Earth Day and the "Mat"

Earth Day Challenge Week & The "Mat"

Hello followers of mine! It's been a busy week at home, and at Craftwell. The good news, is that I happen to love my home and my job, so it works out.

:)

This week is Earth Day Challenge Week over at the Craftwell blog, and the Design Team girls NEVER disappoint! It's really fun to see what they each turn in during these challenges, as they all have their unique style of crafting. And I love that Earth Day, is celebrated by Craftwell, as it seems to be overlooked by many, and yet is super important.

If you are a crafter, like myself, you know that we produce a lot of paper waste, so it's nice to know, that there are companies doing their part at keeping things earth friendly.

**Now quick DISCLAIMER, while I do work for Craftwell, this message comes from ME. Not from Craftwell... Go it???

OK, Read on!**

 

As many of you know, the eCraft is pretty economical in comparison to other cutters on the market, and while working in customer support, I often got asked how the eCraft could cut without a cutting mat, and in some cases, they asked me about the useful stabilizer.

Here are my HONEST answers to both questions:

1)The eCraft can cut without the use of a cutting mat, because it creates "microtabs" to the paper to hold the paper in place. TRANSLATION: It leaves these tiny pieces of paper onto the design and the paper so it's held in place while it cuts, then you can "pop" out the cutouts. It's very EASY, and the design is in no way affected by the tabs, which is REALLY nice!

2)What is a stabilizer? This is a question that gets asked often because we suggest the use of a stabilizer in cases when the material is too thin to cut on the machine, but not just on paper, Craftwell suggests the use of a stabilizer when cutting fabric and other materials. So, the answer I gave the eCraft customers are these: A stabilizer can be anything from a color of thick cardstock that you don't plan on using or the top of a paper stack (cardboard part) you basically place the stabilizer beneath the paper being cut and insert into the machine to keep it tightly in place as it cuts. A stabilizer is just that. It's a way to add a more stable platform while cutting, and nothing more. This is also the case when cutting fabric where you are to use freezer paper to keep the fabric in place, as you can't make tabs on fabric material.

A Stabilizer is NOT a mat, like some people complain. There are so many differences, that I wanted to list a few here today in honor of EARTH WEEK.

STABILIZER VS CUTTING MAT

1)A stabilizer is FREE. It can be anything you already own! No need to purchase something every time that it loses it's adhesive (save 15 bucks!), and later end up in a land fill somewhere.

2)There is no glue to the stabilizer, so there is no peeling off! If you have the eCraft and use a stabilizer to cut without tabs, you know this is SUPER COOL!!! It's true love when all your cutouts just FALL off the page, no need for other accessories! Again, saving money, saving yourself a drive to the store, for need of having to buy even more stuff! (that's saving gas!)

3)You can reuse it over and over! Once you get your pressure settings right, the stabilizer should not be scored or touched, which means that you can reuse, various times for many projects!

4)Stabilizer can go into your recycle bin! I'm sure you can recycle cutting mats, but even after you do, many other do not. And it's more than about recycling. The emissions that come into play with the production of these mats is crazy!

See the difference? I do! Personally, I'm not super green, but I do my part. I don't clean my bathtub with rain water or anything, but I am conscious, and make sure to save or reuse as many things as I can. After all, I try to be the best example for my kids.

Speaking of my kids... Here is a picture of Olivia while using "g" diapers. Yes, green diapers where used in our house, to make up for mine, that just finished decomposing about 2 years ago! lol! I can't blame my mom though, she was a single parent! ;)

xoxo,

Jazmin