Tools of the Trade
I hope everyone’s 2023 is off to a great start. I’m working on my first project but want to make some progress before sharing pictures. To start off the year, I thought I’d share some of the tools I’ve gathered as I started to take my crafts more seriously as well as an honest look into some of the drawers in my craft closet.
First we say “hi” to the space. I have a small closet near my workspace that doubles as my professional closet (so I can do a quick change between a workout and a client call) and my crafting cupboard.
I’m basic and you can’t go wrong with IKEA so everything is stored in this ALEX drawer unit. It was some work to put together but the drawers glide well and i have ample space for everything I need.
The top drawer (ok top two
) is my favorite but also the bane of my existence. It is very hard not to buy new colorful tape.
The stickers on top were gifted to me this holiday season.
Oh look, more stickers in drawer two. I can’t blame anyone else; I purchased all these.
Also some knitting needles and Sharpies. I don’t have much yarn, so we probably won’t be doing any knit-crafts this year. Maybe in 2024.
The all important adhesive drawer (washi tape doesn’t count as adhesives for me).
But also the cutting drawer? Kind of the tools drawer, I suppose
That brings me to tool #1 that I invested in last year: paper cutter. I have a small blade for shapes, but straight lines can be so important and I bought this one to help with the paper crafts like cards or ornaments.
I spy adhesives in the paint drawer (I never claimed to be well organized).
And chocolate. That’s normal right? Sometimes you need a snack break in the middle of a project.
Another chaotic drawer. This is mainly the sewing drawer with flosses and hoops, but my mom was gifted a bunch of essential oils and containers and droppers, so I adopted those to see if we could do something with them. They have taken residence in the sewing drawer.
Tool #2. Not featured in a drawer because it’s often on my table. A cutting mat. Not sure if this is the one I have but it looks identical. This has become a requirement as I use the Exacto knife more and more and it saves my surfaces.
There are eight drawers, so you know you’re not seeing everything, but that’s the gist and what I expect I’ll be pulling from. Some drawers are storage for existing projects, so we’ll see those empty out quickly and maybe halfway through the year, we can do a reorg of ALEX.
Tool #3 and #4 are working together and are going to be more niche. Struggling with some miniature kits, I bought some wood blocks and tacky putty.
The blocks work twofold: one, they are great on the cut mat to ensure I line up pieces correctly and that they are straight. They also pair well with the putty when I’m working on small, fiddly items that tip over or when I just feel like I need another hand. I can set it on the block and the putty holds it in place while I work.
There are plenty more must-have items that I recommend but I think we’ve gone on long enough. I’ll share my recommendations in another post. What are your go-to tools?
Stay tuned for Tuesday’s post to see what project we’re working on first!
