Another Coluzzle Review

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Reported by Heidi Kingery

I have a special drawer on my stamp table that is dedicated to my Coluzzle. I have almost 10 templates and I can’t tell you how many times those little guys have come in handy! Before the die cut machines had the nested dies available your options were to either trace a coffee can lid and cut it out yourself (usually wonky if I might add!) or to get yourself a Coluzzle template. That’s wasn’t a hard choice for me since most couldn’t even tell what type of shape I tried to cut out when they looked at it. “Wow honey, that’s a nice…..umm…..heart?” {grin} But Coluzzle saved me and I have leaned on it ever since. Although, at first there was a little user error, I quickly got the hang of it and after that it was smooth sailing.

What you need to start out is the Coluzzle self healing cutting mat, the swivel knife, possibly the scoring knife, and a template. It’s also helpful to have a Sharpie on hand whether it’s just a black one or several colors. Since they are nested, it is easy to cut the wrong layer because there are 2 breaks in the shape where you have to lift your blade. If you mark every other layer with your Sharpie it is much easier to go back to the right one when you lift your blade.

One of my favorite templates I have is the purse template, which gives you the option of making 4 different sizes of purses. All you need to do is grab a cute piece of double sided paper (or adhere 2 sheets together as I have done before), cut it out with your swivel knife, fold it in the right spots, and there you have it! You can even use a slit punch on the inside for a perfect way to give any girly girl a gift card!

With my example I cut out a sheet of white felt, ran it through my Sizzix using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, and added some embellishments. When you open it, you will see that I put in a Hello Kitty sparkle chap stick. Cute huh?

The basic shapes also come in very handy. For me, the circles are the most used. They are great for paint can lids, ornaments, and CD labels (like mine above). But wait, there’s more! They have almost 20 different nested basic shapes along with alphabets, box and bag templates, and some adorable flower and tag sets. You can find the basic shapes for just under $6 per template here. Although I have never ordered from them, I do have to say that they have a very good price on their site for Coluzzle items.

Now, while I do love the templates I could see how the small templates (like the flowers and petals) and the alphabet templates could be a little harder to master. I currently don’t have any of those but could definitely see myself with them in the future.

If you have the Coluzzle, especially an alphabet or more detailed template, and want to share your opinion with us, please leave a comment and fill us in!