New Toy!

OH FISKARS ROTARY CUTTER....WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!?!?!?!

Last month at our weaving workshop, our presenters extolled the virtue of the rotary cutter when dealing with fabric.  One of the biggest pains about fabric weaving is all the prep work for the teacher.....but this baby works like a dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It isn't cheap, but if you have your coupons...or go on a sale day...it is easy to find it 30 to 50 % off!!!  I think I got the cutter & mat for $13 with tax!!

Fiskars Redeemed

So a few posts ago I expressed my frustration with Fiskars classpack scissors.  From your responses, I realized I was NOT alone.  I thought that I should share this with the company.  Well, the response I got was not exactly what I wanted.  They simply said..."were you aware of our guarantee".  The truth was...I did not until I had read some of the comments from that post.  I figured that was the end of the dialog with Fiskars & my frustration had no true resolution.  HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  When I got home last night, there was a box on my front porch.  Fiskars sent me a replacement set of scissors!!!  They are a different model than the ones that kept breaking.  So I am going to give Fiskars a second chance.  I really do admire that they will stand behind their product(and that they will redesign when they realize they've gone in the wrong direction!).  They still don't seem as good as the old ones I had 10 yrs or so ago, but they seem better than that last batch!!!

Skyline/City Scapes Mixed Media : 1st Grade

Ms. Piper was finishing my lession I had started the previous week.  The first day students watched a Power Point on Skylines/Cityscapes.  They then drew a skyline and used tempera paint to create tints & shades.  The this week they used construction paper to create layers of city buildings ontop of the tempera paint skyline.  I really love the results.

FISKARS... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?!?!?!

Fiskars scissors have always been my favorite for student use (and personal use).  However, a couple years ago I purchased a class set of scissors & it has changed my perspective of the brand.  Handles have broken off, blades seem bent & dulled on some, screws have come out, the handles are not comfortable & seem small for many of my students(and remember..I teach K-4..the little ones!).  It really makes me said when a company has a good product...but then to save money they "change" some things to save money.  Sometimes saving money is not the most important thing.  I would pay extra for a product that would last me years and years.  And I had nothing but Fiskars for 8 yrs (they started to rust so that is why I bought new)...and they were wonderful.  Now..after only a couple years...I'm ready to pitch these.  BOOOOOO!!!  Quality still matters to this art teacher.  I will save my money to buy good things for my students....they are worth it!