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Okay, bought a Coluzzle and am having ISSUES! It seems to be shredding (the actual template, not the letters) when I cut. And it is really hard to do corners and sometimes I can't get the knife into the slots on the template. Any tips or am I just Coluzzle retarded?
__________________ Tamara: hs'ing, babywearing mama to five fab kids
and expecting a new little Pumpkin in September!
He He!! I don't think that you are retarded because if you are I guess I am also because I am terrible with those things. I do more cutting on the plastic than I do on the paper. I guess we need to be patient with these silly things.
All cutting systems take PRACTICE! Don't get too worried. I have used Coluzzle, Fiskars Shape cutter, Blade Runner and Creative Memories. The only one that is super simple--no weirdness is CM. The rest took lots of time to get used to. With Coluzzle, keeping the swivel knife straight up and down is important.
I agree that CM circle and oval cutting systems are easy, however since I'm an SU demo I better get started practicing on my coluzzle. I have to show my customers how "wonderful" the coluzzle system can be.
Yeah, I took the plastic off I think maybe I wasn't holding the knife straight up and down. I usually use the Fiskars cutting system but I'm not wild about all their alphabets. Coluzzle's are cuter. Glad to know I'm not just super stupid.
__________________ Tamara: hs'ing, babywearing mama to five fab kids
and expecting a new little Pumpkin in September!
The best advice I ever got for the Coluzzle is to not fight it. Hold the knife straight up and down (as was previosly mentioned) and let the knife do the work while you gently pull it through the template. Repeating "the Coluzzle is my friend, the Coluzzle is my friend" while cutting also helps.
I absolutely love my coluzzel. It took awhile to get used to it but here is what I have learned.
1.) always keep the blade perpendicular to your cutting surface. The most important rule.
2.) Be sure that your blade is facing in the right direction for cutting. Believe it or not, I did make this mistake more than once. :oops:
3.) Put a little pressure down on the blade. You will hear it poke into the paper when you start. To maintain that level for cutting it needs a bit of pressure.
4.) Go slow - at least until you get the hang of it. Going too fast can change your pressure or swivel your blade in the wrong direction or cause your blade to jump the track.
Also, keep in mind that you are cutting paper and the blades can dull easily. They do need to be changed fairly often but they are easy to change. I did a 35 card swap and had to change my blade when I was done with it.
I understand the CM cutter is excellent but it is also limited. With coluzzel there are a ton of templates available like alphabets and tags and frames and they are pretty reasonable in price. Now if we could only get SU to have a selection of templates.
I hope this all help - don't give up, you can do it.
I hate, hate, hate my coluzzle ~ don't even like trying to spell it. What a flippen waste of money. I bought the mat the rectangle template and the cutter. That's $40 I'll never see again. What a waste!!
I love my Coluzzel I think someone was having a problem and was advised to make sure the blade was tight on the handle. She tightened it up and it worked great. Check the blade before you toss it.
__________________ The only thing better than a good friend is a good friend with a bag of M&Ms.
The best advice I got was to 'go with the flow'. If you are used to CM cutters, you are used to pushing down too hard. Once you hear that 'pop' and your paper is pierced, let the blade do the rest. Relax and gently pull. Also make sure you use the 'foamy' mat that is made for this cutting system!!! It really helps. No self-healing mats for this cutter.
You'll love it soon... so easy to see what you are getting as a result.
I also highly recommend the SU companion Coluzzle. It makes perfect frames and fits your 4x6 photos better than the standard one!
ENJOY.
I have tried them all including CM and Coluzzle is by far the best once you get the hang of it. Keep trying and one day you will just find that you have all the factors working and you will be totally addicted to the thing. I use mine all the time and when I first got it I swore it was one of the worst things I ever bought. Now I just cannot wait to add a new template to my collection. It is all about how you hold the thing.
I hate, hate, hate my coluzzle ~ don't even like trying to spell it. What a flippen waste of money. I bought the mat the rectangle template and the cutter. That's $40 I'll never see again. What a waste!!
Ditto!
__________________ RT - In-house Bunny Chaser "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap."- Dolly Parton
The best advice I ever got for the Coluzzle is to not fight it. Hold the knife straight up and down (as was previosly mentioned) and let the knife do the work while you gently pull it through the template. Repeating "the Coluzzle is my friend, the Coluzzle is my friend" while cutting also helps.
Geat advice here- take it to heart. I love my Coluzzles but it does take practice. I've had mine for years and there are still days when I will occassionally be "Coluzzle challenged". I'm usually in too big of a hurry. Good luck!
I have had absolutely NO luck at all with mine either. Heck, you can't even use the blade for anything else because it swivels. Mine are currently in a box buried at the back of my craft room
I've tried numerous cutting systems and love the coluzzle. The easiest way to learn it is to have someone show you the right way to hold it and cut with it (rather obvious). Do not hold it likean x-acto knife or pencil. Hold it straight up. Poke into the paper and man, making sure your blade is facing in the direction you are going to cut. The blade rotates, and it is easy to put it in facing the wrong way. Obviously, the first thing to do is remove the plastic coating from both sides. Once you have poked the blade into the paper, do not press hard when cutting, relax and let the coluzzle do the work.
I am using the Coluuzle at my stamp camp this weekend and I will demo it first. Once I got the hang of holding the blade perpendicular I was fine. Hope I don't frustrate them all!!!!
the CM one is easier.. but you dont have as many options in sizes as you do the coluzzle. i have been using the coluzzle for about a year.. and i love it. you can buy the other templates at michaels, or scrapbooking stores too.. they have cute fonts!
keep at it.. once the lightbulb goes off , and you realize how to hold it correctly..( surely most of us have been there.. :oops: ), you will realize how easy it is.
Several of the above posts made excellent points. First, make sure the plastic is off both sides. Second the blade should be tight (it rotates) and facing the way you are going to cut. Be sure to hold it upright, not like a pencil or an x-acto knife. Once you pierce the paper and hear the pop, just relax and lead the blade gently through the groove.
I had so much trouble trying to figure all this out by myself. I demonstrated it at a huge stamp camp and my upline showed be how to use it properly. The demo was a big hit. Someone demonstrating how to use it is the best way of learning.
After I put the blade in the template, I like to forget it is even in there and just pretend that I am tracing the line with a pencil; keeping the barrel perpendicular as said before. This is what helps me anyway. The only time I get into trouble is when the template slips. Keep trying, you'll get it!
I tried the coluzzle, and couldn't get it to work right without fraying the edges of whatever I was cutting, so I just traded it away for something else. The only cutting tools I use are scissors and the regular paper cutter like SU sells.
Yeah, it took a little while for me to get used to my coluzzle too, but now I love it! I use the circle template tons. The little blades DO dull quickly, so make sure you replace it if the paper starts to shred at all. And the little swivel part of it kind of goes crazy sometimes so make sure you're not pulling it along the template with the cutter on the wrong side. Practice and you will use it!
Gretchen in SC
This discussion gives me hope. I got coluzzle with my great rewards last summer and hav thought I wasted my freebie. Maybe I will give it another try and carve up some duplicate photos for practice. :shock:
You know what I really dislike about the Coluzzle? Having to "cut" it out when you are done. I can't make my scissor cuts go with the flow of the design...
The best advice I have gotten for Coluzzles is to clean out the track of each area. I take my coluzzles knife, turn it backwards (so that the blade is not cutting, but rather is just gliding through the channel with the dull side up. Then I just cut through the air with the knife cleaning out each area. I was surprised the amount of extra plastic pieces that were in there. I took and did this with each of my templates, and they work great. Do not use the sharp part of the knife, use the dull side, you don't want to cut, rather just clean out. Let me know if this is unclear.
__________________ Lisa C., Mom to 3 great kids, 3 super dogs and an cat that thinks she is a dog! My Gallery
Sorry I just couldn't resist! I love my coluzzle. I bought mine before I became a demo at my local scrapbook store and the lady showed me how to use it before I bought it. Maybe you can go somewhere and get a demo? Keep at it!
Sorry I just couldn't resist! I love my coluzzle. I bought mine before I became a demo at my local scrapbook store and the lady showed me how to use it before I bought it. Maybe you can go somewhere and get a demo? Keep at it!
Okay, when do you want me to make the trip to Concord. It's only a 20 minute drive.
I have to add...I was having trouble with one of my new templates. I had knicked it and it was always getting caught. My girlfriend used it and she put quite a bit of pressure on it...she had the metal tip of the stylus touching the top of the template, the blade was really down there far. Well she never caught the knick. Maybe I haven't been putting enough pressure on it. And make sure it's perpendicular!!
I'm getting better at it now. But I seem to have some little cuts on the template that keep it from going smoothly. I noticed on the package that I had purchased the "advanced" alphabet template (lowercase Hawaiian hut). Maybe that's part of my dysfunction.
__________________ Tamara: hs'ing, babywearing mama to five fab kids
and expecting a new little Pumpkin in September!
I had a friend over to stamp last week who couldn't use her coluzzle. It turned out that she'd thrown away the foamy cutting mat. These must be used with that mat. It definitely took me some time to get this down, but I'm glad I did. It's pretty easy to use now that I know how.
I don't suck! I took my Coluzzle back to the store and the lady at Michaels said my blade was broken: it was pushed down into the handle farther than it should have been. That was why it was shredding my template. So I just got my money back. Maybe someday I'll try it again...
__________________ Tamara: hs'ing, babywearing mama to five fab kids
and expecting a new little Pumpkin in September!
Just a note...I read through the posts quickly and maybe I missed this tip...
There IS a top and a bottom, the groove the knife sits in is a V shape, make sure the wider is on the top..... When you take it from the package, the side facing OUT is the top. I recommend to people to put a sticker on that side so they can tell. It is visible, but just barely, to the naked eye ;)
And the 2 things I see people do the most is a> not push in until they hear the "pop" b>the knife is not being guided toward the cutting side but rather the back/dull side of the blade.
I just love my coluzzle!! I was able to use it right from the start and did not find it difficult at all, but I have a friend who just cannot get the nack of it, so it can be a challenge. Keep trying!!
AuntieLauri
__________________ Grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
the courage to change the ONE I can,
I have had my Coluzzle for a few years now and I love it. It was the first cutting system that I bought. For tips - make sure you hold the cutting knife straight up and down, make sure the tip is screwed on tightly, and don't be agressive when placing the cutting tip in the cutting channel. I have a seen a few people try to jam their their cutting tip in, missing the channel or catching the side of the channel and doing some damage to their cutting tip and the channel.
I just bought my first set of Coluzzle refill blades! I'm so proud! I did a swap for Leadership using the Coluzzle and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone that saw it wanted it. Too bad I only took 25 of them! LOL!
Quote:
"the Coluzzle is my friend, the Coluzzle is my friend" while cutting also helps.
I have the entire CM cutting system I would not do a lot with out it I hate the rest of them and yes HATE is a strong word and I did use it... I ahve a friend who is a CMC and I am a SU we trade...
__________________ Please help me help bring a little hope to our wounded troops in WALTER REED, BETHESDA &2 IRAQ HOSPITAL field units....
Do Coluzzles stink or do I stink?
Then my 9 year old niece used it without even practicing and everything came out perfectly! :oops: When I tried to use it I tore up the pictures or cardstock every time. Now I work at it and can occasionaly get it to come out OK. However, I always make sure I have spare paper or pictures whenever I use it. I agree that the CM system is much easier but they don't have an alphabet! 
