Do you like to do needlepoint? Or not? I don’t do needlepoint for real but I sure had fun doing some with Nichol Spohr’s collection from Spellbinders. I will show you you can use these dies for something other than a needlepoint look as well!

Here I used elements from the Faux Embroidered Spruce Etched Dies to create my wreath on myfront door!

I have found the most helpful thing to do when faced with lots of dies is to just cut them all out at once. If you think you might need more than one –cut out lots as I did with the sprigs. I also cut out two candy canes. There were already multiple stockings in the set so I cut them as well, and figured if I didn’t use them all I would have extras for another card.

Since I chose to make this a wreath on a door I created my house using the latticework embossing folder and used some Distress Lumberjack Red ink to make it look like brick. Then I cut out the door and the ‘stoop’ rom the Open House Base Die.

To make the wreath I used somewhere between 9-12 sprigs die cuts and I just eyeballed it to make it look as round as possible and very full. Adding the stockings on the wreath were easy with a bit of Gina K Connect glue. I wasn’t sure how many stockings to hang but decided I should use a bow…as most wreaths have bows on them. I found some red ribbon in my stash and created the bow, adhering it with a Zot (Good for holding on tight).

Since the Candy Canes were turned opposite directions I had to do a little trick to make them look good. After die cutting both the red and the white parts I ran the left white piece through the die cutting machine on its own…This flattens the paper a bit so you can’t tell that the piece was actually turned over.

Another tip is…don’t forget to stamp your sentiment before it goes on the card! I had not done this and had to recreate the stoop over again. HA! Lesson Learned! When it was done I also decided to make my house look a little ‘softer’ and rounded the corners. I hope you think my house is more inviting now and you’ll come to visit me!

Now to the needlework. There are 6 embroidery hoops in the package…2 of each size. I chose the middle size. I glued the two together and added a piece of acetate on the top just bigger than the opening. I die cut the faux canvas out but before gluing it to the back of the hoops I die cut all the flowers and stars and elements from the set to create shaker filling. I added a few iridescent rainbow sequins as well then glued the hoop on top for a closed shaker.

Since there was a rainbow theme to the set I chose to ink blend a piece of cardstock just using the ink that was already on my brushes. It made an especially pretty pastel rainbow! I ran it though one of my all time favorite embossing folders – the Diamond Plaid. All that was left was to finish assembling the card by gluing all the pieces together. The sentiment from All You Need Sentiments was just right for something handmade.

Hope you like my shaker and all the pretty colors. So you see, you can use these die sets in many different ways…whatever comes into your mind. What will you do with it? Will you embroider or take a different path? Whatever you do, please tag me at @pennypynnonen on IG or Facebook. I’d love to see your work also.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs, Penny

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What do you do when you don’t know for sure what to create?  I was pressed for time this month as I was traveling internationally.  So, I took Jennifer McGuire’s approach and made several parts before I made the whole.

1. The Wax Seal of the Month is a delicate and pretty snowflake.  It came with beautiful pearly white wax. my first piece was to make 3 white snowflakes.
2. The second piece was the Glimmer Of the Month.  Hmmm, what foil should I use…gold, red, green?  How about all them!

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Have you ever tried the Blackout Technique?  Have you ever played with wax seals to combine colors other than marbling?  Try stretching your ‘cardmaking powers’ to include these.

Forest Mushrooms Wax Seal

First, emboss a piece of white cardstock using the Mushroom Embossing 3D Folder.  Now turn it over and use the Debossed side of the paper.

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Don’t you just love the shimmer and shine from the Glimmer Clubs?  This month is NO exception with the gorgeous Tropical Bloom with Fuchsia Flower foil.

Steps:

• Using the Glimmer machine and following directions I put my plate down, foil shiny side down, cardstock, heated it up and ran it through my Spellbinders Platinum machine.  OOOO so pretty.
• There are two sentiments with this flower plate – Thinking of You and Sending Best Wishes.  Both were glimmered with the same fuchsia flower foil.
• Using the stencil that came with it I colored the flower with a pale purple then darker in the center…fading to the ends to give it the glowing effect.  I also colored the stem green to stand out from the flower.
• There was no die with this plate but it was very easy to fussy cut out with good scissors.
• The background was a pale shade of lilac cardstock embossed with the Embossing folder of the Month laid over some Tim Holtz metallic cardstock.
• To add more dimension, I put foam tape behind the flower so it floats on the carefront.

This, so far, is one of my favorite Glimmers of the Month…but Spellbinders keeps getting better and better so who knows what will come next.

Bonus Card

Since this plate came with a stencil also, I was curious as to how it would look with just the stencil and no outline.  I started playing with it and using blue ink for just a few pf the pedals, fading to purple.  Then I thought I would try a minty green to mix into the pedals….

OK HERE’s the happy accident!  I picked up a blending brush that had a light gray on it but hadn’t been used for awhile so I figured the ink was dry, but light enough it wouldn’t be affecting the minty green too much.  Surprise, some of the green came through but so did the gray, and some of the purple from the stencil moved onto the paper as well.  Hmm, what is this going to look like?  When I took the stencil off and saw the beauty of this, I was totally enamored.  Will I be able to redo this another time?  Probably not, but by using blending brushes of the past you can still come out with beautiful work.  Now, THIS is my favorite card!

Do you have a happy accident?  Please share in the comments and tag me on Facebook (Penny Pynnonen or Folded With Care) or Instagram (@pennypynnonen)

The Spellbinders Clubs are open from the 6^th of the month to the 27^th of the month so if you want this set, please click the link below.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you’ll sign up to follow me and come back again.

Hugs, Penny

Supplies listed below are affiliate links which may give me a small commission if you purchase by clicking on the link. This will never be a cost to you. Thank you.

Do you ever wonder how to use delicate and fine detail dies?  Do you have trouble cutting them out?  Try some of the Spellbinders Glitter paper.  I cuts like ‘butter” (as Laura Bassen might say).

This first one is cut with pink and green glitter paper Spellbinders Timeless Duo.  TIP:  use low tack tape to hold your die in place and cut it with the cutting edge upward.  With this tip and the great glitter paper everything comes out spectacularly.

The background is embossed with Spellbinders background Embossing folder of the month – partially embossing the top and the bottom, leaving a flat space at the center; Lightly ink blended over to show the texture.  The whole card base was cut out with the Scallop Labels and Tag Etched Dies from the Sealed 3D Botanical Collection and a thin frame was created with two of the labels in this set.  The cute little flowers were from Spellbinders Small die of the month Feb 2024.    The sentiment is from Smooth Lines Mix & Match Sentiments Etched Dies from the Be Bold Collection cut from Tim Holtz Silver paper.

This second card is a gate fold card first ink blended with Blue Horizon and Teal Tempest Altenew Inks.  To make the gatefold:

• simply start with a 10”x7” piece of white cardstock.
• Score 2.5” from each side on the long ends and fold inward

The silver die cuts come from Tim Holtz silver paper as well as Spellbinders Timeless 5X7 Cardfront dies.

I made a mistake in cutting my card base so my measurements we slightly off – so the two “gates” didn’t meet as they should have.  To compensate for this, I added a strip of paper along the edge of the left side, matching it with the paper behind the center Oval of the Timeless 5X7 cardfront dies.

The sentiment is from Always You Timeless Sentiments Press Plates from the Timeless Collection, glimmered with silver foil.

This is such a pretty collection of fine dies. They really make a Timeless classy display. I’d love to see what you would do with these dies. Please tag me on Facebook or IG if you create with these.

Thanks for visiting. Hope to see you again soon!

Hugs, Penny

Supplies listed below are affiliate links which may give me a small commission if you purchase after clicking but will never be a cost to you. Thank you for helping me to continue to craft.

Do you like glitz and glimmer on your cards?  Do you like sparkle?  Then Spellbinders Glitter paper is for  you!

Here a a sample of the paper with the beautiful new die “More Fresh Picked Angel Trumpets” This is a great combination with the glitter paper as it takes up the whole card front.  It will fit on an A2 size also but I chose a 5”x6.5” card base to display this beauty.

I also like to play with some of the colors on the glitter paper.  I loved the pink flowers that it created.  For the edges and the centers I modified the pink glitter:

• Added Ranger Gumball Alcohol ink to make the pink a darker color
• Added Ranger Sunshine Alcohol ink to make it orangey. 

So much fun to play with the colors and so easy to just add a few drops to create a new color.  These glitter papers are strong enough to take the extra colors/moisture but still die cut beautifully.

After putting it together I added some black and white spatter to the card.  Black splatter can be done easily with almost any black ink but I have struggled with the white splatter…UNTIL NOW.  Spellbinders recently came out with a new White Splatter.  Don’t be fooled by its small bottle – and on opening to find it only is partially filled.  This is truly SMALL and MIGHTY.  The white pigment may have a little oily separation look but a simple stir with your paint brush is all it needs.  Then using that paint brush, put some on an acrylic block and spritz it with water.  Hold your brush over the area you want to splatter and just tap your brush around.  I really like this splatter because it is sharp and clear, not translucent.  It especailly is good over black cardstock.

This is a quick card in die cutting and putting together and makes a great statement piece!  Glitz, glitter, bright colors, full card…you can’t go wrong with any of the components of this card.

Do you have a different color Angel Trumpet in your yard?  Show me yours with this die and tag me so I can see its beauty also.

Thanks for visiting my page.    Hope you come again and share your creations with me also.

HUGS, Penny

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