Scrapbooking as with any craft and trade starts off with the essentials – basic tools that will help make your crafting experience a lot more enjoyable. Nothing frustrates me more than having a craft knife where the blade keeps on falling out all the time – yes you know the type and you know how frustrating it can be. Having a really good set of tools makes life so much easier – just ask a frustrated crafter stuck with a really bad tool. So today we are taking a look at a really amazing set of basic tools. Not only are they pink, they work like a charm. 

I fell in love with the new Couture Creations Tools the minute I used them. It’s kind of ‘you don’t know what you are missing, until you use them’ feeling. I was happy using my faithful old craft knife I have had for 10 years, but once I used the Couture Creations craft knife I realized just how comfortable the grip was and I am never looking back. 

 These are some of my favourite tools 

Self-Healing Cutting Mat 15x15 Inches [ADCO 721957] 

Scrapbooking on the road has always been a problem for me. So you need to take a mat to cut on and work on but carrying around a big bulky thing is not my idea of fun. Here are the facts that swing my vote in favour of this little number 

• It’s pink and black – and will suit my mood perfectly 

• The pink side of the mat is great for positioning darker shades of cardstock on and cutting straight 

• You can fit a 12 inch page on it and still have room to view the measurements 

• It is marked in inches and centimetres – perfect for our market 

• It fits into a travel sized bag no problem 

• You can use the funky scallop edge and trace it to create a custom border 

• You can even cut angles on cardstock using your mat 

• It’s really durable and will take a beating for years 

• It is self-healing so will look good along with the rest of your tools for years to come. Self-healing means that the (ordinary) cuts you make in it when cutting paper will close up by themselves over time 

Sanding Block [ADCO 723060] 

We have grown into a scrapbooking nation that loves distressing and sanding. Sanding the edges of my photos is still a firm favourite. I love the way it makes a photo pop against a dark matt, and having a great tool for the job is a must have. • It’s colour coded girls! This makes life so much easier and takes the guessing out of the grit of sandpaper you want to use • The different colours is a quick reference from smooth to coarse • I love the foam base of the tool. Once I have used it “up” I can see loads of potential for this piece of foam. Being frugal and recycling is a must and a possibility. I can see myself using the foam for stamping – use acrylic paint added to the foam and you have a great stamp for altered arts, layouts and cards. If you used a light coloured ink pad and stamped rectangles onto a white background you can use them for journaling spots or create a great grid effect – a multipurpose tool for sure!

Couture Creations Handheld Essentials [ADCO 721986] 

I finally own a set of tools that all look the same. So as a scrapbooker I like having a mostly neat work area all colour coded (I wish). But I really love having tools that look good. But most importantly they function like a dream

 • The craft-knife has a really good cut. The grip is comfortable and leaves a clean cut on papers and cardstock. No unsightly edges left behind after cutting even through thicker cardstock

• The blades are easily removed and replaced and are readily available 

• I love that the scoring tool has a bigger surface. This makes it perfect for adding large rub-ons to a project and perfect for scoring thicker cardstock 

• This is a great tool for burnishing smaller surfaces • The piercing tool is really sharp. The thin sharp tip allows you to make even the tiniest of holes for sewing purposes, avoiding those large gaping holes visible even after sewing with thin thread 

• The tip runs at an angle going slightly wider towards the end making it possible to make a bigger hole should you need to 

• This is an awesome little set and even if you have just this in your travel bag you will be able to do almost anything with it 

• The tools are really well made, sturdy and won’t bend under normal use. They each have a screw mechanism that ensures the tools are well put together and won’t come apart unless you unscrew it at the tip

Sponge Daubers [ADCO 723061] 

This must be one of my favourite tools around. Daubers have been around for ages but have only in the last couple of years come to their full potential. They can be used for a variety of things…. 

• Use daubers to ink the edges of your papers and cardstock 

• Use them on stamped images to apply Decorating Chalks 

• Use them with acrylic paints to stamp with and create texture and pattern 

• They can be used to blend inks together to avoid harsh lines on projects

 • When you use daubers for inking store each dauber used for each colour in a small zip lock packet to avoid contamination, and only use that dauber for the intended colour 

• When daubers are well used, do not try and wash them, but rather replace them. A well-worn and used dauber will shed its sponge and will become a frustration. This doesn’t mean you do not look after your tools, it means you use what you have and get your money’s worth

A happy crafter has a good selection of basic tools. Basic tools are a necessity and will enable you to do just about anything. Looking after your tools and maintaining them is another way of making your tools last for years. I use Un-du Sticker, Tape and Label Remover [U 01004-20] to clean the tips of my Piercing tool, scissors and craft knife when they are dirty or sticky. I also use it to remove any glue off of my Cutting mat to ensure it is clean for my next project. It makes such a difference when your tools are well kept and respected – in return they will you give you years of happy crafting time. Enjoy your tools! 

 *the views expressed here are my own opinion based on the performance of the tools

welcome to the Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop

if you arrived here from  Phillis' blog  then you are in the right place

we are celebrating a new year and another term of new design team members with a special sketch and some awesome goodies up for grabs

if you want to play along remember to leave some love as you hop onto each blog and then onto the final destination. but here's the sketch and what i did with it...
 and if you get lost just head on over here to find your way....
SBC http://scrapbookchallenges.com/sbc-blog/

I used the sketch and stretched things to turn it into my beloved double pages. Most of the sketch is visible on the right of my layout and it pretty much took on it's own life from there on.

i used a stencil with some texture paste on the background and lightly inked it using gold Mr Huey inks to add some colour. i also made some marble circles to add more colour and pattern

some delicate cut-outs from patterned paper repeating the colours throughout the layout

fabric strips and stickers used in the perfect colour combination.

 here are some of the fabulous prizes up for grab if you play along with us

now it's time to head on over to Emmy's blog and see what she did with the sketch

Emmy http://few-favourite-things.blogspot.com

we hope you have an awesome time. there's loads of activity happening around the site with games and hunts. so if you have nothing planned for this weekend, why not spend it with us being creative. now go and get your scrap on :-)

As a young crafter I always loved working with inks paints and other weird materials. I love the artistic, anything can happen look inks can give a project. It’s hard to know how ink will re-act initially when you start working with a new product – and for that reason I love experimenting with it. There are many different kinds of inks available on the market today - they have grown in popularity as more and more crafters start to create their own artistic elements instead of using the pre-manufactured goods. Artistic and handmade is the new in thing ladies! 

Today we are playing with Mr Huey inks *Love*. 

For my layout I used Mr Huey inks in 3 subtle ways. I love using techniques on my layouts but like everything in life and in design the key is to know when it works. I use techniques in little subtle and interesting ways – ways that will enhance my layout and still let the focus be on my photos and the story I am telling.

 I used the silver to mist my cut out stars for beautiful handmade elements. 

On the smaller stars I used the nozzle to draw squiggles on the stars after the first layer of ink was dry. I love how it turned out.

So for my layout I used 3 different Mr Huey colours and created coloured splats on my background, then I used silver Mr Huey together with a stencil and created a pattern on my background

splats in 3 different colours....

while packing away some supplies this morning, and waiting for some Mr Huey inks to dry on another project...this 10 minute card came about.i love projects like that - spur of the moment things.

to purchase these and other great products distributed by The Wholesaler ask your nearest scrapbook store or visit www.thewholesaler.biz

to create the background i used 3 different colours of Mr Huey inks mister over each other. I started with the Prima Gears mask and first mister aqua, then added some silver and last a layer of white Mr Huey - love the end result.

the beautiful DoCrafts Chronology embellishments as really quick and easy to add dimension to any projects - the elements acts as focal points in a couple of seconds

and some quick die-cut toppers matted onto cardstock and a postage stamp element cut from the patterned paper finished off the card.

and yet another card finished and ready to be posted....

anyone who says they do not have time to be creative is not being honest with themselves.

hope you have a wonderful day filled with inks and papers.

it's Monday which means it's time for another sketch over at scrapbook challenges.i loved working with this sketch - so many possibilities. there's no 'official' double page version, but because i am more comfortable scrapping on double pages....that's what i did. the colour inspiration came from these gorgeous little pink and green leaves i found from a new supplier (yeah) awesome stuff. so here's what the original sketch looks like, and remember to head on over to www.scrapbookchallenges.com to see what the design team has done

and here's my layout...

i used a combination of old and new patterned papers. some chipboard elements and some paint and inks for an artistic touch. i also added some old book paper for a change - missed using it.

really old Basic Grey rub-ons - i simply cut the strip in half to use it in more than one spot on my layout, love being frugal

and lots of sewing done. i used this really cool template i have - made for calligraphy - to punch holes in my layout and then sued gold thread to sew this beautiful diamond pattern. i love the delicate and beautiful look - worth all the work!

hope you are having a wonderfully creative week so far.