Favorite Products 2012

I wanted to share some of the products that I really enjoyed using last year. Some products were new to me and some were things I found very useful. I could have listed many more products, but I decided to keep it simple and choose only ten. If you would like to learn more about the products I've mentioned, let me know. I hope you enjoy and find this informative.

Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Distress inkpads and stains were not new to me in 2012, but I was able to complete my collection with all the colors that are available. There's really a lot to talk about with distress inks. To make it short, they are great for inking edges, coloring paper/ribbon, making backgrounds, giving projects an aged or vintage feel, and creating watercolor effects.

 
Colorbox Chalk Inkpads
This was an ink I really wanted to try and finally did. It's now my favorite stamping ink so far. I have mostly the cat's eye sized pads which I bought on sale for only 98¢ each. The ink comes in a wide variety of colors. It gives a clean, crisp image with rubber stamps, clear stamps, and photopolymer. It even stamps well on cheap cardstock. The ink dries really fast, it's easy to clean up, and it's waterproof when heat set.

We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile Big Bite
I love this tool! It punches two hole sizes; 1/8 and 3/16, and sets eyelets and snaps. There are two big reasons why I love this tool. It can punch through a wide variety of materials and it has a six inch punching depth which makes it great for almost anything.

We R Memory Keepers Corner Chompers
I have all five of the corner chompers and I love them all. I like to mix and match the punch styles when matting layers on cards or layouts. They're easy to use, decorative, and have the same punching power as the crop-a-dile.

Fiskars Squeeze Tab Punch
This punch is my most used punch of all time. Unfortunately, this punch has been discontinued. If you can find it, buy it. It adds a nice decorative touch for many projects, but where I've used it the most isn't crafting related. I use it when I'm filing papers or labeling different sections in binders. I simply print out a title, punch it, and glue it on. I love it!

Tonic 12" Base Guillotine Trimmer

I have two guillotine style cutters; one for chipboard and this one is for my cardstock. They give a clean, precise cut and are easy to use. I prefer guillotine cutters over rotatory cutters because of the ease of use and a cleaner cut edge. Tonic makes a smaller base trimmer with an extension arm, but I prefer the 12" base. I also like that the handle can be removed and stored on the bottom side of the trimmer.

Tonic Mini Rotary Tools
Also from Tonic are these mini rotary tools. There is a perforator, cutter, and scorer. I purchased all three individually and they were really inexpensive. They are handy tools to have and are conveniently sized. The bottom portion actually folds into the handle, keeping the blades from being exposed. The shape of the tools fit nicely in my hand, giving me total control and ease of motion.




Fiskars SureCut 12" Deluxe Trimmer
This has been my most used trimmer the past few months because it's compact and easy to travel with. It has a 6 1/4" wide base with a swing out arm that extends to 15". Unlike my guillotine trimmers, I am easily able to cut partially down a page. This is great if I only want to cut out a small portion from the paper. The wire guide is the main reason why I purchased this particular trimmer. It makes it easy to line up printed image and cut some pieces.

Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Although I enjoy using staples on projects, I didn't think this was a product I would invest in. At its original price it's more than I wanted to pay for a stapler. I happened to see it on sale and I decided why not. I am glad I made the purchase. Not only is it useful, it's decorative, and the staples are just adorable.



 
Making Memories Self-Healing Cutting Mat
My first cutting mat was a Martha Stewart 12" square mat. I used it and used it until it was completely destroyed. I went without one for a long time, as I was searching for the right one. After a long search, I decided on this 17" x 23" mat. It has 1/2" grid lines which are numbered in inch increments along the edges. I like that it looks really clean, with no diagonal lines. Unlike my Martha Stewart mat I find that the self-healing properties work very well.