A Blog Called Wanda

FOUR year blogaversary! And, my end of the year wrap-up!

Hi! Happy (almost) New Year! I hope and wish for many good things to come in the year 2014! New Year's is always a time to pause and reflect and take stock. For me, 2013 was a very hard year. Probably one of the hardest years of my entire life. I'm not really sad to see it go. Too much happened. I'm a very even keel sort of gal, and 2013 put me on a roller coaster ride - and I must say that I didn't really care for it. I am very grateful for what I have and the people I love. I am very strong in my faith that God is preparing me for a new chapter or a new phase in my life, and I had to walk through the "work" first. Do you know what I mean? Anyhoo, I digressed...

I am looking forward to making 2014 a wonderful year. My words for 2014 are: Compassion (to seek it and give it), Flawed (recognizing that I am flawed and that's okay), and THRIVE (because that's what I intend to do!). I don't really do resolutions - do you? What's on tap for your new year? I wish you ALL THE BEST! Let's make it a banner year! 

One of the things I love to do here on the blog at the end of the year, is to take a look back on my creative journey! Today is my four year blogaversary! Can you believe it? So many of you have been following along with me the entire four years and it's been so much fun! I continue to be so happily amazed at the love and kindness of the peeps in blog land. Warms my heart and soul. I'm so excited and happy that I get to share with you what I love to do. 

My blog is my journal, in a way, and it keeps a record of my life and my progress. So, on that note, here are some fun stats from the year. At the end of 2012 I had written 560 blog posts, received 5413 comments, had 104,000 visitors, 365 email subscribers and 362,000 total blog hits. At the end of 2013... I have written 722 blog posts, received 7527 kind comments, had 185,000 visitors, 521 email subscribers... and.... drum roll please....506,000 total blog hits! YAY! I had a secret goal to try to make it to half a million blog hits before the end of the year! COOLEST thing ever! 

Last year I started a new tradition of recapping my favorite projects from the year! I got so many nice comments about this! Here are my favorites from 2013!! 

This card from January was my entry into a Hero Arts Contest! The smaller panel on the front is actually an ATC that can come off. That map stamp is a fav, and made other appearances throughout the year! 

 

 

For February I had to choose a Valentine favorite! This card was made in a color combo I love and using Papertrey Ink supplies...

 

 

This card from March just might be one of my favorite cards I've ever made! It took me hours to punch out and glue all those layers together - but I love the result. You guys can tell I love that shade of aqua....

 

 

In April I got the nautical bug! This trend was everywhere and I adore it! This card was made using Taylored Expressions stamps and dies...

 

 

In May, I made this card for my friend May! It was her birthday card and was full of an explosion of flowers. This one was really fun to make! 

 

 

June's favorite card had me keeping it clean and simple, with some awesomely cute stamps from Paper Smooches and my go-to gingham paper! 

 

 

In July I tried out a new color combo for the patriotic holidays! Gold and cream, and a gorgeous TE tamp and die cut of the USA... 

 

 

In August, I was feeling like Summer bikes! I made the daisy out of some die cuts and used some new washi tape and fun dies....Love how this one came out. 

 

 

 

For September I started my Autumn crafting with a gorgeous new stamp and die set from Tim Holtz. This card actually got me a mention on Tim Holtz's blog! WOO HOOOOOO! That was fun! 

 

 

More leaves for October - Fall is my favorite time of year! This time, more leaves and inks from Tim Holtz in a yummy fall palette. 

 

 

For November's choice, here is a card made using some cute apple stamps and dies...

 

 

December had me feeling inky and glittery all over when I made these poinsettia pins from the tattered poinsettia die from Tim Holtz! I made a pink one too. Totally fun project! 

 

 

And now, just a few of my favorite photographs from 2013! First up is a butterfly captured in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco... 

 

 

Some pretty pink dogwood blooms in the foothills of Northern California....

 

 

Summer Farmer's Market time....

 

 

My favorite Instagram of the year, took when we went sailing in October...

 

 

Another favorite Instagram shot of some cupcakes I made this year....

 

 

A beautiful white dogwood bloom in front of church at Easter...

 

 

 

Our anniversary trip to Carmel...where we saw Jonathan! LOL! 

 

 

Our last trip to the beach in San Francisco - just a couple of weeks ago. This is why I love California! My last time to see the sunset over the ocean for the year. This is so peaceful. 

 

New Year Cards for 2014!

Hello my crafty friends! How was your Christmas? Was Santa good to you? I hope so! I must have been a very good girl because I got a new camera lens! Yay! Oh, and the Despicable Me 2 movie! It was a very very quiet Christmas for us since I was so sick all week. Today was my first day back at work and it really felt good to get out of the house and get some air and use my brain. I am tired though, and glad it's already Friday. Hopefully after the weekend I'll be good as new. 

It's time to start thinking about the New Year, and I have had some ideas in my head for a couple of weeks about what I wanted to make for NY cards. Tonight I sat down for a bit in the crafty cave with some of my fav Papertrey Ink supplies and some glitter paper.... Here's what happened! 

 

 

 

 

I kept a basic, clean, classy color palette of white, black, gold and silver.... Those colors say New Year's Eve to me! I used some pretty papers for shine and sparkle....

 

 

 

I thought I would like the black one the best, but I ended up liking the white and silver one better! I think because the silver paper is much sparklierrrrrrrrr (I know that's not a word!) and prettier! 

 

 

 

I first cut my paper into a square and drew grid lines on with a pencil, dividing the paper into four squares. Then I used some washi tape to tape down my Papertrey Ink Number Dies in place before running the whole thing through my Big Shot. Then I mounted the top piece on foam tape over the glitter paper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought this was a GREAT message for the New Year...Celebrate Today...Celebrate EVERY day! I hope you have a fabulous weekend! If you got something cool and crafty for Christmas, leave me a comment and tell me about it. I'd love to hear! XOXO

 

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Hi friends! I want to take a moment to say a very Merry Christmas from my home to yours! I hope that you are going to enjoy the day surrounded by love and laughter and the people you care about the most! This time of year always makes me reflect, and I am so very happy to share my creative journey with you. Thank you for being special to me. 

The universe decided to slow me down this week by giving me the gift of the stomach flu. I have been in bed for three days. All that last minute shopping, cooking, stamping and wrapping just didn't get done. And I have to be okay with that. God reminds us that we are not in control... 

I am already looking forward to a new year with new beginnings and some fun crafty treats for you! In a couple of weeks I'll be off at the CHA convention scouting out new products. Later in January I will be guesting in a fun online class - my first time doing that. Lots to look forward to!

Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Key to my heart....

I'm popping in with another Christmas card project today! It's made with some fabulous products from Taylored Expressions! You guys know that I love to take crafty items that are for one purpose, and use them for a different purpose...and that's what I did today! I took the super cute "Key to my Heart" dies, which I usually use for Valentine's Day...and made a Christmas card with them! Kind of a CAS yet vintage approach...

 

 

 

 

I went with a classic Christmas color scheme: Cream, Kraft and Red...but then popped in a bit of olive green too! I love these Sprinkles from Doodlebug. They are so shiny and pretty as my holly berries. 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite techniques to do with die cuts - make my own embossed patterned paper to use as a background. I cut the keys out of cream cardstock, and then mounted them on cream cardstock. I took a dauber and some linen distress ink and lightly went over them afterwards. 

 

 

 

 

All of YOU definitely warm MY heart! As we get closer to Christmas I hope you have a lovely time with your loved ones and I wish you all the blessings of the season. XO

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Poinsettia Pins!

Hey crafty friends! One week until Christmas! The countdown is on! How are you today? I'm super super excited to share today's project with you. I made these a couple of weeks ago but I had to wait until I gave one away as a present before I could show you. Also, I had to find the time to edit about a million photos for this post! LOL. I am so inspired by anything vintage Christmas and no one does that like Tim Holtz. I finally bought the Tattered Poinsettia Die, and then finally sat down for a (two day) project. I made my pretty poinsettias into coat pins for Christmas. Can't wait for you to see....

Here they are all finished.... 

 

 

 

I made a red one for me to wear and a pink one for a gal pal who loves vintage as much as I do. We met for dinner and a lovely concert Sunday night. Always good to spend time with the girls.... Here's a close up of the red one...

 

 

 

And here's a close up of the pink one.... The pink one has platinum glitter on it! ACK! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, so here's the process.... First I cut out a BUNCH of die cuts with watercolor paper. I wanted really sturdy paper for this project. You could also use chip board or grunge board...

 

 

 

First step was to ink the petals using daubers and Distress Inks...

 

 

 

 

Here are all the colors I used!! How fun is that?? These are my pieces all inked and ready for the next step. 

 

 

 

I added some french script with brown ink - this is one of my all time favorite stamps from Stampin' Up! What a mess! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOOOH LA LA! Now we're really getting into the fun! Glitter and bling! I swear that I could put that clear rock candy distress glitter on EVERYTHING!!! I used the yellow Stickles for the centers of the flowers. 

 

 

 

YUUUUUMMMMMMM! 

 

 

 

Before I glued all my pieces together I gently rounded the petals using my fingers - to give some dimension. I also used foam tape in between all my layers and used LOTS of glue! 

 

 

 

One of my favorite tips - Did you know you can use your Copic Markers to color your clear blings?? Yep! You can make them any color you want! 

 

 

 

Here is a shot of what the backs look like....

 

 

 

This might be one of the most fun projects I've ever made! It was nice to take my time, and layer and play... Hope I've inspired you to play too! 

Merry Christmas Bikes!

Hello! Well....the Christmas train keeps rolling...and I need to jump on or get out of the way! Yikes, I am so NOT prepared this year! I need to hit the "pause" button for about two weeks, catch up, and then come right back to this day. (Don't you wish life was like a DVR?) Anyhoo...I digressed. Today I have a fun and cheery card to share made with the cute December Stamp of the Month stamp set and dies from Taylored Expressions! I wanted to take the stamp set and make something Christmas with it! 

I stamped my bikes in red and green and then cut them out with the matching die...Then I just had fun adding snowflakes and those adorable birdies! 

 

 

 

I popped my bikes up on some foam tape, after making my background paper with the snowflake stamp. I colored the birdies with a few Copic Markers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Have a wonderful day!

 

 

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Skating by to say hi!

Hi everyone! I could not wait to get home from work tonight and share this card with you! Whew, what a crazy week! I'm happy it's Friday, and I have a three day weekend. Hope all is well in your little corner of the world. Merry Christmas time! Have a great weekend! 

Today's card was made with two gorgeous Tim Holtz Dies and some pretty new paper from my friend Stephanie's store (Kraft Damask - are you kidding me???) I bought this paper last weekend at her store Christmas party and I knew I wanted to make something vintagey and fabulous. This ice skate die from Tim Holtz has been sitting on my work desk unused for far too long - time to remedy that! The holly leaf die is also from Tim Holtz. The sentiment is a stamp from Avery Elle...so pretty... 

 

 

These pretty silver bells came all the way from my friend Holly in The Netherlands!! The ice skate blades were cut from American Crafts glitter paper.... The skates are laced with twine (using a needle). Love the feel of this. Doesn't it make you nostalgic? I used to ice skate when I was little...now I think I would shatter into a million pieces!! LOL. 

 

 

 

I cut the holly leaves from kraft core paper and sanded the edges before inking them...and don't you love those red goosebumps blings??? 

 

 

 

 Here are my die pieces all cut out and ready to assemble...

 

 

 

I used some linen distress ink to make the boots look like aged white leather....

 

 

 

Here's a side view of my layers. The card base is wood grain paper...

 

  

 

 

 

  

Thanks for coming by! I'm getting SOOOO close to my goal of 500,000 blog hits! Maybe you will be number 500,000? (picture balloons falling from the sky)! CHA countdown is on! Four weeks until I'm in Anaheim with my crafty friends! I cannot wait!!  Take care - XO

Happy Birthday to my Super Hero!

Hello! Shazam! Kapow! BAM! Today's card is a birthday card I made for my Super Hero husband! His birthday was yesterday and I made him this fun Captain America card! My husband is a huge comic book fan (See this post for more on that) (THIS is a good story too), and for his birthday I got him a new iPhone and some very cool Captain America headphones and iPhone cover. So, it's kind of a theme birthday this year! He is my Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk all rolled into one. (Only Marvel, ya know)  Love you honey! XO

Here's his fun and bright card: 

 

 

I copied the Captain America shield by using my Circle Nestabilities and my stars dies from Papertrey Ink! The banner die is from Simon Says Stamp. The inside (photo later) is made with stamps from Papertrey Ink also. I love how graphic this is. POW! You can never go wrong with red, white and blue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a peek at the inside! 

 

 

 

 

Hope you're having a great week! Thank you for stopping by to see what I'm up to over here! 

Taylored Expressions December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

 

It's time again for the Taylored Expressions Stamp of the Month blog hop! Wooot Woot! Yep, well, I thought last month's SOTM was my favorite...until I saw December's! LOOOOOOVE it. Love the Key Ingredients Kit too - it's right up my creative alley. I know you will love it too. Please CLICK HERE for all the deets about the wonderful kits that Taylored Expressions offers. 

Here is the stamp set: 

 

 

Here is my card! I used the Key Ingredients Kit, which has the most beautiful papers and ribbons...swoon. This is one of my all time favorite color combinations and this new Webster's Pages paper is divine. 

 

 

 

All the new dies from Taylored Expressions are the kind that are open in the middle, so you can line up your stamped images. You guys know I'm a little (okay a lot) OCD and the dies cut out PERFECTLY the first time. See the edge around the bike? 

 

 

 

I made a little rolling hill out of the green and white striped paper... Isn't that a cute sentiment? 

 

 

 

You know me and gingham.... The cloud dies are sooo sooo cute! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you've enjoyed my little showcase of the new Stamp of the Month and Key Ingredients Kits! I love this monthly hop because we get to play with the TE Key Ingredients team too! Here is your link list for today. Have fun! 

Amy Crockett

Cassie Trask

Charmaine Ikach

Courtney Kelley

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin

Kerri Michaud

Monika Davis

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tracy Clemente

Wanda Guess

 

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Inspiration is Everywhere and Anywhere!

Happy Saturday my crafty, bloggy friends! How was your week? Whatcha doing this weekend? Lots going on, right? Whew....2013 is almost a memory. Last night here in Sacramento we were up late waiting for it to SNOW! It never really happened though. It snowed about 15-20 miles east of us, but not here. Darn it! It's been so (weirdly) cold here the past week. I was so super busy at work this week and it feels nice to just be sitting in the craft room having some coffee for a moment and writing a post. 

I have a card to share with you that I made last weekend...and it's proof that you can find crafty inspiration anywhere and everywhere. This card was 100% inspired by the Old Navy Black Friday print ad! We were going through the paper looking at all the ads and the Old Navy ad JUMPED out at me. So fun and funky and pretty.... I said to the hubs "set that one aside, I'm going to make a card" and I'm pretty sure he gave me an eye roll. Who's laughing now?! 

 

 

 

 

The letter dies are from Memory Box and the snowflakes are two different Martha Stewart punches. I used the Doodlebug textured cardstock and some gems in the centers... I layered some stripes of paper to mimic the different tones in the ad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My finished card is 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 - to make room for the word Christmas. As you can see, I barely squeezed it all in there! The Merry die is from Stampin' Up. LOVE it. 

 

 

 

Here is my work table...in progress. See the cool ad!? At first I added some navy too, but it didn't look right to me, so I left that out. I loved the combination of the bold font with the more flowing font...and of course the colors! 

 

 

 

And there you have it! 

 

I hope you have a delightful weekend doing whatever makes you happy. Thanks for your support all year, and thanks for coming by today. My goal for the year was to get to 500,000 blog hits. If you look in my left side bar, you'll see I'm at 496,981. Do you think I'm going to make it? 

Taylored Expressions December 2013 Spotlight Day - Light as a Feather!

Well, all good things must come to an end...unfortunately... Today is the last day of fun and projects for Taylored Expressions Release Week for December. I've so enjoyed sharing the new stamp sets with you this week. Did you pick up anything new in the store yet? What is your favorite thing? 

I made a card to share today using the new set called "Light as a Feather" for today. Feathers are all the rage in crafting right now. I always think of nature, and natural colors when I see pretty feathers....so for my card I kept it very 'green' and serene. I stamped my feathers on watercolor paper - and my tag too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite, time tested, methods for using solid images. Watercolor! I colored directly on my stamps with my Distress Markers... Then I misted the stamped image with my water bottle, and then stamped onto watercolor paper. Easy and so pretty! 

 

 

 

I stamped a bunch of them and then chose my favorites. You can usually get two stampings out of one inking/misting. They all look totally different. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, signing off for this release week! Thank you for joining me and the rest of the Baker's Dozen! Here is your Spotlight Day link list: 

 

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

 

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Taylored Expressions December 2013 Release Day - Watson!

Hi there! It's officially RELEASE DAY at TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS! You can now purchase all the new items for December in the store! So many cute petite sets to choose from. I know you will find something that strikes your fancy! 

My card for today features the new stamp set called "Watson," and he is an adorable little puppy! This set has the best sentiments too! I made a card to tuck away for when I know someone needs a little cheer. 

 

 

 

I feel the need to point out again just how great the matching dies are for these sets. See how perfect my white border is around the pup? First try with the die in my cutting machine. TE dies are now open in the center so you can line 'em up! Thanks Taylor! 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are your links for RELEASE DAY! Be sure to come back tomorrow because we have MORE projects to share! 

 

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

 

 

InLinkz.com

Taylored Expressions December 2013 Sneak Peeks: Petite-a-Palooza Day 2!

Welcome back for day two of the Taylored Expressions December Product Release for December! Did you love looking at all the cool projects yesterday on everyone's blogs? I hope so! Petite-a-Palooza is in full swing this week, and all the new stuff will be available for purchase tomorrow morning in the TE Store! Yeah! 

Today I'm sharing two more projects using new sets for this month. First up is a clean and simple birthday card made with the set called "Shine Bright." This set features beautiful and classy chandelier images...always a favorite. My card is a different size/shape. When closed it measures 3x6 inches. I wanted lots of open space on this one. I stamped the images in dark black ink and then added a few blings. Super easy and good for mailing. 

 

 

 

My top panel was layered on some crisp black and then a nice beige paper. That whole piece was mounted onto cream cardstock with foam tape. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next project is a sweet gift card pillow box made with the "Big Delivery" stamp set and matching dies! How fun is that giant cupcake in the back of a truck? Love it! I made my pillow box out of kraft paper and then had lots of fun coloring my images with Copic Markers.... Finished it off with some fun twine. This little number has a birthday Starbucks card inside! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Baker's Dozen has so many fun projects to share with you! Here is the hop list for today! Have a great one, and be sure to stop back by tomorrow! XO

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

 

 

InLinkz.com

Taylored Expressions December 2013 Sneak Peeks: Petite-a-Palooza Day 1!

Hello crafty friends! It's WHAT???? December!? And that means it's time for another fun release from Taylored Expressions! Taylor is doing her super cool Petite-a-Palooza again this year. What is that? It's an extravaganza of mini stamp sets with matching dies! There is so much to choose from, and something for everyone. Be sure to check out all the designers' blogs for inspiration all week. The new stamps and dies are available for purchase on Thursday morning. 

Today I have two cards to share. First up is a friendship card made with a new coffee set called "Joe to Go." I LOVE the little coffee cup die cut! Perfection, really. I used the Basic Grey Hipster paper pack for a retro look.  

 

 

 

I told you!! How cute is that coffe cup? And the matching coffee cozy? Over the top! These petite sets make is easy to creat fast and simple cards. The matching dies from Taylor are now open in the center so they are easy to line up too. See how the edges are so even? Perfect for this OCD stamper girl. 

 

 

 

A fun layout and some foam tape, and you're good to go. Good Coffee is ALWAYS a good thing, especially with friends! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, on the total opposite side of the color spectrum, I have a bright and cheery card! When I first saw this stamp set (called Oh Happy Day) I had a Mary Engelbreit moment! So that's what I did, made a card using black and red and yellow, just like one of my craft idols. SO fun to color these flowers. 

 

 

 

The picket fence border die is just the right touch for these whimsical images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for popping in today! Hop around to everyone's blogs to see all the other new sets! Here's the list for you! 

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

 

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