How to use plumber's gasket with the Cuttlebug

Do you remember that square piece of red rubber I bought at Lowe's last week? I promised I'd share a few ideas once I got to play with it, so here they are.

First of all, this idea is not original with me. I originally saw it on this site, which I shared with you the other day. The only problem with the site is that I can't make sense of how the postings are grouped. So I thought I'd give this a try and show you exactly how this is done, in case you like the look and want to try it, too.

Here's what you'll need: Cuttlebug, A plate, B plate, embossing folder, plumber's gasket and a card. You may need to add an additional shim to your mixture, but try it without first. I think I have one of the tighter Cuttlebugs, so I didn't need anything else (not even the 2nd B plate - more on that in a minute).

I wanted to make a set of personalized notecards for my Ministerial Secret Sister. The only problem is that I have to make them look like something you'd buy in the store (i.e. no layers) or she'll know exactly who I am. So I designed the notecards on the computer and printed them out. I planned to have a 1" all-around embossed border.



Then I cut my plumber's gasket into 1" strips. Since it's already 6", I simply cut three 1" strips and then cut the 3rd one in half lengthwise (to get the two smaller strips). I still have some gasket leftover to play with.

Here's how you're going to place the gasket (please excuse this blurry photo!):



I first put the notecard inside the folder, placed it on the A plate, then arranged my gasket strips to line up with the edges of the middle design on my card. Then I put the B plate on top and ran it through. Since the gasket is 1/8" rubber, expect to hear (and feel) a little squishing when it goes through. Also, since it's 1/8", you shouldn't need the second B plate.

Here's the result:



I used lavendar paper, although it just looks grey in this picture. I also blurred the name since I used both her first and last name. But you get the idea! I used the same embossing folder to emboss the back flap of the matching envelopes, tied it with a ribbon, and it's done. Easy and elegant.

You can do different designs with this method, if you can cut the rubber to the design you want. The basic concept is to put the rubber gasket where you want your card to be embossed. I think you could do an oval "blank" in the middle of the card if you're good enough with a utility knife to cut neatly through the rubber gasket. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm really curious. Let me know if you do!

ETA: The hand design on the notecard is just free clip art from Microsoft.