We’re pretty comfortable with the men in our lives having tools, but I’m here to tell you that women need tools, too. A tool is something that makes your life easier…more efficient. Tools for crafting are no exception. They are here to make our lives easier while we do something we enjoy. I’ve put together a list of 5 must-have tools for sign making and 2 you should put on your wish list.
I bought my Silhouette Cameo with the intention of designing cutting files. I knew if I would be designing files, I would need something on which I could test those files. So on a Black Friday, three years ago, I purchased a Silhouette Cameo cutter. Since I planned on making money from my files, you can be sure I looked at that cutter with its big $300 price tag as an investment in my business.
One thing I’ve learned while making signs is that you need tools. I’ve also learned that some tools are more valuable than others. I have said next to my computer, my Silhouette Cameo is my best purchase ever. I have purchased a multitude of tools over the years – 3 sewing machines, various paper crafting tools like the Big Shot and the Cuttlebug, and many others. Some were inexpensive and some were not. And all were used to varying degrees. All had their place in my crafting life.
But I will always return to that Silhouette Cameo cutter and marvel at its abilities and its versatility. It’s still amazing to me that a tool like the Silhouette is available to the home crafter.
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5 Must-Have Crafting Tools For Sign Making
I’ve put together a list of tools that I find absolutely necessary if you wish to create the kind of wooden signs like I feature here on my blog. (Spoiler alert: one of these tools is the Silhouette Cameo.) This resource list is free to you in my resource library. The resource library is located HERE and you will need a password to get into the library. If you need the password to get, just request it by signing up here.
2 Tools That Are (REally) Nice, But Not TOTALLY Necessary
Now, there are TWO tools, I think are really nice to have but aren’t completely necessary. These tools have made my life soooo much easier and I wanted to share them with you. One of them is a splurge and one is so affordable that it could almost be considered a necessity. When someone asks you what you want for Christmas (or your birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, etc.), you can give them one of these ideas.
Silhouette Roll Feeder – When I first started working with my Silhouette machine, I didn’t have much luck with the cutting mat. It would kind of veer off to the side or it wouldn’t feed correctly. I also got to the point where I was tired of measuring and cutting the exact size of vinyl I would be using. And then I discovered the Silhouette Roll Feeder. It was a great solution to my problems. Now, I can put on an entire roll of vinyl (or Oramask 813) and let the roller feed the vinyl into the machine. Misfeeds are a rare thing for me. It was the best $30 or so dollars I’ve spent on my machine. You can buy it here at Amazon.
Ryobi Airstrike – this is a real woman’s tool. I’ve had brad nailers before, but they only ran with my big, old air compressor. It wasn’t very convenient. I thought about buying one of those pancake compressors, but then I found this tool. The Ryobi Airstrike is cordless and it doesn’t need an air compressor or gas cartridges to run. One charge will do up to 1,000 nails. I decided I needed this tool to easily frame out wood signs. It has made life so much easier. It’s a little spendy, but I knew I could get some use out of it with our big, never-ending, re-crafting the farmhouse project that eventually we’ll get done. You can buy it here at Amazon or Home Depot.
So there you have it. The 5 tools you need and the 2 you’re going to want. These will make your crafting life easier!
What will you do to Craft Your Happy, today?
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