A Blog Called Wanda

Ugly Christmas Sweater!

Hi everyone! Monday??? Dang, how did that happen? This holiday weekend went by fast, I guess, because we were having fun! Time to get back in the groove. My husband was off work last week so my routine was wonky and it's the holidays... Oh, I think I need a nap! LOL. Thanks for all the comments on my last blog post. I really enjoyed reading about everyone's favorite crafty product. Hands down, the MISTI was the winner! Everyone's favorite tool! You have until the end of today to leave a comment to be entered into my prize drawing! Thanks to everyone for playing along. I will email the winner later tonight! 

Today I have a really fun and silly card to share. As you've probably figured out, I don't take myself too seriously, and I love things that are campy, and kitschy. So, this set of stamps and dies from Simon Says Stamp is right up my alley - Ugly Christmas Sweaters!!! SOOOO fun! I was smiling the entire time I was making this card! I went big and bold with the colors and glitter, and everything else. More is more! This card is super happy. I hope it makes you smile too! 

 

I started with a crisp white A2 card base and then layered bright red on top of that. Then I chose some adorable patterned papers from Doodlebug (the strips and the gingham).... Next I die cut this amazing die I just got from Hero Arts! It's called Circle Confetti! I thought it looked like snow!! And, lemme tell ya, after you pop it out of the Big Shot, it will look like snow in your craft room when all those little dots fall out! LOL. All kidding aside, this is a very cool product! I think I might use it to make confetti for a shaker card later... The wheels are turning...

After I had my card all ready to go, I stamped and die cut out the two sweaters and the sentiment. The stamp sets have all kinds of things to put on your sweaters! The main stamp is a plain sweater and then you add what you like to it. OH MAN - so fun. I colored everything with my Copic Markers.

 

The sentiment is from another set - Warm Christmas Wishes. I thought that was the perfect saying for a sweater card! I die cut a SSS Stitched Banner Die for my words and added some holly leaves.

 

For the finishing touches, I added bits of Hero Arts Prisma Glitter, clear gems, white gel pen accents, and a green twine bow. It's like putting on your jewelry at the end of getting dressed. You gotta add some bling to a card, right? The reindeer nose is red and Santa's nose is pink. I used clear gems and colored them with Copic Markers! 

 

 

That's it for today! WARM winter wishes to you my creative friends! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you soon! XOXO

 

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Wanda's Top 10 Favorite Crafty Things for Christmas 2016!

Howdy crafty people! It's Black Friday! Shop til you drop! I loooooove shopping and having fun this time of year. It's a 20 year tradition now for me and my husband to go out and shop on the day after Thanksgiving! We have a good time and drink lots of coffee and enjoy watching the ice skaters at our local rink and, well, all of it! We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving, and I hope you did too! 

A few years ago I did a post about my favorite things for Spring crafting, and I thought it would be fun to do it again with a Winter theme. I have been 'wowed' this year by all the beautiful and innovative craft products released for Christmas. So... Today I would like to share with you Wanda's Top 10 Crafty Things for Christmas 2016! I love a good top ten list... I have a new project to share today too - made with some of the items on the list. Links to everything are at the bottom of my post. Have fun! 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! (Edited 11/28 my winner is LC from Ottawa Canada! Congrats LC!)

Leave a comment on this post and tell me what is YOUR favorite crafty thing for 2016? That way, we can all share, and maybe find more cool crafty things we need! I will choose a random winner to receive a fun prize package of Christmas stamps and dies valued at more than $75! Leave your comment by Monday, November 28th at 9pm PST. I will notify the lucky winner via email on Tuesday the 29th. Good Luck! 

Before doing the top ten list I want to share a retro Christmas card I made with #3 on the list - Kitsch Christmas from Avery Elle! In my mind, when I sat down to create this, I was going to make a clean and simple card to showcase the cute stamps. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up using silver glitter paper, an embossing folder, Distress Ink, Wink of Stella, a white gel pen, Copics and twine! LOL. So much for this old girl making a clean and simple card! I do love how it came out though! 

 

I colored everything with Copic Markers and then accented with white gel pen and Clear Wink of Stella. I used some pretty pink twine as an accent. The background was inked with Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink and then embossed with the Taylored Expressions Snowfall Embossing Folder!

 

These two remind me of Rudolph and Clarice! She thinks I'm cuuuuuuuuute! I adore that big pink bow!! 

 

I love all the color going on here! I used a pink card base and layered silver glitter paper, cuz, you know, glitter paper!! Why not?!

That's it for the new project for today!

Let's get on with the Top Ten List! 

Number one on my list is the Simon Says Stamp Magical Christmas Stamp set and dies! This stamp set was part of the holiday release for 2016 and I love it so much. I made one of my favorite cards ever with this stamp set! It is fun and masculine and pretty all at the same time. Not even sure how that is possible but it is! There are many beautiful samples made with this set. Here are the two cards I made with it. It pairs perfectly with woodgrain and plaid and snowflakes. Sigh..

Number two on the list is the awesome sentiments stamp set from Tim Holtz Called Mini Doodle Greetings. These sentiments are perfectly vintage Christmas as only Tim can do. They are the perfect size for cards and tags both. I LOVE them! Just released for Holiday 2016. I made a card for one of my Weekender With Wanda posts using this stamp set! To see how I made this card CLICK HERE!!

Number three is the SUPER cute Kitsch Christmas stamp set from Avery Elle! This stamp set totally reminds me of growing up in the 60's and watching Rudolph and Clarice on TV! The moment I saw this set I knew I had to have it...but it sold out so fast! It's back in stock now at SSS so get it while it's hot! 

Number four on the list is actually a product from last Christmas! But I didn't buy it until the very end of the season last year, so it's new to me again! It's the Take A Bough Dies set from Concord & 9th. This is such a cool and innovative product!! (Like everything they make). It's so easy and fast. WOW. I want to make pink ones, and white ones and blue ones.... CLICK HERE to see their awesome product video using these dies!  

Number five on my list is a GORGEOUS new Eyelet Cover Panel Die from Reverse Confetti! This die is so beautiful! It has a kind of mod flair to it, but also very feminine and pretty at the same time. This time Jen knocked it out of the park! So clever! CLICK HERE to see Jen's blog post about this gorgeous card!

Number six is actually three things! My three favorite 6x6 paper pads of this season. Lawn Fawn Christmas Plaid, Simple Stories Winter Wonderland and Echo Park I Love Winter! YAY for card sized paper pads. This is practically the only size paper I buy now. They are easy to store and inexpensive too. Perfect. 

Next up is number seven! The cutest dang penguin stamps you ever saw in your life! It's the Chill Wishes Stamp Set from My Favorite Things! These guys really make me smile big! 

 

Now on to number eight, which has nothing to do with stamping! I learned to crochet recently, and so of course I totally fell in love with yarn.... And then TOTALLY fell in love with making Pom Poms! In the old days I used to make these with my mom using a donut made out of cardboard. Boy, things have changed and now there are official Pom Pom Makers! So quick, fun and addicting! 

                                                                                                                  {photo credit for deer photo}

Now we're down to number nine already! Are you having fun with me? It's actually two products from Close To My Heart! Their Sea Glass Glitter Paper (YUM, my favorite color) and the Joy To You and Me stamp Set! One of my friends is a CTMH demonstrator and I already bought both of these cute items! Now I just need to use them! I'm thinking I need to make some sparkly green snowflakes or something!

Last, but not least, is number ten on the list! I went kinda cray cray when I first laid eyes on this gorgeous stamp set from Papertrey Ink! It's called Cozy Christmas and it's, of all things, thermoses! WHAT?? Yes, the funkiest, coolest thermos stamps! You're kind of getting the hint that for Christmas especially I love all things vintage and retro and funky! I think it's because I grew up in the 60's and 70's and these things have so much warm nostalgia for me! My friend Kay made the card featured in the photo below. CLICK HERE for her post about it.

Whew! I hope I've shared some new things with you that maybe you hadn't seen yet...or maybe let you know about a new company! I had a lot of fun compiling this list for you today. Best wishes for delightful happy Christmas crafting!! I will see you soon! XOXO

 

SHOPPING LINKS FOR THE TOP TEN! 

 

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Thankful!

Greetings of Thanksgiving to you! I'm sitting here on the evening before Thanksgiving, and taking stock of everything that I have to be grateful for. It's a very long list and I'm blessed and fortunate in so many ways. I think it's really important each day to remember to count your blessings. I have worked that into my morning routine quiet time and it's helped me a lot. The holiday season is so hectic and crazy and this is our one last moment of quiet before the madness begins. My husband and I always stay home on Thanksgiving Day and light a big fire in the fireplace and eat snacks all day and watch football. Usually I cook everything - turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pies, rolls... But this year we decided to get a ham and some more healthy side dishes. Looking forward to eating something different this year. Our tradition also includes being at the mall at 5am on Black Friday! Not because we really need to shop, but because we have fun in the hustle and bustle of the day. I love looking at the store displays and getting ideas for decorating the house! This year I think we need to scope out a new Keurig machine - we might have worn ours out! LOL. 

One of the things I am super thankful for is YOU - my blog family! I am soooo humbled that you choose to spend part of your day with me reading my blog. I am grateful for all the heartfelt comments you leave on my posts. I read every comment, and some days you don't even know how much you guys lift me up! The reason I blog is to connect and to inspire creativity in a positive way. I feel more and more that is what God has called me to do and I feel my purpose. What I get back in return is love and support, and it's magic. I don't know what I would do without this space for crafting. I'd be lost. Thank you for stopping by and supporting me! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! XOXO

With that in mind, I sat down to make a Thanksgiving Card to share with you. I went through my new crafty stash and this cool Sizzix embossing folder called out to me. It said "hey Wanda, over here!" One thing led to another and I ended up with a very non-traditional Thanksgiving greeting! The sentiment says it all - THANKFUL!  

 

I started with an A2 card base made from Kraft paper. Then I got out my favorite green cardstock (Juicy Pear) and embossed it with the 3D Sizzix embossing folder! Yowza! These new 3D embossing folders give a super deep impression and it's very cool. After I embossed my green paper, I used two different mists to sprinkle black and white splatters on the paper. I set that aside to dry. Next I die cut the SSS thankful die three times out of deep black cardstock. See how it's thick? I glued the three die cuts together using my Quickie Glue Pen. This glue pen gives the tiniest stream of glue - perfect for this use. 

 

The leaves are from the One with Nature stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped them on watercolor paper and colored them with Distress Inks and a water brush. Nice and easy and quick. I used my favorite green shades of ink (colors in the supply links).

 

 

 

Thankful, thankful, thankful....

 

I wrapped a piece of Lawn Fawn Natural Cord three times around the card and then attached the green layer to the kraft layer using foam tape. Then I attached the leaves and the die cut piece. 

 

 

 

That's it for today! I'll be back soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones! 

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Simon Says Stamp Holiday Release Week Blog Hop!

Hi there! Happy Weekend! Welcome to the Holiday Release Week Blog Hop from Simon Says Stamp! There are so many new and fun products that launched this week! So, we had to have a blog hop to share it all with you! The projects on each blog today were made from the three new product lines that came out this week. Yahoo! Lots of creative inspiration for you today. You should have arrived here from Jessica's blog! The full link list of bloggers is at the bottom of my post! Thank you for coming by today - happy to have you here in my creative place!

PRIZE ALERT!!! PRIZE ALERT!!! PRIZE ALERT!!!

Leave a comment on this blog post and you are automatically entered to win a $50 Simon Says Stamp Gift Certificate! Thank you to SSS for their kindness and generosity! I will draw the winner Monday morning (the 21st) at 9am PST and notify the winner via email. GOOD LUCK! Each Blogger is drawing a $50 winner, so make sure to leave comments on every blog for more chances to win! Plus, we just really love hearing from you! 

I'm sharing two cards with you today. Both cards were made with the supplies from the Limited Edition Holiday Card Kit (supply links below). I really love the stamp set that comes in the Holiday Kit. It's called Swell Christmas! It has the cutest retro Santa in it! And the best vintage inspired sentiments!! Oh, and I reallllllly love plaid paper! LOL.  

 

All the papers for this card are included in the kit. I started with a pretty red card base and layered kraft cardstock on top. Then I layered the plaid paper and one strip of holly paper. I layered pretty Lawn Fawn Cord to make a pretty red and white bow. The sparkly stickers are part of the kit! I die cut a piece of cream cardstock with the Stitched Squares Dies to stamp on. I stamped in brown ink instead of black. That gives more of a vintage feeling to the project. I colored Santa with my Copic Markers and then gave him a glitter makeover! I used the tiny accent stars stamps in Antique Linen Distress Ink to give a soft background. 

 

These stickers are puffy and delicious!!

 

A close up of my paper layers....

 

 

 

 

Next up is my second card, which I made using the enclosed Tim Holtz stencil and the included texture paste! I made a little forest scene and then embellished with more sparkly stickers and the included shimmer paper (in red). 

 

I used the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Slopes and Hills Dies to make the bottom polka dot border for the trees. I edged everything with a sponge dauber and distress inks. 

 

 

 

So this got kind of messy!! In the Holiday Card Kit you will receive beautiful green Stickles and two green mini Distress Inks, and texture paste! Yeah! So, I got this crazy idea to mix a bunch of stuff together! I mixed the inks, the Stickles and the texture paste into a pretty green goo. I used this along with the stencil to make my trees! FUN. It was a good experiment! (They don't always turn out good!) 

 

For my last step I used the included red Stickles to add ornaments to the trees! 

Okay, that's it for me today! Thank you again for coming by! I just know you are going to enjoy the rest of the hop. Next in the hop lineup is my Simon Says Stamp partner Nina Marie!!

 

BLOG HOP LINKS! Enjoy the Hop! 

Simon Says Stamp

Tim Holtz

Shari Carroll

Kristina Werner

Debby Hughes

Nichol Spohr

Laura Bassen

Yana Smakula

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Wanda Guess

Nina-Marie Trapani

Heather Ruwe

Amy Rysavy

 

 SUPPLY LINKS! 

 

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Simon Says Stamp Holiday 2016 Releases! News and Updates!

Hi everyone! Whew! Okay, so I'm trying to keep everything straight this week! I thought I would pop in and do a really quick blog post with news and announcements! There were THREE releases of new (and awesome) things this week from Simon Says Stamp!! Yes, THREE! The December Card Kit launched on Monday. The Advent Plus Release launched on Thursday. And, now the super amazing Limited Edition Holiday 2016 Card Kit is launching tonight! I made cards with everything! Yippeee! Check my last few blog posts for samples and tips and tricks with the two first new items.

Tomorrow (Saturday the 19th) we will be having a Release Week Blog Hop to share inspiration and fun with you! In my blog hop post, I have two cards made with the Holiday Kit. You are totally going to want this kit, trust me!!! I adore the retro Christmas stamp set in it and there are soooooo many products included, I can't list them all! Just a few: stamps, stencils, distress ink pads, Stickles, texture paste, patterned paper, stickers, embossing powder, envelopes..well, you get the idea! I really hope you will stop by starting at 8am EST on Saturday for the hop! Until then, Here are photos of the three new things. These special holiday items tend to sell out quickly so if you're interested, don't wait.

Click on the photos below to see more detailed outlines of the kits and to shop. See you soon! XOXO

"Swell Christmas" Stamp Set

This stamp set is available separately or included in the Holiday Card Kit!

Simon Says Stamp - Advent Plus Holiday 2016 Release!

Hi crafty and creative friends! This week is JAM PACKED with good stuff! Whoa! I don't know whether I'm coming or going....been trying to keep up with myself! LOL. What I mean is there is so much awesome stamping stuff happening! Saturday is a big blog hop again!! I hope you will pop by here!! Today I'm sharing a really fun card (I've been dying to share this one!) made with three of the new stamp sets from the latest release from Simon Says Stamp. The release has four stamp sets, two die sets, and envelopes and tags. It's perfect for making an Advent calendar, and so much more! I chose to use the stamp sets to make a Christmas card. The release is called Advent Plus! Check it out! 

I looooooooove the houses in the Christmas Town stamp set so very much! I knew right away that I wanted to watercolor them! I used Distress Ink Mini Ink Pads for my watercoloring this time. I like to use all different kinds of watercolors! I stamped everything in waterproof ink onto watercolor paper and then cut the images out by hand. That little snowman was 'fun' to cut out! He's itty bitty!!! But he had to be in the scene! 

I watercolored all the elements and then die cut a Stitched Rectangle out of cardstock as my main layer. My card base is A2 size in a pretty shade of olive green. 

 

Aren't those clouds the cutest thing ever!? The snow clouds are from the Advent Holiday Icons stamp set. These icons are also perfect for planner stamping!! I stamped them directly onto the paper and colored them with Tumbled Glass distress ink. I also added bits of Rock Candy Distress Glitter here and there throughout the project. 

 

I used one of the accent stamps from the Christmas Town set to string a set of lights between the two houses. The trees and snowman were layered onto the card with foam squares. 

 

I combined sentiments here to make the sentiment I wanted! I used the Advent Sentiments Stamp Set and the Christmas Town Stamp Set. I ended up cutting one of the stamps because I just wanted the "from our home to yours" part of it. I do this quite often! Just save all the parts and mix and match them as you please! I added another one of the icons to the top using Pumice Stone Distress Ink. 

 

 

 

I originally thought I might want to use three houses on the card but that was too much. So I used the third one for the inside of the card. Makes it so cheery!

 

  

Okay, that's it for me (for today anyway!) Thank you for stopping by. Be sure to check back in the next few days. XOXO

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW RELEASE!

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S CARD LISTED BELOW! 

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Altenew November 2016 New Release Blog Hop!

Hi everybody! Welcome to my stop on this amazing blog hop today! We are hopping to celebrate the launch of the November Release from Altenew Stamps! This is such a beautiful release and I know this hop is going to be fabulous. I am very lucky and blessed to be stamping with this great group of ladies today. The full hop list is at the bottom of my post, along with PRIZE information! Yeah! 

The November Altenew Release is 17 new stamp sets and 8 new die sets! WOWZA! It's all gorgeous and innovative, just like everything Altenew does! I chose to use the Adore You stamp set for my card today. I have been working on my colored pencil technique and thought this set was perfect to color with! I made a one layer card using Kraft cardstock as my base layer. This is an A2 finished card size. I stamped and colored directly onto the card base. This was super fun to make! 

 

My preferred colored pencils are Prismacolor because I like the softness and the texture of them. They color like a dream on Kraft paper too - giving a vivid layer of color. I chose pretty shades of pink and green and white. These flowers looked like beautiful pink dogwood blooms to me, so that's what inspired the colors. 

 

 

 

The sentiments in this set are perfection! You can never have too many Thank You cards to send out. In this photo you can see that I splattered white paint over my finished project for a bit more visual interest and color. I also added a few clear bubbles to the card for dimension. 

 

I started by stamping the largest bloom first. Then I used Masking Paper to mask off some of the blooms to get the desired look. This masking paper is something I use all the time! I used my MISTI tool to get the right placement for the sentiment. 

 

 

 

 

The detail in these stamps is amazing! I even sort of like the card just like this - without any color. Gives a whole different feeling....

 

When using any medium - pencils, watercolors, markers - I do a test sheet of the colors. It's important to test your colors on the exact paper you'll be using for your project!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for joining me today here on my blog. If you're new to me - Welcome!! I have a lot of fun here, and I hope you'll stop by again. Have an amazing day, and enjoy the rest of the blog hop. XOXO

 

PRIZE ALERT - TWO WAYS TO WIN BIG!!

To celebrate this new release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew blog by Monday, November 21st at 11:59 PM ET for a chance to win. The winners will be announced on the Altenew blog on Tuesday, November 22nd. 

And....enter to win a $30 gift certificate here on my blog too! Leave a comment below and I will notify my lucky random winner via email by Tuesday November 22nd at 5:00pm EST. 

BLOG HOP LINKS FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

Altenew

Debby Hughes

Wanda Guess

Lydia Evans

Yana Smakula

Amy Gray

Kathy Racoosin

Agnieszka Malyszek

Lisa Spangler

Marika Rahtu

Jennifer McGuire

Therese Calvird

Joni Nina Andaya

Sandy Allnock

Svitlana Shayevich

May Sukyong Park

Laura Bassen

 

Simon Says Stamp December 2016 Card Kit! Merry & Bright!

Hi crafty friends! It's Sunday night here in California, but it's already Monday at Simon Says Stamp Headquarters! So, happy Card Kit Release Day! Yipppeeee! One of the best days of the month - when I get to share with you the newest card kit from SSS and also share some projects I created with it! Are you a card kit subscriber already? I love that SSS gives you two options! You can buy one kit at a time, each month, or sign up and receive them automatically, and at a lower price. CLICK HERE to buy this month's card kit! This month's kit is called Merry & Bright and it is full of the cutest stamps, papers, and embellishments for bright Christmas greetings. I made three cards already and I will definitely be making more. If you've been wanting to try out the Chibitronics Lights for your cards, this kit is perfect for you, because the kit has a Chibi Lights starter kit included. CLICK HERE to see more Chibi Lights items.

Let's look at cards! The first card for today was made with the adorable little dear stamp. I colored him with Copic Markers and added a few blue snowflakes around him. When I have a small focal image on a card, I will sometimes double layer a pretty circle die cut to give some more weight and dimension to it. I used the SSS Stitched Circles dies. I layered some of the cute patterned papers and finished with a twine bow and some peppermint enamel dots. 

 

It's hard to see in the photo, but I used a Clear Glaze Pen to add some shine to his nose and feet. 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a super quick and easy card made with the included fun mailbox and letters stickers! I layered pretty patterned papers and then put a strip of vellum across the center (vellum is included in your kit). I stamped the banner and sentiment and lightly colored the banner with Copics. Lastly I scattered some of the adorable letters around the mailbox. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am seriously loving this pretty Merry & Bright sentiment stamp! I stamped it in black ink onto a SSS Stitched Square die. Then I added blue snowflakes and gems to make it sparkle. One of the sheets of patterned paper has word strips on it, so I cut out the word strips and made them into banners. I tucked them under the word square. 

 

 

Thank you very much for visiting today! I hope you have fun with your Card Kit! Be sure to stop by my blog on Tuesday for a fun blog hop with Altenew! Have a great week! XOXO

 

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A Beary-Merry Christmas Card!

Hello sweet crafty pals! Happy Friday! Hope your week was outstanding...and better yet, hope you have a wonderful weekend planned! And, a very Happy Veterans Day also! Thank you for your service or your family member's service to our country if that applies to you! I am a Navy daughter and my husband is an Army son, so we have great respect and pride in our military and we are grateful to live in our amazing country. Now, more than ever, is a time for pride and honor of home and country. I believe that in my core. Cheers to the red, white and blue and the people who serve her. Amen! 

I had a pretty good week myself. Got together with some gal pals during the week for more birthday shenanigans. Unfortunately I think all the birthday shenanigans have finally come to an end. It was a good two weeks of being spoiled. I guess that's good enough! LOL. I am super blessed to have wonderful friends and an awesome husband who made me feel like a birthday unicorn princess. {smile} This week I also had my second crochet class. I'm hooked! Get it? LOL. I am enjoying that process and learning something new. One night I stayed up until 2:30am because I could not stop stitching. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. I have one more class this coming week, and I'm already thinking of signing up for more. 

Today, in continuing with my efforts to use all my cool new stamping stuff, I pulled another stamp set from the 'new to me' basket and made a card to share with you. I am seriously IN LOVE with this new Neat &Tangled stamp set called Beary Merry! The main image is the sweetest bear and the smaller stamps are all items that he can hold in his paws. And, the sentiments are wonderful too. I got an idea to make my card using the chalkboard look with some bright red, and it all came together nicely. I colored the bear with Copic Markers (Exact colors are in the supply links)

 

My card base is an A2 card size made from thick kraft paper. I layered bright, pretty red in a scallop rectangle and then deep black in a stitched rectangle. I stamped the sentiment and the tiny snowflakes using SSS White Pigment Ink. Stamps like a dream! I set that aside to dry while I colored my images. You can kind of see that I also added dots of Diamond Stickles too. 

I stamped and die cut out the bear and the coffee cup. The matching die is actually slit next to his paws so the other items fit right in there. Genius! I paper pieced his scarf from a sheet of patterned paper with a cute plaid that matched the black and red. He looks all nice and cozy! 

 

 

 

Here are my Copic color choices for this project!

 

My favorite twine from Lawn Fawn is the finishing touch on the top of the card. 

 

That santa mug is too darling! 

 

The black layer of the card is popped up with foam tape, and so is the bear - this gives the card some dimension and pop! 

 

 

 

My hubs bought me this gorgeous sweater coffee tumbler from Starbucks for my birthday! Here is the scarf I'm working on so far. It's not perfect, but I am happy with it for my first attempt. The yarn is the softest alpaca wool mixed with silk. It's so nice. My stitches are a bit wonky on the sides, but I'm loving it anyway. The stitch I'm using is called the Moss Stitch. 

Thanks for coming by today! Yippppeeeee! Happy weekend! I have a couple of announcements! Tomorrow on the Simon Says Stamp Blog (Saturday) I will have a post of a card I made using Tim Holtz supplies. I have to say it is maybe one of my most favorite projects ever!! I hope you will go over there and check it out (leave a comment for a chance to win a prize too)! Also, next week I will be posting about the new December SSS card kit (Monday) and it's a cute one.... And, I will be participating in a Blog Hop (Tuesday) for Altenew introducing their new release. Whew! Yeah, I've been busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

A couple of weeks ago I became an Amazon Associate and you might notice a new ad on the left side of my blog now. If someone clicks on that Amazon ad, and buys anything from Amazon, I receive a small commission as a referral fee. If you are so inclined to help me in this way, I would be super grateful. I do not receive any personal information about who ordered or what was ordered so your information is totally safe. Also, my links at the bottom of my posts give me a commission for the sale as does the Simon Says Stamp 'Shop Here' button at the top of my blog on the right. These are all a part of the way us bloggers make money from our creative content. Thank you to all of you who support me in this way!!!!! XOXO THANK YOU!!!!! 

 

SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY!

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#blessed

Hi crafty and creative friends! Happy Friday!!! Man, I had a great week and that's the reason behind the title of this blog post! I am feeling so very very blessed today. Sitting in my studio counting all of the blessings from a wonderful week and feeling lucky and grateful. This week had loads of fun things in it! Monday  night (Halloween) we went over to our friends' beautiful home and helped pass out candy to a bazillion trick or treaters! It was a cool, crisp evening with fun and fellowship! Tuesday night I took my first beginner crochet class at the local yarn store here in Sacramento. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met some nice ladies in class, and we had a good time laughing at ourselves and learning something new. I have wanted to (re) learn how to crochet for a long time and I'm very happy to have a new hobby! (Because I need another hobby and more craft supplies, lol) I have two more crochet classes and then we'll see if I'm ready for the advanced series. Wednesday night my dear and sweet friend Jane took me out for a fabulous birthday celebration. She spoiled me with presents, cocktails, a yummy dinner, and her wonderful company.

Yesterday was my birthday!! Yay!! I love a birthday, whether it's mine or someone else's. Heck, let's celebrate life, right? My husband and I enjoyed a beautiful day together in San Francisco and we went some places that I've had on 'my list' to go to. Some awesome antique stores, the ginormous new Apple Flagship store, coffee (of course) and a nice delicious pizza for dinner. I am BLESSED beyond measure and blessed far more than I deserve. Thank you GOD for my friends and family, and my many blessings! AMEN!! And, I still have some more fun things planned in the next week with more friends. YAY again! The best present for me is time with my peeps. I got so many beautiful cards in the mail, and text greetings... Oh, and nothing like Facebook on your birthday to make you feel like a celebrity!! Thank you to everyone who sent me love yesterday!! XOXO

Today I sat down in the studio in this very blessed frame of mind. What to create?? Hmmmmmm. So I said to myself "use the stuff in your 'new' basket." Do you have a 'new' basket in your studio? It's that basket on my work table where I put fabulous new stamps that I want to use right away. But, sometimes life gets in the way and right away turns into a long time... Am I the only one this happens to? The card I'm sharing today was made with three stamp sets that were in my new basket! YIPPEEEEE! They just all worked together. I made a cool watercolor card in a new style for me. I often talk myself out of making artistic looking cards....convince myself I can't do it. Well, I did it! I'm happy with the way the card came out and anxious to try my hand at some more watercoloring in this style. 

 

I started with a watercolor pad and inked the Muse Cling Stamp in Versafine Onyx Black ink. This is the girl stamp, and it's a BIG stamp. For reference, my finished card is six inches by 4.5 inches. She is a great size for cards and mixed media projects both. Her shirt is plain so you can add whatever you want inside of it. Paper piecing, other stamps, plain color, anything really! I used the Field of Poppies stamps from Rubbernecker and stamped them inside her shirt. This stamp set is in two pieces - the color part and the outline part. LOVE. I lined them up using my stamp positioner. (all supplies at the bottom of my post). Rubbernecker has a whole serious of these gorgeous watercolor florals - CLICK HERE to see more. They are super fun and easy to stamp and the results are awesome!! Makes you look like a professional painter! 

 

 

The sentiment is from a beautiful set from Right at Home Stamps! Blessed - the perfect word for this card! I heat embossed it onto a strip of vellum and then layered it over my final watercolor piece. Gives just a hint of shimmer to the card. 

 

Here is my work in progress! I used two shades of distress ink to stamp the color part of the poppies. Isn't this cool?? 

 

I used Distress Inks to color my image. Just used plain clear water and some of my old paint brushes. I use my clear blocks as watercolor palettes! Easy to clean up too. I used the Distress Sprayer to soften the edges of the poppies image. I inked the Distress inks right onto the stamp and then spritzed it with the sprayer before stamping onto the watercolor paper. 

 

I used Weathered Wood Distress Ink for her blouse background and her tiny bit of eye shadow! The pink cheecks are Picked Raspberry ink. Her skin is a combination of Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. The background is a mixture of Broken China and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks. Thes are such beautiful shades! Her eyes are green like mine!

 

 

 

 

Since this is going to be a Thank You card, I used more of the stamps from the Right at Home Script Greetings stamp set to stamp the inside! I again used the poppies stamps to add an accent in the corner. 

 

My card today was inspired by Jill Foster and her amaaaazzzzzzing work for Penny Black Stamps. She is just about as talented as can be, and also a really beautiful human being. CLICK HERE to see the post that inspired me today! 

 

 

For my birthday I got an iPhone case and some Starbucks Merchandise (holiday) and these gorgeous roses from my husband!! Thank you honey!! 

 

Here is my tiny crochet stash. The bits in aqua are what I finished in class - not too bad. I bought the other two skeins of yarn in hopes that I can make a couple of pretty scarves as I get better. Yarn these days is about a million times prettier than when I learned to crochet the last time....MANY years ago!! 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S CARD!

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