A Blog Called Wanda

Introducing - The Greetery - Man Made Collection!

Hi crafty friends! Happy Monday - how are you?! Did you have a nice weekend? We had the absolutely most perfect weather here this weekend and it was nice to have all the windows open and a fresh breeze. We didn't do too much but that's okay. Haven't we all gotten used to not doing much?? Next week is exciting because I'm getting my hair cut! LOL. Looking forward to that and to going to the movies next Friday for the first time in a year and a half! Things are slowly opening back up and my hope is rising for a return to some normalcy. So grateful for that!

Today is an exciting day! I'm here to introduce a brand new release from The Greetery called Man Made! It's chock full of stamps, dies, stencils and more to make perfect masculine cards. Right in time for Father's Day! I feel like these products are not only good for Father's Day, but they are good for male birthdays, anniversary cards, and just because cards. So my cards today are not geared towards fathers. The design team is sharing all of our reveals and projects today...and then the really good news... The release will be on sale TOMORROW (Tuesday the 25th) at 10am EST! So you don't have to wait too long to shop!! I am sharing three cards today, and at the bottom of my post, some tips for making masculine cards. Let's get started!

This first card is a birthday card that features the new Sentiments Squared stamps and dies, and the new Tartan Builder Diagonal stencils. The finished card is an A2 white card base. I used blues and yellow to pop the graphic nature of the supplies.

 

Here's a close up of the new word stamps and matching dies. Each word has two stamps to add a darker color to the bottom half! Genius! Wait until you see this cool concept stamp set!! I used the previously released birthday die as my accent piece. I love combining fonts! So clean and vibrant.

 

I used the brand new stencils called Tartan Builder Diagonal to make my own patterned paper for the bottom of the card. I like the contrast between the bright yellow and the navy. I splattered some ink splashes on it too. 

 

Here is a side view so you can see how I layered everything. I added a few yellow enamel dots on the top to carry that color throughout the entire card. You could make this card in any color combination! Can't wait to experiment more with the plaid builder stencils.

 

Next up is a woodsy card featuring the new Reflections Stamp set and dies. Another genius concept!! The finished card is an A2 card base made from my favorite woodgrain paper. I used muted tones of green, blue and brown to evoke the great outdoors!

 

This is one big image made from stamping several smaller images. Then the die cut cuts out that top silhouette!! So clever!! I definitely used my MISTI for this one. Also, I die cut the paper first before stamping, so that everything would like up with the die. It went very smoothly. Can you see the cool reflection?? This is so nice. I stamped just the trees a second time to layer behind the darker trees and layered them when I assembled my card.

 

Here's a close up of the bottom of the stamping... And my accent element - a pinecone and some twine...

 

The sentiment is from another new stamp set - called Dad Jokes: High Steaks!!! (Wait until you see that fun set!!) To complete the woodsy look, I edged everything with Antique Linen Distress Ink and a sponge dauber. I also added some brown splatters to make it look a bit vintage.

 

Last up today is this punny card - made with the new Nailed It stamp set and matching dies. The finished card is an A2 white card base that I covered with plaid paper. I used the plaid paper colors to decide upon my color palette for this card - love teal and red together!! 

 

For the hammer head I used two different colors of gray inks and did the 'kiss' technique. I used red and brown for the handle part. I cut the hammers out with the matching dies. Then I stamped the 'nailed it' in teal ink. I stamped the smaller sentiment onto a banner. This would be a great congratulations card for a work setting or maybe even a graduation card? 

 

I added a couple of red stars to complete the concept! Maybe this would also be good for the handyman in our lives!

Do you make masculine cards often? I have a few tips for making masculine cards that will help you get the look!! For masculine cards I choose blues, greens and browns as my colors. I try to incorporate some metal accent or twine into the project. I will use my favorite woodgrain paper. Distressing with Antique Linen or Vintage Photo Distress Inks. Use graphic fonts! Keep it graphic and bold.... What are your favorite masculine card tips?! I'd love to know your suggestions too!

There will be two $50 store gift certificates given away for this release! For a chance to win, leave a comment at each blog stop for today's reveals/projects. Winners will be announced on The Greetery Blog. 

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT ALL THE DESIGN TEAM BLOGS FOR INSPIRATION TODAY! Start at The Greetery Blog! Links are at the bottom of this post. 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's cards! (Affiliate Links Used). The new release launches TUESDAY MAY 25TH AT 10am EST!

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION FOR TODAY! 

The Greetery Blog

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Doodlebug Card Trio with Fairy Garden Collection!

Hey friends! I'm up on the Doodlebug Blog today sharing a trio of cards made with the Fairy Garden Collection! I used lots of papers, stickers and Doodle Pops to make some happy greetings for all occasions. I like to have cards ready to go if I need one! I made a happy birthday card, a thank you card, and a just because card! All three use the same card layout so they came together quick, fun and easy! The Doodle Pops are the featured element and all the papers are from the 6x6 paper pads to be the right scale for A2 cards. All these cheerful colors make me smile! I chose to feature aqua, hot pink and lime green on my cards. I have a Pinterest Board for Card Layouts if you want to check it out - that's where I got the idea for these cards from! I love card layout sketches, especially when using patterned papers!

All three cards are A2 size made from white cardstock....

 

One of my go-to design elements is to use twine and a button as an embellishment. It adds a little bit of cheer and texture to a card or scrapbook page. I wrapped the twine through the button and tied a pretty bow. I used foam circles to attach it to the cards.

 

The sentiments on all three cards are from the 12x12 Sticker Sheet from the Fairy Garden Collection. Big, bold and colorful! And they match the colors of the papers perfectly, which always ties a project together.

 

I used the Doodlebug Borders and Edges Dies to make that pretty scallop detail on the left side of the cards.

 

Look at all those yummy colors! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

I added a few Sprinkles here and there to add shine to my cards. This card sketch/layout works for all year round - I'm already thinking of Christmas cards!

So happy to see you here on the Doodlebug Blog and my blog today! Next week is a new "mini" release from The Greetery with all things masculine for Father's Day and more male oriented cards. It's fantastic - can't wait to show you!

Also.... I saw the sneak of the next new Doodlebug Collection! OMG I about came unglued (pun intended)....It's called Cute & Crafty! It's all things crafting oriented and it is going to be a FAVORITE right away. Like I literally cannot handle it!!! I am so excited to make projects to share with you!!! 

You can PRE-ORDER the Cute & Crafty Collection here - at A Cherry On Top! I've pre-ordered from them for 15 years - they are fantastic!! Then you don't have to keep watching for it, and you get it first!!! 

Stay crafty my friends! I'll see you soon! XO

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

Bee My Gnomie!!

Hi friends! I have a super fun card to share with you today and I am starting a new partnership with a new company! Yeah! Today's card was made with super cute stamps from Jaded Blossom Stamps! It's a woman owned company that sells stamps, dies and stencils! I first found out about them through my crafty friend Becky, and once I saw their stamps, I was in! A little about Jaded Blossom - Michelle and Candace Started Jaded Blossom in 2011. They originally started out focusing on stamps for treat and favor making, and eventually added stamps for card making, along with stencils and dies. they pride themselves on great customer service and they provide quick turn arounds for shipping. And, turns out, Candace even lives not too far from me! It's all good in the crafty hood! I'll be showcasing their stamps and dies here on my blog, so I hope you'll pop over to their website and look around. The stamps are great quality, made in the USA, and they all stamped perfect right out of the package!

Today's card has two things I love: Bees and Gnomes...he's a bee gnome! LOL. Gotta love that, and he's so cute with his stripes and his glittery wings. This finished card is an A2 white card base. I kept with a yellow and black color palette because, well, bees! 

 

Jaded Blossom has a very awesome suite of products that are mason jars and smaller jars...with all kinds of fillers (I got them all!)... I used the Spring Jar Add Ons and specifically this gorgeous bunch of daisies to make some flowers for my bee gnome! Ha. I stamped two of the daisy clusters and colored them with Copics. These do not have matching dies, so I cut them out with my detail scissors. I added little white gel pen accents to make it super cheerful.

 

I stamped and cut out Mr. Bee Gnome and colored him with Copic Markers. I used some Diamond Stickles for his glimmery wings...

 

To assemble my card I layered some buttery polka dots and then black and white papers. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the white panel. Love that font!

 

I attached the bee gnome and the flower clusters with foam tape for added dimension. 

 

 

That's it for my first project for Jaded Blossom! I hope it made you smile because it sure made me smile to make it. They have all kinds of adorable gnome stamps doing all kinds of cute and silly things! Ha!

CLICK HERE to visit the Jaded Blossom Website!

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

Happy Cards with the new Photoplay Paper stamp release!!

Hey kids! Happy Saturday! I hope you have a happy, sunshiney weekend! Not sure what we're doing this weekend yet. Maybe a movie? The movie theaters finally opened up here and I've been dying to go to a show! This was a hard week on the pandemic roller coaster and we made it through. Seems like I've been up and down so many times in the past year+ and I'm just really ready to see my friends and not have to talk about masks and viruses any more. I mention that because I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling this. There's something to the phenomenon that once you're nearing the end of something hard, it gets REALLY hard right before it's over. I feel that in my bones and I was down this past week. We were supposed to go on vacation and it was cancelled so that just left us here staring at each other all week. We made the best of it, took a day trip to the ocean, planted flowers, etc. I'm tired to my bones. Thank goodness for crafting and being back at church and seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. I'm sending hugs out to you and good vibes always. So glad we can craft and create beautiful things to ease our worries.

Today I'm sharing two cards I made with the new stamp release from Photoplay Paper! Yippeee! Their stamps are awesome, on trend, and fun! I have some pretty flowers to share, and some yummy cupcakes too. Got out my Copic Markers and got lost in the coloring process... Let's look!

First up is this confection of color and cupcakes! I used the Hey Cupcake stamp set/dies along with a few other dies, and the beautiful papers - all from Photoplay. This finished card is 6.25" x 3.5" sized slimline card. The papers are all from the Tulla's Birthday paper pack. Supplies are all listed at the bottom of my post.

 

I stamped and die cut the cupcakes, stand, and accessories and colored them with Copic Markers. I LOOOOOOVE that cupcake stand!! I used light Copic Markers to shade aqua around the edges of the stand. Then I die cut a piece of vellum and layered it on top of that part to kind of look like glass. (It's hard to see in the photo, but looks cool in person!) I used Copics that matched that pretty striped paper to tie my project together.

 

I stamped the sentiment onto a circle die and then added a sticker across the bottom. I stamped some confetti and added a little heart too! In this photo you can see my paper layers.

 

I adore these twirly swirly cupcakes! This stamp set has three different cupcakes! And confetti...and lots of other good things! 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a cheerful bouquet of flowers made with the Mother's Day stamp set! It's not just for Mother's Day, though! I used the nice Thank You sentiment that comes in the set. I was inspired by a country bouquet feeling so I used gingham and kraft for my accents. This finished card is a white A2 card base.

 

I stamped and die cut that pretty bouquet and colored with Copics. I also splattered on a bit of white paint. You could customize this with any color combination and it's the perfect size for the front of a card.

 

On my kraft layer, I used one of the small accent flower stamps and Versamark Ink to create a subtle background. One of my fav techniques.

 

Here are my paper layers and a close up of the sentiment...

 

 

Thank you for stopping by and spending a little bit of your weekend with me. I am sending love and hugs your way! Have a wonderful day.  I'll be back soon with more craftiness! XOXO

All Photoplay paper, stamps and dies are on sale right now as part of the giant card making sale at Scrapbook.com! 

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

Pinkfresh Studio Garden Wreath - and Hot Foiling Fun!

Hi everyone!!! Today's post is a long one! Grab a cuppa joe first! Lots of pictures too! How've you been? Hope your week is going well! Today I'm sharing a card made with the brand new Pinkfresh Studio release! AND....I finally used my Glimmer Hot Foil System! I don't know why, but I had a bit of intimidation about using the Hot Foil System. Guess what??? It could not have been easier!! There was absolutely no learning curve and my first try came out perfect!! That's later in the post....

My card is a 4.5" x 4.5" square kraft card base. I layered some hot pink cardstock and then my top layer of Bristol cardstock. I used the new Garden Wreath Die set to create a Hawaiian themed wreath!

 

By selecting certain leaves in the die set, and using tropical colors, I went for a tropical themed wreath! Here's a close up of the elements. To color everything, I first die cut the pieces from Bristol Cardstock. Then I used the AMAZING Pinkfresh Studio Ink Cubes and a water brush to watercolor the pieces. SUPPLIES are listed at the bottom of my post!

 

I also die cut some leaves out of vellum (The new Leafy Branch Die) and tucked them inside the wreath. The pretty edge was created with the Diagonal Stitched Squares Die cut. And the sentiment was created by hot foiling with another new set (more on that later!)

 

To watercolor with my ink cubes, I smooshed the ink onto a stamping block and used my water brush to paint. The colors are so pretty!!! 

 

When I put my wreath together I used foam dots to raise everything up off the page. The background was done with Distress Oxide Ink and a blender brush!

 

I wanted to show you this side view so you can see the gorgeous gold sentiment!! It was hot foiled using the matte gold foil.... OOOH LA LA!

 

 

 

Okee Dokee! Now let's talk about the Glimmer Hot Foil System! Here's a photo of the box and the foils I got! The box contains two hot foil plates to get you started and two rolls of foil! You just need your die cutting machine and paper and you're ready to go!

 

 

 

This is what comes in the box....

 

The way the foiling works is with heat! So you plug in the hot foil system and turn it on. Super easy and it heats up quickly. I was surprised how quickly it was ready...

 

 

 

 

You place the hot foil plate right side up on the plate to get it hot....

 

You place the foil on the hot image, then put your paper on top.... Run it through your die cutting machine! That's IT!!! SO EASY. I cannot stress this enough. It literally took five minutes.

 

Peel the foil off.....and this is what you get!!!!!

 

Pinkfresh Studio has LOADS of beautiful hot foil plates that have matching dies. They are elegant and pretty. I hot foiled this celebrate word and then die cut it out. How nice is this??? Yeah, I'm hooked.

 

Silver foiling on black cardstock! Oh MY!

 

But wait, I saved the best for last... The brand new Perfect Sentiments Hot Foil Plate from Pinkfresh Studio!!! It's a giant plate that makes eleven sentiments at one time. And it's the prettiest font.

 

I used matte gold foil on white cardstock. Are you freaking out like I was??? It's SOOOOO pretty! And it debosses into the cardstock....

 

Use the matching die cut.....

 

 

 

 

This is two passes of that plate and die cut...sentiments for dayyyzzzzzz.

 

 

 

This sums it up...YAY!

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I hope my enthusiasm rubbed off on you and I hope you try the hot foiling if you haven't already. I feel like maybe I was the last person to jump on this bandwagon?! But I'm all in now! LOL. Wishing you a blessed, happy and crafty day my friends! XOXO

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

Hello Bluebird New Release - May 2021! Bloom and Grow card and Koala card!

Happy weekend! My third blog post three days in a row! I told you there was a lot to share! I hope you have a great weekend and are enjoying some sunshine! I have some cards today that will bring a smile to your face! I LOOOOOOOOVE Hello Bluebird Stamps! Like, love love love them! And I am very lucky that they usually invite me to help make cards to show off their new releases. Yeah! They had a new release this week that is seriously adorable!! I made two cards showcasing the new stamp sets and I can't wait to share them with you. Lots of Copic coloring of sweet critters which always makes me in a good mood...

First up is this fun garden themed card made with the new Bloom & Grow stamp set and dies. This finished card is A2 size horizontal. I layered striped paper for the background layer and then white cardstock for my scene.

 

I stamped and die cut all the critters and other elements and colored them with Copics. When I know I'm creating a "scene" card I always stamp and color a whole bunch of images first. Then I play with them, and move them around until I figure out which ones to use. Sometimes I use them all, sometimes I don't. How freakin' cute is that little mole??!!

 

Now, here's a trick I used! The background (clouds, dirt and green grass) were made using the Ocean Waves die set!! Can you see it now? Instead of waves, I colored (with Distress Ink Blending) with shades of green and brown...and made a garden! I kinda like how that came out!! A little Distress Ink, a few splatters....and there ya go!

 

 

 

I stamped the sentiment directly onto the background layer and also stamped the bee trails. (look at those tiny bees! Oh my!)

 

 

 

 

 

My second card today features the new "You make me smile" word die (it's big!) and the Word Buddies Jungle stamp set. The finished card is an A2 white card base. Layered with pretty gray cardstock...

 

I first die cut a stitched rectangle in white paper. Then I die cut the "you make me smile" out of the center of the stitched rectangle. I put the letters back into the openings and glued that to my gray layer. Then I die cut the "you make me smile" out of gray cardstock. I used Distress ink to ink up the bottom of the letters and then splattered some white paint. I put the gray letters back over the white letters using foam tape! This makes the letters pop off the page.

 

I stamped and die cut out three cutie koalas and three balloons. I used fresh shades of pink, yellow and aqua (I like those colors with gray) to color the balloons...

 

I attached the koalas around the words and added the balloons in a nice design. I added matching glitter enamel drops for a bit more color on the card.

 

 

Okay - that's my last post for a little bit! My husband is off work next week! We were supposed to go to a lovely inn/cabin in Oregon right on the river for the week... But Covid struck again and Oregon is back on total lockdown so our trip got cancelled. I'm hoping we can find something else to do or somewhere else to go because we are stir crazy. I'm really sad our trip got cancelled. I was so looking forward to a change of scenery and we love going to Oregon. We'll see what trouble we can get into. Sending hugs your way. Thanks for following along with me this week. XOXO

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

Pretty Pink Posh May 2021 New Release - Nautical 4th of July Card!

Hi Friends! I have a lot of blog posts this week! Lots of fun things happening! Today's project is made with the brand new release from Pretty Pink Posh! It's so fresh and Summer-y! Nautical, Dads, 4th of July, and more! I do love a nautical/Americana theme!! The new release is already in the shop. CLICK HERE to see all the new stuff and/or my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post. I used two new stamp sets and one new stencil set - because it all works so great together! I love how PPP uses the same style of illustration for all their stamp sets - making it so easy to use them all together. I created a sailing themed 4th of July card to show you today. Summer will be here before we know it, right? 

My finished card is a 5.25" x 5.25" square card white card base. Instead of using traditional red, white and navy... I substituted in aqua..and then popped in a bit of sunshiney yellow too. It just feels so happy - these colors together!

 

I started the card by stamping and die cutting out the boats, anchor and lighthouse. I colored them all with Copic markers. I stamped "America" in teal ink and die cut it out with the matching die. The "happy 4th of July" was stamped onto a banner.

 

I stamped the fireworks before attaching all my elements. I hand cut free form a little cliff for the lighthouse from Kraft cardstock.

 

In this photo you can see how I've layered everything... I swear sometimes making a card feels like a construction project! LOL. I usually forget the twine before I glue everything down! Ha.

 

 

 

These boats are so cute!!! I am also imagining little boy birthday cards with this theme!!

 

I used the new Layered Stars Stencils to make the background. I sponged white pigment ink with a dauber onto Kraft cardstock. Then I splashed on some white paint. A subtle look which I love.

That's it for today's project! I will have some more cards tomorrow - showcasing the new release from Hello Bluebird! Yippeeee! Happy Friday everyone! XOXO (Now I want to go sailing)

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

Fun with Doodlebug Busy Bees!

Hi everyone! I'm buzzing by today with some cheerful happy bees from the Fairy Garden Collection from Doodlebug! It's my turn on the Doodlebug Blog today, too, so head over there and check it out!  I have been wanting to make a project featuring the bees and the honeycomb papers from this collection for a little bit... and the idea came together with this Busy Bee ensemble today! I've made a card, a gift bag/gift card holder, and some pretty pinwheel party decorations. I love blue and yellow together, it's just happy and bright! This would be great for any occasion - to decorate for a party or birthday or a baby shower. Let's take a look! 

 

I made the gift bag from Kraft cardstock and decorated the front with papers from the Fairy Garden 6x6 Paper Pad. I added a Bee Doodlepop and then finished off with Bumblebee Twine and a Mini Clothespin. I used Sprinkles from the Fairy Garden Collection to add shiny accents to this piece.

 

 

I made the pinwheels using a Pinwheel maker and they are 4 inches across. I affixed them to fun paper straws using foam tape. I added accents from the Fairy Garden Collection (Chit Chat and Odds & Ends) to decorate the centers of the pinwheels. Keeping everything in the same color family. I love that all the papers are double sided which just makes the pinwheels that much cuter!

 

I made a matching card of course! This finished card is a 4.5 x 4.5 inch square card made from Kraft Cardstock. I used three different patterned papers to create this look. I added bits of Sugar Coating Glitter to make the bee wings shimmery.

 

 

Here's a close up of the layers on the gift box. The center image is from the Fairy Garden 6x6 Paper Pad. So sweet!

 

 

I think these would be super cute for a baby shower! Those little bees make me smile! The little tag comes with the favor box die cute! (supplies are listed at the very bottom of my post!)

 

 

 

 

These next few photos are close ups of the pinwheels! Something so very cheerful and happy about them! They are SUPER easy to make and you can make tiny ones and HUGE ones! I've used these as cupcake toppers, and package tie ons, and party favors. I love a good punch board. 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all have a bee-utiful day, my bee-utiful friends! 

That's it for today's project! I'm going back to my crafty hive to think of what to share with you next time. Take care and BEE creative! Thanks for stopping by today to see my projects! XO

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