What product do you wish was invented earlier in you stamping journey

[Rnruns60]

Part of me loves that the stamping industry is always coming out with new products . It's fun to look at and accumulate supplies. One of my biggest regrets though in my accumulation of supplies is the amount of ink that I have and the space it takes up.. When I started I didn't know what I was doing and bought random inks here and there from various companies. Since that time I've decided what inks I like best and what I use the most. I just wish that all these companies offered the ink cubes before I bought so many full sized pads. They are so much more convenient, less bulky, and give just as good an impression (in most cases, though I didn't like the PTI OR Simon Says cubes as well), plus they are so much more cost effective. I really am considering getting rid of all my full size pads except for my Gina k and Stampin up and using the cubes more often. I just got the Lawn Fawn ink cubes and love them. How about you? What products do you wish you had when you started stamping?

[stamphappy1650]

The MISTI. Hands down the best. Next would be my Big Shot.

[fionna51]

MISTI for sure!

[jeaniebean55]

I love my MISTI, but am happy with how my knowledge of how-to-play-with-this-mad-hobby-of-ours and what-all-there-is-to-play-with is at such a mismatch, which means there's a world of fun exploring yet to be.

[scrapbook4ever]

I'm with you all--the Misti. Here in Canada, I had to pay $100 for the large one. A great investment, but a bit pricey.

[susie australia]

MISTI without a doubt. It is the fireseason here and the only craft thing in my 'Go Bag' is MISTI.

[Benzi]

MISTI.....best tool I've ever owned.

[canada goose]

WRMK precission Press.

[wavejumper]

I appreciate the frustration in having inks you dont like much-but the only way to know that is to try them. Dont throw out the big ones. Pass them onto a new stamper or send to the You matter project or Mcdonald House etc.

The little pads are cool. Big shot and heat gun were immediate with me.

I have the perfect layers (rulers) now...I have to play with them, but if I can make them work...I am going to say that since straight and nice layers were very problematic to me for years till I got the SB layers. These will be much more flexible though.

[postmark]

I never would have purchased my circle cutter if all the circle framelits had been on the market. I would happily give away a good share of my Sizzix BIG dies in place of framelits. Enamel dots before brads and eyelets. Photopolymer stamps (stampin up) in place of all the wood stamps.

[Bohodiva]

Clear stamps

[lynnewithane]

Space saving options.

Framelits instead of the big fat dies.
Clear blocks instead of wood mounted stamps.
I don't have a Misti yet, but I'm sure it will eventually be on my list.

[lutheran]

My SU! trimmer and scoreboard, best of both I have ever used and I don't have to shop for those two items ever again!
Mary Beth

[jukie]

a crafting time finding machine...oh wait that still hasn't been invented :rolleyes:

The silhouette Cameo so I didn't spend all that money on dies.

[RenT]

Scoreboard! Use it every time.

Back when I was super into eyelets, if the crop-a-dile would've been invented sooner it would have saved me hours of pounding with that little hammer lol.

[purpleflowers]

The MISTI comes to mind immediately, as it did for many others. It really is amazing how much that tool has improved my stamping, taking the frustration out of getting a good impression. I can't image stamping without it anymore.

Next, clear stamps and wafer thin/etched dies, especially to match stamps! I wasn't enthused about dies as much when they were just the big old chunky/solid stuff like we used for bulletin boards at school.

I also thought about the crop-a-dile in terms of eyelets.

[Catherine773]

Oh my gosh that just made me laugh out loud - the post about using the little hammer for eyelets. After the hammer, I even had these weird spring like sticks/bars that you pulled on to create tension and when it snapped down, it set the eyelet. My arms would get sore from having to pull so hard, lol. I still have my hammer tucked away somewhere that I come across every now and then and it makes me giggle when I see it.

So yes, I'm grateful for the crop-a-dile too! I'm also grateful for the creation of American Craft's THICKERS. I used to die cut out alphabets in different fonts - primarily in foam and chipboard - and then decorate them. It took so much time! Not it's so easy with all the different fonts and colors Thickers have available.

I'm also so grateful for the DVD style storage cases for stamps from SU where you can see the images on the spine vs. the old clunky clear boxes with just the name on the side. The old storage boxes were all different sizes and stacking them in high vertical piles would drive me crazy but that was my only option at the time! Now you can quickly scan the images on the spine to find what you are looking for, the cases are all the same size, and look really nice lined up.

I'm also a big fan of the oversized 6 x 6 background stamps by companies like Impression Obsession - especially the ones where you can stamp the card vertically or horizontally - and the whole front is stamped. I have tons of SU ones that I absolutely love, but I wish they would fill the whole card regardless of which direction you have the card.

That's all I can think of at the minute! I know there's tons more though!

[Annecards]

The little hammer for eyelets I still have one! The MISTI hands down for me!

[KristaTracy]

Big Shot and Dies! I still have so many punches, and while they are useful in some situations, they take up a lot of room and cost a lot of money.

[lynnewithane]

I really like punches. For a small shape, they're just so much quicker than whipping out the big shot.

So, another wish for me would be the space saving punches.

[maryalena]

The MISTI. It even makes up for the bad inks in good colors situation. Stamp it three times and a bad ink becomes a good ink. Not that I didn't learn my lesson buying certain brands of ink but at least I can use it up until the refills run out.

[JoBear2]

Definitely my MISTI

Also, circle + scalloped circle and oval + scalloped oval dies BEFORE I invested in the Clever Lever punches of assorted circles, scalloped circles, ovals and scalloped ovals. I still have them and use them occasionally but they do take up alot of room.

And fine detail embossing powder. I can't tell you the amount of times I would heat-emboss a sentiment only to find the sentiment is no longer clear as the embossing powder has muddied the appearance of the sentiment.

Martha Stewart Scoring Board - it was so hard to score lines before I had it :rolleyes:

Bow Easy: I couldn't tie a pretty bow to save myself before I had this tool.

[maryalena]

Yes on the dies and the fine emboss and the MS scoring board. Those all made things easier and better. Bow Easy I don't know about but a bow tied left handed is not a thing of beauty. I'll give that a whirl.

[arlenevita]

Clear stamps, MISTI, stamp shammy, Wink of Stella/SN shimmer markers, Zig Clear Color Brush Markers, ink cubes, dies that match clear stamps

[ladyofcards]

The best thing I use the most is my Silhouette Cameo! I hardly ever use dies any more. It saves so much money! Now that I have conquered the print & cut feature I can make embellishments out of any picture I see on the internet! I can print words that match my paper and cut them out! Using any font on your computer!
My next favorite thing is my Misti. I was a terrible stamper before the Misti. Now I see those corners on sale they are coming home to me!

[MN_Stamper]

Without a doubt, the MISTI, followed by score boards, clear stamps a,d wafer thin dies.

[bonniestamper]

The Misti has made all the difference for me... I'm picky, picky and not happy with uneven stamping on my cards..

[ShariW]

The MISTI hands down along with well produced polymer stamps. Then there is the wafer thin dies! Also all the wonderful videos that all of you produce to help me learn and tweak my creativity. I could have used them when I started out. Magazines are nice, but actually watching y'all actually do the technique is very helpful.

[ejluyk]

Clear stamps vs. wood blocks (I still have lots of wooden ones; thinning them out).MISTI, but I should have purchased the larger one, I tend to create larger cards.

[sthoeny]

For me its the dies or punches that match stamps. I spent many hours fussy cutting out images.

[diecuts4u]

Brother Scan and Cut 2---How is it I never knew what it could do. Being an avid cardmaker I did not know you can stamp numerous images on a sheet, scan that sheet and then the machine cuts them all out for you. This eliminates my need to buy dies to match my stamps
To think of all the fussy cutting I have done thru the years==this machine eliminates that.
It has taken me a long time to wrap my head around buying another diecut machine but I did it is my game changer in my crafting endeavors.
Being able to download and scan anything or my own stamping images makes it my most valued stamping tool.