The Spellbinders May Clubs this month came with tiny luggage, charming bears, and enough layered detail to immediately convince me I needed to clear my craft desk and abandon whatever sensible plans I had.

Since the new Clubs are now available to non-members, this felt like a good moment to actually show what they look like in action  – and this release was an easy one to get excited about. Soft, playful, travel-themed without veering too far into cartoon territory. I always appreciate a collection that has a clear design vision but still leaves room to wander. Mostly because I am apparently incapable of leaving well enough alone.

Quick links to the Club products:

• Small Die of the Month
• Stamp and Die of the Month
• All-Clubs Crate

The first card leaned all the way into the storytelling. The open luggage die creates this natural little stage -you almost can’t help but start building a scene inside it. I kept the palette soft and fresh, let the layered details do their thing, and tried not to over-art-direct it. Sometimes the kit knows what it’s doing.

The second card started with a small moment of rebellion: I took the luggage lid piece and just… didn’t use it as a lid. When I set it aside on its own it immediately felt like its own design. I paired it with florals and a peeking pup, and suddenly I had a completely different card that still felt like it belonged to the same collection. That’s the kind of creative shift I live for – one small “what if” that quietly opens up a whole other direction.

Both cards feel cohesive together, but they each have their own personality. Which is basically the whole point. A collection that only works one way isn’t nearly as fun to play with.

This release was a good reminder that “intended use” is more of a starting point than a rule. The collection had other ideas, and I was happy to go along with them.