Partial Embossing using cuttlebug – a tutorial

I saw this card and wanted to make a card with a similar embossed border. Presently there is no existing die that I could use as it is. So I started scouring the internet to see if anyone had done this. To my dismay none had. However, looking at various other things that people had done with their cuttlebug embossing folders, I got an idea about how I could achieve this look. So I got working and lo and behold! The results were fantastic – I got the look I wanted! Here’s the card I made:

The center image is printed on gold shimmer cardstock and the base is also shimmer cardstock – don’t you simply love it?!?!? I do!!!!

Ok, here’s the tutorial.

What you need:

• Some cardboard pieces – I cut them out of cereal boxes.
• cutting knife/blade
• Die-cut machine and its paraphernalia
• Embossing folder of your choice

Steps:

1. Take 3 pieces of cardboard. The number of pieces will vary depending on the thickness of your cardboard. I’m using cardboard from cereal boxes so that should give you some idea. The size of each piece should be a little bigger than the embossing folder that you’re using. Other than that the dimensions are not so important. In the second photo is a side-by-side comparison of the size of the cardboard piece with the acrylic plate of my big shot.
2. Draw the outline of a front of an A2 card on one of the pieces. This means draw a rectangle of 4.25 X 5.5 inches on the cardboard such that the longer side of the outline aligns with the longer side of the cardboard. I use a piece of cardstock to draw the outline.
3. Cut a window in the center of this outline. This is the area that you do NOT want to emboss. Using this window as a guide, cut a window in the other two pieces too.
4. Glue all three pieces together – aligning the windows.
5. Now assemble the sandwich.

Multipurpose platform, with the cardboard thing we created in the step above, followed by the embossing folder with the cardstock inside.	Note that the embossing folder is placed such that the cardstock aligns with the outline that we drew in step 2.
Acrylic plate on the top

6. Now roll the sandwich through your die cutting machine.
7. Check the cardstock to see if the embossing was to your liking. I found that the embossing was lighter than I expected.
8. So I added a shim (another cardboard piece – it doesn’t need to have a window or anything). You can also use some cardstock pieces. So my new sandwich is: multipurpose platform, piece of cardboard, the glued cardboards, embossing folder, acrylic plate.
9. Roll it again through the die-cut machine.
10. If you want the frame look on the inner rectangle, just score lines there. I used my scoring blade to do it. If you don’t have one you could use a ball-point pen that’s NOT working. And you’re done!