My new crinoline custom die is designed to work with the Clearly Constructed French Laundry crinoline stamp on plate no. 6. To ALIGN your custom die with your stamped image, you will need to first create an alignment tool. This is one way to create the tool, and I just learned a different way and will be posting that very soon!
1. Place your die cutting edges up on your work surface.
3. Remove the crinoline stamp from its transparent carrier plate, and place the carrier plate stamp side up on top of the die. Align the cutting edges inside the stamp design. Move the carrier plate around to get the best possible alignment. With a permanent marker, place dots on the carrier plate over both registration circles attached to the sides of the die. With a 1/16" circle hole punch or an awl, create tiny holes through the dots. That's all there is to it and you only need to do this once. Now that you have an alignment tool, you are ready to stamp the crinoline image.
4. Stamp crinoline image onto your choice of paper or cardstock.
5. Place your carrier plate (alignment tool) over the stamped image stamp side down. Manipulate it so that the image you just stamped aligns with the image on the carrier plate. Insert a pencil through the holes and mark. Now you are ready to cut!
6. Place your die cutting side down over the stamped image that has been marked with pencil dots, and align the dots with the holes in the die. Use some removable tape or a heavy duty sticky note to hold the die in place temporarily.
7. Run the die, paper attached, through your cutting machine following the manufacturers instructions, and Viola! I use a Sizzix Big Shot, but there are many brands to choose from and the methodology for each one is somewhat different. I can tell you that the original Sizzix will not work. You need one of the newer models that actually rolls the die through a sort of press. With acid etched dies the paper is actually "cut" with pressure.
Plan B, Craft Green! If for any reason you no longer have your carrier plate, you can easily create an alignment tool in less than a minute with a recycled milk bottle!
1. Go to your recycle bin and salvage a plastic milk bottle. Cut a piece of plastic that is slightly larger than the die.
2. Place the die, cutting side down, onto the recycled plastic. Mark it "this side up," secure in place, and run through your die cutting machine. The plastic is very thick so it won't cut, but it will score the plastic with the configuration of the cutting edges. Cut the crinoline shape out of the plastic taking care to leave those registration circles on the sides.
3. Place your new alignment tool on top of your stamped image, move it around and align it so that the cutting lines are inside the stamped lines, secure in place with a heavy duty post it note or removable tape, and run it through your die cutting machine according to manufacturers instructions. Store your alignment tool with your stamp or die for future use.
SIDE BAR: If you ordered your crinoline die a few weeks ago, then you received the prototype which came with it's own plastic alignment tool. Anyone who can operate one of these sweet little cutting machines can easily create an alignment tool with recycled plastic in less than a minute, and this planet could do with a less plastic. Don't you think?!
TECHNOLOGY:
Being the information junkie that I am, I have been immersed in the technology that brought forth my new custom crinoline die. I am smitten with my new die and desiring more to play with, and from the feedback I have been getting I am not alone.
What I have learned, is that acid etched dies (as compared with Sizzix-type steel rule dies) are a mere 1 mm thick and constructed of a special steel that is not manufactured in the US. The steel is poured into sheets in Germany and shipped to the US where it undergoes a hardening process so that it can withstand the trials of being pressed in our die cutting machines!
Hardened steel is just the rough material. To turn it into a die, first a graphic artist, working with a stamped image, plots a tooling diagram that will be transfered to steel coated with a photo resist and exposed to a controlled UV light source. This will leave an image identical to the tooling (artwork) on the resist. The unexposed areas are stripped away leaving the bare metal to be etched away. Then the individual dies are cut from the sheet, painted and sanded.
It is a lot more involved than I ever could have imagined. But, I have a greater appreciation for dies now that I understand the process.
Here are some behind the scenes photos at Dies Direct, my manufacturer in Phoenix, AZ:
Glad to have this information. I am always loosing things and worried about this little plastic sheet. Now I know how to make another one. I love the die. Got three more dolls I did different things with using the die cut skirt.MORE MORE.This is such a great addition to Character Constructions.
Posted by: Nancy Gene Armstrong. | 21 September 2010 at 03:48 PM
Great instructions. This die is fabulous... can't wait for more to come (I may be a bit "cutting challenged")!
Posted by: Maria | 07 October 2010 at 07:46 AM
Fabulous,I really love the new die cuts. Hugs Laura. xoxx
Great information...
Posted by: Laura Haviland | 12 January 2011 at 10:19 PM