Favourite Tool - Fiskar Shape Cutter/Express

Today I thought I would share a little about a personal cutter system that is quite flexible and one that has grown with me over the last five or more years. (Confession I don't know how long I have had this tool - I received one to try from the local craft store where I demonstrate as soon as it became available to the UK soooo it could be longer...memory failing me today) However the shape of the tool has changed slightly and I have a wide range of templates to use with it, I was very lucky and was able to use the tool quickly with success although I know some find it hard to master - my advice PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! If you email me I will of course see if I can offer any suggestions :)

So what does this tool look like? Have a nose around here within the Fiskars website to see the tool and the templates that are currently available in this country.

Here is an example of a Father's Day card I have made by combining different templates to make a new die cut shape!

So here are the template numbers used to create this card:
Fiskars Bear Doll 4880
Fiskars Portrait Doll 4881
Fiskars Tags-1 4857
Fiskars Dimonds-1 4854

If you wish to make your own you will need to cut one bear shape and face (4880) and trim off the legs so that you can reposition them to create a sitting bear. Using the double round tag and the smallest circle (4857) you can create the darker parts of the new bear - the small circle was cut in half to make the inner parts of the ears. Finally the hands, middle piece of the banner and bow (for kite) were used to create the finishing touches using template 4881. I created a page of greetings using word and used the template to cut the banner and added chalk/ink to detail the die further. The picture here will guide you as to the placements - the kite was created using template 4854 a funky fiber was used to link the kite to the bear and was placed on the card using foam pads. If you look carefully you will see that the nose and edges were decorated using glaze pens and a doodle effect on the edges for highlights...I hope you enjoyed seeing what can be achieved using the templates! Of course this bear is just the right size for scrapbooking and could have any greeting/message attached. The card made here was A5 in size and is off to Barbados for my father......opps should I have shared that?!