A Blog Called Wanda

Papertrey Ink 2017 Anniversary Set - Grand Finale!

Hi everyone! Today I'm here to share some projects made with the lovely new 2017 Papertrey Ink Anniversary Stamp Set! It's called Grand Finale - and it's a beauty! What is an Anniversary set you ask?? Well, the anniversary stamp set is released once a year, and is a special customer appreciation set that can only be purchased with PTI reward points. Rewards points are earned by shopping all year with us at PTI. CLICK HERE to see how it works! 

This new set is so beautifully modern and pretty. I love all the florals, and the leaf motifs are spectacular. I have to honestly say that I was overwhelmed with ideas for this set. It was super hard for me to focus and decide what to make! So I decided to keep it really clean, simple and classy and do some one layer cards using the bits and pieces. Sometimes I overdo it with my cards, and it's good to come back to graphic and clean once in a while! I made three cards to share with you! If you don't have enough rewards points to get the anniversary set this time around, these cards can be replicated with any of the gorgeous Floral stamp sets from PTI!! 

Click over to the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for even more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you're having a wonderful week. 

I used the beautiful A2 Noted Scalloped die to make a Kraft card base for this first card. then I layered with bright white cardstock. I used one of the flower elements to randomly stamp flowers, centers, and dots on the white layer. I used colors to look like sunflowers (I love sunflowers!). The sentiments for this set are in a beautiful font, and I stamped the hello in rich black ink. I accented the card with some pretty twine and a black enamel dot at the top. The white layer is affixed to the card base using foam tape.  

 

 

 

Next up is this card with lots of white space! I love it when other stampers make cards with lots of white space. But, to be honest, it kind of freaks me out! LOL. Here's my take on a very graphic card with no layering! The only layer on this one is made with the beautiful banners dies from PTI. The hello fit perfectly onto it! (Supplies at the bottom of my post). I used bright cheerful colors of green, red, and teal. I added a few red enamel dots for accents. 

 

 

 

I adore the gingham paper from PTI! I thought it would pair nicely with this set, too. For this card I used the Edgers Dies. These come in a set of two - one for each card orientation: vertical or horizontal. They make a beautiful edge on your card, or layers. I stamped the large round leaves onto a circle die and then stamped the cool flowers in a bright pink I added dots of blue to match the gingham paper. You can see I used a small strip of vellum under the circle for a bit more interest. A few clear gems were added at the end of the process. 

 

 

Have a super fantastic wonderful day! Nice to see you! XOXO
  

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More Papertrey Ink April Release: Gran's Garden and Quoted-Start Again!

This is my SECOND post for today! Scroll down after this one to see my post for PTI Throwback Thursday featuring Dot Spot! Dang! That's a lotta blog posts this week! Thank you for coming by each day to see all the new projects! CLICK HERE for all the new items!

So, this post is my fourth and final release week post for the new Papertrey Ink April 2017 release! Today I have two cards to share with you in this post. Both of these have a kind of vintage and feminine feeling to them. And, they would be nice cards for sympathy cards or encouragement cards. Unfortunately we have to send out these kinds of cards too... I know that when someone is feeling sad and down there is something really heartfelt about a handmade card coming in the mail. I hope I give you some ideas today in that regard. 

First up is a card featuring the lovely new Gran's Garden Stamp Set and Dies. Beautiful layered florals and leaves. SO pretty. I paired the flowers with the gorgeous new sentiment set called Pen and Ink. I started with a dark grey card base (Smoky Shadow cardstock) and inked the sentiment in white ink. Then I layered the flowers and leaves for the color on the card.  

 

The card base is A2 and made from Smoky Shadow cardstock. Then I layered another layer of Smoky Shadow cardstock with foam tape. I stamped the sentiment in white and then speckled white ink splatters over it. The tiny accent flowers are also stamped in white ink. 

 

I stamped and die cut several flowers and leaves and then layered them together in the corners of the card using foam tape. I added some clear droplets for a finishing touch. I will add a layer of white cardstock to the inside of the card to write on.

 

 

 

 I used my MISTI tool to line up the layers on the flowers. Works like a dream every time!

 

The font used in the Pen and Ink stamp set is really beautiful. That set is going to get used a lot in my studio! 

 

 

 

And, my final card for release week is a shabby chic encouragement card made with the new Quoted: Start Again Stamp. It's so lovely. I used cream cardstock for my card base and center layer instead of bright white. I used the We R Memory Keepers 6x6 Indian Summer paper pad for all the patterned paper layers. Instead of using black ink, I used dark brown - this also adds to the vintage feeling of the card. 

 

 

I stamped the large stamp twice. Once on my card layer and once on a scrap paper. I hand cut out the two banners and layered them on to the main stamp for some dimension. I colored the flowers and banners using Copic Markers to match the paper. Pretty mustard and grey blue tones. I inked the edges using Antique Linen Distress Ink and a sponge dauber.

 

 

 

I wrapped a bit of twine around the layers and finished with a bauble from my stash... I really love adding these little details to my cards. It's like putting on your earring after you're all dressed! 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for joining me this week! You're probably sick of my by now! It has been a joy to share the new Papertrey Ink Release with you! I hope you've found some inspiration and maybe bought some new stamps to try out too. Happy Thursday! Have an awesome weekend! Be sure to stop by the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for more inspiration. Thanks for a great week! XOXO

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Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday - Dot Spot!

Hi everyone! At Papertrey Ink, it's Throwback Thursday time! I'll be joining in throughout the year as we feature stamp sets from previous releases! It's a fun way to get new inspiration from stamp sets we already have and love. Or a good way to find new stamps to play with too! Today we are featuring the Dot Spot Stamp Set! Be sure to click over to the Papertrey Ink Blog for even more inspiration from other design team members! I'm happy to have you here today!

I decided to make a masculine birthday card with the Dot Spot set. I think it's perfect set to make something less frilly and feminine, but still with a lot of style. This stamp set is perfect for making your own fun color combinations to match a theme, an event or a season. Here I've used two of my favorite colors to stamp the dots! I accented with a pretty Hawaiian Shores card base and rich black accents! These stamps remind me of my favorite toy growing up - the Spirograph!! 

 

This is a pretty clean and simple card, just one layer, but it packs a punch of color! I mounted my white paper onto the card base using foam tape to make it pop. The card is an A2 base that I cut from Hawaiian Shores cardstock. I added a few enamel dots from my stash at the end. The die cut was cut from rich True Black cardstock. I love the black against the bright colors. 

 

This is a sure way to brighten anyone's birthday! I'm also picturing this in red, white and blue for 4th of July Cards! I think they could definitely look like fireworks! The other idea I had was to use this for stamping on invitations. Very clean. 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today! Best wishes for a great day, and hey, tomorrow is FRIDAY! See you soon! XOXO

 

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More Papertrey Ink April Release: Cuddly Cats Dies, Flower Mandalas II, Ways to Say Birthday and Initial Sentiments Birthday!

Hey friends! Welcome back to day three of my introduction of all the new Papertrey Ink April Release projects and products! Thanks for joining with me during this fun week of sharing and creating! I've been having fun showing you everything and sharing all the projects I've been working on. The release went live last Saturday. CLICK HERE to see all the new items. You might want to grab a cup of coffee (or a pot of coffee) since I have FIVE projects to share today! What??? FIVE? Yep, you heard that right! (You may have seen a few of these projects already on my featured post last week) Everything featured today is all about birthdays - cards, packages and tags. I now have a great stash of bday cards at my house. You can never have enough bday cards right? That is the number one occasion I make cards for - how about you? There are lots of new stamps and dies to pick from at Papertrey Ink for birthday crafting. Let's get started!

First up is a birthday card I made with the new Cuddly Cat Dies! EEEEP! This is the cutest die set ever! I used bright and happy colors for this one!  

 

I started with a card base made from Soft Stone cardstock. I layered a piece of crisp white cardstock on top. For my focal point (the kitty) I die cut two white circles and layered them. This helped him to not be 'floating around' out there in all that white space. I use this trick a lot on my clean and simple cards. It adds interest, without adding another color to the mix. 

 

Next I got out lots of my favorite colors of cardstock and die cut all the pieces out. Once the pieces were cut out, I used Copic Markers to add accents to the fish, the flowers, and the cat's stripes. This is a great trick for adding extra pizzazz to cardstock die cuts. I used my tweezers to glue all the little pieces together. The fishy is attached to his tummy with foam tape. 

 

For the sentiment I white heat embossed onto a strip of Smoky Shadow cardstock and attached it to the card with foam tape. I sprinkled the flowers around the cat and then added enamel dots at the very end. 

 

 

 

Next up is a pretty gift box topper I made with the gorgeous and luxurious Papertrey Ink felt! YUM. It cuts like a dream in my Big Shot. I used the brand new Flower Mandalas II dies set and created a lovely flower for the top of a birthday gift. I love to jazz up a birthday box. I also used some of the small elements from the Mandala to adorn a crisp white matching tag. This project was part of my pre-release featured post so CLICK HERE to read more about it!

 

 

For the next birthday card I used some of the small elements from the Flower Mandalas II dies to create yellow tulip accents! Another clean and simple card, this time with beautiful Bright Buttercup yellow! I used the new Ways to Say Birthday stamp set and the Happy Birthday Die to make the greeting. Black and yellow always look nice together. I started with a yellow card base and layered crisp white. This card was also on my post last week! CLICK HERE to read how I made this card!

 

 

Are you still with me? Two more cards to go!! Next up is a BRIGHT and happy birthday wishes card using the Ways to Say Birthday stamp set and Happy Birthday Die. I started with a white card base and layered Pure Poppy and then white again for the card layers. Then I randomly stamped birthday wishes in all the colors of the rainbow! I finished with die cutting the happy birthday die twice and layering it for a shadow effect. CLICK HERE to read my previous post about this card!

 

And lastly a classic birthday card in a classic color combination with watercoloring! This card started with a Classic Kraft card base and then layers of Blueberry Sky paper and crisp white paper. There is a strip of vellum across the center of the two layers.

 

I stamped and heat embossed Happy Birthday several times on a strip of plain vellum and wrapped it around the colored layers before attaching that part to the card base with foam tape. Then I stamped and white heat embossed the HB onto a die cut circle of watercolor paper. I used two shades of Distress Ink to watercolor the circle to match the blue cardstock. I dried this part with my heat tool and the attached it with foam tape. 

 

 

Whew! Thank you for reading all the way to the end! I hope you can sense my excitement to share with you! I feel so fortunate to be part of the PTI Design Team! This is only my third month and I love it already. The other design team ladies are so wonderful and kind. It's a blessing to be sure. I will be back with one final post tomorrow so please come visit. Be sure to stop over at the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for more inspiration. Have a great day! XOXO

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More Papertrey Ink April Release: Year of Psalms April, and Circled Symbols!

Hello everyone! Today is my second of four posts this week introducing the brand new Papertrey Ink April 2017 stamp release! WAHOOOO! Today I am sharing two cards I made with new stamps and dies from the collection. CLICK HERE to see everything new! I literally have been sitting on these cards for a couple of weeks and it's so fun to share them with you now. One card is made using the latest edition to the Psalms collection and one card was made with a super cool and hip set of circled symbols. Thanks for joining me again today! 

First up is a floral, natural card made with the Year of Psalms April stamp as the main focal point. Such a beautiful verse in wonderful fonts! I featured the stamp using the new Mix and Mat Scallops Die and then accented the main piece using flowers and leaves from the Gran's Garden stamp set! Supply links at the bottom of my post. 

I started with an A2 card base made from Classic Kraft Cardstock. I die cut the scalloped mat from crisp white paper and then stamped the verse in rich black ink. It fits perfectly! Since the words in the sentiment are not all straight across I used the PSALM word at the very bottom of the stamp to line up everything and get a straight image.  

 

After I stamped the verse, I stamped and die cut several flowers and leaves from the Gran's Garden Stamp Set. You can see the leaves are two toned... I did this by inking the same stamp in two colors before stamping onto the paper. I love this effect and use it quite often. The matching dies make it a dream to cut out and make your project look crisp and finished. 

 

 

 

I attached the flowers and the leaves to the card using foam tape. I added glittery enamel dots to the centers of the flowers for another pop of color. 

 

Next up is a bright and cheerful card with a rainbow color palette, stamped with the new Circled Symbols stamp set! LOVE. Gosh, this is so hip and on trend. I looooove it. There are loads of symbols that work together to spell out sayings! You can create your own fun puzzles. Like Deer Friend or Mr and Mrs. I chose to use lots of the symbols and splash them across the page in a random pattern with rainbow colors!  

 

After I stamped the main circles in color, I went back with the outline circles and stamped them in rich black. Lastly I added sprinkles of small stars and hearts. 

 

I always love a good typewriter font! This is perfect and I'll use this sentiment a lot I know! I added some rhinestones to finish off the card and mounted it onto a Pure Poppy card base for another pop of red. 

 

 

 

Okay - that's it for today! I have TWO more days of projects from the new Papertrey Ink release! I hope to see you tomorrow friends! Be sure to click over to the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for more inspiration today. XOXO

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More Papertrey Ink April New Release: Made with Love Stamps and Tags!

Good morning and Happy Monday! Did you have a nice Easter? It was pouring rain here in Sacramento again and I felt bad for all the people who had picnics and BBQ's planned for the day. We had a really lovely and peaceful Easter Holiday and I hope you did too! The Papertrey Ink New Release for April went live on Saturday (CLICK HERE TO SEE IT ALL) and this week I will be sharing all of my projects made with the brand new items. I'll be posting the next four days in a row and I hope you will join me as I introduce the new stamps and dies. As always, there is some great stuff and I have been really anxious to share with you!

Today I'm sharing the new Made with Love Stamp Set and Tags. The stamp set is perfect for making tags for anything handmade or homemade. I love that it includes words for sewing, knitting, and crocheting too! I will use this a lot since I love to personalize a gift. Some of you may know that I started learning how to crochet last Winter! So far, my  learning to crochet really has just involved buying lots of gorgeous yarn...and making two things! LOL. I love it though and I need to get back to practicing so I can get better. 

Here is one of the scarves I made with some beautiful plum colored alpaca yarn. I made two different tags to show you how the word stamps all work together!  There is one stamp set and three new tags dies sets. Supply links are at the bottom of my post.  

 

I chose a pretty, natural color palette of cream, kraft, brown and aqua for my two tags. I think it's so great how the stamps fit perfectly onto the tag dies. Makes it so easy to get a really professional result. I like to finish my tags with ribbon, twine and sometimes a pretty button from my giant button jar. 

 

 

That's it for today! I have I think NINE more projects to share in the next few days! Please come back and see! Have a wonderful Monday! XOXO Please also check out the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for even more inspiration! 

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Happy Easter 2017 from our home to yours!

 

Wishing you and your family a very

Happy Easter 2017!

Blessings and love from the Guess Family!

 

Papertrey Ink Release Week! Introducing: Ways to Say Birthday and Flower Mandalas II Dies!

Hello creative and crafty friends! Today is day FOUR of the awesome April Release Week festivities for Papertrey Ink! YAY! This new release is beautiful, with lots of florals, pretty sentiments, and all kinds of fun stamps for birthdays. There is also a new kit from the fabulous Betsy Veldman! CLICK HERE to go to the PTI Official Blog to read all about everything going on this week. All of the new products will be available for purchase in the PTI Store on Saturday the 15th at 10pm EST. Wonderful!

Today I'm happy to introduce two new products from the April Release: The Flower Mandalas II Dies, and the Ways to Say Birthday stamp set. I've made three different projects to share with you to showcase the fun and versatility of these new items.  

First up is a present topper and matching tag I made using the new Flower Mandalas II Die Collection! WOW! These dies are so cool and pretty at the same time. So many intricate pieces that fit together to make a gorgeous flower. I had so much fun making this! I used the gorgeous and luxurious PTI Felt in my favorite colors of greens and blues. After I made the present topper I made a matching gift tag using the brand new Made with Love Tags and the Ways to Say Birthday stamp set. I used one of the tiny tulip elements from the mandala and glued it to the bottom of a crisp white tag. I first tied the box using beautiful PTI Polka Dot Ribbon. 

 

Here is a close up shot of the finished Flower Mandala. I used black felt as the bottom layer for a punch of class and depth to the project. 

 

I really love to decorate presents and gift bags. One of my favorite things to craft (after cards of course!) It just makes the recipient feel even more special when you take the time and care to decorate a package. 

 

 

 

Next up I used parts of the Flower Mandalas II Die collection with paper to make a sunny birthday card in yellow! I die cut out the tulips and leaves from PTI papers and added them to the clean and simple sentiment from the Ways to Say Birthday Die cut and stamps. 

 

 

This die cut is the perfect size and scale for a card front! I love the font. I attached the tulips with bits of foam tape and added pretty feminine pearls to the flowers. This would also make a nice card set - make the same card in a bunch of different colors....

 

Bright Buttercup is absolutely the perfect shade of happy yellow!! LOVE. 

 

 

 

And finally today a VERY bright and cheery birthday card made using the Ways to Say Birthday stamp set and die. Here I randomly stamped the birthday wishes sentiment in all the colors of the rainbow. Nothing is more cheerful than that! Then I die cut the birthday die out of both red and black paper and layered them together to make a shadow effect. This card would be perfect for any age.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting with me today as I show you part of the awesome new PTI April 2017 Release. I'm so glad you came by. I will have loads more inspiration from this release in the days to come. And, later in the month, we will be launching the wonderful 2017 Anniversary Stamp Set. YEAH! Best wishes for a beautiful Easter weekend. See you soon! XOXO 

Waffle Flower Stitched Roses Cards!

Hi everyone! I'm happy to be here blogging today and sharing something fun. I've been absent for a bit. I've been super sick for about a week and a half now. Boo. Allergies led to a cold which led to a nasty bout of bronchitis. Whenever I get sick, it always settles in my lungs. So I have cooties. Just finally starting to feel a bit stronger today. The worst part is all the coughing, which has kept me up all night so I'm really loopy from lack of sleep. The other bad news about that is that I missed out on a trip to LA this week. Boo again. My husband is in Los Angeles for work this week and I was going to go with him. I had my list of museums and coffee shops and photo spots all mapped out and everything. But, we decided it was best for me to stay home and rest. Feeling kind of sorry for myself. But not too much. Buddy is awfully happy that I stayed home, so we are hanging out together just the two of us. You know, partying and such. LOL. 

It's Easter week so I am contemplative and trying to really focus on the meaning of this week and all that it means to me as a Christian. The most important week of the year, and my favorite holiday. Spending time praying and reflecting about that holy week so long ago. The greatest gift. Mark will be home from his trip in time for us to spend a nice Easter together. I hope you have nice plans with your friends and family too. 

I've spent some time in the studio getting ready for Papertrey Ink Release Week and I have lots of fun projects to share with you over the next days. CLICK here to see the sneak peeks so far on the PTI Blog! The other thing I worked on today is the project I'm sharing now! Yay! I have been crazy, wanting to ink up these Waffle Flower Stitched Roses Stamps! They are SO pretty and so unique. Been on my desk for a couple of weeks now. I enjoyed the process of making these very much. Hope you are inspired. 

Here are my finished two cards - They are the same card in different colors and with different sentiments. All of the stamps are from the same stamp set.

 

Here is the pink one....

 

And the blue one. I tried to make a third one - in yellow. I tried a few different color combinations but could never get just the right look with yellow ink, so I scrapped that idea. It's really hard to layer yellow, evidently! I used Distress Inks for all the stamping since those are the inks that I have the most colors of. These are layered stamps and I would definitely recommend using a MISTI or the Tim Holtz Stamp Platform. I used my Mini MISTI for this project. Makes it easy to line up everything. 

 

For the pink version of the card I used Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Festive Berries Distress Inks! OOOH LA LA. The green leaves are Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. The roses are three different stamps and you layer them on top of each other to create a cross stitch look. The green leaves are only one stamp, so I shaded it by stamping the leaves a second time, but only inking the tips of the stamps with the darker color. 

 

I thought it might be helpful to show you what the stamp set looks like here. See how the stamps are labeled so you know which ones go together? Great thinking on their part - whew! 

 

I made my card bases out of Cream Cardstock. For the top layer I used a Square Die Cut to create a window to frame the florals. Then when I mounted the frame to the card, I used foam tape for dimension and interest. 

 

Even the sentiments are cross stitched! LOVE. 

 

 

 

For the blue version of the card I used Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress Inks. What a pretty color combo! Before I made my final stamped images I got out some scratch paper and practiced lining up these stamps. After you stamp them a couple of times you will see how they all line up. The index sheet that comes with the stamps labels the stamps for you as well, so you know which order to use them in. It was fun to do this! 

 

 

 

You just know I had to add some accents! I tied pretty twine bows at the tops of the cards and sprinkled a few pearls here and there. My layering paper matches the ink colors. Really pretty and graphic but still romantic. This stamp set is awesome! This is another one of those things I fell in love with at CHA. 

Thank you so very much for stopping by today! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Spring week where you live. Take care! XOXO

 

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*The Stitched Roses stamps are finally back in stock. Woot! 

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Tonic Studios - Tim Holtz Stamp Platform!

Hi friends! Happy Weekend! I hope that fun things are in store for you this fine Saturday! I have something really cool and fun to share with you today! I was graciously offered the chance to try out and test drive the new Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Stamp Platform. The fine folks at Tonic and Scrapbook.com sent me one so I could review it for all of you! I have to say that this tool was one of the buzz worthy items at CHA in January and I had the chance to watch Tim demo it. I wanted one from the moment I saw him use it. My review, after trying it out for several projects, is that it is just as great as it seemed at CHA! I love it already and it has a permanent place on my stamping table. I made a project with the Stamp Platform to share with you today - using new stamps from Tim Holtz that have been on my desk! I'll give you some tips as we go along and then my final review at the end of the post. You can order the Stamp Platform now! (UPDATED POST 7-13-17) I know it's gonna be a hot ticket item! 

Here is my finished card - made using the Stamp Platform, Two new Tim Holtz Stamp Sets, Distress Inks, and Distress Markers! I always love a beautiful stamp set of butterflies, and these are the perfect size and scale for cards.  

 

The Stamp Platform is on the left, and you can see that it will join my other favorite tools (also all from Tonic) on my desk space. I use my Trimmer every single day! The Stamp Platform has a base that is 8.5 x 8.5 inches - nice and big. Also, you can see that the edges do not have a ridge, so you can actually fit a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock inside! Brilliant! The Platform is perfectly smooth which makes for super easy clean up.

 

The lid on the Stamp Platform snaps out and reverses. One side is to be used for unmounted red rubber stamps (what I used today) and the other side is to be used for clear stamps. The lid very easily pops right out and right back in for ease of use. The sides are clearly marked in the upper left corner so you know which side to use. Here is the rubber side...

 

And this is the clear side....

 

One of the first things I wanted to try out was a large background stamp! I have a hard time finding the right clear blocks to use with these large stamps. And it seems I never get a good impression the first time. Here you can see that I mounted one of the new Tim Holtz Vines and Roses background images inside the stamp platform. 

 

I used some pretty Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Ink and it came out PERFECT with the first try! I'm already thinking about how much paper I'm going to save! It looks lovely! So easy too. This is a game changer for me already. 

 

For my card I'm sharing today, I used Antique Linen Distress Ink on the same background stamp for a soft look. I squirted it with some water to soften it even more. Right on the Platform! The water just wiped right up. 

 

Next I stamped the butterflies onto a piece of scrap paper. I was able to stamp both butterflies at once! Another thing I love about the stamp platform. I could have stamped all the butterflies in one fell swoop! So easy to ink and stamp, especially if you are making multiples of the same cards. See how I put the paper right up in the corner of the platform? That's because after I colored the images with Distress Markers, I went back and stamped over it again in black a second time - for a really rich dark and vivid outline! 

 

The butterflies were colored using various Tim Holtz Distress Markers.

 

This is how they looked after stamping a second time in black. Gorgeous and rich!

 

I made an A2 card base out of pretty green cardstock and then trimmed my background panel. I used Antique Linen Distress Ink and a sponge dauber to ink the edges. I hand cut out the butterflies and then distress inked the edges of those too. I mounted them onto my card with foam tape and added just a bit of Tonic Nuvo Glitter Accents to the edges of the wings. I used some new Tim Holtz word stickers for my sentiment. (Supply links below)

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I hope you've enjoyed reading about this cool new tool and how I made this card. Best wishes for an awesome day! XOXO

 

My final review of the Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Stamp Platform:

I give it two thumbs up as a working craft tool for my studio.

Good tool for stamping larger/background stamps.

The grid lines are in the lid, making it easy to position letter stamps and get perfect placement.

I like that you can use any size paper from a tiny scrap to a 12 x 12 sheet.

VERY sturdy and perfectly smooth for a crisp stamped impression.

Great for hard to ink images: you can re-stamp in the exact same place.

Easy to use, and easy to clean up.

Great value at $40.00

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Disclosure: My blog uses affiliate links, meaning that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive compensation. I use affiliate links to Papertrey Ink, Simon Says Stamp, Amazon, Hero Arts, and Scrapbook.com to link you to the products I use and enjoy. I am a contract employee of Papertrey Ink, meaning that I receive payment for the design work and blogging I do on their behalf. I believe in all of the products I showcase here on my blog, and represent them honestly with my personal opinions. My affiliate information is disclosed HERE. 

Flora & Fauna Clear Stamps - Guest Designing with the Woodland Set!

Hi everyone! How is your week going? I am here today to share a project and introduce you to a new stamp company started by my friend Cindi and her daughter Lara! HUGE congrats to these two lovely ladies. You may know Cindi already as the genius behind Savvy Stamps! Well, she launched her next new company at CHA this year and the images and stamp sets are AWESOME! The new company is called Flora & Fauna Clear Stamps! Woot! I was so excited to see the catalog and all the drawings. The style is cute and quirky and sweet. I loved everything. Cindi was kind enough to ask me to guest blog on their Flora & Fauna Blog today and I was more than happy to do so! 

I used the adorable Woodland Stamp Set to create a scene on my card - sure to cheer up the recipient! Long live snail mail! Here is a peek at my card. To see then entire thing, please pop over to the Flora & Fauna Blog! Also, go to my Instagram page to see how to enter to win your own stamp set! Yay! 

To see ALL of the stamp sets CLICK HERE. I know you're going to loooooooove them too! Big thanks to Cindi for the guest designer spot - and all success to her on her new business adventure. Have a wonderful day everyone! XOXO

 

My Monthly Hero - April Hero Arts Card Kit!

Hi friends! Welcome to the Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero" April Card Kit blog hop! I'm so happy to see you today! Happy Monday! Hope you had an awesome weekend!  The Hero Arts kit this month is yet another fabulous kit (of course!) Lots of beautiful products with a feminine and fashion theme! The Kit and extras all feature lovely stamps, ink pads, cool papers and embellishments, Nuvo Drops, 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 Paris theme for my card for today. The fashionable and lovely ladies called out to me, and I imagined my girl traipsing through Paris on a beautiful Spring day! I am seriously in love with the Eiffel Tower Die. The details on it are amazing and it's the perfect size for the front of a card! I used the beautiful Tiffany Blue cardstock as the starting off point for my color palette. OOOOH! Thanks for stopping by on my stop of the hop!

You may have arrived here from the lovely Jennifer McGuire's blog! 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! Have fun! 

 

I started with a crisp white A2 card base then layered that beautiful Tiffany Blue paper (included with your kit). For the top white layer I used some of the smaller stamps from the set to create my own fashion background paper! I colored the images with Copic Markers. I die cut the Eiffel Tower Die from the included shimmery black cardstock. 

I love the paper doll aspect of the stamp set! You can choose the hairdo, the shirt, the skirt/pants, and the shoes! SO fun! I decided to dress my girl in something I would wear - a striped shirt and a skirt! I love her pixie hair style. I also decided she needed a cute crown! I stamped her onto an oval die cut (from the Hero Arts Oval Infinity Dies Set) and colored her with Copic Markers. 

 

Here is a good close up of the detail in the Eiffel Tower Die Cut!

 

For the sentiment I wanted to layer it onto vellum. At first I stamped it in black ink, but then I changed my mind! I heat embossed it in gold and it gives just one more pop of shine to this girlie card! I layered the vellum strip across all the layers before attaching the layers to the card base. I also added a few Hero Arts Clear Rhinestones. 

 

I used pink Copic Marker for the girl's cheeks, and parts of the background paper. I felt I wanted to incorporate a bit more pink into the card so I added three sequins on the edge of the white oval. 

 

Let this be a reminder today that no matter what....YOU are FABULOUS! 

 

 

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 $70.00 or more! Hero Arts is VERY generous with their beautiful kits! The other supplies I used are listed below in my links. I used one 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 April 9th, 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 April 7th! These have a habit of selling out fast! So don't wait if you like this one. I'm envisioning this set for birthday cards, Bridal Shower cards or invites, Mother's Day....

 

Next up on the blog hop is the awesome May Park! 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:

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY! 

 

InLinkz.com

 
FULL BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! 

The Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

Wanda Guess

May Park

Yana Smakula

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Amy Tsuruta

Lydia Fiedler

Ilina Crouse

Heather Ruwe

Libby Hickson

Michelle Short