Tips For Framelits & Edgelits Dies

Are you loving the new Framelits and Edgelits as much as I am?  I LOVE them! 

While surfing the blogs to find new ideas, I've run across several helpful tips that I thought I'd pass along to you.  If you see any others, please feel free to let me know so I can add them to this post.

Framelits & Edgelits Storage

Magnet Sheets—One thing I did right away was cut a Magnet Sheet to fit inside the nice plastic envelopes that these dies come in.  It works great as a way to keep all of the nested dies organized, and easy to pull in and out of the envelope!

Then, I found an idea on Diana Gibb's blog about making the magnetic sheet pretty by adding Designer Series Paper of your choice!  Love it!  See her idea here.  I SNAILed on some Flirtatious DSP on my Hearts magnet, and some Beau Chateau DSP on my Labels magnet. 

Another alternative is to use the magnetic sheets in a DVD case. You can hold both styles in one case, or put each style in its own individual case.  Frenchie Stamps presented this idea on her blog. I really like this idea, but Stampin' Up! has already told us to expect more Framelits to come, so I wouldn't recommend doubling them up…we need room to expand this collection!  Woohoo!

Store Edgelits With Folders—For the Edgelits, you could those on a smaller Magnet Sheet, and store them in the plastic folder along with the coordinating Adorning Accents Impressions Folders.  Very handy!

Big Shot Storage Boxes—In the Hearts Framelits training video from SU, Donna Griffith showed how nicely that the Framelit plastic envelopes will fit in a Medium Big Shot Die Storage Box after removing the storage insert.  Even though there are only three styles to store right now, she recommended this storage option because SU will be coming out with more styles in the future! 

Positioning Framelits & Edgelits

Sometimes keeping these thin dies in place while running them through the Big Shot can be a little tricky.  I've come across a couple suggestions to help with this problem.

Use Dotto—For temporary, but more secure positioning, considered adhering the die to the Cutting Pad with Dotto repositionable adhesive.  Just apply a couple dabs to the flat side of the die, then adhere to the Pad in the approximate area you need to cut, and adjust to line it up where you want it.  Works like a charm!  

Keep An Unused Cutting Pad—I was having trouble seeing through my Cutting Pads because they were so worn, so I would highly recommend dedicating at least one Pad to the top layer of your Framelit/Edgelit sandwiches. 

I know many demos who have a separate Cutting Pad pair strictly for their embossing folders, so they don't leave unwanted cut marks in the embossed card stock.  You could use one of these dedicated pads for the top of your Framelit/Edgelit.

Permanently Mount Edgelits—Here's a time-saver tip from Deb Valder!  Again, you would need two Cutting Pads that you could dedicate to Edgelits only. 

Since the Edgelits are the exact width of a Cutting Pad, there isn't any room for error as you run them through the Big Shot.  If they are not lined up with the Pads, they could very likely bend and be ruined.

Deb suggests using Sticky Strip to permanently mount each Edgelit to its own Cutting Pad.  In addition, she recommends adding Grid Paper to the other Cutting Pad, so that it is easy-peasy to line up your project for cutting.  She gives complete instructions on how to do this at her blog.

I just did this with my Edgelits, and I really like how quickly and easily I can line up my borders for cutting. 

Big Shot Sandwich Chart

With new die-cutting tools begin introduced, there is certainly some room for confusion when it comes to what cutting plate sandwich to use with which die. Sometimes you need Tab 1, sometimes Tab 2, sometimes a crease pad…it's easy to forget.

I've compiled a list of all types of Sizzix Dies and Folders with recipes for cutting each one on a Big Shot Sandwich Chart (ETA: corrected link!).  It's not very pretty, but the information is all there in a concise format.  If you would like my original Word document, just email a request. 

Of course, all of these sandwich recipes are also located in the Idea Book & Catalog next to each style of die/folder—a great reference to know about, especially for new die-cutters! 

Got any other tips for these new dies?  Let me know so I can share them!

Angie