Cut First, Stamp Second!

Recently I read message thread on 2PeasRefugees about a possibly defective Avery Elle die. The message thread eventually included a post about a technique that allows stampers to get better results by cutting first and stamping second. I had to try it, and it worked extremely well, even though I used a fairly detailed stamp.

To do this technique, you need a stamping platform, such as the Tonic/Tim Holtz Stamp Platform.

You need one "template" made from the negative that would normally be thrown away. The template can be reused. Cut as many of the actual shapes for stamping on as you want.

For example, I could do this with the matching die for the Lush Lilacs parasol stamp, that I used to make my Lush Lilacs card in the post shown just below this one.  If I cut it in white, I might keep both the parasol shape, and the part that is left, the outline. The parasol piece will be set aside for stamping on later. The outline piece becomes the template. Or I might cut the template in a dark, heavier cardstock. In this case, I would keep the outline, but might throw the dark colored parasol away if I did not want to use it. A heavier cardstock is sturdier for your template and can be reused more times.

The purple cardstock was too flimsy for my template, so I ended up making my template from a sturdier black cardstock. I cut a few blanks from white, light purple, and medium purple cardstock. The medium purple was textured, which was a bad idea. I had forgotten that textured does not stamp as well.

I would also cut several additional parasol die cuts in white and lighter colors, but would throw away the outline/waste papers as usual. The die cut shapes are the "blanks" and will be used for stamping on as desired.

Put a piece of plain paper on your stamp platform and fasten it with magnets. Put your template on the platform base as well, then position the stamp so that it will be approximately in the center of the template. It does not need to be perfect. You just want to make sure you can fit the template. The first time I did the "cut first, stamp second" technique, I put the stamp on the platform lid without making sure I had left sufficient room on the base plate for the template. I had positioned my stamp too close to the edge and had to trim a corner off my template, which was annoying.

Once it is positioned, bring down the lid so that it picks up your cling stamp.  Remove the template and set it aside. Ink your stamp, then stamp on the plain paper.  Open the lid.

With the stamped, plain paper still in place, lay the template over the stamped image, so that it is outlined perfectly. Tape it to your plain paper with Washi tape, or use additional magnets if you prefer.

Now put your matching cut out into the template so that it fits like a puzzle piece. The template should hold it perfectly in position.

Ink your stamp and press it down onto the cut image. It should stamp perfectly.  Stamp as many pre-cut "blanks" as you like for future use.

The nice thing about this technique is that there is no guesswork, and you are more likely to get a perfectly stamped image each time.  You can use manual dies that match your stamps, or an electronic cutter that allows you to trace a stamped image to create a cutting file. Either will work.

Card I made using Heartfelt Creations Lush Lilacs stamps and papers....

This isn't as fancy as the ones we made in the class. I cut apart one of the Lush Lilacs papers which is obviously intended for cards or for journaling on a layout. I had previously stamped, cut, and added extra lilac blossoms to the parasol. I chose a ticket element from the paper, cut some matching cardstock, added a little bling (which doesn't show up well, unfortunately), and my card was done.

The parasol was cut out with the Scan N Cut. It required a border to get a decent cut. I had another that had no border. I don't remember if that one was colored first, or if I used the matching die. Yes, I did eventually buy the matching dies, as well as the Lilac flower shaping set.

Sometimes it's easier using the Scan N Cut. Sometimes it's easier using a matching die. To a great extent, simpler stamps cut well using the Scan N Cut, especially if you do not need inside sections cut out. There is a way to do inside and out cutting, but I tried it and was not quite satisfied with the results.

The machine will cut highly detailed, artistic stamps far better if they are first fully colored with Copics or other markers.

Heartfelt Creations are not simple stamps. Because they are highly detailed, they do not always cut right on the line with the Scan N Cut. I had more success if I added a thin border. Sometimes a thin border looks better, and sometimes borderless looks better. It depends on the project. I had both a borderless and a bordered parasol, and for this card, the one with the slight border looked better to me. I bought the matching dies so that I could eliminate having a border. There is another reason to buy the matching dies.....

We had thunderstorms today. A recent lightning strike fried several ethernet ports on many of our devices. Sometimes you just don't want to use an expensive electronic cutter. You can use dies even if you have a power loss.

As a result, even though I have the Scan N Cut, I am still buying Heartfelt Creations dies.

I have not given up on the Scan N Cut. It's a good machine. And I have a lot of stamps that don't have matching dies. For Heartfelt Creations stamps, though, I really like having the coordinating dies in some cases, too.

Heartfelt Creations Lush Lilacs Class

Back in January, I got an email stating that Heartfelt Creations, my favorite stamp company, would be having a class near me. It was very, very near me! A local stamp club hosted the Heartfelt Creations classes, including one that used the Lush Lilacs stamp collection which had not yet been released.  I signed up, and I loved it! The cards we made were gorgeous, as you can see:

We also had the opportunity to buy the stamps, dies, and paper collection that day. I bought the stamps and papers.  That is when I decided to buy the Scan N Cut, so that I could cut my stamps without having to buy matching dies.  Many of the other gals at the class raved about the machine. Some of them had never even heard of the Silhouette Cameo.