A Blog Called Wanda

Bunny Favor Bags for Easter!

Hi everyone! I am SO excited to share this project with you today! I had lots of fun making these on Sunday in a lazy sort of way.... Just took my time and enjoyed the process and enjoyed going through my stash of stuff to find the perfect elements. I had this totally happy moment of creating with no deadline or guidelines! I'm starting to think about Easter and getting the house ready for Spring and it felt so nice to spend the day in my studio. Today I'm sharing some cheerful, cute and fun Easter Favor Treat Bags made with awesome dies from Mama Elephant and perfect stamps from Simon Says Stamp's most recent Easter set. This is one of the times when I kind of miss working in an office - I would totally make these for my co-workers! I took lots of pictures - so grab a cuppa joe and sit back with me! Hope you have a wonderful day today! 

I made two favor treat bags - a boy and a girl! 

 

I die cut the favor bag die out of Kraft Cardstock for a nice neutral base for all the bright colors I knew I wanted to use. Plus, I just really love Kraft paper! I used really nice thick cardstock, and the die cut out like a dream. It takes two die cuts to make one bag. You can get one entire bag from on sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock. The grooves for the folding parts worked like a dream. I am going to just say here that this Favor Bag die is pretty pricey. I really wanted it, so I had to think of a lot of uses for it before I bought it! I am already looking forward to making Valentines with it next year, and Christmas treats, and even pretty birthday favors. The set comes with a large die to make the bag, and then a heart cut out for the front, a square scallop cut out, two banners and a small tag. I do think it's worth it because I know I'll use it a lot. The bunny face part is an additional "accessory" to the bag. I sure hope they make more animals to put on these! I really would love a cute bear one!!! Or a snowman!!! 

 

I used the same sheet of Lawn Fawn Rainbow Plaid Paper to die cut out the girl bow and the boy bow. I shifted the die to another part of the paper to pick up the different colors. To make the bunny, simply die cut the bunny from white paper, then the eyes, nose and ears.... I used a circle die cut to make some cheeks! For the bows I added buttons and a bit of twine to the center. 

 

This is one of the banners that comes with the die set. I went through my stash and found the perfect Happy Easter Sentiment to use on it! It's from the new Some Bunny stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.

 

 Here are the bags on my desk before any decorations. They are soooo cute!

 

I am completely smitten with this teeny tiny scallop border at the top. It adds just the right amount of something - makes it cute, but not too cutesy. The handles are nice so you can pull a ribbon through and tie it together. TIP: Use quick dry glue to glue your bags together - instead of tape. It just holds so much better and stronger and makes sure they won't accidentally fall apart later! 

 

Laying out my pieces to see how I wanted things...

 

 

 

The boy bag has a blue clothespin at the top and some aqua twine. His bow is blues and greens too... I found these itty bitty carrots in my Doodlebug stash and they were perfect for a pop of orange on the banner and the pin. 

 

And here's the girl bunny accessorized in pink! I did not glue their ears down onto the bag, just the face part. Once it was glued on, I used my fingers to gently curl the ears forward off the bag. 

 

 

 

 

This project is definitely going into my top ten favorite Easter projects of all time!! 

 

 

Hope you've enjoyed this project, and hope you're inspired to make these too! I am excited to try these in different colors and different themes! Enjoy your day! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY! 

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Pink Pineapples on a Monday!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday creative party people! A fresh new week awaits us! What kind of trouble can we cause this week? I'm not sure yet for me! I have some fun meet ups planned with gal pals this week which always restores my spirit and soul. And, lots of Easter crafting awaits me, too! I hope you had a nice weekend. Thank you for all the love you shared on my last post for the A Blog Named Hero Blog Hop. That was a super fun hop! I was happy to be part of it. It's fun to hear from people and share the excitement of prizes, etc. I hope some of my readers win prizes from the hop! Good Luck! Today I have to confess my new love affair....with Tonic Nuvo Gilding Flakes. OOOOOH MYYYYY GOSSSSHHHH! I am hooked... Totally 100% hooked on this new to me product. I bought these a couple of weeks ago and my brain has been trying to come up with a cool idea. Well, Friday night it came to me in my sleep! Pineapples! Pink and Gold pineapples! LOL. Yes, I do dream up card ideas when I'm sleeping. Very Random. Don't judge me. Haha. I even have a notebook on my nightstand for just such occasions. 

So here's the thing. I also LOOOOOVE the Pop Art Pineapples Stamp Set from Concord & 9th and thought the little triangles stamp that goes over the main pineapple image would be awesome in gold foiling! I kinda like how it came out. Very retro-palm-beach-fifties-cabana style. Pink and mint are a favorite color combo and mixed with gold?? Yay! Here's the card, and I'll talk a little bit more about the Gilding Flakes as we go along.  

 

This is a very clean and simple one layer card that I jazzed up with some gold flakes and pretty Nuvo Glitter Drops! I started with a panel cut to size on an A2 card base. I stamped the pineapples in bright pink ink and the leaves in a soft minty green ink. I dried this part with my heat tool to set the ink before using the gold leaf. Otherwise, I was worried the leaf might stick to the ink.

 

I used the triangles stamp that fits over the pineapple stamp to do the gold leafing. I used Versamark Ink and Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder and heat embossed the image. If you've never used this before, it's very cool! After the heat embossing, the image will be clear, but sticky. Then you can adhere glitter, embossing powder, leafing, whatever!! I used the gilded flakes from the Nuvo line. I was real messy with it. Just smush the gold flakes onto the embossed sections and rub it in with your fingers. The next trick is to use a nice quality, stiff brush. I bought these cool brushes at the same time as the gilding flakes and they work perfectly. Just keep brushing and swirling the gold leaf away from the non sticky parts, and you are left with this! Squeee!

 

This stuff is SUPER messy but totally worth it! It is light as air, and can get a bit unruly! Hahaha. It's just gorgeous though. I think this tub will last me five years. Very generous! I bought silver also. And it comes in copper, so I might have to get that one too. The gold is a rich, warm buttery yellow, just like 24k gold. Very bright!! 

 

 

 

And, because I couldn't just leave it be...I added some pretty pink sparkly accents with Nuvo Glitter Drops in Sherbert Shimmer! I stamped the sentiment in rich black ink and left it simple! I layered the white panel onto a matching mint card base (Using my favorite cardstock) using foam tape. Set it aside for the Glitter Drops to dry. 

Now I'm just spinning thinking what else can I foil? Foil all the things! Have you tried this yet? I'd love to hear what you think and what you used it for. The possibilities are endless! Have an awesome week. Thank you for spending part of your day with me. XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY:

Products shown twice are available in two shops!

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A Blog Named Hero 5th Anniversary Celebration Blog Hop!

Welcome to the awesome A BLOG NAMED HERO Blog Hop today! We are celebrating the Five Year Anniversary of this awesome craft blog! WOO HOOOO! Big congratulations, ladies, on your fantastic milestone! A Blog Named Hero is a creative blog, and challenge site that features Hero Arts stamps and supplies!  I am very fortunate that I got to be part of the A Blog Named Hero Design Team in 2013 and 2014! CLICK HERE to read my very first blog post for them!  What a fun and cool team - I enjoyed every minute of working with them! And all of those awesome gals are still my friends to this day. I am so happy for their success, and so happy they invited me to celebrate with them this weekend. If you're new to my blog today - welcome! This is day one of a two day extravaganza spectacular! Lots of fun, inspiration and PRIZES!  Please read all the way to the bottom for prize information and to link up to the next person on the hop today. Thanks for stopping by! 

My card for today features a beautiful new stamp set from Hero Arts, called Ooh La La! It is full of cool French/Paris themed objects, and a beautiful brush stroke font. It's very graphic and fabulous! I have been wanting to use this set for a while and this was the perfect occasion! I used one of my favorite color palettes: Red, White, Grey, and just a touch of aqua. Ooh La La indeed!  

 

 

I started by making an A2 card base from SSS Fog Cardstock. Then I splattered some Heidi Swapp Black Mist over it and set that aside to dry. It dries pretty quickly actually but I am a klutz so I set it waaaayyyyy on the other side of my studio just in case! LOL. Next I layered squares of red, aqua and white paper for my focal point. I cut a doily in half to use also. All my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post. 

 

 

Next I stamped the shirt, hat and sunglasses in rich black ink and die cut them out with the matching dies. SO easy! I love it when there are matching dies. I used the Hero Arts nesting Infinity Hearts dies to cut out three red paper hearts to use as accents. I added white gel pen to two of them. I used a Carmine Zig Clean Color Marker to color the sunglasses frames and to add a stripe to the hat. 

 

 

After the ink splatters had dried, I added the sentiment in black ink and used a heart as the dot for the i. 

 

 

 

And, then, I assembled everything! I used foam tape for the white square layer and also attached the elements with foam tape. A few red sequins finished off the card! Oh, and a tiny red kiss! That lips stamp is adorable!!! I want to stamp it on everything. XO

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT!! A Blog Named Hero is so thankful for their wonderful sponsors and collaborating companies!  Several companies decided to help ABNH celebrate our fifth anniversary with giveaways and they were so generous that we decided to spread the love over both hop days with different prizes to be won each day!  Giveaway prizes total more than $500!  To win, leave a comment on each hop stop for today and tomorrow.  ABNH will select winners randomly from different blogs so the more blogs you visit each day, the greater your chances of winning!  And be sure to visit A Blog Named Hero on Sunday for the list of the Sunday hoppers and prizes!  Leave your comments before 11:59 PM EDT on Tuesday, March 28th and winners will be announced on March 30th on the A Blog Named Hero site! YAY!

Today's (Saturday's) prizes include the following: 

$50 gift card to Hero Arts

$40 gift card to Pretty Pink Posh

$35 gift card to Lil' Inker Designs

$25 gift card to Newton's Nook

$25 gift card to Paper Smooches

$25 gift card to Winnie and Walter

$25 gift card to The Ton 

$20 gift card to Right at Home

One Online Card Class of your choice

 

NEXT STOP on the Hop Today: Cecilia Hsieh

Start at the beginning of the hop at A Blog Named Hero!

 

I still have my original A Blog Named Hero Signature Badge! :-)

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S CARD!

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Happy First Day of Spring! Sharing a pretty wreath project!

Hi friends! Happy first day of Spring 2017! I know a lot of you are still waiting for Spring to arrive and I'm sending you loads of sunshine and flower filled wishes from Sacramento. I spent a week in Chicago in March many years ago. Until that week I never realized just how fortunate we are with our weather. It was below freezing every day that entire week, and not a green leaf or bloom in sight! This year, we've already had all of our daffodils bloom and go, and now have a yard full of tulips and crocus. And a face full of pollen! Achooooo! It's all worth it though, to see the seasons change. Especially this year since we had alllllll that rain. I'm feeling the love right now! I'm ready to craft with flowers! I hope you have a great week ahead of you! 

Today I'm sharing a different kind of project - a paper flower wreath! I made it form the Pastel Petals Wreath Kit from Paper Source! I LOOOOVE their wreath kits. I think I've made five or six over the years. They are so pretty and fun to make. I used to have to drive 75 miles to a Paper Source, but now we have one about 10 miles from my house! Needless to say, I spend a lot of time there! It's a happy place for sure. I bought this wreath kit a couple of weeks ago and have been dying to make it. 

Here is a photo of it hanging on our front door! 

 

Here are some close up photos of the flowers and leaves. I'll talk more about how I made it farther down in the post....

 

Now this color palette is not one I would normally choose, and I think that might have been what drew me to the kit in the first place. Totally unique colors with a pop of jet black and a touch of gold shimmer. It's all so pretty together.

 

I made the project exactly as outlined in the directions included with the kit - with only two exceptions. I added the Distress Inking around the edges, and I added a few black and white Doodlebug Enamel Dots to the centers of the flowers. I really liked the extra look of a bit of shine on the centers. I was thinking about maybe adding some Rock Candy Distress Glitter, but then decided no on that. 

 

Here is what the Pastel Petals Wreath Kit looks like when you buy it. Everything is included except double stick tape and a bone folder! They even give you awesome (Super Sticky) foam squares and more than you would ever use. The wreath form and the ribbon are included too. They thought of everything. I used the photo on the front of the kit as my guide for placement of my flowers.

 

Below is a collage of the steps to make the wreath. I think the 'hardest' part was punching out all the parts! They are already cut out, you just have to separate them from the main paper. I decided I wanted to ink the edges of my flowers and leaves to add a bit of dimension to them. That part took a while. I found perfectly matching distress ink shades! Full supplies list at the bottom of the post. On the back of the kit there are directions as to exactly how to assemble the flowers. It's fool proof. 

 

To start assembling the wreath, I first attached the largest leaves in a ring. I attached everything with the enclosed foam squares. After I put down these big leaf sprays, I put the flowers on next. Then I used all the other leaves to fill in the open spaces and parts where you would see the wreath form. I had tons of leaves left over too! So there is plenty to work with. 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I would finish with just a couple of photos from our front yard! Happy Spring! 

 

 

 

Thank you for spending part of your day with me! I'll be back soon, but I'm not sure with what! LOL! I'm all out of projects for the moment. Let's see what I come up with! For sure I'll be back on Saturday as part of a fun blog hop! But hopefully I'll see you before that! I'd love to know what you're working on right now in your studio. I think I need to start thinking about Easter. XOXO 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY! 

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PTI More March Release: Botanical Letters and Beautiful Berries Spring!

Good day to you! It's almost the official first day of Spring! And I have lots more Spring inspiration for you! Does it seem like I made a ton of PTI projects this month already? Well, that's because I did! And today I have even more! YAY! If you want to see my other posts, just scroll down in my blog after this post. Lots of good stuff for us to stamp and create with. What a joy! I have been having a lovely weekend - continuing to organize, and enjoying some sunshine around here. And I took a nice long nap yesterday too. Now it's time to get busy back in the studio. I have loads of ideas...in fact, an entire sheet of a legal pad! I have been brainstorming and planning. Organizing helps me clear my head and make way for creativity and I can feel it happening. Hope you are in a creative groove right now! 

Today there are two projects made with the brand new Papertrey Ink March stamp release. It's all about beautiful florals! And, one of my favorite color combinations: pink and green! I made one birthday card to show you, and a set of pretty custom note cards I made for one of my best girl friends. I'm featuring the new stamp sets called Beautiful Berries: Spring, and Botanical Letters. I hope you find something to inspire you today! Thank you for joining me along this journey all week! It's been really fun and exciting to share with you! 

First up is a clean and simple birthday greeting made with Beautiful Berries stamps and matching dies. I started with a card base die cut with one of my favorite PTI products - the Noted A2 Scalloped Die! This die makes a card! You place the top edge of the die on the card fold, and run it through your big shot, and end up with a gorgeous card. The inner layer stitched die is included with the set! Clean and elegant and quick to make! 

 

This is so lovely! I adore the graphic nature of these florals and leaves!! This would be pretty stamped in any color. I used brown for the branches. At first I tried a dark green, but I ended up liking it better in brown. The dies are a perfect match. I stamped and die cut two pieces for the front of my card. When I attached them to the card I used foam tape. 

 

I used one of the stamps that is the flower centers to add some green dots around the stems after I attached them. The sentiment is stamped in dark chocolate ink, off center towards the bottom of the card. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up today is the project I made with the new Botanical Letters stamps! EEEEEEEK! I love these so much! I knew right away I wanted to make a note card set for one of my best friends. She is a great pen pal and correspondent and always sends beautiful notes. I cut out cream linen cardstock and rounded the corners to make flat note cards. Then I used the Botanical Letters stamps to spell out her name at the top of each note. 

 

When I packaged the notes and enveloped to give her as a present, I used the Flower Mandalas Dies for a pop of interest attached to some pretty PTI ribbon..... So feminine and pretty. Here you can see that I matched the envelopes to the green ink, and I made some letter seals for the backs of the envelopes! 

 

These Flower Mandala dies are gorgeous! I die cut one from gingham and one from green paper and layered them. Then attached a pretty pink center with foam tape. 

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the letter seal. I die cut the right size circle using circle dies, then stamped the first letter of her last name in the center. Using the tiny floral stamps, I added green, pink and brown to the letter. On the back I put some double sided tape and left the backing on it so she can easily adhere them to the envelopes. 

 

The Index Sheet for the stamp set is super helpful for placement of the tiny stamps. No need for a stamp positioner. It was very easy to get the flowers in the right place. Start with the leaves first! You can see in each letter, there are grooves for the leaves to fit into! Genius! Once you have the leaves stamps, the other stamps fit right in. And, if it's not perfect, it still looks great. I can't wait to stamp this in Christmas colors!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

For the finished project, I made four note cards, and four letter seals. I wrapped it with green matching envelopes for a pretty presentation. 

Thank you for stopping by today! It's so nice to have you here! Welcome new readers who have found me via Papertrey Ink! We are going to have a fun year of stamping together. Happy First Day of Spring tomorrow! XOXO 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S PROJECTS!

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PTI More March Release: Carrot Treat Box, So Sweet Stamp Set and Cutaway Tags Spring!

Hi everyone! Happy Weekend! What are you up to? Did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Did you remember to wear green yesterday?! I love green, so that's not a problem for me! I hope that you have some fun stuff planned for this Spring weekend! I have been organizing and simplifying at my house all week. So far I've taken seven bags of things to Goodwill - in one week! Mostly clothes, shoes and purses. Some books too. Last time I really purged, it was the kitchen.  It feels really good to be able to have some visual space and room to breathe. It's already better going into the closet to choose what to wear each day. And, it turns out that our master bathroom could totally be a pop up store for Bath and Body Works! LOL. I can't resist lotions and soaps and stuff. But now that it's all in one place in the closet, I can shop at home! HA! My studio is slowly getting more open too. I love it. It has given me renewed creativity and I have a list a mile long of things I want to make and blog!!

I'm sharing two more projects today from the brand new Papertrey Ink March Release! I can't wait to share with you today! 

First up today is a treat box made with the ADORABLE new Carrot Treat Box and matching stamp set called So Sweet! EEK! This is so perfect for Spring and Easter! But it would also work as a treat cone for any other time of year too!! I envision it also with some paper flowers popping out the top. I had so much fun making this! CLICK HERE to see what the die looks like - it will help you visualize the project... To make the treat box you will die cut two of the die and then glue them together. You can get one treat box (two die cuts) from a sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper so that works out great. I used my favorite gingham paper and added orange, white and green accents. 

 

The treat box die set comes with tags and triangles to use however you like on your box. I chose to use two of the accent triangles for the front of the box, and an oval tag for the sentiment. The stamp set has adorable sayings and this sweet bunny image. I colored the bunny with just a couple of Copic markers and then die cut it with the matching die. 

 

It's hard to see in the photo, but the oval tag has a sweet little embossed border! It's so pretty! I stamped the sentiment in black and when I tied the top of the box together I used green ribbon, twine and a button.

 

The triangles were attached to the box with foam tape (yes, I love foam tape) and the bunny was added last. The box is filled with my favorite - Cadbury Mini Eggs!!

 

I used quick dry liquid glue to glue the die pieces together. I think this works better than adhesive in this instance - especially since I added candy inside. There are tabs on the dies to make it super simple to line up and glue! At the top, two of the flaps fold down and the other two have holes that line up for ribbon or twine to hold it together. 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a birthday card I made using the new Cutaway Tags Die and Matching Stamps. This die is the perfect size for the front of a card. The tiny floral stamps line up exactly over the die! I chose to watercolor my die cut and use the pretty words from the stamp set. I used Distress Inks and a water brush in a vivid color palette for this one. I started with a white A2 card base and layered Smoky Shadow over that. I speckled white mist onto the grey. (colors and supplies listed at the bottom of my post)

 

I die cut the Cutaway Tag Die out of watercolor paper! That made it really nice and thick, and easy to watercolor. Before I attached it to the card I added a circle of vellum to the back of the die. Then I mounted it onto the card with foam tape. Stamping on watercolor paper can sometimes be tricky. So I used my MISTI to stamp the birthday. I ended up stamping it three times and it looks nice and rich. 

 

A few enamel dots finished off the card! 

 

 

 

Okay! Whew! That's it for me today! I hope you've had fun learning about the new PTI release. I have one more post tomorrow that you won't want to miss! It's all about pretty feminine florals! Welcome new readers! Thank you to everyone for your support and kindness. Have a great week! XOXO 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY! 

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PTI More March Release: Year of Psalms - February and Quoted - Move Mountains!

Hi crafty friends! How are you this week? I hope it's been a good one for you so far! I have been a very busy bee in my creative hive this week planning, and blogging and getting ready to celebrate the newest Papertrey Ink Product Release. I have been really anxious to share some projects with you and now I can! This was a really fabulous release to work with - so many fun and beautiful products. I feel so lucky to be working with this awesome team. We have really bonded over this new release and everyone is a joy to work with. I can't say enough about that. I feel very supported by the other members of this team, and by the (crazy) Papertrey Ink customer family! I've been a customer for 10 years, and it's super fun to see behind the scenes at one of my favorite companies. The March release went live last night at 10pm EST so all of the products I'm featuring today are available for purchase. Full supply links are at the bottom of my post. Thank you for coming by today - glad you're here! 

I'm sharing two cards today, both with a faith based theme. One of the (many) things I have always loved about PTI is that they often create stamps and dies with a faith theme and that is important to me. Sometimes we need cards for specific occasions and a word of wisdom and faith is just the right thing. I could not love the two main projects I'm featuring more. I hope you are inspired and uplifted too!

First up is a card featuring the new stamp and die combo set called Quoted: Move Mountains. The stamps and dies come together in this set which is awesome! The sentiment stamps are broken up so you can put different words in different colors - that is so clever and creative. I used both the stamps and dies on my card and used a warm color palette with a nature theme. This could be a great card for a man or a woman. 

 

I started with an A2 card base from Kraft cardstock and layered three of the patterned papers from the same pack (supply link below). It's great to use papers from the same pad because you know they will work together nicely. I like to choose my patterned papers before choosing my Copic colors - so everything will match nicely. I die cut an oval from cream cardstock and gently inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a sponge. This oval is my main focal point for my stamps and dies. 

 

I wrapped some natural cord around the patterned papers before attaching the paper layers to the card base. In the photo below you can see how beautifully the die cuts match to the stamps. I stamped my sentiment directly onto the oval then layered my die cut images around the words. I used Copic Makers to color the images. 

 

I attached the die cut pieces with foam tape for dimension on my card. I think this looks so nice!! You could definitely make a card using just the top piece with the mountains and sun too. 

 

 

 

Next up is a bright and bold watercolor card featuring the stamp set Year Of Psalms - February. I totally love the different fonts used in this large stamp! That is one of my favorite looks - mixing fonts. I used the new Flourishes Die to frame the pretty stamp. I die cut the Flourishes Die out of watercolor paper. I heat embossed the stamp in white embossing powder onto the watercolor paper. Then I used Distress Inks and a sponge to ink three vivid shades of ink to look like a sunrise - over the embossing. After sponging on all the inks I used a sprayer bottle and added water droplets. I also added some white ink splatters.  

 

Here is a closer look at the ink and embossing. 

 

This die cut cuts like a dream! So crisp and elegant! 

 

I wanted to add an accent and some dimension to this card so I also heat embossed a butterfly onto vellum using the new Butterfly Hope stamp set and matching die. You can see that my card base is a dark grey and I layered a sheet of vellum over the grey, and under the main panel. The vellum in the butterfly ties it all together I thought. 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today and for sharing the excitement of release day with me! I'm so happy to be sharing projects with you from this awesome release. Be sure to take advantage of the sitewide 10% sale at PTI through 10pm EST on March 16th. How awesome! I'll be back in a couple of days with some more projects! Until then, happy crafting! XOXO

 

SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY! 

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Papertrey Ink March Release Feature: Make it Market Mini Kit - Bloom & Grow!

Hi everyone! I'm soooooo happy to be here to share with you today! (actually happy is an understatement!!) Today is the final day of product introductions for the March 2017 Papertrey Ink release! It's my honor and pleasure to introduce to you the newest Make it Market Mini Kit - Bloom & Grow! Betsy has done it again with another one of her awesome kits. I have every single one of them and they are like little gems in my craft room - so special to me. I know a lot of you feel the same way too. Click over to Nichole's blog at some point today to catch up on ALL of the awesome news from the past week about the new products. Everything will be available for purchase tomorrow (March 15th) at 10pm EST TONIGHT - updated 3/15! on the Papertrey Ink website. I will be posting many more cards and projects after release date! Thank you to all of you who have been excited about this new design team adventure with me - I am so grateful for your support and cheer leading! I hope your week is off to a good start and I hope I make it better with some fun things here today. 

This newest Make It Market Mini Kit comes with beautiful patterned papers with a loose plaid and pretty watercolor brushstrokes. It also has a gorgeous floral stamp set with matching dies and fun stencils. The dies coordinate not only with the stamp set, but with the amazing floral bouquets that are pre-printed on the beautiful PTI linen cardstock. These floral bouquets have tabs at the bottom so you can insert them into the matching flower pots. And the sentiments fit perfectly onto the tabs! So great for Spring and Summer creating. I love this kit for bridal showers, Mother's Day cards, Tea parties and friendship cards. It was really quick and easy to make cards that look like they took a long time - sure to impress! Let's take a look...

 

For this card I made an A2 card base from Kraft cardstock. I layered a piece of the included blue and white patterned paper and added a strip of vellum across it. The flower pot and floral bouquet are pre-printed. I used the matching die cuts to easily cut them out. When you fold over the flower pot image, it has a slot for the bouquet to slide into. I then die cut some extra flowers and attached them with foam tape for dimension. A few pearls and a pretty twine bow - and your'e done! 

 

 

 

After I die cut out the first flower pot, I had the idea to turn it into a place card! The flower pot stands up on it's own and it would be so beautiful at an Easter table or at a shower event! I used the PTI banners dies and hand printed the name on the banner. I stamped a couple of green leaves using the included stamp set. 

 

Here is a side view of the place card. I used adhesive on the floral bouquet tab and attached it to the back of the flower pot! 

 

This next card also uses the included patterned paper and the pre-printed bouquet and flower pot. This time I stamped the sentiment onto the pull out tab. 

 

This is so cute and clever - how Betsy designed the images to work together! LOVE. 

 

For this next card I used the stamp set and made pretty flower clusters for a clean and simple, one layer card. You could make this in any color combination and it would look great. These stamps work together very nicely in scale, and with all the little extra accents you have come to expect from PTI! 

 

Okay, one final card! I used the stamps and matching dies for this one to create a half wreath around the sentiment. Since the sentiment is on the smaller side, I die cut two circles to frame it and make it more of a focal point on the card. The roses and leaves die cut like a dream... I added a few pearls again for accents.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Please CLICK HERE to go to Nichole's Blog and see everything from the past week. We have all been working hard behind the scenes to make this release fun and fabulous for everyone. Have a wonderful day! XO

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S PROJECTS!

InLinkz.com

You can always lean on me! Happy Hedgehogs from MFT!

Hey everyone! Happy Saturday! How was your week? My week was pretty fun and full of lots of social activities and lots of crafting! Did you see that the reveal of the new Papertrey Ink products has started over on the official PTI Blog? The March release is huge and I can't wait to show you my projects in a few days! It has been such a whirlwind of crafting and creating - in the best possible way. I am delighted to be part of the PTI crew, and launching my first new release with them. Stay tuned! If you want to catch up on what's been revealed so far....CLICK HERE! There is a lot more to come! 

I have also been trying to color every day as part of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge put on by Kathy Racoosin! YAY! Are you coloring every day? I'm trying, but not quite making it every day. The card I'm sharing today came about because I had colored these sweet hedgie images the other night...And I had to put them on a card. I love MFT stamps and I love hedgehogs - so this Happy Hedgehogs set was perfect for me. (Fun fact - I actually used to have a pet hedgehog and her name was Emma!) I used one of the sweet sentiments and this ended up being a friendship and encouragement card.

 

So I started with the cute hedgies and mushrooms all colored with my Copics, but I was drawing a blank on a card layout for these guys. One of my favorite resources for a card sketch idea is to go to the MFT resources section. CLICK HERE to see all their layout ideas in printable form!) I ended up modifying slightly one of the sketches! And I like how it came out. I started with a crisp A2 white card base. Then I die cut the Radial Circle die and the grass border die. I got out my pack of beautiful gingham paper for the bottom.... I love the red gingham to match the mushrooms. 

 

My Copic Color choices are listed below in the supplies. I mounted the hedgehogs and the most of the other elements to the card using foam tape. I added a few blue sequins at the end for a bit of sparkle. For the circle focal element, I sponged Tumbled Glass Distress Ink around the edge, feathering the color in towards the center. Then I used some Izink in Jasmine (white) to speckle a few white paint drops onto the blue. 

 

Here is the full stamp set! SO many cute images!! 

 

The grass green border gives just a pop of color to separate all that white. I tucked the mushrooms in behind the grass. I love using AC Cardstock because of the slight texture. This is a beautiful shade of green...

 

 

 

I adore how the hedgies are leaning in to one another! This could be two friends or a mom and child...any combination! Mine are girlfriends! LOL. 

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have the most wonderful weekend! It has been cold, and raining non stop for months here and all of a sudden it's 75 degrees out! Yahoooo! So nice to be outside and in the sunshine. Love it. See you soon! XOXO
 

 SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

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Pretty Pink Posh March 2017 Product Release Blog Hop! You're My Favorite!

Hi there crafty friends! Welcome to my stop on this fun March product release blog hop from Pretty Pink Posh! Yipppeeee! I LOVE PPP stamps and dies. Paulina does such an amazing job of making the cutest stamps and most innovative dies for us to play with. I'm very excited to be joining with so many wonderful designers today and tomorrow for this big hop. If you're new to my blog today - welcome! Happy to have you here for a bit! The full list of blogs for today's hop is at the bottom of my post. If you want to start at the beginning CLICK HERE to go to the Pretty Pink Posh Blog! This is a two day blog hop! (YEAH!) and there are four prizes up for grabs. Please leave a comment here for a chance to win a PPP gift certificate. 

For my card today I had to use the brand new Friends Forever Stamp Set and matching dies! This stamp set has the cutest little boys and girls and a beautiful heart balloon. I used loads of PPP dies too, and a color palette for Spring of aqua and yellow. Whenever Spring hits, I am all about yellow! It's such a happy color. I used my Copic Markers to color everything and then used some new PPP Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix sequins to finish off my card. 

 

I started with a crisp white A2 card base made from Neenah cardstock. Then I layered pretty aqua on top of the white. I cut out my white layer and the scallop frame in white also. I backed the frame with yellow gingham paper from my stash. Next I stamped, die cut and colored my two girlfriends and the balloon in shades to match the papers. Before I color with my Copics I like to choose my papers first so everything will match. It's much easier to match the paper than to try to find paper to match a colored image later! 

 

The girls are attached to the card using foam tape for dimension, to make them pop right off the page! They are so cute in their matching outfits!! The bow is from the Twine and Bows Die Set and it's just a little something for there at the bottom of my card! 

 

Here are some of my Copic choices. A full list is at the bottom of my post - exactly which colors I used. These new sequins are cool - see? No holes in the middle! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT! 

There are 4 $25 gift certificates up for grabs (two winners each day). Winners will be picked randomly along the blog hop. Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 3/17/2017. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog next week!

SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY!

InLinkz.com

 

FULL BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY!

 

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Melania Deasy

Amy Yang

Eloise Blue

Nichol Spohr

Liz Sarkisyan

Amy Kolling

Lori Hairston

Lisa Elton

Jeanne Jachna

Gladys Marcelino

Suzy Plantamura

Vera Rhuhay

Wanda Guess

My Monthly Hero - March 2017 Card Kit!

Hi friends! Welcome to the Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero" March Card Kit blog hop! I'm so happy to see you today! Happy Monday! Sorry I haven't seen you in a week or so. Been super busy getting ready for the next couple of weeks and my studio is trashed! (The organizing is not going so well in there!) The Hero Arts kit this month is yet another fabulous kit (of course!) Lots of products perfect for Spring and Summer! The kit and extras all feature beautiful garden themed stamps, cool papers and textures, an ink pad, lots of great dies and sooooo much more! The products all work together beautifully and you can mix and match what you decide to buy from this collection. I chose to go with a vintage garden theme for my projects for today. The herbs images and the seed packets really called out to me first. Whenever I get a box of supplies like this, I lay everything out on the counter in my studio and just stand back and look at it. See what grabs me, and see what stamps and dies I want to use together. It's such a fun part of the process. I hope you enjoy my projects today, and hope you have a fabulous week! Thanks for stopping by on my stop of the hop!

You may have arrived here from May's blog?  (her cards are always amazing!)  If you want to start at the beginning of the hop, CLICK HERE to go to the Hero Arts Blog. Lots and lots of inspiration for you today. I am always so grateful to join these fantastic crafters in this monthly hop. If you're new to my blog -welcome! 

Here are the two cards I made! I used kraft paper and the lovely olive green paper that comes in the kit as my layering pieces for both cards. I really love kraft and green together. I used natural twine on both cards also, to add to the vintage garden theme! 

 

These herb stamps are so pretty! I used three different shades of Distress Inks (colors listed in the supply links below) to stamp the Fresh Herbs Stamp Set onto small manila tags. Once I stamped the images, I went back with a water brush and softened around the edges of the images. I also inked all of the edges of the tags using Vintage Photo and Antique Linen Distress Inks. Once the green part was dry, I went back and added brown water splatters. I stamped the names of the herbs in Memento Cocoa Ink. 

 

For an added piece of interest on the card, I hand tore a sheet of vellum paper and inked the edges and adhered that onto the kraft part of the card, wrapping it around to the back to secure it. I also used Versamark Ink and one of the herb stamps to add some background stamping. I added small bits of natural twine to the top of each tag. The tags are attached to the card using foam tape. I didn't use a sentiment on this card so it can be for any purpose - maybe for a friend who likes to garden!? 

 

 

 

For my next card I used the seed packet stamps and colored everything with my Kuretake Zig Brush Markers. These markers are so easy to use when coloring small areas. To make the packets look old I distress inked all the edges! This is super easy watercoloring - messy and loose. Love that technique! 

 

I love this fence die!!! I am going to use it A LOT! It's the perfect size for the front of a card. I die cut it from kraft paper and inked the edges. I added my sentiment onto a strip of vellum and wrapped it across the fence. I used Stazon ink to stamp on the vellum. I have found it's the only thing to use - that I won't smear! 

 

I stamped and colored the trowel image to use as an accent piece over my bow. I think it adds just a little something! The seed packets are attached to the card using foam tape. I glued the trowel to the bow with a bit of liquid glue. 

 

 

The kit is available NOW! Yippeeeee! Below is a photo of ALL THE STUFF that comes in the main kit. Beautiful and sweet stamps with matching dies, and more! This is a great value for $34.99! The items sold separately retail for $75.00 or more! Hero Arts is VERY generous with their beautiful kits! The other supplies I used are listed below in my links. I used two of the brand new 'add on' sets that go with the main Card Kit. 

PRIZE ALERT!! Hero Arts is giving away one kit as a prize to one blog reader – selected from the comments across all of the blogs in the hop. Giveaway closes March 12th, at midnight, and the winner will be announced the following week on the Hero Arts Blog. If you've already purchased your kit, and you win, you will be reimbursed! 

 

The kit is available for a limited time only – once it’s gone, it’s gone. Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday March 10th! These have a habit of selling out fast! So don't wait if you like this one.  

 

Next up on the blog hop is the extra fabulous Clare Prezzia! The full hop list is at the bottom of my post. Have fun hopping and have a happy, creative day! XOXO When you make something with your new card kit, be sure to use the hashtag #mymonthlyhero on your social media! TO START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE HOP - CLICK HERE!

 

MAIN CARD KIT CONTENTS!

 

SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY!

InLinkz.com

FULL BLOG HOP LIST!

The Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

May Park

Wanda Guess

Clare Prezzia

Debby Hughes

Michelle Short

Yana Smakula

Kathy Racoosin

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Kelly Latevola

Amy Tsuruta

Libby Hickson

Julie Ebersole