Spellbinders Prizm Die Cutting Machine

Spellbinders have re joined the market for small die cutters, so now sitting alongside the Tattered Laces Baby Blue and the Diamond Press is the new nattily titled Prizm.

Sitting alongside is not quite right as at least on price it sits in between the two. With the Diamond Press aiming at the budget market with a measly £15 price point and the Baby Blue easing in at just under£40, Spellbinders have launched the Prizm with a mid price of £25.

First impressions are good with a natty blue and white design, with a square functional design that stands away from the cuddly curves of the Baby Blue. Unlike the Baby Blue it has a max die size cut of about 2 1/2 inches compared to the Blues 3 1/4. 

Its held down by a large suction foot on the bottom and is supplied with mini versions of the standard A + B plates, embossing plate, and embossing matt.

It does seem a little strange launching the Prizm as they only launched their Sapphire Mini Die Cutter just over a year ago in direct competition to the offering from Tattered Lace. With its squarer, block like design the production costs are obviously cheaper, and so it seems the Prizm is leaner more toned version of the Sapphire with a funky makeover and a price point aimed to carve it's own niche in the market. 

Reviews out on the web are generally favourable. As ever the question is are these aimed at the existing die cutters who would like a smaller handier machine for those little jobs, or those crafters who have never used dies and would like to try it out at a low cost.

Available from Hobby Craft for £25

Hello Everyone, As usual on the hunt for more crafty bargains from the depths of the internet, I found these handy little embellishment packs for plainly ridiculous prices as you can see. You can never have enough die cut words, shapes and alphabets to finish off your cards or scrapbook pages and these look so good I threw several of them into my basket. There's a £2:99 p&p charge for orders under £25 so as with most sites it's always cost effective to browse the rest of the store and fill your basket while you're there.

http://www.craftclearance.co.uk/

 REVIEW - CRAFTERS COMPANION DIAMOND PRESS CUTTING MACHINE

Hello everyone,

The Diamond Press is a mini (and I really mean mini!) die cutting and embossing machine. It’s so small it can practically fit into your pocket - well almost and it’s super easy to use! It doesn’t have any ‘plates’ like a regular die cutting machine does, instead you cut inside a folder (like an embossing folder) so you literally pop your card/paper over the die and into the folder and in just 3 simple turns of the handle it’s cut! The cutting size is quite small, about the size of a credit card. That said it amazed me just how many dies I own would fit through it. 

For anyone new to the world of die cutting, then this is absolutely the most affordable way to give it a go. I was quite surprised just how much I used it compared to my big die cutting machine. I don't have a dedicated craft room, so have to lug everything out onto the dining room table to craft, but I found myself batch crafting on a tray in front of the TV with a box of scrap paper and a selection of dies  

I’ve had one now for about 6 weeks and it's proved very useful and I've used it a lot more than I thought it would.

There are a couple of drawbacks. You need a very smooth surface for the suction cup to work, in mid use it has become detached on a number of occasions. Not a deal breaker, but a mild annoyance. You also have to cut all your scrap paper into credit sized bits to fit into the cutting folder, so you find yourself batch cutting, so you can do batch die cutting! The final downside is the little cutting folder, I have mine six weeks and its looking the worse for wear. The seam is a little split, and the material is so thin you can start to feel the cut marks on the outside of it, I'm not sure how long it will last before needing replacement.

6 standard and 6 long replacement folders are available from Crafters Companion  for £9:99 but seem permanently out of stock.

The most affordable option is from HobbyCraft who at the moment have it on offer with three dies for £15. It's also available as a set with 16 dies, stamp set and six embossing folders for £59:99 from Crafters Companion. To me if you already own a die cutting machine and a collection of dies then the basic version represents the best value by a long way.

To sum up I'd give it 7/10. It's not a machine that can replace your main die cutter, but as an additional machine, or low cost introduction to die cutting it is a very useful machine. It's light, portable, and would be ideal to take to a craft club or on holiday etc. However the cutting folders may have a limited life and unless replacements are more readily available then it could be collecting an awful lot of dust!

Buddly Crafts have these these new cut-ies dies in stock and you'll have to agree that they are just so cute. They can combine together in lots of different themes, I particularly love the boat, whale and fish dies.

 Prices are from just £1:70 to £4:79.

https://buddlycrafts.com

 Another bunch of free papers for your crafty stash. Spots , gingham and even a splash of bold tartan.

Yet more Christmas stash arrived this morning - I'm going to give the postman a hernia at this rate!

This is a stunning package of four packs of Hunkydory Christmas kits along with a special magazine with 80 projects to make with the kits. You get Snowy Season, Christmas Classics, Festive Elegance, and Cute Christmas, 120 sheets in total (10 sheets of diecuts, 10 sheets of foiled paper, and 10 sheets of backing paper in each set)

As ever with Hunkydory the quality is gorgeous, sumptuous foiling and beautiful images, and this big bundle is excellent value for money

£39:98 from Create & Craft with 3 interest free payments available. p&p £2:99

http://www.createandcraft.tv

Dove Craft have launched a new range of dies at the ultra bargain price of £3 each. There are 27 designs to choose from including a Cupcake, Dog, Cat, Feather, Hearts, Bike, Ballerina and more but I just couldn't resist this super cute little rocket ship, it will go great with the little robot dies I got from Buddly Crafts and make fantastic boys cards. I bought these from Ebay, but they are also available at The Range

therange.co.uk

Get your orders in early for the new range of mini dies from X-Cut. As you can see these new dies for Christmas won't bust your wallet as they are just £2:50 each. Order now for dispatch from 11th July

http://www.craftworldonline.co.uk/x-cut-mini-dies

Found these lovely family tree MDF kits at Crafty Pig Designs.  

They also have a huge range of MDF shapes on their site, including a personalised engraving service like these:

Postage per order is typically £2- £3;95. I will definitely be making a test purchase in the near future and will share my makes. Check them out at:

 http://craftypigdesigns.co.uk/

The postman struggled up to my door this morning with the latest stash to sneak into my online basket. Opening the box I found 120 beautifully stunning foiled A4 sheets from the lovely people at Kanban. You could not find better quality, it's stated as 250gsm but feels more like 300, the foiling is sumptuously embossed onto each piece and it's great to get foiled card in colours other than gold and silver too. Yes, I know it's June, and the sun - between the ever present showers - is doing it's best to shine. However the Christmas fairs start around here at the start of October, and if I'm going to get stock levels enough for the several fairs I plan to attend before the end of year, I will need to get crafting soon. Also buying stash 'out of season' means you can pick up some serious scrimpy bargains. Sadly this deal sold out at Create & Craft in a matter of hours, but as you can see from other posts I'm seeking out as many bargains for you as I can.

There are sizzling summer savings at Foil Play this weekend! Just apply the code june15 to your basket when checking out to receive 15% discount on your order. The sale will end at midnight on Monday 27 June, so don't delay - why not snap up a bargain - or several!

If your crafty mojo is in need of a boost, you could do a lot worse than popping over to Foilplay and perusing through their extensive collection of topper sets. They have 24 toppers in each set for just £2.99. Free postage on orders over £10.

http://www.foilplay.co.uk

 This weeks super downloader is really super with a host of superheroes for your cards. Perfect for all your super powered teenagers.

New in at Every Crafts A Pound are these paper packs from Dovecraft in 12x12 and 6x6 sizes and best of all there at up to 86% off there list price.

https://www.everycraftsapound.co.uk

Foilplay have some lovely bargain prices on the Kanban Victoriana Range with die cut sheets of toppers, embellishments, flowers and hearts for just £4:99 for 10 sheets.

http://www.foilplay.co.uk/

It's a wet grey Sunday morning, so I couldn't think of a better way to spread a bit of summer cheer than to post some bright golden yellow papers to brighten up your crafting experience. Just right click on each image to download them.

Every Crafts a Pound are having a 72 hour flash sale this weekend. With there already crazy prices this means that most things are just 50p!

www.everycraftsapound.co.uk

Morning All, Just bought my self the new Mr Smths Ultimate A4 pack from Do Crafts.

Inside you get 14 papers in woodgrain, brickwork, iron work etc. Six sheets of die cut decoupage, 28 toppers, plus a sheet of paper ribbons, and two sheets of quirky alphabets. Ideal for Fathers Day, but will also make great birthday cards for any Dad. 

Also in the range are 6x6 pads, 12x12 pads, brads, embellishments, card packs, alphabets, and MDF pieces.

all available at Hobby Craft

BJ Crafts have a range of embossing folders available at half price - free postage on orders over £25, £3 if under £25.

http://www.bjcrafts.co.uk/

All Occasions Dies - Decorative Corners.

The postman keeps on delivering goodies through my door that somehow I just can't stop buying! These set of four corners are just £7:50 inc delivery from Amazon. They are only about 30 mm across which may seem a little small, but they work fine on a 6x6 card. Really nice detail in all four and look stunning in metallic card and fit really well into the theme of steampunk cards, although in other colours would go with any theme.

Xcut 9 Piece Cogs Chronology Dies : Review

Afternoon all, just received this nine piece set of cogs dies for just £6:73 from an Amazon seller. I bought them as I'm getting into steam punk ( a bit late I know) and you can't make steam craft cards without the odd gear or two as an embellishment.

I've done some test cuts on both mirror card and plain and they cut really well. As you can see from the pack you get a wide variety of designs, the biggest is about 25mm and the smallest just under 20mm. The 'waste' (if there is such a thing) also provides some interesting shapes that shouldn't be thrown away.
At this price point they represent excellent value and there's a companion set of watch pieces that are on wishlist for my next purchase.

Not the most exciting of craft products, but this is too good a deal to miss out on.

available from :

https://www.everycraftsapound.co.uk

The weekly download is all about summer, it will be here soon! So pull up those deckchairs, open the sun shade and relax with a long cool drink or a nice ice cream.