A Blog Called Wanda

Happy Halloween 2020!!

Hi everyone!! Wishing you a happy and fun Halloween! Hope you get lots and lots of treats and no tricks! Here's a photo I took in my studio of some of my favorite Halloween things! XOXO

 

Cross Stitch Vote Pin!

Hi friends!! Happy Humpday!! I'm going to see my crocheting/knitting group tonight AND I'm going to wear a sweater! Yes! It's finally cool here and it's time to get out in the fresh air. I hope you're having a good week so far. I have a cross stitching project to share today. I finished it at 2am on Monday night! I really needed to finish it in time for voting day! SUCH a fun project to make. It has a modern but yet vintage flair to it...

VOTE! Yes, I made a voting pin to wear on my jacket (or bag) for the next few days. The pattern is called Sister Suffragette and it has a large piece and then these small vote buttons (for several countries!). I will stitch the larger piece later, when I have time. I used 18 count Aida to make the piece small -ish. Supplies are linked below if you're a stitcher and want to make this too! 

This will be my voting outfit! (We already voted weeks ago tho).... As you know I am an Election Officer for my county and have worked the last two elections. I decided to sit this one out for several reasons. I feel very strongly about the privilege to vote, and I love my country.

 

I stitched the piece and then turned it into a pin. The idea/directions can be found on the Stitched Modern Blog! I changed it up to make it my own project and you know I had to use some paper in there too! I chose the thread colors from my stash...

 

 

 

Here is my finished stitching...

 

Trimmed stitching, ready for making into a pin... Batting and backing ready...

 

To pull the stitching around into a circle, do a quick stitch around the edge so you can pull it tight...

 

The batting goes next to the stitching, then the paper circle underneath. After I pulled the stitching I used the extra threads to go back and forth to make it more sturdy.

 

I cut several strips of ribbon to wrap around the outside of the pin. I hot glued them to the kraft circle and then hot glued the top onto/over the ribbon. I used a pretty scalloped circle and golden cardstock just under the stitching.

 

You never know if this might end up in an antique store 50 years from now... So I always date my work!! (I love it when I find stitching or postcards that are dated and with the location!)

 

 

 

 

 

And, I've been so enjoying my new makeup table! My husband picked the very last of the hydrangeas the other day for me so I could put them on my table... It's time to prune them down to nothing for winter. So happy to get a few last blooms.

Thanks for popping in today! Any other stitchers out there? I seem to know a lot of paper crafters that also like to cross stitch. I feel like it's making a comeback. So many cute patterns out now!  Remember to get out and vote! Have a great day and I'll see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used to make today's project (Affiliate links used). If you have any questions - email me! 

Vintage-y Halloween Medallions! Happy Halloween Week 2020!

Hello friends! Happy Monday! Happy Halloween Week! Can you believe it? Just like every year, I ran out of time to make all the Halloween projects I wanted and intended to make.... So this might be my last Halloween post for this year! If I find time, I'll try to post one more thing but there's no guarantee! LOL. The weather finally changed here in Sacramento over the weekend and it was in the 70's all weekend. Perfect!! It's been so hot and I've been so ready to wear a sweater. Fall is here I hope! I got a super cool new Halloween sweater that I need to wear this week!! I spent a big part of the weekend organizing my new makeup desk! It's been something I've wanted for years, and we finally made it happen for me! (My early birthday present)... We removed this huge chaise lounge chair in our master bedroom and we bought me a beautiful farmhouse desk to fit in that space. It's perfect!! One fact about me: I love makeup and beauty supplies almost as much as I love art supplies... It's the same thing, kind of. Makeup eye shadow palettes are just like water color palettes and applying makeup is like painting a picture!! Right? Any other makeup junkies out there? I bought a beautiful and super cool makeup mirror using my credit card points so now it's all set up. It makes me super happy. 

Okay...on to the project for today! I made some cool, vintage-y, spooky paper medallions/rosettes! I absolutely love this kind of project where I can mix and match papers and elements and textures. I will use these to tie on a package or I will hot glue some ribbon on the back and hang them on door knobs, etc. I used mostly papers, stamps, stickers and other elements from my extensive Tim Holtz collection! I also used some of my favorite Papertrey Ink supplies. A lot of the things are out of stock now (they're older supplies) but really you can use whatever you have in your stash to recreate these! Just play and have fun!! 

Here are my final three rosettes... Everything was made with Tim Holtz Halloween Paper pads, black cardstock, cream cardstock and orange cardstock. I embellished using stickers, ideaology charms, paper banners, glitter and stamps!!

 

I have this little bottle of old silver glitter and it's the perfect touch for these kinds of projects! In this one, I edged the text circle with the glitter. The pumpkin is from the Snarky Cats Halloween stamp set and I used Distress Inks to watercolor it. The tiny banner was free hand cut with detail scissors. The bat is a Tim Holtz charm.

 

For this one I splattered glue and glitter all over it!! I used a big silver owl charm (Tim Holtz) as the center piece of this one. Lots of die cut stitched circles....and again lots of paper. I also splattered white paint and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink liberally over lots of the pieces. I used an old out of production SIzzix Die for the two small rosettes. The large one I made by trimming paper and scoring with my Scor-Pal.

 

 

I used one of my favorite ever dies (Parisian Lace from PTI) to make a black doily for this one. Then I used spiderweb stickers and number stickers and a spider charm to decorate it! I used a long banner die (PTI) to make the banner going across it. 

 

Here's a close up of that yummy glitter!!!

 

Here are my 'naked' rosettes! These are SO easy to make! If you have a medallion/rosette die, it cuts the strips for you and score them... But if you don't, you can still make these! Cut paper strips and then on your Scor-Pal score every 1/4 inch across. Fold all the score marks and then glue the ends together. To hold it together I like to die cut a circle to glue it onto. This also serves as your base/foundation for all the other goodies.

 

Use any papers for this! SO much fun to experiment. I love how the diamond harlequin one turned out!!

 

The next photos are all close ups of the various elements on each rosette. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming by to check out my spooky post for today! I hope I've inspired you to create! And I hope you have a happy and fun week ahead! Happy Halloween!! This year has been a weird one, but here we are at the end of October. We made it this far. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies for today's projects. (Affiliate Links Used). I did my best to find as many products as I could. Again, these projects used a lot of old supplies from my stash. Get creative!

Sharing my Halloween Decorations!

*** ANNOUNCEMENT: THE WINNER OF MY PHOTO PLAY PAPER GIVEAWAY IS CARLA H! She has been emailed! Thank you for all the comments!!

Hi friends!!! Today I'm not sharing a card! I am sharing something I made (farther down in the post) and some other fun Halloween stuff! The other day in my blog post I mentioned that I had decorated the house for Halloween... Then I thought - why don't I share that? I love seeing other peoples' decorations and home decor, so maybe you guys would like to see mine! I don't have tons of Halloween things - just a good collection I've gathered over the years of things that made me smile along the way. I love anything that looks sort of vintage or old. It's so retro and brings back good memories.... I also really love a good garland... What is your style? Do you decorate for Halloween? Are you feeling the spooky spirit this month? I'm trying hard to keep things festive and light hearted around here, what with this crazy year and all. 

This first set of photos is our entryway table.... It's right when you come in the front door, and in the center of our house. So we walk by it all the time. I love it. It has a black marble top and the drawers are painted. It holds all our napkins and table linens and runners in it, since the dining room is right around the corner. I decorate here every season, usually with my tiered tray. (I LOOOOOVE tiered trays!!). Behind the table on the wall is a gold bamboo mirror. So we can check ourselves before going out the door. It's classic and simple. The wall is painted a light shade of hunter green...

 

The next photos are just close ups of some of the pieces!

 

 

 

 

 

This festive garland is from My Mind's Eye and I bought it at a craft store several years ago. It's literally thread....so I have to be super careful putting it away!! I have a piece of cardboard to wrap it around.

 

This fun garland hangs in our formal living room! (or my husband's Covid office).... I made it! I found these fun, flat, wooden ornaments when we were out shopping one time. I have this giant antique spool of black and white twine I found at a thrift market. I got an idea! So I ordered the mini honeycomb balls from Oh Happy Day Party Shop. I got a package of black and a package of orange ones to intersperse with the ornaments! I used liquid glue and glued the honeycomb balls onto the twine. Then I used my jewelry pliers to wrap the metal pieces at the top of the ornaments around the twine. It's all staying put so far!! It makes me happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there's a little piece of my world and my home to share with you!! I hope I made you happy with my silly decorations. Cuz Halloween is all about being light and silly!! Wishing you a wonderful day! See you soon with more crafts!! XOXO

Trick or Treat Shutter Card!!

Hi guys!! Only two weeks until Halloween...and then my birthday (election day)! We're getting into full Fall mode now! I am busy trying to make up all my Halloween ideas before it's too late. I always do that... I wait too long to get started and then I run out of time! Yesterday I decorated our house for Halloween and it looks fun and festive. Usually I decorate for Fall in September...then take a break for Halloween...then put all the fall stuff out again until Thanksgiving! Hahaha. We girls are so funny with our decorating, aren't we? I do love it though.

I bought a ton of stuff from the latest LF release and I really wanted to make a shutter card. But I kind of drew a blank on what stamps I wanted to use. So I got an idea! Let's use the cute new patterned paper I bought (instead of hoarding it!). Yeah, that's the ticket. So I present to you a fun interactive card made with dies and papers and stickers. No stamping! I like how it came out.

The finished shutter card is slightly smaller than an A2 card so it will fit into an A2 envelope. My card base is dark gray cardstock. Here is the card folded and closed up with a belly band.

 

I decorated the front with patterned papers and stickers - and a few gems. The card itself was made using the Lawn Fawn Shutter die cut. It comes with the pieces to decorate the front and make the belly band. It also comes with the internal moving parts that make the shutter.

 

Take off the belly band, and it looks like a tri fold card... Isn't that paper so cute!?

 

And when you open it, the shutter opens and reveals the cute little pumpkin I put behind it! This may look complicated - but truly it wasn't! It came together pretty fast and easy. To decorate, I die cut some grass for the bottom and then used all the really nice thick stickers.

 

A cute cat, a spooky skeleton and of course some batty bats!

Thanks for stopping in today! Have a blessed and happy day! XOXO Be sure to leave a comment on my last blog post to enter to win the giveaway!! 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's shutter card! (Affiliate links used.)

Fun with Photoplay Stamps for Fall and Halloween!

Hi there!! Popping in to share even MORE Fall and Halloween projects today! Today I'm featuring the brand new, awesome, HUGE release from Photoplay Paper called Say it with Stamps! Behind the scenes I've been consulting with the lovely people at Photoplay about this new release. Lucky me!! I've been waiting for it to come to fruition and hit the front porch for months! So happy to finally share with you. There are tons of new stamps and dies...and stencils...and cards and envelopes.... And, several of the products are meant for making the newest crafting rage - Slimline Cards. Today I have two slimline cards to show you and one spooky idea... 

You can buy PHOTOPLAY PAPER at Simon Says Stamp or you can buy PHOTOPLAY PAPER at Scrapbook.com. I hope you will click over and take a peek. I know you will find something(s) you love. I am especially loving the new stencils and the Slimline dies... All my supplies are listed HERE. 

First up is a Fall Blessings card made using a wonderful two step stencil with Distress Inks and some of the new dies. The finished card is a #6 size: 3.5" x 6.25" made from kraft cardstock. 

 

The sentiment was die cut once from brown textured cardstock and then again for the outline with vellum. I used the Notebook Banner Die to make the smaller sentiment. Here's a close up!

 

The Notebook die has a beautiful edge on it. I was so impressed with the quality of all the stamps and dies. The dies cut nice and crisp on heavy cardstock and the stamps gave me a perfect impression right from the package. Here you can also see the detail of the leaf stencil... I used small sponge daubers and my favorite Distress Inks.... You stencil the lighter color first and then go back and use the second stencil to do the darker half of the leaves. I really think this is so pretty and classic Fall.

 

My finishing touches were a bit of natural twine and some gold paint splatters... I used the decorative border dies to make that nice scalloped edge.

 

Next up are some sweet and crazy Halloween friends! I used the packaged Slimline #6 cards and envelopes for this card. I used the #6 rectangle windows to frame my images. Everything was colored with Copics...

 

I love this trick or treat sentiment die. I cut it into three pieces to fit inside my window with that spider.... I added Stickles to all the images too. The frames were die cut from gray cardstock and splattered with white paint for visual interest.

 

Halloween colors are so fun! Black, orange, purple and green!! 

 

I stamped on the matching envelope to make the card more cheery in the mail!! I really like the prepackaged cards and envelopes - great way to keep on crafting and not have to stop and make card bases!! Love that.

 

And my last spooky project for today...something unexpected! A spiderweb latte! I love latte art, but I cannot do it! So I made my own art on my homemade coffee using the cool Cobwebs stencil!! I carefully laid the stencil over the top of my foam and sprinkled cinnamon over it! Voila! You can do this as a fun treat for your Halloween party! Some spiders from the Halloween Store and you're all set. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by on this Monday morning!! I hope that you will check out the Photoplay new release. Have you been making Slimline cards yet? I have been making them a lot!! I seem to like the mini ones best. But the larger #9 Slimline gives you a lot of real estate to work with when you're crafting... Have a wonderful week, everyone! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's projects. (Affiliate Links Used).

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Photoplay was so generous with what they sent me! So I thought I would share the love! I will choose one random comment from this post to receive these fun stamps and dies. Leave a comment and tell me what you're working on in your craft room right now! Ends 10/20 at midnight PST. I'll email the winner!

The Greetery - TGIF - Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Howdy hello and salutations! I'm sharing here today on my blog and also over on The Greetery Blog for TGIF! (The Greetery Inspiration Friday!)  Today I'm sharing two of my favorite things! Coffee and Fall! I do so love a good Pumpkin Spice Latte, and that's what I have made for you today. You might just be receiving your goodies from the Merry Makings release last week, so I want to give you some more inspiration for using the Hug in a Mug stamps and dies. I am always inspired by Fall colors. This project would be so cute as a favor for a girls coffee date or your Thanksgiving table. Thanks for joining me on this beautiful Fall Friday. So excited to show you this project. The idea actually came to me in my sleep Friday night! Ha. Does that happen to you? 

Here is my sweet little Pumpkin Spice Latte! All decked out for Fall! I used the new Hug in a Mug suite of stamps and dies and some older Greetery items too. A bit of this and that...stencils, stamps, ink blending....so much fun. 

 

My coffee mug was made with orange cardstock and the saucer was made from cream cardstock using the Hug in a Mug dies and the Saucer dies. I stamped the plaid border at the top of the mug, and stamped the latte art on the top using the Hug in a Mug stamp set. After the mug pieces were cut out I used the beautiful Berry Branch stencil, a blender brush, and Crackling Campfire Distress Ink to make a pretty leaf design onto it! I also brushed a bit of the ink onto the bottom of the handle for an ombre effect. I stamped the sentiment on the front in brown ink and added a wee heart too. 

 

I glued the mug handles together, glued the steam pieces together, and glued the mug together and set that aside to dry. I always use a glue pen for putting together my 3D dies. For the saucer I used cream cardstock. I again used my blender brush and ink (Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink) to gently ink the outer edges of the saucer. I glued the saucer together. Next, I die cut the Coaster Die from gingham patterned paper.

 

I put some sweet pumpkin candies inside as a treat for the recipient. Some coffee candies would be sweet too. You could add a small gift, some sweets, or whatever little trinkets your heart desires. I have so many more ideas!!

 

I splattered everything with gold watercolor ink! I used one of my favorite stamp sets to add the little seasonal embellishment on the top - the Top Down Day Autumn stamp set. I stamped the pumpkin/leaves image and die cut it with the matching dies. I cut a small slit on the left side of the image so it would fit over the edge of the mug. I used Stickles Diamond Glitter to add shine to the pumpkins and the steam. 

 

I used pumpkin candies in my little treat cup today, but I also love these Nuggets - and they are wrapped in orange! These are hard to find! Maybe I'd better hoard them...

 

 

 

 

Thanks for popping by for a cuppa joe with me today! Now I want coffee! (But I always want coffee!) I'm wishing you a happy and blessed Fall weekend. Take care until I see you soon! XOXO Be sure to pop over to The Greetery blog and leave some love! 

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

Here comes the pumpkin truck! #Blessed

Hi Crafty Friends! How's your week going?? I had something fun happen yesterday.... I won a $250 facial gift certificate from a MedSpa and I went and got it yesterday. OMG it was like heaven! I seriously can't remember the last time I had a facial - many years ago. I felt so pampered and happy. What a delightful outing. And, for the past two weeks my Knitting/Crocheting group is meeting up again. Life feels good. I think I forgot how nice it was to see people and be OUT of my house! I'm feeling cheerful today and I have a fun card to share with you! I am proud and happy to be a Spellbinders partner and I love choosing my favorite things from Spellbinders to share with you! (like the Halloween car a couple weeks ago!) 

Today's card is along those same lines...but this time it's a pumpkin truck!! #Blessed is on the tailgate. I love it so much. This suite of products is really fun and has lots of sentiments and images to mix and match in the truck! A surfboard, Christmas tree and gifts, and pumpkins! So you know I had to make a Fall card from this set. I also used some new patterned paper on this one to complete the Fall theme. This finished card is 5" x 5" square. 

 

No stamping on this card - just lots of die cuts and patterned paper! Don't be afraid to use patterned papers for your die cutting projects. This truck is gingham! And all the other elements have a design on them too. It really gives a nice look - very interesting and pretty I think. I also layered lots of papers as my card base. The focal point is the truck of course, mounted onto a stitched circle. The paper collection is called Happy Fall! Perfect right? All the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post.

 

Here's a side view so you can see all the layers and raised parts. The truck really doesn't have that many pieces (much less than the Halloween Car)... and it came together pretty quickly. I tucked those pumpkins into the slit that is built into the die. I used liquid glue to affix the pieces.

 

The banner is from the sticker pack that matches the patterned paper. I love that look!! I used silver cardstock for the taillights and the tailgate.

 

Can't you imagine this cute truck parked at the pumpkin patch?? Photo op!!! Lol. 

 

 

Okee dokee partners! That's it for today's post! I hope you have a blessed and happy day! I will be back soon with more Fall fun! XOXO

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

Simple Stories Cozy Days - fun Fall cards!

Hi friends! After a lovely week last week celebrating Christmas, we now return to our regularly scheduled Fall programming! LOL! WOWEEEEE ZOWEEEEE how much fun was The Greetery Release last week?? Dang! Thank you for all the kind and sweet comments here on my blog and over on Instagram. I think you guys felt my excitement over that wonderful release...and I'm pretty sure you loved it too! It is truly a joy and a blessing to work with The Greetery. I am so lucky!! So now it's time to get back to Fall and Halloween projects - because we have to squeeze them all in now! October is going by fast! 

Today I'm sharing three cards I made using a brand new paper collection I fell in love with this season. Yeah, I bought everything! All the paper, the stickers, the washi, the chipboard....yeah. All of it! It is a different color palette too - something to shake it up. And it has all my favorite things - sweaters, coffee, pumpkins, hedgies...leaves... It's called Cozy Days from Simple Stories. 

Here is a group photo of my three projects. I kept it cohesive by using kraft as my background card base. Everything else is from the collection. That sweet little scalloped note card is from TE and it's a staple in my craft room. 

 

This is a BIG card!! I had this idea and it would only work with some big card real estate! I'll have to deliver this one in person or make a custom envelope. It's 5.75" x 5.75"! Kraft card base.... So the idea was that I wanted to use ALL THE THINGS. Ha. I ended up creating four little Fall vignettes on the card. I tied it all together using stitched squares dies and stitched circles dies. This was my first time buying a Simple Stories Sticker Book. OMG the stickers are so nice. They are thick and glossy and beautiful. I'm very impressed.

 

Here's the first vignette, with my sentiment. I used stickers and chipboard stickers to say Happy Fall!

 

OMG how cute is that sweater? I want that sweater!! 

 

This next vignette is about the PSL! Cutest coffee stickers ever. Right??

 

And, lastly, pumpkins vignette! I scattered little hearts and enamel dots all around the card and generally just made it fun.

 

This next card is a normal size - ha. It's an A2 kraft card base. I used the ADORABLE stamp set that matches the collection. I stamped the cute images all around on a cream panel and colored them with softer Copic colors to match the paper. I used some patterned papers and stickers to embellish this card.

 

And I had to use this sweet chipboard hedgie sticker! So I made him his own mini card! This scalloped notecard die has been in my stash for years and I use it all the time. It cuts out the perfect little notecard - finished size 3" x 3". I use it for gift tags and bag tags and for making thank yous in sets. Super versatile and quick and easy. LOVE. I layered a couple of stitched circles... Then the hedgie, a sentiment sticker and a heart of course!

 

I thought this was a good pic to show that interesting and pretty color palette....

 

One last photo... On my Instagram Account I always post a picture on the first of every month with a theme for the month. I like to think of and plan these photos out and then I add the month in text over the photo. I've had a lot of time on my hands here at home to experiment with my photography lately. I'm using darker backgrounds with food photos and such. So it took me a while to get these pumpkins to stay put... And there were a lot of bouncing pumpkins. But I finally go the shot. Nice dark shadows and super moody. Lots of texture, just how I like it. So I thought I would share it here too. 

That's it for today! I have lots more Halloween and Fall projects coming up!! What are you working on? Are you starting Christmas already? Or are you Fall crafting like me? We finally have some cooler weather here so it actually felt like Fall this weekend. I am still praying for some rain!! Hope everything is going well in your corner of the world. XO

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

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 3!

The Merry Makings release will be on sale Friday, October 9th at 10am EST, 7am PST! If you're shopping, I would be very grateful if you would shop using my affiliate link to The Greetery! Thank you in advance - and happy crafting my friends! I can't wait for you to find joy creating your own projects with these beautiful stamps and dies. XO

Hi there! I am loving seeing you each day this week! Welcome to day THREE of product reveals and inspiration for the new release from The Greetery! The new release is called Merry Makings! And, yes, we have been making merry this week haven't we? This is the final day of reveals and then all the new items will be available for shopping tomorrow (Friday) morning! Today's theme is sweet treats! Think yummy cocoa or coffee, s'mores, and cookies! Okay now I'm hungry! LOL. The stamps and dies for today are some of the cutest things I've ever worked with. Leave it to Betsy to put a new spin on things. I was smiling the entire time I was making these cards and mugs.... I hope it makes you smile too. LOTS of pictures in today's post!! Spend a little time with me won't you?

First up....OH EM GEEEEE. 3D coffee mugs!!! And, they open up so you can put treats or presents inside. Are you kidding me?? No I am not! You guys know how much I love coffee so this is the perfect thing for me. I'll show you this first picture and then write more details as we go along...

There is the 3D mug and a 3D saucer for the mug - both are die sets. Then there is the Hug In A Mug stamp set that has sentiments to stamp on the mugs, and the latte art! It all goes together like magic. To make on cup, you die cut two pieces the same and glue them together. Glue on the handle and the steam. You give a little tug on the steam and the top comes off, leaving room for a prezzy or some candies.

 

There are some design elements that you can stamp onto the top of the mug. Here you can see I stamped the small scallops in red ink onto the pink mugs. I added lots of glitter to the steam pieces.

 

 

 

Here's another close up of the sentiment... I added some holly leaves from my stash. You could really add anything to these mugs. They would be great shower or party favors. See the sweet little detailed edge on the saucer??

 

 

 

Here is the mug in my hand so you can see the size of it. I added some candy canes from the Destination North Pole stamp set. This one is a peppermint mocha!

 

 

 

Now that we've had some coffee, I think we need some s'mores! My next card features the S'more Holiday stamps and dies. Another awesome two step sentiment and some more yummy treats. This finished card is an A2 kraft card base. I used two nesting rectangle dies to create a frame over my buffalo plaid! 

 

Kraft, red, black and white is so graphic and fun! I used the Square Dance Dies and Stencils to create a camping plaid in black and red. I love how it came out! I used the stencil and just really saturated black ink over the red cardstock with a sponge dauber. 

 

I stamped the sentiments, chocolate and marshmallow using my MISTI and then die cut them out with the matching dies. I used a stitched circle to 'ground' my elements. I added bits of Rock Candy Glitter too.

 

The two smaller sentiments were heat embossed with white embossing powder onto crisp black cardstock. I mounted the plaid with foam strips and then the frame was glued on top with liquid glue. The elements were affixed with foam circles!

 

 

 

Annnnddddd.... My last project for release week! Some sweet treats for Santa! Cookies and milk on the table just waiting for the jolly fellow to come down the chimney! I used the new Sweet Treats dies to make the cookies. I used a few previously released products to complete my look: Shiplap, Mason Jar and Coaster. The finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with red and then white again.

 

 

Look at those delicious cookies! I made them with Cream cardstock. Then I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink to make them look browned in the oven. I added some splatters of ink and then lots of glitter... I think they look good enough to eat! I created a plate by die cutting two circles and layering them together. Of course it's a snowflake patterned plate!

 

 

 

I used the Shiplap dies to create my tabletop. And then I used the Coaster die to create a placement for the plate of cookies. Now...how to make a glass of milk...I had to sleep on that...

 

Then the idea came to me! I used the mason jar stamps and dies to create a glass of milk for Santa. I wanted to add a straw, and I wanted the straw to show through the glass. So I stamped the first two layers of the mason jar onto regular cardstock. Then I stamped the darkest layer - third layer - of the mason jar onto vellum! I die cut both of the pieces and glued them together. And it worked! I created a straw using white and red cardstock that I trimmed with my paper trimmer. I tucked the straw inside my glass. Sometimes you gotta think outside the box!!

 

 

Alrighty! That's all your treats for today! Now I'm hungry! This completes our release week reveals. Yay! All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! (tomorrow) CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from the release? 

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

 

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 2!

Greetings from the North Pole! Not really, but it sure feels like it today! I'm back today to introduce you to more amazing stamps and dies and stencils from the new release from The Greetery! This is day two of our three day launch party for the Merry Makings release. What did you think of yesterday's reveals? Don't you love it all - already? Today I am sharing two more cards and both are icy and snowy and oh so wintery.... We will be showing you new products today and tomorrow (and yesterday) and then the entire release will be available on Friday morning on The Greetery website. Cannot wait!

First up is the next installment to the Destination collection. This stamp and die set is called Destination North Pole!!! It coordinates with the maps and other stamps in the Destination lineup. Think trees and reindeers and igloos and retro yumminess...and you have the North Pole sets. My finished card is an A2 card base. I used cream cardstock for a vintage feel...

 

I framed my map scene with the postage dies. I used a pretty simple Christmas color palette of aqua, green and red... Using just three colors really gives a cohesive look and I think - a retro look. I used glitter and distress inks and all that jazz... 

 

Isn't this sentiment FABULOUS??? It's a two step stamp process. I used my MISTI and it lined up just perfectly. And then there are small sentiments to accompany the larger one - and there are matching dies. Yes!

 

I used the waterfront map die and ink blended blues, greens and browns onto the map pieces. I edged lots of the pieces with Antique Linen distress ink. 

 

I used the pine Botanicuts to add a little spray of greenery up there in the corner of my card.

 

How sweet is this stamp set??? I'm dying it's so cute.

 

This next card is a big square card with an elegant and classic feeling to it. Navy blue, gold, white and vellum - such a winning combination. I used the beautiful new Snowflake Soiree suite of products: Stencils (like the Pinwheel Party stencils in layers), Dies, and stamps! Everything works together and looks amazing. I used the snowflake stencils on my card from yesterday too.

 

I decided to only use two colors for my snowflake stenciling: White ink and Gold ink. I used sponge daubers to dab the color onto the navy cardstock. It's really pretty in person - that gold ink is brilliant!

 

There are dies for some of the snowflakes so I stenciled another snowflake and die cut it out as an accent piece. I heat embossed the sentiment in gold embossing powder onto vellum.

 

I splattered some white ink as snow onto the card and then finished off with a few pearls and gold enamel dots. My card layers are also pretty simple: White, gold, navy...

 

 

Okee Dokee! Day two is in the books! One more day tomorrow. I am loving all the projects from the design team. It is really fun to see what everyone else makes. I'm seeing it for the first time today too! It makes me happy to be part of this talented team. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront!

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the release reveals.  For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

DAY TWO DESIGN TEAM LINEUP OF INSPIRATION!

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 1!

Hello Everyone! Are you in the Christmas Spirit yet (crafting wise?)? Well, if not, I think I'm going to be able to get you in the spirit this week! Today is the beginning of release week for The Greetery! This is the Winter/Holiday release and it's called Merry Makings! My jaw dropped when my design team box arrived! Whoa! It's all really fun, and pretty, and sweet, and beautiful and kinda retro...and well...PERFECT! I couldn't decide what to stamp first! Over the next three days the team will be sharing projects made with all the new products. Then on Friday morning everything will be for sale at The Greetery Website. I'm really excited to share all of this with you.

I have three cards for today! Yippee! All three are Christmas cards and they are all different styles. Let's get started! First up is this cabin in the woods inspired card made with the new Wood Slices Dies and the new Merry Sprigs. I combined the new products with some patterned papers and a bit of distressing.... The finished card is an A2 size kraft card base.

The new florals are called Merry Sprigs and they are small flower clusters perfect to tuck into Christmas and Winter themed projects. I think some mini florals are the perfect addition to The Greetery lineup of florals. And check out those Wood Slices!! Genius I tell ya! Two dies combine to make two different sized wood slices. 

 

My sentiment is stamped in white ink onto black paper to look like a chalkboard effect. I also splashed some white (snow) ink onto the florals and the sentiment panel. I layered some buffalo plaid and snowflake papers and a little bit of twine.

 

This font is BEAUTIFUL!!

 

 

 

Next up is a pretty-in-pink inspired Christmas card made using the brand new Banner and Bough Stamp/Stencil/Die combo. The finished card is an A2 card base so you can get an idea of the scale. Such a lovely image. I chose retro 50's colors for my card...

 

To make this - you use a series of stencils! Then, after you're done stenciling, you use stamps to accent the stenciled parts. It all comes together so nicely. Wowza. It was very easy to achieve this look. And then the sentiments are perfectly curved to fit into the banner. Then...use the matching die cut to trim it. This is an awesome set for mass production for flat-ish Christmas cards.

 

 

 

After I was done stamping and stenciling, I added splatters of gold paint over the floral image. I really thought it added to the 1950's look I was going for with this project. I used pink gingham to pop behind the floral spray. 

 

To finish the card, I used foam tape to attach it to the card, and then added a few pearls in the centers of the flowers and on some of the leaves. 

 

And, lastly for today - a watercolor snowy card! This finished card is an A2 card base. It features the gorgeous new Written in Ribbons Holiday word stamps and dies. (I'm also sneaking in a peek at those snowflake stencils that will be featured tomorrow - shhhh). Everything on this card is very dreamy and soft because I used Distress inks (which are water based) and sprayed everything with lots of water....

 

The star of this card is that beautiful MERRY! The words are two step stamping (pink and red here) and then there are matching dies...and matching smaller phrases to go with them. I used some previously released products to make a Christmas envelope greeting!

 

I used watercolor paper for all the parts of this card except the sentiments. I started by stenciling the snowflakes using two shades of blue Distress Ink and sponge daubers. Then I used my Sprayer to really wet it down to soften the edges. I used Distress inks for the holly bough and the envelope liner and the same technique of spraying everything with a fine mist of water from my Sprayer.

 

I tucked the holly bough inside the envelope and glued the envelope liner onto the envelope. It's sort of hard to see, but I generously splattered silver watercolor paint over the entire thing - to add shimmer like snowflakes!! It's very pretty in person! I strongly feel that everyone should have this set of watercolor paints in your crafty stash. I use them ALLLLL the time!

 

 

Okay, friends! That's it for the new product reveals for day one! I'll be back on Wednesday and Thursday with oh, about five more projects!! Can't wait. I'll see you then. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! Supply links are below. CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront!

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the release reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

THE GREETERY DESIGN TEAM LINEUP FOR TODAY!

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Spooky Florals for Halloween!

Heeeeeelllllooooooooo! It's October! Happy October! It's my favorite month of the year... Actually I like any month that ends in ber... October is Halloween, and our wedding anniversary, and (usually) football, and leaves and pumpkin spice! I love it all. So, Happy October everyone! My card today is kinda fun and funky and I had fun making it. It came out just like I envisioned too. I love it when that happens!! 

My husband and I have been watching Munsters reruns and that's what originally sparked the idea for my card! LOL. Remember how Lily Munster only liked dead flowers and weeds?? So funny! Then, as I started gathering supplies in the craft room, the idea morphed into a touch of Phantom of the Opera too! Black flowers??!! Spider webs, old music, cool charms...and it all came together. I used one of my very favorite dies from Pretty Pink Posh - the Stitched Poinsettias. But instead of red, I made black ones!! Are you feeling my vibe on this yet??

The finished card is 6" x 5" and will fit into an A7 envelope. This size gave me just a bit more room for those big fluffy flowers. I started with a dark orange card base and layered black (of course) and then cream cardstock... The music is from an old antique music book I keep for crafting...

 

I started by embossing the Webs Embossing folder onto cream cardstock. I used a sponge dauber and Black Soot Distress Ink to lightly go over the webs to make them pop off the page. I also inked around the edges of that cream panel. I splattered some black metallic watercolor paint onto that part too. I set it aside to dry.

 

I die cut out the poinsettia pieces from black cardstock. See that pretty stitching detail? Love it! I used my metallic watercolor palette and splashed purple metallic paint generously over the black petals. I LOOOOVE my new watercolor palette because see how good it shows up? Even on black paper??? EEKS!! I glued the poinsettia pieces together and then attached a Crypt Cameo in the center!!! I die cut the leaves from green cardstock and splashed green metallic paint over them. I also inked the edges of the leaves.

 

I stamped the sentiment with black ink onto cream cardstock. I used my scissors to free form cut out a spooky banner and then inked it with black ink.

 

The smaller flower has a spooky spider in the center! Beware!!

 

 

 

I stamped a pumpkin and a BOO on the inside of the card...

 

I hand dyed my own seam binding ribbon for this project. I looooove dying my own ribbon! I used the brand new Crackling Campfire Distress ink along with some green and brown inks... 

 

I wrapped the ribbon around the center of the card and then tied it into a bow, which I attached to the left side. I like the texture so much.

 

 

 

In stark contrast... Here's the gorgeous red version of this same exact die!! This is a Christmas card I made last year. I really love these dies - they are so beautiful. I like to think of new ways to use my supplies, and black flowers is right up there on that list!! CLICK HERE to see my Christmas project with these dies! 

 

Here's a close up of my layers and colors... Loving that web!

 

In this photo you can really see the purple metallic watercolor paint. It's so cool on the black paper!!

 

 

 

The other day I made some pumpkin muffins for us to snack on. I used this recipe and they came out great! I made a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. YUM! I am all stocked up on mini pumpkins at my house - they are everywhere!! 

 

Here is that gorgeous new Distress Ink Color: Crackling Campfire! I love it - perfect for all my Fall projects. I used it today to dye the ribbon and it's the prettiest deep orange.  A great addition to my crafty stash for sure.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today on this first day of October! I'm hoping the temps cool off and I can bust out some sweaters and scarves and enjoy a beautiful fall. Have a blessed and happy day, my friends! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's card. (Affiliate Links Used)... As always thank you so very much for shopping with my affiliate links - you help me keep the lights on around here and I'm grateful.