Today, we will be doing something new…a new technique that one of our innovative design team members stumbled upon when doing another project. Got to LOVE those A-HA moments! LOL!

Design Team Member Heidi Blankenship will showing us how wax paper can turn your project into something beautiful…Wax Resist, Spellbindersâ„¢ style! Heidi introduced this technique on her blog a few days ago but didn’t want you all to miss this - it’s good! Sorry, ladies, you’ll have to bring out your irons for this one. I know mine is buried somewhere in the laundry room. But trust me, you won’t be disappointed in the results - do it for craft’s sake! LOL!

An encore presentation from Heidi:
I am so excited to be sharing a New Spellbindersâ„¢ Technique with you today! Before I get started I want to let you know how I came up with the idea for this technique. I don’t know if you have heard this before or not but sometimes when making a die cut the cardstock can really stick in the die template and if this happens Spellbindersâ„¢ recommends placing a piece of wax paper in between the die template and the cardstock and then your die cut will pop right out from the die template. If you haven’t heard this before it’s a great little tip!

I was making some pendant die cuts one day and I had several pieces of wax paper die cuts, they were so pretty I didn’t want to throw them away. Being a paper crafter you can’t ever throw anything away! *wink* I started trying to think of things I could do with the wax paper die cuts. Then I remembered doing a technique about 15 years ago where you crumple up wax paper and iron on top of cardstock creating a resist. Hmmm… That really had me thinking and wondering if I could do the same thing with wax paper die cuts and the answer is Yes!!

If you like to play with die cuts, the iron (only for crafty purposes-LOL!) and inks then this is a perfect tutorial for you! If you don’t like getting messy with the inks you can also do this technique on solid colored cardstock creating a watermark effect.

The New Technique is called “Wax Resist, Spellbindersâ„¢ Style!”

Here is the card I created using the Wax Resist.

Step 1: Start with a large piece of wax paper and fold in half and then in half again. (So it’s quartered) This is nice if you want to make multiples and have extra pieces to play around with this technique.

Cutting Sandwich (Stack from the bottom)
1. White Master Mat
2. Magnetic Spacer Plate
3. S4-210 Lattice Pendants (cut/ridge side UP)
4. Wax Paper
5. White Master Mat
6. Run through the Wizard machine.

Embossing Sandwich (Stack from the bottom)
1. White Master Mat
2. S4-210 Lattice Pendants (paper in place and the cut/ridge side up)
3. Tan Embossing Mat
4. White Master Mat
5. Run through the Wizard machine

Step 2: Cut/Emboss * You don’t have to emboss but it will show more of the detail in the resist.

Step 3: Before removing the wax paper, use a paper piercer, stylus, or even a toothpick will work to pop out the drop out pieces from the die cut.

Step 4: Remove the wax paper from the die template. Carefully separate the pieces. The reason you have to be very careful with this step is because any creases you might get in the wax paper with show up in the resist.

Step 5: Set the iron to the hottest temperature without having steam, lay wax paper die cut with the embossed side face down onto the cardstock, place paper towel on top and iron about 30-45 seconds being careful not to move the paper.
***You can use the paper of your choice to do the Wax Resist. On the card I created I used white glossy cardstock but it will also work on regular white cardstock. If you use regular white cardstock the colors of ink will be a little more intense because the paper has more fibers to absorb the ink. You can also use a solid colored cardstock for the Wax Resist and you will have a watermark effect.

I know it’s a little hard to see in the picture but after you are done ironing your cardstock should look like the one pictured above. You can see a light pattern from the wax paper.

Step 6:In this next step you will be applying ink to the cardstock. I like to use cotton balls to apply the ink. Ink up the cotton ball, in a circular motion rub off some of the ink on your scratch paper until it is a shade you like. Then apply the ink to the cardstock, remember to work in a circular motion, this will help for blending and smoothing out the ink. Use 2-3 colors of ink, layering them to add more depth. For my card I started with Ranger Distress Ink Broken China (Blue). When you are applying the ink leave some open space for the other colors.

Next I applied Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Heat setting the wax paper die cuts into the cardstock creates a resist and then when ink is applied the resist really pops! If you don’t have distress inks you can use other inks too.

In the picture above the Wax Resist, Spellbindersâ„¢ Style was done on glossy cardstock on the left and regular white cardstock on the right.

Here is another picture with a piece of solid color cardstock (sorry, it’s a little hard to get a good picture) so you can see the watermark effect.

Take another look at the finished card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions (Whimsical Wishes Branching Out); My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Flirty “Lil Girl”)
Paper: My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Natural “Encourage” Proud Print Paper); The Paper Company(White, Brown Cardstock); WorldWin (White Glossy)
Ink: Ranger (Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Broken China), Tsukineko (Memento Rich Cocoa Ink)
Spellbindersâ„¢: Wizardâ„¢, S4-210 Lattice Pendants, S4-235 Fancy Tags
Others: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L (White 3D Foam Squares); Beacon Adhesives (3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue); My Mind’s Eye (Laundry Line Sundress “Sweetness” Rub-ons); Wax Paper; Paper Towels; Iron; and Cotton Balls

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Give the New Technique - Wax Resist, Spellbindersâ„¢ Style - a try! I would love to hear what you think about the technique. If you do give it a try please leave a comment with a link to your project–I would love to see it!

After reading Heidi’s tutorial, I came up with these card fronts for hot chocolate pocket cards. I’m thinking of these for my boys’ teachers as holiday gifts (sticking in a gift card as well!).

I used S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two (the three largest sized die templates and their centers) as the background and S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite (the border that can cut/emboss a decorative edge) was used as a stenciled band on one of the cards. Then I embellished with the border’s snowflake cut outs and Hero Arts Pearls. Just love how it turned out! Makes you want to grab a hot cup of chocolate! Thanks, Heidi!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!
Thanks for stopping by… MargieH

Let it snow?  You might think I’ve lost my mind.  You might be right!  I’m not ready for snow in Chicago yet. But I couldn’t resist playing with my Spellbinders™ Limited Edition die templates.  That’s right, the S4-222 Create A Flake One and S4-223 Create A Flake Two, as well as the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite and S5-017 Snowflake Frame will not be manufactured after November 30, 2009.  Get them from your favorite Spellbindersâ„¢ retailer while you can!

Put away your mittens and coats and grab your craft supplies.  My card base is 5.5×11″ white cardstock, folded in half.  The snowflakes are assembled from Core’dinations cardstock, I used 4 graduated tones of blue and both the S4-222Create A Flake One and S4-223 Create A Flake Two die template sets.

I cut two colors from each Create A Flake set, which gave me lots of snowflake shapes, sizes and colors to build from.  Individual die cuts were sanded to reveal the colored core of the Core’dinations cardstock. Each flake is assembled using SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L 3D Foam Squares for extra dimension, and brads.

I cut/embossed the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite on the front of the card, then inked through the die template like a stencil.  This cut the detailed edge and snowflakes and embossed the pinking edge and detail. 

I used a scrap of the blue cardstock to cut/emboss additional snowflakes, this time from the S4-224 Snowflake Border Petite, so that I could add them to the openings on the front.  Brads hold them in place inside of the card.  Doesn’t it look like they are attached to the front of the card?

I couldn’t let those snowflakes get lonely inside the card.  I cut/embossed and sanded the inside frame from S5-017 Snowflake Frame.  JustRite Stampers allowed me to customize the greeting with their fonts and rectangluar stamper.  Clearsnap Colorbox Smoke Blue Pigment ink is the color I used for both stenciling with an Ink Applicator on the front and stamping on the inside.

I have snowflake die cut pieces left, I’ll save them for another project.  Remember, get your Spellbindersâ„¢ Seasonal Limited Edition die templates soon! See the complete list here.  And lets hope Mother Nature doesn’t take this card seriously!

Beth

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Speaking of fun, we hang out with a cool crowd in Phoenix! LOL!! What a great group shot!

How cute was Beth’s mini pumpkin book on Savvy Saturday?! Seeing all those pumpkins lined up like that inspired me to do a banner! So today, we will be making a cooler seasoned one - SNOW!! There, I said that “S” word! I will be dedicating this project to my friends who experienced their first snowfall last week and you all can keep it there for awhile too. I am in no hurry for the white stuff. LOL!

In my stash of Spellbindersâ„¢ die templates, I will be using S5-019 Labels Eight, S5-017 Snowflake Frame and S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two. **Please note: that S5-017 Snowflake Frame and S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two are two of a bunch of die templates that will be manufactured up until the end of this month (marked “Limited Time Only”). So better pick yours up real quick because once they’re gone, they’re gone!

First, we’ll start with the base of the banner (the panels) so cut/emboss four S5-019 Labels Eight die #6 (smallest size being #1) with My Mind’s Eye Colorful Christmas Collection. Then I choose colors from Core’dinations Core Color cardstock that match perfectly with MME’s Colorful Christmas Collection and cut/embossed four S5-017 Snowflake Frame (the largest frame). After embossing all four of the S5-017 Snowflake Frame, I sanded the embossed areas.

With wet adhesive, I adhered each frame to each panel and let dry. Then I used a retired font set and cut out the letters “S”, “N”, and “W” in silver glitter paper I had in my scrap pile. I centered and adhered each letter to each panel. For the “O” I thought it would be fun to use the S4-223 Create-A-Flake Two in various colors of blue and white glitter papers. So I cut/emboss the entire set since I knew I will use other pieces in future projects. I picked out one piece from each color and adhered each layer. With the last one, I used foam adhesive to give dimension.

On each panel, I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Glimmer Chips Frosty Memories along with Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts - Winter Wonderland to embellish a little more. I love how things just fit together! Here’s the “S” panel to give a close-up of all that were added…notice the globs of glitter glue that were added as snow on the “S” (remember to give it time to dry).

In the end, I punched a hole on each side of each panel and threaded some twine (not to distract from all the colors) to connect and it is ready to be displayed!

 

So hope you have a banner day!
Thanks for visiting!!
MargieH

First of all, many thanks to all those who participated in the contest entries, blog comments and excitement surrounding our CHA Blog Frenzy! BIG THANK YOU!!!

Our lucky winner has entered all 14 CHA Blog Frenzy contests to be eligible and has been drawn randomly. As a result, the winner will receive all 29 newly released Spellbinders products valued at over $550.00!

And the winner is (opening the envelope):

LAURA from Virginia, USA!!!

“OMG! OMG! OMG! I am literally shaking right now with excitement. I saw the email title and thought you were announcing the winner. It never dawned on me that I WAS the winner! (I had to read the email twice to make sure).

I have followed the day-to-day CHA announcements by your design team and can’t tell you how excited I am about the new release. The dies are amazing! I would also like to say that I am so impressed by your design team. I appreciate how much time and effort they put into their detailed step-by-step tutorials on how to use the new dies. Not only did they make me excited about the new products, but I feel as though I will be able to “hit the road running” with the new release.

I can’t tell you enough how much this prize means to me. I wish I could put into words what is going through my shaky, adrenaline-rushed body. Money is really tight right now, and I feel truly blessed to be given such a grandiose prize. It simply doesn’t feel real. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of the heart.”

S7-017 On The Vine Border Grand

S5-017 Snowflake Frame

S4-227 Pumpkins Nestabilities®

S7-015 Holiday Lights Border Grand

S7-016 Poinsettia Border Grand

And from the bottom of our hearts, we thank Laura and the other winners for participating! Again, congratulations!!

See any that you like? I have my list. Be sure to ask your favorite local retailer to order yours.