As Beth extended her borders onto her wonderful notebook project, I am extending it onto my one page layout today.

I am using one of my favorite Borderabilities®, the S4-218 Lattice Borderabilities® #1 die (the border die - the one that cuts/embosses one edge and can be used to make continuous cuts). On this page, I also used several other die templates: S4-190 Labels Four #2, S4-195 Small Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles #4 and S4-160 Nested Birds #1…notice the W-027 Die Carry Case? I am so happy that these will be available SOON! I definitely need many of them!!

Using a 12″ x 1 1/2″ strip of Core’dinations cardstock, take a piece of household tape (took off some of the adhesive by tapping it on my jeans - very technical! LOL!) and tape the border die cut side down onto the strip. The tape should be on the non-cut/embossing edge of the die (please refer to the picture).

We start by cutting the border first. The cut sandwich (from bottom):
White Master Mat
Magnetic Spacer Plate
S4-218 Lattice Borderabilities® Border (cut side UP)
Cardstock
White Master Mat

After cutting, we will emboss using the following sandwich (from bottom):
White Master Mat
Embossing Mat
Cardstock
S4-218 Lattice Borderabilities® Border (cut side DOWN)
White Master Mat

Carefully remove the tape and set aside…we will be using it again. Take the die and poke out all the paper bits that are left in the die by using a toothpick or paper piercer. To continue to cut the border, shift the die over to the next section of the strip to be cut.

Line up the die like the first run and repeat the cut/emboss process again. Note: when embossing, make sure not to overlap the Tan Embossing Pad onto the embossed area from your first cut or it will flatten out. Trim any excess. Since I was going to bulk up with embellishments at the end of the border, I did not cut an entire 12″ border and left an inch of empty space underneath the embellishments.

Using Cosmo Cricket, I made a page about the boys’ first experience with Shabu Shabu. It is a traditional Japanese dish where each person swishes a slice to thinly slice meat into a boiling pot of dashi soup (the name, Shabu Shabu, came from this swishing action) - takes seconds to cook. YUMMY! OK…back to what I was doing!

I inked the edges of the papers, accents and border with Clearsnap ink. Adhered all the papers and pictures onto the layout. Placed pearls on the border and adhered the border to the bottom of the layout. I cut all the Spellbinders die templates: S4-190 Labels Four #2 (journal spot), S4-195 Small Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles #4 (frame for the flower accent) and S4-160 Nested Birds #1 (cut with felt as an embellishment). Then added some embellishments from my huge pile in my scrapbook area and..Tada! Another page of good (eating) memories done!

MargieH

Hey all, it’s Eli here with a very special announcement to make. We have a fabulous friend of Spellbinders™ who is joining us for the summer to help educate, entertain and inspire those of you who frequent the Spellbinders blog…YEAH. We needed someone to support Beth’s blogging efforts because I am taking the summer off to do some traveling with my family. So we thought of Margie Higuchi, who has been a fan/user of Spellbinders products almost since the beginning. She is known as MargieH on the boards so some of you probably already know her. I interviewed Margie a couple of weeks ago and this is what she had to say about her life as a crafter and the summer ahead.

ELI: Hi Margie, Welcome to Spellbinders™.

MARGIE: Thanks, Eli. I couldn’t be more thrilled to begin a summer of fun, hanging out with my good friend Beth and all the folks who visit the blog. I love to share my artwork and teach as I go along.

ELI: So how long have you been crafting?
MARGIE: It seems like I have crafted all my life…from when I was old enough to hold a crayon to what I do now which is paper crafting! I started paper crafting in the mid-70s. My father’s job took us all over the east coast, the south and the Midwest. So in order to remember each “hometown,” I would make a few pages of friends, neighborhood, school, etc. and add some memorabilia in my scrapbooks. That was the start of my scrapbooking! LOL!!

ELI: Like several of us around here, you’ve been crafting “forever”, but when and how did you “meet” the Wizard™.

MARGIE: A very dear friend was hooked on the Wizard™ and she had shown me the “PURPLE” side (the Wizard™ was purple at the time)…I was hooked! What can’t you do on this wonderful machine? OK…it can’t clean house for me or cook but it comes close!  LOL!! Seriously, the die templates are so detailed and you can’t get that anywhere else! So many ways to enhance a page or project (cutting, embossing and stenciling).

ELI: Do you have some favorite die templates? (I know there is no point in asking your precise favorite because no one can choose just one…)

MARGIE: Although I LOVE my Nestabilities™ sets (I have a lot!) recently, I have been getting into the Borderabilities®! I just purchased the Grand 12” Classic Lace Bordeabilities® (#S7-014) and I can’t wait to add it on my pages and cards! Heck I want it all! LOL! I’m having such fun!

ELI: I understand you are of Japanese descent and you teach in the Japanese community. Can you tell me about how that came about?

MARGIE: It started when I lived in NJ/NY area back in 2000. I was on the kindergarten yearbook committee for the Japanese Children’s Society (a Japanese international school) where my oldest son attended. The mothers saw my albums that I had brought as examples. I offered to teach them basics and it took off from there. In Chicago, I went to a series of Japanese card classes to make friends. When those classes were done, the students contacted me to see if I would teach them scrapbooking. Sure! LOL!! It has been going strong for about two years.

ELI: So what are you going to grace us with this summer?

MARGIE: I’m hoping to share the versatility of the Wizard™ and to show some “AHA” moments.  Of course, we have CHA (Craft & Hobby Assoc.) trade show coming up in July, so we’ll have some postings on that (wink, wink!). In addition to some FUN!! It’s all good but I don’t want to share too much…gotta have the surprise element in there. So stay tuned!

ELI: Any other thoughts before I show off some of your artwork and sign us off?

MARGIE: I just want to say thank you to everyone at Spellbinders for the opportunity to express my enthusiasm for the Wizard™! For me, it is truly the machine I go to–time after time.

Margie used the Labels 1 die template to create a shaped card which she embellished with Shapeabilities® Nested Butterfly. Love those colors!

Margie’s layout features a chain of Classic Scalloped Hearts, featuring her oldest son with his first girlfriend! Look carefully and see the Shapeabilties® Nested Bird cut out of plastic (using leftover transparency) and edges with ink…a sneaky little surprise right near the title.

Now this canvas is the one I can’t resist: Margie created a darling house and sunny scene, almost exclusively with Spellbinders™ die templates…see if you can find them all…

Classic Paisleys, Heritage Font (retired), Scalloped Circles, Pinking Circles, Shapeabilities® Nested Birds and Butterflies, Symbology, Brick Texture plate, { Brackets } (retired)…awesome, girl. Can’t wait to see what else you share with us…

To see get to know Margie more, please visit her personal blog, SCRAPS of (my) Life.

Have a great summer, everyone…I’ll see you in the fall. Eli