THE DREAM CUT

A machine that works like a dream and cuts smoothly through a variety of materials to give you the finest edges!! The Dream Cut from Itsy Bitsy is finally here on my blog today.

It was a couple of weeks back that I had attended the launch event of this machine and I loved it so much that I picked it up right away!! I have been working with this machine for a few weeks now and yes.. this is my first die cut machine. I thought it would be great to jot down a couple of things for reference for myself and for other crafters who are looking at picking up their first die cut machine.

Its a nice compact machine that would fit in any corner of a craft room and I feel it would be a great addition “ornamentally also” to a crafter’s work space.

THE MACHINE:

The machine comes with a set of plates and an instruction manual. The manual gives details on how you can attach the handle to the machine and a few details on how the machine can be used. The 4 plates that come with the machine are acrylic plates: Plate A, Plate B(you get 2 of these) and Plate C.

THE WORKING PRINCIPLE OF THE DREAM CUT:

The basic idea is to use your material, sandwich it between the plates with either a die or an embossing folder and pass it through the dream cut machine to get your desired output of either cutting or embossing. The Dream Cut machine works on the principle of squeezing the sandwich(of course.. of the plates, die/embossing folder and material) in between two rollers so that there is a pressure exerted on the material which results in its cutting/embossing.

USE OF THE DREAM CUT:

The Dream Cut is used as:

A CUTTING TOOL:

It cuts a material into a particular shape, depending on the Die that you use.

What is a Die?

A Die is a blade/a cutting tool that is in a particular shape, which when used with a material, cuts it. Dies come in a variety of shapes and to cut any material using the Dream Cut machine, you have to use a Die.

Make a sandwich for Cutting:

To make a sandwich for cutting, You will have to place the elements as follows(Read from bottom to top):

Plate B

Die + Material (I prefer to place the die in a way that I can see which portion of the paper is getting cut. Here I have placed the Die facing downwards on the paper)

Plate C

Plate A

Once the sandwich is made, it has to run through the Dream Cut machine.

And it cuts like magic!!

If you have a variety of Dies, you can cut your material in various shapes!!

Tip #1: Its a good idea to start off with simple shapes for your dies: Rectangles, Circles, a set of flowers, leaves, a butterfly. And then you can add to your collection on the basis of themes: A Birthday, Travel, etc.

AN EMBOSSING TOOL:

It embosses a material, depending on the embossing folder that you use.

What is an Embossing Folder?

An embossing Folder is a flexible acrylic folder with two flaps. For any embossing folder, one flap has the design embossed on it, and the other flap has the same design engraved on it. When you place your material in an embossing folder and run it through the Dream Cut machine, the material takes the shape of the design that’s on the Folder, and gets embossed. There are variety of Embossing folders with beautiful designs, and it is necessary to use an embossing folder to emboss a material.

Make a sandwich for Embossing:

You will first have to open the embossing folder and place your material in it.

And then make the sandwich.

To make a sandwich for embossing, You will have to place the elements as follows(Read from bottom to top):

Plate B

Embossing folder with the Material to be embossed

Plate B

Plate A

TIP #2: Dont worry about the recipe of the sandwich. Make sure it just runs through the machine. If you feel the sandwich is too thick, remove plate C and place in plate B. 

Once the sandwich is made, it has to run through the Dream Cut machine.

And it magically embosses the material.

If you have a variety of Embossing folders, you can emboss your material with various designs!!

PROJECTS WITH THE DREAM CUT:

QUICK GREETING CARDS USING THE DREAM CUT:

• I have used Embossed paper and cut outs which I prepared using the Dream Cut.
• I have stuck the embossed sheet, followed by the paper cut out.
• I then went on to use flower embellishments.
• I have then stuck the sentiments.

PHOTO FRAME USING THE DREAM CUT:

• I have used a floral cutout which I prepared using the Dream Cut.
• Using Decoupage glue, I stuck the paper cut outs as required on the frame.
• I then went on to use flower embellishments.
• Another layer of Decoupage Glue helps to seal the work on the frame.

GREETING CARD AND RAKHIS FOR RAKSHABANDHAN:

Its a great idea to make a Greeting Card and rakhis using the Dream Cut.

To make a Rakhi, you can cut felt flowers of various shapes and assemble those together and attach a ribbon.

OTHER PROJECTS:

A couple of other projects that I made using the Dream Cut:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For more inspiration, you can check the amazing creations by Sharada Dilip Acharya who is an expert at this.

OTHER POINTS TO MENTION ABOUT THE DREAM CUT:

1. It cuts and embosses a variety of materials such as paper, card stock, vinyl sheet, felt, foam, cork sheet, cloth, jute, canvas, etc. For a couple of thicker materials, you may have to run the sandwich twice to get the cutting or embossing perfect.
2. The Dream Cut machine works with all standard thin cut and heavy duty dies and embossing folders.
3. If your Embossing/cutting sandwich moves very easily through the rollers, it means that you have either missed a plate (check and place the plate) or your sandwich is too thin( For which you need a shim).
4. Make sure that your sandwich easily goes through the machine. Make sure to not force something through the machine which may result in damaging its rollers.
5. The Dream Cut is a manual cutting machine. It needs to be operated by hand to work your way to the design that you want.

I hope you found this post useful to start off a new crafting journey with the Dream Cut. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Happy Crafting!

Article for Itsy Bitsy