Fiskars 12" Personal Rotary Trimmer

Today I want to share a brand new trimmer with you that has just recently been released and is now available to purchase. This is the Fiskars 12" Personal Rotary trimmer. Here are some of the features of this trimmer-

1. Metal track that your rotary carriage runs on
2. Swing arm that comes out from the side giving you continuous measurements
3. A line on top of the blade carriage that shows you exactly where your cutting line is.
4. An easy lift guide under the blade rail to hold your paper in place as you cut.
5. A locking tab that locks your guide and rail in place for storage/travel.
6. 4 rubber corner stands and 3 black rubber stand underneath to prevent slipping
7. Measurement marking are done under the surface so they cannot rub off
8. This trimmer takes blade style "F" which means you have a variety of creative options including scoring, deckle, perforating, wave, scallop, and pinking.

So I gave this trimmer a little test run to see how it worked. I tend to line up my paper on the measurement line itself on a trimmer because normally I tend to get a straighter cut that way. For this trimmer I tried cutting two ways.

a. I cut by lining the cardstock up on the measurment line, got a straight cut.
b. I cut next by just sliding my cardstock to the measurement line but relying more on the top edge when cuttnig the paper. Again, this resulted in a straight cut.

The next thing I played around with was the locking clip. I slid it into place and then flipped my trimmer around a couple of times. It held tight. Next I tried shaking it up, down and sideways to see what would happen. Again, the clip held tight. Next I tapped it several times on the back of the trimmer board to see if the clip would move and it did not.

I have a very smooth desktop and I put the trimmer in place on the desk and then started cutting some scraps I had laying around. The 4 orange corner pegs held tight as I was cutting. This is great! I am going to guess though that you have to keep these legs dust free because over time if dust or dirt gets underneath it will lose it's rubber grip. So I plan once a month to take a damp cloth and just wipe them clean to keep dust and debris off of them.

Next I took a close look at the swing arm. Normally with these smaller personal trimmers I am challenged when I go to cut at the 5 1/2" mark. Not on this one. The markings are almost continuous. There is a gap between 5 1/8" and 5 1/2" where you cannot see any markings. But I probably don't use those markings as frequently as some of the others so it works for me!

Overall this trimmer is full of features for the price point and is an excellent personal trimmer. This is now the trimmer will take to crops or classes with me. My new crafty traveling companion!

One huge wish from Fiskars.....I am still in search of the ultimate 12" desktop trimmer that is heavy duty, stable, cuts straight, I don't need to replace strips, and a self sharpening blade, etc.

What do you look for in a trimmer? What is your favorite trimmer right now? What would your ultimate trimmer be like? Tell me all that you can about what the perfect trimmer would be like for you right down to the last little detail.......

Garden Variety, final photos!

So my last project with the new Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety line is this open topped box. I thought this would make the perfect drop spot for those smaller magazines like the Farmers Almanac. What better line to show off the Farmers Almanac than Garden Variety! You can see the front and back views above.

Tune in tomorrow, as I have a new paper trimmer and I am going to give you a little review! This is another brand new release from Fiskars!

New Blog Design!!!

If you have visited my blog in the past few days you have no doubt seen some very exciting changes! I know most of you told me that you visit my blog for the content, not for the design. But since it was bugging me I decided to go ahead and spice things up on here a bit.

A huge thanks to Emily who I hired to do my blog design! Those of you who know me, know that I do well with paper in my hands. I can create all kinds of things from cards, to layouts to dimensional altered items. What I cannot do is design work on my computer. It doesn't excite me like working with paper and although I have tried to force myself, I just can't get it the groove!

So a round of applause for those who can design with digital elements. I admire you all greatly!

Now big kudos to Emily who spent a great deal of time working with me on this design. She was very easy to work with and a great communicator! I found her blog design prices to be very reasonable. You know the best part? Emily is a scrapbooker herself. That is right she has piles of papers and embellishments just like the rest of us. So if you have been thinking about creating a blog design for your own blog, or know of anyone who wants a blog design done I will give you Emily's information below. Tell her that Lisa from Paper Fashions sent you.

Here is the site I found Emily through when I clicked the Shoppe and then the blog design link:

http://www.polkadotplum.com/index.php

Here is Emily's website:

http://polkadotpixels.com/

So leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new design! I'd love to hear everyone's feedback!

Joy Ride, round two!

Alright, above you will see the last image I have for Joy Ride. This is a plaque that I decided to make into kind of a small scrapbook page layout. So I covered the board, created photo mats, and decorated it all with the wonderful Cosmo Cricket Ready, Set, Chipboard.

Material Girl, take two!

Alright as promised here are the last two photos of the project I created using Material Girl.

The first is a little hook plaque that I altered to hold scissors and measuring tape. Don't you just love the darling chipboard designs? Eric and Julie are so very talented and clever don't you think?

The second picture is actually a coaster box set which I decided to turn into a little sewing kit using Material Girl. So I created a pin cushion inside and well as a storage pouch area for notions.

Ribbon Ring- Ribbon Storage

Ok, I already gave you a glimpse of my ribbon storage. One of my blog readers (lollychops) left a comment about the Ribbon Ring storage system so I decided to go and check it out. I poked around the site and then decided to e-mail Melissa, the Ribbon Ring owner and ask some questions about this system. I asked if I could try one out and then post on my blog about it. Well blog readers you will be very excited to know that Melissa not only sent me one to try and share with all of you on the blog, but she also sent a bonus starter kit so I could give one away to a lucky blog reader. How nice is that of Melissa?

So I've taken a few photos above so you can see the system.

The first photo shows what you get in the starter package. (this is what one lucky randomly drawn blog reader will receive) The rest of the photos show how the ribbon is placed on the cards and then the ring.

Now for some of my thoughts.

1. The first thing I love about this system is being able to easily lay my hands on the ribbon. Easily being able to hold it up to a project to see if it would work before I have to dig it out and then try to put it back in a container, bag, or jar.

2. The next thing I love is that this is easily portable. Grab your rings and go, take all your ribbon with you. I only do about 2 crops a year, but one of my biggest frustrations is how to carry all my ribbon along. I know, it sounds insane but I have so much crafty goodness right in my scrapbooking room that I want to take it all with me which is why I only go out to a couple of crops a year!

3. I tested the ribbon to see if it would fall off the cards and it did not. the way you thread them through makes them stay. But it is still very easy to just pull the ribbon to cut the length you want.

4. I like that I can purchase different rings and cards to I can hang my ribbon by color. I am like that, very color coordinated. All of my cardstock is sorted by color along with my cardstock scraps. I am a color sorter for sure, so this system works well for me.

Overall, I think the Ribbon ring is a great system. The only thing I found that I don't like is taking all that time upfront to get it threaded on the cards. But I have had that upfront time with every single ribbon system I have tried so I am thinking there is no way to avoid that!

Now, who wants to win their very own Ribbon Ring Starter kit? Here is how-

1. Post a comment on my blog, under this thread.
2. For every friend you send to post on my blog that mentions your name you get an extra entry.
3. Add yourself to my blog follower list. If you are already a follower then send a friend over and have them add themselves as a follower and leave a comment witb your name as the referral source in a comment on this post.
4. Post a link on your facebook page or your own blog and then come back here and post a link in the comments.

So lots of chances to add your name a lot of times to win this prize! (compliments of Melissa) I will draw a random winner on Tuesday February 2nd. So lots of time to round up your friends to stop by!

Garden Variety

For those of you who know me fairly well, you will know my next love after crafting is gardening. Why do I live in such a snowy climate when I love to be out digging in the dirt, not in the snow? I have no idea!

The two projects shown above are made using the brand new Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety line. You can see that the set of boxes I created are surely garden related. What better way to store all your garden seed, gloves, and tools than in beautifully decorated boxes you can actully display inside your house!

The second project is a little birdhouse that I altered using the new Garden Variety line. Notice the detail work in the roof shingles. It looks like it would take a lot of work but I simply used a punch and then stuck them on the roof one at a time. I love altering bird houses!

Bye Bye Old Look...........

For those of you who have been around following my blog for awhile you know that I've asked a couple of times if I should do a blog make over. Each time I have asked for feedback mostly I have heard that it doesn't matter what my blog looks like, you come here for content. That has made me feel better than you will ever know! I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to come and read what I am up to, that means a lot.

Although it doesn't seem to be important to my blog readers, I've decided that it is important to me! So I have hired a blog designer! Yep, that is right, I've put the creativity into the hands of an official blog designer and cannot wait for her to begin work. She said she will be starting this week! So stay tuned to some cool changes that should be coming very soon! See the photo above? This is my favorite color combination and will be the key colors on my new blog. Fresh, fun, alive, playful and bright!

I've completed all the paperwork and sent in my payment so now it is only a matter of time. I cannot wait until it is done and up and then of course I want to get everyone's feedback. Who knows, I may even have to do a nice little giveaway in honor of my new blog look once it is up and running!

More CHA project posts and an organizational giveaway coming soon so check back often over the next few days for those as well!

Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride

Today I am featuring the Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride collection that is being released at CHA. This is a travel oriented line and different than most travel lines you see on the market. It is cute and fun and really when you think about it, isn't that the way that vacation should be?

Above are 2 out of the 3 projects that I created for the show. I will share the other project soon!

My next CHA related project post will be on Monday!

Die Cut Organization

Mustangkayla had commented that she would love to know how I store my die cuts. So I took some photos of the ways that I store them. I do not buy too many die cuts anymore with my Cricut and Gypsy, but I still see one now and then that I really want and have to have!

So here is what you see in the photos above:

1. You will see a binder that contains embossing folders and thin dies. This is just a cheap 8 1/2"x11" binder. I found some clear sleeve pages for storing baseball cards. My husband actually had these and gave them to me when he cleaned out his baseball card collection a couple of years ago. So I slip the small embossing folders and dies in these. The front of my binder contains my larger embossing folders and I am out of room so very soon will need to figure out a solution for those.

2. You can see the large dies are in the upright storage cases made by Sizzix. Not sure if they sell those anymore but the black box next to it is from Sizzix as well and has some larger dies in it and that is a more recent item. I like it because it is closed, and the dies are stored on end inside the box.

3. Recently I got some actual boxes made by Sizzix that will store my thin dies for me as you can see.

Now as far as organizing the Nestabilities or other wafter thin and odd shaped dies I am going to say that you should check to see if Michael's or JoAnn's has some divided page protectors and again use the binder system like I have created for my other dies.

Post questions if you have them and I will respond to them right on the comment thread!

Cosmo Cricket Material Girl

As promised I am here with the Cosmo Cricket projects I created for CHA. Cosmo Cricket is releasing 3 new lines at the show and they are called Material Girl, Joy Ride and Garden Variety. You will get so see all 3 collections here over the next few days. I've created 10 projects total for the show and a special event that Cosmo Cricket is doing with a vendor partner.

Today I am featuring my personal favorite of the new release which is Material Girl. This line is just darling! So many cute Ready, Set, Chipboard embellishments and the patterns of the paper to coordinate are perfect.

One of the projects pictured is a 12"x12" canvas that I've altered using some photos and Cosmo Cricket Material Girl patterned cardstocks and Ready, Set, Chipboard. Then the frame that goes around the outside is a separate piece made by Sierra Pacific. I stained it and added some paper elements to that as well.

Also above you will see a little spiral notebook I created using Material Girl. I love creating little journals. This was something that the Cosmo Cricket folks didn't even know I was creating. My little gesture to wish them well at CHA!

I have a couple other Material Girl items that I will post on a separate day, so be sure to stop back!

Cricut Cartridge Organization

So today is the last post I have for organization. Unless of course I get some comments on this thread from people wanting to know any specifics about how I have organized other things in my craft room. So if you have been struggling with a organizing a certain item, I am more than willing to share how I organize that in my own room and if it is something I don't have I will see what creative solutions I can come up with! So feel free to post what some of your craft space organizational challenges are for you.

This last photo shows how I organize my Cricut cartridges. I simply took some scrap wood we had out in our garage, took some measurements, and built my shelf. Then I mounted it on the wall, and you now see the cartridges in the rack. I could have painted it or stained it but decided to leave it plain. Incidentally I just recently purchased the Cricut Gypsy and loaded all of my cartridges on there so it looks like I am not going to need to have these out and accessible any longer. I can store them away in a box in our storage room. I think I will keep the books out from each cartridge box to use because sometimes looking at my Gypsy screen I cannot easily make out what the graphic is. The books will surely help me. So now I need to come up with a storage solution for keeping my Cricut books handy and accessible. Anyone have any ideas for me?

Stay tuned, because starting tomorrow I will be posting my CHA creations for Cosmo Cricket! I have 9 things to share total so those will be coming. I will post one a day for 9 consecutive days!

Organizing your Acrylic paints

When I started paper crafting I had very little in the way of acrylic paints. As I started doing more altered items I continued to pick up different colors of acrylic paints as I needed them. Eventually, my supply of paint grew so large it was difficult to manage.

I found this storage rack and Michael's and for me it was really not a huge bargain. Original prices was $34.99 but I waited until I had a 50% off coupon and then used it bringing the price to $17.50. Still more than I like to spend on organization, but for me it was well worth it to have all my paint visable and to be able to sort/store them by color.

So how do you store your paints?

Ribbon Winner!

Ok, the random winner of the baggie of ribbon is.............

Suzi who suggested the rain gutters! Send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I will get your ribbon out to you! lfalduto at charter.net

Cosmo Cricket

Well hopefully all of you have made it to the Cosmo Cricket blog to see the CHA sneak peeks! If not, I have included a link below.

I've been a busy beaver for the past couple of weeks designing some fun stuff with all 3 Cosmo Cricket lines! For those of you not going to CHA Winter in sunny Anaheim, well, you just check my blog! I will be sharing over CHA all of the projects I have created with all 3 lines!!!

www.cosmocricket.typepad.com

After you have checked the Cosmo blog come back here and tell me what your favorite line is!

Ribbon organization

This is an area I have always struggled with. As of yet I have not really found the perfect solution.

The photo above shows my ribbon spools displayed on a large pantry rack on the back of my craft room door. This really works fairly well and I can actually see all of my ribbons at a glance. The problem is that I don't have enough doors to fully display all the ribbon I really have so I had to choose:

1. Knock some holes in my walls and make a few more doors
2. Find another way

Well, I chose #2 mostly because it would be less work and much more cost effective! So I purchased a couple of the ribbon bags with the holes all over the outside. Well I love how condensed you can make it but there are a couple of issues. First my ribbon does get tangled up inside which is then a hassle to get in there and dig through all the ribbon to loosen it up. Second, if I pull a ribbon out a ways to see how it will work with my project there is no way to get it back in without again, you guessed it, digging inside.

So I will stick with what I have until I find something better. Who knows, maybe I will invent the perfect solution. Until then, I'd love to hear how you organize your ribbon. Post a comment here sharing your ribbon organization tips and a picture if you have one. On Monday I will draw a winner from all the posts to receive a nice little goodie bag full of ribbon from me!

I temporarily interrupt......

my organizational series to bring you the following announcement...

Did you know that Cosmo Cricket with be sneak peeking their new releases on their blog soon? You may want to watch closely over the next couple of days...

www.cosmocricket.typepad.com

More organization tips to come soon!

Storing punches, decorative scissors, etc.

So, if you are like me you have lots of tools. I have border punches, corner punches, decorative edge rulers, decorative edge scissors, and the list goes on. You would think that at one time I was on the Fiskars Design Team! LOL

Anyway, how to store all these creative things? I do not have enough wall space or I surely would have built a rack. I needed to condense things so they didn't take over my entire room so my solution was those nice $1.00-2.50 clear storage boxes you buy at the discount store.

So first I purchased a storage cabinet (have a total of 3 in my craft room). I got these at my local Menard's for $59.99 a piece. Then I picked up some of the plastic coated wire racks so I could create shelves on shelves to maximize my space and keep things even more organized.

The result? Lots of space for all of my tools and it is easy to keep organized. When I want to use something I just slide out the bucket and slide it back in. Since they are see through I didn't label them but you could surely do that if you wanted to.

Buttons, Buttons, Who's Got the Buttons????

I do! In fact I've got so many buttons in so many shapes, sizes and colors that a couple of months ago I became very overwhelmed. Since I have a Sizzix die cut storage rack I had used the plastic cases my die cuts came in to store buttons. Then there was always the opening, closing, spilling issues. I wanted something easier, more manageable. less complex.

One day it hit me that I needed some kind of a sorting tray to keep them in. I found this one at a local craft outlet and I believe it is a tray made by Creative Imaginations. It was on clearance for a couple of dollars so I picked it up, brought it home and began my sorting/organizing.

I decided to sort by color since that is how I usually go about looking for buttons. I am creating and I need a yellow button so want to be able to easily look at all the styles, sizes, and shapes of yellow buttons that I have. You could also sort by size or by shape. I think you just have to know how you craft and sort based on the easiest system that you have.

I actually have two trays like this since I had so many color variations and I wanted to sort more specifically.

So keep your eyes open for that perfect sorting tray. You may find it at the hardware store, the kitchen section of your local department store. a craft store, or perhaps you want to get out some wood and nails and create your own!

I would love to see some links to photos of how others store their buttons so please leave a comment and share with everyone!

Organization tips and Ideas for 2010

Ok, this is the first of a couple of posts I will do about organizing my craft room space. The first thing I do when I organize is to think about what things I use more often and I need easy access to. Next I find containers that will work well for me to organize the items.

Today I share with you two items I got for a great deal. I found both of these at Big Lots. If you don't have a Big Lots near you check any discount store to find something similar. You can also find them at Menard's or Lowe's or Home Depot but they will most likely be a bit more expensive. Of course you can always watch for a sale!

The two items pictured are similar. The larger unit with the larger drawer fronts are actually tilt bins. I decided this would be a good storage area for my distressing tools, liquid adhesived, sponges, Q-tips, rags, staples and towlettes.

The next unit is actually little pull drawers that come out. I have labeled each drawer with the type of embellishment I keep inside. These are very deep so they actually hold a lot of embellishments!

Now, if any of you have organization tips or storage items you want to share, please comment and post a link if you have a photo to share as well! There are literally millions of ideas out there and the more we all share with one another, the more we all learn and then the more organized we will all be!

Winner!!!

I had so much fun reading all of your New Years resolutions! One common theme I picked up on was lots of you saying that you wanted to get your craft room organized. That is always on my list too! Maybe I will share some ways how I have inexpensively gone about keeping mine organized over the next few weeks if all of you are interested?

So the random winner of the New Years resolution post is...

rosegarden- Laura Fiskateer #5939

Send me an e-mail with your mailing addres to lfalduto at charter.net

Congrats!

New projects!

Well with the Christmas and New Year holidays behind us it is time to think about what is ahead of us! Obviously Valentines Day is right around the corner and if you have been in any stores lately you will see how quickly all the clearance Christmas items have been replaced with those bright red shiny heart items!

Each month I create 2 new projects for the Wausau Paper Creative Collection website and the January projects have been posted. The peek photos above give you a little glance of what you can expect when you head over to check the full project sheets out! There are complete instructions for each project so you can make them yourself which is essentially like a free class online! Here is the URL:

http://mywpcreativecollection.com/BeCreative/Project-of-the-Month/archive.aspx

You can also browse the site to see all of the beautiful cardstocks that Wausau Paper has available!

I will be drawing for the winner of the New Years resolution post tomorrow so send all of your friends over for their chance to win! If we can make it to 75 posts by tomorrow I will actually go ahead and draw two winners!