simple dreams

Pierceability Strips

Now that I have shared the very basic edge cut, emboss and pierce that you can obtain when using the Pierceabilities I am going to share another option - creating paper strips. Remember my excitement with the Create-a-cut last year - well some of the elements in these designs came from my desire to offer an alternative to that look. First the shaped cards with the Nestabilities and now more detail and edge options with the Pierceabiltiies - insert big silly grin Ü Detail is one of those things that I love and so to be able to offer new and different detail elements is always a part of what I am trying to achieve. Texture is another element and I have found that the subtle texture that piercing creates just adds such a fabulous detail to our projects.

On the July 4th I shared a red/white and blue apron project with you using the exact same elements that I will share today. Different papers and embellishments provide a different look. For that example I used Basic Grey Boxer papers, for today's look I am using Basic Grey's Euphoria collection and some items from this month's Stamp of the Month Packet.

To create this card I used two of the new Pierceability dies from the S4 167, Victorian Pierceabilities Set. Many of you have asked when the new dies will be available for purchase - we project August some time. Rather than holding your $$$ for a preorder and experiencing the chaos of last July we are hoping that patience will be a better method this go round. We would be thrilled for you to express your interest in purchasing these from us so that we make certain to order enough, but please know that we will do our best to have an inventory supply that will meet your needs (yeah like that ever happens, right - LOL!) You are welcome to write us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com and put your name on a list indicating your interest. This will help ensure that we order enough product to meet your needs.

Several questions have arisen by my confusing addition of "flipping" the Wizard sandwich from it's original version, so I am going to try to verbalize this again to hopefully make this explanation a little clearer.

The Original Wizard cutting sandwich is as follows:

• Embossing Mat (This one of the thick white mats that comes with the original Wizard package - when you first get the package we recommend using a Sharpie to write on your plate so that when you are creating you will hopefully avoid cutting into this mat. Being it looks identical to the Cutting Mat it can get confusing and this is the reason for labelling your Mats.)
• White Spacer Plate (Again this is a plate that is not designed to be cut into, it is the thinnest of the white plates included with the Wizard)
• Die - cut line or blade FACE UP (see picture below)
• Notecard or cardstock
• Cutting Mat (This is also a thick white mat that we designate for cutting only so that we keep the other white mat fresh and clean with no cuts. We do this so that when we emboss, the lines of the cutting will not be transferred to our work. I kid you not when I tell you that you can easily emboss a thread into your paper using the Wizard, perhaps even something as small as a human hair. I haven't tried it, but it might be an interesting experiment. Therefore we need the embossing mat to remain pristine.)

I have inserted the above picture to show a close up of the dies shown FACE UP to hopefully avoid more confusion.

Here is where I confused people - I actually flip the entire sandwich, so below is Ellen's Wizard Sandwich:

• Cutting Mat
• Notecard or cardstock
• Die - cut line or blade FACE DOWN
• White Spacer Plate
• Embossing Mat

Now you ask - why do I do this? I do this so that I can see precisely where it is that I have stamped an image and am placing my die. Being that you can see right through the dies I find that I am able to be much more precise doing it this way. My die still has the cut line or blade going directly into the Cutting Mat and therefore I am keeping my White Spacer Plate and Embossing Mat in pristine condition. I hope this makes sense now, but if it doesn't please keep asking. I will continue to try until it makes sense to everyone. Thanks for your patience with me as I try to get this explanation sensible - LOL!

So here we go again. We start in a very similar manner to the basic project I described a couple of days ago. Start with the cutting mat, then your cardstock and followed by the Pierceability die with the cut BLADE DOWN. Remember I have added a TINY bit of removable mono adhesive to the corners of my die to hold it firmly in place.

Follow this with the white spacer plate. Hmm - I think you can tell by this picture that I have even used not so temporary adhesive with some of my experimenting - LOL! I think I need to give it a good cleaning so that I don't embarrass myself in future posts Ü Now place the embossing mat on the top of this stack and send it through your Wizard.

Pick up the die and remove the tiny cut strip from the edge. Pick up your die and turn it around on your project. Align the edge of your cut paper with the edge of the die. The cut blade is now on the opposite side. See arrow for indication of where the cut line or blade is now.

Once again layer your white spacer plate and embossing mat on top of this sandwich and send through your Wizard.

You now will have a strip as shown above. It can be left as is or sent back through to be embossed. For the picture above I should have changed my plate out before taking the picture and I apologize for this slip. This particular project is fine being embossed with the strip laying here on the cutting mat as shown because the metal completely covers the bottom portion of the paper, but if you actually had a cardfront extending above this strip all the lines from my cut plate would be embossed into my paper project. So for your embossing sandwich I would like you to use the following sandwich with your Wizard.

Ellen's Wizard Embossing Sandwich:

• Embossing Mat
• Pierceability Die
• Notecard front or cardstock - in this case the Pierceability paper strip you see above
• Tan Embossing Mat
• Cutting Mat

Another question I would like to clarify is the big question - do these dies do the actual piercing? No, they do not. You will still need to pierce the holes.

This was one of the areas that we discussed at length and arrived at the conclusion that it will allow the most versatility if we allow customers to choose which portions of the die they would like to pierce and even emboss. Future posts will bring more clarity to these options and will show the amazing versatility you can achieve with the dies. I will show you how to use portions of the dies only and try and help guide you through the possibilities.

These are just two of the completed strips I created with this set of dies.

The other feature I wanted to share with you from today's post is the ability to combine your work using these two dies. They were designed so that you will be able to coordinate and switch out some of the elements between the dies. As you can see above I elected to use the coordinating die to cut the edge on my striped paper.

As you can see from the picture above the "bumps" and "points" are designed to align. Also the size of the pierced circles are designed to accept all sorts of embellishments - gemstones, brads, eyelets - I can hardly wait to see what you discover as possibilities!

Many of you have asked when the entire line of new dies will be revealed - I believe that it will be the first day of CHA! I can't believe that CHA starts this week - it runs from July 17-20. I will be in Chicago from the 16th through the 21st, but the girls will still be here in Seattle keeping things moving along as smoothly as possible. I don't know how I would do it without them - a big thanks to our team that keeps things going when I'm away! Have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing in the excitement!!!

Pierceability Sneak Peek - The Final Day

Today is the last day for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Drawing! You don't want to miss the unbelievably beautiful creations that my dear friend Miss Trudee made with the Ric Rac Scalloped Pierceability dies!

Needless to say I am sitting here with tears in my eyes yet again. There is something about seeing others work with a product that I helped create that just renders me speechless. One can have a thought and begin the momentum of creating and expanding on that thought, but it truly is about teamwork. There are so many people involved in the process of developing that idea; each one adds their wisdom, support and creativity to bring it to fruition. Then the creativity continues - how will others use that product, what will they see in it that I haven't seen. Trudee Sauer, YOUR work is pure genius and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing the beauty you create with the blogging world! Each of the designers who have participated in this Sneak Peek have truly taken my breath away with each of their creations!!!

Yes, I may have had an idea, a thought, a shape in my mind - I then drew it, and worked it, and reworked it on paper, but then I turned it over to a skilled graphic designer, Toni.  She put it into the beautiful format that turns into reality, the actual working drawings for the die, and as she does so she shares her own ideas as we go along. Stacey and Jeff support and believe in us, sharing their wisdom and knowledge; giving us their input and feedback. Then it gets turned over to the designers and they work their magic - teamwork, it's what it is all about! I am honored to be a part of the Spellbinders team.

As a final aside I will just say hold on to your hats ladies - you haven't seen the full release just yet (insert big, silly grin). We (Spellbinders - and I include myself with them being I am a part of the team - LOL!) hope to continue to bring to you beautiful products that offer you the latest creative ideas - ideas that are a good value and have the most options we can think of to offer superior versatility!

Thank you all for your incredible support over this past year plus. Your words lift me up on days that I'm stressed, your virtual hugs are felt to the depths of my soul - I once again thank you for being a part of my life! So hurry on over to see Trudee's beautiful work and enter the final day of the drawing!!!

Pierceability - Beginner Basics

Today I would like to share my first tutorial on using the Pierceability Dies. To start I wanted to share the simplicity of the die when used alone. The possibilities are endless, but sometimes endless is overwhelming - so I figured I would start simple and work my way through some of the possibilities.

This card shows three of the four possibilities these dies offer - cut, emboss and pierce.

If you haven't noticed the new links I have added on the left side of my blog please take a moment to observe that there are now links to several YouTube videos produced by Stacey Caron, the owner of Spellbinders. Hopefully these videos will take some of the guesswork out of creating die "sandwiches". A link has also been provided under the Category section to take you to all posts that talk about and share compatibility sandwiches.

Pierceabilities are used in a similar manner to all other Spellbinder dies and therefore the sandwiches will remain the same for these dies as for the Nestabilities and all other Spellbinder dies.

I would like to challenge you to figure out the sandwich that works best for you. Then write it down and attach it to the bottom of your machine or store it in a place you will be able to find it. But, don't be like me and write it down forgetting where you put it - LOL!

I have found that I like to turn my sandwiches upside down, so that I can see where I am placing my dies. NOW talk about confusing - LOL! I am going to share my own personal sandwich for the Pierceabilities with you because this is what I find works best for me. You all know how particular I am about precision - LOL! Well this allows me to be as precise as I possibly can be.

Following is my Pierceability sandwich using the Wizard starting at the bottom and moving upwards:

Pierceability Cutting Sandwich using the Wizard

• Cutting Mat
• Notecard front or cardstock
• Pierceability die - temporary adhesive lightly applied (see below)
• White Spacer Plate
• Notecard back (when using just a single layer of cardstock this element is skipped)
• Embossing Mat

Tombow Removable Mono Adhesive has become my best friend as I use my dies. I'm not certain you can even see that I have applied a very small amount of removable adhesive in the lower right hand corner of my Pierceability. I have found that my hands shake - perhaps its too much coffee or just simply the aging process, LOL, but I really don't want my dies moving at all on me. Being they are so lightweight any miscalculation on my part and my die would scoot out of position. Removable or temporary adhesive has been my answer. I now keep it right next to my work area along with an adhesive removal eraser. When I place the die I firmly press on the two spots that I have applied adhesive and the die magically stays in place for the whole process. When my project is complete I then remove the adhesive by lightly rubbing it off with my finger or specialty eraser.

As you can see from this picture I position the die, cutting blade face down, on the very edge of my notecard. In the closeup view with the adhesive above the die is face up - the line parallel with the top edge is the cudding blade. This blade does not feel sharp to the touch. It cuts due to the high pressure that is exerted on it when run between the rollers of your die cutting machines. (Please know that the pinking points are "pointy" and so you will want to use caution and keep the pointy dies away from small children.) 

What you are seeing above is my sandwich without the top embossing mat in place. First is the cutting mat, then is the notecard and pierceability die as shown in the picture above this one.

Next, I placed my white spacer plate on top - you can see it just peeking out above the word cutting. Then I fold the scored notecard back over top of the spacer plate. The critical part of this "formula" is making certain that your spacer plate is aligned as close as possible to the score line of your notecard to avoid getting markings on your notecard.

Last I place my embossing mat on top of the mix and send it through the Wizard.

As you can see in this picture I am using my new Wizard, but I am using it with my old mats. I love the new color and the ergonomic features that have been designed in to it. Many of you already know that we have had a delay in the Wizard shipments and some have been recalled. The Wizard itself works great, it is the new mats that didn't work so great with the new Wizard, they were just too soft. Spellbinders really wants to make certain that the product that goes out is 100% functional and universal, therefore we have taken the Wizards off of our store and sent out a notice to either return your new Wizard to us (if you ordered it through us Ü) or the choice to wait and have new mats shipped out to you as soon as we receive the new replacement mats.

I would also like to once again remind you of a post that I did some time ago where I showed how it is that I use my Wizard being I have it placed sideways, as shown above, when I use it. I have found that with my injured thumb it makes it so simple for me when it is turned this direction vs. the direction that is shown in the beginner video included with the Wizard.

Pierceability Embossing Sandwich using the Wizard

• Embossing Mat
• Pierceability Die
• Notecard front or cardstock
• Tan Embossing Mat
• Notecard back (when using just a single layer of cardstock this element is skipped)
• Cutting Mat

Again the important part to remember in the sandwich above is to align the Tan Embossing Mat square with the score line of your notecard. This helps avoid those extra "markings" that can occur on your paper if you have the embossing mat stop in the middle of the card front.

This picture is here just to show you what the project looks like at this point - we have now cut and embossed and are ready to pierce.

Turn your project over and place it on a piercing pad. The Ornare piercing pad and piercing tool work beautifully with these dies. This is the point where flexibility comes into play once again. If you would like to only pierce a portion of the design you could elect to pierce only the biggest square around the fleur de lis, or perhaps you would want to do just the smaller squares - it is entirely up to you Ü.

I hope that you have been enjoying the sneak peeks from all the Spellbinders Design Team members. There are only two days remaining - I can't believe it! I have created several other projects, but unfortunately I realized that I was using dies that had not yet been shown, so I need to wait on sharing them just a little while longer. We have some awesome new dies arriving in August that we are so excited about sharing with you. There are more to come and I can hardly wait to share the full release with you Ü

Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful weekend!!!

Spellbinders Pinking and Victorian Pierceabilities™ Winner

It is my pleasure to share the winner of the two sets of Pierceabilities™, Pinking and Victorian, with you.

Regina Hopkins from Alberta, Canada said, "When I opened my e-mail page and saw I had a message from Spellbinders, I shouted out, "I think I won, I think I won." My daughter thought I meant the lottery. For me it was. I never win anything and just entered because I love Spellbinders. I can't wait to see the new reveal each day, to drool. Theyare all so... awesome. What a great product design team you have. Thank you for now letting me be a part of Spellbinder's reveals. Happy Birthday Spellbinders, and to many more birthdays."

Thank you Regina - I hope that you have a wonderful time playing with your new dies when they arrive. Good luck to everyone - don't forget to enter each day until July 13th!!! 

The Party Continues!

We have just returned from remote Hat Island here in the Puget Sound. I call it remote, even though it is situated amongst some of the most popular islands here in the Sound, being there is a ferry that runs only a couple of times a week to get there. We had the pleasure of spending several days there with our BIL and SIL - thank you Cynthia and Roger for a relaxing stay! The beauty of this area is absolutely breathtaking.

The girls had fun jumping the waves, playing in the sand and watching Jasper experience the beach for the first times.

Now on to why you really have come here - LOL! Sorry, but I do not have the name of the winner of the Pierceabilities just yet. The deadline for entering the contest for the Pierceabilities pictured below has officially ended.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind words and support. It is so fun to know that you are excited about the Pierceabilties. I will do my best to share all the knowledge I have gained as to how to use these with you, so that you in turn will be able to make beautiful creations with these when they arrive. My understanding is that we are looking at August for the arrival date, so be certain to let your favorite retailer know that you would like them (we will be carrying them as well Ü).

The party continues - you still have time to enter the following Sneak Peek Party drawings, so head on over to the following fabulous blogs on each designated day!

• Today until midnight: Caffeinated Thoughts by Michelle Klomp
• Today, July 6: Linda's Works of Heart by Linda Duke
• July 7: Mish Mash by Michelle Wooderson
• July 8: Inky Heart by Sally Lynn MacDonald
• July 9: Cookies for Breakfast by Beth Pingry
• July 10: PaperFections by Sharon Harnist
• July 11: Today's Creations by Holly Craft
• July 12: Donya Schroeder by Donya Schroeder
• July 13: Follow Your Bliss by Trudee Sauer 

Good luck and I will be posting the winner later today upon my return today from the Mariners game.

Spellbinders Pierceabilities™!

Happy Fourth of July! It's time to CELEBRATE!!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful time celebrating your freedom with family and friends. I thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to come and visit with me here today. Especially since I believe this is going to be a post of epic proportion - LOL!

Perhaps in taking a glimpse at the card above you will not at first see what it is that I have to share in my sneak peek, but I hope that once you read through my post and send your message off to Spellbinders to enter the contest for today you will be back to take a closer look at the pictures to see exactly how it is that I used Spellbinders brand new product, Pierceabilities™, on these projects.

Today I have the pleasure of introducing a product that I proposed to the Caron's over a year ago when Nestabilities™ were being developed. I would like to say how proud I am to have been involved with Spellbinders in the conception of this product and take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Caron's. I would like to introduce to you Spellbinders Pierceabilities™ by Ellen Hutson.

 

 

 

 

 

S4 165 Pinking Pierceabilities™ ($19.99)

(approx 5 5/8" long by 3/4" and 1" high)

 

 

 

 

 

S4 167 Victorian Pierceabilities™ ($19.99)

(approx 5 1/2" long by 1/2" and 5/8" high)

Pierceabilities™ - what are they? what will they do?

Each set of Pierceabilities™ will include two dies per package, along with a Transparent Piercing Template to aid in piercing. I will share more information regarding what this is and how it will be used in a future post.

Below are pictures of the actual dies - I am hoping that by sharing this picture you will be able to "see" what these dies will look like and thus get a better understanding of how they work.

 

So what will they do?

• Cut - these will cut just like your other Spellbinder Dies and Nestabilities™. Hopefully you can see the raised line along the lower edge of the die - this is the cutting line. Each Pierceability™ die being released at CHA will have a different edge design for cutting and embossing! 
• Emboss - the Pierceability™ dies will run through the Wizard and almost any other die cut machine. They will emboss just as the other Spellbinder Dies and Nestabilities™ emboss. You will use the same sandwiches which you have already learned (thank goodness Ü). Stacey Caron has put together a fantastic video demonstration for you showcasing how to use the Spellbinder dies in other die cut machines. Please follow this link to YouTube for a wonderful video demonstration!
• Stencil - again this feature is the same as all previous Spellbinder products. Airbrush, chalk, sponge - use the die as a stencil to achieve beautiful and unique results!
• Pierce - now this is where the whole difference comes in to being - thus the name Pierceabilities™ Ü. We toyed with the idea of having the die actually do the piercing, but after much thought we felt that you would be able to achieve SO MUCH MORE if you were allowed the flexibility of piercing by hand. This option allows you to pick and choose from different areas of the design, using the entire die or only a portion - whatever suites your project. Versatility and value have been foremost in our thought process in the development of this product. The looks you are going to be able to achieve... well, I'm jumping up and down in my chair right now!
• Not only can you do each of the above individually, but you can combine the above elements for an even greater variety of looks! Remember, with Spellbinders the difference is in the details.

These cards were made to share the basic looks that you will be able to achieve with the Pierceabilities™ alone. I was absolutely stunned with the beauty of their simplicity. What perfect wedding, anniversary, or thank you notes these would make. Just place a sentiment inside or on the front and your work is complete.

Details will be shown in future posts as to how I created each of the projects. Today is all about the eye candy and the drawing!!!

This card shows the basic function of the die used three ways - cut along the lower edge, embossed and pierced.

Next I wanted to share that you can only emboss and pierce - no need for cutting. This was repeated in two places on the card front to give it a completely different look than one "border" would achieve.

Not only did I want these dies to work on the 5 1/2" side of the card, but much thought was put into how they could possibly work on the 4 1/4" side as well.

With some cardstocks, these dies will also cut through two layers. These examples are created using the Neenah Classic Crest Solar White - a quality, heavy cardstock. I cannot wait to see what other possibilities will unfold with time!!!

Yes, I used the new label, that Debbie revealed to showcase how you can pierce through our metal foil! This is a very simple design that just touches the surface of the possibilities of revisiting the folk-like pierced tin techniques!!!

Last, but not least I just couldn't help myself by sharing this little sneak peek of a clear album that I have made using the new Label 1 set in conjunction with piercing using the new Pierceabilities™. I can assure you that I will share the inside, as well as all the details regarding working with plastic, but there are more dies in use that I cannot yet reveal - you are just going to have to wait for the final reveals and my return from CHA Ü

 

Spellbinders Birthday Celebration

Sneak Peek Party Drawing Information

Drawing Information

Spellbinders will randomly pick one entry from each of the 14 Spellbinders Sneak Peek Blog reveals as stated in the "Rules". This name will be drawn to receive the die being revealed on said blog. These entries must follow all rules stated below to be valid for the drawing.

Entrants visiting all 14 Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Blog reveals and correctly entering their information into the 14 separate drawings, as described below, will automatically be entered into a GRAND PRIZE give away of a new RASPBERRY WIZARD and a $500 retail value die package!

Rules

Any participant wishing to be included in the daily drawing for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek die give away must adhere to all of the following rules:

1. Participant must click on the provided drawing link on blog to enter each individual drawing on sneak peeks between June 30 and July 13.
2. Participant must type in the subject line the name/names of the die/dies being revealed.
3. Participant must send their entry for this blog before 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time on July 5th, 2008.
4. Participant is only allowed to enter each of the 14 Spellbinders sneak peek blog give away drawings one time per sneak peek. Participant must use the same email address daily to be considered for grand prize entry.
5. Spellbinders Design Team members and employees are not eligible for drawing.

Any participant wishing to be automatically entered into the drawing for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Grand Prize drawing, must enter the drawing from all of the 14 blog reveals and follow all the above rules.

Please note:

• Spellbinders will only use email information to contact the winner.
• Spellbinders will not share this email address with any other parties.
• Spellbinders will not use this email information for advertisements of communications other than to contact the winner.
• If you wish to be included in further communications from Spellbinders, please go to their homepage and sign up: www.spellbinders.us.

Again the deadline for entering in the drawing for my sneak peek today, the Spellbinders S4-165 Pinking Pierceabilities™ and S4-167 Victorian Pierceabilities™, is midnight July 5th (Central Time). Don't forget to enter yesterday's sneak peek on Heidi Blankenship's blog Embellished Dreams before midnight July 4th (Central Time).

Click here to enter the drawing. If this pop-up link does not work or you use an email client that does not work with this pop-up box, you may copy and paste this address to send your entry via email to - newdierelease@spellbinders.us.

I hope to be able to share the winner of this portion of the sneak peek drawing with you on Sunday, July 6th. Best of luck and don't forget to enter the remaining sneak peek drawings!

Stamp of the Month, July

Happy Canada Day!!! I hope that all of our Canadian friends are having a glorious day today!

Have you checked out the new Nestabilities and other Spellbinder designs? Aren't they spectacular!!! Don't forget that the Spellbinder Blog Party reveal has begun - you have until midnight tonight to enter using the link and die information provided on Debbie's blog and until midnight tomorrow night to enter using the link and die information provided on Jennifer's blog. You are not going to want to miss out on entering both of these drawings, especially being if you enter all 14 drawings you will automatically become eligible to win the ultimate prize!

I have been busier than a little bee completing projects for my big reveal on July 4th! I can HARDLY WAIT! Yes, I know - I am yelling - LOL! Sssssh Ellen - it's not your turn yet Ü

So today instead I am going to share the project that I created for this month's Stamp of the Month Packet.

I know, I know - Christmas in July?!? Being that it is always SO incredibly hard to be prepared for the holiday season I decided to put a bit of a festive twist on this month's packet. This card could be given along with your own handmade treats at the holidays, or used as a hostess thank you when you are invited to a holiday party. Perhaps you could even use it as an invitation to a neighborhood cookie exchange. My goal is always to share the versatility of a stamp design and thus the festive twist to the apron. I believe that this apron is one of those stamps that will become SO well used. I like to think about what occasion cards are needed for. With my surgeries and breaks, and... I really was bummed that I didn't have more thank you notes prepared that were "cooking" oriented to thank those who helped our family out with meals.

To begin I made a mask of the pocket area of the apron being I did not want my embellished design to run off on to the apron front.

Eclipse tape is a tool that has been a product I fell in love with years ago. It is one of the best and easiest masking devices on the market in my opinion. I stamped on it and used my retractable blade cutting knife to cut away the part of the pocket I wanted to embellish.

Next I stamped my design over the image. I am showing you my first attempt above so that hopefully you can learn from my mistake - LOL! Even though this tape is extremely thin, definitely thinner than Post-It notes, I find that I still need to us a little extra pressure when I stamp with a mask. If you stamp too gently you will miss the portion of the design that is right next to the eclipse tape as I did above.

Above shows the colored image. I used quite a variety of colors to complete the coloring of this portion of the apron - YG00, YG63, YG95, YG85, R81, RV17, RV19, RV34 and W1. I then cut it out and added texture using the technique I go into more detail about below.

I began by quickly coloring my image using YG00, YG63 and RV19. Being I knew I was going to be covering a portion of the design with a second layer I colored the pocket quickly just to provide color on the inside top of the pocket.

As you can see the color of the green I selected was brighter than the cardstock. Therefore I needed to add some gray to the image to bring it closer to the color I needed. I selected several neutrals and tested the colors on a piece of scrap paper. I found that W1 combined with YG00 was the perfect blend. The picture above shows how I brought the gray in from the edges. Someday soon I hope to learn how to make a YouTube video because that is the only way I know how I could show you how I blend colors. I added a little YG63 along a couple of edges and then came back over top of all the colors with YG00.

As you can see from the back side of this image above I concentrated more ink in the blended areas around the outside edge and I left the center of the apron, lighter and brighter to achieve a "rounded" look to the image.

With each project of the month I like to share something that will be a small "WOW", or that is cool thought. For this one I wanted to show you how you can add texture to the apron and truly make it look more like fabric. This is created using a simple paper towel and colorless blender solution.

I have included this image just so that you can see how I let the solution bleed out. I actually let the solution sit on the paper towel for approximately 15-30 seconds. You want the paper towel to have a damp feeling, but not be soaked. Set the paper towel straight down on your project and gently apply quick pressure over the entire image. I would like to recommend that you experiment on a scrap piece rather than your original piece of art, so that you don't wreck your beautiful creation on your first try Ü

As you can see by this closeup view the texture added is the coolest little addition. I also applied this same technique to the cut out apron pockets and towel.

The piece was completed by mounting it on a basic Nestability rectangle, which was then mounted on the scalloped Nestability rectangle. Using a soft green ink I stamped the Holiday Millinery Embellishment randomly over the cardfront to add texture.

One last tip is to use your Copic markers to add color to regular staples. I was able to add a little more raspberry "zip" to the image by using my colored staple to attach the little ribbon embellishment.

Well I'd best get back to finishing up all those projects I've started - LOL! You should see my work room. I have all sorts of beauties distributed along the length of my countertop awaiting their final embellishments, pictures etc. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous evening!

It's Party Time! Let's celebrate like never before Ü

It's official!!! We have hit the one year mark celebrating the arrival of the Nestabilties - yah baby (as my friend Miss Cami would say Ü)! Your reaction to this product has never ceased to amaze me - I believed in it, but didn't know how anyone else would react. Well, I can honestly say that your enthusiasm has blown me out of the water!

Do you remember this?

I was so incredibly excited about showing you the versatility of these dies. Shaped cards - who would have thought? This type of card has became well-known as the "clamshell" Ü

Swirl them and twirl them!

Cut, emboss, cut and emboss!

Use them as a stencil - the possibilities are limitless! Ü

It was, and still is, all about the versatitlity, value and storage!!! Do you remember this picture?

The impact of this visual was so incredible on my own thought process, I couldn't believe the comparison. It was so exciting to realize that we had discovered a tool that would become an everyday component of so many crafters/artists.

The discoveries continue!!! SO STAY TUNED you are NOT going to want to miss out on what we have to share with you over the next couple of weeks pre-CHA!!!

To celebrate Nestabilities tremendous first year, Spellbinders will be giving daily sneak peeks of many of the new designs debuting at the upcoming Summer CHA Show --- in addition YOU have an opportunity to win some great prizes!

Each day a different Spellbinders Design Team Member will introduce one of the soon-to-be-released dies! Blog visitors can sign up during specified times for a chance to win that day's featured die. So be certain to visit all the blogs and become eligible to win the Grand Prize! To learn more about this opportunity please head over to Spellbinders home page for the list of blogs, the prize information and other fabulous details surrounding this grand event!

Also, if you would like to be notified directly by Spellbinders regarding future product releases then click on the link below and sign up for new information to be delivered to your email box.

I have the privilege of doing my own reveal on July 4th - let me tell you that I am jumping out of my skin in anticipation of that day!!! You are not going to want to miss out on coming to my blog that day even with all the celebrations going on! On that day I get to celebrate the amazing freedom we have living here in America, celebrate family, consider ways I can help those who have been hit by huge devastation this year AND share my over-the-top excitement with you! I am truly a very lucky and blessed woman (said with happy tears) SO - let's get ready to party SPELLBINDERS style!