Spellbinders Club Kits for December: Stencils, Clear Stamps/Dies, 3D and Regular Embossing Folders

The Spellbinders Club Kits for December are now available!  This month we have a Valentine's Day/Heart theme!  

I'm excited to share with you that Spellbinders is adding another club, beginning this month and going forward: the Stencil club of the month!!  Of course, that's what I worked on first.  This month it's a set of 4 layering stencils, called My Love Grows.

supplies: white and Doll Pink cardstock, My Love Grows stencil set, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, twisted citron, and mowed lawn distress inks, blending brushes, sentiment from this month's Clear Stamp and Die sets: Big Love, embossed in white, adhesive foam squares

After doing all my stencilling and trimming out the panel with a scallop rectangle die, I overlaid the stencil that has all the leafy details on it, and ran it through my die-cutting machine with an embossing mat and folder.  I like the extra little dimension this gives!

Another new idea that Spellbinders is doing this month is giving us TWO designs in 1 3D embossing folder! They've named it  Two Hearts as One.  And both designs are gorgeous!  Here's the first:

supplies: white cardstock, December 3D embossing folder: Two Hearts as One, design 1, alcohol markerst to color, sentiment from the Clear Stamp of the Month: Big Love

I am not the world's best colorist, but I just had to give this one a try.  After coloring in all the flowers and leaves, I thought I needed to also color the background so that the big heart showed up better.  I used another of the stamped sentiments from the Stamps of the Month set.

Here's the 2nd design in this month's 3D folder - it is such a delicate design, that I made 2 cards with it.

supplies: pale pink and black cardstock, December 3D embossing folder Two Hearts as One, white pigment ink, sentiment from Clear Stamp and die of the Month, Big Love

Here's another card using a brighter pink, and a foiled sentiment.

supplies: white and bright pink cardstock, 3D embossing folder, Two Hearts as One, white pigment ink, sentiment from Glimmer of the Month set My Heart Smiles, Bright Pink glimmer foil

My last card today features the regular Embossing Folder of the Month, and a better look at the Clear Stamps and Dies: Big Love.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Clear Stamp/Die of the Month: Big Love, Candied Apple and Broken China oxide inks, Embossing Folder of the Month, Tiled Hearts

As you can see, we have a really nice variety of goodies for your Valentine cards this month, but I'm not done yet!  I'll be back again tomorrow with more of the kits.

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to the kits separately, but there are also lots of ways to combine several of them (scroll down and look under Value Clubs).  And you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty.  

Using Up Some Scraps!

I have lots of 6" square patterned paper pads, and when I cut up a sheet to make an A2 background, I have little bits of that paper remaining.  I have been throwing these into a ziploc bag just to corral them and keep them neat.  Today's card makes use of those little leftovers.

supplies: white, kelly green and lipstick red cardstock, kelly green glitter cardstock, various red and green Christmas dps, Simon Chunky Merry dies, holly leaves and berry sprig dies

My friend Mary Anne came up with this recipe to fill an A2 card panel with strips. Thank you, my friend!

I also added in some skinny strips of green glitter paper - it makes this design that much more festive!

Hope you're having a great day - thanks so much for visiting! 

Wishing You

 I've been enjoying playing with my little house dies, and saving ideas that I find to Pinterest.  HERE's one from Kerry P. which I especially liked, and decided to CASE using my own supplies.

supplies: white, Schoolhouse Red, kraft, Peacock, Audrey Blue cardstock, aqua dotted dp, text dp from this year's Spellbinders Make It Merry Christmas kit paper pad, THIS Arch die from The Greetery, PTI Bring Home the Holidays house die, markers to color, Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Greens dies, Spellbinders Snowflake Wishes die and sentiment, twine, heart sprinkle

Cutting the berry branch from kraft (and then coloring in the berries) enabled me to bring in some kraft color, and I reinforced it with the stamped sentiment and the twine bow.

I love everything about this design, from the text background to the little heart in the center of the bow; thanks, Kerry, for your inspiration!

My November Favorites

 Here are my favorite cards made in November.

Thanks for stopping by!

Woodblock Wednesday November

Time for another Woodblock Wednesday!  This month I chose a PSX stamp with no name, from the year 2000.

supplies: cream and kraft cardstock, wood plank design paper, PSX #K-3096 woodblock, Taylored Expressions sentiment from Handlettered Thanksgiving, adhesive foam to pop up wreath

 I look forward to finding a woodblock stamp each month!

Hope, Wonder, and Joy

I wanted to do another design with my little house sets that was much more clean and simple, so when I saw Rachel's card (2nd one) that I had pinned last year, I decided to CASE it.

supplies: white, red, green, and black cardstock, trees and lamp post from Gina K. Designs Winter Wonderland dies, stitched slope from PTI's Bring Home the Holidays, bird from Hero Arts Neighborhood Houses, sentiment from Simon's Inside Holiday Greetings, stamped bow from Simon's (retired) Big Holiday Wishes, Seaside ink and a blending brush, white acrylic paint for snow splatters

I wanted little touches of red, and achieved that end with the red birds and the bow.  It was fun looking through my old supplies for just the right sentiment!  Thank you, Rachel, for the inspiration!

I love the effect of splattering, but I don't always get the best results - I just used diluted paint and a fairly fine paintbrush for this.  Does anyone have any hints for me so that I don't get those big splats, but instead nice little splatters?  

Rose Bunch Miss You

 Just playing today.  This reminds me of an old-fashioned hand-painted pin in times long gone.

supplies: white, peachy pink and green cardstock, Birch Press Design Rose Bunch Contour Layers dies, leaves from Altenew Rose Flurries, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments foiling plate, gold foil, matching die, Spellbinders (retired) Hemstitch Oval die

The floral die is just 3 pieces and 3 colors of the same shade.  Some of the pieces can be a little fiddly, but if you take your time, it's a lovely result!

Thanks for your visit today - have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

 Here's a simple card for Thanksgiving, to wish all of my American friends a safe and blessed holiday.

supplies: kraft and Color Blend cardstock, Gina K Designs Tapestry embossing folder, sentiment from a (retired) Fun Stampers Journey/Spellbinders Thankful Friends cling set, (retired) Impression Obsession Leaves die, nested rectangle dies

Enjoy your turkey!!

Wreath on a Window

 I had lots of fun putting together today's card!  

supplies: white, kraft, red, green, and bright yellow cardstock, snowy dp from Whimsy Stamps Blurry Flurries pad, Tim Holtz Window Frames Baseboard pack, pine wreath from a September 2016 My Monthly Hero kit, church and lampost from Gina K. Designs Winter Wonderland set, bow, snowflakes, and twigs from Spellbinders Build a Wreath Beautiful Wreaths, Garden Wreaths, and Christmas Wreaths, sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Christmas 2023 sticker book

Here's one more picture, just because I'm so tickled with how this came out - just about how I'd envisioned!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Merry & Bright

 I watched Jennifer McGuire's video HERE earlier this week - I don't think I've ever combined a stenciled design with an embossing folder, so  here is my first attempt.

supplies: white, black, orange peel, lipstick red and schoolhouse red cardstocks, Concord & 9th Boughs and Holly layering stencils, twisted citron, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, abandoned coral and festive berries distress inks, blending brushes, retired snowflake embossing folder, Spellbinders Tweet Cardinal dies, sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Christmas 2023 sticker book

I first did my stenciling - this set is made so that the first 2 of the 3 stencils is turned 180 degrees, switching colors, to complete the design.  Then I embossed the trimmed panel.  I didn't mean to, but the snowflakes are pressed INTO the paper as opposed to the usual, and it works fine that way, still visible, but a bit more subtle.  To finish I just constructed my cardinal and popped him above the panel, adding a sticker sentiment.  I really like how this turned out!  More and more, I'm preferring an embossed background.

Thanks for stopping by.  How are your holiday preparations going?  

Peace On Earth

 Playing once again with the other big word in Tim Holtz's Big Tidings die set, I remembered THIS card that I made in 2015, and decided to try and redo it using this die.  Here's the result.

supplies: white and blue cardstock, Tim Holtz Big Tidings Noel die, Penny Black (retired) Peace and Joy doves from 2013, sentiment from Simon's Tiny Words Christmas set, broken china distress ink and a blending brush

I stamped the doves on a trimmed white card panel, then masked them and brushed some broken china distress ink around them to make them stand out.  Then I cut out the inner Noel word of the set.  I cut it out also from some blue cardstock to offset it, and twice more in white, then glued them all together and attached them back onto the card base. 

This is pretty understated, I kept wanting to add something glitzy, but in the end decided to leave it as is.

How are you coming on your cards for Christmas?  

Joy to the World

 I'm finishing up on making Christmas cards.  Here's a clean and simple one that is a fun mix of lots of supplies!

supplies: white and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, a scrap of red checked dp, Tim Holtz Big Tidings Joy dies, sentiment from The Greetery Opposites Attract Holiday stamps, leaves and berries from Taylored Expressions Wreathed in Joy stamps, stencils, and die, Honey Bee Pierced Fancy Flakes cover plate, adhesive foam to lift central motif

I wanted to see if the small wreath from Wreathed in Joy would work where the "O" is in Joy, and unfortunately it won't.  But I had previously stamped and stencilled these leafy berry sprigs from that same wreath set, and thought I could try to use them to accessorize the word.  I think they play nicely together, and here is what resulted!  

This card would be fairly easy to make in multiples, also.  

Thanks for stopping by today.

Mini Slimline Thanksgiving Cards

 I really enjoy working with Taylored Expressions stencils!  Today's cards are made with their Triple Slim Falling for You set and matching Foil-It panels.

supplies: white and fuschia cardstock, Falling For You stencil set and matching Foil It panel, picked raspberry, carved pumpkin, cracked pistachio and vintage photo distress inks, Honey Bee Bitty Buzzwords sentiment dies, gold foil, laminator

supplies: white and orange cardstock, Falling For You stencil set and matching Foil It panel, fall colors of distress inks, sentiment from Impression Obsession (retired) Early Sunsets clear set, copper foil, laminator

For both cards, I started with the Foil It panel and foiled it in my laminator.  This gives a sparkle to the skeletons of the leaves.   Then I used the matching stencils to color in the details.  Each panel was matted on a colored cardstock and the sentiment was stamped or die-cut.  I always have fun deciding on which colors of inks will work with each other.  Almost anything usually works together - this time I loved the bright cracked pistachio mixed with the hot pink and orange on the first card!

If you enjoy stencilling I highly recommending giving Taylor's stencil sets a try - she has lots of them to pick from! 

Kaleidoscope Arch Collection

 I was pleased to receive a stamp set and a die set from the new Kaleidoscope Arch Collection, and I made 2 cards with them!

supplies: cream, 2 peaches, yellow, and sage green cardstock, Kaleidoscope Arch dies and Kaleidoscope Sentiments stamps, Flower Frenzy 3D embossing folder

I used 2 of the arch dies, the flower and leaf dies, and one of the large sentiments from the stamp set, along with a stamped banner sentiment, arranged, and placed over my favorite floral embossed background.  I really like the way the large sentiments fit into the arches!  There's another one, too, that says "Thanks So Much", plus 2 other smaller supporting sentiments to fit on the banner. 

On the 2nd card, I used only the dies.

supplies: white, blues, aquas, purples, and green cardstock, Kaleidoscope Arch dies

As you can see, there's 1 stitching die included in this set, which can be added to the main arch, and there's also a die-cut sentiment: "From Me to You".  Since I did my first card in warm colors, this one got cool ones.

The collection also includes a new stencil and a press plate, so do be sure to check them out, also.

Let's enter both these cards into Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Thinking of You!

Thanks for visiting today - hope your day is a crafty one!