No one I know has enough time or money so today, I want to share with you some techniques that I have learned to work efficiently AND get the most out of my supplies. I’m trying to actually get my Christmas cards out before Easter this year so I’m working on them early. First, I came up with a basic design that is simple yet elegant:

Check out the following tips for efficiency and frugality (is that a word?) when designing a big batch of cards.

1. Make them different?
My first big revelation about creating multiples is that they don’t have to be exactly the same. In general, no one will ever know. And, I decided, if they do find out…I’m ok with that. This practice keeps my supplies in check and I find it a little more interesting to change up my design as I progress.

2. Cut multiple dies at one time:
Beth gave us a fabulous example of this in her post Fall Thank You cards.
I layered 2 strips of paper on my favorite labels die templates: S4-169 Small Labels (#4, counting from the center), S5-006 Curved Rectangles (#2), S5-019 Labels Eight (#3) on the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit and cut/embossed in the Wizardâ„¢. In no time I had plenty of labels.

3. Use an assembly line approach: “component passes from station to station…and something is done or added to it. By the last station, the product is fully assembled and is identical to each one before and after it. This system ensures that a large quantity of uniform-quality goods are produced at a relatively low cost.”~ (science.jrank.org)  So, actually,  I cut and folded my card bases. Then I cut all my labels and stamped them.

4. Use your scraps:
I decided on a couple of papers that I really liked. The tan one had an interesting pattern that I wanted to keep intact. I cut strips in two sizes. Then I cut the red striped paper 1″ larger. You can also see two different label dies and two different stamps from the same set.

When I ran out of the tan patterned paper, I decided to try something a little different and add Magic Mesh in place of it. I added a ribbon for just a little something extra.

Finally, I had small pieces of the red striped paper left over so I created an almost totally different card as seen here:

So, my last card looked a lot different than my first card but I was able to use my supplies in the most efficient manner. I love that!

I hope you found some tips you can take into your craft room for the approaching holidays.

Supplies: S4-169 Small Labels, S5-006 Curved Rectangles, S5-019 Labels Eight, W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, W-001 Wizardâ„¢, Hero Arts Good Cheer Messages stamps, Magic Mesh green thin weave, Glue Dots International Craft Glue Dots, white cardstock

Cheers, Eli

Happy Tuesday everyone!

We are also continuing to celebrate our blog hop with Tattered Angels. Today our host for the day is my good friend Debbie Seyer. Be sure to visit her blog, A Peak Into my Stamping Room, to see her amazing and glimmering project.

I could hardly contain myself on Saturday when I saw Margie’s post, Thinking Inside the Box. How adorable is that? I think we all know… Plus anyone who can add candy corns to a project is a winner in my book. Her inspiring project lead me to see what I could do to think inside and outside the box. So I created another container (inside the box), only this one is round (outside the box). Check it out!

I was trying to think of a way to make a container bottom that attached easily. Usually I think of die cutting a circle and snipping little slits about every ¼”. But this is what I came up with instead…

I gathered the following supplies: Wizardâ„¢, S4-114 Standard Circles LG, S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG, S7-017 On the Vine Border Grand, Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Collection Classic Paper Designs, Core’dinations blue cardstock, Clearsnap ColorBox Cocoa Pigment Ink, Tattered Angels Turquoise Blue Glimmer Mist, Glue Dots Continuous Line, PVA glue.

I save “cereal board,” lightweight chipboard, from packaged foods to use in craft projects. This one just happened to be Mini Strawberry Newtons…yum. I cut S4-114 Standard Circles LG, #7, (counting #1 at the center) but did not emboss.

Then I cut S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG, #6 from Blue Core’dinations cardstock and didn’t emboss. I added glue to the colored side of the chipboard circle and placed it on the center of the S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles LG. (A little note: If using a wet glue, allow it to dry totally before embossing or, like me, you’ll have glue running out onto your mats…oops.)

I chose a paper from the Crafty Secrets paper packs and left it a full 6″. If you want your container to be shorter than that, trim it down. I rolled the paper into a tube and adhered it with Glue Dots, Continuous Line, just crossing over the ends at 1/8″.

I embossed the bottom by using a regular embossing sandwich:

• White Master Mat
• Container bottom with chipboard down on the Mat (this is the important part)
• Embossing Pad
• White Master Mat

I folded up all the scallops to fit the tube inside of them.

I added a generous line of glue just to the inside of the scallops and fit the cylinder into them. Working around the bottom edge, I placed one hand inside the tube for support and the other on the scallops to make sure the glue held. I worked my way around until they were all well adhered. This is the most tedious part of the process but is worth the effort.

I embellished the container with S7-017 On the Vine Border Grand die template by I cutting/embossing blue cardstock with the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit. Then I inked through the die template as a stencil with Clearsnap ColorBox Cocoa Pigment Ink.

If you want to see a little demonstration on how to cut the Borderabilities® Grand, check out this video from Stacey. If you don’t have the W-026 Grand Cut Mat Kit, go to 1:50 on the meter to see the section showing how to cut using the mats that came with your machine.

I added the S7-017 One the Vine Border Grand to the container. The fun little bonus was that it fit perfectly. I was able to hook the two ends together. Using PVA glue, I added small touches of glue around the piece and then added dimension to it by curving the leaves and stems that were not glued down.

As a final touch, I sprayed it with Turquoise Blue Glimmer Mist. Finito!

Since I used only cardstock on the sides of the container, it is not super strong. I could probably reinforce the item by using an additional piece of cardstock, simply glued to the original OR I could use some more light weight chipboard. Well, whatever you choose to do, have fun and see what you can 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