Stampin' Up! Paper Trimmer

Written and Created by PaperCraftCentral Susan

Do you have a paper trimmer? I consider having such a tool an essential thing to have in a papercrafter's basic tool kit. It's even better when the tool can also score paper accurately.

If you are just starting out, maybe you don't have one yet. Maybe you use scissors exclusively. Or you buy kits where all the cutting is already done for you. I suppose in that case, you may not need a nice paper trimmer yet.

BUT - If you have been a papercrafter for awhile, you probably already do have one. :) 

Ask yourself a couple of questions if you do not have a paper trimmer yet:

1. Am I happy with the way my current tool/scissors cut through cardstock and designer series paper? Or
2. Is my original cutting tool lasting the distance and cutting cleanly or does it or the blade need replacing?

Either way I urge you to compare the cutting tool released from Stampin' Up! Australia at the end of 2012 with your current tool or lack thereof. I bought one and oh my, I am very happy with it.

Let me tell you more about it.

(If you have decided to update your own cutting tool, scroll to the bottom of the page to find out how to get one now!)

A paper trimmer is one of those essential items when you are making your own cards or creating pages for a scrapbook album, or even when you are making three dimensional items where you need a lot of accuracy to make everything meet where it is supposed to.

Poor tools can really discourage you from making things because they don't enable you to be accurate and get clean cutting and scoring lines. This is really important for our opinions about our own projects and abilities. A poor tool can equal poor projects and poor self esteem! You may not even feel like gifting your handmade cards and paper projects if you do not like the end result yourself. We don't want that.

That's why I like to have a good cutting and scoring tool on hand, anyway. I then have a fighting chance of turning out something I like or can gift to someone. 

Features of Good Paper Trimmers

So what are the features of a good paper trimmer?

By experimenting with a few different cutters, I now know I need mine to have the following characteristics:

• Lightweight for taking to crops and classes, and even for personal crafting at home
• Fits in a desk drawer or carry bag quite easily
  
• At least 30.5 cm cutting length available to cover full sized scrapbook cardstock
  
• Measures widths up to 30.5 cm for the same reason as above
  
• Makes straight and precise cuts
  
• Makes clear and precise score lines
• Has a cutting and scoring blade handily available on the same tool and one does not get in the way of the other when not in use
  
• Has a swing-out arm for easy measuring of paper wider than 15cm and compact storage
  
• Durable, smooth surface on cutting platform marked for accurate measurement and marks will not rub/wear off with use over time
  
• Replacement cutting and scoring blades are easy to obtain
• Easily cleanable surface that doesn't stain 

Guess what? The Stampin' Up! Paper Cutter has ALL of these features and more. Are you surprised and delighted? I was!

Just to help you decide if this is the right tool for you, Stampin' Up! has made a video that explains even more about this amazing essential item that you might like to review. It shows the features I mentioned above and shows you how to use it as well:

So what do you think? Do you want to have one of these babies?

If you live in Australia, I can help! This great tool is featured on the shop at SusanSalutations if you want to order one.

If you live in one of another nine country, you might be pleasantly surprised to find a Stampin' Up demonstrator near you to order from. Search the Stampin' Up! site in your country to find out if products are available in your country.

The other countries where Stampin' Up! is already available are: USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, France, The Netherlands, the UK and Japan.

PS: If you make lots of items requiring scoring, such as boxes, envelopes and bags, Stampin' Up! has scoring tools for you. The Simply Scored tool is great for all such jobs, and I use it even for scoring my card bases.

Here is how the tool looks. It has scoring line markers, its own scoring stylus tool and you can measure in inches or centimeters. 

Let me know if you want more information about the Simply Scored Tool.

For more information and ideas about papercraft tools and adhesives, check out the following pages:

• PaperCraft Tools
• Stampin Up! Cut and Emboss Machine 
• Papercraft Adhesives