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. :-)

selective embossing with texture plates

Since I just touched on this yesterday, I thought I'd go into more detail about selective embossing, particularly selectively embossing only part of the texture plates that are made by Sizzix and by Fiskars. These may not produce as deep an impression as the embossing made using the Cuttlebug embossing folders, but they can certainly be distinct enough, and they have the advantage of being bigger than the folders.

Here's a card that I made using a Sizzix texture plate, specifically, Spring Vine. The stamped area had been left unembossed.


The stamped images are all by Inkadinkado and stamped with Memento dye inks. The flowers are Primas with a Robin's Nest Dew Drop center. I made the embossed lines with my Scor-it.

I know that some folks out there like to roll their embossing folders in partway and then back out to do their partial embossing. That won't work here. You could do the top and bottom, but there's no way to do the sides because the texture plate is too wide to fit through the opening of the Big Shot or the Cuttlebug sideways.

So, here's how I went about selectively embossing my texture plate.

First, go to your stash of stuff that you keep because it might come in handy one day. Pull out some of that chipboard that you've been hoarding. It'll look like this....


Now take about three of those, and cut them to the width of a texture plate. Might as well take advantage of the fact that these are so big. This also will eliminate those unembossed edges for people who don't like the fact that the CB embossing folders won't go all the way to the edge of an A2 sized cardfront. The width is 5 7/8", by the way. Here are my three. The length doesn't really matter so long as it's at least as long as the texture plate. You can always trim it later.


I decided that I wanted to make a rectangular opening so that my unembossed area would be a rectangle. I pulled out my biggest rectangle Nestabilities die and cut out my rectangle, like this....


I like these dies because you can place them anywhere to make your cut. The disadvantage is that you can only cut through so much thickness. So, I made a pass for each piece of chipboard, placing the die in roughly the same spot each time, and I had these....


I glued the three layers together using my ATG. I lined up the openings and edges for both the die cuts and the cutouts. You can set the die cuts aside for the moment, but they might be useful later if you decide to turn these into embossing folders, as I mentioned yesterday. Here is how it looked before I put mine aside. I wanted to show the thickness.


Stroke of genius or pure luck? I'll let you decide. ;-) But look! One of the clear plates with my triple layer cutout on top of it is roughly the same thickness as my Impressions pad. Doesn't that work out nicely.


Okay, so here's the stack or sandwich that I'll put through my Big Shot. Essentially you follow the directions on the multipurpose platform. So, from the bottom up: platform, texture plate with the desired design facing up (these are two-sided, eh?), cardstock face down, silicone embossing pad (black or tan, doesn't matter), chipboard cutout that I made, clear cutting plate. I'm using the clear cutting plate here instead of the black Impressions pad because of the added thickness of the chipboard.


Here is my stack all nice and neat and ready to put through the machine. Let me just note here that I do occasionally listen to my own advice. I decided to start thinner, so I did not leave my multipurpose platform open to Tab 1 as I normally would. I used no tabs.


And here's how that turned out. This is Sizzix Formal Fanfare.


And here's another, just for fun. This time it's Sizzix Spring Vine.


And yeah, I can already hear the question, can this be done with the Cuttlebug? I could probably have tweaked my stack a bit more, but the answer is yes. This was made with the Sizzix Diamonds texture plate.


Now these texture plates are less forgiving than the embossing folders. Too little shimming and you won't get a good impression. Too much and you risk breaking your machine. The sandwich needs a good squeeze to give the best impression though. You definitely have to be more patient here finding the right combo for you and your particular machine, because even CB's differ somewhat from each other with respect to how much the rollers squeeze the sandwich. Once you hit on the right combo, make a note of it so you'll know just what you need next time.

For the above, I used plate A, texture plate with design facing up, cardstock facing down, silicone pad, chipboard cutout, and about 4 more layers of chipboard. I tried plate B instead of all of the chipboard layers at first, but it was too thick to put through. I think I could have added another layer of cardstock to the chipboard combo to get an even better impression, but at least you get the idea and can see that it works. Misting the cardstock before embossing might have helped a bit, too.

So, if you live some place where you get to enjoy a three day weekend this weekend, then this is a fairly simple project that you can try. With a little effort you can get more use out of those nifty texture plates, and I have to say that some of the designs I've seen recently are really pretty!

Hope this helps get some wheels turning and some weekends off to an inspiring start! :-)

Texture plates

I've mentioned before that the Fiskars texture plates work well in the Big Shot by Ellison Design, and they're super easy to use if you have the Big Impressions Starter Kit. You just mist your paper or cardstock (both sides), and run it through the Big Shot layered as follows: multipurpose platform, cutting pad, texture plate, cardstock, silicone rubber, impressions pad. The impression isn't as crisp as those that you get using the embossing folders that have a positive and negative face to them, but the image is still distinct.

This is a card that I made using the paisley design texture plate that came with the Big Impressions Starter Kit.


Sizzix makes a similar kit for the Big Kick that's called the Texturz Starter Kit. It has the same components, but the designs of the texture plates are different. And as I said, you can use the Fiskars texture plates in both the Big Shot and the Big Kick because the platforms are wide enough for them to fit, unlike the old Sizzix. It's a subtle but pretty effect.

Too Cold and Too Cool!

I've been making cards this morning. I don't feel like heading out into the cold and I have nothing that needs to be done urgently, so I've been crafting. What a great idea, eh? Okay, that was the too cold part.

Here's what's too cool. Ethel on Two Peas posted a tutorial on making collages that lit the lightbulb in my head. I've always enjoyed making computer graphics, including collages. The difference is that on the computer I can undo steps. I can move things around. I can edit them. Stamped collages are more intimidating because once that image is down, you can't undo it if you don't like it. Well, to put it simply, her method involves stamping the images on paper, cutting them out, and then positioning them on the card before you stamp. DING! That made so much sense to me! So, I gave that a try this morning. Here's the card....


All of the images are by Time to Stamp, the Winged Whimsy plate. I used primarily chalk inks for this. Not too bad, eh?

I'm still having fun with texture plates and looking for different ways to use them in cardmaking. This next card just has a strip of embossed paper as an accent underneath the Prima flowers. The stamp is by Stampendous. Again, the embossing is subtle, but distinct.


For this last card I used more Cuttlebug embossing folders and dies. The sentiment is heartfelt, as I'm wishing for Spring today (BRRRR!), and is by Olive Wimple.


Hope you're staying warm, wherever you may be!

Die Cutter Recap

It seems like excitement about the Cuttlebug is at a peak! I don't have that machine, but I bought some of the dies and embossing folders when they first came out and I was impressed. I loved a lot of the designs, particularly the A2 size embossing folders. What crisp impressions! They're great! You can use them as is. You can distress them with sand paper or a fine grit sanding block. You can chalk them. Lots of possibilities.

I use the Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders in my Big Shot. They work great and aren't complicated at all to use. I have a multipurpose platform and use them with it the same way that I would use the Sizzix or Ellison embossing folders. The Big Kick is the similar die cut machine that's sold by Sizzix. I think it comes with the multipurpose platform. The multipurpose platform makes life a lot easier! Not only that though, it makes it easy to use all of the following types of dies, both thick and thin:

• Spellbinders Wizard dies
• BossKut dies
• Cuttlebug dies
• Quickutz dies
• Zip-e-mate dies
  
• Sizzix dies
• Ellison dies

Basically, you can use any non-commercial die in this machine. Gotta like that! The thick dies can cut through thicker materials, such as multiple layers of cardstock, chipboard, cork, felt, fun foam, fabric, thin metals.... If the die happens to be one that will also emboss, that works great, too. Now Sizzix, Ellison, and Zip-e-mate have cut 'n' emboss dies that I've used. No problems. Beautiful results in a single pass. Some of the Wizard dies will also emboss. You have to run them through twice though, once to cut and a second time to emboss. These are fabulous!

Now, as for embossing, again you can use all sorts of products in the Big Shot (or Big Kick). Here's a list:

• Cuttlebug embossing folders
• Sizzix Simple Impressions folders
• Ellison Easy Emboss folders and Big Impression texture plates
  
• Quickutz Goosebumpz embossing dies
• Fiskars texture plates--yes, those blue or pink textured plates that were awful to try to use with that little embossing tool
  
• any brass stencil!
  

Again, to make things easy, Ellison released a texture kit to use for embossing with The Big Shot, The Big Impressions Texture Kit. It comes with texture plates (6 designs), a sheet of silicone rubber, and an impression plate. You can emboss cardstock, vellum, lightweight metal, HVAC tape, foil, transparencies.... The list goes on and on. Usually I get a nice impression without much difficulty. One thing to remember is that with cardstock a light misting with water will soften it enough to give a more crisp impression. This can work well both with the texture plates and with brass stencils. Usually the embossing folders have a positive and negative side or image, so those images tend to be crisp already. One more suggestion would be to add a shim if the image still isn't deep enough. Sometimes a sheet of text weight paper is enough. Sometimes you need a sheet or two of cardstock. Just be willing to experiment.

I've tried to make this a little more all-inclusive than my other entries. I know that some of this repeats things I've said from time to time already. I just thought I'd put it all in one spot. I've also tried to update my labels. If you want to see examples of how I've used Cuttlebug folders, you should be able to click on that label and go to that post. Same with some of the other tools that I've mentioned. I'm still fine-tuning though and trying to make things as easy to find as possible. Hopefully I'm getting there. :-)

The Big Shot

I haven't done any stamping this weekend, but I've fielded some questions about the Big Shot by Ellison Design. I love this tool. I had the big Sizzix for years. It was versatile, but heavy and bulky. I didn't use my dies as much as I would have since it was more trouble to get it out and work with it. After I got a Sidekick, I used the thin dies more often. I could emboss with brass stencils, too, but size was a big limitation. A number of other tools came out, but there seemed to be drawbacks for all of them, whether it was the dies that could be used, ease of use (or lack of ease, rather), or price, etc. Then the Big Shot was released.

The Big Shot is a die cutter that rolls the dies through on a wide 6" bed. It's lighter and more portable than the Sizzix, and the cranking action is easy and cuts dies very well. It also embosses brass stencils nicely. Early on, I'd tinker with shims, use adapters and such, and I could use just about any die out there and get great results. Recently Ellison came out with a multipurpose platform. You can picture it as a hinged book. A thick platform is the last "page" of the book. Two thinner pages rest on top of it and allow the user to adjust the thickness to what's needed for embossing or cutting wafer thin dies with or without backing. The instructions are all printed on the platform, by the way. That accessory made it incredibly easy to use any die in this machine. I've used large Ellison thick cut dies, Ellison thin cut dies and cut 'n' emboss dies, Sizzix original dies, Sizzlits, Sizzix alphabars, Quikutz dies, Wizard dies, Bosskut dies, and Zip'e mate dies without any problems. With the bigger dies, thicker materials, such as fabric, chipboard, magnets, and cork can be cut. I get a good cut the first roll through with my dies, too. I should also add that I've tried the new Cuttlebug dies in the Big Shot and they work great!

Now the other thing that these machines can do is emboss. They do the brass stencils in the folders quite nicely. They do the Cuttlebug embossing folders, too. Another recent addition to the Big Shot arsenal was the texture embossing kit. It came with double-sided texture plates, the foam layer and the plastic plate necessary for getting a good impression. These worked wonderfully in the machine, and so did my Fiskars texture plates. My snowflake cards a few posts below show how the Fiskars snowflake embossing plate did in the Big Shot. I think that with some trial and error, the combination of the right shims and right kind of foam could be found, but for me it was much simpler to go with a combo that worked well out of the package.

All in all, I'd have to say that I'm very happy with my Big Shot and with all of the things that it's been touted as being able to do. I've been able to get great results with little tinkering and, best of all, with little frustration! For me, it was worth investing in the texture kit and the multipurpose platform. I'd found work-arounds, but these two purchases have made life a lot easier, and I find that I'm much more likely to use my craft tools if they're easy to get to and easy to use. So that's my take on that. :-)

Cards for the season

A few days ago, I started making cards for card exchanges. I have quite a few to make, so I decided to take a short cut and use cards and envelopes by DCWV--these have holiday themes, are pre-folded, and come with envelopes. Essentially, they come all set for decorating, and there are more than enough of them in a box for me to make all of my cards with some left over. Here are a couple of examples of what I've made so far.

snowflake cards

The design is basically the same for all of them. I'm having to keep it fairly simple since time is getting short. This is white cardstock with the Penny Black snowman and sentiment stamped in Beaux Arts blue Palette ink. I then ran that through my Big Shot with the snowflake Fiskars texture plate. I hit a couple of corners with my corner rounder and inked the edges, then I used the snowflake pop up punch by EK Success for that big snowflake element. Added a few more touches--the Snow Writer which is like textured paint, Stardust glitter pen on the little snowflakes and on the 'snowflake' text (I know, you really can't see the glitter, but it's there. Honest!), and the white fiber with strands of silver running through it.

I just may make it through all of these yet! :-)