Winter New Release Spotlights: Day 5

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Hello and welcome to the final day of our Winter 2010 New Release Spotlights!

Tonight we'll be partying it up in the Release Party thread in our SCS forum!  Pop in any time between 9 and 11PM Eastern to see the reveals and more inspiring creations from the design team!

Have you enjoyed all the fabulous spotlights this week?  The Divas never cease to amaze me! If you haven't gotten to them all yet, you still have until 7PM Eastern tonight to leave some love and be entered to win some of our new releases!  So far this week, we've previewed all the new stamps, but there's one more little introduction we need to make!

Starting with this release, we're adding a new line of coordinating dies called A Cut Above Dies by Verve to our offerings!.  This release was scheduled for two new dies, but due to a manufacturing error, only one die is ready for tonight's release.  The Sweet Scallop Tag Die has two coordinating stamps  (the single Sweet Scallop Tag stamp as well as the snowflake tag stamp from Glad Tidings).   As you hop through today's spotlights,  you'll be seeing just how versatile this die can be.  Plus, as with our other hops this week, we've hidden a PRIZE on one of the participating blogs, so leave a little comment love as you hop around to be entered into a drawing to win today's featured die and coordinating single stamp!  Deadline for comment entries is 7PM Eastern tonight!

I'm going to add the hop list here, then go into a little more depth about our new dies!  Go grab a cup of coffee/tea, sit back, and enjoy!

1. Laurie	9. Teresa
2. Charmaine	10. Sankari
3. Lynda	11. Tosh
4. Mercy	12. Amber
5. Amy	13. Jen d.
6. Shannan	14. Andrea
7. Michelle	15. Julee
8. Jackie

Like many of the dies releasing recently from other companies, our dies are made from quality steel in the United States. Each die has a poke hole or two to make sure you can easily remove your die cut from the die.  They work in most leading die cut machines including the Cuttlebug, Big Shot and Wizard and they cut a variety of materials including felt, cork and thin chipboard.  Here are a couple things to note about our dies:

Packaging:
As with every new craft item, storage is always an issue.  I researched until I found a packaging solution that I thought would make storage a breeze!  Our dies come in sturdy, clear vinyl sleeves with a pocket up front to stow the die and the coordinating alignment tool together.  We've also added a clear label to the back of each die, so you always know which die you're using.

Alignment Tools:

While our stamps are clear and you could just eyeball it and stamp the image on the die cut, I prefer a little more accuracy, especially since our dies are designed with a very thin (1/16 inch) border around the stamped image.  To help with accuracy, each die comes with a plastic alignment tool to aid in lining the die up with the stamped image. See the mini tutorial below {courtesy of Amy Sheffer} for a rundown of how it works. You can click any of the photos for a larger view.

Gather supplies: stamp, paper, ink, die, alignment tool and a pen, pencil or piercing tool.	1. Stamp your image. The snowflake tag from Glad Tidings is shown here.	2. Place the clear alignment tool over the stamped image, making sure the space around the thin etched cutting guide line is even on all sides. Note: For your convenience, one side of the alignment tool is marked "this side up."
3. Use a pencil, pen, or piercing tool to mark the two placement circles. These are outside of the die-cut, so no worries about needing to erase the marks later. Remove the alignment tool.	4. Place the die, cutting side down, on the stamped image, making sure the two holes on the outside of the die line up with the alignment marks you made in Step 3.	5. Use a little removable tape to secure the die, then run through your die-cut machine. The stamped image will be perfectly centered within the die-cut. Easy-peasy!

So there you have it, a quick rundown of the newest addition to the Verve line-up. Be sure to hop around to the Diva blogs today to see what they've been crafting! Thanks for tuning in to our preview this week!  We'll see you at the party tonight!