It’s always good practice to have a few cheeky craft hacks up your sleeve, because you never know when they can come in handy! Here, we share ten of our favourites with you, to help make your crafting experiences that little bit easier…
1. Ink care
Use alcohol wipes to clean the plastic casing of your ink pad. If you have contaminated your pad with a different colour ink, dab the dirty area with a wet paper towel, then a dry one to help draw the colour out.
2. Paint straight
Want to know the secret to painting perfect lines? Place tape around the edges and start on the tape, making inward strokes using a small brush, not up and down the tape edge. paintdenver.com
3. Punch power
You can make your punches last longer by occasionally using them to cut through a sheet of tin foil. This sharpens the punch and prevents those unattractive fuzzy edges that a blunt blade can cause. Also, an easy way to lubricate a punch is to cut through a sheet of greaseproof paper several times.
4. Moisture sticks
To rehydrate your glue sticks, wind the glue down so it is below the level of the top of the stick and fill a cup with a few centimetres of water. Place the glue stick in the cup and leave overnight. freeimageslive.co.uk
5. No mess
Remove the sticky residue from jars by mixing equal parts baking soda and vegetable oil together, then apply a thick layer to the outside and leave for ten minutes before removing with a paper towel. It comes right off!
6. Savvy storage
Convert a hanging shoe organiser into a vertical space for storing rolls of wrapping paper.
7. Long-lasting pens
Alcohol-based craft markers are designed to be long-lasting and come with removable nibs. When your nib becomes fuzzy and is not giving you the precision you need any longer, simply pull it out and replace it with a fresh one. The best way to store double-ended markers is horizontally. This ensure both nibs are kept moist and the ink is evenly distributed.
8. Pretty welcome
Double-sided papers are ideal for making pretty envelopes to complement a special handmade card, as both the inside and outside will look pretty.
9. Craft table saver
Buy a cheap plastic table cover to protect a surface when crafting – it’s less fiddly than using newspaper and can be wiped and reused.
10. Sticky situation
Remove old tape from a surface easily by popping it in the microwave for ten seconds to loosen the adhesive underneath – just make sure there’s no metal in there! thefoxandstar.co.uk
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