Keeping Extra Supplies on Hand

I’m often asked what additional items should be purchased or kept on hand at all times to use with the Inspiration. I would love to make a list that included all of our tools, several packs of vinyl (we have some amazing colors, you should check them out!) every color of rhinestone and our CD’s too. We all know it’s not necessary to have all those things, but wouldn’t it be nice!? By just keeping the basics on hand you’ll never be in a pinch.

I just purchased a brand new Inspiration. I’m so excited to get started, but wanted to know what kind of supplies I need to have in order to start using my Inspiration?

Janet P. Salem, OR

The Inspiration is going to come with everything you need to get started. I know that having all the bells and whistle like CD’s, vinyl, rhinestones and tools might not be possible right from the start, but that’s ok! It’s kind of exciting to start with the basics and then purchase some fun new things to try later on when you’re better acquainted using your Inspiration. I always tell new customers to get started using the Inspiration first and then contact us later to do a little shopping with me over the phone or by checking out the store in the Craft Room. I do however always recommend keeping two supplies on hand to help make life a little easier – at least one pack of mats and one pack of blades. If you just got your machine and you’re experimenting with the pressure settings, blade lengths, and cutting different materials it’s always nice to have an extra blade on hand for emergency purposes. When we originally launched the Inspiration I had to start test cutting all of the new images we had created for our CD’s. This gave me a lot of time to play with the Inspiration, but like some newbies out there I was a little intimidated. I had been using the Pro for so long that the Inspiration seemed like an entirely different world to me. I’ll admit that I wasn’t really sure where to get started with the settings. So, like some of you out there, I just started playing around and trying a few different blade lengths and pressure settings. Well, it wasn’t long until I noticed my cuts were starting to get frayed and they weren’t cutting all the way through. So I took out the blade holder to take a look at my blade…wouldn’t you know, I had snapped the tip off. I would love to tell you that I never did that again, but what kind of learning process would that be? Mistakes are part of any learning process though, so don’t feel bad if you have a few “oops” moments along the way but at the same time you probably will want to keep an extra blade or two and a mat on hand in case you accidentally ruin one. Like the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry!