Chart for Assorted Dies & Sizzix Multipurpose Platform

Quite a while back I wrote up an entry about the Big Shot and multipurpose platform (MPP) called Big Shot Basics. I'd said that I love the MPP because it makes using all of the dies, folders, texture plates etc. so easy. It's tabbed and the instructions are printed right on each tab, with helpful illustrations, no less! After reading the comments made concerning that blog entry, the only other nifty addition would have been if Sizzix had specified just which other dies etc could be used with each tab. I'd written that up in the body of that post, but I decided that it'd be easier if that information was put in chart form.

Here's where you can now find a chart: Dies & Sizzix Multipurpose Platform

This is a pdf file, so you'll need Adobe Reader (can be downloaded for free) or some other application that will let you open and read pdf files. If you want to print it out, it's best to print it in landscape.

I've tried to include most of the more commonly used manufacturers' dies etc. If I've missed one (or more--Yikes!) feel free to let me know. I think there is only one place where my chart differs from what's recommended on the MPP and that's when using the Cuttlebug embossing folders. I tend to use No Tabs because I get a crisply embossed image with less likelihood of tearing the card stock or getting extra creases. I think that Tab 1 is what's actually recommended. I added that in the notes.

I didn't include any of my tips, tricks, or tweaks on this chart. If I've done some experimenting or tweaking, the post can be found in my sidebar in the Tutorials and Info for the Big Shot and Cuttlebug menu. I'll be adding this post to that menu shortly. :-)

Big Catch-All Post including Cuttlebug/Sizzix Info

I want to address a few things that have come up in comments and make some observations.

One question had to do with the Double Cuttle and how I get the different colors between the designs of the two folders. I run my cardstock through inside the first folder, usually the busier pattern. I accent that embossing either direct to paper using Cats-eye inkpads or a dauber. I then put that through my second embossing folder. The new image is embossed and the "background" embossing is flattened somewhat, but not lost entirely. I then accent that second, more prominent embossing by inking it in a different color or colors. That's it!

Another comment had to do with Bigz dies and the Cuttlebug. I know there's an renewed interest in Sizzix dies, particularly the bigger dies, because of the recently announced association between Stampin' Up and Sizzix. There's a misconception out there about which Sizzix dies can be used in the Cuttlebug. They ALL can. They all fit through the machine. It's the Sizzix plates that won't fit through the slot of the Cuttlebug. They're too wide. You can put the dies through between the C'bug plates though. Need proof? I took pics, 'cuz why should you believe me over someone else who says that they won't fit, eh? But hey, if you trusted me already, then cool. :-)


Here's my Cuttlebug. The opening is 6" wide.


This is a Bigz die, which measures 5 1/2" by 6". It'll definitely fit through...


even sideways, though it's a tight fit. Hey, you never know when someone might need to put the die through sideways, eh? But it'd work.


This is one of the XL dies. Though according to the Sizzix site info it's 6" wide, it isn't quite, and as you may have seen in some of my other posts, these dies will easily fit through the Cuttlebug. The issue is not having plates long enough to cut these dies in one pass. I showed how the B plates can be used with the scalloped card die without getting a crease where the plate ends. You can cut the XL card dies that use the Movers & Shapers, too.


Here's the horizontal card die with the opening for the Movers & Shapers dies. I'm pointing out the scoring bar in the blurry photo above. Sorry 'bout that.


Put the folded edge of a piece of 4 1/2"by 12" piece of cardstock that's been scored and folded in half next to that scoring bar. You're just going to use this half of the die to cut out your card. Half of the die fits nicely between the B plates.


That's how it looks after you've made the first pass. And now as I look at this, it looks like you could maybe get away with using an 11" length of cardstock.... Nifty!


This is the other end of the die, the side where the metal "floor" holds the magnetic Mover & Shaper in place to cut out windows in your card. This is the end you'll use this time.


Place the open card so that it's aligned inside the cutting blades and over the Mover & Shaper die and run this half of the die through between your B plates. In the photo above I wanted to point out that you'll want to align the card's fold with the edge of the top plate so that it won't leave a noticeable crease in your card as it passes through the machine.

But wait! Even if you don't have one of these card dies, you can still use the Sizzix Movers & Shapers dies. I've posted about this before, but I'd like to repeat myself here since Amy made a comment that reminded me about magnetic paper as a useful tool.


Pictured above are 2 B plates, a sheet of magnetic paper and a Movers & Shapers die. The die tends to slip without metal to grab onto, so to make using this die more foolproof and less frustrating, use a sheet of magnetic paper to help hold it in place. You can see how I've marked mine so that I can place my dies fairly accurately. That's just the outline of an A2 card. The dotted lines help me with placement and making sure the die is straight or centered etc.


This is my sheet of magnetic paper. It doesn't add much thickness to the sandwich at all.


This is that same stack with the card and another cutting plate on top. If you have an extra B plate you can use that. This is one from my Sizzix supplies because I don't have a spare B plate.


This stack worked fine for me, but you may need to shim.


And this is the card with the window cut out--all done with the Cuttlebug.

While we're on the subject of magnetic paper (Thanks so much for the reminder, Amy!), I thought I'd show how I sometimes use this with my Nestabilities dies.


Here you see plate A, plate C, sheet of magnetic paper, card open and face down on top of die with cutting side up, plate B. Again, I have some lines drawn to help me make sure that I can place the die right where I want it. There's just enough pull to the magnet to hold the die in place. I prefer this to using tape to keep things from moving.


Here I've run that stack through the machine.

This is the way the card looks from the front once it's been folded. It's a nice easy way to add a window to a card front.

Sorry about the length of this post and the number of photos. I try to keep things short and not have too many pics to load at once, but so much of this was inter-related that I hated to break things up. Hopefully there was enough useful info up there to make the loading time worthwhile. :-)

more Cuttlebug border fun

I made this first card using the Sizzix XL scallop card die. I embossed the top layer with one of my new Cuttlebug Just My Type embossing borders and cut out the windows using a Sizzix movers and shapers die. The stamped images and sentiment are all by Inkadinkado and stamped using Memento dye ink. I colored the images with Prismacolor pencils blended with the Goo Gone Mess-free pen. The embellishments are Prima leaves. The "berries" are faux dew drops from Michael's.

I like having fun with transparencies. I used a heavy weight transparency as my card base. The green layer was embossed with another one of the new Cuttlebug Just My Type embossing borders. The corner punch was Tonic. The toad and sentiment die cuts are both by Cuttlebug. The toad is attached by a pop dot to lend more dimension. The corner embellishments are Robin's Nest dew drops.

Wish Big!

I hadn't realized it, but that was an appropriate sentiment for not only my card, but for this post. :-)

I wanted to use the last of the new Sizzix Movers & Shapers dies that I'd bought. This is Kit #4, the Note Card Envelope. This came with an XL die that lets you cut out the envelope shape. It's scored and has the flaps so that all you have to do is fold it and glue it together. There is also an opening in the die similar to the card dies that allows you to place the add-on dies to cut out shapes, if you want to.

Here are some of the details. The finished envelope with the flap closed measures 3 1/2" by 5". The cutting surface of the die from cutting edge to cutting edge is 4 3/4" by 11 1/4", so again, you'll need to use cardstock or paper that's longer than the standard 8 1/2" by 11" to use this die. You'll also need the XL cutting plates. If you're a Cuttlebug user, these plates are currently too wide to fit through your machine. You can use your B plates and run the die through twice, but you'll get a bit of folding where the edge of the plate gets pressed into the cardstock or paper. You could get away with it if you make that happen at your fold.

This card envelope is designed to be used with the card kits that make the vertical and horizontal note cards, kits 2 and 3, respectively. I assume that those work the same way as the horizontal A2 card kit that I've described before (card kit 1), but just a smaller size. Personally, I'm not sure that I see the need for the note card dies. I don't think they have any special edges. They just have the advantage of being able to place the add-ons. You could cut your own note cards though and use the add-ons without the XL die.

This is probably a good time for me to mention that if you want to read more about my experiences with the Sizzix Movers & Shapers dies so far, including using them with the Cuttlebug and using add-ons without the card die, look at my sidebar and check out my drop-down menu for Tutorials and Info for the Big Shot and Cuttlebug.


The yellow envelope was made using the note card envelope card kit. I used the flower add-on to cut out the window. The Martha Stewart Simple Scallop border punch was used to embellish, then I added some bling. I'll mention here that the die worked nicely, but did cut through the cardstock at one of the crease lines, just a 1/2" at one spot, but that was a bit of a disappointment.

I cut the notecard myself to fit the envie. The stamped image is by the Memory Box Company and colored with Copic Spica pens and the Inkssentials opaque white pen. The sentiment is by Cornish Heritage Farms and stamped with Versafine ink. Again I embellished with the Martha Stewart border punch. I also used the die cut from my envelope and a Brides flower to embellish.

And here's the card envelope with the card placed inside....


I thought this was a fun and cute card die. I didn't have any card envelope dies in my arsenal, so I thought I'd invest in this one and try it out, particularly since it's a bigger size. Except for that issue with the crease line being cut, this worked nicely. I'm going to tinker a bit and see if using the crease pad might help as far as that problem goes. It'll be fun to use some of the other add-ons with this kit for even more effects.

Memento vs Versafine - the details

Both Memento and Versafine inks are manufactured by Tsukineko. Both are fast-drying inks that are billed as great for detailed stamping. Memento inks are fade-resistant water-based dye inks that are suitable for most paper surfaces. Versafine is an oil-based pigment ink that is most suited to uncoated papers.

When I posted on a stamping forum about having used the new Memento inks, one question that came up was how it performed on glossy. I hadn't tried it, so I put that on my list of things to test. I'd been using it on uncoated cardstock and found that it worked well with Copic markers and with the magic colored pencil technique--click on the "Memento ink" label at the end of this post to see examples that I've posted. I particularly like the London Fog because it's more subtle than black for these techniques. I hadn't been all that impressed by its ability to pick up the finer details in stamp images though. These are juicy inks and tend to bleed and blur just a bit when first stamped. For detailed stamping I was still of the opinion that Versafine was by far and away the best ink. It's good for watercoloring, but tends to smear occasionally when used with certain solvents or solvent inks, so it does have its own drawbacks.

Today I decided to compare these two inks that have been billed as great for detailed stamping. I have two different cards in two styles, mainly because of the ink colors that I used. I used the same stamps on the same glossy paper though. These are Hero Arts stamps and the windows were cut out using Sizzix Movers & Shapers dies.


This is the card stamped with Memento London Fog dye ink. The border punch is the Martha Stewart Lace Doily.


Here's a closer view of the stamped images. I wasn't able to get a good true color, but you can see that the lines in the images are blurry and the ink bled. Not a very impressive result. I did notice that it had looked a bit cleaner when I'd first stamped it, so I decided to give it another try, this time giving it a blast with the heat gun.


This was better, but I still wasn't bowled over. This wasn't clearly better than other dye inks that I've used.

This next card was stamped using my trusty Versafine ink, even though I don't typically use it on glossy papers.


And here is a closer view that shows that it did pick up the finer details. I'd thought that I'd taken a pretty good shot, but I think that the glitter threw off the focus of the camera just a bit.


Still, I think you can see that the details are finer and clearer with the Versafine ink.

I like both of these inks. I think they each have a place in a stamper's arsenal. What will be done with an image after it's been stamped (watercolor, magic colored pencil, coloring with markers....) will probably be the best indicator of which ink would be best for that particular situation. When it comes to stamping highly detailed images though, Versafine ink will still be the first ink that I reach for.

AHA! moment

Even though I've been playing around quite a bit with those Sizzix movers and shapers dies, I keep trying to think of different ways to use them. This evening I didn't so much come up with a different way to use them, but rather with a different set of stamps to use with them. It was an AHA! moment for me when it occurred to me that some of my Hero Arts Quatros, you know, the ones that have been gathering dust since clear stamps and unmounteds became more popular, would be great, particularly for the four-paned window die.


I made this card using cardstock and patterned paper by Autumn Leaves. I die cut the window and stamped flowers in the spaces using Adirondack pigment ink. I added the Primas with the Robin's Nest Dew Drops at the centers, adhered with Diamond Stickles. The sentiment is by Outlines Rubber Stamps.

quickie cards

Every so often I like to do cards that are just very simple and straightforward. This morning was one of those times.

This first card was made by cutting a window out of some GCD Studios patterned cardstock using my four pane window movers and shapers Sizzix die. I then stamped the images and sentiments by My Favorite Things using Memento dye ink. I embellished with the ribbon and some of the Brides confetti flowers and added Liquid Pearl centers.


The main layer of this next card is from Memory Box Co's Sprout line. I embossed it with the Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls embossing folder and then cut a wavy window using another Sizzix movers and shapers die. The stamped images are by Hero Arts and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with the Goo Gone Mess-free pen.


This last card features the Fiskars read between the vines corner and border punch. The stamped images are all by Hero Arts and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and the white opaque pen by Inkssentials. The flowers are Primas.


Not bad for some early Sunday morning crafting. :-)

Moving & Shaping with the Cuttlebug

Okay, I'd noticed that I was repeating myself when talking about the new Sizzix Movers & Shapers and the possibility of using them in the Cuttlebug. I put them to the test this morning. Here's the scoop--they work!

A card to prove it....


This card was made using the Sizzix Movers & Shapers horizontal A2 card kit and the four pane window add-on. I put these through the Cuttlebug. The images are all Hero Arts and stamped using Tsukineko Memento dye inks. The patterned paper is Basic Grey Sultry. The butterfly die cuts were made using Spellbinders dies. I embellished with Liquid Pearls and Diamond Stickles.

Here's the stack that worked for me.


From the bottom: plate B, card die with add-on in place, card stock, plate B. I ran this through window side first so that the add-on die would help hold my cardstock in place.


Here's how it looked after that first pass through the Cuttlebug.

Now I shifted the B plates to the other end of the card die, taking care not to move my cardstock since part of it has already been cut out.


Here's the other end just about to be run through the machine.


This is how it looks after making those two passes through the CB. That part near the fold was a little bent but flattened out with a little tinkering. I'm not sure if that's where an edge of a plate caught it or if the cardstock shifted a bit. That's a chance you take when you have to make two passes instead of one pass with those extra long clear cutting plates.


And there you can see what the folded card looks like.

Yes, if you look closely I've already done a little tinkering with my card die. I've marked the center of the metal plate that represents the cardfront so that I can see exactly where I'm placing my die. No crooked windows for me! ;-) Yeah, I'm going for foolproof again, as usual. Hey, this stuff is supposed to make my life easier, eh? Not more frustrating.

Okay, but what about the add-ons? They'll work, too, and by themselves without the card die, just like with the Big Shot.


In the photo above, you see two B plates, a Sizzix long clear plate, the flower add-on, and a scrap of purple cardstock.


And this is the stack that worked for me. From the bottom: plate B, plate B, lightweight chipboard shim, add-on die with cutting side up, cardstock, clear cutting plate--if you have an extra B plate, that would work in place of the long Sizzix clear plate that I used here. They're the same thickness. Depending on your machine, you'll need to experiment just a bit with shimming, and as usual, you'll want to start thin and gradually add shims so that you won't break your machine.

So, there you have it. The Sizzix Movers & Shapers can work with the Cuttlebug. :-)

Summary of Movers & Shapers Info

I thought I'd summarize the info that I've come across regarding these new dies by Sizzix. First off, Sizzix now has these on their site as Coming Soon. You can see pics of some of the new dies there.

Movers & Shapers consist of card kits, which are the bigger dies that require the extra long clear cutting plates, and the add-ons, which are the magnetic movable dies that will cut a window wherever you want to place it on a card front. The latter can all be purchased separately.

Now, the card kit dies will fit through the opening of the Cuttlebug. The main issue with these dies in this machine is that the XL clear cutting plates sold by Sizzix for use with these dies will not. They fit through the Big Shot and Big Kick just fine; they're too wide to fit through the CB. The length of the cutting surface for the horizontal A2 card kit die that I have is 11". I took some photos which can be seen in my Moving and Shaping post of last week if you want to see what I mean. The cutting plates for the CB don't come close to covering that. It's possible that you could put it through twice, but I haven't tried that yet.

The add-ons should work with the Cuttlebug. They work fine without the card kit die in the Big Shot. It just takes a bit of creative shimming since they're thinner than regular Sizzix dies but much thicker than Sizzlits. I described this in my previous post, Fun Stuff! Be prepared to break out some extra clear plates, if you've got them, and not because of breaking but because it takes about that thickness to bring these dies to the proper height to cut.

Card kits due for release include:

Kit #1 Horizontal A2 Card
Kit #2 Vertical Note Card
Kit #3 Horizontal Note Card
Kit #4 Note Card Envelope

Add-ons include:

Window Panes, Four
Window Panes, Three
Window, Wavy
Window, Peek-a-Boo
Heart
Flower
Photo Corners, Ornate
Photo Corners, Rounded

I think that covers everything that I've come across for now.

Edited to add: I did some experimenting with these dies and the Cuttlebug. That post can be seen HERE.

Find joy... in scallops

I wanted to play a bit more with some new dies. I pulled out the Spellbinders long scalloped rectangle megabilities dies and the Sizzix movers and shapers dies and I made this card.


This card is 4 1/4" on each side. I used the largest megabilities die to make the smaller tan scalloped layer. It's been scored and folded in half. I then used the Sizzix die to cut out the window on the front. The other layers of the card were scalloped by using that same die and feeding the paper or cardstock partway through the die as I've described before. The patterned cardstock is by G-C-D Studios. The sentiment is by Hero Arts. I embellished with Liquid Pearls and colored twine.

Fun stuff!

I've been trying to fight off a particularly nasty cold for the last few days, so when I got up from a nap earlier I came down here and wanted to do something fun. I made a card. This card....


The stamped images are by Inkadinkado. The punching on the blue layer of card stock was made using the Fiskars read between the vines border and corner punch. I applied some diamond Stickles to some of the punched out pieces to add a little more embellishment. The window was made using the 4 pane window movers and shapers die from Sizzix.

As far as the window die, I used this without the big card die that I mentioned yesterday in my post about Movers and Shapers. What I ended up doing was using a stack as follows from the bottom up: two clear cutting plates, the die cutting side up, the card front on top of the die, another clear cutting plate, a lightweight chipboard shim. The extra cutting plate and the shim make up for the fact that the small dies are about 1/8" thinner than the regular Sizzix dies.

So, in answer to the question, can the smaller dies be used by themselves, yes, they can. This also means that they should be usable in the Cuttlebug or other manual die cutters. I'll add here that what I did was build my stack upside down, then flip it to place it on the platform of my Big Shot. That was the easiest way of making sure that I was putting the die where I wanted it to be. I admit it. I did try just guessing where on top of the die my card should go, and my window ended up way off. I blame that on my cold! ;-) So on my second try I took the top plate, put my open card on it, positioned the die cutting side down, and placed the other clear plate on that to make the sandwich. Then I deftly flipped that sandwich and put it on the clear plate that was already on my platform, added the shim, and rolled it through.

I'd also like to add here that I love the new border and corner punch! It works great and it's easy to make the turn at the corner to give a layer a nice finished look. The key is remembering that the cardstock or paper needs to be cut to a full inch increment, no fractions of an inch. That's how the design ends up looking continuous. So my blue layer in my card up above is 4" X 5", and the punched design makes a nice continuous border with the corners. Love it!

It was nice to craft for a while and forget about my cold. Now it's time for some chicken soup. :-)

Moving and Shaping

Bette guessed right in my previous post. The UPS man delivered my Sizzix Movers and Shapers today. They didn't give these new dies much in the way of airtime on QVC, so I thought I'd take some pics and say a bit about them.


The movers and shapers are compatible with the Big Shot and the Big Kick. You can't use the standard cutting plates with this set of dies. They're just not long enough. In the photo above, you see my Big Shot, the smaller dies that came with my order, the two big clear cutting plates, and underneath it all, the card die. More on the card die below. I just want to point out that these smaller dies are a little different from the traditional Sizzix dies. They're on a wood base rather than plastic and they have the magnets on the bottom to hold them in place on the card die.


The card die is very big and is supposed to cut an A2 size card. A finished card is 5 1/2" long, but actually 4 1/8" wide. The opening that you see there is metal at the bottom--that's where the dies are held nice and tight by the magnets. You just position the die wherever you want to place your "window" on the card front. You can use this big die to make cards in two orientations: one would be the horizontal card with the side fold like the card in my previous post; the other would be a top fold card. In the photo above, you can make out a thin metal strip just above the open part of the card die--that isn't a blade. That scores your card for the fold.



This is the stack that you'd put through the machine. From the bottom up: a long clear plate, the black card die with the smaller window die in place in the opening, the card stock, the other long clear cutting plate.


This is the stack after I've lined everything up and run it through. You can just make out the score line.


And this is the card once I've removed it from the die.

This is an interesting concept for card making. I have to say that it made the window placement very easy, and in the card that I made earlier, I was able to run the flower die through three times to get a different look. I wasn't terribly impressed by the scoring fold. That's a minor issue. That's what my Scor-It is for.

I know that folks with Cuttlebugs will be wondering, so let me say that the card die will fit through the opening of the CB with room to spare. The problem is accommodating the length of the cutting surface of that card die. The long clear plates that came with this won't fit through the opening of the CB. I don't know if you can run this through with the regular CB plates and then run it through again to finish the cut. I'd be willing to try, but this stuff is still too new for me to want to play around quite that much with it yet. Give me time though! LOL!

And for Wizard users, the same issues apply. The card die is just a tad under 6" wide, 5 15/16" to be more precise. I don't have a Wizard, so I wanted to give you the measurements. The cutting surface of the die is 11" long, as you'd guess since it cuts an A2 size card.

It'll be interesting to see where Sizzix will be going with this. I'm sure they'll come out with other smaller dies to use as cut outs. I'd have to think that they'll be coming out with card dies that might be oriented a bit differently, too. But since most of us can cut our cardstock down to size for cards, I think it's the smaller dies and the fact that you can place them fairly precisely that make this concept intriguing. I can use a regular die to cut an opening in a card front, but I don't have one that will cut out a window like the one that came with this set. I think this is a fun addition to the card making arsenal though, and I need to make more time to play with it and see what else I can do with it.

Love that big brown truck!

I got something fun in the mail today. Used it to make this card....


I hate being such a tease, but I'm actually on my way out the door. I couldn't resist posting this though. More later! :-)