Review | Spellbinder's Imperial Gold Die Templates and M-Bossabilities

Reported by Jennifer Ingle

Hello, Craft Critque-rs!  This is Jennifer here with you today sharing a review on two products I recently received, the Spellbinders Imperial Gold Die Templates and the M-Bossabilities 3 Dimensional Embossing Folders.  Let's start with the die templates.

First of all, the designs on these dies are just gorgeous!  They are full of detail and have lots of intricate cuts.  They do require the Spellbinders Grand Calibur Junior Magnetic Placement Mat when using them with the Grand Calibur.  If you have the Artisan X-plorer Machine, these are not in your sandwich.  I used the Grand Calibur for my review, so therefore, the magnetic mats were necessary.  Below, you see the dies placed on the magnetic mat.  I like that they are held exactly in place with the magnetic mat.

CC Dies On Magnetic Mat

After placing the dies on the magnetic mat, I placed my paper over them with the side I wanted to show on the finished cut facing the dies.  I placed the stack on my base plate and then placed the cutting plate on top of the pile.  This is how it will run through your Grand Calibur machine:

CC Dies Sandwich

As you can see, those intricate details cut beautifully!  I did need a paper piercer to punch several of them out, and I will admit that I had to be VERY gentle while removing the cuts from the dies.  They can (and do) tear easily, so work slowly and carefully.  Cutting with the dies all together, I ended up with three cut and embossed shapes.

CC Dies Paper cut with dies

CC Dies 3 shapes

The intricate details stand very well on their own.  I created a simple card design with them to allow the dies to shine.

CC Dies Swell

I spritzed one of the die cuts with a bit of ink using an air blower and a Momento Marker from Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko.  I also added a few sequins and some Liquid Pearls to the design.

CC Dies Sweel Detail

Next, I tried out the "Delightful Daisies" M-Bossabilities 3 Dimensional embossing folder.  The first thing I noticed is - it’s huge! It is made for a much larger piece than I normally create.  To use the entire image, I would have to create a 5x7 card.  Since that isn’t my norm, I found a way to stick with my usual size.

This is what the folder looks like.  Again, just like with the dies, there is lots of details on here!  I love that!

CC Dies Embossing Folder

I cut a small piece of kraft cardstock and placed it inside the folder over the portion I wanted embossed.

CC Dies Place CS over partial image

This folder made such beautiful, deep impressions.  The next step was to cut out the pieces I planned to use, so I was happy to see such a great impression.  I cut them out and then used pigment to add gold to the butterfly.

CC Dies Embossed CS

CC Dies Trim Images

I then used these beautifully embossed images as embellishments on my card.

CC Dies Thinking of You

Here is my overall impressions of the two products:

Imperial Gold Die Templates

Pros:

  1. Beautiful, intricate designs.
  2. Multiple options for creating unique designs.
  3. The designs are strong enough to serve as a focal point or can be used as a background.

Cons:

  1. Difficult to remove paper from die.
  2. There is a learning curve on these dies.  They take a bit of practice.
  3. They require the additional magnetic mat when using the Grand Calibur.

M-Bossabilities

Pros:

  1. Large size allows for flexibility in their use.
  2. Easy to use.
  3. Creates deep, detailed impressions.

Cons:

  1. Large size is difficult for smaller cards. (Yes, this is both a pro and a con.)
  2. The plate did warp a bit when I used it the first time.  (I can warp it back by running it through again.)
  3. The currently available design options are a bit limited.

Have you tried these products? What did you think?

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