Diversity of Diecutting

 Anyone who knows me very well knows that I love Diecuts! I also love Serendipity Stamps and as I have shared earlier, Serendipity has begun adding a few diecuts to their collection. These die come as a solid shape, the detailed shape like the stamp and the stamp itself. I have previously shown you the heart and egg. Today, we will look at the butterfly and dragonfly and talk about some of the diverse things you can do with diecutting!

If you have stamped for a few years like I have, you probably have some products you might not use very often anymore. An example of one of those might be shrink plastic. I love shrink plastic! It is so great for making embellishments or jewelry. Above is a couple of shrink plastic butterflies I made with the new Serendipity stamp and die. The solid die gives you the overall shape and the stamp gives you the detail. Below is an example of using a piece to create jewelry. This is a necklace I previously made with a die from Spellbinders.

 Below, you get an idea of the difference in the size of the die and the shrink plastic after it has been shrunk. The larger diecut is cut from a velvet paper that has been embossed with the intricate die and cut with the solid die, and then gold rubbed on the surface.

 Below, you can see a similar diecut, only the die was placed on the opposite side of the velvet paper, so you get a completely different look! The gold embossed lines are what would cut if you were cutting a diecut rather than embossing only.

 Below are examples of embossing only on card stock. Notice that the dragonfly was embossed within a frame formed by a Spellbinders die, all done in one pass through the diecutting machine.

 Another material to use for diecutting is adhesive paper. Label paper was cut with the solid die, the intricate diecut applied to the sticky side and then glitter added on the remaining sticky area. To carry the glitter look further, double stick tape was applied to the card and glitter added to it also.

I love using sticky back paper or tape as that does away with the problem of adhering an intricate piece. If I am having to glue an intricate piece, I like to use the blue Two Way Glue by EK Success. If there are areas that are sticky that you don't want sticky, use talcum powder to get rid of the sticky.

 One of my very favorite materials to diecut are metals. Below is a piece of copper that was embossed only. You get such detail from metal.

 Below is a painted metal like crafters use and it has been diecut with a Spellbinders die around the edges and then embossed only with the Serendipity butterfly. Light sanding with a sanding block gives a distressed look and accentuates the details.

 I have been known to cut up soda cans for diecutting and love to you HVAC tape for diecuts. HVAC tape is the silver tape you will find around your duct work. It can be purchased at any DIY store or discount store and it colors beautifully with alcohol inks. I love that it is metallic, is sticky back (has a liner on it) and that it is fairly CHEAP!

Below is an example of embossing only on the card stock and framing it with the solid diecut. The solid die has the wonderful little registration marks in the die (two circles) to help match up the stamped image. The positioning is great to use for eyelets like I have done below.

 For added interest, use printed paper in your diecuts, like seen in the rich example below.

 In addition to sanding the painted metal, I have sanded the core paper below.

 Perhaps you are in a rush and want the intricate look without taking the time for a second diecut....just use the stamp like below. The Spellbinders background finishes the look.

 Create the filigree look on the metal diecut by embossing only on the metal, sanding the design and then flattening the piece in the diecutting machine. The sanding will have established the over all design in the metal. You could then add a different texture or just leave it flat like I did below.

 You can also use die to color a diecut. Apply ink directly to the die, place it on the cardstock and then run it through the diecutting machine.

 Another material I like to use is double stick tape or red liner tape. It is available not only in tape form, but also in sheets or large rolls. I have diecut the solid shape and then used it on which to adhere micro beads for a really cool look! If the diecut does not cut all the way through due to the toughness of the tape, you can shim it, or run it through again or just use sharp pointed scissors to complete the cut.

Another thing I like to do is to cut fun foam and make a shadow stamp to complement the detail stamp Serendipity has. Just use the solid die. I am sure some of you remember shadow stamping! Makes great backgrounds. Also, use the outside of a diecut to create a stencil that can be used to get the same look.

I am sure I will think of even more ways to use diecuts once I post this, but I think I have given you plenty of material to think upon and try for right now. Aren't these diecuts and stamps just lovely?