2 birds, 1 stone

Nope, this has nothing to do with any nifty stamped bird images or with a polished stone technique.

Sue Nelson of Heartprints read my idea for preventing folder lines when using those Cuttlebug border folders and small folders, and she took it one step further. She had one of her spare B plates cut down to the sizes she could use for the small folders and for those two sizes of border folders. She tacks them down with mini glue dots to keep them from slipping. A person handy with tools like a band saw or scroll saw could do this.

As I was thinking about Cuttlebug users, I could see taking this idea even one step further. LOL! Now we're getting out there, eh? But here's where my mind went with this. Sizzix makes the XL plates that are too wide for the opening of the Cuttlebug. Why not cut these down to where they'll fit through the opening and then save the scraps? You just might have some leftovers the right size for using with those border dies. Remember, some of them are only the width of a craft stick. Just make sure the image is covered by the scrap piece and the edges are not, and you'll be all set. Now that's frugal use of your supplies!

Just a thought. I'm still a fan of my Big Shot and so I don't have any issues with those XL plates, and I'm fine with using craft sticks and shims for my selective embossing. I might consider cutting down one of my cutting plates when I can't use it for cutting any more. It's completely etched by cuts on both sides and it's beginning to crack in places from years of use, but it looks so well-loved! We'll see.