I was very anxious to see these, and upon their arrival I was shocked that they are not plastic embossing folders, but stainless steel stencils. They are very thin and quite delicate, so care should be taken when handling them. 65 lb cardstock is recommended, but I found that too thick to see any of the gorgeous intricate detail, so I embossed them onto 24 lb writing text (Stationary weight) Beckett Radiance Paper with very good results. HOWEVER, the paper tore in a couple of spots, and when I ran it through the Cuttlebug again with 2 pieces of 24 lb text, it was not as good as I wanted either. So I ran a piece of 80 lb radiance through the Xyron and adhered the embossed text paper to the cardstock to fortify it.
Here is the recipe for the Cuttlebug from bottom to top. This is not the way Spellbinders recommends the layering. They have the paper over the top of the stencil, which never made sense to me because you could not see exactly where it is placed. But what the heck do I know??
In the CUTTLEBUG:
A Plate
B Plate
Tan Pad
Paper
Impressabilities Template
B Plate
Chipboard shim. 1-2 may be necessary to emboss the pattern as deeply as you wish, so keep trying if you are not happy with the first results.
I used Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink for the white coloring on the butterflies. This is a small bottle with a firm brush tip handle that allows for very nice exactness of the application. Looks like a nail polish bottle!
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 GMT Views: 3185
Favorited:35
Registered: March 11, 2007 Location: In my Garden in West Jefferson, Ohio Posts: 4278
Thu, Apr 02, 2009 @ 12:02 PM
Sue,,,, HollySimoni.typepad.com has a video on how this product was demoed at convention. Sounds isn't very good but it might give you an idea of how SB thinks this should be done.
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GardenDiva AKA Tina DeLong
FS363 QFTD182
Fan Club Member & Tuesday Teapotter Hostess MMTPT222
Thyme began in a Garden. Jeremiah 29:11
Registered: June 15, 2005 Location: West Michigan Posts: 1941
Thu, Apr 02, 2009 @ 12:56 PM
When I first got it, I googled the product and came up with that very video. I tried the 65 lb paper and the design was not very good. I tried the 24 lb text and liked that much better. Sandwiches were different, but the results were the same or better. Thanks for the link.
Registered: June 10, 2006 Location: Coquitlam, BC Posts: 2288
Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 1:06 AM
This is stunning. Your embossing is so nice & pronounced and I love the pearlized shimmer. Thanks for sharing all your fabulous tips. Just brilliant! :O)
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