TOOLS TO LIVE BY...

I had a little head start on this question when a fellow scrapper wrote asking me the very same so I knew when this thread began I had a tasty tidbit to share with you all. My most cherished and USED tools are a simple toolbox of Making Memories tools to which I've added scissors and my ancient Xacto.


I've used my hammer so much the head is coming loose! For me this box is indispensable and I couldn't scrap without it. I use the piercing tool to move fiddly little pieces for my piecings or to pierce a hole for a handle for a Halloween pumpkin like this...

The small pliers were used to coil the wire so it wouldn't separate from the pumpkin but it comes in handy to hold jump rings when I'm adding a charm to a layout, or to make curly wire web for a spooky little spider, etc. The needles fish wire & ribbon and often get a work out. My most favorite item in the box would be the punch. This handy gizmo has several sized heads that screw into the body of the tools and can be used to punch holes for eyelets, or to make perfect small circles for the eyes and pupils on my paper piecings. I am constantly finding new reasons to make holes in my projects! A word of caution...be sure to have a self-healing mat under your work so it doesn't harm furniture.

I don't think any of my scrapping would be possible without my trusty, tiny stainless steel decoupage scissors. They were found in the decoupage section of my local craft store and have been unbelievably useful for all my paper piecings. My specialty might be considered paper piecing since I started scrapping so I could make paper things to decorate other things! LOL!! Most of my piecings are my own originals and have lots of pieces that make these scissors a must have...remember those fiddly little parts I move around with the piercing tool? Well, these trusty scissors cut them out first! I'd buy these a 100 times if I had to but luckily, this is only my 3rd pair.

If you can think of a use for any of the tools...BE SURE to drop me a note!

I'm off to make a cuppa joe...

Ronda