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.
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:
Supplies: Wizard, I2-1001 Impressabilities Paisley, S4-190 Labels Four (3), S5-014 Small Deckled Mega Rectangles (#4), Core’dinations red and orange cardstocks, Chatterbox Artsy.licious gold embossed paper, Creative Impressions heart brad, Copic Spica Chocolate glitter pen, Scrapbook Ahesives: 3D Foam Squares and Photo Tape, JustRite Brayton letter stamps–90, 50 point and Horizontal Wood Block; Letter stickers, Brown die ink
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.
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.
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!
***Remember you need to send an email to enter! Link is in Becca’s Blog! Good luck!!***
How many years of crafting?
I’ve been crafting since I was a young girl. With a crafty mother who was the leader of my brownie troop - there was always something crafty going on at home.
How long have you been blogging?
I’ve been blogging for a little over a year. I celebrated my blog anniversary back in February.
Your favorite Spellbinderâ„¢ technique?
My favorite Spellbinderâ„¢ technique is framing. I love to cut our frame shapes and elevate them while recessing other elements to lower layers. It’s easy to do using Nestibilities®, their staggered sizes make them perfect for cutting two templates at once to make a frame.
Your favorite Spellbindersâ„¢ die?
Oh, it would be difficult to name just one…but S4-190 Labels Four is a shape I lean to all the time. Beyond that, I love all the frames.
Favorite food/beverage for crafting?
Coffee because if I’m crafting, it’s probably late at night!
One thing you get inspiration from and why?
I get inspiration from browsing through stores and looking through magazines. I’m usually looking for shapes, colors and a “feel.” When I can focus and just browse not buy, the quiet time is very restorative. I’m usually able to come away with a couple of ideas.
Here are some of Becca’s recent creations made with Spellbinders products! Just beautiful!
So what are you waiting for?!
Go to Becca’s Blog and see what we’ve been excited about!
***Remember you need to send an email to enter! Link is in Becca’s Blog! Good luck!!***
Hello, everyone! I’ll be pinch hitting for Eli while she is out for the summer.
Since reading this past Savvy Saturday post, I have been wanting to try this flower pounding technique! It seems like I didn’t have any flowers that were “pound-able.” So as I was doing yard work this past weekend, I noticed the ever growing pile of dandelions and then “AHA!” Why not reuse these into my work?! This is the only time I’m glad we had those pesky things!
When using your Wizardâ„¢, your sandwich is pretty much the same as embossing with the exception of using flowers instead of the Die Templates.
From the bottom:
White Master Mat
Watercolor/Cardstock paper
Flower (facing down)
Watercolor/Cardstock paper (or wax paper, plastic wrap, paper towel)
Tan Embossing Mat
White Master Mat
Pass through the Wizardâ„¢ once - that should do the trick! Yellowing in the flowers tend to dry brown so I sprayed an archival “fix” so the color will keep.
Here we are on the brink of Mothers Day and I get to share with you some projects made with Mom in mind, by our fabulous 2009 Design Team.
To start us off, Karen Hunsaker made this candle and card with S4-163 Daisy Borderability Petite. We saw this the other day, but it’s worth a second look. I love that the envelope flap is embossed, and the edge of the card is cut and embossed, as well as the wrap for the candle.
Making frames is a fun and easy technique. Frames can be whimsical, elegant, funky, or whatever style fits your mood or project. With the versatility of Spellbinders’ Die Templates, the sky’s the limit!
Start with your favorite Nestabilities Die Templates, today my favorite is S4-190 Labels Four. To cut a frame, place the largest die template on the magnetic spacer plate. Then line up the smaller die template inside of the larger die template. Cut/Emboss in the Wizard and viola! You have a beautifully embossed frame to accent your art.
Consider using different shapes together. Look, you can emboss them too, for additional texture.
Try some Pop Up Glue Dots for even more dimension, or layer thin frames over thick frames, use different colors, different materials…is your head spinning yet? Mine is! This example employs S5-005 Curved Rectangles and S4-112 Small Classic Ovals.
For this layout, I used S4-189 Labels Three and S4-194 Large Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles in the center, then added the center Classic Circle stamped with a Just Rite Stampers sentiment. (In case you were wondering, yes, those are my boys. And yes, that’s how we get a picture taken, one decent shot amidst the rough and tumble! I’m so proud!)
We can’t believe it’s already time to award the die templates to the winner of Day 10. Time flies when you are having fun. Yes, we are having fun and hope you are too. We are so glad that our visitors continue to enter in numbers over 2,000. So, let’s get to it and see what is being given away today:
Our winner today, comes to us through Random.com’s choice of number:
Here are your random numbers:
914
Timestamp: 2009-01-17 04:19:41 UTC
From that number, we contacted our new friend:
Georgette of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Who Said:
“I am SO EXCITED. Thank you so very much for your most generous gifts. I love visiting all of the designer blogs seeing their beautiful creations. I can’t wait to see the remaining new die templates. Spellbindersâ„¢ and their designers are awesome.”
Wow. It doesn’t get much better than that (Well, at least only for a few more days.) Thanks again to everyone who is joining us for our Fifth Anniversary Celebration. Good luck over the last few days of contests.
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.
