"Impress"ive!

One of the other cool things about CHA this year was that I got to play with a VERY cool new product being released by Spellbinders . . . Impressabilities!

These babies are a definite MUST HAVE for all of us crafty peeps! There are four different styles available . . . snowflakes, flowers, butterflies (which you ALL know is a personal favorite of mine!) and paisley! These are a stainless steel embossing template/stencil. There are a TON of different uses for these. First, you can use them like a stencil . . . lay 'em over your cardstock and spray with Glimmer Mist, sponge with ink, airbrush . . . many options here.

Another cool thing about these is that they will ENTIRELY cover the front of an A2-size card (edge-to-edge coverage, baby!)! They leave a lovely impression!



Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how we did our "make-and-takes" in the Spellbinders booth . . .

First, we cut out some flowers using the new Dahlia dies. LOVE these, for sure! One of the other things I love about the raspberry Wizard is that it comes with a magnetic spacer plate . . . awesome 'cause it holds your dies perfectly in place.




Next, we place the Impressibiliites template down on the mat and placed the already-cut Dahlias . . . still in the die. The reason for this is that not only will we get the lovely impression from the Impressabilities template, but we will also get the lovely embossed edge we usually get from any Spellbinders die, which gives these flowers are really great "finished" look.









Cover the sandwich with your tan embossing mat and finish it off with a white master mat.













Because we were using Coredinations cardstock, we sanded off the flowers to reveal the lighter color in the core of the cardstock, which just made those impressed images POP right out at ya!!











Here are ALL the flowers we cut out/embossed/sanded to create our lovely little flowers! MUI-MUI awesome, right??













And a close up of the lovely details . . .










Using a popsicle stick, some brads and pop-up glue dots, we made these darling little flowers. Wouldn't these make GREAT little party favors?? You could also use them as a pen topper, but they would be great to put on a treat (I'm thinking Pixie Sticks here!)



Here's another example of what you can do with the Impressabilities. You can cut out specific parts of the embossing template and "spotlight" them on your card or scrapbook page. (Since these babies retail for a mere $6.99, you don't have to feel bad about cutting them up, 'cause you can buy one for embossing card fronts and an additional one to cut up!) We did a "letter press" technique here. Heidi inked up the Impressabilities template (the little piece on the right) and then ran it through the Wizard. Isn't this just the COOLEST EVER??? It was hard for me to keep from "borrowing" one of these templates to bring home!! A new favorite for sure!!!

Stamps, Paper, Die Cuts & FRIENDS!

I foolishly thought I was going to be able to do two things differently this year at CHA . . . (1) put up a blog post every evening (yeah . . . right!!), and (2) see more of the show! Well, neither of those things actually happened. We were up VERY early every day getting things ready in the Spellbinders booth (on Monday we had a class to put on, so we had to be at the Convention Center by 6:15 a.m.!). We were also up VERY late every night (which was infinitely more fun going out to dinner . . . LOVE Bubba Gumps! . . . and Heidi and I went to Disneyland on Monday night . . . that was a REALLY long day!)

I'm actually back home already. I ended up leaving yesterday afternoon because of a funeral that I am going to today for my uncle (we were kind of expecting it, but hoping for the best). Anyway, after being delayed for TWO HOURS (I swear, I will NEVER do USAir again!), they decided to transfer me to a Delta flight, since I was going to miss my connection in Phoenix (yeah, yeah, yeah . . . a flight from Anaheim to Salt Lake should be a straight shot, right???). I ended up getting home two hours earlier than my original itinerary had laid out, which was good and bad, since I had planned on meeting my friend Karen (imastampin on SCS) to swap some things . . . I had a Wizard for her, and she had some of my new dies!!! Guess I will be making a trip to the post office later today!!

Anyway, I never DID get much time to look around at everything. Saturday was set up. Sunday I actually got to peruse things during my break for a couple of hours. Monday, my break was scheduled at the end of the day so that Heidi (there she is again . . . as in Blankenship) and I could go to Disneyland. And yesterday, since I was leaving early, I only had a one-hour break, so I didn't get to see a whole lot. I DID walk through the Convention Center from end to end about 100 times, so I got to see things briefly as I passed on by, but I digress . . .

My FAVORITE part about CHA is hooking up with my friends from all over!! What a fun experience that was!! I noticed several things while getting these pictures ready to share as well. First, I look tired in most of 'em!! (Guess the camera doesn't lie!) Next, I seem to be looking somewhere besides the camera a good deal of the time (guess I was marching to my own drummer, eh? Or maybe that was just the voices in my head!) I also noticed that I was on the same wavelength as some of my friends with our color combos for the day as well (Jeanne and I were pink, while Diana and I were green!)!

Anyway, without further delay, here are SOME of the friends I got to hook up with . . .

Diana Crick . . . can I just say that I LOVE this woman and that she is a GENIUS (she is, after all, the inventor of the Scor-Pal!)?? I had NO idea she was at CHA last year 'til after I got home (I was totally bummed that I had been in the same building with her for DAYS and never even knew we were under the same roof!) I also "scored" a Scor-Mat from her, which makes me mui-mui happy!! Can't wait to play with THAT I can tell ya (and Diana, if you ever DO make it to SLC, the offer of a free place to stay still stands!)!


Judy (StampinQueenJAR) Rozema and I had planned to hook up at the SCS Cupcake Reception before we even left for CHA. How funny that we were in the same room together forEVUH before she approached me (we had been on opposite side of the room, and since I am vertically challenged, we just didn't see each other!)! I am SOOOO glad we did finally hook up. We've been chattin' pals on SCS since, like, the beginning of time!!






Jeanne, Jeanne, Jeanne . . . what is NOT to love about this woman?? She's funny, talented and great fun to be around! Don't we just look FAB in our matching pink????






Gotta love those Hanna Stamps, right?? I have known Krissy Ferro for about 3 years. We were in the Control Freaks swap group together. I met her for the first time at CHA last year, along with my good friend, Vicki Garrett (summerthyme64). They are both such sweeties!! Krissy was busy setting some stuff up, so she isn't actually in the picture (she was just barely out of frame to the right of me!)! But, here I am with Jennifer Buck (JenniB04) and Vicki . . .



Can you say SHORT PEOPLE ROCK???? It is SO great when I actually get to talk to another adult and look them straight in the eye (as opposed to straight in the throat!)! Emily (emilymomto3boys) Giovanni and Natasha (Tashers) Trupp were great fun to meet. I am sad that this turned out so blurry, but happy to have been able to visit with these girls, nonetheless . . .



Laura (Lov'n Life n Vegas) Canale and Michelle (flaxychick) Giraud also stopped by the Spellbinders booth! It was AMAZING and TERRIFIC to be able to meet up with so many of my SCS friends. We took this picture right before I had to dash out the door to catch a shuttle to the airport. I was happy that I didn't miss hooking up with these girls!





Here's one more of me and Jennifer. She is the absolute SWEETEST person ever!! (Just as you would expect!) We had a very nice visit right before I left as well. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to hang out with some of the most talented women in the industry this week. How lucky am I???





Last, but not least, here's my BFF Heidi! I cannot tell ya how many hours we have spent on the phone this past year as members of the Spellbinders DT and as friends. She is incredibly talented, generous, kind and has a great listening ear (plus, she is now converted from the dark side and has decided that her kids NEED to go to Disneyland . . . thanks for being such a good sport and going on Space Mountain with me . . . still don't think I have EVER laughed that hard while on a roller coaster before . . . sorry we nearly scared ya to DEATH!!)

I have some fun photos of the make-and-takes we did in the Spellbinders booth, PLUS some close up shots of the awesome new Impressabilities, so stay tuned . . .

PS - Lynn Mercurio . . . if you are reading this you NEED to send me a copy of the picture of the two of us together where I look like an AMAZON . . . and you NEED to destroy the fire drill picture altogether!!

Greetings from Anaheim & CHA!!

Man, am I wiped out!! It took me nearly . . . yes, count 'em . . . TEN hours to get here in Anaheim from Salt Lake City!!! What??!!?? I had a connecting flight in Phoenix, of all places!! It would have been a three-hour layover if we hadn't had to sit on the tarmac for an extra hour-and-a-half while they did some maintenance on the plane (which made me nervous . . . what if they DIDN'T properly fix the airplane???)!! I left my house at just before 10:00 a.m., and I didn't step foot in my hotel room until 7:00 p.m. PST (which was actually 8:00 p.m. SLC time)!!

We spent all of today setting up the Spellbinders booth (it looks FABULOUS!)!! I spent a couple of hours this afternoon doing make-and-takes with one of the other Spellbinders team members in a retailers class. It went really well!

We all went out to dinner at Buca de Beppo's (super yummo!), then I went over to the Marriott for the SCS Cupcake Reception! Wow!! It was soooo much fun!!! I sure love all of the friends I have made over on SCS, and loved even MORE being able to visit with some of them in person!! I will take some pictures over the next few days and share some of 'em with ya here on the blog!

Here's a card I made with some more of my mucho-grande There She Goes stamps!! I can't seem to get out of Valentine's mode yet!! This was for the WT203 challenge last Friday, which was basically to use black as the main background color on your card. Can't say that I've done that very often, so it was really fun to do something new!!

I'll be checking back as I can over the next few days, but I know that I am going to be busier than a frog on a hot rock, so I'll squeeze it in where I can!!

Ciao, friends!!

Stamps: Butterfly Happiness and Year-Round Sentiments by There She Goes
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Barely Banana
Ink: Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black
Accessories: 1 3/8" circle and scallop circle punch, black gingham ribbon, Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, pop-up glue dots, Iridescent Ice embossing powder

CHA Bound!

I have been madly rushing all week to get my act together to head out with the team from Spellbinders for CHA! I am really looking forward to it this year, as I will be much less overwhelmed, as I know more what to expect! It'll be great. Not sure what my 'net access is going to be while I'm there, but if I can connect, I'll be blogging a bit with some other projects I have worked on while I am there!

Here is a card I did today for WT202 - Paper Pizzazz. The whole idea was to get some designer or patterned paper and "step it up" so it would be kinda like those papers we horde. You know the ones I mean?? $2-$4/sheet . . .glittery embossed critters that are just too lovely to use??? I used a Cuttlebug folder on some of the polka-dot Candy Lane paper. Then, I lightly sanded over the raised areas and came up with this. And this DOES officially make card #74 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (all the info is in the link to the right . . . plus a slideshow of all the butterfly creations I have done thus far!)

Stampin' Up's Beautiful Borders will be a long-standing favorite for me! It only took me about 5 minutes to color up the stamp with my markers . . . I think it is just a lovely, lovely set!

I need to finish packing if I'm going to be on a plane soon! Hope to be checking in with y'all over the next few days!

Hugs for a Happy Weekend!!

Stamps: Beautiful Borders
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Large oval, wide oval and 1 1/4" circle punches, small butterfly punch (unknown), pop-up glue dots, Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, sanding block

Love & Thanks!

First, here is another Valentine-y "love" card that I did with some stamps by There She Goes. I am totally getting into the mood for Valentine's Day. Maybe I just feel the need to spread a little "love" around!

Stamps: Special Delivery and Polka Dot Hello by There She Goes
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Barely Banana
Accessories: Spellbinders Scalloped Heart (S4-136) die, large oval punch, May Arts black polka dot organza ribbon, pop-up glue dots

Which brings me to the SECOND reason for posting today. To say THANK YOU for the "love" and support you have given to the members of the Spellbinders Blog and Design Teams!! Your positive feedback to the projects we have been posting as part of our Blog Frenzy has been WONDERFUL!!

The 5th Anniversary party for Spellbinders Paper Arts is nearing its end. Spellbinders’ staff is hurrying-- scurrying to get all the little details finished for the big “party” in Anaheim at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show. You still have until 11:59 CST, January 21, to enter Trudee Sauer’s blog contest. Then Spellbinders will be drawing for the Grand Prize Winner, and will announce the Grand Prize winner on the Spellbinders Blog on January 31.

Today, Stacey Caron, Creative Director and Co-founder of Spellbinders Paper Arts shares a special message for you, so check it out here.

New Stamps for Christmas!

I got a BUNCH of fun new stamps from Innovative Stamp Creations for Christmas. Okay, so my husband told me to order 'em. They actually arrived on Christmas Eve. He then proceeded to wrap 'em and put them under the tree for me! Imagine my REAL surprise when I opened them and found a BONUS! There was an extra stamp set in there that I hadn't even ordered (thanks SOOO much to Betsy from ISC for sending me extra rubbah!!)!! So it really WAS a surprise!!

This makes card #73 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (there is a link over to your right on the sidebar that explains the whole reason why I am doing it, plus a slideshow of all the cards I have done thus far).

I used my Mega Curved Rectangles Nestabilities to make the pocket on the card. I used the largest die and folded it down on one end about 1" from the edge. You just need to be sure that your adhesive is very close to the edge of the "pocket" so that the insert card will be able to slide in and out. Fun!

Stamps: All About Me by ISC, Twill background by SU
Paper: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Accessories: Spellbinders Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities (S5-006) and Ribbon Tags Trio (S3-150), pop-up glue dots, white taffeta ribbon (dyed Baja Breeze by dragging ribbon across inkpad), round tab punch

Non-Cheesy Valentine's Day Cards!

I love it when it is my turn to do the "Challenge Hostess" thing over on SCS. My daughter STILL laughs that I happen to do the Limited Supply Challenge, though . . . she knows me all too well!

The challenge I came up with this week was to make a non-cheesy Valentine card that could be easily replicated up to 30 times, so you could make them for your kids to take to school and trade with their friends (Amelia has already informed me that she wants to make this particular card for HER friends . . . that made me smile!)! Remember all the cheesy ones we used to get as kids? I can't count the boxes of Batman, Barbie and Spongebob cards I have bought over the years . . . BEFORE I discovered card making! (Actually, I have to make a double admission here . . . I never bought ONE box of Barbie ones . . . Amelia HATES Barbie . . . and I actually LOVE Spongebob, so I liked those ones!)!

This is a new stamp set from Verve called "Hundred Hearts." I LOVE IT!! I thought it was PERFECT to pair up with my heart-shaped Spellbinders dies, too! What fun!

Stamps: Hundred Hearts by Verve
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red, Regal Rose
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Heart (S4137) and Scalloped Heart (S4136) dies, three-heart punch by SU, rhinestone, black organza polka dot ribbon by May Arts, pop-up glue dots


This second sample kind of got away from me. It has a few more steps and layers than most people would consider "simple", but I am just crazy enough that I WOULD make 30 of these! You can't really see it in the photo, but the black strip is embossed using the Cuttlebug swiss dots border from the "Just My Type" set of border embossing folders. I covered it up a bit too much with ribbon, but it needed something!! The 3-heart punch from SU is also going to be a new favorite of mine! It's really fun!!



Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Rose Red, Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Rose Red, Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Circle, 1 1/4" and 3-heart punches, scallop edge punch, Cuttlebug Heart Blocks and Swiss Dots border (from Just My Type border set) embossing folders, Lt. Pink polka dot organza ribbon by May Arts, pop-up glue dots

This is the sample that Amelia made for me to post with the challenge (something she always does for me). It's really fun when we get to create together. I'm glad that she shares my affinity for crafty stuff, even if she DOESN'T share my affinity for dolls (I personally LOVED Barbie when I was a little girl!)

Stamps: Sweet Talk
Paper: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Basic Black
Accessories: Horizontal slot punch, white polka dot organza ribbon by May Arts, pink brads, glue dots, Cuttlebug "You" embossing folder

A special THANK YOU to all of you who came and visited me during my Blog Frenzy preview! I really appreciated all of the lovely comments that were left about my projects, too! They really made my week!! Have a lovely weekend!!

Pre-CHA Sneak Peek #10!!

EDIT: "Thanks to everyone who entered the Spellbinders' 5th Anniversary Party to win my Die Template release. You can no longer enter to win my release. Please check out the links below to enter the contest on other blogs. Check Spellbinders Blog for the announcement of Daily Winners. Grand prize winner will be announced on January 30th."

It’s Spellbinders’ 5th birthday, and I am sure many of you know that they are celebrating by sharing LOTS and LOTS of new dies via Sneak Peeks on the blogs of various designers (see the complete blog roll on the sidebar to the right). And can you say PRIZES??? Every day there is an opportunity to win the dies that are been showcased PLUS all the dies that have been showcased up to that point! Each day an additional die is added to the daily give-away list for a grand total of 16 dies on the 16th day of reveals! Who DOESN’T love FREE????

You still have until 1/14 until 11:59 CST to visit and enter Jeni Calkins' release at Mixed Media Madness.

Commenting on this post is welcome but does not enter you into the contest. This contest is sponsored directly by Spellbinders Paper Arts. Please read the post to find directions for entering the contest. If you have any questions, please e-mail ContestQuestions@spellbinders.us.

For those of you who have been religiously following our peeks (and for those who haven’t!), here is a list of the remaining peeks. Be sure to check them ALL out!!

Jan. 15 Beth Pingry - Cookies for Breakfast
Jan. 16 Keri Lee Sereika - Pink Lemonade
Jan. 17 Sally Lynn MacDonald - Inky Heart
Jan. 18 Donya Schroeder - Donya Schroeder
Jan. 19 Linda Duke - Linda's Works of Heart
Jan. 20 Trudee Sauer - Follow Your Bliss

Winners will be announced on Spellbinders Blog

When I was sent the image below and told that it was the die set that I was going to feature here on my blog, I was STOKED out of my MIND!! These little flowers are the dang cutest things EVER!! I see SOOOO many possibilities with them!! Cards, layouts, borders, altered items . . . the images in my head are endless!!



DIE NAME: Flower Bouquet Miniabilities
DIE SKU # S4-200
MSRP $19.99

How stinkin’ cute are these??? I see everything from fun and whimsical to classy and elegant with these little flowers! They are all approximately 1" to 1.25" wide and tall (the little flower with the heart in the middle is the only one that is out of proportion . . . it is about 1" tall and 1.25" wide).

Now, it’s time to play!! I made three different projects here. The first is a little more on the “over-the-edge” side, while the other two are quite simple. I wanted to be able to showcase different ways you could use these flowers with reverse stenciling, regular stenciling, and just plain ol’ cuttin’ and embossin’!





With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought making a framed wreath in a heart shape would be fun! I started by selecting the three dies from the set of 8 to use as elements in the wreath.









First, I cut/embossed all of the pink and white flowers. I used a technique known as “reverse stenciling.” Basically, you need to ink up the die BEFORE you run it through the Wizard. That way, all of the ink on the die will transfer to your finished image . . .



Don’t forget that you need to both CUT and EMBOSS the die in order for this technique to have it’s full effect, so each flower will need to run through the Wizard twice (I know, I know, that’s a lot of cutting/embossing, but well worth the effort!)

For reverse stenciling, pigment or chalk inks work best. You basically are going to need to use an ink with a slow drying time. This will allow you the time you need to cut and emboss while the ink is still wet so that it will transfer to the paper. Spot (meaning small) inks work the best, but you can use full-sized ink pads (a little harder to maneuver, but not too difficult). Another way is to use an ink refill and squeeze some of the ink onto a sponge and dab the die (as I did here with the silver ink).

Next, I did the same reverse stenciling technique with the little white and silver flowers (the ones with the heart in the middle). This will take a little patience and some time, but you will be happy you did it.





The black and silver flower square is done a little bit differently. I cut/embossed the image like usual. Before disengaging the cardstock from the die, however, I used a silver gel pen to trace the holes in the die onto the cardstock. A totally different look using the same little dies. I love it!!




I then cut out the second largest heart from the Spellbinders Classic Heart die set. This is an important element, as it serves as a base for your wreath and allows you to make a true heart shape (mine would have been VERY wonky if I had not had this!). If you don’t have the heart dies (and you DO need them!), any heart shape that you cut out will work just fine. Then, arrange your little flowers around the edge of the heart to form the wreath. I started with the little white/silver flowers, then added the black/silver flowers.


It is important at this point to use some glue dots or other adhesive to stick the black flowers to the white flowers on the points where they make contact. After doing so, transfer the flowers to the cardstock base underneath the entire wreath (in this case, the Berry Red cardstock, cut into a 10" x 10" square). I literally used a spatula to move the dies over. A few of them didn’t quite make it, but I had enough of the wreath intact to be able to replace them where they belonged once the wreath had been moved over. Center the wreath on the base cardstock and adhere (you will basically have to slide little glue dots or some other adhesive under the flowers here and there to hold them in place). Don’t worry too much about adhering each and every flower . . . when you place the white/pink flowers down with pop-up glue dots, they will help to hold the rest of the wreath in place.

At this point, you will be ready to add the white/pink flowers. I used pop-up glue dots to give them added dimension. I then added some rhinestones to the center of the flowers for some added “pop.”

The “forever” sentiment was typed up on my computer and printed out. (I used the third smallest Classic Heart die template and cut the sentiment out once it hat been printed). Just place the sentiment in the middle of your wreath and you are NEARLY done!

The last step on this wreath was just a little finishing touch . . . I intertwined some silver cord amongst the flowers . . . I think it adds just the right amount of sparkle, don’t you? This close-up shows the details a little more closely!

Supplies

Tools/die templates: Spellbinders Wizard, Spellbinders Flower Bouquet Miniabilities (S4-200 – MSRP $19.99), and Classic Heart (S4-136)
Ink: Colorbox Warm Red Chalk Ink, Encore Silver and silver gel pen
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, and WorldWin DoubleMates Berry Red
Accessories: 10" x 10" Square Frame, Pop-Up Glue Dots, silver cord, flat-backed rhinestones, CK Wistful font, sponge

This next project was easy and fun! (My teenage daughter fell in love with these!) I also am proud to announce that this is a totally GREEN project!! I used soda pop cans as the medium for the cut/embossed flowers. I also used a cereal box for “chipboard” to back the largest flowers on which I adhered the little Flower Bouquet Miniabilities. Cute and environmentally friendly! Cool beans!!

The Wizard cuts through soda pop cans like they were buttah!! No problem at all! And the embossing detail really jumps right out at you!

Supplies

Tools/die templates: Spellbinders Wizard, Spellbinders Flower Bouquet Miniabilities (S4-200 – MSRP $19.99), and Shapeabilites Nested Flowers (S4-159)
Paper: Brushed Gold and Bronze Cardstock (manufacturer unknown) and WorldWin Elan Metallics Obsidian cardstock
Accessories: Soda pop can, cereal box, jumbo paper clips, gold and silver ribbon (manufacturer unknown), Pop-Up Glue Dots, ZipDry by Beacon

For my last project, I made a card I have affectionately been referring to as the “Mod Squad” card! (I swear I think Peggy Lipton had a pair of pants that inspired this baby!) I used a sponge to stencil the flower petals before I removed them from the die. The background paper was created by placing the die, with the flat side down, on the paper and sponging around all the edges . . . inside and out! Yet another fun way to create a totally different look!

Supplies

Tools/die templates: Spellbinders Wizard, Spellbinders Flower Bouquet Miniabilities (S4-200 – MSRP $19.99), Labels One (S4-163), and Classic Scalloped Circles Small (S4-125)
Ink: Hunter Green, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, WorldWin Treasures Sherwood Green and Prism Prismatics Majestic Purple Dark and Majestic Purple Medium
Accessories: black gingham ribbon, hardware, ¼" and ½"circle punches, Pop-Up Glue Dots

One of my favorite things about Spellbinders dies is that they are universal . . . which means you can use them with ANY die cut machine and still get professional-looking projects. Here are a few links to some tutorials that will help you see not only how to use the dies in the Wizard, but other machines as well: Check out this link on Spellbinders’ site:

Wizard Tutorials

Now, for all the details on the BIG CONTEST!

Spellbinders 5 Year Anniversary Celebration

Sneak Peek Party Drawing Information
Spellbinders will randomly pick one entry from each of the 16 Spellbinders Sneak Peek Blog reveals as stated in the “Rules”. This name will be drawn to receive the die being revealed and any other dies listed as a part of said blog give-away. These entries must follow all rules stated below to be valid for the drawing.

Entrants visiting all 16 Spellbinders 5 Year Anniversary Celebration Sneak Peeks Blog reveals and correctly entering their information into the 16 separate drawings, as described below, will automatically be entered into a GRAND PRIZE give away of a full set of all 28 NEW RELEASE dies debuting at the Winter Craft and Hobby Association Show in Anaheim, California, on January 25-28, 2009!

Rules

Any participant wishing to be included in the daily drawing for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek die give away must adhere to all of the following rules:

1. Participant must click on the provided link on Reveal blog to enter each individual drawing on sneak peeks between January 5 and January 20, 2009.
2. Participant must type in the subject line the name of the die being revealed.
3. Participant must send their entry for this blog before 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time on January 15, 2009.
4. Participant is only allowed to enter each of the 16 Spellbinders sneak peek blog give away drawings one time per sneak peek. Participant must use the same email address daily to be considered for grand prize entry, no exceptions. Please consider whether you will have access to the same e-mail address from January 5th through the 20th and plan accordingly.
5. Spellbinders Design Team members and employees are not eligible for drawings.
Any participant wishing to be automatically entered into the drawing for the Spellbinders 5 Year Anniversary Celebration Sneak Peek Grand Prize drawing, must enter the drawing from all of the 16 blog reveals and follow all the above rules.

Please note:
*Spellbinders will only use email information to contact the winner.
*Spellbinders will not share this email address with any other parties.
*Spellbinders will not use this email information for advertisements or communications(close up this paragraph)other than to contact the winner.
*If you wish to be included in further communications from Spellbinders, please go to their homepage SpellbindersPaperArts.com and sign up SpellbindersPaperArts.com for their newsletter.

(If you use an e-mail client that does not work with this pop-up box, you may copy and paste this address to send your entry to: ContestDay10@spellbinders.us)

For questions regarding the contest, please send an e-mail to: ContestQuestions@spellbinders.us

For more Spellbinders product release information go to www.SpellbindersPaperArts.Com

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today! I had SOOO much fun creating these projects with the darling Flower Bouquet Miniabilities (S4-200) die templates! Just one more set of dies to add to your wish list, right???

Butterflies Again!

I have been working-working-working on projects for Spellbinders for CHA. Which means, basically, that I have not had time to keep up on my butterflies as I should have (frowny face). I am happy to report, however, that this makes Butterfly Card #72 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge. What is that, you ask? See the link on the sidebar to the right for all the info.

I was actually inspired to make this for the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS this past Sunday (FS101). The featured stamper was Jaydekay, also known as Judy. Her gallery is simply lovely! I was stopped dead in my tracks by this card, however, and knew it was the one I was going to use for inspiration:

White Rose Valentine by Jaydekay (Judy)

The only thing that makes me sad about this photo is that you can't see the sparkly Iridescent Ice embossing powder that I used on the butterfly! Oh well!

By the way, dear friends . . . COME BACK TOMORROW as I am finally going to get to share with you the dies I was given or the pre-CHA Spellbinders Blog Frenzy! Wahootie!!!

Stamps: Butterfly by Rubbernecker, sentiment by JustRite
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, zebra dsp (unknown)
Ink: Basic Black, Basic Black Craft, Glorious Green Craft
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Heart (S4137) and Classic Heart (S4136), Sunflower Set Two (S4158 - for the leaves), Martha Stewart red glitter, tacky tape, pop-up glue dots, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, black/white polka dot organza ribbon by May Arts

Two Cards from There She Goes

I've been so wrapped up getting my projects ready for my Spellbinders Sneak Peek this Wednesday (be sure to come back!), that I haven't had a chance to post these cards I made using some of the fun stamps I've received from "There She Goes" (thanks, Jessica!). Seems my Spellbinders dies keep sneaking their way into a lot of things I have been making lately as well!

This first card is actually my first Valentine of the season. I LOVE this new set called "Special Delivery." There's a darling little mailbox that you can stuff full of a variety of things. Check it out here:

There She Goes

Stamps: Special Delivery by There She Goes
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Real Red
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels Two dies (S4162), Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder, May Arts black organza polka dot ribbon, rhinestone sticker, pop-up glue dots

This next card is using a set from TSG called "Welcome Home." I love how the door and windows are interchangeable! It comes with a couple of different options so that you can do whatever suits your fancy! There are also a number of wreaths and other things to make your home welcoming and uniquely you!

Stamps: Welcome Home by There She Goes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Pitch Black Adirondack by Ranger, Various Copic Markers, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder, 1/2" circle punch, large oval punch, keytag punch, chocolate gingham ribbon by Offray, pop-up glue dots

There ya have it!! I still have a few more things to finish up so that I can be ready for my Sneak Peek on Wednesday! I can't wait to share!! Speaking of sharing . . . check out Jennifer Ellefson's Sneak Peek from yesterday (great use of paper clay with her sneak peek dies):

Created from Paper

And Sharon Harnist is doing today's Sneak Peek over on her blog! Super fun and darling projects!

PaperFections

Who DOESN'T Love a Cupcake????!!??

I swear, all you have to do is SHOW someone a cupcake and you will get a smile in return! (Although I DO like to eat them more than I like to look at them!)

This is a great little cupcake die released during LAST CHA from Spellbinders. I think it is one of my favorite dies. It is just so fun to create with!!

I put a double layer of clear embossing powder on both the frosting AND the cherry to make them extra appetizing! I also pulled out my trusty airbrush and compressor to use with my Copic markers on this one. I swear (again!) that this thing looks ALMOST good enough to eat!!

Be sure to check out Becca Feeken's blog to see what new dies she is going to share today!

Amazing Paper Grace

And you still have today left to enter the contest over on Heidi Blankenship's blog, too! Don't miss out! She has created some JAW-DROPPINGLY WONDERFUL things with her Sneak Peek die! (Her luminary is SPECTACULAR!!)

Embellished Dreams

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes (sentiment)
Paper: WorldWin ColorMates – Lt. Pretty Pink, Dark Totally Tan, Deep Coffee Brown, Light Autumn Red
Ink: Copic Markers – R59 Cardinal, E31 Brick Beige (ABS)
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels One (S4161), Labels Trio (S3147) and Cupcakes (S4156) dies, May Arts brown polka dot organza ribbon, pop-up glue dots, Glassy Glaze embossing powder, D'Vine Swirl Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Chocolate Chip craft ink

The Elegance of Black and Gold . . .

. . . AND of inverted scallops! Hooray!! The first time I saw a photo of these inverted scallop dies I just about jumped out of my chair!!! I just couldn't wait to share with you what I was able to do with them . . . don't you just LOVE-LOVE-LOVE how you can pair them with the traditional Classic Scallop dies and get such an amazing border????

If you haven't seen it already, click on the link to the right for Michelle Wooderson's blog (Mish Mash) to see how she used these dies to emulate the look of a lovely postage stamp!

Now, I know what you are thinking . . . I NEED me some of those dies!! (And you would be RIGHT about that!!) Be sure to check out Sherry Cheever's blog today (BadSherry on SCS) to see the fabulous new dies she is sneak-peeking for you AND for a chance to win not only the dies she is introducing, but also all of the dies introduced so far this week by Debbie Olson, Michelle Wooderson and Holly Craft as well!!! Excellent!! Here's a link to Sherry's blog:

Walkin' on the BAD Side!

Stamps: Word Collection by Stamp Oasis (a new favorite of mine!)
Paper: Basic Black and Brushed Gold by SU
Ink: Gold Encore by Tsukineko
Accessories; Spellbinders Classic Scallop Square - Small (S4129), Classic Inverted Scallop Square - Small (S4197), and Rose Blossoms die (S4044), gold edged gold organza ribbon (Papertrey), pearl sticker embellishments (unknown), gold embossing glitter by ClearSnap, pop-up glue dots

Welcome Home!

This card is one I created for Jessica and "There She Goes." She has a darling new stamp set called "Welcome Home." I love all the interchangeable parts for the front door (the door itself, the windows to the sides of it, the wreath). Plus there are some GREAT sentiments and fun accents to make this door individually unique and welcoming! Too much fun! Check this set - and her other new releases - out here:

There She Goes

Also, I wanted to remind y'all to check out today's new die release sneak peek for Spellbinders' 5th Anniversary! Holly did some AMAZING stuff!!!

Today's Creations

And in case you missed it yesterday, here is what Michelle Wooderson did over on HER blog:

MIsh Mash

COME BACK TOMORROW . . . I have a really FUN card i made using the dies that Michelle Wooderson featured on her blog! LOVE those babies!!!

Stamps: Welcome Home by There She Goes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Ballet Blue, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pitch Black Adirondak by Ranger, Chocolate Chip, various Copic markers
Accessories: Pop-up Glue Dots, large oval punch, key tag punch, 1/2" circle punch, brown gingham ribbon, Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder

New Nesties??? NOW What???

First of all, y'all NEED to go and check out Debbie Olson's blog today! She has Sneak Peek #1 for the new Spellbinders dies for ya! Can you say NEW NESTIES???? You are gonna LOVE 'em!!

Thinking Inking

Next, I see people asking, time and again, "How do you store your Nestabilities??" Well, here is how I store MINE! I must note that this was NOT my idea. I had seen something similar on Donna's blog here:

Ruby Slipper's Stamping



These are some HUGE magnetic sheets I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They are actually heater vent covers. You get three ENORMOUS vent covers for $9.99! I have a lot of Spellbinders dies, but I use these just for my Nesties. (Stuck 'em up with my ATG gun!)

Also, you can see that I labeled all the dies (I know, I know . . . a little excessive for some, but it helps me so I don't have to look up die numbers and names every time I want to post something that I made with them!). I absolutely LOVE having all my Nestabilities so easily accessible. These are stuck on the inside of a couple of my upper cabinet doors in my craft room. Some of them are a bit over my head (I am, after all, only 5 feet tall!), but I can reach even the ones at the top if I stand on tiptoe a little!





And here are a couple of close up shots so you can (sort of) see the labels!








So, there ya have it! Be sure to check out the sneak peeks every day if you want to enter to get a chance to win some new dies!!

Roses in Winter - Spellbinders Style! & BLOG FRENZY!

One of my favorite old stamp sets from SU is "Roses in Winter." Funny thing is, I didn't initially like it, 'cause it looked like a "grandma" set to me! It was another case of "the more you see it, the more you like it!" Anyway, I digress . . .

Fast forward to now. Yesterday on SCS the limited supply challenge (LSC201) was to make a card using "my favorite things." Well, this card was created using the Rose Blossom diecut from Spellbinders. I totally love that baby!! When you do the reverse stenciling/embossing technique, you can get absolutely stunning results!! Here is a link to a tutorial I did clear back last May. You can see how to do this technique (super duper easy) by clicking on it:

Reverse Stenciling Technique

A few of my other "faves" included on this card include embossing glitter (who doesn't love bling?), my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, and this wonderful sentiment from Stamp Oasis. AND pop-up glue dots! I use so many of those babies I should buy stock in the company!! Oh! And Purely Pomegranate cardstock from SU. I was very sad indeed when that color retired. Good thing I stocked up!! And of course, my Nestabilities dies! They are definitely a "must have"!!

Also, y'all need to check out out the Spellbinders Pre-CHA blog frenzy starting on Monday, January 5 (that's only two days away!!). There will be LOTS of chances to win FREE dies!! Check out the frenzy schedule to the right for links to all of the sneak peeks!!

Beginning Monday, January 5th and continuing through January 20th, a different Spellbinders’ Designer will preview at least one of more than two dozen new die templates set to debut at Winter CHA. These exclusive sneak peeks will be available ONLY through Spellbinders’ Designers’ Blogs!

In addition to getting the first look at these new die templates, you’ll find innovative project ideas and can sign up during specified times for a chance to win daily prizes, as well as become eligible to win the Grand Prize … a complete set of all new release die templates valued at more than $600! Wahoooo!! Who doesn't LOVE free????

Stamps: Word Collection from Stamp Oasis
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Silver Encore
Accessories: CTMH Silver Embossing Glitter, silver ribbon, silver cord, Spellbinders Rose Blossom (S4044), Classic Large and Small Oval Nestabiities (S4110 and S4112), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, horizontal slot punch, pop-up glue dots

Happy New Year, Friends!!

Wishing you all the most wonderful and happily-stamp-filled New Year!!



This is a card I did for yesterday's sketch challenge on SCS - SC209. I had a lot of fun inking up my new rooster stamps!! Maybe I'll wake up in time to do today's challenge!!

Stamps: Rustic Rooster, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Chicken Wire background (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: Basic Black, Ruby Red, So Saffron, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, Old Olive
Accessories: 1" and 3/4" circle punches, Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl embossing folder, hodgepodge hardware, black gingham ribbon, pop-up glue dots