A Blog Called Wanda

Just a Note!

Hi friends! This week really got away from me! I can't believe it! I've been very busy the past week or so and blessed with lots of work! Yay! I honestly have not spent a lot of time creating and crafting this week. But I wanted to share with you! So I sat down and made a clean and simple card using some more of my new supplies from Waffle Flower. (I can't get enough!!) Just a few stamps, vivid colors, some easy coloring, and a clean layout. Perfect for these beautiful stamps. 

I have to hurry up and get everything done because I'll be away from home for three days this weekend attending PlannerCon in San Francisco! What is PlannerCon? It's a crazy meet up convention of babes who love everything PLANNER! Stickers, stamps, washi..... The convention has cool workshops and time to create with others, and fellowship, and shopping. I can't wait! Lots of my friends are coming too! I'll be gone from Friday until Sunday night! (Better tape the Oscars!) I'm looking forward to some laughs and creativity. I signed up for some lettering workshops. And, my snacks are ready. Just gotta pack my roller bag!

 

How cute is that little lady poking up out of the envelope? I love her! To make the card, I started with an A2 card base from pretty red cardstock. I die cut a Lacy Layers scallop rectangle from bright white paper for my focal layer. I used Izink and splattered some black ink onto the white part and set it aside to dry. Next I stamped and die cut all the flowers and the envelope.

 

I used my Zig Clean Color Brush Markers and colored very simply (no shading) onto the pieces. I stamped a flower to go behind the envelope, directly onto the white layer. I also stamped the butterfly onto the white layer. Everything else was attached with foam tape. 

 

I stamped the sentiment on the card base in deep black ink to offset the bright colors. At the end, I added some clear rhinestones for a bit of sparkle! 

 

Just a note, just for you!! This is a perfect note to send a fellow crafty girl! I loooooove these Helen Dardik designs for Waffle Flower! They make me smile!! 

That's it for my card for the day! Stamps, etc. are on sale right now at Scrapbook.com! Links are below. I hope you've had a great week! I will be back on Monday with the newest, latest, greatest My Monthly Hero Card Kit from Hero Arts! I'll try to do some Instagram Stories from the PlannerCon Convention - so tune in there if you like! Until then, XOXOXO. 

Right now I'm doing an Instagram Giveaway for some pretty washi tapes and sequins. CLICK HERE to enter! 

 

 

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Waffle Flower Spring 2018 Release Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! I'm SO HAPPY to share with you today! I've been waiting and waiting to share these wonderful new stamps with you! Today I'm joining in on a giant blog hop to kick off the Waffle Flower Crafts new release for 2018! You are going to find so much fun and inspiration along the hop! Prizes too! And new stamps! What could be better than that? Nothing! Did you arrive from Nichol's awesome blog? To start at the beginning of the hop - CLICK HERE to go to the Waffle Flower Blog.

OH MY! So excited. Can you tell? I am literally the biggest fan girl of Waffle Flower. I love the artistry, the designs, the innovation, the packaging...and most of all the lovely people who run the company. I'm honored to be part of things today. I have THREE cards to share! Grab some coffee and sit along with me for a bit. LOTS of new stamps to show you! My three cards all feature adorable critters! That was my theme for the day! 

 

 

My first card has the cutest monkeys and toucans from the Jungle Bday stamp set! EEP. I had lots of fun coloring this one! All the cards for today are A2 size. For the monkey card I used my favorite MFT Cloud Stencil to make some puffy clouds for the little monkeys to swing in! (All supplies linked at the bottom of my post). This card just totally makes me smile. I used the sentiment from another cute Easter set! 

 

I used Copic Markers in bright colors to color in all the images. Once they were die cut and colored, I attached everything to the card using foam tape. I like to use a white gel pen to add small accents to some of the images.

 

The die cuts are perfection! First cut, easy cut, perfect the first time. That is really important to me. The quality of Waffle Flower stamps is so good!! I used a bit of green gingham to add a little pop of color around my monkey scene! 

 

 

 

These little guys would make a really cute baby shower card too! The set includes an elephant and a sweet birthday cake. So much fun!

 

My second card has adorable mice! They are wishing you a happy celebration! I used two stamp sets for this one. One stamp set has the celebrate banner and balloon,  and the other stamp set has the cute mice! I thought it would be cute to have the mice holding up the banner across the front of the card. 

 

 

I colored everything with Copic Markers and added white gel pen to some of the accents. I used bright, primary and rainbow colors. So cheerful! 

 

For the background, I used distress ink and a water brush...kept it kind of loose and free. Then I splattered blue ink and white ink to make it interesting! I added a few sequins and a twine bow when I finished off the card. 

 

I do love a good rainbow....

 

 

 

And lastly, a happy hedgehog! I told you there were lots of critters today! The Autumn Time stamp set is gorgeous!!! Oh my. The stamp set doesn't have any sentiments, so I used the hugs and prayers sentiment from the Helen Dardik Enveloper Hugs stamp set. I thought it was perfect for a get well card or encouragement card. Again, I colored with my Copic markers in pretty warm shades...and created a little scene. 

 

All of these images are so nice - and so easy to mix and match to make whatever you want. I used the matching dies to cut out everything. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for me today! Again, I'm so happy to be able to share my love of Waffle Flower today, and share their beautiful new release! If you're new to my blog today because of the hop - welcome! I hope to see you again. Best wishes for a wonderful day everyone!

Next up on the hop is the super talented Therese Calvird! Can't wait to see her projects! CLICK HERE TO start at the beginning of the hop on the Waffle Flower Blog!

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT! Waffle Flower is giving away FIVE $25 gift certificates to their online store! WOW! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Please comment by 11:59 on 2-25-18 to enter! The winners will be announced on the Waffle Flower blog next week. Good Luck! 

 

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Pool Party! Fun card with Avery Elle stamps and watercolors!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! (At least it's a holiday!) How was your weekend? We spent most (all) of the weekend at home. I was working on some cool photography assignments and my husband was studying and preparing for some re-certification classes for his job. We watched a lot of Olympics too! It was a mellow weekend and that's fine with me. We are having really nice weather during the day and we got some of our Spring yard work started. Pruning things and fertilizing things... And I did some crafting!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day at the beach last week and I edited some photos to share with you - later in my post. It was a glorious day! Much better than a fancy and crowded dinner out. We both love the ocean and it's just so close, so off we went. Nothing makes me happier than fresh clean ocean air. It's like I come back to life or something. I've always been like that. I was born by the ocean and most of my happy memories involving my family were by the ocean... I've been so sad since Buddy passed away that I really needed a change of scenery and to spend time alone with my husband doing something positive and happy. What makes you happy like that? The Ocean? The Lake? The Mountains? If I win lotto, you can bet the first thing we're doing is moving to the sea! Anyhooo.... I digressed here! 

I am SOOOOOO excited to share this card today! Remember when I told you about all my favorite things from Creativation? Well, the products I used today were at the TOP of that list! I ordered right on release day so I had them ASAP! I literally couldn't wait to stamp with the adorable Avery Elle Splash stamps and dies. YAY! And, now I can share with you! I also used the new Avery Elle Liquid Watercolors on this card today... And my MIjello watercolors too. I had ALLLL my supplies out! I guess liquid watercolors are a thing now! I like them very much...both the Hero Arts ones I used last week and these new Avery Elle ones today. They are so easy to use - they flow so nicely. Wait until you see the colors for today! YUM. 

 

Can you even stand it??? OMG those cuties are so fabulous in their pool floaties! Everything is soooo FUN. Kind of a modern retro cool vibe to these stamps. I love them so much. I saw this set at Creativation and was hooked. The matching dies include the big swimming pool, diving board and ladder! EEEK. So much fun to mix and match and color. I used the Avery Elle water colors for the green grass background and the pool, and most of the images. I used my new (AND AWESOME) Mijello water colors for the grey, brown and yellows since the liquids didn't come in those colors. I used watercolor paper for all the pieces and the background. My card base is white A2 cardstock. 

 

Here's a close up of the colors and the images! Everything was attached to the card with foam tape for more dimension. I also added some Diamond Stickles and some clear droplets at the end to add shimmer and to look like water. The flamingo was colored with the Cherry Liquid watercolor.... OH MY. 

 

 

 

The new Avery Elle watercolors come in 10 colors. Here is a swatch sheet with all the colors! SO PRETTTTYYYY. 

 

To make the green grass background I used only the Lemon Grass water color. I got my paper wet first with clear water. Then I used a flat brush and swept back and forth over the wet paper and let the watercolor soak in. When it was about half way dry, I sprinkled some more green flecks and splatters with the undiluted paint. I love how it came out. Such a gorgeous color. 

 

To make the swimming pool, I used the Mint To Be and the Aquamarine liquid water colors. I also got the paper wet first. Then I layered the two colors to make an ombre effect for the pool. These two colors together are perfection! I think it really looks like a pool!!! 

 

Awesome sentiment! Good reminder....

 

Here are the ocean and beach photos. We were in Pacifica, which is just south of San Francisco. I used to live just down the highway (in Half Moon Bay) when I first graduated from college. So this is a place that feels comfortable and familiar to me. It was a beautiful day, not too cold, with just the right amount of clouds... And we had the entire beach to ourselves practically! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, that's it for me today! (That was a lot)! Hope you have a wonderful week. I have a busy week ahead with a good mix of work and fun. I will be back here on Thursday with some cards for a super awesome blog hop with one of my favorite companies - and their new release! Hope to see you soon. Be well and take care. XOXO

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Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Lunar New Year 2018! The Year of the Dog!

Hello crafty friends! Happy New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy! Today is the celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year so I'm posting a card I made to mark this great occasion. I love to make festive and pretty cards for this special celebration. I have lots of friends who celebrate this beautiful cultural tradition, so I like to acknowledge it by creating something special each year. (CLICK HERE to see my card from last year) Do you and your family celebrate the Lunar New Year too? This year is the Year of the Dog. Is it your year? CLICK HERE for the list of the years and the corresponding animals. I am a DRAGON! Yep! Gotta love that. 1964 was a very good year indeed. I have lots of Dragon friends. We are strong and fierce! 

People born in the Year of the Dog are known to be extremely loyal. They will never abandon their friends, family or work. Honest and just, they are popular in social circles. Everyone needs a Dog friend for advice and help. They are also good at helping others find and fix their bad habits. Despite how they act, they are worried and anxious inside. However, they will not let this stop them. Once they decide on something, no one can persuade them against it. Famous people born in the Year of the Dog include: Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Prince William, and Steven Spielberg. 

I made a really colorful and festive card to share today using some new to me stamps from Mama Elephant. The main stamp set I used is called "Lion Dance." I also used the fireworks image from the "Around We Go" stamp set, also from Mama Elephant. I used bright distress inks to create my blended background and then used Copic Markers to color the dragons and the lantern. Some gold embossing and sparkly stickles completed the scene.  

 

I started with a crisp white A2 card base made from Neenah Solar White cardstock. I die cut a stitched rectangle for my top layer. The dragons and the sentiment were attached to the card using foam squares/tape. The sentiment is heat embossed with gold embossing paper on black paper for emphasis against all that color! 

 

I inked my background layer using three blended colors of Distress Ink: Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Carved Pumpkin. I also splattered bits of Mustard Seed and Carved Pumpkin ink over the background once it was dry. I stamped the fireworks images in both Mustard and Pumpkin. I like the tone on tone look of that! I stamped and die cut my dragons and lantern and then colored them in vivid shades using Copic Markers. I added Stickles as accents on all three pieces. 

 

The lantern is two pieces. You can see that I stamped and cut out a second one and layered just that top center piece for more dimension. Here is a close up of the background also!

 

These stamps are sooooo great. I had such fun coloring them. So cheerful and festive. This stamp set is going to be in my repertoire for a LONG time. 

 

My Copic Shades for today...

 

 

 

The way I positioned the stamps and the lantern, and all the fireworks in the background really give this card movement! I can almost hear the music in the background and see those gorgeous dragons dancing down the streets! 

 

 

GOOD CHEER and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy Lunar New Year - Year of the Dog! A chance to go out and celebrate a beautiful cultural tradition. Have a wonderful weekend everyone. XOXO

 

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Hero Arts 2018 Catalog Release Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Hero Arts 2018 New Catalog Blog Hop! WOOOOT! Some big giant fun happening today, that's for sure! So many awesome bloggers have come together today to share their favorite products from the brand new Hero Arts Catalog. The products are all live in the Hero Store now - so happy shopping. I always want to share my gratitude about Hero Arts. When I was a baby stamper 24 years ago (!!) I used to actually stalk my favorite local stamp store and WAIT in agony for the new Hero Arts catalog to come out. It was the highlight of my year! My friends and I would look at every project and every page and flag our favorite items.... I have such good and fond memories of Hero Arts. So fast forward a bunch of years, and now here I am helping to launch the catalog. It makes me so happy! Just goes to prove that you never know what life has in store for you! 

Today is full of fun projects and great blogs. I know you're going to love it all! Grab a cuppa joe and enjoy the hop! Did you arrive here from Michelle's beautiful blog? If you want to start at the beginning of the hop CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE HERO ARTS BLOG! 

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT! Hero Arts is generously giving away THREE $50 gift certificates to the Hero Arts Store!! In order to have a chance to win, leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win a prize. You have until midnight EST on February 22nd to leave your comments. Good Luck! 

We were very graciously allowed to choose our products to work with for this hop. I was immediately drawn to the brand new wood mounted stamp called Flowering Magnolia. I do love the feel or red rubber and wood! So I used that stamp, and the matching die, to create an elegant card and matching envelope. I also used the brand new (AWESOME) Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors in my project. 

 

This card is slightly larger than an A2. It measures 5.5 x 4.5 inches. I wanted a little extra room on the side for the flowers! I used kraft paper for the card and the flowers. The envelope is from Paper Source and the color is called Paper Bag (Kraft). I kept the color palette clean and classy with black and white and bits of green and yellow. Lately I'm totally addicted to paint splatters too. The white paint is Copic Opaque White watered down with a bit of clean water. The green and yellow parts are the new Hero Arts Liquid Watercolors in Moss and Dandelion. They are so pretty. 

 

I stamped and die cut three of the magnolias on kraft paper. I used the Hero Arts matching die! Perfect cut every time. I used the white paint and the water colors to paint the flowers and set them aside to dry. I stamped a couple of the flowers in black directly onto the card base. The beautiful sentiments on the card and the envelope are from the Hero Arts set called You're So Lovely. 

 

The flowers were layered onto the card using foam tape layers. I love all the dimension of this!!! But it will still be easy to mail. 

 

 

 

The new Hero Arts watercolors come in 8 beautiful colors! Here is the packaging and a swatch that I made. YUM. Each one is $5.00. A little goes a long way. I dropped just a couple of drops into my palette to color for my project today. 

 

 

 

I found this pretty green and cream paper in my paper stash and used it to make an envelope liner for the matching A6 envelope! It looks so nice together! 

 

 

 

For the envelope, I randomly stamped some of the magnolia flowers onto the envelope. I placed a piece of chipboard inside the envelope to give a flat surface and left the chipboard inside the envelope while I watercolored it. It's going to look so pretty in someone's mailbox!! The flower in the photo is from our 35 year old camellia bush in our front yard. It's blooming like crazy right now! 

 

The back of the envelope...(Including paint splatters!)

 

The inside of the envelope!

 

 

Thank you so so so very much for popping by my blog today. If you're a new visitor because of the hop - welcome! Glad to meet you! Please take the time to visit all the blogs today. Everyone has worked so hard to make pretty things to share! XOXO

The next stop on the hop is my friend, the awesome and talented AMY TSURUTA! 

 

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Crafty friend Pocket Letter for Mail it Monday!

Hi friends! I have a fun project to share with you today - another Pocket Letter! Do you remember when I did a Pocket Letter at Christmas time? (CLICK HERE TO SEE THAT ONE) Well, now I'm hooked on Pocket Letters! My dear, talented and lovely friend Kimberly asked if I would guest design on her awesome blog today with a Pocket Letter project! Yippeee! I would do just about anything for her, so making a Pocket Letter was a done deal. She is the creator of #MailItMonday which is a way to encourage all of us to MAIL our cards! To set aside Mondays as a specific day to remember to get those pretty cards out into the universe and make someone happy. Because, who doesn't love happy mail cheering us up at the end of the day? I have been participating on social media with her by trying to post things about mailing my correspondence. (Search on Instagram for #MailItMonday) CLICK HERE to read more about Mail It Monday on Kimberly's blog.

My Pocket Letter today was inspired by my creative friendship with Kimberly, and a beautiful new paper collection from Echo Park called "I'd Rather Be Crafting!" I bought ALL THE THINGS from this collection and it's been sitting on my desk for a little bit. I love the 12x12 collection pack because it has one page of sayings that are perfect to cut into the right size for pockets.

What is a Pocket Letter?? It's a cool way to send a fun letter. You use a trading card plastic sleeve and make each little pocket a different scene! Put in paper, stickers, sequins, hearts, whatever seems fun to you! Then you use your Fuse Tool to seal up the pockets. When you finish, it will fold into thirds and fit into a business envelope for mailing!! People make such creative things and then they store them in binders. F-U-N! CLICK HERE to see my Pinterest Board of Pocket Letter ideas!

Here is my finished Crafty Pocket Letter: 

 

I cut up the large sheet of 'cards' included with the paper collection and put them into several of the pockets. A few of the pockets just have sequins and such inside. Then I used a variety of stickers and enamel dots and doo dads to jazz it up. The next pictures are close ups of the pockets. Do you have a Fuse Tool?? If not, you totally need one! It's a tool that heats up and then you can use it to seal plastic sleeves. People are soooo creative with using their Fuse Tool! 

In this photo you can see that I used matching Washi Tape to seal off the left side edge of the pocket page! I think this washi is from Michael's but I'm not sure (I have a lot of washi)! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another SUPER fun thing to to with your Fuse Tool is to create shapes! I wanted to attach a little heart charm to my letter. I free hand 'drew' a heart with the tool onto a plastic sleeve! It doesn't have to be perfect, because it's made with love.  

 

 

 

 

 

What a fun project to make! I hope that you will have some fun with this concept and try a Pocket Letter! I guarantee that the person receiving it will feel very special!! Be sure to pop over to Kimberly's blog and say hello and check out her Mail It Monday posts! XOXO

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Mon Cheri Valentine!

Bonjour mes amis! Valentine's Day is less than a week away and I have made hardly any Valentine projects this year. I love making cheery and happy Valentines - you can be super cute and funny or more serious and classy. Today's card is of the fun variety! Happy Friday! Now that my studio is organized I can actually find exactly what I'm looking for! In this case, some adorable cherry stamps from Avery Elle. I have all my clear stamps organized by company now (YAY) and there they were, right in the stack. Whew. That feels good. It was a hard week so I stayed busy crafting and blasting music in the studio so I would keep my mind occupied. I made a lot of cards evidently. LOL. My husband will be home from his business trip tonight and then he took next week off so we could be together. I cannot wait. 

Today's card has design elements from several different companies...some Simon Says Stamp things, MFT dies, Avery Elle stamps... That's how I craft when I am not working on a specific assignment. I like to combine and mix and match what I have here in the studio. 

This finished card is a 4.75 x 4.75 square cut from pretty red cardstock. The big white circle fits perfectly into the square and this card will fit into an A6 envelope for mailing. I did some stamping, some Copic coloring, and some embossing! This card has a bit of everything. 

 

I started by making my square card base. Then I stamped the cherries (so cute right) in Memento Ink. Then I went over to the die cut machine and die cut the cherries, the words and the circle piece. I like to die cut everything at once and then bring it all back to my table. I also die cut before coloring in case I happen to mess up the die cut!! Then I colored the cherries with Copic Markers. I used a white gel pen to add a bit of accent. 

 

For the card base, I wanted to add some visual interest, but I didn't want to use patterned paper. I used a stamp and stamped with red ink onto the red paper creating this look below! I like how there is something going on in the background but it doesn't take away from the focal point. 

 

I love this Taylored Expressions Cherry Pop red ink! Oooh la la. Here is what my card base looks like underneath everything else. That red is messssy!!! (Or maybe I'm messy)

 

These are the Copic Marker colors I used. Just a few reds and greens. 

 

The die cut of the words is glued down with a glue pen and my tweezers. I was able to move the die cuts into a shape that went with the circle. I left room for my little cherry couple on the bottom. 

 

The mon cheri words come with the cherry stamp set. I heat embossed the words with white embossing powder onto black cardstock and attached it to the top of the circle. Lastly I placed the cherries on with foam squares. 

 

 

Have you finished your Valentine cards? Are they already mailed? It's a fun holiday, not too serious around here. I am lucky to be spoiled most of the time. I think on Valentine's Day I will ask for a drive to the ocean. We'll see what happens. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back on Monday morning with something cool to share. XOXOXO

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Something to perk up your day!

Hi creative and crafty friends! The week is half over already. Hope you've been having a good one. It is very warm here in Northern California and my garden is already bursting with daffodils! The tulips are not far behind. My husband does a beautiful job switching out flowers in our big flower bed in front of the house. I think he said he planted 350 bulbs! All different kinds. It is going to be magical. I love the symbolism of renewal from the bright green leaves bursting through the dark earth after Winter. I've been taking it easy on myself just trying to navigate dealing with the grief I'm feeling; and my friends have been so wonderful checking on me all the time. Monday a big stack of cards came in the mail which produced more tears (but happy ones). Sometimes it takes a bad event to remind you that you are so blessed. 

My solace when I'm upset is creating and crafting and staying busy! A couple of weeks ago I stamped and colored these awesome coffee images from Honey Bee Stamps (you may have seen them on Instagram) and the other day I made them into a fun, clean and simple, graphic card. I pretty much love anything that has to do with coffeeeeee. Coffee stamps, coffee stickers, coffee paper...coffeeeee. LOL. And I'm so in love with Honey Bee stamps designs. Hope ya like it!! Just a touch of gingham too! 

 

I started with a bright white card base. Next I attached some gingham paper to a sheet of white paper and then ran the whole piece through the Big Shot with a Stitched Rectangle Die. This gave me a really nice crisp edge to the patterned paper. 

 

Since the stamps were already stamped, die cut, and colored it was easy to assemble the pieces. I did end up stamping some ice cubes into the iced coffee and then I added Diamond Stickles as accents on some of the pieces. Can't go wrong with some glitter, right? 

 

Here are the Copic Colors I used as well as the rest of the stamp set, so you can see all the images.

 

The sentiment is from one the Perk Up stamp set from My Favorite Things! It's perfect with these images! You can see that I added droplets and gems for some more pizzazz! 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today! Hope the rest of your week goes great! Remember to do something creative! On Monday I have a really fun project to share! Hope to see you then. XOXOXO

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My Monthly Hero - February 2018 Card Kit - Happy Hummingbirds!

Welcome to the Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero February 2018 Card Kit" Blog Hop! Dang, how can it be February 5th already? Before I start today's post I want to say thank you for all the kind comments on my last post, on Facebook and on Instagram, about my Buddy.  It's been a really difficult few days but your love and kindness is lifting my spirits and I really appreciate it. Thank you. I feel like he is sending me love still, because everyone is being so kind and thoughtful to me because of him. So many of us have been through losing a pet and it is never easy. Thank you all for making me feel uplifted with your prayers and love. XOXO

I'm glad to be here today launching the latest new kit from Hero Arts. This month's kit is full of feathered friends...birds! You could say this one is for the birds! There is something for everyone too. Hummingbirds, wood cut stamp birds, little chubby birds... I think you're gonna like it a lot. I hope you find some (many) things to inspire you. I made a card today using the add-on Hummingbird set with a no-line water coloring technique. Something I haven't tried in a while. 

You may have arrived here from my friend Jessica's wonderful blog!! If you want to start at the beginning of the hop CLICK HERE to go to the Hero Arts Blog. As always, lots of fun and inspiration for you today from my awesome fellow bloggers! I'm always grateful to be included in the Hero Arts lineup! If you're new to my blog today - welcome. 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 $70.00!

For my card today, I created a colorful Spring scene with the hummingbirds add-on stamp set and the sentiment from the Come Fly With Me stamp set. I used a no-line water coloring technique. Have you ever tried that? I'm not super confident in my skills with this technique but it really is fun to do. It's very relaxing coloring with watercolors (or in this case Distress Inks as watercolors). To do this, you stamp your images with a very light water based ink (I used Antique Linen Distress Ink). Then you watercolor over the lines and it looks like you painted!  

 

 

 

I really like this sentiment, what is says, and the font. I finished the entire piece and let it dry before stamping the black sentiment. In this photo you can see the close up of the flowers. I stamped them coming off the page to look like we're peeking into a garden. I used lots of color! And a very small paint brush. 

 

I used mini Distress Inks for all the colors. I smush them onto a water color palette and then use my paintbrush and water to place the color.

 

Here is my scene before laying down the color. Since the ink is water based, and I used watercolors, it all blends together so you can barely see the lines of the stamps. 

 

Here is my water color palette! 

 

 

 

To create the card I used an A2 kraft card base and then layered Juicy Pear cardstock. The watercolor paper is the Ranger Watercolor paper -which is my favorite brand with Distress Inks. 

The kit is available NOW! Yippeeeee! Below is a photo of THE ENTIRE CARD KIT CONTENTS! This is a great value for $34.99! 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 February 11th, 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, February 9th. 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 FEBRUARY CARD KIT CONTENTS!  

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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The Hero Arts Blog

Jennifer McGuire

Yana Smakula

May Park

Emily Midgett

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Wanda Guess

Lydia Fiedler

Amy Tsuruta

Janette Kausen

Michelle Short

Ilina Crouse

Clare Prezzia

Libby Hickson

The passing of a legend....

Hi everyone. Today is a super super sad day for me. And, when I'm sad, I write. When I'm happy I write too. I journal almost daily and it helps me sort out my thoughts and feelings. Tonight I'm writing a sad blog post to honor my sweet furry best friend - Buddy. He passed away today and I'm heartbroken and I don't know what else to do but write. So many of you loved him from reading my blog over the years and I know a lot of you feel like you knew him too. He belonged to all of us, with his big furry face. He was eleven years old....gone too soon for sure. I was hoping we would have 6-7 more years with him. But God had a different plan. Maybe someone up in heaven needed him more than we did. Or maybe his purpose was fulfilled already by loving us. Don't the great ones always go too soon? He was fine on Tuesday, and then he got very very ill suddenly, and there was nothing to be done. The vet office was kind and wonderful with me, and him. We all cried together for him. I'm still in shock. Our house feels so quiet and still and empty. 

I've had cats as pets my entire life. One thing I knew right away, Buddy was different. Special. One of a kind. A legend. He was seriously the best cat ever. He brought us love and companionship and laughter and warm fuzzies. We don't have kids, so he was our kid. We doted on him and spoiled him. And he returned unconditional love in return. He came on command, he gave hugs in the morning, he followed us from room to room and always had his tail straight up in the air. He was a happy, gentle, sweet soul. If you've ever had a pet that touched your heart so strong, I know you understand. I feel like we only get one of those in our life. Buddy was my best friend. He always laid on my work desk when I was stamping. I think I will miss that the most. It's not even real yet. 

I felt like I needed to share this - to honor a life that touched my life very deeply. He had a good life and he gave us more than we gave him. We feel totally blessed that he chose us as his family. We adopted him from the Sacramento SPCA and I'm going to make a donation in his name. We always say that we didn't save his life, he saved ours. We will meet him again in heaven one day! XOXO

This photo is the exact moment we met. I think he and I were made for each other. So glad Mark captured this with the camera. He was so tiny. 

 

And this is one of the last photos I took of him - last Saturday. So regal and proud. 

Say a little prayer for us and if you go out this weekend, raise your glass and cheers to Buddy.