toolin' around tuesday: sink your teeth in

howdy chickadees and chuckaroos.  lookee here what i got for you today!  a li'l chomping japanese stapler!

a stapler? you ask?  yep.  i found this diminutive guy whilst stomping around new york with brilliant chica one black friday.  we didn't even realize it was black friday, come to think of it, higher on the list was the fact that it was her birthday and therefore time to do some shopping.  we stuck our heads in every new-to-her store i could think of, one being muji, sort of like ikea's minimalist high class japanese cousin-by-marriage.  the stationary cart was our candy.  we marveled at double ended pens, teeny clocks, and pocket sized tape measures.  the pint sized stapler was simply too cute to pass up.  

i thought i'd use it for office type stuff, but no! this is a GREAT sewing tool.  it lives in my top (read: most important) desk drawer, next to a good sized chunk of rainbow hued post-it notes.  every time i use my overlocker, i clip a section of my test portion, add my tension settings to a note, and staple the whole shebang together.  with every new fabric i try, i go to my file of stapled notes and base my test settings off the closest candidate.  

it'd be great for your scraps as well, if you're the kinda sewist that keeps track of their stash by keeping a notebook with a cross section.  i aim to be that kind of sewist.  i think i have just the right amount of OCD for it.

and best of all, GENIUS!  the teeth are totes hidden!  no chance of snagging your hand, your thread, your fabric, when hunting around in your drawers for it.  of course, it took me about three days to figure out how to get the teeth to appear.  i hollered to brilliant chica, THAT DAMN JAPANESE STAPLER DOESN'T WORK.  yeah, it did.  it was just smarter than me. there's a little lever you slide on the inside, et voila:

i'm telling you, it's just too cute.  the boucle in the first shot is waiting for its turn, i ran out of staples!  while i was stocking up, i grabbed a mini stapler and a pack of staples just for one of you...

but now, the lucky random number of giveaway number three edit, explained below: FOUR!  y'all, i was beginning to think my random numer generator was just throwing out digits in the general vicinity of the halfway mark, but today, in 62 desires for rulers with invisible powers, out popped...

number 6!  ROWR AMANDA!  step on into the 2000's and shake yo thang.  i know you know how to shake yo thang.  and the rest of y'all, give those eyeballs a break!  holy cow it's frightening!  my inner A student is shaking with fear, although my inner rebel is laughing in her face!  you can grab one of these jammies at any local sewing store.  if you can't find them locally, try manhattan wardrobe supply's online shop, or google C-thru rulers (no compensation, just enabling).

alrighty y'all, one more toolin tuesday giveaway to go and i have celebrated my fifth bloggy birthday in makin-it-up-to-ya style.  (edit: yeah, i already did that.  i forgot to label all of my toolin' around series, and what with the sick cat, my mind went to temporary mush.  so this li'l stapler is still up for grabs, and i'm extending this fifth & final giveaway till next tues april 2.)  if you'd like to own your own cutest li'l stapler in the universe, holler at me in the comments and riddle me this: do you keep fabric notes?  or do you let memory serve you?

EDIT AGAIN.  STOP.  CONTEST CLOSED.  STOP.  WINNER ANNOUNCED TODAY 4-9 AT 5PM.  STOP.