Xcalibur!! Ain't It a Beauty???

I am happy to give you a little "sneak peek" to Spellbinders all-new motorized diecut/ embossing machine. Isn't it awesome looking???? This is the first machine of its kind EVER . . . ANYWHERE!! All of the details about it will be posted on the Spellbinders website starting tomorrow, January 30. For details, click on the Spellbinders logo on the sidebar (right-hand side) of the page!! They won't be available 'til late spring, but will be soooo worth the wait!! (Can you tell I'm excited????)

"Spellbinders Paper Arts, continuing in their tradition of innovation, introduces the first motorized die cutting and embossing system. A touch of the button gently feeds and slowly releases mats for cutting and embossing. The mats used in Xcalibur will be the same mats currently used in the Wizard, Universal Craft Tool. Xcalibur will
cut, emboss and texturize virtually every consumer die from leading manufacturers making it the universal system of choice. Xalibur will revolutionize the die cutting world...

Please be assured that this is not a replacement for the Wizard. The machines can share the same mats, pads and dies but Xcalibur's main features are to cut and emboss. The Wizard, Universal Craft Tool, continues to provide many additional functions such as cutting chipboard, replicating charms and transferring images, just to name a few.

Be the Ruler of your Creative Kingdom!!"

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!

Brrrrr!!! I'm soooo ready for Spring. We've been as low as -2 degrees and I'm ready for some warm weather. I have spent several days this last week making projects for my first trip to CHA as a member of the Spellbinders Design Team. It has been so much fun. I can't give you a sneak peek, because the projects were created specifically for CHA, BUT I will be able to post them here in a few weeks after CHA is over.

Sooooo, once again I have a couple of butterfly cards for ya (which seems to be all I have had time for!). This first one was a hybrid of products between Stampin' Up and Spellbinders. I'm going to have a lot of fun creating these over the next year! I finally broke down and bought some white taffeta ribbon and it's AWESOME. I used a sponge and some Perfect Plum ink to color the ribbon to match. Having white pretty much gives you any color you want!! I also made this card a horizontal gate fold (folded 2 1/8" from the top and the bottom, so that it opens across the middle!).

I used my airbrush tool and some Copic markers to color the butterflies . . . another thing I love about the Spellbinders diecuts - you can stencil 'em!!! With the airbrushed color and a little bit of Stickles, I really had fun creating these!

Stamps: Tres Chic
Diecut: SB Butterflies 2
Cuttlebug: Spots & Dots embossing folder
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum, assorted Copic markers

I LOVE the "Like it a Latte" set that SU came out with last year . . . was soooo sad that it never made the main catalog!! I am embarrassed to admit that, as much as I LOVE this set, this is the first time I have actually used it (ducking, ashamedly!!). It is always going to be a favorite. I knew I had to include a butterfly, so I made one from the peppermint stick stamp and the little hearts from the retired "Sweet Talk" set. This was #21 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge, and I still have a looonnnggg way to go, so I'm starting to see butterflies in stamps that weren't really there!!

Stamps: Like It a Latte, Sweet Talk
Diecuts: Large and Small Scalloped and Classic Oval Nestabilities
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: Offray 5/8" Oatbran Polka Dot Ribbon

I can't WAIT to share my CHA stuff with you!!! Until then, I'll just have to keep posting new things (and I'm sure there will be more butterflies flitting around in there as well!)!

Keep warm!!

Wowsers!!

As promised, here area a couple of pictures from my Spellbinders retreat in Phoenix. Okay, well actually, these are pictures I took AFTER I got home of all the cool goodies I got! I hardly know where to begin to play!! I should also mention that I took this first photo with a WIDE angle lens standing over the top of my 6-foot-long table!!

I got TONS of cardstock, chipboard, rub-ons, stamps, diecuts (LOTS and LOTS of those), pens, markers, ribbon, foil paper, embellishments . . . I had a very difficult time struggling to get my baggage checked in at the airport. I'm only 5 feet tall, and I had over 100 lbs. of stuff to drag along (cardstock is very heavy!!)

To be totally honest and truthful, I DID buy some of the diecuts myself, but most of this stuff came as part of my design team "kit". The stuff you see was donated from "partner" companies. Waayyyy toooo coooolll! I'm not even sure where I'm going to start!

I haven't created one single thing since last week! Between all the training, and then getting back home into my "mom" duties (plus going back to work a bit), I'm really behind. I definitely plan to get a card done today, so I'll try to post it by tomorrow!

It's so cold here this morning that I'd love to just stay under the covers all darn day (not gonna happen)!! I think the high is not going to get very high - it is currently 12 degrees! Brrrrr!! Hope it is warmer where you are!!

Holy Spellbinders, Batman!!!

Happy Saturday, everyone! I am posting this from Sunny Arizona (which is actually still quite dark as it is only 6:00 a.m.!!). I am just about ready to begin day 4 of my retreat at Spellbinders' headquarters. For those of you who may have forgotten, I was recently chosen to be a member of the 2008 Design Team for Spellbinders, the makers of the Wizard (the most awesome, amazing and wonderful diecut/embossing machine!! I am now convinced there is almost NOTHING that baby can't do!! This next year is going to be sooo awesome, and I'm going to be stretching my creative wings more than I could ever have imagined! You are DEFINITELY going to be seeing a lot of new things here over the next several months. We didn't make anything that I can show you yet (as virtually all of what we have been doing here is learning how to run the machine and do cool techniques with it), but I can assure you, excellent things are on the horizon. AND, Spellbinders has been busy working with a TON of vendors, who have agreed to be "partner" companies with them over the next year. Which means, I have a MOUNTAIN of new product to play with, as many of these companies have graciously provided us with things to play with!! I'll take a picture once I get home so y'all can see what we got an drool a bit - I know I'm totally in drool mode myself!!

Needless to say, I have only done a couple of cards in the last week (both of which, surprise!, have butterflies on them!!) before coming to Arizona. This first one I made as art of a swap I signed up for (HELLO fellow Control Freaks!!), using a set from the SU Preview Mini (actually, I featured one of the new hostess sets - Cause for Celebration - AND a great new sentiment set called Celebrate Everything). I also used a color combo that SU has featured in the new catty and I love it!! It's Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa (these colors are all featured in the new Berry Bliss designer series paper - can't WAIT to get my hands on some of that stuff!!) Since I had to make about 30 of these babies, I have had little time to make anything else, especially since I was trying to get ready to get outta town!

Stamps: Cause for Celebration, Celebrate Everything
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate

In my rush to get packed and out the door on Wednesday, I got up at 3:30 (as in A.M.)!!! Couldn't sleep, anyway. I needed to get another card out for my son (see the "Follow the Butterflies" link on the sidebar here for more details). I have been thinking about this card for weeks, and decided I needed to take a stab at it. While I was in Phoenix LAST month, I found some really fun acetate (12 x 12!) that was covered with lots of sheet music. I used it as an overlay for the butterflies on this one. Since my son is a music FANATIC (he LOVES all choral music, plus he sings beautifully and plays the piano!), I thought he would enjoy this card.

Stamps: Butterflies (Stampendous), Elegant Notes
Cardstock: Handsome Hunter, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, Music Acetate (not sure who makes it)
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron

Hope everyone has a great day! I know I'm going to! We're off to play some more. I'll post some pictures of all the fun we are having when I get back home!