A Blog Called Wanda

Fun new project to share - and a card too!

Howdy! How is your week going so far!? I am REALLY happy to finally share a cool new collaboration project I'm starting today with my amazing friends at Simon Says Stamp!  Over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog each month, I am going to be making a project to feature the newest color added to the Distress Ink family! Ranger and Tim Holtz are releasing a brand new ink color each month for this entire year and it is so much fun to anticipate what the new color will be! 

In my first project for this feature I used the new colors for January and February - and those are Cracked Pistachio and Abandoned Coral. The color for March is Mermaid Lagoon, and as soon as I can get the inks in my studio, I'll be featuring it next! YEAH!

I hope you will follow along with me over there every month to see the new color. I'm going to be making a swatch chart too, so you can easily see how the new color fits in with the existing colors. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PROJECT. You can leave a comment to win a prize!! Thanks so very much to my friends at Simon Says Stamp! 

 

Here is a sneak peek!

 

And a sample of the color swatch chart!

 

 

 

 

Since I'm sharing my excitement today about my new collaboration with Simon Says Stamp, I thought I would share another card I made for their blog a while ago. I never got it posted here on my blog, and today seems like a good time to post it! This one is a shabby chic card I made with supplies from my friends at Taylored Expressions! (There is a link list at the bottom of the post).... I hope you enjoy this one too! YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL POST! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART - for stopping by here today - and for supporting me in all of my crafty adventures! I couldn't do this without your love and support! Blessings to you for a great week. XO

 

SUPPLY LIST FOR SHABBY CHIC CARD 

                                               

Easter Goodies - Mason Jar Project!

Happy Weekend my friends! Yes! A lovely Spring weekend and I'll be hanging out in my studio crafting and relaxing. It's only one week until Easter and I already am feeling the spirit of the holy week. Easter is the most meaningful holiday of all and I'm looking forward to church services and focused thought over the next several days. 

I have a really cool project to share today. And, I have a lot to say about this project... First of all, it's one of my favorite things I've ever made! Second...it is BY FAR the hardest project I have ever tried to photograph! I took over 100 photos to try to show you how these Easter mason jars came out. The glare on the domes made it so hard to take pictures of! Oh well, I think I got enough photos so you can see the final results. And maybe I am a little OCD. Or a lot. Just sayin.

I cleaned out part of my craft studio a week or so ago and I made a new space for all my Papertrey Ink supplies to be organized and easily accessible. You'll see lots of PTI projects for a while! I am crazy about their new line of dies and stamps called Petite Places - I even have a Pinterest Board for them! I went wild creating some Easter mason jars to give out as presents. Hope you like them - and hope you try this too. It is just so much fun and you will have a blast! The domes are Christmas ornaments - the kind that separate in half! You can buy them on the PTI website or at your local craft store! So much fun to think of ideas and play with these. I already have some more themes in mind. Without further ado....

I made five different mason jars. This first one was made with the Petite Places Church and the little trees that go with the scenes. OMG right???  

 

 

 

 

Be sure to buy the wide - mouth mason jars for this project. (ask me how I know that....) I filled the jars with pretty pastel Hershey's Kisses and sealed the lids on top. Everything is made to fit just perfectly onto the top of the jar. 

 

 

 

 

I decorated with the trimmings from the newest PTI kit...added some flowers and leaves. The crochet ribbon was glued on with E6000 glue and then the bow was placed on with glue dots. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this one, I just used the front facade of the church die....and I paired it with the trees dies and some pretty green gingham. This one is so soft...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after I made some church ones, I got to thinking....what else can I put in there?! Butterflies of course! I made a pink butterfly and a yellow butterfly version and then added glitter and sequins to make them shakers!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the yellow butterfly...

 

 

 

 

Then I got the idea to put a cute little birdie in there! So I got out the Songbirds dies and put a bird on it! The little pearls are the perfect soft touch. Oh, and more gingham! Princess Judy, If you're reading this...thanks for the gingham!! LOL. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Next week I am SUPER excited to share something I've been working on with Simon Says Stamp! (Hint, it involves new Distress Inks!)  Be sure to come by on Tuesday to see - or check the Simon Says Stamp blog that day! XOXO

Papertrey Ink March 2015 Blog Hop! Aqua and yellow birthday cards!

Hey crafty friends! It's the 25th of the month already...and that means time for the Papertrey Ink Customer Blog Hop! YAY! I absolutely love participating in this hop each month. I love their products (of course) but I also love the concept of having a blog hop that's open to anyone and everyone. Really a chance to share with each other!! You can post from a blog, or from Flickr, or anywhere you can post a photo and link to it!

This month's 'challenge' or theme, is a GORGEOUS inspiration image with shades of aqua and yellow. What a cheerful color palette for Spring crafting. I set a rule for myself...NO butterflies! LOL. Yeah, I can be a little bit craaaaazy with the butterflies. So my cards for the hop feature cupcakes and birthday cards! (and maybe one wee butterfly! LOL)  I just went straight from the colors in the inspiration image and went to town with the new (to me) Bakers Dozen stamp set and coordinating pieces.... Take a look!

 

 

 

 

It's SPRING, so you know for sure that I'm going to be busting out the gingham on every card for a while! Good thing I have a lot of it hoarded away! I adore this yellow and white gingham with pretty and clear aqua. Delicious! I cut some rays from the new Blue Skies set!! Awesome!!! I felt that there needed to be something behind the frame on that card...

 

 

 

After I made one card, I had to make another one! I used the same supplies and changed up the layout a bit. Those little tiny cake stand dies kill me!!

 

  

Here is the inspiration image: 

 

 

Here is a shot to show my layers. The banner piece is popped up with foam tape on top of the frame die. The stamps match perfectly inside the banner! I added just a little bit of Copic Marker to the banner...a light aqua. Enamel dots are always a good idea!

 

 

And the layers on the smaller card.... This card is a square - kept Clean and Simple!

 

 

 

Only a few Copic markers needed for this project! I also added clear Wink of Stella to the images. It's really hard to show that little shimmer in the photos...but it's there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks sooo very much for coming by my blog today! Hope you are hopping around to see the other projects in this wonderful hop today. Did you enter a card? Take care and have a wonderful day! XOXO

Newton's Nook - Guest Designer for March - You're Sweet!

 

Hello there! Happy Monday! Did you have a nice weekend? Remember a couple of weeks ago when I guest designed for the Newton's Nook March release? Well...I'm back with one final post! Big hugs to Jen and the rest of the crew at NND for having me. They are a super nice bunch of gals, with loads of talent.

For today's card I used the stamp set called Sweet Summer. I love this stamp set full of cute fruit images. They are perfect for coloring! 

Here's my bright and cheery card!  

 

 

I love how the strawberries have a sweet little heart in them. I colored all the berries with my Copic markers and then cut them out so I could layer them.

 

 

This gingham paper reminds me of a picnic!

 

 

 

 

There you have it! I hope you'll pop over to the Newton's Nook store and check out their goodies. Have a wonderful week everybody! XO 

Happy Friday - photos from the horse farm!

Happy Friday my creative friends! How was your week? I hope it was a good one, and Happy Spring! It's almost Easter and I'm loving all the beautiful weather and the flowers, and spring crafting. Life is good, right? So good. I am already feeling renewed with the spirit of the meaning of Easter. Did you enjoy all the new stamps from Newton's Nook release this week? That was a fun gig - I love guesting with new companies. Thanks again Jen!! I have one more card I made for NND and that will be posted on Monday (hint, it's sweeeeet!)

Remember last week when I said I was excited about going to my friends horse farm after work on Friday night? Well, it was magical! I left work a little bit early and the hubs picked me up at the office and we drove just about 25 miles, and ended up in a little piece of California paradise! Wow. I'm excited to share some photos with you so you can see what it looks like near where I live (I'm a suburbs girl though). CLICK HERE to read more about my friend's farm and horses. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with BJB for over 20 years and I feel so lucky to have been invited for a peek into her life outside of work. She just happened to mention baby goats at work one day..... 

Here is a beautiful vista looking out over the foothills. It is SO GREEN this time of year and just amazing. That tree is a giant California Live Oak and they are my favorite. This is such a quintessential Northern California photo.... 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking one of the beautiful horses for a stroll....

 

 

 

 

Grazing and hanging out under the oak trees...What a life! 

 

 

 

 

DID SOMEONE SAY GOATS!!?? OMG they are SO cute and so funny! (they are also hard to take a photo of!) They make these silly noises and hop around and are just silly. I looooove them!! Look at their funny floppy ears. They are gentle too....

 

 

 

 

Say "cheese!" Or, I'm ready for my close up!! LOL. 

 

 

 

 

This little guy was SOOOOOOOOO cute! See how he's sitting like a cat with his feet tucked in? He was so soft too. 

 

 

 

 

This little baby guy was only two days old... That's his momma keeping an eye out. He was really soft and so tiny and adorable. 

 

 

 

 

So I picked up that little guy and he just laid his head down on my shoulder and was making these little cooing noises. I carried him around for a while and he didn't seem to care at all. I busted out my iPhone and we did a #goatselfie !!

 

 

 

 

 

Every farm needs a cat! 

 

 

 

 

These beautiful purple flowers were everywhere...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last California landscape shot - taken as the sun was getting low. The only word that keeps coming to my mind is magical. It is truly a piece of heaven on earth. I'm so grateful to have been touched by this pretty place. 

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Newton's Nook Designs March Release - Newton's Birthday Flutter!

Day three of Newton's Nook Sneak Peeks for March! What a fun week! So many cute projects from everyone on this fun design team. I'm really happy they asked me to be a guest!  Be sure to leave your comments to enter for all your chances to win the prizes! (more details below) 

Today we are introducing the "Newton's Birthday Flutter" stamp set! It features the lovable Newton the cat and a sweet little birdie friend. I made a super CAS card for today using watercolor pencils and the adorable sentiment from this set. Here's my card.... 

 

 

 

Isn't he tweet?? I love this little guy and totally love the sentiment. Crisp black ink again and then some little bits of color with my watercolor pencils.

 

 

 

A good way to add a little POP to your clean and simple cards is to take one element and cut a second image out and layer it with a foam square. Just adds a little something. I always color the bottom image too, so it looks polished and finished. 

 

So that's it for me for sneak peeks this week! All the new stamps are available TOMORROW!! Yippeee! It's been a really fun week for me. Thanks to the lovelies at Newton's Nook for having me be part of their team for a week! XOXO 

 

Would you like to win "Newton's Birthday Flutter?"

This set will be given away to one LUCKY winner!

Here's how to win: Comment on the NND Blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see full list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blog release posts. Make sure to check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better are your chances of winning! You have until Thursday, March 19th at 9pm CDT to comment and the winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, March 20th! GOOD LUCK!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton's Nook Designs
Lydia Evans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka
Wanda Guess (Guest Designer) 

 

Newton's Nook Designs March Release - Farmyard Friends!

Hi friends! We're back for day two of the Newton's Nook March stamp release! Yay! Did you have fun looking at all the pretty flower projects yesterday? I did for sure! Today we are introducing the "Farmyard Friends" stamp set. This set has an adorable little farmer and his cute animal friends.  

For my project I used the sweet little sheep image - he was my favorite one! I stamped, colored and cut out three of the same image and then mounted them onto my card base with foam tape.  

 

 

EEEP! Thank EWE! So dang cute, right? I colored my sheep with my Copic Markers in shades of beige, gray and pink. The pink shade matches my patterned paper layer to bring the look together.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, all the new stamps are available to purchase on Friday the 20th! Just a couple more days to wait to get your hands on these fun sets.  

Would you like to win "Farmyard Friends?"

This set will be given away to one LUCKY winner!

Here's how to win: Comment on the NND Blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see full list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blog release posts. Make sure to check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances of winning! You have until Thursday, March 19th at 9pm CDT to comment and the winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, March 20th! Good Luck!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:  

Newton's Nook Designs
Lydia Evans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka
Wanda Guess (Guest Designer)

 

Newton's Nook Designs March Release - Beautiful Blossoms!

Hi everyone! So excited today to announce that I have been invited to join with the lovely ladies at Newton's Nook and help introduce their March stamp Release! Yippeeee! Thanks so much, Jen, for inviting me! There will be sneak peeks the next three days and then all the new products will be available for sale on Friday the 20th! Let's have some fun! Oh, and there are PRIZES! (see more below)

Today we are introducing you to the "Beautiful Blossoms" stamp set. It's a fun and funky set of pretty flowers that are so versatile - you can make all different looks. I chose to do some watercoloring with the flowers in pretty shades of purple and yellow - just right for Spring. Here's my card!

 

 

 

I stamped my images in crisp black ink onto watercolor paper and then used different distress inks to color the flowers. After they were dry, I cut them out and mounted them onto another panel of watercolor paper with foam squares.

 

 

I used a wet brush and some of the purple ink to make 'splatters' of color on my main panel. I chose a pretty yellow cardstock to pull in the yellow from the flowers - kind of make the project all come together.

 

 

 

For those of you who are new to my blog today - I LOVE enamel dots! LOL. I kinda want to put them on everything! Here they make perfect flower centers!

  

Would you like to win "Beautiful Blossoms?"

This set will be given away to one LUCKY winner!

Here's how to win: Comment on the NND Blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see full list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blog release posts. Make sure to check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, March 19th at 9pm CDT to comment and the winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, March 20th! GOOD LUCK!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter: 

Newton's Nook Designs
Taheerah Atchia
Lydia Evans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Crafty Math-Chick
Jess Moyer
Stephanie Muzzulin
Danielle Pandeline
Kimberly Rendino
Yukari Yoshioka
Wanda Guess (Guest Designer)

  

Wishing you a magical (St. Patrick's) day!

Hello crafty friends! Top O' the day to you! I know I'm a wee bit early for St. Patrick's Day, but I couldn't wait to post this fun card! Get ready to wear your green next week!  

EEP. Such cute stamps from Paper Smooches! I can't take it. Boy, this was a fun one to make and color. How is your week going? Mine is busy, and good. I have a friend who is in town for work so I've been able to have dinner with her and catch up - love that. Friday night I get to go to another friend's house (she lives on a big horse farm) and see some baby goats! it's just been kind of a fun and wacky week! In a good way. 

Anyhoo....on with my card. These stamps are from the "Magical Spring" stamp set from Paper Smooches. I used some of my favorite dies too and here you have it - a Clean and Simple St. Patty's Day card! 

 

 

 

 

 

Um, seriously how cute are those beer mugs?? Hee hee. I was going to make green beer...but I liked the contrast of the yellow instead! This fun folded banner die is from a set from Mama Elephant (links at the bottom of my post)

 

 

 

 

 

I added a couple of sequins here and there to just make another little pop of green... The dies match and cut out the stamped images perfectly. I love that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leprechaun and the beer, and banner, are all popped up with some foam squares on top of my paper layers. Can't go wrong with some bright spring green and some gingham...

 

 

 

 

Is anyone else humming the "Irish Spring" song right now?? Or the "Lucky Charms song?" LOL. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take care my lads and lasses!! Have a super weekend ahead! Next week I have lots of fun stuff to post - as I am the Newton's Nook guest designer for March release!! (YAY!) 

 

 SUPPLY LINKS!  

InLinkz.com

Brenda Walton Butterfly fold card...and a magical afternoon!

Yeah!  I have something really cool to share today! Remember back when I posted that the lovely Brenda Walton featured one of my projects on her blog? Well, she and I got to emailing back and forth and she invited me to a lovely and magical afternoon at her home for a calligraphy lesson and lunch with her friends! OH my stars! She is really just as sweet and lovely as you imagine she would be. The most gracious and lovely hostess. So talented and generous with her time and her guidance. But, the very best part is her laugh and her smile. I love a girl who laughs all the time - don't you? Yes, I'm pretty much gushing, but I loved spending the day in her beautiful studio and home. It felt like some kind of crafty dream - the kind you don't want to wake up from! 

I wanted to be a good guest and I wanted to hand-make her something. So, I made her a butterfly card using one of her amazing Sizzix dies, and brought her a little gift too. I'm sharing the card today, and a few photos from the event on Saturday. How lucky am I to have received such a nice invitation?? VERY. 

Here is the card I made... The butterfly wings join together in the center and there are separate pieces for the top layer of wings. LOVE.  

 

 

 

 

I used some letter stamps and Corduroy Distress Ink to put her name on a little banner. I coated the wings with some antique glass glitter I had in my stash. The pretty patterned paper is from Authentique. 

 

 

 

 

 

I wrapped some pretty ribbon around the back and attached it under the wings in the front. 

 

 

 

 

 

In this shot, you can see how the card folds together. Inside is a tiny flat note! Before I put the glitter on the wings, I sponged some distress ink around the edges. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry with the photos....I love doing these glamour close up shots! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Below are a few photos that capture the mood and spirit of the day! First up, a wide shot of Brenda's amaaaaaazing studio! High ceilings with tons of natural light, and beautiful objets everywhere you turn! A feast for the eyes...

 

 

 

 

Brenda and her lovely and kind husband Doug. 

 

 

 

 

 

That ceiling!!! 

 

 

 

 

I adore this photo because it captures Brenda perfectly! I love a gal who will stand on her desk to take a photo! 

 

 

 

 

Here we are all enjoying a beautiful lunch of soup, salad and quiche...followed by a big giant chocolate cake! Everyone was so lovely and fun. It was cool to hang out with a group of women who all grew up in my town. Often I am surrounded by people from all different places - but it was really nice to share stories with the knowledge of our shared history. Shared places and people.... I hope I get to hang out with them again. 

 

 

 

 

Here is Brenda giving us a Calligraphy lesson after lunch. Can you see me reflected in the glass door? LOL. I am totally blown away by how effortless she makes it look to do calligraphy. True art. 

 

 

 

 

So, me?? Not so great at this!! I gave it a really good try! I press very hard when I write and I'm very linear... I wish I could be good at this! Here is my practice paper. 

 

 

 

 

One of the ladies had brought this pretty velvet bunny as a present for Brenda...

 

 

 

 

This paint palette could tell a million stories, don't you think? What a beautiful thing....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love in a pail! 

Thank you for letting me share with you today! Thanks for coming by to see me! Hope you are having a lovely weekend - and best wishes for a good week ahead. XOXOXO 

Spring Garden Configuration Box Project!

It's March now, so I'm going to officially declare it Spring time! I know so many of you are still stuck under snow drifts and icicles...but here where I live it's allergy-flowers-grass-bunnies-blooms time already! I have been taking the Claritin for a month! (But I totally digressed right there). It is Spring, and to me, now it's time for lovely soft pastels in my crafting, and time for renewal and hope and happiness. I have a really special Spring Garden project to share with you today! I don't really even know where to start with this one...There are loads of pictures! 

Do you have those projects that you pour your entire heart and soul into? Where you just escape into it and spend hours and hours making something? Like you became one with the project??  Well, that is the case with today's project for me. I'm calling it my Spring Garden Configuration Box! I made this one for the Ideaology booth at CHA, and used just about every single Tim Holtz product there is! LOL. (This one didn't make it into the final booth). I used dies, and adornments, and washi tape, and vellum, and ribbon, and glass jars, and dolls, and birdcages...and glitter, and pocket watches and pearls, and distress ink....and well, you get the point! I'm so happy to share it and I hope you find something inspiring! I used the 6x8 sized configuration box. Happy Spring! 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing about starting a Configuration Box, is you have to have a theme... I chose Spring, since I love flowers and birds and plants. So, with that, I chose the GARDEN letters from the Letterpress set and painted them in some pretty colors with Distress Paints.  The next thing (in my opinion) to making a Configuration Box, is to choose a color palette. I chose pink, green, blue and yellow for mine (again to fit my theme). I kept repeating these colors throughout the project. 

 

 

 

 

All the boxes were first lined with patterned paper and then taped around the edges. I chose this pretty music paper for this box! Here you can see I cut out some vellum butterflies and put them into my cloche jars along with some moss and metal pieces. Yeah, this project required lots of glue...and tweezers!!

 

 

 

 

This box in the upper left corner was filled with buttons and a pretty pen nib. 

 

 

 

 

You've seen me make roses from the Tattered Pinecone Die before! It's a favorite technique for sure! I made this one from pink core-dinations paper and then drenched it in rock candy glitter! Oh, then I added a pearl to the center! The pearls are colored with alcohol inks throughout the piece. LOVE those new shield charms!! 

 

 

 

 

Around the outside, I covered the box with vellum and then edged with tape. The top has a knob attached to a compass...

 

 

 

 

I hand dyed my own ribbon with distress inks and then tied it around the knob.

 

 

 

 

More Spring related items....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom left square has a pocket watch that I filled with a bird picture, some pearls and a little crown...

 

 

 

 

This birdcage filled with pearls is hanging from the main compartment with an eye hook so it swings back and forth. I also added some twine at the top and a flower/pearl to the outside. 

 

 

 

 

The Distress paints work so well with the metal pieces. Here I colored my metal butterfly with honey and china distress inks and then added china glitter! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so very much for letting me share this joyful project with you! This kind of project is why I am a crafter...It was an escape and a true artistic endeavor! It took me many many happy hours to make it...a labor of love. I hope that you will try to make one of these at least once! It seems really hard, but just take it one square at a time and fill each one...before you know it, you'll be finished. I have more items already picked out for my next one - a bigger one! 

Have a very happy Spring day today everyone!!! XOXO 

 

SUPPLY LINKS! 

InLinkz.com