A Blog Called Wanda

Hey there - Paper Smooches Owl Card!

Hey there! Happy weekend! I'm sharing a fun card today made with all Paper Smooches stamps and one cute little owl who's just saying 'Hey There!'  It was kind of a weird week here in Sac-town. Monday and Tuesday it was RAINING! Um, hello?? It doesn't rain in Sacramento in the summer! And now it's back to being 100 degrees out. Make up your mind! LOL. Funky. We don't really have too much planned for this weekend and I'm hoping to spend a lot of time in my crafty hideout. Maybe do some cooking and relaxing. Hope your weekend is fabulous.

Here is my owlie card! 

 

 

 

I ADORE Paper Smooches stamps!! One of the best things about them is that they all work together - all the sets have Kim's awesome drawing so they all mix and match just perfectly. The owl from one set, the leaves from another, the sentiment from another. You can really make your own scenes. 

 

 

 

I colored him in with my Copics...the leaves and word cloud too. Had some fun coloring! I made the rectangle cut out by using a square nestabilities die twice - just lined it up and did it a second time to get the opening I wanted. I'm really not good enough to attempt this with an exacto knife! 

 

 

 

 

 

Take care and enjoy the sunshine!  

Color Throwdown Challenge #248 - Kraft, Aqua and Pink!

Hi crafty friends! I am SOOO excited to share this card today! I made it a week ago, and it's been killing me waiting to share it! Today is my last day to post as the June Guest Designer at The Color Throwdown Blog. {sad face} It has been so much fun to stamp with this awesome team and I'm so flattered and happy to have been included this month. THANK YOU LADIES! 

The colors this week are awesome, and perfect for summertime - aqua, pink, kraft and white. MMMMMM. Yummy. I had just received my new WPlus9 stamps in the mail and wanted to use them - this new Milk and Cookies set could possibly be the cutest stamp set ever!

Here is my finished card: 

 

 

Here is the challenge image and color palette for this week - I hope you will enter a card too! It's really fun to play with these colors....

 

 

OMG - This sentiment is awesome! 

 

 

 

For the 'napkin' I took a small size doily and cut it in half. Then I gently folded it over itself and glued it in place under my circle panel. I added some diamond stickles to the cookies and the straw. Oh, and don't forget the blings! :-)

 

 

 

I made my own background paper! I cut white and kraft cardstock into 1/4 inch strips and glued them down onto a solid base. Then I trimmed the whole thing for nice sharp edges. I made sure my strips were even by laying it out on my grid paper! 

 

 

 

Here is a close up of my layers....

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to go to the Color Throwdown Blog!

Here are the links to the design team so you can check out all the other cards made with this challenge color combination. Have a fabulous, crafty day! 

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Joan Ervin - Stamping With Passion

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy 
Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Denise Marzec - The Paper Landscaper
Please Welcome Our June Guest Designer - 

Wanda Guess - A Blog Called Wanda  (hey that's me!)  

 

 

Sweet Baby Congrats Card!

Hello! Happy Monday - I guess! LOL. Weekends go by pretty fast around here. Today I'm sharing a card I made to send Taylor on the occasion of her happy news! Taylor is going to have another beautiful baby girl soon! I had the very nice pleasure of meeting her daughter Madi at CHA in 2012 and she is the sweetest little thing! Now their family is getting bigger. Congratulations Taylor and Jon!

With baby cards I almost always keep it clean and simple and sweet. For this card I used the adorable little giraffe stamp from the Oh What A Day stamp set, and then popped the card with some pink. Taylor loves pink (good thing too)! I even used my mostest favoritest tool - my envelope maker - to make a matching polka dot envie.

 

 

 

This would be an easy card to mass produce - for announcements or shower thank yous...and they mail flat, which is a plus!

 

 

 

Love the envelope! And I put a cute little giraffe on it too!

SUPPLIES: Oh What A Day Stamp Set,  Band-it Die,  Envelope Maker, Label Stacklets 3, Copic Markers, Bazzill paper.

Vintage Butterfly Card Set with Hero Arts!

 

Hi Bloggy Peeps!! What's up?! Today I'm sharing a cool project that's posted over at A Blog Named Hero too. I've had this idea in my head for some time, and finally made it! I like how it came out and I'm excited to show you - so maybe you can make one too! It's a card set gift box! Say that three times fast...

Here is a picture of what the finished cards will look like... Clean, simple and vintage, with a pop of bright color. Yeah, I'm back to putting butterflies on everything! I stamped the beautiful background stamp in Linen Distress Ink and gently inked around the edges. The paper is cream color and the layering piece is Kraft.

 

 

 

 

A close up of the background stamp and butterflies...and the great Hero Arts sentiment! 

 

 

 

Here is what the card box gift set looks like when it's all done and ready to go! I had to put some butterflies on the outside too, right? This tin, I believe, is from The Container Store. It's the perfect size for some A2 cards and envelopes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what is inside the tin! Stamped cards with matching envelopes, A gaggle of butterflies, and some sentiment tags, all ready to go! This way, the person can make their own cards when they need one. Yeah! 

 

 

 

How much fun are all these pretty butterflies!? 

 

 

 

I put foam tape on the back of all the pieces so that they are 100% ready to go. No muss, no fuss. That way, they are also a great gift for a non crafty person too. 

 

 

 

One last shot of the tin all prepared...

 

All my supply links are on the post on A Blog Named Hero so pop over there if you need something! So....what do you think!? Would you make this? How happy will the person be who gets this?! I hope you have a fabbie day. Stay crafty my friends! 

 

Color Throwdown Challenge #247 - Red, White & Blue!

Hi Bloggy Friends! How are you?! Today I'm here with my card for The Color Throwdown Challenge Blog! I'm still having so much fun guest designing with this cool team this month. I'm kind of sad that there are only four weeks in the month! Today's colors are Red, White, Blue and Kraft! You know I am loving that combo. Doesn't get any better than that! I immediately knew I wanted to make a 4th of July card using my PTI stamps. I saw our first neighborhood fireworks stand this past weekend and sort of freaked out! How can it be time for fireworks already? But it's coming! Be sure to hop over to the Color Throwdown blog and enter your card for this week.

First up...the beautiful challenge image: 

 

 

And my crazy, over the top card! All the stamps, dies and embossing plates are from Papertrey Ink! The paper is from my stash!

 

 

 

I LOOOOOOOOVE making banners! These dies are too easy peasy to use and create fun and happy banners for our cards. Can you make out the tiny stars on the background paper? Awesome!!

 

 

 

I like to combine fonts together from different sets to create the right feeling and sentiment for my cards. These are from three different stamp sets! On my banners, I take my fingers and gently lift the edges up to make the card have some 'movement.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to go to the Color Throwdown Blog!

Here are the links to the design team so you can check out all the other cards made with this challenge color combination. Have a super day!

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Joan Ervin - Stamping With Passion

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy 
Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Denise Marzec - The Paper Landscaper
Please Welcome Our June Guest Designer - 

Wanda Guess - A Blog Called Wanda  (hey that's me!)   

Taylored Expressions June 2013 Studio Challenge!

Yay! It's time for our Taylored Expressions Monthly Studio Challenge! I love doing this every month with my fellow Baker's Dozen Team Mates! It's so much fun to see everyone's interpretation of the challenge. Each month Taylor and Jami come up with a fun question for us to answer as a way for us to share tips and tricks and ideas.

The question for June is: "What's on your Summer reading list? Are you a big reader or not? What books have you read lately that you would recommend? Do you have a favorite author or genre? Do you use fancy bookmarks or do you dog-ear your pages? Or, use an e-reader? Everyone can use bookmarks and they make great favors and gifts! Let's see some inspiration from you about reading and bookmarks!"

Well, I loooooooove to read! Always have been a voracious reader - my entire life. One of my best memories from childhood was my dad taking me to the giant Tower of Books store on Watt Avenue in Sacramento to pick out my books for the week. Seems like life gets in the way now, and there isn't nearly enough time to read anymore. Sigh. 

The last book I (re)read was The Great Gatsby. I wanted to read it again before I saw the movie. That book speaks to me in a different way each time.... I have a Kindle now, and I love it. But, I also like to hold a book in my hand, so I do both! There is a GIANT stack of books next to my bed. Do you do that? Here are some of my favorite books of all time: The Secret History, White Oleander, Gossip of the Starlings, Prep, Charlotte Simmons, Bitter is the New Black, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood... I could go on, but those are the ones that come to mind! 

I am also a magazine-a-holic! I love to read magazines, especially on my work lunch hour. I like stamping magazines (of course), computer magazines, fashion and beauty magazines and home decor magazines the best. I will read anything....and I love to look at pictures for inspiration. I'm always cutting out pages with neat color schemes or graphics.... 

 

I had so much fun making these bookmarks to share with you! I combined lots of stamp sets and dies to make some vintage-y feeling projects. Taylor has done an outstanding job making all kinds of fun things to make bookmarks with - and cool sayings. I used the Banner Stacklets 2 dies instead of the Bookmark die this time, so I could layer some different colors. For the top, I got out my crop-o-dile and put in some copper eyelets...and then some ribbon... 

 

I hope you're enjoyed learning a bit more about me! I can't wait to go and hop around to see what everyone else likes to read, and how their bookmarks turned out! Have a blessed day, and thank you for popping in!  

SUPPLIES:  In the Word Stamp Set, Spectacular Stamp Set, Mark Your Spot Stamp Set, Banner Stacklets 2 Dies, Curly Swirlies Dies, Cupids Arrows Dies, Memento Ink, Distress Inks, MME Nostalgia Paper Pack. 

HERE'S OUR LINK LIST FOR STUDIO CHALLENGE DAY! 

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin

Kerri Michaud

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

 

A Blog Named Hero - Challenge Time - Tags!

Yowza! Hi everyone! There is LOTS to share today, courtesy of the fun crowd at A Blog Named Hero! First up, It's June challenge day - so we have a brand new challenge and contest for you... I do hope you enter for your chance to win a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp! The inspiration this time around is Tags! I chose to use a plain manila tag, and jazz it up using ALL NEW Hero Arts Products from their Summer 2013 Collection called Stamp Your Story. FUN times! I also entered this one in the Hero Arts Contest!

 

 

 

 

Hello! Brand new letter stamps! And, how cooooool is that paint swash stamp? Love it! My card is all new products...and some fresh papers from Basic Grey. 

 

 

 

Here are my layers..... And I had to put a little bling on it! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, also this past week over at A Blog Named Hero, we were doing a collaboration with our friends from Neat & Tangled stamps! Woot Woot! Seriously, the stamps are SOOOO cute. I fell in love with this cupcake set I used for my card....

 

 

 

 

EEP! How fun is that font, and that little banner??? I put a giant bling on the top for a cherry. Used some fun and funky patterned papers for my paper pieced cupcake. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Sweets! LOVE that. 

Hope you've had fun checking out what's going on over at a A Blog Named Hero! I love being part of this fun team!  Take good care and come back soon! XO 

Color Throwdown #246!

Hi bloggy friends! Today I'm sharing my second card for the Color Throwdown Challenge Blog! YAY! Have I mentioned how thrilled I am to be the guest designer on their mostest awesomest blog this month? It's so fun stamping with this talented group...and such an honor! The color palette for this week was a new one for me. I hardly ever use purple...but I love it! Forced me to go out of my usual colors! I hope you will join us and enter your card on the blog.

Here's my finished card....

 

 

Here is the color palette image! Do you think you might like to play? Please do!

 

 

 

I used all stamps and dies from Papertrey Ink for this one...Lovely Ruby Rose stamp set. Do you LOVE that birthday sentiment? Wow, so perfect for so many birthdays. I am really into this look lately, of combining types and fonts.

 

 

 

I stamped and cut out a bunch of flowers and leaves and then had fun playing and arranging them until I got it just the way I wanted. Then, you guessed it, I got out the foam tape! LOL.

 

 

 

Here's a side shot of my layers....

 

CLICK HERE to go to the Color Throwdown Blog!

Here are the links to the design team so you can check out all the other cards made with this challenge color combination. Have a super day!

 

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Joan Ervin - Stamping With Passion

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy 
Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Denise Marzec - The Paper Landscaper
Please Welcome Our June Guest Designer - 

Wanda Guess - A Blog Called Wanda  (hey that's me!)  

A sweet Summer sunflower....

Hi there crafty friends! Whatcha doing? Is your summer schedule in full swing already? June came fast this year and it's HOT here in my neighborhood! LOTS going on this month on the bloggy blog - have you noticed? I have a hard time saying no to so many fun opportunities. What a blessing and such a nice problem to have!

I am totally hoarding nautical themed craft supplies right now and I am obsessed with anchors and whales. I want to plan a "Nautical Week" for the blog but am having a tough time finding an open week! Maybe the end of this month or July....stay tuned.

Today I'm sharing a sweet Summer sunflower card made with some stamps from the Lasting Impressions line from Taylored Expressions. Hope you like it!

 

 

 

 

This is one of my all time favorite CAS card layouts. It looks really clean and fresh, but there are actually a lot of details to it. I love using my embossing plates and folders on crisp white paper! 

 

 

 

I colored in my sunflower with Copics and then added a nice layer of super fine glitter - ya know - just to jazz it up a little! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a happy week ahead!  

SUPPLY LIST:  Thankful stamp set, Embrace Beauty stamp set , Scallops and Circles Impression Plate, Banner stacklets 1 Dies, Memento Inks, glitter, and Copic Markers.

Taylored Expressions June 2013 Spotlights - Stars & Stripes!

Hi friends! One last day of Taylored Expressions Projects to share! Did you check out the TE Store yesterday and get some new crafty goodies? I hope so! Today is designer spotlight day, and we can choose whatever project we want to feature. I wasn't slated to use these awesome new Patriotic products and I really wanted to! So, I made a fun treat box for 4th of July - it could be used to bring cupcakes or cookies over to someone's house, or to give to a friend who is a veteran. I loved using all the new papers and things too.  

 

 

 

 

I started with a kraft gable box that you can buy at the craft store or online. Then I went to town, jazzing it up and going all out RED, WHITE and BLUE! You can never go wrong with that color combo, right? This new US stamp and matching die is WONDERFUL! It's the perfect size for cards or scrapbook pages and I really love it. In the background is a new Graphic Greetings stamp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLIES:  Stars and Stripes Stamp Set and USA Die (new), Graphic Greetings Patriotic (new), Patriotic Project Pantry (new), Banner Stacklets 1 Dies, Memento Inks, Gems

Here's your last link list for this week! Thank you so much for having fun with us!  

Carole Burrage
Charmaine Ikach
Jen Shults
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Sankari Wegman
Shannon White
Shelly Mercado
Stephanie Kraft
Tammie Edgerton
Taylor VanBruggen
Wanda Guess

Taylored Expressions June 2013 Release Day - Beach Border Die!

It's RELEASE DAY at Taylored Expressions! All the new products for June are now available in the "Fresh out of the Oven" Department at the TE Store! Now you can see ALL the new items in one place and find something to inspire you for Summer!

Today I'm featuring the Beach Border Die....and this one was my idea! Taylor brought it to life and now I can play with it. So awesome! I love the little surfboard leaning against the tree...and the tiki hut all cozy on the beach...

I had so many ideas for this one, and I decided to go with a twilight scene with a big full moon, and puffy clouds like you would see in Hawaii. I used several shades of blue ink to create my background and then cut the border out of nice, crisp black.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's how I made my background....I cut a circle and a Clouds Border Die out of paper. Got out my favorite shades of blue distress inks.... I set my silhouette on the paper to see where I wanted the moon to go, and then tacked it down.

 

 

 

I used the clouds border as my stencil and started sponging on color!

 

 

 

Here it is after two layers of clouds....

 

 

 

Almost done....

 

 

 

Here is the final background piece, ready for my beachy scene!

 

 

 

 

 

The Baker's Dozen gals have made some super cool projects with this die. I hope you will check out the TE Gallery to see more!   Have a FABULOUS day everyone!  

SUPPLIES: Beach Border Die (new), Clouds Border Die, Distress Inks

Here are your release day links!!!  

Carole Burrage
Charmaine Ikach

Jami Sibley
Jen Shults
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud

Nancy McKinney
Sankari Wegman
Shannon White
Shelly Mercado
Stephanie Kraft
Tammie Edgerton
Taylor VanBruggen
Wanda Guess

 

Taylored Expressions June 2013 Sneak Peek - Get Well Greetings and Moka Sunshine!

Welcome back for day two of Taylored Expressions June Release Week! Tomorrow is the big release day! It's always so fun to share all the new stuff with you. Today I have two cards to share! One is a get well card and one is a silly Moka card.

My first card was made using the new Graphic Greetings - Get Well stamp. Don't you love these Graphic Greetings? I do! They make great backgrounds and look just as good as the focal point of a card. This one is going out to a sweet friend who just had surgery. I made it nice and bright!

 

 

 

 

A fun trick with this big graphic stamps is to take part of the stamp and ink it in a different color. This adds some visual interest. I also popped it up on some foam tape.

 

 

 

Here's a pretty polka dot butterfly....

 

 

 

This picture shows my layers...lots of layers!

 

 

 

Next up is a card featuring a new Moka girl....Moka Sunshine! She's too adorable! She looks nothing like me in the morning! LOL. She looks all sweet and happy... I like the sentiments that come with this set. I paired it with some super bright Doodlebug paper and colored her with my Copics.

 

 

 

I added a touch of twine and a pink pearl...

 

 

 

I cut Moka Sunshine out and placed her on a turquoise background...can never have toooo much color!

 

Thanks for popping by to see what's up for release week! See you tomorrow! XO 

SUPPLIES - GET WELL: Graphic Greetings Get Well Stamp (new), Flutter-bys Dies, Echo Park Sweet Girl paper, Memento Ink.

SUPPLIES - MORNING CARD: Moka Sunshine (new), Banner Stacklets 1 dies, Clouds Impression Plate, Doodlebug Fruit Stand paper, twine and pearls, Copic Markers, Memento Ink.  

Here are your super awesome links for today:

Carole Burrage
Charmaine Ikach
Jen Shults
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Regina Mangum
Sankari Wegman
Shannon White
Shelly Mercado
Stephanie Kraft
Tammie Edgerton
Taylor VanBruggen
Wanda Guess

Color Throwdown #245! I'm the June guest designer!

Hi stamping friends! I have some cool, fun, exciting, happy, awesome news! I was so very kindly invited to be the June Guest Designer over at the Color Throwdown Blog! Yippeeeeee! I love this blog, and I really love this talented group of crafty bloggers, and so it is my honor to stamp with them all month. Each week, on Wednesday, there is a new color challenge to play. I hope you will play along with us and enter your cards!

Here is the challenge image and the color scheme for this week:

 

 

I was having a hard time coming up with an idea... I was thinking flowers at first, but nothing grabbed me. Then I was thinking butterflies.... Then it hit me! I'll do circles! LOL. I interpreted the challenge image quite literally! Here is my card -

 

 

 

 

I embossed a bright white background with a pretty pattern... Then I found some papers in the challenge colors and made these rosettes! After messing up a bunch of them I got out the hot glue gun to adhere them together. Fabulous! No more holding them together until they dry. Why didn't I think of that sooner?

 

 

 

I decided to add some buttons and pearls to make it more feminine...

 

 

 

Here is a side view of my layering....

 

I'm so happy to be joining this group for June! Here are the links to the Color Throwdown team blogs. They are wonderful...just sayin'! 

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

Joan Ervin - Stamping With a Passion

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy
Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor
Denise Marzec - The Paper Landscaper
Lynn Put - The Queens Scene

Lori Tecler - Inking a Loud

Wanda Guess - A Blog Called Wanda - Guest Designer for June!

Taylored Expressions June 2013 Sneak Peek - Sunshine Cutting Plate and Ride the Wave!

Hi there bloggy peeps and friends of Taylored Expressions! It's that time again...time for another wonderful product release! June will not dissapoint - I guarantee it! Release week goes for four days, so make sure to come by each day and see what's new from Taylored Expressions! On Thursday I'm sharing a cool new border die designed by....ME! Yup! It's an idea I've had for a long time, and it's finally come to be. I can't wait to share it! Thursday is also the day everything will be available in the store. This release is all about Summer. LOVE it!

I'm sharing two cards today. First up is a card featuring the AMAZING new Ray of Sunshine Cutting Plate. Can I even tell you how many times I have tried to make a card like this - freehand? Oy. Well, now, with this new die, it's easy-peasy! So cool. Take a look.... 

 

 

 

 

How fun is this? The rays are PERFECT! I have thrown away lots of paper trying to do this. LOL. I know this is going to be a favorite from now on. Also, the center was made using the new Pinking Circles dies. They match so great with the rays. I used my favorite paper right now - Vintage Bliss....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a super gnarly rad surfing birthday card made using the new Ride the Wave stamp set and surfboard die! I love anything vintage Hawaii and this set is perfect for that type of project. I used some retro 70's colors to give my card a masculine touch.

 

 

 

These palm tree silhouetts are going to get a lot of use.... Cowabunga!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming by! LOTS in store for you this week!  

SUPPLIES - SUNSHINE CARD: Ray of Sunshine Cutting Plate (new), Pinking Circles Stacklets (new), Vintage Bliss collection from Simple Stories.

SUPPLIES - RIDE THE WAVE CARD:  Ride the Wave Stamp Set (new), Surfboard Die (new), MME Notable paper collection, Distress Inks, Memento Inks, Copic Markers.  

Here are the links to the lovely Bakers Dozen Design Team ladies!  

Carole Burrage
Charmaine Ikach
Jami Sibley
Jen Shults
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Sankari Wegman
Shannon White
Shelly Mercado
Stephanie Kraft
Tammie Edgerton
Taylor VanBruggen
Wanda Guess