Anna Griffin dies

Well I got all caught up in the Anna Griffin craze on HSN.  I think I own only one embossing folder by Anna Griffin and that's all of my collection!  LOL  So I'm watching HSN and these beautiful dies come up.  Oh my what gorgeous cards I could make!  Auto ship?  Hmmmm....that can be pricey but the dies are so beautiful.  So auto ship it is!!  My first shipment came and they were just as awesome as on TV.  I couldn't wait to give it a try.  I have a Cuttlebug and a Big Shot so I'm good to go.  Got some paper, read the insert for the sandwich and into the Cuttlebug it went.  Well kind of.  It was so tight I swear the machine was going to break.  So I took out the rubber mat and tried again.  Hmmm...not a clean cut.  Next I tried a different plate arrangement....still very very tight but it went through.  I decided to try the Big Shot.  A million tries later I got one cut.  But my new Anna Griffin die warped!!!  Big time!!  I am now viewing a million You Tube videos on how to use Anna Griffin dies.  If anyone can help...please advise!
After so much frustration I decided to make at least 1 card with some of the pieces.  So here's what I came up with.  I used white cardstock from Recollections for the base of 5"x7".  The blue/grey is a shimmer paper from Achievers that I got maybe 5 years ago.  The Birthday and Bird stamp are oldies from Michael's that I now keep in a folder (they are clear stamps) and I no longer remember who they are by.  I used a Recollection border punch for the little loopy pieces. The pearls are tiny beads that I had in a storage box and I glued each one on.   I'm giving this card to one of my "Lady friends" for her Birthday. 

Well if anyone has any pointers I could sure use them
Thanks for stopping by and

HAPPY CARDING!