Spellbinders Blog

Hello, crafty friends! Marie here again from Marie Nicole Designs. I am sharing a Christmas card (never too early for Christmas!) and I will be walking you through step-by-step on how I used a Better Press plate to heat emboss with. Heat embossing with Better Press plates is not really hard at all, and it gives more technique options for using your plates. Let’s get started!

PREP YOUR CARD FRONT

Decide what cardstock you want to use for your card front. I embossed a frame onto this cardstock using one of the Spellbinders embossing folders. There is a perfect spot in the middle of this frame for our sentiment to be the focal point.

BETTER PRESS IT

Grab Season’s Greeting Upright Italic press plate and place it on your Better Press platform. Make sure to align the plate with your cardstock so that it will be pressed into so that it is centered the way you prefer. Once the Season’s Greetings plate is on the Better Press platform, add some embossing ink to it. Since embossing ink is clear, you may not see it on the plate, but trust me, it's there. Add the clear plate with your cardstock onto the Better Press platform and run through your machine. Since the Better Press doesn’t press as hard as a die would in order to cut, you can have a sentiment imprint without ruining your frame that was embossed with a folder. Remove the card front from the platform, and you should now see the sentiment imprinted into the cardstock. The embossing ink will still be wet so be careful not to touch or smear it.

HEAT EMBOSS

Using your preferred embossing powder (I used gold), sprinkle it onto the sentiment and tap off the extra. You may even use a dry paintbrush to clean up and embossing powder hanging onto areas you don't want it. Hit the embossing powder with your heat tool to melt the powder and set your sentiment. After the heat embossing is finished, use a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the embossed frame around the outside edges.

WORK ON THE BACKGROUND

[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" link="file" size="large" ids="marie-heiderscheit-2026-upright-italic-step-by-step-9-scaled.webp,marie-heiderscheit-2026-upright-italic-step-by-step-10-scaled.webp"] Since the framed sentiment is slightly smaller than the full card size, you will need a background to mount it on. Grab a piece of white cardstock and ink blend a color. I chose a lighter red and then layered a darker red over it to get just the right Christmas-y hue I was looking for.

ADD SENTIMENT WITH FOAM ADHESIVE

Apply foam adhesive generously to the back of your sentiment frame. Remove the foam backing paper and then center and stick to the ink-blended background.

ADD DETAILS AND EMBELLISHMENTS

[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" link="file" size="large" ids="marie-heiderscheit-2026-upright-italic-step-by-step-13-scaled.webp,marie-heiderscheit-2026-upright-italic-step-by-step-14-scaled.webp"] I wanted to add some detail to the frame, so I grabbed a paint marker and colored the middle embossed strip around the frame gold. I love how the gold sentiment and the gold paint both shine so nicely. Go ahead and add an embellishment or two from your stash. I used this little poinsettia from a previous Spellbinders set, and then added a few gold pearls. The card’s focal point is mostly the sentiment, but I love how Christmas-y it turned out. Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today to see the Upright Italic Season’s Greetings on this card! I hope you’ve gathered some ideas and inspiration for your own crafting. Until next time, Marie Nicole [spellbinders-supplies]BP-371,E3D-179,PE-104,BP-001,250-S#GLD[/spellbinders-supplies]

Other supplies

Embossing ink, embossing heat tool, embossing powder, cardstock, colored ink and ink blending tool, scissors, foam adhesive, liquid adhesive, poinsettia dies, gold pearls

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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 the plate today, but it does foil beautifully too! There are other sentiments in the collection, and they will work for this card design too; you may just need to rearrange the foliage and bird to fit.

PRESSING THE SENTIMENT

1. Flip Platen of Betterpress Letterpress System over and place 4.25” 5.5” panel of Seaside ColorWheel Cardstock inside the registration marks. Hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape in the corners.
2. Place Upright Italic Holidays Press + Foil Plate onto Chase (the Chase is magnetic, so it will hold in place). Use the registration marks to place it so that it will be centred horizontally and just slightly higher vertically.
3. Tap BetterPress Black Ink onto the plate and swivel the ink pad slightly to get a good coverage of ink.
4. Flip Platen over and place onto platform (over the Chase). The magnets in the corners will hold it in place.

5. Run through Platinum Six Die Cutting Machine.

6. Lift Platen from platform to reveal pressed image.
7. Remove cardstock panel from Platen by carefully removing tape and set aside for ink to dry.
8. Remove plate from Chase and clean.

Please note: Since the sentiment is pressed onto normal cardstock and not BetterPress cardstock, there will not be such a debossed/letterpress look to the sentiment, but the ink will still transfer nicely.

9. Once the ink has dried, apply tape runner adhesive to the back of the panel.
10. Adhere to an A2-sized (4.25” x 5.5”) white card base.

DIE CUTTING THE BIRD + FOLIAGE

PLEASE NOTE: The dies are shown in the photo facing upwards, so that you can see which die is cut from which cardstock. When die cutting, you need to have the cut side facing down onto the cardstock. Cut pieces of ColorWheel Cardstock to be slightly larger than the size of the dies.

1. Place the berry stem and holly dies from Christmas Cracker Etched Dies onto Peridot ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
2. Place the fern die onto Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
3. Place the top layer of berries from Christmas Cracker Etched Dies and the boots and hat from Little Biridies Etched Dies onto Teal Topaz ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
4. Place the eyes from the Little Birdies Etched Dies onto Raven ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
5. Place the beak and legs die onto Beeswax ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
6. Place the scarf die onto Waterfall ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
7. Place the bird body die onto Blush ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
8. Place the bird wing die onto Chiffon ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
9. Place the trim of hat die from Little Birdies Etched Dies, as well as the base layer of berries from Christmas Cracker Etched Dies, onto Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.

TIP: Holding dies down with tape prevents them from shifting when going through the die-cutting machine. Use a low-tack tape like Best Ever Craft Tape so that it removes easily from the cardstock.

10. Run through Platinum Six Die Cutting Machine using the following sandwich (bottom to top):

• A Platform Base
• B Platform Top
• C Cutting Plate
• Cardstock with die on top
• C Cutting Plate

11. Repeat the process to cut the holly leaves from Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock.

ASSEMBLING THE BIRD + FOLIAGE

1. Flip over the bird body die cut so that the back of it is facing up. Add a small amount of Bearly Art Glue around the eye.

2. Place the black eye die cut on top.

3. Flip the bird back over to the front.
4. Add a small dab of glue to the end of the beak.
5. Adhere the bird's body on top.

6. Add glue to the back of the wing.
7. Adhere to the bird’s body.

8. Adhere trim to hat.

9. Adhere scarf to bird’s neck.
10. Adhere hat to top of bird’s head.

11. Adhere the top layer of berries (cut from Teal Topaz) to the bottom layer of berries (cut from Classic White).

12. Add small dabs of glue to the ends of the stem branches.
13. Adhere berries on top.

TIP: Using tweezers or a Pick Up Tool is really helpful when adhering small die cuts. I switch between the two as to what feels comfortable for which die cut.

PRESSING ACCOMPANYING SENTIMENT

1. Add a 4.25” x 5.5” panel of Classic White Cardstock to Platen of BetterPress Letterpress System and hold in place with Best Ever Craft Tape.
2. Place plate from Mistletoe Greetings Press Plate & Die Set onto the Chase.
3. Ink up plate using BetterPress Black Ink.
4. Place Platen onto platform.
5. Run through Platinum Six Die Cutting Machine.

6. Carefully remove cardstock from Platen and let the panel sit to dry for a few minutes.
7. Once dry, place the coordinating die over the sentiments and run through Platinum Six using the same die-cutting sandwich as step 2 (die-cutting the bird and foliage).

CARD ASSEMBLY

1. Adhere boots to bird’s legs.
2. Using the bird’s body as a guide, adhere legs to card using Bearly Art Glue.

3. Cut fern smaller in length using scissors.
4. Adhere fern and holly so that they will look like they are behind the bird’s body.

5. Add foam squares onto the back of the bird’s body.
6. Remove the backings from the foam squares.

7. Adhere to the card.

8. Using the sentiment banner as a guide, adhere foliage in the bottom left-hand corner.

9. Add foam squares on the back of the sentiment banner and remove backings.
10. Adhere in place below the ‘happy holidays’.

11. To finish, embellish with Silver Mix Color Essentials Gems.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I combined the bird and foliage with the beautiful Upright Italic Happy Holidays Press + Foil Plate. I like having a lot of white space (in this case aqua in colour!), so I kept the design simple with just a few elements. It really lets the sentiment shine! Thank you so much for stopping by today, I hope you have a wonderful day! [spellbinders-supplies]BP-372,S5-698,S4-1453,BP-199,BPI-003,SCS-130,CS-8-123,CS-8-118,CS-8-119,CS-8-125,CS-8-147,CS-8-115,CS-8-124,CS-8-103,CS-8-108,CS-8-148,BP-001,PE-104,T-098,T-043,SCS-241,SCS-123,SCS-272,PGCO2E,SCS-267[/spellbinders-supplies]

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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 + Foil Plate, Joy to the World Press + Foil Plate and Season’s Greetings Press + Foil Plate. So, let’s get started with the card for today.

Merry Christmas

For all the die cutting, use the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine with the die cutting sandwich as follows (from bottom to top):

• Plate A – Platform Base
• Plate B – Platform Top
• Plate C – Cutting Plate
• Plate C – Cutting Plate

The cardstock/die will be inserted between the two cutting plates with the die sitting on top of the cardstock, cutting edge down.

Die Cutting the Background Panel

1. Take an A2 panel (4.25” x 5.5”) of Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock and tape the largest rectangle from Perfect Touch Rectangles and Tag Etched Dies onto it.

TIP: You can die-cut this rectangle from a larger white panel if easier. The largest rectangle die from this die set is A2 in size, so it’s a perfect fit for an A2 panel, but some people find it easier to cut it from a slightly larger piece of cardstock.

2. Run it through the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine.

Foiling The Sentiment

1. Using Pro Shears, cut a piece of Champagne Glimmer Hot Foil and place it down (shiny side up) onto the centre of the background panel towards the bottom.
2. Take the Upright Italic Merry Christmas Press + Foil Plate and place it down on top so that the raised letters of the plate are touching the shiny side of the foil.
3. Tape the plate in place using Best Ever Craft Tape.

4. Switch on your Glimmer Hot Foil System and wait for the green Platform Ready light to appear.

5. Flip your background panel/plate over and place it down onto the heated platform. The plate will be in direct contact with the platform.
6. Press the timer button. This will now start to flash.

7. When the timer button stops flashing, place your Spacer Pad and Thin Shim on top of the platform.
8. Remove the platform from the system and run it through your die-cutting machine.

9. Remove your foiled panel from the platform using the tool provided and then pull back the foil to reveal your beautiful sentiment!

Die Cutting the Poinsettia and Foliage

NOTE: In the photo, the dies have been placed cutting side up on their respective cardstocks for ease of reference. They will be flipped over so that the cutting edge is directly in contact with the cardstock and taped in place for the actual die cutting.

1. Take the Christmas Foliage Etched Dies and add them onto cardstock as shown.
2. The poinsettia has two layers. The largest die is on Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock, and the smaller die is on Pomegranate ColorWheel Cardstock.
3. The poinsettia centre is on a small piece of Gold Assortment Treasured Cardstock (Brushed Metallic).
4. The holly dies also have two layers. The larger base layer is on Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock, and the smaller second layer is on Fern ColorWheel Cardstock.
5. The other two foliage dies are on Peridot ColorWheel Cardstock (left) and Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock (right).
6. Tape them in place (cutting side down on the cardstock) and run them through your die-cutting machine.

TIP: Keep your die cuts safe by placing them in a Medium Craft Stax Tray.

7. Die-cut the berry die three times from Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock.
8. Die-cut the three-leaf foliage dies twice from Peridot and Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock.

Creating the Christmas Poinsettia Spray

1. Using Bearly Art Glue, adhere the gold flower centre onto the Pomegranate layer of the poinsettia die cut.
2. Using liquid glue, then adhere that layer onto the Poppy ColorWheel die cut to complete the poinsettia.

3. Adhere the two dark green holly die cuts onto their lighter green bases. Pay particular attention to which goes on which, as they are slightly different in shape!

4. Add liquid glue onto the three-leaf Rainforest die cuts as shown.
5. Using the Pick Up Tool from the Handy Craft Tool Set, pick up the small light green pieces and adhere them onto their bases. Again, pay attention to these and test them first, as they are all a slightly different shape.

6. Add tiny dabs of glue onto the berry bases and add the three small berries on top.

7. Add a double layer of small White Foam Adhesive Squares onto the back of the poinsettia.

8. Adhere this approximately halfway between the top of the panel and the sentiment.

9. Put some liquid glue onto the ends of the lighter green leaf die cuts and adhere them either side of the poinsettia, diagonal to each other.

10. Add liquid glue to the ends of the darker green leaf die cuts.

11. Adhere in place, again on the diagonal.

12. Adhere the two three-leaf die cuts either side of the poinsettia. The foliage is almost mirroring itself around the poinsettia.

13. Adhere the two holly pieces in place.

14. Glue the berries in place as shown.

15. Take the Water Color Mixing Set and remove the gold pan from the box. Using a water spritzer, spritz the pan a couple of times to activate the paint.

16. Place your panel into a box and cover the sentiment area with scrap paper.
17. Using a no.2 round paint brush, splatter the gold paint across the panel, making sure to have drops not just on the background, but on the poinsettia and leaves as well.

TIP: The smaller the paint brush, the smaller the splatter. Tap the paintbrush lightly to release the paint as you move it across the panel.

Finishing the Card

1. To finish the card, adhere the completed panel onto a top-folding A2 white note card created from Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock (11” x 4.25”, scored and folded at 5.5”).

I hope you find today’s tutorial helpful when creating this card. This is a simple design, but foiling always adds a beautiful touch of luxury to a card, and the splatter ties everything together at the end. If you would like to see more of my cards, I would love to have you join me over on my blog, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. In the meantime, thank you so much for joining me here on the Spellbinders blog today. I hope that you have a great day! [spellbinders-supplies]BP-370,S4-1452,GLF-025,WC-001,SCSP-001,CS-8-148,CS-8-100,CS-8-101,CS-8-118,CS-8-119,CS-8-120,T-024,T-042,T-043,T-098,PCGO2E,SCS-123,SCS-267,T-056,PE-104,GLS-005[/spellbinders-supplies]

Other Supplies

No.2 round paintbrush, Tim Holtz Splat Box, Nuvo Light Mist Spray Bottle

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