Spellbinder's die are awesome!

I really enjoy playing with my Spellbinder dies because they not only cut but emboss as well. If you've played with their dies you know that the trick to the dies is using wax paper. This will allow cut items to be removed with ease which tend to get stuck in dies with intricate designs. As a Michael's Arts & Crafts instructor I get to play with different dies, machines, and get a pulse on what's new in the industry. I really enjoy getting play with a variety of mediums, teach them in person, and get a discount to boot. I've made the below cards for the Spellbinders class that I teach at Michael's.

It turns out that I had just created matches the Crafting by Design challenge for this week. So here it goes...

To recreate this card I used items entirely found at Michaels Arts & Crafts store. The chevron paper (Lost & Found Paper Packet), card base, black and white cardstock and thank you sentiment are all Recollections. The stars patterned paper is from American Crafts paper packet I purchased last year at the Joann's discount bin for $5. I couldn't resist, this paper packet has really cool colors and modern designs which I could use on my Smash Book, cards, and scrapbooks. Lastly the floral, lady bug and butterfly embellishment are from K & Company. What is not easily visible is that the floral embellishment has glitter on them. I added foam squares for dimension and really makes this card pop. I use my Cuttlebug or my Big Kick machines to cut my designs.

 

Using the right tools like Spellbinder dies are fun and can be used all year round. I created a few others to demonstrate the versatility of dies.

 

This is a great birthday card for a winter baby like me. I used a CTMH sentiment stamp here.

I cut vellum using the same die as above. I love playing with texture so I added lace ribbon and of course washi tape! The embellishment is a Recollections brad if I'm not mistaken.

 

Didn't I say I love texture. Well I've added a corrugated board and cork board for texture. I thought this might work for a man but my husband says there's to much red and not masculine enough. Next time I'll use a dark color base like navy blue. I also used a CTMH sentiment stamp here. Maybe a less fancy script will help build the masculine look.

 

The beauty of CTMH Cricut cartridges you don't have to reinvest tool after tool, dies after dies. I've made similar patterns for cards and layouts using Cricut Cartridges from Close to My Heart. What can I say I love crafting and don't like giving up my tools. I still laugh that I still own old tools no longer being manufactured and people still take notice and ask how it was created. The key is keep creating and blend the old with the new, right?

 

 

 

Simple card with visual appeal

I've just returned from the Scrapbook Expo this past weekend at Valley Forge, Pa. It was fun and I overspent like usual. Any how, I wanted to show you one of my favorite but simple cards that I made. This card was made using a rose stamp from the  RubberStampCafe store. I really like the ladies at this booth and their greeting cards are always just so lovely.

The cool part is that this greeting card really fits into the blog hop challenge at Crafting by Design.

Anyhow, I made this card using a Spellbinders Nestables die to create the card base.

1. The greeting card, made out of white cardstock, measures at 5 3/4" squared and folded. You should leave one side outside of the die template to ensure the card opens.
2. Next fold back the front of the card.
3. Now stamp the wood grain image onto the card in black ink.
4. Also cut out using the same Nestables die but in a smaller size, 3.5", out of black cardstock. You will need two pieces. 
5. Next stamp your images using black Archival ink and color using alcohol markers.
6. Their stamp set has roses in different sizes so I layered them using foam squares.
7. Also added a stamped sentiment and rose inside the card.

I hope you enjoyed this card. It was fun to create and I might have to recreate using Close to My Heart stamps.