Are you ready to dive into your tools and essentials?! This is a loooong one. Get out your notebook and take notes. You'll want that if you read something you may want to implement! :-)
TOOLS:
Punches
Heat Gun
Deco Scissors
Hole Punches (hand held or Crop-A-Dile)
Eyelet Setter
Circle/Shape Cutter
Die-Cut Machines and Accessories
ESSENTIALS:
Trimmers
Rulers
Everyday scissors
Craft Knife
Pens
Markers/Colored Pencils
Adhesives
(Feel free to add any others to your own list.)
I think tools are one of the most difficult things for people to purge and organize. Well, they are for me! I think the thing that helped me most... is really sitting down (or you know, standing up... whatever) to figure out:
- HOW much I use them
- WHERE in my scrap space I use them
- WHEN (in my creative process) I use them
I do know this about tools... the ones you use (or want to/like to use) ALL the time, should be at arm's reach, or you won't use them.
- So pretty much what I did... I got rid of all punches, shape cutters and deco scissors that I never use. If you keep these things thinking, "But what if I *DO* need this some day?!" you're going to just collect stuff you never use. Seriously, if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. Give it to a friend (or your kids or your garage...), and if you need it, just borrow it from them. And then if you need one down the road, and you feel like you're *constantly* saying, "I wish I had this!" then go buy it (and use a coupon ;-) ). It feels good to purge things you don't use. :) I promise... if you get rid of something you don't ever use, you won't miss it, and you'll forget you even had it! LOL.
- Also, tools... are a bit cumbersome. Some are fun to play with, but sometimes you're just in this crafting "groove," and the thought of taking the time to get the tools out and actually use them is more work than you want. And... you may feel like it's not worth the work, so you just skip the tool usage. (A practice I, myself, have adopted... LOL.)
- THIS is why I keep all my tools in OPEN storage containers, baskets or bins. (Tools don't have to have any fancy storage.) This way, I can reach over and grab something quickly. I don't have to pull something off a shelf, open a box, etc. My heat gun with embossing powders (which are rarely used) do sit on a top shelf, but they're also in an open container, so if I do need them, everything is RIGHT there.
- My Making Memories trimmer is RIGHT next to where I scrap. I keep my Creative Memories photo trimmer, my rulers, and a 3-hole punch all in arm's reach too... either on a shelf above or below my scrap table.
- You could also keep them altogether in a basket like I used to do here...
I used this system for two years, and it REALLY worked for me. Grab and go. I don't have to open a drawer or open a box, and I LOVE that. Tools already take long enough to use... I don't need that extra time needed to actually GET to them. LOL.
REMEMBER THAT. Tools you use all the time... should NOT take a while to get. One.Motion.
*******TIP:
The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker suggests doing a layout or two (like... right now) to decide which tools you use ALL the time. My suggestion is that while you are working on a layout, keep a shoebox (or container that size) on your table or down on the floor at your feet. As you use tools, throw them in that box while you're not using them. Then at the end of your creating process, look at what's in that box. What did you use? What did you use the most? And think about keeping all those things together from now on.
Simple Scrapbooks (may it rest in peace...) magazine's "Basic Tool Kit" includes:
portable paper trimmer
small scissors (I use Cutter Bee non-stick)
black archival journaling pen (I use Copic and/or AC... blows ZIG out of the water imo)
pencil (I use an archival safe one from Creative Memories)
pencil sharpener
art gum eraser
paper adhesive (umm... lots. tee hee)
photo adhesive
portable container to hold above tools (try these Stockholm boxes)
To be continued...
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