A Blog Called Wanda

Rubeena’s Crafting Anniversary Blog Hop! Watercoloring with Waffle Flower and lots of prizes too!

Hi there! Welcome to a super fun two day blog hop event! Our crafty friend Ruby is celebration her blog anniversary with a blow out blog hop of crafty friends! WOWZA! I'm happy to be included. The theme of the hop is friendship and support. Perfect for the occasion! This hop is huge - with more than 60 guests and over $600 in sponsored prizes! Not only are we celebrating four years since Ruby first discovered card making but also crafting in general. This industry is made up of wonderful individuals who are creative, inspirational, kind, and incredibly supportive! Hop along so you can learn about why we create and how much joy it brings us! Ruby is a very special and talented lady and I am wishing her lots of continued success in her crafting journey! Grab a cuppa coffee and settle in.

If you're following along the hop line up, you should have arrived here from Darnell Knauss' blog!  CLICK HERE to go to Ruby's blog to start at the beginning of the hop and read allll the details. If you're new to my blog because of the hop - I'm so happy to have you! I like to create projects with lots of layers and lots of color! 

My project for today was made with a GORGEOUS stamp set from Waffle Flower. It's called Always.... I loved it the minute I saw it, and I finally bought it a couple weeks ago. Couldn't wait to get inky with it. I have seen so many beautiful projects made with this stamp set. SO, I really wanted to think of a way to make it my own and not like anyone else's card... Hmmmmm. Then a spark came to me! I'll create with this stamp set, with an Autumn theme! And watercolors! YES! So this beautiful girl got combined with leaves, mushrooms and flowers and she became an Autumn Princess! (Like me LOL) I'm so pleased with how it all came together. It took me a long time to watercolor all the pieces but it was relaxing and fun to create and I truly enjoyed the journey.  

 

 

My card base is made with Kraft cardstock in an A2 size. I layered some pretty brown gingham for the next layer. The top layer, and all the pieces, are all watercolor paper. I used a beautiful background die from Reverse Confetti to make the rays on that top paper layer. I did a light wash of aqua watercolor paint for my background for all that color. I used my favorite Mijello Mission Gold watercolors for this project. (supply links are at the bottom of my post). 

 

After I had my background set aside to dry, I stamped and die cut out lots of elements for this card... The girl, an extra birdie, leaves, floral stems, mushrooms...and on and on. I should have counted all the pieces! I use Versafine Onyx Ink since it is waterproof. I used a pretty warm color palette of red, orange, gold and olive green to color everything. I gave her pretty brown hair and one little leaf in her headband. This stamp is everything. Truly. 

 

Here's a close up of my coloring/painting and the elements. I layered a second bird on top of the one in the main stamp - for extra oomph. Everything is attached to the card with foam tape, in layers. Tip: I lay all my pieces out first and play around until I get them exactly how I want them. Then I snap a quick photo with my phone so I can remember - and attach it all. I used the cute mushroom stamps from another Waffle Flower stamp set. 

 

Side view to show the layers.... The sentiment is from My Favorite Things and it was heat embossed with white embossing powder onto a strip of rich black cardstock.

 

 

 

 

Thank you so very much for stopping by today! ENJOY this amazing hop! Plus there are more blogs on Tuesday! Woot! Next up in the line up is the blog of TIffany Au! See you soon! XOXO

 

PRIZES! YEAH!

In celebration of Ruby's anniversary, there are several amazing prize sponsors. Winners will be randomly selected from comments left on all the blogs. The winners will be announced by Wednesday, September 5 on Ruby's Blog! Make sure you remember to check back in with Ruby to see if you won something! Good Luck!

Studio Katia - $50 gift card

Hello Bluebird - $50 gift card

Altenew - $50 Gift card

Pinkfresh Studio - $30 gift card

Gina K. Designs - $50 gift card

Clearly Besotted - $35 gift card

Simon Says Stamp - $25 gift card

Spellbinders - Card Kit

winnie & walter - $40 gift card

Mama Elephant - $25 gift card

Hero Arts - $25 gift card

Nichol Spohr - Rainbow pencil case with new Spellbinders dies

Jennifer McGuire - $50 Simon Says Stamp gift card

Danielle Flynn - $25 Simon Says Stamp gift card

Picket Fence Studios - four $25 gift cards

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Hero Arts Season of Wonder New Release Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by today! It's an exciting day because today we are having a blog hop to introduce and feature the new Winter 2018 products from Hero Arts! The new catalog is called Season of Wonder and it is full of stamps and dies for Fall, Winter, and Christmas! Lots of goodies inside - that's for sure. We're having a super fab blog hop today to provide you a peek at the new items and give you some inspirations for creating. Also - there are two gift certificates for $50 each up for grabs! Woot! To be eligible for winning the prizes, simply leave a comment on the blogs in the hop. Two random winners will be chosen on 8/27 and announced on the Hero Arts Blog. Enjoy the hop! CLICK HERE to shop the new items!

I'm sharing two Autumn/Fall themed cards. I am not ready for Christmas crafting yet so I chose some of the pretty products in the catalog that evoke Autumn and late summer. Lacy leaves and bright yellow sunflowers... First up is this Fall Leaves Thank You card made (almost) from only die cuts! The Autumn Icons Leaves are sooooo beautiful! 

 

I started with an A2 white card base and layered bright turquoise and woodgrain cardstocks from my stash. Then I used the leaves dies and die cut shades of red, yellow, orange, red and tuquoise. I used the Thank You die and die cut it out of brown textured cardstock. I used a strip of vellum to add the "very much" underneath the Thank you. 

 

I played around with the leaves dies until I got a color/shape pattern that I liked. Then I glued them on to the card using liquid glue and my tweezers. I layered the Thank You over the leaves - after attaching the vellum strip. Always use Stazon ink to stamp on vellum!! 

 

Vellum is always a nice touch!!!

 

I glued on a few clear droplets to add a bit of shine to the card and add a different texture. This is a fun and easy card layout that is nice and flat for mailing. 

 

My second card is made with the brand new Sunflower Stem wood mounted stamp as the feature. I colored the pretty stamped image with Copic Markers and cut it out by hand. This is also an A2 size card. I layered pretty gingham paper and a beautiful background die cut. 

 

 

I die cut the Bold Graphic Confetti Die out of Kraft cardstock and then trimmed a piece to layer with the gingham and green papers to make the background for the sunflowers. 

 

The sunflower stem is attached to the card using foam tape. I added a few matte gold sequins as accents. I love this cheerful color combination!

 

Here are my Copic Marker choices for this card...

 

 

 

 

That's it for me today! I hope you enjoy the hop, and find something along the way to spark your creativity!! It's time to really start thinking about Fall and Winter crafts. I've sort of been in denial, but it's time... LOL. Thanks for joining me today! XOXO

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW CATALOG!

 

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! 

The Hero Arts Blog

Yana Smakula

Wanda Guess

Nichol Spohr

Michelle Short

Megan Hoeppner

May Sukyong Park

Lydia Fiedler

Libby Hickson

Laurie Willison

Kelly Latevola

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Jennifer McGuire

Jenn Shurkus

Janette Kausen

Ilina Crouse

Emily Midgett

Clare Prezzia

Amy Tsuruta

Amy Kolling

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Some Llama Love! Fun with Flora & Fauna Clear Stamps and Dies!

NOTE: Wow! What an overwhelming response to my last blog post. I already knew it, but you guys confirmed it! YOU ARE THE VERY BEST blog followers out there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your responses. I have read every single one. I got tons of heartfelt, lengthy emails. Made me laugh, think, and cry too! Lots of comments and tons of support and love. I will try to write back to everyone, but it might take me some time. Just know that I read every word and I have a much clearer picture of what is going on in blog-land. I have been so immersed in it from this end that I didn't see all the changes happening. You have given me a lot to think about. I didn't want to give the impression that I am thinking of NOT blogging. I LOVE to write blog posts and share. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. So I'm just trying to make the best use of my time and resources. It's been nine years, so it might be time to change things up. I do not particularly enjoy the whole product linking thing. I did that because I thought people wanted or expected it. But then, I had come to count on that income. It seems that opportunity may have come and gone. Which is okay too. I'll give it a few more months to see if things pick up! You all have provided me so much good information!! I knew you would come through for me and you did. THANK YOU again. I appreciate the honest conversation. Now on to our blog post for today! 

Happy Monday! I'm super excited to announce that I am the guest designer for the Flora & Fauna Stamps Blog today! WOOT! Don't you adore their cute, happy and quirky designs? I love them ALL! I am always in a good mood when I stamp with Flora & Fauna! LOVE. These stamps are what happy crafting is all about. I love that all the images are the same style and scale so it's super easy to mix and match stamp sets to create your card. Today I'm using a bunch of Flora & Fauna goodies to share some LLAMAZING cards! LOL. Llamas are on trend and all the rage right now - and I am totally on board. Those cute critters are everywhere, and they make us smile, right? I llama love them! Let's get started! 

For this first card, I used some of the super cool background texture stamps with white ink on kraft - to create a neat backdrop for my watercolored llama and florals. I used some different colors for me. I hardly ever use purple, hot pink or magenta. But, I love how this magenta mixture came out! I mixed a few shades of red and pink water colors together to create this magenta color. I think it's super festive!! I'm happy that there are matching dies for those pretty floral sprays too. Score!  

 

I started with a white A2 card base and layered pretty patterned paper in magenta. Then another layer of white, then kraft for my top layer. I stamped the background textures with white ink and also splattered some white paint. I set that aside to dry. Next I stamped and die cut out the llama and flowers from watercolor paper. I used my Mijello Mission Gold water color paints to color the images. 

 

I stamped the llama love sentiment three times onto the kraft, using black ink. Then I wrapped some pretty twine around the top two layers before attaching them to the card with foam tape. The images are also attached with more foam tape. Some magenta sequins complete the look!

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is my second llama card! This one is for a sweet sweet friend who is about to have a baby! I wanted to make her a mama llama card to make her smile! She is llamazing for sure! I used shades of pink and white since it's a baby card. SOOOO adorbs!! I started with a white A2 card base and layered pink cardstock and then gingham from my stash. The top white layer was die cut with the awesome clouds die from Lawn Fawn. I used the Flora & Fauna Llama die set, which comes with the balloon. Easy to die cut out and a perfect cut!  

 

I stamped the sentiment in black ink onto a banner and attached it in the upper right corner. I used a white gel pen to add highlights to the cardstock balloons.

 

 

 

Okay, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I am a genius - for this next idea! LOL. You know when you think of an idea and then it works perfectly??? That happened. High five me! I needed a cute and sweet blanket for the llama.... Then it clicked! The little Doodlebug Rainbows Sprinkles!!!!! ACK. I turned it upside down and it fit like a glove! Rainbows are always a good idea!! 

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today! You are are totally llamazing! I hope these cards inspired you and made you smile. I'll be back soon! Be sure to visit the Flora & Fauna Blog to see more ideas. BIG thanks to Cindi, Lara and the crew for inviting me to be a guest designer this week. Yeah! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Hi Crafty Tribe! I need your feedback!

Hey everyone! Happy weekend! I have some things that I've been thinking about and I need your help and feedback. I was hesitant to write this post, but I ran it by a few of my friends and they encouraged me to speak from my heart, as I always do. First of all, if you're reading this, you are my tribe. I consider you my crafty and creative friends and my girl gang. I'm super grateful for everyone who subscribes to my blogging content. There are about 2500 of you. THANK YOU! Some of you have been with me from the very beginning - nine years ago. I'm so glad to have this community of people who support me and encourage me. What a complete blessing it is to have that support from you. I wouldn't blog if I didn't feel like I was somehow making a difference. You guys make me laugh, inspire me, and lift me up when I need it. THANK YOU! 

There are many reasons to have a blog and I've been re-evaluating, and thinking about what I'm doing creatively in general,  and here at the blog. I blog to inspire others to create. That's my bottom line. I want A Blog Called Wanda to be a happy place of encouragement and creativity. I want to show others that they can make something beautiful. I want to share beautiful images and share my life. When I'm blogging I think of the three E's... Educate, Encourage, and Engage. That's what guides me. 

I do however,  have to think of what I want to get from my blog in return for my time and energy. Some facts that you may not know if you're not a fellow blogger: It takes me about 6-8 hours to produce a blog post. That includes making the project, photographing the project, editing the photos, creating link lists, linking/labeling photos, and writing the blog post. It's truly done with love always. It never feels like work! It also costs me money to run my blog. Each facet of things has a monthly fee: My Website ownership, Typepad Blogging platform fee, Mailing List app fee, Link Deli Linking list fee, Photo editing website fee, and of course, supplies. 

The things that I get in return are comments of encouragement and kindness, others sharing their successes with me, and just plain old love and community. When you comment on a post you are letting me know "Hey girl we like what you're doing. Thanks!" When you email me and show me your projects it makes me so happy! Those are the emotional things I get from blogging. I get a lot of satisfaction from that. As of a few years ago when I became a full time creative professional I started making earnest income from my blog as well. The income I receive from blogging comes in the form of Affiliate Sales. I'll talk more about that in a minute.  

As with anything and everything, blogging has changed. When I started blogging I got lots of comments and a lot of feedback from my readers. Over the years that has gone down quite a bit. Possibly because people are following on Instagram or Facebook now instead of just on the blogs. Now I get very few comments unless there is a contest. I would say comments are down about 75% from three years ago. So I'm left feeling like - is anyone out there reading this thing?? Is this thing on?? LOL. 

My Affiliate Sales income has decreased about 90% lately. Whoa. That's a lot. It is making a difference in my household's bottom line and in whether or not I can continue to be self employed. I'm trying to figure out why/what/how this is happening. A little background about Affiliate Sales and crafty blogs might help. When you see the supplies listed out at the bottom of my blog posts those boxes, when you click them, take you directly to the product in one of the craft stores. If you click to that store via my blog I will receive a commission from your sale. It is seamless to you and does not cost you anything. It's a small percentage, but over time it adds up! Something that happens frequently is that if a customer clicks on another blogger's link to that same store, my link is over-ridden and now that person will get the commission on the entire sale. It took me a long time to realize this! Last click wins. Maybe people are just buying less crafty supplies? I am sort of out of touch with that since I'm in the industry. You have to let me know! 

Because of the amount of time it takes me to build the link lists and the monetary cost involved, I'm at the point of wondering if it's important to keep doing it! I'm really happy to do it, if you all want it and use it. But if you don't necessarily care... 

Okay, so all of this information leads me to ask for your assistance and feedback! I would be extremely grateful if you could take the time to leave a comment on this post, or reply to the email newsletter or send me a private email ([email protected]) and let me know what you think! My goal is to be a better blogger for my tribe and to keep on moving forward in this endeavor! THANK YOU again for your time in reading this! 

 

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS: 

DO YOU STILL READ CRAFT BLOGS? MORE OR LESS THAN BEFORE?

ARE YOU GOING TO THE ACTUAL BLOG SITE OR READING THE CONTENT VIA EMAIL NEWSLETTER?

WHEN ARE YOU LIKELY TO LEAVE A COMMENT? OR NOT LEAVE ONE?

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO SEE DONE DIFFERENTLY ON MY BLOG?

DO YOU FOLLOW CRAFTERS ON INSTAGRAM MORE THAN ON THEIR BLOGS?

DO YOU WANT/NEED ME TO DO PRODUCT LINKING?

DO YOU USE PRODUCT LINKS?

ANYTHING ELSE?

 

 

Below are some of the shops that I am an Affiliate for - because I shop there, and will stand by their products and service.

I receive commission from your purchases at these shops if you click on the links. 

 

SCRAPBOOK.COM

SIMON SAYS STAMP

ELLEN HUTSON

PAPERTREY INK 

HERO ARTS

CONCORD & 9TH

QUEEN & COMPANY

WAFFLE FLOWER

BLICK ART SUPPLIES

SIZZIX

NEAT & TANGLED STAMPS

SPELLBINDERS

HONEY BEE STAMPS

REVERSE CONFETTI

 

Pear Orchards and Autumn Wreaths!

Greetings friends! How are you? Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. I have some fun photographs and a card to share with you today. I love to share about where I live and my California adventures! This weekend the hubs and I went on a Sunday drive to the Delta to see what we could see, have some yummy lunch, and take pictures. As you know, there are many wildfires burning in Northern California. As a result, we, in Sacramento, haven't seen actual blue sky in over two weeks. Every morning I look out the window to see how bad it is. Well, Sunday morning, alas, there was blue sky! I was giddy with excitement about it. So we packed up the ice chest, and the camera gear and headed out towards the river and Delta regions. I live in a veritable fruit basket of farming. There is so much to see and do and so much yummy produce all year long. We are so lucky! Right now is the end of pear season so I wanted to get some fresh pears and also snap some photos too! We drove out to Steamboat Acres and all around Courtland and Hood. It was at least five degrees cooler down by the Sacramento River too...an added bonus. It's such a pretty and quiet drive. Just a few miles from downtown but you feel like you left the city far far behind. A slower pace entirely. Beautiful God's country. We found some pears and got our photos. Then we stopped into a hidden gem place to have lunch - delicious burgers and fries. It was the perfect day. It felt like a one day vacation. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. These are the things that creatively inspire me!! 

I was inspired by the beautiful pears and the colors of late Summer. (I can almost barely feel Autumn coming) So I came home and rummaged around in my studio and found all the pear stamps. I had quite a few!! I decided to use the beautiful pear wreath stamp from PSX for my card today. It's from 1995!! OH MAN how I miss that wonderful stamp company. Most of my first stamps were from Hero Arts and PSX. No matter how many times I declutter and purge my studio, I will never get rid of my gorgeous wood mount PSX stamps. Do you have any?? Even after almost 25 years, that red rubber stamps like a dream.

For this card I used a simple, classic card layout...just one layer on a 5.25 x 5.25 square card. The top layer is watercolor paper. I used my favorite Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors as my coloring medium. No sentiment.... Added some gold and white paint splatters as a finishing touch. Hope you like it! The green layer is my very favorite green cardstock - and it's called JUICY PEAR! How perfect is that?? Supplies are linked at the bottom of my post. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are all the pear stamps I found in my stash! Makes me want to make more pear cards!! 

 

And here are my favorite pear photos from Sunday in the orchards. If you want to visit yourself, these orchards are right along the Sacramento River, mostly in the towns of Hood, and Courtland. Courtland even has a pear festival each year!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's what I have for today friends! Thanks for coming by my blog! Have a fabulous day! I'll be back soon... Until then, happy crafting! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

Start Each Day With a Song - Watercolors with Pink Fresh Studio Stamps!

Hi guys! Happy Friday! (FRI-YAY!) How was your week? Thank you so much for alllll the comments on my last three posts! Wowza! That was a lot - three blog hops three days in a row. I'm still recovering! LOL. But it's all good - I loved every one of them and I'm always honored to be in a blog hop for my favorite companies. Hopefully you found some new things to inspire you and get you creating. I had a nice week. I went to a fun Blogging event Wednesday night and that always rejuvenates me. Lots of wonderful bloggers here in Sacramento and I always learn something, and my cheeks always hurt from laughing so hard. Lucky is getting SO big. He's five months old already and growing like a weed. He's a curious guy and I run around him trying to keep him out of things. Thank goodness he sleeps a lot too! I've trained him to sleep on his blanket on my studio desk and he is a good boy while I'm crafting. He's learning!! 

Today I'm sharing a card I made a week or so ago when I had some free play time in my studio. I am kind of obsessed with Pink Fresh Studio stamps. They are so beautiful and feminine and artsy all in the best way. I used two Pink Fresh stamp sets (with matching dies) and my Daniel Smith Watercolor Dots. All the links are at the bottom of my post. I used a free, flowy water color technique and lots of splatters. I think I've finally found my favorite combination for splatters (more later in the post).  

 

I started with a white A2 card base and layered kraft cardstock and jade green cardstock from my stash. The top layer is watercolor paper die cut with a Memory Box Rectangle Die for a pretty border. Next I stamped and die cut out the bird cage, the birdie, and all the flowers and leaves. I always use Versafine Ink for my watercolor projects. It's a nice deep black that takes the water without smudging. Here is a close up of my watercoloring. Really free form - didn't even worry about staying inside the lines. NO STRESS!!

 

The background is a light water color wash of a pretty light aqua blue. I splattered everything with both black ink and white ink. The trick is to make sure that all the underlying water colors are DRY. Completely dry. I use my heat tool to dry everything before I go to the next step. I found a wonderful deep black ink that I use for the black splatters. I use Copic Opaque White for the white splatters. Again, be sure to dry one color of splatters before doing the next color. I use a paint brush and splash it on. The smaller/bigger the paint brush will determine how dense the splatters are. 

 

For this project I used my super cool Daniel Smith Watercolor Dots! These are AWESOME for quick coloring of small areas. They are also my go-to when I want to travel with water colors. The concept is that these are 'cards' with globs of watercolors on them. They are dry until you wet them with a water brush or a paint brush and water. EASY PEASY. And, you get a LOT of colors for a small price. CLICK HERE for where I got mine. They are fun and simple to use. I chose bright colors for this project. 

 

The sentiment is from the Aviary stamp set and is perfect with that cute little bird stamp! I stamped the sentiment right onto the watercolor paper. all the colored pieces were attached to the card using foam tape. I played around with the layout until I liked how it flowed. 

 

 

 

 

That's it for today! Thank you for stopping by to see me! I hope you have a happy, fun and fabulous weekend! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

(Affiliate Links Used)

My Monthly Hero - August 2018 Card Kit - Coffee or Tea?!

Welcome to the Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero - August 2018 Blog Hop!" Happy August! In my world August is just one month away from Autumn! Yippeee! I hope you're enjoying the lazy days of Summer and having fun. The new kit this month has a theme that is very near and dear to my heart...coffee! (and tea too!) Yummy stamps, dies, embossing powder and more! Do you love coffee as much as I do? You're gonna love this kit!   

I'm happy to be here with you today launching the latest edition of the My Monthly Hero Kit. I hope you find some (many) things to inspire you. I have two cards to share today! One was made with the main kit, and the other one I made with some of the fun add-ons. 

You may have arrived here from Nichol's 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 the value is double that, at least. Enjoy the hop today! Get your kit while they last! 

My first card for today features the stamps and dies from the main kit... I love fall and I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes so I made a Fall card! I adore the sentiments that come in the main stamp set. They're so on point! Lots of different coffee mugs to mix and match together. It's practically perfect!  

 

I started with an A2 card base in white cardstock. Then I layered kraft cardstock and some new patterned papers. The focal point are the cute coffee cuts and the sentiment. I stamped and die cut the two coffee cups and the whip cream and straw, and die cut them out. I colored them with my Copic Markers! NOTE: The tiny pumpkin stamp is from another Hero Arts stamp set!! (It's in my supplies at the bottom of my post)

 

I attached the cups to the card using foam tape for added dimension. I used aqua and orange, which are complementary colors so they look good together! I tried to match the papers too.

 

For my accents I used a bit of twine and some Nuvo Jewel Drops!

 

 

 

We're the PERFECT blend!! :-)

 

My next card was made using some of the beautiful add-ons for this month's theme! I made a watercolor tea pot card! This card was inspired by my own kitchen! Our kitchen has a French Country theme with blue, red, yellow...and roosters! I love that look! So I tried to re-create that in my next card. I used the awesome new Tea Pot Nesting Dies along with the brand new Spill The Tea stamps and dies. I watercolored everything and used my trademark gingham check to complete the look!

 

 

I chose to use bright red paper with crisp white embossing for the sentiment this time around! I kind of like this look! I'm going to try some different colors now! I used heat embossing and Hero Arts White Embossing Powder. 

 

This card is an A2 horizontal card made with a Kraft card base. I layered gingham and white paper and then vellum as my foundation for the card. I die cut out the pretty tea pot die twice. (I used the second one to cut out the lid). I used Daniel Smith Watercolor Dots to color in my stamped images. I wanted it to look like a pretty teapot that would be in the kitchen! I stamped the lemons and flowers randomly onto the tea pot die cut (which was watercolor paper). I then stamped and die cut out the little chicken and colored her with the same watercolor dots palette! The Dot palettes are great for quick coloring or coloring on the go!! (supplies are listed at the bottom of my post)

 

I used one giant red enamel dot to be the top of the tea pot lid. I then added pretty twine to complete the look. I love these colors together!

 

My water coloring isn't fussy at all here. I used a water brush and quickly put the color on without analyzing it too much. SO easy - and fun!

 

The new kit is available NOW! Yippeeeee! Below is a photo of THE ENTIRE MAIN 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!  

MAIN CARD KIT CONTENTS!

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 August 12th at midnight, and the winner will be announced the following week on the Hero Arts Blog. If you've already purchased your kit, and you win, you will be reimbursed. 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, August 10th. These kits have a habit of selling out fast! So don't wait if you like this one. I have a sneaking suspicion this one will sell out! 

 

Next up on the blog hop is the awesome Yana Smakula! 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!

 

 

 

 SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY!

 

(Affiliate Links Used) 

Waffle Flower August 2018 New Release Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! Thanks for coming by today for the amazing Waffle Flower August Release Blog Hop! I have been so anxious to share these cool, creative and innovative products with you! I made three projects! That should tell you my excitement level! It's been hard to keep this one under wraps. Waffle Flower is one of my very favorite companies and the ideas that Nina comes up with are always awesome. I'm very honored to be part of this blog hop today introducing everything to you. Did you arrive here from the blog of my super talented friend CHANNIN?? To start at the beginning of the hop CLICK HERE to go to the Waffle Flower Blog! 

The new items include cool stamps and dies to create your own color wheels, and paint/marker swatches. Like I said earlier - genius! Perfect for those of us that love to have our supplies organized! Also, a beautiful new Lacy Flower XL die and some cute stamps for coloring. The new products for August are geared towards the artistic side of all of us crafters. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist, you will find Waffle Flower’s newest release a great investment for yourself. This is a back to basics release that focuses on the function of stamps and dies and our preferences on coloring mediums. The goal is to help beginners gain confidence with coloring mediums, and to help experienced colorists learn more about their different mediums. There are some cool combos and packages available (CLICK HERE to see everything). A professionally printed guide will be included in the Color Swatches Combo. All combos come in beautiful Cloud Storage Pockets. CLICK HERE to check out the Waffle Flower videos with detailed instructions and background! Nina reviews everything in her professional video. 

I have some color swatches to share with you today, and two cards made with the new stamps and dies. I had a really good time creating these projects - truly an artistic endeavor. I feel like taking the time to swatch my colors really made me think about the textures of my watercolor paints, and when I made the color wheel card I learned a lot about mixing my colors together. Like a self taught art lesson! Okay....let's get started! 

 

 

I used the Swatch Stamp and matching dies to create swatches of my very favorite watercolor paints! These have been my go-to watercolors ever since I got them! I have a small palette swatch of these paints but now I have them on a beautiful ring I can hang on my bulletin board. I die cut the swatch die and the circles to go at the top. I used watercolor paper and black cardstock. After they were die cut I glued the black enforcers on. Then I used Versafine Onyx Black Ink (the only ink I use for watercoloring) to stamp the swatch image. I gave them a quick shot with my heat tool to dry the ink. Then I had FUN coloring in the swatch sections!! Aren't they pretty!!!??

 

Here is an overview of some of the new products - in the gorgeous rainbow packaging! Swatches, color wheels and shapes OH MY!

 

Here are my swatches before I added the colors.... This makes my OCD happy. 

 

Masstone is the SOLID version of any color. I used my MIjello Mission Gold watercolors.... For the masstone portion, I used the tiniest amount of water to wet the paint enough to swatch it. For the larger swatch area I wet it first and then added the color, slowly getting lighter as it moves from left to right. This is great practice for coloring!!! I learned how to be more patient and slower to get the right gradation...

 

 

 

I literally cannot get enough of this!!! I used these for watercolors, but you could just as easily swatch your Copics or Colored pencils!!! Use them in whatever way makes it useful for you in your studio!

 

 

 

 

Next up are the two cards I created for the blog hop and release! I used the fabulous Color Wheels Stamps to make a card perfect for one of my creative friends! I used a couple of other Waffle Flower Stamp sets for the sentiment and paint brush and it all came together in a fun way! I will use the Color Wheel Stamps and Dies later to make color wheels of my Polychromos pencils! Can't wait to do that project. 

My card is an A2 card base out of paper from my stash (in my fav color). I cut out a watercolor paper layer and stamped two color wheels in the opposite corners. I made sure to put different colors for each one. Then I stamped a few of the circles around them to balance out the white space. 

 

Here is that cute little paint brush stamp/die from the Little Painters Stamp Set! I watercolored it too. The sentiment was heat embossed with white embossing powder onto black cardstock.

 

It was really fun to mix and match the colors to get fill in the color wheels. I have never done that before! It made me pay attention to each color and how it works with other colors mixed. I put on some music in the studio and enjoyed this process. 

 

I added some black enamel dots to the centers of the color wheels and then some Pretty Pink Posh Droplets to look like water drops... I also added paint splatters (you know I love that!)

 

 

 

 

 

I attached the paint brush on the card and then layered the sentiment banner over it. I like the graphic look of that black and white banner. I tried to think outside the box and come up with a cool way to incorporate the color wheel into something else! A card! 

 

 

Next up is a card featuring the GORGEOUS new Lacy Flower XL die! OOH LA LA! It's so pretty, especially since I colored it in bright vivid GOLD! YUM. This card is an A2 purple card base. Again I layered with watercolor paper on top. I used lots of water and some shades of blue and violet to create a loose watercolor background. Once it was dry, I splattered gold paint and white paint over the color for more visual interest. (My paints/supplies are listed at the bottom of my post)...

 

I used clear glue to attach the gold die cut on top of the colored background. Then I trimmed off the edges. Next I stamped the Waffle Flower Hugs and Prayers sentiment onto vellum using Stazon ink. I layered the vellum around the bottom of the card before attaching the card front to the base with foam tape. I added a few purple gems from my stash. 

 

This is what that beautiful die cut looks like! I used these paints for the gold!

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! 

To celebrate the blog hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificates to THREE lucky winners. You can leave comment on my blog and all along the hop by 11:59pm ET on 8/12/18 for your chances to win. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts on this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower blog on 8/15/2018. As a bonus, all orders placed by 11:59pm ET on 8/15/18 will receive an Adhesive Eraser from our friends at Xyron! No code required; Limited 1 per customer; While Supplies last.

 

If you're a new visitor to my blog today because of the blog hop - welcome! I'd love to have you sign up to receive my post emails! CLICK HERE to subscribe! Or, Follow along with me on Instagram! 

 

Next up on the hop is the awesome and talented Nichol Spohr! 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE ENTIRE NEW RELEASE!

 

FULL BLOG HOP LIST!

Waffle Flower Blog

Kathy Racoosin

Laura Bassen

Amy Rysavy

Channin Pelletier

Wanda Guess

Nichol Spohr

Debby Hughes

Emily Midgett

Yana Smakula

Lydia Fiedler

Mariko Brown

Kristina Werner

 

 

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

 

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Honey Bee Stamps Bee Bold Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! Nice to see you! Welcome to Day Two of the awesome Bee Bold Blog Hop for Honey Bee Stamps! The beautiful, fun, creative, fabulous new BEE BOLD Release is live now for purchase. We are doing a two day blog hop to bring you tons of inspiration and ideas for using the new stamps and dies. I hope you're enjoying all the stops on the hop! If you're new to my blog - thank you! Thanks for stopping by today.

To start at the beginning of the hop CLICK HERE to go to the Honey Bee Stamps Blog. To shop the new release CLICK HERE! Did you arrive here from the blog of Nichol Spohr?? Isn't she amazing?? There are prizes today too! BEE sure to leave a comment on everyone's blog posts for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate! There are two certificates for prizes! Woot!! 

Are you on board the llama trend? Lately, these cute critters are popping up everywhere! In crafting, in home decor, in silly fashions, and even at the State Fair! I think they are so funny and adorable. Soooo, my favorite thing from the new release is the stamps and dies set called No Probllama! This stamp set is perfect for lots of occasions! I combined it with some other fun Honey Bee stamp sets and created a fiesta on a card! 

 

Since I knew I was creating a big scene with this card, I made it a big square card. My finished card is 5.25 x 5.25 inches. I made the card base from white paper and then completely covered the front with Sunny Studio yellow gingham paper. Next I layered a big scalloped circle die. Next I stamped and die cut out the llama and his blanket and hat, the balloons, and the cacti... I colored everything with Copic Markers in a vivid bright color palette. I looooove orange, yellow and aqua together. So fresh! These images are so much fun to color. 

 

The "HOLA" dies are part of the llama die set and I cut it from black cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder onto black paper also. Doesn't he look like a party animal?? This would be a great birthday card!!

 

Here's a side view to see how I layered all the pieces. Everything is attached with foam tape onto the card.

 

 

 

 

That's my party on a card for today! So happy you stopped by! You're llamazing! LOL! Next up on the hop is the amazing Leanne West! I always love her cards! Enjoy the rest of the hop and make sure to leave comments for a chance to win the prizes. Have a wonderful day! I have two more blog hops the next two days...so you'll be seeing a lot of me! Yay! XOXO

 

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!

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