April's Review	Catherine's Review	Penny's Review	Karen's Review	Lynn Anne's Review

Review by April

I knew the minute I found out Tonic Studios was making new Tim Holtz tools to create and distress with, I would have to try them. Good tools can mean the difference between enjoying your creative process, or becoming frustrated and uninspired. Some crafting tools are necessary, and some are just fun to experiment with, either way, after completing this review, all of the new Tim Holtz tools are a must for me!

For this review I received the following Tim Holtz tools by Tonic Studios:

• 1 Non-Stick Micro Serrated Scissors - These are resistant to rust corrosion, have non-stick coating to minimize adhesive build up, a micro serrated edge which is great for detail cutting, extra large kushgrip handles for comfort and less fatigue, and they come with a protective plastic cap!
• 1 Paper Distresser - this has a kushgrip center for handling comfort, distresses paper and photos beautifully, is ideal for easy thread cutting, and is very easy to use!
• 1 Retractable Craft Scratcher - This has a wire brush that's retractable, a kushgrip handle, and can be used to scratch or distress paper, photos, chipboard, polymer clay, and metal!
• 1 Retractable Craft Pick - this is used to pierce through papers, chipboard, and polymer clay. The needle extends up to 1 1/4", the point is retractable, and there is a kushgrip handle for comfort!
• 1 Retractable Craft Knife with 2 spare blades - the knife blade is retractable, it has a kushgrip handle, the small detail blade allows for precision cutting, and it's used to cut papers, chipboard, and polymer clay!

I absolutely loved the big comfortable kushgrip handles on the scissors! Besides my review projects, I have tried them out on chipboard, clay, sticky tape, plastic, well you name it...and I have to say these are hands down my favorite scissors to date! They cut great, nothing sticks to them, and they make precision cutting easy. I do a lot detail cutting and when you hold a craft knife for that long, it can really cramp up your hands. That's why I enjoyed using the craft pick and craft knife as opposed to my regular ones, because the kushgrip handles made them so much easier to hold. I thought the craft scratcher and paper distresser totally rocked! The paper distresser was really easy to use and made the edges of my paper and photos look fantastic...well in a distressed manner of course. I sand almost every photo I scrapbook, so the craft scratcher was awesome because it made it easy to distress any part of the photo I wanted, not just the edges.

I got into some serious distressing for this review and it was so much fun to just play. For my first project, I used the craft scratcher on the photo of my nephew, sanded the edges, then inked over the scratches using a blending tool. I painted a coat of distress crackle paint over the middle of my black cardstock, and after it dried I rubbed matching distress ink over the paint to help bring out the cracks. I used the craft pick to add my jeweled brads, and my craft knife to cut out the frame of an 12x12 patterned paper. To complete the design I added stickers, decorative tape, and glitter glue. I also used my fingers to spread around some of the glitter glue to make the layout sparkle!

Title: Christmas Cookie
Materials Used:
Patterned Paper (Creative Imaginations)
Tools (Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios: Micro Serrated Scissors, Craft Pick, Craft Knife, Craft Scratcher, Paper Distresser)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink)
Crackle Paint (Ranger Distress Crackle Paint)
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Stickers (Flair Designs, Making Memories, Heidi Swapp & Creative Imaginations)
Brads (Karen Foster)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, Pop Dots)

For my second project, I decided to try a new technique that Tim Holtz recently had on his blog. I used a paint dabber to smear paint on white cardstock, let it dry, then covered the paint and white areas by using a blending tool with a lighter shade of distress ink. I used my paper distresser on the edges of all my papers, die cuts, and cardstock. I loved the instant shabby chic look this created. I distressed my photos with the craft scratcher, and used my craft pick to add brads for decoration.

Title:All You Need is Love
Materials Used:
Patterned Paper (Daisy D's, Fancy Pants, October Afternoon, Creative Imaginations)
Tools (Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios: Micro Serrated Scissors, Craft Pick, Craft Knife, Craft Scratcher, Paper Distresser)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers)
Ink (Ranger Distress Ink)
Die Cuts (Fancy Pants)
Stickers (Making Memories)
Pens (Sakura Gelly Roll, American Craft)
Brads (Karen Foster, Heidi Swapp, Paper Studio)
Staples (Making Memories)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner, 3-D Glue Dots)

The craft scratcher and paper distresser helped me create a very distressed shabby chic tool holder. Although I had a little trouble keeping the blade in place on the craft knife, it was comfortable and easy to hold while cutting out detailed images to embellish the tool holder with.

Title: Pure Pen Holder
Materials Used:
Patterned Paper (Prima)
Tools (Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios: Micro Serrated Scissors, Craft Pick, Craft Knife, Craft Scratcher, Paper Distresser)
Glitter Glue (Ranger Stickles)
Paint (Ranger Paint Dabbers)
Alcohol Ink (Ranger Alcohol Ink)
Buttons (Autumn Leaves)
Flowers (Prima)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

What I love about reviewing products is that I get a chance to try out tools and supplies I might not otherwise buy...or know I need. After working with these new tools, my scrap room will never be without them again! I honestly fell in love with all of them and I thoroughly enjoyed creating with Tim Holtz's new tools by Tonic Studios. In fact, I have already ordered more to give my friends as Christmas gifts. It doesn't matter if you already have a good pair of scissors or paper piercer in your stash, I really think you will love these and highly recommend giving them a try!

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Review by Catherine

Tim Holtz seems to have the Midas touch. Anything that Tim develops is something that you know will be wonderful. That’s the way that it seems to happen anyway. From Distress Inks to Grungeboard, Tim Holtz’s signature ensures high quality and innovation. The same can be said for the tools that Tonic Studios produces. Anyone who scraps with me knows of my affinity for Tonic products, as my trimmers and scissors have to be Tonic, but with the addition of the new Tim Holtz tools I feel as if my Tonic tool caddy is complete.

The newest tools released from Tonic Studios are a Retractable Craft Knife, Retractable Craft Pick, Retractable Craft Scratcher. Along with these items I also received the Non-Stick Micro-Serrated Scissors and a Paper Distress Tool. These items all arrived in their own special packaging with a cardboard backing and fitted plastic cover. The backing cardboard points out key features of each product. One thing that I was very pleased with as a consumer, especially around the holidays, is that the packages are easy to open. It didn’t take a Herculean effort and many plastic cuts to get my new tools out. Another thing that I noticed is that each of the tools, with the exception of the scissors, has a hole in the end for threading a ribbon or keyring through. I threaded a ball chain through all four of the tools, to keep them together and make them easier for me to keep track of. One thing I hat is searching for hours for a tool that I desperately need to use. Having the tools all bundled together has so far saved me that problem.

Since opening the packages of Tim Holtz tools, I have used them continually. The most often used tool for me lately seems to be an awl or needle tool. The Retractable Craft Pick is the same thing. It can be used in the same manner as an awl or needle tool, such as for poking holes in cardstock or chipboard. Since receiving my new tools, it seems that I have found a use for the Retractable Craft Pick on almost every page. One of the best things about it, which makes it better than the five other craft picks or needle tools that I own, is that it is retractable. With babies (and other small ones) in the house, having sharp objects around always makes me nervous. I usually place all of my sharp tools in a tool caddy and move it higher up away from prying hands whenever I finish scrapping. With the addition of the Retractable tools, I don’t have to worry quite so much.

Which leads me to the Retractable Craft Knife: I have to say that this thing is wonderful! I usually struggle with Craft Knives. I can’t get them to cut straight, or I can’t get the detail that I want, or I accidentally pick them up from the wrong end and prick my finger with the blade. The Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Knife by Tonic seemed to alleviate these problems. It performed exactly as I wanted it to! The Retractable Craft Scratcher is a new tool to me, and one that I feel I will need a bit more practice with. This tool has a number of wired bristles to brush over paper and other items to give them a very rough, distressed look.

For my first project for the review, I used the Retractable Craft Pick and Paper Distress Tool. I am not new to the Tonic Distress Tool, and have used it numerous times on my pages. I love the look that the Distress Tool gives to the edge of paper, and the texture that it lends to the page. I used the Craft Pick to pre-punch the holes for my stitches on this page.

Title:All I Want
Materials Used:
Tools Used (Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Pick, Tim Holtz Paper Distress Tool, Tim Holtz Micro-Serrated Scissors – Tonic Studios)
Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Paper (Love, Elsie – KI Memories)
Chipboard (KI Memories)
Vinyl Alphabet (American Crafts)
Stickers (7gypsies)
Twine (Martha Stewart Crafts)
Other (Felt; Sharpie Poster Paint Pen)
Adhesive (Adtech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

For my second project, I wanted to show an easy page using the Retractable Craft Knife. I cut a simple tree out of cardstock, and stamped an image and cut it out using the craft knife. I really enjoy the way that the craft knife works, and that the package comes with two replacement blades. I wasn’t searching for a place to find replacement blades immediately after getting the knife. That’s refreshing. I also used the Craft Pick to poke holes for my brads to go through on my second project.

Title:Christmas Eve
Materials Used:
Tools (Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Pick, Tim Holtz Retractable Craft Knife, Tim Holtz Micro-Serrated Scissors – Tonic Studios)
Cardstock (Prism Papers)
Patterned Paper (My Mind’s Eye)
Brads (Assorted)
Stamp (7gypsies)
Sticker Border (MME)
Adhesive (Adtech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I am completely satisfied with each of the tools that I was sent for review! I love the quality, I love the ease of use, and I love the overall innovative thinking that I know went into each of these products. It is apparent that each and every detail of the manufacturing of these tools was considered and addressed. I have even more products to love from Tonic Studios, and from Tim Holtz. If you see these tools in your local scrapbook store, snatch them up as soon as possible. You will not be disappointed in any of them. Tim Holtz's Midas Touch has worked again!

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Review by Penny

Tools are one of the most important craft supply purchases you will make. How many times have you bought a tool because it was on sale, not like its performance, and end up stuffing it away never to be used again? I have several of those sitting in my scrap room right now. I rarely make a tool purchase these days without doing some research and getting opinions of the product from other scrappers.

Tonic Studios has teamed up with Tim Holtz to manufacture some tools that meet the high standards of time and trial. The new tool set includes scissors, paper distresser, craft knife, craft pick and a craft scratcher. Having Tim Holtz recommend a product speaks volumes. If you have followed his work you know that he chooses the best product and tools for his professional design work. All of the tools have a red Kushgrip handle, a thick semi-flexible rubber-like coating that makes using the tools very comfortable--even over long periods of use.

At about 7" long and a handle up to 3 1/2" wide, the scissors are larger than you might expect for detailed cutting. It can be a little intimidating to use for detail cutting but this is where the scissors shine. The non-stick micro-serrated blade comes to a fine point and cuts the smallest of areas with ease. These scissors quickly replaced the rest of them on my desk because they are so comfortable and handle all of my cutting needs. The scissors come with a protective plastic cap for storage. I found varied prices for the scissors between $10-$12.

The paper distresser ($5.25 retail) is a very interesting looking circular took with a Kushgrip center and seven recessed blades around its edge. The tool also has a small rounded loop at the top for hanging. To use, place your thumb and forefinger directly in the Kushgrip center. Having blades available in each direction is very helpful. I've used this paper distresser before and it is a gem. The recessed notches are large enough to handle thicker materials like chipboard unlike some other paper distressers on the market. Sliding the tool along the edge of your material back and forth creates the best distressed effect with very little effort. I used the tool to distress the tag on my first project. As you can see, when I inked the edges the color was really rich along those distressed edges.

Title: Duck & Run
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics "Nautical Blue Medium")
Paper Distresser (Tim Holtz for Tonic Studios)
Pen (Zig Writer)
Notebook Paper (Making Memories)
Alpha Die Cuts (3 Bugs in a Rug)
Stickers (Mustard Moon, Daisy D's, Stampin' Up!, Making Memories)
Rub Ons (My Minds Eye, K&Co.)
Distress Ink (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Ribbon (Tie One On Monthly Kit Club)
Brads (The Paper Studio)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)
Other: ric rac, tag, embossing powder

The craft knife comes with a Kushgrip barrel and a solid loop at the top for hanging. The small detail blade allows for precision cutting. The blade retracts when not in use and comes with two replacement blades. The craft knife seems very strong and does cut well.

The craft pick looks like the craft knife with its Kushgrip barrel, loop at the top and retractable needle. The craft pick is an excellent piercing tool for paper, chipboard or polymer clay. What I love best about the craft pick is that its extension is adjustable all the way up to 1 1/4" for use on multiple surfaces.

The craft scratcher was a tool that I was most curious about. With the same outer appearance of the craft pick and knife, the base of the barrel gets thinner and replaces the rounded barrel with a flat surfact on each side. This gives your grip control. The retractable scratcher is a strip of fine silver bristles. The bristles are sturdy and only a minimal amount of pressure is needed. When you scratch it over your paper, as I did in my second project, the result is very subtle. The more you scratch the more distressed your project will look. It is recommended for use on paper, chipboard and polymer clay.

Title: Age 6 Bday
Materials Used:
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics "Nautical Blue Dark", Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper (Tinkering Ink)
Flowers (Prima)
Buttons (Making Memories)
Pocket Card (Stampin' Up!)
Stickers (Urban Lily, Chatterbox)
Soft Frame (Love, Elsie)
Rub Ons (BasicGrey, Tinkering Ink)
Stamp (Lisa Bearnson Kit of the Month)
Acrylic Paint and Alcohol Ink (Ranger)
Distress Crackle Paint (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Grungeboard (Tim Holtz for Advantus)

The knife, pick and scratcher all retail around $4.25 each.

All of these tools work well and I recommend them for their quality construction, comfortable Kushgrip handles and retractable features. They are also easy to spot on a messy desk with their red color and generous size. These tools are worth their purchase price and will find a home within easy reach because you'll grab for them over and over again.

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Review by Karen

I have always believed that having the right tool for the job makes the job that much easier. Many times I think that I tend to “use” what I have rather than going and finding the right tool. When I was given the chance to try out some of the new tools by Tim Holtz and Tonic Studios I knew that I would be trying things that others might not have the opportunity to put their hands on before buying. I also knew that it was going to be a hard sell to get me to chance my thoughts on the scissors that I already have and love, but I was willing and egger to see what happened.

I received my Tim Holtz tools by Tonic Studios at the end of November. I started using some of them right away. The ones that I opened first were the ones that I really thought would be the things that I would have the hardest time convincing myself that everyone needed to think about adding them to their supplies. There were five tools in my kit: Non Stick Micro serrated scissors, Paper Distresser, Retractable Craft Knife, Retractable Craft Pick, and a Retractable Craft Scratcher. I opened the scissors, craft knife and craft pick right away. I have tools on hand that I figured did the same things as these.

For my review, I want to break down and talk about each tool. The first up is the Retractable Craft Pick. Before this package arrived, I used a push pin for all my hole making needs. And as low tech as it is, it worked well. When I first picked up the craft pick, I didn’t really think that I was going to swayed over from my push pin. In a review that I did for Spellbinders Ornament die, I created some tags with hearts on them. Each of the foam hearts was “pricked” with the Craft Pick. I LOVED the size of the hole made, not too big, not too small. It almost looked as if I had sewn the edges and removed the thread. The Craft Pick is about the diameter of a Sharpie Marker. It’s easy to hold in your hand and the mechanism that holds the pick out is strong. I love that I could press through several layers of “stuff” and the pick didn’t retract. The only down side came from a personal error, when I started working with the pick I didn’t place a soft surface under my piece. When I when to pierce the item, the pick hit my glass mat that I work on. The very tip of the Pick bent and is now dull. I will be replacing the tool, as I love it so much more than the push pin I was using.

The second tool that I want to talk about is the Non Stick Micro Serrated Scissors. These scissors are larger in size than my other scissors. They are non stick and micro serrated, I’ll get to what that means in a second. They have a slip on plastic cover to protect the blades and the handles are large. The handle part of the scissors are covered with what Tonic Studios is calling kushgrip. The information sent with the tools says “kushgrip makes your hands smile.” I wasn’t that impressed with the kushgrip. It was a bit on the hard side, but not as hard as the old fashioned metal scissors. The hands are large enough to fit almost your whole hand in one side. There is plenty of room for your hand to move and you don’t have to cut using just one or two fingers. This really is noticeable when you are cutting thicker materials like chipboard. My first two project really showcase what these scissors can do. The first project is an angel “ornament” of my daughter. I cut out a fairly detailed photo of her on thick photo paper. Once it was cut out, I cut out clothes to “dress” the angel. Then I cut out transparent wings. Cutting all the different materials can mean changing scissors or ending up with a cut that isn’t perfect. One thing that I like about these scissors is the micro serrated feature. On the scissors the blades look like a steak knife. There are tiny groves that help grip the paper or what ever you are cutting. You do need to be aware that there is a small mark left behind when cutting with these scissors. It’s not that noticeable in the finished project, but I could really see it when I was working. The second ornament is a chipboard bird. I hand cut both the bird and the wings from a piece of chipboard. This is not something that I would try with just any scissors. But these Tim Holtz by Tonic Studios scissors make cutting chipboard like cutting butter with a hot knife. I actually cut out 12 birds and 24 wings, only one is shown here.

Title: Anna Claire Angel
Materials Used:
Tools Retractable Craft Pick,Non-Stick Micro-serrated scissors (Tim Holtz, Tonic Studios)
Patterned Paper (Daisy D’s)
Stickers (Heidi Grace)
Stamps (Technique Tuesday)
Glitter Glue (Stickles, Ranger)
Ink (StazOn)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

Title: Chipboard Bird Ornament
Materials Used:
Tools Non-Stick Micro-serrated scissors (Tim Holtz, Tonic Studios)
Cardstock (Prism Prismatics)
Paint (Lil Davis)
Glitter (Martha Stewart, EK Success)
Pen (American Crafts)
Stencil (Heidi Swapp)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

The Retractable Craft Knife was the third tool that I opened immediately. It’s the same size as the Craft Pick and has many of the same pro’s as well. I like the circle at the top of these tools. I used a book ring and have them all hooked to my crop bag. Of all the tools, this one impressed the least. I have a craft knife with a thumb grip that I have used since collage. I felt that the selling points on the Craft Knife just weren’t enough for me to make a permanent switch, but if you don’t have a Craft Knife then this one is a great one to own.

Now on to the two tools that I opened later in the month, the first one is the Craft Scratcher. I’ll be honest here, I didn’t have a clue what to do with this at first. It’s a bunch of little metal “combs” at the end of the handle. But in remembering who designed this tool, I began to understand how the tool was to be used. In the times that I have wanted to age something with scratches, I have used either my scissors tip or the push pin. Neither has worked well enough for me to what to repeat that technique often. But this little scratcher works SO well!! I did find that if I didn’t extend the scratching pieces all the way that I had better results. In this layout, I used the Craft Scratcher to age the focal photo as well as the tree sticker. I am very pleased with the results, and am happy to say that I now know how this tool is used!

Title:3 Things
Materials Used:
Tools Retractable Craft Scratcher, Paper Distresser, Non-Stick Micro-serrated scissors (Tim Holtz, Tonic Studios)
Cardstock Herbal Garden Green Light (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper Roxbury (Scenic Route)
Letter stickers (American Crafts)
Stickers Roxbury (Scenic Route)
Stamp Storytellers (Technique Tuesday)
Ink Lettuce (Ranger Ink)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

The last tool that I was sent to work with was the Paper Distresser. This is a round tool with notches cut out. In the notches are the exposed edges of a metal blade. This tool is wonderfully easy to use! And it worked on the edges of my journal! I didn’t have to edge the paper and then apply it to the journal. The notches were large enough for the journal with the paper already applied. I also used the Paper Distresser to take off a bit of the edges of my photos and to rough up the edges of the patterned paper in the layout called “3 things.” You can see my journal below. I’ve distressed the edges of the journal, the tabs and the heart on the cover.

Title: Christmas Memories Journal
Materials Used:
Tools Retractable Craft Scratcher, Paper Distresser, Non-Stick Micro-serrated scissors (Tim Holtz, Tonic Studios)
Cardstock Herbal Garden Green Light (Prism Prismatics)
Patterned Paper Roxbury(Scenic Route)
Stickers Roxbury(Scenic Route)
Stamps Storytellers(Technique Tuesday)
Ink Cranberry(Ranger)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

It’s so hard to believe that I’ve gone this long thinking that I’ve had the perfect tools on hand, when I really didn’t. Of the five tools that I was sent, there are four that will be making a permanent home in my crafting bag. The only tool that won’t is the Craft Knife, but not because it isn’t a good knife. It is and if I didn’t already have one that I love, it too would be coming to stay in my bag of tools.

I am very pleased with the quality of these tools. I believe that they will stand up to years of crafting. While I am not totally sold on the kushgrip, I am glad to see a tool company looking out for our hands and trying to make tools easier to use. I must say that I am very happy to recommend these products to you. They are going to make crafting easier on your hands as well as keep your frustration level down. I say “bravo” to both Tim Holtz and Tonic Studios for bring to the market the great set of tools!

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Review by Lynn Anne

I am a firm believer that having the right tools on hand makes any job quicker, better quality in the end, and more enjoyable to put together. At the same time, I live in a small, cluttered home, so anything that gathers dust gets shown to the door in short order. Given how I am about tools, it was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the new Tonic Studios distressing tools by Tim Holtz. I've had much success in the past with both Tonic and Tim Holtz products, and I was hoping these wouldn't disappoint. For the testing: Micro-Serrated Scissors, Retractable Craft Pick, Craft Scratcher and Craft Knife, and Paper Distresser.

The Micro-Serrated Scissors come with the signature Tonic Studios Kushgrip handle, in an oversized design that leaves more room for the hands and ends up being super comfortable to work with. Off to a good start! The blades also include another signature Tonic Studios attribute, which is that they are self-sharpening. They're dark, featuring a nonstick finish that looks a bit like the Teflon coating that might be found on a frying pan. As someone who tends to gum up scissors regularly by cutting papers coated with adhesive, easy-tack, glitter glues and the like, I appreciate how easily the nonstick finish makes cleanup after sticky jobs.

In use, I found the micro-serrated scissors to be extremely sharp - don't let the kids get their hands on these! - with a nice fine tip for hand cutting finer designs. I'm not sure what I thought of the micro-serrated edge, since cutting leaves one side of the paper with a regular smooth edge, and the other with the slightly rough edge from the serration of the blade. I found myself re-cutting some pieces 'the other way' to get the same smooth edge on all sides of a project. Overall, however, I'm very pleased with the quality and function of this tool.

The Retractable Craft Pick is something I knew would come in handy. The end of the pick opposite the point is a round plastic loop, perfect for attaching to a carabiner, keychain or the like. This is one a big advantage to me of not just this, but other Tonic Studios tools - it's easy to keep them all together by hooking them all together on a plastic ring. All of the tools reviewed here (with the exception of the scissor) have joined other Tonic tools (perforation and scoring blades) on my ring, and they hang on a nail out of the kids' reach and where I can always find them! The Craft Pick adjusts to several different lengths when extended, and since it tapers to its point that means it can be used to create holes of several different sizes. I had success using it to put wider holes in uncured polymer clay to create buttons, and also to create smaller holes to make an easier job of hand-stitching a cardstock-weight paper, as in the project below.

Title:Elf Shoes
Materials Used:
Tonic Retractable Craft Pick
Tonic Studios Nonstick Micro-Serrated Scissors
Prima Paintables (Shalimar)
Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write markers
Embroidery floss

The Retractable Craft Knife looks identical to the Craft Pick (and the Craft Scratcher) except at the tip where the blade comes out. This fine-pointed blade handcuts paper easily, and also came in handy for me when I was trying to remove some chipboard letters from their package. They hadn't been completely die cut, so when pulled from their backing some flash remained. Cutting the joined areas with the fine tip of the knife before trying to remove the letters made a previously annoying task hassle-free.

I did have a problem with the Craft Knife just a couple of days into testing. I dropped it on the floor - from the height of my tabletop - and the main body of the piece snapped away from the plastic loop piece. This piece is built to be removable, as the knife conveniently comes with two replacement blades. But when I tried to replace the top, it just wouldn't stay in. I emailed Tonic Studios via the address given on their website, asking in essence if I was doing something wrong. In two days, I received a response stating that if the pieces weren't reattaching easily it sounded like something wasn't working the way it should, and that I would be sent a replacement. I received a new Craft Blade in the mail within the week, and have had no problems since. It's always a big plus to find responsive customer service, so I was very pleased with the way this incident played out. I replaced a blade to make sure everything was set now, and things worked just as they should. Bonus: installing the new blade takes less than a minute.

The one Tim Holtz distressing tool that doesn't look like the others is the Paper Distresser. This is a 1-1/2" round piece (also with a ring loop at one end) that houses what looks like a circular blade, accessible through any of seven wedges shaped into the plastic housing. The Paper Distresser is meant specifically to roughen the edges of paper, and it does its job well. The effect is mild at first, increasing with each pass of the blade.

The one tool that had me scratching my head for a while, wondering what to use it for, was the Craft Scratcher. The end of this retractable tool looks like a small wire brush, about 1/2" wide, with two rows of bristles. The first couple of items I tried 'scratching' with it - a piece of clay and a piece of raw chipboard - didn't get scratched-up enough to make much of a difference when I added ink that I thought would sink into the scratches. I tried scratching the finish off the edges of a photo, which did work. I was happiest when I added a shiny rub-on to the layout below, which is made mostly from a very distressed-looking set of patterned papers. Rubbing the Craft Scratcher lightly over the rub-on a few times took the shine off and removed some fine bits of the design, making it coordinate much better with the rest of the project.

Title:Family
Materials Used:
Tonic/Tim Holtz Craft Scratcher
Tonic/Tim Holtz Craft Knife
Tonic/Tim Holtz Paper Distresser
Tonic/Tim Holtz MicroSerrated Scissors
Papers by DaisyD's
Flowers by Imaginisce
Rub-ons by Karen Russell Narratives
Photo corners by 3L
Permanent Glue Runner by AdTech
Black dye ink by Rubber Stampede
Chipboard letters by Heidi Swapp
Ranger Distress Ink: Shabby Shutters, Broken China

I've reached for each of these Tim Holtz tools many times a day since first receiving them, with no slow-down after finishing the projects specifically created to test them out. The quality and convenient features, the comfort of their design and kushgrip handles, and their downright usefulness will give these tools a long life at my crafting table. At around $12.00 for the scissors and $5.00 for each of the other tools, it also won't take a major investment to make sure you've got the right tools at hand for your next paper crafting project.

For more information visit Tonic Studios