A Blog Called Wanda

Watermelon Fries - A tasty summer treat from Pinterest!

Hello and howdy from my kitchen today! I made a snack, so naturally I had to make it pretty and take pictures of it! LOL. I love it when I finally make the recipes I have saved on Pinterest! I have so many good recipes and ideas saved and I need to be better at actually making all of the things! Do you do that too? In the Summer I loooooooove to eat all the fresh fruit and vegetables. I practically turn into a vegetarian in the Summer months (I was raised vegetarian) and I can make an entire meal from corn, salad and fruit! It's my favorite thing about Summer. Everything is so pretty and delicious. We have many great farmers markets where we live and there's no shortage of food coming right from the farms in the central valley of California. Truly one of the blessings about living here. It's been hot hot hot and I needed a cool cool cool snack so I made watermelon fries. Thought I'd share!

FULL CREDIT for the idea and recipe are from Abbey's Kitchen website!

Basically....you cut up a watermelon into fries or sticks for dipping, and make the delicious dipping sauce! Splash on a bit of Tajin Seasoning and that's it! Good, healthy, super foods ready to go.

 

I mean, who doesn't love limes and watermelon?? Do you think this is why pink and green is such a perfect color combination possibly??

 

 

MMMMMMMM. Once the watermelon is plated (or bowled LOL) put the Tajin on at the last minute so it doesn't soak all the way in before you eat it.

 

Here in California, Tajin is A THING. It's everywhere. It's a combination of chilis, limes and salt. It's spicy but not too spicy. It's great on fruit or in cocktails for a little kick. It's amazing on Mango.

 

The dipping sauce is coconut yogurt (I used Skyr brand), lime juice and lime zest. The recipe calls for coconut sugar, but I left that out.

 

If you don't have Tajin, or don't like it, you can just leave it off! Easy.

 

It lasted about 3.5 minutes. Y U M M M M M. I'll be making this again fo sho! I bought a small watermelon, but once I cut it up, it was SO MUCH watermelon! It's just two of us at our house. I'm going to blend the rest in the Vitamix and make some kind of slushee later. Good way to get in your water for the day, amiright?

Okee dokee, that's it for today. I'll be back Friday with fun cards and a big sale over at Jaded Blossom. Can't wait to share with you! XOXO

 

Sacred Water Lotus Bloom in Sacramento!

Hi guys! Happy Monday! Hope you had an awesome weekend! We mostly did things around the house and I organized and crafted, and we went to church... Nothing too fancy, just a nice mellow weekend here. It's in the 100's again here in Sacramento so it's nice to just be inside the air conditioning!! Today I'm sharing a photo essay of something we got to see a week or so ago in Downtown Sacramento. I finally got around to editing the photos and thought you might enjoy something besides a card. Grab a cup of coffee with me - lots of pictures ahead! XO

Each Summer to Sacred/Water Lotus flowers bloom in the pond at William Land Park in Sacramento. This park has the Sacramento Zoo, a pretty golf course, a garden, a pond, and tons of old trees and lovely walking trails. It's truly one of the gems of Sacramento. I've been coming here for as long as I can remember! Well.....this year the Lotus Flowers are HUGE and are taking over the entire pond!! It's quite a sight to see! I'm going to try and capture the feeling for you in my photographs today! 

 

The Lotus Flowers are different colors from almost white, to half white and half pink, to bright pink. They are so beautiful! Try to imagine these flowers are about six feet tall!!! We caught the bloom in full glory and there were all stages of growth....

 

Anyone thinking of Jurassic Park right now?? They are so big!!! And everything is lush and green and amazing.

 

This is my favorite type/color - the bright pink ones. I can see why there is so much symbolism in Lotus Flowers. They are magic and mystical in their beauty.

 

 

 

I am 5' 9" tall.... And I took this photo by holding my camera up over my head!!! This one is fully bloomed and open and it's gorgeous!

 

The dragonflies love it here! We saw mostly blue ones and bright orange ones everywhere!

 

 

 

The inside center of the flowers is soooooo interesting!! They look like they're from outer space or something. Doesn't even seem real. The yellow part is very hard and sturdy. Then there are smaller hairy parts next to it. Only God could create this - don't you think!? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the center of the pond there is a fountain... The flowers are completely blocking the fountain, so all you can see is the water coming up out of the flowers. It's pretty cool actually.

 

These next few pictures are to give you a sense of scale.... See the giant trees and the people in the background?! I'm standing on a bench to take this picture!

 

All the different colors....

 

 

Look at the size of the leaves!! 

 

That's my husband's hand!

 

It's a hot photo spot for sure! We went early around 8am and it was already crowded. People were doing portraits in front of them and generally enjoying the spectacle.

That's it for my photo essay today! What do you think of these gigantic Lotus Flowers? Have you ever seen these? 

I'll be back soon with some fun and cheery cards I made with stamps and dies from Jaded Blossom, and also some 4th of July cards made with awesome supplies from Taylored Expressions. I'll see you soon. Have a great week! XOXO

4th Of July Decorations with Doodlebug!

Hi there my sweet and crafty friends! Happy Friday! Lots going on here on the blog this week! Yay! Did you get a Very Cherry Kit? I love it so much!! I hope you love it too! (my last post).  It's only about a week until the 4th of July, and it's time to decorate for the festivities! Can you believe we're talking about July? Man, the year is going quick. I love a good patriotic craft project and I'm here today to share what I made for this year's party - using the awesome Land That I love Paper Collection from Doodlebug! This is my very favorite patriotic paper collection - maybe of all time. Red, White and Blue never ever goes out of style.  But, this project also will translate to any party theme by changing which paper collection you use. These "Land That I Love" festive papers are so bright, and I adore the embellishments that come in this collection - especially that little eagle with the Uncle Sam hat! I'm wishing you a fun, creative, happy and awesome weekend! This project is up on the Doodlebug Blog today - so be sure to head over there and see the other design team projects, and leave some love/comments!

These decorations are called paper fans, rosettes, or medallions, and they're super easy to make. I used an older Sizzix die to make mine, but it's very easy to make with some simple tools - a paper cutter and a Scoring Board! I made five rosettes and then a garland to match. I created a little scene to show you everything. I will most likely hang all these up in our entry way!

 

For this large, double rosette, I layered two rosettes! I glued them together with liquid glue (you can also use a glue gun) and then embellished them with cardstock stickers and Doodle Pops. The Land That I Love stickers are perfect for this project! If you're doing these by hand start by cutting a 12x12 piece of paper into four 6x6 squares. Use your Scoring Board and score and fold each square back and forth accordion style at 1/2 inch intervals. Once your smaller fans are folded, glue them all together! Then secure them with die cut circles on the front and back.  I used eight pieces, or two 12x 12 papers for each rosette. To make them larger or smaller, simply cut off part of the pieces before gluing them together!

 

This is so absolutely festive! Add some pretty paper straws, some gingham placemats, some flag napkins, and you've got yourself a party!

 

Here's a close up of those gorgeous thick juicy 12x12 patterned papers!!! 

 

I used the pieces from the Odds & Ends package to add the 4th of July and then added a banner sticker. SO pretty!

 

Look at that cute little Eagle!!

 

Making the garland could not have been easier! I used Doodlebug Chunky Twine and glued on the paper pieces from the Odds & Ends Pack. I added some mini jewels to the centers of them also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, my sweet friends! So happy to share this project with you. I had the best time making it! True paper crafting at it's best and most fun! Think birthdays, Halloween....so many occasions would be perfect to use this kind of project. CLICK HERE to see a Halloween Rosette I made a few years ago for our front door. Be sure to pop over to the Doodlebug Blog today! I cannot even describe how much I love being on the Doodlebug Design Team!!!! 

What are your 4th of July plans this year? Isn't it nice that we can all meet up and go places!? It makes me so happy to know that we can celebrate together this Summer. XOXO

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

Taylored Expressions Very Cherry Card Kit Launch!

Hellloooooooo! I have something super fun to share with you today! The newest card kit from Taylored Expressions launches today! Yippeee! It's called Very Cherry....and it is VERY cherry! And very cheery too! I love all the TE card kits, but I'm thinking that this one has moved up to my top favorite! It's so happy and perfect for Summer stamping! There are stamps, dies, stencils and more! I ended up making three cards - but I could have made ten right away! I'm sharing my cards today with you and the kit is available for purchase now! I wouldn't wait on this one because it will definitely sell out fast! Hmmmm, now I want cherry pie! LOL. 

First up is this fun card in which I used almost everything from the kit! The finished card is A2 sized white card base. I used traditional red and green for the cherries and then stenciled in some pretty light blue hearts. I love how the stencil is perfectly aligned with the cherry pattern! Genius!

 

Here's a close up of my layers.... Vellum and bright white! I used the background stamp with my MISTI in black and then used the matching smaller stamps to fill in the cherries and leaves with red and two shades of green. It was SO fast to fill in the colors. I stamped the inside portion off center for more of a graphic look.

 

I die cut a stitched rectangle and stamped the sentiment onto it. I stamped and die cut a cherry cluster and used foam tape to mount it onto the rectangle. Before attaching it to my card I used twine around it for a little more pop!

 

You're so sweet!!

 

For this next card I wanted to make some pink cherries! This is definitely a vision in pink! LOL. The finished card is an A2 card base layered with pink paper, some gingham from my stash and more white layers. I used the beautiful scalloped circle that comes in the kit as my focal point.

 

Here's a close up of my card layers.... oooh la la!

 

I simply adore the font in this kit for all the sentiments!

 

I added a couple of tiny red hearts to finish off this card. Mwah.

 

Last, but not least, is this third card where I used Polychromos Colored Pencils on Kraft! One of my favorite coloring techniques! This finished card is an A2 card size made from cream paper covered in gingham paper.

 

I stamped the background cherry stamp in white pigment ink onto Toffee Cardstock using my MISTI. I stamped it twice for a nice clean impression. I set it aside to dry for a couple of hours while I was working on other things. It's important to let the white ink dry before coloring - otherwise it will smear. I stamped another panel so I could cut the small cherry clusters out to match. There's a lot of cherries happening on this card! My sentiment was stamped on kraft and then layered with red and set at a diagonal on my card.

 

I love how creamy the Polychromos are on the cardstock. SOOOOO fun to color this way. 

 

 

 

In case you missed it a couple weeks ago....Taylored Expressions now has GLITTERRRRRR! I have every color and it is SO shiny and so pretty! It's superfine glitter so it's easy to get into small spaces and it's just so nice. CLICK HERE to check out the colors and the bundle package!

 

Here is a photo of everything in the new Very Cherry Kit!

 

And a close up of that pretty background stamp!

Thanks for coming by today! CLICK HERE to shop the TE Store and get your Card Kit! XO

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

Pinkfresh Studio June 2021 New Release Blog Hop!

Greetings and salutations my crafty friends! And, welcome to my blog if you're new here today! Today is a big fun fabulous blog hop to celebrate the June new release from Pinkfresh Studio! Oh yeah! You know they came up with more gorgeous things for us to stamp with! I am sharing three cards today - and lots of pictures! Please be sure to read all the way to the bottom of my post for the supply list, the blog hop list, and prize information!! So glad to see you here at the start of the first week of Summer! XO

There is a new suite of products launching today called Small Butterflies - there are stamps, dies, stencils and a hot foil plate and they all work together perfectly to allow you to create a million different looks, depending on what creative mood you're in! I chose to use the hot foil plate and the dies along with my favorite watercolor plates to create a Summer flourish of butterflies. My finished card is an A2 woodgrain paper card base. For this card all the paper I used is watercolor paper!! 

 

 

I started by using my Hot Foil System and the Small Butterflies Hot Foil Plate with Polished Brass foil. I foiled the entire plate and then die cut the butterflies out with the matching die. I did the hot foiling onto watercolor paper - so nice and thick and rich looking - like letterpress!! I die cut the stitched rectangle background layer from watercolor paper also. I hot foiled and die cut out the 'celebrate' word using the same hot foil and watercolor paper.

 

I used my favorite watecolor palette and painted a wash of blue/aqua on the rectangle layer and set that aside to dry. I used my watercolors to color in the butterflies, right over the foiling. It looks so pretty in person!

 

That little brown strip is one of the pieces from the Artistic Bow Die that I cut out and water colored....

 

I die cut out a few of the Curvy Leaves dies from watercolor paper and colored them in pretty green shades... I splattered on some gold flecks of paint to tie in the gold of the butterflies.

 

I die cut a stitched circle from watercolor paper. I used the pretty Folk Garden Background Stamp to stamp the design onto the circle. Then I sprayed it with water to make a softer effect. I was going to use a plain circle, but it looked 'naked' before the stamping!! I added a few gold enamel dots and some twine.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't really express how beautiful this hot foiling is! It's like a dream...and the hot foil plate is perfection. I got a sharp, exact impression the very first time I used it. It's just the prettiest thing ever!! IN THIS POST HERE - I talk at length about using the hot foil system - I hope you try it!

 

I used liquid glue to attach the butterflies to the card. I gently folded them in half and glued right under the body. I held each one in place with a chopstick until it was dry. They will fold flat for mailing but you can pop them up later! 

 

This next card is a 5" x 5" square card made from white cardstock. Then I layered teal cardstock and more white cardstock! I used the beautiful new Lemons and Blueberries suite of products. There are Stamps, Dies, and Washi! OMG this floral/lemon design is really lovely! You take the big washi tape and press it onto white cardstock, then die cut out all the pieces with the matching dies. Genius...and oh so pretty.

 

Here is a photo showing the stamps, dies and washi....dreamy....

 

The sentiment is made from the 'lots of love' layered die set. I used teal for the words and vellum for the outline!! I die cut a square die cut out of white and then attached the sentiment in the center. I used the pieces of the washi/die cuts and framed the sentiment. I also die cut vellum leaves using the Leafy Branch die cut. I tucked the vellum leaves into the other pieces.

 

I splattered a bit of white paint onto both the teal background and the sentiment.

 

 

I wanted a bit of interest on the teal layer so I used the Diamond Tiles Stamp (with my MISTI) and white pigment ink to create a soft plaid background. It adds just a little something!

 

I almost used yellow paper for the background on this card, but something told me to try green... I tried several shades and then settled on this bold teal. The washi tape has so many subtle and yummy colors in it, but I wanted to pick up this particular shade!

 

 

 

My third card takes us back to the butterflies! This finished card is an A2 card base of purple cardstock. I decided to use only purple and gold on this one - for a different look than the first butterfly card. 

 

I got the idea for this card when I first hot foiled the small butterflies plate! This is how it came out! I was like....hmmm....that needs to be it's own card just like that! LOL. So I used it as my background for the card.

 

I watercolored three of the butterflies in purple paint and let them dry. I splattered a bit of purple paint onto the background layer too. For the sentiment I die cut the hello from purple cardstock. I used a layer of vellum to set it off, and wrapped some gold thread around the card too. A few purple gems finish it off.

 

 

 

It looks just like gold letterpress!

 

 

 

 

 

You may have noticed the flowers in the background of my card pictures! They are my prized Nikko Blue Hydrangeas from my garden! They are going crazy crazy crazy already this year!! A bountiful crop already! We got married in Cape Cod and when we came home we planted these bushes to remind us of Nantucket and the Cape. I love them so much and I always have blooms in the house all Summer...

 

 

 

FOR TODAY'S SUPPLY LIST - CLICK HERE - OR THE GRAPHIC BELOW!

 

PRIZE INFORMATION! Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel! Pinkfresh Studio will also be giving away a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the blog hop!! The winners will be picked from the blog comments. (So be sure to visit all the blogs!) They will pull the winners & post them on June 29 , 2021 on the Pinkfresh Studio GIVEAWAY PAGE. Reminder- you must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks.  Please also note that Pinkfresh is offering free US shipping on all orders $50+ from June 21th to June 28th. Use code: JUNESHIPUSA

 

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE ALL THE BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS!!

ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL HOP FULL OF INSPIRATION AND FUN!!

 

Coffee Cards and Doodlebug!

Hi friends! How's your week going? I hope it's been a good one so far! It's been a HOT one here in Sactown so I'm staying inside, in the craft room, with the fan blowing right on me! LOL. Oh, and I'm drinking lots of iced coffees!! That's my theme for today - coffee!! It's my day to post over on the Doodlebug Blog, and you know I always share my project here too. For this assignment we were able to use any collection of our choice, so I chose the super fun Cream & Sugar Collection that was released a few years ago. Our assignment was to feature one of our favorite products from Doodlebug. You know what I chose, right?? GINGHAM!! If you've been following along with me for any period of time, you know that my go-to favorite paper is gingham!! I have about 8 packs of the Doodlebug Gingham in my stash!! It's a perfect neutral that gives a bit of texture, and it comes in a million colors. It's the perfect crafting supply!! 

I've been hoarding the Cream and Sugar collection, so today is a good time to use some, and share some projects with you! Cheers! Do you like your coffee hot or iced? I like both! LOL. Coffee is my love language....and coffee themed crafting makes me happy. 

I combined the Doodlebug papers with two of my favorite dies from Honey Bee Stamps (all the supply links are at the bottom of my post) to make two coffee shaped cards! One is hot, and one is iced. The die cuts make is super easy to make these giant coffee cups!! Perfect! My color scheme is taken from the patterned papers: Blue, brown and hot pink! Here are my two cards.... They both fold open so you can write a message inside and/or attach a gift card. And, they both fit into an A2 envelope!

 

You're brew-tiful! I mean it! How adorable is that coffee cup?? I used the gingham in three places on this card! Brown, pink and white!! See how it becomes a neutral? I die cut the die with the blue coffee cup paper. It's a long die, so you will need your long cutting plates to go through your die cutting machine. 

 

More gingham here.... And a close up of the top of my iced coffee with sprinkles!

 

 

 

The Doodlebug Gingham comes in 12x12 and 6x6 packs!

 

 

 

The brown coffee sleeve part slides off and then you can open the card. Here it is in my hand so you can see the size - the size of an A2 card!

 

Here is the card opened up... I love that the paper has coffee beans on the back!! I will attach a gift card on that top part and write my note on the white liner part. Great way to give a coffee gift!!

 

I used a donut sticker for the iced coffee card! This one folds open from the bottom!

 

 

 

These cards make me happy! I hope I've made you smile too!! Cheers! I wish we could all have a cup of coffee together right now! XOXO

Thanks for stopping by today for a cup of cheer! Be sure to head over to the Doodlebug Blog to leave some love and get some more inspiration from the design team! My next Doodlebug project will be a 4th of July theme. I'm waiting for my supplies to arrive and I can't wait to get started! I will see you soon! 

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

Ellen Hutson New Release Day - It's a Good Day!

Hi there crafty pals! Happy Friday! And, it's a fun Friday because there is a brand new release from Ellen Hutson today! They sent me a cute stamp set ahead of time to whip up some cards to share with you! I used the Good Day Stamp Set and matching dies to create two cards to show you! The entire new release is available at 9am PST today Friday, June 11th! Happy Shopping everyone!

My first card is a tropical scene (that I wish I was inside of right now LOL!).... A white A2 card base, some green tropical paper, some vellum, and adorable images colored with Copic Markers! 

 

I started by stamping and die cutting out the car, the trees and the clouds/sun images. I colored everything with Copics and added white gel pen accents. I knew I wanted a tropical theme, so I got out my Postage Stamp Dies to use as my top layers!! Just lends itself to the overall travel theme. 

 

I stamped the sentiment onto a smaller postage die cut and layered some trees behind it. Everything is affixed with foam tape. The green paper is from an old Doodlebug paper pad that's no longer available... but you could pick any matching paper!! I added Bon Bon Glitter Sprinkles and a tiny bit of twine.

 

So sweet! Vroom vroom...off she goes on her vacay! 

 

This second card was also made with the Good Day stamp set! I used Distress Oxide inks to blend the grass and the blue part behind the bicyclist. The finished card is an A2 card base, layered with red, and then white.... I used gingham to make her cute shirt.

 

 

That's it for today! Everything is available now in the Ellen Hutson Store! Yippeeee!

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

 

Sweet Strawberry Cards to celebrate Summer!

Helloooooo my sweet and crafty friends! How are you this fine day?! I hope you had an awesome weekend, and cheers to a good week to come! I have two posts this week! Yay! The other one will be on Friday! What's new with you? Are you creating a lot? Are you starting to get out and about some more? How are things where you live? We had a streak of 100 degree days but today it cooled off a little. I'm grateful for that! Seemed to early to be so hot already! My husband and I met 28 years ago on June 4th and we always celebrate that day as an anniversary!! So on Friday night we went out and had the yummiest, best dinner together! We went to a nice restaurant for the first time in almost two years! It was lovely and wonderful to be out, and dressed up, on a Friday night again! The restaurant was lively and full and it made me feel better to see all the happy faces. Maybe, just maybe, things are going to take a turn for the better! California has been locked down tight this whole time. We are ready to party!! 

My post for today is showcasing some brand new stamps from a new company owned by my crafty friend Ivana! It's called Pigment Craft Co! I actually squealed when I saw this new release and I was online at exactly the moment these stamps went on sale to buy them!! I've been stamping for 27 years and it's pretty rare for me to get SO excited about a new release!! These stamps are modern, pretty, sweet, retro, and happy all at the same time! It's like she read my mind!! LOL. My stamps came and I promptly sat down and made these two cards!! CLICK HERE for my supply list for today! 

The first card is good enough to eat! (On a picnic! LOL) The finished card is a cream A2 card base....layered with gingham of course and more cream cardstock. It has a vintage feeling to it - using distress inks to edge everything - and a big bold look!

 

I used bright red, pink and green inks to stamp the strawberries and leaves! I used my MISTI for a good impression. I ended up stamping everything twice for a rich inked look. So easy with the MISTI to do this. I stamped two strawberries with the tops, and one big leaf cluster. After stamping everything, I used two colors of Distress Inks to edge in brown around all the pieces.

 

I stamped the sentiment onto a small scalloped circle and inked that part also. I used twine and a button from my stash for some design elements!

 

I splattered white ink/paint onto the strawberries and leaves (just because!) and added green enamel dots to the tops of the berries.

 

Here is the berry/leaf cluster before I placed it onto the card. It's a big mama!!! SOOOOO pretty! This would be beautiful as a bag tie on, or on a package with some pretty gingham ribbon, or at the top of a glassine treat bag.... Lots of ideas!

 

I layered a stitched rectangle (in cream cardstock) and edged it with brown inks. Everything is affixed with foam tape for dimension. I added a couple of pink hearts to finish it off! 

 

Hey sweets!!! OMG I love this so much.

 

 

 

My second card is also an A2 card base, but in bright white cardstock. I layered aqua and pink for that perfect retro/modern look. I love pink and aqua together....and a pop of red too! Yummmmm. I used the same ink pads for both cards. CLICK HERE for my supply list! 

 

 

I stamped the Berry Patch berries, stems and leaves in pinks and greens... I stamped extra leaves so I could layer three different green colors. I used Copic Markers to add some little extra touches in a darker color (on the left side of the berries and on the leaves).

 

The background die that makes that pretty retro design is from Lil Inker Designs and is old - and sadly they're no longer around.... You could use an embossing folder or another background die for this part...anything from your stash!!

 

I stamped the sentiment in aqua and die cut it with the matching die. In this photo you can see the layers of the leaves. I used my MISTI to stamp all of these parts. Just makes it so easy and perfect.

 

 

 

 

That's it for today! I eat strawberries almost every single day during the Summer. They just say Summer to me - and in crafting too! We have awesome strawberry stands by our house and we get them straight from the ground and there is nothing sweeter. I tried to capture the feeling of Summer in my cards today! Have a good week and I'll see you soon! XO

CLICK HERE to visit Pigment Craft Co website! Pigment is based out of Canada! My shipping experience was great! It took about 8 days to arrive to California and it was beautifully boxed and packaged. They also have free shipping over a certain amount!

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

 

Candy Bar Favors with Doodlebug Papers!

Hey everyone!!! Nice to see you!!! I took a little unintended break the past week or so and just relaxed. My creative mojo has not been at peak form and I have just been super tired. So I gave myself a break. I didn't mean to, it just happened, and that's okay. Sometimes the ideas just stop flowing for a while and I've learned over the years not to force it, but to just rest my brain. I did some organizing and we went to the movies (yay!) and I got some other business things taken care of. How are you? I hope you had a nice long weekend! We had 100+ degree temps here and dang it, it's Summer! Life seems to be slowly getting back to a little bit of normal and it is bringing me relief to my anxiety. I'm grateful to be able to move about more and do things that we enjoy. I hope it's the same for you where you are!! Tip - go see Cruella at the theater! It was AMAZING! 

My project for today is featuring Doodlebug supplies and Jaded Blossom dies! It's my turn on the Doodlebug Blog today and this project is shared over there too. If you have time - please head over there and leave some love for all the design teams' projects. They are amazing!! My project today again features the Fairy Garden Collection (my final project with this collection)....

I made candy bar party favors! They were so easy and so fun to make. Perfect for Treat Bags or Favors, or for a birthday, graduation, or even a shower... I made them to hand out to my friends! We all could use some candy right?? Oh! That makes me think of Halloween ideas!  I love the Hershey's Dark Bars, but any regular size flat bar will fit into the die. It would be easy to tape a gift card onto the candy first, or insert some money, depending on the occasion. Here are my four candy bar favors! Lots of pictures in this post because I want you to see everything! :-)

 

My signature thing is details....I love adding all the little details to my projects! Here I used Doodlebug Chunky Twine and glued on Sprinkles - here a rainbow - to finish off the twine bow.

 

I love that the candy bar wrapper/slider die has a decorative edge!! I used hearts and rainbows and flowers!! These are the 12x12 papers from the Fairy Garden Collection. 

 

I used the Doodlebug Borders and Edges Dies to make a row of hearts on all the candy wrappers!!

 

Adorable stickers to decorate the front of the candies....oh and some doilies too!!

 

Here is the Candy Bar Slider Die! You die cut two pieces and glue or tape them together. SO EASY!!! It also has a stitched edge piece to make the front. You could decorate this in a million different ways! The dies are from Jaded Blossom and they cut like a dream.

 

 

Once your die cuts are assembled, just slide the candy inside. Yep - no gluing or measuring - just pop it inside! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes me want to have a party!!! LOL. Oh yes, I'm ready to party after the past year!

 

 

Okay, friends, that's it for today's post! Thank you for stopping by for a visit today! I hope you have a blessed and happy day! XOXO

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

 

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).

 

The Greetery - Release Day is here!

Hi everyone! It's finally here! Today is RELEASE DAY for THE GREETERY! Yahooooooo! Shopping for the new release starts at 10am EST! Do you have your list all ready? I also have some more fun news! The Greetery now has a customer rewards program! And a HUGE SALE starts today to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary! I'm predicting a lot of things will sell out so I'm sending you this message early! 

At 10am EST I'll be posting videos on my Instagram Stories going through the entire new release and also showing my cards in more detail and walking you through tips and tricks. Please join me over there if you have time! 

If I've inspired you this week - I would be very appreciative if you would use my affiliate shopping link to get your new goodies! Also, if you have time, leave me a note here and tell me what is your favorite new thing from the release - I'd love to know what you're excited about! Lastly, but most importantly, thank you for all the kind and uplifting comments on my blog the past two days. You have made me feel so good and I'm grateful for that!! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!

The Greetery - Spring Market Collection - Day 2!

Hello Hello! Welcome back to day TWO of the launch of the new release from The Greetery! It's called Spring Market! Fresh and pretty and perfect for April, and on into the Summer! Did you enjoy day one? SOOOO much inspiration from everyone. I love looking at all the projects just as much as you do! I think it's cool that we are all given the exact same set of stamps and dies....but boy do we come up with so many different things! I love that part! So today is day two, and then tomorrow is release day. All the goodies will be available for shopping 4/28 at 10am EST. Yeah! What is your favorite thing so far?? Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of my post for news, prizes, and links!

For my three cards for today I decided to incorporate patterned paper! I loooooooove patterned paper and I have approximately 14,000 tons of it in my craft room. I thought - let's use it! Let's not hoard it! Maybe I can give you some ideas today to use patterned paper in your Greetery projects! Let's get started...

My first card for today features the brand new Tulips Botanicuts and the brand new Market Basket Die set! OOH LA LA! So pretty and fabulous! This finished card is an A2 white card base that I covered with floral patterned paper. I used the colors in the paper to inspire the rest of my card...

 

The star of the show here for sure is the tulips!! The die set includes all the pieces to make three flowers: one open, one slightly open, and one bud...along with several stem and leaf options. It was SO easy to put the flowers together (you know Betsy always includes a guide for us).... I die cut the petals from pink paper and the stems/leaves from green paper. Then I used Distress Inks and small sponge daubers to add color to the pieces. I liked this better than starting with white paper. I also splattered some white onto everything...

 

Now, let's talk about those Market Basket Dies!!!! Yeeeks! LOVE! The die set comes with three sizes of baskets, liners, and handles. So you can die cut the perfect size for your project. I used the largest and the medium sized ones here. There is one more that is smaller. I die cut them from dark gray cardstock and splattered white paint onto them. I die cut the pretty liner at the top from the same patterned paper as the card layer. Then I backed them with vellum. The hat is a sticker that is from the same collection as the paper!! 

 

Here's a close up of the handles on the basket! Betsy thought of everything! And that beautiful font for the words on the label....stop it!!!

 

 

 

 

 

My second card for today has a boho chic vibe to it, created by using certain colors and patterned paper! This card features the brand new and super cool Holding Hands Stamp and Die Set! It's a big set, with two hands and lots of things for decorating the hands and objects for the hands to hold. It's so creative!! I gave my lady a bracelet and a pretty sheer blouse... She's bringing a card and a bouquet to her bff.... The finished card is a kraft A2 card base, layered with patterned paper and then light aqua paper on top.

 

OMG how fun is this??? I die cut her bracelet from gold cardstock and added a tiny heart. Her blouse is from polka dot vellum... I used matching paper to line the envelope. See the details in the hand?? I mean, really?? Those tiny fingernails!!! 

 

 

 

I thought that the card needed something at the bottom so I added a kraft bow with a heart in the center. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the aqua cardstock and also added gold splatters.

 

 

TIP: I found it easier when stamping the hand portion to stamp the smaller stamp first (The one with the shading and the knuckles) and then stamp the larger piece on top!! Then the fingernails last.

 

 

 

Okay, friends, one last card for this release! This card is an A2 white card base, layered with some coral/peach gingham and a pretty nordic circle... My card features the brand new Flower Market Bouquet Stamp Set and matching dies. This floral spray is BIG! And I love it! Easy to line up the images with your MISTI or stamp positioner and you can use any colors! I chose to use a desert inspired color palette: turquoise, coral and yellow - something different for me! It feels happy!!

 

The bouquet is all one big stamp, so it's so easy to get big coverage on the front of the card. I added a few white dots with a gel pen to the flower centers. I also added a few enamel dots for color.

 

 

 

I paired a bold thank you sentiment (from the previously released Opposites Attract stamp/die set) in rich black for impact. One quick tip to break up all that black ink is to add white highlights with a gel pen. Everything is attached with foam tape.

 

 

Did you see the announcement of the start of The Greetery Rewards Program? It's called Greetery Gold! Customers will be able to earn points for every purchase made and redeem them for discounts! WOOHOOOO! You can also earn more points by following The Greetery on social media, etc. AND you'll get extra bonus points on your birthday too! Check out all the details at The Greetery website. 

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT ALL THE DESIGN TEAM BLOGS FOR INSPIRATION TODAY! Start at The Greetery Blog!

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! During the two countdown days we'll be doing some special giveaways. Here is what we have planned for today, day two! TWO PRIZE PACKAGES OF THE ENTIRE APRIL RELEASE COLLECTION!!!!! Wowza! One winner will be chosen from the blog comments, the other winner will be chosen from Instagram comments on The Greetery's Instagram. Good Luck everyone!!  Comments for both giveaways will close at 11:59pm on Tuesday, April 27. Winners for all will be announced on The Greetery blog on Wednesday, 4/28 at 7am EDT.

 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's cards! (Affiliate Links Used). The new release launches tomorrow 4/28 at 10am EST!!

 

The Greetery - Spring Market Collection - Day 1!

Helloooooo and Happy Monday! And, what a happy Monday it is! We are kicking off the April New Release from The Greetery today! The new release is called Spring Market! So many beautiful florals, birthdays, alphabets, and more! The design team will be sharing projects today and tomorrow on all our blogs and The Greetery Blog. The new release will be available for shopping on Wednesday morning at 10am EST! Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of my post for prize information and links and some other fun news! 

I have THREE cards to share today, and three more tomorrow! I used lots and lots of color and made it happy! What a joy and pleasure it is to create for The Greetery and share with you. Truly, whenever that Greetery package shows up at my house, everything stops! And I have to sit and stare at it all! The creativity flows easy with these gorgeous stamps and dies. I hope you find some inspiration here today. XO

First up is a Rifle Paper Co inspired pink card full of lemons and blossoms! This card features the new stamp set called Always In Bloom. I am really a huge fan of Rifle Paper and used many of the elements of Rifle on my card - blooms, lots of color, lots of gold accents. (click here to see the exact inspiration) I like how it came out! The finished card is an A2 pink card base, and then one more layer of pink to serve as the top layer. 

 

The bloom word is the main sentiment in the new stamp set. Then there are several coordinating smaller sentiments to go with it! I love that the bloom word is a two step stamp - for more added dimension. I stamped it in aqua and then a deeper teal over...and die cut it with the matching die.

 

I went to town stamping and die cutting out tons of flowers, leaves and lemons! I used the lemons from the previously released Lemon Blossom set. I added gold accents with my favorite gold paint and a tiny paint brush.  I also splashed some gold onto the pink layer.

 

In this side view, you can better see the gold accents and the way I attached the elements to the card. The branch is from the Mighty Oak Botanicuts. (all the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post).

 

I used foam tape and foam dots to attach almost everything and kept adding layers until I got a nice design. I really love all these colors together. Very cheerful for spring time!

 

 

 

Next up is a bright and bold Birthday card! This card features the brand new Delightful Digits Background Die and the new Birthday Word Die. I used the previously released Cake Pops suite of products to add the candles etc in the center. This card is a white A2 card base. I glued the numbers die onto the white card base and set it under a book to dry flat. 

 

I splashed some white paint over the aqua parts of this card. I added white gel pen accents to the black word die! In this photo you can see all the layers. For the candles I used colored cardstock and added accents with Copic Markers, White gel pen, and glitter!

 

The 'happy' word is from another brand new set called Digits Sentiments - that goes with the new numbers dies!! LOVE IT.

 

Here's a close up of the beautiful detail in that Delightful Digits Die. It cut out like a dream with one pass through my machine. Beautiful! I feel like it could be modern, fun, and even traditional depending on the colors you use and the way you ink it up.

 

 

 

 

 

And, one more card for today! This purple hello card is a finished size of A2 with a white card base. I used pretty tones of purples and green to make it sweet and sentimental. This card features the brand new Bold Alphabet Dies and the new Alpha Buds Stamps and Dies. The Alpha Buds make tiny flower clusters to fit in with the alphabet and/or the matching numbers. So fresh!

 

I used purple cardstock, then vellum, then white for my layers.... Then I die cut out the hello and the happy from the matching cardstock. I stamped and die cut out the small flowers. It was hard to not use all of them!!!

 

For stamping these small flowers, I actually die cut the shapes out first, and then stamped onto the die cut pieces. I just eyeballed it and they came out perfect! Easy to get this nice look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you see the announcement of the start of The Greetery Rewards Program? It's called Greetery Gold! Customers will be able to earn points for every purchase made and redeem them for discounts! WOOHOOOO! You can also earn more points by following The Greetery on social media, etc. AND you'll get extra bonus points on your birthday too! Check out all the details at The Greetery website. PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT ALL THE DESIGN TEAM BLOGS FOR INSPIRATION TODAY! Start at The Greetery Blog!

 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! During the two countdown days we'll be doing some special giveaways. Here is what we have planned for today, day one! TWO prize packages including the following: $50 Gift Card Code to spend now, A Greetery Tumbler,  AND a  25% off code to use later will be tucked inside the tumbler! Wowza! One winner will be chosen from the blog comments, the other winner will be chosen from Instagram comments on The Greetery's Instagram. Good Luck everyone!! Comments for both giveaways will close at 11:59pm on Tuesday, April 27. Winners for all will be announced on The Greetery blog on Wednesday, 4/28 at 7am EDT.

 

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

 

 

 

Garden Journal with Doodlebug Supplies - Fairy Garden Collection!

Hello crafty friends! I'm here on the blog today with a fun Spring project made with the super cute Fairy Garden Collection from Doodlebug! I feel like this collection just screams "SPRING" so I decided to make a Spring themed project. A Garden Journal! I used an old kraft blank binder that's been in my stash for a long time and jazzed it up with papers, stickers, letters, and much much more! I've really been enjoying getting out of my card making box and making different types of projects for Doodlebug!  I encourage you to look at different things you might have in your craft room - things that you can cover with paper and decorate. Some of the things I like to use are - oatmeal canisters (for gifts), cookie tins, blank books, DVD cases and cool boxes. Anything can become new and wonderful again with some Doodlebug! 

This post has tons of pictures so I could show you every page - grab a cup of coffee and spend some time with me! 

My Garden Journal is 6" x 4" big, so it's perfect to tuck in your bag to bring to the nursery. I put in lots of pages for lists and notes.... Here's the cover! I used the awesome Doodlebug Alphabet Stickers to spell out Garden Journal on a piece of white cardstock, and then decorated around it. How cute is that sweet fairy?!

 

I started with a white cardstock cover and then put my letter stickers on first to make sure there was enough room! Then I added papers and stickers and that adorable fairy.

 

 

 

Here is the inside cover and the first page. I used lots of papers with room to write so this could actually be a useful journal! I had so much fun picking out elements for each different page. I used a lot of green to keep with the garden theme.

 

The back of the first page has an envelope so you can tuck goodies inside - receipts, seed packets, ideas....

 

There is a small half page with a pocket here in between these two pages...

 

 

 

I love all the adorable critters!

 

The last page and the back inside cover!

 

A close up of the envelope piece.

 

 

 

He reminds me of Keroppi!!

 

 

 

 

Cutest little garden tool!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the back cover!!

 

I will probably end up giving this as a gift (since I have a brown thumb!)... SO I made some cute custom pens by gluing on some flower gems! 

 

 

 

And lastly, some baby tulips from my garden! I was trying to work them into my photo staging but couldn't get it to work - so here they are on their own! 

Thanks for stopping by today to see my most recent Doodlebug project!! I am having the best time sharing with you! What should I make next??! Have a blessed and wonderful day. Be sure to stop by the Doodlebug Blog and leave some love over there too! XO

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

New Bitty Brushes & More!

Hi artsy peoples! I'm just popping in real quick today to share something new from Taylored Expressions! That beautiful butterfly card kit sold out in one day! I don't want you to miss out on these!! TE now has small ink blending brushes (Bitty Brushes!) to add to your ink blending tool set.... And there are now black and white brushes too.... OH and new stencils and plain brushes to create your own collection. Yep, that's a whole lotta new stuffs! As some of you know, I do the product photography for Taylored Expressions, and I took these photos so long ago! Been patiently waiting to share these fun new tools with you - and today's the day! Yippeee! The Bitty Brushes are perfect for getting into those small stencils, or adding another layer of color to bigger images. LOVE!! I use white ink blending for clouds - so now I have a white blender brush. It's all awesome.

CLICK HERE to see all the new items! Here's a peek with a few photos. Have a brilliant and creative day. I'll be back tomorrow with a Doodlebug project! XOXO

 

 

 

 

Sending Crafty Hugs - fun mailbox card!

Hi friends and crafty girls! Happy Friday! And I've got some happy mail and crafty hugs for you today to kick off the weekend! I hope you had a good week! I have a crafty themed card to share with you today, made with some new to me dies from Hero Arts and a fresh red, white and blue color scheme too! This card was really fun to make and I hope it brings a smile to your face today. XO

The finished card is a white A2 card base. I covered the entire front of the card base with the red, white and blue striped paper. Then a layer of white cardstock, then the kraft layer that I stamped... Yes, it's one of those cards... More is definitely more! I love a happy mail theme too!

 

I started by stamping the cool Mail Jumble stamp onto kraft cardstock using Versamark ink and my MISTI. I let it soak in for that awesome watermark effect. Then I die cut the kraft panel using a big postage stamp die. There's definitely a theme here - LOL. 

 

I used the Mailbox die set to die cut out four blue mailboxes and a big stack of tiny letters! Oh, and a bunch of tiny hearts too.... I wanted the mailbox to stand out, so I glued the four mailboxes together on top of each other. I edged the mailbox in blue ink. For the tiny letters, I used a gray Copic Marker to outline the folds, etc. How adorable is this stack??!! 

 

I heat embossed the "happy mail" sentiment onto the front of the mailbox. Then I splashed it with some white paint. I made the bucket red for a bit more color and interest. I also added white gel pen accents on everything.

 

I used foam tape to affix the letters coming out of the top of the mailbox.

 

The sentiment was heat embossed onto a black banner - don't you love that sentiment! I'm definitely sending Crafty Hugs your way with this card today.

 

 

This is one of those card ideas I had in my head for a long time....and it came out more fun that I even imagined! Red, white and blue is always so pretty and cheerful... Those tiny letters kill me!!! Sending you love and good wishes for a wonderful weekend! XO

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

Taylored Expressions Butterfly Wishes Card Kit Launch!

Hi friends! I have exciting news today! There's a brand new, beautiful, awesome card kit launching today from Taylored Expressions! The Butterfly Wishes Card Kit is sooooo gooooood! I made two cards to share with you today, made with the kit. The kit has a large background stamp, two smaller stamp sets, a set of stencils, dies, envelopes, seals and MORE! You're going to love it! And it features one of my new fav things - stamp + stencil combos. It was really easy to get beautiful results and you can you any colors!! Woot! CLICK HERE to shop the new kit at the TE Store. Now, let's look at some cards!

This first card was inspired by the colors of the graphics for the actual kit. Pretty shades of yellow, aqua and coral... My finished card is an A2 white card base, then layered with dark aqua, then my stenciled/stamped panel...

 

To start this card, I used the large background stamp to stamp the butterfly bodies and heat emboss them in gold... SO FRESH!! I used my MISTI to get a nice clean impression. I also gold heat embossed the sentiment so it would all go nicely together.

 

There are exactly matching stamps and dies to create separate butterflies to go with the large background of butterflies - genius!! 

 

 

 

The matching stencils (There are TWO) go right on top of those embossed bodies. That way you can do a completely different color for the top and bottom of each butterfly. I chose to do them the same, but I did use two colors or ink to get the shading closer to the bodies. I also splattered gold paint on top of everything (you know me!). It's very easy to get the stencils lined up perfectly - see how nice it looks?? LOVE!

 

For my sentiment element, I heat embossed the words in gold onto a stitched circle. Then I die cut a slightly larger stitched circle out of vellum. I stamped the butterfly trails in black and then mounted my two matching butterflies.

 

Here's a side view so you can see that SHIMMMMEERRRRR! :-)

 

This second card is also an A2 white card base. I wanted this set of butterflies to look like monarchs so I used shades of black, yellow, gold and orange. I also used the tiny accent stamps to add black over the stenciled parts! 

 

I cut a stitched square out of another white panel to form a window over the butterfly stamped panel! I heat embossed the bodies in black embossing powder. 

 

I stamped that pretty sentiment onto the top panel in deep black ink. I added a few gems from my stash to pick up the warm colors.

 

 

 

Here is the full contents of the kit, including that nice storage back with the beautiful graphic on the front!

 

Thanks for dropping in today to see what's new! I am very certain that you will love this kit as much as I already do! CLICK HERE to shop the kit and the TE Store. Have a great day! I'll be back on Friday with something funnnnnn! XOXO

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

Jane's Doodles Blog Hop - Life is a journey - enjoy the ride!

Hi guys! Happy Friday! I have two posts today - woot! Must be some fun crafty things happening if I have two posts in one day! Yeah! Wishing you a fantastic weekend! This post is part of a blog hop celebrating the new release from Jane's Doodles! They have the absolutely cutest stamps! This company is based out of Croatia and their products are sold through their website. Good news: They have flat rate $7.00 international shipping and my order arrived in about a week! So be sure to head over and check out their stamps!!

Today I'm sharing a card I made with the ADORABLE Road Trip stamp set!! Cute images, perfect for coloring! My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with a teal striped patterned paper...and then my images.

 

I stamped all the images in crisp black ink and colored them all in with Copic Markers. The company does not make matching dies, so I cut out everything by hand (kickin it old school) and added white gel pen accents. 

 

Don't those critters look like they're having a blast in their van?! 

 

For the sentiment, I heat embossed in white onto a black banner - love how graphic that looks with all this color already on the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for my Road Trip card today! CLICK HERE to shop the Jane's Doodles Store....   CLICK HERE to see the fun Jane's Doodles Blog for more inspiration and ideas. Jane's Doodles is having a 25% off Sale (Fri-Sun) and a Giveaway - one winner chooses stamp set of choice with the winner announced on Monday April 12!!  Thanks for stopping by today (Again!) XOXO

BLOG HOP STOPS FOR TODAY'S HOP:

Kaja

 

Marion

 

Neha

 

Claudia

 

Katerina

 

Bobbi

 

Daniel

 

Wanda

 

Laura

 

Jane's Doodles Blog

TGIF - The Greetery Inspiration Friday - Aloha Card!

ALOOOOOOOOHA!!! Hello and Welcome to TGIF for The Greetery! Around here TGIF stands for: The Greetery Inspiration Friday! Woot! This project is on The Greetery Blog today.... And I'm here on my blog today too - sharing some of my favorite things! I live in California and last week we had a high temperature of 86 degrees! Well, that got me to thinking about Summer, and pina coladas,  so I created a Summer card to share with you! Never too early to plan ahead for the season, and work with some of my favorite themes... I am always inspired by vintage postcards, and I absolutely love vintage Hawaiiana too. Well, combine those two things with lots of wonderful stamps and dies from The Greetery and you have today's card! A tropical postcard card! Aloha friends! 

My finished card is an A2 card base made from Woodgrain cardstock (Supplies at the bottom of my post... All the other paper used in this project was water color paper. And I colored with Distress Inks and a Water Brush!

 

I started by die cutting several of the small stamps dies from the Pretty Postmarks Dies, one of the larger stamp pieces and the circular postmark piece. I used watercolor paper for all the pieces of this card except the card base. I also die cut several palm dies from watercolor paper. Once I had my elements all die cut, I had fun water coloring with Distress inks and the awesome Destination stamp sets.

 

I chose the elements that made me think of summer: Palm Trees, flowers, and that cute woody wagon with the surfboard. I stamped with Distress Inks and then used a water brush to 'paint' over the stamped images to look like water coloring. I also splattered everything with brown ink to look vintage. I edged all the pieces with light brown ink and a sponge dauber. For the base layer, I die cut the large Postal Die from watercolor paper and brushed on some blue ink mixed with a lot of water.  

 

 

 

For the palm leaves I also used Distress inks and a water brush. A few shades of greens... AHHHH. So fresh and pretty!  Such an easy technique that gives great results! Everything is attached to the card using foam squares for added dimension. For the sentiment, I used the Pretext Dies and stamps from the Lemon Blossom stamp set to write out 'happy summer' on two different tabs. 

To finish off today, I will wish you Aloha! I hope I've inspired you to look at your stamps in a new way and try something different. Thank you for spending some time with me here on my blog. This project is featured on the The Greetery Blog today too - please stop by over there and leave some love!  Wishing you a beautiful weekend full of happiness and creativity! Take care friends.

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

Doodlebug Fairy Garden Birdhouse Project!

Hellloooooo friends and fellow crafty mamas! How are you doing this week? Did you have a nice Easter? Our Easter was amazing! Mostly because we were able to attend all the church services and get out in the fresh air and bask in the beauty that is this time of year. I'm so grateful! Now, it's April already and this year is going to fly on by I think! Today is my design team day to post on the Doodlebug Blog and of course share my project here too! CLICK HERE to head over to the Doodlebug Blog and leave some love! 

I'm doing my first project with the brand new Fairy Garden Collection. OMG I squeeeeeeed when I opened the box! It's adorable and fun and beautiful of course.... Little fairies, mushrooms, bugs, and tons of bright paper!!! I had purchased this cool wood plain birdhouse at Hobby Lobby a while back just knowing the right idea would come to me...and here it is! I decided to decorate the birdhouse using papers, stickers, die cuts and more from Doodlebug. I just love how it came out! It's on display in our family room. I hope you'll try this project - it was so much fun.

Here is the front of the birdhouse...

 

And this is the back of the birdhouse....

 

And the top down view!

 

This is what the plain birdhouse looked like. I bought Mod Podge Thinking I would cover the papers... But I only ended up using it as the glue to attach the paper. I liked the way the paper was without covering it. So you can use liquid glue, tape or Mod Podge! Whatever you have on hand.

 

Our new Target has a craft area that has these cool pots of acrylic paints. I found the perfect shade of blue and painted the parts of the birdhouse that would show. I used four or five coats of paint for a nice thick finish. It dries really fast. You can use any type of acrylic paint.

 

This was the most time consuming part of the project - the roof! I wanted cute shingles.... So I die cut ten scallop strips for each side and layered them onto the roof line! Came out exactly how I was hoping! I first cut a piece of 12 x 12 paper in half. Then I cut one inch strips. So each piece was 1" x 6". The I used the scallop die cut to cut the strips. 

Parts of my process.... To make the shabby chic flowers I used the Doodlebug Flower Dies. They come already cut! I sprayed them with water and crumpled them in my hands. I set them aside to dry. After they were dry, I glued them together using liquid glue and then splattered them with white paint. I added Glitter Sprinkles for the centers.

 

 

 

The little fence is PERFECT for the front of the birdhouse. It's from TE and you can find it HERE. I layered three dies together to make the fence thick and so I could glue it down. I added the welcome sign and then put on some bugs and birds and mushrooms!! The 'hello sunshine' is a word sticker from the 12 x 12 sticker sheet.

 

For the back of the birdhouse I added a big round sticker over the floral paper. Then I created a sweet banner to go across the back  -  held up by two sweet butterflies.

 

I hot glued the flowers to the top and corner of the birdhouse and added the leaves in.

 

I die cut a circle into a larger scallop circle die to make the green part for the front. I added a tweet sweet little birdie too.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by today to see my latest Doodlebug project. I am having the best time designing for Doodlebug. I hope my love and enthusiasm shines through. Truly one of my favorite companies for twenty years. I feel so blessed to work with them! My next project will be in two weeks! Hmmmmm. What should I make? Any ideas? Drop me a note in the comments! XOXO

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

Happy Easter 2021 - From The Guess Family!

Best wishes to you this Easter. May your life be blessed with joy and prosperity.... The risen Christ is celebrated in every opened flower, in every beam of nourishing sunlight, in every humble patch of green beneath our feet. Easter blessings from our home to yours! He is Risen! Here's a pretty photo from our front yard - that reminds me of the bounty given us by our Savior! 

Easter Stitching - and Good Friday!

Hello beautiful friends! It's Good Friday and it's a very special day. Sending you good wishes on this blessed and holy day today. I am very happy that my husband and I will be going to church tonight. I missed it so much last year. It never really felt like Easter since we couldn't do any activities. I'm so grateful that things are starting to return to normal and we can worship. I'm wishing you and your family a beautiful Easter weekend.

I thought I would share my Easter cross stitch project with you today and a bit of home decor.... I have the stitching piece on our coffee table in the living room along with some other Easter pretties.  I finished this piece on Tuesday and ran out to Michael's and found a frame and some ribbon. It was a quick and easy stitch and I love the pretty images and of course the message. 

 

The pattern is called Spring Doxology by Rabbit Valley Studio on Etsy. It was a downloaded pattern that I printed at home. I used 14 count Aida and close to the called for threads. I used what I had on hand! THIS IS WHERE I buy my stitching supplies - good service and fast shipping! 

 

How cute is that bun bun?? And that teeny beeeee! (You already know how I feel about bees!)

 

I hand assembled a bow with pretty gingham ribbon and added a button charm from my stash - I used my hot glue gun to attach everything. The frame is from Michael's.

 

Here's an in-progress photo I took while I was working on it...

That's it for today! Have a wonderful weekend everyone! XOXO

Celebrating A Blog Named Hero's Anniversary - Hey Honey!

Hi everyone! I am buzzzzzing with excitement to finally share this beeeeeee card with you today! I made this card with supplies from Hero Arts for a big giant two day extravaganza Instagram Hop! But of course, you know I had to post here too! The Instagram Hop is for A Blog Named Hero - they are celebrating NINE years! And they invited past design team members to join in the fun and celebration of their anniversary. Some of you have been following along with me since way back in 2013 when I joined the ABNH team. I went back and found that very first post I did for them. CLICK HERE to see that first post! I love looking back to see how my stamping/photography has changed over the years.  Some of the people on that team with me have been my crafting friends ever since those days and I love that. You know that Hero Arts has a soft spot in my heart as it was the first company I bought stamps from WAY back (in the way back time machine) in 1994 when I started stamping!! Today I'm featuring some things from the new catalog and let's get a look! CLICK HERE to head over to Instagram to see all the projects in the hop!

My finished card is a buttery golden honey A2 card base. Layered with some brown polka dots and then some yummy gingham... 

 

I started by die cutting the honey post, 'lid', and twine and the two flowers. I added color to the honey pot with Copic Markers, Wild Honey Distress Ink and white paint splashes. I colored the flowers with Copic Markers and added Diamond Stickles glitter glue to make them shimmery...

 

I die cut the large hexagon shape and stamped the beautiful Abstract Honeycomb Background Stamp onto it with yellow ink.

 

I love that big 'honey' word die! I stamped the word 'hey' onto a small banner so my card would say hey honey! The honey die cut is glued to the card with clear glue and using tweezers to place it in just the right spot.

 

I stamped and colored the bee and added Diamond Stickles to his wings. Then I stamped the trail onto the hexagon. 

 

Here's a close up of that pretty die cut with the honey pot and top piece. I'm obsessed. (all the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post)

 

 

 

This photo shows how everything is layered onto the card (lots of foam tape as you probably guessed!)

 

Thanks for buzzing by, my little honey pots! It's always good to see you! Here's wishing you a blessed and happy and lovely Easter weekend! I am soooo thankful that church is open and we can attend Good Friday and Easter Services this year! I was so sad last year to miss Easter time. Many blessings to you and your family for a good holiday!

CLICK HERE to head over and see the Instagram Hop!

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

Pinkfresh Studio March 2021 New Release - Folk Garden Card!

Hi everyone! It's time for another beautiful new release from Pinkfresh Studio! And, we're celebrating with a giant blog hop today! Yippeee! Happy Monday indeed! Hope you had an awesome weekend. This new release is just what you would think - GORGEOUS florals!!! I am still loving the stamp/die/stencil combo of products that make it so simple to get amazing results. Today's card of mine features the Folk Garden suite of products, in a fresh spring color palette. All the prizes, discounts, and links are at the bottom of my post - so be sure to read through to the end. 

My finished card is an A2 white card base - then layers of soft blue, vellum, and more crisp white. I love building layers to frame pretty flowers....

 

The flowers are all ONE big stamp!! I stamped the stamp in black ink with my MISTI. Then I used Pinkfresh Inks in blues and mint greens and the matching stencils and stenciled the color onto the flowers. The die cut cuts ALL the flowers at once! Then you can leave them as the are on the stamp, or move them around like I did and create floral sprays anywhere on your card. I stamped and die cut the sentiment in matching blue inks.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the flowers. I ended up stamping, coloring and die cutting a second set of flowers. I trimmed the colored part of the buds and layered a second one on top for more dimension.

 

I die cut the pretty Artistic Bows Die from matching blue paper to affix to the floral spray.

 

 

 

Some pretty white shimmery enamel dots help to finish off the card!

 

I stacked two sentiments for the 'wish big' part so it would have more depth to it.

 

Close up of my paper layers....

 

This is a photo I took a few weeks ago near our house. It was the color inspiration for this card! Such a bright and happy Spring palette of green, blue and white. SO FRESH!! 

PRIZE INFORMATION:   Pinkfresh Studio GENEROUSLY will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog & YouTube channel!! They will also be giving away a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the hop. As with all our Pinkfresh blog hops - the winners will be picked from the comments on all the blogs! Pinkfresh will pull the winners & post them on April 5 , 2021 on their GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. GOOD LUCK!! 

Thank you so very much for stopping by on my part of this awesome blog hop! Be sure to follow all the links on the Pinkfresh Studio Blog to see all the inspiration we have to share with you! If you're new here - welcome! Hope to see you again! XO

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

 

Hippity Hoppity Easter Cards!

Hi everyone! It's Doodlebug Wednesday here on my blog! I'm also up over on the Doodlebug Blog today with this project! I am LOVING my time on the DB design team! I just got my new products for next month - cannot wait to share with you! In case you've noticed a pattern...you're right! Every two weeks is my turn to post for Doodlebug. Yay! Today I'm doing another set of projects with the Hippity Hoppity Collection for Spring and Easter. Today I've used the stamps and dies to create three Easter Cards. Full of fun and cute critters. I was so happy a few years ago when Doodlebug started making stamps and dies to coordinate with their paper collections. 

For my three cards, I used basically the same card layout, and changed it up with papers and die cut shapes. Each card is an A2 sized white card base. I used the 6x6 paper pads because the scale is perfect for cards. 

 

How freakin adorable is that carrot car?!!! I think I want a carrot car!!! That little bun bun is whizzing down the street getting some fresh air in his ears! LOL. I stamped and die cut the car, the tree, the sun, fence and foliage and colored everything with Copic Markers. I used bright happy colors to match the papers. The card layout is a good one to save for any occasion or any theme. Two coordinating papers and then two white focal shapes, then the images. I used twine and mini jewels as my embellishments on all the cards. (And you NEED petite gingham in your life, trust me)...

 

Everything was attached to the card with foam tape for dimension and pop! I stamped the sentiments in black ink on all three cards too.

 

Next up is a flying bunny, getting ready to jump head first into a pile of jelly beans! I colored the jelly beans to match that perfect plaid paper. How've you bean?!! So fun.

 

 

 

And my third card with some traditional Easter images - a lamb, bunny and basket! I used Copic Colors to match that adorable bunny paper - soft pinks and pastels... And that bow?! CUTE!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for hopping on by today to see my Doodlebug Easter cards! I think that's it for Easter cards, but you never know! LOL. I've made a ton of Easter cards this year. So many fun new stamp sets out there. Please pop by the Doodlebug Blog for more inspiration and ideas. I'll use the new collection in two weeks and I have a fun project in mind already. Can't wait to see if/how it turns out! 

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

 

Crafters Gonna Craft!

Hi crafty pals! Hope you're enjoying a nice weekend! We are getting out and about a bit more here in Sacramento. Friday we went to the gym for the first time in a year!!! It was so great to be back somewhere familiar and happy. I love our gym and it just feels like we could all use a little activity and positivity. So grateful that we are able to go some places. Improving my mood on the daily! I am sending big Spring hugs your way today along with a fun crafty card. One of my favorite themes for crafting is....CRAFTING! I love stamps of art supplies and cute crafty sayings - don't you? Today's card features two awesome crafty stamp sets from Taylored Expressions. And, some pencil coloring on kraft, which I haven't done in a while. 

My finished card is an A2 kraft card base. The crafty background covers the entire card base so just the one layer...then my focal circles...

 

How cute is that saying??? I love it - the font, the sentiment, all of it.

 

 

 

I haven't done pencils on kraft in a while and I had some free time in the afternoon the other day and I felt like coloring!! I did 'no line' coloring by stamping the background image in clear ink onto the kraft paper. The clear ink will blend in with the pencils later...

 

Here's that cool background stamp! I LOVE it.

 

My desk...art supplies make me so happy and content.

 

 

 

Here is the entire background image colored in with the pencils!!

 

For the focal circles I used the pencil stamp and stamped it along the bottom in some of the matching colors. I popped it up off the card with foam tape. 

Thank you for stopping by today and sharing part of your day with me! Sending crafty hugs and hoping that you get some time to create today. XOXO

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

Happy St. Patrick's Day - I feel Lucky!

Top o' the morning to you! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you're wearing green today! (Heck I'm not leaving the house but I'm wearing green anyway!) I'm here to wish you a happy, festive day and hope you find lots of blessings today. I wasn't going to make a card, but yesterday afternoon I got inspired by one of my fav Doodlebug paper collections, and before you know it, I had a card to share today! So this might be a St. Patrick's Day card, or it might be a birthday card for my sweet Lucky kitty! LOL. 

Here's an Irish blessing for you today: May the road rise up to meet you.  May the wind be always at your back.  May the sun shine warm upon your face;  the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,  may God hold you in the palm of His hand. AMEN! 

My card is a white A2 sized card base. I layered the cute rainbow/shamrock paper and then some buffalo check paper for my foundation... No stamping on this card! Just paper, die cuts, stickers and embellishments. Who doesn't love a good rainbow card??

 

I die cut a white scalloped rectangle to use as my focal point for my design elements - the rainbow and the shamrock. The rainbow is a Doodlepop Sticker that has the clouds and tiny hearts along with it. SO cute!! 

 

The "Lucky" word is a sticker! Nice and easy to just stick it on the card!

 

 

 

 

 

I made the shamrock by die cutting out three small hearts and folding them in the middle. Then I glued them to the card and hand cut a small stem. I added a jewel to the center! Voila! A shamrock! 

 

 

 

Such a happy and colorful card! There's no denying how much I love Doodlebug and all that beautiful color! Hope it made you smile today! This is a good card layout for just about any occasion. 

 

 

And here is my sweet boy's birthday portrait! He's so grown up now - a regular man cat! I can't believe he's three years old already! I miss my tiny kitten!! He's been having a luxurious birthday week and don't you worry about him getting spoiled. 

That's it for today! Again, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'll be back soon with another project. Until then - take good care. XOXO

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

Washi Tape Magic with Pinkfresh Studio - Joyful Bouquet!

Hi everyone! How are ya? It's St. Patrick's Day week! And it's my sweet kitty's birthday week! LOL! Hey, we gotta celebrate everything we can right now! Lucky will be three this week!! Yes, he has green eyes and was born on St. Patrick's Day, and we are SO lucky to have him - so his name is Lucky! Lucky O'Guess! Yes, I'm silly, and I love that crazy cat. He's made the lockdown better, that's for sure. Animals bring such joy to our lives each day and I'm so thankful for the comfort during this past year. Do you have a pet? Do they hang out in the craft room with you? Lucky has a bed on my desk!! Where he quietly snoozes or supervises, depending on his mood. I'm hoping you have a good week ahead! 

I have something SUPER cool, innovative, awesome, fresh, and pretty to share today! I was blown away when this little package showed up in the mail from Pinkfresh Studio!!! I've never seen anything like it and I think you're going to be inspired too! The concept is this.... Big rolls of gorgeous washi tape (with gold accents I might add) with matching stamps and DIES!!! There are FIVE different sets!!! All florals - I am using the one called Joyful Bouquet today.  Okay, let's get started!

This is my first card - I made it because I really just wanted to show it to you. I'll be making more in the future... This came together so quickly. The finished card is an A2 card base in blush pink cardstock. The star of the show is that beautiful bouquet...

 

Can you even see how amazing this is?? This is washi tape!!!!! And die cut out with a perfectly matching die!!!!! The colors are so vibrant and pretty. My mind immediately goes to: wedding invitations, bridal showers, birthdays, Mother's Day.... 

 

Since the washi tape has gold accents, I chose to heat emboss my sentiment in gold to match. I embossed the sentiment onto a strip of vellum and wrapped it around the top layer of the card. I die cut the top layer using white cardstock and Stitched Rectangle Dies.

 

So here is everything laid out on my desk - the washi, the matching stamp set and the matching dies. You simply unroll the washi tape onto a piece of cardstock (I used white) and smooth it down with your hands. Trim off the washi tape where you want the images... 

 

 

 

Okay so as I'm writing this I'm thinking I should have taken a photo of the dies... If you leave all the dies connected, they line up EXACTLY with the washi images, so one pass through your cutting machine and ALL the floral images are cut out at one time. Look how crisp and nice this is!

 

I affixed the top layer to the pink card base using foam tape, and I affixed the bouquet to the card with foam squares for nice dimension. I added a few sequins as my finishing touch.

 

 

 

This is perfect for when you don't have time to color an image or if you don't like coloring - it's all done for you. But, there is the matching stamp set for when you do feel like coloring that pretty image(s).

 

 

 

 

Okay, that's it for today! I used A LOT of exclamation points today because this is the coolest thing ever!!! I hope you are inspired today and it's nice to see ya. Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed and happy day. XO

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

 

Pretty Pink Posh Spring 2021 New Release - Easter Cards!

Hi crafty pals! Happy Friday! It's been a SUPER busy week around here! Whew! Four blog posts in five days! LOTS of good things happening, that's for dang sure. Easter is everywhere and I love it. Easter is my favorite holiday, and all the companies hit it out of the park this year with their Spring/Easter new releases. I am so happy and blessed to be able to share all of these things with you! I've been having so much fun creating. I hope you had a good week and I'm sending you good wishes for an amazing weekend. Thanks for stopping by all week, and thank you for all the support!

There are certain crafty things I look forward to every year.... And one of them is the annual Easter release from Pretty Pink Posh! I feel like Paulina gets it right every time. The perfect mix of fun and cute, and also classy and elegant. Something for every style. Today PPP is doing an Instagram Hop that I'm part of! Click over to Instagram and leave comments there for a chance at some prizes! I also wanted to share my cards here on my blog too! I have two cards to show you today. All the new products are now available, and the supply list is at the bottom of my post. 

First up is this absolutely cheerful Easter basket full of eggs and adorable bun buns!! I used the new Easter Basket Die (LOVE) along with the new Easter Bunnies Stamp Set. The finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered blue paper and then gingham and then that beautiful Scallop Frame.

 

Here's a side view to show all the layers - lots of foam tape! You know me! LOL.

 

These little animals are so sweet! I stamped and die cut out the bunnies, bird, eggs, and carrots and colored them with Copic Markers. I added white gel pen accents to all the elements, and a few sparkly enamel dots.

 

Here's a photo of just the Easter Basket Die. It comes in three pieces - the basket, the separate rim/edge piece, and the scalloped grass piece. I die cut it from kraft cardstock and inked the edges with Distress Ink. I also splattered on some white paint. It's the perfect size!!

 

These are the Copic colors I used for the bunnies. (Sorry the photo is a little blurry due to late night crafting!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love this little guy hanging over the edge!! I stamped the sentiment onto a vellum strip so it would show up better. I knew I wanted to place it behind the basket handle, but I didn't want another piece of white paper on the card. Vellum worked out great!

 

My second card for today features the brand new Floral Corners stamps and dies. SO elegant and pretty!! This finished card is an A2 size made from pretty teal cardstock. My top layer and all the other pieces of paper, are watercolor paper. I used gold embossing and my favorite water color palette. Classic Easter florals I think! I took a chance with that teal card base - something a bit different. 

 

 

This photo shows a close up of the floral spray. I colored everything with water color paints. I splashed on a good amount of shimmer pearl paint on top of my watercoloring after it was dry. I love that deep rose pink color. 

 

 

 

The sentiment was die cut from watercolor paper also. I used the same color as the flowers and created an ombre effect with the words. I splashed some shimmer paint on the word dies as well. 

 

I die cut the top layer from the same watercolor paper using a stitched rectangle die. I splattered some gold paint onto the background panel to pick up the gold embossing feel. I added a few enamel dots here and there to finish off the card. 

 

And here's a photo of my photo area! I did some photographs for a client and was cleaning up and saw this pretty grouping of items left over! The daffodils are from our front yard. We had about 200 of them this year!! They are starting to wind down and the tulips are popping up. I'm very grateful to have a husband with an amazing green thumb. I can barely keep one plant alive inside the house! 

Thanks for coming by today - and all week!! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! CLICK HERE to see the new goodies from Pretty Pink Posh! CLICK HERE to see the Instagram Hop and enter to win a prize!!

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

Doodlebug Sweet Easter Treats!

It's a busy week around here!! Be sure to head over to The Greetery to get your new release items!! Available today at 10am EST!!

Today I'm sharing a Doodlebug Design Team project! Yippeeee!!! And, some fun Easter Treat Boxes - decorated with the newest Doodlebug collection called Hippity Hoppity! Think bunnies and lambs and carrots and pretty pastel colors for Spring! This collection is already shipping so you can get a head start on Spring and Easter! (Supplies are all listed at the bottom of my post).

Easter is my favorite holiday and I really enjoy making treats for friends and family during this time of year. There are so many pretty candies to give away. (or save! LOL) My treat boxes today come together quickly by using the fabulous Doodle Pops as my focal element. The boxes were made with the LF Scalloped Treat Box Die. 

 

I started this project by die cutting the treat boxes from the awesome Buffalo Check paper pad in a soft sunny yellow. The perfect base for layering colors and elements. I wrapped the Hippity Hoppity patterned papers around the bottom of the treat boxes and also layered green scalloped stickers. I topped them off with twine and mini clothespins in yellow. SO sunny!

 

 

A close up of the top element- Tie a bow with twine doubled up, attach with a clothespin, and finish off with a tiny carrot from the Sprinkles from this collection. So festive and cute! This keeps the box closed with the yummy candies inside!!

 

 

The Doodle Pops are so awesome - stickers that have three or more layers and shiny elements! They make an easy tag, card, or treat. I am hoarding about a million Doodle Pops in my craft room because they are SO freakin cute!! This little lamb for Easter is adorable. 

 

 

I used the Chit Chat elements banners and word bubbles for the sayings on the boxes. 

 

 

 

 

This little bun bun says "Happy Easter!" You could make a bunch of these and put your family members' names on them for place settings at your Spring Table or just hand them out to your friends! When I worked in an office I used to love making things like this for my staff and friends. 

 

This collection is so sweet and it's sure to make you happy while you're crafting treats, cards or scrapbook pages! I'm thoroughly enjoying being a part of the Doodlebug Team. They are so kind and generous and I am blown away by the talent of the other designers - especially their amazing scrapbook pages. Please click over to the Doodlebug Blog to see more inspiration!  What a joy to create with these happy things. I hope I made you smile today! Have a good rest of the week. XOXO

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

The Greetery - Spring Fever Collection - Day 2!

Hellloooooo! Welcome to Day Two of the new product/project reveals for The Greetery New Release! The new release for Spring 2021 is called Spring Fever! What do you think of everything from yesterday? Isn't it all so fun and pretty? I am excited for you to create too! SOOOON! Today is the final day of reveals, and all the new products will be available on Wednesday, March 10th at 10am EST on The Greetery Website!! Yesterday I shared three cards, and today I have two more cards for you! Thanks for joining me today!

My first card for today showcases the brand new Empty Grave stamp set and matching dies, and also the new Nordic Circles dies! (Yes, your favorite Nordic dies now come in circles!).... I used the previously released Lily and Palm dies to feature that gorgeous sentiment. My finished card is a deep aqua card base in a 5" x 5" square shape. I used Bristol cardstock for all my elements because it's a bit thicker and really holds up to ink blending.

I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and die cut it out with the matching die. I heat embossed the smaller "He is Risen" sentiment with gold onto a strip of olive green cardstock. I set those aside to build my florals...

 

These Lily and Palm Dies were released last spring and I LOVE them. Gosh, they are so beautiful!! Here's a close up of the flowers. I used a small sponge dauber and distress inks to color everything, and then went back with Copics and some splattered ink over them to look like Stargazer Lillies.

 

I die cut the largest size of the new Nordic Circles and ink blended pretty blue distress inks to serve as my 'ground' layer for the other vivid colors and the put some color behind the sentiment.

 

 

 

I really love the concept of having dies that match sentiments - it looks so professional like this!! A perfect cut every time, too. This is my go to, gorgeous color palette for Easter! 

 

My final card for this release extravaganza features the brand new addition to the Print Shop Collection! The Print Shop Floral Frame stamp, die, stencil combo! SO beautiful! My finished card is an A2 kraft card base. I went with a soft vintage color palette for this card. The cardstock I used is cream instead of bright white and I used muted vintagey colors.... The sentiment is from another one of my favorite previously released sets - Comforting Commands.

 

I stenciled and stamped the frame and then splattered some gold ink onto it and die cut it out. I inked the edges using Antique Linen Distress Ink - to make it look a bit aged. The sentiment is stamped in dark brown ink instead of black - again for a vintage feel.

 

In this photo you can see the splatters and the inked edges. I glued on a tiny bow - I love some texture!!

 

To make the top cream layer with the pretty edge, I used my Deckle Edge Paper Trimmer! It lends a bit of nostalgia too - like an old photo border. (Supplies are all linked at the bottom of my post)

 

 

 

 

 

I think this frame would be so pretty with invitation wording inside too - or maybe a Mother's Day sentiment? Just lovely!!

 

Today completes the release week reveals. All of the new goodies will be for sale TOMORROW! At 10am EST! CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! Do you have your wish list ready?! Tomorrow on my Instagram stories I'll be showing my cards in more detail and also going through all the products. Stop by if you have time! XO

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 this week 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

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery - Spring Fever Collection - Day 1!

Hi everyone! It's been a minute since I've seen you - but I'm here with a big crafty treat today!! How are you? I hope you are doing great, staying healthy, and getting crafty! It's Spring and the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. It's been busy here in my crafty cave, and today I can finally start sharing some wonderful things with you! Today is Day one of the two day product/projects reveal for the new release from The Greetery! It's called, appropriately, the Spring Fever Collection! Flowers, bunnies, carrots, more flowers!! It's all wonderful, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's maybe my favorite Greetery release ever! I love Easter and spring colors, so it was a joy to create cards with the new stamps, dies and stencils. I'll share three projects today, two tomorrow... And then the release will be available for shopping on March 10th at 10am EST! Yeah! Let's get started!

This first card is a fresh spring breeze! Soft and watercolor-y and pretty! I used the brand new Wildflower Mix Dies along with the watering can from the Sprinkled with Kindness stamp set...And a few carrot tops in there too! The finished card is an A2 soft gray card base. The other layers and the images are all stamped and colored on watercolor paper with Distress  Inks. I used all my favorite colors.

 

I started by die cutting the entire sheet of Wildflower Mix Dies. I left them attached with the paper and water colored them loosely with Distress Inks and a water brush. I set the flowers aside to dry before I could glue them together. This die set is a mix of stems and little flowers. You can mix and match them however you like! I love that you can use your own creativity here and I can't wait to see what everyone else made with these dies!! 

The sentiment was stamped onto a small part of the new Put A Bow On It stamp/die set! Wait until you see that set!!!! 

 

To color my watering can, I used Pumice Stone Distress Ink and stamped JUST the third layer of the watering can three step stamp. I used a water brush to move the ink around over the parts that were inked onto the paper. It makes it much lighter but you still get the pretty words on the can. I am really happy with how this came out - just like I imagined (that doesn't happen all that often!!)

I tucked all the flowers, stems, and carrot tops behind the watering can and affixed the can with foam tape. I painted on a 'ledge' of grey for it to sit on and added two little blooms to the ledge, like they just gently fell off....

 

 

My next card is as fresh as a Farmers Market morning stroll! I used the brand new Carrot Die and the new Spring Word Die along with some old favorites (Shiplap and bow!) to create this country card. The finished size is A2 with a kraft card base. I layered gingham and then a Crimped Rectangle in cream cardstock.

 

I die cut the carrots and leaves from colored cardstock and used distress inks to ink the edges in orange and green for added dimension. I also did some splatters over the pieces - and set them aside to dry. I die cut the big bow from kraft cardstock.... (Blue and Orange are complementary colors on the color wheel, so they always pop together!)

 

 

 

 

My inspiration for the card was a Spring Market, so I knew I wanted to somehow create a crate! I used three pieces of the Shiplap Die cut set and lined them up to mimic a box!! I used the sentiment from the Mason Around Set to add the words "Fresh Picked" onto one of the panels. Can you smell fresh product yet? How fun are these carrots?? Perfect for Easter!! 

 

 

 

 

My final card for today features the brand new Bunny Hop Stamp/Die and Stencil combo set! Another winner using the stencils and stamps together. I really love this concept! I used the Square Dance die and stencils as my background to showcase that cute bunny wreath! This finished card is a white A2 card base. 

I used inks and a small sponge dauber to ink the stencils and stamp the greenery!! I went back with Copic Markers and added darker shades to the centers of the flowers and some other elements, and then splashed on some white paint. 

I die cut the bunny circular wreath out with the matching die. PERFECT!! I stamped the sentiment onto a circle die cut and placed it behind the wreath and affixed the wreath onto the card with foam tape.

I used hot pink paper to match the tulips in the wreath.... I die cut the Square Dance Die out of the pink paper and then used white pigment ink and small sponge dauber to make my gingham background.

 

My finishing touch was to add a few white pearls to the card. 

 

 

Today completes the release week reveals. All of the new goodies will be for sale March 10th at 10am EST! CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from the release reveals so far?  

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 this week 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

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Doodlebug Birthday Card and Pillow Box Gift Card Holder!

Hi everyone! I'm up on the Doodlebug Blog today! And sharing my projects here too! Today I'm sharing a sweet birthday suite! A card, envelope and pillow box gift card holder that all match perfectly! The "Made With Love" collection is a great choice for birthday cards. And I always love using cupcakes as a theme for birthdays. Everyone loves cupcakes! These new Doodle Cuts are so fun and fabulous! Cheerful, happy and sweet! Hope you enjoy today's projects!

Here's a close up of the paper layers on the gift card holder. I made the gift card holder using the gorgeous gingham paper from the "Made With Love" collection and then decorated it with yummy papers and a sweet stamped birthday greeting. I die cut the cupcake parts from the papers in the collection and stamped the sentiment with the You Bake Me Happy Stamp Set!

The birthday card is a tri-fold card with a belly band made from papers and stickers. And one sweet little cupcake on top!! To keep it simple, my finished card is 4" x 5.5". To make a trifold card, cut your paper to 8" x 5.5". Use your Scorpal and score in two inches from each side of the card. Fold it and voila!

 

 

 

 

The pillow box opens up to place a gift card inside and some paper confetti too. Very festive! I collect Starbucks cards and I have about 300 or so!! That way I always have one to match the person or occasion!

 

 

 

You can slide the belly band off the card to reveal the inside - again stamped with that awesome You Bake Me Happy stamp set in pretty pink ink.

 

I used more papers from the collection to line a matching pink envelope. I love how the card and the envelope go together so nicely. This is a great way to have your projects pop and look professional. It also shows some extra love by decorating the envelope! I used stickers and Sprinkles to jazz up the outside of the envelope too - of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This project will work with any of your favorite Doodlebug Collections!! Great for Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter...any occasion. Just change up the main image (maybe change the cupcake to a gingerbread man...) No end to the fun possibilities! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your day is filled with creativity and smiles.

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

 

A pretty butterfly hello!

HEEEELLLOOOOOO! Just like the card says! Hello friends! I have a bright and pretty card for you today! The idea came to me in my sleep the other night. I haven't been sleeping much lately but I'm laying there awake with all the ideas floating around my head... Hoping for the days when my anxiety rests and I can rest too. It's been a crazy year. I don't even know what else to say about it. Sleepless nights and crafty ideas I guess for now! Hope you are doing well and enjoying a nice weekend. I'm praying hard for sunshine in Texas for all those souls who are struggling. My heart goes out to you so much. Also just generally praying for everyone to get a break soon. Much love to you, with whatever you're facing right now. 

My card today is finished size just a bit larger than A2 size. The background die in that pretty jade color is the exact size of an A2 card and usually it will go flush on the front of a card. When I finished, though, I really thought it looked better to have a white outer border too. Three colors on this card: jade, white and gold. I like how it came out! 

 

This pretty butterfly accent was die cut from vellum for a lacy look on the bottom of the card. These butterfly dies are very old Memory Box dies from my stash. They are timeless!! All the other supplies are gorgeous dies from Pinkfresh Studio.

 

I die cut the radiating background die and the ornate oval die from the same color cardstock. I like the tone on tone look of this! I splattered both pieces with my favorite gold paint. I die cut the curvy leaves dies from gold cardstock.

 

I knew these leaves dies were going to get used A LOT! The hello die was cut twice from gray cardstock and stacked for a bit thicker look.

 

I found the perfect shade of matching enamel dots in my stash!

 

 

That's it for today! I hope you are happy and well and getting crafty. Take care until we meet again soon! XOXO

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

Finally organizing my Alphabet Dies!

Hey guys! Popping in real quick today to share an organizing project!! I always have these grand ideas in my head but then I often put them aside and craft instead! A week or so ago I was watching a movie in the craft room and thought - yes - today's the day I'm going to finally make my Alphabet Die tag project!! I LOOOOVE alphabet dies and they are scattered around my craft room sorted by company, so sometimes I forget what I have. This project now hangs off a hook on my desk so I can grab it and see all my options... I wanted to share it with you in case it helps you too! I'm currently in the process of re-swatching all my distress inks into a similar 'book' and I'll share that once I get that one done. I love organizing!! It makes me happy and calms my nerves.... Wishing you a blessed and happy day today! XO

Here's the finished project!

 

I started out by die cutting a whole bunch of tags from bright white Neenah cardstock. This is my favorite tag die, and it's actually wearing out because I've used it so often! 

 

Next I got out my favorite AC Cardstock pack and went to town die cutting out letters and numbers for my tags....

 

 

I wrote the name of the company and the name of the alphabet set on the tag in black ink pen.

 

 

That's it! I told you this was a quickie!! I feel that an organized creative space frees up the mind and makes way for creating!! It feels good to have this project done and it makes me happy. I'll see you soon!!

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used to make this project!

Floral bouquets and Embroidery!

Hi everyone! I almost typed Happy Sunday....but it's Monday! It really feels like a Sunday - maybe because my husband is off work for President's Day....or maybe because I made us pancakes for breakfast! LOL. Anyhoo it's a nice gloomy rainy day and Lucky and I are getting caught up in the studio this afternoon. I hope you are doing well and are healthy and happy. Spring is arriving fast here in Sacramento. Our garden is blooming and we are sneezing... It's time for a new season, and some hope that we'll all be out and about soon. Just really been missing my friends lately and our adventures. I am sooooo hoping we can go to church on Easter this year!! 

Today I'm sharing an embroidery project! It's been years (decades) since I have done some hand embroidery! My grandmother taught me how to embroider! (and crochet and cross stitch)... Makes me miss her when I do this type of crafting. She was awesome. And her name was Voila - how perfect is that? So it's been a really long time for me with the embroidery. I came upon this kit one day at Hobby Lobby and thought - well, let's give that a try! And I super duper enjoyed stitching this! I used the kit but I switched out the fabric to some pretty natural colored linen. I love the texture of this fabric - and I had it in my cross stitching stash pile. I like the kind of boho, hipster color palette! If you haven't tried something in a while, or never - I want to encourage you to try something new!!! 

 

I looooove making french knots!!! The texture is so cool!

 

Here's a super close up. That mustard colored rose is CHUNKY! I love it!

 

Here's a photo of it in process. I traced the pattern from the original fabric onto the linen using my light box and a sharpie.

 

 

 

Here is the back - I finished it off with some natural cotton batting. It's very soft so it won't damage the wall if it's hung. At the top is a pretty bow made with celadon colored crinkle ribbon that I dyed. It also has a ribbon loop for hanging. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for the embroidery project! For all my snow soaked friends, I thought I would share a few photos from my yard - to encourage you that Spring is definitely coming. Our flowers are going crazy already here!! A bit of hope for us all!! First up, beautiful hot pink camellias...

 

And soft, delicate daffodils....

 

A bright white camellia - I love the contrast with those dark green leaves! OOOH LA LA.

 

This is a tree I came upon in the parking lot at Michael's last week! The way the light played on it makes the photo look like a painting! 

That's it for today my friends! Florals in stitching and in the garden! I just reopened my Etsy Shop, and this embroidery piece is for sale in my shop. I also have cards and handmade books, etc. If you're so inclined, please pop on by to check it out. Sending you hugs from my craft room. Have a great week! XOXO

Guest Designing for Sunny Studio Stamps - Otters and Balloons! How Fun!

Hi everyone! I told you this was going to be a busy week! Whew! Today I'm guest designing for Sunny Studio Stamps! It's been a while since I guested for them and it makes me smile. Happy Saturday everyone!  I'm always happy and excited to be the guest designer on the Sunny Studio Blog! I'm so delighted to work with the beautiful and fun stamps and dies from Sunny Studio! I'm in love with this awesome most recent stamp and die release. I mean who doesn't love hot air balloons and otters?! I had so much fun creating two cards to share with you today. Lots of color and lots of cuteness! I busted out the Copics and also my scene building skilllzzzzz. I hope these cards make you smile too!

First up is this adorable otter couple, swimming around hanging out with each other! This finished card is a 5" x 5" square card, made from white cardstock. I used the Sunny Studio Semi Circle dies to create a frame for the waves and sea kelp. I built my card around the semi circle. I used a layer of brown striped paper to match the brown otters.

 

All the images were stamped and die cut with the matching dies and then colored with Copic Markers. I used the My Otter Half, Best Fishes, and Sea You Soon stamp sets to create my ocean scene. I couldn't resist the urge to add one little happy fish jumping out of the water too!

 

The sentiment was heat embossed with white onto black cardstock. Everything was assembled using foam dots for dimension. I also really like to use a white gel pen to add accents over my Copic coloring. I splattered a bit of white paint to mimic ocean foam. I am all about the little details. One tiny red heart too!

 

 

 The sentiments in the My Otter Half stamp set are the best!! I love you like no otter!! 

Jump little fishy!!!

 

 

This next card is a big card! But it will fit into a 5x7 envelope! I needed some big card real estate to create my hot air balloon scene. Gosh, I wish I was with that bear right now, swaying over the pretty green hills. This finished card is a 4.5" x 7" size, made from white cardstock. I layered a bit of lime green cardstock, and then a layer of white for my scene.

 

I stamped and die cut out the images and colored them all with Copic Markers. I used the Country Scenes, Balloon Rides, and Plane Awesome stamp sets. They all work so nicely together. I went with a rainbow color scheme for the balloon and banner. I love using these bright, cheerful colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tucked that sweet bear into the basket and made him floating in some big fluffy clouds. There are two layers of clouds and they were edged with Diamond Stickles Glitter Glue. The card was assembled with foam tape for dimension and layers. Can't wait to send out this note of encouragement. I think this would be a great graduation card or work related promotion card!! This little bear with the scarf is from the Plane Awesome Stamp set, and I couldn't resist tucking him into that hot air balloon!!

 

 

 

That's it for today's cards! Big thanks to Mendi at Sunny Studio for having me as a guest! I'm very blessed that she always invites me back! I love working with these happy images and interesting dies. Be sure to head over to the SS Blog to see more fun projects and leave some love! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!! XOXO

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

My first Doodlebug Design Team Post - You Bake Me Happy Recipe Book!

Helllloooooo! Yes! It's me again this week! SO MUCH going on! And it's all good! Today is my first project for the Doodlebug Design Team and the Doodlebug Blog! I had so much fun making this project to share with you. I hope you love it too! Something different than a card, but still so much paper goodness! I am featuring the newest collection from Doodlebug called Made With Love. It's a baking theme with the most adorable images and the prettiest color palette. Everything you love about Doodlebug. Pink and aqua and yellow...perfect for Spring. And smiling whisks and chocolate kisses.... It's a baking dream. So I thought how can I best use this theme?? I know - I'll make a recipe book! One of the items in the collection is a booklet of recipe cards. That got the project rolling and it went uphill from there! Be sure to pop over and visit the Doodlebug blog and leave some love there - and check out all the other amazing projects from the rest of the team. 

Here is my finished book - bound at home with my Cinch machine. The finished size is 6.5" by 4.5". It would make the BEST gift for a friend who loves to bake. You could fill in your own recipes or give it to the person blank and they can add their recipes. So fun. I have lots of pictures to show you all the details.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the cover! So many little details - a heart, a tiny clip, a banner, a doily....Love layering all these things together. That's probably the best thing about using Doodlebug collections. EVERYTHING matches perfectly. It's a dream. I get emails from people that want tips about matching colors. That's difficult for a lot of people. Well...here you can't go wrong! And crafting is less stress.

 

Here are some of my supplies all rounded up for inspiration! There are the recipe cards - you get 36 cards in a pack. In order to bind them into my book, I added a small border of white cardstock on the left side and punched that white paper instead of the cards. 

 

 

Here you can see how they fit into the book! I mixed in recipe cards along with some decorative pages throughout the book. 

 

 

 

The covers are made from chipboard and then covered in lovely papers and embellishments! 

 

Here is the finished cover!

 

 

 

 

This is the inside of the back cover....love those polka dots! And those cuuuuuuuute stickers!

 

This is one of the inside pages. Patterned papers, stickers, banners and tabs....

 

And this chocolate page! I am OBSESSED with those teeny tiny chocolate drops!!! EEP. And smiling cookies??? Hello. 

 

 

This is the back cover! I used my Cinch Machine to bind everything. This is an awesome tool! I've had mine for years. I use it to make books and calendars and whatever else you want to bind together. So easy and quick, too.

The finishing touch - some little handmade charms!! I used some pink chunky twine to tie a big bow onto the coils of the book. Then I die cut a couple of small scalloped circles and affixed some little images. I used jump rings and tied them on with more twine. 

 

Thanks for stopping by today (and every day this week LOL).... I am delighted to be making Doodlebug projects to share my love of this company with you. What do you think? Want more books and such? Or cards? Lemme know! Have a blessed day and I'll see you soon! XOXO

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

Taylored Expressions - Field Notes 2 Card Kit Launch!

HEY HEY HEY!!! It's time to launch a brand new card kit from Taylored Expressions! WOOHOOOO! I look forward to these so much! Fun fact: I get the very first kit every time since I am the one who takes all the product photographs! It's very hard to keep this secret and I'm always so excited to share my project and the kits with you! Today is a pleasure - the new kit is a partner kit to another kit!! This one is called Field Notes 2! Another gorgeous floral image...classic but modern.... The kit this time includes a fantastic splatter background stamp!! Yes - it's going to be a fan favorite for sure. Splatters already done perfectly for you!! The full kit contents photo is farther down in this post. The kit is available and shipping now. Let's take a look at my project! 

My finished card is an A2 card base made from woodgrain cardstock. I layered some pretty sunshine yellow gingham and then a watercolor paper layer on top. The focal image is the gorgeous floral, which I watercolored in shades of yellow, gold and orange. 

 

I used my MISTI to stamp the image in black ink onto the included watercolor cardstock. I die cut the image using the matching die. I stamped and die cut a second floral image too - I'll explain later...

 

These flowers are SO pretty, so I kept my card layout very clean and simple. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the top layer. Again, I used the MISTI to get a good impression on that textured paper. Look closely to see that I used the smaller splatters stamp image in light blue around where I put the florals.

 

Okay, now here's where I used the second image I stamped and colored. I only used the stems!! I wanted my flower bunch to have longer stems because I wanted to wrap the twine around them. SOOOO, hidden under the twine is the part where I glued on a second set of stems! I wrapped the twine around and tied on a pretty Tim Holtz charm from my stash. Just a little something.... That's my jam - just a little something something.

The kit includes some gorgeous, thick and juicy envelopes. I stamped the flowers onto the front of an envelope and watercolored it the same way as the card so they would match. I think that looks so pretty when the card and envelope match. 

 

 

The kit comes with a stencil that matches the flowers! Genius! This way you can mask off your image and ink or stamp around it. What a cool concept!! Taylor thinks of everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FULL CARD KIT CONTENTS!

That's it for today! Yippeeee! Thanks for coming by today! I hope your day goes well and hope you're happy and healthy and crafty! CLICK HERE to get your kit. The last one already sold out! XOXO

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

Pinkfresh Studio February 2021 New Release Blog Hop - Birthday Roses!

Hi friends! Welcome to the Pinkfresh Studio February New Release Blog Hop! There are a lot of us in the blog hop today and it's going to be so much fun! We are celebrating a gorgeous new release from our friends at Pinkfresh Studio. All of the new products are available for shopping now in the Pinkfresh Studio Store. They have the most gorgeous and classy florals and amazing dies...Can't wait to show you my card for today. I used the brand new Choose Hope stamp/die/stencil combo and the AMAZING new Curvy Leaves dies...and the new Happy Birthday sentiments. You can never make enough birthday cards, right?! I created a feminine pink and green floral - perfect for the coming of the new season. 

My finished card is an A2 white card base. I stamped directly onto the front of the card base using the Diamonds Background Stamp and pretty pink ink. Then I used the Ornate Banner Dies to layer pink and white cardstock...

 

 

 

In this side photo, you can see my layers, and that pretty birthday sentiment! 

 

 

And the star of the show is the beautiful floral spray in pink and green.... This was colored with stencils!! Three stencils for the flowers and two stencils for the leaves. I am loving this trend - perfect for if you don't have a ton of markers or just feel more comfortable with stencils. It was super easy to line up everything and get the pretty watercolor effect. I stamped the flower spray and stenciled it, then die cut it out with the matching die. I splattered some bright white paint over everything and set it aside to dry.

 

 

Here is a photo of the stamp/stencil/die combo! 

 

 

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted a yellow rose or pink rose, so I made extra!! I'll save that yellow one for another card. 

 

 

I die cut the Curvy Leaves die out of vellum cardstock. OMG that die is going to be used on every card!! It's the perfect size for an accent on almost anything. And in vellum, it adds just a little something!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog, IG feed & YouTube channel. So be sure to check our their social media accounts!! AND....on EACH blog we will all be giving away a $25 gift card on our blog posts!! So be sure to leave a comment here and on all the blogs, because the winners will be picked from the comments! YEAH! The winners will be posted February 15 , 2021 on the Pinkfresh Studio GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must be sure to check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. 

Pinkfresh Studio is offering free US shipping on all orders $50+ from February 8th to February 14th. And they will have a free die with $50 purchase for this release (no code needed). This promo will run from February 8th to February 14th (or while supplies last).

Thank you so much for stopping by today as part of this awesome blog hop!! I'm so happy to see you here!! All the links for the artists are at the bottom of this post. Enjoy the hop and all the inspiration. I'm very happy to be stamping with these other bloggers!! Take care and I'll see you back here soon! XOXO

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

Waffle Flower New Release Blog Hop - New Stitchables and a bouquet of hope!

HEEYYYYY! Happy Friday crafty people! It's time for a big blog hop today! We are celebrating the brand new release from Waffle Flower Crafts today! The release is called "Hope" and it's wonderful. Pretty florals, some faith based stamps (which I absolutely love), more Stitchables....and even more! CLICK HERE to shop the new release - it's available now. But, be sure to check out the blog hop too! Loads of inspiration and fun and a giveaway.  The Waffle Flower release is full of stamps, dies, and stencils that celebrate the hope and joy of Spring! Did you arrive here from TaeEun's blog? Welcome! I have two projects to share with you today featuring the new stamps and dies. 

My first card is made with my favorite thing from the new release - the Hopeful Girl stamp and die set. I used the new Lacy Circles dies to feature the stamps also. The finished card is a white card base custom sized to 5.25" x 5.25" square. I used purple because to me that's a Spring color and I thought the purple gingham was very sweet with these images. 

 

 

 

I first stamped and die cut out the flowers spray and the praying girl. I colored the images with my Copic Markers. I used some small yellow gingham to paper piece her blouse. Yellow is such a pretty contrast to purple I think! Don't you adore this pretty image? I think this would be a great stamp set for a confirmation or a get well/thinking of you card. I'm smitten. It was very quick and easy to color her.

 

I die cut a small heart for the sentiment and added some of the awesome Waffle Flower Enamel Dots. In this photo you can see the Lacy Layers Dies - the scallop one I die cut in vellum and the inside circle I used white cardstock.

 

 

I used Distress Ink and my blender brushes to ink light blue behind where I was going to place the images. I also splashed on some white paint. I added a few small pearls for accents. 

 

I covered the card base in the gingham paper. Then I mounted everything onto the card using foam tape for dimension and interest. (My cards are usually thick and juicy! LOL)

 

 

Here's a close up of the pretty floral spray! This is a very versatile floral... You could mount it at the top of a circle or on the side, or put two together to make a wreath.

 

This next card combines my two crafty loves of card making and cross stitching! Waffle Flower has the coolest line of Stitchables stamps and dies. I love using them, and now there are some new additions to the collection!! This finished card is kraft A2 card base, layered with cream and then layered with yellow gingham. The yellow layer was die cut using the Blanket Stitch Layers Dies.

 

 

I die cut the oval stitching die out of cream cardstock. I found the beehive and bee pattern in one of my old cross stitching magazines. It was the perfect size to fit this oval! I used three strands of the floss colors to stitch my design. It's so bright and cheerful! I die cut the oval embroidery hoop out of woodgrain cardstock to look realistic. 

 

 

The sentiment is from the previously released Stitched Sentiments stamp set. LOVE IT!! I stamped it onto an oval to fit the theme and added a shiny red heart for a pop of color. 

Here's a close up of all my layers....

 

 

 

Hope you’re enjoying the hop! Next on the hop is the lovely Yasmin!  For the full blog hop list, please visit the Waffle Flower Blog for today! 

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 Monday February 8th, 2021 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 2/10/2021. There are more giveaways to enter on the Waffle Flower Instagram! 

 

SPECIALS: From now till February 7th, 2021, all orders placed at waffleflower.com will receive a mystery gift (No code required!).

 

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

Cutie pies - bees and ladybugs invasion - just in time for Valentine's Day!

Hellloooooooo! Today on my blog it's a cute bug invasion! A whole swarm of bees and ladybugs are whooshing by with some Valentine flair! I looooove making cute treat boxes, bags, and envelopes to give some sweets to my friends. I finally bought the tiny treats box from Lawn Fawn a few months ago...and almost all of the little animals that add on!! EEP. These are sooooo much fun to make. I was smiling the entire time!! There is no stamping, just die cutting and easy assembly. I am going to try to do a little trip around town next week to drop these off on some crafty friends' doorsteps. They make me happy. And, I'm excited to share this with you! (I made these for Valentine's but they would be super cute for a baby shower or a birthday party too!!)

I ended up making four total: One honey yellow bee, one light yellow bee, a pink ladybug and a classic red ladybug! I'm totally obsessed. The little hedgehog from my coffee Valentine card is one of the 'fronts' for this tiny treat box. Here is my little swarm...

 

And here's the top down view so you can see the wings and stingers. ADORABLE!! For the bee wings I layered white cardstock and vellum cardstock to add more interest. All the pieces were inked with mini distress ink cubes and small sponge daubers for a little shading and shadow. Whenever I'm making die cut only projects I usually like to at least ink the edges of everything...

 

Here are the two little busy bees!!! I got the idea that I wanted to add little hearts to the antennae for Valentine's day so I was searching the craft room for a teeny heart die... Then the light bulb went off! I have had these heart embellies for years and they are PERFECT for this project!!! I glued them onto the ends of the antennae!! 

 

OMG. A pink ladybug! I'm deceased. Cute overload for sure!! I added white gel pen accents to everything. You can see if you look closely that I attached the wings with foam squares to pop them up off the top a bit. Can you imagine these as favors at a little girls' birthday party??? In a rainbow of colors!?

 

Here's the box with the top open and some little heart candies inside.... The box could hold a pair of earrings or a necklace or something small... But it's not large enough for a gift card. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the pink ladybug in my hand so you can see the size of the box. It's so sweet!!

Okee dokee that's my fun Valentine for today! I hope I made you smile and maybe laugh a little too and I hope you try this project because it's so much fun. Thank you for all the love on my last post. I'm over the moon about that announcement. Remember to stop by here on Friday for a new release blog hop with Waffle Flower Crafts!! There's a lot going on already this month and I love it! Keeping me busy and out of trouble. XOXO

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

An Exciting Announcement! I'm joining the Doodlebug Design Team!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How about we start the week (and the month) off on a good note?! I've been keeping a secret for a while and today I can finally share with you! EEP. I am SO very excited to announce that I will be joining the 2021 Doodlebug Design Team! Can I get a woooo hooooo? I am thrilled and delighted to know that I will get the opportunity to create projects and share with you - one of my favorite companies. I have a long history with Doodlebug Designs. They started business in 2000 and I was hooked from the very first collection. I am a super fan for sure. I hoard everything because it's so incredibly cute!! What do I love about Doodlebug? The bright cheerful colors, the whimsy, the quality, the ability to match everything together perfectly, and of course gingham!! Every year at Creativation/CHA I would make a bee line straight for the Doodlebug booth to see the new collections for the year. So I've known Cynthea and the crew for about ten years from the trade shows. I have known them all to be positive, generous, kind people and I'm honored to represent their company in this way. My design team box arrived on my doorstep on Saturday and it weighed 45 pounds!!! (I'm not joking) My husband had to bring it inside for me because I couldn't lift it. The generosity brought me to tears. So, cheers to a new partnership! 

I thought I would post a few of my favorite Doodlebug projects on this post to take a trip down Doodlebug memory lane.... Their Fall collections are always a hit!! This is from a few years ago. 

 

And Christmas Gift Card holders....

 

2020's favorite collection: Pumpkin Spice!

 

St. Patrick's Day!

 

More gifting ideas!

 

A small selection of my Doodlebug enamel pins! I have all of them! 

 

 

Pretty Easter cards from last year's stamp and die collection!

 

 

Another Fall favorite project...

 

I'm not sure exactly what date my first project will be! I'll be posting here on my blog, and also on the Doodlebug Design Blog. I will keep you posted though! Can't wait to feature the newest collection called Made With Love! It's available now if you are interested. CLICK HERE for my favorite shops that carry Doodlebug!

Be sure to stop by all this week because I'll have a post on Wednesday and then a blog hop on Friday. I am also hosting a chocolate giveaway on my Instagram later in the week. Yeah. I've been creating like crazy - looking forward to posting everything. XOXO