1.      Cricut tip.. questions asked in a cricut newsletter Q. "I made some vinyl cut-outs for Halloween. Does anyone have an idea of how to store them until next year? This is the first time I have used my Cricut to cut vinyl and I hope to reuse the cuts. I am sure you creative people have already come up with a storage idea."
A. "How about storing them in clear plastic storage sheets, like you would store your scrapbook pages in an album? You can even put them in an album, separating your sections by holiday."

2.    "I recently got the Cricut, which I love. My spatula is getting really icky. What is the best way to clean it?"
A. "This is my recipe for cleaning my spatula: I wipe it down with a baby wipe, then clean it with rubbing alcohol. Everyone thinks my spatula is brand new."

3.     A lot of art or craft projects call for PVA glue... I don't know how many times I thought this was some sort of special glue.   Well, it turns out it's actually the most common white glue around. Gee, that glue we used in school, remember Elmer's Glue? That's THE glue they're talking about!   To start with, PVA stands for polyvinyl acetates. Hey, I don't make this stuff up...I just read it somewhere.  So don't get all bent out of shape trying to find some super-special version of it. It's just white glue. (It comes in yellow as well, referred to as Carpenter's Glue.)  What makes it so good though and why it's recommended in all sorts of projects is this...You can use it for paper, board, collage work, paper mache, book binding, crafts, wood, vinyl and as mentioned, archival work. It's even used in leatherwork!  It's pretty much acid-free which makes it ideal for archival work...In other words, it has a neutral PH.....It's pretty flexible......It dries clear.

4.     If using brass stencils in your Cuttlebug machine, to eliminate the embossing of the edges of the brass stencil, cut a wizard 12 x 12 embossing pad slightly smaller than the brass stencils you are using.  Keep the pad with that particular stencil.

5.    I love to use mulberry paper. To tear the edge, we all know you need to wet it slightly. I was using a cotton swab and had a small cup of water sitting on my desk. I was always worried that the water might get turned over on my work until I started to use a water pen.  It works much better and no chance of spills.

6.    I got this tip from Heather Goodes, who got it from a forum site, about how to store coloured quilling strips.  Take a clear plastic sheet protector and add a piece of printer paper and then sew one or two straight lines down the sheet protector. That way you can use both sides to add in your strips. 

7.     Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.  If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster. I didn't know that!

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

1. I had a customer who asked me how I organize my quilling papers.  I didn’t really have an answer for her so I asked a customer as she is a quilling fan and very organized.  This is the info. I got from her.  Right now I just have them in their bags in a drawer.  I’ve been trying to come up with a different method too.  On the Creative Forum site there are some good ideas.  http://creativequilling.forumotion.com/forum.html  One idea is to put them in a binder.  Take a clear plastic sheet protector and add a piece of printer paper and then sew one or two straight lines down the sheet protector. That way you can use both sides to add in your strips.  I probably have far too many strips for just one binder.  I also thought of buying some hanging bags from Crystal Clear Bags of Canada and using my Clip it Up system…Heather Goodes

2. To remove tiny scraps of paper stuck to the Cricut mat after cutting, take a piece of packing tape about 4" long. Wrap it sticky-side out around your index and middle finger tips, then just swipe all the little bits on your mat, rotating the tape around when it gets full of bits. This is much easier than using a tool or fingernail, and helps the mat retain it's own stickiness."

3.  "Center Point is a great feature on the Cricut. I love it and use it a lot. If you have, say a picture of your child, and you want it in the middle of a shape or letter, use the Center Point function.   First, practice before you use the real thing. Make a copy of the picture you want to use, then place it on the cutting mat. It doesn't actually matter where you place it since you will be using your arrow keys, but if it makes you feel better, you can put it in the center of your mat.  Next, load your mat, press the center point button and then use your arrow keys to move the blade housing to the center of your picture. So, if it's a nose that's the center, that is where you will move the blade housing.   Select the appropriate size. This may take some playing around with (have a couple copies of your picture--just plain paper works to save you the photo paper costs). Press cut. Cricut knows this is the center and will not start the cut there; it will move to the appropriately sized proportions outside the center."

4.  Change the usual gold or silver borders on Peel Off Stickers into rainbow borders. With permanent marker pens, colour in sections all the way across the sheet of borders.

5.  I find cutting out unmounted stamps to put onto EZ-mount foam much quicker and easier on the hands if I do it with my craft knife rather than scissors. 

6.  To make sure that heavy cardstock holds when matting and layering, put a small amount of very strong double sided tape in the centre of the cardstock. You can then use which ever glue you have chosen (I like  Beacon 3 in 1 or Zip Dry) to stick the rest of the cardstock in place.  If you put a tiny blob of glue over the double sided tape, then you can wiggle it around to get it into position before pressing it down firmly.

7.  For using flat backed gems that don’t have adhesive, use one of the micro dots that come in the sheets, take the top paper off press the gems onto the tiny dots of adhesive then put the protective paper back over, that way you have a sheet of gems ready to go.

8.  Here is a great way to store your Spellbinderdies that we use in the store.  “Clip It UP” has some great storage wall mounts or desk mounts that are great for storing your Cuttlebug dies and folders as well.   We keep them on magnetic rubber sheets (you can get these at the $ store) and then clip them on these units.  Check out the following site for all the products they offer.  www.clipitup.com

Well, that’s all the news for now.  Have a great October and enjoy all those fall colours!!!

1. An excellent tip that Lynne Hurlburt gave me, is to die-cut out small tag size pieces of every colour of card stock that you have. Punch a hole in the top of the tag and put it on a ring. You can then bring the entire ring into the store and you'll always know which colours of cardstock you have in your inventory. Thanks Lynne!
2. Store your basic tools in one location. Whether it's a carousel-style holder, a tote specially designed to carry your supplies or a plastic tub, having all of your tools in one place will help you locate exactly what you need when you're packing for an event or just sitting down at home to create.
3. Keep a varied supply of adhesives on hand. As an instructor, I often ask students to bring several types of adhesives because each will be used for a specific purpose.
4. Carry back-up blades for your paper trimmer and craft knife.
5. Have a couple of your favourite inks ready to go and freshly inked. Whenever possible, purchase a bottle of re-inker along with your ink pad.
6. Savor the moment. Don't worry about catching up on your scrap booking. You'll never be caught up because the whole point is to continually chronicle your life experiences. Just enjoy all the steps you take to get the wonderful finished product.
7. To stop the ink smudging on envelopes in the rain, rub over the lettering with a piece of white candle before putting in the post. This will waterproof it.
8. I often use the point of a sewing needle to handle and place small peeloffs, especially sentiments, this makes it easy to place the peeloff exactly where you want it. With word peeloffs you can place the needle under an upright part of a letter and it holds the whole peeloff over the card or surface you wish to place it on, and it is very easy to remove the needle when the word is in place.
9. When making shaker cards with foam tape, use a cotton ball to apply a little talcum powder to the inside edge to stop glitter or small beads etc. from sticking. Works wonders!
10. To store a large amount of peel-offs, staple cheap plastic page protectors in half lengthwise, and store in a ring-binder. the peel-offs slip in from the top and can be flipped-over quickly and easily to see what you've got.