My faves.

Hey there.

I got my new fisheye lens in the mail yesterday. $40 on Amazon. It is not the best quality of lens, I am sure, but it sure is fun to play with. Also, it just screws right on to my Rebel, which means that all my photos are still digital. I am loving it.

Anyway, I wanted to do my post today about products. This whole topic has been on my mind a lot lately, what with CHA and de-stashing and assembling some recent projects.

There is an overwhelming amount of scrapbooking and papercrafting product out there these days. I remember when I first discovered the scrapbooking community and the existence of specialized products. I was totally overwhelmed. So, I ended up spending a lot of time (and money) until I figured out what really worked for me.

Here is a list of things that I consider essential to have on hand:
- Sharp objects for cutting. This includes a good paper trimmer (mine is Fiskars), a pair of detail scissors (I like CutterBee, but I recently bought some from Tonic Studios that are great), a long pair for longer cuts, an x-acto knife and decorative scissors—my favorites are a jumbo scallop and a pinked edge pair.

- Corner rounders. I have a small and a medium pair that I use pretty much constantly. Right now though, I am very strongly considering getting a paper gator, because my current punches don’t do very well with things like cardboard or acrylic.

- Adhesive. I am a big fan of the glue stick. Also glue dots. Tombo is my favorite liquid adhesive.

- EK Success Adhesive remover stick. I always get adhesive right on my photos. Usually on the part where my face is. This is an awesome awesome lifesaver. Buy two.

- Inks. Black, White and Brown Stazon are necessary. Also as many distress inks as you have space for. The liquid re-inkers are also fun to play with.

- A good ruler and one you would feel good about trashing (preferably a metal one). I have the Tim Holtz one for my good one. It’s awesome.

Now, there is other stuff that I use and love. I consider them the “whipped cream” of my supplies.

- Distressing tools. I have used various brands of edge distressers and think they all work fine. And way safer than using scissors. I also recently got the Basic Grey precision file set. They are good for working with minis, but honestly stuff from the hardware store/beauty supply aisle would work just as well. I bought the Tim Holtz distressing hammer too, but haven’t really used it yet.

- Paint. Acrylic is best for paper projects. I personally like Making Memories, because it dries fast and does cool stuff when I overheat it with my heat gun. Get what you can afford. I have also recently become a convert of the Adirondack paint daubers.

- Stamps. I am a crazy stamp-a-holic. I could (and have) devoted entire posts to this topic. I tend to get images that inspire me for certain projects. I really like text stamps and backgrounds. I have also had my own custom stamps made. It was totally worth it.

- My typewriters. Yes. I now have two. One is named Smith and is an antique Smith-Corona from the 30s (I think) and the other I got last weekend is a little Sears named Jack from the 60s. He has a case. I’ll post pictures later.

- Sewing supplies. This may or may not include a sewing machine. (Though I have one, a blue vintage Singer named Bella.) I have a couple of different needles and a growing stash of embroidery thread.

- Weird stuff. Wood, contact paper, felt, fabrics, plasticard sheets, magazines, thin sheets of metal. Many shades of duct tape and plumber’s foil. Drywall mesh. A pizza cutter.

Okay. That’s it for now. At some point when my room is all clean I will do a video blog and give you the tour. I wouldn’t want to do it right now. I probably left some unmentionables out somewhere where I wouldn’t want you to see them.

Happy Friday!