After reading Beth’s post on how the Borderabilities® can create a wonderful 12” border on her layout. It made me think how Borderabilities® made my card making a lot more interesting than just a straight line card. See what I did with one of our newest releases, S4-241 Jumbo Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite?

For those who are unfamiliar with Borderabilities®, it is a set of two Die Templates. The Border cuts on one edge and has embossed details above the cut edge. It also allows you to repeat the cut/emboss process to make longer borders from one Die Template. The Accent cuts and embosses a complete piece that coordinates well with its Border counterpart.

Today, I will be using the S4-241 Jumbo Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite, S4-263 Easter Fun Egg, S4-251 Big Scalloped Oval LG #4 (smallest being die #1) and S4-110 Classic Oval LG #3.

Take a 4″H x 5.5”W card base using The Paper Company Shimmer Collection and flatten it with the outside of the card facing up. Then place the Magnetic Spacer Plate on top of the back side of the card (make sure the White Master Mat is underneath). Fold the card front over the Magnetic Spacer Plate and position the S4-241 Jumbo Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite Border (cut ridges up) so that it will cut the edge. Place the White Master Mat on top and cut.

To emboss, I gently took out the Magnetic Spacer Plate and with the S4-241 Jumbo Scalloped Borderabiliites® Petite Border Die Template still in the cut card. Fold the card back to its original format and sandwich the Tan Embossing Pad inside the card. At this point, the Border Die Template should be outside of the card with cut ridges facing in toward the Tan Embossing Pad.

After cutting/embossing the card base edge, I stenciled Clearsnap Queue Ink to highlight the embossed area.

Next, take the S4-241 Jumbo Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite Accent Die Template and cut/emboss a 2 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ piece of My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane Collection. Highlight the embossed area by stenciling again with the Clearsnap Queue Ink. Then thread a piece of ribbon through the holes and tie it into a bow. Make sure to align the edges to give it a layered look and adhere. Set aside.

With the JustRite Stampers Times New Roman Font and Horizontal Wood Stamper, I stamped the word “HOPPY” in 25 pts on Core’dinations Aruba Cardstock and the word “EASTER” in 50 pts on Core’dinations St. Valentino Cardstock. With “HOPPY,” I cut S4-263 Easter Fun Egg by lining up the words inside the egg and taping it in place with household tape (note: I tapped on my jeans to take some of the tackiness off for easy removal). Repeat with “EASTER” using S4-110 Classic Ovals LG #3.

To mat the “EASTER” oval, cut/emboss S4-251 Big Scalloped Oval LG #4 with My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane Collection and adhere the “EASTER” oval. Center and adhere onto the card front. Using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares, adhere S4-263 Easter Fun Egg to the card and finish off by applying glitter on each embossed/chalked dot as seen below.

Here are some wonderful projects that our talented Design Team Members created using the Borderabilities®.

Design Team Member Heidi Blankenship made this “Good Wishes For Easter” card by using S4-237 Easter Borderabilities® Petite.

Design Team Member Debbie Seyer used S4-239 Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite to create this “Let Your Dreams Grow” card.

So “spring” into action and show us your projects made with Borderabilities®!
Have a wonderful Saturday!
MargieH

This is my son, who is now (gasp!) 16 years old and waiting anxiously to get his drivers license.  Me, not so much.  Here he is driving my *new* car, unfortunately for me, he really likes it, and it’s much cooler than the mini van it replaced!

 I began with grabbing a few of the new die templates I hadn’t played with yet.  I started with the S4-243 Ric Rac Diamond Borderabilities® Petite, using the Accent piece, that is the one with only one cut line.  To make the border 12″ long I cut/embossed it in sections, like this:

Tape the Borderabilties® to your paper, cut side down, using low tack tape.

Place the die template and paper with the cut side up onto the Magnetic Spacer Plate, top with the White Master Mat.  Feed into your Wizard™ to cut.

The long piece will stick out the other end, that’s ok!

Remove the Magnetic Mat from the Sandwich, place the Tan Embossing Mat on top of the cut area only, so that only that part gets embossed. 

Repeat the process by moving the Borderabilities® down the paper, cut, them emboss only the part you just cut.  If you cover the part that was previously embossed, you will flatten out that embossing.

I adhered the black border behind the striped paper and added it to the layout. 

The next die template is S4-259 Deckled Edge Classic Ovals LG.  This die template has a vintage or torn paper look (just like the Deckled Rectangles) and it coordinates perfectly with S4-110 Classic Ovals LG, for matting and layering. I added rub on letters and tucked it under the photo.

The “2″ is from S5-023 Mega Ovals LG #1, the smallest of the die templates.  Simply cut/emboss and add the rub-on number.

The next die template is the car from S4-261 Play Time.  My first car looked just like that one!  To have the car driving off the page in that direction, I employed the reflections technique we just talked about here and here. 

The paper is Cosmo Cricket, Boyfriend and Lil’ Man, as well as some stickers; other stickers are from 7gypsies, 97% Complete, Family, Teen, Boys and Home.  Adhesive is from SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, E-Z Runner. I inked everything with Clearsnap, Colorbox Black Pigment Ink.  I used some matching cardstock, as well as rub-on and sticker letters.

Here’s a little eye candy for you, compliments of Design Team Member Janine Blackwelder.  On all three of these layouts she created a 12″ border with the S4-243 Ric Rac Diamond Borderabilties® Petite.

Truly Amazing

Coloring The Eggs

Happy Easter!

Have a great day!
Beth

Reflections Technique - a technique that I do not use too often but after reading Beth’s post, I thought I would use it to create an accent for an Easter container. What a good time to repurpose one from Valentine’s Day!

From my Spellbinders™ stash, I pulled out S4-263 Easter Fun Chick & Flower, S4-264 Nested Eggs #6 (die #1 being the smallest size), S4-237 Easter Borderabilities™ Petite Border, S4-114 Standard Circles LG #3, S4-116 Standard Circles SM #3 and S4-243 Ric Rac Diamond Border Petites Border. Please note that these die templates (with the exception of S4-114 Standard Circles LG, S4-116 Standard Circles SM and S4-243 Ric Rac Diamond Border Petites) are Seasonal Limited Editions which means they are available only through May 31, 2010.

This is the container I started off with. It was full of strawberry candy obviously gone (coughBOYScough) in a matter of minutes! LOL!

Using Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Collection, I first traced each side. Then cut and covered all that red.

For the sides and back, I cut/embossed S4-237 Easter Borderabilities™ Petite Border Die Template with Core’dinations Aruba, Pesto, Tulip, Purple Ritz and Exotic Orchid Cardstocks. These borders will accent each of the three sides, leaving one side to be the front. After embossing, I cut the top edge using the embossing as my guide and finished it with a little sanding to highlight. For the bird and egg die cuts, I used Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Foam Square to give them dimension on each border.

I took white cardstock from my scrap stash and stamped JustRite Stampers Favorite Occasions Borders & Centers Set Easter Image. Then I used S4-116 Standard Circles SM #3 to cut/emboss the image (note: I used household tape to hold the Die Template in place - tap off some of the adhesive on my jeans. Keep that tape, you’ll need it later!) and S4-114 Standard Circles LG #3 to cut/emboss its mat. Then I colored/shaded the image with Copic Sketch Markers…some of the colors I used are shown below.

Next I cut/embossed one S4-264 Nested Egg #6 using Core’dinations Royal Orchid Cardstock and adhered to the covered front of the container as its base. Then added the matted JustRite Stampers image.

Cut sandwich is (from bottom up):
White Master Mat
S4-264 Nested Egg #6 (cut ridge up)
Cardstock
White Master Mat

Emboss Sandwich is (from bottom up)
White Master Mat
S4-264 Nested Egg #6 (cut ridge up with cardstock embedded)
Tan Embossing Mat
White Master Mat

I wanted to add a Ric Rac accent to the front so I took S4-243 Ric Rac Diamond Borderabilities™ Petite Border and I cut/embossed one side. Then I took the Border Die Template and flip it over to the other side to make a cut on the opposite side. Don’t forget your household tape. Finished it off with some sanding and set aside to adhere later.

Saved the best for last! I’m sharing a video on how this Reflection technique is done by our Stacey Caron, President and Co-Creator of the Wizard™…

Using this technique, I decided to use S4-263 Easter Fun Chick as an accent for the front of the container. When completing the cut/emboss of each, I stenciled with Clearsnap Queue Ink and adhered both with Scrapbook Adhesive Foam Squares on each side of the egg. Then added other embellishments including a cut/embossed/stenciled S4-263 Easter Fun Flower as shown in the finished project below…a second look.

I hope you give this technique a try! Let us know how it went.
Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH

Mirror Mirror on the Card, here’s a cool technique that’s not too hard!

Today I wanted to show you how to make a mirror image of a die cut, so that you can have your die cut face either way on your projects.  Condsider some of the adorable Shapeabilities sets from Spellbinders™, such as S4-263  Easter Fun or S4-260 New Arrival.  What if you wanted an image to be facing in the opposite direction? 

I created this card to show off the mirror image of the Bunny.

For the Bunny on the left, I cut/embossed the die template as usual.  For the Bunny on the right, I did the following steps.  {Personal note: after I made this card, I ran an errand.  When I returned home to finish the blog post, I realized the Bunny had hopped away! If you see my Bunny, please send him back! In the mean time I used the Baby from S4-260 New Arrival for the step shots.}

For the sake of example, I used two tones of purple cardstock.  I cut/embossed the dark purple as usual in my Wizard™.  For the mirror image, I used the lighter tone of cardstock.

(I stick regular household tape to my t-shirt to pick up fuzzies and make the tape less tacky.)

Remember if you are using paper with a pattern or texture, to place the back side of the pattern or texture on the cut side of the die template when you cut. Then flip over the die cut to emboss the patterned or textured side correctly.

Super easy!

Supplies: Spellbinders™ Wizard™ ; S4-263 Easter Fun; S4-260 New Arrival; S4-242 Big Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite; S4-248 Labels Thirteen; S5-023 Mega Oval LG; S5-024 Mega Classic Scalloped Ovals LG; Clearsnap, Colorbox Black Pigment, Lavender Fluid Chalk Ink; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L; 3D Foam Squares; My Minds Eye, Penny Lane Free Bird “Peace”, Laundry Line Coastal “Comfort” Cuddle Dots Paper; Core’dinations, Color Core Cardstock; Purple Cardstock; Stamp.

Additional techniques employed are Reverse Stenciling on the S4-248 Labels Thirteen, and Extended Borders with the S4-242 Big Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite.

So if you are still with me, here are a few examples of mirror imaging from our Design Team!

Christy Farneth Kerr shows us two examples of the Ice Cream Cone from S4-276 Sweet Treats, with A Girl and Her Cone, and Ice Cream Social.

Karen Hunsaker made mirror images of the creatures in S4-273 From the Sea on her Lucy By The Sea scrapbook layout.

I’m off to get some carrots so my Bunny will come back.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

Beth

Hey everyone. Thanks, as always, for coming by our busy blog. I’m sharing something very near and dear to my heart today: Spellbinders Design Team 2009-2010…what an incredible bunch of ladies I’ve had the privilege of working with this past year. {Some I actually worked with for 4 years and one very special one, Stacey Caron, I met way back in February of 2005}. I wanted to pay tribute to this fabulous team of extremely talented ladies. They are finishing their “tour” as the 2009-2010 Spellbinders™ Design Team soon. In the not too distant future, Beth and Margie will be introducing the new team…but for now…

Here is my spread, filled with my Creative Cohorts.

I enjoyed putting this layout together, thinking of all the fun and crazy time’s we’ve shared together.

The most challenging part of creating this layout, sort of a puzzle, was putting all the photos on the page so they looked their best. The photos, taken last year at our Design Team Retreat, coordinated perfectly for a couple of reasons:

• Consistency in attire: Designers chose either white or black shirts for the photo shoot. We took some with scarves and some without.
• Print consistency: size and shape of the pics is similar.
• Print “adventure”: Using both color and b/w photos and mixing them on the page, brought the spread together with a unifying and colorful background.

Once I placed the photos, I dressed the spread with a few of my favorite die templates: S7-013 Heirloom Scroll Border Grand which I cut/embossed and then sanded, one for each page to ground the title. I cut/embossed/stenciled with airbrushing the S4-158 Sunflower Two which gave me several options for embellishing the pages. Here is a closer look at one the sunflowers and the stamped tag:

We’d better give the rest of the team “their close-up” too.

As I share this spread and we wish this year’s team a “Bon Voyage” onto other great things, I need to say my own “Adieu.” Yes, it may be hard to believe but my time at Spellbinders™ is ending as well. As my life transitions into new opportunities, I find that I’m needed in new directions: family, church, volunteering, and the like. So this layout, as it turns out, is one way of saying “so long” to a company that I’ve dearly loved working for over the past four years. Of course, I won’t ever give up any of my “Abilities” die templates, my Wizard™ or any of these fabulous friends. And you can always visit me, or any of the other members, on our personal blogs.

Thanks for everything…Eli

Supplies: Spellbinders™ Wizard™; S4-158 Sunflower Twol S7-013 Heirloom Scroll Border Grand. S4-251 Big Scalloped Ovals LG; Cosmo Cricket, Girl Friday patterned papers Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; The Robin’s Nest, Sun Yellow Watercolor paper; JustRite® Stampers, Inspired stamp and Wood Oval Stamper; Copic Markers, Sketch RV17 Deep Magenta, Airbrush System; Creative Impressions, Gingham Ribbon;  Glue Dots, Mini dots; Chalk ink; Sand paper

Please join me in wishing Eli all the best as she follows her dreams.  She’s only a mouse click away on her personal blog, Frillions.  Thank you, Eli, for the fun times and friendship!
Beth

Great Savvy Saturday Done with One idea, Eli!  Thanks for the inspiration to make several cards from 1 sheet (or 1.5 sheets) of paper.  I’ve taken a twist on your idea, to use up  scraps to make cards too.  I must also thank Mother Nature for inspiration, as I’ve seen the tips of tulips breaking through the soil, now that most of the snow has melted.  All this ‘thinkin’ Spring’ is finally working!

I began with some larger scraps of patterned paper, then added 2 shades of cardstock that compliment it.  My tendancy is to use a darker color, but this time I went outside of my comfort zone and pulled a springy yellow to go with this Cosmo Cricket’s Flouriste Collection.

I selected a few dies to mix and match and went about cutting/embossing some shapes with my Wizard™.  I made several frames, so that I could use both the outside and inside pieces, and enjoyed the time savings from cutting/embossing more than one die template at a time. 

These are the pieces I worked with

I used the S4-239 Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite to make a 12″ long border, then scissor cut it down to the desired sizes.  I did the same with a shorter piece of the solid green cardstock. The die cuts were inked, and then I stamped 2 sentiments from Hero Arts on the small tags.  Ribbon looks adorable when weaved into the holds on the Borderabilties® die cuts, and I also tied it to the small tags.

So quick, so easy, and I used up some pieces of paper that would have gone into the scrap pile. Here are the finished cards, see how I mixed and matched up the die cuts:

I used these supplies: Spellbinders™ S4-239 Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite; S4-253 Big Scalloped Squares LG; S4-240 Labels Eleven; S5-022 Labels Ten; S4-114 Standard Circles LG; S4-142 Long Classic Rectangles LG; S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio; S3-148 Tags Trio; Cosmo Cricket, Flouriste Collection, Maize and Primrose Paper; Hero Arts, Thoughtful Stamps; Clearsnap, Colorbox, Black Pigment, Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk Ink; Cardstock, Ribbon.

This concept makes me think of Design Team Member Janine Blackwelder’s Just a Note Organizer.  Janine made a set of cards and a box as a gift.  Wouldn’t you love to recieve these?

Janine’s instructions and supply list are here!

Have a great day!

Beth

I was asked by a friend to create a group of coordinated thank you cards and I knew that my Spellbinders™ supplies would be just the thing to do that. I surfed around the net and found some great ideas from crafters about creating a bunch of cards out of just one sheet of cardstock.

Now that seems impossible and in some ways it is…You actually need to have a supply of card bases to complete this project, a sheet of wonderful cardstock, some embellishments and adhesive…THEN, you can create a bunch of cards with just one sheet of 12×12″ cardstock…”done with one.” OK, I need to confess something here, I actually used three half sheets, but “done with one and a half” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I suggest gathering some card bases and two coordinating cardstocks to start. Then gather your favorite die templates and your Wizard™. Add an adventurous attitude and you’ll be ready to go. Here is what I chose:

This is the second time I have created a set like this and I learned a few things I want to pass along. I chose papers that coordinated and imagined in my head that one would be in the background, one would be used primarily for matting and the other would be used for die cut embellishments. Keeping these “separate” in my mind really helped the design process.  Let’s get started.

Cut each of your papers in half (6×12″). Using larger die templates, such as Spellbinders™ Labels, arrange 6-8 onto blue textured paper. This was a fun “puzzle” to see how many die templates I could get on ½ sheet.

Make sure that there is space between some of the die templates to cut the cardstock into 2-3 pieces, fitting each section onto a Master Mat. Each of the die templates is labeled for easy reference. The number refers to the die template size, counting #1 at the center.

Use the same technique with the brown dot paper and plenty of die templates, utilizing some of the smaller ones for stamping, accents and embellishments.

After arranging the die cuts on the paper, and trimming it into smaller pieces, select a few to cut/emboss. Then cut/emboss the rest of the pieces in that block.

Cut the background paper. I cut one inch off the side and then cut various heights, as seen below on the right. Then put some of the elements together as seen on the left.

Next, arrange the elements on the cards with the background papers.

Add the final touches with stamping, ribbon, and other embellishments. Here are my final results. Some of the images changed from those above but isn’t creating like that some times?

Supplies: Spellbinders™ Wizard™, S4-111 Classic Scalloped Ovals LG, S3-146 Butterflies Two, S4-162 Labels Two, S4-168 Large Labels, S4-189 Labels Three, S4-190 Labels Four, S4-199 Floral Accent, S4-200 Floral Bouquet, S4-204 Fleur De Lis Pendants, S4-214 Eyelet Borderabilities® Petite, S4-233 Labels Nine, S4-251 Big Scalloped Ovals LG, S5-004 Sunflower Garden, S5-014 Deckled Mega Rectangles SM, S5-019 Labels Eight; Chatterbox artsy.licious flocked paper; My Mind’s Eye dot and lacey paper; Clearsnap cat eye watermark ink; Taylored Expressions sentiment stamp, JustRite Stampers stamp, Sparkle N Sprinkle embossing powder; Glue Dots, Pop-Up, Craft, Mini; Textured cream cardstock, Brown ribbons, PVA glue

Most of all…have fun with this one and enjoy your weekend.

Eli

Or maybe I should title it Cabin Fever!! Either way, I’m ready for some flowers, green grass and warmer weather…how about you? In recent days, I have come across many blogs and web sites full of flowers so we all must be thinking the same thing, right?! I know Eli is - love the colors in her card! By using the Presto Punch™ and some of its Punch Templates, I came up with this…

I brought out the P3-001 Circles, PT-F01 Plain Jane Capitals, P5-001 Fall Leaves and P3-007 Flowers. Then I used various papers (Cosmo Cricket, My Mind’s Eye, Core’dinations) from my scrap pile to punch/emboss. What I love about the Presto Punch™ is that I can use up all these small pieces of scraps that have been collecting in my big plastic bin and make great accents on my projects.

The PT-F01 Plain Jane Capitals (punched out S-P-R-I-N-G-F-E-V-H-!) is the perfect size for making a longer title and it doesn’t take up too much room on a page.

For the flowers, I loved how circles make wonderful flower shapes so I punched/embossed all three sizes of the P3-001 Circles. For a more detailed step-by-step on how to use the Presto Punch™, please click HERE.

For each circle, I sanded the edges and bent/pinched to give it a distressed look. With The Paper Company Green Shimmer Paper, I cut strips to make stems for each flower. I used the other side of the paper (a darker green) and punched/embossed P5-001 Fall Leaves smallest leaf. The embossing was so pretty, I wanted to highlight it by chalking with Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Dark Moss.

I stacked by circle size, largest at the bottom to smallest at the top, and finished it off with a small threaded button. Then add all the parts (flower, stem and leaf) together and you have yourself a little garden!

I adhered all the components onto this pretty shaped paper from My Mind’s Eye. Then I added pictures I had when I lived in Japan about 21 years ago! My friends and I visited a park outside of Tokyo where we heard that the cherry blossom (SAKURA) trees started to bloom. We were definitely in cabin fever mode and needed to get out of the city to see these warm weather beauties! It was a good decision - LOL!

The P3-007 Flowers are similar to the cherry blossom shape so I punched/embossed the largest flower and inked the edges with Clearsnap Queue Ink. It was just the perfect size for a little journaling and adhered it on to the page for the finishing touch. Here is a second look…

Speaking of flowers, Design Team Member Heidi Blankenship created this flowery wall art for a girlfriend - lucky girlfriend! I love all the little details in this project.

Do you know what shape made this beauty?! Design Team Member Kazan Clark definitely thought outside the box on this wonderful headband.

Thanks to our talented Design Team Members for sharing their wonderful inspiration!

Also, I wanted to remind you all that the Presto Punch™ and its Punch Templates is scheduled to be shipping next month. How exciting!!

A personal note: Happy Birthday, Mom!! xo
Thanks for stopping by, everyone!
MargieH

Congratulations again to next year’s Design Team. If you missed the post, go check it out here.

Today, I decided to get started on the next season: Spring. I’m really excited for the days to get warmer and (eventually) to see flowers. Since it will continue snowing in Denver for a month or so, this charming little Duck die template, part of S4-261 Play Time, will have to usher it in…

So, let me share how to create this card. First, gather the following supplies:

Spellbinders™ Wizard™, S4-261 Play Time, S4-211 Tulips Borderabilities® Petite; Core’dinations Blue, Pink, Purple, Orange and Yellow ColorCore Cardstocks; My Mind’s Eye Free Bird “Peace” patterned paper; Clearsnap ColorBox Lime Pastel Chalk ink; JustRite® Stampers Times New Roman 95 pt letter stamps; Copic YR18 Sanguine Sketch marker and atyou Spica Orange, Silver Glitter Pens; Glue Dots International, Glue Dots Mini; Green ribbon; Emory board; Lavender dye ink; Acrylic coating

Now, cut the card base by using a piece of 12×12″ blue cardstock to 5½” across. Then cut/emboss S4-211 Tulips Borderabilities® Petite from the bottom of the cardstock. In order to do this, you may need to run it through the Wizard™ twice, moving the Magnetic Spacer Plate in between.

After cutting/embossing, turn the die template over, with paper still in place, and stencil using light green chalk ink. If desired, color above the die template with the ink pad.

Fold the card to the size you want and crease. Trim the back side if needed. Then cut/emboss just tulips from S4-211 Tulips Borderabilities® Petite in pink, orange and purple cardstocks. Add a Mini Glue Dot to each tulip. Place it inside the flower space and press onto the card base back.

Using a small emery board or other sanding tool, sand over the entire card front. You’ll see the ColorCore peak out of the embossed places.

Cut the duck toy from S4-261 Play Time.

Emboss as usual if you want the duck to face left. Use the reflections technique if you want it to face right. Here’s the trick. After cutting, tape the duck to the back of the die template and emboss. You’ll get a mirror image.

Decorate the duck with a tiny die cut circle for his eye, a tulip for his wing, orange marker for his beak and plenty of glitter pens for fun.

Onto yellow cardstock, using lavender ink, stamp “Spring”. For a fun look, place the letters on different lines as seen here.

Enhance with lavender glitter pen. Tear the strip, following the lines of the stamping.

Cut orange and blue mats for the center of the card. Then, cut/emboss and sand S4-251Big Scalloped Ovals LG (#3, counting #1 at the center). Cut it in half so it will show on the top and bottom of the Spring “banner.” Adhere to the card as shown.

Adhere the banner and duck on the card and add a ribbon from the banner to the duck’s beak. Now, spring can come no matter the weather.

Thanks for coming today and check out these other spring-inspired cards by our Design Team.

….

Kimberly Crawford created this fresh card with the S4-209 Tulips Pendants.

..

Easter comes just after the beginning of spring this year. Janine Blackwelder combined both themes.

….

Lesa Rapp shares the first fruits of spring, strawberries, created from the  S4-274 Nested Fish die template.

Good Morning! It’s Stacey, with the moment you’ve been waiting for. I’m ready to announce our 2010-2011 Design Team Contest Winners! First I must thank everyone that took the time to submit an entry. We are humbled by the response to this year’s contest.

First the judging panel and I looked through what seemed like an endless flow of incredible art work, read designers’ passion through their short essays, checked out blogs and more. We managed to chose the Top 24 finalists. This was no easy task!

The second round had each finalist create a new piece of artwork with specific Spellbinders™ die templates. Wow! That made it even harder to choose. After careful consideration we were able to narrow down the list of talented designers for our new Design Team.

I am thrilled to introduce our 2010 – 2011 Spellbinders™ Design Team (in first name alphabetical order):

A.J. Otto
Ashley Cannon Newell
Deborah Young
Gina Hanson
Judy Hayes
Julie Overby
Kazan Clark
Kimberly Crawford
Latisha Yoast
Mona Pendleton

In case anyone is unable to fulfill the commitments of the Design Team, we have chosen these alternates:
Debbie Seyer
Karen Taylor
Nicole Keller

Welcome to our family! We are looking forward to working with you!
Again, thanks to ALL who took the time and hard work to submit.

Spellbinders™ is a leader in the paper crafts industry because of you who love our products and support it through your art. We will continue to produce cutting-edge products with you in mind.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our current design team members:

Christy Farneth
Debbie Seyer
Heidi Blankenship
Holly Simoni
Jennifer Davis
Janine Blackwelder
Julie Overby
Karen Hunsaker
Karen Taylor
Kazan Clark
Kimberly Crawford
Lesa Rapp
Mary Pfaff
Terre Fry

Thank you for all the wonderful creations and loving support for Spellbinders™. We will miss you and wish you all the best in wherever your talented journey leads!

The Design Team will be gathering in Phoenix, Arizona in April for a retreat to learn, play, get to know each other and eat chocolate, of course!

Again, congratulations everyone!

Sincerely,
Stacey Caron
President, Spellbinders™ Paper Arts