Friday Focus: Spellbinder dies

Hello everyone, Latisha here today for our Friday Focus - which is Spellbinder dies! Spellbinder makes wonderful dies that can cut, emboss and stencil, and you can use them with any die cut machine which makes them universal. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned stamper these really are a wonderful tool to have. I enjoy using the dies, because they give your card/project a really nice polished look. The sky is the limit when it comes to using them!


Here I scored my card stock as I would normally do when I make a card, but I placed my die a little above the scored/fold line. You do this when you want your card to have a shape to it.

1. score card as usual
2. place die over card stock leaving a little of the die over the fold line
3. emboss (I use a cuttlebug so "a" plate, "b" plate, embossing mat, cardstock, die facing down, "b" plate again)
4. cut
5. remove from machine, ready to create
For this card, I used a curvy rectangle for my card base, by leaving a little over the edge of my score line. Spellbinder dies "nest" which means you can layer them without thinking, you just use a smaller die, no math involved. I cut the scalloped octagon in black, then used a regular octagon to cut and emboss the white card stock, an again, they "nest" perfectly. 1. score card base
2. place curvy rectangle die over card stock leaving a bit over the score/fold line.
3. emboss
4. cut
repeat #3 & #4 to cut the octagon shapes.
Spellbinder dies can go through a lot of different material, here I took some card board that came in a pajama set, cut it down just a little, then ran them through my machine...waa laa...perfectly cut chipboard pieces.
When you use the Spellbinder dies, mix them up a little. You don't need to use just circles, squares, ovals etc...together. Here I used a Labels die, two different sized circle dies, and a double ended tag die.


I stamp first and then cut them out, however if you are new to Spellbinder dies, I suggest cutting an embossing your paper first then stamping. They are such a valuable and easy tool to use, I find that when people are having a hard time with them, its because they are "sandwiching" them wrong. Check your die cut machine to find out the correct sandwich to use.

Take some time to check out what the DT has done with Spellbinder dies.

Julie Koerber

Laura Fredrickson

Cindy Lawrence

Leslie Miller

Christine Okken

Faith Hofrichter

Stacy Morgan

Sharon Doolittle

Have a wonderful Weekend!

hugs

Latisha