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. :-)