Sunday, September 13, 2009

Look what came today (+ a project)!

I was so excited to find a padded envelope from Utah in my mailbox today! I got my Labels 8 Nestabilities from Cut at Home!





We had to finish our homeschooling in the afternoon today, since my son went to the Lowe's workshop this morning. [We homeschool in the mornings Tuesday through Saturday, since it works better for our schedule.] I was itching to get in my craft room and try these out!

Typical me, I didn't start out with the easiest project on my list, either. (Ask my dad sometime about the first doll I ever sewed ...) I decided to make the mini dresser I linked to in an earlier post. It took me awhile since I don't have the matchbox die and had to figure out all the measurements for myself, but the end result was quite cute.

Before I show you the finished product, let me show you one of my favorite features of the Nestabilities:



They're an easy way to save paper! I only needed the outer perimeter of this particular shape to be covered with the patterned paper, so I simply used a smaller die to cut out the center to save for another project. It couldn't be any easier - lay it on the paper and crank it through the machine!

Okay, here's my finished project:



I was able to fit two tea bags per drawer. This is going to my Secret Sister since she loves tea like I do. I also designed it in an apple theme since she is planning to redo her kitchen in apples soon. I liked how it turned out!

A few more things I found out about the Nestabilities ...

I was under the impression that you could only cut paper with them, since they're not the steel rule dies (like Sizzix). However, I found out that you can cut cereal-box-weight chipboard with them, too. That's about all the chipboard I ever use, so that made me happy!

To emboss, you need a tan embossing mat that is sold for the Wizard die cut machine (sold by Spellbinders, the same company that makes Nesties). BUT good old plumbers gasket works, too, and I had some of that already. I had cut into it, though, so I will have to buy another sheet to use with the larger dies. It's only around $1 at Lowe's, though, so it's still cheaper than the tan mat from Spellbinders.

These are so fun, I just want to keep cranking paper through my Cuttlebug. I suspect a few more sets are in my future! :)

2 comments:

DeeAnn said...

Congratulations on your new Nesties. I love them and I have three sets. I held out for the longest time buying them because I have my electronic die cut machines. The embossing makes the Nesties completely worth it.

I love your stamp set. What a find and a great DH for finding them.

Esther Asbury said...

Fun, fun, fun! Top on my birthday list is the scallop circle set!

 
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