Spellbinders Grand Calibur: The wonders of die-cutting

Howdy!

Last time, I said I would go into more detail about die-cutting, and I shall!

So this is my (very) little craft-station, when it's tidy (which is rare)...

Admittedly, most things in this picture are pink, but the pink and white contraption with a handle (which vaguely resembles a mangle) is my lovely little die-cutting machine. My beloved Spellbinders Grand Calibur.

Most die-cutting systems are essentially the same; you have the machine itself; a selection of plates (essentially a flat, rectangular plastic board) in varying thicknesses and obviously the dies, which you buy separately.

What I consider to be the Grand Calibur's advantage over most other die-cutting systems is that it has a large platform, so can handle A4 projects, whereas most machines are designed to cut standard greeting-card-sized sheets (approximately A5).


Just so that you can see what they look like, here are a few of the dies that I have in my little collection:

Essentially, to die-cut with this machine, you make a sandwich using the plates and the paper/cardstock.
The cutting 'sandwich'- as advised by Spellbinders- is as follows:

• The grey base plate (all of the plates are labelled!)
• The die - cutting side up
• Paper / cardstock / fabric etc
• The white cutting plate

Personally - and many crafters agree - I find it vastly more preferable to stack the sandwich upside down, i.e. cutting plate, paper/card/media, die (cutting side DOWN this time) and THEN the grey base plate. The reason for this preference is that you can position the die more accurately. If you're using patterned paper or card, this is especially handy as you can choose to specifically include certain elements of the pattern/image on your cut shape.

Anyway, whichever way you choose to stack, once you've got your completed sandwich, you simply roll the whole thing through your machine.

Once you've cut your shapes, you may well want to emboss them, to add more dimension to your final pieces. Ensuring that your grey base plate is at the BOTTOM of the stack on your work surface, remove the white cutting plate from the top of the stack, but LEAVE your shapes within their dies. Add your rubber embossing mat (coloured a sandy brown) and your pale pink embossing plate, and then run THAT sandwich through the machine. All of the mats and plates that I've mentioned so far are included when you buy the machine, by the way.

Anyway, using this technique, you can create some really beautiful shapes to include in your cardmaking, or indeed scrapbooking endeavours. Here are a few examples of my own die-cutting results!

Shapes cut with the Venetian 'motifs' and 'accents' die sets!

Various shapes cut with a selection of my dies!

I realise that this is quite a brief overview of the Grand Calibur, but I hope that you enjoyed finding out a little more about it, and about what I do to create cards like this...

As ever, don't be shy, and drop by my store at www.fingerprintgreetings.co.uk to view and purchase my latest creations!

Thanks for visiting, blog friends! Happy crafting!

Muchos love!

Charley
x

Tools of the Trade!

Bonjour, my crafty friends.

Holy moly, I wrote that first blog post what feels like a zillions years ago. I unfortunately (and foolishly) began that extra little venture right before Valentine's Day, and was immediately inundated with card-requests that kept me from my new blog-baby. THEN, just as I began to sit back and think 'aha! NOW I have time to write a new blog post!' I realised that Mother's Day was right around the corner. This left me not only unable to write a new post, but also to stock up the website. Luckily, after Mother's Day, I devoted some long-overdue TLC to both my crafting and the website, and there are lots of new products up for grabs, as well as a shiny new "£3 and under" section (excluding postage)! Go to www.fingerprintgreetings.co.uk to view and purchase the labours of my love :)

Just after Valentine's Day, I got some great new supplies in, including ribbons, buttons, inks, mulberry paper flowers and some beautiful new paper and card packs. I have also recently invested in an envelope-making board, so almost all of my new products will include custom envelopes, for an added personal touch.

Righty-ho, on with the blog! This post is outlining some of the tools and products that I consider to be my essentials. If YOU want to try your hand at card making, this could be helpful. If you don't, then you at least get to see the kind of effort that I am putting into the cards you may be purchasing!

Cardstock and Paper:
Seems both obvious and silly, but this is a crucial choice. It's not just about choosing the colour of the card. There are different weights of cardstock, different finishes. The wrong finish will result in bleeding ink; too lightweight a cardstock will result in a bending card that can't hold itself up; too heavy, and a horizontal card will also fail to stand up (not to mention increased postage costs.  It's very delicate stuff. I've had some very funny looks, standing in shops touching all of the card on display, but I assure you that it's all because I want to very best results :)

Cutting & Trimming:
Scissors are pretty much a given here, so I won't go on about them, although obviously you want a decent pair, and residue (adhesive, ink) needs to be regularly cleaned from the blades.
The range of paper-trimmers and guillotines available to crafters is absolutely enormous. I have plumped for a Fingerguard paper trimmer, which has interchangeable blade cartridges, for creating different cut edges e.g. straight, wavy line, zig-zag, perforated etc.
On top of this, I have recently purchased a circle scissor (picture below), obviously for cutting out circles.

EK Success Circle Scissor Pro

As I have a die-cutting machine, I COULD have bought a set of circle dies, but the beauty of this little contraption is that you can cut a circle/aperture of ANY size between 1 and 6 inches in diameter. The blade is inserted into any of the little holes on the board, which go up in 1/8th of an inch increments. Using the blade as a handle, you rotate the scissor 360 degrees, and you have yourself a circle or aperture of whatever size you need.
"Why would you need to cut a circle so badly that you buy a special gizmo for it?" I hear you ask. I'm glad you did. The answer is this: A little circle is perfect for stamping/adhering your sentiments (e.g. 'Happy Birthday', 'Congratulations', 'Merry Christmas') onto, as a focal image for the card. Although die-cutting can create some beautiful little shapes and designs, as you are limited to how many you can cut (in one pass, through the machine), it can be time-consuming. If I want to cut ten circles, and I only have ONE die that's the size I need, I need to either put that through the machine ten times. I COULD put it through fewer times with multiple sheets of card/paper at once, but I'd have to hope that the card/paper is thin enough that the die makes a clean cut through all layers. With magical circle scissor, you can simply pop the paper underneath, cut, move the scissor or the paper, cut again and so on. Before you know it, you've got your ten circles cut out in which time you could only have created one, two, or possibly three die-cuts. Then you pop your sentiment onto that, and you've got a lovely, clean focal point on your card, like this:

If you like this card, you can find it (and its brothers and sisters) on the website now!

Embellishments:
I've mentioned a few different embellishments so far. Buttons, gems, ribbons and twine are the usual suspects; they come in a preposterous variety of sizes, shapes, colours and style, and you can create some lovely effects by using them. Twine's especially handy for jazzing up a masculine card. It's aesthetically lovely, but not frilly or lacy, (and therefore, girly).

Pictured (left) are a couple of examples of the buttons and twine that I use. I know, it's exciting- hold onto your seats.











I've also mentioned mulberry paper flowers a couple of times now. A few of you may be wondering what these are. Luckily, I am about to show you- tada!

The tiny roses and rose buds in the top picture are the same as the ones that I used on the card I showed above (to demonstrate the circle scissor). The bottom photo was taken whilst I was mid-task, inking up plain white flowers for use on Christmas cards. If you're thinking that they look familiar, it's because the finished card that I made with these is shown in the first blog post!
I buy all of these flowers from I Am Roses, who stock an incredible number of paper flowers in HUGE variety of colours and sizes! I've always been impressed too, that I've never waited longer than about 4 days for delivery, although they're based in Thailand! On top of THAT, they always send me a couple of samples of new products with my orders, which is great as it gives me new ideas and inspiration!

Well, those are just a few examples of my most prized supplies. The next blog is more than likely to outline the joys and wonders of die-cutting. Despite the time-efficiency issue I mentioned in the circle-scissor section, my die-cutting machine is very possibly my most beloved item, which I coveted for about six months before eventually buying. For those of you who are interested (pretty much only the papercrafters among you), I have a Spellbinders Grand Calibur.

Anyway, that's all for this post! Remember to drop by www.fingerprintgreetings.co.uk to see all of the new cards!

Talk soon, craft-fans!

Charley
xxx

Hello!

Hello there!

I thought it best that I introduce myself and explain the purpose of this blog!

After years of creative ambitions and efforts, I have finally set up the website for my handmade greetings card business (fingerprintgreetings.co.uk - currently only delivering within UK- sorry)! Given that my cardmaking was originally a labour of love (a short introduction to how I got started is available on the "Who? Why?" section of the website), I really wanted to share with everyone exactly how much work I put into my projects, maybe even give a few crafty tips and pointers to all of the crafters out there!

I can see that it LOOKS silly to give away the crafty card-making secrets to everyone when I'm hoping to attract customers. Why on earth should you buy from me, rather than just use my tips and tutorials to make your own cards?

Well, like any other hobby, to get professional-looking results, you really have to invest a lot of money, time and effort. For the sake of ordering a few birthday and Christmas cards, it may well NOT be in your interests to do so. Lucky for you I've already invested in all manner of gadgets, gizmos and supplies- it may well BE in your interests to purchase your cards from me, given that a) I am willing to share with you how much effort will go into each and every project and b) I am painfully honest. Couldn't swindle a person if I tried.

There are a couple of services and websites out there (who shall remain nameless) that claim to be able to create a personalised card for your loved ones. It's clear to me that these services view 'personalising' as being synonymous with 'printing a name onto'. To me, something 'personal' means that it was made with due care and attention, especially for you- NOT 'looks exactly like that card Gary got for his birthday last year but has "Carol" written on it instead'. There's nothing wrong with the cards from such sites- indeed, I've received a couple myself- but I always think something handmade and embellished makes more of an impression.

It's very easy to look at a card and assume that it's a handful of pre-printed, pre-cut shapes and motifs put together, but I actually stamp, colour, cut and customise a lot of my own accents and embellishments, according to the design or theme of the project.

For instance... On this card, I die-cut the card base and the corresponding layers, then embossed the top layer. I took some plain white (and unembellished) poinsettia-style paper flowers and leaves, coloured them with alcohol markers (mixing lighter colours in the centres and edging with darker colours to create more dimension, THEN adhered flat-back pearls to the centre of each. I took some plain white card for the tag, coloured the centre and distressed the edge with ink. All in all, I feel that I was successful in creating a very festive and floral bespoke piece here!

Whilst trying to get a business off the ground, it's imperative that I try to create my cards in as time-efficient a manner as possible, but it's preposterously easy to lose track of time in a hobby that you love. I've never missed a deadline, and I've never had a complaint about my work, and I'd guess that the reason for the latter is that I will spend every waking moment perfecting my work.

I am trying to update the website as often as I can- but in the meantime, when I'm low on stock, there's always the '£5 Custom Creation' (price doesn't include postage) button! It's half create-a-card, half lucky dip! If you order, then message me from the site (quoting your order number and outlining the colour scheme/theme/elements/name you'd like included) I will create for you a one-of-a-kind greetings card, and help you to put a smile on the face of your loved one/s on their special day!