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New Spellbinders release – Big, Great, Wonderful World!

I finally got to sit down and play with some gorgeous new Spellbinders dies yesterday - these are from Sharyn Sowell's newest collection, called Big, Great, Wonderful World. I am such a big fan of her heartfelt designs, and these new ones are just so sweet!

I made a couple of acetate tent cards, figuring out my own measurements as I went along. Both cards were designed the same way, with a pretty background panel on the inside of the card (great way to use up the stash!!) and a sturdy acetate panel in the front. My coloring on the die cuts was minimal, and actually even more subtle in person - I just used a W1 warm grey Copic marker to define some lines and shadows.

 I started with a half sheet of cardstock for the base, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", and scored along the long side at 1/2", 1-1/2", 2-1/2", and 6-3/4". I used a large oval die to cut the end into a curve - a decorative border die would work here too. **Notice here how I just have one edge on the top of the cardstock so that section of the die is the only part that will cut.

The inside panel of the card is just slightly smaller than the A2 size panel - just 1/8" trimmed off the width and height.

I added some strong double sided tape at the top of the flap, and on the 1/2" flap at the bottom of the card. 

I pulled off the liner of the tape at the top of the card first, lined up the acetate panel with the fold, and closed the card to adhere. I did the same at the bottom, tucking the acetate under the 1/2" flap. The sheets I'm using here are from MyBinding and I use the 20mil weight. These are the same sheets I use for storing my unmounted stamps - they're very sturdy.

Here's the basic card structure! Pretty simple, and a great base for larger dies or frame dies.

To adhere the die cuts to the front of the card, I used Artist-tac Dry Adhesive Sheets, which I reviewed here a few days ago - it was perfect for all the fine details of this intricate die, it stuck perfectly to the acetate, and no mess!

Here's a peek inside the cards - the background above was created using strips of scrap paper - the one below is a gel print made with acrylic paint and stencils from A Colorful Life Designs. These cards will fold flat for mailing, too, though I'm not sure if the extra thickness at the bottom will require extra postage.

Stamps I used: B13738 Sure Miss You and B13497 Your Story from Impression Obsession

Dies I used: Dance For Joy, Join the Parade, Grand Ovals Nestabilities (retired)

In other creative news... I finished my final portrait of the year yesterday! Thanks to everyone for your support of that adventure - it has really been a joy.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Impression Obsession Winter Hugs Hop - Day 3

This week the Impression Obsession team is showcasing new images that are available NOW! You can visit the I.O. Blog all this week for links to the previews and ALL the challenge details. Leave a comment on our designers' posts throughout the week for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Impression Obsession - we each have one to share! 

 I thought I'd make a quick project with the Chocolate Builder set for this week's tutorial over on Splitcoast - this is a Treat Slider, and it was so simple to make! 

Stamps and dies I used today: CAC Chocolate Bar, Chocolate Builder Clear Set, Chocolate First, Rectangle 6-in-1 Frames die

I stamped my background paper and did some simple coloring with Copic markers and a white Prismacolor pencil. The stamps in the set are very easy to line up and use, and they can be interchanged any way you like. 

For the background, I didn't bother with masking - I stamped the Chocolate Bar background over the entire panel, then brushed some gold PanPastel around the stamped images to create a subtle shimmer. 

The slot punch I used is HERE - it's really nice for ribbon!  The tag is done with a frame die, and this sentiment fits perfectly in the center piece. When you pull the bow up, the ribbon pulls out the treat inside!

Speaking of dies, in this week's SCS newsletter, someone asked about my die storage - here's what that looks like:

And these are the supplies that I use:

25 Magnetic Sheets of 8" x 10" Adhesive 20 mil Magnet

Avery 73802 Quick Top & Side Loading Sheet Protectors

Some larger background dies are in these hanging CD pockets:

If you'd like to see more projects, head over to the IO Blog for more links! 

Annnnnd HEY - I have a $10 gift certificate to give away this week! Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite chocolate treat! I love dark chocolate, especially if it has something in it, like salted caramel and nuts (donations welcome)! 

Check back for the winners list on the IO Blog on Monday Dec. 17! Thank you for hopping with us this week!

Impression Obsession Winter Hugs Hop - Day 2

This week the Impression Obsession team is showcasing new images that are available NOW! You can visit the I.O. Blog all this week for links to the previews and ALL the challenge details. Leave a comment on our designers' posts throughout the week for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Impression Obsession - we each have one to share! 

I've got three little Valentine critters in this release - I think they're so fun! This little chick is for Jeanne, who's always bugging me for more chicken stamps. He's colored with a combination of Copics and watercolor. The background panel was stamped with a misted background stamp - it's not a new one but it's one of  my favorites!

Stamps I used today: Valentine Chick, CAC Dotted Argyle, Sure Miss You

If you'd like to see more projects, head over to the IO Blog for more links! 

Annnnnd HEY - I have a $10 gift certificate to give away this week! Leave a comment on this post and tell me about a person you might send this card to. Check back for the winners list on the IO Blog on Monday Dec. 17!

 

Impression Obsession Winter Hugs Hop - Day 1

This week the Impression Obsession team is showcasing new images that are available NOW! You can visit the I.O. Blog all this week for links to the previews and ALL the challenge details. Leave a comment on our designers' posts throughout the week for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Impression Obsession - we each have one to share! 

If you just happened on the blog hop because you're one of my regular readers, you can find a full list of participants over on the I.O. blog. If you're new to my blog, then you may not know that I'm not only on the Impression Obsession design team - I'm also one of their artists! It's always fun during these blog hops to be able to share my stamps, some thoughts behind them, and some fun ways to use them. 

I have a lot of chocolate themed stamps in this release - I don't feel like that needs an explanation! The stamps used on the card above are available in rubber, and there are a couple of other designs as well. I also broke these designs apart and put them and more into a clear set that's fun and interactive!

Chocolate Builder clear set

The decorations can all mix and match, or be used in other ways, like the confetti on the card below! And I haven't done it yet, but that rose is going to find its way into a wreath card soon. By the way - be sure to check out this Party Elephant set that Gail Green drew - it is a lot of fun!

 Did you notice the background on the chocolate card? It's a 5-3/4" square chocolate bar! I just stamped it in black ink on brown cardstock for a quick and easy background, and you can trim it to any size.

Stamps I used today: Round Truffle, Square Truffle, CAC Chocolate Bar, Chocolate Understands, Chocolate Builder Clear Set, Party Elephant Clear Set , My Favorite

If you'd like to see more projects, head over to the IO Blog for more links! 

Annnnnd HEY - I have a $10 gift certificate to give away this week! Leave a comment on this post and tell me which stamp from this new release is your new favorite (you can find all the new stamps HERE)! Check back for the winners list on the IO Blog on Monday Dec. 17!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Quick Christmas Cards

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a quick holiday project. Silhouette images make quick work of sentimental scenes! Here are a couple of the holiday designs from my stamp line.

For this card, I simply stamped the image in Caramel ink with my MISTI until it was fully saturated, then added some adhesive pearls where the image indicated ornaments. A quick bow, and I was done, and I wouldn't have needed that bow if my score lines hadn't been crooked!

For the second card, I stamped the image, then colored in the open areas with a red Copic marker. I used a large circle stencil and a torn sheet of paper to mask off my background, then used a blending brush to lightly fill the opening. I actually meant for that to be light blue, but I was working in bad lighting and grabbed the grey brush instead, so... it's grey.

Stamps I used: Decorating Silhouette, Tree Search Silhouette

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration, and remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Splitcoast Tutorial: Yupo Winter Scene

In this week's tutorial over on Splitcoast (Yupo Winter Scene) our author uses a variety of products to create a layered background on Yupo synthetic paper. If you haven't used this stuff, it's a lot of fun, and it will take a variety of coloring media, from alcohol inks to watercolor and even colored pencil!

I used brown alcohol ink and a bronze patina along with rubbing alcohol to create my background, then stuck foil down on the still-sticky parts and dotted white acrylic paint in for more snow. A note too - Yupo die cuts beautifully, and you can use it for stencils! The dies I used are from Impression Obsession.

I finally got to try out these Artist-tac adhesive sheets, and I'm pretty excited about how they work, so I wanted to share! These are sheets of dry adhesive, and can see the texture above. They are virtually mess-free.

There are 25 sheets in the package, each with a protective layer. You peel the liner back and lay your die cut onto the adhesive - you can see how it's dotted over the entire sheet above.

Lay the liner back over the sheet and burnish the die cut well with a bone folder or other tool (I tried the first time just with my hand, and the pressure wasn't quite enough).

When you lift up the die cut, the adhesive will have transferred onto the back! If there are any areas that need more coverage, you can just repeat the process. Adhere the die cut to your project, and rub any excess adhesive away. So easy! Really happy to have found this stuff - it will make adhering detailed dies sooooo much easier.

What do you think? What would you use Artist-tac for? Leave me a comment below and I'll send a sample to 3 winners! Please comment by Friday Dec. 7 at 9 PM Central, and I'll announce my winners on Saturday. Make sure I have a way to contact you - entries without emails will not be considered.

Artist-tac at Consumer Crafts