Happy Friday folks! A couple weeks ago I showed you how to cut an intricate die, a beautiful doily die from Cheery Lynn. I had struggled with that die but finally found a method that worked in my “antique” but hard used machine. Well, the president of Cheery Lynn Designs saw my valiant attempt and sent me a platform for my big shot. Apparently they don’t make the platform I was using anymore (it’s rather vintage you know) but I could not see how a new platform would be better than my old platform shimmed with cereal boxes and roof flashing…OK, maybe I can see how. He also through in 3 die sets and a real steel metal shim to play with. Well, do you want to see how they work? Well, have a gander at today’s video:
I didn’t think having a new platform would make a difference but really it is like having a whole new machine. If you Big shot/Big Kick is newer than mine it probably would have come with the tabbed platform, if not you might want to consider it if you like to use wafer thin dies. If not a cereal box and roof flashing does the trick LOL! The metal shim really helped the die cut, I think since my machine is 8 years old the rollers might have loosened up a bit making the dies not so tight. My aluminum flashing worked well too but if you have a magnetic platform you would want the steel one to keep your dies in place. BTW, now that I have the new tabbed platform and I don’t need the old one I am going to see if I can figure out how to turn it into a magnetic one, my husbands countersink drill bits and rare earth magnets are going to come in really handy this weekend! All of the dies from Cheery Lynn Designs cut like butter and the flourish die got an extra workout as my friend Kathy used it to cut a bunch for birthday invites. I have some cards in progress with the steampunk high heel die he sent too, I’ll share them later. I am really glad I gave thin dies another chance, you just need the right tool for the job. Thank you Mike for sending me some fun new dies and accessories to play with, you can check out the offerings of Cheery Lynn Designs on their website.
Now for a $$$ saving tip! If you have old, bowed die cut pads I’ll show you how to clean and flatten them, no special tools required!
I hope I inspired you to straiten up those die cutting plates and go make a card! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
Good for you Lindsay…really cute poinsettia card!
There is no special glue for the Cheery Lynn Dies…use whatever you like!
Tip: Always put your platform into your machine hinged end first – this keeps the hinges lined up…tabs end first will eventually break the hinges…of course once the platform is in and you have rolled one way, you can roll it back the other way with no problem…same goes for your embossing folders.
Enjoy your ‘new’ machine!!!
Hugs,
Jan
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Awesome videos as always! I found a tutorial on Pinterest about cooking the plates in the oven so that it takes out all of the scratches and resurfaces it. Since yours are so scratched up I figured I would share 🙂 http://imgur.com/a/IqCTy
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Thanks for sharing this – will definitely give it a go
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Lindsay, I’ve been watching your videos. On one of your ask the crafters you asked about stamp clubs. The first one that came to mind was Paper Wishes. Also Cherry Lynn probably gave you the new cutting mats because they really do make a difference when you cut intricate dies. As far as adhering the flourish cut out, I would have used a XYRON or a glue pen…that’s what I use for intricate dies. I do love all the great information you bless us with. By the way, I too never wanted a die machine until I saw the Spellbinder’s Wizard demonstrated on Scrapbook Memories. I flipped because it could process the Fiskar’s texture plates. Now I have the Grand Calibur and a Big Shot as the back up machine. Unlike you, I prefer the detailed Spellbinders dies and love cutting chip board, cloth, light woods, etc with them. Sorry, they don’t just cut paper and cardstock. I own very few of the fat Sizzix dies because of the space they take up and the flat cut out shapes. Please keep the videos coming. I learn tons, even though I’ve been paper crafting since the 80’s (yep, I’m that old). Thanks for the inspiration. Maybe one of these days I’ll try my had at water coloring. I can’t draw well and am amazed at how you manage to do it upside down even.
hugs
Tina
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Wow, you can cut wood and fabric with the thin ones? I’ll have to try it! Thanks Tina 🙂
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Very pretty.
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Many thanks as ever Lindsay. This is a BRILLIANT tip, my plates are totally wrecked and warped will be good to give them a new lease of life.
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Thats brilliant my plates are bent like a banana so will clean and straighten them tomorrow. I love Cheery Lynn Dies and have quite a few I find that they work really well for me. TFS your great tips x
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Thanks Lindsay,those were great. A tip for not having as many scraps, if you die cut your flower pieces from the middle of the paper you used as your frame mat,then you have only used one piece of paper and no scraps left. It is nice to have others used as stencils or backgrounds too though. You really are spreading the “frugalness” to all of us. Thanks again
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Brilliant using the leaves die to make a poinsettia. I got out my leaf stamps and found one that was similar to the die. Stamped several in red and green, cut them out and put my flower tog. like you did. It turned out great. I needed this last month. If you have any other crafty ways of making poinsettias with punches I’d love to see them. Also, the tip on how to clean and re-flatten the plates will come in useful. TFS.
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It was so kind of Michael at Cheery Lynn to send those dies and plates to help you solve the cutting difficulties!…I would not have thought a new platform would have made such a difference. I have great respect for Michael at Cheery Lynn/Dies Direct and appreciate the quality and creativity of these “Made in USA” products! Thanks to both you and Michael for inspiring “our worlds” with such wonderful creativity!
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Mike is a really good chap and always has his customers in mind. Thanks for the plate refreshing tip! I’m going to give that a try!
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Lindsay…. Once again feeling so inspired after seeing your videos. Love them. Love all your ideas, great tips and enthusiasm.
About the warped plates : I tried the trick another follower mentioned above with the cooking in an oven for quite a long time. It did’nt work for me. So maybe your trick will work. Gonna give it a try !!
Thanks a lot for all what you do share. You are a fabolous crafter !!
Hugs from SPAIN
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I love your videos and look forward to them every day. You mentioned that you only cut paper with your thin dies, and I want to encourage you to experiment beyond that. I successfully cut felt, many different types of cloth, thin craft metals, cereal box-weight cardboard, grunge paper, and many other mediums with my thin dies. The more intricate dies are more persnickety, but you’ll soon learn which dies will cut what. If you want to make a thicker element, just cut several pieces of your die and stack them.
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great tips, they are more versatile than I thought! I’ll have to try cloth, I tried other items with no luck before and I think it was because I did not have the right platform.
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I love the concept of rolling to cut dies I also love the idea of cute and embossing on the same machine.
I have a question about roller die cutters I was wanting one that can cut every thing from cheap thin computer paper to fabric to very thick matte board. ~ What is the best crank cutter and one that can work with many dies thick, thin, simple, interact designs. Also something that can have dies for years to come. Also I have limited budget, so something that I could buy (if necessary) a year or two from now.
Thank you for any help you can give,
Amber
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I have tried many machines but have found the Big Shot to be the best. I think it is about $90 but if you live in the US you can use a coupon at the big craft stores and save 40-60% or wait for a good sale at store like Joann.com online. I just saw that Cheery Lynn is coming out with a die cutter that has an adjustable dial so you can make the rollers tighter for more intricate or thinner dies. That machine will be coming out in March. I think most machines nowadays will take all dies:) I like the Big shot because it has held up to 9 years of tough use from me and is still going strong and it takes fewer cranks to pull the dies through the machine.
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Love all you do. I have always been a big believer in using what you have and looking at crafts meant for something that was ment for a holiday but always can change the color to fit anything but using the same technique.
We all can learn new things for years to come.
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hey, I went over to Cherry Lynn and found me a metal platform for my cuttlebug!!! and it wasn’t very much! thnks
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thanks for all your great tips & videos – I’m just getting started and have saved (& will save) lots of $ because I listened to you first! Question: I just inherited a bunch of gel pens, lots of colors, including a handful of glitter gel pens. Is there anything that they can be used for, other than regular coloring, like blending? Or should I get some Bic Mark-Its for blending? Thanks.
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gel pens are great for adding a bit of highlights to an image or fine details. You will have better results blending with markers.
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Lindsay, love your tutorials and your blog. You mentioned about trying to make the platform magnetic. I automatically thought about the magnetic paint that is out now. I wonder how that would work.
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Hi Karen, I think the paint would not be strong enough and it is pricey, I could tell when I dragged a die by the edge across my friends platform there there was a grid of strong magnets in there, I think rare earth magnets will work and be strong enough to go through the plastic plates and paper.
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That totally looks like a poinsettia! Love it. This really made me laugh and I wasn’t going to share why at first but I just have to. You are the only person I know of that could pretty much insult a company’s product and have them turn around and send you more of their products plus new cutting pads and platforms for a Big Shot. Too funny. Wish I could do that! I bought three Distress Ink pads that all came dry…I bought reinkers for two and each one took over half a bottle of reinker just so I could use it and I guess I’ll have to do the same for the other one and I have three pens from Sakura that are full of ink but won’t come out. Could you complain about them for me????
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OMG Violet, you are a riot! It is true though, I complained about the price of gelatos and show how gelsticks are just the same at a lower price and Faber castel sent me a bunch of gelatos LOL!
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also you might try soaking the tips of the pens in alcohol to break up the shellac in the ink that is clogging them, it is worth a try:) If they are newish send them an email and see if they will replace them:)
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Thanks. I may do that. All three pens are brand new. Some companies are good at replacing products – Inkadinkado and Beadalon are two that recently replaced products that didn’t work.
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Love, love, love your video on how to clean the stamp plates. Great directions in your video and can’t wait to try it. Thanks for all your helpful hints.
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Wow! I’ve just watched your great video on how to clean and straighten your cutting plates. Just what I needed. However, I can’t for the life of me catch what fluid you used in the end. Could you repeat it here, please, so I can go get it?
Thanks so much! And thanks for your great tips and inspiration.
//Kerstin in Sweden
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it was hand sanitizer
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