Thursday Trimmer Talk

Are you sick of trimmers yet? Well if you are, you'll love our last trimmer giveaway of the week, because it's not actually a trimmer; it's more of a "trimming system." And you'll REALLY love Friday's giveaway, because it doesn't resemble a trimmer in any way, shape, or form. It's cheese. Three months of cheese. So be sure to stop by tomorrow! Trimmer fun starts now.

1. Spotlight
The Crafter's Ultimate Cutting Toolkit by WeRMemoryKeepers! It comes with a 17x14 cutting mat, a magnetic ruler, an art knife WITH replacement blades, super strong magnets to hold pictures and papers in place, a rotary cutter WITH replacement blades, and a circle cutter that cuts from 1/2-inch to 6-inch circles! It's like a dream come true. It's ultimate, very ultimate.

 

2. Today's Tip
If your rotary trimmer starts misbehaving, before you switch out that blade take a look at your cutting track (aka the cutting channel). Most rotary trimmers have a rubber cutting track that absorbs the impact of the blade. And if you've worn it completely out, the blade won't perform as well. Step one is to flip the rubber track upside down and use up its reverse side (if your model allows that). And once you've worn that out, it's time to invest in a replacement cutting channel, which is MUCH cheaper than buying a new trimmer.

3. Giveaway
Leave me a comment by 2 pm MST on Friday, and I'll pick one random winner who will enjoy the ULTIMATE crafter's toolkit. Your topic: why are most trimmers purple and/or orange? Think about it: Fiskars=orange. Purple Cows=purple. Tonic=orange. WRMK pictured above=purple. Marvy Uchida=purple and blue. It's a mystery. I'd love to hear your theories.

4. Antics

This is me giving a little kiss to Porter Rockwell, who menacingly guards the entrance to our parking lot. How's that for antics? He's not so scary once you get to know him...nothing but a big teddy bear with a rifle.

And here's Jennafer in a pseudo-engagement picture with Porter. This is probably the most action he's seen in decades!

5. And More
Did you know that there's a super duper precision paper trimmer called the "Genesis" (MSRP roughly $390) that you have to get on a waiting list for several years before you can actually buy it? Apparently, they're now shipping orders taken in January 2006. And you can't even get on the waiting list at the moment. Eventually, when the manufacturer gets caught up with existing orders, new people will have the opportunity of waiting for several years. This better be a damn good trimmer. Does it also do your taxes for you? Was it blessed by the hand of Moses in the book of Genesis? Is it going to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity? What? It actually cuts straight? That's probably what all the fuss is about.

Comments

[Bev]

becasue they think it will be different than everyone elses??? LOL...guess they were wrong!

[Kristin]

Why orange and purple? We crafters love bright and pretty! Oh yeah, and we also have to be able to find it under the piles of scraps covering every surface! Thanks for a fun week!

[Linda]

Purple & orange are "fun" colours, IMO! Plus, like many others have noted....they stand out amongst all the clutter on my work surface....

[Jillian]

I have to agree with others - the colors stick out in the mess so you can find them! And orange and purple make me happy. :)

[sherri]

Thanks for the aweseome giveaways! I am with the first gal, I thought it had to do with company/brand recognition. I know Creative Memories is dark blue, and the Cricut (Provo Craft?) is green, so I just assumed it was the same for the other companies. Basically I have no idea otherwise.

[katie scott]

I'm going to second Kim K's idea: "Somebody must have done some research to determine that these are the least used colors in scrapbooking...therefore, it will be the easiest to spot on your scrap table!" This is what I thought too but she saved me the trouble of typing it :)

[Linda]

Cool trimmers!

[Laura Prenkert]

Scrapbooking wanted to set itself apart from the ugly green mats used in quilting....

[rita s]

to inspire people to use more color and think outside of the box.... (=

[Leslie Murphy]

I don't know why they are used, but purple is my favorite color, so I'm happy!

[Anne]

I don't think there's any specific reason why trimmers seem to be purple and/or orange. I think it just happened. And that's OK. And I would like to win this trimming system. Looks very cool!

[Bree]

Brand recognition. Fiskars has been using orange forver, and Tonic's logo is orange. WRMK uses purple a lot in their logo.

And I LOVE orange (have since I was a kid), so I like orange tools.

I would love to try out the WRMK Ultimate trimmer. My two favorite products are the BG Magnetic Mat and the Tonic 6" base.

[KellyM]

I think orange and purple are just fun colors and they make me happy, if I had to choose colors for new products they would be my choice too.

[Lahni]

I think they think those colours are fun and cutesy and will attract more buyers.

[ikkinlala]

I don't know ... maybe those are the cheapest colours of plastic that are any fun?

[wendyp]

hmmm, I think the blog ate my post, so I'll try this again.

1. I have been drooling over that trimmer! Would love to win it. Loved the idea of a certain other magnetic mat,but just thought the cutting surface was too small. This looks perfect!

2. not really sure if there is a reason why. I would have guessed orange = caution for blade.

[jen]

I have no idea - other than they're both tough colors for me to scrap. :)

[Leasa]

I think secondary colors are more pleasing in tools than primary colors.

[Sheila]

Fiskars used to be grey and orange, but I think they've always had the orange. The purple and orange are at opposite ends of the color spectrum so perhaps that has something to do with it. They're also cheerful? I dunno. I'm tapped out.