Wednesday 9 June 2010

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?

I broke my lovely simple Fiskars paper cutter at a crop last weekend so went down to Hobbycraft today to replace it. The only 12in ones they had were a Guillotine (which I don't like), a £35 fiskars one or a £39 Helix Craft Room. The Craft Room has embossing templates and different cutting blades for the extra £4, so it looked like a no-brainer, but now I've got it home I'm wondering whether I made an expensive mistake. I am primarily a scrapbooker, not a card maker, and I can't cut a full 12x12 sheet with the metal ruler.
Does anyone else use one for scrapping? Should I return it and wait until I can replace my Fiskars cutter? Or am I just being a Luddite, because I'm not into fancy craft tools? Will I find it worth the money?

8 comments:

Darcy Marshall said...

I have never used it so i can't say, but I think for that amount of money you have to be absolutely certain that you will use it.

Helen said...

I haven't used it either, but I am a card maker and just use my 12 inch paper trimmer.

angeleef said...

I make scrapbook pages too, besides making cards (a girl's gotta keep herself busy) and don't use such a machine. I cut all of my stuff with my craft knife, so I don't know what I'm missing out. But sometimes impulsive buys are the best!
** Evi **

Julia Dunnit said...

Erm...on the fence a bit here..I'm a guillotine gal at home and whatever's available elsewhere...but one thing I can say with certainty is that I need it to cut 12" whatever I want to do. I didn't realise they're so pricey either..crikey! I think you'll know after a couple of LOs whether it's gonna be your friend or not...

Andrea - Wales, UK said...

I'm a guillotine girl too, so I can't help either...sorry!
Good luck in finding your perfect trimmer!!

xx

Lizzie said...

I bought a Purple Cows "Combi Cutter" last year. Once I got that home, I thought I may have made a mistake, but it's turned out to be great. The guillotine blade is not sharp - it's made in some clever way, so it cuts very well, yet has no sharp edge (but you can still get a nasty pinch!). The rotary cutter is great, because it has two press-down buttons that anchor the paper, so it doesn't move once you've positioned it. I am so pleased with this cutter. It will cut over 12" with ease and has some useful measuring guides on it.
As for your new Helix station... I did consider one of these at one point. I thought the templates might be very useful, for making frames and mats for scrap pages. However, I find the separate templates you can buy more useful (I have some from Fiskars, some from Colour My World, and a couple of others).
If the cutter won't do 12" paper and you are predominantly a scrapbooker... well, if it was me, I'd take it back and re-think. Have a look online perhaps, to see what's available.
Woodware do a good range of cutters, as well as all their fab. paper punches.
You may be able to order a replacement for your Fiskars cutter online too.
Good luck!

BTW, thank you for the lovely comment on my blog yesterday. I appreciate friends too.

Kirsty.A said...

I took it back, exchanged it for the guillitine. Got that home and it was missing the safety guard to I went online and bought the x-cut cutter which is what i really wanted in the first place and it was cheaper than either of the others. I'll have to wait a couple of days now - patience is a virtue!

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

So glad you got sorted, - well once the x-cut turns up. I always find Hobbycrafts quite expensive.
Anne xx