Spellbinders Blog Frenzy Project Follow Up & JustRite Stamps sneak peek!

Get ready for an uber long post chock full of pictures...

Don't let all the steps to the project scare you away...

the project goes by fast...

I just wanted to make sure I took photos of all the details 

so you could successfully make the project too.

First off...I'm going to give you the instructions for making the Eiffel Tower...so let's start!

I made a new one in Pink just to show you another version of this fun and simple project.

I'll walk you through the steps of how I use my new French Frills die set from Spellbinders 

to make a three dimensional Eiffel Tower.

First I placed my Eiffel tower die on the base plate blade side up, then layered a piece of wax paper over my die (for easy release) then paced a piece of hot pink paper on top of that.

(In this picture...I'm showing the sandwich in reverse order...only so that you can see how the layers go together...here is the cutting plate, my die blade down, the pink paper, the wax paper and the die, over which I will place the base plate. I alway keep my baseplate on the bottom to help remind me that I only need to replace the top plates with something different between cutting and embossing passes.)

To learn more about using wax paper with detailed dies...

here are a few fabulous video clips from Spellbinders:

 Botanical Swirls Projects

 Majestic Elements Projects

Next I run this through my Grand Calibur® to cut my first Eiffel Tower. 

Then I replace the cutting plate with my rubber mat, and my pink embossing plate and run it through my Grand Calibur® again to create the emboss. (see how easy it was to just leave the Eiffel tower die in place on the base plate and only switch out the cutting plate for the rubber matt and pink embossing plate--that's why you start with the base plate.)

Now that I've embossed it...

I want to show you the pretty details that you get in the emboss pass with this die...

Next step is to cut and emboss 3 more Eiffel towers. 

Now gather them all up.

We will work with them in sets of two.

Take the first one and lay it down so that the embossed details are on the backside. Then take a high quality paper glue such as Tombow Mono Multi, and apply a very thin bead of glue just along the edge. This glue is latex based--it dries fast, and will not wrinkle the paper. Don't use "school glue" (water based glue like Elmers.) For this project, it just won't dry quick enough and will warp your paper--this will just frustrate you. If you don't have a latex based glue like Tombow Mono adhesive, you can try some of the stronger tape runners out there...or that double sided tape that has the removable red film on both sides--you'll have to cut that in very thin strips.

Important! If you happen to get too much glue in any area...make sure to clean it up so that the glue is only on the edge. I used a wooden skewer to clean up this blob.

Now lay your second Eiffel Tower exactly on top of the one with the glue. Make sure that the one that you lay on top has the embossing detail on the front (so they are back to back). Work the edge together with your fingers.  Make sure edges line up perfectly together.

Do this same step with the other two Eiffel towers so that you have two sets each with one glued edge.

Now we are going to open each of these and make a crease on the corner where they meet.

You will fold along the glued edge on both tower pieces.

This will form a ridge where the glue holds the tower together.

Keep on opening it up all the way to the top.

Crease and make an edge on both sets of towers.

Now take one set and put a thin bead of glue along the edge. 

 Now join the two tower sets together along that bead of glue.

Now all sides are joined except for one. Lets get that side secured too.

Very carefully hold open the two unattached edge. Put a thin bead of glue on one edge and squeeze the two edges together--making sure that they line up perfectly.

Okay...now everything is all glued up...but it doesn't look quite right yet. We need to give it some shape so it doesn't look so distorted.

 Work with the newly glued edges to crease them as you did with the other glued edges.

 One tip to get a good crease...fold the edge one direction...

 Then fold it the other...

Then bring the edges up. Make sure all four corners look like this.

 Next I get a skewer (a pencil will work too) and I make sure to push out the sides as it narrows toward the top--making sure they aren't all bunched up together there.

 A skewer will poke all the way through to the narrowest point in the tower to help you give it great shape.

Now make sure that the bottom is square...and then you will know if it will sit right.

The final project should look like this:

Now I'll quickly show you how to do a letterpress technique 

with your Spellbinders dies and Grand Calibur.

Do you remember this card from yesterday...I used a letterpress technique in a very subtle way to enhance the emboss details. Please note, you can use dark ink with this technique to get a very dramatic effect...that just wasn't what I was going for here, because I wanted to also show off my stamp detail.

Alright...ready for quick and easy???

First cut your image as you normally would...

and take your cut paper piece out of the die and set it aside.

Now for the magic step...

Simply ink your die with stamping ink...either with an applicator like I did above...or directly with the ink pad to your die. Then carefully fit your cut paper piece back into the die.

Lay it back down on your base plate, put the rubber mat and pink embossing plate on top and then run it through your Grand Calibur®

Remove the cut paper from the die...notice how the ink gets pressed onto the paper. The 

Super Simple!

Cool...huh! 

Now imagine the possibilities.

I used this technique on my card...but I stamped my cut pieces BEFORE I "letterpress embossed." 

This technique gave my card an entirely new dimension. These are clear stamps which make them super easy to line up with your die cuts. You can see the full set below.

Now that you've seen my two new die sets from Spellbinders...

I wanted to show you the new coordinating stamps I created for JustRite Stamps  

I'm thrilled to be designing for JustRite--they are an industry leader in coordinating stamps 

with Spellbinders dies. I'm especially excited about my first two sets which will work perfectly with my French Frills and Botanical Swirls die sets.

You will find these two releases at CHA Summer.

Here's the Botanical Swirls set in action with the dies...so many mix and match possibilities.

Creative Team Member spotlight Jennifer Ingle

Cuckoo Clock Card created with Cuckoo clocks stamp set by Samantha Walker for Unity Stamp Co. Papers are the Kokeshi collection by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations.

I have the privilege of sharing the work of Jennifer Ingle with you today. She is such a fun spirited member of my creative team. Her designs always have an innovative twist.  She not only works with paper...but also fabric in her one of a kind art dolls, which she affectionately names.  I asked Jennifer a few questions about herself and here is how she responded:

Ice Cream card was created with "The Sweet Life" Stamp set by Samantha Walker for Unity Stamp company. Papers are from the Heidi collection for Creative Imaginations.

Q.  What is your favorite Technique?

That's a hard question, but I think lately it has really been paper piecing.  I love cutting out the tiny pieces from various papers and putting them back together like a little puzzle and the results are just too fun!

Butterfly card was created with "Be You" Itty Bitty by Samantha Walker for Unity Stamp Company. Paper is from the Blossom collection by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations.

Q.  Where did you learn to design?

Well, I've been making stuff since I developed fine motor skills, pretty much, so I'm not sure if I can define where I learned to design.  I pick up new techniques by looking at the art of others, working with new supplies, and coming up with ideas and then trying to find a way to make them work.  I am constantly learning in every aspect of my life and since my creative life is such a huge part of who I am, learning and growth is something I am always striving for.

Flower card was created with paper and stickers from the Blossom collection by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations.

Q.  What influence your design choices?

Product.  I think that might be a horrible answer, but it's true!  When I get a new product in my hand, be that a fresh pack of paper clay, some great new patterned papers, a set of stamps, or a vial of vintage buttons from the antique shop it generally spurs me on to create something!  I am pushed by my desire to try out new things and make them work in my own way.

Doll was created with Wanna Be a Cowboy fabric collection by Samantha Walker for Riley Blake Designs

Q.  Who are your artsy inspirations?

Well, she will kill me for saying this, but Eva Dobilas is an amazing card maker and I am constantly inspired by her work.  Becky Shander  and Terry Stevens are wonderful mixed media artists and Rachel Wetzel and Abi Monroe are some really inspiring art doll artists.  I could keep going, as there are so many fabulous people out there creating so many fabulous things!  

Organdy Ribbon card was created with the Heidi collection by Samantha Walker for Creative Imaginations.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing besides crafting?

There is stuff other than crafting???  HA!  No, really, I love to read and I collect children's literature.  I like to make cupcakes when I have time and I absolutely LOVE hanging out with my fabulous Hubbums and my two beautiful black labs, Maggie and Thatcher. 

Ear rings were created with shrinky dink film. They were stamped with the Kokeshi stamp set by Samantha Walker for Unity Stamp Company.

Sympathy card was created with Encompassed Grace stamp set by Samantha Walker for Unity StampCo.

Jennifer has such a fun blog as she writes from the heart and her delightful personality shines through.  You will have to visit her blog frequently.

Introducing Karen Maldonado

The next Creative Team member I would like to introduce to you is, Karen Maldonado. She has a very ornate, yet graceful style, and loves to work with sultry colors.  She caught my eye because of the little details that she adds to each of her creations.  You can tell she loves crafting as she pays attention to placing everything "just so" on her cards by adding little flowers or ribbons in just the right place.  I know the recipients of her art must feel loved when she passes on a little piece of herself through her creations.  Heck, I feel loved anytime she puts a few of my products into her designs.  I have linked any of the Silhouette dies that she used directly to that file on the Silhouette site to make it easy for you to find the die. 

I love pennants...they just scream Celebration!  Combine them with fun colorful paper, and you've got a paper party going on.  This card is so cute!  For Karen's "Birthday Wishes" card she used die cuts from the silhouette digital download store (Polka Dot Pennant  -C00951-19210) She used two of the four layers to create this string of pennants.  There is an addtional polka dot layer and offset pennant layer you can use too!

Karen gives a festive twist to a Halloween card by creating a hand made paper carnation.  She has a tutorial on her blog for this technique. She used a few of my Sillhouette die cuts to complete her design:

"Bats" (C00927_19210) and The card base is another Silhouette die cut "Artisan Nesting Rectangular" (C00685_19210) which can stand upwards or sideways!!

What kid wouldn't love to receive this little treat bag that Karen created for Halloween.  She used  my Silhouette die,"Scalloped Favor Bag (C0156)" and also used my "Hanging Ghost (C00931_19210)" Silhouette die. She cut two each of the ghost, covered the back of the ghost with black cardstock so the eyes would be black.  This is an excellent tip for minimizing layering details when using the Silhouette. Cute and clever!

In celebration of World Cardmaking Day, Karen created this beauty. The card has a antique vintage feel complete with lace and aged ink techniques. She used my Silhouette (Crown Border Square/C00637-19210) as her card base.  There are also some more of those cute handmade paper flowers...tutorial here.

Isn't this fun? I love the way Karen added a pink bow to my Silhouette "Kitty Cat Favor bag" die.  One of my favorite things about this project is how she used little pearls for the shine in the cat eyes...that's brilliant!!

Karen made a little mini album with a couple of my Silhouette dies (8 piece scalloped round corner set C01032_19210 & swirly frame C00796-19210) which she squeezed so it was more square and omitted the swirly center.  That is something that is always good to remember about the silhouette, you can always choose which lines you want to cut by ungrouping the file and deleting what you won't be using in that cutting pass.  Karen makes use of that feature all the time to make shapes work for her projects. and I tell you what...Karen is like the queen of flower making...here's another cool handmade flower...details for making this sweet beauty are on her blog.

Karen also has a lot of fun with Copic markers...a fun blending markers for stampers...if you haven't heard of them...check them out...very cool stuff!  She used several of my my silhouette dies to create the center of her card including: artisan_with_swirls_C00487_19210, she omitted the swirl part of the design and just used the out line. That is a cool thing you can do from within the Silhouette software. She also used: 8_piece_mini_scalloped_oval_set_1_C01037_19210

I think this card is just lovely.  Karen put an unexpected bright pop of color in the ribbon and the pink pearls--great idea to add contrast against the muted background. She used a few of my dies from Silhouette including the dual_edge_half_moon_scallop and 3_nesting_retro_flowers_C00494_19210 for the base of her flower.  

Karen has a knack for making cute little journals like this beauty. She used one of my Silhouette Dies called "3 Nesting Artsian Shapes" (C00493_19210) " it comes with three different files in this one set!!  Of course you know I am going to say I love her flower and ribbons.  

This card that Karen designed makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  Love the autumn cozy colors of the designer papers she used (Basic Grey's Wisteria collection!)  I love Basic Grey and how they revolutionized the scrapbooking industry when they entered the market.  They are an awesome company. She also used my "Artisans Nesting Rectangular (C00685_19210)" Silhouette die design to mat her cute little stamped girl.  Then, she tucked three of my Silhouette "Snowflakes (C0301)" dies to go with her autumn/winter theme!  She was clever and cut the snowflakes in 3 different sizes.  I think the snowflake die would also be cute cut large and used as a doily under a plate of holiday cookies.

I hope that you enjoyed getting to know Karen.  I certainly have been enjoying getting to know her through her designs.  I hope you visit her blog and frequent it often as there is always some kind of inspiration there for you to enjoy.