A Blog Called Wanda

Pretty Vintage Christmas Tag!

Hi lovelies! Today I'm popping in with a handmade, and vintage feeling, Christmas tag! A few simple supplies and a classic color palette and voila! Tags! This is a quick and easy project to replicate. Make a bunch to use for your gifts...or box 'em up for a small gift! I used a big, gorgeous stamp from a stamp set sold by my artist friend Lexi! I've linked it in the supplies. She is amazing! The other supplies are from Tim Holtz and Sizzix...can't go wrong with that. Let's look!

Here's my big, beautiful tag! It's a STAG TAG! Lol!!! Isn't he majestic??

 

This is one of the big mama mixed media tags from Ranger and Tim. I stamped the image in black ink using my MISTI (He barely fit on the MISTI!) I let that dry and got out the Distress Inks...

 

I used Distress ink and a sponge dauber to generously ink around the edges of the tag. I also splattered some brown ink onto the tag. After the brown splatters were dry, I splattered white ink over the tag also.

 

I die cut the 'merry' word out of silver cardstock and glued it onto the bottom of the card. I also deckle edge trimmed the bottom of the tag. The raised 'snow' you can see on his antlers is rock candy distress glitter - lots of it!! Gives a really nice effect. If you don't have this in your crafting arsenal...you need some!

 

That big stamp is really so gorgeous and detailed!

 

Here is my desk view - getting organized... That ribbon I bought years ago at a vintage market!! I have never used it. Today was the day! It looks perfect at the top of the tag along with a little red bell for a pop of color.

 

I almost stopped here - because this is perfection. Seriously. 

 

So, I am very lucky that my husband is super patient and ready for a crazy idea from his crazy wife. I had a vision for my photographs of this tag... Which involved my husband going to the local park to pick me some redwood branches!!! He just gets in his truck and goes. Doesn't ask a lot of questions! LOLZ. One time he went to Starbucks to get me some roasted coffee beans!!! He's the best. 

 

Recipe called for 1/3 cup of fake snow also! Hahahaha. When people ask me about how I take my pictures, I just laugh. If you could see the behind the scenes you would laugh at me too. 

That's it for today's project! Every project doesn't have to be long and involved. Today's was quick and easy. I'll be back soon! I'm guest designing for Concord & 9th this month - can't wait to share that all with you! Take care! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used in today's project! (Affiliate links used).

Winter Cuties from Hello Bluebird Stamps!

Helllloooooo my friends! It's the last day of November! And I'm feeling the Christmas spirit at home and in the craft room! I stamped a lot this weekend and used my brand new stamps from Hello Bluebird! I swear I smile the entire time I'm using their fun and pretty stamps and dies! They bring me joy for sure. I got to color, and glitter and generally get in the feeling of winter! I have two cards to share with you today! Let's kick off this season! I hope you had a great long weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving too. XO

First up is this most adorable and dapper snowman, skating by to wave hello!! Gosh, I love him. This finished card is an A2 card base. I layered black and then new checked paper to frame him just right. I used the new Pine Boughs dies to create some sprays of greenery around him. Oh, and lots of glitter!! 

 

I stamped and colored my snowman with Copic Markers and then die cut him out with the matching die. Here you can see I cut a second hat out and colored that and put it on top of the other one. This is a fun way to pop up elements of your card. His pretty red scarf is fluttering in the wind. I added white gel pen accents and Diamond Stickles. Cuz you know he's cold and frosty!

 

The JOY word is from the new Joy and Peace words dies. I die cut it out three times and glued the three together to make it thicker to stand out on my card. I glued it on top of some greenery. I love a punch of aqua with all that red!!

 

Here's a top down view of all the layers (and lots of foam tape!!)

The bow is in silver paper and I added one little white enamel dot to finish it off. I also splattered some snow on top of the greenery. I inked the edges of those holly leaves with a bit of distress ink and a small sponge dauber.

 

 

 

Next up is a Winter Forest card with some cute critters enjoying their coffee together! The card is a white A2 card base. I ink blended the background and added some snowy hills to create a scene.

 

I stamped and die cut out the birds, trees, and animals and colored them with Copic Markers. For the trees, I used the generally same colors as the background to give a cohesive feeling to the colors of the card. I used Three shades of Distress ink on Bristol cardstock to make my background.

 

Usually I will use white paint and splatter 'snow' all over my card. This time, though, I tried something different and it gave a totally different feel! I used my white gel pen and hand drew on all the 'snow' on the background! I like how it came out, so I'll be using this technique again for sure. It looks like cartoon snow.

 

Here are my snowy trees and the colors I used to make them! For coloring the trees, I only colored the top 2/3 of each layer. I left the tips white like you would actually see on a snowy tree. Once I had them all colored I used Nuvo White Blizzard Drops to add the ice/snow on the tips. 

 

Everything is attached to the card using foam squares.

I love these sweet birdies holding the Merry Christmas banner! 

Okay! That's it for today! I'm sending you a hug and wishing you a creative and happy week ahead. I will see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used in today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow, we made it this far into this crazy year, so that's something to be thankful for! I'm so grateful for your love, kindness and support all year. I'm taking a moment to really soak in the thought that you guys are here for me. I'm thankful, grateful, blessed, and touched by that. I wish for you and yours a day filled with peace and hope. Better things are coming!! Let's keep on truckin' and make it to 2021. Bless you! My husband took this picture of one of the big turkeys that roam around our neighborhood!

Happy Thanksgiving from

The Guess Family!

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 2!

Hi friends! Welcome back to Day Two of festivities for the new release from The Greetery! The Winter Wanderer Collection will be available to purchase on Friday the 27th! But...we have one more day today filled with inspiration from the design team. How did you like yesterday's reveals?? Well, if you liked yesterday, you're gonna love today! LOTS more new stamps and dies sure to spark your creativity. Today really hits hard on the Boho Chic theme - and pretty, feminine designs with just the right amount of trendiness!! Oh, and as a person of a certain age (ahem) I am truly loving the 70's vibe of it all!! I am sharing three more cards today, so grab a cuppa and let's go through them!

This first card is an odd size - I trimmed it to fit my design. The final card is 6.25" x 4" and is a kraft card base with rounded corners. I used the following new products for this card: Hoop Wreath Stamp Set, Macrame Borders, Boho Banner, and Opposites Attract! I created a pretty 'wall' hanging in boho shades of aqua, cream and pink...

 

The background leaves/spray is the stamp from yesterday's reveal of the Hoop Wreath set! I used Versamark Ink and stamped directly onto the kraft card base to add just a little bit of a subtle design behind my boho banner. I used a brad from my stash to act as the nail for the wall hanging!

 

The Boho Banner die set has all these pretty pieces! The banner, the stick, the fringe, the feathers...and MORE! The creative possibilities are endless!! I wanted two feathers at the bottom of my banner so I used a jump ring to attach them there in the center. I used gold paint to paint on top of the teal feather and also splashed gold paint everywhere on my card.

 

I used the Macrame Borders to add some interest to the top of the banner! Everything is cream cardstock for more of a jute/cord feeling and color. The awesome sentiment is from the Opposites Attract stamp/die set. I loooooove it.

 

 

 

Next up is the card I had the most fun creating! I really went outside the box with this one. The finished card is a green A2 card base. I am very partial to green and kraft together. I then did a cream layer, and on top a kraft layer. I used the previously released small Terrarium Die to make my idea come to life...

 

I learned to macramé with my mom in the 70's and it was so much fun. The main thing we made were those pretty plant hangers!! Then, of course, we put Spider Plants in all of them! Do you remember that?? Well, that was the first thing that popped in my mind. And I thought....hmmm.... How can I make a Spider Plant?? The idea came to me! I used the second layer of the flowers stamps from the Hoop Wreath and Bigger Blooms sets! I stamped just those parts, in green, and then cut them out by hand. Voila! Spider Plants! Are you feeling me with this idea?? After I cut them out I layered them in staggered sizes. I also mixed in some greens from the Caring Cross stamp set.

 

This sentiment is the most perfect thing for this card! I used my MISTI to get a nice deep brown impression and then die cut it out with the matching die. So fabulous. Here's a side view so you can see the layers.

 

I die cut the terrarium out of gold paper. I used a bit of twine at the top to add a bit of softness.

 

Here's a close up of that pretty border...

 

 

And my final card for release week features the gorgeous Bigger Blooms stamps and dies along with the Simply Wonderful stamps and dies. The finished card is an A2 white card base. 

 

 

I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and die cut it out with that precise matching die. I set that aside... I stamped lots of blooms and leaves in bright, happy colors...

 

To put the card together, I first attached the Wonderful word and then stamped the "have a" and "birthday" in black ink on the top and bottom. Then I attached the flowers in a frame around the words. I used scissors to trim off the extra parts of the flowers that were hanging over the edge. I really love this look. 

 

 

 

I talked about the new Speed Tagging papers in my post last week, but here's a reminder of something extra that's part of this release! Pens and papers! OOOH LA LA!!

This completes our release week reveals. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, November 27th! (tomorrow) CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from the release? Are you excited to create some boho looks??

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, November 27th, on The Greetery Blog. 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 1!

Hi there everybody! Happy Thanksgiving Week! Hope you're doing great! Something else is happening this week that is also very exciting! A brand new beautiful release from The Greetery! Can I get a WOOHOOOO? It's the last release of the year. And, boy, what a year this has been for The Greetery. I am so blessed to be part of this team! So much inspiration and beauty to share throughout the year. This latest release is called the Winter Wanderer Collection. It's dreamy and pretty and boho chic!! Again, Betsy has done it by creating something totally new and creative to keep us busy crafting. The collection is full of flowers and gorgeous sentiments, and macrame!! It's delightful. We will be sharing cards and projects today and tomorrow. Then the new release will be available for purchase on The Greetery Website Friday morning at 10am EST. 

I have two cards to share today... One is a boho chic floral creation, and the other is an icy blue snowy creation! Let's get started!

The first card is an A2 card base made from aqua paper. I used the Crimped Frame dies for the top, cream layer of cardstock. This set a nice frame for those gorgeous florals. The new products used for this card are: Hoop Wreath and Hoop and Fringe Dies. 

 

Here is a close up of the florals!!! ACK!!! So pretty!!! Two step florals with matching dies... Oh, and that gorgeous greenery spray that fits perfectly around the new Hoop Dies!! The sentiments in the floral set all have matching dies - so I used the stamps and dies to make the "hello" sentiment.

 

I made a bow from the previously released Fit To Be Tied dies....

 

I used Copic Markers on some of the flowers for a bit more color depth. I also splashed gold watercolor paint over the entire card - generously! I love a good gold paint splatter (as you know!) I layered everything with lots of foam tape. The hoops are from the new Hoop and Fringe Die set - it's round circles and then different sizes of fringe to put on the bottom. Genius!!

 

 

 

 

Next up is an icy blue Winter Wishes Snowflake card! (I'm suddenly singing Let it Go!)... I used the new suite of products called Catching Snowflakes. Stamps and matching dies... These also work together with the same Hoop and Fringe Die set I used in the card above. This card is a finished white A2 card base. I used only blue, white and silver as my color palette.

 

I made a pretty snowflake dream catcher! So easy to use the gorgeous die cuts.... The snowflakes come with the stamp set... Oh and look at the perfectly curved sentiment!! 

 

My background panel was made with three shades of blue Distress Inks, Bristol cardstock and my blender brushes. After I inked the background, I went back with the same colors of ink and stamped snowflakes over the blended ink... Subtle yet pretty! I also splashed some white snow, I mean paint, over the background.

 

 

 

 

Okay, that's it for day one! How fun are these new items?? I hope you love them as much as I do. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, November 27th. CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from today??

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, November 27th, on The Greetery Blog. 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Thankful for you because you're sweet!

Hi guys! Hope that when you're reading this, that you are doing well and feeling happy and healthy. It's Thanksgiving week! Gosh - that came quickly! The hubs and I will spend a quiet holiday at home (as we always do) and he has the week off from work next week. We'll get some projects done and start watching Christmas movies. In the craft room yesterday I reminded myself that I never used the SUPER cute new paper I got from Doodlebug!! And, after this week I'll be moving head on into Christmas crafting.... I decided to make some quick and simple cards with a Fall theme and get them posted today!! Happy Thanksgiving week to you and your family. I am THANKFUL for YOU! 

The Pumpkin Spice collection from Doodlebug is seriously the most adorable thing I've ever seen!! I used one of my go-to card layouts and pretty papers and accents and whipped up two cards. Both cards are A2 sized white card bases. A few of my fav stitched dies, and a few stamps - and there we have some cards! First up is this adorable little pumpkin spice latte wearing a smile!!

 

Here's a top down view so you can see the layers. I covered the front of the card with that pretty teal plaid. Then I die cut out a stitched rectangle and two stitched circles.... I wrapped some patterned paper around the center of the rectangle.... These cards come together easily. On each one, the smaller circle has a design cut into it with a die. These two dies are from Lil Inker Designs, and unfortunately they have closed shop. You can use whatever background cover plate die you have, or even an embossing folder for this step. It just adds a bit of interest on all that white space.

 

I affixed the Doodle-Pop image into the center of the circles. I added a tiny blue leaf too! EEEP. 

 

 

 

I used the matching stamp set for this collection and stamped the sentiment onto the bottom of the white panel. Nice crisp black ink.

 

For this cutie pie bear card, I used exactly the same techniques and layout. See how different it can look? Brown and teal together is such a pretty and warm color palette. I love it...and just that tiny bit of soft yellow. I think this would make an adorable baby card!

 

 

 

 

 

BZZZZZZ! Look at that sweet bee!

 

 

Okay! That's it for today, and probably that's it for Fall crafting for 2020! The Greetery new release reveals start on Tuesday morning! Please make sure to come by then to see what's up. I've been busy making cards to show you! XOXO 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

Beautiful new Christmas Tags from The Greetery! A little preview for next week!

Hi crafty pals! Happy Friday! How are you? Hope you had a good week this week. It went by in a flash, and many things did not get done this week here in my studio! ACK. The rest of this year is going to fly by - I can feel it! 

Next week is a new release from The Greetery! The last release of this year. I cannot wait to show you my projects and share everything with you! But, I am popping in today with a sneak peek of something fun, AND to announce that one thing is available early (NOW!)... So I hopped on here to share with you. The rest of the release will start on Tuesday with product reveals. Yippeeee!

Now, on to what we can talk about today! Brand new, gorgeous, speed tagging papers just in time for making Christmas Tags! There are two new collections: Happy Christmas Prints and Classic Christmas Prints. They are so pretty. Really thick, colorfully printed papers ready for cutting out with your Speed Tagging Die. Think Gingham and stripes, and florals in the richest colors... Yeah, you get the idea! Each pack is only $5.00 and the pack makes 42 tags! If you have the matching stamps you can whip out Christmas tags like nobody's business. Love this concept!

If you're not familiar with the Speed Tagging products, take a look at my past blog post about them! CLICK HERE for my step out photos of how to use the stamps and dies. (It's the second project on that blog post)... So you can stamp and die cut your own tags in any color you like! The dreamy part is that the die is engineered to cut out SEVEN tags at one time! With the new papers, you line up the die and with one pass through the die cutting machine - you're on your way! 

Here are some photos for you! (The pens will be available with the release next week! The tags papers are available now!)

Here is the Speed Tagging Die - see the circles on the corners? That's how you precisely line up the die to cut the tags out. Genius I tell ya. 

 

This is the matching stamp in case you want to stamp your own specific color! Just wanted to show/share this again since it's so cool. To make the tags with the new papers you would only need the die.

 

A sneak peek at the pretty pens launching next week. Um, yeah, they match those beautiful tags!

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Store! I hope you have an amazing weekend. I will see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the supplies shown today! (Affiliate Links Used)

Thanksgiving Blessings and pretty leaves!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! I'm back! Did you miss me at all? I sure missed you, and missed blogging here with you! I haven't posted since Halloween. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've gone in 11 years without blogging. I didn't know I needed a break, but evidently I did. It naturally happened, a little break from stamping like a crazy woman. I've been generally feeling a creative block and that's okay. It happens from time to time and I've learned over the years to just go with it. Focus on something else and let my brain rest. So instead of stamping, I've been cross stitching and decorating my house and watching a lot of tv with my husband...and cooking.... Other creative pursuits! I finished my Halloween stitching and started a cute snowman stitch. Usually I am a holdout for decorating for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, but this year it's already full on Winter Wonderland here. I dunno. Just made me happy and cozy this year to put up the lights and sparkly Christmas things. A lot of my friends have said they're decorating early this year too. We must all be ready for the joy of Christmas time. 2020 has been a ride!

It finally rained here last Friday and it was awesome! We went out in it and drove around and enjoyed the wet weather. My birthday happened on the 3rd. I think this is my first birthday ever that we've spent it at home. We ordered a pizza and hung out here. Just was weird with it being election day and everything. Normally we like to take a little Fall trip around my birthday. But, like everything else this year, um no. It's cancelled too. I'm praying that all of you reading this are doing well and staying healthy and happy. As we move into the holidays I just want to again thank you for following along with me and for all of your kindness throughout this year. XOXO

Now, onto some crafting! I woke up this morning and went in the craft room and got out my bin of 'not used yet' things. Well, this beautiful stamp/stencil combo from Taylored Expressions jumped right on out at me. And I thought - YES! A Thanksgiving card is just the thing for today! So I stamped this, photographed it and posted it all in the same day! That hardly ever happens! But it feels nice to be in the moment with you today. I am resisting the urge to make all the Christmas things but I may just give in on that too! LOL. But first, one more card with leaves....

 

One of the big trends for the past year in stamping/crafting is the invention of Stamp/Die/Stencil Combo products. I LOOOOOVE this trend! And no one is doing it better than Taylored Expressions!! As soon as I saw this stamp/stencil combo (Fall Foliage) I knew I had to have it! I used it to make the background for today's card. It's a stamp of the stems/veins and then three stencils to layer on top to do the colored leaves. It's freakin genius!!! And SO super easy to get perfect results!! The finished card is an A2 card base. The large stamp is bigger than A2 size so you can trim it to whatever size you like. Step out photos are later in the post. I gold embossed the leaf stems and the beautiful sentiment for that warm glow of Thanksgiving....

 

EEKS. Like seriously, how pretty is this???

 

I cut the leaf panel with my new Deckle Edge Trimmer (LOOOOVE) and layered it twice onto woodgrain paper from my stash. The sentiment was embossed onto vellum and wrapped across the front of the card. I added an orange heart to add another pop of color under the vellum. A little bit of twine and some clear dots finished it off. The leaves are the star of the show on this card.

 

Here's a close up of that pretty Deckled Edge. It looks like an old photograph. I'm obsessed with it already! The trimmer has been on my wish list since January when I got to try it out at Creativation. It's finally available! So I bought it asap!!! CLICK HERE to see what I'm talking about!!

 

These are the two pretty products that are the focus of my card today!

 

Here are the three stencils you use to make three different leaf shapes. If you look closely you can see some embossed veins in the plastic stencil. These are what you use to perfectly line up the stencils. Genius.

 

I used my MISTI to stamp the big background stamp in Versamark and gold heat emboss onto cream cardstock.

 

Stencil one is taped down with washi tape onto scratch paper....

 

First up - oranges!

 

I used my TE Blender Brushes and two shades of orange to do the first stencil....Already looks pretty!!

 

Next up - reds!

 

 

Here's what it looked like after oranges and reds...

 

 

And finally - yellows!!

 

 

The colors of Fall and Thanksgiving!

 

OMG I think I squealed when I took the last stencil off! SO BEAUTIFUL!

 

And here's a dream close up...

 

And again, that Deckled Edge....swoon....

 

 

 

 

Okee dokee - looks like I remembered how to do a blog post! Nice to see you all again after a break! Next week I have amazing news - a new release from The Greetery! That's what I'll be working on next. You're gonna love it. Super creative and interesting and of course beautiful new designs from The Greetery. Can't wait to share all of that with you. I hope you have an excellent week. Thanks for stopping by! XOXO

If you are online shopping I would be super grateful if you would check out my list of stores that I am an affiliate for! (Keeping the lights on and all that jazz)

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's card! (Affiliate Links Used).

 

Happy Halloween 2020!!

Hi everyone!! Wishing you a happy and fun Halloween! Hope you get lots and lots of treats and no tricks! Here's a photo I took in my studio of some of my favorite Halloween things! XOXO

 

Cross Stitch Vote Pin!

Hi friends!! Happy Humpday!! I'm going to see my crocheting/knitting group tonight AND I'm going to wear a sweater! Yes! It's finally cool here and it's time to get out in the fresh air. I hope you're having a good week so far. I have a cross stitching project to share today. I finished it at 2am on Monday night! I really needed to finish it in time for voting day! SUCH a fun project to make. It has a modern but yet vintage flair to it...

VOTE! Yes, I made a voting pin to wear on my jacket (or bag) for the next few days. The pattern is called Sister Suffragette and it has a large piece and then these small vote buttons (for several countries!). I will stitch the larger piece later, when I have time. I used 18 count Aida to make the piece small -ish. Supplies are linked below if you're a stitcher and want to make this too! 

This will be my voting outfit! (We already voted weeks ago tho).... As you know I am an Election Officer for my county and have worked the last two elections. I decided to sit this one out for several reasons. I feel very strongly about the privilege to vote, and I love my country.

 

I stitched the piece and then turned it into a pin. The idea/directions can be found on the Stitched Modern Blog! I changed it up to make it my own project and you know I had to use some paper in there too! I chose the thread colors from my stash...

 

 

 

Here is my finished stitching...

 

Trimmed stitching, ready for making into a pin... Batting and backing ready...

 

To pull the stitching around into a circle, do a quick stitch around the edge so you can pull it tight...

 

The batting goes next to the stitching, then the paper circle underneath. After I pulled the stitching I used the extra threads to go back and forth to make it more sturdy.

 

I cut several strips of ribbon to wrap around the outside of the pin. I hot glued them to the kraft circle and then hot glued the top onto/over the ribbon. I used a pretty scalloped circle and golden cardstock just under the stitching.

 

You never know if this might end up in an antique store 50 years from now... So I always date my work!! (I love it when I find stitching or postcards that are dated and with the location!)

 

 

 

 

 

And, I've been so enjoying my new makeup table! My husband picked the very last of the hydrangeas the other day for me so I could put them on my table... It's time to prune them down to nothing for winter. So happy to get a few last blooms.

Thanks for popping in today! Any other stitchers out there? I seem to know a lot of paper crafters that also like to cross stitch. I feel like it's making a comeback. So many cute patterns out now!  Remember to get out and vote! Have a great day and I'll see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used to make today's project (Affiliate links used). If you have any questions - email me!