Shape up with Templates

By Tia Bennett

Fiskars offers so many options for your shape cutting creations.  The Ultra ShapeXpress tool, combined with self-healing mats and a treasure trove of templates makes this task not only convenient, but fun!

I can’t even tell you how long I’ve owned my Fiskars Shape Templates; it seems like they’ve always been a part of my paper-crafting stash!  I have been so inspired lately by a resurgence of both trendy and traditional paper piecing, I decided to pull out the orange plastic plates and have some fun!  To be fair, I’ve used only four of the general templates typically found in your local craft store.  I am eager to not only show their versatility, but also (hopefully!) whet your appetite for exploring the many amazing options also offered by Fiskars.  There are alphabet templates and shape templates, number templates and super sized templates; all ready and waiting for you to play with! 

Take a Page from a Quilting Technique

You may have seen or tried this technique with fabrics on a quilt; why not transfer the idea to paper?  Looking at the patterned paper pieces in the layout “Auckland Pier”, you can see that coordinating papers have been cut in a variety of sizes on the basic Squares Template.  The squares were then layered atop one another, and the finished stack was cut in fourths.  By simply re-assembling the squares with portions of different cut squares, you achieve a “quilted” look with a whimsical, yet very ‘mod’ feel. 

Take Advantage of the Tear Edger Side

Not only do these tools come with shapes inset in the plastic template, but each edge is a perfectly sculpted tear edge!  I love having dimension and texture on my pages, and what better way to add some than by utilizing those sides?  As the band of color down the center of the above page advertises, it is a simple as laying the template over your paper and, with a firm pressure on the plate, tearing your paper down along the edge.  In the above example I did this once to the light colored patterned paper.  Then, using a contrasting brown paper, I executed the tear once again with a different tear edge pattern.  Each piece was stitched down to the page then gently pulled on to “curl” it up at the edges.  An oval shape creates the medallion in the center (the back layer being trimmed with some Fiskars Paper Edger Scissors), and a square shape forms the blocks of eye-catching red spread along the left side of the page.

Go Ahead and Get Negative

Negative space, that is!  Now that you’ve used your templates to create a base for things, why not use them in the opposite way:  as frames?  Here I have used both the oval shape and the rectangle shape, with a healthy dose of a scallop tear edge on the side to create a fun border around this bitty tree.  The tree, too, was made from an oval shape!  Line the red paper piece with some machine stitching and rough up the edges a bit for a homey feel if you choose, or go to town with some chalk ink to create more defined edges to the frame piece.  Anything goes!

Let Your Imagination Loose

Take a few minutes with your template and look at your shapes in a new way.  Is there something unexpected the shape reminds you of?  Maybe there is something hiding in there that is totally outside the box!  When I flipped the tag template around every which way, these little people suddenly jumped out at me from one of the tags!  I was instantly transported back to my youth, sitting cross-legged on the floor with some Little People and a playhouse.  Do you see it, too?  I took the opportunity to celebrate our anniversary with a dedicatory page, peopled with these little tag-shaped cuties!  I simply traced the tag shape onto a base cardstock, and then re-traced parts of the tag onto other patterned paper pieces to make them some “clothes”.  Brads, stitching, and little circle punches were then added as adornments to give them a finished touch.  And, of course, they’re whispering sweet nothings as intimated by the word bubble and heart popping up between the pair!  What creative things can YOU find hiding in your shape templates?  Have fun exploring the plethora of possibilities!

By Tia Bennett