I find "top 10" (or "top 5" or "top 20") lists irresistible. Here are a few I've read recently: 5 Snowiest Places in the U.S., Top 10 YouTube Videos (can you say Justin Beiber?), Top 10 Strangest LEGO Creations, and Top 25 Best Books of 2010 (according to Amazon).
So it's no surprise that when I received "Top 20 Craft Tools" in the mail from Martha Stewart Living (along with a subscription offer for the magazine), I went through my craft collection to see how I did.
Here's what's on the list:
- white eraser
- decoupage glue (Mod Podge)*
- tacky glue*
- pinking shears
- specialty paints*
- double-sided tape*
- ink pads*
- tissue paper*
- spray mount
- permanent markers (Sharpies)*
- floral tape
- circle cutter
- wood glue
- hole punch*
- glitter*
- colored pencils*
- paint pens**
- rotary cutter
- sponge brush**
- paint brushes
Everything with a * next to it, I own (12 out of 20). Sixty percent! That's not even a passing grade. But it gets worse—I cheated. I'm proud that I didn't give myself credit for the pinking shears (although you may remember me writing about scissors in the past—I own at least a dozen other types of scissors). But see those two items with ** next to them? Technically, I do own them, but the paint pens are all dried up (I haven't used them for years) and the sponge brush is in tatters. (Apparently if you load it down with paint and press really hard with your brush, the entire sponge part comes off and falls onto your shoe.) So, yes, I do own those two items, but really, I shouldn't. They should be tossed. That gets me down to 10 out of 20. Fifty percent!
Crafty Tools for Jewelry Makers?
This list (besides making me feel like a totally inadequate crafter) made me realize that maybe I'm not as generally crafty as I thought. Of course, I own a lot of tools not on this list: round-nose pliers, wire cutters, chain-nose pliers, metal hole-punch pliers, several types of hammers . . . but those I use exclusively for jewelry. Am I missing out on some great tools by not looking at ones created for other crafts?
While I'm not going to rush out and buy floral tape or spray mount, I was intrigued by the circle cutter. It looks like there's several different brands, including one by Fiskars and one by Martha Stewart. I love using circles in projects (particularly with pendants and charms), but it's hard to cut circles out and make them perfectly round on your own. I do own a circle punch, but it looks like the circle cutter can cut many different sizes, which means that I could own a single tool, rather than a whole bunch of individual circle-cutting tools. It's always a plus when I can save studio space. I did see some complaints about circle cutters being hard to use (plus, I'm not sure if they make circle cutters small enough for jewelry), so I'm going to watch the how-to videos before I decide to purchase one. I don't want to spend money on a tool that doesn't work when I could spend that money on beads.
What's on your "must have" tool list? How'd you do on this checklist?