Tips: Scrapbooking and Green Reuse

16) When making stickers using your Xyron, besides pressing down with a piece of fleece to adhere the adhesive, go around each item with your stylus before taking off the top cover sheet.  This eliminates the stringy adhesive and looks clean on your project.
  
15) If you want to ink an embossing folder PJ says just use the flat ink pad directly on the folder.  It will only ink the surface and not inside the embossed areas.

14) To keep your ink pad from moving, place it on a piece of rubber shelf liner or jar opener.  This frees up both your hands to really get to inking or to ink the sides.  I keep several of these in my scrapbook supplies - they come in so handy.
Shelf Liner measures 4" x 6"

13)  Struggling to tie tiny bows?  Use pencils!  I like to use color pencils because they do not have the rubber erasers to catch on the ribbon when sliding it off of the pencils.  Tie your bow and slide the pencils inside the bow loops.  Now pull on the bow ends to tighten the bow loops and then tug the pencils apart to tighten the knot until you have perfect bows!
Bow used Green Collection Designer Ribbons (Z1616)
  
12) Keep your paper cutter moving smoothly.  Remove your cutter blade, place a piece of wax paper directly under the cutter blade and run the blade up and down the path.  It's just like waxing skis.
3" x 4" Wax paper
Place under blade and push blade into track

11)  The new Close To My Heart 'Art Philosophy' Cricut cartridge has a great font included however the key pad overlay does not show the alphabet.  TIP: after setting up your Cricut replace the Shape cartridge overlay with one of the Alpha cartridge overlay and type away.  (Thanks Monique for the user friendly tip!)
Shape Cartridge Overlay of Art Philosophy

Any Alphabet overlay for ease of use
10) Ever have trouble figuring out which hand punch is the one you are looking for....draw on the end of your punches the symbol of the punch shape, like a heart, small circle, etc.
Punches shown: small circle, medium circle, heart and Cropadile.

9) For an easy way to ink the edges of your paper - run your items through the Xyron Adhesive, peal off the top sheet, leaving the cardstock pieces on the adhesive sheet and ink using a dauber.
Inking made easy!

8) Don't throw them away - Restick your Cricut Mat - The CTMH Bonding Memories Glue (1512) creates both permanent and temporary bonds.  To achieve the temporary bond needed for your Cricut Mat, apply the glue lightly and evenly on the Cricut Mat and let dryTip:  apply very lightly - you can always add more glue if your Cricut Mat is not as sticky as you like - so apply in light doses and let dry.  If you apply too much Bonding Memories Glue - the Cricut Mat will be too sticky to remove your paper.  (To achieve a permanent bond for your other projects, apply paper / items to 'wet' Bonding Memories Glue.)
Bonding Memories Glue (1512)

7) When you need to cut a circle exactly in half - use your paper cutter.  Set your cut out circle on to your paper trimmer pushing it up into the top of the paper trimmer - rock it back and forth until it touches both sides of the indent.  Move the blade from the bottom of the circle up to the top area that the circle is set against.  The circle will cut exactly in half.
 


6) When cutting very small pieces on your paper trimmer (say a one inch circle in half) line up your piece on the paper trimmer and set the blade down in the middle of the piece to be cut, instead of from one end.  Move your paper trimmer blade up and then down, cutting from the center of the item.  By starting the cut in the middle of the small item, the small item is less likely to move causing your cut to be uneven.  

5) Store your Liquid Glass (Z679) upside down to have less nozzle clogs!  This product adds a glossy glaze-like effect to accents and is also a great adhesive. 

4) Old magazines are great to use with 'glueing'.  The slick surface and abundant pages work wonders.  Put each item you are applying glue on a page, apply the glue.  Just turn the page for a fresh area to glue on.  Keeping your work area free from the stickies!
 
3) Be aware of other sources for your elements:  My husband bought me some wonderful flowers.  The flowers came wrapped in a bright lime green textured tissue - almost cloth like.  I hand cut leaf shapes to add to my flowers on my layout.  The texture and color really popped on my page.

He's so sweet, he now looks for the unusual wraps on the flowers and puts them in my scrap room!!

2) Be aware of other sources for your elements: Save your vegetable netting from the supermarket.  You can find it in many colors and weights depending on it's original use.  This netting can be used in sports pages, beach pages and birthday pages.  The added texture has a great 'wow' factor. 

1) Keep Fingerprints Off of Your Pictures: Purchase a quarter yard of fleece.  Cut into 4" by 6" sizes to use to wipe prints off of your pictures and to put pressure on your pictures to seal the adhesive.  When they get adhesive or glue on them, just throw them in the washer.

Check back often, as I will add tips frequently!







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