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

Spellbindersâ„¢ 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

I’m into color right now. Not sure why. Maybe it is the snow that fell on us in Denver last week and imagining a long winter ahead of us. Earlier this week I checked out our Design Team projects to see what colors of flakes they are, I mean what color flakes they created…Julie Overby made this beautiful Merriest Wishes card with turquoise, white and silver…yummy!

Jennifer Davis‘ layout, I Heart Snow, is outstanding in the color realm. It perfectly matches her daughter’s winter jacket.

I find that once I break out of a mold, it’s easy to keep doing it. Today, I’m sharing a journal with some really hot colors and snowflakes. To begin, I had hot pink printer paper that I printed journal lines on, but I had no idea how I would match colors to it. The Color Wheel is a great place to start and I just happen to have a Color Companion which is really helpful. In this photo you can see the journal pages in the back and the cover just to the left. The other colors are those I used to cut the snowflakes.

I used the S4-222 Create A Flake One to cut/emboss snowflakes from purple, red and pink. I inked them with silver metallic ink and then layered them using Glue Dots by Glue Dots International and 3D Foam Squares, SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L. Here is a close up of one of them.

I adhered them to the journal cover and then felt like a border would bring the whole thing together. I chose the S4-218 Lattice Borderabilities® to coordinate. Since this Borderability® is Petite, I cut it twice from one long strip of paper. After cutting the first side, I carefully lined up the second side and ran it though the Wizard™.

In the same way, I embossed one end and then the other. The place where the two border cuts came together can be left alone as a design element

or covered with a little embellishment like I did.

To finish up the journal, I bound it, added a few more flakes and ribbons.

Ingredients: Wizard, S4-218 Lattice Borderabilities, S4-222 Create A Flake One; Core’dinations Color Core Cardstocks; SCRAPBOOK AHESIVE by 3L, Black 3D adhesive squares; Copic Sketch V09 Violet, Air Brush System; Glue Dots International Scrapbook Glue Dots; Ribbons; Silver ink; Binding System; Purple patterned paper
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you’ve gained some confidence to use color in a new way. Eli

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

I love the fall. The weather starts to cool off. The leaves begin to turn and it is a great time of year to snuggle with loved ones. It’s also a great time (with all the approaching holidays) to get engaged. I thought it would be fun to create a fall-themed engagement card. I loved the technique Margie used on her Savvy Saturday post: Partial Impressabilities. So I wanted to use the same technique on this card:

After you collect your supplies, it’s time to cut apart your Impressabilities template so you can emboss just a portion of it. It is super easy. I just grabbed a pair of hardy scissors and snipped the fine metal pieces connecting the paisleys to the frame.

The sandwich for embossing with Impressabilities is as follows:

• White Master Mat
• Impressabilities template
• paper, misted with a little water
• Tan Embossing Pad
• White Master Mat

I built this sandwich upside down so you could see it better. Just remember the paper must be in between the Impressabilities (or other embossing element) and the Embossing Pad. Feed your sandwich through the Wizard to emboss.

Using the Core’dinations cardstock gives me a fabulous design element right within the paper. Just do a little sanding to bring out the core color. When I use Impressabilities, I actually like to sand both sides so I can see which one I want to use. I chose the one on the right.

Trim the piece to a square and save the scrap as you’ll be using it later. Finish up with the Wizard by cutting/embossing Labels Four die template and only cutting Small Deckled Mega Rectangle from the cream/gold paper.

Using brown ink, stamp {FALL} onto the Labels die cut. Add a little shimmer to the ink with a glitter pen. For the inside sentiment, stamp CONGRATULATIONS onto the scrap of red Core’dinations cardstock. Add glitter pen. Write “on your” with the same pen and add letter stickers for “engagement.” You’ll probably need to trim the sentiment block just a bit before adding it to the Deckled rectangle.

Now let’s put it all together. Adhere “Fall” label to cardstock using Foam Adhesive. Add letter stickers onto the bottom, using a heart brad with an “O” sticker on it as shown. Mat onto cream/gold paper and adhere to card base made from Orange Core’dinations cardstock. Add the sentiment to the inside and you have a beautiful fall, engagement card.

I say we can all Fall in Love with that…Eli

Borderabilities Grand, what a wonderful product from Spellbinders, especially for scrapbookers. Where else can you get 12-inch border die templates with incredible detailing featuring three functions: cutting, embossing and stenciling? (If that weren’t rhetorical, I’d say, “Nowhere!”)

Today, I’m going to share a layout with you. But first, you might want to watch our very own Stacey Caron demonstrate the Borderabilities Grand in the Wizard. Check out this video below. She cuts/embosses the Grand Borderabilities with the accessory Grand Cut Mat Kit for efficient cut/emboss functions, and she shows the Extended White Master Mats that are included with a Wizard.

(more…)

Its back to school time, and this month we’re learning the many uses of Spellbinders’â„¢ Impressabilitiesâ„¢!  Margie kicked us off with her Savvy Saturday.  We hope you decide to go back to school with us,  we have so many things to show you!  Are you subscribed?  Just enter your email in the box where it says “Keep up with this Blog” and you’ll get each post emailed to you.

OK, back to Impressabilities™ School!  While Margie did a straight emboss of a piece of paper on her Savvy Saturday, I wanted to die cut the paper and emboss the I2-1001 Impressabilities™ Paisley, but I wanted to preserve the embossed edge of square die template too. 

First I cut the S4-128 Classic Square, Small #6 die template, using Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock.  Then I placed the I2-1001 Impressabiitiesâ„¢ Paisley on the bottom Master Mat.  Next I placed the die template with the die cut paper still in it on top of the Impressabilitiesâ„¢.  I made sure the die template has the cut side facing up, because I didn’t want to damage the Impressabilitiesâ„¢.  I put the Embossing Pad on top of the die template, then the other Master Mat and fed the sandwich into my Wizardâ„¢.

See the beautiful result!  I embossed the clean lines of the die template as well as the pattern of the Impressabilities™ Paisley.  A little sanding and the paper is georgeous!

For my layout I repeated this 4 times.  I also cut and embossed 5 red squares with S4-126 Classic Squares, Large #6.  I cut/embossed my photos using S4-126 Classic Square, Small #6. Additionally, 2 sets of S4-161 Labels One # 2 & 5 were cut to make frames, then sliced diagonally to make 4 corners.  The book in the center is made from S4-231 Labels Seven # 4 for the pages and # 5 for the cover.

 

I arranged them rather simply on a piece of school themed pattern paper.  And the charming little faces, those are my boys, on the first day of first and second grade, oh so long ago, or at least it seems that way!

Supplies used: Spellbinders™ S4-128 Classic Square, Small # 6; S4-126 Classic Square, Large #6; S4-161 Labels One # 2, 5; S4-231 Labels Seven #3, 4; I2-1001 Impressabilities® Paisley, Coredinations Color Core Cardstock, Black, Blue, Red; Copic, Atyou Spica, Pitch Black; The Paper Company, Homeroom Book Cover paper; Notebook paper; Sandpaper.

Your homework for this lesson is to go to When Creativity Knocks, register (and do the math!), go to the Creativity Forum.  Select Categories, scroll down to the Great Crafter’s Tool Hunt section, select Spellbindersâ„¢ Impressabilitiesâ„¢, and leave a brief message in the forum.  You could win all the tools! And we could win some feature time on their site.  Now go on, do your homework, I’ll be right here if you have any questions!

Beth

Thank you to Design Team Member Jennifer Davis for her fabulous holiday projects! Adding S7-015 Holiday Lights Border Grand and S4-225 Holiday Cheer on my wish list! Remember to enter our Frenzy contest by sending an email by July 22nd (11:59PM EST). The email link is in Jennifer’s blog!

Can you believe this is the last reveal of our CHA Blog Frenzy?! I want to thank all of you for commenting and entering our Frenzy contest! Also, a big thank you to all our talented designers who participated in the Frenzy to give us some wonderful inspiration!

For Day Fourteen, we have Keri Lee Sereika create with a harvest theme by using our next reveal, S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities®.

Keri Lee has always been a crafty person. Even in her childhood, she was always making this or remaking that. For inspiration, Keri Lee finds it in everyday life by paying attention to details - there is something to be learned from each day. As for a workspace, she has a 16 x 10 studio that is attached to her kids’ play room so that she can keep an eye on them and work at the same time. Although she can’t choose a favorite Spellbinderâ„¢ die template (who can blame her!), Keri Lee’s favorite technique is to leave her die on the cut cardstock or paper and use it as a mask/stencil with her Copic Air Brushing System. Keri Lee is married to a U.S.A.F. Pilot and has four children…the youngest (daughter, Lily Kate) was just born in June. Congratulations to the Sereika Family!!

Here’s a sampling of Keri Lee’s creation to share!

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!

Thanks for the idea, Eli!  I gathered up some supplies, including plastic from random packaging, Core’dinations Black Magic cardstock, Scrapbook Adhesives Super High Tack Tape, Copic Sketch Markers (BG 72,75,78, RV 09) and Airbrush System, Creative Impressions ribbon, Hero Arts Thoughtful clear stamp set, and Clearsnap Colorbox Black Pigment ink.  My Spellbinders supplies include S4-112 Classic Oval Small (largest die), I2-1002 Impressabilities Butterfly, S5-011 Scalloped Edge Frame, and Wizard.

Making this card is a three part process:   First, I cut an oval out of the front of a white card, if you don’t remember how, you can review this blog post.  Next, I cut and embossed the S5-011 Scalloped Edge Frame from the Core’dinations Black Magic cardstock.  I sanded the embossed areas to reveal the teal colored core.  I wove the Creative Impressions ribbon through the scalloped openings.

I took that random plastic packaging and embossed it with the Impressabilities Butterfly.  I taped the Impressabilities to the plastic (to keep it from moving) and airbrushed the four different colors onto the plastic through the Impressabilities Butterfly.  I trimmed the plastic so it was 3.1/4″ x 4 5/8″.

I used the Scrapbook Adhesives Super High Tack Tape to stick the plastic to the back of the Scalloped Edge Frame die cut, then to stick that whole frame to the front of the white card.

I stamped “hello” on the inside of the card, from the Hero Arts Thoughtful stamp set and Clearsnap Colorbox Black Pigment Ink.

So, I love my Impressabilitiesâ„¢ embossing templates AND I love my Copic Markers to airbrush…so “Why not combine them!” I thought. So, I grabbed some remnants of my Spellbindersâ„¢ die template packaging and started creating.

I think it turned out pretty nice and would make a great addition to your Spring card line-up including:  Graduation, Baby Shower, Thank You, Wedding…oh, how the list goes on in May.

So grab some thin plastic from any packaging, or even a transparency, an Impressabilities template, your favorite Copic colors, your Wizardâ„¢, a Nestabilities® die template (I chose circles) and we’ll begin.

Trim a piece of plastic to just larger than your Impressabilitiesâ„¢ sheet and using temporary adhesive, tape it to the sides.

Then “go-to” with the airbrush, using a gentle sweeping motion, coloring in the negative space of the template. After you are satisfied with the color, remove the tape and check out the results.

And for hopefully, the only challenge of the day, cut the plastic using the Nestabilities® die template of your choice. I say challenge because some plastic can be down-right pesky. You may need to run it through the Wizardâ„¢ a few times, even rotating the plastic and die template 90 degrees after each pass. Don’t give up because the results are worth it.

Then, use the Nestabilities® die template to cut a shaped card. First, fold your card base in half. Layer the die template on the spacer plate (Magnetic for Raspberry users and S5 Die Spacer Plate for purple users) and lay it on the White Master Mat. See how the die template edge peaks out over the fold of the card. This will keep it together and create the shape. Add the other White Master Mat and run it through the Wizard. Do not emboss.

You could stop there, adding the embellished plastic to the card by punching holes in the top of the card and the plastic at the same time. Thread a ribbon through it to secure it to the card front. Lovely…

But I wanted to go over the top and it is Savvy Saturday, after all…

If you are with me, place the airbrushed card front onto the White Master Mat with the side you’d like to see on the card. Then place the Impressabilitiesâ„¢ Template down onto it, matching up the airbrushed lines.

Add the shaped card on top, open

and then the embossing mat and Master Mat. Run it through the Wizardâ„¢.

Once that is done, finish up the card by using ribbon to tie on the airbrushed piece as I described above.

Stamp a sentiment inside and off you go…

And one more time, the results…beautiful.

I hope you all have a great weekend, a happy Memorial Day and mostly, I hope you get some time to create. Eli