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Any new tools, stickers, paper, etc?

26 years ago

What is the newest scrapbook tools, items, paper, stickers, etc. that you like best or hated after you saw it, or used it? I would love to hear which items were easy to use, looked really great, or were not worth the money spent on them. Perhaps if we shared this knowledge we could save each other some money later on by not buying items that did not preform as promised by the ads, or were so hard to use that they sat on a shelf, or looked like crap in an album. That way we could spend our cash on the items that worked great. Penny

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Comments (7)

Janice M
26 years ago
the Fiskars Oval Cutter. CANT get it to work right. Still have the receipt (got 8/99, lol), so guess I'll be returning it this wknd. Wanting ALL the Coluzzles instead.
Kerrikay
26 years ago
I like the new letter tracers by EK Success. These are so easy to use, actually make my lettering look good, and are much cheaper than buying die-cut or sticker-letters every time. Only complaint-they only come in a few styles. Apparently, these used to be made by Pebbles in my Pocket, but now EK Success is making them, so they've promised more styles.
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Congratulations on the new grandbaby! They definitely make them. Die Cuts with a View makes a line of "Far East" products that would reflect her heritage. Karen Foster has an adoption collection. Carolee's Creations has a set of accents. And E-Cuts makes print your own supplies with an Asian theme (I've never tried that) That is what I was able to find at scrapbooks.com Google also turned up a bunch of small shops that I would hesitate to recommend without prior experience (although they had many cute products and papers). You might try ebay though - small business owners are likely to sell there and you're a bit more protected. And possibly getting a bit "out there" - decorative paper cutting is a traditional Chinese artform that would probably translate beautifully to scrapping. A couple of library books, some pretty paper and an exacto knife would keep you busy and frustrated until she comes home :) Here is a link that might be useful: craftfetish blog
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Comments (18)
We get a daily newspaper and it has both a cross word and a sodoku puzzle. [I do both in pencil by necessity.] Once in a while, I'll try the cross word puzzle, but most of the time, i don't get more that half way through. Our puzzle editor is too obtuse with his definitions. The sodoku puzzles are fun. In our paper, the difficulty lever begins with the easiest on Monday and then progressing to the most difficult on Saturday. I can solve the Monday thru Wednesday puzzles in reasonabe time, and then the snags begin to appear on Thursday. I can solve the Thur - Sat puzzles, but have to resort to drastic measures becasue these require guesses after the obvious numbers have been filled in. I usually don't bother with the Friday and Saturday puzzle because those are too time comsuming. I make use of the copier built inot my printer to solve the harder puzzles. After all the obvious numbers have been filled in, I lightly pencil in all possibilities in the remaining squares and then make several copies. I begin experimenting on a copy starting by circling a guess and marking out all eliminations this guess makes. If i can proceed through the entire puzzle ending with a solution, then I have guessed correctly. Most of the time, this does not happen and I must return to a nother copy and make a different guess. Continue making guesses on fresh copies until you find the solution. Hint: Start the first guess in a square that contains only 2 possibilities. If that one does not work out, then return to that square and try the other possibility. Often, this is the quickest way to find a solution. However, I have encountered puzzles where both guesses have ended in blind alleys which forces one to try a different square.
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Comments (29)
Liz, My DeBuyer pans are "crepe pans", though they also make skillets. You're right that induction brings out the brilliance of these, though they're good all around. They're just thin carbon steel that you season like cast iron, and use them like cast iron, except when you want a quickly reacting pan (because there's so much less mass) rather than one that's meant to hold in steady heat. Unlike the inverted crepe pans that became a fad some time back, these traditional ones (I have three sizes plus a blini size) have a turned up angled edge. This is the shape of pan I learned to make crepes in (though it was aluminum), which is why I bought these. I've used them for crepes, blintz pancakes (thick eggy crepes), fried eggs, omelettes, regular pancakes, etc. Anything small with minimal liquid, where precise heat and instant adjustment are key. You could cook anything that fits, such as a chop, but for a good sear you usually want a pan that will hold heat in the face of cool meat, whereas the chop would cool down the thin carbon steel immediately. These considerations about instant reaction to temperature range are what make carbon steel the favorite choice for woks. But, no, you don't need them if you have pans for the purposes.
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Comments (13)
”Lady” hammer brought such a smile. My father gave me a ”hammer” when I was in college. It was probably a freebie. All metal, shiny, with an integrated claw head and perforated rubberized grip. So unbalanced it didn't even know the word ”balance”. Perfect for picture hooks and similar you-could-use-a-shoe kinds of household hammering. Useless for driving nails. No tears if lost. I still have it. After we moved here, so many years later, he was over helping me with something, swore genteelly at my hammer, and went to get his own hammer...which he then tried to give me. His favorite hammer. Like I even had the strength and skill to drive nails, even if I had some reason to (and they do go in if you rap them five times with a bad hammer). I wouldn't accept it. I had no need for a good hammer. It's not that there was ever any doubt of it, but what better testament to true and abiding love is there than a man who tries to give his adult daughter his favorite hammer?
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Crystal
26 years ago
Love the NEW CM circle and oval cutter!!
Hilary
26 years ago
Can't seem the get the fiskars oval cutter to work right. Doodle cutter is nice, however you need a glass cutting board underneath to make the cuts smooth. My favorite punch has to be the corner rounder! When you have a pic that you don't want to cut, but make it look nice in your album... Journal Genie's are fun to use! (Guess I have a FEW favorites)
Jennifer
26 years ago
I don't much care for the doodle cutter...just can't get it to do right???? I don't much care for the fiskars circle cutter.....I do love the CM circle and oval cutting system!! And I really like the Sweet Expressions paper doll face template....now the faces on my paperdolls turn out decent! Take care!
Pam - Illinois
26 years ago
A few of my favorites are; Fiskars personal trimmer, corner rounder, tape runner, Fiskars circle cutter, deckle scissors and the new punch press thing, I forgot who makes it, but it's great especially for the border punches that are so hard to punch. I also like the stickers by 'Me and my Big Ideas' their really nice and come on the large sheets.
I hate the Fiskars oval cutter! I did get the CM oval cutting system as a gift and I love it!
Carla
26 years ago
I haven't had a problem with the Fiskars oval cutter. Maybe you gals just aren't holding your mouth right! :)

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