More Creative Cuttling

Wow! My stat counter is spinning today! It's neat to see all of the interest in using these already very fun folders in even more ways. I have to say that I'm looking at every day things differently now. Seems like anything could be a candidate for creative Cuttling. LOL!

I'm going to do something that I don't normally do. I'm going to post some cardfronts. Usually I like to post completed cards, but I was having too much fun this morning trying out different things, and it'll be a while before I use all of these up. I thought it might get the wheels turning though, so here are some of the cardfronts that I embossed earlier.


I'm not sure how well you can see the embossed designs, so here's another view.


These were all made using Cuttlebug A2 embossing folders that I put through my Big Shot as I've described before. From top to bottom and left to right, I used mini mosaic, tiny bubbles, textile texture, script, and floral fantasy.

What did I use for each? These were all things that I raided from around the house. When the family's away.... hahahaha!


So again, from top to bottom and left to right, there's a red rubber gasket that I found out in the garage, a wood door hanger and a wood frame that I borrowed from my girls' craft drawer, then you can see a couple of pairs of coasters that I'd bought a while back from the dollar bins at Michael's. They'd originally been destined to be used in my Bind-It-All, but hey, sometimes you've got to be versatile! I cut that hole in the one coaster, stacked it on the other one and ran it through on top of the embossing folder so that I'd have an unembossed area at the center. The other pair of coasters is the same, just no hole cut out. I glued the decorated sides together because there's a little bit of a curve to the edge on the top surface but not on the bottom. I'll do the same to the others, but I thought I'd show you the pretty side before I glue. I was just trying to maximize the possibility of getting a nice edge to the embossing.

That said, here are a few things that I've learned but not mentioned yet:

~*~ First off, if you try this, know that you don't need to put much pressure on the folder for it to emboss the cardstock. You don't want to break your machine trying to force something through.

~*~ Next, simple designs are best. Realize that you aren't going to be able to emboss complicated or intricate shapes.

~*~ You also should expect to see sort of a fade out rather than a really crisp line separating the embossed areas from the unembossed. That's just sort of the way the folders work, and some folder designs will be more forgiving than others. But, this is where your scoring tool of choice can come in handy.

~*~ You'll increase your chances of getting a nicer demarcation if you use something nice and firm with a distinct edge--the plexiglass that I used yesterday is a good example of something that works well. The wood dies did, too.

~*~ Softer things with more give to them, like the rubber gasket, produce a softer look. Fun foam would probably do the same. I think they're all fun looks and have their place in card designs though.

I'll be working on those cards and posting them as I finish them. Hope you've found some inspiration from seeing the results that these ordinary objects can produce. And if you come up with something fun of your own to use for creative Cuttling, I'd love to hear about it or see it! :-)

Edited to add: I've had some requests for more detail. Please take a peek at the post above this one if you haven't taken a look at it already--Creative Cuttling in More Detail.