Nestabilities - Make more use of your dies

Nestabilities are so useful, but do you get as much use out of them as you could? 

Today I will show you what was in the black box (sorry it's a day late, but travelling home was delay).

This is how I made my card

using a pierceabilities die (but not embossing or piercing the pattern) I cut my base card and two layers.

from the top layer - cut out the butterfly shape to reveal the under layer, and  from heat embossing acetate cut a second shape which I stamped over and embossed in gold.

assembled with an ribbon and sentiment. 

Now for the inside of my card - which is the surprise element.....

cut 2 layers of paper

Cut 3  Nesties circle (emboss 2) and fold as shown.  You could use squares and get the same effect.

Join together

Cut a number of butterflies and fold. I used a double sided DP and heat embossing acetate.  This works really well and adds a bit of glitz! 

assembled  your card will look like this!  If you need more info on this  pop-up design check out this tutorial that I did last year.

Sometimes you forget just what dies you have, and since they are expensive why not use them more - on this card I have use three different ones to give interest and texture.  The reason I didn't show it previously was because I enter the card  in a Spellbinder GDT call, but unfortunately it was not good enough!    I think I overlooked the fact that although I designed this pop up card  last year, and despite updating the idea with the 3D butterflies, so many crafters have copied it, that it probably seem mudane and ordinary!   Still you live and learn!!  There'll be another time!!!

Nestabilitie Pop-up card

This is the Pop up card that I made for the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge last week.

I'm going to try to show you how I made it, if it's not clear - SHOUT!

You will need:
Cardstock 11" x 5.l/2"
Nestabilitie Heart Die
Cuttlebug folder - Fantasy Flowers
Patterned papers, wire, beads

Fold cardstock and crease centre fold. On the card front - measure in from the centre fold 2.3/4" Top and Bottom and draw a pencil line.

Centre the heart die to this line and tape in position

To cut the shape I found that it was best to only sandwich the part to be cut inside the plates. Feed the flap through first, this will stop the plates banging down and marking the card.

Your card will be like this.  You can now score down the pencil mark to the exact centre point on the heart so it will fold back.

Embossing a pattern on the front flap.  Place the folder up to the pencil line and run through the Bug.

This is the your base card

I decorated my valentine card with a smaller heart die, embossed with the same folder, and then added wire and beads.

The inside of the card was decorated with more hearts and bows. The centre heart was a pop up.

The pop up was made from cutting three hearts  and fixing them together - to show you how versatile this pop-up is I have made a butterfly shape

It doesn't matter which way you fold the shapes.  I left the white underneath for a message - perhaps a secret one in the case of the Valentine! To complete my butterfly - wire and beads.

This technique could be used with numerous dies and I think will prove useful. If you create a card using this idea please let me know and link back. 

To Stamptacular Sunday Challenge a big thank you for picking my card as the winner. I'm real chuffed!

Cuttlebug - 2009 Top Tip No. 3 - Make a Pop-up Card with Nestabilities

I just had to add this to my Top Tips List as No.3....Hope you agree?

From my Tutorial in July 2009:

"I have been playing around with my large scalloped circles and discovered that I could make a pop-up card really easily.

This is the method I used. Cut 3 circles.

Fold as illustration - 2 one way and 1 the other and crease well.

Open out and join together so you have this shape










On the inside card crease fold - line up the centre fold of the pop-up
and tape the outer circles to the card

Hey Presto....you have made a pop-up card - I just added butterflies to complete the look.




I decorated the front with 3 butterfly dies embossed with the CB Textile and Swiss Dots folders. The cardstock was embossed with the Frills Flower Border on the front and back and the edges cut with a scalloped Pierceabilitie die."

This card not only uses Nestabilitie dies, but also Butterfly shapeabilities and a Pierceabilitie border die.  My motto is "If you have them - use them".  Are you using yours????

Back tomorrow (hopefully PC permitting - it's being very naughty at the moment) with Tip No. 2

Cuttlebug - 2009 Top Tips - No 4

As we near the end of 2009 which has been a busy year for me, I thought I would look back at some of the postings in the Cupboard. I have done so many tutorials and postings that I was amazed and surprised at what I found hidden away and had forgotten about! This led me to think of what I considered to be my best tips of the year and for the next four days I will show you what I consider to be my top 4 Tips for using your Cuttlebug and dies. You may have seen these, but just in case not, I don't want you to miss them!

Today my Top No.4 tip has to be using my small dies to make charms for cards. These have proved to be really useful for displaying birthday ages and wedding anniversaries.  You will find more ideas for using these charms under the label: Love and Marriage.

From:  5th July 2009

The last week has been hectic for me but I still managed to make a couple of cards using my Cuttlebug.

At the risk of becoming boring, I have used my Butterfly Shapeabilities to make a completely different card to last week's, because I thought you might like to see just what you can do with the smallest die.


Using a mottled beige cardstock cut to make a 5.1/2" square card, stamp a large swirl in gold ink and embossed with a clear embossing powder. 2 Fancy Corner die cuts finished the base card. Don't throw away the pieces left over - these can be used to decorate inside corners.


For the embellishment I used a thick handmade patterned paper to
cut a large butterfly and embossed this with the Paisley Cuttlebug folder.


To increase the boldness of the butterfly, use a glue stick to add a thick layer of glue to the edges. Cover with gold embossing powder and melt the power and glue with a heat gun.


This is the effect you get.



To complete the butterfly's body use : 2 eyelets and some twisted gold thread. Gold wire and beads for the antennae.
Cut 4 small gold mirror card butterflies.











Attach back to back over the gold thread to make 2 charms on which I have added numbers for this special birthday card.










Still using the Butterfly theme, cut and emboss the larger die - ink the edges and stamp in some way and you have your inside card completed.

The finished card.




I'm sure you will like the charms that you can make
with these small dies. Here I have used the heart dies on this Diamond Anniversary card.
Simple but very effective embellishment!










Hope you'll have time to drop by tomorrow for Top Tip No3.

Spellbinders Wizard Butterfly Dies

I love working with dark textured cardstock - ideal for that difficult man card!

I started with a tent fold 5.1/2" square card and with my Spellbinders Pierceabilities - Butterfly Die (attached with low tack tape to hold the stencil) cut, embossed and pierce the bottom edge of the card. Depending on the thickness of the card you may have to run this through a couple of times.

For the top border I used a CB Frills border folder and a MFP.

By embossing both the front and back of your cardstock you get a great start to your inside!!!


Your base card now looks like this









Now for my embellishment. Spellbinders Butterfly Dies.
The set consists of 3 dies.


Using silver mirror card embossed with the CB Happy Birthday folder, cut the two smallest dies as shown. I found it impossible to get a decent piccy as you will see!






With the largest and middle make a frame.


Fix the middle die to the card.



Add a 3d pad to the smallest butterfly - place on top. Raise the large butterfly frame with double 3D pads to give a tunnel effect.


My finished card. With using the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday folder I don't need to add a sentiment.

Hope you like this one - your comments or views are always welcome and much appreciated. Thanks for dropping by - hope you'll come back on Tippy Thursday.