My Love Affair With the Teresa Collins Craftwell eBosser

Christmas 2013, I spoiled myself and purchased the Teresa Collins Craftwell eBosser.  I say spoiled because I already owned a Spellbinders Grand Calibur and a Provo Craft Cuttlebug, both of which I LOVED LOVED LOVED.  So, the addition of an eBosser was really being a bit of a scrapbooking-papercrafting-aholic thing.  When I purchased my new toy on Black Friday my dear hubby, asked which toy I would be giving up since I did not have the space for an additional item..... to which I told him none.  Fast forward almost a year, I have sold both my Grand Calibur and my Cuttlebug - after getting the eBosser, both sat unused.  Now, if you follow my blog at all, you will know that I gave a review of the Grand Calibur and my love for that particular machine.  And everything in that is true, however, the eBosser has managed to take a good thing and make it awesome-sauce good.  Why?  Well, the eBosser has all the awesome features of the Grand Calibur IN ADDITION to being able to use Steel Rule Dies - AND the WRMK/Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress.  So here are the reasons/lists of things I love about the eBosser.

1.  8.5x12 platform, with 8.5x12 embossing folders available
2.  Compatible with ALL industry dies and embossing folders including Sizzix Originals, AccuCut, Spellbinders, Wafer Dies, etc.
3.  Has an automatic reject feature - if your sandwich is too large it will automatically reverse and spit the sandwich back out....
4.  Electronic - after 17 years of playing the Piano, my wrists begin to hurt with a lot of cranking.
5.  It cuts my Cheerylynn Doily Dies like butter without a lot of rotating and blah blah blah.

There are some potential downsides:
1. A little noisy - small children who are light sleepers may be bothered.
2.  Heavy
3.  Electronic - so if you go to crops, in combination with #2 you may be a little irritated.

What's This?! A Bird, A Plane, A LAYOUT!

Just popping in really quick to share with you a layout that took me ages to create, and ages to post.  This layout was started in one home and finished in another home.  It is also evidence of my on going attempt to finish up the photos taken while on vacation in New Orleans, last summer.  Anyway, here it is:

The layout is based off of a Northridge Media sketch they had up recently for a magazine call.  I wasn't sure if the colors would work together although they work together all the time in New Orleans.  And yet it worked out lovely!  AND I got to use up some really old papers in my stash.  Score.

Supplies:  Karen Foster Designs, GCD Studio, Jillibean Soup, Basic Grey (Pattern Paper); Bazzill, Die Cuts With a View Glitter (Cardstock); American Crafts (Letter Stickers); McGill (Punch)

And Some More PaperTrey Ink Cards

I have been so inspired by all the happenings at PTI that I ended up creating several cards, with a more masculine theme.  That and I had a lot of extra tissue paper sitting in my craft space, so I took the opportunity to use up a piece of tissue paper and perfect a technique.....  Anyway, here are some more fun cards, based off one of the sketches provided by PTI, which you can find in this post.  Be prepared, it's a long post, and WELL WORTH IT.  Okay, okay, so the real reason you stopped by:

Yummo right?  I am in love with this technique, the simple texture that it gives, and a nice elegant feel to rugged cards.  Love.  In case you are wondering, all of the stamping was done using the Masculine Motifs stamp set from Papertrey Ink, I LOVE that set.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:  Stampin' Up! Soft Suede, Bazzill (Cardstock); Stampin' Up Old Olive, Stampin' Up! Pacific Point, Stampin' Up! Baked Brown Sugar, Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke, Versafine Archival Ink (Ink); Papertrey Ink Masculine Motifs (Stamps)

Its A Post AND A Card!

Okay, okay.  I admit it I've been a HUGE slacker, and what can I say other than, Life has been calling me and I have been answering?  And with that said, after weeks and weeks of not being able to play, I had a chance to sit down and play with some paper.  To get my creative juices flowing, I have been joining in on the fun over at Papertrey Ink and their 7th Anniversary fun.  As part of that fun, I created the following card:

Fun right?  The challenge was to use both a color scheme and sketch from those provided in a nifty little handout.  I got to use one the first stamps I EVER purchased from PTI, and remains to this day to be one of my favorite.  If you are able to see the ever so slight detail, I also tried a technique called Faux Silk, which is really adhering crinkled tissue paper to a piece of cardstock.  And I love it, such a lovely subtle texture.  That's it for now, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:  Mehndi Medallion, Inside and Out: Birthday (Papertrey Ink Stamps); American Crafts (Ribbon); Bazzill (Cardstock); Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, VersaFine Black (Ink)