Continuous Belt & buckle Die Set Tutorial
This set features five dies:
Two parts of the belt, measuring 4.25" x 1.25" each, one belt loop, 0.7" x 1.25", and two parts of the buckle, 1.84" x 1.75".
The two belt parts have no cutting lines at their edge, which allows you to continue die cutting the belt to the desired length with no size limitations. You can make the belt as long as you need, and wrap any project to the size you desire.
1) You'll need a long strip of cardstock, about 2" wide.
2) Place the first part of the belt at the edge of your cardstock. Make sure it's aligned with one of the stripe's side edges.
2) Secure it with tape, and run it through your cutting machine.
3) Remove the tape. As you can see, the bottom edge of the belt was not cut. Instead, there is a light score line. The following belt part should overlap this line. You can fold the cardstock slightly to highlight the score line.
4) The next belt part has three notches, in the center and sides. They allow you to see the belt side edges, and the score line. When aligning the die, we recommend placing it a little bit higher, in a way that overlaps the two edges, leaving the score line invisible through the notch. Secure it with tape, make sure not to move it from its place, and run it through your cutting machine again.
Please note, aligning the two parts takes some practice until you get the hang of it. Try it a few times for a better understanding of how to work with the notches, so the belt sides will be straight and not crooked, as shown in the video.
5) Remove the tape. Check the sides of the belt to make sure it's straight. There is no cut line at this bottom edge too, which allows you to continue die cutting the belt. Each additional round will add about 4.2" to your belt length.
6) Make sure your belt length is enough for your project before cutting the final edge.
7) When adhering the belt to your project, we recommend applying glue on the front part first, folding the belt around the project, and only then applying glue to the back part.
8) Trim any excess left.
It's time to add the buckle and belt loops:
9) Die-cut the parts.
10) Place the parts and check for the "right" position of your choosing. (Die-cut as many belt loops as you need...)
11) Adhere the buckle parts first, preferably starting with placing the pin in the belt's middle hole, to make sure you have enough room for all parts. In this demo, we forgot to do so, and we did not leave enough room for the buckle pin. But you can always improvise... We simply folded the pin, shortening it a bit. It even made it look more real.
12) Adhere your belt loops.
Your belt & buckle A2 card is ready. Now embellish and add a sentiment of your choosing.
13) For a gatefold card with a front closure, die-cut a 10.5" belt, so it can wrap the card and have enough length to make one end overlap the other.
14) Adhere a piece of cardstock to the back of the buckle, to make the buckle arms stable.
Enjoy...