Monthly Archives: February 2014
Fiskar’s Advantedge: Testing out a new toy
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AdvantEdge System
So my sister got a new toy and I helped her unpack it and quickly stole it from her. Well, not stole exactly. She told me to take it. That way I could figure it out and then show her. Here it is, the new Fiskar’s AdvantEdge- the new interchangeable punch system.
At first glance, it’s a bit imposing. The base is large without measuring (who measures?) I’d say 14″ x 6″ x 6″. However, it takes about 2 seconds to figure out. Great job on intuitive design! The punch cartridge snaps in place easily. You lift the magnetic paper holder and slide in your paper. Flip the holder down to securely hold your paper and start punching. This is where the fun starts.
Unlike other systems, you don’t move your paper. You move the punch. It slides on a tract and clicks into place at the next position. No more bifocals, No more wondering if you’ve moved your paper too far, or are overpunching. In fact, the physical feedback is so clear, you can even do this with your eyes shut. I know I did.
The punches are super sturdy and nicely deep. And if you have the Fiskar’s interchangeable border punches, they work here too. The AdvantEdge comes with an adapter specifically for these (less deep) punches.
Advantages.
Super easy system. Paper is held in place. Designed to accommodate 12 x 12 paper. No need for fussy alignment. (I actually think the modern punches with the guides are pretty good, but I know lots of people that have a really hard time with them). Good handle for great leverage makes this arthritis friendly.
Disadvantages.
Fairly pricey. The base system is $49.99 but this comes with “flower garden” punch which like all the cartridges goes for $29.99. Compare a cartridge to a stand alone punches like the Martha Stewart Deep edge punches at $24.95. Not a ton more money, but you’d almost think you’d have a savings as part of a system.
Heavy. The base is very light but the punches way a lot so may not be practical to haul with you on crops.
Other: One thing I;d hope to get from an interchangeable system is space savings. Most of the punch makers have been trying to address this over the past many years. AdvantEdge with its large footprint and large dies takes the space of 8-10 of my other dies so it will take a bit of a collection to break even on the space.
Overall: I like it. It’s quick and easy. High quality dies with nice deep designs. Great to use in classes.
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Another stash using valentine’s.
Cards, or Finally, a way to use my stash
This cute valentine image is perfect for February. I was stamping with my sister and she grabbed a big handful of pink markers while I went a different route. I had come across of sheet of Bazzill chip toppers for years gone by that were languishing in my stash. This one had a love theme. (Usually in February I find my Halloween stash and the V-day remnants show up in July) This time however, timing was on my side. My markers weren’t quite as cooperative. While I had some decent matches, I happened to be a bit thin in blending groups for those colors. Pretty much single markers but that’s okay. I just made do. After she was colored, I assembled a card. I’m working out of satchel so my choices were limited. White cardstock ruled the day. I had a spellbinders white die cut that I colored to match. Edged the image and card with a brown marker. Recolored my metal heart brad Colored some MME stickers that have been sitting around for eons. (The brown sticker was great but I didn’t want the deep cream background with my crisp white cardstock. I used my same bg marker on it and it was lovely but a bit too green. Taking a cue from that experiment I used b01 on the second cream backed sticker and it came a little closer. As I started laying out my stickers, I didn’t have a lot of room for the MME but I did need a little something at the bottom. I hand cut two hearts from the newly colored sticker using the scallop in the sticker for the curved part of the hearts (which I would have butchered otherwise). I joined them with a cut up chip topper. My top sticker was far too much on the blue side of bg so a quick touch up with bg34 brought it back into the fold. I thought it would be fun to add a metal conversation heart brad to her hair band but it was a little blue as well. Six seconds later, we had a match. I added a piece of doily and then just needed a little bling. I had my small Mark Richard’s pearls with me, so i pulled out my markers and colored them up. 
My besties challenge Feb.
Besties Challenge week ending 2/2/2014
Well the challenge proved more challenging that I thought it would. Most all my supplies are tucked away in the studio and it was just too icky to drive over today. Luckily, I have all my markers with me and just had to scrounge for the other bits. I found a 1/4 a paper pack from 2011 in my dresser and grabbed the digistamp I’ve been planning to color. I have to admit, it wasn’t the color scheme I first envisioned for the stamp, but needs must. I like her. I could use an extra YG but all in all, I’m pleased. And what of the fancy folds? Well I tried a pleated background, but with no scoring tools, it looked hideous. I opted for a hand pleated rosette.
What I liked most about this project was using my color chart. It gave me a quick match to my paper and what a great way that is to use up the stash.
Amydillo's Papercrafting 