I hope you enjoyed Beth’s take on the Wax Resist, Spellbinders™ Style post! I think this is my newest favorite technique :0) Thanks to our Design Team Member Heidi Blankenship for the technique!

Last Saturday, Heidi created a beautiful card and I made a hot chocolate pocket card - can’t decided if I want to give it away or keep it! LOL! This time I thought I’d make a window card using S5-017 Snowflake Frame and cut a sentiment by using S4-110 Classic Ovals LG #3 (the smallest die being #1). The sentiment “Let It Snow!” is from JustRite Stampers’ Christmas Joy Borders & Centers set.

First, I cut a sheet of wax paper into quarters in case I need more than one (aka mistakes). I understand that there some of us who can’t get wax paper locally. Are there papers that have a wax film on them available? I was thinking freezer paper, butcher’s paper or even parchment paper might do the trick.

I cut and embossed the wax papers. The cut sandwich is the same as using “regular” paper.

From the bottom:
White Master Mat
Magnetic Spacer Pad
S5-017 Snowflake Frame (cut/ridge side up)
Wax Paper
White Master Mat

Then after cutting the wax paper, I embossed it.

Embossing Sandwich from bottom:
White Master Mat
Tan Embossing Pad
S5-017 Snowflake Frame w/ Wax Papers Embedded (cut/ridge side down)
White Master Mat

Carefully take the wax paper out of the die template. Avoid any wrinkles because they might show up in the resist. I flipped the embossed wax frame so that you can see how well it took the embossing.

Now this is where the “magic” begins! Heat up your iron on high (keep it on dry, no steam setting), place your wax frame onto the card front and with a paper towel on top of the it, iron your wax paper into the cardstock. Be careful not to move the frame and make sure to spend a few minutes ironing so that the wax melts onto the cardstock. Not sure if you can see the resist in the picture…

Then with a cotton ball, tap into your dye ink and color in the card front to expose the waxed image for that beautiful resist effect.

Taking the center of the S5-017 Snowflake Frame, I taped (to make it less tacky, I tapped the tape on my jeans = removable tape!) it into position to cut/emboss and make a window into the card.

I stamped my sentiment “Let It Snow” onto a piece of blue cardstock and cut/embossed with the S4-110 Classic Ovals LG #3. Notice I taped again to make sure that I get the image centered properly.

Time to assemble the card! I inked the edges of the center pieces of the S5-017 Snowflake Frame and adhered it to the inside of the card centered so that when the card is closed it would come through the window. Using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares, I adhered the oval stamped sentiment in the middle to give it dimension. I also added a little glitter in the snowflakes of the stamped image but hard to see in the picture. Tied white ribbon on the side to give it some texture. To finish off, I added Hero Arts Gems for a little sparkle!

This is the finished look! Hope you get a chance to try this technique!

Just a reminder about the Spellbinders™ Seasonal Limited Edition die templates , they will no longer be manufactured after November 30th 2009 which is not too far off! WOW! So if you’re sitting on the fence about some of these products, I wouldn’t sit there too long! If your favorite Spellbinders™ retailers run out, they’re gone. So hope you order yours soon!

Have a good day!!
MargieH

Wow Heidi and Margie, what an amazing technique! I just had to try it for myself! I gathered my supplies:

Spellbinders™ S5-018 Poinsettia Frame; Crafty Secrets, Vintage Christmas Stamp Set; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares; Copic, Sketch Markers R22, R24, C1, B21, B23, E00; Household Iron, Red and White Cardstock, Kitchen Wax Paper, Yellow Brads, Green Dye Ink, Cotton Balls.

I cut/embossed the wax paper in my Wizard™ with the S5-018 Poinsettia Frame.  I set the wax paper die cuts on a sheet of smooth white cardstock.  I placed another sheet on top of it and placed my hot iron on top of it.  It takes a few minutes for the wax to melt onto the cardstock, so be patient, and also careful not to move the die cut around if you are peeking at the progress. 

Tap a cotton ball into the dye ink and tap off, then swirl the ink over the paper.  I did this several times, and each layer of ink revealed a a better result.  Once I was happy with the ink, I lined up my die templates and cut/embossed the Poinsettia Frames.

The inside frame needed something, so I stamped and colored a Crafty Secrets image, then cut/embossed the image with the smaller frame. I used 3D Foam Squares to adhere the image to the cut out from the frame.  I also cut/embossed the poinsettia flower with red cardstock, hand trimmed the flower and used the 3D Foam Squares to lift the petals, just like I did on this card.  I added three yellow brads to the poinsettia.

I assembled the card as shown:

Yes, I do have a Christmas Tree set up already, but its not decorated yet.

Beth

Today, we will be doing something new…a new technique that one of our innovative design team members stumbled upon when doing another project. Got to LOVE those A-HA moments! LOL!

Design Team Member Heidi Blankenship will showing us how wax paper can turn your project into something beautiful…Wax Resist, Spellbinders™ style! Heidi introduced this technique on her blog a few days ago but didn’t want you all to miss this - it’s good! Sorry, ladies, you’ll have to bring out your irons for this one. I know mine is buried somewhere in the laundry room. But trust me, you won’t be disappointed in the results - do it for craft’s sake! LOL!

An encore presentation from Heidi:
I am so excited to be sharing a New Spellbinders™ Technique with you today! Before I get started I want to let you know how I came up with the idea for this technique. I don’t know if you have heard this before or not but sometimes when making a die cut the cardstock can really stick in the die template and if this happens Spellbinders™ recommends placing a piece of wax paper in between the die template and the cardstock and then your die cut will pop right out from the die template. If you haven’t heard this before it’s a great little tip!

I was making some pendant die cuts one day and I had several pieces of wax paper die cuts, they were so pretty I didn’t want to throw them away. Being a paper crafter you can’t ever throw anything away! *wink* I started trying to think of things I could do with the wax paper die cuts. Then I remembered doing a technique about 15 years ago where you crumple up wax paper and iron on top of cardstock creating a resist. Hmmm… That really had me thinking and wondering if I could do the same thing with wax paper die cuts and the answer is Yes!!

If you like to play with die cuts, the iron (only for crafty purposes-LOL!) and inks then this is a perfect tutorial for you! If you don’t like getting messy with the inks you can also do this technique on solid colored cardstock creating a watermark effect.

The New Technique is called “Wax Resist, Spellbinders™ Style!”

Here is the card I created using the Wax Resist.

Step 1: Start with a large piece of wax paper and fold in half and then in half again. (So it’s quartered) This is nice if you want to make multiples and have extra pieces to play around with this technique.

Cutting Sandwich (Stack from the bottom)
1. White Master Mat
2. Magnetic Spacer Plate
3. S4-210 Lattice Pendants (cut/ridge side UP)
4. Wax Paper
5. White Master Mat
6. Run through the Wizard machine.

Embossing Sandwich (Stack from the bottom)
1. White Master Mat
2. S4-210 Lattice Pendants (paper in place and the cut/ridge side up)
3. Tan Embossing Mat
4. White Master Mat
5. Run through the Wizard machine

Step 2: Cut/Emboss * You don’t have to emboss but it will show more of the detail in the resist.

Step 3: Before removing the wax paper, use a paper piercer, stylus, or even a toothpick will work to pop out the drop out pieces from the die cut.

Step 4: Remove the wax paper from the die template. Carefully separate the pieces. The reason you have to be very careful with this step is because any creases you might get in the wax paper with show up in the resist.

Step 5: Set the iron to the hottest temperature without having steam, lay wax paper die cut with the embossed side face down onto the cardstock, place paper towel on top and iron about 30-45 seconds being careful not to move the paper.
***You can use the paper of your choice to do the Wax Resist. On the card I created I used white glossy cardstock but it will also work on regular white cardstock. If you use regular white cardstock the colors of ink will be a little more intense because the paper has more fibers to absorb the ink. You can also use a solid colored cardstock for the Wax Resist and you will have a watermark effect.

I know it’s a little hard to see in the picture but after you are done ironing your cardstock should look like the one pictured above. You can see a light pattern from the wax paper.

Step 6:In this next step you will be applying ink to the cardstock. I like to use cotton balls to apply the ink. Ink up the cotton ball, in a circular motion rub off some of the ink on your scratch paper until it is a shade you like. Then apply the ink to the cardstock, remember to work in a circular motion, this will help for blending and smoothing out the ink. Use 2-3 colors of ink, layering them to add more depth. For my card I started with Ranger Distress Ink Broken China (Blue). When you are applying the ink leave some open space for the other colors.

Next I applied Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Heat setting the wax paper die cuts into the cardstock creates a resist and then when ink is applied the resist really pops! If you don’t have distress inks you can use other inks too.

In the picture above the Wax Resist, Spellbinders™ Style was done on glossy cardstock on the left and regular white cardstock on the right.

Here is another picture with a piece of solid color cardstock (sorry, it’s a little hard to get a good picture) so you can see the watermark effect.

Take another look at the finished card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions (Whimsical Wishes Branching Out); My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Flirty “Lil Girl”)
Paper: My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Natural “Encourage” Proud Print Paper); The Paper Company(White, Brown Cardstock); WorldWin (White Glossy)
Ink: Ranger (Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Broken China), Tsukineko (Memento Rich Cocoa Ink)
Spellbinders™: Wizard™, S4-210 Lattice Pendants, S4-235 Fancy Tags
Others: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L (White 3D Foam Squares); Beacon Adhesives (3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue); My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Sundress “Sweetness” Rub-ons); Wax Paper; Paper Towels; Iron; and Cotton Balls

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Give the New Technique - Wax Resist, Spellbinders™ Style - a try! I would love to hear what you think about the technique. If you do give it a try please leave a comment with a link to your project–I would love to see it!

After reading Heidi’s tutorial, I came up with these card fronts for hot chocolate pocket cards. I’m thinking of these for my boys’ teachers as holiday gifts (sticking in a gift card as well!).

I used S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two (the three largest sized die templates and their centers) as the background and S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite (the border that can cut/emboss a decorative edge) was used as a stenciled band on one of the cards. Then I embellished with the border’s snowflake cut outs and Hero Arts Pearls. Just love how it turned out! Makes you want to grab a hot cup of chocolate! Thanks, Heidi!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!
Thanks for stopping by… MargieH

Great tips on card making, Eli! I’m getting into the Christmas spirit early, I’ve knocked out a few cards that only took a few minutes to assemble.  I used one 12″ Borderabilities® die template to make several cards.

First let me thank Design Team Member Debbie Seyer for her Poinsettia Card (click for details and instructions!), my inspiration for today’s post.

This is what I designed:

How are they similar? We both used the S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand, and we both hand trimmed the border to use pieces of it. Debbie used all the pieces on one card, I used the pieces to make four cards.

My cards are made from these supplies: Spellbinders™ S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand; S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand; S5-019 Labels Eight; Fancy Pants Christmas Magic Chestnuts Roasting, Bough of Holly, and Yuletide Greetings; Clearsnap, Colorbox Dark Moss Fluid Chalk, Black Pigment Inks; JustRite Stampers Rectangle Block, Special Ocassions 95 pt, Times New Roman 50 pt; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares, E-Z Runner; Brads; Black and Dark Red Cardstock.

First, cut/emboss one strip of Yuletide Greetings (green) and one strip of Bough of Holly (red) using the S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand die template. Sand both borders to give them a distressed look (and to make it easier to see where to cut apart). With scissors, trim the green strip into four pieces and cut the poinsettia flowers from the red piece.

From the Chestnuts Roasting (light green), cut/emboss four S5-019 Labels Eight #4, sand the embossed ridge and ink the outside with Dark Moss ink.

Cut/emboss S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand twice, with light green cardstock, ink the edges with Dark Moss ink.

These are the pieces, along with A2 sized dark red card base, and 4×5.25” black cardstock.

Spell out “Merry Christmas” with JustRite Stampers, and stamp with Black ink onto the labels, on the right side of the labels.

To assemble the flower piece, adhere the red flower directly on top of the green flower. The die template cuts the flower petals so they can be lifted, curled or otherwise altered.  Place three yellow brads in the center of the red poinsettia.

Flip the piece over and place 3D Foam Squares on each of the petals. Notice how the petals sit above the green background.  Use E-Z runner on the rest of the poinsettia piece, label and lace border. Assemble as shown.

I wish you a Merry start on your Christmas cards!

Beth

No one I know has enough time or money so today, I want to share with you some techniques that I have learned to work efficiently AND get the most out of my supplies. I’m trying to actually get my Christmas cards out before Easter this year so I’m working on them early. First, I came up with a basic design that is simple yet elegant:

Check out the following tips for efficiency and frugality (is that a word?) when designing a big batch of cards.

1. Make them different?
My first big revelation about creating multiples is that they don’t have to be exactly the same. In general, no one will ever know. And, I decided, if they do find out…I’m ok with that. This practice keeps my supplies in check and I find it a little more interesting to change up my design as I progress.

2. Cut multiple dies at one time:
Beth gave us a fabulous example of this in her post Fall Thank You cards.
I layered 2 strips of paper on my favorite labels die templates: S4-169 Small Labels (#4, counting from the center), S5-006 Curved Rectangles (#2), S5-019 Labels Eight (#3) on the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit and cut/embossed in the Wizard™. In no time I had plenty of labels.

3. Use an assembly line approach: “component passes from station to station…and something is done or added to it. By the last station, the product is fully assembled and is identical to each one before and after it. This system ensures that a large quantity of uniform-quality goods are produced at a relatively low cost.”~ (science.jrank.org)  So, actually,  I cut and folded my card bases. Then I cut all my labels and stamped them.

4. Use your scraps:
I decided on a couple of papers that I really liked. The tan one had an interesting pattern that I wanted to keep intact. I cut strips in two sizes. Then I cut the red striped paper 1″ larger. You can also see two different label dies and two different stamps from the same set.

When I ran out of the tan patterned paper, I decided to try something a little different and add Magic Mesh in place of it. I added a ribbon for just a little something extra.

Finally, I had small pieces of the red striped paper left over so I created an almost totally different card as seen here:

So, my last card looked a lot different than my first card but I was able to use my supplies in the most efficient manner. I love that!

I hope you found some tips you can take into your craft room for the approaching holidays.

Supplies: S4-169 Small Labels, S5-006 Curved Rectangles, S5-019 Labels Eight, W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, W-001 Wizard™, Hero Arts Good Cheer Messages stamps, Magic Mesh green thin weave, Glue Dots International Craft Glue Dots, white cardstock

Cheers, Eli

Let it snow?  You might think I’ve lost my mind.  You might be right!  I’m not ready for snow in Chicago yet. But I couldn’t resist playing with my Spellbinders™ Limited Edition die templates.  That’s right, the S4-222 Create A Flake One and S4-223 Create A Flake Two, as well as the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite and S5-017 Snowflake Frame will not be manufactured after November 30, 2009.  Get them from your favorite Spellbinders™ retailer while you can!

Put away your mittens and coats and grab your craft supplies.  My card base is 5.5×11″ white cardstock, folded in half.  The snowflakes are assembled from Core’dinations cardstock, I used 4 graduated tones of blue and both the S4-222Create A Flake One and S4-223 Create A Flake Two die template sets.

I cut two colors from each Create A Flake set, which gave me lots of snowflake shapes, sizes and colors to build from.  Individual die cuts were sanded to reveal the colored core of the Core’dinations cardstock. Each flake is assembled using SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L 3D Foam Squares for extra dimension, and brads.

I cut/embossed the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite on the front of the card, then inked through the die template like a stencil.  This cut the detailed edge and snowflakes and embossed the pinking edge and detail. 

I used a scrap of the blue cardstock to cut/emboss additional snowflakes, this time from the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite, so that I could add them to the openings on the front.  Brads hold them in place inside of the card.  Doesn’t it look like they are attached to the front of the card?

I couldn’t let those snowflakes get lonely inside the card.  I cut/embossed and sanded the inside frame from S5-017 Snowflake Frame.  JustRite Stampers allowed me to customize the greeting with their fonts and rectangluar stamper.  Clearsnap Colorbox Smoke Blue Pigment ink is the color I used for both stenciling with an Ink Applicator on the front and stamping on the inside.

I have snowflake die cut pieces left, I’ll save them for another project.  Remember, get your Spellbinders™ Seasonal Limited Edition die templates soon! See the complete list here.  And lets hope Mother Nature doesn’t take this card seriously!

Beth

I can not tell a lie…I love S4-227 Pumpkin Nestabilities® die template, and since it is a limited edition, I want to give you plenty of reasons to get it before it is gone. But before I give you this Savvy Saturday’s tutorial, let’s hear it for our Tattered Angels Blog Hop:

They are hosting it with our Design Team and my friend, Kazan Clark at Nunu Toolies is on deck today. Make sure to visit her blog to see her amazing project using products from Spellbinders™ and Tattered Angels.

Halloween is just around the corner and I wanted a little “tchotchke” to put on my table {my 10 year old said she liked that word, “tchotchke” yesterday…lol…”Me too sweetie!”} Anyway, I’m revisiting a technique that I love: making a stamp with Spellbinders™ die templates and fun foam. Check it out when you are done here.

With the technique in mind, I gathered fun foam, orange ink, S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities® and some Dottie Ann Magic Mesh. I love Dottie Ann’s shape and its adhesive backing and thought it might make some fun stamping texture. Here is the full supply list.

Supplies: S4-226 Harvest Border Petite, S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities®, S5-006 Curved Rectangles, S4-161 Labels One, S4-162 Labels Two, S5-019 Labels Eight, S4-169 Small Labels, Wizard™, W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, Core’dinations Green color core cardstock (1-3/4″ strips), Magic Mesh Dottie Anne, Clearsnap ColorBox Chestnut Roan chalk ink, Creative Impressions mini brads and photo turns, Glue Dots, lines and dots; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D squares; white cardstock, Orange Distress Ink, white letter stickers, fun foam, “Happy” stamp, sandpaper, double sided removable tape

I began by creating my own embossing template. I placed a strip of Dottie Ann onto cardstock. Since I didn’t want to notice the “seam” in the final project, I cut off the bottom edge.

I added the second piece, cutting off one edge, placing the cut edges together, matching up the circles.

I cut the fun foam with S4-227 Pumpkin Nestabilities® using the regular Wizard™ cut sandwich:

• Master Mat
• Spacer Plate
• Die Template with cut ridges facing up
• Fun Foam
• Master Mat

.

.

Embossing followed its regular sandwich:

• Master Mat
• Texture (in this case my Dottie Ann sheet)
• Fun Foam
• Embossing Pad
• Master Mat

.

.

After I ran the pumpkin stamp through the Wizard™ with the Dottie Ann texture sheet, I noticed how flat the embossing was, I thought the embossing was too “thin” to show up as a stamp texture. But it was worth a try…I taped it (double sided removable) to a foam block, inked it up and pressed it onto smooth white cardstock and what do you know? I got the look I wanted! I stamped 4 more and love them!

I cut each stamped image out with a different die template. I used #5 die template from the following sets: S5-006 Curved Rectangles, S4-161 Labels One, S4-162 Labels Two,  S4-169 Small Labels, and used #4 with S5-019 Labels Eight.

Using the S4-226 Harvest Border Petite and my W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, I created a long border. Since there is only one cut edge on this Borderabilities® die template, you can create endless borders. This is what I found worked the best:

I built the sandwich “upside down,” placing pieces of double sided removable tape at the ends of the Master Mat and sticking the Core’dinations strip onto it. I added the die template at one end, cut edge down, carefully placing the W-024 Magnetic Spacer Plate and adding the other Master Mat. Through the Wizard™ it went.

To cut the center section, I moved the die template down until the pumpkin “hole” and edge fit snuggly.

I cut again and then repeated the process for the last section.

I embossed the first section and then sanded it–giving me the “fresh” emboss (versus embossing and then running it through the Wizard™ for the second cut and flattening the first emboss). I repeated this 2 times to complete the strip. I created two borders, overlapped and adhered them.

To assemble, I laid out my pumpkins, added the stickers and stamped “Happy.” I embellished the tags with mini pumpkin die-cuts, brads and photo turns and accordion folded the piece so it would stand up on its own. Yeah! Here is is!

And to what it says, “Happy Halloween” not only from us but also from Tattered Angels!

Enjoy the weekend, Eli

Have you heard?  We’re doing a blog hop with Tattered Angels, makers of Glimmer Mist and much more. Today, Design Team Member Julie Overby  has blogged a project, go check it out! You can also check out the Tattered Angels Blog for even more ideas.

Did you love Margie’s Savvy Saturday, where she cut apart the S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities®?  That got me thinking about the S4-220 Nested Pine Trees.  I wanted to give them some dimension. 

I pulled together some supplies: Spellbinders™ S4-220 Nested Pine Trees, S4-142 Long Classic Rectangles LG #4 and 5; Spellbinders™ Impressabilities™ I2-1006 Floral and Stone, I2-1009 Flourish, I2-1002 Paisley.  I also included 7gypsies, Gypsy Market Paper; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares; Tattered Angels, Pearl Glimmer Mist; Clearsnap, Colorbox Chestnut Roam and Dark Moss Fluid Chalk Ink; Stampers Anonymous, Mini Ornates Stamps; Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock; tan and brown cardstock; sanding block.

I cut S4-220 Nested Pine Trees #3 with Core’dinations Cardstock, then embossed with one of the Impressabilities™ templates.  I repeated this step 2 more times, with a different tone of green, so that I had 3 large Nested Pine Treea die cuts, each embossed with a different Impressabilities™ template.  I trimmed the lightest green tone for the top section of the tree, then the medium tone for the center, and left the darkest tone full size. I cut a trunk from dark brown cardstock.  I inked the edges of the tree with Dark Moss ink.

I sanded the embossed areas that would show, then spritzed with Pearl Glimmer Mist.  I cut/embossed 2 tones of tan cardstock with S4-142 Long Classic Rectangles LG # 4 and 5, then inked the edges with Chestnut Roan ink.  I stamped a Mini Ornates sentiment with Chestnut Roan onto the smaller rectangle.

To give the tree depth, I lined the lower curved edges with 3D Foam Squares, but used normal flat adhesive at the top of the tree.

I assembled the card as shown below. The “lift” and inked edges give dimension and shadow.

Enjoy the day!

Beth

October! I love October!

The air is getting cool. The leaves are turning colors. Kids are planning Halloween costumes and me? I’m buying candy corn. I love the fresh, soft and sweet taste of these seasonal tri-colored confections. I eat them all month.

But then by November 1st, I can’t stand’em for another year.

Yet, this crazy cycle inspired today’s project using the Limited Edition Pumpkins Nestabilities®, and Harvest Borderabilities® Petite die templates. My little candy glass is perfectly sized to sit right by my keyboard and keep me company while I create and write. I hope it will inspire you to create your own “desk mate” for October or other season of treating!

Instructions:
Cut two 1½x12″ strips of the yellow, white and orange papers. Cut one 2″x12″ strip from the orange paper. Using the 2″ orange strip, cut/emboss S4-226 Harvest Borderabilities Petite (two times). Color the borders and die-cut leaves with metallic rub-ons to give definition to the embossing. Adhere the borders to the glass. I trimmed off the outer parts of the strips at the leaf, as shown here.

Then to make the strips lay horizontally, I snipped the top part of the center leaf and stretched the borders down. I adhered a tiny die-cut acorn to cover the openings. Add the die cut leaves around the glass.

To make the pumpkin “picks,” glue the yellow, orange and white strips together creating stripes. Cut/emboss four #4 pumpkins from the stripes. Stamp the sentiment onto the pumpkins. I chose “Sweet on You.” If desired, sand the pumpkins and add some metallic rub-ons for a distressed look. Glue two pumpkins back-to-back with the bamboo stick at the center. To make one shorter, trim the stick with wire cutters. Cut/emboss On the Vine Borderabilities® Grand from brown checked paper. Trim it to add vines and leaves to each of the large pumpkins.

Taking your 3″ of reserved paper, glue these strips together closer than the for the large pumpkins. Cut/emboss the #1 pumpkin from this. Using a head-pin and jewelry tools, add a green bead to the pin and string it onto the pumpkin, giving it a “Z” turn so it can hang from the glass like a charm.

To finish it up, add the charm to the glass, add some yummy candy corn, place your picks in the candy and ENJOY!

NOTE: Just wanted to remind you that Spellbinders is teaming up with Tattered Angels for a blog hop. Why not hop on over to Terre’s Blog: Terre’s Scrap Therapy for an amazing project using Tattered Angels products and, of course, some Spellbinders™ products too!

Happy day and enjoy those October treats, Eli

After reading Beth’s Savvy Saturday idea, I had a “light bulb” moment! Why not finish my fall holiday card swap using this method?! Rarely I join a swap because when it comes close to deadline, I haven’t even started! Has that happened to you? I’m sure I am not the only one! LOL! But using the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, I can create these cards in half the time so why not start today. Maybe an incentive to join more swaps?!

I gathered my Spellbinders™ items to start creating: S4-114 Standard Circle Large #3 die (#1 being the smallest die template), S4-116 Standard Circle Small #3, S4-161 Labels One #4, S4-229 Labels Five #4, S4-233 Labels Nine #4, S4-230 Labels Six #4, S7-014 Grand 12″ Classic Lace Border, S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities® #2 & #3 and S4-228 Nested Maple Leaf #1 & #2.

With My Mind’s Eye Fall In Love Collection (using various pattern papers), I cut/embossed S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities® #2 & #3 and S4-228 Nested Maple Leaf #1 & #2 by using the W-024 Magnetic Spacer Plate. I then edged the die cuts with Clearsnap ColorBox inks and set aside.

I will be creating five fall holiday cards that will shipped to Japan where the host lives. This swap is an international swap so I am excited about getting ideas from different countries…a worldwide card making effort! If some of the participants follow this blog, I will only show two of the cards and leave the others as a surprise!

Grabbing the JustRite Stampers Favorite Occasions images, I stamped a total of five times on a 2 1/2 x 12″ strip of Core’dinations Color Core cardstock. Taking household tape and tapping it on my jeans to make it a less tacky (very high level technique!), I taped the flat side (not the cut side) of the die template to the cardstock to hold it in place when cutting and embossing. Notice I’m using two different sizes of die templates (S4-114 Standard Circle Large #3 and S4-116 Standard Circle Small #3) but as mentioned before they are only 1/8″ difference and really doesn’t hinder the design of the cards. Another advantage is I am able to cut/emboss two images in one pass instead of one at a time with the Grand Mat Kit.

In the Wizard™, I cut/embossed the different label die templates on to a 3.5 x12″ strip of Core’dinations Chocolate Box cardstock and sanded the edges to finish. From left to right: S4-161 Labels One #4, S4-233 Labels Nine #4, S4-229 Labels Five #4 and S4-230 Labels Six #4.

In addition to this clever idea, I also wanted to use the Grand Mat Kit for its original use - cut/emboss Borderabilities® Grand. Cutting the S7-014 Grand 12″ Classic Lace Border with a strip of white cardstock, I wanted to add a little vintage accent to the card. I stenciled with Clearsnap ColorBox Ink in Dark Moss and lightly tapped brown chalk to the lace.

With the 4 x 5.5″ card base made out of My Mind’s Eye Fall In Love Collection, I rounded the corners and inked the edges with Clearsnap ColorBox ink. Using the various die cuts, I adhered them for each card front along with ribbon and other embellishments to accent. The use of Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts “Autumn Blessings” and Creative Scraps “Calendar” really made it come together. Now I think it’s ready to be sent off on a worldwide journey!

Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH