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

The dynamic die cutting duo of Stacey Caron, President of Spellbinders™ and cofounder of the Wizard™ and Kim Hupke, Education Director, are across the pond, demonstrating the Wizard™ and Presto Punch™ Systems at the Craft Hobby and Stitch International trade show in Birmingham, UK. 

We are honored to be accepting the certificate for “Best Product for 2009” from Craft Beautiful Magazine!  This is a people’s choice award where crafters voted on their favorites.  We thank you for your votes, your support, and for welcoming Stacey and Kim! 

I’m sure they’re having a fabulous time (they always do!) and stimulating the economy as well (they always do! LOL).

I loved all the cards that Beth made with the Presto Punch™ on Saturday! Talking about punchy, I borrowed her Presto Punch™ and Punch Templates to play around with. I ended up with a layout and a title made into a banner. As you know March is around the corner (Yikes!) which means St. Patrick’s Day will be coming soon so I added my “luck” to my title and came up with this…

I pulled out the P3-003 Rectangles large & medium punch templates, PT-F02 Plain Jane Lowercase (”l u c k y m e” letters) and P3-005 Hearts small punch template to make the title. Although the Punch Templates are smaller than the Die Templates, you put them in a bunch and they can give any layout a “punch” (sorry, couldn’t resist! LOL!!)!!

Using PT-F02 Plain Jane Lowercase “l u c k y m e” letters, I punched/embossed with My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane Collection. Note the size of these letters, they’re perfect when making a longer title on a page, a simple sentiment on a card or on any kind of projects. I’ve included a picture of a couple of the letters with rulers on two sides to give you an idea.

Then I punched/embossed the P3-003 Rectangles large & medium punch templates in Core’dinations Marine Blue Cardstock to make the base of the banner. Taking Beth’s suggestion to use the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L’s 12×12″ Adhesive Sheet, I adhered the letters to the banner - real easy!

On the top of each rectangle, I poked a couple of holes to thread the twine to connect the banner together. To finish, I poked a hole on each side of the layout to make it look like it was hanging from the edges of the page. I knotted double loops together and trimmed the excess twine.

For the shamrock, I punched/embossed P3-005 Hearts small die template three times with My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane Collection. Then assemble them together on a large rectangle as a spacer between the two words (”lucky” & “me”). Hand cut a stem with the same paper and adhered to complete the look.

For another shamrock on the lower left side of the layout as an accent piece, repeat the punch/emboss process. Don’t forget the journaling and you “punched” yourself a page! OK, I’ll stop! Sorry…heehee!

For a step-by-step on how to use the Presto Punch™, please click HERE and scroll down to “Let Me Show You The Presto Punch™” segment for more information. Just a reminder, the Presto Punch™ and its Punch Templates will not be available until April 2010.

Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH

I’ve got some quick cards to share but first:  Who wants to win a prize? 

Click on over to vote for Presto Punch™ in the When Creativity Knocks Great Crafter’s Tool Hunt 2!  You can watch a video of Presto Punch™ in action and then place your vote!  You could win an awesome prize package just for voting!  Don’t forget to solve the math problem when you log in.  There are just a few days left, and you can vote once every 24 hours!

With my first card shows I’m bursting with national of pride as I glue myself to the television for the  Olympics!  It’s basic, with repetition, but you could use any of the punch templates to recreate your own card, like flowers, leaves, or even the geometric shapes.  The smallest star, in silver foil, is part of the seven piece Punch Template Kit that comes with each Presto Punch™ System.

How do you get small pieces like fonts to stick?  SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L has just the thing!  Their Adhesive Sheets work perfectly for making punchees into stickers.  Simply place the paper onto the sticky sheet and punch.  No more messy glue to clump up, then peel off the sticker backing and your punchees have turned into a sticker.  That’s how I adhered both the stars and letters on this card.  The sticker backing does not add bulk or sticky residue to the punching process.

Supplies: Presto Punch™ System, PT-F03 Noble Roman, Stars, F-001 Red Premium Craft Foil, F-003 Blue Premuim Craft Foil; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, Adhesive Sheets 6×12″,  Clearsnap, Colorbox Warm Red Fluid Chalk Ink, Black Pigment Ink; Cardstock.

The second card I wanted to use balloons and stamping, and show how to line up a stamped image with a Punch Template.  First I stamped the image onto cardstock, then positioned the punch template just where I wanted it, and secured it with low tack tape.  Punch, emboss, and I’m cruising through the cards!

Supplies: Presto Punch™ System; P3-003 Rectangles; P5-003 Party Pack; Hero Arts, Four Bold and Thoughtful Stamp Sets; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares; Clearsnap Colorbox Lime Pastel and Wisteria Fluid Chalk Inks, Black Pigment Ink; Cardstock; String.

The last card took a few minutes, as I punch/embossed the nine P3-010 Labels C pieces.  It turned out cute, and shows how the punchees can be part of a background as well as the focal point of a card. Again, I lined up the stamped image with the punch template as above.

Supplies: Spellbinders™ Presto Punch™ System, P3-010 Labels C, Hero Arts, Thinking of You Stamps;  SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares; Clearsnap, Colorbox Black Pigment Ink, Lime Pastel and Wisteria Fluid Chalk Ink, Cardstock.

I must admit my inspiration for this card is a layout from Design Team Member Karen Taylor, she’s got a knack for making backgrounds, like this one, A Winter Wonderland.  

Enjoy your Saturday!

Beth

Boy! A hard act to follow with the fabulous projects that Beth and Eli had created! Both projects are themed with Valentine’s and Mardi Gras in mind. Well, my mind is wandering to Spring! With the repetition of shapes that both artists used, I choose to re-visit a die template that I haven’t used in awhile, S4-135 Classic Scalloped Paisley #2 & #3 (#1 being the smallest die).

I wanted to make a frame using a 6″x8″ canvas panel, paper, paint and embellishments. To start, I painted the edges of the canvas panel with pink acrylic paint. Set aside to dry. You can find these panels in any craft stores in the U.S.

With the S4-135 Classic Scalloped Paisley #2, I cut/embossed eight (8) die cuts using Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Collection. Then I edged each piece with Clearsnap Queue Ink as a highlight and then curled each die cut. I layered all the paisley together to make one thick piece and at the narrow end, I poked a hole. Insert a brad and fan the paisley out to make a flower. Set aside. Using the S4-135 Classic Scalloped Paisley #3, I cut/embossed one (1) piece to make a leaf for the flower. I fold down the middle and curled each side of the fold. Then edged with Clearsnap Dark Moss Ink.

Next, I reached for the S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand to add as a beautiful accent for the frame. I cut/embossed the border and used Clearsnap Queue Ink to highlight its embossing. Since this is a 12″ border, I cut in half to use it as a topper and an anchor piece for the flower and leaf.

Using the 6″x8″ canvas as a template, I cut a piece of Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper to cover the front of the canvas. Then edged with the pink acrylic paint I used earlier on the canvas and adhered to its front. I adhered in order onto the canvas: lace border/topper, a 4″x5.25″ picture, lace border, leaf and flower. I embellished with pearls on the topper and border. The flower center had to have some texture so I took a thick circle-shaped foam tape and dipped into my tub full of Flower Soft Sweet Pea. Shake off excess and adhere in the middle of the flower.

Here’s a second look at the final project…

So are you thinkin’ spring?
They say “be careful what you wish for” but in this case, I’ll take it! LOL!

Calling all Spellbinders® Fans! We are nominated for another round of When Creativity Knocks’ Great Crafter’s Tool Hunt 2™ for the Presto Punch™ as your favorite new tool. Don’t wait…register today! Vote and you will be eligible to win one of the incredible prize packages they are offering - one of them even includes the Presto Punch™. Good luck and thank you!!

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Have a great day!!
MargieH