My Favourite Things: Scrapbooking and the Cricut Expression
Lunch was a little special today. Instead of the usual Mediacorp canteen food. I opted to scoot down to my favourite haunt – Junior de Artist, for a mid-day respite. Well, it’s a respite for me because it’s away from the usual humdrum. Junior de Artist is my favourite craft shop not only because it’s near my workplace but largely because they are well-stocked with Hero Art stamps, Quickutz dies and every kind of cardstock imaginable.
When I first stepped into the shop in 2000, they were just starting out with craft punches and limited supply of craft paper. Ten years on, still tucked away in that same little corner at Novena Square, this unassuming craft shop has been given a facelift in the range of supplies they carry, the shop layout, and the level of clientele they have.
Most scrapbooking enthusiasts go back to the same shop for their purchases for largely personal reasons. What’s mine then, for becoming a regular at Junior de Artist? You could say that the staff here are really helpful and personable. There are no airs about them, and you can risk appearing silly asking about the most basic questions on scrapbooking. They will gladly make time for you, do some demonstrations, and provide practical solutions to your scrapbooking problems. Even the boss himself, Mr Freddy Yip (a down-to-earth, scrapbooking enthusiast who knows his business well and has his techniques right down to the jot) takes time to sit you through a quick session on how to maximise your scrapbooking efforts to amazingly creative ends! I’ve come to realise the distinction between shops that provide scrapbooking solutions and those that sell scrapbooking supplies. I’ve made my choice. How about you?
Well, one of the items Freddy carries at Junior de Artist is probably the most ingenious inventions of the scrapbooking world. The Cricut Expression is really an automated die-cut machine that gives you perfect shapes from your 12″ x 24″ paper minus the human effort. Just power up, slot in the cartridge, press the right keys out of the 98, and watch that baby go!
Along with the paper leaf that’ll look really great against a contrasting backdrop, Freddy showed me some other pieces he produced using the Cricut Expression. Have a look at these and imagine how they can easily be a part of your collection of paper scraps for artistic creations!
This entire process will take a lot less effort than if you were to do it manually. The Chinese have a saying for this: 事半功倍 which when translated really means minimum input for maximum output . And yes, Freddy has been so kind as to have sponsored one of these babies (worth about one grand and comes with two free cartridges) as the top prize for this week’s contest on My Favourite Things!
So, what are you waiting for? If you haven’t been tuning into My Favourite Things on weekdays 5-8pm, do it now and give yourself an opportunity to win prizes from Junior de Artist!
