Lace cardstock is everywhere and it’s absolutely lovely! Today for our “Work It Out Wednesday” I’d like to show you how to use your electronic die cut machines to create your own lace cardstock. I’m going keep this fairly simple, but once you get the hang of it you can get as detailed as you like.

I will be using two different die cut machines for today’s project: the Cricut Machine from Provo Craft, and the Silhouette Die Cut Machine. You will need your electronic die cutting machine, a sheet of cardstock, and a die cut shape of your choice. Today we’ll select just one shape for each machine (like I said–simple!).

Silhouette Instructions:

Step 1: Insert your cardstock, on the appropriate cutting mat, into the machine.

Step 2: Open up a new document within your Silhouette software and make sure the “grid” is visible. NOTE: The grid is divided into .5″ squares.

Step 3: Select a simple shape from your “Library” and paste it on the document. I chose to just create a circle on my document.

Step 4: Resize shape until slightly smaller. Mine is about .5″ tall.

Step 5: Copy and paste shape several times on document. I slightly offset my shapes for a more interesting design.

Step 6: Cut out the design.

Cricut Machine:

Step 1: Insert cardstock, on appropriate cutting mat, into the machine.

Step 2: Insert selected cartridge on the machine and select a shape. I chose the three heart shape from the “Walk In My Garden” cartridge.

Step 4: Resize. I switched mine to 1.5″ tall.

Step 5: Select the ”Quantity” button and select the number of shapes you would like to cut out. The machine will inform you if there is enough room to cut the number you’ve selected on your sheet of cardstock. I selected 24 and it ended up cutting 1 1/2 rows.  NOTE: Following the measurements on the cutting mat determine how many you think will fit on the paper for the size of shape you’ve selected.

Step 6: Cut out design.

And here is a project using a portion of both of the lace cardstock pieces that I created:

(Supplies: Cardstock–Die Cuts with a View, Bazzill, Provo Craft; Pattern Paper–Basic Grey; Letter Stamps–PSX; Date Stamp–Office Supply; “The Most Wonderful Story” stamp–Technique Tuesday; Embossing Powder–American Crafts; Stamping Ink–Memento, Michael’s, Versamark; Photo Corner Die Cut–Quickutz; Die Cutting Machines–Silhouette, Cricut, Cuttlebug; Staple–Office Supply; Brads–Making Memories; Label Punch–Marvy Uchida; Corner Rounder Punch–Fiskars; Ribbon–KI Memories)

Once you understand the basics of this process you can overlap shapes, add shapes in varying sizes, and add additional shapes. Play around with your machine until you feel comfortable. I typically keep some inexpensive cardstock on hand for trying these techniques.

Did you try this tutorial? We’d love to see it! Just leave a link to your project in the comments section below!