Skip to main content

Anna Griffin's Slimline Compendium Dies Review


Anna Griffin's new Slimline Compendium dies feel essential. In the past few months, several companies as well as crafters showcased Slimline cards. These much taller (and much slimmer) cards measuring an astounding 8" x 9" and fit into business sized envelopes. They looked attractive, and while no doubt, anyone could cut the base with a bone folder and a paper cutter, the dimensions feel so unwieldy, it does feel intimidating. 

Enter Anna Griffin's Slimline Compendium Dies. Now everyone knows that I'm one of Anna Griffin's biggest fans. The Empress is to me, bar none, the best die cutter out there. Additionally, her dies always impress, and I rarely feel disappointed in any die set I purchase. 

But the Slimline dies feel next level. Maybe it's just the sheer quantity of dies. While other sets for the same price offer two or three intricate cuts, this set offers an outrageous 21 dies. And while each die is a variation on the other, it gives the set a wholly complete feel. It's a complete set all for a reasonable price ($39.95).

All this for $39.95 feels like a huge win

If you own the large Empress, this set is a dream come true. Despite the size of the dies, everything cuts cleanly and quickly. In just over an hour (or approximately one episode of Bridgerton), you can create two or more Slimline cards.

And the results... well, you be the judge:

For my first slimline, I used the slimline for the base, then another die for the first layer, and then I used the middle size die and the smallest die size for a cutout. Here's the card standing in a slightly different light so you see all the layers:

The second slimline followed largely the same structure. I used a little more heavy duty cardstock with the green shimmer to see if the die would cut through it; clearly, no issue. As you can see, these dies have a round top while the former dies had a square top. Additionally, I used the Spring Iron Cut dies to make the shamrocks and horseshoes. 

And here is the card in another light for you to see:


What I'm saying is, I don't know how I lived for so long without these type of card in my repertoire. They're striking, easy to make, and look unlike anything you could get at a Hallmark. The price and the quality is right; so don't wait. 

Slimline cards are currently sold out (1/27/21) on HSN, but expect a restock soon there or on AnnaGriffin.com.

Anyway, if you would like updates, be sure to hit the SUBSCRIBE button at the top to see new posts. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @DannysCards

Related posts:

Various Card Posts:


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Love You to the Moon and Back Bendy Card

Update: While the competition wasn't heavily entered, I'll take my wins where I can get them, my card was a top pick on Try Stampin' on Tuesday. Over on Try Stampin' on Tuesday , they had one of the hardest challenges I've seen in a long while. The challenge involved either utilizing a particular sketch or making a bendy card. I'm one always up for a challenge, so a bendy card it is... the only problem... I had no idea where to begin. Here's the challenge they set up for us: I was convinced there would be some type of design already premade on Design Space that would allow me to make a bendy card of some kind, but there was no such luck. I took a look at Melody Lane's Patreon and Lori Whitlock's shop, and alas, no luck. This mean I had to work from scratch. Now granted, I could make the card using traditional techniques, but when I looked up tutorials, the whole process looked a little too intimidating for me. I knew this could be done on Design Spa...
4 comments
Read more

3D Fantastic Fans Cards

I recently acquired Anna Griffin's 3D Fantastic Fans dies . I was excited to get these dies because it takes the traditional flat fans and reenvisions them with more dimension.  The dies require a little more finagling than you would think. Because they pop out, you're going to need a powerful glue or lots of 3D adhesive dots to make this work.  Using these dies, I looked at an assortment of challenges that I could utilize for inspiration. Over on Time Out Challenges, they wanted us to use a quote to help make a card come to life. So for my first card I wanted to use each of the pieces of the fan. I've had this vintage paper with a rose for the better part of four years when I first got into card making; I then pulled out my new metallic rose paper and paired it with this vintage paper. I then added in the "For My Friend" sentiment from Anna Griffin's Wild Flower box. For my second card, I used Color My Heart Color Dare challenge . The inspiration photo was ...
9 comments
Read more

Anna Griffin Empress Machine Review

For the past few months, I've really given my Anna Griffin Empress Machine a workout. For those not in the know, The Empress is a high powered non-crank emboss and die cutting machine. It's akin to devices such as the Cuttlebug, The Big Shot, or the Gemini. I Have a Cricut / Cameo / Silhouette - Why This? The short answer is, you can create texture in your cards. While the aforementioned devices are no doubt powerful and create designs that the Empress can only dream about, there's no doubt that emboss machines give textures and creates intricacy that cutting machines cannot compete with. My most complimented cards are not the ones with the most layers or even the most elegant, rather it's the cards with texture. Cricut and other Cutting Machines just lack that  ability to create the"feel" of a higher quality card. Pros of the Empress I absolutely adore my Empress. For those with arthritis or other mobility issues, a device like the Empress is a ...
6 comments
Read more