Hi everyone! Happy Monday! I have a long post for you today with lots of pictures and stories... So grab some coffee or tea and spend some time with me! Last week was crazy with all the projects and posts! Thank you sooooo much for allllll the lovely comments! I appreciate all the love. It seems like you guys love the new Greetery release just as much as I do! I hope your new goodies arrive quickly and that you have fun crafting! It finally feels like Summer here in Sacramento so I was inspired this weekend to make some pretty seashore/beach inspired cards. I used wonderful new stamps and dies from Honey Bee Stamps!! Melissa is very generous to me and I'm so grateful to be able to create with these products. I am reminded every time what high quality everything is... The dies are already apart so you don't have to snip them, and they cut like a dream... The project cards that come with the dies show you exactly how to match everything up. Truly makes it more fun to sit down and create! Supplies are listed at the very bottom of my post - just click the link!
Last weekend my husband and I celebrated THIRTY years together!!! Gosh, like how did that happen!? Because I'm only 25 year old!! LOLZ. We have been married for 22 years, but together for 30 so we celebrate both anniversaries!! We met on a blind date in June of 1993. We met at a restaurant for lunch on a work day (in case I needed a reason to leave fast)... Well you know, that lunch lasted three hours! And we've been best friends ever since. I still remember all my work friends anxiously awaiting my return to the office that day!! (waaaayyyy before cell phones!) As a couple, our favorite place is the ocean and we go whenever we can. The best thing about living in California actually!! We got married on Cape Cod right by the water....(more on that story later in my post).... The ocean makes me calm and happy and at peace. It also makes me feel closer to God, who created everything.... If I was rich I would buy a house right on the ocean with a big craft room on the top floor with all windows!! Dreaming....
I have two cards today, inspired by the Summer Seashore and my love of the ocean. First up is this soft pastel shell card... It features lots of dies from Honey Bee and I watercolored with watercolor pencils.... My finished card is a kraft A2 card base, layered with vellum and watercolor paper.
I used the Lovely Layers Seashore Die Set and the Shoreline Scene Builder Die Set to make my beachy scene here. All the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post! In my mind I knew I wanted a really soft look for this card, and I wanted pink and brown for my main color palette. I die cut all the pieces out of really good watercolor paper. Here's a side view to show how the card is assembled.
Here are my card layers - Kraft, Vellum, Watercolor Paper. The sentiment was heat embossed in gold and die cut out with the matching die. Perfect.
Because I die cut the shell pieces out of watercolor paper, they are nice and thick. The two large shells have three layers and the smaller blue shell has two layers. The included project sheet shows you exactly how to layer them together. I used watercolor pencils for this project because I wanted to get the shell details to show up more. I think it worked out great!! Especially that pretty pink!!
I used some thick and crunchy glitter on the shells to look like sand. EEK. Love this so much!!
To make my top layer (background for the shells) I used Distress Inks on my craft mat and just smushed some color onto the watercolor panel. I did it a few times until I got it to look the way I wanted. I used Flamingo and Linen Distress Inks.
The final touches...pearls and pink gemstones!!! More is more as I always say! Here's a close up of those chonky shells...
My second card is a white A2 horizontal card base in white, layerd with another white panel that I ink blended and then my little scene.... As I said earlier in my post, we got married on Cape Cod! We got married in the little gazebo at the Chatham Bars Inn, right at sunset.... I know I have a few Cape Cod followers, and you guys know exactly where that is! It was just the two of us, and the judge who married us, and it was PERFECT. I made my own wedding outfit and I had a bouquet of blue hydrangeas and pink roses, and the fog was rolling in and we cried and cried. MAGIC. On our honeymoon one day we visited the island of Nantucket! Have you ever been there?? It's so beautiful it looks fake! Like a movie set! Exactly how you would picture it, only better. It's one of my favorite places I've ever been in my whole life. You have to arrive via ferry boat, and as you arrive in the harbor you see the whole town....the boats, the houses, and this gorgeous church up on a small hill. So in this card my goal was to recreate Nantucket Harbor!
I used The Spring Cottage Village Dies (houses) and the Winter Village Dies (church) and the Shoreline Scene Builder. I chose tones of grey and white and marine blue to bring it to life. The houses there are all grey with white trim.
These dies could not be more fun!! All the little details so you can create exactly the type and color of house you want. I made a church and two cottages, some trees, some fences and clouds too! Here's a side view to see all the layers.
Here is a photo of Nantucket Harbor....Do you think I created it?? So much fun to create ideas with paper, right?? We went all the way to the top of the church (90 steps)! From the top you look out over the town and the harbor. This church was built in 1725!! My husband and I both love American History and as you can guess we spent time in Boston on this trip too...
Some shiny shimmery blue gemstones in the sky...and those clouds...
The sentiment is from the Seas The Day stamp set... Whenever I am down or sad I always tell my hubs "I need a day at the ocean for some Vitamin Sea!" So this sentiment is perfect!
Details details details.... That tiny cross! And the embossing is in the die to look like shingles.
Here's a close up of all those pieces!! I put little blue hearts on the doors of the cottages.... Lots of splatters....
I ink blended the bottom part of the top scalloped panel because I wanted it to look like the ocean in the background. I used Distress Ink and blender brushes and blended just the bottom half or so.
So I have this thing for blue hydranges because of our travels to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket...they are everywhere there!!! All over the sides of the roads, at everyone's house... And they are so big and healthy and prolific!! When we came home we planted two blue (Nikko Blue variety) hydrangeas in our front yard. So they are now over 20 years old!! They are my prized flowers and I treat them like pets. LOL. I fertilize and prune and protect them all year... This year we had soooo much rain and the temps have been mild so far. Our hydrangeas are going nuts. They are already over eight feet tall and it's barely June. Here's a photo from our front yard. The neighbors' pink hydrangeas are in the background. Nice, good memories.
Okay, I think that's enough rambling and stories for today! I am wishing you a blessed and happy week ahead. I have some fun things planned for the week and I'll have another blog post on Thursday. I'm kind of bummed that my weekday Bible Study is on hiatus until Fall so I guess I'm going to have to find some other things to keep me out of trouble!! I hope to get in some 4th of July crafting this week too. Take care! Love you guys. XOXO
CLICK HERE to see my supply list for today's projects (Affiliate Links Used)!
Happy 30 years of love and friendship! Your cards are delightful. I haven't been to Nantucket yet but your scene reminded me of the East Coast so that was my guess. Thanks for sharing the fun journey of your life with Mark and also your beautiful hydrangeas.
Posted by: Vikki H | 06/14/2023 at 03:42 PM
Love your Nantucket Harbor card!! Yes!! You captured it exactly. I have been there and it is a very charming place. 🥰🥰🥰
Posted by: Teresa C | 06/13/2023 at 10:17 PM
Such a fabulous love story and you recreated both scenes beautifully, Wanda! Loved Boston area but never made it to Cape Cod or Nantucket, but they are on our bucket list. Your blue hydrangeas are stunning. Glad you had a wonderful anniversary!
Posted by: Kathy Mc | 06/12/2023 at 05:56 PM
Thanks for sharing so many wonderful memories on this post! Your cards are so amazing and I'm especially fond of the lighter shades of color in the shells! Have never been to Nantucket or Boston so I enjoy living vicariously through other people's travels. Happy anniversary and may you be blessed with many, many more!
Posted by: Wanda Cullen | 06/12/2023 at 11:16 AM
Hi Wanda!! Happy Anniversary!! Love your cards and trips to the ocean. Those blue hydrangeas are Amazing. Have a great week!
Posted by: Paulette Still | 06/12/2023 at 09:55 AM
Wonderful cards, Wanda!
Congrats on your anniversary.
Amazing work on those shells! So realistic!
Love these products.
Posted by: Connie | 06/12/2023 at 08:45 AM
what a lovely post ! Happy Anniversary. I just love both your cards and your blog
Posted by: Elizabeth | 06/12/2023 at 08:09 AM
Thirty years is a definite milestone! Congratulations to you and Mark. Many more years to come. The sea shells are just too dreamy. Love that set. I have to say your Cape Cod card has captured my heart. Love the shade of blue and it really does look like the real thing. Love it! Great job and I so agree with you, Honey Bee has some really great stuff. Happy week and I am so jealous of your hydrangeas...
Posted by: Anne Sturgeon | 06/12/2023 at 06:11 AM
Wanda, your cards are beautiful, as well as those gorgeous hydrangeas. The seashell card just screams Summer and BEACH and your coloring is fabulous. The touches of bling are perfect. Your Nantucket Harbor card is lovely and the quote is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing with us. After hearing your stories and seeing these beauties, I hope to visit Cape Cod and Nantucket Harbor one day. Again, thank you.
Posted by: Kathy Andrews | 06/12/2023 at 06:07 AM
GOOD MORNING WANDA!
Your cards came out WONDERFULLY! I LOOOVE what you've done with the sea shells! Water color paper is THE PERFECT THING to use! Your use of the colored pencils add WONDERFUL DETAIL to them! They look SO LIFE LIKE! AND I LOVE the addition of the glitter too! ;) AND YES, I think you captured Nantucket with your little scene! SO PERFECT!!!! I like to make cards/projects that have so many memories like this! They tend to mean more! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TOO! ;)<3 And THANK YOU for sharing your love story! Your flowers also look BEAUTIFUL! Everything here is LUSH IN GREENERY too, because of all the rains! More today! Hugs Dear Friend & KEEP ENJOYING the crafting! We enjoy it too!!! ;)<3
Posted by: Becky Green | 06/12/2023 at 05:41 AM
Hi Wanda, I was happy to get an early chance to catch your blog. I especially love that you talked about Cape Cod...my home town. It never gets old here...so much to see and do. When we have company (all summer)we take them over to either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket. Around Christmas we generally go to a Christmas party at The Chatham Inn. I could ramble on about Cape Cod too. Your cards are gorgeous. Love the Nantucket scene. You captured it beautifully. Hope you get back here some day. Cape Cod, Mandy
Posted by: Mandy | 06/12/2023 at 04:26 AM
Wanda, what a beautiful post. I love you sharing your story and your cards! You cards are stunning. You certainly captured
Nantucket Harbour....
Your hydrangeas are stunning! I get so excited when I see you have posted!!!!
Posted by: Christine Dol | 06/12/2023 at 04:14 AM