Tools for Wreath Making

Was watching one of Julie Siomacco's wreath tutorials the other day and decided that we needed to try one of the rotary cutters. She was demonstrating making a curly wreath and was cutting three layers of Deco Poly Mesh at one time.....quite a bit of time saving from the way we had been cutting rolls for curly wreaths)))) If you're not familiar with Julie's work, please check out her website Southern Charm Wreaths. She creates beautiful wreaths. She has also written an eBook (a PDF file download) which is an excellent source of material to learn how to make Deco Poly mesh Wreaths. Julie’s eBook will teach you:

• what is decorative poly mesh
• step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own Poly Mesh wreath;
• where to purchase your wreathing supplies in retail stores and online;
• what kind of ribbon to add to your Poly Mesh wreath;
• how to add ornaments or silk flowers to your Mesh wreath;
• how to add signs to your Mesh wreath;
• plus bonuses on other ways to decorate with decorative poly mesh and
• how to make garland from decorative poly Mesh.
• how to calculate your pricing if you choose to sell your wreaths
• how to pack your wreaths for shipping

Great value, great information and you won't regret your purchase. Even after you make your purchase, you'll get extra goodies from time to time from Julie with new techniques, hints....all kinds of information. Now back to our new toys)))

This is a 60 mm stick cutter from Fiskars. The nice thing about it is that it has a protective covering over the blade once you're done. It has replaceable blades that you purchase separately. It rolls right over three layers of Deco Poly Mesh with ease.

We have Omnigrid Rotary Cutters for sale on our website now. Here are those images. Extra blades can also be purchased separately.

The mat is a 36" x 24" plastic mat that is made out of place that is described as a "self healing" mat. Wasn't quite sure what that meant but after we cut many rolls of mesh on the 20" inch line....the next day you couldn't tell we had ever cut anything on the mat.

It's nice and flat and doesn't slide around on the table.

And the mat has two sides.....once you wear out the top, just flip it over and start fresh. If you read product reviews (like I do) you will see some bad reviews for this product. If I had just read the reviews and not tried the product, we would have missed out on this nice mat. Some folks had complained of it smelling bad and not lying flat. None of this has been the case. It has a plastic or rubber like smell but certainly nothing offensive and it's flat as a pancake)))

Here's the mat we have for sale on our website:

We've had so many inquiries about the rotary cutters and mats, we're very glad we are now able to stock them. If you are reviewing this post today (11/1/14) you will see that the items are showing out of stock.....they are due to arrive next week)))

Julie's website Southern Charm Wreath also has her blog that is chocked full of great information. She even has a tutorial on making an easel for your wreath making. We put the guys in the shop to work on this project this week and they turned out an easel for us in less than an hour! They made a minor adjustment here and there and made our tall enough to stand on the floor.

Here's an image from Julie's Tutorial on making an easel. Just click on the image to go to the tutorial.

Thanks Julie for all the great ideas and inspiration for making beautiful wreaths.....and the tools for making it easier))