Tools Glossary
These tools listed by category will help you understand their purpose and important usage when paper crafting.
GENERAL TOOLS
Grid Paper – A 12’ x 18” ¼” gridded black lines on white paper to use as a placemat for your stamping projects to protect your work surfaces.
Pierce Mat – A thick piece of firm foam for use with photopolymer stamping to get good images and used for piercing holes in your paper as well.
Silicone Craft Sheet – A small piece of silicone foam to place under projects when applying any adhesive to keep work surface adhesive free. Also, great to use when mixing and applying embossing paste to a project.
CUTTING & SCORING TOOLS
Paper Snips – Small scissors to use in fussy cutting, cutting ribbon, placing embellishments.
Simply Scored Scoring Tool Board – A large square plastic tool that has a measuring line at the top and grooves at ⅛” spacing on its platform that a stylus can be placed in the groove and a “score” (folding) line can be “embossed” into the paper when the stylus is brought from the top to the bottom of the groove. For perfect folding of papers.
Paper Trimmer –7-3/4” Wide cutting platform with extendable arm to 17” includes a cutting blade and scoring blade. Accurate cuts done easily.
CLEAN UP TOOLS
Simply Shammy – a reusable foam mat for stamp cleaning. Moisten with water, wipe stamp on it until clean. Rinse shammy out with water only. Will never return to its new state. Will become ink stained. Will fit in a standard stamp case or a sandwich size freezer baggie. Can be remoistened as needed.
Stampin’ Scrub – A folding container that holds two black fiber scrub pads to clean stamps. With a metallic Sharpie write Wet on one side and Dry on the other side. Use with SU Stampin’ Mist Stamp Cleaner. The black fiber pads can be rinsed with clear water under the faucet to rinse excess ink from the pads. Let dry completely before using again.
Stampin’ Mist Stamp Cleaner – A liquid spray to prepare your Stampin’ Scrub for cleaning red rubber and photopolymer stamps cleanly.
DIE CUTTING
In the papercrafting world, die cutting means that you can use either a manual crank machine or an electric machine to cut out shapes and designs for your paper crafting without needing to use an exacto knife or scissors. The metal dies come in lots of designs. They can be used to cut cardstock, vellum, designer paper, foil, glitter paper and more. They have a raised sharp area for cutting out the desired image when you lay the die on the paper. The design gets cut when placed on the machine’s set of plates in a certain order, and when sent through the machine pressure is applied as the “sandwich” passes through the rollers. Some dies are very detailed and require a small brush or piercing tool to remove the paper from the die.
DIE CUTTING TOOLS
Cut & Emboss Machine – Comes in 2 widths 3” or 6” is a manual hand crank machine that will apply pressure while sending a specific set of “sandwich” plates through the machine that will cut shapes with metal dies or emboss cardstock inside a plastic patterned embossing folder.
Dies – Metal dies that get passed through the die cutting machine. The die sits on top (usually) of the paper it will be cutting through. Metal dies can come in almost any shape from intricate to geometric. Some dies cut through the paper completely, while others will emboss a pattern.
Electric Die Cutting Machines – can be more easily used by crafters who have manual dexterity issues of one sort or another.
EMBELLISHMENT TOOLS
Embellishment – A variety of items that can be applied to card fronts as a finishing touch. Such as sequins, pearls, rhinestones, epoxy shapes, metallic dots, and more.
Ribbon – Comes in a variety of widths, colors, and designs. Also used in embellishing a card as a finishing touch.
Take Your Pick Tool – Is a versatile double ended tool with interchangeable tips for piercing, picking up embellishment putty, and a narrow spatula for separating papers that didn’t adhere the way you wanted. Additional tips are available that include a die brush tip, hobby blade tip, pick tip, and rotary perforating tip.
Tweezers – Are very useful for holding small pieces of paper comfortably while gluing or heat embossing.
EMBOSSING PASTE TOOLS
Decorative Masks or Stencils – Use to create textured backgrounds. Stencils can be laid together to make advanced designs and patterns. Use with embossing paste and palette knives or any coloring tools.
Embossing Paste – A paste (much like toothpaste) that is used to add texture to projects. Apply freehand or over decorative masks, remove the mask, then let dry or heat set. The paste also be dyed with Classic Stampin’ Ink Refills or altered with glitter. The result is a raised pattern or design on your cardstock when dry. This process can also be called stencilling.
Palette Knives – Used to apply embossing paste.
HEAT EMBOSSING TOOLS
Anti – Static Tool – (Also known as an Embossing Buddy) – A small bag of powder that you rub over your paper before inking and embossing, which helps the embossing powder to only adhere where you intend.
Embossing Dabber – An embossing dabber is a bottle of embossing ink featuring a dauber top. Dabbers are great for applying ink to any sized stamp, as well as for resist embossing techniques.
Embossing Pens or Markers – Instead of using an ink pad, you can use embossing pens or markers to heat emboss as well. They work great for handwritten messages and intricate handmade details.
Paint brush – If you have a stray bit of embossing powder where it doesn’t belong on your design, a stiff bristle paint brush is a great tool to delicately brush the powder away.
PUNCHING TOOLS
Locking Paper Punches – These come in many decorative designs that often match a specific stamp in a stamp set and will punch cardstock or foil into useful shapes to create layers, labels, and imaginative shapes. The punch has a sharp cutting edge when pushed down cuts through the paper and then when released the shape is made. Some punches can create intricate corder designs.
MEASURING TOOLS
Centering Ruler – Is a ruler that starts with 0 in the center and then incrementally spaced markings (usually fractions of an inch in the USA) go to the ends on both sides of the 0. The ruler can be made of flexible, transparent material or from clear acrylic (plexiglass), These rulers help you find where the middle is of the piece of paper you are working with.
PAPER TRIMMER – SEE ABOVE UNDER CUTTING & SCORING TOOLS
STAMPING TOOLS
Clear Stamp Blocks – An acrylic block that comes in different sizes to allow for different sizes of stamps. Can be used with SU Cling stamps or photopolymer stamps.
Stamparatus (Recently removed from the Stampin’ Up! product line due to a legal matter.) – A precision positioning tool. A stamping plate with two hinged clear plates that allow precise placement of photopolymer and cling style stamps for clear crisp images or for repeated large quantity stamping projects. Also, it is very helpful for stampers with hand conditions that prevents them from holding a stamp block easily. Applying even pressure to get a good image is easier with this tool. Your paper is held down with strong magnets, so if needed you can reink your stamp and stamp the same image again with excellent results.