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Sunday, November 28, 2010

My Favorite Basics

Welcome to my first blog post! Let me introduce my best friends: Cricut Expression/Gypsy, Fiskars Titanium Nitride Scissors, Basic Grey Magnetic Cutting Mat, Archival black ink, a piece of cushy packaging, and Scotch Quick Dry Glue.

I love designing my cuts with the Gypsy. I can design in layers, weld, flip, rotate, resize by .01 vertically and horizontally, hide contour (hiding parts of design I don't need), and save my favorite designs. I've been using the Gypsy for a year with no problems.

The Fiskars Titanium Nitride spring action scissors are so very sharp. I like the sharp point and the spring action is comfortable for my hand. I know some people like the soft touch but I don't think they're as sharp as the titanium nitride.

The magnetic cutting mat is great for holding pieces in place before committing to glue. I also like to use the little magnets to help me tie bows for my cards.

Archival ink has got to be one of the best inks on the market. I always get such a clean image with this ink. It's good for watercoloring, chalking, markers (but not Copics) and pencils. And that thin piece of foam packaging? Ah, yes. I used to roll my eyes at the folks that needed a mat for stamping. Well, lo and behold, I tried this little piece of foam and I am now a believer. LOVE IT. My stamped images look better than ever.

I know the ATG is wildly popular so I'm probably in my own little club with the Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. It's cheap and a little goes a long way. In my experience, it does not warp photo paper or cardstock. Thin paper and cheap photo paper will warp but I don't use thin or cheap photo paper often.

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