March of the Tools

There are two things I feel are "must haves" for any artist/crafter -something that rends and something that mends.
Here is my trusty rotary cutter. Once I was purchasing some fabric in a local quilting shop when the clerk cut my yardage with one of these babies. I was sold at that moment. It has only been a resident of my toolkit for the past 6 or so months. I don't know how I ever got along without it before. I find it so much easier to cut straight edges especially on large quantities of fabric. If you've never used one of these, I think you'd find plenty of uses for it even if you're not a sewer. You'll need a cutting surface and a nice straight edge to make the most of it, but those aren't so expensive and can be found in lots of craft stores, even in WalMart. Replacement blades are between $5 and $10.

One of my other favorite tools is my glue gun. Once when I was teaching science in private school, I asked parents if the class could borrow some glue guns as I was in need of about 6 of them for a roller coaster project. One of the parents bought me 6 glue guns and told me I could keep them. They are still in my arsenal. I use them for everything from making hairpieces to adding texture on paintings, to burning holes in plastic things - thus the burnt tip.


This is my first "March of the Tools" post in conjunction with Heather Bailey's month-long blog feature. Click on the March of the Tools graphic on the sidebar to learn more.