Fiskars ScrapBoss Starter Set & Stencil Sets Review
Fiskars ScrapBoss Starter Set & Stencil Sets
Embossing, Stenciling, and Cutting System
Fiskars, well-known for their scissors and paper
punches, makes a great system for embossing, stenciling and cutting.
It’s super for scrapbooking and cardmaking. Everything in these sets
works together. I have several of the sets, and thought you might be
interested in this versatile system.
The first piece that you need
is the
Scrapboss. Measuring 12 inches by 12 inches, it’s big enough for full-size
scrapbook pages. Templates are fastened to it by repositionable pegs.
Underneath, there’s a storage tray to store templates and paper. It
comes with 2 styluses, some stencils, and a project book. The Scrapboss
can use any stencils and templates that Fiskars makes.
There’s a smaller cousin, the
Shapeboss.
> It fits stencils and templates that are 9 inches by 11 inches and smaller.
It comes with a stylus and some stencils. It does not have the storage
tray. For the smallest sizes, try the
Cardboss
> or
Mini ShapeBoss Set
> The stencils listed on those pages both work on the Scrapboss and Shapeboss.
Embossing and Stenciling
Embossing and stenciling are
very easy with this system. The laser-cut stencils come in two parts.
First you lay the bottom piece on the Scrapboss, then the top piece. The
top piece has grid lines and is marked, "top." Next I usually put a
couple pegs in the corners to hold it securely in place. I position the
paper, cardstock, or thin metal in between the two pieces and, start
embossing. The styluses comes with different size tips. Smaller tips are
better for detailed areas, while large areas can be finished quickly
with the bigger tips.
The stencils come in a large
variety, from abstract lines and letters, good for lots of pages, to
holiday and baby themes. If you click on the small pictures on
this page and
this page, you can see the details of each one.
Sometimes I emboss right on a
12×12" scrapbook page and create borders and frames. I also make
embellishments by embossing smaller pieces or copper pieces. I usually
emboss before cutting them out. It’s easier.
Another set that I use alot to
make photo mats and embellishments for scrapbooking and cards are the
Texture Plates
>. They’re made of hard plastic with holes at the top for the pegs. Each is
two-sided, with a different texture on each side. The assortment pack is
a great value and contains 6 double sided plates (12 designs) including
hearts/ stars, lines/waves, bubbles/dots, squares/fabric, stones/bricks
and wood/leaves.
I use the Texture Plates with
the
Shape Templates that I’ll talk about later to create my own textured
die-cuts. For example, I put the heart shape template on the Scrapboss
with a hearts texture plate beneath it. I slide my paper in-between. I
emboss inside the heart shape, creating a hearts texture. Then I cut out
the heart shape. It’s very cute! I also like to create titles this way,
using the
letter and number shape templates and the other texture plates.
Cutting
The Fiskars templates for
cutting are designed for the
ShapeCutter
>. It’s a very safe and accurate way to cut out clean shapes and letters. The
cutting mat and shape templates fit the Scrapboss or Shapeboss and have
holes to secure them with the pegs. Using the ShapeCutter is very
simple. Hold the base of the ShapeCutter inside the template and follow
around the edge. To cut a freehand design, I just look down at the blade
and follow my traced line. The blade is adjusted by a knob on top for
different paper thicknesses.
The ShapeTemplates are sturdy
plastic with grid lines, and can be stored in a binder. They have
several shapes on each one, and some have border designs along the
sides. They come in
many varieties
> and
letters and numbers.
> There’s also a set of
Super Size ShapeTemplates
>. On these, you can use the inside and outside of each shape, That’s great
for cropping a photo and creating a matching shape mat.
Overall, I use the Scrapboss
alot in my paper-crafting. It’s very versatile, and I can create many
different looks, cards, and layouts.