My new Sizzix dies that were released at last week's CHA show are a varied bunch. I might be most excited by the simplicity, which, if you know me, is a little unusual!
But we want people making pop-ups. That's what we want. And now, for people who want to make pop-ups, but don't want to invest a ton of time, energy or paper, I present the first of three SIMPLE pop-up insert dies.
This die is a Bigz size, so it will retail for around $20 and here's what's awesome about it:
- SIMPLE, one-piece, single-cut construction
- Completely generic - put anything on the tiers to make them pop-up
- Fits in an A2 card (half a 8.5x11 piece of paper) or larger
Need to make a quick card? Look no further than pre-made embellishments and this die and you can be done in a flash!
Supply List: Circle, Scallop Pop-up Die (May ship), Celebrate Sizzlit Set (May Ship), Sizzix matboard, Basic Grey "Green at Heart) papers and embellishments, Basic Grey letter stickers, Red ink, Zigzag rubber stamp
With this release I've also done some accessory dies - Sizzlit sets that are designed to fit with the pop-ups, but of course can be used on their own as flat dies. Here they are:
I used the frame and heart from the Celebrate Sizzlit set on the card above. The Celebrate set includes a fun 3D balloon. If you attach the balloon to one of the pop-up inserts, it will open up when the card is opened, creating even more interactive fun! In the card below, I cut the Scalloped Circle pop-up insert out of a clear plastic (I save the packaging that my dies come in) so the insert would "disappear" and the balloons would appear to be floating.
Supply List: Circle, Scallop Pop-up Die (May ship), Celebrate Sizzlit Set (May Ship), Butterfly Flower & Swirl Sizzlit Set (May Ship) Sizzix matboard, Basic Grey "Green at Heart) papers and stickers, Dots & Flowers Textured Impressions folder, Die packaging plastic, white pen, embroidery floss
Now let's talk just a little bit more about the possibilities with the pop-up dies when you cut them out of a clear material. When you do this, you are essentially "robbing the mechanism" of the die and allowing it to animate other objects. This is how I am able to turn the Pop-up Christmas Tree into a Birdcage or Chandelier.
While I was at the CHA show, I had the wonderful opportunity to cut out a few of the new Tim Holtz dies to take home and play with. I only had shimmery pink and green paper, so I had to emboss the heck out of the cut-outs to use them, but here's a card made using the Scallop Circle Pop-up Insert, cut from clear, and used to animate some of Tim's new dies.
Supply List: Circle, Scallop Pop-up Die (May ship), Tim Holtz Umbrella Man Die (by June ship), Tim Holtz Weathered Clock die (by June ship), Tim Holtz Scrollwork On the Edge die (available now), Tim Holtz papers, stamps, ruler twill (available now), Sizzix matboard, Inkadinkado "Art" phrase stamp, stash metals, embossing powders
Here's a closer look at the pop-up:
Umbrella Man is glued to the outer tier and the clock hands are glued to the closer pop-up tier, creating two layers of dimension.
Stay tuned for more peeks of the new dies in action in the days and weeks ahead!