Card Making with Cuttlebug

Cuttlebug is a handy and very useful tool in creating crafts. It is a fun gadget in making crafty things with kids too. It is not child labor (I'd protest if you would say so). My daughter, when she was still a toddler, really enjoys working with my Cuttlebug and she always volunteers to create impressions on my card projects. She thinks that it is a toy. Now that she is older, 9 years old, she creates her own greeting cards. I posted one of her videos below.

One way of attracting brides is putting something on a product that your competitors do not have. I believe that I am the only Cuttlebug owner in my city and most of my clients thought that the impressions are done by big machines. They did not know that it is a very small and handy gadget.

After buying Cuttlebug, you may want to collect Cuttlebug dies and check what is new in the market every now and then. There are different dies for almost any season and occasion. Spring, summer, fall, winter. Halloween, Christmas crafts and cards, Valentines, and others

Photos in this hub are mine. I selected the simple ones.

Your enthusiasm is high in making hand made card and you are willing to spend for the machine or tool that could help you make the giant step. You need not spend much for a machine. When I got this Cuttlebug, I was able to launch my card making business. Since it is very handy and portable, I can easily get it to my small craft shop and back to my home if I have to make a project overnight.

You also do not need to worry about electricity consumption since the operation of this handy tool is manual. For card makers like me who live in a place where power outages is very common, this tool is certainly perfect.

When I wanted to buy mine, I was deciding whether to buy Cuttlebug or Sizzix . I finally opted to buy the Cuttlebug after reading several user feedback.

Amazon has Cuttlebug Machine and all Cuttlebug Embossing Folders and Die Cutters

I bought mine from eBay and all the dies are from there too. I became a repeat customer to more than one seller. These sellers do have their own website but I prefer buying it from eBay for two reasons: 1. It will build my profile as buyer because I will get feedback from the seller. 2. The price on their eBay listing is the same as on their websites so I'd rather visit eBay and do my purchase there because I can see all items in one site rather than visiting several sites.

How To Cut Cost

Wait for sale or promo. One of my strategies is not to buy the template that is in season. For example, if it is September (until 3rd week of October), I'll not buy templates for Halloween. Let Halloween pass and you will see those items be listed on sale. This holds true for Christmas themed templates or Valentines. Get them after the event. The problem is, you run the risk that it will be out of stock.

Bid rather than "buy it now". Sometimes, you can get it at lower price. Bid on several auctions of the same seller and have one-time shipping. Maybe, you will ask: "What if I won one auction and the other bids are yet to end?" The seller will be willing to assist you on that if you contact him. Tell him that you are waiting for the other auction results so you will cut cost on the shipping. What I did was to pay the item promptly. I pay it before I contact the seller to request that the shipping be held on hold.

The brown accent you see in the photo is a die cut output. There are many other die cutters like swirls, butterflies and other animal figures.

Emboss it or Cut It

Whether you are into card making or scrapbooking, the cuttlebug is truly a “must buy” gadget for you. It is a great investment because it will serve the purpose of maintaining your creative hobbies as well as sharing your talents to your friends or clients. I share mine to my friends and nieces for free. They can come to my shop and emboss their card or art projects or they may borrow it for few days (especially during those months when there are no much orders. Wedding is seasonal so there are few months when I do not get good number of orders.

You can emboss pretty and cool impression

Most of the dies are for embossing. It truly creates a difference using cardstocks if there are elegant impressions on the cardstock surface.

You can also cut with the die cutter

If you need a die cutter, there are options for this as well. For me, I bought several die cutters but what I used mostly is the butterfly die cutter. I bought it along with four butterfly emboss. So, I can cut butterfly shapes and impress on it several designs.

Photo shows a simple impression on an envelope.

The die templates that you will see if you click on the amazon link below are great templates to have when you are making love-related card projects. I personally recommend these templates if you are into wedding cards, valentine cards and other cards with love theme.

Before you decide to buy a template, visualize first some designs in your mind using it. If you can come up with several designs easily then it is worth buying it.

You need die templates if you want to make a card with a lay over design or when you want to make a raised effect using the cut out.

The advantage of buying this Love Sentiments Die Template is that you can cut out three words at a time. But this works as a disadvantage if you only need one of the words in the template. You have to take time placing the paper or card stock properly.