A pocket full of scrap: In Focus: Spellbinders Winter Tales Collection

Hi there crafty friends,

Today I'd like to introduce my very own Spellbinders collection, called Winter Tales! I'm equally excited and nervous about what you guys think, but I hope you'll love it as much as I do. I can't thank Spellbinders enough for this amazing opportunity, I will be forever grateful!

I will add a variety of projects to this post, you'll notice that some of them have no sentiments - this is because the stamp set wasn't yet available when I created the samples for the packaging / catalog. So the ladies at Spellbinders finished off those cards but I want to show them to you anyway! At the end of this post you will also find a process video for the 6 new cards I created.

This collection was inspired by my love for folklore. If you've been following me for awhile, you might already know this: I used to do folk dancing when I was a kid, up until high school when I went to a boarding school and had no time for it anymore. My dad also used to organize the biggest folklore festival in Hungary, for decades. So I grew up around this, meeting folk dancers from all over the world (some super exotic locations included, like the Cook-Islands, Chile, China, Bolivia etc) and seeing all these fabulous costumes that were so typical for each country, getting to know a little bit about their culture and traditions was just an amazing experience. So when I had to pick a theme for my collection, I didn't have to think too hard. Now I know folklore themes are not everyone's cup of tea, but I hope I can show you ways to create with the products that inspire you!

While this is a Christmas collection, several sets can be used throughout the year to give you more bang for your buck. There are 6 products in this collection, 4 dies, an embossing folder and a stamp set. Let's look at all of them!

The Enchanted Garden die set includes tiny flowers, some of which can be layered to create a colorful design, others have teeny cut details that also make it possible to add more color. Color is probably the most important thing for me, so to have this option was essential. There are also a variety of stems you can mix and match with the blooms. This set is perfect all year round!

The Magical Deer die set will allow you to create a deer with beautiful floral antlers if you like, but you can also ditch the antlers and create a whole different style deer. You can also just use the head multiple times and create a fun background pattern. By choosing your colors carefully, this set works great throughout the year too!

Next up is the Folk Song die set - a lovely bird with sweet detailing and a couple of options for wings/tail as well as headpiece which help you design different style cards from elegant to funky! There's also a small branch in the set that symbolizes peace when in the bird's beak or you could cut it multiple times to build wreaths! Another set you can use for any occasion really.

Then we have the Nordic Ornaments die set which includes two large ornaments in folklore style. They both come with outline dies too, which are great for adding a different color or if you want to create a different style card! I have to direct you to Yana's projects with this die set because she made the most amazing and creative ornaments you've ever seen! It also inspired one of my cards I made for today - and I'm sure her projects will give you endless ideas too!

The second most important thing for me (after color) is texture, which is why I am ecstatic that I have an embossing folder in this collection! It's called Ski Lodge and it turned out so much more beautiful than I imagined, I'm so in love with it! I can't stop using it on all my Christmas projects! It's the new large 8.5x5.5" size so you can use it for many different card formats, A2, 5x7", slimline, mini slimline etc. You can also add color to your projects by applying ink to one side of the folder. I'm yet to try this - these days I rarely touch ink!

And that brings me to the stamp set, called Peace & Joy which actually made me get my fingers inky after a very long time haha! But, some sentiments are essential in a collection right?! I usually prefer using simple sentiment strips but the set also includes a few larger letters you can stamp PEACE and JOY with (or if you're good at Scrabble, you might find something else in there!). The separate letters give you the option to create a super colorful design and there's also tiny, decorative stamps with which you can add even more color to your letters! So fun, isn't it?!