Using Pens & Markers with the Zing

I found this really great video on how to get perfect cuts around images drawn with the Zing.  Using this technique you don't even need a pen holder.  You can simply insert your pen in the zing, draw your design, then use the print and cut option to cut your project out.  It works perfectly.  See for yourself.
Thanks for sharing this Diane.

Free Zing Tool Holder Box MTC Cut Files

Download th Zing Tool Holder Box MTC Cut Files

I know some of you are looking for a practical project to do with your Zing and this is a great one.  It's a great way to store and display your tools and you won't have to retract your blades.  There are two different boxes.  The first has 1 hole sized to fit one of the plastic tubes that the Zing blade holders come in and 7 holes sized to fit Zing blade holders, embossing tools, pen holders and punch tools.  The plastic tubes are great for storing extra blades and springs.  The second box has one hole sided for the plastic tube, 5 holes sized for Zing tools, 1 hole sized for a uni-ball pen and 1 hole sized for a Sakura Quickie glue pen.  The pens work really great on the Zing so I decided I needed a place to store them with my other Zing tools.  The cut files were made using MTC software and all the pieces were cut on my Zing.

The finished box is 9"x2"x2.25".  It will fit nicely on top of your Zing.  In fact, you can fit two of them on top if you want to.

The MTC files can be downloaded from the links just below the picture on this post.  Click here for the assembly tutorial

Hop To It! Wall Hanging

Hop To It!  Free SVG Cut Files

LD Frogs & Kisses Kit for purchase

I designed this cute little wall hanging to help motivate me at work. The Frog, Lilly pad, water lily and fly are SGV files from the Frogs & Kisses SVG kit from Lettering Delights. The kit is adorable and available for a purchase price of $4.00.  The square triple layer frame, cattails and grass are my designs and I will gladly share the SVGs with you so you can make this or another project with them. The lettering is made from arial rounded font and I will include the wording in the zip file for those of you who don't want to make your own.  The LetteringDelights cut files work really nicely with MTC (Make The Cut) software.  You can download the items when you purchase from them, but if you are using MTC they are available right in the program and you can easily see and choose the items you want to use for your project.

All the items in this project (except the mat board) were cut using my KNK Zing die cutting machine.  I used Bazzill card stock 'Chandler' line from the craft store.  It's a heavy card stock with texture and a sheen to it.  I used 3 shades of green, 2 shared of blue, 2 shades of pink, white, black, brown and light grey.  For the eyes on the frog and fly, as well as the frogs mouth I just used some black, red and white scraps.  Actually, many of the items were cut from scraps.  I used the Knife Point feature in MTC which allows me to cut in very specific places on the mat and utilize the very small scraps of paper.  I love this feature.

The finished size of my project is 9.5 x 9.5, but you can make yours any size you like. This one would make a great card too.  I assembled the project on mat board cut to size, but you could use anything including heavy card stock, poster board, cereal boxes, whatever you have handy.  I used a combination of Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive and pop dots for dimension.  I the the Scotch adhesive, but you can use whatever you have.  3-D glue dots would work just as well as the pop dots too. For the grass on the bottom right corner, just just cut several pieces in a few different sizes and stuck them in the corner until I was happy with the look.

This is a very simple little project that will brighten up any room.  It makes me smile whenever I look at it.  I hope some of you Cut your own.

Using a Glue Pen in Your Zing

Here is a great video tutorial from Paperthreads that shows how to use a glue pen in the Zing die cutting machine using the pen and cut features with WYSIWYG mode. After using the machine to draw with the glue pen you can add glitter, flocking or even leafing. I tried it and it works very nicely.I didn't do a project with it yet, just an experiment.  When I do a project with it I will post to show how nice it comes out.  This video is great so I'm sharing it instead of making my own.

The video doesn't tell you this, but you need a Sakura Quickie Glue Pen.  This one works because you don't have to squeeze it to apply the glue.

KNK Zing Cutting Machine - My Review

I promised a review of my KNK Zing cutting machine so here it is. I absolutely, unconditionally, without a doubt - L♥VE IT! I am so excited to own it and very pleased.

Why do I love it? It cuts beautifully. I have been able to make the most detailed swirls and designs that my previous die cutting machine simply choked on. It allows me to cut all kinds of materials. The WYSIWYG mode is handy when I need to cut an entire page. When I just need to cut 1 or 2 items I can use the Knife mode and only use a small portion of my paper or use up even the smallest of scraps. The Print and Cut, all I can say here is that it's fabulous. It did require some set up to get everything aligned properly, but I will likely never have to do that again. Even if I do, I wrote down the settings so I'm ready to go. I have been able to cut my print jobs out perfectly!!! The embossing tool is awesome for scoring lines. I haven't used it to actually emboss, but that is on my to-do list. I've also been able to use to draw with my metallic gel pens and my glue pen. It's so much fun!

What's really great is that it aligns up perfectly over and over and over again. My previous die cutting machine never cut in the same place twice and never cut exact. Everything was skewed. Not the Zing. I can score then cut or do multicuts, whatever I want and it cuts exactly right. Everything comes out perfectly sized, all my pieces line up. It's a dream come true for me.

I did my research before purchasing and had heard a few people comment that it was "too complicated" so I want to address that now. First let me say that the 170 plus page manual is a bit overwhelming. For me, I worked through the first couple chapters and then just went to specific areas as I needed them. Although the size of the manual is overwhelming, it's actually nice to have so much information available. Is the machine complicated? I guess that depends on the person using it and their desires. If you are looking for something that you can just slip in a piece of paper and maybe make one setting, this is not the die cutting machine for you. Keep in mind that if you are looking for die cutting machine that simple, you are likely to have more crumpled paper than cut paper. I personally don't think it's that complicated. Yes you have to set the blade depth; you have choices for speed and pressure. You have to remember to adjust the offset when changing blades, pens etc. You get to choose from three different cutting modes (Knife Point, WYSIWYG, Print And Cut). And finally you must set your blade origin or 3 pt registration with Print And Cut. Once you get the hang of it, it's not too much at all. I think all the settings are what allow it to do such beautiful cut jobs on all kinds of materials. If you are the type of person who just wants to cut something from purchased cartridge then this may be too much for you. But if you are like me and want to make your own cut files, then this machine is perfect.

I highly recommend the KNK Zing computerized cutting machine.

Free Reindeer SVG Cut File

Download Reindeer SVG

To celebrate my success with my new KNK Zing, I am sharing my reindeer svg. I have limited space for file sharing so I don't know how long this will be available. If you like it, get it now.  You can make package toppers, package toppers/tags, ornaments, cards, whatever you want with this cute little guy.  Please feel free to share with me how you are using it and what you think about it. I was not able to cut most of this on the Ecraft, but it cut beautifully on on Zing. I made this svg using photoshop and MTC and used the zing print and cut options for the eyes, mouth and eyebrows. You could cut the whole thing out from different papers if you don't have a print and cut option on your die cutting machine. Enjoy!

Craftwell Ecraft Die Cutting Machine - My Review

I've been wanting a die cutter for a long, long time.  I finally broke down an got one.  My choice was the Craftwell Ecraft.  I read the reviews and I knew that quite a few people were having a hard time with it, but it was being sold at HSN for $199, 5 payment plan and I could return it after using it for 30 days so I decided to give it a try. I probably would have gotten the Cricut, but I discovered that they no longer supported 3rd party software that would enable me to create my own designs.  As of now, the only way to cut with the cricut is by using their very expensive cartridges or purchasing on the website with no customization other than size and placement of cut.

I went into this determined to make it work for me.  I spent a week and half cutting on it.  I must say that it chewed up a whole lot of paper.  I was able to get some acceptable cuts from it, that is if you don't mind things cutting a bit skewed and having tab chads.  This was my first die cutting machine so I didn't know if it was the machine or the paper or me.  I kept at it, but even when I got a complete cut without chewed up paper, either there were chips in the design or it was skewed.  I cut a small piece of lattice and on the left side it came out good but as I looked over to the right, the holes in the lattice got bigger and bigger and the actual lattice got smaller and smaller.  I tried everything, tabs, no tabs, inserting dashed lines in MTC to simulate tabs at various sizes.  I did find that my results were better if I used a piece of card stock for a mat (so much for a matless cutter), but in the end, unless I was cutting something from the sd card that came with it, nothing cut well.  That was a big problem for me because one main thing I wanted was to design my own patterns.  I'm not going to give any review on the software that comes with the ecraft.  I downloaded and installed it but found it lacking so never really gave it a chance.  I already had MTC and was happy with the way it works.

Despite all the trouble. I was determined to make it work for me, but then I found myself already planning for my next die cutter and one morning I realized I was already researching other die cutting machines and still within my 30 day return policy.  At that moment I decided it was going back.  I immediately got out the boxes and packed it up (a challenge in and of it's self).  I did some more research, read more reviews and ordered my KNK Zing that day.  Yes, the Zing cost twice as much ($399) and uses mats, but I realized that I was not going to be happy with the ecraft and was going to end up spending all the savings in chewed up paper anyway.

My recommendation, to be kind I will say that the ecraft is an inadequate die cutting machine. From now on I will be referring to it as the ecrap.  If you simply must try it, get it from somewhere that you can use it for a bit and still return it.  Make sure you keep all the packing and take note of how it's packed so that you can send it back.  I think the only way they are selling any of these is because people simply can't get them packed up for return.

I am very, very, very happy that I sent it back and over the top happy with my zing.  I will write a review on my KNK Zing next, but for now I will tell you that, I LOVE MY ZING that was purchased at KNKUSA.