Repurposing a Die with a Purpose – Is a Bonus
Did you know that if you buy a die that fulfills one purpose, repurposing that die is a bonus? The good news is that you can keep the secret of what the die is originally for but use bits and pieces of luscious pattern for another home run.ย I’mย Becca Feekenย withย Amazing Paper Graceย – a known die collector.ย Today I’m sharing how easy it is to take a die with a purpose and repurpose it.
One dieย I designed that is very close to my heart is Spellbinders S5-289 Booklet Die.ย First of all, it makes a booklet but doubles as a mini card and is also sized to be used in a box top.ย With this and many other dies, as long as you can ‘camouflage’ the original markings, you can use the pattern in many other things.ย I reached into my bin of castoffs and pulled out an entire filigree piece cut with the Booklet Die.ย It’s perfect for my repurposing project so I made it into a panel for a card.ย ย Since I love large background patterns, the Filigree Booklet nicely fits the bill and covers a decent amount of real estate.
Repurposing by Cutting
For this Booklet die, although you receive two different inserts with the die, I knew I wanted the same inlay insert in each side.ย Cut and emboss one half of the die at a time.ย Do this by putting a washi marker on the side of your cutting plate.ย Roll in to the mark (half way) and roll the die back out the same way.ย Reseat the inlay in the second opening, turn the die 180 degrees and do the same thing by rolling in half way and back out.
Notice that there is a bar with four holes that makes it obvious this die is used for something else.
Place the diecut so that the holes are camouflaged and no one will ever know this is a booklet die.
Using dies for something other than what they were originally designed for is something that absolutely makes my day.ย The wonderful byproduct of this curiosityย is that it makes you look at your dies for the beauty of their patterns instead of what they make.ย I take snippets all the time and tuck them behind a piece here or there.ย ย Repurpose that beauty, it is an adventure in the making!
Sending hugs!
Becca Feeken โ www.amazingpapergrace.com
Spellbinders Supplies:
- S5-289 Filigree Booklet Die
- S4-817 Breanna’s Corset Label Die
- PE-100 Platinumโข 6 Die Cutting And Embossing Machine โ 6″ Platform
- T-001 Tool โN Oneโข
Other Supplies:
Bazzill Pomegranate Cardstock, The Fine Touch Metallic Poster Board, The Paper Studio – Vellum, ย Offray 5/8″ Satin Ribbon, ย K and Company Pearls, Ranger Gold Detail Embossing Powder,ย Stampabilities Merry and Bright Stamp
10 Comments
June Fletcher
This is such a beautiful creation Becca
Thank you for sharing
June
Becca Feeken
Thank you June!! It was an easy one ๐
Pam TAS
Hi Becca you are smashing it love all you do !
Thanks for all you share big Hugs Pam XXX
Becca Feeken
Hugs right back at ya Pam. Thanks for your sweet words!
Kirsty Vittetoe
Beautiful and elegant all in one!
Becca Feeken
Thank you Kirsty ๐ This was an easy one too!!
Sandra Smith
A really lovely card and it’s always wonderful to see new ideas for repurposing dies. I’m a die collector too!
Can you tell me where the background paper came from?
Thank you
Becca Feeken
Hi Sandra:
Thanks so much for your kind words! This is a digital paper that I pulled out of my stash – I use it quite often. I’m sorry that I don’t remember where I purchased it but I buy a good amount of digital papers from artists on etsy – I love supporting them in that way. If you search script and digital paper on etsy, you will no doubt find one that fits the bill. The beauty of digital is that I can print on cream or white – this one was printed on text weight paper ๐ Hope this helps!
Marjorie DUMONTIER
This is so clever !! Thanks for sharing your knowledge !
Becca Feeken
Marjorie, I’m always looking for ways to get more use ๐ I’m so glad you like it!!