How to Use Nestabilities With Cuttlebug

Birthday card made with the Cuttlebug

The Cuttlebug from Provo Craft is a versatile tool that allows for manual embossing and die-cutting. One of the most useful benefits of the Cuttlebug is that it is manufactured to use competitors' dies and embossing plates to increase its own functionality. Nestabilities are dies manufactured by Spellbinders for use in their Wizard die-cutting and embossing machine. You can use Nestabilities dies in your Cuttlebug.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock or scrapbooking paper
• 2 pieces of chipboard
• Spellbinder's embossing pad

Instructions

1. Make a Cuttlebug sandwich. Layer a Cuttlebug A plate, your two pieces of chipboard or card stock used as shims, a B plate, your Nestabilities die, your paper or card stock and your second B plate.

2. Line your Cuttlebug sandwich up with the paper and die toward the center, and crank it through the die-cutter. Your goal is to cut the die out without hurting any of your plates. If you are cranking your Cuttlebug too hard, or hearing cracking noises when cranking, reduce the amount of card stock or chipboard being used as shims in your Cuttlebug.

3. Emboss with your Cuttlebug and Nestabilities die with slightly different sandwich ingredients. Layer your A plate, one piece of chipboard, a B plate, your die, card stock, your Spellbinder's embossing mat and your second B plate. As in Step 2, modify your shims as necessary to get the deepest emboss possible.

4. Make great embellishments with your Cuttlebug and Nestabilities die by adding perfectly embossed borders around your embellishments or around the frame of your card or scrapbook page. Simply alter the recipe for your Cuttlebug sandwich slightly. Combining these steps allows for a variety of wonderful effects with your Cuttlebug.

Tips & Warnings

• Because your chipboard will vary in size, either remove a piece of chipboard in exchange for a few sheets of card stock, or add card stock to your two pieces of chipboard. You want to get a clean cut with your die without having the Nestabilities stick into your B plate.

• Do not overload your Cuttlebug. You run the risk of breaking one of your plates or breaking the handle of the Cuttlebug or the Cuttlebug itself.

References

• Provo Craft: Cuttlebug
• Spellbinders: Wizard and Nestabilities
• Image credit for Zeitgeist at Flickr.com