Spellbinders Flourished Fretwork Collection

Hey everyone!  I've got a couple cards today featuring some products from Spellbinders' Flourished Fretwork collection.  If you love intricate dies and inlay these will be right up your alley.  I wanted to show off two very different looks/techniques today.

First up, I used the Rosa Diamante set.  There are five dies in this set that layer to create a very intricate and detailed look, but for my card, I focused on the middle layer which creates a really lovely inlaid look.

I die cut both a piece of white cardstock as well as a subtle gray print.  The white piece was my base layer into which I inlaid the patterned paper pieces.  Before I adhered the pieces, I used Copics to color the flower and leave pieces as well as some of the accents at the ends of the pattern.  

I love that the pattern is still subtly visible even when you color the pieces.

The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled's Thanks So Much set.

I added a light gray mat that adds a border on either end of my panel and then popped the whole thing up with foam tape.

This second card features the Sentimental Finery set.  This set has four layering dies, and again, I'm featuring just one, the third layer.  This layer creates a framed center portion into which the fourth die sits.  The technique I'm sharing allows you to stretch your dies to create unique patterns by highlighting specific portions of your dies.

I really loved the outside portions of this die.  I think it's got a wonderful graphic, deco feel.  I die cut a panel of black, dark gray, and a lighter gray cardstock.  Then I trimmed down the black negative cut piece to use as template for placement.  

Using a Quickie Glue Pen, and my template, I adhered each of the pieces to a white card base, using black for the inside 'layer', then dark gray, then light gray.

This is not a quick process, but the results are so striking.  I thought that the finished look was quite masculine, it almost reminds me of a car grille or motorcycle emblem.  The sentiment is from an older MFT stamp set.

That's all for me today, but be sure to check out the rest of this collection over at Spellbinders.  There are some great dies sets in the collection.  Thanks for stopping by!

The Vintage Pearl Review, Pretty Packaging, and Discount Code

Hey all, I have a bit of a different post to share today.  Several weeks ago I was contacted by a company called The Vintage Pearl, a small business based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to see if I would be interested in receiving a piece of jewelry from them and sharing a review on my blog.

I don't usually do posts like this, but I happily agreed because I'm actually a big fan of and a past customer of The Vintage Pearl.

Ironically, and somewhat sadly, I didn't actually own any pieces from them.  Although I love jewelry, I never actually buy any for myself (the perils of being overly practical), I've only ordered gifts for others (which incidentally have always been very well received).

It was really hard to pick a piece because there were so many that were on my wishlist.  What I really love about The Vintage Pearl is the meaning behind their pieces.  Many can be personalized/engraved to add names, initials, or words/phrases.  Others are more symbolic - you can select say the number of rings/links that are meaningful to your situation or family.

Ultimately, for my first piece, I opted to go with the Mother of Pearl Infinity Necklace, an engraved necklace with the names of everyone in our family.  I love having all our names there, and the girls love seeing them too.  I also really love the versatility of this piece in particular.  It's large, but not too large, and it easily transitions from work to everyday.  Against my better judgement, I even took a picture of myself in both casual and and work attire to show you how well it works for both. 

 

It really was a touch choice though.  My runners up were the Family Links necklace and The Tie That Binds necklace.

 

II get the chance to order something for myself again (or if I am dropping a hint for the hubby or someone else), Family Links is what I'd order next.

I did order a couple additional necklaces - I had been planning to order from them before Christmas.  Ellie mentioned a couple months ago that she wanted a cross necklace, and The Vintage Pearl has a small necklace called the Tiny Cross Necklace that you can get in either silver or gold finish that is the perfect size.  Andrew said we should just go ahead and get one for both the girls, so these came in the mail the other day too.

Finally, I did want to let you know that The Vintage Pearl also sells personalized Christmas ornaments which make great gifts as well.  These are a few of my favorites (you can click on the photo to go directly to the store link):

  

  

Since my blog is mostly a craft blog, I thought I would create a couple little boxes to package the girls' necklaces in.

I used my Gift Card Box and Gift Card Box Additions dies.  The boxes were cut from Kraft cardstock and I used the large rectangle and the detailed rectangle with diagonal accent cuts from two different patterned papers to decorate the top of the box.  The cream patterned paper was adhered directly to the top of the box and then I tied a piece of Lawn Fawn Lawn Trimmings twine around the colored piece before adhering it to the top of the box with foam tape.

The diamond image from the Thanks So Much stamp set was stamped on some cream cardstock along with a sentiment from the Holiday Sentiments set, and then the diamond was die cut.  That piece was also adhered with foam tape to finish off the box.

The necklaces come on printed square cardstock pieces.  I trimmed the top down so it fits neatly in the box and added some tissue paper.  This is what it looks like when you open it up.

I do have a discount code to share with you guys if you're interested in ordering.  You can use Miriam15 to get 15% off any order from The Vintage Pearl for the next 30 days.  Also, a couple key dates to keep in mind.  The custom order Christmas cutoff date (for if you want something personalized) is December 10th.  The cutoff date for ready made pieces is December 16th. 

Thanks for visiting!

Stash Busting with the Build A Tag dies

Hey everyone!  I've got a whole slew of tags to share today using the new Build A Tag dies. 

I got to thinking after I created this tag I shared last week, that this is a perfect set of dies for stash busting, so I set out to prove it.

I used one of my older paper collections (Amy Tangerine's Stitched collection for AC), cutting a 6" x 12" piece from eight different sheets.  Then I ran all the pieces from the Build A Tag set as well as the diamond die from the Gift Card Box Additions set through the die cut machine. 

Full disclosure I have extended cutting plates, so I could do this in one pass.  If you have standard sized plates you'll have to cut a piece off and run it through separately, but that is easy enough to do.

Here's a look at one of my cardstock sheets with all the pieces cut out.

Once I had all my pieces cut out, I basically lined up all the main tag pieces and then distributed the rest of them to each tag, mixing and matching the different patterns. 

I tried very hard to make this a quick set, not to over complicate things.  Normally if I was making just one tag, I'd probably add some stitching or embellishments, but here I limited myself to just adding a bit of foam tape for dimension.

All the sentiments are from the Thanks So Much stamp set.

There are so many different combinations and possibilities.  I'm planning to do this again, but with some old Christmas papers so I can knock out all the Christmas tags I need.

I hope this gives you some ideas and that you're able to make a dent in your pile of patterned papers too!

August Neat & Tangled Release - Just Your Basic Card

Hi everyone!  I've got one last project to share with you using this month's release.  Just your basic card using the Thanks So Much stamp set and Gift Card Box Additions die set.

This was a super quick and easy card and one you could easily mass produce.  I started by stamping and embossing one of the frame images from the Thanks So Much stamp set in gold on some cream cardstock, and then die cut it using the mat piece from the additions set.

I also stamped/embossed the diamond shape and the Bless Your Heart sentiment.  When I die cut that, I managed to not do a good job because I was rushing and didn't tack the die down and it shifted a bit.  So, I swiped my Versamark pad over the edges of the diamond shape and embosssed with gold to cover up my whoops.

I cut a mat for my frame piece from gold mirror board cardstock, and then used some foam adhesive to add a bit of dimension to the card and the layers.

Such an easy card, but I love the look of it!

Don't forget to stop by the Neat & Tangled blog to check out today's hop stops!

*Affiliate Links in text to Neat & Tangled and below to Ellen Hutson

VersaMark Ink Pad

Scotch Foam Mounting Tape

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, Thanks So Much

Neat & Tangled Dies, Gift Card Box Additions

Neat & Tangled August Release - Build A Tag

Hi all!  I'm back with another project featuring the August birthday release.  Today I"m sharing a tag using my new Build A Tag set.

This is a great basic tag set.  The tag itself measures 2 3/4" x 5" and comes with several additional dies - a rectangular mat, several circles, and a reinforcer for the top of the tag as well as for the hole.  If you're a tag person this is a great addition to your collection as a standalone die set.

Of course it also works perfectly with the rest of this month's releases.  For my tag I used the diamond and scored rectangle pieces from the Gift Card Box Additions die set, and a sentiment from the Thanks so Much set.

I am using an older Crate Paper 6x6 pad for most of the layers, although the rectangular scored piece and the circle reinforcer were cut with cream cardstock.

I also added some stitching to the diamond piece and then teased the edges up a little for some extra dimension.

I love all the layering possibilities with this set.  You could mass product a bunch of tags by just running various patterned pieces through your die cut machine and then matching them up together in different combinations - a great way to use up some scraps!

Also, just a heads up.  The Gift Card Box was so popular it sold out on Monday.  We put a rush on a new order, but they won't be here until the week of the 20th.  You can still order it on reserve, but your order won't ship until it arrives.  Alternatively, many of your know I'm an affiliate with Ellen Hutson.  Their order of goodies just arrived in the store, so you order through them while supplies last and get it in your hot little hands very quickly - EH shipping rocks! 

Don't forget to stop by the Neat & Tangled blog - remember there are some BIG prizes up for grabs and WOW, if you haven't been hopping along this week you've missed out on some seriously amazing projects!

Neat & Tangled August Release

Hi everyone!  August is Neat & Tangled's birthday month which means that we run release week a little differently.  The number one difference is that the whole release is available in the store NOW - no waiting until the end of the week.  The second difference is that there's a week long blog hop with lots of guest designers with some big prizes up for grabs - one $100 credit and two $50 credits to the store.  There will also be some surprise giveaways on FB and IG, so be sure to keep an eye out on the N&T social media accounts.

For this release I have kind of a suite of items.  I started out by designing a gift card sized box and coordinating stamp set (Thanks So Much).  I know not everyone is into boxes, and I think that the stamp set is unique and versatile enough that I thought it would be perfect for use on tags as well.  But then I thought, maybe you just want to make cards and you just want some coordinating dies that go along with just the stamp set.  So this little smorgasbord of products was born.

Today I wanted to show off the boxes.  I had so much fun creating these and they are really quick and easy to put together.  I have a quick little step out for you:

This is what the box looks like when freshly cut.

You'll notice that the taps have a little connecting piece that you need to snip apart before you start to assemble.

One little tip - I do this whenever assembling boxes or 3-D items, I will flip the piece over, and using a embossing tool go over the score lines from the back.  This step isn't required, but I find that it makes it much easier when I am folding the piece up.  I have a score board, but I usually just use the cutting channel on my paper cutter because it's usually more easily accessible/locatable.

Once that extra scoring is done, before I do any folding I add the stamping/embossing using my MISTI (in case you're wondering if the colors are off they're not, my MISTI rulers are just super faded).

Next I add the adhesive.  I'm using Scor-tape.  Scor-tape is my go to for boxes, I never worry about things coming apart.  Start by adding them to the four tabs.

Now I start folding, I will actually fold along all of the lines at this point before I actually do any sticking together.

Finally, I pull the backing off two of the tabs, and adhere together one side of the box, and then repeat on the other side.  Once that's done, I add some more score tape to the inside of the side as well as the front of the box.

The inside flap is then folded down to create the finished look.  I think it works better to do the sides first and the front panel last.

And as the name suggests, a gift card fits right in there.

I couldn't just make one box, so here are a couple other variations.  For this one, I used the Gift Card Box Additions dies.  These come with a scored panel, a diamond shape, and then a mat for the scored panel.  For this blue box I cut the scored panel, then cut the diamond shape out of the center of it and adhered them to the top of the box where I had stamped/embossed a sentiment from the coordinating stamp set.

Finally, I kraft box because kraft boxes are probably my favorites.  This one I kept kind of tone on tone and simple using White Pearl Embossing powder and framed stamp with the score lines that mimic the die and another sentiment.

In the interest of not making this blog post the longest post every, I'm going to quit there today, but I'll be back with some more posts this week to show you some of the other products/ways to use them.

As always, I'm hosting some giveaways.  Leave a comment here to be entered, and head on over to my Instagram (@mprantner) for additional chances.

Thanks so much for visiting and be sure to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to go through the hop and get your name in the draw for all the great prizes up for grabs this week.  And don't forget - all these goodies are available in the store today!