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along with my precision plate and magnetic platform. I love using die cutting in my card making. I have a cuttlebug which worked okay...it just struggled with the more intricate dies that I like. I tried a magnetic plate which helped a little but I still wasn't always happy. Ive had many die cutting type machines over my years of paper crafting...electronic and manual. Ive found faults with all of them. However, so far, I love this Big shot. With the precision platform it cuts everything Ive have tried like butter. I just got the magnetic platform yesterday and it works great for positioning the dies.
Hopefully the honeymoon lasts with this one!
How about you...do you have a favorite new tool?
Isn't this like asking which is your favourite child? Lol
HAHAH YES!!
I agree with you that the Big Shot is one of the most practical, useful and reliable tools I've ever owned - I always tell my husband if there's a fire, we're grabbing the cats and the Big Shots.
It did get knocked out of the #1 spot by the MISTI, because I actually use the MISTI on every card, whereas my beloved Big Shot is used a little less frequently. If I only ended up with two tools, it would be these two, but I'd probably sneak a bone folder in in my shoe
I agree with you that the Big Shot is one of the most practical, useful and reliable tools I've ever owned - I always tell my husband if there's a fire, we're grabbing the cats and the Big Shots.
It did get knocked out of the #1 spot by the MISTI, because I actually use the MISTI on every card, whereas my beloved Big Shot is used a little less frequently. If I only ended up with two tools, it would be these two, but I'd probably sneak a bone folder in in my shoe
I agree! There are some tools that are just indispensable. I'd also add my Cinch and my Zutter Cutter, which eats thick book board and cardboard for breakfast.
I feel the same way about my Big Shot. I had a Cuttlebug for years that never got much use. I also have the original Cricut that I found to be a hassle. I stumbled across a used, but in excellent condition Big Shot at the end of last winter and it has totally changed my mind about die cuts. I love them now!
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
If your card has at least one 90 deg, perpendicular angle, you should able to place you card in the either the upper left or lower left corners and re-stamp perfectly.
If your stamp is new, that might be the culprit; sometimes new stamps have residue left on them from the manufacturer, which can be sticky and cause the cardstock to lift.
When I first got my MISTI, I used as many as 6 magnets at a time; i don't use nearly that number now, but experience helps.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I have the Misti also and I know this may be dangerous to say on here, but I don't love it. I'm happy for those that do though. I have nothing against it I just find I don't use it much or need it. My stamp press works fine for me. That Big a Shot though has been awesome! I played with it some more tonight and it even cut some very intricate snowflake dies that I couldn't get to cut before
My favorite tool is not new. It's my ATG adhesive gun. It's the one tool that I'd run out and replace ASAP if it broke.
While I like my Big Shot, I can't say that I love it. I just don't use it that much. I did buy oval and rectangle dies on Black Friday, so maybe with these basic shapes I'll get more use out of the Big Shot and can start calling it a favorite.
I don't own a MISTI. Maybe one day, but I'll have to start doing a lot more stamping before I can justify the purchase. In the meantime, I might try one of the homemade versions.
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
Well, that's annoying! Are you using pigment or Versamark ink? Very sticky or juicy inks can make the stamp stick to the paper.
If you can position the card stock tightly in a corner, that would help get it back in place more accurately (a crafter was demonstrating on YouTube and that happened, and she lifted the lid partially and popped the paper back down before lifting the lid all the way up).
Also wondering if you're pressing hard on the stamp once you lower the lid? You really don't have to press very hard at all � that has been the biggest surprise for me!
Hands down it is my MISTI! I love it! I printed the grid from mysweetpatunia.com onto acetate and layered that with cling vinyl (using for unmounting my wood stamps) and I get a perfectly centered stamp each time. I also bought quilter grid plastic (found on youtube video) that also helps align the project. Love, love love it!! I looked into making my own "MISTI", but I couldn't find the DVD cases. Also, I saw reviews where it was less than ideal. So...I sprung for the MISTI. Merry Christmas to me.
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
If you don't want to re-position it in the corner for some reason - or you're using the middle of the MISTI instead - just use washi tape to tape it to the grid paper and then make sure the grid paper is back in the corner each time.
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
My misti seems to be a little loose so I have a washi tape handle on one corner and pull the cover toward me with the washi handle each time so it stamps in the same place if I have to stamp twice for extra coverage. I have to push the paper back into the corner each time, too, because my clear stamps pull/suck the paper up. Not perfect but it works.
My Big Shot Plus was delivered today, so I haven't even had the chance to use it yet! It's replacing my worn out Cuttlebug. The price ($103) was too good to resist considering the wider opening for the bigger embossing folders and options it offered. With that said, not sure yet I can say it's my favorite, but I'm sure it will get LOTS of good use!
I also have a MISTI that gets used each time I stamp, so need I say more..... And I too could not live without that beautiful monstrosity known as my ATG, but it's not new!!!
I got my Misti to work better, but it was a rubber stamp with foam back. I had to put the magnets on left side of paper at top and bottom.
I'm used to using a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, so now I'm wondering how to calculate where a second layer stamp would be positioned, since you can't really tell where it will stamp with clear stamps, or of course, rubber stamps.
My new favorite tool is the Spellbinder Tool-n-one. I can now embrace any die cut, no matter how intricate. LOVE this nifty tool....and I see SU will be selling a similar tool in their new catalog
Location: along the bluffs of the Upper Mississippi River
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Hmmmmm.....I don't think I have any new tools. My cuttlebug is my favorite tool. I don't buy many tools. Don't get me wrong I have all the basics. Seems like I should have at least one new tool.
I don't want a Misiti for various reasons.
Just took a look at my stamping area....nope, no new tools to be seen!
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
My new favorite tool is the Spellbinder Tool-n-one. I can now embrace any die cut, no matter how intricate. LOVE this nifty tool....and I see SU will be selling a similar tool in their new catalog
Yes - and I didn't see why I *needed* one until I tried it in April - really is an amazing difference.
I have a Big Shot and a Grand Calibur but the cranking has become hard for me after my open heart surgery, so my DH bought me a Vagabond for my birthday in Sept.........and I love it!!! Now die cutting is such a pleasure. I got the MISTI for my birthday last year and I have to say that it is one of my all time favorites!
I have a Big Shot and a Grand Calibur but the cranking has become hard for me after my open heart surgery, so my DH bought me a Vagabond for my birthday in Sept.........and I love it!!! Now die cutting is such a pleasure. I got the MISTI for my birthday last year and I have to say that it is one of my all time favorites!
I was super duper unphased by the electric ones (I have the original - my beloved workhorse) until I used my friend Jana's Big Shot Express at a retreat - SO much easier on my hands and my frequent tennis elbow. I'm going to get the new one when it's available - this month I think.
That's what I miss about local stores - I could try new things and see what I did and didn't like before spending a dime. Now, someone in my circle has to take a plunge before I can do that - or I have to be that person. Luckily, the few times I've gambled on a new tool I've hit the jackpot.
Local stores. Sigh. So nice. I'm with you there. And the craft store chains are just rows of sealed product with no one who can answer real questions. Sigh.
But there is a resource, not for machines, it's called an art store. There might be one near you. Every single person will know the products and what they can and can't do. Most everything can be tried out. Brushes are clean and totally touchable. Paper is unwrapped. You can even buy pens, markers, and pencils as singles without paying a fortune for a set or shipping.
Craft stores are trendy and often junky with jumbled shelves and damage product. Art stores have limited scope and sometimes higher prices (they are local businesses and must "sell" their service to compete).
I miss my scrapbooking store, and my rubber stamping stores (we had three long ago). Now we have to rely on demos by people we trust on YouTube and in blogs. It works but it's not the same thing.
Yes. I know what an art store is
We have two - and they are great for many things (including classes) - but the venn diagram would be a very skinny overlap - especially on these big tools we're talking about. It's really too bad that fine art stores don't invest in die cutting machines and some of those other crossover tools.
Our local stores were not even close to junky - they were beautiful, neat and organized stores with beautiful and functional classrooms and I miss them terribly. What you're describing is more like the chain craft/hobby store.
I do love open stock pencils and markers, but our independent craft/stamping stores did that as well.
Um uh um… why do I feel like such a Luddite on this site? Must be my attitude about cost. The following is true for me and not intended to offend anyone.
I go for a Bic Reaction mechanical pencil, a Faber-Castell dust-free eraser (not 100% true but the crumbs are really small), Fiskars spring loaded Micro-Tip 6" scissors, Scrapbook Adhesives EZ Runner, my drafting table and my spring arm OttLight. Well, o.k, the Ott could be a lot of money but Joann's puts them on sale once a year. My sewing machine cost $21 and my SideKick was $55. All this talk sounds like no one can make anything without spending lots of money. Geez.
I made the huge mistake of waiting 2 years to get a Cruicut just as they released the new "improved" version. Ugh. Everyone works differently and I'm happy you're happy with your machines. Just don't mind me while I toss in a wooden shoe… your expensive machines can probably make art out it one way or another.
I totally hear you about the cost factor, and I can see where you'd get the impression that everyone on the site is out spending money all the time. Two things come to mind: while someone may be extolling the virtues of something that did cost a bit, it could be that they had to save up a while for it (I know that's true for me). The other thought is that a lot of people who get excited about "tools that make art" do so because they lack the talent (or, at least, the confidence in whatever talent they have) to be happy with the results they get without the tools.
I'm with you on the idea of "basics" that are tried and true, and I've seen many gorgeous creations done with nothing more than paper and paint (Biggan's gallery is testament to that!), so the other tools and toys aren't needed by everyone. But - if anyone wants/needs training wheels or just another way to express their creativity, kudos to them, too...
The other thought is that a lot of people who get excited about "tools that make art" do so because they lack the talent (or, at least, the confidence in whatever talent they have) to be happy with the results they get without the tools.
Ouch - I don't think people who love tools lack talent.
Just because you don't feel like doing this with an exacto doesn't mean you're not talented - it might just mean you only have an hour to devote to art every day and you don't want to spend it with your exacto
A funny story though. Gelli Plate was launched in the craft market first. I was looking for something else and started talking it up at my local art store. They all had done mono prints, some even made their own gelatin plates. Being smart people they had it on the shelves right away, and now all sorts are using this great product.
The Gelli Plate is a great example of why you DON'T want to DIY something. I'd monoprinted for years before it came out and DIY gelatin plates smell like a dead donkey baking in the Texas sun. The Gelli Plate is the only thing that makes that process enjoyable. After gagging through the creation of gelatin plates, that was the end of that for me. Worth every cent.
Tools are just that ... Tools. They've evolved over the years to make difficult job easier or an impossible job possible. There were arrowheads, then steel knives, put two knives together and form a scissors. Now, the talent lies is the ability to use the tools and assemble their products into art.
I used to work with some very talented photojournalists. They made photography look easy. Ten years ago, I bought a really nice digital camera and a couple lenses that cost more than the camera body--the same professional grade lenses used by photographers today. It took my former point and shoot camera skills to a whole new level! But . . . send me out with my fancy camera gear and give a true photographer a disposable film camera with no flash and I guarantee you the photographer's photos would blow mine away every time.
As some guys are fond of saying: It's not the tool, it's how you use it.
Dead donkey? Texas? Depends on what part of Texas, maybe. My part of the desert included jackrabbit pancakes� the kind you find on roads. They didn't smell like much. Too dry.
I tried to make a gelatin plate once� The single utterance that sums the failed attempt: Flat?! Maybe if I just balance it on top of� Has to have been divine intervention. No dead donkeys.
ROFL! I don't live in the desert - I live in Central Texas - if a donkey dies, it STINKS LIKE GELATIN.
Ouch - I don't think people who love tools lack talent.
Just because you don't feel like doing this with an exacto doesn't mean you're not talented - it might just mean you only have an hour to devote to art every day and you don't want to spend it with your exacto
TOTALLY not what I meant - I'm so sorry it sounded that way! That's why I included the parenthetical remark. I've heard a LOT of people say how excited they were about stamps because they couldn't draw, or dies because they couldn't fussy cut, and they felt like they could do something "artsy" and beautiful with those things. My personal view is that it's more a lack of confidence than talent, but that's apparently their view of themselves, so I was attempting to address that. I also added "...or just another way to express their creativity..." instead of just referring to tools as training wheels (which I don't think they are, but others may). I really, really wish that I was more adept at phrasing the true intent of the thought - somewhere there's a gap... Not my first taste of toe jam, unfortunately...
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 12-14-2015 at 08:36 PM..
Sue, is right. There are many people in the art arena who look down on crafters. That's OK. I see some artsy folks as egotists whose talent lies in their own head.:shock:
I've never learned to appreciate "ART", despite taking an art appreciation class in college and visiting the Smithsonian in D.C. I still don't understand why Picasso's paintings fetch such a high price. The guy couldn't get the eyes lined up on his portraits and he always painted people with noses on the side of their face. And if you ask me, I think anyone with a lot of paint, a good slinging arm and a wonderful maid can be a Jackson Pollock.
Yes, I'll be the first to admit that I'm a lowbrow crafter who should probably be banned from art museums.
I think the art vs. craft question is pretty much up to the judgement of the individual. I love Somerset Magazines, but sometimes I hold the issue up to my husband and I ask him, "HOW is this ART?" Other times I'm in awe. You go to the museum and there's a whole wall of three canvas's, all nothing but red. It's all art, but damn if I understand it. Then I look at Card Maker Magazine and I'm like, seriously? Why did you stick a flower on that frog, just to fill up space? But they got their flower-frog card in the magazine, right? So who am I to judge?
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
I have 3 magnets I use(I ordered extra) with my MISTI and have not had that problem...maybe another magnet would help for you! I love this tool as I am able to stamp over and over in the same place to make a nice black image and it works great!
I got my Misti to work better, but it was a rubber stamp with foam back. I had to put the magnets on left side of paper at top and bottom.
I'm used to using a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, so now I'm wondering how to calculate where a second layer stamp would be positioned, since you can't really tell where it will stamp with clear stamps, or of course, rubber stamps.
When you use your Stamp a Ma Jig, you need to first line up the plastic sheet that came with it in the stamp a ma jig, then stamp on the sheet.
Once you have the impression on the sheet, place the sheet over your target-stamping-area on your card, line up the stamp-a-ma-jig with the sheet, remove the sheet and then use the stamp-a-ma-jig to guide your stamp down to the same place the image was on the sheet.
I got a Big Shot for Christmas last year -- a total shock. I never imagined owning one. Other cutting tools (fancy templates, Fiskars cutter thingy that works with templates) have not worked well for me.
The Big Shot has resulted in my investment in versatile dies and embossing folders gives me excellent results (which don't require me to perfect my cutting skills, before I can make something that looks really nice or spend more time than I have on getting a job done).
Sometimes just cutting things out to experiment with later has been a great way to get some creative juices flowing, too. Like the crazy wrist corsages I spontaneously decided to make for my mom and my girlfriend, when they both unexpectedly had wrist casts. I wouldn't have gotten past the idea stage on those, if I hadn't had a bunch of wild-colored die-cut flowers on hand, because I had gotten a little crazy trying out a new die. We laughed until there were tears coming down our faces. It was so much fun to be able to do those crazy projects and bust a gut -- whether it's art or not.
Before I blabber on even more:
Tool In One -- So great to have, if you're going to use a die cutter!
Stamp-a-ma-jig -- Need practice, but it's simple and effective. Love it!
My favorite NEW tool is the MISTI. I made 90 Christmas cards again this year and used 4 different stamps, two of them in 3 different positions, and they all had to be stamped more than once to get the rich colors I wanted. I stamped 90 messages on the inside and didn't mess any of them up. Last year out of frustration I printed out the message and glued them in. I don't always use the magnets. I have two MISTIs as one seems to always be set up for a project. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my MISTI
I also made 5 Chanukah cards!
I also bought a $20 laminator and still getting this foiling thing down.
OLDIE BUT BESTIES: Big Shot, magnetic plate, Scor-Pal and bone folder!
Am presently working on a 120 piece project and a 500 piece project and use all these products except laminator on all 620 pieces.
Merry Christmas blessings!
__________________ ShariW
Trust in the Lord with all thine Heart-Prov.3:5a
"I made 90 Christmas cards again this year and used 4 different stamps, two of them in 3 different positions, and they all had to be stamped more than once to get the rich colors I wanted."
Art that is inclusive everyone and anything from dancing to Yellow Brick Road to drawing in the sand on the beach to making a card for a perfect strange far away. It's a special language.
Just got my Misti and I am unimpressed. Used with clear stamps, black pad on the bottom, 2 magnets to hold cardstock in place....stamped, and the cardstock came up with the stamp WHICH MOVED IT OUT OF PLACE, so I put cardstock back down and stamped again. Of course, it was not perfect, which is the whole reason for Misti. Any more magnets would interfere with stamping area. Any ideas?
I use a tiny bit of tape runner or a bit more of a repositionable adhesive. I've also used a thin metal ruler with a cork back to slide under the lid and press the paper back down. But I also usually press my paper into the corner so I can easily and simply realign it. But I rarely have to stamp more than once unless I'm doing a multicolor technique.
Favorite new tool...mine is my Big Shot!
