CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK#149- Soften the Blow...

Hello Crafters!
Whatever could I mean you ask? Well, I am referring to softening the blow of how hard it can sometimes be to work with chipboard .
If you have ever worked with raw chipboard you may have found it is difficult to get your chipboard to conform to a particular shape or simply go in the direction which you want it to go. With thick, raw chipboard this is the case because its' fibers are rigid and strong. While we do want that strength, we can do without the rigidity that complicates our crafting process.
I have found a way to work with the chipboard to alleviate some of that rigidity in the chipboard.

All you do is lightly spritz your chipboard with water on one side then smooth out the chipboard by gently swiping your hand across its surface several times til' you cannot feel dampness of the water. Once you smooth out the mists of water that have fallen on your chipboard, flex & bend the chipboard basically allowing for the moisture to make its way into the fibers of the chipboard a bit more.  Then turn your piece of chipboard over & repeat the process.
Do not saturate the chipboard. You must use light spritzes of water and then let them dry completely before proceeding to work with the chipboard.
I find this helps when I am trying to run the chipboard through my die cutting machines as well.

Lightly spritzing with water, smoothing out, bending & flexing the chipboard all help to condition the chipboard and break down its' rigid fibers a bit.
I hope you found this helpful.
Have a wonderful week!