texture plates in the Cuttlebug and a crease pad comparison

I'm playing catch up with my Indigo Inklings inbox and I wanted to address a couple of questions that I've received in the last week or so.

The first question has to do with using the Fiskars texture plates in the Cuttlebug. I usually use texture plates with my Big Shot. Here's what I found worked with my Cuttlebug.


Pictured above are my Cuttlebug, my Sizzix silicone embossing pad (the black pad--same as the Spellbinders tan pad), white cardstock, the A plate, the spiderweb Fiskars texture plate (might as well be seasonal, eh?), and the B plate. This was one of the suggested "recipes" that I'd seen.


So here's my stack, from the bottom up: plate A, texture plate with desired texture face up, cardstock, silicone pad, plate B. I rolled it through and found that there was little pressure applied. It just plain rolled through too easily. There was no way that the cardstock would have been embossed. I needed a thicker stack.


Here you can see my modification. I substituted my C plate for the B plate. Everything else was the same.


And above you can see the result when I rolled that stack through. It's a very nice crisp emboss. I didn't mist my cardstock. I did feel a fair amount of pressure as I rolled the stack through, but not enough to make me think that I'd break the machine if I kept going. My suggestion would be to add shims to the stack using the B plate if you're worried that your stack using the C plate is too thick. Add the shims gradually, too. You might have to roll your combo through several times before you hit on just the right amount of pressure, but once you find that combo you'll be all set. Just make a note of it so that you don't forget the next time.

The next question has to do with the crease pad and cutting/embossing Nestabilities dies in one pass. Now I know that some folks have been having some trouble getting this to work for them. I wasn't sure why because it's fairly straightforward when I use my crease pad in my Big Shot.

Just as a refresher, here's what I do:


Pictured above are my Big Shot, the multipurpose platform on Tab 2, one clear plate, a scalloped heart Nestabilities die, white cardstock, and my Sizzix premium crease pad. This is the order in which I put this combo through the machine, by the way. The die is cutting side up (the side with the ridge), and the paper or cardstock should be face down on top of it.


This is how it looks after I roll it through. There are a couple of places where the cutting looks a little questionable, but the die cut popped right out.


Here is how it looked once it was out of the die. I think you can see that it was both cut and embossed nicely.

So, I got to thinking that maybe the thickness of the newer premium crease pads must be the problem. I tried this again with the red one that I bought recently.


This time there were areas that clearly were not completely cut through. You could see where the cut would have been though, so it wasn't going to take much more pressure to get that complete cut.


If you've been following my blog for a while, you might have guessed what shim I decided to add to the stack. Yes, it was the backing to one of those Cuttlebug folders. :-) I put it right on top of the crease pad and rolled the stack through again.


This time I got a more complete cut, even at that lower left edge that looks a little iffy. It popped right out.


And here is the heart that I simultaneously cut and embossed. I was going to say that it was done in one pass, but that wasn't really true, eh? It would be next time though since I now know to use a shim with this red crease pad. :-)

The bottom line is that if you're getting an incomplete cut, try shimming. If your embossing isn't crisp enough, try adding a shim for that, too. Add your shims gradually though so you don't break anything, but don't be afraid to experiment a little bit to see what works best for your particular machine and your accessories. As you can see, sometimes items can vary and make a significant difference in the results that you get, or don't get. :-)

I'm back!

First of all, sorry to have gone missing. Life got busy. My muse deserted me. I've also found myself getting caught up in the soap opera that is the American political season. But I'm back now. I'm hoping that my muse will stick around for a bit, and I wanted to post this card in thanks to those of you who manage to remain readers and followers of this blog, even when I take some unscheduled time-outs. :-)

By the way, that card was made using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, my Scor-It, Memento dye inks, an Autumn Leaves Stampology clear stamp, DCWV cardstock, and the Martha Stewart circle cutter.

I wanted to talk a bit about the Martha Stewart circle cutter. Until I bought this at Michael's a few weeks ago, using that handy dandy 50% off coupon, I'd been using punches or dies to cut out circles. I have a Fiskars circle cutter, and it's okay, but I wasn't thrilled with it. So, for a less than $10 investment, I figured that I'd give this one a go. I'd heard positive things about it, so this wasn't a completely impulsive buy, though I've been known to make some of those. LOL!


This is what you get when you buy the circle cutter--the clear plastic plate with the holes held by that white plastic ring and the tool that holds the swiveling blade. If you've ever played with a Spirograph, this is what this tool reminds me of. You place the blade in the hole of your choice, stabilize that outer ring atop your paper or cardstock, then move the blade in a circle. The clear plastic part moves freely inside the ring as you move the cutter. Once you've arrived back at your starting point, you have your circle cut out.


This is a peek at the underside of the circle cutter. There are four foam pads like the one I have pointed out in the above photo--they're positioned at different points around the ring. They do a nice job of holding the ring in place, as well as holding the paper in place. I've also shown how the tool opens up and provides a place to store the two spare blades that come with the cutter. The other plastic piece that you see is the cover that protects the blade.


This is a close up view of the blade and the plastic plate with all of the measurements. You can cut circles anywhere from 1" to 5 1/2" in diameter. The holes go up in increments of 1/16", so it's easy to cut a circle that will suit your needs. Unlike a Spirograph, the holes in the plastic have slots cut into them. I think you can make that out in the photo. That slot accommodates the blade which is like a flat arrow point and keeps it in place as you move the tool. You simply move the tool in a circle. The swiveling action of the blade keeps it facing the right direction to cut properly.

Now I've found that there is a little play of the clear plate inside the ring. It has to be able to move inside that ring, but sometimes the blade would not end up where it should have when I finished making my circuit. The simple solution was to make sure that the clear plate was nice and snug against the ring at the point where I placed the blade to start cutting. Since you apply some pressure against the ring as you move the tool, that assures that the blade will end up at the same point where it was when you started.

So, that's a quickie review of the Martha Stewart circle cutter. I like it and would recommend it, especially if you can get a good price when it's on sale or buy it with a coupon.

Ahhh, it's good to be back! :-)

Memento birds

It was an accident when I found out how neat Memento inks could look when layered on top of each other. I'd inked up a solid image with Memento ink and discovered after I'd stamped it that I'd not covered the image as completely as I would have liked. OOPS! Well, rather than reink with the same color and stamp again, which would have worked since I'd been using a clear stamp, I used a different color and found that it could make a really neat effect! Now sometimes I stamp incompletely inked images on purpose so that I can overstamp in a different color.

For this card I used Hero Arts images and a Hero Arts sentiment all stamped using Memento inks. I actually stamped the bird about four times to get the multicolor effect: there was a base layer of Desert brown, then Bahama blue, Danube blue, and Potter's clay. 

But when I talk about the translucent quality of these inks, I mean the way that they layer over each other. You may need to click on the following image to enlarge it and see the colors well.

The bird image in the lower right is an example of what I'd been describing at the beginning of this post. I stamped it first using Pear Tart. You can see that near the swirl of the breast of the bird the ink did not completely cover the image and there was a speckled patch. I reinked the stamp with Dandelion and stamped again, filling in that "defect" and adding a bit more color and interest to the rest of the bird as well. 

For most of the other images, I just played with different colors, stamping in one and then reinking, but not necessarily completely, in an accent color, and then stamping again. I like the vibrant colors and the way that they blend. The effect can be subtle, like with that blue bird, or it can be more wild, like that one in the upper right where I got a little carried away and used all sorts of colors. I also like the fact that after stamping my image, I can clean off any remaining ink by stamping it on scrap paper a couple of times and then apply another color without contaminating the next inkpad. Makes stamping these types of images very quick and easy and a lot of fun.

rock-a-blocks

Okay, be prepared--this post is graphics-intensive. There's interest in these rock-a-blocks by Crafter's Companion, so I tried to give you a good look at what they are like.

Also, Shirley, a number of pics down this post I stamped a few images using some of the Memento inks. I think that you'll get a better idea of how bright these can be. The stamped images in my other card were a little deceiving because so many of the designs were open and looked a bit lighter because of that. I forgot about the second part of your question when I was stamping these though. I'll address the translucency in a different post.


This is my set of rock-a-blocks. I'd even saved the packaging, or at least the instructions, so now you can see it here. There are four "blocks" of varying sizes in the set.


This is why I keep putting the word "blocks" in quotations. They're not really blocks, as you can see in the side view up above. They're open in the center, so they're really shaped more like short pieces of gutter. That doesn't sound nearly as attractive as blocks though, eh?


Here you can see the "runners", or guides, that keep you from pressing too hard on the stamp. These are what come in contact with the paper as you rock the block.


In the above photo, I've placed a clear owl image by Hero Arts on the block.


It sticks up just past the top of the guides.


For this size stamp and "block", dew drop inkpads like Mementos are very handy. You want to avoid getting ink on the guides since that ink would transfer to your paper or cardstock.


This is what my inked stamp looks like from the top as I would be getting ready to place it on my paper. You don't lose any of the advantages of the stamp being clear.


Now here is where things change a bit. With wood-mounted red rubber stamps, you want firm pressure applied straight down. You're not supposed to rock the stamp. Well, with these blocks, you're supposed to do exactly that--rock the stamp. Just one rocking motion though!


The recommended way to do this is to rock from top to bottom or from bottom to top. It gives you more control than trying to rock it side to side. Here I started at the bottom of the image.


Then I began to rock it forward. You can see that the block is easy to grip.


And I rocked it forward a bit more.


And there I have my stamped image! Not bad for a right-handed person snapping pics with her right hand while stamping with her left. LOL! Notice that I only rocked the stamp once. You don't want to rock back and forth because there's no guarantee that your image will rock back exactly over where it was placed the first time.


Here I wanted to show some of the colors of Memento inks and how bright they can be when stamped using a more solid image. I also want to point out that I got nice consistently stamped images with no blurring or doubled up edges. Like I said in my last post, sometimes I tend to put too much pressure on my clear stamps and they get that blurred look at the edges. The guides on these blocks keep me from doing that.


The blocks work nicely with bigger stamps, too. This is another image by Hero Arts.


I've inked it with Memento London Fog. For photo purposes I showed this as if I stamped it going from side to side. I wanted to show that rocking motion again. I really did rock it from bottom to top though.


And this is the bigger stamped image made using one of the rock-a-blocks.


Now these work great with every clear stamp that I've tried so far. They won't work with stamps that have EZ mount cushion. That makes them too thick and you lose the usefulness of the guides.


You can use naked red rubber though. This is a stamp by Silver Crow. It has Aleene's Tack It Over and Over glue on the back. This is a glue that once dry acts as a temporary adhesive, in case you're not already familiar with it.


Here I've inked it up with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.


And here is the result of the rocking motion from bottom to top. Again, a nice crisp image.

Apparently there is a spray adhesive that can be used with these blocks. I've not read good things about it though, and I've not used it, so I won't say anything else about that. You could probably use some kind of double-sided removable tape, but you'd want to make sure that the edges of your stamp images were well adhered so that they won't move and smear when rocking.

A few more details....

Sizes:

• largest is 5 7/8" by 3 7/8", the space between the guides is actually 5 1/2" though
• next size down is 4 1/8" by 2 7/8", the space between the guides is actually 3 3/4"
• long narrow block is 5 7/8" by 1 3/8", the space between the guides is 5 1/2"
• smallest block is 1 1/2" by 1 3/8", the space between the guides is 1 1/4"

These measurements vary a bit from the ones stated on the packaging where they're rounded up.

Most of the rock-a-block vendors that I've seen online are in the UK. After being shown at the most recent CHA I'm sure that they'll be available closer to home. I bought mine from Eclectic Paperie--good service and quick shipping.

The bottom line? I'm very satisfied with these rock-a-blocks. Even if I could only use them with clear stamps they do their job well enough in my opinion to justify buying and using them. Like I said, for me and my stamping tendencies, they make for nicer and more crisp stamped images. The blocks are also very light, easy to grip, and easy to use once you get used to the different motion. It's nice not to have to apply much pressure to stamp a complete image, so for folks who have physical issues with stamping, these blocks could be a good alternative to regular acrylic blocks.

Again, these are best used with clear stamps or with uncushioned rubber images, and you do have to exercise a little more care in inking up your stamps because you want to avoid getting ink on the guides. I find the latter to be a fairly minor issue though. It's not tough to have a paper towel close by and give the runners a quick swipe after inking and before rocking, and it's not really all that different from making sure that you don't have stray ink on your mount whether wood or acrylic.

I hope that gives you a better idea of what these "blocks" are about. They rock! :-)

rockin' with a couple of cards

Here are a couple of cards that I made recently but hadn't had time to upload.


This first card was made using Memento dye inks. I was wanting to show off the colors and the way that they're a bit translucent and overlap. The stamps are by Heidi Grace Designs, and the embellishments are Robin's Nest dew drops.


For this card I used the regular and scalloped circle and regular and scalloped paisley Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders. I also used the large JustRite monogram stamp as well as the Hero Arts owl image and sentiment all inked with Memento dye inks. I used my Stardust pen to add the extra touches of glitter here and there.

Now, I wanted to mention that I tried something new when I made these cards. With the exception of the monogram stamp, all of the images on these two cards were stamped using clear stamps. I like them, but I've been accustomed to using rubber and sometimes the clear can be a little less forgiving about the amount of pressure that I put on them. I decided to give rock-a-blocks a try. They're made by Crafter's Companion and have been around in the UK for a while. What I like about these mounting "blocks" is that they help regulate the amount of pressure that's applied to the stamp. They also stamp the image using a rocking motion rather than direct downward pressure. I may write in more detail about this later. Suffice it to say, my images made using clear stamps do look good on a more consistent basis now. I'll take the help where I can get it, plus these blocks do fit in with my credo of making things easier and more foolproof. :-)

two tips for using Cuttlebug combo sets

Just a couple of quick tips for using the cut and emboss combo sets. I have a few of these. With most of them you can easily tell which way the die cuts need to be placed inside the embossing folder in order to emboss them. Two of them are a little trickier: the new Ice Crystal and the Rosebud Wreath. There's only one way that these two die cuts will fit in their respective embossing folders, and it can be tricky to place them once they've been cut out.


Here is the ice crystal set. If you have them side by side like this, this is the orientation that you need for the die cut to properly match up with the embossing folder design.


See? I hope that you can tell that they line up exactly. The trick is getting the die cut lined up once it's been cut out, or maybe been flipped, or dropped on the floor, or something like that. Hey, it happens!


For the ice crystal shape, there's a telltale difference in one of the arms that can help you orient the die cut properly. It's that lower left arm or spoke. See where my pen is supposed to be pointing out the connected pieces? Yeah, it moved a little just before I snapped the pic. I think you get the idea though. It looks that way when cut out, too, and it's the only arm that's like that. That's the one that you want to put in the corresponding position in the embossing folder. Makes it a little easier to place it, eh?


This rosebud wreath is similar, but there isn't a telltale piece that you can find as easily. It will fit only one way though, so you should be able to emboss the full design if you've placed it in the folder correctly. I tend to orient it via that three-pointed leaf at the top left of the design, but you need to pick what works best for you.


Here's what I really wanted to point out with this set though. Once you find the correct orientation and have placed the die cut inside the folder, the last thing that you need is for it to move before you can run it through and emboss it. I placed a couple of small dabs of tack it over and over glue at each of the top two corners of the folder. After I've placed the die cut where I want it, I just give a quick press at each corner to hold it shut with the die cut in place. You could use double-sided tape as well. There are also folks who put the tape or temporary adhesive on the back of the die cut itself. I just wanted to point out another alternative that might be a little quicker and easier.

Those are my tips for today for using these Cuttlebug combo cut and emboss sets. Hope they help some of you eliminate some of the frustration that using these sets can cause at times because they can be a lot of fun and look very pretty when all goes according to plan. :-)

decorative strip dies in Cuttlebug

A couple of days ago, Marie in BC, Canada, wrote to ask me the following:

I was wondering if you've ever used the sizzlit decorative strips in your c'bug? Do you need to run it through with the sizzlit strip plates or can you use double the c'bug plates like for the bigz xl dies?

My first thought was that these strips could be treated like regular Sizzlits, but then the problem of the potential crease from the edge of the plate occurred to me and I thought I'd better actually test one. Here's what I found.


I used the usual sandwich for Sizzlit dies: A plate, B plate, die with cutting side up, cardstock, B plate.


Running the stack through as you normally would, you'd get a crease from the edge of the plate. That's what I figured. Now for me, this crease hit at a spot where it probably wouldn't have mattered much. It caught the very tip of that blade of grass and wouldn't have been too noticeable. You might be able to find a spot on the strip where you could place that edge and it wouldn't matter if it made a crease. But what if you had a long, continuous design where it could make a difference?


Here's what I tried in order to minimize the possibility of creasing the cardstock. I left that trailing edge of the B plates, die and cardstock hanging off the edge of the A plate.


By doing that, I avoided making that crease. No pressure applied to the edge means no creasing. Sorry that the pic isn't focused as well as it could have been. Trust me though. There's no crease.


The next step was to cut out the rest of the design. This means sliding the uncut portion of the die and cardstock between the B plates and running it through again. You still want to avoid putting a crease in your cardstock. Essentially, you repeat what you did before. Here I show putting the front end of the plates through, hanging off the edge of the A plate. All I'd done was slide the die and cardstock forward in between the B plates. This worked. You could also flip this combo around and have this be the trailing edge going through the machine rather than the first part through. It's whatever is easier for you.

So, to use these decorative dies in the Cuttlebug, you'll just have to run your sandwich through the machine twice. You can't double up the B plates like you do with the XL dies because you have the short A plate to contend with, too, but you also don't need to have the long strip plates to use them--you can use the regular B plates. The long plates would make it easier in that you wouldn't have to worry about the potential crease--you'd just run the die through between the plates twice to cut the full length--but you can use what you've got already with your machine to make these work.

Hope that answers your questions, Marie. :-)