In Love With My Fuse Tool

 

So... as some of you know.... I am addicted to Pinterest.  When I can't be in my craft room playing with my seemingly endless stash of supplies, I'm roaming Pinterest looking for ideas... or if forced, I will resort to housecleaning.  I kept seeing pins for this Fuse tool and it seemed pretty cool... I went on to Amazon, had it in my cart, and decided I didn't need it.  It's really just a little tiny welding gun for plastic.  And you don't NEED it to make shaker cards... I don't need it.  So I abandoned my cart.  On to the housecleaning... ugh.

 

Then a couple weeks later I noticed a fellow Pinterest junkie was pinning pins about the Fuse tool and I was about to ask her if she had one and I decided just to go buy it.. what did I have to lose.   It came in last week and it sat there.  I wanted to try it out, but I wanted to spend time creating and not trying to figure out something new.  

 

Today as I worked away on a card, it was staring at me... glaring really.  It seemed to be wondering, "Why did you even buy me if I'm just going to sit here in the plastic?"  So... I gave in and against my better judgment opened it up and within 10 minutes I was at it.  There really is nothing to learn.  I used some little plastic baggies I had bought at Walmart... the little zip top kind you might buy to put items in to sell.  I drew a circle on it using a sharpie and a stencil... waited 10 minutes for the tool to heat up (you must let it get hot enough or it won't seal properly).  Then with the fusing tip on (there is a cutting tip also, which I'm not sure yet why I need that, but I'll let you know), I traced the circle except for about an inch or inch and a half.  Then I put all kinds of little sequins, acrylic flowers (nail decorations), plastic baubles I got from who knows where, micro beads, and even some chunky glitter... then sealed it the rest of the way.  I cut around the circle leaving about an 8th of an inch around the seam, taped it behind my circle opening in my card and there it was.  So easy... except when I decided I wanted to emboss some gold around the circle and learned that just covering the plastic with paper was not enough protection from the heat.. melted the plastic... had to start over.. but you live and learn.  Heat emboss BEFORE you add your plastic pouch.

 

I'm excited to play more, but alas not today... I must go do some of that aforementioned housework.  My husband has been patient this weekend... I've been in here a good amount of it.  Time to join the living.

 

Thanks for stopping by ... don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge AND Three Amigos Blog Hop.