Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Have a Heart

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project with hearts! I made two completely different cards with the same 2 die sets, so I thought I'd share those today - hopefully they'll inspire you! 

This heart die is brand new from Carmen Medlin - I don't have many of her dies, but I realized with this one that her style is perfect for a layered inlay. Here's the die:

DIE919-R Heart

So for my first card, I cut the heart out of a watercolor panel. I removed all the negative pieces from the die cut piece, then replaced the die cut back into the heart opening, and backed the white panel with a red one (this style of die makes a dramatic pop easy without having to replace all those tiny pieces!). I added some flat backed pearls to the little buds for a little more dimension.

The other set I used on both cards is this one:

DIE929-Z Love Words

Sweet little set, and I love that the words are separate and interchangeable. To finish my card above, I added a strip of cardstock with a scalloped border (that's from this sweet little frame die, pieced for length), then built up the 'love' word with 3 die cut layers.

For my second card, I used the same dies, but instead of cutting out the heart, I used my Spellbinders Glimmer System to foil the outlines of the die. Since the design is so delicate, I used a silver colored pencil to fill in the area instead, for a light shimmer. The words are die cut from mirror cardstock, and I used the silver foil over a line of adhesive for another accent.

Be sure to visit the other designers' blogs for inspiration on this week's challenge - see the I.O. blog for all the details! Remember, you can play along with us for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate!

Splitcoast Tutorial: Marquee Board Card

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a fun tribute to those message boards with the slide-in letters - it's the Marquee Board Card!

I mixed brands here a little, because this little dog from The Cat's Pajamas was the perfect size, and I hadn't used him yet! He's here along with another little critter in the set, and there is a stamp set to match. I colored hiim up with Copic markers and a brown colored pencil. 

My alphabet die is this one, and it's on sale at Spellbinders. I love the sturdiness of a steel rule die! I just cut small pieces of black cardstock to lay over the letters that I wanted to cut, rather than cutting the entire alphabet. 

I don't have balloon dies (?!) so I used simple shape dies to cut those, and then free cut their little ties. The highlights were added with a little white gesso. 

That's all I know today! Enjoy the tutorial - and if you aren't subscribed to the Splitcoaststampers Weekly Inkling newsletter, do that too!  We have a new tutorial published every Wednesday, links to hot discussion topics and challenges on our site, special ads and discounts, and crafty tips and questions answered by yours truly! 

Spellbinders January 2020 Glimmer Kit + an add-on!

More Valentine love from Spellbinders - now for the January Glimmer kit! This month there is also a matching add-on set, and I have to admit I went for that one first. 

These heart-shaped plates reminded me of school days, so I made a shaker card with a playful notebook paper background. Instead of foiling the hearts, I inked them up with Stazon Pigment ink. My shaker frame was made with rectangle dies, and there's glitter paper in the background from a recent card kit. 

I cut some hearts from this kit and added some jumbo glitter and sequins to the shaker - the larger hearts inside are glued to the back. The sentiment is from this older glimmer kit, which is a great everyday set to have!

So here's the add-on kit, and those hearts are the same size as the ones in the Glimmer kit! Both sets come with a heart die that leaves a sweet white border around the foiled or inked impression. 

Here's the monthly kit:

The kit comes with 2 foiling borders that are designed to line the points of a mini envelope like you see above, along with dies that cut the edges (imagine one cutting the outside flaps that you see above, and one cutting the inside side ones).

I wanted to use the scalloped border to edge an angled card panel instead of making an envelope flap, but the die has a cut line across it. To just cut the scalloped edge, I lined the die up so it hung over the edge of the bottom cutting plate. I had to hold it up to the window to line it up just right, then I taped it in place (sorry it's hard to see!) and ran it through my die cutting machine. 

After the edge was cut, I just cut up straight from the ends of the foiling and squared off the top to create my panel. Here you can see the shine of the foil - this is the magenta foil that comes in this month's kit. So pretty!

This carefree bear is from a card kit extra - those are always fun to check in case you don't want a full kit! I colored the image up with Copic markers (just the base color) and colored pencils, scribbling in a background and some ground for his dancing feet.

Here are the club details, if you're interested!

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 

Have a great week!

Spellbinders January 2020 Large Die Kit

This month's Spellbinders kits are beautiful ones for Valentines Day - the Large Die Kit has several options with these friendship necklace style dies! I wanted to make my card look like a Tiffany box, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I love the dimension! 

I cut two metallic cardstock layers for each pendant piece, one with the lettered inserts and one without. On the plain pieces I used a dark marker to color the center, just adding a little contrast so the letters would show up better.

I scored my 5" square panel at 1/2" and 3/4" from each side to create a double frame (I actually meant for the outside of the frame to be at 3/4" - didn't think that through all the way - but this works fine too).

Cut from corner to corner, and then fold back on the 1/2" line and in on the 3/4" line. That creates a recessed frame.

Glue just on the triangle sections, and tuck in a 4" square of glitter paper into the frame - this will hold everything in place. 

I assembled the pendants and attached them with foam tape, then tucked in the 'chain' pieces and trimmed them at the edge of the frame.

Glue the frame piece to a 5" card base to finish... the card front has a 1/4" thickness, so just note that it would need to be tucked in a package rather than sent in an envelope.

I added a little glitter cardstock 'bridge' on the corner of the front so I could move the bow in away from the edge. That's it! A Tiffany Box card. 

Here's the full kit and a little information about the club kits, in case you're interested in subscribing - I love getting these each month! (Note - the insert pieces cut out the holes and letters, so the broken heart pieces are plain, and could be used without the jewelry findings to make a sympathy card or another embellishment.)

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