Love You | Tim Holtz Idea-ology & Spellbinders

Hi friends!  Today’s project is a quick anniversary card that’s so easy to make using products from Tim Holtz’s Ranger and Idea-ology lines as well as a couple products from Spellbinders.  Let’s see how this goes!  

The supplies used were:

Spellbinders “Brushed Black” Cardstock

Spellbinders “Precision Layering A2 A” Dies

Tim Holtz / Idea-ology Paper Dolls

Spellbinders “Tiled Hearts” Embossing Folder

Spellbinders “Sneaking a Kiss” Die Set

Tim Holtz / Idea-ology Metallic Colors Kraft-Stock (Pink)

Tim Holtz / Idea-ology 8 x 8 Paper, “Limited Release from the Vault - Wallflower”

Tim Holtz / Ranger Distress Crayons – Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar

Tim Holtz / Idea-ology Paper Dolls

Q-Tips (for adding color to the paper dolls)

Paper Sanding Block

Scrapbook.com 1” Foam Adhesive Roll, 1mm

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

I started the card by die cutting the Spellbinders Brushed Black cardstock and a piece of the metallic pink Kraft-Stock from Tim Holtz / Idea-ology using the Spellbinders “Precision Layering A2 A” dies – the black was cut using the largest die in the set and the pink metallic was cut using the second to largest die.  I then embossed the metallic pink Kraft-Stock panel using the Spellbinders “Tiled Hearts” embossing folder.  After embossing the metallic pink panel, I used a fine grit paper sanding block and scuffed up the edges of the panel and lightly sanded the surface of the panel to dull the finish and allow the paper’s core to be revealed… essentially, I distressed the panel a bit.  The last panel was diecut using the same Spellbinders A2 layering dies, but this time I used the third largest die and diecut a piece of the Tim Holtz / Idea-ology “Limited Release from the Vault – Wallflower” papers that I felt matched my theme the best.

Now for my focal point.  From the Tim Holtz / Idea-ology Paper Dolls pack, I selected a couple who appeared to be from a wedding photo and began to selectively colorize some of the paper doll’s features using my Tim Holtz / Ranger Distress Crayons.  I colored the bride’s flowers and groom’s boutonniere and pocket square using Picked Raspberry and used Spun Sugar for both of their cheeks.  Lastly, I added strips of 1mm foam tape to the back side of the bridal couple.

I added 1mm foam tape to the reverse side of my pink embossed panel and adhered it to the center of the brushed black cardstock panel.  I also added the same foam adhesive to the back side of the patterned paper and adhered it to the metallic pink panel.

For my sentiment and embellishments, I chose to use the Spellbinders “Sneaking a Kiss” die set from their December 2023 release and diecut the “love you” and string of hearts dies from the same metallic pink cardstock as the embossed panel.

I glued the love, you, and heart loop die cuts to the card front using my married couple as a guide on placement.  Then I used the negatives from the string of heart die cuts – which left me with three little pink hearts – to utilize as my only embellishments for the card front which I glued in place after adhering the lovely married couple onto the card.  And that’s a wrap!

I hope you enjoyed this quirky little anniversary card that was so much fun to make and possibly found inspiration for some of your own card making projects.   

Until next time… happy making!

Easter 2025 | Sending Easter Blessings

Hi friends!  I thought I’d make today’s Easter card using inspiration from the cutest layered stencil set out of the Spellbinders Deluxe Caboodle subscription from February 2025.  It creates the perfect background for a simple, but beautiful, Easter celebration card.   

The supplies used were:

Spellbinders “Nature’s Canvas” Stencil Set

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks (Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron,

    Squeezed Lemonade, Saltwater Taffy, Weathered Wood)

Nuvo Glitter Drops – Silver Moondust

Ranger/Simon Hurley Solar Spray “Beluga”

Scrapbook.com White Heavy Weight Mixed Media Paper Pad

Memory Box “Azure Dragonflies” Die Set

Black Cardstock from my Stash

Tonic Studios Pearlized Vellum

Lisa Horton “Ripe Mango Shimmer” Interference Ink

Spellbinders “Perfect Touch Rectangles and Tag” Die Set

My Favorite Things “Sour Apple” Cardstock

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium in Fine Tip Bottle

Scrapbook.como 1” Foam Adhesive Roll, 1mm

Windsor & Newton Designers Gouache “Lamp Black”

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink – Black Soot

Spellbinders “Luxe Damask” BetterPress Plates & Die Set

Spellbinders BetterPress System

Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

I started the card by placing a piece of 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” white cardstock on my sticky mat and using the Spellbinders Nature’s Canvas stencils, I started with the first stencil labeled “1” and applied my ink colors through each stencil in this order:

            1 – Distress Oxide – Twisted Citron

            2 – Distress Oxide – Cracked Pistachio

            3 – Distress Oxide – Squeezed Lemonade

            4 – Distress Oxide – Saltwater Taffy

            5 – Distress Oxide – Weathered Wood

After I inked the last stencil using Weathered Wood, I wiped the stencil clean with some a few sprays of rubbing alcohol to clean it then placed the stencil back onto the inked cardstock panel and lined it up appropriately then sprayed a few spritzes of Ranger/Simon Hurley Solar Spray in the color Beluga to give the flower centers a bit of shimmer.  After the Solar Spray dried, I applied a thin layer of Silver Moondust Nuvo Glitter Drops to the centers of the larger flowers and set that aside to dry.  Once dry, I came back with a small paint brush and some Windsor & Newton Lamp Black gouache that I watered down and lightly splattered the inky card front panel and set it aside once again to dry.

For the dragonfly, I used the Memory Box Azure Dragonflies die set and cut the body piece from a piece of black cardstock from my scrap tray and cut the wings from a piece of Tonic Studios pearlized vellum.  I inked the head die cut using Lisa Horton’s Ripe Mango Shimmer Interference Ink to give it a luminous sheen.  Once the ink dried, I glued the dragonfly diecuts together and placed reverse tweezers of the center of the wings to hold them in place until the glue dried.

Using the Spellbinders Perfect Touch Rectangles and Tag die set, I cut the inked card front panel from the second to largest die and cut a piece of My Favorite Things’ Sour Apple cardstock using the largest die from this set.  I placed three strips of Scrapbook.com’s 1” wide/1mm foam tape to the backside of the inked card front and adhered it to the Sour Apple color cardstock and adhered these two pieces to an A2 size, side folding, white card base.

For the sentiment, I chose to use the Easter Blessings press plate from the Spellbinders Luxe Damask press plate and die set.  I used the BetterPress system and went ahead and inked up all the sentiments in this set - so I would have extras – using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink and ran it through my Platinum 6 die cutting machine then die cut the sentiments using the coordinating dies that came with the set.  I adhered the “Sending Easter Blessing” sentiment to the card front using thin foam squares and used glue to adhere the dragonfly to the upper right side of the card.  And with that step, this card was completed!

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own cardmaking projects.   Until next time… happy making!

2024 Holiday Series #6 | Sending Holiday Cheer

Hi friends!  For today’s holiday series installment, I decided to do some die cutting with a beautiful snowflake die set from Spellbinders called “Snowflake Card Creator” and an ornament from the Altenew “Lovely Ornaments” stamp and die set.   

The supplies used were:

Spellbinders Silver Treasured Cardstock – Glitter Metallic and Matte Metallic

Spellbinders “Snowflake Card Creator” Die Set

Altenew “Lovely Ornaments” Stamp and Die Set

Spellbinders “Festive Ornaments” Die Set (ornament topper)

Spellbinders / Simon Hurley 3D Embossing Folder “Sparkling Snow”

Simon Says Stamp “Christmas Wishes” Sentiment Strip

Pinkfresh Studios Navy Glitter Cardstock

Spellbinders Indigo Cardstock

Spellbinders Glimmer Foil – Silver

Nuvo Crystal Drops “Liquid Mercury”

Taylored Expressions Anti-Static Powder Tool

DMC Silver Diamant Thread

Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Ink

Brutus Monroe “Sterling” Embossing Powder

Heidi Swapp Mini Minc Machine (for foiling)

Wagner Heat Embossing Tool

Misti Original Stamp Positioning Tool

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

I started today’s card by cutting a piece of Spellbinders Indigo cardstock to measure 5”x5” and cut a piece of Spellbinders Glitter Metallic cardstock from the Treasured Cardstock collection to measure 5-1/4” x 5-1/4”.  These two pieces will be used as my card front’s background.

Using the Spellbinders/Simon Hurley “Sparkling Snow” 3D Embossing Folder, I misted the 5”x5” Indigo cardstock with a little bit of water and placed it into the embossing folder and ran it through my Empress die cutting machine.  I removed the cardstock from the embossing folder and, once dry, I used tape runner to adhere the 3D embossed cardstock to the front of the Silver Glitter Metallic cardstock.

I created two snowflake die cuts using the large snowflake die from Spellbinders’ “Snowflake Card Creator” die set – one was cut from a previously splattered silver and white background piece of cardstock and the other was cut from Spellbinders Matte Silver cardstock from the Treasured Cardstock collection.  I placed liquid adhesive to the back side of the splattered cardstock snowflake and adhered it to the center of the embossed, indigo cardstock then placed liquid glue to the back of the matte silver metallic snowflake diecut and adhered it to the top of the last snowflake but twisted its orientation so they would be offset from one another. I carefully trimmed off any of the snowflake pieces that extended beyond my card front.

Next for the ornament.  I used my Misti and Altenew’s “Lovely Ornaments” stamp and die set and placed the stamp that looks like streamers on top of a scrap piece of gold matte cardstock and picked it up with my Misti door.  I inked the stamp with Simon Says Stamp’s clear embossing ink, applied a generous amount of anti-static powder to my cardstock, and stamped the impression onto the gold cardstock panel.  I used Brutus Monroe’s “Sterling” embossing powder and applied it to the embossing ink, tapped off the excess, and heat set it with my heat tool.  After the cardstock cooled, I used the circle die from the “Lovely Ornaments” die set to cut the gold, silver embossed cardstock with my die cutting machine.  Then I used a die from the “Lovely Ornaments” set that looked almost like dripping icing and die cut it from a piece of Pinkfresh Studios’ navy glitter cardstock.  I adhered the navy glitter die cut to the top of the gold ornament base using liquid glue.  I took a piece of silver DMC Diamant thread and tied it into a double bow (leave the tails long) and set that aside for the moment.  For the ornament topper, I wanted one that was more substantial than what came with the “Lovely Ornaments” die set, so I used the Spellbinders/Nichol Spohr “Festive Ornaments” dies and selected the two ornament topper pieces and cut the one with the base out of a scrap of silver metallic cardstock and the one with the hanger loop from some gold metallic cardstock.  I glued the metallic silver die cut on top of the metallic gold ornament topper die cut and held those two together with my reverse tweezers until they dried.  Once dried, I adhered the new ornament topper to the top of the navy/gold ornament and glued the silver thread bow to the top of the ornament hanger with liquid glue.  While the glue was drying on the bow, I decided to add some more texture to the ornament by adding Nuvo Crystal Drops “Liquid Mercury” to each of the little dots created with the embossing of the lower half of the ornament and set the ornament aside until all components were dry.

I selected the “Sending holiday cheer” sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp’s “Christmas Wishes” sentiment strips and used silver Spellbinders Glimmer Foil to add a metallic shine to the toner sentiment strip.  Once foiled, I added small, thin foam squares to the back of the sentiment strip.

I added thin foam squares to the back of the now dry ornament and adhered it to the center of my card front.  I removed the release paper from the foam squares on the back of my sentiment strip and adhered it to the lower center of the card front and that completed today’s card.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own holiday projects!  Until next time… happy making!