A Blog Called Wanda

Panda Valentines!

Hi everyone! I feel like we need to get caught up! The past week or so has gone by so quickly! How are you?? I spent alllllll weekend in my studio cleaning, sorting, organizing and decluttering (again) and now I think I'm done for a while. Everything was a total mess since Christmas - just stuff everywhere. I had some organizing projects I wanted to do with my stamps for a long time. I finally did them! All of my clear stamps are now sorted by company and housed in bins that are super easy for me to flip through and find what I want. It makes me really happy to know I will be able to grab something easily and quickly. Sometimes in here I swear I want to give up! But not now... It's my happy place again! Yippeeeee! So, with that in mind, yesterday I spent ALL day crafting! It's time to get serious about Valentine Crafting! Valentine's Day is in two weeks! EEEK! I have so many ideas, but not enough time! I'm gonna run out of time for sure this year. 

Today's super fun project is made with products from Mama Elephant Stamps. I made Panda Valentine Treat Bags!! I have had the bear dies foreveeerrrrr and finally used them! Yay! I bought some red/cream gingham at my local stamp store on Monday and it was the perfect compliment to the cute black and white panda bears. Did I mention how fun this project is?? Well, it is! You should make some! Last year I made THESE TREAT BAGS for Easter with the same Favor Bag Die. It's really versatile and the perfect size for treats. Perfect for holidays, birthdays or any celebration. You can get one favor bag from a sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper. 

 

These came together very quickly. To make them, you die cut two of the favor bag dies and glue them together on the sides and the bottom. I use liquid glue for this part to get a nice seal so the treats don't fall out! Then it's just a matter of decorating them. The dies cut like a dream and it's easy to glue them together. Once the bear is assembled, I glued it to the front of the favor bag. 

 

I die cut some red hearts for the top and attached them with a pin (from my stash).... The little banner die comes with the Favor Bag Die. I stamped the sentiments from two Mama Elephant stamp sets. Kiss Kiss I Love You! So cute for Valentines! The banners are attached with foam tape. And, don't get me started on those top hats!!! EEK. I added cute tiny red hearts on their hats. 

 

 

 

This is what the dies look like! From the bear die set you can make a panda bear or a squishy teddy bear...or even a polar bear! 

 

 These tiny heart enamel shapes are from the newest Doodlebug collection! I actually bought four packs of them!!! SO sweet. 

 

Here are my pieces all cut out. I like to die cut everything all at once and then sit down to make my project. I think it's more fun like that - you don't have to stop and go die cut more! My die cut machine is not on my desk so I would be up and down too many times. 

 

Here are the Favor Bags before decorating! 

 

 

Here is a graphic from Mama Elephant that shows how to assemble the dies. SUPER DUPER helpful!!! How adorbs is that mustache???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you started working on Valentines yet?? Or are you already done?? Yikes. I need to get bizzzzzzzzzy. It's such a nice switch from all the Winter crafting. I'm so ready for bright colors and flowers and all that good stuff. I will be back on Monday with the big, fun blog hop to launch the new Hero Arts MMH Kit (10am PST) I may try to post something else before then. We'll see how I do! LOL. Have an awesome day friends! XOXO 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY

(Affiliate Links Used)

Creativation 2018 Thoughts....

BLOG PRIZE WINNER! The winner of the prize from my last blog post (the lemon card) is Diane Oliver! I loved reading everyone's creative and interesting comments! Thank you everyone! Congratulations Diane! 

Hey everyone! How is your week going? It's rainy and gloomy here which makes for a perfect day in the studio! I'm back from Creativation 2018 (formerly called CHA) and I've had a couple of good nights' sleep and my feet no longer hurt! LOL. As you probably already know, I was in Phoenix for five days for the giant Creativation Trade Show. I had the very best time and I am so excited now to create and so uplifted by all the hugs and smiles. It was a whirlwind, as it always is. I call it the "CHA Vortex" because for a few days you are literally in another world, separate from reality! The convention center room where the show is has no windows and no clocks! It's two full escalators down into the basement! So you never know what time it is, or where you are!! Also, while you're there, there is no laundry or chores, or bill paying or cooking! Just loads of F-U-N!! I look forward to it so much every year. I'm so happy it's in January because I think it is the best way to kick off the year! 

I almost didn't end up going to the show at all! On Tuesday last week I was still hacking up a lung! Gosh, I had that cold virus for almost three weeks. I thought, I don't want to go if I'm coughing and not feeling well the whole time. So my husband and I prayed hard over me and by Thursday I was feeling much better. Just in time to leave on Friday morning. It was a crafty miracle! Being sick gave me a new and different perspective on the show this year too. My husband made me promise to take it easy and to rest when I felt like it and to take care of myself. And so that slowed me down a bit from my usual 500 miles per hour that I'm going during the show. I think that there was a purpose in it actually. 

So, please do not get mad at me! I didn't take many photos this year at all! Yikes. Me? Not taking pictures? But that is exactly what happened. For the first time going to the show I was not working. I was attending! No deadlines, no assignments, no demos....just me, enjoying the situation! It was weird! LOL. I consciously decided to be more in the moment. I left my camera in my purse most of the time. I did lots of quick Instagram videos and I hope you caught those!! I posted some shots from my phone on my Facebook page. I didn't take selfies with everyone this time. I had meaningful, inspiring, uplifting, engaging conversations! WOOOOT! I hung out. I hugged. A lot. I ate yummy food with awesome people. I met up with people that I've been working with for years. I met new people. We talked. We connected. We sat down and heard each other. It was wonderful. I was so blessed by so many people. I think that's what the show was about for me this year. I had the chance to network and get some job opportunities. Also wonderful. The show this time reminded me why I love this community. Of course it's not all rainbows and unicorns...I never want to leave that impression. But if you're careful and open, there are unicorns to be found! Lots of em. 

It's really interesting and fun to be in that space. With all of those creative people. It's totally normal to be walking around and see Heidi Swapp walk by or to see Becky Higgins laughing with friends. Bump into Teresa Collins in the bathroom... Amy Tangerine and Tim Holtz having a conversation in the aisle. All of our favorite crafters and bloggers in one place for a common goal. Supporting our hobby and industry. I try to really soak it all in and be grateful and aware. It's pretty cool. The show is not only for paper crafting! LOL. The yarn section this year was HUGE! Fiber arts is really making a comeback. And all of the other crafts and hobbies are represented. I would say that paper crafting is about 60% of the show floor. 

So that's my story from Creativation 2018! There were fewer attendees this year than last year, and that worries me a little. It seemed pretty empty at the show. The first year I went you could barely walk down the aisle without bumping into people. It's not that way anymore. I'm not sure what that means for the industry and the show. I would like to see it busy and bustling. But as we know shopping and things have changed drastically in the past few years. I'm happy that the lovelies that I want to connect with still come to the show. Friends from all over the world!!! Not just the United States. It's pretty fabulous. I am blessed and grateful!! I am totally inspired by my days away. 

Here are just a few photos I have to share.... And I'll put a list of my favorite things from the show at the end of the post. I think there are a lot of other people that did a great job of showing all the products! I saw this lady filming EVERYTHING so you might want to check out her Youtube videos from the show. My photos this time are more of just this n that. :-) My badge was courtesy of my awesome local stamp and scrapbook store! Thanks Yvonne and Andrea!!! XO 

 

The giant signs all over the convention center downtown area....

 

The Tim Holtz Ideaology booth is always always a favorite. They are so creative and no detail is left undone. This gorgeous dress form and retro typewriter make me happy. This booth is usually one of my first stops! 

 

 

 

This is my friend Nina, the owner of Waffle Flower stamps, and the artist Helen Dardik. I adore Nina and her unique and beautiful style. She has such an eye for design and for picking amazing artists to illustrate stamps for her company. Waffle Flower is one of my all time favorite companies. I was totally fan-girling about meeting Helen Dardik. She is sweet and talented and funny. It was wonderful to sit and chat with her for a while. She even signed something for me!! One of the highlights of the show. 

 

And here's me with Greg from Concord & 9th. SILLY boy. Gosh how I love Greg and Angie! I had the chance to join them for dinner one night and I haven't laughed that hard in a loooong time. They are the very very best. Their booth won a design award! WOOOHOOOO! It was fabulous!! 

 

 

 

I got to meet the super lovely Jane Davenport also! WOW! She is so talented and sweet and funny! I love her accent! She has a huge new collection with Spellbinders! And check out her custom die cutting machine! It's teal...with mermaids!!!! Oh my. She has stamps and markers and ink pads that look like mermaid fin scales. Everything is gorgeous and inspiring! 

 

Someone else I have been a fan of forever is Brandin, the owner of Webster's Pages. I've watched her designs from the beginning and I love her personality. She is warm and kind and real. This year the gorgeous Webster's Pages planners are off the hook. I need this mini floral striped number in my life. NEED. 

 

 

We R Memory Keepers has cool new retro looking label makers!! Oh, and a mini envelope board too! The label makers have tons of different label tape, including one that is woodgrain! I will definitely be buying the pink one to match my WRMK Pink Typewriter!!! 

 

 

 

This dress form was in the Prima booth and was decorated entirely with paper! SOOOO completely creative. It blew my mind. The Prima booth is always spectacular. I have been buying a lot of their planner items lately and I have one of their bronze colored Traveler Notebooks. Swoon. 

 

I checked something off my restaurant bucket list too! I've always wanted to go to Shake Shack! And they have one in Phoenix! It was yummmmmmmmmy and fabulous! I'm happy I finally made it there! I ate a lot of good food this trip!! LOL. If you are a Yelper, be sure to befriend me on Yelp so we can share reviews. Find me under Wanda G in Sacramento. 

 

Here is a partial list of my favorite items from the show:

If there's a link I've linked it! Most things are not available yet!

 

Waffle Flower New Artists and Stamps

Avery Elle New Stamps and Liquid Watercolors

Concord & 9th New Stamps

Honey Bee Stamps New Stamps

Altenew New Stamps and New Watercolor Palette

Illustrated Faith - Fruit of the Spirit Collection

Doodlebug New Collections and Enamel Pins

We R Memory Keepers Mini Envelope Board and Label Makers

Prima Traveler's Notebook Collections

Webster's Pages Traveler's Notebook Collections

Lawn Fawn Gingham Paper Collection

Tim Holtz New Stamps from Stampers Anonymous

Jane Davenport Collection from Spellbinders

Tonic Nuvo New Sequin Mixes and Stamp Cleaner

Versafine Clair Ink Pads

HeY SuGaR! A silly card and a giveaway!

Hi friends! When you read this, I will be in Phoenix at the Creativation Show! Yipppeee! I typed up this post so there would be a card to share while I was gone. Plus, I couldn't wait to share it! The other day I was taking pictures of lemons in my house (photographers do weird things like that) and the idea to make a lemon card popped in my head! I have had these AWESOME lemon dies on my desk for far too long and a fun idea came to me. I jammed into the studio, put on some tunes and made this silly and sweet lemony Valentine card! These dies are from Spellbinders and they were designed by my super sweet and talented friend Debi Adams. Her stuff makes me incredibly happy - and it's even better because she is the kindest person too. CLICK HERE to see her entire product line. I used my favorite shade of yellow cardstock, and the rest was easy. Oh, and just for fun I used some googly eyes! I'm smiling just thinking about it! I hope this card makes you smile too. Make sure to read the entire post because I have some FUN PRIZES to send out!! 

Are you following along with me at Creativation? Follow me on Instagram Stories or on my Facebook Page!

Here's my Lemon Valentine Card! EEEP! I started with a crisp white A2 card base made from Neenah Solar White cardstock. Then I layered yellow cardstock and MFT Gingham Paper for my two color layers. Next I die cut out all the lemons and leaves, and hearts, and a stitched circle. 

 

I wanted the lemons to have some shading so I used a small sponge dauber and Distress Ink to add yellow to the lemons and green to the leaves. Gives it just a bit of depth. I used a favorite stamp set from Paper Smooches to stamp the smiles onto the lemons. Then I put googly eyes of the tiny smiles. OMG I'm dying. SO Fun. I stamped the sentiment from the same Paper Smooches stamp set. I die cut two red hearts to go over my sour couple!

 

I die cut extra leaves and placed them under the stitched circle and on top of the lemons. Everything is attached with foam tape of course (my favorite)! 

 

 

 

Hey Sugar! Pucker up! LOL. Seriously....

 

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT! I have these TWO awesome and adorable stamp and die sets to give away to ONE lucky winner. These are both designed by Debi too! Please leave a comment on this post and tell me a story about something fun/crazy/cool that inspired you to make a card. Can't wait to hear your stories. I will draw a lucky random winner when I get home from Creativation and mail you this prize! 

 

I thought I would go ahead and share the lemon photos with you - the ones that inspired this card! We've been drinking tons of lemon water since we are trying to get rid of the last of our germs and colds around here. Lemons are so pretty and the light was nice, so I snapped some pictures. I like to challenge myself with taking 'scene' photos and I like how these came out. 

 

 

 

And this guy...He was laying down right where I was taking the pictures.... So of course he had his photo taken too. My heart, my Buddy! He is the most adorable guy. 

Okay, that's it for today! I'll be back soon from Phoenix and I'll be ready to share what I saw! I hope you have an amazing week. Thanks for popping by today. XOXO

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Some announcements and News!

Hi there my crafty and creative friends! How are you? How is your new year going so far? It's been a minute since I checked in and said hello and wrote a post that wasn't for a team. I really want to touch base today and catch up. I hope that 2018 is treating you well so far! I think overall it's been good to me. I am excited about new opportunities to come and the forward progress I've made in the last year working on myself and my goals. It's been a pretty creative year so far too! And it's only two weeks in! LOL. I cannot wait for the rest of this year. I know God has been preparing me for something wonderful!

First of all I have some big news... I made the decision a few months ago to go into 2018 without being under contract by any stamping/paper design teams. For eight years I have been on a design team (usually more than one at a time!) and it just felt like my inner voice was telling me it is time for a break. Time to regroup and re-energize my creativity. Time to relax about it all for a minute and let some things naturally flow. I have so many ideas to share with you and there is never enough time! I have been incredibly blessed by people in this industry and I'm so grateful for all the wonderful opportunities I have had. It makes me want to cry (happy tears). 

Papertrey Ink was the last team I was on and I have not renewed my contract for this coming year. My post on Sunday was my last official PTI blog post. It was a SUPER hard decision to make, because I absolutely adore the ladies on that team. Like REALLY adore them. The kindest, sweetest, most talented bunch. Just as amazing as you all think they would be (and more). I was sooooo honored to stamp with them for a year. One of the highlights of my stamping career! I have been a PTI customer since the very beginning and a fan girl from the beginning too. So, a HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to everyone at PTI for letting me be a part of the legacy of your awesome company. From the bottom of my heart - thank you! Thank you. 

In addition to saying thank you to Papertrey Ink and the amazing design team, I want to say thank you to all of you who have followed along with me on this awesome journey the past year. I met lots of new friends and got to know a lot of new followers because of my work with PTI. Thanks for your uplifting, kind, sweet, and funny comments all along the way. You brought me a lot of joy and smiles. It's a great community for sure. CLICK HERE to see all my PTI cards from 2017! 

It feels right to me to share a few of my favorite PTI cards from the past year here....GOOD memories! 

 

 

 

This coming weekend (starting tomorrow) is the giant Creativation Trade Show in Phoenix! (Formerly called CHA) I will be flying to Phoenix on Friday morning and staying until Tuesday and I cannot wait! OMG I look forward to this so much every year! This is my seventh year attending the show! WOOOOOT! I am excited to see the new products, and network professionally, and see (and hug) all my friends. It is always one of the highlights of my year every year. For the first time, this year, I will not be working at the show. I will not have a set schedule or any deadlines. So this year I can take my time and walk the show, stop and chat with EVERYONE and be a bit more chill about it all! (If you've ever seen me at CHA this last part will make sense! Ha) I won't be staying up until 2am writing blog posts and editing photos! Should be great.

I will be posting on my social media throughout the Creativation show - sharing what I see and what I'm excited about. I will try to post often but I'm not going to stress about it. I think the easiest way to connect and follow along with me from the show is on Instagram Stories. My Instagram account is @stampcatwg. You can also follow along on my Facebook page for A Blog Called Wanda. I will do my best to bring you with me! I really enjoy that part of things. CLICK HERE to see my wrap up post from last year!

I have some fun blog hops and guest designer gigs lined up for February which will all be fun. Other than that, I'm going to see where creativity takes me in 2018. Thank you for following along with me on this journey. Have a wonderful day! XOXO 

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Life Is What You Bake It and Confetti Sentiments!

Hi everyone! What a fun week we've had... And here we are on the last day of previews for the January Papertrey Ink New Release! Only one more day until everything new is available! I've enjoyed sharing with you this week and hope you've been inspired and excited to create! Visit the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team has to share with you! And, everything will be available in the PTI store tomorrow, the 15th, at 10pm EST! YAHOOOOO! Do you have a favorite item from this release? 

Today I have two final cards to share with you. I'm featuring the new Life Is What You Bake It stamp set and the new Mix and Mat Die! Two more birthday cards. SO great to have a bunch of birthday cards made and on hand to give out to friends! Festive, fun and pretty. 

This first card has an awesome retro mixer image as the focus! The mixer is made with layering stamps so it's easy to add color to the different parts - silver, red, blue on my card. I used my MISTI to line up everything just right. I created my own background paper with some of the tiny accent stamps. For this birthday card I used cream cardstock and inked the edges to go with the overall vintage feeling of the image. My finished card is an A2 size on a kraft base.  

 

Here you can see a close up of the mixer and the different colors of ink. I used a metallic silver ink for the handle and mixer blades! 

 

The sentiments are adorable in this set! Mixing up Birthday Wishes! Love it!

 

 

 

Next up is a silver shimmer bright birthday card made using the new Mix & Mat Die and the new Confetti Sentiments Stamps. These Confetti Sentiments are pretty 'burst' of color images the have pretty sentiments inside them. I used the Let's Eat Cake one in pretty blue. I first die cut the new Mix & Mat Confetti die in crisp white and layered blue behind it. I used some red balloons for a pop of color. The finished card is A2 on a white card base. 

 

Look how pretty and intricate this new die is! OOOH LA LA!! Love that varied scallop edge! 

 

 

 

 

WOW! As always, thank you so very much for sharing with me this week! I so enjoyed giving you my take on the new Papertrey Ink Release! It's a fun week for me too! I hope you have fun shopping and get some good things to get your creativity flowing! I'll have another post this week sometime before I get ready to head out to the Creativation (CHA) Convention in Phoenix! Until then, have a wonderful day friends XOXO 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP PTI! 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

**I'll update the links with the new products once they go live in the store!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Birthday Balloons, Birthday Strings, and Never Enough Birthday!

Hey everybody! LOTS going on around here! So many blog posts this week! I hope you saw them all! LOL. Yesterday's blog hop for Pretty Pink Posh has a prize, so make sure to leave a comment on that one! Today I'm continuing with the Papertrey Ink January 2018 new release countdown, and it's day four! That means only a couple more days until all the new products will be for sale. Be sure to pop over to the PTI Blog to see the projects from the other design team members. And, everything new will be for sale on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST. 

Today I'm sharing two birthday cards with beautiful, colorful, happy balloons! there really isn't a more cheerful image that a brightly colored balloon! There are new stamps, dies and stencils to go along with the balloon theme. Today I'm featuring the Birthday Balloons Collection stamp set, the Birthday Strings stamp set (love), the Never Enough Birthday stamp set and the Birthday Balloons stencils! (say that three times fast!) All of these new products work so beautifully together to create birthday cards. That is the type of card I send the most - how about you? 

For this first card I went crazy with the rainbow colors with the balloon stencil! So fun to ink the balloons with a small sponge dauber, and so quick. My card is a five inch square card and the layers were cut down in 1/4 inch increments. I centered the stencil on my white square panel. After I inked the balloons, I splattered white paint and some water droplets over the balloons for added interest. A vivid rich black die cut and a white embossed sentiment finish off this card.  

I love the look of black cardstock with white embossing in contrast with lots of color. I used bright red cardstock for my card base. 

 

In this close up you can see the white paint splatters! 

 

 

 

 

 

For my second card, I made a really clean and simple card design with three cardstock balloons. The patterns were stamped onto the balloons using Versamark Ink for a watermark effect. LOVE that. This card is trimmed down 1/2 inch in width from a normal A2 card. I just thought that looked nicer to have a narrow card here. The new Birthday Strings stamps are so pretty! And I love this sort of tropical color palette. The stamp set has small accent stamps that look like confetti! Quick and easy to replicate this one in any color scheme!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, thank you so much for visiting today! ONE more day of previews this week! Be sure to come back tomorrow! XOXO

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

**I'll update the links with the new products once they go live in the store!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Pretty Pink Posh 4th Birthday Celebration Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! I'm so super excited to be able to share in the excitement as we celebrate the 4th Birthday of Pretty Pink Posh stamps, dies and sequins! I have been a mega fan of Paulina and her gorgeous designs from the very beginning. And she is the sweetest, kindest person too. I was so happy she asked me to participate in an awesome blog hop to introduce her new release! Everything is adorable and happy...and I had fun making this card to share today. To see all of her designs - CLICK HERE! To see her beautiful design blog - CLICK HERE! 

I chose to feature the new Birthday Scene stamp. Yes, this is one big stamp! Makes it super easy to stamp and color. These little animals look so cute with their balloons and party hats. These critters made me think of story book animals so I chose water color pencils as my coloring medium. I stamped on cream cardstock with brown ink. This lends an overall vintage and soft feeling to my card. But, of course, I pumped up the color with some of my favorite plaid paper!! 

 

 

 

 

I used colors of the rainbow, in muted tones, to color the balloons and hats. The animals were made in soft furry colors! I picked up the turquoise blue as my in between layer between the cream and the rainbow plaid. I stamped and colored a present from another PPP stamp set to use as an accent at the top.

 

 

 

I used some of the new sequins to add little pops of yellow to the party scene! I also gently inked the edges of the cream layer with Antique Linen Distress Ink. 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT: Pretty Pink Posh will be giving away two $50 gift certificates to random comments left on the different stops every day of this hop! That’s right, PPP is giving away a total of SIX $50 gift certificates! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on my post and the other posts! To see the entire hop list scroll to the bottom of this post. So many great designers in this hop.  Thank you for visiting my blog today! 

 

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Yana Smakula

Anna Kossakovskaya

Heather Hoffman

Nina-Marie Trapani

Suzy Plantamura

Mindy Baxter

Yoonsun Hur

Gemma C.

Wanda Guess

 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Lucky Scratch!

Hey hey hey! It's day three of the awesome Papertrey Ink January new Release previews! Welcome back! We're getting closer to release day! Everything new will be available for purchase on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST! Do you have a favorite thing so far? There's sooooo much good stuff! Thanks for hanging out with me this week while we reveal all the new products for you. I love being able to finally share these stamps and dies with all of you. It's hard to keep a secret! Be sure to visit the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team is sharing this week. 

Today my featured post is all about the brand new collection of stamps and dies called Lucky Scratch! Fun mix and match stamps and dies that make announcements, coupons, tickets and all kinds of fun stuff. Really creative and clever. I especially love the new "Lucky" word die and I know I'll be using that one a lot. I have three cards to share with you today, all made with the same collection. You'll see how versatile it is! 

First up is a St. Patrick's Day card! I looooove green! It was really fun to create this greeting. Only green and white, and one little pop of yellow! I made my own shamrock accent by combining three heart dies together and putting an enamel dot in the center. Easy peasy! I used green ink and a small sponge dauber to create ombre die cuts for the background. The Lucky Scratch stamps and dies are used for the sentiment.  

 

Here's a close up of the shamrock! So pretty in polka dots! Also, you can see up close the ombre die cuts. I really like this look. I forget to do it more often. Simply use a small sponge and your ink pad to gently place the ink where you want it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a baby announcement! It's a Girl! I used the new Lucky Scratch stamps and dies along with another new stamp set (Warm Regards) to create a pretty pink ticket card. I used the large ticket shaped die to create my card! I love doing this with large dies - just place the edge of the die over the top of a folded piece of paper and run it through your die cutting machine. Makes it unique and special. 

 

Those little blossoms are perfect to announce a baby girl! 

 

 

 

Finally, a Save-the-Date card! The new Lucky Scratch Wedding set has numbers included that allow you to fully customize your cards with your special date. I used gold glitter paper and a pretty floral (Especially You) stamp to make an elegant wedding appropriate card.

 

 

 

Soft watercoloring with a water brush and ink pads make this soft and dreamy!

Okay we're half way done now! Only two more days of release fun and then it will be time for Release Day! Thank you again for coming by and for your support! Have a great day! XOXO See you soon! All of the new items will be live for shopping on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST!

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

**I'll update the links with the new products once they go live in the store!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Brushed Birds, Year of Psalms, and Warm Regards!

Hi crafty pals! Welcome back to Day Two of the awesome January Papertrey Ink new release previews! So glad to have you here with me as we introduce the new products from PTI. We are doing previews every day until the 15th. All the new products will be available for purchase in the PTI Store on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST. Be sure to check out the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team is sharing all week! So much good stuff. Hopefully you saw my birthday card post from yesterday!

Today I'm sharing two cards! The new stamp sets I'm featuring today are: Brushed Birds, Year of Psalms January, Warm Regards and Ways to Say Missing You! That's a lot! But as you know, everything from PTI always works so nicely together. Both of my cards have a Spring feeling to them - birds and flowers. I'm so ready! 

First up is a card made with the beautiful new Warm Regards stamp set. It's a grouping of pretty Dogwood flowers. I LOVE this set!!! I tried an old technique that I haven't used in a while. Thought it would be a good time to share something different with you. It's stamping on dark cardstock with white ink and colored pencils. I hope you try it! I'll talk more about it in a minute. Here is the finished card - on Smokey Shadow Cardstock.  

 

How do you do this??? It's so fun and easy! I used white pigment ink (listed in supplies) and inked my floral images. I set it aside and waited for the white ink to dry. After the white ink is dry, I went back with my colored pencils and colored over the white ink! PRETTY! I used bright pink and lime green and just a touch of brown. I think this is very elegant. I splattered some white paint over the images for an artistic look and feel. Added a few sequins...

 

I used the small stitched rectangle die from the Noted die set to cut my inner layer. I stamped a few blossoms in white on the card base. This is A2 size!

 

I used the new Missing You Die Cut to add my sentiment across the bottom of the card. I also think this card design would work well for a sympathy card. 

 

 

 

Next up is a cheery bird card made with the new Brushed Bird Stamp Set and Year Of Psalms January Stamp Set! Those little birdies are adorable! I used another of my go-to techniques for this card - distress ink stamping with water spritzing. Also, very easy and fun. I started with an A2 card base and layered watercolor paper for my top layer. 

 

I used mini Distress Ink pads in different shades of blue, green and purple and inked directly onto the bird stamp. Then I used my water sprayer and spritzed the stamp/ink before stamping onto watercolor paper. It makes all the inks blend together for a beautiful watercolor effect! I did the same thing with the sentiment. Looks very artsy and painterly!

 

 

 

For the background I used a water brush and some extra ink and gently painted a wash on the top and bottom of the panel. Then I attached the bird with some foam tape. Of course I added paint splatters too! (I love doing that!)

That's it for today's projects! I hope to see you right back here tomorrow for more fun and inspiration as we count down to the Papertrey Ink release! Have a wonderful day everyone! XOXO

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

**I'll update the new products once they go live in the store on the 15th!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week Starts now!

Greetings! It's the 10th of the month, which is always exciting! Why? Because it's the day we officially start the new release countdown at Papertrey Ink! For the next five days the design team will be previewing all the fun and awesome new stamps and dies coming in January! All the new items will be available in the PTI Store on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST. But, for now, we'll enjoy a look at everything together! Be sure to pop over to the PTI Blog to see what the other designers make each day. This month's release is full of cool birthday items and some pretty new florals...and lots more goodies! 

Today I'm introducing the new stamp set called Fiesta Flag Birthday, along with a new stencil called Diamonds. Two products that work great together. I made a super bright and cheerful birthday card with my two favorite Papertrey Ink colors (Bright Buttercup and Hawaiian Shores)! The new birthday set is great for customizing in any colors! 

I started with an A2 card base in crisp white cardstock. I layered pretty stripes on top of the card base (covering the entire front of the card). Then I layered white and Hawaiian Shores cardstocks. The top layer has an oval cut out of it using a die.  

 

I stenciled the Diamonds stencil in Bright Buttercup ink and used that as the background layer for the cake. It's mounted on the bottom of the card and then the top (Oval) layer is attached over it with foam tape.

 

The matching die cuts make for a beautiful perfect edge on all the pieces of the stamp set. 

 

I added a few accents of Diamond Stickles onto the cake and the banner!

 

Here's a side view to see all the layers!

Thank you so much for coming by today! I'll be back every day until the 15th with new Papertrey Ink projects! Hope to see you tomorrow! XOXO

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

**I'll update the new products once they go live in the store

(Affiliate Links Used)

My Monthly Hero - January 2018 Card Kit - Love Bandits!

***THIS IS MY SECOND BLOG POST FOR TODAY! WOOT! To see the Reverse Confetti Blog Hop - scroll down below this post! Thank you!

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 happy, fun and cheerful Valentine's products! Beautiful die cuts, gorgeous papers, and cool stamps.... Valentine's Day is only a month away!  I think you're going to love it. I am ready to move on from Holiday crafting and onto hearts and cupids!  The MMH Kit this month will inspire you!  I made a card to share today using my favorite add on stamp set. It's called Love Bandit! I had a hard time choosing which images to use from this cute set. 

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 $62.00!! 

Here is my fun Valentine! I started with a white A2 card base and layered vivid red and then some jail stripes paper! I love that it matches their outfits! I stamped the two cuties onto a white cardstock panel. I masked off part of the girl's hand to go behind the boy's arm so it looks like they are getting away holding on to each other! I stamped the sentiment on the side of the panel for something different! 

 

I colored the images with Copic Markers - not too fancy with the coloring, because I wanted them to have a cartoon feeling. Just a few shades of grey, red, and browns... I die cut a heart from the beautiful Hero Arts Heart Dies and layered it behind the panel - I wanted just a bit more red on the card. A few enamel dots and some twine finish off the accents. 

 

The center white layer is attached with foam tape! 

 

 

The kit is available NOW! Yippeeeee! Below is a photo of THE ENTIRE CARD KIT CONTENTS! This is a great value for $34.99! The items sold separately retail for $62.00 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 January 14th, 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. So be sure to leave a comment at each stop on the hop!

 

This kit is available for a limited time only - once it's gone, it's gone! Kits begin shipping from Hero Arts on Friday, January 12th. 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!

 

MMH JANUARY 2018 CARD KIT! 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

FULL BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! 

The Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

Yana Smakula

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Wanda Guess

Lydia Fiedler

Amy Tsuruta

Laurie Willison

May Park

Janette Kausen

Michelle Short

Libby Hickson

Ilina Crouse

Clare Prezzia

Emily Midgett

Reverse Confetti January Release Celebration! You Hold a Spot in My Heart!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! Let's kick the week off right! I have two blog posts today - two very fun blog hops! Yippeeee! I have been SO sick the past couple of weeks. I had bronchitis and I actually lost my voice for a week! UGH! I'm on the mend now and happily talking away again. I hate being sick - I'm not very good at sitting still. I did read a ton of books, I guess that's the good part. It feels weird to me to be at home that many days in a row. Glad to be back out and feeling better!!! Happy New Year again! 

The first hop for today is to celebrate the Reverse Confetti January 2018 new release! YES! I love Jen and I love her sweet and cute stamps and awesome pattern papers. I made a super cute Valentine card in a different color palette (inspired by the new paper). Those little leopards are seriously adorbs. The stamp set is called Heart Spots! I used the new patterned paper to choose my Copic colors to make the card all match together.  

 

I started with an A2 card base made with woodgrain cardstock from my stash. I love it with the jungle theme and the texture of the paper. I layered two of the new patterned papers and also made a paper band out of a third patterned paper. Next I stamped and die cut out the leopards, the rock and the bird. I colored them with Copic Markers.

 

Here is a close up of the cute critters! They are mounted onto the card using foam tape. I used a rectangle piece of white cardstock to act as the focal point for my scene. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the white panel. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for joining me on this fun blog hop today! YEAH for Jen and Reverse Confetti for an awesome new release! Have fun on the hop today! CLICK HERE to go to the Reverse Confetti Blog for more inspiration! Have a great week! XOXO

 

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY!

Amy Kolling 

Melissa Phillips 

Nichol Spohr

Tricia Barber 

Debby Hughes

Yana Smakula

Lisa Henke

Amy Rohl

Laurie Schmidlin

Heather Hoffman

Amy Tsuruta

 Amy Sheffer

Lydia Fiedler

Kathy Schweinfurth

Audrey Tokach

Samantha Mann

Deanne Kuntz

Wanda Cullen

Jeanne Jachna

Wanda Guess

Jessica Frost Ballas

Susan Liles

Jennifer McGuire

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)