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. :-)