Cuttlebugs and Xyrons, OH MY!!!

          I wasn't sure if I was going to write about cardmaking. Do people really want to know about this stuff? In the end, I decided...oh well, might as well do it I already wrote about bookbinding.

          I've always loved writing snail mail and part of that was making my own stationary and cards. For the most part, I used markers, stamps and stencils.  After a while, I got bored. I needed to shake things up and so off to YouTube I went. I found the world of embossing and adding dimension to cards by having raised parts. I did my research on the machines that do that and finally settled on two machines: the Cricut Cuttlebug and the Xyron Create a Sticker. The Cuttlebug embosses and cuts shapes while the Xyron makes stickers out of anything. I'm going to tell you a bit about each and then show you what I did with them so far.

1. Cricut Cuttlebug: (From Amazon.com) "The Circuit Cuttlebug die Cutting and embossing machine offers a versatile and portable option for Cutting and embossing a wide variety of materials. The only machine that can emboss, the Cuttlebug gives professional-looking results with clean, crisp cuts and deep, even embosses. It works with the entire line of Cuttlebug embossing folders and Cutting dies. It's also compatible with most leading folders and dies. Go beyond paper and cut and emboss materials including tissue paper, foils, acetate ribbon, thin leather, and more."

2. Xyron Create a Sticker Max: (From the manufacturer) "Making your own stickers is as easy as turning the knob. The Xyron XRN500 Create-a-Sticker applies an even layer of adhesive to the back of any flat item up to 5 inches wide. Use it instead of glue dots, household glue, glue sticks or other adhesives."

          So the Cricut Cuttlebug comes with an embossing folder and a die cut that says Thank You. I decided to use what came with the machine before I went all out and bought different dies and embossing folders. I wanted to see how easy it was to use and whether or not it really is as useful as it seemed on the internet. Well...I tried it out, then I used the Xyron to make parts of the card into stickers to stick on the base card (I like to build cards in layers).

          Without further ado here is what I came up with, the white part of the card I did with the embossing folder and I coloured the Thank You using some alcohol markers. The Thank You and the white part I ran through the Xyron machine and then stuck them on some black cardstock that I had in my stash.

          I'm very happy with how these simple cards came out and I've ordered some new dies and embossing folders. We'll see how that turns out. As to the Xyron, that has seen a lot of action in my Omni journal where I'll turn elements that I want to stick into my journal into stickers and add them. I love both these machines!