Tips for diagonal Cuttling

When I do diagonal Cuttling, I usually have a result like this in mind....


Or a result like this....


Having done this a number of times now, I've encountered various pitfalls and I've tried a few things to try to minimize falling into these traps.

The first thing that can be tricky about diagonal embossing like this is keeping track of just where the pattern is, because I'm usually running my card and folder through the machine a few times to get the effect that I'm looking for. The second tricky thing is the scoring that I like to do--tricky because of the diagonal design and the fact that this isn't as straightforward as scoring vertical or horizontal lines on a scoring board. I'll address the pattern issue in this post and save the scoring for another.

For the first design above with the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls, I find it easiest to keep track of my clear plate placement by using a transparency with lines drawn on it that represent the long edges of that clear plate. I'd placed my plate on top of the transparency and drew a line down each side with a black Sharpie.


That photo just shows approximately where I'll be positioning the clear plate when I put it and the folder with the card through the Big Shot.


Once the main section has been embossed, I open the folder and place the transparency inside, lining it up with the embossing. I close the folder, and now I have a way to tell where I need to line up my folder for the partial Cuttling of the corners.


It can look a bit weird to have the embossed edges not line up, or at least be somewhat close to parallel. It can also look weird to have a very narrow space between the embossed sections. I've embossed by guessing with some success, but I've been way off at times, too, and I can only use so many failed experimental cards. ;-) I needed a more foolproof method. So, slide the transparency out once the folder is in place, and run it through.


There's one corner down. I do the same for the other corner. This card front is ready for the scoring phase, so I'll set it aside.

In the second example at the beginning of this post, I used the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder and embossed diagonally at each corner to leave an open diamond space at the center of the card. Again, you could eye it and get close, but it's nicer to be a little more sure of the placement. Yes, this is the voice of experience again.


If you look closely, you can see that I've made some small marks on top of my folder near the edges at the halfway point on each side. Well, you can't see all of the sides, but you can see them on the two sides at least. I used pencil here, but non-permanent marker would work well, too.


I use these marks to place my clear plate when I run my folder and card through the machine. The position of the plate in the photo above will emboss the top left corner of the card front. I'll reposition the plate and run it through three more times to finish the other corners, using the marks that I've placed to line things up properly. By the way, for this particular open diamond shaped card front embossing, the shorter plates that are used in the Sidekick or Tagalong can be a little easier to position than the long ones. For Cuttlebug users, I know that the opening of the machine is slightly smaller than the one in the Big Shot. You might find it easier to use something narrower like a ruler or perhaps two rulers stacked one on top of the other to make this diagonal embossing. I don't usually score this design, so this card front is ready for stamping.

Hope some of those tips are helpful if you try diagonal Cuttling. :-)