sizzix and tim holtz naughtiness!

It's confession time ... I've been very naughty ....

Let me set the scene.

A few months back when all the new Tim Holtz dies started to come out, I thought, oooh I need some of those! However, I didn't have a machine to use them on :-(

So then I went off and did some research as to which one I should buy. That is when I discovered that there was a new machine coming out called the Big Shot Pro. So I decided to wait very patiently until that one came out. Yes, I was very patient. I did buy one TH die to stroke whilst I was waiting though!

Finally, my machine arrived this week, but I only got the chance to play with it properly last night.

I was quite staggered by the size of it. It is HUGE! 16 x 24 inches (without the handle) and it weighs a TON. But I LOVE it!! When I had opened the box I just stood there looking at it as I couldn't believe how big it was. My other half took one look at it and said, "that's staying in your craft room, I don't want to see it anywhere else". Honestly! How could he read my mind, as I was thinking if I shoved the sewing machine over I could fit this onto the kitchen table too!! LOL!

The reason why I chose this particular machine is because you can use almost any die from any other machine that's ever been made. That would be great if I had any other dies, but I don't, but that's only because I never had a machine that I could use them in before. Now I do! So, now I can go and buy them! I hope you are understanding my logic here.

I've now had a chance to play and it is so easy to use. It comes with the following bits:

• A metal sliding tray (very heavy)
• An adapter pad (which has diagrams on it so you can see how to make up the different layers for the different dies you are using)
• A cutting mat
• A premium crease pad (it will not only cut out your box shape, it will put the creases in too, in the places when you need to bend the shape to make the box ... wicked!)
• Two mylar shims
• A pick for digging the debris out of the dies

The handle (which you have to attach yourself) is sooo easy to turn, it's just fab!

The cutting mat is 12.25 x 14.25 inches, so you can easily fit your 12" x 12" paper in there, just what it was designed for.

Some extra large dies have also been created for it which won't fit into any other machines. I have my eye on a few!

Oh, and my Tim Holtz naughtiness?

These ...

and these ...

and these ...

All of the dies that I bought fit very nicely into the storage compartment in the base of the Big Shot Pro. You can stack them two high and the slidey tray still moves across nicely so you can still use the machine without any interference from the bits you've stored underneath.

In my next post, I'll show you what I've been making with my two most favourite dies. Can you guess which ones they are?

Thank you for looking.

keeley