My favorite tools and things

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and any other festive greetings that might be appropriate! I'm going to assume that some of you have received crafting goodies from the holiday gift exchange, which is awesome! However, sometimes you need additional tools, so I'm here to share my favorite tools with you!

Some of these aren't the exact tools I use, but they're similar enough that I feel comfortable sharing them with you. Also, these are all Amazon links, and I am an Amazon affiliate. So, if you buy something through these links, I will receive a small commission. This will not affect your price, but it will help fund my crazy crafting. :D

Let's break down what these are and what I use them for!




This dental pick set is super useful for my Cricut crafts. The sharp tips on the pointy pick are fantastic at getting into tiny spaces when you're trying to weed a piece. The handles are a bit small, however, so you could add a rubber pencil grip onto them to help make it a bit more comfortable.




The Cricut scoring stylus can be helpful. However, I think there are better ways to use it. Keep an eye on this blog, because I'll be sharing my scoring techniques soon!





This hole punch is amazing! I use it for all sorts of things, from making my own sequins and punchinella/honyeycomb ribbon to book binding to leather crafting to... well, just about anything you would want to put a hole in! It comes with 6 different hole sizes and is much, much stronger than your average office supply hole punch. I can't recommend this one enough!




Ok, I'm fairly sure you guys know what this one is. But if you haven't gotten your Cricut Explore Air 2, this is a pretty good time to get it. It is freaking amazing, so versatile, and ... well, I may be a bit obsessed with it. However, if you're wanting even more versatility...

...you could go with the Cricut Maker instead! And in all honesty, as amazing as the Explore Air 2 is, the Maker is just worlds apart a better, more versatile machine. Yes, it's more expensive, but I think it's definitely worth the extra cash!

Also, you can't go wrong with more mats. I have several, and I find having multiple mats really streamlines my work flow. I can load multiple mats at once, so I don't have to weed a cut immediately before starting another cut. Plus, you need different mats for different media, so it's good to have at least one of each kind.





This palette knife set is something I wasn't sure I'd use that much, but holy cow do I love it now! I originally bought it to help me remove cuts from my mats, but I use it for so many things now! They're perfect for mixing paint. If I'm making my own glazes they work for measuring powdered pigments as well as for mixing those too. They spread adhesives beautifully... they're just such a useful tool for so many scenarios! I can't recommend this one enough.

If you don't have a craft knife, I highly recommend getting one. They are very useful, and for more than just cutting things! I've used mine for weeding teeny tiny bits out, for separating the back from a particularly difficult sticker... and for many other things I can't really remember at the moment. They're useful. You need one!




I also absolutely love my dotting tools. They too are useful in a multitude of situations! They work well for putting dots of paint on either projects or your nails, they're decent for mixing things, and I just might have turned one into a scoring tool for my Explore Air 2! Again, keep an eye on this space, because there will be a video coming of my technique for that as well.





I know, this doesn't seem like a craft tool. But trust me! It's awesome! First off, it's fantastic at helping get glitter off of your skin. Regular tape works too, but a lint roller is just so much more convenient! It works for clearing gunk off your mats too, or for getting glitter and things off of your craft table. My favorite tip, though, is that in a pinch, you can pull a fresh sheet off and use it as transfer tape for your small vinyl cuts!

There are times when we need to cut things manually, and this steel square makes that a breeze! Line one edge up with your paper, and your perpendicular cuts will be a perfect 90° every time!

Also, a bonus tip:
When you're cutting, never use a plastic ruler as a straight edge!
A steel ruler gives you a better edge without the risk of cutting into your ruler. I won't lie, I've damaged my share of plastic rulers by thinking, "It'll be fine just this one." It never is. Don't even try it! :D

On the other hand, a plastic t square ruler like this is good for drawing perfectly perpendicular lines. But remember: This is not a cutting tool!

This tweezer set also seems like something you wouldn't assume is a crafting tool. However, as I seem to be saying a lot, these things are useful in so many situations! They're great to have on hand, to assist in placing small or delicate accents especially.






Yes, Fabri Tac is intended for use on fabrics. However, it's also good for anything that's a bit difficult to glue. I specifically bought mine for mounting card stock onto glitter paper- none of the glues I had on hand would work, so I went to the internet for answers. The overwhelming answer to "what glue works on glitter papers" was Fabri Tac, so I bought some and OMG I'm glad I did!

The other glue I find I can't do without is Alene's Tacky Glue. It works so nicely on so many surfaces. I hate the idea of running out, so I always keep a spare in my craft room!





And if you're brand new to crafting and want a set of Cricut tools all in one space, Amazon has you covered. You can get a basic set of tools, or a set of tools for sewing, a set for weeding, or a set specifically for vinyl!

Wow, that was a heck of a post to write! I feel like I wrote a book...

I hope this list can help you out. Obviously you don't need everything on this list, but I listed the tools I use almost daily, the ones I keep on my craft table at all times.

Have I missed any tools you can't do without? If so, share them in the comments... I'm a bit tool-obsessed, so help feed my need! :D

Until next time...

A quick tip for scoring tiny pieces!

I used the scoring pad on the leaf shapes and on
the stars in this photo. 

I like making paper things, but I absolutely hate scoring, especially tiny pieces. I just never seem to get a good score on little things, and it makes my hands cramp.

I was working on a card that had a wreath with tons of tiny little leaf shapes that needed scoring. I was absolutely dreading trying to score all those... so I made something to make it easier!

I took a sheet of fun foam and cut some 2" squares, then glued 4 or 5 of them together. Once those had dried, I was able to put my leaf shapes onto the pad and score them with a single press of my bone folder!

So, if you want to see how to make your own and use it, this video will show you what you need! Hopefully it can help someone else, because it's made a world of difference to me!

I made a Patreon and a Ko-fi!

I'm excited, y'all... I finally got my Patreon and my Ko-fi accounts opened! I actually signed up with Patreon a month or two after it started, but I never got things going. Chronic illness is a bummer!

But now it's up and waiting for... well, whoever wants to use it. If you want to use it to buy me a coffee, or to help fund my crafty madness that's fantastic! If you don't want to, that's ok too, I know life is complex. :D

Regardless of how much money this brings in (or doesn't), I'll still be doing what I do. But for those of you who have suggested I open these, now they're open.

Until next time!

One of those moments...

Have you ever had one of those days that's just utterly overwhelming? You know, everything's going wrong, you can't quite figure out how to do things, and you just feel like you're at your wits' end?

I've had a few weeks of that, and it's getting to me. It's nothing terribly serious, of course, but I'm dealing with new medical stuff, lots of new joint pains, and I've had several moments lately where I just feel completely out of "cope". Then someone comes along and makes an offhand comment that somehow resets my cope levels and makes me feel so much better.

Today my family and I went to a local burger place. We go there often enough that the staff recognizes us and jokes around with us. Today was no different, and we had several laughs with them while we were there.

That's nice, and it did cheer me up. But as we were leaving, I had one of those moments... the staff member we'd been joking with earlier stopped us on our way out the door. He told us that he really does love to see us come in, because we brighten up his day and make it just that little bit happier.

I'm not going to lie, I smiled and thanked him, and my husband told him that he makes our days better too. We walked out to our car and I had a bit of a happy cry...

Sometimes life with chronic illness can feel overwhelming and endless. Sometimes it feels like it's too much and it's not worth fighting through. But those moments when someone tells me that I make their life better?

It totally makes everything worth it. And I'm crying again thinking about it, explaining it to my husband who was wondering why I was suddenly sniffling. Those little moments of connection are everywhere, and they connect us in so many ways.

That kind word you give to someone can affect them so much more deeply than you could ever imagine.

Finally! The cut files for my holographic birthday card are up for sale!

The first birthday card I designed for my Cricut.

Some of you may be aware that I recently bought a Cricut cutting machine. It was somewhat of a late birthday present, and I got it on August 31. I've been a bit obsessive with it, jumping in with both feet and getting way over my head, having to learn lots of new things to use it effectively.

One of the first things I made with it was a birthday card. It was interesting... I layered 6 or 7 cut identical cut pieces of card stock together to make a very solid card front. I used a holographic glitter card stock as the background for it, and I absolutely fell in love with the result.

I got a lot of really, really good response to it. People seemed to really like it. I also got a few requests to sell the cut files... so...

Free sticker cut file!

I finally did it! I got the files together for cutting not only the card but a matching envelope. I even included a cut file for a coordinating sticker to keep the envelope closed!

So, if you're interested in getting the files to make your own card, check out my listing at gumroad. You might even enjoy checking out the rest of my listings... :D

I have a gumroad shop!

Oh my goodness, I am so excited! I'd thought about doing this before, but I finally got things together enough to get some things ready for my gumroad shop!! I have two sets of mandalas as well as an oval rose trellis background piece!

I will be adding more things as often as I can. I'm also willing to consider making custom orders, so if there's something you want, feel free to leave a comment. We can talk about it and see if I can make your ideas reality!

Ok, I'm back to the grind, seeing what I can get ready to put up. :D

Be safe, and be happy!

When I got my Explore Air 2 I was so excited, but when I googled for settings to cut various materials, it was never even close. Then when I finally got settings that would work for my machine, a few weeks later I'd have to recalibrate. Plus, whenever the light on the buttons would blink there would be this shrill, annoying sound that beeped along with the light. 

I finally contacted Cricut customer support, and the person I got was so very helpful. She asked me to send a video showing what my machine was doing and gave me specific points they wanted me to include in it. Very simple stuff, so I was able to get it out to them easily.

I shot my first video with my tablet, which didn't pick up the sound. My customer service person responded almost immediately, saying she couldn't hear the sound and asking me to send a different video if I could. I did, and she sent my video to the appropriate people and asked for my address to expedite things.

After a week I hadn't heard anything, so I contacted her again. Again, she replied almost immediately with a FedEx tracking number. I got my replacement today, and instead of sending just the machine they sent me an entirely new set- the machine and everything that comes with it. That's not a huge deal, but it's nice. It's also the color I originally bought, which isn't a huge deal but it still made me happy.

I've dealt with customer service for different items from different companies, and in comparison this experience was flat-out amazing. The person I was in contact with was not only on top of things but also very kind. I've never had such an easy time with this... it could have been a much more stressful experience, and it just wasn't.

I know people are quick to complain if things aren't good, but don't seem to talk about when things go well. I've dealt with Cricut's customer service twice now, and each time they were exceptional. I'm impressed...

Have you have any experiences with Cricut's customer service? Tell me about it... :D

Recreating an old sketch to use on my Cricut!

I've kept sketchbooks off and on for years... simple, inexpensive notebooks I'd pick up either on sale or at the dollar store. While looking through some of my older sketches, I found several I'd like to make into stickers. I started with this strange little critter that seems somewhat frog-like.

My original drawing was fairly messy, but still fun.

He needed a LOT of work! The original photo of my sketch wasn't all that great, and he very much needed to be cleaned up and sharpened up. Because of this I brought the image into Photoshop and basically redrew the entire image.

Once I was finished, I saved him as a basic PNG image, then brought him into Illustrator to save him as an SVG. Then I had an idea...

I love the rough quality of the lines, almost like the tool marks from a chisel!

I recently saw a post on Reddit that linked to a really fun website called CuteCutter that helps you create simple SVGs of your images so that you can print them and/or cut them out on your cutting machine. I've done several images and I love how they come out... I'll be sharing more of those in the coming days, believe me. :D

I have to say I loved the way my original drawing came out using CuteCutter! It has an interesting, organic feel to it... almost like a linoleum print! It will definitely make an interesting sticker!

Also, once I finished cleaning up my drawing I decided to share an animated gif to show the difference between the two images. It's always good to start with the highest quality image you can, so that you can wind up with better end products.

Hopefully I'll be showing you some lovely stickers soon, including this chunky boy. I also have several other things to share coming up, so keep an eye on this space!

Til next time!