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Out Of the Box Nestabilities Cutting
by Stacey Dunning, Blockheads Paper Arts
The card we create in this tutorial uses the Blockheads Light and Form Stamp Set and Standard Circles Nestabilities Dies.
There are various ways of cutting a shape around your image, but not cutting through an area that is "outside the box" or outside the die cut shape. If you're using a nestabilities die or another die that is cut away in the center this is the easiest way. I'll explain the other methods I've seen at the end.
Draw Template
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  For this sample we're going to use a circle shaped nestabilities die but not cut through the post when we cut.
The first step is to align the die over the image and use a pencil to draw a temporary outline of the shape. This line will be slightly smaller than the actual cut but it's right where it needs to be for a guide.
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Cut Around the Portion of the Image that is "Outside the Box"
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  Without cutting any other areas close to the drawn outline, cut around the portion of the image that is outside the guide. Cut right up to the line plus about 1/16th of an inch.
The reason you want the extra 1/16th inch is that you're going to want to position that portion of the image on top of the die. The extra 1/16th inch helps free the die to move freely to line it up exactly. You can move it a little to the right or left from the guideline if you like. Use a low-tack tape like post-it tape to hold the die in place, then run it through your die cutting machine with the appropriate sandwich for due cutting. |
Cut and Emboss
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  If you choose to emboss with an embossing mat, leave the image taped down the same way, with the outside area on top of the die.
As you can this gives a nice tight cut and emboss without cutting or embossing a line through the post.
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If the metal die doesn't have an empty center you can't use this method. If it's a small portion of the image you can fold it in and unfold it after cutting and embossing. If you don't want the fold line or there isn't room inside the cutting area to fold the "out of the box" portion of the image, there is a second method which I have varying results with.
Cut a small piece of embossing mat (like the tan mat shown above) to fit the width of the area you don't want to cut. In the case of the post it would be a little piece the same width as the post. Put the embossing mat between the paper and the cutting plate. The cutting edge is still touching the paper but because there is no hard plate beneath that area, the cutting edge doesn't bite through the paper. You have to remove that little strip before embossing or it will tear your paper. The problem I have with this is that sometimes the die doesn't cut close to the tan mat either, so getting the exact size is tricky. The other problem is that when you emboss, you also emboss the image, so if you don't want that embossed you'll have to try to smooth it out.
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