Good Morning Fellow Stampers -
It's Hump Day!! Hard to believe Fall is finally arriving. Time is moving so fast. Before you know it, the Holidays will have truly arrived at our doorsteps. I'm hoping things will cool down enough now that I can start leaving the air conditioning off. We shall see. So far the forecast has been fairly warm for September in Colorado.
Today I want to answer a question that one of my Blog Subscribers asked a week ago. I thought it was a Fabulous question and needed some focused attention. Here is Stasia's quesion, in part -
"I just used the Baker's Box dies for the first time using DSP. It cut right through the paper at the creases, so I used a crease pad and it didn't even cut the outline of the box. When I cut with Card Stock it worked. I'm so sad . . . Any suggestions for me?"
Well this one stumped me just a little bit. I have not experienced this with my Bakers Box Thinlet die set; however I am aware that some die sets cut quite deeply and some designer series papers are thinner than others and thus can cut right through.
Here is one panel cut from a piece of Happy Haunting DSP. The piece cut perfectly, and all score lines are in place.
Two Baker's Boxes made with the Happy Haunting and Into the Woods DSP.
No issues here! However, I would note that our current DSP is a nice thick paper - heavier than some of our previous DSP, and also some of our Specialty DSP.
I posed this question in my internal private Stampin' Pretty Pals chat room. The feedback was mixed as many of those demonstrators have not experienced this phenomenon either. That does not mean it doesn't happen.
Here are a couple tips, both from the Pals, as well as from my own experience, when using these types of dies (or any dies for that matter), that tend to cut very deeply:
From Stampin' Pretty Pal Karen Gooch: "I had this problem the first time I used it, so the second time I ran the DSP through on top of some card stock and it worked out okay for me." Karen suggests you give it a try on some retired cardstock you don't care about to give it a try.
From Stampin' Pretty Fearless Leader, Mary Fish: "We have to adjust a bit because the tension of the Big Shot varies from machine to machine (due to age, use, etc.) and the thickness of DSP and cardstock is different. I suggest she try some scrap DSP (to test) and use the crease pad plus a piece of DSP as a shim in her sandwich. She can increase from the DSP as a shim to cardstock if that doesn't cut and score cleanly."
From Stampin' Pretty Pal Paula Crutcher Butler: "I made 36 of the pocket cut [through the score line on] any of my samples; but when [the gals] started making them, I think I had 4 of the [boxes] that were cut [through the score line]. So sometimes it is just random how the machine is cutting is my guess."
From Stampin' Pretty Pal Victoria Townsend Lozier: "Some DSP is thinner than others, so that could be part of the problem, why it cuts through the creases sometimes."
In fact, it is true that each Big Shot is different from each other. And certainly the age and how much use the machine gets can affect how a die reacts as it goes through the machine. I recommend you use your Magentic Platform (not your regular platform), and that you do some experimentation. Try running the die with a cardstock shim; try it with your crease pad and a cardstock shim; try it with various different types of designer series paper. Experiment! I trust there is a solution.
And if you continue to have issues Stasia, don't hesitate to contact me by email [[email protected]] or phone [303/475-9449] and I will be happy to help you find a solution with Demonstrator Support. Your die could potentially be too "tight" or sharp as well.
The same goes for anyone else who is running into issues. Leave me your question today -- I'll be happy to address it in my next Ask Wendy Wednesday's! Hope this was helpful to everyone today!
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Until Next Time . . .
