how to make half window cards in the cuttlebug

Hey all, the Christmas season is really upon us now and i though i better make a post here and get my head out of Great Keppel's sunny skies and clear blue water......ahhh stop rambling...lol..no seriously here is a card you might like to try. i seen this done in a Big Shot machine with stampin up dies by sizzix called movers and shakers (click here to what the video)and really liked the concept, which got me thinking how i could make this in my cuttlebug.....so heres what i came up with... ill post some more Christmas cards soon...Valita

and a last thought

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22

This card was made By Carol ! another idea using this method so think outside the box and use some of your other die shapes! thanks Carol :)

Silicone verses Fun foam in your cuttlebug

I had an email yesterday from Elizabeth asking me how the silicone mat and fun foam compare though the cuttlebug when using the Fiskars Texture plates and did some experimenting ....always fun!!!! ;)
Im very aware that many people cant find the silicone baking mats so this will be interesting for those people. Also if you have the wizard dies you could use the tan rubber mat instead of the silicone ....you may just have to play with how many shims you use as it is sightly thicker and denser . So here is what i found...use the same sandwich layers as my first post on Fiskars emboss plate and your cuttlebug This consits of:

Your A plate
your fiskars texture plate
your card
your silicone mat
and your C plate

Now if you are using fun foam you will build you sandwich like this:

Your A plate
your Fiskars texture plate
your card
your fun foam
3 layers of shim ( i use the card off the backs of the emboss folder packaging)
and your C plate.

and here are the results ..........

Now you can see there is a difference. The silicone actually left a much deeper impression which in my opinion looks nicer and the fun foam still embossed and i guess if you cant find the silicone this would be a great alternative. Here's a close up with the silicone mat on the left and the fun foam on the right.

a very clear difference especially when the fiskars emboss plates just are not etched that deep the silicone works a treat. so there you go I hope this has helped you in your crafting. A last pic.... I found this moth in the house yesterday and just loved the beautiful colours and patterns....it was only twice as big as my thumb nail...another testomy of Gods creative attention to detail and beauty. And please continue to pray for the year 12 students doing their HSC over the next few weeks Beth is doing her English exam today.

and a last thought

Lord, if you keep in mind our sins
then who can ever get an answer to his prayers!
But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is!
That is why i wait expectantly,
trusting God to help, for He has promised.
Psalms 130:3-5

Embossing with O rings

By now you must all be convinced that i am obsessed with this cuttlebug thing....LOL well maybe i am!!!! ;).... but i just love to share all these with you its just how i work....But i need to share this also. Over the last few months i have been having panic attacks which have been leaving me so frustrated. Me and my daughter just now have come back from the pool ....Ive just started my laps again for the summer season and felt this coming on. As I watch the surface of the water while i was doing my laps i felt I was getting nowhere as the wind was blowing but I felt God speak to me and tell me to look under and He said "Im guiding you"! as i looked under the water i could see i was moving forward and i looked on ahead to the end of the lane and their was the cross marked at the end of the lane He said " see Im here for you I defeated all sin and fear at the cross and so can you too! ....i think when were at our weakest God can make us strong to face what we go through.....id love to hear from anyone who goes through similar things...email me!

Now lets show you how i did these cool circles. I found a pack of "O" rings in the hardware section and wondered if they could be cuttlebugged. i only used the 4mm thinner ones marked here on the back of the pack....

this was the front of the pack........

So here's what i did ...Put your A and B plate into the cuttlebug and lay the rings in a random fashion on the B plate....

Next lay your card over the top and then your silicone mat on top of that.
opp looks like you got a peek at one that id finished...LOL

Now over this lay 2 layers of shim....(2 card backs off the emboss folder packets)
and your other B plate and roll it on through.....

and the results..........i love this part!!!!!!!!!

Cool hey!! and i made this beach card (above) with the results but to change it to a Christmas card for my class i added some bits....I thought this would suit our Australian Christmas.

and Ill show you how i made the punched shell.....using the scallop circle, punch 2 and cut off 2 of the scallops on each side leaving 2 in the middle do these together to save time.......

Now i bought the spider web folder because i liked the pattern....I'm not into anything Halloween but i knew id use that pattern for something and these shells were perfect... this is how i positioned them in the folder to get a nice shell looking pattern...

Now to colour the shell i used oil pastels...go here to see my Tutorial on this.
and these are the results....

I put foam tape between them and fanned out the top a little to make it look like the shell was opening.Here's a close up...

Hows that hey .....hope this has inspired you....oh and one last pic ....this is my daughter doing her HSC study....shes so funny and a joy to have at home....she does her hair up all weird and sits to study...i said you'll forget you've got that thing on your head and answer the door .....LOL love you sooooo much Beth ...always be yourself that's who God has designed. Love you!!!

don't ya just love her!!! LOL cant stop laughing here..........

and a last thought

Out of His glorious, unlimited resources
He will give you the mighty inner
strengthening of His Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 3:16

Sequins and Sequin waste Cuttlebug embossing tutorial

Hi all, i thought id show you these quick tutorials on how to use sequins and their waste in the cuttlebug to make embossed backgrounds. First put your A and B plates in and sprinkle on the sequins that you want to emboss in any random way .....i used stars as their still isn't a cuttlebug emboss folder with stars yet
.
Next lay your card you want to emboss over the stars and then the silicone mat over the top.

Lay 4 layers of shim over the silicone....i used the card from the back on the emboss folder packaging and then your B plate and roll through.

and here's the results..........

Cool Hey!!!.....One thing i did find was that the more you have used your B plates with dies the more marked it will get and that dose tend to emboss onto your card....you could try putting a sheet of clear acetate over your B plate before you start and that will create that smooth look again but you will have to play around with the number of shims you use. and the second tutorial is similar.... but i used sequin waste.
First put in your A and B plates. lay your sequin waste on top...a tip...this usually comes in a roll and it is so hard to make it flat so i used 2 small pieces of double sided tape to hold it down. Once again i used stars...as these will be great for Christmas cards.

Next lay your card over the top of the waste and then your silicone mat.

Now put 3 layers of shim ( 3 backings off the emboss folder packets) and then your B plate.

Roll through and these are the results...........

I love finding things to use in this machine!!! hope you have enjoyed these also....until next post ..Valita

and a last thought

"In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart I (Jesus)
have overcome
the world".
John 16:33

Embossing in a Pasta maker! ? Awards!!

Hi all, some of my Monday card ladies have asked me would the cuttlebug emboss folders work in a pasta maker and of course i had to go home and try.
And YES they do!
you need to put this on setting number 2 of the Pasta maker, the second widest setting. the only down fall is that you can't take the folder all the way through. You need to emboss half wind it out, flip it and emboss the other half but it dose a great job. The reason this idea came about was that some of the ladies didn't want to pay the big money for a machine as here in Australia they are still quite pricey but the could afford some folders. There's always another way around things, cool hey!!
Our other exciting news came this past week. Our youngest daughter came home with a Sport Ed award and was so happy...good on ya Madaleine love ya XXXXX

Doesn't she so look pleased with herself....were so proud! And our oldest daughter Beth has finally finished year 12. they had their formal assembly and last day of school on Friday and she was awarded an $8000 dollar scholarship to Avondale Uni to do Primary teaching. She was so excited because Avondale gave 3 of these to our school this year... the first school ever to get 3 given to the students in one school. And they were awarded to her friends Darren and Bethany.

So you can imagine how proud we are of the kids and how God has blessed them. Please remember them in your prayers though, in 3 weeks time they will be sitting for their HSC exams.....i made these cards for Beth and her friends and attached a pack of Kool mints to them and a note inside to encourage them for their futures.

Wow what a week God truly blesses....must go now I'm getting teary....I hope this has given you some more exciting ideas....until next post ...Valita

PS heres a hint from Sonja...

There's another option how to use the whole folder. My pasta machine has two legs on sides and one big plate on the bottom in beetwen. If you remove this plate, you can move the machine to the end of the table and let the folder run through. Without bending it. Hope this helps anyone.
Thanks for the tips Sonja much appreciated. My pasta machine is just a cheap one and it dosen't have this plate you can remove so check them out.

and a last thought

I love the Lord because He hears
my prayers and answers them.
Because He bends down and listens, I will
pray as long as I breathe!
Psalms 116:1,2

Cuttlebug and plastic tablecloth

Hi all, Ive have to show another little trick with the cuttlebug. While we were away i was looking around in spotlight and found some plastic embossed table cloth....well the light bulb goes on and i bought some to try in the cuttlebug. Go here to check out what layers i used to do these ...its the same as using plastic stencils....and these were the results......cool hey!



you may find something similar in your home ware shops, i bought 1/4 of a meter and that was plenty. These were a little thinner than a plastic stencil....I hope this can give you some more thrifty ideas....until next post...Valita

and a last thought

Come let us talk together says the Lord;
no matter how deep the stain of your sins,
I can take it out and make you as clean
and fresh as fallen snow. Even if
you are stained as red as crimson,
I can make you white as wool.
Isaiah 1:18

Using Plastic Stencils in the Cuttlebug

Hi all, Ive been really enjoying experimenting with my cuttlebug and I'm so pleased i bought one. Ive been able to drag out supplies i haven't used in a long while and use them now in an even easier way than before. So drag out all your plastic stencils and today I'll show you what i taught to all my Monday card ladies....enjoy

Open up your cuttlebug and put in your A plate then B plate on top and then your plastic stencil.

Next lay your card over the top of your stencil.

Now lay your silicone baking mat over the top of your card.

As a shim i use 4 layers of card....as you can see these are the backings off the emboss folders you get....this way you will all know exactly how thick it should be.

lastly lay your second B plate over the top to complete the sandwich and roll through. Remember to never force anything through your machine...if your silicone baking mat is thicker than mine just leave out one of the card shims....and the results.....

What i found most annoying was that hole they use to hang the stencils in the shop.....but I just cut around mine and colored it with chalks...here's a close up

Turned out like a fancy Lilly pad for my cute little frog. Well i hope this has inspired you to use some of your old supplies....see we didn't waste money buying all those stencils !! :)...until next post ....Valita

and a last thought

If you are angry, don't sin by nursing
your grudge.Don,t let the sun go
down with you still angry-get over it quickly;
For when you are angry you give a mighty
foothold to the devil
Ephesians 4:26,27

Gutter Guard Mesh embossed Baby Card

Hi All, Ive been playing around with my cuttlebug the last few days and and decided to run some Gutter guard mesh through to see what it would do. It was very cheap so I got a whole roll of the stuff some time ago to use on another project coming up. Its a flexible plastic mesh used here to keep the leaves out of your roof gutters. Anywhoooo :) i ran this through the cuttlebug and loved the results so much i needed to share the results with you all. This card is off to my twin sister who recently had a baby girl....and i love the spellbinder flower sets i won from Bizzy Becs site. So here's how i made the embossed background.
Open up your cuttlebug and put your A plate then B plate and the gutter mesh on top.
Next lay your card over the top.

Now use using a square of silicone baking sheet lay this over the top.

You will need a shim....i used 2 card backing off the emboss folder packages..for some strange reason i kept them all and they are the perfect shims for these projects. Go's to show you should'nt throw everything out!!

Lastly place on top your other B plate and roll them all through.

Here's the results, the one on the left was done with the silicone sheet and is the one I like best... love the puffy effect. And the right one was done without the silicone sheet using more shim layers still great.

So i hope you've found my little adventure helpful. Click here to see how to use Fiskars emboss plates in the cuttlebug also. Until next post ...have a happy sabbath....Valita

and a last thought

These words are trustworthy and true;
I am comming soon! God who tells His prophets
what the future holds, has sent His angel to tell you this
will happen soon. Blessed are those who believe it
and all else written in the book.
Revelation 22:7

Fiskars Emboss plate and your Cuttlebug

I recently came across a blog showing how to use Fiskars emboss plates in the cuttlebug machine . most of us have some of these plates poked away which looked like a great thing at the time but we didnt use them to their full, Classic case for me. Scince then the cuttlebug has made embossing so easy. So when i found this idea i thought great! i'll drag out those old Fiskars plates i have and see if this really dose work. I was so pleased with my results that i want to share with you what i found works really well. I hunted around the cheap shops for some silicone baking products that had a flat bottom and eventually found this baking sheet for $5 ...bargin because i have a heap left over after I've cut it to the size of the spacer plates .

So here's what i did. Make sure the silicone product you choose is flat. This baking sheet is flat on one side and the other has a slightly rough texture. Cut the siliconre to the size of the cuttlebug spacer plate. heres a close up of the thickness of the silicone done on a ruler with inches.

So once you have the silicone cut to size the sandwich gose like this. Place your A spacer in the cuttlebug machine
Then your Fiskars texture plate with the side you want to emboss facing up.

then you card
Then the silicone sheet...smooth side down...you can see here in this pic the texture of the rough side
lastly lay your C spacer on top

This completes your sandwich. Now run it through the cuttlebug. I didn't even have to use a piece of card as a shim. The silicone was the perfect width and it worked so well. heres a pic of the finished embossing. Remembering that the Fiskars plates are not etched as deep as the cuttlebug emboss folders so the embossing comes out a little less prominent but done perfectly.

Please remember whatever you run through your cuttlebug that is not designed for that machine is done at you own risk so take it easy the first time you run it through as the silicone you choose may be a different thickness as was Tamara's found here. well i hope i have helped inpsire you to use some of those prducts to there max as i have....now im off to see what other Fiskars plates there are that i dont have yet!......Valita

and a last thought

He has removed our sins as far away
from us as the east is from the west
Psalms 103:12