I get those iron-band-around-your-head-aches during the day but I tell you, crafting is better than aspirin. This week I splurged a little and got a few new awesome things -
A Fiskars guillotine cutter – got this at Michael’s with a coupon. When I opened it I was very surprised that anyone would spend $80 + tax on this and immediately wished I had done a little more research. You have to put the “ergonomic handle” on yourself which was a little tricky because, obviously, the blade arm has a blade on it so you can’t grab it and shove the handle on. The directions say to leave the blade arm locked and put the handle on that way but it is not easy – it just takes a little patience, something I was sorely lacking when I wanted to try it out. But after my first initial botches, I am pretty happy with it and feel that it was maybe worth a little more than the $40 odd I paid for it. I really like the aluminum base plate. I do not use the plastic safety guard thing, I don’t really know how safe that can keep you. I’m not sure what it’s preventing. *shrugs* I also really like that it’s lightweight and has a handle so I can flip it around the room depending on what I have going on in the four square feet of useable space in the whole room. (The rest is piled with materials, of course.)
When I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago in Pennsylvania I stopped at a great rubber stamp boutique, Morning Sun Studio. (They also have an awesome eBay store!) They carry quite a bit of stuff from all my favorite papercrafting brands for their size. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to be able to fit in my suitcase so I didn’t buy nearly as much as I should have but I did get a little bumblebee stamp and a couple of sheets of EZ Mount. I needed the EZ Mount for my new Mad Rat Rubber stamps. I’m not a fan of the clear cling – I like and trust real rubber the best. I absolutely love her stamps there and I love being able to purchase them unmounted. I picked out a bunch and then I also got a grab bag. I regretted buying it instantly because I have never had much luck with grab bags but I was very, very pleased when I received it. I can’t want to get more of her stamps.
Also I recently purchased something I’ve been meaning to purchase for probably as long as she’s been offering it – the metal mix from gemmafactrix. I can’t believe I haven’t bought it before. And no, I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it came tied up in a little waxed paper bag with butcher’s string and it was delicious to open, I was so, so excited to get it.
