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I recently bought a guillotine paper cutter. I've seen many videos where this is a card makers go to for cutting paper. I rarely use it. Instead, I use a rotary cutter with a quilters ruler. I've been using it since I started card making and find it very easy to use. I was a quilter before I started making cards and this is the technique I used to cut fabric. However, I've never seen anyone else use this technique. Am I just an oddball? Also, does anyone else have a unique technique that most others do not use? Please share your techniques as I love to learn new things.
Perhaps not a technique but if I am brayering, stippling, etc where a protective layer is needed, I use "good" cardstock in white or ivory.
The result is a unique masterboard. If I love it, it gets scanned and color printed. I usually get out a OSW (One Sheet Wonder) sketch to get the most creations from it.
I recently got a guillotine paper cutter too. No, you are not the only one ComradeBunny. I use my rotary cutter & ruler too. I also use my craft knife and ruler. I prefer them. That is how I started paper crafting.
I have been blessed over the years to play with trendy tools. I prefer my simple tools the most.
When I glue something I use a bottle cap to burnish the project down on my cardstock.
I use my pencil and eraser to make new die cuts. I know that is so cheeky. I really do. I have lots of lovely die cuts and machines. I get in my zone and want a die cut so I sketch it out, cut it out and I have my die cut.
I am so tired I can't think of all the creative tool uses I am always coming up with. I hope there are more examples shared. I know I can come up with some more.
I do have a guillotine too, but my preferred method is a scalpel & ruler. Mainly because I tend to matt my pieces, then trim, rather than start with precut pieces. This way I can change my border widths while I'm creating if I want to.
I have never ever used a bone folder for scoring- I use one of my embossing stylus.
Same as everyone else...I have guillotine and regular cutters too but still reach for my quilting ruler and rotary cutter. Haven't cut my finger...yet but came close a couple of times! LOL Old habits die hard!
I knew somebody would jog my memory for unique tool uses. I had a feeling one of the girls would be Shaz.
Yes, embossing stylus for scoring. Last month I got rid of my old bone folder in Martha's Scoring board and put my new bone folder in that little compartment because I hardly use a bone folder. I love my embossing stylus. I also love empty pens to score cardstock and Nintendo Stylus make great scoring tools. I use a milk jug flare as a bone folder when I do use one.
Like Shaz why I love my knife and ruler is because I like to customize my own borders and mat my pieces.
I thought of another one. I took a Cuttlebug plate and turned it into a "Fiskars" stamp press. It is one of my best presses. I got rid of my large Fiskars press last year because it didn't work as good as my Cuttlebug one.
I saved the metal cutting piece off of a cardboard box of adhesive. It's the best scraper for cards and mixed media ever, purchased ones made for that purpose don't come close.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
__________________ 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.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
Thanks, Sue and Adriana. I've been doing this for so long, it's just become old hat. I learned it here and it was one of those "duh" moments.
__________________ 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 learned a tip from Lydia (Understandblue) that has helped me countless times. If you need 3 equal columns on letter-sized paper, instead of doing the math and making tick marks, there's a much easier and faster way to do this. Take a ruler, line it up diagonally on the paper, with the "0" mark in the upper left-hand corner and the 9" mark on the right edge of the paper. Make tick marks at 3" & 6" along this diagonal line. Repeat this, sliding the ruler down a few inches. Draw a line connecting the left tick marks, and a line connecting the right tick marks, and you have your paper divided into 3 equal columns.
I use this a lot to set up color charts, and especially when I need to make watercolor palettes for my distress and other inks. Set up your grid, label your boxes, laminate your sheet and you have a reusable palette!
__________________ 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.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
I can't wait to try this! With my aging eyes this sounds like a life saver!
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I have a couple of the double-ended knitting needles, in two different sizes. Can be used for scoring, at a pinch, but also useful for pushing out waste from die-cuts (more oomph than a pokey tool for larger pieces) and even more so for pushing out the die-cut itself, avoiding any 'pin-holes' from the pokey tool if you have to push really hard.
I have an old fashioned stylus used about 30 years ago before computers and copiers. It was used to cut into the stencils before printing off using a Roneo machine (always got covered in ink too)
. It looked a bit like a tiny trowel and was ace for picking up gems and separating double sided tape. Unfortunately I dropped it and it has rolled under the kitchen unit and I cannot retrieve it.
I had a hair clip that wouldn't stay put and didn't want to wake anyone up this morning dragging out the tool chest so I grabbed my Crop-A-Dile to pinch it closed again. I've also used it to add holes to belts and shoe straps.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
brilliant...love it.
__________________
Jo
Proud Fan Club Member
...sure it�s got a catchy beat, but can you stamp to it?
life is something that happens only when you run out of cardstock
I use my Tim/Tonic pokey tool to make a hole in our cats' omega 3 hard gel caps in order to dribble the oil on their food. Our vet suggested a safety pin but grasping something tightly that is so small hurts my hand.
So now I need a new one for my die cuts - the new black one.
I use medical forceps for holding my ribbon while making a bow, especially for making a double bow. I also use an irrigation syringe for a few different purposes. I love the scalpel blade cutters that are now available. But the blades can�t be replaced. So I recently bought a scalpel handle on Kickstarter because it folds down thus protecting the blade and fingers. Apparently replacement blades are less than a dollar and you can buy any of the three available types to refill it. Sounds good and cost effective to me!
Rebecca Ednie, would you please explain? What's "Kickstarter?" Is that a place to purchase things or a product? Also, what do you use the empty syringes for? I have quite a few large syringes (approximately 3/4" diameter) that I won't throw out because I just know they'll be perfect for...something!
I use a paint applicator used for cutting in edges when painting walls that I use to scrub my stamps with. It's flat, so I stuck it onto a block from which I removed a large wood-mounted stamp. I also took 2 of them and glued them into an empty baby wipe travel case with Aleene's Tack It Over and Over. I spray one side with stamp cleaner or just water and use the other side to scrub it dry. I have attached a third one to the back of the case as another dry scrub surface.
I'm lazy about putting the caps back on my glue applicators when I'm gluing a bunch of things, and the needle nozzles tend to clog up. So I have an eraser into which I've stuck several different pins of different thicknesses. It makes it easy to pick the correct size pin to clean the nozzles.
I love this thread and your tips, especially Stampin Stacy's tip for a distressing tool!
In the early 80's I went to work for a bank in San Francisco in their Forms Design & Control dept. One of my tools was called a Multy Burnisher for rubbing down dry transfer letters. It's hard plastic, 6.5" long, about 1/4" thick and 7/8" wide. One end tapers down to a dull point all the way across, good for burnishing wider areas. The other end tapers to a dullish point, good for burnishing small areas or scoring. One side is broad and flat, and the other side has a 3" roller on it. When the bank sold to another bank after 130 years (sigh) my boss told me I could keep whatever tools I wanted. I kept many, and use them in my craft room, but the burnisher is my favorite tool, and I use that 30 year old tool every day.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
Call me confused. . . Not sure what you are doing here. . . Maybe I need another cup of coffee??
Is this so you can get that 1/4 inch (or what ever size) border around your second layer?? If so, I use the grid paper to determine the size I want and the just measure when using my cutter. . .
I have used my simply scored tool to score the cutting line but didn't like the look since the "ditch" was wider than the blade cut. . .
Anyway, off to get some coffee. . . This sounds interesting but cannot get my head around it. . .coffee. . .
I don't think it's too oddball, but I use a metal carpenter's "L" square and my old drafting triangles (or quilter's ruler or square) and X-acto knife to cut sometimes. I find it allows me to cut really tiny strips to straighten an edge or make it a tiny bit smaller. I butt the paper and metal "L" square against the edge of the drafting square straight edge and cut along the other perpendicular metal edge. Maybe the picture will show what I mean. The plastic has to be thick enough to butt both the paper and the metal ruler against; the ones with a sloped edge don't tend to work.
This also works to cut parallel strips or draw parallel lines for lettering if you slide the metal ruler along the plastic square as a guide.
Call me confused. . . Not sure what you are doing here. . . Maybe I need another cup of coffee??
Is this so you can get that 1/4 inch (or what ever size) border around your second layer?? If so, I use the grid paper to determine the size I want and the just measure when using my cutter. . .
I have used my simply scored tool to score the cutting line but didn't like the look since the "ditch" was wider than the blade cut. . .
Anyway, off to get some coffee. . . This sounds interesting but cannot get my head around it. . .coffee. . .
Lets see if I can help (though extra coffee works for me, too ;) )
She is talking about adding a card panel (a layer of card stock for example) to a card base of the exact same size. Sometimes it can be difficult to line them up; it can go on crooked or off center and in need of a trim. By laying the card base snug in the corner, then using that same corner to line up the next layer, there's a much better chance they will be perfectly aligned.
Thanks for the explanation, but I am curious as to why anyone would layer the same size upon the same size? I am willing to try it if I see a purpose. :-) LM
Quote:
Originally Posted by fl_beachbum
Lets see if I can help (though extra coffee works for me, too ;) )
She is talking about adding a card panel (a layer of card stock for example) to a card base of the exact same size. Sometimes it can be difficult to line them up; it can go on crooked or off center and in need of a trim. By laying the card base snug in the corner, then using that same corner to line up the next layer, there's a much better chance they will be perfectly aligned.
Thanks for the explanation, but I am curious as to why anyone would layer the same size upon the same size? I am willing to try it if I see a purpose. :-) LM
I make my card fronts separately then attach them to a white card base. That way, I only need white card bases and it saves buying lots and lots of coloured cardstock to make into card bases.
I can also write more easily on the inside of a white card base.
You know how folks use acrylic blocks to weight something down that they have just glued? Well I have an antique flatiron - it was at some point Tole-painted by a great Aunt or someone in that generation - that I use to flatten glued items on my card. I also picked up a heavy-weight doorstop of a chipmunk that I use sometimes too - he has a flat tail that is quite heavy.
@tillergirl
If you have a yardstick, you can probably get your tool out. If it could roll under there, there should be room for it, esp a metal one. It may or may not help to tape a magnet to the end. But dont get mad at me if some dust bunnies are not happy. lol For me I tend to drop stuff between things like file cabinets.
I was actually taught to work on postcards (CS the size of the card-I have bought them in A2 or A7, plain colors and in color) and attach them to the base. It can be much easier to move it around instead of working direct to a base. It also hides a messy back. I have also found if I do want it smaller than the base, I can run it through with one of the matting dies.
Paper clips. Presented to me as the McGyver tool for stampers. I use the large ones. Open them up-you can poke out dies, pick up sequins and rhinestones, closed I can spread glue or small amounts of paste in a stencil or scrape clean if you wrap it in a post it note, etc. lol
I have a double ended tool with sort of spoons of two different sizes-I am pretty sure I saw it the clay tool section? I use it for glitter.
Oh, I do it frequently. Often I've made a background piece using some technique, and use that as my base layer after cutting it to the same size as a card front. In fact for my square cards, which I buy precut and creased because it's less waste than cutting my own, I also buy uncreased single squares in the same size, work on those and then add them to the base. It just works better for me. Plus I often stitch, so that can't (tidily) be done straight on the card front.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LMstamps
Thanks for the explanation, but I am curious as to why anyone would layer the same size upon the same size? I am willing to try it if I see a purpose. :-) LM
Thanks for the explanation, but I am curious as to why anyone would layer the same size upon the same size? I am willing to try it if I see a purpose. :-) LM
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I color flowers with Copics, which bleed through the cardstock I use. I don't want that to show on the inside of my card. And sometimes I don't want to use a layer because I want the full panel to be the focus of my card.
Sometimes I use XPress-It Blending card when using my Copics, and the XPress-It doesn't match any white cardstock I own. So I cut the panel to cover the entire front of my card base.
Sometimes I use watercolors, and watercolor paper doesn't match my cardstock.
And sometimes, I like to use patterned paper on my card, a full panel, or just a strip along the side. Either way, using my method helps me get it straight.
Maybe this clarifies???
__________________ 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.
If using a full-size panel on the top of my card base, I use my ScorPal to align the panel to the base. You don't need the Scorpal to do this, a MISTI will work, or anything with a 90 deg angle, with an "L" shaped edge, so you can bank the card into the corner. Do the same with your panel, and it should be perfectly positioned.
Dang, why didn�t I think of doing that? This is so smart and I wish I had known this just a couple of days ago (don�t ask!;))
Thanks so much for sharing this idea. It will save me heartburn the next time I make this kind of card.
Unique Tool Use
I know that is so cheeky. 
Call me confused. . .
