Basic cutting tools that make your crafting easier, 2012 Winter CHA links and more!

Good morning everyone (or afternoon/evening), hope you are enjoying your day.  We have had very unseasonable weather for January, last week I had the windows open almost every day, not much rain, and the temperatures have been very mild.  Now, last year we had endless rain and not to complain, but it would be nice to not go from fall straight to spring : )  Having said that I will no doubt be sorry if we get rained upon in February : )

I do get around to making cards, here are a few from this week:

Butterfly is colored with Luminarte - Twinkling H2O's

 and then added Aleene's Paper Glaze

 to the image.

 This card was made using Copic markers after watching a video (cannot find the link right now, will post when I do find it), stamped with Versa Mark, embossed with clear embossing powder and then colored over the set embossing powder with Copics.  Took a blender pen and moved the color off of the embossing powder and around on the paper and finally sprayed with a glimmer mist to add some bling.  I did not do all the steps in the video, and this card did not take much time, unlike the card in the video.  Thought the technique was quick, easy and loved the water color "look" to the image.

Close up of the card, very easy!

Used two punches, one for the hearts and one for the flowers, paper is actually paint chips!  I love that you get all of the various tones of a color on a paint chip, makes matching colors oh so easy (yes I have a stash of paint chips.)

Stamped a music sheet stamp on water color paper, embossed with white pearl embossing powder, then  put Distress Inks

 on my craft sheet, then sprayed ink with a glimmer mist, put a piece of water color paper on the ink, and finally punched out the butterflies (Martha Stewart Punch, Classic Butterfly).  Added some Viva Decor Pearl to the butterflies. 

This one was fun to make, I really like the color combination (and need to remember that so I use it more!)  In hindsight I think a black ribbon might have been better, may make the card again to see how that looks : )  The punch is the Martha Stewart Scallop 3 Dot Punch Around the Page Punch, really nice punch with lots of uses. 

I am becoming more and more a fan of Clean and Simple (CAS) cards, love the look and also how easy they are to put together.  Having said that, creating a CAS can sometimes be much harder than putting lots of layers and embellishments together : )  

Still have not finished the video of my craft area, have done a number of videos but have not liked any of them, so will try again this week and will post when finished (will be just the video, no links to anything else).  Funny how such a small thing can take so much time!   My little area is quite small but I am so used to it that moving into an entire room no longer appeals to me : )

Given that my area is so small the tools I have a limited to those that are useful and also can (for the most part) serve multiple purposes.  How many of us have tools that just sit because they are either too hard to use or just require too much work to use?  Today we will explore some really great basic cutting tools that will make your crafting easier, as well as far less frustrating.  Before that though, the 2012 Winter CHA starts tomorrow (our son's bday too), and there are tons more new products coming our way, here is a short list of sneak peaks for the week:

NEW Distress Ink Markers:  LOVE these (but not the price, $3.50 each), am hoping that they will end up on sale somewhere so I can try them out.









Pink Paislee Paper: Great new paper!  And no, I am not ordering ANY paper until my "stash" is used, have wayyyyyy too much paper right now : )

New Ice Stickle and Liquid Pearl colors:  Great new additions to the collection, can't wait to try some of these!

Next week I will post updates and live blogging as I can find them, will also be updating on Facebook daily.






Finally, the TOOLS!  So many tools to choose from, and how to pick what is best for your particular crafting needs?  There are some very basic tools that I think every crafter should have, tools that end up being used all the time and are easy to use (complicated tools do NOT rank highly in my book).

So here is a short list (with links for purchasing: please note that I am in the Amazon referral program, if you click on the links below and make a purchase I receive compensation.  Given that I am currently unemployed I am hoping to supplement our household income through this program.  If you are an Amazon Prime member you receive free shipping on most items, and I have tried to find good prices on the items linked.) and explanations of why I think these are must have tools to make your crafting easier:

Ek Success 5 Inch Tweezer Bee:  I use these ALL the time, for so many things, and love the design of these particular tweezers. These are non stick, use reverse grip (they stay closed until you open them up rather then you having to hold them closed) and have a very fine (and sharp) tip.  These tweezers also come with a small looped chain so you can hang them up near your craft area which makes storage easy, and finding them easy as well.   While these tweezers are not "cutting" tools, I had to include these as they are a basic must have for crafting.

PERFECT LAYERS - Perfect Paper Crafting:  I just bought these and wonder why I did not buy them sooner.  My layers are so much more even now, and this tool is very easy to use.  Nothing bothers me more than working on a card image only to try to layer some paper and end up with uneven and messy looking layers.  Critical to using the Perfect Layers are two other must have tools, see below. 

Martha Stewart Craft Knife: I have had many craft knives over the years, this is by far the easiest and best one to use.  The protective cover fits nicely on the knife when you are cutting, and goes back on the tip easily after you are finished.  I find myself using this knife a great deal more then I used to use my old knives.  Don't forget that when using a craft knife you want to make sure you keep a sharp blade, keep replacement blades on hand. (There is a GREAT deal right now on Crafty Steals for all a great collection of Martha Stewart tools, but the "steal" is only good for January 28th).

12x12-Inch Self Healing Mat: Again, a must have for cutting with your craft knife and using the perfect layer tool.  I also use the mat to make sure cuts I do on my paper trimmer are square.  Along with this self healing mat consider getting a glass cutting surface as well (for using circle cutters and other types of cutting devices). 

    

Scissors:  I have too many scissors, especially when just two of them are used all the time.  Don't scrimp on your scissors!  The two that I use all the time are the Cutter Bee Precision-Cut Scissors and Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Non Stick Micro Serrated Snips.  The Cutter Bee scissors are a must have for cutting out your stamped images, and the Tim Holtz scissors are fantastic for everything else!  Ribbon cuts like a dream with either of these, and the Tim Holtz scissors are also very good at cutting through thicker items. 

Paper Trimmer:  You can get many different types of trimmers, rotary blade, straight blade, or a guillotine type of trimmer.  There is a great discussion on types of trimmers on SplitCoastStampers, many people recommending the Genesis Trimmer.....however be prepared for sticker shock, while it may be the best on the market, the price tag is just too much for my little budget. 

I have many different trimmers, the best (in my opinion) in my collection is the Making Memories Rotary Trimmer, however it is bulky and I don't find that I use it as much as my other trimmers, and other people have noted problems with the trimmer as well.  One option for those of us with limited space is to get the Tonic Studios Guillotine Paper Trimmer 12-Inch-by-6-Inch, which I am seriously considering at the moment.  Nothing is more frustrating than to have uneven cuts, and why frustrate yourself if you can get a tool that will make your crafting easier?  

Note that this is my list, and I would love to read what tools you have that you can't do without.  This list is the result of my own personal experiences with purchases (some good, some bad).

I hope you have a wonderful week!  Until next time, happy crafting : )

As promised: Comparison of Niji Pearlescent and Twinkling H20s

Well, I finally finished the comparison, took pictures, uploaded the pictures and am ready to share my "findings" with everyone.

I love Twinkling H20's, but they are expensive (even though they last forever), so when I found the Niji Pearlescent Water Colors online I was intrigued for two reasons: they looked to have a bit more sheen and the set of 21 colors was $5.95. I put the Niji in my bookmarks and was going to order them when, but was able to purchase them in person at the stamp convention I attended this weekend.

Are the Niji paints a good buy? In my opinion yes! And in many ways they have a much better sheen then the H20s. One concern is that the Niji set seems to be a bit stingy on the quantity, however, if they perform like the H20s, the colors will last a long, long time. Another drawback to the Nijis is that they only have 21 colors, however the color choice is broad enough to use with almost every color. Some of the Niji colors seem to have a bit less color pigment in them, and I found that by using a marker first, then painting over with the Niji I was able to get wonderful, deep, rich color.

The Nijis do not have a good red or yellow, but I found that applying the Niji over marker can create the color I am missing, for example, color a stamped image with a red marker or water brush, and then go over with a related Niji color. You will have to experiment to find what will work best.

So, sit back, grab a cup of coffee and follow the slide show of the comparison. You have two choices to view the slide show, either right below, click on the image and the slide show will start (a bit small and it is hard to read the captions) or you can go directly to the album (larger images and you can read the comparisons better) by clicking here.



I hope you like this comparison, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

Enjoy your day, now I am going to try to get some cards made : )

Sigh...did not get finished with

the comparison I was planning on doing today. I wanted to compare Twinkling H20's to the new Niji Pearlescent Watercolor set. Though I started to work with both, all day long there were interruptions (including blog surfing), so my "test" is not complete, and I do not have pictures yet either.

What I can tell you is that the Twinkling H20's seem to have more color in them, and the Niji seem to have more pearlescent shimmer, but not as much color. I promise to finish this tomorrow and take pictures, just hope I can capture the shimmers on the samples. Today all I was able to do was to stamp an image a few times and play with both sets of colors, matching color to color as best I could.

I quickly learned that I need to add some "color" to the Niki's, ie, they seem to be more of a paint to "add" to some existing color, while the Twinkling H20's can stand alone, without as much "shimmer." So, tomorrow I will post the results, but I can safely say that the Niji's are a great bargain and I can see myself using them quite a bit. : )

At least today I finally got caught up with the laundry, and a few other household chores, and since I have the next few days off of work (will be spending some time helping a friend's campaign), hopefully I can get some cards done (besides finishing up the comparison).

I mentioned that we have two cats, Rosy and Mishgie, they are so cute, and they keep us entertained all the time. Roxy was our first cat, then a few months ago we rescued Mishgie. Roxy, while not an "old" cat (she is barely two), was not at all happy with little Mishgie (who was six months when we got her). We kept Mishgie in a bedroom for a week, and Roxy would go outside the door and hiss at the poor thing.

Finally we let Mishgie "free" and for the first few minutes we thought "oh no, they hate each other," but after about 10 minutes they were actually chasing each other and having fun, it was amazing! Anyhow, now the two of them are inseparable, Mishgie is still a runt, but the two of them chase each other around the house, roll around play fighting one minute then licking each other the next.

They love to be together, and most times you can find the two of them curled up on our bed (always on my side), together, back to back or head to head. Here is a few pictures of them doing their mutual grooming ritual:

Mishgie is the lighter cat, in the forefront, Roxy is in back and a bit darker

I woke them up from their nap and they both looked at me like I was crazy : )

And there goes Roxy, grooming Mishgie, Mishgie seems to be enjoying her grooming.

I am a "cat" person, and today I added a "virtual" cat to the blog, check it out on the left, towards the bottom of all the links. If you move your mouse around the cat it will meow and swipe at you : )

Ok, off to bed, am exhausted and have a bunch of things to do tomorrow. Hope you had a wonderful Sunday and here is to a marvelous Monday : )