Spellbinders Blog

BetterPress plates can do more than create letterpress impressions and hot-foiled designs. In this detailed Christmas card tutorial, you’ll learn how to apply clear sticky ink to a BetterPress plate and use white embossing powder to produce a crisp, heat-embossed snowflake background. The tutorial also covers pressing and die cutting a sentiment, assembling three detailed snowmen, and arranging the finished elements on an A2 card....

Give the Frank Garcia Christmas Blush Collection a contemporary twist with this clean and simple Christmas card. Learn how to assemble pastel ice skates, add winter foliage, and finish the design with a hot-foiled sentiment and silver gems.

Create a whimsical Christmas card with the Sweet Snowman Etched Dies from Frank Garcia’s Christmas Blush Collection. Follow the step-by-step tutorial to assemble the snowman, hot foil a festive sentiment, and add sparkle to an embossed background.

Create a sweet and sparkling Christmas card featuring the Frank Garcia Christmas Blush Collection. Learn how to combine an embossed tree, glittery snow, a charming die-cut snowman, patterned papers, and lace for a beautifully layered holiday design.

Hello, crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you on the blog today to share a card using the Wrapped Up City Holiday Etched Dies from the Christmas City Holiday Collection designed by Yana Smakula. This is a beautiful set of dies that expand on the original City Holiday Etched Dies set. The dies create a gorgeous ribbon and bow that you can use to...

Turn layered scalloped frames into a colorful Halloween gallery wall! This step-by-step tutorial shows how to emboss and arrange the Scalloped Frames, assemble the adorable Drac character from Simon Hurley's Halloween Hugs Collection, and create a playful handmade Halloween card full of dimension and color.

Build a playful Halloween scene featuring Frank from Simon Hurley's Halloween Hugs Collection. This step-by-step tutorial combines layered die cuts, an ink-blended starry night background, splatter techniques, and dimensional elements to create a fun Halloween card full of personality.

Create an adorable Halloween shaker card featuring the Sir Skeleton Die Set from Simon Hurley's Halloween Hugs Collection. This step-by-step tutorial combines shaker card techniques, hot foiled sentiments, layered die cutting, and playful embellishments to make an interactive Halloween card full of personality.

Learn how to create a clean and simple Christmas card featuring the Mug Friends Etched Dies and Snow Joy Stencil Set. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to make a soft tone-on-tone ombré background with a single ink color, allowing the adorable penguin mugs to become the focal point of your festive design.

Create a charming holiday card featuring the Mug Friends Etched Dies from the Mugs and Kisses Collection. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to assemble an adorable penguin mug and marshmallow snowman, layer festive foliage, and finish with a cheerful Make It Merry sentiment for a fun handmade Christmas card.

Create a vibrant Halloween card featuring the Ghoulish Greetings Press + Foil + Die Set. This tutorial demonstrates how to safely ink blend over hot foil to achieve a stunning foil resist effect, then finishes the design with layered arches, splatter details, and sparkling embellishments.

Create a beautiful shaped angel card using the Divine Arch Card Creator and Blessing Angels Etched Dies from Bibi's Little Blessings Collection. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to build a clean and simple layered design with vellum wings, soft pastel cardstock, and a dimensional arch card base.

Create a playful Halloween ghost card using the Halloween City Holiday Decorations Etched Dies from Yana Smakula's Halloween City Collection. This step-by-step tutorial features ink-blended purple clouds, hot foiled sentiments, dimensional ghost die cuts, and creative ways to use the decoration dies without the City Holiday building.

Create a playful Halloween card featuring the Halloween City Holiday Decorations Die Set by Yana Smakula. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to build a cute, girly Halloween design with layered die cuts, black hot foiled sentiments, glittery spiderwebs, and fun pops of pink, coral, and rose gold.

Transform the City Holiday building into a spooky haunted house with the Halloween City Holiday Collection by Yana Smakula. This step-by-step tutorial shows how to layer die-cut windows, ghosts, pumpkins, and spiderwebs with hot foiled sentiments and an embossed background for a fun Halloween card.

Hello crafters! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today to share a card using the Snowflake Kisses Collection by Lisa Horton. I am going to be doing a step-by-step photo tutorial showing you how to create a Christmas card using the Gift Boxes and Bags Etched Dies and I’m using a more unconventional colour palette to make it. Sometimes it’s fun to create with colours...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial using the Snowflake Background Etched Dies from the Lisa Horton Snowflake Kisses Collection. The Snowflake Background Etched Dies are two layers which you can cut as a base layer and a top layer. For my card today, instead of having die cut layers, I thought that I would deboss the design. DEBOSSING THE DIE Place...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the beautiful new Simply Made 3.0 collection. In the past I’ve avoided rub-ons because I find them a bit intimidating, and I’m not great at applying them with the included wooden stick. But after I found out how you can apply them with your die-cut machine, I will never pass them up...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a festive card that lights up featuring the new Menorah Lights stamp & die set. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! Die-cut the outline Menorah from white cardstock, and the inner die from Silver Matte Metallic, Windy, and Gold Glitter Metallic cardstock. Die-cut the outline and inner die together from white...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the beautiful new Butterfly Garden collection by Simon Hurley. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! To start, we are going to ink blend the Layered Hummingbird Garden stencils in numbered order. Align stencil 1 over top of a 6” x 9” Classic White cardstock panel, then ink blend...

Hello there, Michelle Short here and I am delighted to be sharing two cards today using the Just Add Cake Birthday Cardmaking Kit. Both cards feature the Garden Party Etched Dies. I combined them with the shaker domes and sequins on the first card, and for the second, combined them with the mug from Birthday Brew Etched Dies, as well as some extra colours of...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a striped holiday card featuring the beautiful new Upright Italic Joy to the World press & foil plate. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy to follow photos and instructions! To start, turn on your Glimmer Hot Foil System, then let it heat up. Once the green indicator light notifies you that the platform is...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the new Upright Italic Happy Holidays Press + Foil Plate by Paul Antonio. This sentiment is a large plate, so perfect to act as the focal point on a card. All you need is a few elements to bring the card together! I chose foliage and a bird. I chose to press...

Hello crafters! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today to share a card using the Upright Italic Holiday Sentiments Collection by Paul Antonio. I am going to be doing a step-by-step photo tutorial showing you how to create a Christmas card using the Upright Italic Merry Christmas Press + Foil Plate. Also included in this collection are three other sentiments - Happy Holidays Press +...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the hilarious new Christmas Cats collection by Yana Smakula. I’m not even a cat person, but I can’t get enough of this adorable collection! Today I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions. I hope you find them helpful! Die-cut the cats from the Christmas Cats die set in the...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the new Spectacular Santa Etched Dies. This wonderful die creates a large-sized Santa that can take centre stage on a card. I kept to a traditional colour palette today for Santa, adding in a little pink for the background, but you can definitely experiment with different colour combinations! DIE CUTTING SANTA PLEASE...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the adorable new Spectacular Deer die set. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! The Spectacular Christmas collection launches on July 10th 2026. Club Members enjoy early access now. Die-cut the deer body (from the Spectacular Bear die set) from Fawn & Alabaster cardstock. Die-cut the scarf layers from...

Hello crafters! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today to share a card using the Timeless Textures Collection by Simon Hurley. I am going to be doing a step-by-step photo tutorial showing you how to create this arch-framed birthday card using the super pretty Flowing Florals 3D Embossing Folder along with the Flowing Florals Layered Stencils. Also included in this collection is another beautiful 3D...

Hello, crafty friend! I’m Adrienne Boese, better known online as Alice Scraps Wonderland. There’s nothing quite so delicate as swans floating over the water. So today, we are going to recreate those ethereal vibes in cardstock and patterned paper using the Buttons & Keepsakes collection designed by Frank Garcia. In this tutorial, we’ll be using some simple techniques including die cutting, embossing, paper layering, and...

Hello, crafty friends. Allison Frazier here. I’m excited to be on the Spellbinders blog and YouTube channel today sharing two fun ways to use the Chompster die set from the Just Add Cake Birthday Cardmaking Kit. One card features only products from the kit, and the other features a few additional products from my Spellbinders stash. I know the kit is called “Just Add Cake,”...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the beautiful new Highway Horizons stencils from the Classic Road Legends collection by Mindy Eggen. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! To start, we are going to ink blend the stencils in numbered order. Align stencil 1 over top of an A2-sized (4.25” x 5.5”) Classic White cardstock...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a patriotic card featuring the beautiful new Stars & Stripes stamp & die set. I’m sharing my step-by-step process in easy-to-follow photos and instructions! To start, die-cut the flag background from Classic White cardstock. Die-cut the stripe dies from Ruby Glitter Metallic cardstock and the stars from Cosmic Sky cardstock. Adhere the stars & stripe...

Hello crafters! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today to share a card using the Whimsical Village Collection by Vicky Papaioannou. I am going to be doing a step-by-step photo tutorial showing you how to create this simple scene using the Whimsical Houses Etched Dies, the Village Companions Etched Dies and the Whimsical Wishes Clear Stamp Set. Also included in this collection is a super...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial using Good Fortune Horse. This set celebrates the 2026 Lunar New Year of the Horse. The stamp and die set includes dies to create a horse, plus four sentiment stamps. I created a card for Lunar New Year, but the horse could be used all year round for any occasion. DIE CUTTING THE HORSE Place...

Hi everyone! Ilina Crouse here, and I am happy to be back on the Spellbinders blog, this time sharing a few cards using the Wonder of Oz collection. I loved watching the Wizard of Oz animated series when I was growing up, and this collection made me travel back in time to my childhood. There are several products in this collection, and they work so...

Hello, crafty friends!! Brenda Noelke here from My PaperCut Creations! I’m thrilled to be a guest on the Spellbinders blog today! I’m sharing three cards featuring the Happier Hour Collection with you today! We are traveling to Mexico in December, so the Sip Sip Ole’ Etched Die Set really spoke to me! HERE’S TO GOOD TIMES AND GREAT FRIENDS I began by die-cutting the element...