We recently added a new piece of equipment to our Marston Makerspace, so let us formally introduce you to the ZipSnip!
This little fella is essentially an electric box cutter. It’s great for anything that a normal old-fashioned box cutter might be good for: cutting fabrics, papers, and most importantly, cardboard! So if you ever find yourself fighting with an X-Acto knife on your next craft, give the ZipSnip a try!
Here’s an example of how you can use the ZipSnip on your next cardboard craft: we made mirror frame decorations!
First, trace out your desired designs onto some old cardboard boxes. We chose circles and stars. These pieces were taken from our cardboard pile; please always make sure to upcycle!
An important thing to note about the operation of the ZipSnip is that it has a safety mechanism. In order to activate it, push in the small orange tab on the side of the tool, as the thumb is doing below.
It can be pushed in both directions, so you can hold the safety if you are left or right handed, and with either your thumb or index finger. Afterwards, hold down the large orange trigger and push lightly into the cardboard. The ZipSnip has a guardrail, so you don’t have to use a cutting mat alongside it.
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with how the ZipSnip operates, begin cutting out your cardboard designs.
The ZipSnip gets this done with very little effort, creating clean and crisp cuts that look professional. It does however, slightly struggle with handling sharp turns and curves. For intricate or round designs, we suggest you refine with scissors or an X-Acto knife after cutting.
Once you’ve finished cleaning up your cut designs, you can start decorating! We chose to create ornate buttons and doodled fun designs onto the stars.
Once your crafts have been decorated you can finally put them to use. We chose to make a cute and unique mirror frame so that patrons can feel fabulous when observing their designs !
For any cardboard-based craft, think about using our brand new ZipSnip! We keep it behind the 3D desk, so simply ask an Open Lab Facilitator to use it. Always be safe and have fun, we’ve got plenty of fun gadgets that are just waiting for you to try them out!