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Monday, 28 February 2011

My Review of a Marianne Creatables Butterfly Die

I've admired Marianne dies for ages now and there are a few that I would like to own.  They do 3 different styles of butterflies which are all really pretty and Claire and Margaret over on MSE kindly cut me some butterflies from their dies which were both different to see how I liked them.  Well - I liked them so when I saw one of the dies on ebay for £6.50 with free postage I decided to buy it!



Marianne make gorgeous dies but the only thing with them is that the dies are very thin and unfortunately don't cut very well at all.  Everybody seems to have the same problem with this brand of dies and it's a shame that Marianne don't take note and do something about it.  They give instructions on the back of the packet for using the die with a Cuttlebug but to be honest this doesn't give good results at all. 

I tried to cut using the instructions on the packet and it won't cut properly so I tried using a silicon baking mat which was thin but I managed to rip the mat.  I then tried this

From the bottom, layer as follows:

Plate A
Plate C
Thin card shim
Die with cutting side facing upwards with antennae of butterfly facing left or right side of plates
Card to be cut
B Plate

I rolled it through the Bug twice and it cut perfectly.  It is quite stiff when you turn the handle but it went through my Bug ok - if you feel that it won't go through your bug, please don't force it as you could damage your Bug.  It should work though! 

The die cut will remain in the die and you will need to use a pin or pick to flick out the little cut outs.



I then used the pin on the top edge of the wing to ease out the die cut.  I got a really nice clean cut so I'm happy!



I've been told that if you stick ejection foam onto the cutting side of these dies they work very well also.  I tried to find another solution that wouldn't cost me any money!!!!

I do think that considering that the cost of these dies is not exactly cheap, Marianne should start including a piece of ejection foam with each die and revise the instructions on the back of the packet as they don't work!  If the Marianne die makers ever read this review maybe you could put that forward as an idea, it would certainly help us crafters!!


UPDATE - I've recently heard that Marianne have changed the die slightly and are now putting holes in the new ones to make it easier to remove the paper that sticks!!!!
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6 comments:

  1. theboelemas@aol.com28 February 2011 at 13:34

    I completely agree with you Angie. The die cuts OK in the Big Shot, but getting the die cut out of the die is a complete mare which is why I haven't bought anymore MC dies. I have ended up buying ejection foam to overcome this. For the sake of a few pennies, you'd have thought they would've included the foam. x

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  2. ♥ emma bear forever ♥28 February 2011 at 15:39

    Oh what a shame Angie, it does look very pretty though chick x

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  3. Marg28 February 2011 at 23:20

    Well said Angie! I do hope someone responsible reads your review and takes action.

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  4. Kirsty Vittetoe1 March 2011 at 09:55

    That is a cool post, thanks for sharing!

    Hey, I have a giveaway here, please come join in the fun!
    http://pixiedustpaperie.blogspot.com/2011/02/march-kit-preview-day.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ali2 March 2011 at 20:49

    I've got a marianne snowflake die and I know what you mean about them sticking in I've started to use a tiny bit of masking tape and gently pulling it out and seems to be ok.

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  6. Anonymous30 April 2011 at 06:26

    Hi. I just wanted to let you in on my experience with this very same die. I love the die, but like you I was a bit disapointed in the hit and miss of the cuts when I put it thru my Cuttlebug. And then when I did get it cut it was a real problem getting it out. But now I have much more success. First, when cutting I run it thru the Cuttlebug a couple of times but I move the die to a different part of the plates before I roll it thru again. Second, I place between the die and the paper a piece of wax paper just a bit bigger than the die. This makes all the difference to getting the paper out of the die. Make sure the waxy side faces the die. After a few cuts doing this the die has enough wax on it to do some cuts without the wax paper. The diecut literally falls out of the die 50% of the time and the other times it just needs a little nudge. It's also makes getting the waste cuts out easier too- with a quick poke with my piercer they just pop out. HTH

    Theresa

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