Spellbinders Blog

Create a sweet handmade friendship card featuring one of the adorable images from the House Mouse Tangled Collection. In this step-by-step tutorial, you'll learn how to color stamped images with alcohol markers, add subtle background ink blending, create texture with embossing, and assemble a clean and dimensional card design. This project is perfect for cardmakers who enjoy coloring and want to create an encouraging handmade card...

Build a colorful autumn scene with a paper-pieced raccoon dressed for the season, a leafy tree, and a tub filled with freshly picked apples. This detailed cardmaking tutorial explains how to organize and assemble small die-cut pieces, dress a character with layered fall clothing, and arrange the finished elements into a balanced seasonal scene. The Harvest Style Etched Dies and Harvest Days Etched Dies coordinate...

Hello, crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you on the blog today to share a card using the Joyful Christmas Sentiments Press + Foil Plate and Die Set from Simon Hurley. There are four sentiment sets in this collection, which was originally released some years ago as Glimmer hot foiling plates. The plates are now available with the option of pressing as well as...

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....

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.

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...

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 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.

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 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...

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 +...

Hello crafters! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today to share a card using the newly released Yana’s Christmas Cats Collection from Yana Smakula. I am going to be doing a step-by-step photo tutorial showing you how to create a Christmas card featuring three of the sets from the collection. One of the cats is being exceptionally naughty by jumping onto the tree! The collection...

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 there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the Simon Hurley Cascading Coneflowers collection. My focus today is sharing how to add interest to die cuts in an easy way, whether that be adding ink blending, layering, or simply by adding interest to the background of a clean and simple card. These easy steps really help to make die cuts...

Hi, crafty friends! Lea Lawson here with you today, creating a card featuring the beautiful new Cascading Coneflowers 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 a 4” x 5.25” panel of Classic White cardstock with a coordinating shade of ink. We will deepen the blend at the top to give...

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...

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, folks! This is Jennifer Ingle here with you today, and I am so excited to be sharing a super fun (and rather simple) stitching project using the Stitched Classic Pooh Collection. If you are a Winnie the Pooh die-hard, you may have recognized that quote in my title. It holds so much truth. Sometimes a small handmade gift can say so very much to...

Hello there, Michelle Short here, and I am delighted to be back on the Spellbinders blog sharing three cards using the Ski-son’s Greetings collection by Simon Hurley. This wonderful collection is perfect for Christmas and the holidays, but also all year round for those that like to ski and snowboard! I kept the cards simple, featuring lots of white space! DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW My...

Welcome to day 8 of our 12 Days of Stitchmas 2025 Advent Calendar class! Join us and stitch your way through the season! We invited 12 guest artists to share inspiration with the 12 stitching surprises. Let’s welcome Lisa Tilson as she shares inspiration with the Day 8 surprise! Don’t miss the other video tutorials from our free Youtube Class: Day 1 with Kim Kesti; Day...

Hey Crafty Friends, it’s Amy Tsuruta, and I’m thrilled to be back on the Spellbinders blog featuring the super festive Starry Holiday Collection by Dina Wakley. I’m smitten with Dina’s Spellbinders Collections, including her new BetterPress Inks, which are vibrant and versatile. I’ve designed three cards that feature each of Dina’s new sets. I love all things BetterPress, so this collection has me so inspired....

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial using the Majestic Guitar Etched Dies from Bibi’s Musical Notes Collection. This set creates a 7-inch-tall guitar that fits perfectly on an A7 card base. There is also an add-on die set for side panels, so that you can create a 3D guitar too, but for today, I thought it would be fun to create...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m excited to be here to share some inspiration with the Candy Christmas Collection from Stamperia. This is a super sweet and cute release, guaranteed to have you running for those sugary treats in no time! In the collection, you have a Gingerbread House, Gingerbread Train, Gingerbread Plane(with some cute banners),...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. It’s always a treat to come on here and share some ideas with you. Today, I am using the All About Christmas Collection from Lisa Horton. This release is so fun and there is lot to love! You have some sweet birds, Christmas foliage, pretty stars, and lots of options to...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m thrilled to be here to share three ways to use the new release from Yana Smakula, which is called The City Holiday Collection. This collection is simply gorgeous! You have three die sets which create a beautiful city townhouse, some Christmas crackers, and a large “Joy” sentiment. There is a...

Hello, my craft friends! I’m so excited and honoured to be joining you today as a guest designer on the Spellbinders blog! June is such a joyful month, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share a special step-by-step photo tutorial featuring the utterly charming Say Cheese Classic Pooh Birthday collection by Simple Stories. If you’re a fan of sweet nostalgia, soft colors, and all...

Hello there, friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m so excited to be here to share a step-by-step tutorial using a set from the new release from Simon Hurley called North Pole Friends. I think this might be my favourite release from Simon so far! I love Christmas crafting, and Simon has released four die sets in this collection...

Joan Bardee here sharing Christmas in July with the Country Christmas Collection by the talented Annie Williams. This collection will warm your heart. It includes a barn, country star, rocking chair, snowman, horse-drawn carriage, and other elements that capture the nostalgia of a simpler time. I chose a bit of an Americana color palette – red, white, blue (and a bit of green and black)...

Hello there, Michelle Short here, and I am delighted to be back on the Spellbinders blog sharing three cards using the Wonderland collection. This fabulous collection is perfect for Christmas and the holidays, and includes snowmen, festive cars, cocoa cups, trees, and lots more! As you will see from my cards, I embraced the white space of the card bases to let the die cuts...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m so excited to be here to share three ways to use the lovely Wonderland Collection with you. This is a fabulous, fun and festive Christmas collection that includes three sets of etched dies, a stamp and die set, a BetterPress Registration Plate set, and three BetterPress plate,s including some sentiments....

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using Beyond the Door Etched Dies from the La Dolce Vita Collection. This set is fantastic as you can mix and match the different elements to create different scenes and views through the doorway – cobblestones, ocean, clouds, vines and much more! STEP 1 – DIE CUT THE DOORWAY Place the deep arch...

Hi there, this is Annie Williams, and today I’m thrilled to create this fun friendship card step-by-step with you made with the new Say Cheese Classic Mouse Collection from Spellbinders and Simple Stories.  With adorable die sets, sweet sentiments, and colorful papers and stickers, this collection is perfect for creating cute cards for a variety of occasions. Trim two pieces of patterned paper from the...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the Steamboat Willie Duo Etched Dies from the Say Cheese Classic Mouse Collection. This set is fantastic as you can really mix and match the different elements – there are 3 different arms you can use, you can have the mice wear hats or not, there are also flowers that can be...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m thrilled to be here to share three ways to use the super cute Cheerful Chirps Collection with you. This is a very sweet collection that includes three sets of bird dies, a 3D embossing folder, some pretty yellow sequins, and a clear sentiment set with punny greetings to suit many...

Hello there, Michelle Short here to share a step-by-step tutorial with you using the Anemone Etched Dies from the Summer Solstice Collection by Susan Tierney Cockburn. Whilst you can create these flowers in different ways, they are made to look realistic. Today, I am sharing a simplified version of how to shape and assemble them. STEP 1 – DIE-CUTTING THE FLOWERS Cut pieces of ColorWheel...

Hello crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you today on the Spellbinders blog. I’m excited to be here to show you how to create dimensional flowers. I am using one of the beautiful floral die sets from the Summer Solstice Garden Collection by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. This collection features five sets of flower dies, a 3D embossing folder, and a sentiment press plate, which has...