EK Success Fastenater Decorative Stapler

By Christina VanGinkel

Accessories and embellishments for making your scrapbook layouts unique and distinct are fun to use, and a welcome way to make your time spent working on your pages more enjoyable. Sometimes, it is the simplest of tools that have been around for ages, that when looked at with just a bit of a twist, can become all the rage. The common stapler is one such tool.

Adhering paper, fabric, and vellums, without lots of thick glues, or other adhesives that show through, have been at issue since the first scrapbook page was made. Some glue tends to turn yellow and crack, and even the newer glues and adhesives can show through vellums, or make fabrics stiff. Along the way, some ingenious person decided to try to adhere one or some of these items with staples, for a different look. Maybe they were out of glue, or the adhesive they had would not hold something on their page down. For whatever reason the staple was first used in a scrapbook, it has gone from office supply to scrapbook wow! They are also great for use in other paper crafts, including card making, and I have discovered that because the cost of the staples are quite inexpensive, that letting the kids have a go with it for their many craft projects is also economical. Kids love new crafting tools as much if not more so than adults and this one should be perfectly safe for them to use with adult supervision.

The EK Success Fastenater Decorative Stapler takes the idea of using staples as an element on a scrapbook page one-step further yet, and makes using a stapler and its corresponding staples, a design tool like no other. With decorative 1/2 - inch staples in assorted finishes such as copper, brass, pewter, and colors like lemonade, flamingo, and heliotrope, one can just imagine all the possibilities. The staples are also available in stamped image designs, such as Barcelona, Florence and Paris Brass, and Manhattan copper, taking them far beyond what I could ever have imagined a staple could be. Upon seeing some of these intricate stamped designs, you will agree that the ways to use these are almost endless. Add the stamped finishes, color finishes, and metal choices, there are potentially staples that will work for just about any page design you can imagine. Be sure to note though that the EK Success Fastenater Decorative Stapler does not use regular staples, it only works with those made specifically for it.

The EK Success Fastenater Decorative Stapler has also made using these embellishments on your layouts easier, by being able to staple anywhere on a twelve by twelve layout, thanks to its oversized design. It has rubber stoppers on the bottom, so you can place it on your work surface without any worries about it slipping when in use, and it comes with alignment stoppers to work with the ruler on the base so you can be assured of stapling right where you want, and nowhere else. It also has a comfortable grip handle, so even those with strength issues can still make use of it with ease. The staples are also easy to load, which was not always an easy thing to do with some of the most basic office staplers in existence!

Some ideas for incorporating staples into your next scrapbook layout include using it to make your corners on your matting more decorative and secure at the same time, to attach items such as tags and ribbons directly to the layout, and really, in just about any place you might have used brads. The EK Success Fastenater Decorative Stapler is sturdy and strong enough that it will easily staple through several layers of cardstock at once. I have personally stapled five thicknesses together, though I am sure thickness of paper or cardstock will have an effect on how many pieces of a particular weight you could comfortable staple together.

I have seen the stapler available for less than twenty dollars on sale, but it retails closer to twenty-five. Additional staples are available for as low as $1.500 for a container of 48, making this quite an affordable addition to your scrapbook tools.