It's all about the tools!

Good morning. 

Here it is Monday already. Monday's are a great reflection day for me as to what I did the last week. 

I arrived home from our Texas retreat on Weds. and had a lot of unpacking and putting away to do. After one of our scrapbook retreats it is quit bitter sweet. Being in a room with 60+ crafters is a wonderful 3 day event. Not only did we catch up with old friends but made a ton of new ones. Leaving an event is like getting off your cruise ship!  You aren't ready for the fun to end. I will be posting more pictures soon here on the blog, Instagram and Facebook.

A retreat is also a time when I get asked a lot of questions about crafting. One question that always comes up is, " What are your favorite tools to craft with?" What a great question and one I am sure you may have been wondering about that yourself. 

I really like tools that are functional but don't cost a lot. Having a very handy hubby I have seen all the tools he uses when working in his shop. I thought they worked so well for him I borrowed a few for my crafting studio. 

1. I love the ScoPal scorboard. It has deep grooves for scoring and is marked at the top in 1/8's. The markings are printed right on and are easy to see. I love the cutting mat that fits  perfect into the board. It also double as another work surface. You will not see the cuts in the mat from your blades. 

2- Bone Folders. I like more than one. My light weight Fiskars one is perfect for mini album cover construction and the grey EK Success is my heavy duty multi surface bone folder.

3- Ink dauber. 

4- Pencil and clothes pins. You always need a pencil for writing down those measurements a clothes pins for those times you just need a few extra fingers.

5- Scissors and box cutter, straight edge or any blade you like to cut with. I love my yellow scissors for fussy cutting. They always stay sharp and are comfortable to hold.

6- Scor Tape and Art Glitter Glue. These two just work really good together. What can I say about AGG?!  It's fabulous and a crafters dream to work worth. It you want to make sure the project you are working on will last a lifetime, AGG is the go to glue.

7. Not pictured is my quilters ruler. I love the big one by Fiskars. Perfect for wrapping our mini album chipboard and keeping it straight. 

8. Plastic scrapper. If you have ever put up wall paper you know the secret to it laying flat is spread that glue around. Same when using AGG. Using a plastic scrapper will have the same effect with your pattern paper. I picked one up at any hardware store. Spending less on some of our tools just increases our paper buying budget!)  

One thing I can guarantee, using the right tools helps make crafting more fun.