I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty straight-forward when it comes to die cutting and typically use my (metal) dies exactly as they were intended. I also have an eClips, which I absolutely love using to create my own designs, and it's easy enough to use it to create the above effects quite easily!
But, what if you don't have a digital die cutting machine? What if you wished some of your favorite metal dies could have just a little more versatility?
While it isn't always possible to modify the die itself, with a little bit of pre-planning and just a smidge of extra effort, you can adapt a die's cutting process--or at least the end result--in some fun, flexible and unique ways!
- HOW-TO:
By die-cutting the rain first, at an angle, then carefully placing the cloud die edges around (so it ran between) the rain drops (by looking at it from the back side) I was able to run the piece through the machine a 2nd time and get the look I wanted.
(in hindsight, I realized I could also have used a variety of different circle shaped punches or dies to achieve a similar effect, as well)
- HOW-TO:
The speech bubble was die cut from a solid and a patterned paper; "thanks" was die cut from solid navy card stock. Then it was also positioned on the previously die cut patterned speech bubble and run through the machine a 2nd time, "splitting" the bubble into 2 sections.
I was able to layer/fit the pieces back together like a puzzle--look closely! :) I think it's super cool how the patterned paper and the edges of the navy "thanks" meet without a straight line running through to disrupt the natural flow of the scripty font lines!
Bonus: The upper half of the patterned speech bubble was actually used to create yet another embellishment for a 2nd card, the mini shown below:
(in both designs, a 3rd speech bubble die cut from navy card stock was mounted behind the split bubble to create a drop-shadow effect)
- HOW-TO:
- Draw a straight (faint) line with a pencil and align the bottom edge of your letter or number dies just past the line
- Use repositionable tape or a Post-It Note to temporarily keep them in place
- Align the pencil line with the very edges of the cutting pads when creating your sandwich, allowing the very bottom of the dies to clear the edge; this will alleviate pressure along that area of the die
- After running through the machine, all but the lower edges of the letters/numbers should have cut completely through
- Use a metal edge ruler and an exacto knife to cut along the pencil line to separate the panel; you can quickly erase any pencil lines that are still visible
These are just a few of the ways you can modify your die cutting to achieve different effects--I hope it will inspire you to look at your dies in different ways and experiment with the very simple techniques I've shared today!
Happy die-cutting!
- STAMPS: Lawn Fawn Sophie's Sentiments (sorry) • Hero Arts/Studio Calico Love This (happy birthday) • Savvy Stamps Chevron Pattern (portrait)
- CARDSTOCK: Neenah Solar White • Core-dinations Adirondack Paper Pad 12 x 12 • Scraps in coordinating colors
- PATTERNED PAPER: Echo Park Homefront 6x6 Dots & Stripes Pad
- INKS: Archival Cobalt (dye) • Memento Summer Sky (dye)
- DIES: My Favorite Things By the Numbers • My Favorite Things By The Letters • My Favorite Things Say What (speech bubbles) • My Favorite Things Flat-Bottom Clouds • Memory Box A Little Rain • My Favorite Things Stacking Stars • Memory Box Petite Umbrella • Savvy Stamps Thanks Written
- TOOLS: Big Shot • Tiny Attacher • Spots Embossing Folder
- EMBELLISHMENTS: Baker's Twine (blue) • My Mind's Eye Decorative Tape (navy polka dot)
- ADHESIVES: Glue Glider Pro • Kool Tak Foam and Clear Squares• Tombow Mono Multi • Two Way Glue Pen
