If you've been kind enough to read any of my previous reviews then you'll know I'm into cardmaking & other crafts & am always on the lookout for items which will save me time.

Last year I bought a Crop-a-dile from QVC as it was selling (on special offer) offer for around £15 plus p&p & they normally cost £20 here or even more elsewhere.

It's as shown in the picture but also comes in a choice of pink or purple for those who really care about the colour of their tools!

Initially I was pleased because it seemed a professional too, was well-packaged, sturdy & even came with 400 eyelets which was a bonus as these can be very expensive.

What's it for? I hear you ask - well it's an eyelet-setter (for those measuring 1/8" or 3/16" )& many cardmakers & scrapbookers use eyelets for decoration, to add depth or to attach cards & papers, embellishments or charms -eg thin paper like transparent vellum usually shows glue/tape marks so they can be used to bond to card using eyelets which makes the hand crafted finish much more professional & expensive-looking. Eyelet setters can also be used on chipboard, leather, suede, tin etc .

It's a good job the Crop-o-dile came with full instructions - although I'd really concentrated on the presentation on QVC I was a little lost at first. Once I got the hang of it though it was simple.

Basically all you need do is the following -
1) punch a hole with the tool, pop the eyelet in
2) Turn over, insert it into the eyelet & squeeze.

I was fairly impressed as this is a quiet tool to use whereas other eyelet-setters require a hammer or noisy spring-type tool which you can hear all over the house.

However, I sent it back to QVC under their 30 day money-back guarantee because I found it heavy to hold for any length of time. The other reason was because my hands are too small & I don't really have the strength to do lots of squeezing without getting cramp. Although the handles have a well-coated grip I didn't find using this tool as comfortable as I'd hoped. The other reason I returned it was that it didn't work well on scrapbooking pages which are 12" x 12" - it just isn't long enough.

I'm sure it would suit other crafters but I would never get the use out of this tool so will go back to making a noise & use my old-fashioned hammer set!