in 2 handy spots of your crafting space. (another version offers a 6″ with a 12″ ruler if you prefer). I use this little ruler for quickly measuring of a length of ribbon or to see how wide a strip of card stock might be. But I ALSO use this metal ruler to cleanly tear the end of of Tear & Tape adhesive as I’m attaching it to a project. You’ll see me do this in lots of videos. Click this link if you want to see and example…
Link: https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx-zTUaaBVnCqmrUWZIJCw4nv2RLOUYCvQ
Post It Tape: using bits of this tape can help you avoid frustration with die cuts! I like to add a small piece of tape to hold the die in place before running the “sandwich” through my die cutting machine. I use both the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine and the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Mini machine for my die cutting. But no matter which machine you use, you’ll find that taking a moment to tape your die down (especially over an intricate or detailed die) will keep it from slipping during the process and will give you a perfectly aligned, crisp cut-out image. You can reuse the pieces several times before they lose their effectiveness.
Magnetic parts bowl: this small bowl keeps my dies from disappearing! When doing a project where I am using multiple dies, this magnetic bowl keeps the dies within easy reach and keeps them from either falling off the table or getting buried beneath other project materials. Especially helpful with those teeny tiny dies like a leaf, bow or small flower.
Alcohol prep pads: oh my goodness these are great! There are multiple uses for these little alcohol pads. Somehow our acrylic blocks get grimey from regular use and need to be cleaned in order have good adhesion of the stamps. I can quickly clean the blocks using a prep pad. Also, if you’ve noticed your photopolymer stamps (the completely clear ones) not clinging well to the block, or if they are “dirty” on the surface even after cleaning the ink off them…you can gently clean these stamps with a prep pad. (NOTE: do not clean your Cling stamps, the red rubber ones, with alcohol prep pads as it will dry out the rubber). With both a clean block and a clean photopolymer stamp, you’ll find them “clinging” just like new! I also use a prep pad to clean my scissors and paper snips when they’ve gotten sticky or gummy. Use care so that you don’t accidentally cut yourself when cleaning these sharp tools. I also use a prep pad to clean my fingers if they’ve become sticky from liquid glue or if I got ink on them. I don’t know if the outside of your ink pads ever get “inky” but mine do, especially after passing them around in a stamp class. I can quickly clean up the outside case of the ink pad with a few swipes of a prep pad (use with caution, as I have had some labels smear from the alcohol). Lastly, I’ve grabbed a prep pad and used it to clean my stamping surface – my desk has a laminate top and can get sticky and the silicone mat that I often stamp on top of can get sticky too. An alcohol pad removes all the sticky residue that builds up on those surfaces. (A reliable option to using prep pads is simply using a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol however, the ease and convenience of the prep pads far outweighs the potential mess or waste of doing it this way).
Paper Storage for 12 x 12 DSP: this method has worked well for me. I have lots of these sleeves, that come in a 3-pack. I just keep one design of DSP in each sleeve. (Multiple packages of DSP will fit in one sleeve in needed). They are sized perfectly so that the paper fits in easily with just a little wiggle room. Once I have cut the paper and now have little scraps, I can slip the scraps into the same sleeve and they don’t go missing. You can label them if you wish – I don’t because I end up reusing and rotating them as my DSP supply changes. Once the DSP is inside the sleeves, I can put multiple sleeves into a vertical holder, shown next.
Vertical Paper Holder: this is the holder that I keep the filled DSP sleeves in. It will hold several sleeves. With these 2 products working together, I have an easy accessible library of my 12 x 12 DSP.
Mini Wobbles: I’m going to throw in this bonus item. It’s not that I use it often, but when I need it, there is no better substitution. Sometimes I just need to add whimsy to a card or project. This element not only pops the image up off the page, but allows it some movement. These are called Mini Wobbles. You can simply attach a wobble to the back of your cut-out image and attach it to your project. I’ve included 2 video links if you need to see how a wobble can be used.
Well friends, that sums it up for now. Thank you for stopping by and I hope something from this article will be of help to you as you continue your adventure in creativity!
Hugs & Happy Stamping!