Negative Die-cut Backgrounds Tutorial

In our quest to acquire new dies to create perfect shapes, be it simple or ornate designs, it’s easy to overlook the possibilities of using the ‘waste’ from these dies. The savvy crafter needs to look at what might be called the offcut, and get double the versatility from dies! It’s a win–win situation as you can use the positive part – the actual die-cut – on one project, then the negative – the outline left when the die-cut section has been removed – on another.

In this masterclass, we will look at different ways of making patterns and complex designs using the negatives of die-cuts. As we will see, rather than layering up, negative die-cutting is more about layering ‘down’.

Often, the opportunity to use a negative die-cut might arise due to a ‘happy accident’ – you cut a shape and look at the waste and think, “Ooh, I could make another card with that bit.” This is great, but with a bit of planning and purposeful positioning, the die-cut takes second place (of course, to be saved for another project) and the focus is on the aperture created by the die.

Take the stars on the ‘you are awesome’ card. This was created simply by repositioning two small star nesting dies. I have shown a more complex version of this using the negative from two layers of die-cut circles, all of which are of course in a bag saved for another project. In fact, look closely at the ‘congrats’ card and you will see that the stars which were removed to make the negative die-cut on the ‘You are awesome’ card are the finishing embellishments on this one. Waste not, want not!

Negative die-cutting works very well with framed sentiment dies too. Instead of layering up, use the outer frame to create an aperture and a guide to affixing the detailed sentiment die-cut to the insert of the card, as seen on the ‘birthday balloons’ card.

With sets of similar dies, like the dogs I have used, arrange your chosen dies – I recommend using repositionable tape if the die-cutting needs to be precise – and create a negative die-cut frame. With interesting colours behind them, the negative die-cuts panel is stylish and contemporary.

Repeat patterns are easily achieved with attached dies, such as the numbers I’ve used here for ‘happy birthday’. In this case, each cut creates a set of numbers, so play with layout, create a full negative die-cut background and add coloured cardstock behind them. Although separate dies give you freedom, joined dies like these give you speed.

It’s certainly worth going back to your die collection and looking at what you can use in a negative way. I’m positive you’ll be inspired!