A Blog Called Wanda

Season's Givings Blog Hop! Happy New Year 2018!

EDITED 1-4-18: MY WINNER IS KAREN RAMSEY! WOOHOOO! CONGRATULATIONS! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL THE KIND AND WONDERFUL COMMENTS. HAPPY CRAFTING! XOXOX

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018!

MANY BLESSINGS FOR AN AMAZING YEAR AHEAD!

Thank you very much for coming by my blog today to celebrate "Season's Givings" with a giant blog hop and awesome prize giveaways! This is my fourth year doing this great hop! Big giant thanks to Latisha for organizing this amazing blog hop! I hope you are having fun looking at everyone's blogs! What a great way to start off the new year right? The entire hop link list is at the very bottom of my post. And every blog has a prize! There are all kinds of beautiful projects to look at and loads of great prizes! 

This blog hop is all about us thanking YOU, our awesome followers and readers, for supporting us and sharing our joy of crafting. For lots of us, the main reason we blog, is that we develop wonderful friendships with a greater creative community and we uplift and inspire each other. Truly, thank you for joining me on my blog journey. If you are new to my site - welcome! I hope you find something you like and I'm happy to have you here today. Welcome to Season's Givings 2018!

Also, if you are a new visitor to my blog - Welcome, and Thanks for coming by! If you want to know more about my style, please read my most recent blog post with my year end wrap up of projects (CLICK HERE). Also, you can find me on Instagram (@stampcatwg), Facebook (A Blog Called Wanda) or on Pinterest (Wanda Guess). I love sharing via social media. 

PRIZE ALERT! EVERY STOP ON THIS AWESOME HOP HAS PRIZES! It's our way of saying thanks! I have a great prize package of goodies to give away to one lucky winner (see photo below)! In order to be eligible to win my prize package, please leave a comment on this blog post and tell me your New Year's resolution for crafting and creativity! I will draw the winner on Thursday, January 4th and notify you via email. What projects are you going to work on in 2018? Maybe a new technique? New style? Favorite new supplies? I want to know!! 

This is the prize package for my stop on the hop! Wooohoooo!

 

And, since it's New Year's I want to share a project with you! I made a super fun snowman New Year card! I bought this awesome stamp set (So Many Snowmen) for making Christmas cards, but it never got inked. Well...I thought... Let's make those cute snow people into a winter New Year card! They look just like the crowd at Times Square! LOL. I colored them with Copic Markers and created a pretty Distress Ink snowy background for them! All the supplies are linked below in this post.

 

 

This is an A2 sized card. The snowmen stamp is wider than an A2 so I trimmed it to fit onto the front of this card. Also, the stamp has some Christmas specific images in it that I wanted to crop out for this occasion. I colored the snowmen in with Copic Markers. I added top hats to the snow peeps on the top row using the extra little stamp that comes in the set. The numbers were die cut from sparkly silver cardstock for an icy look! The Happy New Year sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with white powder. The background was made using my two fav colors of Distress Inks! Then I splattered some Copic Opaque White for snow! I love how it came out!

 

See that one little snowman that is popped up with some foam tape in the middle? Well, he's covering up some holly leaves on the other guys' hat!!! My husband thought of that idea! LOL. He's a good crafty husband! 

 

See the holly? That's where the other snowman face went! 

 

 

 

 

 

I mounted the snowmen to the card using foam tape. I also used foam tape for the numbers and the sentiment. Just makes everything pop a bit! I added a few sparkly gems and bits of Wink Of Stella to make it pretty! 

 

 

Thank you for coming by! HAPPPPPYYYYYY NEWWWWWW YEAR! We are going to have lots of fun creating together in 2018 I just know it! I wish you and your family a blessed, happy, healthy, and successful new year! Love ya! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE AWESOME BLOG HOP LIST! 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY'S CARD!

(Affiliate Links Used)

 

8 Year Blogaversary! And, my end of the year wrap up for 2017!

Hello my dear blogging friends! Today I'm celebrating my EIGHT YEAR BLOGAVERSARY! Wowza! Every year when I do my end-of-the-year wrap up post I can't even believe that another year of fun and creativity and crafting has passed! This year went by especially fast! I look forward to writing this post each December, and sharing with you my favorite projects from the past year. CLICK HERE to read my wrap up from 2016! This year end post helps me wrap up the year and reflect on my creative journey. I feel like I grow in new ways each year, both as a person and as an artist. Having my blog is a lot like having a diary or a journal and it's really cool to look back at eight years' worth of cards and projects all in one place! I am so grateful to have this place to share with the world and with you my creative supporters and friends. Thank you for being part of it all with me! It wouldn't be the same without the interaction from you, and all the friends I have made through the years. You bless me all the time with your kindness and love. 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! And, Happy New Year 2018! Be sure to check back here on New Year's day because It's the Season's Givings Blog Hop day! All of the bloggers in the hop are giving away prizes! TONS and TONS of prizes! It is always really fun! You don't want to miss it, I promise! 

2017 was a very busy year. I had some really great crafting opportunities, and my photography business kept me busy in addition to stamping and designing. It was also a hard year for me. Not bad, just hard. Lots of trials and growth this year. I went through a lot this year and it forced me to deal with some very deep things that I've not wanted to deal with. That being said, I can 100% say that I am emerging here at the end of the year a stronger and more confident person. More sure of my place in this world. More sure of my identity in Christ and less dependent on the opinions of others. I'm only 53 years old and I finally figured that out (laughs at herself). In all seriousness, there was a lot of quiet time with God this year and HE has changed me, sharpened me, refined me, with HIS ultimate wisdom and love. I've spent a great deal of time at home this year, becoming closer to my husband and my few very dearest friends. Blessings to be sure. I don't ever want people to think that my life is picture perfect or amazing all the time. It isn't. I am always grateful, though, no matter what is happening. That is my choice in life and it's one of the ways I honor God. Life is hard. For all of us. Grace is AMAZING and we should dole it out often and in abundance. Especially to ourselves. I'm a bit anxious and excited to go forward into the new year as this 'new' me. Maybe a bit hesitant, too. But I know I'll be fine. That is the promise. My family is doing well and we are happy and healthy, and that is what really matters.  

Here's what I wrote last year: "My word for 2017 is BRAVE. Brave enough to be myself without the fear of the judgement of others. How powerful is this concept? I am a work in progress... Free to be my authentic self, the real me. The ability to say how I feel, find my passion, stand up for the things that matter, don't settle, don't apologize.... That, to me, is bravery." 

Reading this now, a year later, I'm like whoa! That was SPOT on. I tried to be brave this year. There were a LOT of tears this year. Buckets of tears. But in our darkest places we find out how strong and brave we can be, right? (Every time I hear that song Be Brave - I cry! OMG I love that song) CLICK HERE to see the video!

My word for 2018 is TRUTH. There is only one truth and it is solid, stable and unchanging. My identity is anchored to the truth of who I am to God. Lack of being anchored in the truth causes us to rise and fall with circumstances. The truth keeps us from drifting afloat. Gives us hope. The other facet of this is that I often don't want to SEE the truth as it is put before me. I want to always believe the best in people and situations, and that gets me hurt. Truth is a more realistic way of navigating this harsh world... So TRUTH has two meanings for me. I've already started using this in my journaling and planning for 2018. 

Do you choose focus words or resolutions for the new year? I'd love to hear! Leave me a comment about your hopes for the new year! 

Something I love to do here on the blog at the end of the year, is to take a look back on my creative journey from the year before! This annual post is kind of like a cyber scrapbook! Thank you for joining along with me in 2017! We had some good times! My blog is my journal, and here I keep a record of my statistical progress.  So, on that note, here are some fun stats from the year. Here at the end of 2017... I have now written 1262 blog posts in 8 years, received 32,915 lovely comments, and...drum roll...I hit the one million unique visitors landmark! That happened back in February! The company that I was using to track the visitors and blog hits went out of business...and one day I no longer had access to that information! Bummer... I am very happy that I can say that one million people have come to visit A Blog Called Wanda! Thank you! 

Five years ago, I started the tradition of recapping my favorite projects from the past year. I get so much nice feedback about this! Here are my favorites from 2017... There are a lot! So grab a cup of coffee or tea, and settle in! I hope you enjoy the look back with me! 

To see more information about each project,

please click on the the individual photos! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

I appreciate all of you so much, all of your love and kindness and support!

I wish you the very best year ever! Cheers to 2018!

Merry Christmas 2017!

Merry Christmas from 

The Guess Family! 

With love and blessings to your family!

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, 

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:8-14

 

 

Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday - Candy Cane Christmas!

Hi everyone! It's almost Christmas! Hope you've been having a wonderful season this year! Our holiday season has been very low key this year, and that's totally okay with me. I'm winding down from a hard year and trying to really give myself a break and not be too stressed out. I'm anxiously looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. Creatively I've been a bit burned out and I feel like I need a renewal and a rest! It gets like that from time to time, right? I have been making Christmas projects since June (that's how the creative calendar works!) and I'm just ready for flowers and hearts! 

With that being said, I have one final Christmas project to share today! A Christmas thank you card! I like to make these and have them on hand for whenever someone gives me a special gift or extends an invitation to me. I like to have holiday themed cards for that occasion! Today is Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday and the stamp set we're featuring today is called Candy Cane Christmas! It's clean and graphic and happy! I used two of the peppermint stamps to create a vivid background paper and I love how it looks against the red card base! 

 

I started with a red card base (A2) and then layered some pretty white glitter cardstock. The center panel is crisp white paper stamped with pretty red ink. SO fabulous! I used Diamond Stickles to 'color' in the white spaces of the candies with glitter. Then I had to leave my craft room for three hours so I didn't touch it!! (Can you relate??)

 

I used the brand new Huge Sentiments Thanks die to make a black die cut sentiment. It looks really nice set off against the white and red. Lastly I added clear gems to the centers of the larger candies.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today! Happy Christmas time! Merry Christmas to you and your family! Thank you for always being there for me! XOXO 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Brighter Days, Keep it Simple, Stuck on You & Sunshine and Honey!

WAHOOOOOO! It's day five of the release week fun! That means that tomorrow is the big day! All the new items for the December 2017 Papertrey Ink Release will go live for sale tomorrow at 10pm EST! Yes! What do you have your eye on? I love it all! I was so ready to move on from holiday crafting and towards spring and Valentine's Day! Everything in this release is so HAPPY! Today I have two more cards to share with you. As always, be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see what the other design team members have to share. I think everyone knocked this release out of the park!  

Today I'm showcasing the following stamp sets: Stuck on You, Brighter Days and Sunshine and Honey! 

First up is a cheerful get well card. We all need to have get well cards on hand to brighten up someone's day when they are sick. It's nice to be able to send a note to let someone know you're thinking of them and encouraging them. This new band aid die set is really perfect - and perfectly sized for the front of a card. I die cut the band aid out of two slightly different shades of pink cardstock and then put some red hearts right in the centers. I like this card because it's really graphic.   

 

I lined up the three band aids and then heat embossed the sentiment onto black cardstock to make it stand out from the other colors. 

 

I love the small sentiments that come in the stamp set - healing wishes is the perfect thing to say....

 

 

 

This next card will make you think of summer sunshine and honey bees! This Sunshine and Honey stamp set is ADORABLE! That little honey bear is the cutest stamp!! I used a clean color palette of black, yellow, kraft and white. The card base was made with the PTI Noted Die Set A2.  

 

 

I used a Spritzer and a black marker to add some ink speckles to the card to break up all the white. I mounted the sun and the bee using foam tape.

 

Isn't that the sweetest sentiment? 

 

Bright Buttercup is on of my favorite colors from Papertrey Ink! It's so warm and yummy.... I think I bought three packs of the cardstock!!! It's the perfect yellow!

Okay friends! That's it for PTI December 2017 Release Week projects! I'll update all my link lists once the products are live in the store so if you want to go shopping - come on back and visit! Have a wonderful happy joyous day! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(I'll update the new products in the links when they go live on the 15th!)

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Huggable Bear & Pencil Arrows and Matchbook Medley!

Hello there friends! We're getting closer and closer to Papertrey Ink December 2017 release day! Thanks for having fun with me this week and we showcase all the new products releasing on Friday! Today is day four of sharing new things with you. It's back to Valentine's Day today! I have three fun ideas for creating unique treats and cute Valentine gifts for kids of all ages. I love Valentine's Day - it's just a fun happy day to splurge on your friends and honeys. Everything new will be available for purchase in the Papertrey Ink Store on December 15th at 10pm EST. Be sure to click over to the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see ideas from the other design team members!  We all love sharing with you! 

My first project for today is adorable treat boxes made with the new Huggable Bears Dies and Stamps! EEEP! They are so adorable! A sweet little bear face and a scarf! I love the sentiments in this stamp set too! I used the brand new Kraft PTI Patterned Paper in the large plaid to make the pillow boxes (with my We R Memory Keepers Pillow Box Punch Board). Then I had fun decorating them with the new dies and stamps, and some pretty ribbons.  

 

The little face stamps right onto the bear die - so easy! I cut the bear out of kraft cardstock and his ears from pink cardstock. The scarf is red- perfect for Valentine's Day! 

 

Bear Hugs! XOXOXO

 

Another new product launching this week are these really cute pencil arrows dies! These would make great treats for a classroom! I used felt for one side and silver glitter paper for the other side. They slide right onto a pencil. Just attach it to a Valentine or attach a quick little note to the pencil! 

 

I wrapped the red ribbon around the pillow box and then used some twine to attach the tag. The bear is attached to the box using foam squares. Super fun to put some red and white M&M's inside or some other little treat! 

 

 

 

 

 

The next new product I'm featuring is the set of dies called Matchbook Medley! I've never seen a Matchbook die before. SUPER fun for making gift card holders! These are awesome!! I had so much fun decorating with doilies, and stamps and twine...couldn't stop myself! LOL.  

 

The sunglasses are from the new Fun Lovin' stamp set! I used some gems in the corners to add some sparkle! 

 

 

 

Inside is perfect to tuck a Starbucks card or other gift card! I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher Stapler to add the two staples to the bottom of the front flap. The scalloped border die is part of the Matchbook Medley set! Perfect! 

 

 

I can't thank you enough for all your support and for stopping by each and every day! It's always a blast to show you new stamping products! One more day of previews and then the big day to buy is on Friday! Have a super fabulous day! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(I'll update the new products in the links when they go live on the 15th!)

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Hexagon Stencils, Honeycomb, Year of Psalms December & Round off Edgers!

Hi creative friends! Welcome to Day Three of the awesome December 2017 Papertrey Ink Release Week! Have you liked what you've seen so far? What is your favorite thing? Thank you for coming by each day to see what I'm featuring! As always, be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see the projects from the other design team members! All of the brand new items will be available for purchase on the 15th at 10pm EST. Just a few more days now!  For my cards today, I'm taking a break from Valentine's projects. I have two cards to share made with the Quoted line of stamps and the Year of Psalms line of stamps. OH! And there are new Edgers Dies too! (YAY!)

My two cards today used the following new products: Stencil Basics - Hexagons, Quoted Honeycomb, Year of Psalms December and Round Off Edgers Dies. This first card is full of pretty yellow - which is one of my favorite colors to craft with. And I adore this new Quoted stamp set. Like I REALLY love it!! I started with an A2 card base made from kraft cardstock. Then I layered Bright Buttercup paper. My white layer was stenciled with the new stencils and two shades of yellow inks.... 

 

For the stenciling, I didn't fully ink each space. I wanted sort of an ombre effect. The honeycombs around the edges are darker and they get lighter as you go into the center of the card. The stamp set has a tiny honeycomb single stamp that was perfect for adding a few to the sentiment circle. I stamped the sentiment in rich black ink and added the bee. Two layers of circles make it pop off the page! 

 

This little bee is trying to escape! Here's a better close up of the stencil inking...

 

I wanted a soft element on this card, so I got out my fav Branching Out die and cut it from vellum. I tucked the pieces under the main focal circle before attaching everything. I used a small strip of kraft ribbon and then some clear drops as accents. 

 

 

 

This next card is very clean and classic! Rich dark navy papers accented with gold....so yummy! I heat embossed the new Year Of Psalms stamp in gold embossing powder. I added extra stars around the embossing by using Versamark Ink and the small accent stamps that come in the set. I used the new Round Off Edgers Dies to create a beautiful border to feature the new patterned paper.   

 

 

 

Here's a close up of that gorgeous new border die! You're going to want this die set in your stash - so versatile!

Thanks for joining me again today! See you tomorrow! Visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see what the other designers are sharing today! All the new products will be available in the PTI Store on December 15th at 10pm EST (Friday!) 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(I'll update the new products in the links when they go live on the 15th!)

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Perfect Fit & Ways to Say I Love You!

Welcome Back to day two of the fun festivities for Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week! Yahooooo! I hope you saw my post from yesterday, and hope you stick around for the next few days as we review all the new products coming out on the 15th! Be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has going on this week. It is a strange thing, sometimes, to be the first person to make something from a new set. Sometimes I wonder....did I do this right? or How exactly does this die work? But most often i think.... WHAT did everyone else make!? So I love release week too! We have fun planned every day between now and the 15th. All the brand new stamps and dies (and paper) will be available to purchase in the Papertrey Ink store on December 15th at 10pm EST!

Today is my featured post, so I have three projects made from the same supplies: The Perfect Fit stamp set and dies, and the Ways to Say I Love You stamps! The Perfect Fit stamp set is an adorable heart with a puzzle piece cut out of it! The sayings are so fun and perfect. There are a jillion ideas to use with this set. More than just Valentine's Day for sure - anniversaries, missing you, and I love you....

Here are all three cards together! I'll talk a bit about each one later in my post!  

 

This first card is clean and simple! I used the brand new Soft Stone Patterned Paper along with pretty red and bright white to create a simple greeting. The big red heart is the star of the card. I used silver glitter paper to make the puzzle piece. For the sentiment I heat embossed in white onto rich black cardstock. I had that little clip in my stash and thought it looked nice here. A few stamped hearts around the main heart, and it was done! 

 

On my clean and simple cards I really like to tie off the top with a bit of cord. I think it looks fresh and pretty! 

 

For this next card I used lots of colors! I created my own background paper by using the puzzle piece stamp in different colors. Then I made the main heart out of Raspberry Fizz cardstock. A little vellum for the small sentiment looks nice across the bottom, and lets the colors show through. The die cut words are new too this month! 

 

 

 

It's been a while since I made a folding card! This one is a Z fold and makes the card fun and interactive. I used traditional Valentine colors of red, white and black to make a really graphic note. The card opens up and there is another sentiment inside. Cute! 

 

I attached the puzzle piece with a foam square piece. The big heart stamp/die cut is mounted over the Z fold... 

Thank you for stopping by! That's it for day two of Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week!!! See you tomorrow! Everything new will be available on the 15th at 10pm EST. Visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog for more card ideas all week! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(I'll update the new products in the links when they go live on the 15th!)

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week starts now!

Hi there creative friends! Happy Weekend! And happy PTI Release Week! Today is the 10th, which means we're kicking off five days of fun, new stamps, and inspiration leading up to the December release on the 15th! In crafty land, we are definitely already transitioning out of Christmas and on into Valentine's Day crafting! This new release is chock full of cute, sweet, funny and beautiful products sure to cheer up anyone you love. Something for everyone - kids, grownups, and the young at heart! I love this release and I am really looking forward to sharing with you from now until Thursday! 

Be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog all week for inspiration from other design team members, news, and contests! PTI really knows how to do a release up right! All of the new products will be available in the Papertrey Ink Store on Friday, December 15th at 10pm EST. Until then, we'll have fun every day looking at all the new stamps and dies (and paper!)

Today I made a cute Valentine to show you! I am featuring two new products: The Mix and Mat Hearts Dies, and the Everyday Affection Stamp set. I have a crush on YOU! 

I started with an A2 card base from Classic Kraft paper. Then I layered some pretty gingham (love). I used my Big Shot to die cut out the Mix and Mat Hearts Dies from crisp white cardstock. I layered Melon Berry cardstock under the white die cut so that the hearts would be pink! I love that color pink!  

 

Next I stamped and die cut the ice cream cone from the new Fun Lovin' Stamp Set! I layered the ice cream cone onto a kraft circle to kind of break up all the white on the card. I stamped the adorable sentiment in black onto a banner. 

 

For the finishing touch I added a little resin heart and some sequins to the card. I thought it needed some sparkles and sprinkles!

 

This Mix and Mat die cut is so beautiful! I love the embossed arrows going around the inner edge. So sweet! I am thinking I want to make a shaker card using it as the top layer so the sequins would show through the heart cut outs! 

 

Is anyone else humming this song by The Jets??? LOL. Is anyone else besides me even old enough to remember that song??!! 

That's it for day one of Papertrey Ink December Release Week! Be sure to come back tomorrow for more cards - and the rest of the days too! It's good to see you. Last week I tagged along on my husband's business trip to San Francisco so I didn't do any blog posts. But I'm back! Thanks for stopping by today! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(I'll update the new products in the links when they go live on the 15th!)

(Affiliate Links Used)

My Monthly Hero - December 2017 Card Kit - Sahara Style!

Welcome to the Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero" December 2017 Card Kit Blog Hop! Hurray! As always, I'm happy to see you today and happy to share the fun new kit with you! This month's kit is full of gorgeous images from the desert! Beautiful die cuts, and cool stamps.... Such a creative and fabulous theme! I think you're going to love it. Everything for me conjures up images of Morocco and dancing lanterns and desert beauty....sigh... The MMH Kit this month will inspire you! I made a card to share today using my favorite sentiment from the kit.... I'd cross the Sahara for YOU! The Kit is called Magical Nights! 

You may have arrived here from Jessica's amazing blog! If you want to start at the beginning of the hops, CLICK HERE to go to the Hero Arts Blog! Loads of fun and inspiration for you today from wonderful fellow crafters!  I'm always grateful to join the other ladies in this monthly hop. If you're new to my blog today - welcome! Have fun! Enjoy the hop today! I will always warn you, these kits sell out VERY FAST (usually the first day) so if you like it, don't hesitate! I know I say that every time, but it's true! Get it while you can! They are such a great value! Each kit is $34.99 and this month's kit has a value of $80.00!! 

Let's take a look at my project! I used the gorgeous new city skyline die to create a backdrop for the camel and palm tree. And, of course, that perfect sentiment! I started with a white A2 card base and layered a pretty bright blue paper. I die cut the skyline once from black paper and once from kraft paper and layered them slightly offset.  

 

 

I stamped the sentiment onto a kraft layer and then put that part over the skyline to look like the desert in the foreground. I stamped and die cut out the palm tree and camel. I colored the camel with Copic Markers. 

 

I stamped a few stars in the night time sky and added clear Hero Arts gemstones. Really clean and classic I think! 

 

Here are my Copic color selections for this project. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kit is available NOW! Yippeeeee! Below is a photo of THE ENTIRE CARD KIT CONTENTS! Beautiful images for Christmas and Winter crafting,  fun tags, stamps, dies, ink and more!  This is a great value for $34.99! The items sold separately retail for $80.00 or more! Hero Arts is VERY generous with their beautiful kits! The other supplies I used are listed below in my links. 

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 December 10th, 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. 

 

This kit is available for a limited time only - once it's gone, it's gone! Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday, December 8th. These kits have a habit of selling out fast! So don't wait if you like this one. The last one sold out the first day! 

 

Next up on the blog hop is everyone's favorite crafty gal - Lydia! 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!  Thanks for stopping by today!

 

 

MAIN CARD KIT CONTENTS

'MAGICAL NIGHTS"

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!  

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TODAY'S BLOG HOP LIST! 

The Hero Arts Blog

Yana Smakula

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Wanda Guess

Lydia Fiedler

Amy Tsutura

Janette Kausen

May Park

Michelle Short

Clare Prezzia

Libby Hickson

Ilina Crouse

Kelly Latevola

Honey Bee Stamps - 12 Designers of Christmas 2017!

Hi everyone! I'm really excited to kick off a fun event sponsored by Honey Bee Stamps! For the next 12 Days, 12 different card designers will be featuring awesome stamp sets from Honey Bee. There will be discounts and sales and all kinds of fun stuff! CLICK HERE to go to the Honey Bee Blog to see more for the next couple of weeks! I'm very happy that I get to be day number one! Yahooooo.

I am seriously loving everything coming from the Honey Bee store lately. I've been buying every new release! Such fun designs - cheerful, happy, and great for coloring. Today I'm featuring three stamp sets: Build A Bee, Tea Time, and Bee-you-tiful Sentiments. I made a card that will be perfect to send some cheer to a friend's mailbox! 

 

I started with an A2 card base from Kraft Cardstock. Then I layered bright yellow, and then bright white! I added a piece of gingham paper from my stash to look like a napkin for my little scene. I love yellow - any time of year. Next I stamped the coffee cup, the cupcake, the lemon, and the bee and die cut them out with the matching dies. I colored the images with Copic Markers in cheery colors. See the steam coming off the coffee? That's actually a die that is supposed to be a trail behind the bee! I thought it would look good this way!

 

After I colored in everything, I added shimmer by using a glue pen and Hero Arts superfine glitter (my favorite glitter)! The bee is on a wobble! So he is really buzzing by! The sentiments are so cool - you can mix and match any words you want and place them exactly where you want them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you haven't tried Wobbles - you need to! They are so much fun! I used the Mini Wobbles for the beeeeee. It's a little plastic coil that has adhesive on both ends. You attach one end to the object and the other end to the card. Then it wobbles! EEK! It lays perfectly flat for mailing. 

 

Here it is in action! I can't stop! LOL

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today, and thanks to Melissa. Lisa, and the Honey Bee team for inviting me to be part of the 12 Designers of Christmas!  Make sure to check back tomorrow for the next guest designer on the Honey Bee Blog! If you're new to my blog this week, welcome! XOXO 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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