A Blog Called Wanda

Doodlebug Birthday Card and Pillow Box Gift Card Holder!

Hi everyone! I'm up on the Doodlebug Blog today! And sharing my projects here too! Today I'm sharing a sweet birthday suite! A card, envelope and pillow box gift card holder that all match perfectly! The "Made With Love" collection is a great choice for birthday cards. And I always love using cupcakes as a theme for birthdays. Everyone loves cupcakes! These new Doodle Cuts are so fun and fabulous! Cheerful, happy and sweet! Hope you enjoy today's projects!

Here's a close up of the paper layers on the gift card holder. I made the gift card holder using the gorgeous gingham paper from the "Made With Love" collection and then decorated it with yummy papers and a sweet stamped birthday greeting. I die cut the cupcake parts from the papers in the collection and stamped the sentiment with the You Bake Me Happy Stamp Set!

The birthday card is a tri-fold card with a belly band made from papers and stickers. And one sweet little cupcake on top!! To keep it simple, my finished card is 4" x 5.5". To make a trifold card, cut your paper to 8" x 5.5". Use your Scorpal and score in two inches from each side of the card. Fold it and voila!

 

 

 

 

The pillow box opens up to place a gift card inside and some paper confetti too. Very festive! I collect Starbucks cards and I have about 300 or so!! That way I always have one to match the person or occasion!

 

 

 

You can slide the belly band off the card to reveal the inside - again stamped with that awesome You Bake Me Happy stamp set in pretty pink ink.

 

I used more papers from the collection to line a matching pink envelope. I love how the card and the envelope go together so nicely. This is a great way to have your projects pop and look professional. It also shows some extra love by decorating the envelope! I used stickers and Sprinkles to jazz up the outside of the envelope too - of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This project will work with any of your favorite Doodlebug Collections!! Great for Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter...any occasion. Just change up the main image (maybe change the cupcake to a gingerbread man...) No end to the fun possibilities! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your day is filled with creativity and smiles.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's projects! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

A pretty butterfly hello!

HEEEELLLOOOOOO! Just like the card says! Hello friends! I have a bright and pretty card for you today! The idea came to me in my sleep the other night. I haven't been sleeping much lately but I'm laying there awake with all the ideas floating around my head... Hoping for the days when my anxiety rests and I can rest too. It's been a crazy year. I don't even know what else to say about it. Sleepless nights and crafty ideas I guess for now! Hope you are doing well and enjoying a nice weekend. I'm praying hard for sunshine in Texas for all those souls who are struggling. My heart goes out to you so much. Also just generally praying for everyone to get a break soon. Much love to you, with whatever you're facing right now. 

My card today is finished size just a bit larger than A2 size. The background die in that pretty jade color is the exact size of an A2 card and usually it will go flush on the front of a card. When I finished, though, I really thought it looked better to have a white outer border too. Three colors on this card: jade, white and gold. I like how it came out! 

 

This pretty butterfly accent was die cut from vellum for a lacy look on the bottom of the card. These butterfly dies are very old Memory Box dies from my stash. They are timeless!! All the other supplies are gorgeous dies from Pinkfresh Studio.

 

I die cut the radiating background die and the ornate oval die from the same color cardstock. I like the tone on tone look of this! I splattered both pieces with my favorite gold paint. I die cut the curvy leaves dies from gold cardstock.

 

I knew these leaves dies were going to get used A LOT! The hello die was cut twice from gray cardstock and stacked for a bit thicker look.

 

I found the perfect shade of matching enamel dots in my stash!

 

 

That's it for today! I hope you are happy and well and getting crafty. Take care until we meet again soon! XOXO

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

Finally organizing my Alphabet Dies!

Hey guys! Popping in real quick today to share an organizing project!! I always have these grand ideas in my head but then I often put them aside and craft instead! A week or so ago I was watching a movie in the craft room and thought - yes - today's the day I'm going to finally make my Alphabet Die tag project!! I LOOOOVE alphabet dies and they are scattered around my craft room sorted by company, so sometimes I forget what I have. This project now hangs off a hook on my desk so I can grab it and see all my options... I wanted to share it with you in case it helps you too! I'm currently in the process of re-swatching all my distress inks into a similar 'book' and I'll share that once I get that one done. I love organizing!! It makes me happy and calms my nerves.... Wishing you a blessed and happy day today! XO

Here's the finished project!

 

I started out by die cutting a whole bunch of tags from bright white Neenah cardstock. This is my favorite tag die, and it's actually wearing out because I've used it so often! 

 

Next I got out my favorite AC Cardstock pack and went to town die cutting out letters and numbers for my tags....

 

I wrote the name of the company and the name of the alphabet set on the tag in black ink pen.

 

 

That's it! I told you this was a quickie!! I feel that an organized creative space frees up the mind and makes way for creating!! It feels good to have this project done and it makes me happy. I'll see you soon!!

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used to make this project!

Floral bouquets and Embroidery!

Hi everyone! I almost typed Happy Sunday....but it's Monday! It really feels like a Sunday - maybe because my husband is off work for President's Day....or maybe because I made us pancakes for breakfast! LOL. Anyhoo it's a nice gloomy rainy day and Lucky and I are getting caught up in the studio this afternoon. I hope you are doing well and are healthy and happy. Spring is arriving fast here in Sacramento. Our garden is blooming and we are sneezing... It's time for a new season, and some hope that we'll all be out and about soon. Just really been missing my friends lately and our adventures. I am sooooo hoping we can go to church on Easter this year!! 

Today I'm sharing an embroidery project! It's been years (decades) since I have done some hand embroidery! My grandmother taught me how to embroider! (and crochet and cross stitch)... Makes me miss her when I do this type of crafting. She was awesome. And her name was Voila - how perfect is that? So it's been a really long time for me with the embroidery. I came upon this kit one day at Hobby Lobby and thought - well, let's give that a try! And I super duper enjoyed stitching this! I used the kit but I switched out the fabric to some pretty natural colored linen. I love the texture of this fabric - and I had it in my cross stitching stash pile. I like the kind of boho, hipster color palette! If you haven't tried something in a while, or never - I want to encourage you to try something new!!! 

 

I looooove making french knots!!! The texture is so cool!

 

Here's a super close up. That mustard colored rose is CHUNKY! I love it!

 

Here's a photo of it in process. I traced the pattern from the original fabric onto the linen using my light box and a sharpie.

 

 

 

Here is the back - I finished it off with some natural cotton batting. It's very soft so it won't damage the wall if it's hung. At the top is a pretty bow made with celadon colored crinkle ribbon that I dyed. It also has a ribbon loop for hanging. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for the embroidery project! For all my snow soaked friends, I thought I would share a few photos from my yard - to encourage you that Spring is definitely coming. Our flowers are going crazy already here!! A bit of hope for us all!! First up, beautiful hot pink camellias...

 

And soft, delicate daffodils....

 

A bright white camellia - I love the contrast with those dark green leaves! OOOH LA LA.

 

This is a tree I came upon in the parking lot at Michael's last week! The way the light played on it makes the photo look like a painting! 

That's it for today my friends! Florals in stitching and in the garden! I just reopened my Etsy Shop, and this embroidery piece is for sale in my shop. I also have cards and handmade books, etc. If you're so inclined, please pop on by to check it out. Sending you hugs from my craft room. Have a great week! XOXO

Guest Designing for Sunny Studio Stamps - Otters and Balloons! How Fun!

Hi everyone! I told you this was going to be a busy week! Whew! Today I'm guest designing for Sunny Studio Stamps! It's been a while since I guested for them and it makes me smile. Happy Saturday everyone!  I'm always happy and excited to be the guest designer on the Sunny Studio Blog! I'm so delighted to work with the beautiful and fun stamps and dies from Sunny Studio! I'm in love with this awesome most recent stamp and die release. I mean who doesn't love hot air balloons and otters?! I had so much fun creating two cards to share with you today. Lots of color and lots of cuteness! I busted out the Copics and also my scene building skilllzzzzz. I hope these cards make you smile too!

First up is this adorable otter couple, swimming around hanging out with each other! This finished card is a 5" x 5" square card, made from white cardstock. I used the Sunny Studio Semi Circle dies to create a frame for the waves and sea kelp. I built my card around the semi circle. I used a layer of brown striped paper to match the brown otters.

 

All the images were stamped and die cut with the matching dies and then colored with Copic Markers. I used the My Otter Half, Best Fishes, and Sea You Soon stamp sets to create my ocean scene. I couldn't resist the urge to add one little happy fish jumping out of the water too!

 

The sentiment was heat embossed with white onto black cardstock. Everything was assembled using foam dots for dimension. I also really like to use a white gel pen to add accents over my Copic coloring. I splattered a bit of white paint to mimic ocean foam. I am all about the little details. One tiny red heart too!

 

 

 The sentiments in the My Otter Half stamp set are the best!! I love you like no otter!! 

Jump little fishy!!!

 

 

This next card is a big card! But it will fit into a 5x7 envelope! I needed some big card real estate to create my hot air balloon scene. Gosh, I wish I was with that bear right now, swaying over the pretty green hills. This finished card is a 4.5" x 7" size, made from white cardstock. I layered a bit of lime green cardstock, and then a layer of white for my scene.

 

I stamped and die cut out the images and colored them all with Copic Markers. I used the Country Scenes, Balloon Rides, and Plane Awesome stamp sets. They all work so nicely together. I went with a rainbow color scheme for the balloon and banner. I love using these bright, cheerful colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tucked that sweet bear into the basket and made him floating in some big fluffy clouds. There are two layers of clouds and they were edged with Diamond Stickles Glitter Glue. The card was assembled with foam tape for dimension and layers. Can't wait to send out this note of encouragement. I think this would be a great graduation card or work related promotion card!! This little bear with the scarf is from the Plane Awesome Stamp set, and I couldn't resist tucking him into that hot air balloon!!

 

 

 

That's it for today's cards! Big thanks to Mendi at Sunny Studio for having me as a guest! I'm very blessed that she always invites me back! I love working with these happy images and interesting dies. Be sure to head over to the SS Blog to see more fun projects and leave some love! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!! XOXO

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

My first Doodlebug Design Team Post - You Bake Me Happy Recipe Book!

Helllloooooo! Yes! It's me again this week! SO MUCH going on! And it's all good! Today is my first project for the Doodlebug Design Team and the Doodlebug Blog! I had so much fun making this project to share with you. I hope you love it too! Something different than a card, but still so much paper goodness! I am featuring the newest collection from Doodlebug called Made With Love. It's a baking theme with the most adorable images and the prettiest color palette. Everything you love about Doodlebug. Pink and aqua and yellow...perfect for Spring. And smiling whisks and chocolate kisses.... It's a baking dream. So I thought how can I best use this theme?? I know - I'll make a recipe book! One of the items in the collection is a booklet of recipe cards. That got the project rolling and it went uphill from there! Be sure to pop over and visit the Doodlebug blog and leave some love there - and check out all the other amazing projects from the rest of the team. 

Here is my finished book - bound at home with my Cinch machine. The finished size is 6.5" by 4.5". It would make the BEST gift for a friend who loves to bake. You could fill in your own recipes or give it to the person blank and they can add their recipes. So fun. I have lots of pictures to show you all the details.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the cover! So many little details - a heart, a tiny clip, a banner, a doily....Love layering all these things together. That's probably the best thing about using Doodlebug collections. EVERYTHING matches perfectly. It's a dream. I get emails from people that want tips about matching colors. That's difficult for a lot of people. Well...here you can't go wrong! And crafting is less stress.

 

Here are some of my supplies all rounded up for inspiration! There are the recipe cards - you get 36 cards in a pack. In order to bind them into my book, I added a small border of white cardstock on the left side and punched that white paper instead of the cards. 

 

 

Here you can see how they fit into the book! I mixed in recipe cards along with some decorative pages throughout the book. 

 

 

 

The covers are made from chipboard and then covered in lovely papers and embellishments! 

 

Here is the finished cover!

 

 

 

 

This is the inside of the back cover....love those polka dots! And those cuuuuuuuute stickers!

 

This is one of the inside pages. Patterned papers, stickers, banners and tabs....

 

And this chocolate page! I am OBSESSED with those teeny tiny chocolate drops!!! EEP. And smiling cookies??? Hello. 

 

 

This is the back cover! I used my Cinch Machine to bind everything. This is an awesome tool! I've had mine for years. I use it to make books and calendars and whatever else you want to bind together. So easy and quick, too.

The finishing touch - some little handmade charms!! I used some pink chunky twine to tie a big bow onto the coils of the book. Then I die cut a couple of small scalloped circles and affixed some little images. I used jump rings and tied them on with more twine. 

 

Thanks for stopping by today (and every day this week LOL).... I am delighted to be making Doodlebug projects to share my love of this company with you. What do you think? Want more books and such? Or cards? Lemme know! Have a blessed day and I'll see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's recipe book. (Affiliate Links Used).

Taylored Expressions - Field Notes 2 Card Kit Launch!

HEY HEY HEY!!! It's time to launch a brand new card kit from Taylored Expressions! WOOHOOOO! I look forward to these so much! Fun fact: I get the very first kit every time since I am the one who takes all the product photographs! It's very hard to keep this secret and I'm always so excited to share my project and the kits with you! Today is a pleasure - the new kit is a partner kit to another kit!! This one is called Field Notes 2! Another gorgeous floral image...classic but modern.... The kit this time includes a fantastic splatter background stamp!! Yes - it's going to be a fan favorite for sure. Splatters already done perfectly for you!! The full kit contents photo is farther down in this post. The kit is available and shipping now. Let's take a look at my project! 

My finished card is an A2 card base made from woodgrain cardstock. I layered some pretty sunshine yellow gingham and then a watercolor paper layer on top. The focal image is the gorgeous floral, which I watercolored in shades of yellow, gold and orange. 

 

I used my MISTI to stamp the image in black ink onto the included watercolor cardstock. I die cut the image using the matching die. I stamped and die cut a second floral image too - I'll explain later...

 

These flowers are SO pretty, so I kept my card layout very clean and simple. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the top layer. Again, I used the MISTI to get a good impression on that textured paper. Look closely to see that I used the smaller splatters stamp image in light blue around where I put the florals.

 

Okay, now here's where I used the second image I stamped and colored. I only used the stems!! I wanted my flower bunch to have longer stems because I wanted to wrap the twine around them. SOOOO, hidden under the twine is the part where I glued on a second set of stems! I wrapped the twine around and tied on a pretty Tim Holtz charm from my stash. Just a little something.... That's my jam - just a little something something.

The kit includes some gorgeous, thick and juicy envelopes. I stamped the flowers onto the front of an envelope and watercolored it the same way as the card so they would match. I think that looks so pretty when the card and envelope match. 

 

 

The kit comes with a stencil that matches the flowers! Genius! This way you can mask off your image and ink or stamp around it. What a cool concept!! Taylor thinks of everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FULL CARD KIT CONTENTS!

That's it for today! Yippeeee! Thanks for coming by today! I hope your day goes well and hope you're happy and healthy and crafty! CLICK HERE to get your kit. The last one already sold out! XOXO

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

Pinkfresh Studio February 2021 New Release Blog Hop - Birthday Roses!

Hi friends! Welcome to the Pinkfresh Studio February New Release Blog Hop! There are a lot of us in the blog hop today and it's going to be so much fun! We are celebrating a gorgeous new release from our friends at Pinkfresh Studio. All of the new products are available for shopping now in the Pinkfresh Studio Store. They have the most gorgeous and classy florals and amazing dies...Can't wait to show you my card for today. I used the brand new Choose Hope stamp/die/stencil combo and the AMAZING new Curvy Leaves dies...and the new Happy Birthday sentiments. You can never make enough birthday cards, right?! I created a feminine pink and green floral - perfect for the coming of the new season. 

My finished card is an A2 white card base. I stamped directly onto the front of the card base using the Diamonds Background Stamp and pretty pink ink. Then I used the Ornate Banner Dies to layer pink and white cardstock...

 

 

 

In this side photo, you can see my layers, and that pretty birthday sentiment! 

 

 

And the star of the show is the beautiful floral spray in pink and green.... This was colored with stencils!! Three stencils for the flowers and two stencils for the leaves. I am loving this trend - perfect for if you don't have a ton of markers or just feel more comfortable with stencils. It was super easy to line up everything and get the pretty watercolor effect. I stamped the flower spray and stenciled it, then die cut it out with the matching die. I splattered some bright white paint over everything and set it aside to dry.

 

 

Here is a photo of the stamp/stencil/die combo! 

 

 

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted a yellow rose or pink rose, so I made extra!! I'll save that yellow one for another card. 

 

 

I die cut the Curvy Leaves die out of vellum cardstock. OMG that die is going to be used on every card!! It's the perfect size for an accent on almost anything. And in vellum, it adds just a little something!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog, IG feed & YouTube channel. So be sure to check our their social media accounts!! AND....on EACH blog we will all be giving away a $25 gift card on our blog posts!! So be sure to leave a comment here and on all the blogs, because the winners will be picked from the comments! YEAH! The winners will be posted February 15 , 2021 on the Pinkfresh Studio GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must be sure to check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. 

Pinkfresh Studio is offering free US shipping on all orders $50+ from February 8th to February 14th. And they will have a free die with $50 purchase for this release (no code needed). This promo will run from February 8th to February 14th (or while supplies last).

Thank you so much for stopping by today as part of this awesome blog hop!! I'm so happy to see you here!! All the links for the artists are at the bottom of this post. Enjoy the hop and all the inspiration. I'm very happy to be stamping with these other bloggers!! Take care and I'll see you back here soon! XOXO

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

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Waffle Flower New Release Blog Hop - New Stitchables and a bouquet of hope!

HEEYYYYY! Happy Friday crafty people! It's time for a big blog hop today! We are celebrating the brand new release from Waffle Flower Crafts today! The release is called "Hope" and it's wonderful. Pretty florals, some faith based stamps (which I absolutely love), more Stitchables....and even more! CLICK HERE to shop the new release - it's available now. But, be sure to check out the blog hop too! Loads of inspiration and fun and a giveaway.  The Waffle Flower release is full of stamps, dies, and stencils that celebrate the hope and joy of Spring! Did you arrive here from TaeEun's blog? Welcome! I have two projects to share with you today featuring the new stamps and dies. 

My first card is made with my favorite thing from the new release - the Hopeful Girl stamp and die set. I used the new Lacy Circles dies to feature the stamps also. The finished card is a white card base custom sized to 5.25" x 5.25" square. I used purple because to me that's a Spring color and I thought the purple gingham was very sweet with these images. 

 

 

 

I first stamped and die cut out the flowers spray and the praying girl. I colored the images with my Copic Markers. I used some small yellow gingham to paper piece her blouse. Yellow is such a pretty contrast to purple I think! Don't you adore this pretty image? I think this would be a great stamp set for a confirmation or a get well/thinking of you card. I'm smitten. It was very quick and easy to color her.

 

I die cut a small heart for the sentiment and added some of the awesome Waffle Flower Enamel Dots. In this photo you can see the Lacy Layers Dies - the scallop one I die cut in vellum and the inside circle I used white cardstock.

 

 

I used Distress Ink and my blender brushes to ink light blue behind where I was going to place the images. I also splashed on some white paint. I added a few small pearls for accents. 

 

I covered the card base in the gingham paper. Then I mounted everything onto the card using foam tape for dimension and interest. (My cards are usually thick and juicy! LOL)

 

 

Here's a close up of the pretty floral spray! This is a very versatile floral... You could mount it at the top of a circle or on the side, or put two together to make a wreath.

 

This next card combines my two crafty loves of card making and cross stitching! Waffle Flower has the coolest line of Stitchables stamps and dies. I love using them, and now there are some new additions to the collection!! This finished card is kraft A2 card base, layered with cream and then layered with yellow gingham. The yellow layer was die cut using the Blanket Stitch Layers Dies.

 

 

I die cut the oval stitching die out of cream cardstock. I found the beehive and bee pattern in one of my old cross stitching magazines. It was the perfect size to fit this oval! I used three strands of the floss colors to stitch my design. It's so bright and cheerful! I die cut the oval embroidery hoop out of woodgrain cardstock to look realistic. 

 

 

The sentiment is from the previously released Stitched Sentiments stamp set. LOVE IT!! I stamped it onto an oval to fit the theme and added a shiny red heart for a pop of color. 

 

Here's a close up of all my layers....

 

 

 

Hope you’re enjoying the hop! Next on the hop is the lovely Yasmin!  For the full blog hop list, please visit the Waffle Flower Blog for today! 

PRIZE ALERT!!  For today’s hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners. You can leave a comment on this blog and along the hop by 11:59pm EDT on Monday February 8th, 2021 for your chances to win. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower Blog on 2/10/2021. There are more giveaways to enter on the Waffle Flower Instagram! 

 

SPECIALS: From now till February 7th, 2021, all orders placed at waffleflower.com will receive a mystery gift (No code required!).

 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's projects! (Affiliate Links Used).

Cutie pies - bees and ladybugs invasion - just in time for Valentine's Day!

Hellloooooooo! Today on my blog it's a cute bug invasion! A whole swarm of bees and ladybugs are whooshing by with some Valentine flair! I looooove making cute treat boxes, bags, and envelopes to give some sweets to my friends. I finally bought the tiny treats box from Lawn Fawn a few months ago...and almost all of the little animals that add on!! EEP. These are sooooo much fun to make. I was smiling the entire time!! There is no stamping, just die cutting and easy assembly. I am going to try to do a little trip around town next week to drop these off on some crafty friends' doorsteps. They make me happy. And, I'm excited to share this with you! (I made these for Valentine's but they would be super cute for a baby shower or a birthday party too!!)

I ended up making four total: One honey yellow bee, one light yellow bee, a pink ladybug and a classic red ladybug! I'm totally obsessed. The little hedgehog from my coffee Valentine card is one of the 'fronts' for this tiny treat box. Here is my little swarm...

 

And here's the top down view so you can see the wings and stingers. ADORABLE!! For the bee wings I layered white cardstock and vellum cardstock to add more interest. All the pieces were inked with mini distress ink cubes and small sponge daubers for a little shading and shadow. Whenever I'm making die cut only projects I usually like to at least ink the edges of everything...

 

Here are the two little busy bees!!! I got the idea that I wanted to add little hearts to the antennae for Valentine's day so I was searching the craft room for a teeny heart die... Then the light bulb went off! I have had these heart embellies for years and they are PERFECT for this project!!! I glued them onto the ends of the antennae!! 

 

OMG. A pink ladybug! I'm deceased. Cute overload for sure!! I added white gel pen accents to everything. You can see if you look closely that I attached the wings with foam squares to pop them up off the top a bit. Can you imagine these as favors at a little girls' birthday party??? In a rainbow of colors!?

 

Here's the box with the top open and some little heart candies inside.... The box could hold a pair of earrings or a necklace or something small... But it's not large enough for a gift card. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the pink ladybug in my hand so you can see the size of the box. It's so sweet!!

Okee dokee that's my fun Valentine for today! I hope I made you smile and maybe laugh a little too and I hope you try this project because it's so much fun. Thank you for all the love on my last post. I'm over the moon about that announcement. Remember to stop by here on Friday for a new release blog hop with Waffle Flower Crafts!! There's a lot going on already this month and I love it! Keeping me busy and out of trouble. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's projects! (Affiliate Links Used)