Craft Forum

Well HelTen, you clearly do a fair bit of crafting - or you wouldn’t go through all that ‘Vanish’, hehehe?!?

And now for something a bit more constructive than, er, my last post!!! ... Just a very simple one to start with, but I always lick the end of my craft blade (LIGHTLY!) before I pick up mini gems, It helps them to stay on just long enough to place them.  Also I find the micro dots great - just lay the back of the gem onto the sticky surface, cover over with the waxy cover and press, peel back, and it is then very easy to lift off with a craft knife and apply to your project - and boy, do they stay put!!  Unfortunately I tried it with paper, and of course as I’d suspected, the adhesive is just a bit too strong for the purpose.  Oh yes, and another thing I picked up from my ex husband, who was a graphic designer - when using wet glue, to avoid getting glue everywhere when sticking something fiddly down, use a sheet of scrap paper or kitchen towel instead of mucky fingers to press down cleanly, and to take up any unwanted wet glue.  It may seem obvious, but you never know, it may help someone to avoid making a costly mistake?!

I I get all the old christmas cards from friends and relatives and take all the embelishments off and make lots of toppers and tags,
I know it takes a long time but well worth it.
they also save there birthday cards.

janniepie - 01 December 2011 11:05 AM

And now for something a bit more constructive than, er, my last post!!! ... Just a very simple one to start with, but I always lick the end of my craft blade (LIGHTLY!) before I pick up mini gems, It helps them to stay on just long enough to place them.  Also I find the micro dots great - just lay the back of the gem onto the sticky surface, cover over with the waxy cover and press, peel back, and it is then very easy to lift off with a craft knife and apply to your project - and boy, do they stay put!!  Unfortunately I tried it with paper, and of course as I’d suspected, the adhesive is just a bit too strong for the purpose.  Oh yes, and another thing I picked up from my ex husband, who was a graphic designer - when using wet glue, to avoid getting glue everywhere when sticking something fiddly down, use a sheet of scrap paper or kitchen towel instead of mucky fingers to press down cleanly, and to take up any unwanted wet glue.  It may seem obvious, but you never know, it may help someone to avoid making a costly mistake?!

Thanks everyone, some brilliant ideas on here!  Just came up with a few thoughts whilst browsing… Love the idea with the magnetic strips for the metal dies, and the little plastic bags attached to a length of material/ribbon (can’t quite remember which); for keeping the colour coded embellishments etc. - Oh yes, and the clear plastic takeaway containers!!  I keep quite a few large items in an old canvas shoe holder (the type which hangs in the wardrobe); keeps them close to hand and easy to see.  Also when using glue dots I find them too large for some items, and have been known to cut them into quarters to economise!  They are so sticky they work anyway, but they do stick up the scissors if you’re not careful!!  “Thank goodness for the sticky stuff remover”, I hear you say…well, here’s another thing - you can use any type of cooking oil to dissolve the stickiness, give them a good rub, then just wash your scissors in ordinary neat washing up liquid, rinse well and dry. Hope this helps!

Hey guys,
love this post, soooooo many helpful tips :D
haven’t got any myself that hasn’t already been mentioned but will certainly be back for more tips!
thanks lots xx

Wow, what a lot of great ideas. I love the suggestion of using eye shadow, I’ve got loads that I never use.

Here are a couple of tips:

Never turn down free crafting materials, even if you don’t think you can use them. The giver certainly won’t ever offer again if you do and you may miss out on something really useful. Pass on unwanted gifts via Freecycle or the Scrap Store.

I used to work in an office. Every year, we would clear out the old files. The paperwork would be sent for shredding and the files were re-used. The coloured, cardboard, file dividers, however, were thrown away. I always made sure it was my waste paper basket they were put into and then they came home with me. They are great for cards. If the tabs are trimmed off the sides they’ll even go through the printer.

Plastic milk containers can be cleaned and then cut out using a die cutting machine to make embellishments. Embossing powders work well on them.

You can colour peel-offs with permanent markers.

Zoe

Loads of great tips, including some I already use, Poundland, Works and Home Bargains are also great for resources, when I’m at my local Childrens Centre anything they dont want to recycle I grab. Also Freecycle and recycling groups on Facebook, one of my best ones was a lovely freestanding spice rack/stand with glass jars, I filled each one with different colour glitters, buttons and mini pegs. I love free download sites, I save them to a folder for when I need them and only print out on normal or fast print to save ink

You could create a book with all the ideas on this one thread. It has given me a few good ideas to pass on to my daughter for her school crafts. Thanks all

Great thread, I have been collating tips together for a while so it’s perfect for new ideas - thankyou!

A recurring theme seems to be the fab poundland/pound shops, one problem I had was when using my die stencils to cut alphabet letters was that I had letters left over but I bought a pill organiser from a pound shop and it had enough compartments for the whole alphabet to be stored individually - saves time and waste when I need another greeting.

This probably isn’t a new tip but I use EBay a lot for buying / selling stamps and dies, there’s some great bargains.  One thing I’ve found really helpful is if I’m considering buying a punch that is a bit expensive I buy some of the cut shapes/borders from EBay (usually about £1.50, including p&p) so that I can see how versatile they would be - this has saved me making some costly purchases.

Happy crafting everyone

Hairspray fixes chalk so it doesn’t rub off.

Lots of toiletries come in baskets and they come in handy for paper etc

I use the take away boxes for all sorts but mainly for embossing powders as they are just right.

Charity shops often have small packs of buttons that are way cheaper than new

Tool rolls from b&q type stores store larger pens really well

When working parchment as in Pergamano, I always lean my hand on a piece of kitchen paper as I work so that any grease from my hand doesn’t spoil the parchment

When embossing parchment, if the tool doesn’t run smoothly, rub through your hair or on the side of your nose and it will run better!

I like my cards to smell nice so I have a body spray which I spray in the air and then wave my finished card through the mist. This avoids direct spraying which can leave water marks (as I found to my cost!)

I’m sure I have more but can’t think at the moment.

Hope they are of use to someone!

Lyn

Fab tips