There is nothing better than spending time with family, cooking up some yummy BBQ, going to the beach and watching fireworks on the 4th of July. After the day is done and you have a ton of really great pictures, why not make an album to show them off? Debi made this super cute 4th of July album to show off her adorable daughters.

The base of the album is a Rectangle that she embossed with the Stripes Texture Plate. She then dry brushed it with paint.

She also attached some accordion-folded tissue paper and a hand cut flame to a circle to make it look like a candle.

Each page is a Star cut out from cardstock or acrylic. You can add photos and phrase to personalize. The phrase 4th of July is from our Holiday eclips cartridge. It is so easy to make it just the perfect size to fit the page. Debi also used the Dots Textured Impressions folder to add some dimension to the stars. Decorative ribbons and glitter are a must for a 4th of July project and the perfect finishing touches.

Cara

Birthdays in the art room are always so much fun. We always joke that we would never take our birthday day off from work, because it is usually the best part. We always do a fun theme for each person, and everyone brings in yummy food. Last week was Beth's birthday and we did a flea market, shabby chic kind of theme. Debi found some beautiful fabric that was our inspiration. I was in charge of making her birthday sign this year.

The letters were cut out on the eclips with the Sassy Serif Cartridge. Two shades of pink were used, one for the letter and one for the shadow.

To make the banner, I used our Sizzix adhesive and attached the beautiful inspiration fabric Debi bought to a piece of cardstock. I then die-cut the fabric paper with one of our new Big Shot Pro Dies, the Layered Ribbon Banner. This is a sneak peak of this die – make sure you look for it in September. I then attached her name and added fun decorative trims, buttons, 3-D Flower die-cuts and fabric flowers.

Here's a little tip, the wire piece I used to hold the letters is really a card holder that is designed to go vertical. I just turned it on its side and hung it up with some ribbon. It makes the perfect sign holder. I love it when you can use something for multiple uses.

Cara

Don't you just love it when you are out shopping and come across a display in a store where everything is organized and coordinates just perfectly together. It makes it so easy to pick the things you want. Well, that is exactly what we did with our Sizzix.com exclusive Floral dies. Everything works together, and they are so easy to use for any theme. Just in case you missed them on our home page, here are some pictures of all the dies.

Sizzlits Set – Flower Layers, Leaves & Vines Set 656813

Sizzlits Set – Flowers & Loopy Flower Overlays Set 656814

Sizzlits Decorative Strip – Flowers & Leaves 656816

Sizzlits Decorative Strip – Flowers & Leaves #2 656817

Originals – Flower Layers #6 656818

Originals – Flower Layers w/Leaf 656819

Bigz XL – Card, Floral Flourish #2 656821

I scraplifted a technique from Deena and used the card base as a mat underneath the photographs. I then used a variety of the Sizzlits Flowers, mixing and matching them. Once I was happy with my page, I turned on my eclips and cut a title from the All Occasions cartridge. Don't you just love the fact that you can make them any size you want. Check out the website for additional projects that Deena made using all the wonderful Exclusive Floral dies.

Cara

If you haven't noticed by now, I really love our Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. Not only are the designs fun and versatile, but there are a lot of cool techniques you can do with them to create unique cards.

I made this card using our new Crown Flourish embossing folder. I used Core'dinations paper and sanded it to get the two-toned look. Then I embossed a separate piece of the same paper and cut around just the crown. I used some glitter glue to embellish and then used a pop dot and attached it to the card for added dimension. Don't forget to add, buttons, ribbons and trims.

Cara

Mother's Day is Sunday, so if you haven't had a lot of time to craft, here is an example of a quick card you can make last minute, and it will look like you spent a ton of time.

Remember, you can always use just a portion of a Textured Impressions folder as an accent like I did on the label for added dimension.

Cara

Do you love the look of letter press invitations but don't have the budget to buy them? Here are step-by-step photos showing you how to do the letter press technique yourself.

Die-cut design from heavyweight craft plastic using an Originals or Bigz Die.

In this example, only a portion of the design was used. Unused portion was removed using a pair of scissors.

Peel the protective layer from the plastic.

Begin sandwich by opening Multipurpose Platform to Tab 1. Place a Standard Cutting Pad on top of Tab 1.

Lay Silicone Rubber on top of Cutting Pad.

Place a piece of copy paper to keep the Silicone Rubber clean.

Using a brayer, roll ink onto the craft plastic die-cut.

Lay the project on the copy paper and place the die-cut ink side down onto the project in the desired location.

Finish the sandwich by placing another piece of copy paper and an Impressions Pad on top of the project.

Roll the Multipurpose Platform and sandwich through the machine.

Finished project should have a defined impression and color.

You can also apply the same technique to favor boxes so your whole event coordinates.

-Cara

I made this card using the eclips Flowers & Phrases cartridge. I love the look of a silhouette, so I made the leaves and the phrase in black and then just added color to the Flowers. I think it makes them stand out.

The best part is if you love your card, why not display it in a frame? It becomes a cool art piece you can display for a while, and then you can change it out as you create more.

Spring is just around the corner, so pull out your acrylic sheets and let's emboss.

After you emboss the acrylic sheet, use permanent pens to highlight the embossed image. I also embossed the same design on a piece of Core'dinations whitewash paper and sanded it. A fun tip: If you don't have acrylic, you can cut up the packaging your Sizzix dies come in and emboss that as well. It looks just like acrylic.

I offset the acrylic piece just a little before I attached it to create a shadow effect. Dig out all those loose embellishments you have left over and add them to the card.