Rhinestones and Ribbon: My "Must Have" Tools

We got home from our trip a little early, so I get to spend Labor Day scrapbooking! But before I got started, I got a fun email from the Create blog about "must have" tools, and I thought it would be fun to show you my "favorite things" I use for scrapbooking and paper crafting. The more I thought about it the longer my list got, and this list doesn't even include die cutting machines.

Here are a few of my favorite tools that I use in almost every project:

First up- my Carl Rotary Paper Trimmer.

Mine's 12" but they come in larger sizes. It cuts a ton of paper at once. I got mine at Sams Club a million years ago for $22 and I'm still using the SAME BLADE! Can you believe it? And another fun feature is I can change out to perforating blades or other fun designs.

Some other "favorite things" happen to be all in this kit, but you can buy these individually. It's the Cricut Tool Kit. They include a bone folder, scissors, "dental tool", CLEAR ruler, and xacto knife. The dental tool is great for poking tiny pieces of intricate die cuts out.

These, however are my favorite scissors. They're the "paper snips" from Stampin' Up and I didn't know I needed them until I bought them. They're SUPER sharp and super skinny to get into those tight places.

Then I strongly recommend a pair of good ribbon scissors.

Stampin Up sells good ribbon scissors but I don't have them because I have sewing scissors. These babies are used only for fabric and ribbon, and I use ribbon on almost everything. They cut cleanly and don't fray the ribbon.

Who knew that a tool so simple as a pointy metal thingy could be so useful? But I'm reaching for this constantly. It's a Paper Piercer. Use it with a rubber mat (like the one below) for making holes for brads or string or twine or whatever you want.

The Bone Folder. (which is not really made of bone.... I think)

Great tool for getting great creases in your cards, applying rub-ons, curling the edges of paper flowers, scoring, and lots of other uses.

Scoring Boards.
Mine's made by Martha Stewart Crafts, but Scor-Pal makes a great one and so does Stampin' Up.

These are awesome because you can make perfectly straight score lines in your cards, making rosettes (see my rosette tutorial) making boxes, etc. AND it comes with a bone folder and a handy place to store it so you won't lose it.

Corner rounder punch.

I have a few sizes. I like wide corners for most things, but they come in a lot of widths.

Punches. I have several die cutting machines but sometimes punches are so much more convenient. I love that I can grab it, flip it over, and perfectly punch the area of the paper or photo I want. I recommend various circles, as well as.....

Edge punches!

The handy guide means you can punch the entire length of the paper and get perfectly lined-up designs.

The i top brad maker by Imaginisce.

It's not really a "must have" but I like it a lot.

This tool is one I've always thought of getting but never have, until a couple of weeks ago. LOVE it. You use it to make custom brads, buttons, badges, hair accessories and more. You can make them out of paper, fabric, felt, and probably more materials than that. It's a lot of fun.

Here is a list of my favorite adhesives. You have to use adhesives in everything, right? So my coveted ones are:

Mini Glue dots.

When you have a tiny embellishment to adhere, just press it onto the glue dot, lift, and the embellishment now has adhesive on it that DOESN'T NEED TO DRY! Love glue dots.

Love the Pop-Up ones, too. You can rip them apart to make any size glob of sticky goo you need.

Stampin Dimensionals.

I'm big into making things multi-dimensional. Who says scrapbook layouts need to be flat? I go through a tone of these babies, and I like Stampin Up's dimensionals for their size and the amount you get for the price.

Scotch Pink Advanced Tape Glider.

This is my favorite adhesive ever. This is the "general use" adhesive, and it can go on pretty much everything. No more glue sticks. This adhesive doesn't alter the paper, goes on flat, is narrow so it's great for ribbon and thin embellishments, doesn't need to dry, and is permanent (so be careful because once it's stuck- it's stuck).

some of the proceeds go to breast cancer, and each roll has 36 YARDS of adhesive! 2 rolls for about $7 at Michaels BEFORE coupons! Heck yes!

Zig 2-way glue Squeeze & Roll glue pen.

I wish I'd invented this. It's glue that comes out like a pen! Just draw it on! Perfect for super skinny die cuts. If you apply it and stick it immediately it's permanent, if you apply it and wait to stick it onto the paper, it's repositionable! Super cool.

Terifically Tacky Tape.

Also made by other manufacturers by other names. This is the only thing I've found to adhere boxes and bags and things that are 3D and need strength and can't fall apart when I fill them with things. It's like strips of super glue.

Almost forgot...Glue dots also come in a repositionable version. Just in case you wanted to know.

That's enough with adhesives. Just a few more things then I'll stop. This list could go on for days if I let it :)

Large workmat with a grid.

If you're like me, you like things lined up (not everything of course, but you know what I mean).

This mat is rubber and can be used as a paper piercing mat, but I use it for the grid. I use it with the ruler below.

Mine's made by Stampin Up- but they don't sell them anymore, but Martha Stewart crafts has a large grey one.

T-Square ruler.

Brilliant invention I found out about from Kristina Werner's blog. Use it with the grid mat. It's clear so you can see what's under it while you're lining things up.

Signo Gel Pens.

I love these for colored journaling on pages and writing on cards. The broad white one is my favorite white gel pen. All of the colors are magnificent.