Spellbinders Blog

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial using Good Fortune Horse. This set celebrates the 2026 Lunar New Year of the Horse. The stamp and die set includes dies to create a horse, plus four sentiment stamps. I created a card for Lunar New Year, but the horse could be used all year round for any occasion.

DIE CUTTING THE HORSE

1. Place the main body of the horse, as well as the legs and ear die, onto a piece of Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
2. Place the mane dies, tail dies, hooves die, and saddle dies onto a piece of Matte Metallic Gold Treasured Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.

TIP: Holding dies down with tape prevents them from shifting when going through the die cutting machine. Use a low-tack tape like Best Ever Craft Tape so that it removes easily from the cardstock.

3. Create your die cutting plate sandwich – (bottom to top) A Platform Base, B Platform Top, C Cutting Plate, cardstock pieces with dies on top (dies facing down), C Cutting Plate.
4. Run through Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine.
5. Remove dies from cardstock and pop out die cuts.
6. Repeat process to cut another set of hooves, as well as the base layer of the saddle.

ASSEMBLE THE HORSE

1. Add Bearly Art Glue to the top of the back legs.
2. Adhere main body of the horse on top (there are indentation lines on the die-cut to know where to place it).

3. Add Bearly Art Glue to the top of the other leg.
4. Adhere body of the horse on top.

5. Add Bearly Art Glue to the top of the hooves.
6. Adhere behind the bottom of the legs with just the tip showing at the bottom.

TIP: Use tweezers to help pick up and place down the die-cuts.

7. Add Bearly Art Glue to the tops of the tail pieces.
8. Adhere behind the back of the horse.

9. Add small dabs of glue to the mane pieces.
10. Adhere behind the side of the horse.

11. Add glue onto the back of the decorated saddle piece.
12. Adhere onto base of saddle.
13. Adhere onto horse.

STAMP SENTIMENT + CREATE CARD BASE

1. Cut Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock into 5.5” x 4.25” panel.
2. Place inside Mini MISTI.
3. Take sentiment stamp and place on top.
4. Close Mini MISTI door to pick up the stamp.
5. Apply anti-static powder over the stamping area.
6. Ink up stamp using Versamark Ink and close MISTI door to transfer ink onto the cardstock.

7. Apply Gold Embossing Powder and tap off excess.
8. Heat embossing powder using a heat tool until melted.
9. Set aside to cool for a few minutes and then remove anti-static powder with a cloth.

TIP: If you get any embossing powder where you do not want it, remove it prior to heating with a dry brush. Make sure to pre-heat heat tool before heat embossing. Keep heat tool moving so that you do not overheat the powder. When overheated, the powder will turn grainy.

10. Using a Blending Brush, blend Cherry Core Ink around the edges of the panel.
11. Add a further layer of Cranberry Core Ink, focusing this on the very edges and corners of the panel to darken it up even more.

TIP: Whilst difficult to see in the photos, adding the ink blending around the edges really does make a big difference. It will draw your eye into the focal point.

12. Remove any excess ink from the sentiment using a dry cloth.
13. Adhere panel to an A2 sized card base made from Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock.

ADHERE HORSE + EMBELLISH

1. Add foam squares onto the back of the horse, cutting them down with scissors as required.
2. Remove backings off foam tape.
3. Adhere horse to card.

TIP: Don’t want to have to fuss with cutting down foam tape but still want dimension? You could cut multiple layers of the body of the horse and adhere them to the back of the assembled one.

4. Embellish with Gold Color Essentials Gems.

I kept the colours traditional for this card in terms of Lunar New Year, but you can definitely change them to suit your needs. Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day! [spellbinders-supplies]SDS-222,SCS-129,CS-8-148,SCSP-001,CS-8-100,VM-000-001,PE-104,MINIMISTI,T-034,T-023,T-035,ALT8942,PCG02E,SCS-121,SCS-123,T-043,T-066[/spellbinders-supplies]

Other Supplies

Hero Arts Gold Embossing Powder, Hero Arts Cherry Core Ink, Hero Arts Cranberry Core Ink, Anti-static powder tool, heat tool.

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Hello fellow crafters! Deborah Hellman here to share with you some cards that I created using the new House-Mouse Designs Heart and Soul Collection. I love House-Mouse, and this new rubber stamp collection does not disappoint. They are sweet, beautifully drawn, and easy to color with all the purposeful detail. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, these stamp sets include some great sentiments that can be used to express love, caring, and encouragement. For my card set, I decided to use watercolor to my stamped images, but you could easily use colored pencils or alcohol ink markers to add a little color to your stamped images. They could even be used just as a stamped image.... so many options! For my first two cards, I used the Heart and Soul and Stitched with Love House-Mouse Designs Stamp Sets. For the backgrounds, I used the Paper Rose Rainbow Twirl 2.0 Paper cut down to 4¼"x5½", Raven Colorwheel Cardstock, Notched Corner Frames Etched Dies, and Essential Modern Ovals Etched Dies to cut out my sentiments.

Tip: Whenever you don't have the exact length frame or shape die that you want, use the partial die cut method to cut shapes that are longer and/or shorter than the original die. Ex., after stamping your sentiment, tape your shape die in place over the beginning of your sentiment, place it on your bottom cutting plate so that the beginning of the sentiment is toward the machine and will be cut first, place the top cutting plate partially over the sentiment so that it covers about half to the sentiment, and run it through your machine.  Then, flip the sentiment around, line up the die with the end of the sentiment, tape it in place, place the top cutting plate over the end of the sentiment down to where the previous cut stopped, and run it through your machine. Voilà, you have a custom cut.

For my next two cards, I used the Brew-tiful Day and Secret Ingredient House-Mouse Designs Stamp Sets. For the backgrounds, I used the Just Sayin' 12"x12" Printed Paper Pack cut down to 4¼"x5½", Raven Colorwheel Cardstock, Notched Corner Frames Etched Dies, and Essential Modern Ovals Etched Dies to cut out my sentiments. For my watercolor supplies, in addition to the House-Mouse stamps, I used a BetterPress Black Ink Pad, Tim Holtz Distress 8½"x 11" Watercolor Cardstock (cut into 4¼" x 5½" panels), Yasutomo Fusion Brushes Size 1 and 2, Altenew's Artists' 24 Pan Set, and Yasutomo 7 Section Flower Porcelain Dish. Note: All of the BetterPress Inks are perfect for using with watercolors, because the ink is acid-free, permanent, and waterproof. Beginner watercolor steps:

• Step 1: Stamp all images on 4¼" x 5½" watercolor panels.
• Step 2: Select your patterned paper.

Time-saving Tip: By selecting your background and coordinating papers first, you can ensure that your paint colors will match.

• Step 3: For your first layer of paint in each area, add a little extra water to dilute each color in a porcelain watercolor dish or palette. Some watercolor paint sets have partitioned areas in the lid to help with paint mixing. This wash layer will serve as a base and highlight. You can mix colors until you achieve your desired color. Make sure to test all of your colors on a scrap of watercolor paper before applying the paint to your paper.

Tip: If you do not have watercolor paints, you can use dye-based or Distress Oxide Inks instead. Just smush your ink pad onto a glass surface and then add a couple of drops of water. If you have water-based ink refill bottles, you can use a couple of drops of ink with a couple of drops of water.

• Step 4: When painting, to prevent colors from bleeding into other sections, make sure to not work on two colors that are side-by-side. Instead, skip around your image and give each section a chance to fully dry before adding paint to an adjoining area.

Tip: You can use a heat tool set on low to help your paper to dry quicker.

• Step 5: Once you have blocked in all the areas that you wish to paint with a light wash of color and it is completely dry, begin to add additional layers of color with less water added, more color value. Again, be careful not to work on two areas that are side-by-side if the first area is not completely dry.

[spellbinders-supplies]RSC-063,RSC-064,RSC-065,RSC-066,PR31046,SCSP-013,CS-8-147,S5-602,S4-1266,BPI-043,FS1,FS2,WCW213,PE-104[/spellbinders-supplies]

Other Supplies

Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock, Altenew’s Artists’ 24 Pan Set Thank you so much for visiting the Spellbinders' Blog today. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Please come back and visit again to see more wonderful paper crafting inspiration. Happy crafting, Deborah Hellman

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It’s the most wonderful crafty time of the year! The Spellbinders Crafty Advent Calendar is back for 2025, and we couldn’t be more excited to dive in. This festive favorite is packed with brand-new dies, stamps, stencils, embossing folders and sparkly embellishments to make every day of December a creative celebration.

We can’t wait to reveal the 24 surprises tucked inside and share endless inspiration with you along the way. Ready to open Day 1?

Day 1

Today is the day! Did you peek yet? These furry friends are jumping into Day 1 with friendly greetings and lots of enthusiasm for all-occasion card making. Mix up the color choices to create a whole pack of pups!

Day 2

Say thank you or send happy wishes with this lovely forest scene. Whether you enjoy coloring the mushrooms and foliage or prefer to simply stamp and go, this image is sure to spread magic to someone’s day.

Day 3

Speaking of magic, Day 3 includes another use for yesterday’s sentiment - a rabbit in a hat! We love to mix and match elements from each day’s surprises, so keep an eye out for more creative combinations throughout these projects.

Share your projects on Instagram and tag us @teamspellbinders #neverstopmaking

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