If you’ve ever been to CraftTestDummies before, you know that 70% of my posts are craft product reviews. When CHA designer and Sizzix die designer Eileen Hull invited me to join her “Fresh Vintage Blog Hop” and use her new butterfly die it was only natural, then, that I approach the die from a reviewer’s perspective first.

(Don’t worry, though- there is a project coming up too. We’ll get there in a minute.)

First, let’s talk about the die. It’s manufactured by Sizzix and is called a “ScoreBoards” die– that means it’s extra deep so you can cut thicker materials like matboard. (Eileen is a specialist at designing dies for mat board.)

On first blush, it looks a lot like any other Sizzix die. It measures about 5 1/2″ x 6″, and the actual image sizes are 3 3/8″ x 2 1/8″. You get the solid image and then the lacy version to layer on top. The red lines indicate scoring lines.

Sizzix ScoreBoard dies can be used with Sizzix machines, of course, like the Big Shot, Vagabond, Big Kick and Big Shot Pro.  However, if you have a Cuttlebug or a Xyron Creatopia Cutz component, you can use them as well. The only manual die-cutting machine I’ve found it WON’T work with is the SpellBinders Grand Caliber.

Unlike most regular papercrafting dies, Sizzix recommends using board thickness from .040″ to .055″ for best results. So of course, that got me wondering….what else will it cut?

First I tried some fabric with adhesive and release paper on the back (Fabric adhesive applied with the Xyron Creatopia.)

Cuts fabric beautifully!

While the fabric isn’t anywhere near the recommended thickness, it cut beautifully. And with the adhesive on the back, I just layered it up for a future project.

Next, I tried some fused plastic bags (from a book review I did last month.)

Fused plastic bags.

What’s fun about the fused bags is that after you cut them, you can just layer it up and fuse it again and voila! You’ve got the layered look without adhesive.

Fused plastic bag coaster.

Next I tried some Hot-Fix (Angelina) fibers. First I made a few sheets- some of them with hot-fix film fused onto them as well- then run them through the die-cutting machine.

Hot-Fix Fibers look fantastic!

Then I fused some fabric onto Peltex 72. Now, it’s about 1/8 inch thick, and I wondered if the intricate inner-cuts would be clean.

I had to snip a few threads, but you can see that the cut is awesome! You could never cut Peltex that cleanly with scissors!

I also ran some fabric painted with the Martha Stewart Paints through…and it cut that out cleanly too.

But let me show you….and here is my “official project”…. it’s a fabric postcard!

I fused some stamped fabric to the Peltex, then added the layered butterfly die-cuts (I used the Xyron Creatopia fabric adhesive for that.) I layered on a stamped sentiment on Angelina (see my tutorial for doing that here) and then zig-zag stitched the butterfly permanently into place. I secured everything down with some free-motion stitching. (Which is SO fun.) To finish it off, I fused another sheet of fabric onto the backside to cover up the threadplay, then zig-zagged around the edges 3 times to cover all my loose ends.

I’m pleased as punch with this die- it’s ridiculously versatile because you can cut so many things with it! And for the retail price of $19.99, I think you’ll get a lot of goodie out of it for YEARS!

Now, I encourage you to look over into my side bar-you’ll see the “Fresh Vintage Blog Hop” Button. Give it a click and see the other amazing things that you can do with it!

Disclosure: Die provided free of charge for use in the blog hop.

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About Jenny

Chief Craft Test Dummy, Craft Evangelist, Founder, Editor, bottle-washer, trouble-maker, and creative whirlwind.

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