First I'll start with what I leave up there. This is a seasonal home and if anything will freeze it is brought back home for the winter. Otherwise this is what stays all year long.
Paper trimmer.....since it literally is used just for trimming bits and pieces I use a trimmer/scorer from Making Memories that I got on clearance at our local craft store. I don't love it but its convenient, portable and a combination piece. Like this one It does what I need it to do and takes up little space. Cuts, scores and has an envelope maker tool and bone folder. Word of advise get a different bone folder. This one is really cheesy. :(
Regular scissors and decorative Fiskars scissors......sometimes you just need a decorative edge and I don't have a spare sizzix machine or cricut to leave there so I have come to depend on my decorative scissors. Straight???? Not always but if you trace a small guiding line and follow it.. it does come out pretty straight. Just have to have patience. LOL Of course you need regular scissors for cutting twine, ribbon etc. Any household scissors will do as long as they cut!
A couple inexpensive punches......I tend to like having a heart punch about the size of a quarter. This can be used for a couple of applications. First the pointed bottom of the heart can be use for V cuts for banners and the top heart part can be used for decorative rounding of corners if you use it upside down. A 1.5" and a 2" circle or oval punch. I have circles only and make ovals with them by cutting rectangle's and rounding the ends with the circle punch used upside down. I'm not too picky! haahaa
Brads....Buttons.....I bought a mason jar full at an antique store that had various colors for like $5. I then have a small jam jar that I have put various brads in that I pick up on clearance during the year. I try to keep it generic by only buying the round ones in any color. That way I won't have to worry that all my blue ones are flowers and I'm trying to make a guy card. Stay neutral as much as possible.
Twine or ribbon.....ribbons are nice but Oh My Gosh too much to choose from so I only have white, black and cream and I only buy the sheer type so it match's anything really. Twine?? I have of course the neutral color jute type but I also bought a ball of white crochet thread and I can color it with my markers to match the project. Again must get creative. An extra mason jar contains scrap ribbons from projects I've done at home and that along with the button and brad jars sit on a shelf as a pretty Knick Knack on the porch. See functional too!
Colored pencils...kids watercolor box.....both of these can stay there year round. I have a set of both crayola watercolor pencils and regular colored pencils. I get the soft coloring look from the watercolor pencils and with the regular ones when blended with a blending medium like this it creates a copic effect. I use the kids water color box for putting a wash on my stock for a background prior to stamping.
A couple small paint brushes, sponges, a stylis, clear school ruler and a school paper punch like what you use to punch a small hole in a tag for a piece of string to go through. Nothing fancy.
A heat gun....I have multiples so I just brought one up to the cottage to leave as well as an extra glue gun. Which is nothing you have to have but is nice when you do.
All of this stuff except trimmer can fit into a shoebox and slid under a bed or in a bench. Anyplace really. We have a nightstand in one of the bedrooms that it could fit under though I have a cabinet in the living room and I just slip it in there. All of above stays up there all year long.
Next your tote...This carries all the stuff that cannot stay up there all year along with extras if I'm working on a particular project. Mine is about 12" x 8" and maybe 6" high with little separators in it and pockets around the outside. In there I keep the following which
is always in there.
Emboss powders....I use those daily pill jars and have a little of different colors in each. In case I wanted to do any embossing. Like this one. Had to mark what was in each since the little cups are colored.
Tape runners and glue sticks and a few clear stickles (since that will take on the color of what ever color you put it on)
Acrylic blocks in a few sizes. I'll be honest..Ive been picking up a few from the dollar bins at Michaels and Joanns that I can keep in the shoe box instead of hauling my good ones back and forth but since the bag usually comes and goes with me its not really a problem to use the ones from home. I just figured after so many years it's about time the cottage gets it's on supplies! LOL
Stamp cleaner and blender pens
brayer
Xacto knife and Tim Holtz distress tool
These are the things I HAVE to HAVE so that I'm not going AAARRRGGGG while carding at the cottage. I then put papers and usually cling stamps into an Iris box (which can also be tucked away under a sofa or bed ) for my projects. Sometimes I just leave the Iris box up there and just put all my finished cards into a Ziploc bag to bring home.
Well that's it...WHEWWW :) Seems like a lot but in reality it's just a shoe box, iris box and a tote. I do most of my more intricate cards at home and more CAS ones at the cottage. So I don't need a ton of stuff and it just forces you to be a bit more creative. I'll share some of those ideas another time.
Til Then
HAPPY CARDING!!
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