Hello stampers. What is your favourite tool in your stamp room? The one tool you could not do without? For me it is the BIg Shot. Of course you do need a paper trimmer, and I will talk about that one another day. The Big Shot is the tool that totally floored me when I first fell in love with card making. How a machine could turn plain paper into a beautifully textured work of art was just amazing to me. Of course, it not only embosses (which, if you are a brand new stamper is the word for turning a flat, plain piece of cardstock into a textured, patterned work of art) it also cuts and scores things.

You can also use the Big Shot to cut things using metal shapes called framelits or thinlets and they are either plain shapes such as ovals, squares, circles, hearts, stars, etc. Stampin’Up also carries Stitched Framelits which are my favourite because they add such classic detail with ease. They are also very hard to find since they are not in any of our catalogs yet, but if you click here you will have it at your fingertips. Use the host code on the side bar and you can have these beauties delivered to your  door in no time at all!

When cutting out detailed shapes you will get amazing results with the Precision Base Plate. This is a very solid steel plate that has no give, so it works very well to cut in all those tiny spots. Combined with the die brush you will be so happy with the improved results. Worth every penny. The recipe is the Big Shot platform and thin die adaptor, then the precision base plate with the black side up, then  your cardstock and your thinlet or framelit then ONE clear cutting plate. Here are the instructions in case you lost yours or have a hard time finding exactly where to look:

I am including a video at the end of this post of what to do if you order a Big Shot. It can be a bit overwhelming when the box arrives and you realize that there is “some assembly required”. Don’t let it scare you. All you have to do is attach the handle, but you can laugh along with me as I do it, or try to do it, without reading the instructions. Here are the instructions so I can encourage you to do it the better way! In Canada we call the “hex wrench” an Allen Key if that makes it more clear.

Here is a card made by one of my customers, Jane. I recreated it last night using the Happy Birthday from Rose Wonder, but I forgot to take a picture, so I am just going to use Jane’s. She did a beautiful job. You will recognize the copper foil leaves on here from the Botanical Builder Framelits that I showed above.

Finally, here is the video I made with Jeff showing how to put the BIg Shot together and how to use it properly. Remember, if you don’t have a Big Shot yet, the best way to buy it is to include it in your starter kit. That way you pay no shipping or tax plus you a few extra embossing folders as a bonus. Why? How? Because the kit is only $135 but you get to choose $165 in product, so that could include the BIg Shot for $136, a woodland embossing folder for $11.25, a brick wall embossing folder for $11.25 plus stampin’ mist cleaner for $6. You will only pay $135!! That is LESS than the price of the Big Shot in the catalog. PLUS you then get to pick out any two free stamp sets out of the Occasions or Annual catalogs. Stampin’Up also includes a past Paper Pumpkin kit in your starter kit as well as 8 annual catalogs, 8 Occasions catalogs, 8 sale-a-bration flyers and 50 order forms. You then get 20% off all your own orders and 20% instant income if you sell anything to your people. If you choose not to sell to anyone or not to buy another thing ever (really??) you will still have the great deal on your kit. Click here to join and get the starter kit.

Well, I wish you all the best with your Big Shot, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them here, I do love to hear from you. Next in this series will be the Stampin’ Trimmer.