Hi! It's Christine from
iamcocoasmom.blogspot.com
sharing all my trials and tribulations using the Anna Griffin Fantastic
Flip card dies. Thank you, Sheila, for inviting me back to share. I
know that all your bloggy friends join me in wishing you a speedy return
to health.
Sooooo, I did succumb to the lure of Anna
Griffin on HSN and have to admit that I enjoyed putting together the
cards in the kit in as many different ways as I could think of.
However, I really, really wanted to try out the dies that came with the
kit and when I finally acquired the extended platform plates for my Big
Shot, I was ready to go.
Here's what I learned:-
*
Close your eyes, grit your teeth and ignore the cracking and popping of
the plates as you crank the Big Shot sandwich through. I understand
that it does the same in the Cuttlebug.
* Anna does
not include a die that will cut a frame for the opening. I mean,
really? Plan A - Searching Design Space, I could not find a frame of
the same proportions, even among Anna's carts. On to Plan B - I folded a
4 by 6 inch piece of cardstock and inserted it at the frame end of the
die before cranking it through. This is what's left over when the frame
cut is removed.
Unfortunately,
the frame cut in two parts but when glued around the opening, I found
that it presented a perfect opportunity for embellishment.
And using patterned paper worked well too.
*
Using double sided paper gives a variety of interesting results. The
embellishments that come in the kit are printed on one side only and to
my mind, look ugly and unfinished on the inside of the card. Using
double sided paper with the small embellishment dies results in a nicer
look inside. And, because the cardstock is generally thicker, there
isn't the need to strengthen the outer edge of the flip fold. (Since
this is the edge that holds the embellishments, it needs all the
strength it can get!)
* The smaller dies work with the Sizzix magnetic plate and are held firmly in place for the second, embossing pass.
*
The quality of the dies is not what I expected from Anna Griffin and I
reverted to my good old Heartfelt Creations dies and stamps to embellish
this card.
*
The more cards I made, the more frustrated I became with the fact that
they will not fold flat. I did try running the folded card through the
Big Shot before embellishment, but it wasn't much better.
You
know, I think I'll put the dies in my next garage sale and continue to
use the Flip cards on the Artfully Sent cart. Sigh! Here's a couple of
You Tube videos I found particularly useful:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53icPsCzBM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJqZice8Kqg
Thank you for visiting with me today. : ) Christine
