Getting everything straight

This is in no way the only way to get things straight, but it works for me. I have two or three cutters that I use for different things. I find that my small guillotine cutter works the best to get things cut straight and even.



When I start out with a 12X12 piece of paper, I cut one side of the card on my large cutter so that I can make all my mats and other cuts on the small one. I just make sure that the edges are lined up on the lines and push just slightly to the inside on the handle as I make the cut. This way I ensure that everything is cut the same way and comes out straight. I have many, many cutters and this method works the best for me as the cutter is small enough to handle, and it has the protector plate that can be pressed to help keep the paper in place. I also do not use my crafting knife and scissors too often unless I have smaller cuts that demand it. I have very clumsy hands that cann't make a straight line cut, even with a ruler and knife.
When placing embelishments on my paper, I have learned to mark everything first with a pencil. I do not measure every little thing I place, but I do have a Martha Stewart mat that makes it easy to just put my card on top of and make the marks next to the lines. I really didn't think I would use this as much as I do. I got it mainly so I could cut on my table, but have since found that the marks are great for quick measurement on just about everything- I use it to measure ribbon, card lengths and widths, mats sizes, and embelli placement. Another thing that I will often do is use my small hole punch to make a place for the embellishments to rest instead of rolling around while the glue dries. I use the small 1/16th punch for this. My punch is like the above, but green because I got it at Walmart :)