It doesn't take a genius to work out that I am happiest when I am being creative, but I couldn't do my thang without the help of some special equipment. So, here are 10 of my favourite things that I use to create; in no particular order.

Cricut Machine

I bought a Cricut machine a couple of years ago now. I primarily bought it to cut paper, but I have also used to make vinyl labels so I can personalise my stuff. Then I made some stickers, stencils for screen printing and then also, because I have a Maker; I used it to cut out fabric shapes for quilting. So it does quite a lot of jobs for me.

Scalpel

I love my scalpel. It's not just that it cuts with lots of precision, and therefore giving me a nice straight edge; but it also encourages me to keep my scraps of paper neatly ready for another time.

Punch

My hole punch is great for making holes for my badges, especially as you can decide exactly where you want to put your holes. I had originally bought it to make holes in my patterns on my pattern cutting course, but actually it is the perfect for making holes in card to attach my badges to my cards.

Sewing Machine

The first machine I bought, and the ultimate creativity machine was my sewing machine. If you have a sewing machine; you can make anything, clothes, bags, curtains, soft furnishings, you can fix and up cycle textiles into something else. I didn't want to ever have a sewing machine, I never saw myself as that domestic goddess, but as soon as you have a child you need to start whipping up fancy dress outfits and if you don't want to buy from a shop you have to start making them yourself.

Crochet Hook

Anything you can't make on a sewing machine you can make with a crochet hook including, clothes, bags, containers, and with any type of yarn, whether that is something like wool, or hemp, or old t-shirts, or even plastic bags. Crocheting is so much easier that knitting especially if you make mistakes you can just unravel it and start again, and you can do it while you are watching TV.

Cutting Board

Best to have a cutting board, rather than damaging your work surface. The only annoying thing about mine is that it gets misshapen whenever I use heat anywhere near it, and this is just about fatal because you can't mould it back and wobbly cutting mat is basically useless.

Double-sided tape

Double-sided tape is my best friend especially when I am making my paper designs. It means I can build things and stick and re-stick bits together while I prototype my designs.

Washi tape

Washi tape is super cute but also really useful when your Cricut cutting board has lost its stick and you have a complicated design that may mean that the cutting knife pushing from multiple directions and then causing the paper/card to slip.

Scissors

I can't live without my fabric scissors. And I have a very strict rule that the only thing my scissors can be used for is cutting fabric. No paper allowed.

Camera Phone

I am trying to take all my product photos with my phone. The camera on it is pretty good, but it means that all my photos are instantly in one place so on all my devices quickly, so I can publish quickly. Its pretty good with low light levels.