#1 – Paper Trimmers

When cutting your card stock a paper trimmer with a sharp blade is a must. Nothing worse than your paper tearing or getting rough edges. My faves are:

• Tonic Guillotine Trimmer – This trimmer is small and fits nicely on my crafting table. The blade is sharp ALL of the time and cuts like a dream. It is my go-to trimmer.
• Tonic Rotary Trimmer – This rotary trimmer by Tim Holtz Tonic is a powerhouse. It has a length of 12.5″ and pull out arms that measure up to 12″. The rotary blade allows you to cut heavy weight card stock – even chop board. And the blade never needs sharpened
• Fiskars Paper Trimmer – Fiskars has a SureCut^™ wire cut-line which indicates exactly where the blade will cut your paper, photo, scrapbook page or specialty material. This trimmer includes the widest base on the market and a self-leveling swing-out arm that extends the measuring deck to over 15″ to manage all your trimming needs. The blade will dull and needs replaced over time.

There are 2 mini trimmers that are definitely worth noting. These are great because of their size. And they cut great too! Check out the Tonic Mini Trimmer and the We R Makers Mini Guillotine.

#2 – Die Cut Machines

Next up are Die Cut Machines. A die cut machine gives the pressure needed to cut out your die and emboss your cardstock.

A die cut is metal with edges that will cut into the paper to give you the shapes that you need. There are thousands and thousands of die cuts available to buy.

You put your cardstock inside of an embossing folder, run it through your machine and voila, you have an embossed image. An example of an embossing folder is on the left.

There are many die cut machines on the market. My personal faves are:

• Spellbinders Platinum 6 – This manual machine is a power house. It can fit most of your dies and embossing folders except the really long ones (and even if they are long there is a hack to getting them to work). I have had mine for years and years with no problems whatsoever.
• Gemini Junior – This electric machine is great. You push a button and run your plates through. This has been my personal fave – although I do find that the plates warp pretty quickly from all of the pressure. BTW – you sandwich your dies or folders in-between the plates to protect your dies and folders.
• Sizzix Big Shot – This is a wonderful die cutting machine. It cuts smooth and has even pressure. I love mine!

Spellbinders Platinum 6 | Gemini Junior | Sizzix Big Shot

There are a few smaller machines that are great for tiny dies. Check out the Sizzix Sidekick, Gemini Mini and the Hero Arts Compact Cutter.

#3 – Cardstock

There seems to be as many colors of cardstock as there are stars in the sky! When choosing cardstock it is important to look for a few things. 1) Weight of the cardstock. 80-110 pound is best. The higher the weight the thicker the cardstock. I use Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 # Cardstock for my card bases because it makes for a very sturdy card. At that point an 80# cardstock for die cuts is perfect.

My faves for colored cardstock are:

• Concord and 9th – Concord & 9th coordinates everything. From cardstock to ink to liquid watercolor
• Simon Says Stamp – Simon has wonderful cardstock that is heavy weight. It is great for card bases too.
• Lawn Fawn – Great cardstock with coordinating inks!
• Hero Arts – HA has been around a long time and they know how to make quality cardstock!
• Spellbinders – So many great colors to choose from.

Concord & 9th | Simon Says Stamp | Lawn Fawn | Hero Arts | Spellbinders

#4 – Stamping Platform

Stamping Platforms are a relatively new tool in the stamping/inking world. And they are a game changer. Stamping images has never been easier. You can line them up and make sure they are straight AND stamp multiple times and know that it will all line up. My faves are:

• Misti – This is the original stamping platform. It comes in different sizes. I use the regular sized Misti and the Mini Misti all the time
• Altenew Stamp Wheel – New on the market and so great to use. Altenew has great instructions too.
• Crafters Companion Stamping Platform – I wanted to mention this platform even though you can't stamp multiple times and ensure that your stamp is lined up each time. It is great for positioning your stamps and making sure you stamp where you want the image to be!

Regular Size Misti | Mini Misti | Altenew Stamp Wheel | Crafters Companion Stamping Platform

#5 – Adhesives

Another one of those ‘as many of the stars' scenarios. There are liquid glues, tape runner glues, glue sticks, glue pens, glue bottles…you get the picture. I tend to use liquid glue most of the time. With liquid glue you can lay down tiny dots (with the small tip applicator) or cover large areas. If you have heavy weight cardstock you will not see where you apply your dots of glue because the cardstock will not warp.

You can check out ALL the glues that Simon Says Stamp (one of my fave for paper crafting supplies) right HERE. In the meantime my faves liquid are:

• Gina K Connect Glue – Pen size tube, doesn't clog and dries clear.
• Honey Bee Precision Glue – Pen size tube, doesn't clog and dries clear.
• Bearly Art Precision Glue – This glue comes with tips so that you can choose how much flows out at a time. Great for tiny things!

Gina K Connect Glue | Honey Bee Precision Glue | Bearly Art Precision Glue

A few other adhesives that I use and love are:

• Simon Says Stamp dot runner – this is great because it fits nicely in your hand and it's repositionable during placement – just in case! And you can buy refills.
• Lawn Fawn Double Sided Tape – Comes in 1/8″ or 1/4″ wide. Tears easily and sticks GREAT!
• Crafty Foam Tape – If you are looking for dimension for your projects use foam tape. This tape is just one of many on the market!

Simon Says Stamp Dot Runner | Lawn Fawn Double Sided Tape | Crafty Foam Tape