tools of my trade | stationery for sharing

i'm excited because i'll be teaching a stationery class in a nearby town this summer (if anyone signs up!). the store where it will take place is called "scrapbook parade" and it's a paper lover's paradise! if you live in victoria and come across this post - the first class will be on july twenty-first from six to eight pm. the second class will be on august eighteenth at the same time. below is an image of the finished product each "student" will leave with. i love the way the empty white birdcage looks on the black envelope!

i'm also very excited because i was lucky to sneak in at the last moment to a local craft fair called "iconocraft." i'm hoping it will be a little more indie and a little less church basement grandma's christmas craft show if you know what i mean! at this event i will get to sell my stationery and organize some sort of craft for visitors. june twenty-second from seven pm to eleven pm - be there or be square!

preparing for the craft show and the stationery class meant i had to think about what tools i use on a daily basis to complete my craft. below is a diagram of what is what! (without all the stamps i use of course. because if i took a picture of those...well, i would be embarrassed and you would be scrolling foreva and eva...)

one | a score board for cutting and folding. i use this to fold the creases into the envelope and cut the writing paper.
two | this is a heat gun. i use it to heat the embossing powder into wet, then dry ink.
three | this is the white embossing powder i use often to coat the slow drying ink before heating.
four | this is the white and black card stock i use to make the envelopes.
five | this is a tape runner that i use to close the envelopes. it's the most magical thing in the world.
six | this is like, the cheapest glue possible. i call it elmers but it's not. i add this to the envelope adhesive for extra oomph.
seven | this is really hard to see but it's an acrylic block. the acrylic stamps adhere to this to give them a solid base.
eight | i use a pencil to trace the envelope shape i want. i like them to be very light, but very sharp.
nine | a nice big pair of scissors to cut out my envelopes.
ten | this is the slow drying, sticky ink which i use on the stamps when i plan to add embossing powder.
eleven | this is a corner rounder cutter. it's great but it hurts my hand when i have to clip a lot of corners!
twelve | my black versa ink - my best friend and enemy. i'm sure you can guess why.*
thirteen | this is a water/soap like solution to clean the stamps. sometimes i just use windex instead.

*if not, a nice white top of mine can explain it to you.

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