Great tips on card making, Eli! I’m getting into the Christmas spirit early, I’ve knocked out a few cards that only took a few minutes to assemble.  I used one 12″ Borderabilities® die template to make several cards.

First let me thank Design Team Member Debbie Seyer for her Poinsettia Card (click for details and instructions!), my inspiration for today’s post.

This is what I designed:

How are they similar? We both used the S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand, and we both hand trimmed the border to use pieces of it. Debbie used all the pieces on one card, I used the pieces to make four cards.

My cards are made from these supplies: Spellbinders™ S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand; S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand; S5-019 Labels Eight; Fancy Pants Christmas Magic Chestnuts Roasting, Bough of Holly, and Yuletide Greetings; Clearsnap, Colorbox Dark Moss Fluid Chalk, Black Pigment Inks; JustRite Stampers Rectangle Block, Special Ocassions 95 pt, Times New Roman 50 pt; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares, E-Z Runner; Brads; Black and Dark Red Cardstock.

First, cut/emboss one strip of Yuletide Greetings (green) and one strip of Bough of Holly (red) using the S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand die template. Sand both borders to give them a distressed look (and to make it easier to see where to cut apart). With scissors, trim the green strip into four pieces and cut the poinsettia flowers from the red piece.

From the Chestnuts Roasting (light green), cut/emboss four S5-019 Labels Eight #4, sand the embossed ridge and ink the outside with Dark Moss ink.

Cut/emboss S7-014 Classic Lace Border Grand twice, with light green cardstock, ink the edges with Dark Moss ink.

These are the pieces, along with A2 sized dark red card base, and 4×5.25” black cardstock.

Spell out “Merry Christmas” with JustRite Stampers, and stamp with Black ink onto the labels, on the right side of the labels.

To assemble the flower piece, adhere the red flower directly on top of the green flower. The die template cuts the flower petals so they can be lifted, curled or otherwise altered.  Place three yellow brads in the center of the red poinsettia.

Flip the piece over and place 3D Foam Squares on each of the petals. Notice how the petals sit above the green background.  Use E-Z runner on the rest of the poinsettia piece, label and lace border. Assemble as shown.

I wish you a Merry start on your Christmas cards!

Beth

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 Spellbinders™ 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 Spellbinders™ 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!

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 Spellbinders™ 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

October! I love October!

The air is getting cool. The leaves are turning colors. Kids are planning Halloween costumes and me? I’m buying candy corn. I love the fresh, soft and sweet taste of these seasonal tri-colored confections. I eat them all month.

But then by November 1st, I can’t stand’em for another year.

Yet, this crazy cycle inspired today’s project using the Limited Edition Pumpkins Nestabilities®, and Harvest Borderabilities® Petite die templates. My little candy glass is perfectly sized to sit right by my keyboard and keep me company while I create and write. I hope it will inspire you to create your own “desk mate” for October or other season of treating!

Instructions:
Cut two 1½x12″ strips of the yellow, white and orange papers. Cut one 2″x12″ strip from the orange paper. Using the 2″ orange strip, cut/emboss S4-226 Harvest Borderabilities Petite (two times). Color the borders and die-cut leaves with metallic rub-ons to give definition to the embossing. Adhere the borders to the glass. I trimmed off the outer parts of the strips at the leaf, as shown here.

Then to make the strips lay horizontally, I snipped the top part of the center leaf and stretched the borders down. I adhered a tiny die-cut acorn to cover the openings. Add the die cut leaves around the glass.

To make the pumpkin “picks,” glue the yellow, orange and white strips together creating stripes. Cut/emboss four #4 pumpkins from the stripes. Stamp the sentiment onto the pumpkins. I chose “Sweet on You.” If desired, sand the pumpkins and add some metallic rub-ons for a distressed look. Glue two pumpkins back-to-back with the bamboo stick at the center. To make one shorter, trim the stick with wire cutters. Cut/emboss On the Vine Borderabilities® Grand from brown checked paper. Trim it to add vines and leaves to each of the large pumpkins.

Taking your 3″ of reserved paper, glue these strips together closer than the for the large pumpkins. Cut/emboss the #1 pumpkin from this. Using a head-pin and jewelry tools, add a green bead to the pin and string it onto the pumpkin, giving it a “Z” turn so it can hang from the glass like a charm.

To finish it up, add the charm to the glass, add some yummy candy corn, place your picks in the candy and ENJOY!

NOTE: Just wanted to remind you that Spellbinders is teaming up with Tattered Angels for a blog hop. Why not hop on over to Terre’s Blog: Terre’s Scrap Therapy for an amazing project using Tattered Angels products and, of course, some Spellbinders™ products too!

Happy day and enjoy those October treats, Eli

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.

Back to school is the perfect time of year to send a note thanking teachers for how they impact the world. Your son or daughter’s teachers will know how you support them and that all their hard work is appreciated when this card comes their way.

Today, I want to share a quick and easy technique using Spellbinders™’ Impressabilities™…this time let’s emboss craft foil and then sand it for more impact. You can see the effect in the card below.
If you are not familiar with craft foil, it is basically a light weight metal sheet that can be used in all kinds of crafting projects.The Wizard™ especially loves to cut and emboss these shiny sheets. Spellbinders’ offers several colors in rolls, 12″x36″ and a 12-piece assortment pack with 5″x5″ sheets.

Because of its strength and pliability, craft foil, aka tooling foil, takes embossing perfectly and holds its shape beautifully. So let’s get started making this card to honor a teacher in your life.

Besides your Wizard™ and mats, gather the following supplies: I2-1002 Impressabilities™ Butterfly, Premium Craft Foil, Spellbinders S5-014 Small Deckled Mega Rectangles, Whimsical patterned paper by Fancy Pants, Gold cardstock by Core’dinations, Glue Dots adhesives, Checked ribbon by Creative Impressions, 25 pt Brayton font by JustRite Stampers, Sandpaper and Corner rounder punch

Begin by cutting three pieces of craft foil to 1-1/4″ by 4″. I used two colors but three coordinating ones could also be fun.

Build your sandwich for embossing:

• White master mat
• Impressabilities template
• Craft foil pieces, side by side
• Embossing pad
• White master mat

Lay the three craft foil sheets carefully on the template with the silver facing up.

Feed the sandwich through the Wizard™ to emboss. Check the photo below to see how crisp the embossing is. Take patience when removing the foil as it tends to grab the metal pieces of the template.

Flip the strips over to the colored side. Add a little wow by sanding each strip to remove the color and really show off the details in the silver. I like to vary the direction that I sand to get an overall effect but you can sand in one direction to get another cool look.

Stamp the beginning of your sentiment with JustRite stamps. I used the quote, “A Teacher affects eternity…she never knows where her influence stops” with the second half of the quote on the inside of the card.

Cut/emboss the stamped portion of the sentiment with S5-014 Small Deckled Mega Rectangles (#2).

Construct the card:
Cut the Fancy Pants paper to 6″x9″ and fold in half. Round the corners. Cut a cardstock square to 4-1/2″x4-1/2″. Add the three metal strips and then the small bow. Attach the card front sentiment with dimensional. Write out the rest of the sentiment and add it to the inside.

Now: sign it, put it in an envelope, address it, drop it in the mail and make a teacher very happy.

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). Follow this link for more info: HERE

Eli, who is really glad to be back with the team after taking the summer off for some family time.

Although its still August according to the calendar, its feeling a bit like October if you look at the thermometer! A hot cup of coffee would be so nice!

I gathered my supplies, which included S5-019 Labels Eight #5 and #6; S4-213 Fleur de Lis Borderabilities®; S4-114 Standard Circle, Large #4; and S4-116 Stand Circle, Small #4; JustRite Stampers A Little Caffeine Set; Clearsnap Colorbox, Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk Ink; Cord’dinations Color Core Cardstock, and Fancy Pants, The Daily Grind papers.

I cut the base for the card from S5-019 Labels Eight #6 and brown Core’dinations cardstock, then the the rest of the die cuts from the Fancy Pants paper.  I love buying these pads, it makes coordinating papers and patterns a breeze!  I stamped the coffee cup and border words with the JustRite set and Clearsnap ink.  I centered the S4-116 Standard Circle, Small # 4, cut/embossed, then made a mat with the S4-114 Standard Circle, Large #4.

Since the Borderabilities® are so detailed, its sometimes not so easy to get the paper out of the die template.  Here’s a little trick: I used a piece of wax paper from the kitchen!  I made my normal cutting sandwich and added a single layer of wax paper between the die template and the paper, and feed my sandwich through my Wizard™ as usual.  The wax paper is thin and won’t change the way the die template cuts, but will allow you to remove the intricate die cuts without having to pull or tear.

Remember to remove the wax paper before inking through the die template!

I used the Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk Ink with a Clearsnap Ink Applicator to color through the die template and to ink along the edges of the other die cut papers.

Hey, who ate all the doughnuts?
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

You asked for it, you got it!  Remember this card from a week or so ago?

I took a moment out of my craziness to write out the instructions and take some pictures. Follow along me, its really not as hard as it looks.

On the original card, which was a Make and Take at CHA Winter 2008, we teamed up with Kaleidoscope Collections, they provided the kaleidoscope pattern paper for the project.

For this example I grabbed these supplies:

Fancy Pants patterned paper, 5 1/4 x 5 1/4″  First Date (pink) and 5×5″ Head Over Heels (striped)
Worldwin 5 1/2 x 11″ Light Hawaiian Blue Colormates cardstock and 5×5 Silver Mirro Card cardstock (I love this stuff!)
Krylon Silver Leafing pen
S4-137 Classic Scalloped Heart Die Template (just the largest one)
S4-136 Classic Heart Die Templates

Fold the Light Hawaiian Blue (blue) cardstock in half.  Run the Krylon Marker along the edges of the card.  Do this also on the First Date (pink) cardstock.  Allow to dry.

Cut/emboss the Silver Mirro Card with the largest S4-137 Classic Scalloped Heart.

Adhere the pink paper to the blue card, edges only, no adhesive in the center.  Center and tape (use low tack tape, or stick it to your clothes to make it less tacky) the S4-137 Scalloped Heart to the center of the card, with the cut side facing the pink paper.

Now invert the fold in the card, so that the pink paper and die are on the inside of the card.  Slide the spacer plate inside of the card, and position the card so the cut edge of the die is facing up and will cut into a Master Mat, not the spacer plate.

Feed into the Wizard.  Remove the spacer plate from the sandwich and place the tan embossing mat over the project.  Feed in to the Wizard again to emboss. (Remember when we did this here?) Now you have cut a scalloped heart shaped hole in the front of the card!

Grab your striped paper, blue scalloped heart die cut and S4-136 Classic Heart Die Templates.  Pick every other die, starting with the smallest die template, and arrange on the striped paper, then tape with cut side down.  Using the other 2 die templates, tape them on the blue scalloped die cut.  Cut/emboss each set.  Edge each die cut with the silver Krylon pen.  Assemble as shown, stacked to the center of each heart.

Fold the card so the pink paper is on the outside front, adhere the silver scalloped heart from the outside so it sits perfectly inside the hole in the front. Adhere stack of hearts onto the silver heart.

See, you just made this super cool card with a few supplies and only 4 cut/emboss runs!

I’d love to see your creations, leave a link to your card in the comments!