Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am so grateful for the fabulous designers who took the time to come up with this special project for you so close to the holiday! I am truly thankful for their friendship and willingness to share their talents.

Tonight I had a fun time over at Angela’s Happy Stamper in Reston. I taught a class using the ScoreBoard dies. I invited them to stop by the Blog Hop and also to join the Sizzix fan page where you can see the latest new products, coupons and great ideas. Also, a new feature will be added soon to the Sizzix.com site and someone you know might be participating! 🙂

OK, getting down to business, the featured die this week is the Notebook Pocket. There are so many uses for this die- it’s inspiring to see all the different ways the designers have created with it!

I decided to emboss the matboard. Now, embossed matboard is actually available for purchase BUT the price is steep. For the little time spent experimenting with this technique, it was well worth my while considering the rich textured effect that resulted.

First I laid the embossing folder sideways over a piece of white matboard and the die, roughly estimating where the folds would lie, and marked these areas lightly in pencil. Then I sandwiched the matboard inside a Sizzix embossing folder where I wanted the design to appear and rolled the die through. Some adjusting of the plates are needed to get the deeply etched effect but I think the finished product is very elegant. I added a ribbon where the pattern stops- bought at the Offray outlet up in Hagerstown, MD a few weeks ago- and what a fun road trip that was… (A big old bag of this wide green ribbon was in the clearance section for a dollar! Love it!)

Then I just had to make a card to put IN the pocket! The card base is a soft green and I used the Sizzix cake folder to emboss the design onto a small scrap of matboard which I trimmed, then bumped up from the card and accented with white ribbon.

I think this set has the look of fine letterpress. And it was done for pennies using the Sizzix embossing folders! OK, time for someone to get married- I can’t wait to give this!

Where Creativity Knocks designer Cindi Bisson sent me this cool project. That would be a fun item to have on the dinner table to get positive conversations going. Or considering what day it is, this could be a great favor for your Thanksgiving dinner too. Lay at everyone’s place with “Why I am grateful for you…” written on the front with their name… so special, such a nice thought. Thanks Cindi!

Now grab your beverage of choice and get comfy. Check out the other outrageously creative projects the ScoreBoards designers have come up with for you!

Jennifer Ellefson
Candice Windham
Denise Clason
Ann Butler
Fabrizio Martellucci
Korie B
Barbara Matthiessen
Brenda Pinnick
Karen Burniston
Bonnie Bruns

And thanks to all of you for visiting. Please stop back on December 9 to see what we do with the business card holder (which also fits gift cards!). Now on to the business of turkey eating!

Welcome to our third Blog Hop! The featured project today is the checkbook holder. Of course there are many other uses for this die which I’m pretty sure you will see as you visit each designer’s blog.

And here’s a more little background on some of our Blog Hop designers. I am happy to welcome back my good friend, reluctant blogger and partner in crime, Lorine Mason. Lorine is a fabric artist and has authored many books. Denise Clason joined us last week with her cool pin cushion cupcake project- Denise has also written several beautiful quilting and sewing books. From across the pond, I am happy to welcome Fabrizio Martellucci. He is a designer in London and loves working with anything Brenda Pinnick designs! We met in the Inspired at Home chat room. Gabriela Delworth is another great photographer and project designer. She is from Toronto and teaches classes in gift wrapping and other paper projects. I was so happy when Karen Burniston (of pop-up fame) introduced me to her friend Bonnie Bruns a few weeks ago. Her work is amazing- you may remember seeing her dog Bella posing with a cupcake die crown for the last Hop. Laura Bray is a fellow CHA Designer member whose work I have been admiring for quite some time. Laura shares my love for making crafts that look like yummy food! Brenda Pinnick is an amazing designer and fellow licensed artist with Sizzix. She has just started a color series entitled Color U. Check out her blog for details. This summer I was so happy to have some time to talk with the Golden Press Kit- Designer award winner Candice Windham. She is another matboard/foamboard fanatic! I loved what Barbara Mattheissen did last week with the cupcake holder die. I am fascinated with how many techniques she has mastered and manages to make them look fun and easy to try. Did you see the sweet cupcake projects from Niki Meiners? She has a fun and contemporary style that just makes you smile. Thanks to all of the fabulous designers whose work is truly outstanding. I am blessed to have you all as part of my die promotion events. Readers please stop by their blogs for inspiring projects and insights!

And now… on with the Hop!

I designed a notepad with this die. My inspiration was a book called “Elegance- a Complete Guide for Every Woman who Wants to be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions” originally published in 1964. I found it in the thrift store and was fascinated by the advice of the author. The page I used on the cover of the notepad is telling the reader why you should not go shopping for clothes with good friends and it’s hysterical. VERY proper. So not me 🙂

Here’s how I created it… This project requires you to cut out 2 covers, which means you need one and a half pieces of matboard to make the project. I coated the front and back covers with spray adhesive, adhered the book pages to the outside cover of the folder, then ran the whole thing through the Big Shot. The added pressure of the rolling through ensures that the paper will stay adhered to the matboard. The binding was attached with brads and the faux crystals adorn the closure. One piece of advice… magnets may be the way to go with the closure on this project instead of Velcro. The paper is tearing away from the base layer and ripping paper. Darn it!

While I was working on it, I realized that I had a bunch more ideas that I could use this die for… stay tuned…

Here are some fantastic designs that the Blog Hop Designers have come up with for you! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Brenda Pinnick
Fabrizio Martellucci
Jennifer Ellefson
Ann Butler
Lorine Mason
Karen Burniston
Bonnie Bruns
Gabriela Delworth
Candice Windham