Altering die shapes

I know it's nice to buy new die shapes, but when seeing C&C's Pick of the Week was 2 sets of 4 new dies called Labels A....to.....H at a cost of over £160, I couldn't help think.....expensive!  AND, where does it stop!    Some of the shapes interested me, but just how many dies do I need?   Will I use them?  HOW often?????  If money is not a problem - great, but what can you do if it is? 

Do you use ALL your dies?   I have to confess that I bought a set of Wonky Squares at least 3 months ago and they are sitting in my overcrowded box unused!  I needed them badly at the time, but did I?!?!?  I think now I did not! 

One of the solutions to buying dies is to look at your dies.....could you alter them?

With some of my dies the answer is "YES"!

Labels Small and Large can be made smaller or larger



Using the Labels 2 die like this.....

                   you have  a different shape

Tracy made a different shape with her Mega Rectangles cutting it like this....

and it turned out like this..

This is rather a nice shape, thanks Tracy.

Labels 4 die can be used this way

I have only change the top of the die, but you could easily change the straight edge by cutting the die again.

This is how I used the new shape

If this post has made you think, you will find my tutorials covering this subject under the labels section "Altering die shapes", and if you have discovered any new shapes that can be made from your dies - I'd love to hear from you so I can feature them in my Followers' Gallery.

Well it's the last day of the year and also my last post showing you round my blog.  I hope you have found something of interest and that the labels section will become a useful aid and a source of inspiration .  I have no problem with you using my ideas, but just ask that you mention the Cupboard when you do, so helping me spread the word of what this great little green bug can do!

Tomorrow I will take a look back at some of my favourite cards of 2010.  Have a Great New Years Eve.