Creating greeting cards is a delightful hobby and a beautiful way to express your creativity. Die cutting is a fantastic technique you can use to achieve a professional finish. In this blog post, we will delve into some handy tips and techniques that you can apply to your greeting card project, using die cutting.
First, let’s take a look at the supplies I used for this project:
- Thich White Cardstock
- Basic White Cardstock
- Something Fancy Stamp Set and Coordinating Dies
- Two-Tone Flora Stamp Set and Coordinating Dies
- Higland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Azure Afternoon, Tahitian Tide, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lime Twist Ink Pads
Die Cutting Techniques
When using intricate dies, my go-to tip is to add an adhesive sheet to the back of your cardstock. To make it easier to remove the backing later, I usually cut these into two 2″ strips along the length of the cardstock.
When creating your sandwich for your die cutting machine (I’m using the Cut & Emboss Machine from Stampin’ Up!) your sandwich should be built in this order: Plate 1, Plate 3, your cardstock (with the adhesive sheet facing down), die on top, and then finish with Plate 3.
TIP: Position your cardstock slightly at an angle, making it easier to feed through the machine.
For a clean cut, put the sandwich through the machine twice. Then remove Plate 3, carefully flip your cardstock and die piece upside down, place Plate 3 on top again, and run through your machine another two times. This double-pass technique ensures all the pieces are cleanly cut from the die.
Next, you can simply peel off the backing and adhere the die-cut design to your card base.
2-Step Stamping Technique
The Two-Tone Flora stamp set is perfect for a 2-step stamping technique. choose a darker colour for your outline image and an softer colour for the inner image. My suggestion for this stamp set is to stamp the outline image first as it makes it easier to align each image. For a detailed guide on aligning your images. check out the video below.
Video Tutorial
Now that we’ve got the basics down, why not watch the process in action? Here’s a replay of a live video tutorial I shared on Youtube where I demonstrated how to create a beautiful greeting card using the die cutting techniques and supplies we’ve talked about.
Remember, practice makes perfect. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right the first time. Keep experimenting, and soon, you’ll be creating breathtaking greeting cards that look professional and unique. Happy crafting!
