Today’s Savvy Saturday is all about  Letterpress.  This technique dates back to the year 1450, with thanks going to Johannes Gutenberg, as the main method of printing until the invention of offset printing. That is today’s history lesson.

You can do this technique with Spellbinders’™ Impressabilities™!  I started by playing with ink.  I rolled my brayer across an ink pad, then onto the I2-1004 Impressabilties™ Flowers.  I built my sandwich this way:

• White Master Mat
• Inked Impressabilties™ (ink side up)
• Paper
• Embossing Mat
• White Master Mat

Feed the sandwich into the Wizard™.  One pass in the Wizard™ will emboss the paper and transfer the ink into the debossed areas. This is the result with Clearsnap ColorBox White Pigment Ink and black cardstock:

Then I tried acrylic paint. This is the result with Ranger’s paint.  This is a fast drying acrylic paint, and despite working quickly, I am not 100% happy with the coverage in this example. We’ll come back to paint another time.

So then I got to thinking, if ink works, what about ink and embossing powder? I used the brayer to apply Clearsnap Top Boss Watermark Ink to the Impressabilities™, fed the sandwich through the Wizard™ and then applied Sparkle and Sprinkle’s Outerspace Embossing Powder. I heated the paper to melt the powder. Oh my! Its beautiful! Check this out:

Then I did the reverse stencil technique with Clearsnap Black Pigment Ink and S4-234 Ribbon Tags Trio  2, the oval shape. I stamped “thank you” from Hero Arts onto the label with the same ink, and added ribbon from my stash.  It needed just one more thing, so I cut an oval using S4-112 Classic Ovals, Small #4, from the same patterned paper, which is Fancy Pants Caroling.  I mounted that onto black cardstock.

I love the texture and sheen from the embossing powder, don’t you?

Spellbinders™ Die Templates used: S5-019 Labels Eight, S4-112 Classic Ovals, Small #4, S4-234 Ribbon Tags Trio 2, I2-1004 Impressabilities™ Flowers.

Here are a few examples from our Design Team Members:

 Janine Blackwelder also used Impressabilities™ Flowers for this bookmark.  She cut the Impressabilties™ apart and letterpressed a small section.  Clearsnap ink, Hero Arts stamps, and the S4-112 Classic Ovals, Small as well as S4-113 Scalloped Classic Ovals, Small were used on this project.

Julie Overby embossed her chipboard letters with Impressabilities™ Flowers. On the card she used S5-019 Labels Eight; 12-1004 Impressabilities™ Flowers;  Cardstock; Patterned paper; Cosmo Cricket and Maya Road chipboard; ClearSnap Colorbox Ink.

Have a wonderful Saturday!
Beth

PS. Don’t forget to go over to “When Creativity Knocks!” - and vote for Impressabilities™ in the Great Crafter’s Tool Hunt…you could win something cool and we would win ultimate fame and glory (maybe even a trophy? who knows). Click HERE for more info.  Voting closes September 8 at midnight PST.

For Savvy Saturday, I thought I go over my first technique that I did when receiving my order of Impressabilities™…a straight emboss.

A friend of mine just started her teaching career and I wanted to send her a card to congratulate her for surviving her first few days! LOL!! Of course, I will have to tuck in a gift card to her favorite coffee house for those cold fall mornings.

I will be using the following Spellbinders™ products: I2-1004 Impressabilties™ Flowers and S4-114 Standard Circles LG #6 die (#1 being the smallest size) and of course, the Wizard™.

First, I will emboss a piece of 5 1/2″W x 4 1/4″H Core’dinations cardstock. Note: I mist the paper to get a more enhanced embossed design - this will help when using a thicker cardstock too.

Then I used the following sandwich (from the bottom):
White Master Mat
I2-1004 Impressabilities™ Flowers
Cardstock
Tan Embossing Pad
White Master Mat

Once I walked the sandwich through the Wizard™, (another note) I left the Impressability in the cardstock and sanded over the design. I find that the design stands out even more when you have it underneath. After taking the embossed cardstock off the I2-1004 Impressabilities™ Flowers, I sanded the edges.

Setting it aside, I went to stamp my image from JustRite Stampers’ Friendship set on Core’dinations cardstock and cut/embossed with the S4-114 Standard Circles LG #6. I edged the circle with Clearsnap Queue ink and adhered it with Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L’s 3D Foam Squares (stacked three squares to life the circle above the flower) onto a 6″x4 7/8″ Core’dinations white card base which was edged with ink. Then I colored the stamp image with Copics, added Flower Soft and glittered the accents.

Another fun “Back To School” project - a card with a gift card tucked inside for that favorite teacher! Hope everyone made it back to school safely.

And for those of you who are a visual type, I am including a video of our lovely Miss Stacey demonstrating some fun things to do with the Impressabilities™…

Oh! Don’t forget to vote for us on “When Creativity Knocks!” - Great Crafter’s Tool Hunt…there’s a good chance you might win something real nice. Look HERE for details!

Have a great Saturday!
MargieH

It is so much fun to have new and innovative products like Spellbinders’™ Impressabilities™.  It’s even more fun to see what our talented Design Team Members do with them!  Today’s Savvy Saturday is a new technique from our own Kimberly Crawford. She posted it earlier this week on her personal blog.  We want to make sure everyone sees it, so we’re running an encore here. Take it away, Kimberly!

I am SO thrilled to be sharing with you a brand new Spellbinders™ Impressabilities™ technique!!! I came up with this idea while playing around with my tools several months ago. I love using my Clearsnap Colorbox Stylus tool to ink the edges of my paper. But as I was staring at it, I thought, what can I do with the foam end? Then I remembered that Colorbox used to sell molding plates for the foam tips. Not having those, I looked at the I2-1004 Impressabilities™ Flowers laying on my desk and thought, a-ha!

Start by heating the black foam tip of your stylus tool. I use my crafting light. It does not take much heat to make it pliable.

Push the heated foam tip onto the Impressabilities™. I chose the flower that would fit my tip before I did this.

Here is what the tip looks like. The image will not go away until you re-heat the tip.

Ink the foam tip, just like any stamp.

Here is the image stamped onto a S4-140 Petite Ovals, Small die cut.

And here is the completed project. Isn’t that fun?

Thank you Kimberly!
I just had to try it myself. You know how you get started with one idea, you start working on it, and it becomes something entirely different?  Welcome to my world! LOL.

I decided to use the small accent piece from the S4-205 Eyelets Pendant to press into the large, square, black, moldable stylus tip from Clearsnap.

Using Clearsnap’s Orchid Pigment ink, I stamped that image across a strip of My Minds Eye’s Tiny Dancer Collection paper. I cut/embossed the S4-205 Eyelets Pendant,  Accent, and Center, inked throught the die templates like a stencil, then used the foam tip of the Stylus with Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink to edge all the papers.  I assembled as shown.  I think I’ve just made my Mom’s birthday card!  

Thank you again Kimberly Crawford!  And Happy Birthday Mom!

Beth

WOW! I just took a peek at the Inspiration Alley Gallery where all the Pendant entries are posted from our Pendant Project Contest. Crafters, you all have outdone yourselves! Congratulations and thank you for all the inspiration!

Setting aside all those images of beauty, I would like to take these Pendants to a different level. Rather than accenting with our Pendants, how about making them a functional piece in our projects?

Let me show you what I mean with a gatefold card. First, we will be using these die templates: S4-210 Lattice Pendant (& center), S4-161 Labels One #5 (#1 being the smallest die), S4-114 Standard Circle Large #2 and S4-125 Classic Scalloped Circles Small #1

Using Core’dinations cardstock in various colors, I cut/embossed all the die templates. Note: I stamped an image from JustRite Stampers before cutting/embossing the S4-125 Classic Scalloped Circle Small #1 and then I adhered the S4-114 Standard Circle Large #2 to frame it. With the S4-210 Lattice Pendant and its center, I sanded them to enhance the embossing.

On a 9″x5″ piece of Fancy Pants pattern paper, I scored 2 1/4″ on each side to form a gatefold card and edged with Clearsnap Queue ink. Using wet adhesive, I adhered the left half of the S4-210 Lattice Pendant onto the left card flap. Let dry. With its center piece, I closed the card and adhered the right half of the piece on the right flap - place it in the middle of the Pendant so that it is in the correct position.

After adding Hero Arts Gems onto the S4-210 Lattice Pendant, I adhered the stamped image with Scrapbook Adhesives’ foam tape on top of the pendant center piece. Inside the card, I edged with Clearsnap Queue ink and adhered the S4-161 Labels One #5. I finished off the inside by adding a small flower with a gem on the corner and done!

Now what function is the S4-210 Lattice Pendant serving? It is a latch for the gatefold card! There are a lot of other functions that a Pendant can be…a journal spot, a frame, a basket, an ornament and I’m sure there’s more! But the most clever idea comes from our Design Team Member Jennifer Davis. If you were here for the Pendant Blog Frenzy then you know what I’m talking about. This is Jennifer’s clever creation…

The function? A pop-up card! For more information on this project, please visit her blog. There is a video for us visual types. I hope you try it and let us know how it turned out! Many thanks to Jennifer for letting me share this clever idea!

Have a great Saturday!
MargieH

I’m a pile maker.  I pile stuff here, pile it there.  I have piles of paperwork and lists, and I know exactly what things are in which piles.  In my ongoing effort to reduce clutter in my home I decided to start using a system to keep my lists, time logs and other major and minor notes that control my existence.  I need a notebook.  A pretty one, that I can take with me or leave out on the counter, one that my kids won’t mistake as their homework.  While doing some back to school shopping (Yippee!) I grabbed a notebook for my own use.

I can’t let it sit there all yellow and boring!  I promised to show you how to use the Borderabilities® on projects longer than 5.5″.  Lets get to work!

I started with these dies, the S4-207 Kaleidoscope Pendant, S4-216 Kaleidoscope Borderabilities®, S4-185 Large Octagons, and S4-235 Fancy Tags. I used patterned paper, a brad and a chipboard letter courtesy of 7gypsies, black pigment ink from Clearsnap Colorbox, and clear decoupage finish adhesive.

To cut the Borderabilities® I started with a strip of patterned paper 12×2″.  Using regular household tape (that I stuck to my t-shirt to make it less tacky) I taped the S4-216 Kaleidoscope Borderabilities® with the cut edge facing the patterned side of the paper.  I made sure to line up the die template straight at the end and the long edge.

I placed the die template on the Magnetic Spacer Plate with the cut edge up, and cut/embossed in my Wizard™ Die Cutting and Embossing System.

The first half of the paper strip is done.  With an ink applicator, I applied Clearsnap Colorbox Black Pigment ink through the holes in the die template.

I carefully removed the tape.

I poked the paper bits out of the die before attaching it to the paper strip for the second round.

I lined up the die to the long edge of the paper as before, and made sure it was right on the spot where it stopped cutting on the first run.  The repeating design of the Borderabilites® allows you to continue the cutting pattern over and over.

I cut/embossed again in my Wizard™. When embossing, I only covered the paper that was in the die. If I placed the Tan Embossing Pad on the previously embossed areas, I could have flattened them out.

Then I inked through the die on this section. (Note to self: Do not look away at teenagers asking for money or rides to friends houses while inking.)  While directing concentration away from my project, I accidentally inked over the end of the die and onto the paper. In order to “cover” my mistake, I added additional ink over the top of the whole strip.

I cut/embossed the S4-185 Large Octagon, S4-207 Kaleidoscope Pendant and Center, and one of the S4-235 Fancy Tags.

I used a paintbrush to apply decoupage finish to the top of the notebook and the back and front of the paper. I carefully worked out air bubbles, and allowed it to dry. I added a brad to the Kaleidoscope Pendant and Octagon and adhered the set to the notebook, as well as the Fancy Tag with the matching chipboard letter. Allow more time to dry. To finish the edges I sanded the paper to fit and added one more layer of decoupage finish.

Oops, you can see where the glue isn’t all the way dry, silly me for picking a rainy day to work with decoupage!  What will you extend your borders on?

Happy Saturday!

Beth

Hello!
Hope everyone is recovering from all the CHA reveals especially our CHA Blog Frenzy winners! Again, congratulations!!

It’s Savvy Saturday!
Last month, we did a card using the S4-214 Eyelets Borderabilities®. Today, I thought I would show you how I make my favorite flower. A new twist for me is instead of using strips of paper, I am using this Borderabilities® to give it that extra humph!

This is what the flower looks like. I placed it on a small notebook that I covered with My Mind’s Eye paper and inked the edges with Clearsnap Queve ink. I love how it looks and hope you do too!

The Spellbinder™ die templates used are:
S4-205 Eyelets Pendant and accent piece
S4-214 Eyelets Borderabilities® #2 (this die template has a continuous cut line perfect for making coordinating accent pieces)
S4-195 Small Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles #4 & #5

First, we cut/emboss the S4-205 Eyelets Pendant and its accent piece using Core’dination cardstock. Set aside.
Take the S4-195 Small Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles #4 & #5 and place them both down on the Magnetic Spacer Plate in a nesting position. Cut/emboss with the Core’dination cardstock. Set aside.
Then cut/emboss three S4-214 Eyelets Borderabilities® #2: two with Core’dination cardstock and one with My Mind’s Eye paper (make sure to stencil the last one with Clearsnap ink to give it a beautiful embossed accent to the Borderabilities®).

With the two Core’dination cardstock S4-214 Eyelets Borderablities®, score every 1/4″ and accordion fold both. I am using a darker color cardstock in the picture instead of white so that you can see the creases better. Adhere the ends with wet adhesive to make a continuous strip (make sure you have each strip facing the same side) and let dry. When dried, adhere the other ends together to make a ring.

Spread wet adhesive to the center of the S4-205 Eyelets Pendant. Flatten the ring down to form a pleated circle (make sure its center is a small open circle - you may have work it as cardstock can be stiff) and place it on top of the wet adhesive on the Pendant. Hold for a few moments so that the adhesive sets and then place the White Master Mats on top and let dry flat.

After the flower is completely dry, adhere the S4-195 Small Classic Inverted Scalloped Circle onto the flower. Insert the decorative pins in between the pleats and adhere the Pendant accent piece to the center.

Then all you have to do is to adhere to your favorite card, layout or altered piece and you’re done. I hope you enjoy this flower technique.

How about trying it on one of your entries to our Pendant Project Contest (hint! hint!)?! You still have time…deadline is Monday, August 10th (11:59PM EST) - good luck!!

MargieH

Today we’re getting back into our Savvy Saturday mode, and what better to do that with than a card boasting our newest die templates!

This card features the S5-019 Labels Eight, S4-210 Lattice Pendant,  S4-110 Classic Oval Large,  S4-112 Classic Oval Small, and S4-234 Ribbons Tag Trio 2 die templates, I2-1002 Impressabilities™ Butterfly, as well as F-005 Gold Premium Craft Foil, 7gypsies patterned paper, Clearsnap ink and Hero Arts stamps.

I started by cutting/embossing black cardstock with the largest (#6) of the Labels Eight die templates.  Then I cut a piece of Gold Premium Craft Foil with  the S5-019 Labels Eight (#5) die template.  To get the finished border around the Labels Eight die cut, as well as the I2-002 Impressabilities™ Butterfly embossing, I used this sandwich:

• White Master Mat
• Impressabilities™ Butterfly
• Labels Eight die template, cut side facing up
• Die cut of Gold Premium Craft Foil, gold side down, fit into Label die template
• Tan Embossing Pad
• White Master Mat

By feeding it into my Wizard™, it resulted in an embossed die cut!  With a piece of fine sandpaper, I sanded the top of the die cut to reveal the silver color.  I adhered it onto the black die cut.

Next, I cut/embossed a black oval from S4-110 Classic Oval Large (#5).  Then I cut a Gold Foil Oval from the S4-112 Classic Ovals Small (#5).  Using the same sandwich as above, but I replaced the Impressabilities™ with the Center piece from the the 4-210 Lattice Pendant. I fed it into my Wizard™ and the shape of the Center embossed into my gold foil oval.  Again I sanded the detail for more definition.

I trimmed the 7gypsies patterned paper 6×4.5″ so that it made a nice  background for the Labels Eight die cuts, which are big, measuring at nearly 5.5″ long!

I also cut/embossed the Long Rectangle Tag from the S4-234 Ribbon Tag Trio 2 set.  I used the the back side of the 7gypsies pattern paper.  Then I stamped a sentiment on it from Hero Arts, distressed with Clearsnap Black pigment ink and set aside.

I arranged and adhered the Labels Eight and Classic Oval die cuts on top of the 7gypsies patterned paper as shown.  I mounted the patterned paper onto a piece of black cardstock.  Taking the stamped Ribbon Tag Trio 2 die cut, I strung a 1 3/8″ wide ribbon (the openings are 3/4″, allowing for thicker ribbon!) and wrapped it around the front of the card, and adhered it to the back side of the black cardstock.

Here are a few more examples from our fabulous Design Team:

Holly Simoni’s layout features her daughter and her love of horses.  Holly used S4-215 Renaissance Hearts Borderabilities®, S4-206 Renaissance Hearts Pendant and S5-018 Labels Eight.  Her supplies include 7gypsies pattern paper, Clearsnap ink, and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

Christy Farneth-Kerr’s card is Magically Delicious!  She cut an opening in the front with the S4-189 Labels Three,  and covered it with S4-207 Kaliedoscope Pendant.  She used the S4-216 Kaliedoscope Borderabilities® cut from Premium Craft Foil and from cardstock to make the other elements.  Christy folded a Pendant to make the iris flower element.  Other supplies include Chatterbox paper, The Paper Company paper, and Flower Soft adhesive.

Kimberly Crawford employed reverse stenciling to get the 2-toned effect on this S4-206 Renaissance Hearts Pendant card.  She added Clearsnap’s Smooch to the small heart accents.  Kimberly used My Mind’s Eye paper, Clearsnap ink, Hero Arts stamps, and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L supplies.

So if these Pendant ideas get your mojo flowing, be sure to enter the Pendant Party, and you could win some fabulous prizes!

Happy Saturday!

Beth

For today’s Savvy Saturday, I’d like to show you all one of our newest Borderabilities®, the S4-214 Eyelet Pendant Petite Borderabilities®.

You may recall that we introduced these products during our recent Blog Frenzy. Design Team Member Jennifer Davis had created such a wonderful project and provided a video to show her steps through the process.

In the video, she had mentioned that the set of two Borderabilities® each having a different function. One (we will call Border #1) will emboss all the way around BUT will cut on one side only. The other (Border #2) will cut and emboss the entire die template to become a beautiful accent piece. I love the choices with these Borderabilities® sets! I will show what I did using the Borderabilities® on a card I made.

Using my 4.5″x6″ card base that I made from Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock, I edged my card by using the Border #1. I fold the card inside out and sandwich the magnetic spacer inside with the Border (cut side away from magnet). You may wish to use removable tape to line up the border to the card base. Place all between the two White Master Mats and put through the Wizard™ to cut.

Next fold the card back to its original position and then carefully replace the Magnetic Spacer with the Tan Embossing Pad. Again, place all between the two White Master Mats and put through the Wizard™ to emboss.

Then using a lighter tone of the card base, I cut/embossed Border #2 which I plan to layer on top of the edge card base. Note: after cutting/embossing, take great care when pulling out the piece from the die template. Many of the new Borderabilties® have intricate cuts and will be delicate. I used my embossing tool (the one with the rounded tip for dry embossing) or a tooth pick is helpful too.

I sanded both borders (to give emphasis on the embossing) as well as the card base edge. Thread the ribbon through Border #2 before adhering with Scrapbook Adhesives to the card base and add Hero Arts Pearls to both borders.

Add ribbon in the middle of the card base and single knot to secure (you may wish to adhere the back for more security). Using Crafty Secrets’ Cotton Scraps Flowers, I frayed the edges and inked with Clearsnap Queue. Then matted onto Core’dinations cardstock and adhered to card base. Stuck two stick pins into the knot to complete the look of the card.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and memorable 4th of July here in the U.S.!
Happy Birthday, America!!!
MargieH

When it was cold out, my mom used to tell us kids to put on layers.
Well, it’s warm out but I’m saying “put on layers - your Nesties™ layers!”

We will be cutting the Nestibilities® and layering them to make a wonderful design. Remember when you first purchased your Nestibilities®? They were nested in a package ready to be used. All you need to do is to position them in the same way on your magnetic spacer or white spacer (depending on which Wizard™ you have) and you’re good to go!

From bottom, the sandwich is your conventional cut receipe:
White Master Mat
Die (cut side UP - if you have a white spacer, I would tape down the die with removable tape on the non-cut side to hold in place
Paper
White Master Mat

After cutting, emboss by removing the spacer plate from the sandwich and add the Tan Embossing Mat by placing it on top of the die.

So your sandwich will be (from bottom):
White Master Mat
Die (cut side UP)
Paper
Tan Embossing Mat
White Master Mat

Although you may have seen this technique with our Flower Nestibilities® (such as the S4-191 Dahlia and the S4-192 Blossom), I decided to go a little geometric with mine by using the S4-202 Large Deckled Rectangles.

With the Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock , I cut/embossed the entire nested die template but only used the three (3) largest sizes and the center. Then I sanded the embossed areas. I only adhered the largest frame flat on to the card base and then foam taped the two other frames with Scrapbook Adhesives to give it a 3-D effect. The center I stamped the “HI” by using JustRite Stampers letters and Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Chestnut Roan. Using My Mind’s Eye Penny Lane Collection, I made a card base and cut/embossed a flower from the S4-200 Flower Bouquet Miniabilities die template. To accent the flower, I stenciled with Clearsnaps Queue and added a Hero Arts Pearl in the middle. Adhere the finished flower with Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam square in the middle of the frames and adhere the “HI” center on to the lower right hand corner…you are done!

To give you some more ideas, we did a post on this topic for a card and for a layout back in March.

So will you be putting your layers on?!
Have a great Saturday!

MargieH

Happy Saturday!
Today I want to show a savvy way to emboss!

Have you ever wanted to personalize your embossing…something just for you? With 3,000 pounds of pressure, you can emboss just about anything in our handy dandy Wizard™! So come and join me as I personalize my embossing with a non-traditional item (non-scrapbook item). I find that flat materials work best for me such as lace, onion bag and doilies.

From the bottom, the sandwich for embossing is:
White Master Mat
Mesh
Paper
Tan Embossing Pad
White Master Mat

Pass the sandwich through the Wizard™ once and take a look…wow, instant gratification!

Using Core’dinations paper, I embossed with mesh that was packaged around my wine bottle to give my card some texture. I used S4-161 Labels One #2, #3 to frame my image from JustRite Stampers which was stamped with Clearsnap Queue. I sanded the paper with fine grade sandpaper - love how it turned out! Then I adhered it with Scrapbook Adhesives’ 3D Foam Squares to pop it up. By using papers from My Mind’s Eye, Denna’s Penny Lane Collection, I was able to finish off my “DAD” card for Father’s Day.

Something really unique was embossed by Design Team Member, Janine Blackwelder. Can you guess what she used? The answer…a piece of gutter guard! Something you can grab from the hardware store or maybe some left over in the garage? Aren’t our design team members clever?! She embossed a piece of 12″x6″ foil using gutter guard to create a metal panel in the center of her very cool layout. WOW!!!

See what you can find around the house and emboss it!
Thanks for stopping by for Savvy Saturday!