How did I not know about this??!

My friend Gail Stouffer introduced me to something the other day that just blew me away. We were working on fine-tuning the project prototypes for our upcoming retreat workshops, and it involved laying out some templates for sawing. She promptly pulled this out of her stash.

It's called the Xyron Sticker Maker (affiliate link) and apparently scrapbookers have known about it forever. Low tech - no batteries, handles or cranks - but it turns out to be an absolutely brilliant addition to the metals bench. And here's why: usually, affixing paper templates to the metal we're going to saw requires the use of spray adhesive or rubber cement. Both are smelly and messy. This, on the other hand, creates a perfect repositionable sticker that accomplishes the same thing.

Simply print your image on plain paper, cut it out, and drop it face up into the hopper at the top of the unit.

Then pull the end of the paper roll sticking out of the bottom of the unit.

Rub the surface of the paper firmly, then peel off the clear plastic sheet on top.

What you're left with is that classic waxy sticker paper with your own personalized sticker on it, ready to be used.

And it really works! Stick it on your metal and saw away - it won't move unless you peel it off.

It's absurdly inexpensive, too - $8 on Amazon for the unit and about $6 for the replacement cartridges (affiliate links). No smell, no mess, just a custom sticker perfectly sized for each project.

I love finding tools that make life easier! What's your "latest and greatest" tool find?

Until next time -