What is your favorite product or tool?

[stampin stacy]

What is your favorite product or tool when you stamp other than stamps, paper or coloring tools?

Some of mine would be gel medium, micro-glaze and stencils. I don't have one of the machines to do the dry embossing for me so I still do by hand but so worth it. I love the elegance you can achieve with this method.

[queenkatdesigns]

Cuttlebug! I'm in love with it. I never thought I'd be into die cuts or things of that nature until I got my hands on a sizzix then I converted to the CB last Xmas and oh man, it's my fav!

[Inky Whiskers]

That's a toughie!!! I'm gonna have to think about this and get back to y'all. The answer to this question is almost as difficult to narrow down as the favorite stamps questions a few months back. :eek:

[andreasscraps]

I love my Wizard and See D's stamping mat. :)

[Purnima]

I'm with Vicki... I am pretty enamoured of the Cuttlebug. My hands just can't do dry embossing over a large surface and the CB embossing folders really do detail.

I'm kind of surprised really. Whether it is stamping or kitchen stuff or whatever, I tend to like to keep it simple. Not big on gadgets. I love this little machine, though.

hugs!
Purnima

[Nancy]

that's a hard one... I do like my Cuttlebug... but the one tool I have out and use on just about everything is my Scor-It - it sure makes my folds look professional! And you can make borders & designs and easy-peasy accordian folds!

~Nancy

[CatStamper]

I'm with Vicki... I am pretty enamoured of the Cuttlebug. My hands just can't do dry embossing over a large surface and the CB embossing folders really do detail.

hugs!
Purnima

OK, can someone please tell me what this cuttlebug is? I've been stamping for years and must have missed it somehow!

Thanks,
Kate

[TimeforT]

;) Let' see...I NEED those bifocals first, then it's my papertowels for all the clean-ups, but I really like the small nail scissors/ and the cutterbees for cutting out my images.

[cmcveigh]

Mine would have to be the Genesis Trimmer, and my ATG gun (we can choose two, can't we???:)) )

Cheryl

[queenkatdesigns]

OK, can someone please tell me what this cuttlebug is? I've been stamping for years and must have missed it somehow!

Thanks,
Kate

LOL! It's a die cut machine.. like a sizzix kind of... but it's bright green and instead of pushing down on a handle, you turn it like a crank.. It's AWESOME! and for some one with arthritus or CT it's purrrrfect!

[alsmouse]

I must admit that when this question was started, it was a challange to decide on one fav, but after much thought & rehashing of my projects I decided on one I use on almost every project. I think my one favorite tool is my super pointy, surgical tweezers. I have one set at work, one in my travel kit & 2 at home. They are amazingly handy and clean up easily. & if I ever misplace them during a project, it grinds to a halt until I locate them again (usually hiding under some paper). ~C8>

[stampin stacy]

Gee, Purnima picked her Cuttlebug, lol how many of us from SL knew that was coming;) .

If you want to pick more than one fine I did. Just curious what other things we have close at hand that we can't do without.

[laos348]

For coloring lately I seem to be using my prisma pencils and baby oil.

Laura

[alsmouse]

I guess I've not heard of this but, Baby Oil? Please explain.~C8>

[stampin stacy]

Your right Andrea I love my stamp pad, makes such a difference. Funny thing is I think mine is from Stamp La Jolla before I knew MaryAnn.:noway:

[Daniel R.]

Punches! Especially my handgrip ones [Fiskars & McGill] which allow me to nibble & such...

ETA: put an example of 'punch nibbling' on the gallery.

[Inky Whiskers]

I can't decide!!! :cry:

I love so many of the tools & products for stamping that I have that narrowing it down is virtually impossible!

From the tool drawer the things I use for almost every project are my bone folder & paper snips. My crop-a-dile has to be the easiest eyelet setting & hole making tool I own and since I got it, all my other eyelet tools have gathered dust. :lol: For cutting & scoring card stock, I love my Purple Cows combo cutter & Scor-It! board. (Both were b-day presents, thanks DH!) For making shapes I mostly use Coluzzle tho' I do have the Fiskars shape cutter & templates and regular stencils that I can trace & cut out. (the snips are great for this!) Oh! Don't forget the punches.

As for things to color with: I love my Prismacolor pencils used w/Gamsol, Radiant Pearls, mica powders (especially with the Essential Glue Pad!), every ink pad I own & embossing powders.

I also adore embellishments even tho' I don't go overboard and use them on every project. I like eyelets & brads, ribbon & fibers, beads & charms, chipboard & die cuts.

I so love just about everything having to do with stamping that I just can't narrow it down to even one thing per catagory. My recent passion is Iris Folding. I know it's not a new technique, but it's new to me and I enjoy making the papers to fold as much as I enjoy assembling the patterns. Yes, I know I can use scrapbook or any other light weight paper like washi or origami or even the inside of security envies. I like choosing the inks I want to color the copy paper I use with and then stamp coordinating images on the different colors of paper using different inks like Brilliance metallics.

Why take the easy way out with pre-made materials when I can get inky? :))

[StamPoor]

I don't own a Cuttlebug, but I love the Cuttlebug embossing folders which work great in my Sizzix. They make such elegant quick cards.

[Inky Whiskers]

For coloring lately I seem to be using my prisma pencils and baby oil.

Laura

Is this technique similar to using art pencils w/paint thinner? i.e. Gamsol? :confusion:

[TimeforT]

:wave: I second Jenna (aka inky whiskers) Inquiring minds want to know!

[CindyC]

Favorite tools?
Wizard
Genesis Paper Cutter with light
Scor-It Board
Tim Holtz Scissors
These are my most used tools!

[Craftyria]

I love my Carl rotary trimmer and all of its fancy blades.
I also love my Fiskars Shape Cutter and all of the templates. I don't have a die cut machine, so this is the next-best thing.

For stamping, I love my shimmery powders (mica?) and the Versamark pad. The glue pad is on my wish list.

[alsmouse]

09/13/07@1:14pm--I guess I've not heard of this but, Baby Oil? Please explain.~C8>

OK, again, Please explain the baby oil use with prisma pencils. ~C8>

[Spideycindy]

I use my bonefolder so much even tho I have scoring items and then I would have to say my blending stubb...simple tools but most often used thirdly the exacto knife...I guess it depends upon the type of card I am doing...
Spideycindy

[piecesandpom]

Can I answer the prisma pencil and baby oil question for folks? A lot of people are allergic to gamsol and those types of products. Folks experimented they found out that baby oil works too! I think I've also seen that some use mineral oil, very sparingly. I use gamsol myself so I don't know the difference but the threads on another site mention that folks need to be careful not to use too much oil or the effect look oily, etc. The only other insight I've been able to glean is that different background papers may work better than others, but I haven't seen a comparison on paper/oil versus gamsol.

I didn't know how much gamsol to use so I bought a rather larger container from an art supply store - will probably last the rest of my life since I got it last Christmas and haven't refilled my improvised container yet!:laugh:

[Inky Whiskers]

Thanks for the clarification, Karen! It's always good to know what the options are for any technique are.

I haven't ever heard anything about paint thinner spoiling if kept sealed and cool, so think of the savings you'll get over your life time from not having to buy more at what ever the price is (and it will go up 'cause everything does over time) and you'll always having some handy if you decide to take up oil painting. :D

I don't acutally use Gamsol because I haven't been able to find it in my area (maybe it's an east coast only brand?) so I use Turpenoid. Both are synthetic & virtually odorfree (especially when compared to real turpentine) and do the same thing, thin oil based paint & liquify the wax in the pencils so we can blend the colors.

It's all good! :D

[alsmouse]

I don't acutally use Gamsol because I haven't been able to find it in my area (maybe it's an east coast only brand?) so I use Turpenoid. Both are synthetic & virtually odorfree (especially when compared to real turpentine) and do the same thing, thin oil based paint & liquify the wax in the pencils so we can blend the colors.

It's all good! :D
Inky, Gamsol is avail @ M's but if you have Turpeniod use it.
Pieces, Just remember to keep the lid tight on your big container. All those types of liquid will slowly disapate if not kept tightly closed. If not kept tight, can lose up to 1/4 inch of fluid per year.(Another bit of dumb stuff Dad taught us girls)~C8>

[Inky Whiskers]

Always good to have more info! Thanks, alsmouse. ;)

I asked at my local M's and they looked at me like a dog would if I asked it for directions to the moon. :lol: After I explained what I was looking for they finally sent me to the fine arts aisle to look. Nope, no Gamsol. They had Turpenoid, the brand with Mona Lisa on the label and a couple others, but none of the cans had the word Gamsol on it. I also looked at J's in their fine arts area as well as at Aaron Bros. (They're mostly a framing store, but they do have a small fine arts section that has quality stuff at good prices.) The gal at A bros seemed to at least know about the art products they carry but she hadn't heard of Gamsol before. She's the one that told me that Turpenoid is the same thing and to pour some into a small sealable container to work out of so as to not contaminate the larger can.

Maybe I'll check the M's super store in Bend when I'm down there in Nov for turkey. :D

[stampin stacy]

I went to an actual art supply store and asked for Gamsol at one time and they didn't have a clue, now that is sad.:shock: It was the weekend though so maybe it was the part timers working and their experts were off.

Now I know to look for odorless mineral spirits.

[j3annin3]

My most used tool in my work room is my clothes line. I make party/wedding favors. For a big project, I had piles and drifts of partially stamped papers waiting to dry. People walking by would tip them off the tables, my cat would run over them and somtimes just nap on them. I got smears from trying to stack them when they were still too wet, and the piles of stage 1 stamping and stage 2 stamping would get confused. Eventually i would run out of places to lay them and had to stop working even when i still had a couple of hours till daylight. Then i bought an indoor retractable clothes line. Now when i'm working with multiples, i run the clothesline across the room and hang additional cords every foot or so across-hanging down, sort of like a string grid. I can clip amost a hundred papers; they dry nicely, i can see what i'm doing and where i am in the project, and when i'm done i just reel it back into it's dome. Of course, my silly cat does think they're hanging there for her to run through, and i've somtimes had to hang a small weight on the bottom of the additional strings so that they don't flutter but it has made working on big projects much easier!

And my paper drill. <3 , really like my paper drill. It was a gift. I didn't think i'd ever use a paper drill enough to justify purchasing one. But i do now, and it's just so much fun to use. When i first got it, i made holes in everything i could think of......cardboard, foil, magnetic strips, thin wood, layers of cured scultpy clay, and even paper! (It will put a hole in metal but it dulls the tip enough that it's not a good way to solve that particular hole making dilema.) It leaves nice clean holes, exactaly where i want them to be, every time! With very little hand fatigue. It's a happy thing.

[joanofgos]

My favorite play tool is my xyron. It's only a small one (500 create a sticker size), but every time I use it, I smile. :lol: So much better than a glue stick!

My favorite every day tool are my scissor. I stamp mostly on sticker paper, so having sharp comfortable scissors make the job easier. (Fiscars, comfort handle, micro tips)

joanofgos :D

[j3annin3]

i like my xyron too, joanofgos!

[Inky Whiskers]

Oh yeah! My Xyron 510 is one of my favorite tools. :D I don't know I forgot to put it on my list earlier. :))