Friday Favorites

This post is for Gay, who left a comment on my February 22 post entitled, "Finally . . ." She was wondering how I used a corner rounder to make scallops. Yes, the EK Success Corner Rounder is one of my favorite tools, and I saw it first in the Fall 2007 Close To My Heart catalog. Happy with the Creative Memories corner rounder I already had, I didn't think I needed this one, until I saw that it could used it to cut scallops. I have a couple of scallop paper edgers that I've had forever, but I'm not overly fond of either of them. One is a Fiskars brand that cuts small scallops, and the other, which cuts larger scallops, is from Family Treasures. Both are a bit difficult to use, and neither makes a nice, clean cut.

The EK Success Corner Rounder comes with a removable guard. To round corners, the guard is left intact, and to punch scallops the guard is easily removed. To make scallops, turn the tool over so that you can see what you're doing as you punch your scallops one by one. While I won't call the process easy, it's not difficult either. You just have to take your time and line it up just right. If you're too close, you cut a notch into the previous scallop, and if you're too far way, you've either got some trimming to do, or you find yourself starting over. The advantage is that, looking closely, you can see where the edge of the previous scallop is to line up the next punch. It takes a little practice, and I reiterate that it's a good idea to take your time regardless of how many times you've done it. That's experience talking!

Because this corner rounder is an EK Success product, it is not exclusive to Close To My Heart. I believe I've seen it at Wal-Mart, and I'm sure that it's available at craft stores, too.