I confess! I have several die cutting machines. Four to be exact. Yes. It’s an addiction, and I realize that; but I use each and every one of them and love them all! One of the reasons that I love them is for the fun I have when I cut a die cut shape and then get decorative!

So for today’s “Work It Out Wednesday” I will show you how to take a die cut shape and decorate it to add a little more pizzaz on your project.

For this project, you will need a die cut shape, the die cutting machine that goes with your shape, the paper of your choice, and any embellishments and tools you’d like to decorate the die cut.

Step 1: Cut the die cut. I’m using The Silhouette die cutting machine, which is a digital die cut machine. Digital die machines use a machine that cuts the image and your computer to edit images. I’ve selected the following shape from the Silhouette Online Store for my project:

cute_flower_pot_C00411_20509

Step 2: Open up the image in your die cut software (or prepare die cut shape and cutting mats to cut the shape).

Because I am using a digital die cutting machine I have the added option of changing the size of my die cut. I am cutting mine slightly smaller than the open file shown above. I cut mine at 4″ tall.

Step 3: Plan ahead! Determine which shape will be cut from what paper. I want my flower pot to be brown so I selected a brown pattern paper and placed it on my cutting mat so that the pot would be cut from the brown paper.

Step 4: Continue cutting each part of the die cut shape from the paper you’ve selected. You can see my cut pieces below.

Step 5: Assemble the die cut on a background piece of cardstock or paper. Add details such as buttons to the flower centers, an additional pattern paper behind the flower pot, and inked edges on the die cut shapes to complete the decorated die cut.

When the die cut image is completely decorated, you can finish the project. I chose to create a card with my die cut. You can see the completed project below:

(Supplies: Cardstock–Core-dinations, Provo Craft; Pattern paper–Little Yellow Bicycle, Bo Bunny; Scallop Scissors–Provo Craft; Buttons–American Crafts; Twine–craft supply; Stamp–Hero Arts; Stamping ink–Inque Boutique; Ribbon–American Crafts; Swiss Dots Embossing Folder–Provo Craft; Die Cut–Quickutz; Die Cutting Machines–Silhouette, Cuttlebug for Provo Craft)

Do you have a unique way of decorating your die cuts? I’d love to see. Just leave a link to your project in our comments section below to share your ideas with our fellow blog readers.