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Post by midorica on Feb 12, 2019 23:00:02 GMT
I know that people were finding some really cool layering dies on Ali Express a while ago, but it was a little difficult to find all the layers in one place. I didn't buy any dies then because of this, but just saw some beautiful cards using layered dies and want to experiment... So please share any links you might have to complete sets of layering dies on Ali Express. Thank you!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105 
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 13, 2019 13:53:27 GMT
This isn't going to be quite what you asked for, but maybe it will help.
For those who have a Silhouette cutter, there are several layered cards in their design store. No dies are required, and the designs are a lot less expensive to buy than dies. You can also adjust the size, unlike dies.
The price of a set of layering dies was more than I was willing to pay, at least from the original die makers. I saw them at a convention. I liked the look, just not the price. I saw them at Ali Express later, but it was still more expensive to buy the dies than the cutting files. I see no point in buying a die when a very similar cutting file will do exactly the same thing for a fraction of the cost.
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Post by sunny1016 on Feb 13, 2019 14:25:46 GMT
123These were the ones I found on a quick search. Usually once you start finding them you find more. Also wanted to add- Jennifer Mcquire just did a video recently where she showed how to take dies you have and make them into layered designs. It was pretty interesting and easy to do. I purchased a set of round ones and I have to admit, not my favorite kinda dies. They are a little more work than I like and not in the fun way!  And like the poster above said. I can use my silhouette just as easily!
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Post by anniefb on Feb 13, 2019 17:21:01 GMT
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,139
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Post by scrappington on Feb 13, 2019 19:09:49 GMT
Jennifer mcquire just showed a video how to achieve the layered look with one background die.
Also If you look at EC crafts ( cdn online store ) you will see there is some out by Elizabeth crafts or creative crafts that are super cheap. Simon says is carrying them as well.
I gave up on Ali because I just stopped getting anything from that site. I really miss it though.
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Loydene
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,639
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Post by Loydene on Feb 13, 2019 21:36:22 GMT
scrapnnana Can you give me some guidance on the layering dies to which you refer at the Silhouette Design store -- are they the ones from Lori Whitlock (I believe) - that pretty much copy the "original" layering dies? I've wished that someone would design some flower layering files - so I'm basically hoping that you have some info I've missed!
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,139
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Post by scrappington on Feb 13, 2019 22:17:55 GMT
Ec crafts Facebook page has all the new layer dies.
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Post by 950nancy on Feb 13, 2019 22:22:48 GMT
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on Feb 13, 2019 23:01:33 GMT
Here's a listing of some of the BP ones - you have to see in the description which ones they are, there is no picture (I assume because BP doesn't appreciate the prices on Ali Express!) bp dies |
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Post by Embri on Feb 14, 2019 1:35:00 GMT
Be really careful when buying layering die sets on AliEx - you need to double, triple-check that the dimensions are the same for all three pieces. I've seen 'sets' sold, as in dies in the same listing, where one die was the wrong size.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 14, 2019 3:04:22 GMT
scrapnnana Can you give me some guidance on the layering dies to which you refer at the Silhouette Design store -- are they the ones from Lori Whitlock (I believe) - that pretty much copy the "original" layering dies? I've wished that someone would design some flower layering files - so I'm basically hoping that you have some info I've missed! , yes, they are the "a2 stacking card base___" designs from Lori Whitlock. I've downloaded about 10 of those designs. I made a couple of the cards and posted them on my blog. I also took a few Silhouette designs that were single layer designs, and made them stacking layered designs. I just used the offset function in the Silhouette software. Those three cards are also shown in the same blog post. The 5 cards I made can be seen here: Layered, stacked cardsIf you find a flower background that you like, you can do the same thing that I did: use the offset tool and/or the internal offset to create your own stacking/layered flower card. |
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Post by joblackford on Feb 14, 2019 3:50:24 GMT
scrapnnana those are lovely examples. I especially love the mermaid wave design. I hadn't even thought about using a cutting machine for layered die cuts. Makes a lot of sense - those BP dies are just too expensive for me.
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Post by grammadee on Feb 14, 2019 3:59:07 GMT
justjac has some beautiful layering dies. Birch press?
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 14, 2019 6:17:14 GMT
Thank you, joblackford.
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Post by midorica on Feb 14, 2019 9:29:14 GMT
Thank you ladies! I looked up Jennifer McGuire's videos on faux layering because I wasn't thrilled with the options on Ali Express... Also, their dies have gotten way more expensive! Not exactly the cheap way to experiment anymore. I ended up taking advantage of the MFT sale on their dies to pick up the mandala dies that I think could layer up quite nicely. We'll see how it goes!
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Post by riversong1963 on Feb 14, 2019 12:32:14 GMT
I have some of the Lori Whitlock files too, and they turn out great for me. I just won't pay $70+ for a set of 3 dies, even if I knew I was going to use them for every single card I made.
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Post by anniefb on Feb 14, 2019 16:58:11 GMT
I bought some of the Lori Whitlock files as well. There are some other layered background files in the Silhouette store that could be cropped for cards.
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Post by anniefb on Feb 14, 2019 17:10:40 GMT
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Post by Embri on Feb 14, 2019 22:25:15 GMT
I have some of the Lori Whitlock files too, and they turn out great for me. I just won't pay $70+ for a set of 3 dies, even if I knew I was going to use them for every single card I made. No kidding; 70$+ for a set of dies is bonkers! I don't care how nice a die is; there's no way I'm paying that much, ever. |
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Post by sunny1016 on Feb 15, 2019 12:07:14 GMT
I really like a lot of her designs! Hers are most of the layered ones I have. |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 15, 2019 18:38:20 GMT
I have some of the Lori Whitlock files too, and they turn out great for me. I just won't pay $70+ for a set of 3 dies, even if I knew I was going to use them for every single card I made. No kidding; 70$+ for a set of dies is bonkers! I don't care how nice a die is; there's no way I'm paying that much, ever. Especially if you can use an electronic cutter and get a similar design for 99 cents. One exception is the Birch Press wave set. I can't find anything similar. However, I'm not going to pay $72 for that one set. It's pretty, but the price is far too high. |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 15, 2019 18:42:28 GMT
I really like a lot of her designs! Hers are most of the layered ones I have. I have some of hers, too, as well as several of those by Lori Whitlock. Last night I was browsing backgrounds at Silhouette Design Store. There really are quite a few that could also easily be turned into a layered/stacked background easily with the offset function in the software. |
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Post by Embri on Feb 15, 2019 20:17:38 GMT
If I had a plotter-cutter, I'd just draw my own. Doesn't look very hard as I've plenty of vector shape experience and there's an absolute plethora of freely available SVG files out there to assist. That said as I don't make cards much, there's no great incentive for me to want background dies like this.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 16, 2019 8:51:15 GMT
I'm sure these dies or types of designs really appeal more to card makers than scrapbookers. I do both scrapbooking and card making. While I can see potentially using them on a page layout, I'd probably only use them for cards. Even so, there is no way would I use them enough to justify buying any of the die sets. I had no problem buying the layered designs from the Silhouette Design store.
Could I make my own? Easily, especially with the Silhouette software. Sometimes, though, I'd rather just buy a cutting file design than spend the time doing the design work. With my Silhouette subscription, I get the 99 cent designs for as little as 8 cents each. My time is worth a lot more than that. That is why I just can't see spending $72 for a die set that would produce the same (or at least similar) result as a cutting file that costs me less than a dime.
I bought my first electronic cutter because it was going to be less expensive in the long run than continuing to buy dies.
I thought Jennifer McGuire's video in faux layering was interesting and creative, even though I did not like the look quite as well.
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Post by Embri on Feb 16, 2019 22:26:29 GMT
At <1$, it's entirely reasonable to buy a design instead of making your own. Really just depends on what's available, and how much you enjoy the designing process on a computer vs. in real life. It just baffles me why those background dies are so expensive; I mean yes they're somewhat larger than an average set of dies - if there is such a thing! - but not by a huge amount. Really feels like price gouging. I don't think I'm about to give up my cutting dies just yet though, I'm far too attached to the beveled edge and stitch/pierced styles.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 17, 2019 21:43:35 GMT
At <1$, it's entirely reasonable to buy a design instead of making your own. Really just depends on what's available, and how much you enjoy the designing process on a computer vs. in real life. It just baffles me why those background dies are so expensive; I mean yes they're somewhat larger than an average set of dies - if there is such a thing! - but not by a huge amount. Really feels like price gouging. I don't think I'm about to give up my cutting dies just yet though, I'm far too attached to the beveled edge and stitch/pierced styles. The beveled edge is definitely an advantage to the thin dies. Even though I use an electronic cutter a lot of the time, I still have a collection of dies that I love. I can get the stitched look with an electronic cutter, as well as a pierced look, but there are some beautiful dies that I felt were worth buying. In fact, I have a few arriving tomorrow from Heartfelt Creations. I don't know why some dies are so expensive compared to others. I have sometimes bought 3 dies that all together were close to the $72 price, but the ones I bought offered far more variety in how they could be used. The layered sets are really more limited. All three dies need to be used together for the layered look, and that is something that is easily duplicated with an electronic cutter and an inexpensive cutting file. |
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Post by 950nancy on Feb 17, 2019 21:52:50 GMT
No kidding; 70$+ for a set of dies is bonkers! I don't care how nice a die is; there's no way I'm paying that much, ever. Especially if you can use an electronic cutter and get a similar design for 99 cents. One exception is the Birch Press wave set. I can't find anything similar. However, I'm not going to pay $72 for that one set. It's pretty, but the price is far too high. That was the one die set I caved and bought on AliExpress. It was may $12 for all three. |
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 18, 2019 16:41:35 GMT
For $12, I'd be tempted to buy the wave die set, but I have some major misgivings about buying from Ali Express.
I'm not criticising anyone who does buy from them. It's your money, your choice. I do understand why so many people buy from them.
I just know that if I were still designing, and my designs got ripped off by them (it really looks like they sell blatent copies), I'd be really ticked.
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Post by Embri on Feb 18, 2019 20:57:11 GMT
That's fair, everyone's entitled to take their custom where they see fit. We're lucky enough in this day and age that there are choices to be had.
Personally, I don't see 72$ as a fair price, so whatever company made the original isn't losing out on my patronage as they'd never have gotten it in the first place. Particularly when you toss in the exchange rate, shipping, customs, duty, processing fees, and taxes on top - that 72$ set can become 200$ by the time it gets to me in Canada, which isn't even remotely affordable in any way, shape or form. By buying from the less expensive source, hopefully it puts pressure on the american companies to lower their prices to more reasonable levels in the future. If not, well I'm quite happy with my AliExpress buys 90% of the time, and the other 10% almost always results in a full refund.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,105
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Post by scrapnnana on Feb 19, 2019 2:29:30 GMT
That's fair, everyone's entitled to take their custom where they see fit. We're lucky enough in this day and age that there are choices to be had. Personally, I don't see 72$ as a fair price, so whatever company made the original isn't losing out on my patronage as they'd never have gotten it in the first place. Particularly when you toss in the exchange rate, shipping, customs, duty, processing fees, and taxes on top - that 72$ set can become 200$ by the time it gets to me in Canada, which isn't even remotely affordable in any way, shape or form. By buying from the less expensive source, hopefully it puts pressure on the american companies to lower their prices to more reasonable levels in the future. If not, well I'm quite happy with my AliExpress buys 90% of the time, and the other 10% almost always results in a full refund. All good points. |
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