A Blog Called Wanda: August 2020

Fun with the new Stampin' Up Catalog!

Happy Monday everyone! Guess what? Tomorrow is September! For me, I officially kick off Fall on September 1st! I have already started decorating the house with leaves and pumpkins and pretty things... And I already had my first PSL of the season! (Actually I really like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew - you should try it)... It's a strange time for crafting right now. On my desk I still have cute Summer critters, Fall Leaves, and Reindeer stamps. It's a mix of everything. The stamp companies are all doing their big Fall/Christmas releases right now so there is lots of fun stuff to play with. How's it going in your craft room? What are you working on?

My good friend Wendy is an AWESOME Stampin' Up demonstrator. I met her several years ago at a Stampin' Up function and we hit it off right away. Luckily she only lives about 40 minutes from me so I get to see her too (not often enough though)... She sent me a new SU catalog a while back and I ordered some goodies. I've been working on cards and today I'm posting three cards I've made so far. If you need some stamps - reach out to her and she'll be happy to hook you up!

This first card was made with the new Arrange A Wreath stamp set and matching die set. I created a pretty Autumn wreath with a little chalkboard for the sentiment! This finished card is an A2 size. I layered woodgrain paper from my stash and trimmed the corners with a corner rounder.

I die cut two wreaths in green, and then lots of leaves in Fall colors. I used clear Versamark ink to stamp the leaves for a tone on tone effect. I splattered everything with watered down ink and white ink. I die cut the bow from bright teal cardstock for that pop of color that I love.

I stamped the sentiment in white ink and then smudged it with my fingers to look like a chalkboard. Love this look!! This will be a perfect Thanksgiving Card!

For this next card I used the Field Journal stamp set, the Posted For You stamp set and the Postage Stamp jumbo punch. I'm obsessed with that punch! I want to punch out all the things with it!! The finished card is an A2 card base. I used cream cardstock for all the pieces.

I started by stamping all the little images from the stamp sets onto cream cardstock. I used Copic Markers to color in everything. Then I punched out my 'stamps' with the punch. Aren't they so pretty!? I edged everything with Antique Linen Distress Ink to look vintage.

I affixed the postage stamps to the card using foam squares. I splattered the background and stamped the sentiment in the corner in brown ink.

My last card is made with the adorable new Whale jumbo punch!! He's perfect!! I forgot how much fun it is to craft with punches. SO easy and fast. I also used the Whale Done stamp set and the Ridiculously Awesome stamp set. I thought the faith quote looked good with the whale. A perfectly sweet encouragement card. The finished card is A2 size.

Layers of white paper and vellum are so fresh and bright! And my favorite color - aqua!

The stripes were made by cutting strips of cardstock and gluing them onto a white panel. I stamped a couple of red hearts for a contrasting color. In these times we really do need to let our faith by bigger than our fear!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Let's have a great week! I'm wishing you blessings and peace as we continue to deal with all that is going on in our world. Thank goodness we have crafting and creativity to keep us busy and happy. XOXO

All the stamps and dies in my cards today are from Stampin' Up! Please contact WENDY CRANFORD if there are some things you'd like to order. Tell her Wanda sent ya! She's wonderful and will take really good care of you!

Posted at 12:01 AM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (7)

The Greetery Gathered Blessings Collection - Day 2!

Hellloooooo! I told you it was going to be busy around here this week! Today is day two of the reveals of the Gathered Blessings Collection from The Greetery! The new release will be available for shopping tomorrow! YEAH! The design team is sharing more projects today to inspire you and get you ready for Fall crafting. I'm sharing three cards today!! I had so much fun creating these cards. What a joy to work with new things from The Greetery! The list of designers is at the bottom of this post - so make sure you stop by all the blogs.

The first card for today I think is my favorite project from this release. Because I love oak trees. My neighborhood is built all around a grove of massive and majestic California Live Oaks. (My town is called Fair Oaks!).... There is one tree right outside my kitchen window and it's turning color this week. My signal that yes, Fall will finally come after a long hot summer....

This card is an A2 size card made from brown paper. I layered two layers of Postage Frames Dies (from watercolor paper)... Then I used the brand new Mighty Oak Botanicuts dies. I die cut two of the full set of dies from watercolor paper and colored with palette water colors for a saturated look.

Here's a close up of those gorgeous dies!!! I layered shades of browns and greens, and a bit of mustard from my watercolor palette.... It came out so pretty! These dies are going to get a lot of use in my studio.

I combined two stamp sets to make this pretty sentiment.... I stamped with my MISTI since watercolor paper is bumpy! I put a light wash of aqua on that top layer to look like sky...

I used the Pretty Postmarks stamp set to add some text on the bottom layer. After I stamped the text I splashed some water onto it to make it more flowy and not so perfect.

It's hard to see in the photos, but I added gold painted accents onto the acorns, and gold splatters onto the top layer. I love a little gold water color paint!!

For this next card, I also used my same watercolor palette to color the new Toadstool Garden Dies! This is an A2 card size. I used the previously released Sunflower Dies and the Leafy Stencil. I wanted to create a pretty Fall Garden... All I need is a gnome!

I die cut out all of the toadstools and flowers from watercolor paper. Then I had fun water coloring everything with my watercolors. I decided to use many different colors just to create a fun, whimsical scene.

I die cut out a little hill and water colored it to match my scene. (Supplies are listed at the bottom of my post).... I stamped the sentiment in brown ink directly onto the bottom of the card. In the background I used a stencil to add some greenery to the garden.

My last card for today features two new stamp sets: The Mimosa Musings stamp set and the Blessed Blooms stamp set! I'm also showcasing the new Square Dance Stencils! In my head, when I create a card, I often create a story or a mental image. For this one, I was trying to recreate the old greeting cards from the 1950's and 1960's....with soft colors and bits and bobs of glitter.... Do you see it? This finished card is an A2 size.

I used my MISTI to stamp the blooms sprigs in pinks and green....and die cut them out with the matching dies. I used the Square Dance Stencils to create a beautiful bold gingham background for the bottom layer.

How PRETTY is this sentiment??? Gosh I love it!!! And matching dies for the awesome words.... You're going to like this set I'm sure!!! SO many ways to use these sentiments.

Okay! That's it for the new release! Remember - shopping starts on Friday! What are you going to get?? It's very hard to pick a favorite!! Thank you for coming by my blog and spending a little time with me! The full list of inspiring designers is below. Make sure to visit everyone!!

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away today and tomorrow. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, August 28th, on The Greetery Blog.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

LINKS FOR TODAY'S INSPIRATION

FROM THE DESIGN TEAM!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (141)

Hero Arts Winter 2020 Catalog Launch! Sweet Greetings!

I HAVE TWO BLOG POSTS TODAY! Please scroll down for The Greetery New Release Post!

Hello my sweet crafty friends! How are you?? Lots going on today here on my blog! I'm so excited to be sharing again! Today is a big blog hop to celebrate the launch of the 2020 Winter Catalog from Hero Arts! Yippeeee! There are so many new stamps and dies this time around. I had a hard time choosing which products to feature today! I decided on this adorable stamp set - Color Layering Gingerbread House - because it's so sweet! And I love the fonts in the sentiments.... I had a lot of fun making this card. It's one of my favorite winter/Christmas color combos: red, blue and pink... Oh and a sprinkling of glitter too!

CLICK HERE to shop the new catalog! CLICK HERE to see the entire blog hop list! All of my supplies are at the bottom of my post, along with the prize information for the hop. Thank you for coming by today. Glad to see you here!!

My finished card is an A2 card base. I layered red cardstock and crisp white cardstock... And a bit of gingham from my stash.

I used my Hero Arts MISTI to stamp the layers of the house: brown, pink, blue and red. SO easy to line up everything on the little house. Then I used the matching die to cut it out. I also stamped and die cut gingerbread men, candy canes and peppermints!

I die cut a circle into the white layer of my card and backed it with gingham. I stamped the sentiment onto the bottom of the white layer - also using my MISTI.

I made the little accent pieces into a fun banner to go across the top of my card! So cheerful!! I added Stickles and pearls for a bit of shimmer and shine to finish off the card.

Thank you for stopping in! CLICK HERE to shop the new release! And CLICK HERE to see the full blog hop list! Have fun hopping and enjoying all the inspiration for today! I can't wait to hop around myself!

Hero Arts will give away three $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by leaving a comment between now and Sunday, September 6th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week! Good Luck!

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used for today's card. (Affiliate Links Used).

Posted at 09:46 AM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (111)

The Greetery Gathered Blessings Collection - Day 1!

Hi guys! I'm very excited to tell you all about day one of THE GREETERY Gathered Blessings new product collection! This is the gorgeous Fall release from Betsy and The Greetery SOOOOO many beautiful new stamps, dies and stencils to spark your creativity. There are two days of full product reveals and projects (today and tomorrow) and then you can shop the new release on Friday the 28th. I'm pretty sure you're going to love it and want it all! I feel so very blessed to work with these tools and bring them to you along with the rest of the design team. It is a privilege to work with this team! Today I'm sharing three cards, and I'll have three more tomorrow. Let's get started, shall we?!

First up is a card made with previously release stamps and stencils...but with a twist for Autumn! The Top Down Day Stamp Set now has an Autumn add on! Pumpkins for the back of the car! Adorable sentiments! LOOOVE! This card is actually me - out gallivanting in the Fall foliage! LOL. This finished card is a 5x5 inch square card. Warm tones for Fall...

I started with a kraft card base and then layered some pretty orange gingham paper. My top layer was stenciled with a pathway and fall trees.... I used the Fir and Foliage 1 stencils and the Pathway stencils along with sponge daubers and Distress Inks. Doesn't it look like she out leap peeping??

Here's a close up of those pumpkins in the back of the car! I stamped them with my MISTI and C9 ink pads (supplies are all listed at the bottom of this post)... Then I used Copic Markers and a white gel pen to add accents. I love aqua/teal as an accent to orange so I made the car in those tones.

Here's a close up of the sentiment - and it comes with a matching die!!

My next card reminds me of a pretty Fall table scape... And I used loads of new supplies! This card is an A2 size. I used the new Shiplap Dies, Pitcher-esque stamps and dies, Bittersweet Bouquet stamps and dies.... And the previously released Coaster die and Crimped Rectangles.

I used the Shiplap dies to create my background.... Then I die cut a coaster/napkin out of patterned paper for the 'table.' I used my MISTI to stamp the pitcher and the florals to get them perfectly lined up. Warm shades....

I was trying to mimic an old blue enamelware pitcher! So I stamped it in blues and added white splatters....

I tucked the flowers in behind the pitcher and affixed them to the card with foam circles...

This last card for today uses the beautiful new stamp set called All Blessings Flow...and features a lovely saying in a pretty font. This is a great stamp set for many occasions - from celebrating to sympathy. I decided to make my card vivid and bright. This is an A2 sized card and uses that amazing new Square Dance Die (background) and florals...

The Square Dance die perfectly fits onto the front of an A2 card.... I used liquid glue to affix it to the white card base. I die cut a stitched oval in white and a larger one in vellum to act as my focal point. I stamped the sentiment and then inked the edges with Distress Ink...

I stamped and die cut the florals and glued them onto the card around the oval. I added a few pink enamel dots for a pop of color in amongst the leaves.

Okay! That's it for today! I will see you back here tomorrow for Day two of the release reveals. Thank you for stopping by! What is your favorite new thing from today's reveals? Hope you are having a good week! XOXO

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away today and tomorrow. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, August 28th, on The Greetery Blog.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used)

LINKS FOR TODAY'S INSPIRATION

FROM THE DESIGN TEAM!

Posted at 04:00 AM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (146)

Altenew Wild Roses & Watercolors - fresh and pretty for a Summer day!

Hi friends! I'm back at my desk for a little while today and really wanted to share a card with you! I had surgery last week and have pretty much been in bed or on the couch for five days... I'm a very busy person so it's been hard to sit still - but definitely I needed the rest. I am recovering and feeling better today finally. All of my biopsies and test results came back benign. THANK YOU JESUS!! I am so incredibly grateful and at peace, knowing that I might finally be on the road to feeling like my old self. Thank you to everyone who sent me a message during this past week. I am blessed by so much kindness here and on social media. Makes me really feel loved. XOXOXO Thank you.

I'm trying to get this post typed fast because we are probably going to have a power outage! I live in Northern California and we are having an unprecedented heat wave. As a result they are doing rolling blackouts. It will probably end up being two weeks of over 100 degree temps. And it's not cooling off at night. This is not normal (but then what in 2020 is normal?) and we are hot hot hot. I think it was 112 yesterday and it was still 100 at 9pm!! Yeeks!! We have all the lights out and all the blinds closed. Lucky is laying all spread out...we're a mess!

A couple of weeks ago I made these beautiful die cut roses! I set them aside for a bit, and then a week or so ago I made them into a colorful and bright card. So excited to share it with you. No stamps on this card - just die cuts! All my supplies are listed at the bottom of this post.

The finished card is an A2 white card base. The blue layer was die cut with a beautiful plaid background die. SO FRESH!! I splattered white ink onto the blue panel.

You guys!!! These dies are so easy!!! And it looks hard - I kinda love that. The dies all fit together and you build the color. Here's a close up of the leaves. I die cut all the pieces out of watercolor paper. And everything was painted with my brand new Altenew 24 pan watercolors. For the leaves I did progressively darker shades of green.... Then I glued all the pieces together with liquid glue and my tweezers.

The wild roses are three pieces (pinks) and then two pieces for the center (yellows)... I dried them with my heat tool and kept adding color until I got it super vivid!! And then I splattered everything. That's my favorite move. LOL. The flowers were mounted onto the card using foam squares. I used my fingers to gently turn the petals up off the paper.

A gorgeous script hello glued onto the flowers....

Here are my flowers before I made them into a card...

Here's a close up of the background die!

Okay friends! I got through the post before the power went out! I'm hoping maybe we won't get the power outage this time around! I'm off to get a giant glass of ice water and put my feet up. I am wishing you a peaceful and happy week. Thanks for stopping by today. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the SUPPLIES for today's project. (Affiliate Links Used).

Posted at 03:14 PM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (7)

Introducing the beautiful Field Notes Card Kit from Taylored Expressions!

Hello friends. I hope this post finds you well and happy and I hope you're having a good week so far. August is rolling along, and that's awesome, because we are one step closer to Fall/Autumn! And then maybe this crazy, weird and not-so-great year can be over. 2020 has been a huge test for me. Maybe I will end up writing a post about this strange time, but not just yet. The story is still writing itself. Tomorrow I am having surgery and I'm pretty scared. I haven't had anesthesia or surgery in almost 30 years. I'm trying to stay calm and collected, but my anxiety is already through the roof with all that's happened this year. So if you have a moment tomorrow - say a little prayer for me that all goes well. I would appreciate the good vibes and good thoughts. XOXO

On to the crafty business at hand now! Today is the launch date for the newest card kit from Taylored Expressions. This is number four already, and they are so good! This new one is called Field Notes and I'm swooning over these gorgeous sketchy florals.... The kit includes three stamp sets, dies, stencils, envelopes, envelope seals....all in a pretty storage pouch. It's just lovely. I was inspired by the florals to do some water coloring with Distress Inks for my cards. I love how they came out. I have a bunch more ideas too!!

Isn't this a gorgeous stamp!? My first card is in hues of olive, yellow and brown for a vintage feeling. The card is an A2 card base from Kraft cardstock. The green layer is Sweet Basil cardstock from TE (all supplies are listed in the supply link at the bottom of my post). The top layer and the stamped images are on watercolor paper.

I used the fabulous new Masking Stencils that come in the kit to create a color blocked background with Distress inks. I started with watercolor paper and then moved the stencil around on the paper and inked blocks of Antique Linen, Crushed Olive and Mustard Distress Inks. SO FUN! I love this technique. Once the color blocks were on the paper, I misted the paper with water and dried it with my heat tool. Then I added brown splatters and inked the edges with Distress ink. I wrapped twine around the card and attached the little tag onto the twine. I think it looks like a sketchbook!!

This is what the included stencils set looks like. You can use the center portions or the larger portion to stencil so many different effects.

The flower was stamped with Distress ink so it would be 'flowy' with water. I used a water brush and Distress inks to color the flower. The flower is mounted onto the card with foam squares.

This is one of the three stamp sets included. Aren't these so pretty!? And red rubber, too. For that perfect impression!!

My second card is also an A2 Kraft cardstock card base. The top layer is watercolor paper. I stamped the floral three times and die cut them out with the matching dies. I used the stencil to color block some pretty aqua in the center of the card. I stamped the sentiment and the flowers with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Using brown ink instead of black ink I feel automatically makes your project seem vintage.

I watercolored with a water brush and distress inks - the flowers - in shades of pink and purple and green. I thought about coloring them all green too - maybe next time!

I used foam tape to affix the florals to the card, off center. Clean and simple, but so very pretty. I think this could be a good card for get well or sympathy.

FIELD NOTES CARD KIT CONTENTS!

Okay my crafty friends - time to shop and get your kit before they sell out! I hope you take care and have fun crafting until I see you back here soon.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see my supply links for these projects! (Affiliate links used)

Posted at 07:00 AM in Papercrafting | Permalink | Comments (12)

Waffle Flower - Stitchables Release - Blog Hop! Stitching + Card Making together!

Hello there everyone! I have something really super fun and fabulous to share today! LOTS of photos in this post, so you know the drill, grab some coffee and get ready! Today's post has a new release from one of my favorite companies, and it combines two of my crafting loves - cardmaking and cross stitching! WOO HOOOO! Waffle Flower introduces their new Stitchables Collection today! And we're having a big blog hop to kick off the new products! Lemme just tell ya, I had a really fun time making these cards to show you. Basically, you use paper as your cross stitching fabric - and you can design anything your heart desires. So I made a rainbow heart, a vintage strawberry card, and a cute Christmas card. So easy and fun. This would be a great project to do with kids too. All the details about the blog hop, prizes, and more are all at the bottom of my post. CLICK HERE if you can't wait to shop the new release...

First up is the vintage strawberry card! There are tons of free cross stitch designs online. HERE is the free pattern for this strawberry. I used the new Stichable Pinking Rectangle Die and the Stitched Sentiments stamp set for this card. I also used cream cardstock for a vintage feel. The finished card is a 5x5 inch square. Paired with a bit of Distress Ink, and gorgeous gingham...

Look at all the fun dies in this release!!! Squeeee!!!

I started by die cutting my cross stitch square from cream cardstock. I used the free pattern and DMC Floss. THIS SHOP is where I buy all my cross stitching threads and supplies... I used three strands since the holes are large enough to hold three... I stitched with red, pink, two greens and a nice buttery yellow. After the stitching was done, I used a sponge dauber and Antique Linen Distress Ink to ink the edges.

To assemble my card: Kraft card base, vellum, gingham, red cardstock, stitched layer. FUN!! I put a square of cream cardstock under the stitching layer so red wouldn't show through. How adorable is that sentiment??? The Stitched Sentiments stamp set has lots of fun stitching related sayings. Love it.

I added a few yellow enamel dots because I wanted to pop that color a little bit more. I'm obsessed with that tiny eyelet detail on the die cut.

Sew glad to be your friend! How fun would this be to give to your favorite crafting friend!?

Here are my thread choices!

Next up is a bright, bold and fabulous rainbow heart! This finished card is a grey A2 card base with a white layer and then the stitching layer. I used the Stitchable Pinking Heart Die and the Stitchable Hearts Border Die set (for the tiny tag). I chose rainbow colors from my floss stash and just stitched in rainbow order all the way down.

I used the Rainbows stamp set and dies to make the clouds, sentiment and rainbow die cut....

I used the 1/8 inch foam tape strips (supplies linked at the bottom) to adhere my stitching to the card.

I stitched that cute tag with red floss. I always have jewelry supplies on hand so I grabbed a ring and put it through the eyelet detail so it would dangle off the rainbow heart. Finishing touch? Clear enamel dots of course!

And...my third stitched card is a super sweet Christmas card! I used the Christmas Bundle and the Hat Die to make this one. The finished card is an A2 white card base. Layered with dark aqua/teal and then kraft. I love kraft paper with white ink... I die cut the hat die from Kraft paper and stitched with pink and teal embroidery flosses.

Once my stitching was done, I added a Tim Holtz Snowflake charm as the perfect accent! To make the card, I heat embossed "Merry Christmas" with white embossing powder and then stamped snowflakes onto the kraft layer. I used the AWESOME Waffle Flower Enamel Dots as snowy white accents.

I affixed the hat to the card using the 1/8 inch foam strips to pop it up off the card...

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! For today’s hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners. You can leave a comment on this blog and along the hop by 11:59pm EDT on August 9th, 2020 for your chances to win. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower Blog on 8-12-20. Good Luck! There are more giveaways to enter on the WF Instagram!

SPECIALS! From now till August 7th, 2020, all orders over $50 placed at waffleflower.com will receive a free Cloud Storage Magnetic Board! For those of you who are new to Waffle Flower, they have a Last Chance section on their website that lists many goodies for 25% off until they are gone! This would be a great place to start your collection!

There are TEN stops on the blog hop today! Next up is Amy! CLICK HERE for Amy Rysavy and her gorgeous projects! CLICK HERE to go to the Waffle Flower Blog for the full list. SO much fun.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the full supply list for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used). Have fun shopping and crafting! Thank you for coming by today! XO