Hot Knife Tutorial / Die Cutting Stamps

I'd read on Splitcoast about several stampers using a Hot Knife to cut out larger stamps for a die-cut product (and having the ability to use the negative space as an additional stamping option). Since I recently received Big Blossom as a Sell-A-Bration set (by Stampin’ Up!®), I thought I'd create this tutorial. I appreciate those on Splitcoast that put this bug in my head, otherwise I wouldn't have thought of it myself! LOL!

1. Assemble the Hot Knife (I used the creative HotMarks -tm- by Walnut Hollow) to have the knife attachment. I used a pliers to do this - it's super sharp.

2. Preheat the knife for about 4-5 minutes. There will be some smoke the first time you use it. The metal will turn bluish when it's ready. Make sure to use a heat proof table top and I can't say this enough... Be careful. The knife will get to 750F.

3. Carefully cut out around the image. Hold the knife straight up and down. Since the knife is hot, you won't need to "saw" through the rubber, but pull it. You'll know if the blade is hot enough, since this should be like slicing butter. Don't worry about getting through the paper and some of the corners with your first run. You can go back and clean up missed areas once the bulk of cutting is complete.

4. Separate the stamp from it's negative image. It should be a fairly clean cut.

5. All that's left is mounting the images. In this case, I used the same wood block - one stamp on each side.

Let me know if you found this helpful. It was my first try at this, but I can see I'll be doing this again!

Thanks, Lisa

February Stamp Camp Project

Supplies (all supplies by Stampin’ Up!®):

Stamp sets: Polka Dots and Paisley and Little Pieces; Paper: Brocade Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White, Sarah Designer Paper; Inks: Brocade Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery; Accessories: Ticket corner punch, 1/2" Circle punch, Sponge (to ink edges of cardstock), ATG adhesive and clear marble accents (for floral arrangements).

Every month, I get together with a great group of ladies (my family and close friends) and we stamp... what's better than that?!?!?

This month, we will be making an altered frame, which I found in the Target Dollar Spot. They are metal angled frames with small magnets... perfect for altered art!

I thought I'd post these stamp camp projects as a record of what we've been doing and perhaps inspire others to try them too.

Which leads me to a completely different topic... why post at all? Who will read my blog? Well.... I will. But that's not a good reason to blog. I could easily take a photo of the projects I'm doing and put in a notebook. I'm hoping others will come to find my jumbled posts and perhaps get ideas for their stamp camps... maybe ideas for gifts for friends... Only time will tell if blogging my ideas will be of value to anyone but me.

Thanks!

lise

First Picture upload...

So... I'm hoping that this works (please bear with me). I realize all my posts can't be a first... but this IS a first try at uploading a photo to the site. LOL!

I made this card about 1 week ago for a Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge [ http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ ]. This site is so wonderful and a complete inspiration to me. The sketch challenge is announced every Wednesday with the intent to draw creativity to the surface. The more you stamp, the better you get! I completely believe this!!!

I love the main stamp set - Like it a Latte - Stampin’ Up!®. It's fast becoming a favorite stamp set of mine. Using the challenge sketch (which predetermined the card layout), I was able to use many of the stamp images in the set. A favorite accessory of mine is the liquid applique, which looks just like the foam on a fabulous cup of coffee.

Thanks!

Lisa

First post... testing the system

So, I've finally taken the plunge into a blog. I don't know why I'm nervous about it, but I am. I hope to have a more detailed addition tomorrow...

Thanks!
Lisa

Picture Link