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

While today’s post is not a new technique, it may give you some new ideas.  I have this thing for textured paper.  I love it like I love cookies. 

I gathered these supplies and set out to make a quick card:

S4-190 Labels Four #5 & 6; I2-1007 Impressabilities™ Diamonds and Stars; Clearsnap, Colorbox Antique Pewter Pigment Ink and Charcoal Fluid Chalk Ink; My Minds Eye, patterned paper; 7gypsies, patterned paper; Stampers Anonymous, Birds & Baubles stamp set; cardstock, sueded paper.

The key to this is the sueded paper, which  has a soft texture that accepts embossing beautifully.  I embossed the sueded paper with the I2-1007 Impressabilities™ Diamonds and Stars with the same sandwich I used for regular paper, which is

White Master Mat
Impressabilitiesâ„¢ Diamonds and Stars
Sueded paper, soft side down
Embossing Mat
White Master Mat

Feed the sandwich into the Wizardâ„¢. The result is simply gorgeous, along with being easy!!

I trimmed the sides and mounted it on black cardstock, and adhered it onto a piece of 7gypsies patterned paper. I stamped a Stampers Anonymous floral image with Clearsnap Colorbox Antique Pewter ink, then stamped the quote with Charcoal Fluid Chalk ink. I then cut/embossed that using S4-190 Labels Four #5. I used S4-190 Labels Four #6 to cut a black mat for the quote piece.

The finished card looks like this:

Have a great day!

Beth

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 Wizardâ„¢ 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 Wizardâ„¢. 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

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
• Impressabilitiesâ„¢ 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

Wow, that was a fun 8 days of Spellbinders Pendant & Borderabilities reveals, wasn’t it?  We’re not done announcing winners, so stay tuned for more super excited daily winners.  I wonder who won the Grand Prize of ALL the Spellbinders Pendants and Borderabilities?  We’ll be posting names just as soon as we hear back from those lucky crafters.

Now, back to blogging as usual!  As soon as I received my package of Spellbinders Pendants, I did my little happy dance, convinced my teenagers I had lost my mind, and tried to think of what uses I had for these die templates beyond paper.  So today I’m showing you how awesome these work with shrink plastic!

I used a brand of shrink plastic that shrinks evenly, by length and width, otherwise the end result could be quite wonky.  I used the standard die cutting sandwich, of

• White Master Mat
• Magnetic Spacer Plate
• Pendant die template, cut side up
• Shrink Plastic
• White Master Mat

Now, because the S4-208 In Spades Pendant die template has some very intricate and detailed cuts, and shrink plastic is not very forgiving, I ran the sandwich through my Wizard 3 times in a row, without lifting the mat to look at it. You don’t want to manipulate the mats, just 1-2-3 times through.  You might still have to carefully punch the cut areas out, so be gentle.

No embossing is necessary. Next I colored through the die template like a stencil with a Black #100 Copic Sketch Marker. Be careful to go slowly and don’t let the shrink plastic move around under the die template.

Then I applied heat with my heat tool. Be sure to read the directions for your brand of shrink plastic. It curls up as it shrinks, but keep applying heat -resist the urge to stop and flatten it! It should flatten down towards the end of the process. REMEMBER, its hot, let it cool before touching it.

Next, I used my Lionet Gold #Y28 Copic Sketch Marker and Airbrush Kit to apply a thin coat of color over the surface of the shrunken die cuts. I wanted it to look a little blotchy. I adhered a 7Gypsies Typewriter Word and attached a jump ring and chain to the Pendant. The Heart Accents could be charms for the Pendant, or earrings.

You could color with any color Copic Marker (and there’s plenty to choose from!), or if your beading skills are better than mine, do a beaded design to accent the Pendant. The sky’s the limit on your own custom jewelry!

So by now, if you are a regular reader of our little Blog, you know that Spellbinders’s Die Templates cut, emboss and can be used as a stencil to embellish your die cuts.  You also know that the Wizard does a fabulous job of embossing Impressabilities as well as other textures.

That’s right, on this card I used the S4-129 Classic Scalloped Squares Small die template to emboss the yellow Core’dinations Cardstock then sanded it to enhance the texture.

Then I cut and embossed the brown Core’dinations Cardstock with S4-128 Classic Squares Small and S4-196 Large Classic Inverted Scalloped Squares to cut a frame.  I cut and embossed the S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio and strung a piece of ribbon through it. I inked the edges with Clearsnap Colorbox chestnut Roan Chalk Ink and stamped the “just because…” sentiment from Hero Arts stamps.

I assembled as shown with 7Gypsies patterned paper and attached it to a card made from Core’dinations Cardstock.  It was fun and easy!

Becca Feeken used the square to emboss the center of her mat in this example.

Happy Embossing!
Beth