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 Wizardâ„¢. 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 Wizardâ„¢, Hero Arts Good Cheer Messages stamps, Magic Mesh green thin weave, Glue Dots International Craft Glue Dots, white cardstock

Cheers, Eli

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Speaking of fun, we hang out with a cool crowd in Phoenix! LOL!! What a great group shot!

How cute was Beth’s mini pumpkin book on Savvy Saturday?! Seeing all those pumpkins lined up like that inspired me to do a banner! So today, we will be making a cooler seasoned one - SNOW!! There, I said that “S” word! I will be dedicating this project to my friends who experienced their first snowfall last week and you all can keep it there for awhile too. I am in no hurry for the white stuff. LOL!

In my stash of Spellbindersâ„¢ die templates, I will be using S5-019 Labels Eight, S5-017 Snowflake Frameabilities® and S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two Shapeabilties®. **Please note: that S5-017 Snowflake Frameabilities® and S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two Shapeabilties® are two of a bunch of die templates that will be manufactured up until the end of this month (marked “Limited Time Only”). So better pick yours up real quick because once they’re gone, they’re gone!

First, we’ll start with the base of the banner (the panels) so cut/emboss four S5-019 Labels Eight die #6 (smallest size being #1) with My Mind’s Eye Colorful Christmas Collection. Then I choose colors from Core’dinations Core Color cardstock that match perfectly with MME’s Colorful Christmas Collection and cut/embossed four S5-017 Snowflake Frameabilties® (the largest frame). After embossing all four of the S5-017 Snowflake Frameabilities®, I sanded the embossed areas.

With wet adhesive, I adhered each frame to each panel and let dry. Then I used a retired font set and cut out the letters “S”, “N”, and “W” in silver glitter paper I had in my scrap pile. I centered and adhered each letter to each panel. For the “O” I thought it would be fun to use the S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two Shapeabilties® in various colors of blue and white glitter papers. So I cut/emboss the entire set since I knew I will use other pieces in future projects. I picked out one piece from each color and adhered each layer. With the last one, I used foam adhesive to give dimension.

On each panel, I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Glimmer Chips Frosty Memories along with Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts - Winter Wonderland to embellish a little more. I love how things just fit together! Here’s the “S” panel to give a close-up of all that were added…notice the globs of glitter glue that were added as snow on the “S” (remember to give it time to dry).

In the end, I punched a hole on each side of each panel and threaded some twine (not to distract from all the colors) to connect and it is ready to be displayed!

 

So hope you have a banner day!
Thanks for visiting!!
MargieH

Trick or Treat!  No tricks, just treats for you here!  The first treat is a double on the Tattered Angels Blog Hop!  Design Team Member Lisa Rapp and our very own Eli Harlan are both showcasing some Tattered Angels love today, be sure to visit both of their blogs.  And don’t forget to see what Tattered Angel’s Blog has in store too.

Now on to Halloween.  Halloween is for kids, and kids of all ages dress in costumes!  Super Heros, Princesses, Monsters, Celebrities, Politicians, Ninjas, Ghosts and just about anything else goes when it comes to Halloween.  Some people even wear costumes to work! This picture is the Spellbindersâ„¢ crew in Phoenix!  I’m sure they had a lot of fun, and plenty of candy too!

For today’s post I put together a cute Halloween mini book.  I had a sheet of vintage images waiting for the perfefct project, and this is it!  I didn’t take a lot of step shots, but you will see it is a pretty straight forward book.

I started with the largest of the S4-227 Pumpkins and cut 4 chipboard pumpkin shapes as bases for the pages.  In my Wizard™ I cut/embossed 8 more from patterned paper, Fancy Pants Trick or Treat Collection and an orange piece from Daydreams, these covered both sides of the chipboard.  I spritzed the pumpkin die cuts with Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels, and when they were dry I sanded the edges.  I have several colors of Glimmer Mist and tried to match them with the colors of the papers.  Look at the results!

Ohhhhh, glimmery!

I cut a piece of Core’dinations Black Magic Cardstock with the S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities, to make pumpkin shaped frames by nesting the die templates.  See how I set them on my Magnetic Spacer Plate.  This gave me 2 frames and 3 full pumpkins.  I cut/embossed then sanded the black side to reveal the orange color underneath.

The rest of the book is just stacking, layering, inking, sanding and having fun.

The book includes a variety of Spellbinders™ die templates, including the following:
S4-227 Pumpkins; S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand, S5-014 Deckled Mega Rectangles SM; S4-131 Classic Scalloped Rectangles SM; S4-235 Fancy Tags; S4-169 Small Labels; S4-200 Flower Bouquet; S4-161 Labels One; S4-190 Labels Four; S5-019 Labels Eight; S4-233 Labels Nine, S4-134 Classic Paisley.

Other supplies include: Fancy Pants, paper; Tattered Angels, Glimmer Mists; Crafty Secrets, Heartwarming Vintage images; Creative Impressions, Ribbons; Clearsnap, Colorbox Charcoal Fluid Chalk Ink; Copic, Atyou Spica Pitch Black; Cardstock; Alpha rub-ons; adhesives; hole punch; book ring.

Happy Halloween!
Beth

Reminder: Don’t forget the Spellbinders™ and Tattered Angels blog hop with our designers! Today, we are visiting Design Team Member Kimberly Crawford’s blog “For The Love of Paper” to see what kind of eye candy she will inspire us with. Come back to our blog to find out who the next designer will be to create a wonderful project!

Did you see Eli’s wonderful “contained” project? I love how she used the combination of many Spellbindersâ„¢ die templates. Very clever! So from a box to a container to … a bag! I thought it would be fun to do a shaped bag - perfect for that special little tricker or treater.

I brought out my S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities®, S4-228 Nested Maple Leaf, S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand and S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio Two. Using the Fancy Pants Designs Trick or Treat paper, I cut/embossed two S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities® die #5 (the smallest being die #1).

Then I put the two pumpkins (pokka dots sides out) together and used a paper piecer to piece holes to look like stitching. When I was in high school, I almost failed sewing class (thanks Mrs. Fish for putting up with me!) - I did better in wood class! LOL! So I’m playing it safe and making holes before stitching the brown embroidery floss.

After stitching together the pumpkins, I cut/embossed the S4-228 Nested Maple Leaf #1 and the S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio Two (the rounder tag with the embossed corner as shown) with Core’dinations ColorCore cardstock.

Cut/Emboss the S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand but leave the paper inside the die template as we will stencil with Clearsnap ColorBox Fluid Chalk Dark Moss. Set aside.

Since the pumpkins had that distressed look, I sanded the S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio Two tag and stamped a cute image from Hero Arts Owl-Oween stamp set and added googly eyes for a fun accent. Then I added ribbon tails on each side of the tag and adhered onto the bag. I wrote my niece’s name (Jessica) on the maple leaf die cut which I also sanded and used foam adhesive.

Going back to the vine border, choose a part of the border to embellish the pumpkin stalk and adhere. Then I punched two holes - one in the front and one in the back. Thread a ribbon through both holes to make a handle. To finish off the embellishing, I added one of the leaves from the vine border with foam adhesive to give it dimension.

So all we had to do is fill with candy and add a little toy - it’s ready for Halloween!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

We are also continuing to celebrate our blog hop with Tattered Angels. Today our host for the day is my good friend Debbie Seyer. Be sure to visit her blog, A Peak Into my Stamping Room, to see her amazing and glimmering project.

I could hardly contain myself on Saturday when I saw Margie’s post, Thinking Inside the Box. How adorable is that? I think we all know… Plus anyone who can add candy corns to a project is a winner in my book. Her inspiring project lead me to see what I could do to think inside and outside the box. So I created another container (inside the box), only this one is round (outside the box). Check it out!

I was trying to think of a way to make a container bottom that attached easily. Usually I think of die cutting a circle and snipping little slits about every ¼”. But this is what I came up with instead…

I gathered the following supplies: Wizardâ„¢, S4-114 Standard Circles LG, S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG, S7-017 On the Vine Border Grand, Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Collection Classic Paper Designs, Core’dinations blue cardstock, Clearsnap ColorBox Cocoa Pigment Ink, Tattered Angels Turquoise Blue Glimmer Mist, Glue Dots Continuous Line, PVA glue.

I save “cereal board,” lightweight chipboard, from packaged foods to use in craft projects. This one just happened to be Mini Strawberry Newtons…yum. I cut S4-114 Standard Circles LG, #7, (counting #1 at the center) but did not emboss.

Then I cut S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG, #6 from Blue Core’dinations cardstock and didn’t emboss. I added glue to the colored side of the chipboard circle and placed it on the center of the S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG. (A little note: If using a wet glue, allow it to dry totally before embossing or, like me, you’ll have glue running out onto your mats…oops.)

I chose a paper from the Crafty Secrets paper packs and left it a full 6″. If you want your container to be shorter than that, trim it down. I rolled the paper into a tube and adhered it with Glue Dots, Continuous Line, just crossing over the ends at 1/8″.

I embossed the bottom by using a regular embossing sandwich:

• White Master Mat
• Container bottom with chipboard down on the Mat (this is the important part)
• Embossing Pad
• White Master Mat

I folded up all the scallops to fit the tube inside of them.

I added a generous line of glue just to the inside of the scallops and fit the cylinder into them. Working around the bottom edge, I placed one hand inside the tube for support and the other on the scallops to make sure the glue held. I worked my way around until they were all well adhered. This is the most tedious part of the process but is worth the effort.

I embellished the container with S7-017 On the Vine Border Grand die template by I cutting/embossing blue cardstock with the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit. Then I inked through the die template as a stencil with Clearsnap ColorBox Cocoa Pigment Ink.

If you want to see a little demonstration on how to cut the Borderabilities® Grand, check out this video from Stacey. If you don’t have the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, go to 1:50 on the meter to see the section showing how to cut using the mats that came with your machine.

I added the S7-017 One the Vine Border Grand to the container. The fun little bonus was that it fit perfectly. I was able to hook the two ends together. Using PVA glue, I added small touches of glue around the piece and then added dimension to it by curving the leaves and stems that were not glued down.

As a final touch, I sprayed it with Turquoise Blue Glimmer Mist. Finito!

Since I used only cardstock on the sides of the container, it is not super strong. I could probably reinforce the item by using an additional piece of cardstock, simply glued to the original OR I could use some more light weight chipboard. Well, whatever you choose to do, have fun and see what you can create.

Eli

Don’t forget our Spellbindersâ„¢ and Tattered Angels month-long blog hop! Today, we would like to spotlight our Design Team Member Linda Duke! See what she has in store for you by visiting her blog.

Everyone says “think outside the box” but have you ever thought of “the box?” So thinking inside the box, I went into my “box” of Spellbindersâ„¢ die templates to find S5-019 Labels Eight, S4-226 Harvest Border Petites and S4-227 Pumpkin Nestabilities®.

Hmm…with gift giving season coming up, I’m thinking I would try my hand at making a box! Since Halloween is just around the corner, why not make a little treat box. See where I’m going with this…box! LOL!

First we need to cut/emboss four S5-019 Labels Eight die #6 (#1 being the smallest) with My Mind’s Eye Fall In Love Collection.

Your cut sandwich will be (from the bottom):
White Master Mat
Magnetic Spacer Plate
S5-019 Labels Eight die #6 (cut/ridge side UP)
Cardstock
White Master Mat

After cutting your cardstock, remove the Magnetic Spacer Plate and grab your Enlarged Embossing Pad for your emboss sandwich (from the bottom):
White Master Mat
S5-019 Labels Eight die #6 (w/ cardstock, cut side UP)
Enlarged Embossing Pad
White Master Mat

Then score 1/2″ from each short side and 1/2″ on the bottom of the long side of all four S5-019 Labels Eight die cuts. Make sure to cut the corners at the bottom to make the tabs easy to fold.

 

Adhere to each side making four walls but do not connect the last sides together yet. We need to embellish the walls first before completing the frame of the box.

Taking your S4-226 Harvest Border Petites, cut/emboss the leaves border (this particular border cuts all the way around to make a great accent piece) and stencil with Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Chestnut Roan. You’ll need to cut/emboss/stencil four times (for each side). Trim to fit inside the scored lines - approx. 1/2″. Then line up the borders to make a straight line as shown and adhere.

Using the S4-227 Pumpkin Nestabilties® die #3, cut/emboss with orange cardstock and with Sparkle ‘N Sprinkle Burnt Orange Flocking Powder, I textured the pumpkin. Determine which side will be the front of the box and adhere the pumpkin. Mist Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Raven onto a small flower, dry and add Hero Arts Pearls in the middle. I used Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps Seasonal Calendar/Halloween image and the black pearl pin to go with that glimmery flower.

Now you can put the last sides together to form the frame of the box by using wet adhesive. Then cut 4.5″x 4.5″ size piece of cardstock to make the bottom of the box. With wet adhesive, edge the bottom four sides of the cardstock and then drop it in on top of the scored edges of the box frame. Let dry.

To finish it off, add your favorite Halloween treat and you’ve got yourself a box! Now remember to think inside the box for your next project!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!!
MargieH

Tattered Angels & Spellbindersâ„¢ are in a blog hop all month long! Today, our Design Team Member Karen Taylor will inspire us with her project. Please go visit her blog and see what kind of eye candy she has in store for us! Come back to our blog and find out who is next on the hop!

Taking Eli’s Savvy Saturday’s idea of using craft foam, I took it to another level to make a cushy project of my own. Instead of only using the foam as a stamp, why not use it as an element for my home decor too. I had a red tin bucket and wanted to do add something to display on my hallway table.

From my Spellbinders™ collection, I got out: S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand and S4-230 Labels Six die templates #6 #4 & #3 (#1 being in the smallest).

First with the 4.5×12″ strip of craft foam, I cut/embossed S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand. I left the craft foam in the die template and sprayed Tattered Angels’ Gold Glimmer Mist. Carefully, take out the die cut to set aside to dry. Clean your die template immediately to avoid staining.

With the JustRite Stampers’ Times New Roman Uppercase Font Set 50 pt. and the smaller Horizontal Wood Stamper, I stamped “Fall ‘09″ on a piece of cream cardstock and proceeded to cut/embossed with the S4-230 Labels Six die #3. Taking an orange cardstock from my scrap stash, I cut/embossed the S4-230 Labels Six #4 to mat behind the stamped cream cardstock.

Using Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Collection, I cut/embossed the S4-230 Labels Six #6. Then I cut/embossed a part of S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand with craft foam to use as a stamp. With the various colors of the Clearsnap Queue Inks, I stamped parts of the leaves and vine onto the label.  Then adhered the matted “Fall ‘09″ image onto the stamped label with foam adhesive to give it a 3D effect.

With adhesive dots, I adhered the foam vine onto the tin bucket and then adhered the “Fall ‘09″ label in the middle. Now to add some gourd and squash! It’s ready to display for little “treat or treat” visitors and even for that Thanksgiving dinner!

Hope it makes you look at craft foam in a different way!
MargieH

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 Spellbindersâ„¢ 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 Spellbindersâ„¢ 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, Wizardâ„¢, 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 Wizardâ„¢ 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 Wizardâ„¢ 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 Wizardâ„¢ 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

Last weekend, I went shopping for scrapbook supplies. I found something that I really wanted to use for today’s post…Tattered Angels‘ Glimmer Screens - Garden Ironworks. One particular screen caught my eye - the iron gate! I had the Raven Glimmer Mist at home that would be a perfect match so I “had to have it.” LOL!

Using the screen and Glimmer Mist, I would put them into the Wizard™ to letterpress into an orange cardstock that was in my scrap pile. Beware of dripping Glimmer Mist after spraying the screen (MUHAHAHAHA!!!), my first try was a mess! Let the excess mist drip off the screen first and then place into the sandwich.

Quickly letterpress the cardstock by using the following sandwich (from the bottom):
White Master Mat
Copy paper (for protection)
Screen (Glimmer Misted side UP)
Cardstock
Tan Embossing Pad
White Master Mat

Next, I misted a big white flower. I suggest misting two coats (dry between coats). The front of the flower was dark but didn’t have the glimmer I was looking for. So I flipped the flower to see what happened there - it had all this glimmer, so pretty! I will be using the back of the flower instead. Note to self: mist the back of the flower next time! LOL!! For the center of the flower, I cut/embossed four of S4-227 Pumpkin Nestabilities® die template #2 (#1 being the smallest size). Fold each pumpkin in half and with wet adhesive, adhere each side of pumpkin to the next. For more details, please refer HERE. 

After I stamped “Happy Owl-Oween” from Hero Arts Owl-Oween set, I cut/embossed one of the S4-234 Ribbon Tags Trio Two over the sentiment. I love how this set can accommodate wider ribbons. The black organza ribbon I had in my stash is about 5/8″ wide and the slot still had room! Using the same stamp set, I stamped an owl image onto Core’dinations ColorCore cardstock, cut out the image and glittered its eyes.

Adding more embellishments, I cut out a Halloween image from Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts. For texture, I cut S4-228 Nested Maple Leaf #1 with fabric paper and orange felt (note: an extra shim like a piece of cardstock may be needed for the cut to go through or cut twice if it’s thick). For a journal “box,” I cut/embossed the largest maple leaf (die #3) with Core’dinations cardstock and sanded the edges. I inked the edges of my mat and page with Clearsnap Queue Ink. Adhering all the elements as shown onto Fancy Pants Treat or Treat Collection made this layout one of my favorite Halloween pages!

 

Don’t forget all this month, we are showcasing our designers who used their talent to come up with beautiful projects using Spellbindersâ„¢ and Tattered Angels‘ products. Please take a look at what Holly Simoni has inspired you with today! Come back and visit us so that you know who else will dazzle you!

Have a great day!
MargieH

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: Spellbindersâ„¢ S4-220 Nested Pine Trees, S4-142 Long Classic Rectangles LG #4 and 5; Spellbindersâ„¢ Impressabilitiesâ„¢ 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 Impressabilitiesâ„¢ 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 Impressabilitiesâ„¢ 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