Impression Obsession - Die Cut Obsession

There are so many amazing dies at Impression Obsession - this special Monday feature lets them have the spotlight! We hope you're inspired!

I had some fun making this sweet little scene with a whole mess of dies (the mess is true -it's still there!)! The birds and house come from 2 die sets that are new to Impression Obsession in the new collection from Serendipity Stamps - IO is the new home for these gorgeous designs!

SSDIE-063-J Birdies Dies

The Birdies set has lots of fun layers and accessories for a variety of birds - we have a birdhouse that is occupied by a pair of bluebirds, so that's what I went with here. All my die cut pieces were cut from watercolor paper and watercolored individually. 

The house is double layered - this set was perfect for the birdhouse, but it comes with a bunch of dies that make it perfect for a little cottage or even a gingerbread house.

SSDIE-070-M Cottage Dies

The die in the background is this tree die turned sideways, and I used another partial tree die cut for the branch. I used a sentiment from this gorgeous bird set by my friend Peggy Jo. The little banner die set is actually one of my designs and it was such a nice fit!

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

Maker's Movement - new jewelry dies!

I have a new product line to share - Maker's Movement has a new line of jewelry making dies!  I've been having so much fun with these.

Here are just a few of the die sets they have created for this new little venture! These sets fall under their 'Versa Die' category - these unique dies look similar to wafer thin dies, but have deeper cutting lines. This allows them to cut through thicker materials that standard wafer dies can't handle, such as matboard, leather, copper sheeting, and balsa wood.

Here are just a few of the materials I've been playing with so far - I love the results with fabric-backed cork and glitter sheets, faux leather, and matboard! I've used the matboard several different ways - here you can see some that is inked and some that is gel printed and brayered with acrylic paint. I love the idea that I can make earrings and pendants that are unique to me, and also one of a kind! These are materials I picked up at my local craft store - Maker's Movement also carries a line of metal media and faux leather products.

Another great addition to the line are these fringing dies - they are open on both sides to cut a fringed edge, and they would be great for making little rolled tassels too. With an adjustment of pressure (or shims, depending on your machine) you can also use the dies to impress a lined texture into your cut pieces. Try this with other regular wafer dies as well!

Note that because most of the die sets are nesting, you can layer pieces or cut a smaller piece from the center of a larger one. You can even mix and match sets to do this. Here's a layered set - the top layer is matboard covered with a single ply of a decorative napkin (I used matte gel medium to adhere it before cutting). The middle layer is faux leather, and the bottom layer is inked matboard.

For this set I used the Hexis set, and used the smallest die to cut out the center of the medium sized piece.

Here's another set with the Hexis, but on this one I've glued the smallest matboard piece to a layer of cork. 

Another addition to the line are beautiful etched charms that coordinate with some of the die sets, as well as some other pretty shapes. There are tools and findings (rings and hooks, etc) as well. I used the Emmeline charms here just straight from the package, but I see in the site sample that they've used a medium to color them, and I'll have to try that next! These other layers are gel printed matboard and faux leather.

If you've stuck with me this far, then maybe you'd be interested in these prizes! I have two sample packs to give away - each one includes a die set, pack of coordinating charms, and a package of faux leather sheets! Leave a comment below to enter to win, and I'll pick 2 winners on Tuesday, June 18, at 9 pm Central.

**Please make sure your comment includes or links to your email address - you won't win if I can't contact you! :)

When you visit the Maker's Movement site, click in to each product to see a sample made by the MM crew - they have such creative ideas! Also be sure to follow Maker's Movement on Instagram - they have a giveaway every week!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Heart Treat Holder

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a sweet little heart treat holder - it's simple to make and can be embellished for any occasion.

I tried a little inking experiment with some adorable layering stamps and matching dies from Taylored Expressions - I'll share that technique in a couple of weeks! Love this set.

I was going to get Lindt truffles, but I got the Dove ones, and they sit up and fit perfectly, plus their little wrappers are so cute!

I hope you're having a great week! I have some cool new products to review, so I'm busy but having lots of fun! More soon!

Impression Obsession - Old is New

With such a huge collection of wonderful stamps from so many artists, sometimes the older stamps in the Impression Obsession catalog find their way out of the spotlight. We don't want them to be forgotten, so from now on you'll be seeing our team feature them regularly. We hope you're inspired!

I have several stamp sets inspired by my dad, and this is one that is really special to me - my Dad loved vintage cars and we went to many shows together when I was growing up. He could see a car and remember make and model, and that always amazed me. I went to a car show this weekend and caught myself getting teary a couple of times, knowing how much he would have loved being there. Here's the set - I love the sentiments that can be used year-round. 

CL672 Timeless Classic

This card was a sample for a tutorial we published at Splitcoaststampers in May, using precut foam adhesive pieces and embossing powder to create faux hardware embellishments - I used dies for mine, and also liked the results with foil rather than the embossing powder. The wheel is cut from cardstock, and it's from one of our bicycle die sets - it worked out perfectly! It's foiled with matte and shiny silver foil from Spellbinders. The card base is a preprinted card, inked with dye ink and embellished with this stencil.

Here's a closer look at the truck - I don't have my dad's gift of identifying old cars, but when I see one I think of him, and that is a gift in itself.

Here are a couple of favorite shots from this weekend's car show - for such a small town it was great to see so many cars!

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

Spellbinders June 2019 Glimmer Kit

Checking in with a couple of projects from this month's Glimmer Foil kit of the month - this month's kit is a versatile floral set with coordinating dies for each piece! There are flowers in 2 sizes, a stem with leaves, and a separate leaf. 

I used the larger flower, stem, and leaves here with Polished Brass foil, cutting each piece with the matching dies so I could arrange the pieces just perfectly on my scrap strip background. I added a little shading to each piece with Copic markers, and used an extra fine Posca paint pen to highlight the flower centers - these are my favorites for white dots and highlights.

Here's a closer view of the flowers and the shine of the foil. The sentiment I used is this one from my stamp line.

For my second card I went in a completely different direction. I love using the foiling plates with ink for a letter press effect. The new Stazon Pigment ink is my favorite ink for this - it sticks well to the plates and has a little extended drying time that's just enough for a deep and crisp impression. I die cut the pieces and added some extra color with QoR watercolors and colored pencils. 

I used the half-circle die from this month's large die kit as a guide for positioning the pieces, and then used it again to cut out the detail on the left side of my circle panel.  My card base is embossed with this metal plate - these are great for embossing as well as foiling, and you can catch them now for 70% off! The sentiment is from this favorite tribute set to one of my favorite humans.

Here's a closer look at the flowers - the center details are so fun! The full set is below - I love the detail in these plates, and the separate pieces give so many possibilities. There's more info on kit subscription below!

Spellbinders June 2019 Glimmer Kit

Thanks for stopping by!

Spellbinders Monthly Club benefits: 

 Past Club Kits at Member Rates
 10% Store Savings
 Members Only Offers & Deals
 Earn Creative Rewards for Each Purchase
 Monthly Inspiration
 Cancel Anytime
 Skip Any Month
 Annual Membership Gift
 Exclusive Deals