Must-have Monday: The Close To My Heart Ruler

We all have something in our craft room that we can't live without.  It will come as no surprise that I have LOTS of things in my craft room that I can't live without and I'd like to share some of them with you.  

Although my papers and stamps and inks are my passion, the tools of my trade are what make it all come together in such delightful ways.   One of my favorite tools is my clear CTMH ruler.  Used in combination with my CTMH desk pad which sports a 12x13" grid, I'm able to get everything lined up to please even the best/worst perfectionist.  

Because this ruler is 14" long it easily will lay across a 12x12" sheet of card stock with an inch on either side if you need it to work with the grid in lining things up.  The clear plastic ruler is marked with 1/8 inch grid lines allows you to easily position anything within 1/8" of an edge or other object.  If you want to flow paper across a 2 page layout, your easy to see measurements will help you perfectly align the papers from one side to the next. 

To be honest, I am not a perfectionist. I "eyeball" quite a lot.  But being a teacher with a lot of perfectionist crafters as students, using my ruler makes class time so much easier for my students.  They've all purchased this ruler and when I tell them something is 3/4" from the side edge and 2" from the top, they simply look through the clear ruler to perfectly line up the 3/4" grid with the edge of the paper, find their way down 2" from the top, and they are ready to place their item.  So quick, so easy, so painless! 

Other features of the ruler are a metal edge on one side. Perfect to use when cutting with an exacto knife or to draw a straight line - and edge that stays intact. Along that side you will also note guide holes for marking off stitching or piercing.  So very versatile!

The stitch guide allows you to mark off 1/8" stitches or 1/4" stitches.  Just place the guide where you want the stitch marks, use your piercing tool and you've got perfect uniform stitches.  

See the marks made with my piercing tool?  They are perfectly spaced.

After stitching.  I love argyle and will make something with this sample and post later.  Stay tuned!

To be sure, if you are really into stitching, or even just piercing, we have another ruler, the stitch guide, that offers even more styles done to perfection.  Also marked with 1/8" grid lines and 15" in length.  

Both of these can be found on my website for sale.  Check them out!
 

Z1471 - Clear 14" Ruler with Stitch Guide - $9.95
Z1852 - 15" Clear Stitch Guide - $12.95