A Blog Called Wanda

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

Waffle Flower - Love Letter - for Valentine's!

Hellooooooo my lovelies! I have a fun treat for you today! How are ya? I'm having fun in the craft room making lots of projects. Today's card is out of my normal color palette, and I love it! I was so happily surprised last week to receive a package from Nina at Waffle Flower, and it contained the most amaaaaazing new stamp set! It's called Love Letters!! OMG! It's from their latest product release. And the very cool thing is that it is a suite of products - stamps, dies, word cut outs, outlines and stencils that all go together. SO COOL, right? And it's like vintage tattoo art - also SO COOL! I squealed with delight when I opened the package and then sat down to make this card to share with you. It's bright and bold!

The finished card is an A2 white card base. I took a risk and layered the top layer in black! I tried gray, and navy, and kept coming back to the black because it's just so striking here with this big stamp. I splattered some white ink onto the black layer and set that aside to dry. 

 

I stamped and die cut out that giant stamp with my MISTI for a perfect impression. I also stamped and cut out a few extra leaves and the bird from the Always stamp set. I colored everything with my Copic Markers in rich tones. Don't you adore this elegant hand with the pretty letter and roses??? Gasp. 

 

Here's a close up of the flowers and that little birdie!

 

I affixed the stamp, some extra leaves, and the bird using foam tape so it pops up off the page.

 

I heat embossed the sentiment from the Enveloper Me stamp set - using white embossing powder for maximum impact on that rich black.

 

 

 

 

The final touch was to sprinkle some clear enamel dots around the card. I love just that little bit of shimmer/sparkle here.

Thank you for stopping by today to check out my project! Take care until we meet again! XOXO

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

Cute Cupid Stitching Project for Valentine's Day!

Hi friends! Just a couple more weeks until Cupid pulls back that arrow and shoots ya! I'm loving making all the Valentine things lately! So many cute ideas and projects to make! This year I'm more into it than I normally am so I've been decorating with hearts all over our house. LOL. Here's hoping maybe we can at least go out for a coffee on Valentine's Day this year. Hope you're having a good week so far! XO

Today I'm sharing a sweet cross stitching project I finished a week or so ago. It was a fun and quick stitch and was easy work. I love how it came out - so adorable and kinda old fashioned and prim. The pattern is called Holiday Hoopla by Brenda Gervais. It's part of a series for all the holidays. The finished piece fits into a 4" embroidery hoop - so it's small. I think I'll put it on my dresser! I finished it off in the hoop, with some bright red ribbon and a Tim Holtz heart charm I had laying around. A simple finish but super cute.

 

The pattern is basically an adorbs cupid surrounded by different color hearts! I loooooove her funny shoes! Ha! The fabric I used is 14 count Aida in Raw. It's a nice color for vintage looking projects. 

 

Here's a close up of the bow and heart detail. I tied the bow around the screw on the top of the embroidery hoop.

 

 

 

 

 

I finished the back with some pretty soft pink felt. I used hot glue to affix the felt to the back of the hoop/fabric.

 

 

Here it is in my hand so you can see the size and scale! 

Thanks for popping by today! This finished project is for sale now in my Etsy Shop! I hope I brought a smile to your face with this cutie cupid! What are you working on right now? I hope you are well and happy and healthy my friends. I'll be back soon with another project! XOXO

Lawn Fawn Hedgehog Valentine - Be Mine!

Hello there my sweet crafty friends! Happy Friday to you! We don't have anything planned for the weekend (of course)...but the sun is shining and we're all still healthy and creative here. It's almost Valentine's Day and I have so many ideas this year. I'm pretty sure I won't get to all of them, but I'm going to try to share some fun projects with you. Cards and treats, and stitching and who knows what else!? How are you? I hope you are doing well. I thank you for spending a little of your time here with me on the blog...

Today's card was actually going to be a Christmas card - but I didn't get to it... So I made it a Valentine. And, you know what, I think I like it better!  My inspiration for this card is later on in the post. I love to share what inspires my cards with you! Today's card is made with cute supplies from Lawn Fawn. No stamping! Just die cuts. And one adorable hedgie. The finished card is an A2 sized card base. 

The blue layer was made using one of my favorite crafting tools of all time - this quilted background. I affixed it right to the front of the folded cream card base. As you know, I LOVE using red and baby blue and pink together. Here's the finished card....

 

I used the new stitched mug die to create that big old red coffee mug! I used a bit of the new patterned paper to add a border at the top of the mug. I die cut out all the hedgehog pieces and inked everything with Distress Inks. Then I die cut the be mine, the heart and the arrow.... You get the picture - lots of die cutting! I needed something along the bottom of the card so I got the idea to add the #feb14 in the Oliver's alphabet dies... The fun part of this card was assembling it!

 

There's a lot of foam tape, foam dots and foam strips on this card! Here's a side view so you can see how everything is layered onto the card. I added the white accents and stars using a white gel pen.

 

I used the frosting die from the Stitched Cupcake set to make a little plop of whip cream! Doesn't it look like he's popping out of that mug with the whip cream sticking to his head? Oh gosh, this makes me smile!! I added a marshmallow and a little red heart on top, and some glitter glue. This hedgehog is meant to go with the Tiny Treat Box. I put his little tiny hands over the top of the mug.

 

Here's a close up of that pretty background die...

 

And a close up of his hat! LOLZ.

 

 

 

 

 

I took this picture with my phone when we were out shopping at Target during Christmas! I thought this was the cutest set of Christmas cards and I knew it would inspire me to make a card too. I thought that would be a winter card, but turns out not! Ha. Better late than never!

 

 

I made this cute little bumble bee treat box at the same time - since I had out all my Lawn Fawn Supplies... I plan to make a whole bunch of these for Valentine Treats - but in case I don't get to it, here's this guy to make you smile! Yes, that camellia is from our front yard - we have flowers already! And about 400 bulbs are sprouting. It's going to look like Holland over here in about a month!

Thanks for stopping by today for a little chat and some crafty fun. I hope you have a really nice weekend. Sending you a big hug from my craft room to yours. Be well friends. XOXO

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

The Greetery - Nature Lover Collection - Day 2!

Hi friends! It's an exciting week! It's Release Week for the beautiful Nature Lover Collection from The Greetery! Today is day two of the product reveals and all the new stamps and dies will be available at 10am EST tomorrow! Yay! It's full of gorgeous hearts and florals that are perfect for Valentine's Day or any other occasion too! I love how Betsy made it so versatile... I had a joyful time creating two cards to share with you today featuring new products. There is a full list at the bottom of my post with all the links for today! Yippeeee!! I've been busy in my studio trying to make all the Valentine's ideas that are in my head. I'm afraid I'm going to run out of time! LOL. This crazy year is already going by fast I think!

I have two cards for you today! This first one features the gorgeous new Botanicuts - Forget me nots dies and the fabulous Heart Leaf Jumbo Posy Die. I do love a vintage floral card, as you know! The finished card is an A2 kraft card base. The postage stamp layer (top) is cream cardstock for more of a vintage feel....

Here's a close up of those forget me not sprays! OOOH LA LA! I die cut the pieces from blue, yellow, green and cream cardstock. I used small sponge daubers and distress inks to ink around the edges of all the pieces. I carefully glued the pieces together with liquid glue and tweezers. I finished off each gloom with black enamel dots. I love how they came out! 

 

I die cut the Heart Leaf Jumbo Posy Die from Kraft cardstock and splashed it with white ink. I used a small hole punch to punch holes to wrap my twine through. Then I die cut a small tag and stamped XOXO on it! So sweet! In this photo you can see that I stamped the writing in brown distress ink, and also inked the edges of the postage layer.

 

I used my fingers to gently lift the blossoms upwards to look more realistic and not so flat. I tucked the blooms inside the heart posy and glued the posy to the front of the card. It's all so romantic!!

 

This heart posy die is all one piece. The two front pieces fold over and I used just a touch of glue to hold them together. You could also easily tuck a gift card inside - would make adorable Valentines!!

 

 

 

 

Next up is a bright and graphic card featuring the brand new Lovely Blossoms stamp set and matching dies. This card is a white A2 card base, then layered with some patterned paper... I used the Crimped Dies smallest size die and cut it twice - to make my background. This set a nice background for that big flower!

 

I used my MISTI and shades of pink and red to stamp the flowers and die cut them out with the matching dies. SO easy to get this awesome result.

 

I used foam tape to mount the frames onto the card. I also used more foam tape to attach the flowers and leaves. I stamped that pretty sentiment in rich black ink for that graphic impact!

 

A few enamel dots finish off the card - with a bit of shine!

 

 

 

You might notice that my card photos look different today! That's because I took them at my friend's photography studio! Because of Covid her studio has been sitting empty most days... So she was sooooooo kind to me and is letting me use it for some peace and quiet!! It's a gorgeous space and allows me some time to myself to work and rest. I'm really grateful. Here's a photo of her front window! Love it!

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! What is your favorite thing from the release?  

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced 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

Wanda Guess

 

Pretty Pink Posh Love, Hugs & Kisses! New Release for January 2021!

Hi sweethearts! It's time to get ready for Valentine's Day and all the stamp companies are releasing cute releases with love and hearts in mind! The newest release from Pretty Pink Posh is soooooo sweet! I made a fun Valentine's card using some of the new stamps and some of their older dies and stencils. It's a confectionary concoction full of pink, red and gold. The perfect palette for hearts day! All the the new products are already available now! I'll be participating in a fun Instagram Hop tomorrow and we'll all be featuring the new release. Lots of good things happening! 

My finished card is a custom size I made to fit the LOVE across the front. It measures 6" x 3.75" so it will fit into an A7 envelope just fine. The card base is white and then I layered gold and white using the pretty border die....

 

I stamped and die cut the pretty heart with the small images inside. I heat embossed it with gold embossing powder...and colored with my Copics. Then I die cut out the LVE from red cardstock and splattered gold paint on top! I heat embossed the hugs and kisses sentiment on black....

 

The new die set comes with an 'outer' die and dots... I stamped and embossed that image onto vellum and die cut it out to layer behind the top white heart. In this photo you can see how I layered everything onto the card with foam squares.

 

 

 

I used the border die to cut the bottom of the white layer and to cut a gold layer. I like how the gold just peeks out from under the rest of the card. The background was stenciled using blender brushes and Spun Sugar Distress Ink along with a beautiful stencil from Pretty Pink Posh.

 

 

That's it for today, my loves! Are you already in the mood for Valentine's? I have to get out my supplies and get more in the mood! LOL. I think I'm still recovering from Christmas crafting in my studio!! Remember to pop by the Instagram Hop tomorrow to see all the other projects!! XOXO

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

Taylored Expressions - Happy Hex - Card Kit Launch!

Hi crafty pals! How are you today? I hope your week has started off on a good note! I have a busy week this week getting business-y things taken care of that were waiting until after the holidays. Feels like it takes a couple of weeks of the new year for everything to get back on track. Especially with this weird year, right?! I've been really organizing our home and getting rid of things. We got new fresh curtains for our kitchen and the whole place feels brighter. My husband painted my bathroom a pretty shade of green and that feels good too. Sometimes it's just a few little things that make you feel better.... 

Today I have something super fun to share with you! The newest, fabulous card kit from Taylored Expressions! This one is called Happy Hex and it's fun of hexagons! Hexagons are back on trend in crafty land again. I have always loved crafting with hexagons as a graphic element. I feel like they never go out of style. And they remind me of bees!! This new kit has a gorgeous background stamp, small sentiment stamps, and alphabet set, dies, stickers, envelopes, slimline cards....It's awesome!

My card was inspired by something interesting I think - more on that later in my post. My finished card is a small slimline size: 6" x 3.5" and I used the included colorful envelopes for it! I watercolored a rainbow of hexagons and I'm really happy with how it turned out!! 

 

The background hexagonal pattern was stamped with the included background stamp. I used my MISTI to stamp it onto watercolor paper using Pumice Stone Distress Ink. After I stamped it, I used a water sprayer to spritz water over it to have the edges blur and run together. I also added paint and water splatters. I set that part aside to dry.

 

I die cut out several small and large hexagons from watercolor paper. I used my favorite wc palette and colored the hexagons in a rainbow. I used hot pink instead of red and I left off the purple. I let these dry and then splattered them with my favorite gold paint. I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder.

 

I affixed the hexagons to the card using foam squares.

 

Here is my interesting inspiration for this card! One of my favorite places to eat is called Lazy Dog (Do you have those where you live?)... Their menus have these cool and beautiful watercolor pictures throughout! I have always been drawn to the hexagons that were watercolored on the menu...and the idea stuck in my head. I finally made my interpretation of that! Inspiration truly is EVERYWHERE!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THIS AWESOME KIT! 

HERE ARE ALL THE CONTENTS!

That's it for today! Thanks as always for stopping by to see me!! Wishing you happiness and health this week. XOXO

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

F-U-N with Catherine Pooler Club Sursee!

Hi friends! Happy 2021! I have something really fun and cheerful to share with you today! Are you familiar with Catherine Pooler Designs? If you're not, I seriously suggest you check them out! Their stamps are happy and beautiful and such a delight to stamp with...and don't get me started on their amazing ink pads! Well, I loooooove Catherine and Erika over at CP Designs - they are about the cutest stamping duo out there and they are delightful to work with. When they reached out to me a while ago to see if I wanted an advance peek at their club stamps for January, well I said YES! Today I'm sharing the new stamps and dies from their Club Kit - Club Sursee! If you are going to subscribe to a stamping club, this would be my number one pick. I love them each month. So much care goes into the choices, and the boxing makes it feel like getting a present! CLICK HERE to learn more about their Club Sursee. The last day to sign up to receive the stamps I'm featuring today is January 14th!

I am sharing three cards - bright and clean and fresh - perfect for the new year. Lots of white space, and lots of color! I used my Copics to color everything and oddly enough - a holiday patterned paper collection. What's not to love? First up is this little cutie whizzing by on his scooter to wish someone a happy birthday! I used lots of vivid colors, and inked up a little background too.

 

I created the inked background by inking blue and green inks onto a circle stencil. Then I splashed some white ink over it and set it aside to dry. Next I stamped and die cut the pup, scooter, present and balloons. I colored everything with Copics and added bits of glitter glue and bits of white gel pen accents. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the card once the blended ink was dry. My layers are a white card base, then the stripes, then the top white layer. The items were all affixed to the card with foam dots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT CLUB SURSEE!

 

Next up is this postage stamp themed card perfect to send to one of your crafting friends! I always love anything that has a postage/stamp/craft theme, don't you? I stamped some of the images in grey ink to make the background for the card. I stamped the sentiment directly onto the card... 

 

I stamped and die cut out the stamps and colored them with Copic Markers in vibrant colors. Perfect for crafting pals! Not sure which one I like the best, the rainbow or the envelope with the hearts coming out!

 

One tip for images that are flat - Take a gray Copic - I used C2 and make a line around the image. This creates the illusion of a shadow or depth! Just a tiny touch that makes a big different - try it!

 

The top two cards were made with stamps and dies in the January Club Sursee Kits! This rainbow stamp set used in the card below is a FREEBIE for January Subscribers!! It's soooo cute! I made another clean and simple card to feature that rainbow and cloud front and center. I colored with my Copics and added Diamond Stickles and pretty clear gems... And again, that patterned paper is from the Holiday Whimsy Christmas paper pack! Be sure to look at your holiday papers to use year round!

 

 

 

 

That's it for today!! I hope I've brought some crafty cheer your way today!! CLICK HERE to check out all the pretties over at Catherine Pooler Designs... Remember if you want these Club Sursee stamps for January, the last day to sign up is January 14th! Happy Stamping! I will see you soon. XOXO

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

Concord & 9th Feature Friday - Beautiful Botanical Turnabout!

Happy New Year's Day! 2021 is here! Wowza! Time for a fresh new start on things and I'm here for it! Today is the last Feature Friday for the December new release from Concord & 9th. Thanks and shout out to the lovely folks at C9 for inviting me to be a guest this month. I love working with them! Today I'm featuring the newest addition to the Turnabout collection - The Botanical Turnabout! It's a lovely and lively floral spray and its gorgeous! I stamped it in pretty shades of pink and green and made a birthday card. Let's get to it!

My finished card is a 5" x 5" square. The turnabouts are big, so I like to make big cards with them! Shows off the design! I stamped in four colors: Ballet Slipper, Honeysuckle, Sprout and Parsley. Pink and green are always a good combo. And especially now as we turn our sights towards Spring crafting! I used the matching dies set to make a birthday card.

 

I trimmed my background layer down to just under five inches square to fit onto my card. I die cut the fancy diamond from white cardstock and stamped Happy Birthday onto it using Honeysuckle ink. The 'beautiful' die is die cut from Honeysuckle cardstock. I affixed the diamond onto the card and then wrapped a strip of vellum across the diamond. Just a nice soft touch! Then I glued the die cut onto the vellum.

 

 

 

I stamped and die cut two leaf sprigs and mounted them onto the card with foam tape. I added one pretty pink shimmery enamel dot to ground the leaves in that spot.

 

This card layout would be pretty in any color combination! 

 

Here's a close up of that pretty Turnabout stamped image....

Sadly, this is the end of my guest designer gig and my last Feature Friday for this round! I hope you've enjoyed my projects and found some inspiration for using your Concord & 9th supplies!! Thank you for joining along with me! XOXO

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

HERE'S THE LIST OF THE

GUEST DESIGNERS FOR DECEMBER! 

SUE

BECKY

WANDA

CARRIE

SARA

New Year's Eve 2020 - What a year!

Greetings and Salutations my dear crafty friends! Happy New Year's Eve 2020! I hadn't planned on posting a card today, or even saying anything at the end of the year.... But, my husband is repainting our bathroom today and he likes to work alone.... So I found myself in the craft room with Lucky, and the mood struck me to create a New Year Card. I have on some classical music and it's kind of gray outside. And it's weirdly quiet in our neighborhood today. In the quiet of my warm studio I created a card and thought about the year that was 2020. Normally I do a big production on my blog about the end of the year, and my favorite cards, etc. but I'm just not feeling that this year. And that's okay. I'm happy to say goodbye to 2020 and see what the good Lord has in store for us next year in 2021. I have some more thoughts to share at the end of my post, but in case you're just here for the card...I'll do that first!

This finished card is a white A2 card base. I used one of the new things I bought for Christmas crafting this year - the beautiful flurries background die and die cut it in black. I splashed some gold paint onto it.... I got out my very favorite New Year's stamp set and some numbers dies...and kept it clean and simple. I love black and gold/silver and teal for New Years!!

 

In this shot you can see that gorgeous background die. SWOON. I can't believe I hadn't used it yet! Kind of feels like swirling confetti don't you think? 

 

I stamped and die cut the champagne glasses and used a really pretty Nuvo Drops color to mimic champage. I love how that came out! The Champagne glasses and the numbers are affixed to the card with small foam dots and the new year script was glued on with liquid glue. Very clean and classic.

 

 

So now that's the last card for 2020! I have a card to share tomorrow too - it will be posted in the morning! Whew. After I write this I'll be closing up shop for the year and heading out to the kitchen to make dinner. We have an exciting evening of dinner and movies at home. But isn't that what everyone is doing this year for NYE? So strange to think that Times Square won't be hopping like normal. But nothing was normal this year, was it? 

I'm ending the year grateful. Grateful and tired. Exhausted. Weary. I literally cannot remember ever feeling this kind of tired in my entire life. Like down to my bones I'm tired. I am a worrying type of person and this year blew all my gaskets. It's definitely not the worst year of my life, but it is the weirdest. I feel fortunate that my immediate family is all healthy. First and foremost that's what matters this year. I have learned many many many lessons this year, and in the process learned a whole lot about myself. And I have learned the deeper meaning of grace. Grace towards myself and everyone around me. We all need a break, we're all maxed out. I feel like maybe this year, if we play it right, can be a reset. We've hunkered down and unplugged from going going going all the time. So when we can finally go back out into the world, maybe we can make different choices. Does that make sense? We can emerge from our isolation and do the things that really matter and spend time with the people that really matter. All the noise has been removed. It has been a test to sit with my thoughts all these months. And right away, the anxiety levels shot sky high while concurrently all of my coping mechanisms were taken away. WOWZA. Right. Just me and God. Down to the barest level of my soul. I am a quieter person now - and changed, probably forever. I can't see how any of us will be the same after this. But who's to say if that's good or bad yet. That remains to be seen. I am hoping that 2021 is a much better year for everyone everywhere. I hope we are kinder and gentler and more full of grace and love. That is my wish for 2021.

Thank you, all of you, who follow along with me here! You bless me and support me and keep me creating even when I don't feel like it. You inspire me and uplift me with your kind words and well wishes. I'm extremely grateful for that always, but even more so this year. Thank you. Bless you! Wishing you and your families all a beautiful fresh new year. XOXO

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021! 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies used for today's card. The numbers dies are discontinued so I subbed in the closest dies that match the same size and font. 

Concord & 9th Feature Friday (On a Monday!) Fun monogrammed bag!

Hey there! How was your Christmas? I hope you had a lovely weekend full of joy and Christmas spirit! I can't believe another Christmas has passed. And this week is a new year! We had a quiet Christmas at home. It was a nice rainy day and we watched about 500 Christmas movies all day!! Thank you to everyone who sent me a contribution based on my post from Christmas Eve! You all richly blessed me and I am so grateful. THANK YOU! BLESS YOU! 

Last week, we didn't do Concord & 9th Feature Friday because it was Christmas Day...so we're doing Feature Friday today - on a Monday! Oh, and I'll have another project on Friday too. It's been my pleasure to guest design for Concord & 9th this month! Hope you've enjoyed the series also. 

Today we are all featuring another project made with the new Weekender Bag stamps and dies. Don't you just love it? Such a great idea and concept! This time I made a cheerful, bright, monogrammed bag with some pretty feminine touches. I think this version of the Weekender Bag would be awesome for shower favors! You could put the bride's initials onto the bag, or the couples' new monogram? Or even a little baby girls' name! The size of the bag allows for candies, gift cards, or small presents. Let's check it out!

 

I used two of my favorite colors from the C9 color collection: Aqua Sky and Oceanside.... Yummy!! Cute little accents hanging off the side - love how you can customize this set. I wanted a pretty floral touch on my bag, so I used the Stitched Blooms die to emboss the pattern onto the front and back of the bag. It came out perfectly!! 

 

 

 

I used the buckle this time in between the two sides of the bag. I used pretty silvery accents for my 'hardware.'

 

I used the Small and Large Lovely Letters alphabet stamp sets to do my monogram onto the front of the bag. I used the matching ink colors to the papers.

That's it for today's Feature Friday Monday! LOL. Have a great week! I'll see you back here on Friday, if not sooner! Take care. XOXO

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

 

HERE'S THE LIST OF THE

GUEST DESIGNERS FOR DECEMBER! 

SUE

BECKY

WANDA

CARRIE

SARA

 

Merry Christmas from our Home to Yours - 2020!

Merry Christmas 2020! Thank you for all of your support and love during this crazy year. A weary world rejoices today indeed! From the bottom of my heart I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Bless you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2020!

From the Guess family!

 

 

Peace on Earth Christmas Tag! Happy Christmas Eve 2020!

Happy Christmas Eve! I woke up this morning feeling inspired to use some of my new Christmas supplies that haven't been inked up yet this season! My husband bought me several Tim Holtz stamp sets for my birthday and I was so sad that I never had time to use them. As I was having coffee, and contemplating putting all the crafting things away for the season, I decided to sit down and make one last tag. Peace on Earth to all of us this beautiful Christmas Eve. Blessings to you and yours. XOXO

I have one last request for the year, if I may. This year was very hard on my small business, as with so many others. I strive so hard all year to provide fresh, relevant, inspirational creative content for free to all of you. It is my joy to do so! My income for blogging comes solely from product links and it's down by about half this year. Maybe even not covering my blogging expenses... If you have the ability and desire to do so, would you consider offering me an end of the year tip via Paypal? Anyone who leaves a tip will receive a handmade card from me in thanks! My Paypal is under: stampcatwg@aol.com. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!

One of my favorite treats to make and eat - Peppermint Bark!

Hi there crafty friends! Today's project is kind of a recipe, kind of a photo shoot, kind of a treat idea... One of my favorite treats at Christmas time is Peppermint Bark! As much as I love everything Pumpkin Spice in the Fall, I love everything Peppermint in the Winter! And, chocolate and peppermint is the best combination!! I usually make at least one batch of homemade Peppermint Bark each season. It's easy to share, and it lasts a while too! I just got this pretty new marble cake stand, and that called for a photo shoot! I've been really down lately and crying lots of tears. Being creative and getting lost in my creative process helps me feel better. Lots of photos in this post!

It's super easy to make Peppermint Bark! You only need four ingredients! I use Semi Sweet and White Chocolate Ghirardelli Chocolate morsels (from Target), Candy Canes, and Peppermint Extract. That's it! 

Melt the semi sweet chocolate morsels in the microwave.... Pour the melted semi sweet chocolate onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Stick it in the freezer for about ten minutes to set up. Melt the white chocolate morsels in the microwave and mix in 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract.... Pour the melted white chocolate on top of the frozen semi sweet chocolate. MMMMM. Next get a ziploc bag and crush up 5-6 candy canes into small pieces. Sprinkle the candy cane pieces on top of the white chocolate. That's it! Put the batch in the fridge for an hour or so to get nice and hard. Then use a big knife to cut the candy into wedges. So fast and easy! 

Here are some of the pix from my photo shoot!

 

I love how pretty this is with the candy cane pieces! And it smelllllsssssss so good!

 

I like to cut the pieces into wedges, or triangles. Just seems easier to eat that way than a square.

 

 

 

Here's the melted chocolate! I put it in the microwave for one minute, stir, do one more minute, stir... Then 20 second intervals until it's melted through.

 

Here's the whole pan full! This picture came out weird - from my phone!

 

 

 

I love to package treats in glassine bags. There's something old fashioned about it - like an old candy store or something! I used a hole punch to punch two holes at the top of this bag, and then tied some twine through it. Ready for gifting without too much trouble!

 

 

 

 

Okay! Thanks for indulging all my photos today!! I hope you felt the cool breeze of peppermint when reading this post. Hope I've inspired you to try and make this too! What is your favorite treat to make at Christmas time? Let me know in the comments! Enjoy the rest of your Christmas week! XOXO

 

Snowman Cross Stitching Project!

Hello lovelies and happy Christmas week! This project I'm sharing today has been delivered to it's recipient so now I can post it! It's a festive winter snowman cross stitching project! I always have big plans for lots of Christmas stitching...but alas...this is the only one that got finished and framed this year! I love how it turned out - cheerful and colorful. Who doesn't love a big ol snowman?! I hope you are doing well and hanging in there. Grace. That's where I'm at. Gotta slow down the anxiety and show grace. Most of all for ourselves. 

This pattern is called Stylin' Snowman and it's by Kogut (Supplies are listed at the end of my post). I stitched on 14 count Aida. I used my own floss colors. They are pretty close to the pattern, but I swapped in lime green instead of the called for yellow. I used some fancy floss for his hat. It's sort of furry!! I bought that floss to use on a Santa beard but used a touch here too. I framed it myself - I'll talk more about that later in my post. You'll see I incorporated some of my card making supplies!

 

Here's a close up of the colors and stitching... I adore his sweet grin and pink cheeks!

 

I dyed my own ribbon with Distress Spray Stains and added shimmer too! I used an old Tim Holtz Token and twine to finish off my pink bow. I love the pink and the aqua of the frame together. Feels a bit vintage and cozy. 

 

I found this frame at Michael's and it was the perfect color to match the stitching! I splattered some snow onto it with a paint brush! To frame my stitching I used two layers of natural cotton quilt batting under the fabric. This makes it 'poof' up a little bit from the frame backing. I like the look of it that way. I use archival tape to hold the stitching fabric around a backing board. It's quite an easy process actually and very rewarding!

 

 

I put him down in the bottom of the frame area so he would look like a family member in a frame! 

 

 

That's it for today! I'm not sure what else I will post before Christmas...we'll all have to wait and see! Pretty sure no more cards, but maybe something else fun. Blessings to you for a great Christmas week! XOXO

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

Concord & 9th Feature Friday - December New Release - Little Letters!

Happy Friday again! One week until Christmas....and then one more week until a new year! Can you even believe it? I'm praying and hoping that 2021 is a lot better than 2020! Welcome to another edition of Feature Friday for Concord & 9th! I'm guest designing for the C9 December new release (which is already available for shopping) and sharing projects each week made with the new stamps and dies. I always love being a guest for Concord & 9th!! Today the team of guests is featuring some brand new alphabet stamps. My card features the Little Letters stamp set along with some of my very favorite C9 products. And, I made a New Year card!!

My finished card is a white A2 card base layered with gold and dark grey cardstocks then then the top layer of white. Let's look!

 

I used the "wear" stamp sets to stamp my cute party girl, and her hat. I used the dies to make her a letterboard to hold her new year message! I used the new Little Letters stamp set to stamp the greeting with white pigment ink. Looks so fun!! I have a letterboard in my craft room and I like to change the messages. 

 

 

 

Can you see her glittery eye shadow? She's ready to party!! I stamped and die cut her hat and colored it with Copics. I gave her pink rosy cheeks too... 

 

I used pretty gold ink to stamp some fireworks and accents around her. The starburst is from the older C9 set called Happy Day! 

 

I mounted her hat and the letterboard with foam tape onto the card. It's flat for mailing and would be an easy card to mass produce for your New Year greetings. 

That's it for today's Feature Friday for Concord & 9th! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! XOXO

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

HERE'S THE FUN LINEUP OF CRAFTERS TODAY

TO GIVE YOU INSPIRATION WITH THE NEW RELEASE!

SUE

BECKY

WANDA

CARRIE

SARA

Fun Bobble Hat Yarn Gnomes!!

Hi there crafty friends!! It's been raining here in Sacramento and I've been nesting and crafting. Oh, and decorating and eating Christmas treats too! LOL. My husband has gone Clark Griswold on me and full on decorated the front of our house and our yard...and the garage! You can probably see our house from space right now! The neighborhood kids love it and it's bringing cheer to our little street and that's all good. I haven't really been stamping a lot lately. But I've been stitching and cooking and making yarn stuffs. Kind of trying to check off some crafty things from my long list. When it's raining I love being in the craft room with Lucky in his bed, just working away. 

I have a fun project to share with you today! These little bobble hat gnomes have been popping up a lot in my Instagram feed so of course I wanted to make some. This would be a fun group project or a family/kids project. Few supplies are needed and they were easy and joyful. I'm going to use mine to tie onto gift packages or boxes. They would also make cute ornaments or something to tie on the top of a bottle of wine for Christmas. I saw one person made them into a garland!!

 

These are my sweet little gnomies!!! I made one with a white 'beard' and one with a grey 'beard!' You could make these any color for any occasion. Aren't they sweet??

 

Here's the blue one in my hand so you can see how big they are....

 

 

Here are my supplies and my supervisor. Everything came from Hobby Lobby or Michaels. The rims for the hats are cut from a toilet paper tube!!

 

You start by making the bobble hat first. Cut a strip from the toilet paper tube. Next, cut several strips of yarn and wrap them around the tube until it's all the way filled up. Maybe 35 strips?? 

 

 

 

Here's the tube all filled with yarn strips. To make the hat, simply pull all the strings through the middle and out the other side.

 

Tie the strings together with another piece of yarn - tightly. Then put in some batting or a couple of cotton balls to fill in the hat form. VOILA! A sweet little hat!! Trim the top of the strings into a tiny hat pom pom. Adorbs.

 

To make the 'beard' for your gnome, make a pom pom from white or gray yarn. I used the yellow size pom pom maker. 

 

I painted his nose with a bit of craft paint. The wood bead is 10mm size. The last step is to use your hot glue gun to glue the hat onto the pom pom and then glue the nose on!! I decided to also add a jingle bell to the top of the hat for a bit of bling!!

 

Sweet gnomies!!

 

 

That's it for today's project! I hope you liked something a bit different than a card, or paper!! Cheers to Christmas crafting! Leave me a comment and tell me what you're working on right now! Hope you are having a blessed and happy week. XOXO

Concord & 9th Feature Friday - December New Release! Weekender Handbag!

Happy Friday! Feature Friday, that is! For Concord & 9th! I'm excited to once again be a guest designer for Concord & 9th as they celebrate their new release for December 2020. I hope you saw my post on Wednesday and that adorable Handbag Die! I'm back today to share more photos and ideas for that handbag die and also share a card made with the Bright Eyes Bundle stamps and dies. I'll be posting each Friday this month for C9. Don't you love their fun products?

How is your December going? Are you still shopping? Crafting? Today is my husband's birthday so we have that going on too! The last part of the year is always busy. I kind of miss all of our traditional activities but we're managing to have some fun anyway. Hope you are doing great. Now let's look at some projects!

First up is this fabulous leopard print Weekender Handbag! It's totally cute! Perfect for gift cards, candies, party favors, treat boxes, decorations...so so many ideas for this one! It comes with adorable accessories and also has a matching stamp set. No limit to what you can dream up for your purses!! I made a classic leopard print bag with gold and black accents. I would really love to have a bag like this!! (I adore animal print things!)

 

How cute is that lock and key?? Seriously. 

 

Here's the top down view! So easy to make, too. Everything is well thought out, and the dies cut like a dream. You cut two pieces and glue them together for the main body of the bag. Then two straps. There are two side pieces too that glue on to make it more sturdy. Then you decorate!!! The other designers for this project have made some really great samples!!!

 

 

 

 

I don't have a leopard print stamp so I started brainstorming how I could make my own!!! I found this small detail stamp from the Talk Type stamp set!! I used kraft cardstock, then stamped the design in black ink.... Then I used my favorite gold paint palette and a small brush to paint over the black!! I really think it looks like leopard! What do you think?? This pic below was my sample test one...

 

Here's the stamp I used!

 

Whenever I make these 3D projects, I like to show it to you in my hand for scale! This is a generous size so it can hold lots of treasures!! (CLICK HERE to see the other fun Purse die from Concord & 9th that launched earlier this year!)

 

 

Next up is this bright and crazy card inspired by the 70's and my favorite Vuarnet sunglasses! Lolz. I used the brand new Bright Eyes bundle of stamps and dies to make this card. The sunglasses also fit onto the edge of that cool handbag!!! The finished card is an A2 card base in white. I layered Peacock cardstock and then made some cool stripes for my background.

 

The striped background was made using five colors of gorgeous Concord & 9th cardstock!! Then I mounted a frame of white die cut with a circle opening. The sunglasses are made with mirrored cardstock! SO fun, right? And the sentiment is PERFECT!

 

 

 

Here are all my beautiful strips!! Peacock, Oceanside, Aqua Sky, Marmalade and Buttercup.... YUMMMMMM.

 

I used my tape runner and affixed all the strips onto a piece of white cardstock at an angle. Then I trimmed the edges off with my paper trimmer. Isn't this cool?? I haven't done this technique in a while and I forgot how much I like it.

 

 

 

Okay, friends, that's it for this edition of Feature Friday! Did you get any goodies from the new release? I hope I've inspired you to get your craft on!! I'll be back next Friday with more projects made with the new products. Take care, and as always, thanks for popping by today! XOXO

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

 

HERE'S THE FUN LINEUP OF CRAFTERS TODAY

TO GIVE YOU INSPIRATION WITH THE NEW RELEASE!

SUE

BECKY

WANDA

CARRIE

SARA

Pretty in Pink - for Winter!

Hi friends! I was cleaning and organizing my Christmas crafting supplies (bins full) and I discovered these pretty stamps that I haven't used in years! You know how that is! You always find something good when you're going through your stuff! These are wood mount stamps made by my friend and local artist Peggy Jo Ackley. She is an illustrator of books and an amazing pencil artist. Unfortunately she doesn't make stamps any more!!! BOO. So I treasure the ones that I have. So after I found these pretty ice skates stamp an idea popped in my head and I sat down at my desk. This card practically made itself!! Once I get the idea, it's on!! The bins are still messy but I have a pretty card. That's a good thing. I'm really into pink this year for Christmas and it makes me ridiculously happy. So here's a pretty in pink creation for you!

This finished card is an A2 white card base. I used one of my very favorite products of alllllll time to make that gorgeous background.... Stamped, glittered and colored to my pastel heart's content...

 

The ice skates image and the merry christmas sentiment are both wood mount stamps. They stamp so clean! I stamped and colored in with my Copics and then die cut them with stitched circle and stitched oval dies. I splashed some snow on that pretty pink background. A little pop of peppermint twist twine...

 

Here's a close up of the coloring. I used a nice olive green to offset the pink and white in the image. Added glitter to the skates too! The snowflake dies were die cut from white paper. Then I added pink enamel dots.

 

I was going to layer the pink die cut background over white cardstock but it just didn't look like I wanted. So I did a tone on tone with both being pink and voila! That's the look - just like a pretty vintage sweater.

 

The tiny green leaf is from an old Prima collection called Sweet Peppermint. (Yeah I found some good old stuff in those bins!)

 

 

 

 

Here's my coloring before I die cut them out. These pix are with my phone from my desk!

 

Quality Control Inspector checking out my die cutting technique! LOLZ.

 

Here's that pretty pink on pink with white paint splatters! (and a foot!!!) Never a dull moment around here.

 

The inspector finally went back and laid down in his bed! 

That's it for today! I'll be back tomorrow sharing my Concord & 9th projects for Feature Friday! Yippeeee! See you then friends! Have a great day! XOXO

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

Everyone loves a new handbag!

Hey lovelies! I'm popping in really quick today to show you something SUPER FUN AND FABULOUS! Today at 10am EST the new Concord & 9th release goes live! I am guest designing for them all month and I'll be posting/sharing on my blog every Friday this month. But, today is release day and I think this one item is going to sell out! (Remember THIS cute purse from January??!!)     CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

SOOOOO I'm sharing one photo today... And then on Friday I'll have more of this handbag project (including how I stamped my own leopard print!) and I'll have a card, too. Be sure to come back then! But for now....Introducing the Concord & 9th Weekender Handbag Die Set!

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE! (12/9 at 10am EST)

SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!

 

Taylored Expressions - Like Gnome Other - Card Kit Launch!

Hi there gnomies! How are you?? I have something extra fun and cute to share today! It's the newest card kit from Taylored Expressions and it's called "Like Gnome Other!" SOOOOO sweet! Little gnomes, background stamps, dies, stickers....everything fabulous. You guys may or may not know I have an obsession with gnomes. So when I saw this card kit I squealed with delight! It's so very cheerful. It's available now, if you're reading this post. I love all the TE card kits, but this one is reallllly gooooood. I hope you love it too! I made a card with the kit and you can read all about it!

This finished card is a 5.25" x 5.25" square white card base. I layered a frame of white for my little scene, stenciled some clouds and then had fun decorating! I used Copic Markers for coloring of course...

 

The main stamp set has really cute sentiments. It's been a while since I made a birthday specific card so I need to replenish my stash of birthday cards. This is adorable! I stamped the sentiment onto a circle and stamped the hearts with it. I tucked in some mushrooms too! The blue banner going across the bottom of the card was stamped with the cable background stamp using white pigment ink. So fresh!

 

 

Here's my little couple all colored in and looking sharp! The clouds were stenciled in the background using blender brushes and cloud stencils! (Supplies are listed at the bottom of my post) The mushrooms dies come with the kit. I layered white and red. 

 

Here is the full contents of this awesome kit!!!

 

The little fence die is PERFECTION! It has hearts cut out of it! And a slight curve. This die alone is worth the kit I think. I have so many ideas for it! Sometimes it's the small things that make a big difference!!

 

 

 

Here's that awesome fence/hill die set. The long line die at the bottom cuts a perfect soft hill with the same curve as the fence! Genius.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, gnomies!! The card kit is available now if you want one! Yippeee! I hope you love it! I'll be back later this week with a couple of fun projects from the new Concord & 9th release! I have to find the courage to go to the post office this week. Yikes. Not looking forward to that! I have a few presents to mail and some card projects headed off for a video. My husband's birthday is this week too. Lots going on here. I hope you are doing good and staying happy and healthy and crafty. XOXO

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

Pretty Vintage Christmas Tag!

Hi lovelies! Today I'm popping in with a handmade, and vintage feeling, Christmas tag! A few simple supplies and a classic color palette and voila! Tags! This is a quick and easy project to replicate. Make a bunch to use for your gifts...or box 'em up for a small gift! I used a big, gorgeous stamp from a stamp set sold by my artist friend Lexi! I've linked it in the supplies. She is amazing! The other supplies are from Tim Holtz and Sizzix...can't go wrong with that. Let's look!

Here's my big, beautiful tag! It's a STAG TAG! Lol!!! Isn't he majestic??

 

This is one of the big mama mixed media tags from Ranger and Tim. I stamped the image in black ink using my MISTI (He barely fit on the MISTI!) I let that dry and got out the Distress Inks...

 

I used Distress ink and a sponge dauber to generously ink around the edges of the tag. I also splattered some brown ink onto the tag. After the brown splatters were dry, I splattered white ink over the tag also.

 

I die cut the 'merry' word out of silver cardstock and glued it onto the bottom of the card. I also deckle edge trimmed the bottom of the tag. The raised 'snow' you can see on his antlers is rock candy distress glitter - lots of it!! Gives a really nice effect. If you don't have this in your crafting arsenal...you need some!

 

That big stamp is really so gorgeous and detailed!

 

Here is my desk view - getting organized... That ribbon I bought years ago at a vintage market!! I have never used it. Today was the day! It looks perfect at the top of the tag along with a little red bell for a pop of color.

 

I almost stopped here - because this is perfection. Seriously. 

 

So, I am very lucky that my husband is super patient and ready for a crazy idea from his crazy wife. I had a vision for my photographs of this tag... Which involved my husband going to the local park to pick me some redwood branches!!! He just gets in his truck and goes. Doesn't ask a lot of questions! LOLZ. One time he went to Starbucks to get me some roasted coffee beans!!! He's the best. 

 

Recipe called for 1/3 cup of fake snow also! Hahahaha. When people ask me about how I take my pictures, I just laugh. If you could see the behind the scenes you would laugh at me too. 

That's it for today's project! Every project doesn't have to be long and involved. Today's was quick and easy. I'll be back soon! I'm guest designing for Concord & 9th this month - can't wait to share that all with you! Take care! XOXO

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

Winter Cuties from Hello Bluebird Stamps!

Helllloooooo my friends! It's the last day of November! And I'm feeling the Christmas spirit at home and in the craft room! I stamped a lot this weekend and used my brand new stamps from Hello Bluebird! I swear I smile the entire time I'm using their fun and pretty stamps and dies! They bring me joy for sure. I got to color, and glitter and generally get in the feeling of winter! I have two cards to share with you today! Let's kick off this season! I hope you had a great long weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving too. XO

First up is this most adorable and dapper snowman, skating by to wave hello!! Gosh, I love him. This finished card is an A2 card base. I layered black and then new checked paper to frame him just right. I used the new Pine Boughs dies to create some sprays of greenery around him. Oh, and lots of glitter!! 

 

I stamped and colored my snowman with Copic Markers and then die cut him out with the matching die. Here you can see I cut a second hat out and colored that and put it on top of the other one. This is a fun way to pop up elements of your card. His pretty red scarf is fluttering in the wind. I added white gel pen accents and Diamond Stickles. Cuz you know he's cold and frosty!

 

The JOY word is from the new Joy and Peace words dies. I die cut it out three times and glued the three together to make it thicker to stand out on my card. I glued it on top of some greenery. I love a punch of aqua with all that red!!

 

Here's a top down view of all the layers (and lots of foam tape!!)

The bow is in silver paper and I added one little white enamel dot to finish it off. I also splattered some snow on top of the greenery. I inked the edges of those holly leaves with a bit of distress ink and a small sponge dauber.

 

 

 

Next up is a Winter Forest card with some cute critters enjoying their coffee together! The card is a white A2 card base. I ink blended the background and added some snowy hills to create a scene.

 

I stamped and die cut out the birds, trees, and animals and colored them with Copic Markers. For the trees, I used the generally same colors as the background to give a cohesive feeling to the colors of the card. I used Three shades of Distress ink on Bristol cardstock to make my background.

 

Usually I will use white paint and splatter 'snow' all over my card. This time, though, I tried something different and it gave a totally different feel! I used my white gel pen and hand drew on all the 'snow' on the background! I like how it came out, so I'll be using this technique again for sure. It looks like cartoon snow.

 

Here are my snowy trees and the colors I used to make them! For coloring the trees, I only colored the top 2/3 of each layer. I left the tips white like you would actually see on a snowy tree. Once I had them all colored I used Nuvo White Blizzard Drops to add the ice/snow on the tips. 

 

Everything is attached to the card using foam squares.

I love these sweet birdies holding the Merry Christmas banner! 

Okay! That's it for today! I'm sending you a hug and wishing you a creative and happy week ahead. I will see you soon! XOXO

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

The Greetery Winter Wanderer Release Day! And it's on SALE!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! It's Friday of The Greetery release week....which means everything will go on sale TODAY at 10am EST! Are you ready? Do you have a list all planned out?! Well....my friends.... I am going to make your day! Because Betsy has decided to do a SALE! Not only that, but she is including the new release in the SALE!! That is amazing!! She is really the very best. Here's your reminder to get ready to shop! I wish for you all the joy in creating with these new items!! XO

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow, we made it this far into this crazy year, so that's something to be thankful for! I'm so grateful for your love, kindness and support all year. I'm taking a moment to really soak in the thought that you guys are here for me. I'm thankful, grateful, blessed, and touched by that. I wish for you and yours a day filled with peace and hope. Better things are coming!! Let's keep on truckin' and make it to 2021. Bless you! My husband took this picture of one of the big turkeys that roam around our neighborhood!

Happy Thanksgiving from

The Guess Family!

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 2!

Hi friends! Welcome back to Day Two of festivities for the new release from The Greetery! The Winter Wanderer Collection will be available to purchase on Friday the 27th! But...we have one more day today filled with inspiration from the design team. How did you like yesterday's reveals?? Well, if you liked yesterday, you're gonna love today! LOTS more new stamps and dies sure to spark your creativity. Today really hits hard on the Boho Chic theme - and pretty, feminine designs with just the right amount of trendiness!! Oh, and as a person of a certain age (ahem) I am truly loving the 70's vibe of it all!! I am sharing three more cards today, so grab a cuppa and let's go through them!

This first card is an odd size - I trimmed it to fit my design. The final card is 6.25" x 4" and is a kraft card base with rounded corners. I used the following new products for this card: Hoop Wreath Stamp Set, Macrame Borders, Boho Banner, and Opposites Attract! I created a pretty 'wall' hanging in boho shades of aqua, cream and pink...

 

The background leaves/spray is the stamp from yesterday's reveal of the Hoop Wreath set! I used Versamark Ink and stamped directly onto the kraft card base to add just a little bit of a subtle design behind my boho banner. I used a brad from my stash to act as the nail for the wall hanging!

 

The Boho Banner die set has all these pretty pieces! The banner, the stick, the fringe, the feathers...and MORE! The creative possibilities are endless!! I wanted two feathers at the bottom of my banner so I used a jump ring to attach them there in the center. I used gold paint to paint on top of the teal feather and also splashed gold paint everywhere on my card.

 

I used the Macrame Borders to add some interest to the top of the banner! Everything is cream cardstock for more of a jute/cord feeling and color. The awesome sentiment is from the Opposites Attract stamp/die set. I loooooove it.

 

 

 

Next up is the card I had the most fun creating! I really went outside the box with this one. The finished card is a green A2 card base. I am very partial to green and kraft together. I then did a cream layer, and on top a kraft layer. I used the previously released small Terrarium Die to make my idea come to life...

 

I learned to macramé with my mom in the 70's and it was so much fun. The main thing we made were those pretty plant hangers!! Then, of course, we put Spider Plants in all of them! Do you remember that?? Well, that was the first thing that popped in my mind. And I thought....hmmm.... How can I make a Spider Plant?? The idea came to me! I used the second layer of the flowers stamps from the Hoop Wreath and Bigger Blooms sets! I stamped just those parts, in green, and then cut them out by hand. Voila! Spider Plants! Are you feeling me with this idea?? After I cut them out I layered them in staggered sizes. I also mixed in some greens from the Caring Cross stamp set.

 

This sentiment is the most perfect thing for this card! I used my MISTI to get a nice deep brown impression and then die cut it out with the matching die. So fabulous. Here's a side view so you can see the layers.

 

I die cut the terrarium out of gold paper. I used a bit of twine at the top to add a bit of softness.

 

Here's a close up of that pretty border...

 

 

And my final card for release week features the gorgeous Bigger Blooms stamps and dies along with the Simply Wonderful stamps and dies. The finished card is an A2 white card base. 

 

 

I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder and die cut it out with that precise matching die. I set that aside... I stamped lots of blooms and leaves in bright, happy colors...

 

To put the card together, I first attached the Wonderful word and then stamped the "have a" and "birthday" in black ink on the top and bottom. Then I attached the flowers in a frame around the words. I used scissors to trim off the extra parts of the flowers that were hanging over the edge. I really love this look. 

 

 

 

I talked about the new Speed Tagging papers in my post last week, but here's a reminder of something extra that's part of this release! Pens and papers! OOOH LA LA!!

This completes our release week reveals. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, November 27th! (tomorrow) CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from the release? Are you excited to create some boho looks??

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, November 27th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 1!

Hi there everybody! Happy Thanksgiving Week! Hope you're doing great! Something else is happening this week that is also very exciting! A brand new beautiful release from The Greetery! Can I get a WOOHOOOO? It's the last release of the year. And, boy, what a year this has been for The Greetery. I am so blessed to be part of this team! So much inspiration and beauty to share throughout the year. This latest release is called the Winter Wanderer Collection. It's dreamy and pretty and boho chic!! Again, Betsy has done it by creating something totally new and creative to keep us busy crafting. The collection is full of flowers and gorgeous sentiments, and macrame!! It's delightful. We will be sharing cards and projects today and tomorrow. Then the new release will be available for purchase on The Greetery Website Friday morning at 10am EST. 

I have two cards to share today... One is a boho chic floral creation, and the other is an icy blue snowy creation! Let's get started!

The first card is an A2 card base made from aqua paper. I used the Crimped Frame dies for the top, cream layer of cardstock. This set a nice frame for those gorgeous florals. The new products used for this card are: Hoop Wreath and Hoop and Fringe Dies. 

 

Here is a close up of the florals!!! ACK!!! So pretty!!! Two step florals with matching dies... Oh, and that gorgeous greenery spray that fits perfectly around the new Hoop Dies!! The sentiments in the floral set all have matching dies - so I used the stamps and dies to make the "hello" sentiment.

 

I made a bow from the previously released Fit To Be Tied dies....

 

I used Copic Markers on some of the flowers for a bit more color depth. I also splashed gold watercolor paint over the entire card - generously! I love a good gold paint splatter (as you know!) I layered everything with lots of foam tape. The hoops are from the new Hoop and Fringe Die set - it's round circles and then different sizes of fringe to put on the bottom. Genius!!

 

 

 

 

Next up is an icy blue Winter Wishes Snowflake card! (I'm suddenly singing Let it Go!)... I used the new suite of products called Catching Snowflakes. Stamps and matching dies... These also work together with the same Hoop and Fringe Die set I used in the card above. This card is a finished white A2 card base. I used only blue, white and silver as my color palette.

 

I made a pretty snowflake dream catcher! So easy to use the gorgeous die cuts.... The snowflakes come with the stamp set... Oh and look at the perfectly curved sentiment!! 

 

My background panel was made with three shades of blue Distress Inks, Bristol cardstock and my blender brushes. After I inked the background, I went back with the same colors of ink and stamped snowflakes over the blended ink... Subtle yet pretty! I also splashed some white snow, I mean paint, over the background.

 

 

 

 

Okay, that's it for day one! How fun are these new items?? I hope you love them as much as I do. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, November 27th. CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from today??

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, November 27th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Thankful for you because you're sweet!

Hi guys! Hope that when you're reading this, that you are doing well and feeling happy and healthy. It's Thanksgiving week! Gosh - that came quickly! The hubs and I will spend a quiet holiday at home (as we always do) and he has the week off from work next week. We'll get some projects done and start watching Christmas movies. In the craft room yesterday I reminded myself that I never used the SUPER cute new paper I got from Doodlebug!! And, after this week I'll be moving head on into Christmas crafting.... I decided to make some quick and simple cards with a Fall theme and get them posted today!! Happy Thanksgiving week to you and your family. I am THANKFUL for YOU! 

The Pumpkin Spice collection from Doodlebug is seriously the most adorable thing I've ever seen!! I used one of my go-to card layouts and pretty papers and accents and whipped up two cards. Both cards are A2 sized white card bases. A few of my fav stitched dies, and a few stamps - and there we have some cards! First up is this adorable little pumpkin spice latte wearing a smile!!

 

Here's a top down view so you can see the layers. I covered the front of the card with that pretty teal plaid. Then I die cut out a stitched rectangle and two stitched circles.... I wrapped some patterned paper around the center of the rectangle.... These cards come together easily. On each one, the smaller circle has a design cut into it with a die. These two dies are from Lil Inker Designs, and unfortunately they have closed shop. You can use whatever background cover plate die you have, or even an embossing folder for this step. It just adds a bit of interest on all that white space.

 

I affixed the Doodle-Pop image into the center of the circles. I added a tiny blue leaf too! EEEP. 

 

 

 

I used the matching stamp set for this collection and stamped the sentiment onto the bottom of the white panel. Nice crisp black ink.

 

For this cutie pie bear card, I used exactly the same techniques and layout. See how different it can look? Brown and teal together is such a pretty and warm color palette. I love it...and just that tiny bit of soft yellow. I think this would make an adorable baby card!

 

 

 

 

 

BZZZZZZ! Look at that sweet bee!

 

 

Okay! That's it for today, and probably that's it for Fall crafting for 2020! The Greetery new release reveals start on Tuesday morning! Please make sure to come by then to see what's up. I've been busy making cards to show you! XOXO 

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

Beautiful new Christmas Tags from The Greetery! A little preview for next week!

Hi crafty pals! Happy Friday! How are you? Hope you had a good week this week. It went by in a flash, and many things did not get done this week here in my studio! ACK. The rest of this year is going to fly by - I can feel it! 

Next week is a new release from The Greetery! The last release of this year. I cannot wait to show you my projects and share everything with you! But, I am popping in today with a sneak peek of something fun, AND to announce that one thing is available early (NOW!)... So I hopped on here to share with you. The rest of the release will start on Tuesday with product reveals. Yippeeee!

Now, on to what we can talk about today! Brand new, gorgeous, speed tagging papers just in time for making Christmas Tags! There are two new collections: Happy Christmas Prints and Classic Christmas Prints. They are so pretty. Really thick, colorfully printed papers ready for cutting out with your Speed Tagging Die. Think Gingham and stripes, and florals in the richest colors... Yeah, you get the idea! Each pack is only $5.00 and the pack makes 42 tags! If you have the matching stamps you can whip out Christmas tags like nobody's business. Love this concept!

If you're not familiar with the Speed Tagging products, take a look at my past blog post about them! CLICK HERE for my step out photos of how to use the stamps and dies. (It's the second project on that blog post)... So you can stamp and die cut your own tags in any color you like! The dreamy part is that the die is engineered to cut out SEVEN tags at one time! With the new papers, you line up the die and with one pass through the die cutting machine - you're on your way! 

Here are some photos for you! (The pens will be available with the release next week! The tags papers are available now!)

Here is the Speed Tagging Die - see the circles on the corners? That's how you precisely line up the die to cut the tags out. Genius I tell ya. 

 

This is the matching stamp in case you want to stamp your own specific color! Just wanted to show/share this again since it's so cool. To make the tags with the new papers you would only need the die.

 

A sneak peek at the pretty pens launching next week. Um, yeah, they match those beautiful tags!

 

 

 

CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Store! I hope you have an amazing weekend. I will see you soon! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the supplies shown today! (Affiliate Links Used)

Thanksgiving Blessings and pretty leaves!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! I'm back! Did you miss me at all? I sure missed you, and missed blogging here with you! I haven't posted since Halloween. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've gone in 11 years without blogging. I didn't know I needed a break, but evidently I did. It naturally happened, a little break from stamping like a crazy woman. I've been generally feeling a creative block and that's okay. It happens from time to time and I've learned over the years to just go with it. Focus on something else and let my brain rest. So instead of stamping, I've been cross stitching and decorating my house and watching a lot of tv with my husband...and cooking.... Other creative pursuits! I finished my Halloween stitching and started a cute snowman stitch. Usually I am a holdout for decorating for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, but this year it's already full on Winter Wonderland here. I dunno. Just made me happy and cozy this year to put up the lights and sparkly Christmas things. A lot of my friends have said they're decorating early this year too. We must all be ready for the joy of Christmas time. 2020 has been a ride!

It finally rained here last Friday and it was awesome! We went out in it and drove around and enjoyed the wet weather. My birthday happened on the 3rd. I think this is my first birthday ever that we've spent it at home. We ordered a pizza and hung out here. Just was weird with it being election day and everything. Normally we like to take a little Fall trip around my birthday. But, like everything else this year, um no. It's cancelled too. I'm praying that all of you reading this are doing well and staying healthy and happy. As we move into the holidays I just want to again thank you for following along with me and for all of your kindness throughout this year. XOXO

Now, onto some crafting! I woke up this morning and went in the craft room and got out my bin of 'not used yet' things. Well, this beautiful stamp/stencil combo from Taylored Expressions jumped right on out at me. And I thought - YES! A Thanksgiving card is just the thing for today! So I stamped this, photographed it and posted it all in the same day! That hardly ever happens! But it feels nice to be in the moment with you today. I am resisting the urge to make all the Christmas things but I may just give in on that too! LOL. But first, one more card with leaves....

 

One of the big trends for the past year in stamping/crafting is the invention of Stamp/Die/Stencil Combo products. I LOOOOOVE this trend! And no one is doing it better than Taylored Expressions!! As soon as I saw this stamp/stencil combo (Fall Foliage) I knew I had to have it! I used it to make the background for today's card. It's a stamp of the stems/veins and then three stencils to layer on top to do the colored leaves. It's freakin genius!!! And SO super easy to get perfect results!! The finished card is an A2 card base. The large stamp is bigger than A2 size so you can trim it to whatever size you like. Step out photos are later in the post. I gold embossed the leaf stems and the beautiful sentiment for that warm glow of Thanksgiving....

 

EEKS. Like seriously, how pretty is this???

 

I cut the leaf panel with my new Deckle Edge Trimmer (LOOOOVE) and layered it twice onto woodgrain paper from my stash. The sentiment was embossed onto vellum and wrapped across the front of the card. I added an orange heart to add another pop of color under the vellum. A little bit of twine and some clear dots finished it off. The leaves are the star of the show on this card.

 

Here's a close up of that pretty Deckled Edge. It looks like an old photograph. I'm obsessed with it already! The trimmer has been on my wish list since January when I got to try it out at Creativation. It's finally available! So I bought it asap!!! CLICK HERE to see what I'm talking about!!

 

These are the two pretty products that are the focus of my card today!

 

Here are the three stencils you use to make three different leaf shapes. If you look closely you can see some embossed veins in the plastic stencil. These are what you use to perfectly line up the stencils. Genius.

 

I used my MISTI to stamp the big background stamp in Versamark and gold heat emboss onto cream cardstock.

 

Stencil one is taped down with washi tape onto scratch paper....

 

First up - oranges!

 

I used my TE Blender Brushes and two shades of orange to do the first stencil....Already looks pretty!!

 

Next up - reds!

 

 

Here's what it looked like after oranges and reds...

 

 

And finally - yellows!!

 

 

The colors of Fall and Thanksgiving!

 

OMG I think I squealed when I took the last stencil off! SO BEAUTIFUL!

 

And here's a dream close up...

 

And again, that Deckled Edge....swoon....

 

 

 

 

Okee dokee - looks like I remembered how to do a blog post! Nice to see you all again after a break! Next week I have amazing news - a new release from The Greetery! That's what I'll be working on next. You're gonna love it. Super creative and interesting and of course beautiful new designs from The Greetery. Can't wait to share all of that with you. I hope you have an excellent week. Thanks for stopping by! XOXO

If you are online shopping I would be super grateful if you would check out my list of stores that I am an affiliate for! (Keeping the lights on and all that jazz)

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

 

Happy Halloween 2020!!

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

 

Cross Stitch Vote Pin!

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

Here is my finished stitching...

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

Vintage-y Halloween Medallions! Happy Halloween Week 2020!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

Sharing my Halloween Decorations!

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Trick or Treat Shutter Card!!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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