Steff's Favorite Tool

Jessie had a great idea when she suggested that we should each blog about our favorite scrapbooking tool. That’s easy, or so I thought. After I read Jessie’s favorite tool I realized that we would have similar post. And, how interesting would our blog be then? I do have to totally agree with her, though, I always use my trimmer. There isn’t a page in my book or a card I have created that my trimmer wasn’t used. It’s super handy and probably one of the first things a beginning scrapbooker should have!

Since Jessie stole my post idea (ha ha! Or actually just got to it first.) I had to dig deep to figure out what my favorite tool is. This was a little harder than I thought it would be. You might wonder how it is hard to figure out your favorite tool since there are so many to choose from. However, I am from the school of “cheap scrapbooking”. I try not to get caught up in purchasing all of the new tools. I prefer to spend my money page by page. It’s just my preference.

With all that said, my favorite tool is the die cut machine. One of the best things about the die cut machine is that it’s FREE (or at least at my scrapbook store it is) to use! There are also several different varieties of machines that you can purchase. I would say it’s a worthy investment if you incorporate a lot of die cuts into your work.

You might be wondering what exactly a die cut machine is. Well, it’s basically a machine that cuts out shapes and designs. There are several different shape/design options. My local scrapbook store has each option posted on the wall. All I have to do is pick which design I like, find the coordinating stencil, strategically place my paper over the stencil, run through the press, apply pressure and…WAH LAH. A die cut is born!

Another great thing about the die cut machine is that since I don’t own one, I don’t always incorporate die cuts onto my pages. When I do, it always adds a new element to the layout.

I’ll be honest and say that it took me awhile to muster up the courage to actually use the machine. They aren’t always the easiest things to work with. If you’re planning on using the machine make sure that you follow the following rules:

-Don’t be intimidated.
-Be patient.
-Don’t rush.
-Take an extra sheet of paper…You might need it!
-Watch your fingers!!!