Are you, like me, completely in love with die cutting and the endless crafting possibilities a die cutting machine and all the things that go with it can do to make your papercrafting experience even more rewarding?   Are you sometimes confused about the difference between Thinlits, Framelits and Dies? Well, read on!

Butterflies Thinlits

Hello You Thinlits

Baker's Box Thinlit

Thinlits (three pictured above) are are wafer thin steel dies that cut specific shapes, either to use as an element on a project or to create a shape that can be assembled into a 3-D item. You can see that they can be very detailed, as with the Butterflies.  Stampin' Up! has 14 options of Thinlits in the main catalog and has, since beginning to offer them, carries special thinlits in the Occasions and Holiday Catalogs. With the exception of two very large, cardfront sized items – Hexagon Hive and Striped Scallop – all the Thinlits carried by Stampin' Up! consist of several pieces designed to work together. AND!!! Stampin' Up! is super smart about ensuring that there are plenty of opportunities for cross over, that is using pieces from one set with pieces from another meaning you really would have to work pretty hard to run out of stinkin' cute ways to use these awesome tools!

Tags & Labels Framelits

Ovals Framelits

Bold Butterfy Framelits

Framelits (three pictured above) are also wafer thin steel dies that are designed to either nest with others to create frames OR to frame imagery. These are exceptionally handy since Stampin' Up! LOVES to create stamp sets that go with their Framelits both in the main catalog and again in the seasonal catalogs. There are 20 Framelit options in the main catalog with just two – Floral Frames and Envelope Liners – not currently having a matching stamp set. And again, you can mix and match to your heart's content!

Both Thinlits and Framelits cut cardstock, paper, vellum, and metallic foil. Basic, less intricate shapes can also cut fun foam, felt, thin sheets of cork and other, thinner more pliable materials. You may need to adjust your “sandwich” – the assembly of cutting pads, platforms, etc. for the thickness of the material you are cutting.

Berry Basket from Berry Basket BigZ Die

Fry Box from Fry Box BigZ Die

Flower from Spiral Flower Originals Die

Traditional dies (three final products using these dies shown above) like the BigZ and Originals carried by Stampin' Up!, are different in that they are constructed with the cutting surface – a steel strip formed into the shape you want to cut – embedded in a dense foam that compresses when run through your die cutting machine. These powerful dies can cut through cardstock, metallic foil, mat board, paper, vellum, foam, magnet sheets, leather and more. Stampin' Up! currently offer six traditional steel rule dies, all of which make fabulous 3-D items!

One thing to remember when using ALL dies is to NEVER force your sandwich through your die cutting machine. If your sandwich is too thick and you do try to force it through, you could permanently damage your die cutting machine and all the components in your sandwich! If you run your sandwich through your machine and you are not getting a clean enough cut or no cut at all, try adding a “shim”. A shim is simply an additional piece of scrap cardstock, a piece of thin chipboard, etc. Start with the thinnest additional layer and build up as needed. I find it handy to note on my die storage (in my case my handy dandy zipper baggies!) when I need a custom sandwich. Each die cutting machine will have minute differences in pressure and each die will have minute differences in manufacturing tolerances so sometimes adjustments are necessary and it's perfectly normal.

I hope this helps you understand better how to use and love your Thinlits, Framelits and traditional dies and gets you inspired to create with them!