Tattered Lace Dies

Tattered Lace Dies have become a firm favourite with everyone. They are delicate and very detailed, they are available in borders, large and small motifs, corner embellishments, themes for ‘his and hers’, words and sentiments. There are a huge range of dies to choose from and new ranges introduced all the time. My particular favourite are the bows.

The most popular dies from the Tattered Lace selection at Perfect Parchment Craft include Florentine Bow, Car, Chantilly Lace bow and High Heel Glam.

Tattered Lace dies will work with Grand Calibur, Big Shot, Cuttlebug and many more die cutting machines.

This is how you use them:

Use removable tape to fix the die on to the card you are cutting. Turn the handle on the machine to run the die and card through the machine, it is fine to go backwards and forwards several times.  Rotate the die and put it through again until you have all areas cut through.

Remove the unwanted pieces by tapping the card and flicking it with your finger, you can also use a sharp tool or pin to poke the remaining pieces out to reveal the beautiful die cut.

A die cutting machine has various plates that create the pressure necessary for a good cut through the machine. Choosing the right plates can be a problem, the recommended order of plates for Tattered Lace dies in three  different die cutting machines follows.

The plates ,die and material you are embossing or cutting are often called a ‘sandwich’ — from the bottom the order of the plates should be:

Cuttlebug

A Plate
B Plate
Die (cutting side up)
Card or Paper
C Plate

 

Big shot

Multi Purpose Platform (all tabs)
Cutting Mat
Die (cutting side up)
Card or Paper
Cutting Mat

Grand Calibur

A Plate
Die (cutting side up)
Card or Paper
C Plate

You will often find that you have to put the die through the machine several times before it has cut completely. Tattered Lace recommend turning the die so that it goes through the machine the other way around. Also using a metal shim to increase the pressure if your plates are a bit worn and the die is not cutting evenly.

Here are a few of the latest dies from the Tattered Lace range: Rose Panel,Floral Bouquet, Ornate Handbag and Large Ornate Owl.

 

Have fun!

 

Parchment Craft Books to buy for Christmas

If you want to buy a Christmas present for a parchment craft enthusiast but don’t know what to choose, here are some ideas,  if you are looking for beginners books, scroll down :

Christmas Treasures by Linda Williams 

A fabulous book,  it is a treat just to look through the pages. There are 25 patterns for Christmas cards, the designs are a varied mix of traditional and modern themes for Christmas. There is something for everyone, some of the designs are whitework, some are coloured. The themes used are Winter scenes, Gifts, Christmas Tree, Angels, Reindeer and loads more. There are lots of additional elements on the cards like gift tags, bows, beads and ribbon making the cards individual and the patterns very flexible.  This book would make an excellent present or for you to make cards and festive decorations that will be treasured.

Royal Lace by Julie Roces

A  book of 26 fabulous whitework designs. The lacework patterns of fans, wall decorations and cards are all very detailed and  replicate the most beautiful lace. The designs are embellished richly with pearl beads and ribbons. This book would make a great Christmas present for a parchment craft enthusiast.

The Art of Painting by Gerti Hofman

Step by step instructions for painting with Pergamano Pintura paint, Pinta Perla, Tinta ink, felt pens and coloured pencils. This is a large book (80 pages) with instructions for 21 beautiful card designs. Although the main focus of the book is painting there are some essential instructions for lace making but if you need to know more about lace making technique other books have more detail. Each pattern focuses on a different painting technique: Dresden flowers techniques, Perga Liners dry and wet techniques, Brazilian technique and ‘Tip, Tip, Tip’ are some of them; so if you want to practise a particular technique it is easy to choose a pattern that will challenge you. As well as being a useful addition to a Parchment Craft collection this is an essential guide and reference for painting there are many useful tips and information on how to correct problems in painting.

Snowflake by Miki Green

A beautiful collection of parchment craft patterns themed on snowflakes. There are 38 projects, a huge variety of patterns with clear instructions, tools required and excellent patterns to trace. Miki states that she thinks that beginners can do these patterns with a bit of patience,  I think also you would need to have a little experience with cutting picot edges, tracing, stippling and using 1 and 2 needle perforating tools. The designs are all lovely, they can be used as large or small snowflakes by reducing or enlarging the patterns, and they are so flexible – they could be used for Festive decorations and as cards or embellishments / toppers for cards, and also fabulous wall decorations.

Books for Beginners

The Handbook of Parchment Craft Basics by Tina Cox and Linda Williams

There are  19 projects (all cards) for you to work on, they all have a really fresh, bright look and step by step instructions on how to complete them. The techniques of tracing, embossing, perforating and cutting are covered in depth making this an ideal book for a beginner. There is also sections on using Multi-Grids and Stamping on parchment, so if you are an experienced parchment crafter but have never used stamps and don’t know where to start, this book will prove a useful reference. As well as stamping techniques there are sections on how to colour the image with Perga Colours, Perga Liners, Dorso Crayons. There is also a useful page showing all the Multi-Grids available (23 grids at the time the book was printed) and also the clear stamps. A beautiful present to buy someone who wants to start parchment craft or who just loves crafting.

Best of the Best Parchment Craft, A Classic Collection Volume 1 by Kannikar Sukseree

This is a unique collection of 32 projects for you to make. 13 designers from around the world have got together to produce this beautiful book offering a range of styles and influences in every project.  This is a book for a beginner as well as an experienced parchment crafter. There is a chapter dedicated to the techniques of tracing, embossing, grid work, painting and colouring, also finishing touches. However there are plenty of challenging projects for experienced parchment crafters. Six of the projects have fully illustrated, step by step instructions and the additional 26 projects also have excellent instructions and illustrations. The projects include cards, a clock, shelf decorations and wall hanging. 92 pages.

Happy Christmas!

Parchment Craft Shops Closing

Very sad news that Centagraph has closed and also earlier in the year, Finishing Touches of Totnes.

Edgings

I am going to create a library of edgings that can be used in a mix’n match style with pictures of embossed and coloured birds, flowers etc.

Parchment craft (beginners)

This is just a diary of everything parchment that I (or others ) can find. Useful information, book reviews, equipment and parchment sites. Please feel free to contribute anything you think would be useful to parchment beginners.