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

For most, we are in full swing of “Back to School” mode - the early mornings, the bag lunches and the routine. Here in an empty (and quiet!) house, I was cleaning my closet and found a box of pictures of my boys in their younger years…they were so cute! What happened? They grew up…a little! LOL!

As the theme is ”back to school” today, I am learning something new. I thought I’d try my hand at Karen Taylor’s technique of using the Impressabilities to make a “Back to School” layout of my oldest when he hit first grade. Then add into the mix, my favorite technique of letterpressing.

First I gathered what I needed from my Spellbinders’ stash: I2-1010 Impressabilitiesâ„¢ Pebbles, S4-230 Labels Six die #5 & #6 (#1 being the smallest size) and a retired tag die template.

I had some foam shapes and letters in my sticker binder for awhile so it was a great excuse to use them! After reading how Eli and Beth heated the Impressabilities™ to emboss, I thought what about heating the foam instead?

Before I started my experiment, I had everything for my Wizard™ all set up so I can make that mad dash to the sandwich of (from bottom):

White Master Mat
Favorite Impressability
Foam Shape or Letters
Tan Embossing Mat
White Master Mat

Using my tweezer, I heated the black foam arrow with its white backing intact (I cut the shape from its sticker sheet) and the surface turned into a shiny coat. Quickly I put the heated foam face down, placed the Tan Embossing Mat and White Master Mat on top. Passed the sandwich through the Wizardâ„¢. Repeat the process for the foam letters that spelled out “Back To School.”

After heating all that foam, I used the letterpress technique that I had posted last month by using Clearsnap Queue ink (notice the frame behind the journaling box?). The journaling was written on S4-230 Labels Six die #5 and the letterpressed frame, I used S4-230 Labels Six die #6. For more details on how to letterpress, please refer HERE.

With Cosmo Cricket “Boyfriend” collection (papers, ribbon and rub-ons) and chalking the edges with Clearsnap Fluid Chalk Ink - Chestnut Roan, I was able to complete a real fun layout for my first grader of long ago! LOL!

We’re excited to share a new technique created by our Design Team member, Karen Taylor. She shared it first on her blog, Creative Yearnings, and we thought it was so great that we had to share it here too.

I am excited to share a new Spellbindersâ„¢ Impressabilitiesâ„¢ technique with you. It is a heat embossing technique.

To do the technique you will need fun foam or foam letters, an Impressabilitiesâ„¢, a hot pad and a heat tool.

Using your hot pad, heat the Impressabilitiesâ„¢ with a heat gun. Heat for at least 30 seconds and lay it on your foam. Gently press with hot pad. Let cool and lift the Impressabilitiesâ„¢

This is a very versatile technique. Since fun foam can be cut in the Wizardâ„¢, the possibilities are endless.

This is sure to be come a favorite technique….I know it is mine! Karen Taylor

WOW, Karen, that looked so fun that I had to try it on my layout featuring my daughter’s fall picnic at school.

I found the fun foam to be a little more challenging to “take” the embossing than I did the foam letters. So I modified the technique just a bit. First. I like to work on a 12×12″ ceramic tile. You know, the kind you get at the home store for a couple bucks. It is heat resistent and gives me plenty of room to work. I cut my three ovals (S4-140 Petite Ovals Small) from Burgundy fun foam. I placed the Impressabilitiesâ„¢ template on the tile and heated it with my heat tool. I was so tempted to check to see how hot it was before I laid my foam oval on but decided that was not a good idea.

As soon as I removed the heat, I placed the foam oval on top of the Impressabilitiesâ„¢ template and then pressed down on the foam using an acrylic block. I could see through the block and it pushed the foam down into the template in an even manner. I noticed that the places on the template that were the hottest, actually gave the foam a shiny look…so cool. Here is a close up of the embossing!

I created three of these ovals, changing the placement on the template for variety. I wanted to echo the template again on the page, so I embossed 2 sections of a cardstock strip, added metallic rub-ons for emphasis and adhered it with  the title. Next went the photos and journaling blocks on top of my embossed ovals. Voila! Not too difficult and definitely worth it. Thanks, again, Karen for the fabulous new technique and great inspiration.

Eli

When I read Beth’s Savvy Saturday post on embossing…well, you know I had to play with foil and not just any foil! I love the colors that Spellbindersâ„¢ offers in their Premium Craft Foil products. So time to play with the Wizardâ„¢ and emboss some foil!

Today, I am using F-003 Blue Premium Craft Foil and some metal words - I know some of you have these metal word embellishments around. You can use them over and over again when you emboss them. It’s a great way to accent your layouts, cards or mixed media projects. The best part, it saves you money!

Since this is graduation season, we had two in our household! I created a layout celebrating my youngest’s sixth grade ceremony. The words I had fit the occasion so I embossed them with the Blue Premium Craft Foil (blue is their school color) and then sanded them to show more detail. I cut/embossed fonts in foil because I love the look! Then I added the S7-013 Heirloom Scroll Borderabilities® Grand Die Template to accent the bottom and give weight to the layout. Using pattern paper from My Mind’s Eye 29th Market Collection and cardstock from Core’dinations ColorCore Line, I edged the papers with Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Chestnut Roan. Everything seemed to come together to make a memorable layout for graduation!

Happy embossing and for those of you who are graduating this year…Happy Graduation and Congratulations!!

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 Wizardâ„¢! 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 Wizardâ„¢ 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!

Octagon! STOP!!

Sometimes I have a hard time getting the image of a stop sign out of my head when I look at my Octagon die templates: plain or scalloped shapes. Well, I discovered a fun embossing technique that moves beyond this 8-sided icon and I wanted to share it with you.

First, snag your Wizard and gather up some Core’dinations cardstock (or other white or colored core paper). Add to that a set of Large Octagons, Blossom and Pinking Pierceability die templates and some embellishments. Make sure you have the Spellbinders Tan Embossing Mat because this card is built on the idea that embossing can be a feature of a project.

Start by laying down your White master mat, adding the Tan Embossing Mat and paper (I used pink for the flower.) Arrange the Octagons die templates (I did not use the largest in the series) with the cut edges facing the paper, with the points slightly askew as shown below.

Add the other white master mat and run through the Wizard to emboss. If you don’t have a Wizard, remember you can check out these vids on our main site. They’ll show you how to emboss in other machines.

Next, give the paper a nice sanding and see the core color pop. Use a Blossom die template to cut the outer shape of the die.

Cut a piece of green cardstock using the Pinking Pierceabilities die template.

To emboss some “mod” shapes into the grass strip, set up the sandwich to emboss only as before: White Mat, Tan Embossing Mat, cardstock, Octagon die templates cut edges facing paper, White Mat. Arrange the octagons for a funky pattern. Run through and sand.

Now, just assemble. I adhered the grass strip with dimensional adhesive and put one dimensional piece at the center of the flower as it has a natural curve.

Add rub-ons, some inking and a ribbon stem and Tadaaa–a funky use for Octagons…that never make you think Stop Sign.

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

Well, it took me two days to get these pics on my memory card…but here they are…Let’s see how to use the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit to cut/emboss one of our Grand Borderabilities®. I chose to work with the S7-001 Rose Border Grand. This is an accessory kit to the Wizardâ„¢ that can be purchased for use with the our 12″ Borderabilities® die templates. Here is a quick pic. of the kit with two master mats, the magnetic spacer plate and the embossing pad.

Use this set just like the regular mat set that comes with the Wizardâ„¢. Choose a die template and some paper for a project. Trim down the paper so it is not wider than the platform and let’s begin:

1. Layer the following elements: White master mat, magnetic spacer plate with the magnet facing up, Borderabilities® die template with ridge facing up, paper and the other white master mat.
2. Place the Wizard in front of you with the long “leg” facing away from you and the handle towards you.
3. Using your left hand, feed the stack into the rollers from the far side of the machine, so they advance towards you. With you right hand, give the rollers a little “skootch” by pushing down and forward on them. This will help the mats engage in the rollers and will assist with advancing them through.

   

4. Be sure to hold the mats loosely (see how the far end of the mats is opened a bit). It is another way to help the mats engage in the rollers.



5. After skootching the mats to engage them. Push the handle up and over to the front, all the way to the table. Continue pumping the handle to vertical and back to the table top to ratchet the mats through towards you. When nearing the end, move your left hand to grab the mats for the exit.



6. Open your sandwich, and see your cut Borderabilities® die template.



7. Remove the die/paper from the magnetic mat and place the die/paper back onto the white master mat. Add the embossing pad and the white master mat on top. Run the sandwich through again. Open the sandwich and check out the beautifully embossed image.



8. Now turn the die/paper over and use some inks, chalks, colored pencils, metallic rub-ons…or whatever suits your fancy to use the die template as a stencil.



9. Use your beautifully decorated border in a wonderful scrapbook page.

If you don’t have the Grand Mat Cut Kit, check out Beth’s tutorial on how to cut the Grand Borderabilities® using the White Master mats.

Have a fabulously creative day, Eli

Hey everybody. One of the big buzzes right now is the economy. As crafter’s we often have a propensity to buy, buy, buy, but let’s look at a way to use up some pieces from your stash.

After seeing Beth’s post on Saturday about squares, I wanted to do another card inspired by that. I wanted to create as much depth, elegance and beauty that I could using very little paper. Conserving my stash and my cash.

So, in my version, I used two types of paper: Core’dinations blue cardstock and Chatterbox’s artsy.licious Fine Paper in Alabaster. The extra oomph in this card comes from embossing with Spellbindersâ„¢ Impressabilitiesâ„¢ Template. It essentially turned one paper into two. Here are the supplies (plus my Wizardâ„¢ and some adhesive):

Instructions:

• Cut/emboss four S4-129 Classic Scalloped Squares, Small from cream paper.
• Cut four straight edge S4-126 Classic Squares, Large and adhere them to the center of the scalloped squares.
• Cut largest die S4-129 scalloped square. Spray with a fine mist of water or other embossing agent such as Paper Glide. Emboss with Butterfly Impressabilitiesâ„¢ (or if you prefer, try Snowflakes, Flowers or Paisley).
• Sand the debossed side of the scalloped square to reveal the light color of the core. (See, now it looks like a totally different paper!!)
• Using cream paper again, cut another square scallop, one size larger than the original squares. Trim it to make 2 small squares and one larger rectangle.
• Stamp sentiment onto scalloped rectangle. I sanded the paper first to knock down some of the shine and it stamped better.
• Put it all together with your fave adhesive.

Now, imagine a couple of words that could go inside the squares, spelled out, such as G-R-A-D, L-0-V-E or B-A-B-Y…now I know the gears are turning.

And I hope they keep turning. Grab some squares and create to your heart’s content…

Eli

A good many of us, if we looked around our craft rooms would probably find some brass stencils. At one point, we might have used them to create cards or layout embellishments: get out the light box, choose a stencil, grab the stylus and use it to emboss the whole thing–taking a ton of time to do it. Then, maybe we got adventurous and wanted to dry emboss on dark paper, or even craft foil. Hmmm!?! What to do with that light box.

Well, with the Wizardâ„¢, you can emboss a brass stencil in a single bound (you and Superman should be friends), even on paper or foil that you can’t see through.

So do a little spring green dance, grab those brass stencils before they go to the bottomless pit of your supply drawer–or worse, the landfill–and use them again.

Sandwich:

• Master Mat
• Brass stencil
• Paper
• Embossing Mat
• Master Mat

Cathy Chlebana created this card featuring a gorgeous embossed brass stencil, several layers of cardstock and a bar on the top and bottom. After she ran the dark blue paper through the Wizardâ„¢, she sanded off the top layer of dark cardstock to show off the inner, lighter core. Elegant!!

For something a little extra, I created a painted card that featured a brass stencil.

To create this subtle effect, simply paint a contrasting, thin layer over cardstock. Allow it to dry to the touch but not all the way through (this will give you a deeper emboss). Run it through the Wizardâ„¢ with a brass stencil in an embossing sandwich. Let it dry completely and sand off the top layer of paint. Add embellishments and Viola!

So, dig out those brass stencils and have some fun!  Eli