Big Shot Repairs & New Embossing Folder

YAY! I finally have my Big Shot working again and was able to use my new embossing folder!  In a bit I'll give you a run down of what it took to get my machine running again, but first, let's talk about the card.

This card started with another fancy sentiment piece from my "Press-Out Victorian Christmas Book."  I once again cut a piece of double-stick adhesive sheet to fit (peel off one side and place the piece on it, then trim around it), and covered it with clear micro-beads.  It's hard to really see the effect in the picture, but it gives additional texture and glitz. 

For the background, I embossed a cream piece of glimmer paper with my new embossing folder from Sizzix (Peace Poinsettia Set). After adhering the embossed panel to the card, I used gold stickles for the center of the flowers and then ran a bead of it around my embossed piece to frame it.  A gold bow would be a nice touch, but I left it off so I wouldn't have to worry about the additional thickness when mailing it.

So that's my card.  Now for the Big Shot saga.

It all started a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving when the handle of my Big Shot came off in my hand as I was using the machine.  The crank shaft had broken.  Fortunately they have a 3-year warranty, so I was able to call and see about warranty repair.  They sent me a replacement crankshaft and instructions on how to replace it.  It should have been relatively easy to replace, but when I got things taken apart, I discovered that another part needed to be replaced as well.  So, I had to wait a few more days while they sent that part to me (crank shaft bearings).  

Next problem, I needed a couple of tools I didn't have.  One was a pair of snap ring pliers; the other was a short solid steel rod approx 1/2" in diameter. My local hardware store was able to fix me up with both.  For the rod, we found a long bolt (I think it may have been 5" long). The guy that was helping me was willing to take a hacksaw to it and cut off the threads, leaving me with a rod that was about 3 1/2" long - plenty long enough to do what I needed.  After that, it was simply a matter of following the instructions.  The only problem came when I forgot to put a piece back and had to tear things apart again to put it in.  This meant removing the e-clips on the crank shaft again, and that caused me a bit of trouble.  At first things didn't want to rotate the way they needed to, and I knew better than to put things back together until I got that sorted out.  I guess something wasn't seated quite right, but I finally got it working.  Cranks so smoothly now!

I can't begin to express how wonderful it is to have my Big Shot back!  And it's nice to know that these things can be replaced should I need to do so sometime in the future.