There were so many intriguing and exciting products at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show this year in Anaheim. I'm going to indulge in a few reviews of specific products that I feel would be of interest to my readers. Please be aware that these are
unsolicited reviews, and
no product or fee was provided to me in exchange for my review.
SCOR - IT - ALL
with Tim Hammonds, President
We papercrafters have been excited with the Scor-Pal, and the accessories that work with it. However, there are issues with the Scor-Pal that are remedied by the Scor-It-All.
Overall, I feel the Scor-It-All is a better product, and here's why:
1. Cracking or flaking of papers
Do you work with metallic, white or dark core cardstock? Have you noticed that when you use the Scor-Pal or Crafter's Companion scoring tools (and similar others) that the fold cracks or flakes? There's a reason.
Paper is made by layering and orienting fibers on random planes and adhering them with binders before allowing them to dry, pressing them dry or molding them. The result is essentially a 2-dimensional plane of fibers of varying orientation. {author's note: yes, I realize it's really 3-dimensional, but I'm simplifying for the reader's ease} These fibers are like very fine toothpicks pressed closely together in a pile.
Using the currently available home-use tools, a bone folder (or similar tool) presses paper into a sharp edged depression, and then the paper is bent along that press line. The result is a line of broken, fine toothpicks of fibers along that pressed edge. This is where thicker papers (like cardstock) begin to crack or flake. Cracked base cardstock is a sign of damaged paper, and often does not result in a pleasing final product, especially in contrasting core colors of papers. Additionally, the folding groove and folding tool result in relatively wide foldline that has a tendancy to not remain true or plumb - a crooked card.
{Tim Hammonds shows CHA participant how easily the Scor-It-All works}
Prior to the introduction of the Scor-It-All, paper was broken, rather than molded, and will eventually fail, tear or distort. The Scor-It-All remolds your paper in a manner similar to professional binderies, is precise, yet retains the surface features of your paper on both sides. The tool comes in a variety of sizes.
2. Differing units of measure
Currently, home-use folding tool measurements are country/unit specific, and rely on finding the correct measuring line to reach the desired project dimension. For many late-night papercrafters, or those working with speed, making appropriate measurements, or selecting the appropriate groove is challenging and often wasteful. Many tutorials are written in English measurements, but are replicated in metric. Conversions reduce the amount of actual crafting time and add stress.
{Tim shows how easily the measuring headboard can be flipped for the desired measuring units}
Papercrafters prefer to enjoy their hobby with a scoring product that naturally fits their measurement system. They also like the flexibility of having the exact score line available without resorting to 'eyeball' measurement shifting.
There is no need to choose between English and Metric boards, and measuring is done from the central post. Paper can be placed at any measurement to achieve a precise score.
3. Bias embossing
Fanciful embossing is very popular today in papercrafting. We have many products available to us that provide easy embossing, but tend to be expensive. Straight line scoring yields a very formal and professional design, but is hard to acheive with current home-use scoring products. Most scoring products allow uni-dimensional scoring only, or require a bit of guessing at getting the intended result.
{easily bias emboss}
Embossing on the bias with flexibilty across the project size is desirable.
Embossing can be achieved on the inside or outside of the project, and debossing is also possible!
The Scor-It-All remedies all three issues facing papercrafters today, and is comparably priced. If you are looking to purchase or replace your current scoring system, I would highly recommend this product over others currently on the market. For more information, please reference the
Scor-It-All website.
I hope this review has been helpful! Please feel free to leave comments, questions or your personal view for others to consider.
Cool runnings - Peace be the journey! ~ky
