A Blog Called Wanda

Pretty Pink Posh - May 2024 New Release Blog Hop! 4th of July Cupcake!

Hi friends! How's your week going friends? So nice to have you visit me at A Blog Called Wanda! If you're new here - welcome! We like to have a good time here! Today is a fun celebration of the new release for May 2024 from Pretty Pink Posh! I am excited to be part of a big multi day blog hop to celebrate the May new release - stamps, dies, stencils, and more! All with a get-ready-for-Summer vibe/theme. It's fun, and bright and cheerful and happy!! Great news -the new release is available for shopping now! Enjoy the hop, and I'm excited to share a fun patriotic card with you today!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

If you're new to my blog because of the hop - I would love to have you subscribe to my newsletter! That way, you'll get an email every time I have a new project! CLICK HERE to subscribe now! 

My card for today features the brand new Big Celebration Cupcake Dies set - the latest in the Cupcake Collection!! I also used lots of other favorite PPP supplies and went with a 4th of July theme! The way this year is going, the 4th is going to be here fast!! My finished card is an A2 card base, covered in blue gingham and then an eyelet panel and an ink blended panel. 

 

 

 

Here's a side view of my card so you can see all the parts, and layers! I love those little firecrackers! So fun!! I used the numbers from the Graduation set (supplies are at the bottom of my post) to make 1776 in red to accompany the 4th of July banner. I love the blue gingham combined with red, gold and white. Really festive!

 

I ink blended the top part of the panel using yellow oxide inks and then stamped on some fireworks for a nice background. I added lots of blue gems for sparkle! And there's glitter glue on the cupcake too! (I love sparkle!)

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR THIS CARD!

 

Those fireworks are SO fun! Easy to make and layer and pop into your cupcake. I love how PPP left slits in the cupcake top so you can tuck items into the frosting - such a great idea.

 

Lots of gold stars to finish off the accents for this card!!

Well, if this new release doesn't put you in the mood for celebrating Summer, I don't know what will! LOLZ. That's it for my project for today!! It's so fun being part of this great blog hop!! The links to the other bloggers for today are at the very bottom of my post! Be sure to visit all the blogs and leave your comments!!

PRIZE INFO:  There are THREE $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day). Winners will be picked randomly from comments along the blog hop. All  comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 5/15/2024. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog. GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Wanda Guess

Marine Simon

Barbara Tarayao

Jeannie Lieu

Christina Rannow

Rebecca Keppel

Sindhu Prajay

Dana Kirby

 

The Greetery Confetti Encore Collection Release Day! Yahoooo!

 

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE GREETERY!

CONFETTI ENCORE COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

YOUR ENTIRE ORDER WILL BE 15% OFF FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS! (DETAILS BELOW)

 

It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new Confetti Encore Collection to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back to my last two blog posts, you can see all my projects from the new release, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions - reach out!! Thanks for all the love and kind comments this week! We are READY to PARTY!  Happy Creating! Can't wait to see what YOU make!

Thank you for shopping via my links -

it helps me so very much and I'm so grateful!! XOXO

 

 

AND - HOW EXCITING - A BIG SALE STARTS TODAY TOO! 

THANK YOU BETSY!

The Sale starts at 10am EDT on Friday 4/26 and ends Saturday 4/27 at 11:59pm EDT, so TWO days only, no exceptions. Details: Rewards can NOT be used during the sale time! Select products are 15-50% off (products with additional mark-downs will be linked from the shop home page). All BotaniCuts dies are 15% off! AND EVERY ORDER will receive an automatic 15% discount applied at checkout (this is in addition to the other markdowns!)

The Greetery - Confetti Encore Collection - Day Two! The Party Continues!

LET'S KEEP THE PARTY GOING! Welcome back to day two of the new release week from The Greetery! We are celebrating five years of awesomeness from The Greetery - with the fabulous new Confetti Encore Collection! How did you enjoy all the projects from yesterday's posts?? What is your favorite thing so far?? Thanks for the comments and for being here to share the excitement with me! It's my pleasure to be able to introduce the new items to you!! Be sure to look at yesterday's post to see my first three cards. I have four more cards to share today!! And then release day will be tomorrow, Friday April 26th at 10am EST! Prize information, Supplies, and the links for today are all at the bottom of this post! Join me in some more fun today! 

SHOP THE NEW RELEASE ON FRIDAY APRIL 26TH AT 10AM EST!

My first card for today features one of my personal favorites from the new collection - the brand new Party Hat Die! It also has a matching Stencil! I used the Party Hat Die along with the lovely Make A Wish dies and the Twisted Crepe Dies. I really love this card! I chose colors in kind of a 50's retro vibe. My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with dusty blue and then more white, with all the focus on that marvelous hat.

 

That big bold sentiment in gold is perfect for this hat!! die cut out a bunch of hats in different colors and then hand cut the stripes and it came out cool. You can do so many things with this die! Tags for gifts, cards, a banner.... I'm going to be using it a lot!

 

 

The topper on the hat is SUPER fun! I used gold glitter cardstock and teal cardstock and then I painted gold paint on it. It looks really cool in person! A big yellow gem in the center makes it! I used a corner rounder to continue that retro vibe and attached my streamers in matching colors....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warning - my next card is going to make you hungry for a treat!! Yay! This second card for today features the brand new What's The Scoop Stamps and Dies! The mostest perfectest ice cream set ever!! You can also use it with the new Honeycombs (more to come on that))!! My finished card is a white A2 card base layered with my new favorite gingham and vellum and more!! I created a happy, minty card. Of course totally inspired by Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream! Yum.

 

 

The dies that spell out SCOOP are so cool!!!!! I love the frosting pieces that go on top of the letters!! I used mint green and rich chocolate brown shades for my card, I die cut out all the pieces and then used Distress inks to shade all the pieces before splattering on white paint!! 

 

The die set also comes with the cherry on top! It's delicious! I assembled my cone and used brown enamel dots to make 3D chocolate chips. I want to lick this card!! I stamped the sentiment onto a little flag. I used two sizes of arches to make the frame for my cone and sentiment.

 

A couple of little red hearts for a pop of color... 

 

You can use any colors to make your own favorite flavor of ice cream! I was also thinking how cute this would be in pink and brown for strawberry ice cream!

 

My third card for today is very fun and also interactive!!! Betsy has come out with new colors of Honeycomb Balls! In pretty party colors! Yippeeeee! Don't worry, they fold flat for mailing! Betsy thought of everything! My finished card is an A2 card base layered with coral stripes and white cardstock to feature those honeycomb balloons! The suite is called Hey Honeycomb!! (Is anyone else thinking of the Honeycomb Hideout right now?! Hee hee). I used Hey Honeycomb Basics, Sentiments and Balloon dies!

 

 

I used the brand new It's Your Day die for the sentiment again, this time in silver!! I love the coral and blue honeycomb balls to make this party card. The honeycombs fold flat and then the recipient fluffs them up. Isn't this so cool???

 

 

Silver strings, crystal gems, tiny hearts, and silver metallic paint splatters complete this look! I even paint splattered the balls!

 

 

 

 

 

And finally - the super cool part!!! Stamps and dies that show the person how to fold open the interactive parts! Oh, and those little hearts?? They're adhesive! So the honeycombs stay put!! Great idea Betsy!

 

My third card today is another interactive card!! I had lots of fun with this new release! This card features the brand new Award Winning Dies! My finished card is an A2 card base, layered with an ink blended panel, and then my sweet little award. I made it such that the award comes off the card! My thought was that the birthday guy or gal could wear it on their shirt on their special day! Or pin it on their bulletin board or cubicle wall! It has a pin back on it - you'll see as I go along. The new dies make the prettiest layered ribbon/award!! SOOOOO many uses for this! Prizes, cards (think grad for sure), banners, and more. The new Inflated Sentiments stamps fit perfectly inside that top circle. Genius!

I used stripes and gingham and gold and stars and MORE! This is a sparkly creation!! Hee hee.

 

I die cut two sets of the bottom flags and layered them.... No end to the possibilities with this die set!

 

Here is a look down from the top of the card. I attached a pin back to the back of the award and then attached it to the card using a zig zag circle that I hole punched two holes in. FUN!

 

And here is my detached from the card award!!

That's it friends! It's been a pleasure sharing the CONFETTI ENCORE Collection new release with you! Thank you for your support and kind comments - and for sharing my enthusiasm for The Greetery. We all love The Greetery! Have a great day! Happy Shopping tomorrow!! XOXO

PRIZES INFO FOR DAY TWO: Betsy is generously giving TWO complete Confetti Encore collection bundles!!!  Comment deadline is Thursday, 4/25 at 11:59pm EST. Please leave a comment on all the design team blogs to be entered! Good Luck! Betsy will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog!! 

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE TOMORROW 4/26 AT 10AM EST!!

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

 

CLICK HERE to see all the supplies I used in today's projects! I will update the links when the new release goes live! (Affiliate Links Used) I'll update the supply list when release goes live!!

 

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY PARTY AND THE NEW COLLECTION!!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

The Greetery - Confetti Encore Collection - Day One! It's a Party!

Hello, my creative, talented and crafty friends! It's a gooooood day today! It's time for a fun, happy, awesome, party themed new release from The Greetery! The Greetery is celebrating their FIVE year anniversary this month! How amazing is that? Feels like yesterday when I got the email from Betsy telling me of her new business and asking me to join the fun!  So honored to have been on this journey! So I feel like that calls for a party! The new release is called Confetti Encore Collection!! It's everything for celebrations - birthdays, graduations, parties, or any other fun occasion. You're gonna be in the mood to shake it and dance, and eat cake and ice cream after you see everything!! The design team will be sharing products and projects today and tomorrow, and then the new release will be available for shopping on Friday, April 26th at 10am EST. So glad you're here to join me in the fun today.

SHOP THE NEW RELEASE FRIDAY, APRIL 26TH, AT 10AM EST!

I will be sharing three cards today, and four cards tomorrow. All seven cards are birthday cards! We can never have enough birthday cards on hand, right? Two of my cards are interactive too! I used tons of colors, and fun papers to make it a par-tay.  Lots of inspiration from the entire team for the next two days!!  My supplies, prize information, and links to everyone's blogs are all at the bottom of this post. Let's get started!

Each of my cards this time has a completely different vibe and style. I love it. I really got into the colors this time around and had fun with all the new stamps, stencils and dies. My first card for today features the brand new addition to the Four Square Tags series - Birthday! I used the new stamps along with the Four Square Dies, and some other Greetery favorites. My finished card is an A2 kraft card base. I layered paper from my stash with a vintage color palette and gold....

 

As you can see, this time around, I didn't make FOUR Four Square tags.... I made ONE! So this is cool - I didn't cut my paper into a square first, so I could make a longer tag from the die! I made one cream tag with the criss cross top for the focus point of my card. I used cream cardstock for that vintage look. I inked the edges with Distress Ink.... I used the gorgeous Ticker Tape Stamp to stamp the confetti on the tag and then generously splattered gold paint. My sentiment is from the brand new Four Square Tags Birthday set and I heat embossed in gold....

 

I used the Loopy Bow Die to make the pretty bow for the top of my tag. I had some paper flowers in my stash that fit the theme.... And lovely pink pearls to complete the look. This card is very girlie!

 

 

 

 

I attached the tag to the card using foam tape and also attached the sentiment with foam tape! I do love that dimension!

Now....for a totally different look! For my second card I used the brand new Celebration Streamers Stencils and Stamp combo and the brand new It's Your Day die! I made a rainbow! This new set is very cool! My finished card is an A2 white card base, with just one more layer of white featuring the design. The stamp/stencil combo is neat - you stencil the streamers on first and then use the matching stamps to add the darker shaded portion so it looks so realistic! To make it a rainbow, I carefully used small blending brushes to change colors for each streamer! (My ink colors and fav blending brushes are linked at the bottom of my post).

 

This is a cool one layer card - perfect for mailing! I used the new dies for the sentiment in gold and vellum. Super sparkly and festive!!

 

Lots and lots of gold paint splatters here!! And a few gems and stars too!!

 

 

 

 

 

And my last card for today features the brand new Flourished Phrases - Birthday!! If you loved the LOVE and HELLO versions, you're going to love the birthday version! My finished card is a white A2 card base, layered with a new gingham paper pad I just got (You need it) and then my focus layer with the design. The matching die for this stencil is perfection and so detailed. Fantastic!! I used pretty shades of aqua and yellow. 

 

Here's my tip for getting the die cutting perfect on this one - because of the swirls.... I inked the words first in shades of aqua and teal (LOVE)! Then I die cut it out. After it was die cut, I went back and stenciled the yellow swirls onto the already die cut part!! I added glitter to the words for sparkle!!

 

 

 

For the background, I stamped some starbursts from the Make a Wish stamp set in yellow and then added gems. This card could be stamped in annnnny colors to make it feminine, masculine, mod, vintage, whatever the mood!!

 

 

That's all for today, but I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the new release! Thank you for your support and kind comments - and for sharing my enthusiasm for The Greetery. We all love The Greetery! Have a blessed and happy day! See you tomorrow for the rest of the party! XOXO

PRIZES INFO FOR DAY ONE:  Betsy will be giving away TWO $50 gift cards as part of the new release week and to celebrate The Greetery Anniversary!! To enter to win, please leave a comment on everyone's blog posts! She will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog as usual!! YEAH!!

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE FRIDAY APRIL 26TH AT 10AM EST!!

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

 

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

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY THE NEW RELEASE PARTY!!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

The Greetery - Cheerful Spring Tulips!

Hi there my creative and crafty friends! Happy Friday! It's my turn up on The Greetery Blog today to share a project with you! And of course, to share here too! I am always so excited and happy to share with you. Happy April!  Hope you had a nice Easter and are enjoying a lovely Spring so far. Our weather has been psycho! It was almost 80 on Tuesday here and now it's back in the mid 50's! Rain, sun, we've had it all the past week. Spring for sure... For today's card I was inspired by the garden and the blooming flowers! We already have lots of tulips blooming at our house and so I created a tulip card for you in shades of pink and yellow...

 

My finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered yellow polka dot patterned paper and then a crisp white layer for my tulips. I used the gorgeous Botanicuts Tulips dies of course! The sentiment is from the All Occasion stamp set and I heat embossed it in gold for a classy look. Perfect Spring colors - yellow and pink! I made a big bountiful bouquet!

 

Here's a side view of my layers and the dimension in those cool tulips dies....

 

I started this card by die cutting all of the tulips and leaves pieces. I added shading to each piece using Copic Markers before assembling all the flowers. After the flowers were completed, I splattered on some artistic white paint. I arranged the tulips into a big bouquet and affixed everything to the card using foam pop dots. 

 

I stamped and heat embossed the pretty sentiment using gold embossing powder and then die cut it out using the matching dies. I used the Fit To Be Tied die to create a bow for my bouquet from kraft cardstock. Lastly, I added a few golden yellow gems to finish off my card. 

 

CLICK HERE for today's supply list!

 

This card would be great for any occasion. I do love a nice "thinking of you" card, don't you? You could change the colors of the tulips to match your favorite colors, too. Would be super pretty in bright red don't you think?!

That's it for my project for today! I hope you have a fantastic and creative day! I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting! Have a great weekend! We are going to see the Goo Goo Dolls in concert tomorrow night and I am so excited!  XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

Happy Easter 2024 from our home to yours!

 

 

HAPPY EASTER 2024!

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS

WITH LOVE AND PEACE

 

Happy (Good) Friday! Mr. Rabbit is ready for Easter!

Hello and Happy Friday! Happy GOOD Friday! Easter weekend is upon us! I have time to squeeze in one more Easter card today! Hope you had an awesome week and I'm wishing you a lovely Easter with your family and friends. Easter came so fast this year! I don't prefer it when Easter is in March - it seems like it just happens too fast! Well, ready or not it's here! And then on Monday it's already April!! Spring crafting continues!

My card for today features a wonderful new stamp set from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous release just in time for Spring this year. I have seen soooo many great cards and projects people have made with the new set!!  The new stamp set is called Mr. Rabbit and it's the sweetest vintage bunny wearing a suit (of course), and the stamp set comes with different accent elements. I got out all my Tim Holtz supplies and created a vintage style Easter card in pretty blues.... My finished card is an A2 kraft card base, layered with plaid, and blue, and then cream. I added tons of stuff to this card, as I love to do!!

 

I started my card by stamping the bunny image in brown ink three times! I stamped him once on the cream rectangle panel, then twice more on scrap paper. I fussy cut out one bunny, and then fussy cut out his suit lapels and his bow tie. I colored the bunny image with Copic Markers and added glitter to his ears. The reason I stamped him on the cream rectangle first is so that the whiskers would show. I was worried I wouldn't be able to fussy cut them perfectly! 

 

I die cut out an oval using the Tim Holtz Vintage Labels Dies and stamped Happy Easter in brown ink. 

 

I stamped two Easter eggs in brown ink and colored them with Copic Markers. I also used a generous amount of glitter to make them look like sugared eggs! SOOO fun!

 

The flowers are from a Tim Holtz ephemera pack and I loved the blue tones for this card!! All the pieces are inked around the edges with Distress Ink!! I also added glitter to the flowers (you know me!)

 

I hand dyed some crinkle ribbon using different colors of Distress Inks. I wrapped the ribbon around the bottom of my card when assembling, and tied a pretty bow!! 

 

The most fun part I think is that I made him a REAL flower boutonniere! Ha! I have Baby's Breath flowers all around my house right now as part of my Easter decorations. I snipped off a few tiny flowers and made him a flower spray for his suit jacket!! Hee hee. I wrapped a tiny strip of blue paper around the stems to hold them in place. They will dry out and look vintage!!

 

 

Okay, I think that's all the elements! Now, for my assembly process.... I stamped the polka dots in the background on my cream panel (the polka dot stamp is part of the new stamp set). I used foam tape to adhere the rabbit onto the card. Then I glued on his coat lapels and bow tie. I tucked the flowers under the rabbit and I placed the eggs near the bow. The sentiment is also attached with foam tape at the top of the card. I glued on his boutonniere and added a few sparkly blue gems.

 

Here's a close up of my layers. The plaid paper is from a (many) years old paper pack in my stash.... 

 

 

 

Happy Good Friday. The most important day.  I took this photo the other day in front of our church because the clouds were spectacular! I feel like this photo conveys the mood and importance of this somber day. 

Thanks for stopping by today! Thanks for your support and kindness. Again, wishing you and your family a lovely Easter!! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

Mini cloche project for Easter!

Hi friends! Hopping in today with a quick project to share! I gotta get all these Easter things shared!! Just a few more days. Hope you are having a great week! When I made my pop up bunny cards the other day, I had some Anna Griffin supplies left over on my desk and I got an idea! Let's make a home decoration! I used a pretty mini cloche that I have had (empty) in my craft room for a while. I put in some stickers, added some glitter and a bow, and there we have it! Done! It came out so pretty and I will put it away with the Easter decorations for every year. I am kind of obsessed with cloches and the cool ideas that people have for how to decorate them. So this project was right up my alley. I will be looking at my crafting supplies a bit differently now! Ha. Wishing you well...today and every day. 

Here are some photos of my finished project...

 

 

 

I die cut a cross from gold paper and put it inside next to the bunny and flowers. I added a bright spring green bauble to the top using a bit of hot glue. 

 

 

 

I added some hand dyed blue ribbon to the bottom to match the blue ribbon around the bunny's neck. It's very sweet!

 

 

That's it for me for today! I'll be back on Friday with one last Easter card! I hope you'll hop back then! Have a fantastic day! Would you consider supporting my blog content by clicking on the links below?! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee!  Thank you!

Super fun Spring Cross Stitch Project! I stitched a project bag!

Hello there my friends! Happy Monday! Oh man, we had such a nice weekend!! Friday we went to the big Sewing/Crafting Show here in Sacramento and it was really fun to walk around a craft show (I reallllly miss Stamp Shows!). I bough some cute felt patterns and an embroidery book and it was great to hang with the crafty crowd. Yesterday was literally the most gorgeous spring day and church for Palm Sunday was good. I'm in the mindset for Holy Week for sure. Last night our church hosted the band For King & Country and it was AMAZING!! We got a fantastic concert, a Q&A session, and a preview of their new movie that comes out next month.

Now, it's a new week and we have lots of crafty goodness to get to! I'll be sharing a lot this week. Today I'm sharing a super duper fun cross stitch project that I finished recently. It's very cool, very pretty, and very easy! A great project to get back into cross stitching if you're thinking about it. I absolutely love it! It's a project bag (plaid/gingham of course) that I cross stitched a pattern onto! Yeah! FUN. And now I can proudly carry it around with me and use it. It makes me smile. I'll show you the project and then kind of talk about it as we go through the photos today. Supplies are all listed at the bottom of my post!

Here is a shot of the finished bag! The bag size is approx 13" x 10" and it has a gusset at the bottom, so it holds a lot of items. Easily holds a full size pattern, a hoop, threads, scissors, etc. The bag is rigid and very nice quality. I chose my own color of bag and also switched up the colors in the pattern. You could use any colors - to make it your own style.

I experimented with different thread counts - and ended up using DMC floss - all SIX strands. I also stitched over two on those big chunky stitching holes. It was SO easy to stitch in this big size and scale! The only slightly awkward part was stitching inside a bag! But it really went quickly. 

 

Here's a close up of the stitches and the holes in the 'fabric' of the bag. Using six strands of floss really makes it pop!!

Here is a photo of the pattern. As you see, I used an aqua bag and also changed up almost all of the colors. I like the original one, and I also like my customized one too.

 

 

Love these cute little Spring lambs!!

 

 

If you look at the pattern, you'll see that I changed some things around here and there.... Don't be afraid to make your piece your own!

 

The bag has a nice big zipper to secure your goodies inside.

 

 

And a three inch gusset in the bottom.... I will be using this for a cross stitch project bag, but really you could use it for travel, or anything else!

 

 

 

 

This project has many variations!   CLICK HERE to see all the different project bag colors!   CLICK HERE to see all the different bag patterns! I already bought the orange bag and the Autumn Pattern and the red bag and the Flag Pattern. I think I may actually end up doing all of them! I absolutely adore this project and I hope you make one too! You can get everything at my favorite online Cross Stitching Shop!

Have a great Easter week!! I'll be back a few times with some final projects for the holiday!! Happy crafting, friends! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

Bunny Pop Up Easel cards for Easter 2024!

Hi creative and crafty friends! Happy weekend! I hope you have a fun weekend planned! Yesterday we went to the Sewing Expo here in Sacramento and enjoyed a day out and about. It was mostly sewing and quilting things but I generally just enjoy being around crafting so it was nice. Tomorrow night we're going to a concert at church, and then it will be one week until Easter! Our weather turned a bit and it's cloudy and rainy again, but hey, that's spring around here!! 

Today's post has a TON of pictures! I made four cards and I'm sharing lots of pictures of all four cards because each one is similar, and yet very different. And we know I love the details! I recently bought the Bunny Easel Dies set from Anna Griffin and it makes the most perfect Easter cards! I loooooooved making them! I usually buy my Anna Griffin items from HSN or direct from her website. As far as I know, everything is still available (for next year....) 

I made a quick little video of the cards too - if you want to take a look - here's the link!

Each finished card folds into an A7 envelope (5"x7") and I chose pastel pink envelopes which looks so nice!! The main die that does the folding part is a very long die, so you will need the extra long cutting plates for your die cutting machine. After I die cut the bases, I went to town mixing and matching colors and embellishments.... I also used some other Anna Griffin Dies/Embossing Folders to make the crosses. All the flowers and sentiments are from AG also.

 

I used loads of papers from my scrapbook paper stash! I used pretty florals and ginghams of course. I used metallic paper and also cream cardstock for the bunnies. Really just mixed and matched without too much effort or analysis. 

 

I combined pearl embellishments and ribbons from my stash too! I'm trying to use everything! LOLZ. (Are you in that same boat??!)

 

 

Each card is sooooo different! They all fold up and then the bottom tucks into the labels so it stands up straight for display!

 

I embellished the bottom part of each card too. I splattered on gold paint everywhere!! And clear diamond Stickles... and and and.... Hee hee.

 

I love these 3D flower embellishments and added glitter to most of them...

 

OOOOOHHHHH those lilies!!! And the gorgeous fonts...

 

The die cut for the top layer bunny is SO incredibly detailed and pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I put some pink art chalk on this one for her ears and cheek. If there's one thing I hoard more than paper...it's ribbon!!

 

 

 

 

 

And here is a side view of what the bunny looks like when standing up tall! Be sure to use double sided cardstock for a polished/finished look.

 

 

And here is one of the cards laying flat for mailing.

 

And here are all four cards folded up before I put them in the envelopes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These dies are really gorgeous and fun to work with. I feel like I could have made twenty cards, just mixing and matching all the pretty elements. I love Easter time and the motifs and colors of the season. I was able to customize each one in my own unique style and it was a very nice day in the craft room creating these to share with you! Are you all ready for Easter? Are you hosting? Let me know your favorite Easter craft this year - I'd love to know what you're making!! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

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Cute Carrots for Easter Treats!

Hi again! It's me! Back with some more Easter fun! I'm trying to get everything photographed and posted before next week! Loving all the fun Easter things this year. Our house is totally decorated for Easter. Sunday night For King and Country is doing an acoustic concert at our church and we got tickets!! And we have our schedule all set for our church activities for Holy Week. It's time to get ready for our most important holiday... I'm so excited. Seriously, tho, how fast did Easter come this year???!!  Today I'm sharing some very easy treat boxes to make for Easter. I used the new Lawn Fawn Carrot Treat Box dies to make some festive and super cute paper carrots! These are perfect for place settings for your Easter table, or filled with candies for a little treat in the Easter basket!! You guys know how much I love a fun treat box idea! Let's get started!

Here are three of my carrots...ADORABLE! Fun concept, and again, soooo easy to make and customize!

 

In my continuing efforts to use my paper stash, I used two older paper pads from Lawn Fawn (discontinued)... The Perfectly Plaid Fall and the Let's Polka in the Meadow... You could use solid paper, gingham, polka dots, or any other cute paper that you love! You need an orange paper and a green paper for the leaves. That's it!

 

To make each carrot, you need two carrot pieces and two leaf pieces. They go together with just a bit of scor-tape. I added green sheer ribbon to the tops and I used some cute dies to add hearts on the front. My supplies are all listed at the bottom of this post.

 

I used green distress ink to add some splatters to the leaves. I used orange distress ink and white paint to add splatters to the carrot parts. I just like a little visual interest and the appearance of texture....

 

These are fairly small in size - here is one in my hand. So you could really only fit a very small gift inside! Or of course, candies!! Mine are filled with Cadbury Eggs - my favorite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's today's fun Easter project!! Are you getting ready for Easter? Do you make treats or cards for Easter time? Let me know in the comments what you're working on!! I have more to come in the next week. Have a blessed day everybody! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

The Greetery - Rejoice Easter Card!

Hello friends! It's my turn to share a card on The Greetery Blog today, and as usual, I'm sharing my card here today too! I am always so happy to share with you. Hope you're doing great as fully immerse in Spring. It's in the 70's here every day this week and the flowers are going crazy! It's sooo pretty. I was inspired by the colors of spring today...but using a not so obvious Greetery stencil set!  My card today features the gorgeous Fall Folk Stencils, made into an Easter card! Fun! I thought - let's try this fall product with beautiful Easter colors of pink, aqua and green. Guess what? I love how it looks! Just a reminder to look at your stamps and dies (and stencils) with fresh eyes. Try some different color combos!! 

 

My finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered dark pink gingham, then my stenciled panel and then a pretty Arch Frame. I used the Rejoice Dies in gold and vellum for my large sentiment, and the Amen and Alleluia stamp set for the smaller accent sentiment... My color palette is bright green, pink, yellow and aqua. SO fresh!

 

Here's a side view of my layers and elements...

 

I started this card by doing the stenciling first. These are the Fall Folk Stencils and I loved them last year with pumpkins and warm tones... I used both small and large blender brushes with Distress Inks for the coloring and shading. To take your stenciling to the next level - try a darker shade with a small brush for just a hint of shadow. It makes a world of difference! My colors are listed out in my supply list at the bottom of this post! 

 

 

 

I die cut an arch out of white cardstock using the A2 Arches dies and layered that over my stenciled panel using foam tape. I die cut the word Rejoice and layered that over the top of the stenciling. Then I die cut a small banner using the Pretext Banners Dies and stamped on He is Risen. I finished off the card with a couple of pink hearts for embellishment. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today to share some crafts with me! Have an amazing rest of the week! I'll see you soon my friends. Keep on creating! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2024! And Happy Birthday to Lucky!

Top o' the morning to you friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Happy Sunday! Hope you're having a great weekend! Are you wearing your green? I've been wearing green everywhere this entire week. I kinda love St. Patrick's Day!  And, it's a happy day for another big reason.... It's also my Lucky's birthday! My sweet little kitty cat is turning six today! He has had a great birthday week and is thoroughly spoiled! LOLZ. His birthday portrait is at the bottom of this post. He has the most beautiful green eyes and the best spirit. Such a good boy...so we say Happy Birthday Lucky! 

I have two cards to share with you today to celebrate the Irish!! My first card was made with new supplies from PPP! The new shamrock dies are so perfect! The right size and scale for cards. I will be using these again and again. I combined the shamrocks with a gorgeous fresh plaid and some shamrock paper from our friends at Doodlebug... My finished card is a white A2 card base. This was a quick and easy card to put together and would be a good one for mass producing and flat for mailing.

 

I started by die cutting out all the shamrocks from the pretty shamrock paper. Then I die cut the Lucky word from matte gold and vellum. I splattered gold paint onto the shamrocks because, why not?!

 

I cut out a white scalloped rectangle for the base for the shamrocks. I attached them with foam squares and then added some enamel dots for good measure.

 

 

 

I used liquid glue to affix the Lucky dies to the card across the shamrocks.

 

IRISH BLESSING FOR YOU TODAY!

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

My second card for today was made with super fabulous supplies from Anna Griffin!! This finished card is a 5" x 7" card decorated with St. Patrick's Day ephemera. I added gold splatters, glitter Stickles and pearls... It's vintagey and pretty and kinda fancy! I love that pretty font on the sentiment....

 

Here are a few close up photos for this card! To make this card, it's basically assembling pieces from a kit. So lovely! I made a bunch of cards last year from this same kit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the birthday portrait of my sweet Lucky!! I caught him in one of his favorite spots - by the sliding glass door in our bedroom (or as I like to call it, the cat big screen tv)! He loves to sun and watch the birdies and he waits for me to open the curtains for him each morning. He's such a sweetie! Happy birthday Lucky!

 

That's it for today! Just two weeks until Easter now! I have a bunch of Easter projects to share with you and I'm excited. I've been busy. Easter is my favorite holiday and I just adore all the pretty colors and themes this time of year. Have a great week ahead!! XOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

 

Pretty Pink Posh - Spring Release 2024 - Ombre Butterflies Card!

Hello lovelies!! Are you having a good week!? Spring is springing and rolling along and it's just a couple of weeks until Easter! Hope you're doing great!! The new release from Pretty Pink Posh continues this week with an Instagram Hop and I wanted to share my card with you here. If you're on Instagram, make sure to stop by my post and leave a comment for a chance to win a PPP gift certificate! Woot! The new release is full of everything perfect for Spring! And we're all ready for it, aren't we!? I shared my other PPP new release projects last week - so please check out those cards too! (Easter cards)

My card for the Instagram Hop features the brand new Stitched Butterflies Dies and the brand new Eyelet Circles Dies! I used the previously released Beautiful Butterflies stamp set for the perfect sentiment! My finished card is a 5" x 5" square card using a white card base. I layered teal and then more white... Because I really wanted the butterflies to pop off the page!

 

Here's a side view of my layers and gold embossing on the sentiment...

To make the butterflies, I die cut them out of white cardstock. I used pretty, vivid shades of teal, yellow and coral to make an ombre effect with inks and blender brushes. After the inking dried, I splattered on gold paint! The butterfly centers are gold cardstock.

 

I attached the butterflies to the card using thin strips of foam tape only in the centers! This way, I could gently lift up the wings of the butterflies with my fingers to make it look like they're flying off the card!! I used three colors of ink on each butterfly and left just a bit of white at the bottom of each one - for a true color filled ombre! (All the supplies and ink colors are listed at the bottom of my post today!)

 

 

I heat embossed the sentiment using gold embossing on a pretty eyelet circle. 

 

I added a few gems and jewels in colors to match the butterflies and add a bit (more) of shimmer!

 

 

Okay friends! That's it for today's post! I'm wishing you a very happy day. See you soon! Be sure to create something today and remember to have some laughs too! Crafting and laughter are good medicine!

Head over to Instagram to see this card and enter to win a Pretty Pink Posh Gift Certificate!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WEBSITE!

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

Happy Sunday - A little vintage Easter project for today!

Hi everyone! Happy Sunday! (Or Monday if you're reading this after getting your email newsletter!) Did you have a good weekend? I had a great weekend, and now Lucky and I have spent all day today in the craft room watching the Oscars red carpet and crafting! We went to a pop up vintage market on Friday at one of our favorite places and then yesterday we spent a while at the nursery (the flowers are soooo beautiful right now!) and then went to church too. A great weekend indeed. Hubs is outside planting seeds for a wildflower garden, set up to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I am so excited to see everything bloom and see if they pretty creatures come to visit. It's full on spring here, allergies, blossoms, sunshine.... I am definitely in the mood for Easter and it's in three weeks!! I'm (once again) going to run out of time to make everything. LOL. Story of my life! 

With this post I want to share one of the things I made today! It's 4:00 and I managed to get some photos in just in time before it got too shady. I made a fun vintage Easter themed decoration... Not sure what to call it? A rosette? A medallion? Hmmmm. Anyhoo! I'm going to use it as a decoration around the house! I used beautiful vintage image stickers from Anna Griffin and lots of papers from my stash! (one paper said 2005 on it! Time to stop paper hoarding) My first time making an oval rosette! It's not perfect but it was cool to try something new for one of my favorite techniques!!

 

The paper I used to make the folded medallion part is blue and white gingham! I LOOOOOVE this! Here is a close up of all those paper layers!! Lots of oval die cuts from my collection....

 

The rabbit/floral image and the sentiment are from Anna Griffin! I usually buy my Anna Griffin supplies straight from her own website... And sometimes from HSN. I made some Easter pop up cards that I will share soon - also made with Anna Griffin supplies! I love everything she does! 

 

I generously splattered on gold paint and added diamond stickles too. Gems and pearls too! Ha!

 

Here's a side view into the sun so you can see the sparkly parts!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the back! More gingham! 

 

I used seam binding tape dyed with Distress Inks and added a Tim Holtz flower embellishment...

 

I was originally going to make this piece using all pinks but then that blue gingham paper caught my eye so I switched to blue! I do like how it came out and it's perfect for spring! All these layers and vintagey things is one of my favorite things to craft. No rules, no limits...just keep adding stuff!

 

I wasn't really sure what to use for the handle! I had some dowels in the craft room and I thought about painting one... but then I decided to hot glue on a paper straw! Works! And adds another whimsical touch...

Okay friends! That's it for today! I have some fun St. Patrick cards to share this week coming up! Wishing you luck and happiness and a good week ahead! Thanks for stopping by to see what I've created! XOXO

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

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Pretty Pink Posh - March 2024 New Release - Easter & Spring Cards!

Hello there my kind and creative friends! So nice to have you visit me at A Blog Called Wanda! If you're new here - welcome! We like to have a good time here! Today is a fun celebration of the new release for Spring 2024 from Pretty Pink Posh! I am excited to be part of a big multi day blog hop to celebrate the March new release - stamps, dies, stencils, and more! All with a lovely Spring and Easter vibe/theme. Bunnies, and chicks and flowers and butterflies! It's so beautiful and bright and cheerful and happy!! Good news -the new release is available for shopping now! Enjoy the hop, and I'm excited to share two cards with you today!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

If you're new to my blog because of the hop - I would love to have you subscribe to my newsletter! That way, you'll get an email every time I have a new project! CLICK HERE to subscribe now! 

My first card for today features the brand new Bunny Face Shaker Dies along with some of my previously released PPP Easter favorites! My finished card is a white A2 card base layered with pink plaid, an eyelet rectangle, some carrots and then that cute bunny! This card was super fun to put together. All the Easter things on one card! It makes me smile!

 

Here's a close up of that adorable bunny face!! I die cut the bunny pieces from white, pink, black, and grey cardstocks. I added shading using my Copic Markers and then added white gel pen accents to each piece.

 

 

 

Here's a side view of all my layers!!

 

I die cut the Hoppy Easter dies from Silver cardstock!! You can see I used the Carrot Stencils for the panel just underneath the bunny. I die cut eggs, a carrot and a sweet little bow for my bun bun. (All the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post). It's sooooooo Spring with all those pretty colors!

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR THESE PROJECTS!!

 

I used the Eyelet Rectangle dies for my bottom layer and then cut my carrot stenciled panel to fit just inside the eyelet rectangle stitched portion. I used a vellum circle behind the bunny to 'ground' it onto the card.

 

My next card for today features the brand new Big Easter Cupcake dies, the brand new Trellis Stencil, and the new Sentiment Strips Easter stamps! My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with small polka dot paper. I also layered a stenciled panel and some vellum - then that cute chickie cupcake!

 

 

Here's a side view of my layers and elements...

 

I stenciled the Trellis using spring colors and then die cut out my stenciled panel using the Wonky Rectangles Dies. I also die cut a wonky rectangle from vellum.

 

To make the chick I used bright yellow cardstock and then inked the pieces using Copic Markers.... I die cut a few flowers to add interest to the front of the cupcake. 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR THESE PROJECTS!

Well, if this new release doesn't put you in the mood for Spring, I don't know what will! LOLZ. That's it for my projects for today!! It's so fun being part of this great blog hop!! The links to the other bloggers for today are at the very bottom of my post! Be sure to visit all the blogs and leave your comments!!

PRIZE INFO:  There are THREE $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day). Winners will be picked randomly from comments along the blog hop. All  comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 3/13/2024. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog. GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Wanda Guess
Carissa Wiley
Hanh Nguyen
Leanne West
Rebecca Keppel
Mindy Eggen
Sindhu Prajay
Lisa Mears
Lauren Taylor

 

Brass & Bliss Craft Co. Official Launch!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! It's been storming here again in Northern California! It's been a wild Spring so far, I tell ya! We managed to escape the rain on Saturday and we went on a little local road trip for some art and some pizza! It was nice to get out of the house! Can't believe it's Monday already! Let's have an awesome week! Today I'm here to share a card and tell you about the new rebranding of one of our favorite crafting companies! Rubbernecker Stamps is now called Brass & Bliss Craft Co and their new website launches today! Rob and Beth have been working so hard creating a fun, fresh and creative new crafting space for us. So let's show them some support!

My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with another white panel that I ink blended with Distress Oxides.... My card features the Butterflies are Free stamps and dies and the "Find Your Bliss" die that is their company motto!! 

 

These butterfly stamps are so pretty and they are the perfect size for cards! I stamped them in rich black ink and then colored them with Copic Markers in vivid colors.

 

I die cut the butterflies out with the matching dies. Then I layered a second butterfly made from vellum....

 

 

 

 

 

To attach the butterflies, I glued them down only in the center. After the glue dried, I folded them up with my fingers to look like they are flying.

 

I made the sentiment from silver glitter paper for some sparkle!!

That's it for today! I'll be back later this week to share some brand new PPP! Can't wait! Have an awesome week!

CLICK HERE to shop the new Brass & Bliss Craft Co! 

 

The Greetery Spring Fling New Release Day! Yeah!

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

SPRING FLING COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new Spring Fling Collection to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back to my last two blog posts, you can see all my projects from the new release, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions - reach out!! Thanks for all the love and kind comments this week! Looks like you are all ready for Spring too! Happy Creating! Can't wait to see what YOU make!

Thank you for shopping via my links -

it helps me so very much and I'm so grateful!! XOXO

 

 

The Greetery - Spring Fling Collection - Day Two!

WOOHOOOOOO - welcome back to day two of new release week from The Greetery! This week the team is introducing you to the gorgeous Spring Fling Collection! How did you enjoy yesterday's posts? THANK YOU for all the enthusiastic and wonderful comments on yesterday's post! You make me smile!!  Isn't this new release the best? Are you all ready for Spring crafting?! I am! Be sure to look at my post from yesterday to see my first three cards. I have three more to share today and then release day will be tomorrow, Thursday February 29th at 10am EST! Prize information, Supplies, and the links for today are all at the bottom of this post! Thanks for being here!

SHOP THE NEW RELEASE ON FEBRUARY 29TH AT 10AM EST!

My first card for today features the brand new Stamp/Stencil/Die combination called Print Shop Modern Botanicals! It's another beautiful floral set from The Greetery! I kept my card clean and simple to show off the print!! My finished card is an A2 card base from cream cardstock. I chose fresh boho pastels for my color palette, accented with gold. 

 

Here's a close up of some of the stencil.... It's clever and creative and truly modern... 

 

I used one of my favorite sets from a previous release for the sentiment - Amen and Alleluia stamp set! I gold heat embossed onto vellum so that the print would show through underneath. Like I said - this card is very simple - especially for me! Classic and elegant.

 

I used gold paint splatters to pick up some more warmth, then a few gold gems and pearls.

 

My next card features the brand new Spring Frame stamp and die! I also used the brand new Easter Morning stamps and dies for the sentiment. I chose the ultimate Spring color palette - pink and green. My finished card is an A2 white card base, covered in gingham and then some ink blending and the featured products on top. The Easter Morning die set has the perfect sized cross, so I die cut three of them in silver cardstock.

 

I stamped and heat embossed the Spring Frame in white embossing onto spring green paper. I die cut it out with the matching die. This is really lovely in person! 

 

My sentiment is heat embossed in silver onto white cardstock. So I made the three crosses from silver cardstock to match. I added classic white pearls to the card as my accents.

 

 

 

I used pink oxide ink pads and a blending brush to ink the panel underneath the frame. It adds just the right pop of color and shading...

 

My final card for today features the beautiful To Mom With Love stamp set and matching dies. I'm going to say that this is the quintessential Mother's Day stamp set! You're going to love it. The fonts are perfection! I paired the new set with the previously released Spring Spray Stencils and Dies. I used a soft color palette of pinks and blues... My finished card is a white A2 card base.

 

I used Distress inks to stencil the two floral sprays and then used the exact matching ink to stamp the sentiment. I die cut the sentiment out with the matching die and then layered it over a vellum circle. 

 

Everything is popped up on the card using foam circles. I like how it looks like it's floating on the vellum.

 

Some white paint splatters and a few pretty pink hearts complete the look. You could use any color combo for this card - your mom's favorite colors!

That's it friends! It's been a pleasure sharing the SPRING FLING Collection new release with you! Thank you for your support and kind comments - and for sharing my enthusiasm for The Greetery. We all love The Greetery! Have a great day!  Happy Shopping tomorrow!! XOXO

PRIZES INFO: Betsy will be giving away several $50 gift cards as part of the new release week. To enter to win, please leave a comment on everyone's blog posts for today and yesterday! She will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog!! YEAH!!

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE TOMORROW 2/29 AT 10AM EST!!

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

 

CLICK HERE to see all the supplies I used in today's projects! I will update the links when the new release goes live! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY THE INSPIRATION AND FESTIVITIES!!

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

The Greetery - Spring Fling Collection - Day One!

Well, howdy hello hi friends! It's a VERY exciting day around here! It's time for a brand new wonderful release from The Greetery! Yep! It's Greetery Release Week! YAY! The design team will be sharing products and products today and tomorrow and then the new release will be available for shopping on Thursday the 29th at 10am EST! I bet you are as happy as I am! The new release is called Spring Fling! I'm absolutely ready for Spring crafting - flowers, and baskets and pretty fonts, and of course Easter! Colors are turning to pastels and pinks and yellows and themes are turning towards renewal. Nothing better than that after a long winter. So glad you're here to join me today! 

SHOP THE NEW RELEASE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29TH AT 10AM EST!

I will be sharing three cards today, and three cards tomorrow. Lots of inspiration from the entire team. My supplies, prize information, and links to everyone's blogs are all at the bottom of this post. Let's get started!

My first card today features the brand new, fabulous, Seagrass Basket Dies! This card also features A LOT of my past favorites from The Greetery - all to make a pretty and festive Easter Basket. The new Seagrass Basket is perfect for holding anything - and any theme! Flowers fit inside, and Easter goodies, and maybe some leaves at Autumn...the possibilities are endless. My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with gingham and then my focal elements.

 

The Seagrass Die is very creative and innovative! There are four pieces - two parts of the basket, the handle, and the label. To put the two parts of the basket together you can just glue them together, or you can weave them together first. I chose to weave the basket parts together. Here's a close up! I inked the edges and splattered on white paint to look like an antique basket. 

 

After I made my basket, I went through my Greetery stash looking for all the Easter things to put inside! Some carrots, sugared eggs, Easter grass, and of course a chocolate bunny! (Supplies are all listed at the bottom of my post!) To make the chocolate bunny, I die cut the bunny from brown cardstock and then used UTEE clear embossing to make him look like chocolate - nice and shiny!!

 

I made a big pink loopy bow and die cut out eggs from pastel colors and coated them in glitter.... All the Easter colors!!

 

I stamped one of the new sentiments from the brand new Easter Morning Sentiments set onto the label. See that sweet little curve detail on it? Love.

 

My next card features the brand new Botanicuts Lilacs dies! OOOOHHHHH MYYYYYY GOODNESS! These are awesome! I love Lilacs, don't you? Now we can make our own! This card also features the brand new All Occasion Script stamp set and some Greetery favorites too. My finished card is an A2 kraft card base layered with lots of layers of watercolor paper. More of a vintage vibe....

 

I die cut the Lilacs dies from watercolor paper and then colored them using Distress Inks and water. I used lots of different shades of greens and purples to make a softer effect. Once it was all dry, I glued on the extra flowers and then added pretty purple pearls (say that three times fast!)

 

Just a note! This is the perfect all occasion card... 

 

 

 

I stamped pretty writing and postmarks onto my die cut panels for interest. I used waterproof deep black ink for a good contrast.

 

 

 

 

 

My final card for today features the brand new Spring Snowdrops Dies!! Gosh, just when I think Betsy can't invent more gorgeous florals....She makes Snowdrops! SO fresh and pretty! This set is unique in that it comes with stamps and stencils! The white and green portion is a stencil!! Then you stamp the green accent and the floral accent parts. LOVE. My finished card is an A2 kraft card base...

 

I used the Woven Cane background die in kraft over white as my background. I used the beautiful A2 Arches dies to make the green and kraft layers on which to place my Snowdrops.

 

To make the Snowdrops I stenciled the greens and then used white pigment ink to stencil the flowers. I love the look of white ink over kraft paper - it's a favorite technique. I die cut out the flowers using the matching die. I added white splatters and also some Diamond Stickles to look like they were fresh from the morning dew....

 

 

 

 

That's all for today, but I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the new release! Thank you for your support and kind comments - and for sharing my enthusiasm for The Greetery. We all love The Greetery! Have a blessed and happy day! See you tomorrow! XOXO

PRIZES INFO: Betsy will be giving away some $50 gift cards as part of the new release week. To enter to win, please leave a comment on everyone's blog posts for today and tomorrow! She will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog as usual!! YEAH!!

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE THURSDAY 2/29 AT 10AM EST!!

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

 

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

 

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY THE INSPIRATION AND FESTIVITIES!!

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

Pinkfresh Studio Pure Joy New Release - Blog Hop!

Hello there my lovely crafting friends! Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! If you're new here today because of the Blog Hop - welcome! Today's post is part of a giant blog hop to celebrate the new Pure Joy release from our friends at Pinkfresh Studio. Beautiful, classy, cheerful stamps, stencils, dies and hot foil plates just in time for Spring! So happy to be here in the lineup to share a project with you. The blog hop links, prizes information, and supplies information is all at the bottom of my post. Enjoy the hop everyone! XO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE NOW!

My card for today features the brand new Lantern Botanicals suite - stamps, hot foil, dies and stencils. A gorgeous combination and such a pretty concept. I really enjoyed working with the new supplies so much. My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with teal and more white. All my accents are gold, and there's even some ink blending too!

 

This design is just so pretty! A lantern with some gorgeous foliage and flowers, and sparkly accents. Here is a side view of my layers. I added pretty vellum butterflies and a background die too. (All the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post)

 

 

 

I started by hot foiling the foliage, lantern and candle onto white cardstock. I used the matching stencils to ink the pieces in shades of green, aqua, teal and pink - fresh spring colors!! I added small spots of glitter glue also.

 

I ink blended a circle die with yellow ink to look glowy...and then stamped some of the starbursts in the matching yellow shade. 

 

The sentiment was heat embossing in gold and cut out with the matching die. I hot foiled some butterflies in gold on vellum to add to the ethereal garden effect!! 

 

I affixed Champagne Glitter Drops around the card for more sparkle!

 

This would be such a great thank you card for someone who helped you through something, or a mentor. I love this specific and meaningful sentiment.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog on this fun blog hop day! It's always my pleasure to bring you new things, and to work with Pinkfresh Studio!! Wishing you a happy and creative day, my friends!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE NOW!

PRIZE INFO: Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full new release on the Pinkfresh Blog & YouTube channel!! They will also be giving away a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the hop. The lucky winners will be picked from the comments left on all the blog hop stops! Pinkfresh Studio will pull the winners & post them on March 5, 2024 on the Pinkfresh Studio GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. Don't forget to look! Good Luck!

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

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY THE BLOG HOP! 

ENJOY THE INSPIRATION TODAY AND HAVE FUN!

 

Thinking of You - with love and purple florals! Fun with The Greetery!

Hello friends! Wishing you a happy day today! It's my turn to share a project on The Greetery Blog today - so of course I'm going to share it here with you also! Yay! The new release festivities from Concord and 9th finished up this weekend, and it's time to start some Easter crafting here too! Spring is springing! We have had tons of rain in the past month and everything is so green and fresh and all the trees and flowers are blooming. I'm in the mood for pastels and florals! If you're a fan of The Greetery (which I know you are), then you might be very excited next week! Just sayin!

My card today features one of my favorite Greetery stencil sets- Rose Tapestry! I decided this time to make it in purple! I do really like how it came out! My finished card is an A2 kraft card base, layered with purple and gingham and then the hoop with the pretty pattern inside. I used cream cardstock for the florals part and the sentiment. Makes the card a bit warmer.

 

Here's a side view of all my layers and elements.... Lots of dimension on this card for sure. And lots of different textures and patterns too. Just the way I like it! Hee hee.

 

 

I used both large and small blender brushes with those wonderful stencils, and inked with shades of spring greens and pretty purples. It is so fun to watch the design take shape with each stencil layer. I used the Hoopla Oval Inserts to die cut my stenciled panel to the perfect size to fit into the Hoop. I accented with silver and purple. I used the Notionable Dies to make the scissors, thread, thimble and needle. My stenciled panel and my sentiment are on cream cardstock for more of a vintage look instead of bright white cardstock.

 

I stamped the sentiment from the Signed Off Sentiments set, and die cut it out with the matching die. I attached everything to my card base and finished off with a bit of twine and some purple pearls. This would be a great card for a crafty friend! Or a fellow cross stitcher!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This card was really so fun to make! Lots going on and it all just works together beautifully because of how everything is designed. 

 

Thanks for spending a little time with me today! Get out your supplies and make something today! Try it in a different color - or with a new twist! Enjoy the creative process and have a blessed day! I will see you soon with some more fun projects! XOXO

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS - IT HELPS SO MUCH!!

If you enjoy my content - consider buying me a coffee! Thank you!

 

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

 

Concord & 9th New Release - February 2024! New colors and a wonderful new release! Part 2!

Hey friends! Welcome back to part two of my featured cards made with the new Concord and 9th release!! I posted three cards on Friday, and I'll post my final three cards today! Hope you're having a great weekend! Grab a cuppa and spend a little crafty time with me! I have lots of color for you today! As you know, last week Concord and 9th released six new colors - in ink, paper, patterned paper, and enamel dots. The new colors are delicious! And in addition, we got an entire new stamp/die/stencil release too! Nothing better than that! It's always fun being a guest designer for my friends at Concord and 9th. They are the best! Let's get started!

CLICK HERE TO SEE AND SHOP THE ENTIRE NEW RELEASE!

My first card for today features the brand new Everyday Expressions dies! I am also featuring the new colors and new papers! I combined the new items with one of my previously released product suites from C9 - Whimsical Wishes! My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with Grasshopper paper and gingham, some stenciling, and that pretty butterfly and sentiment.

 

The new sentiment die set is lovely and perfect!! You are amazing is the perfect sentiment for lots of occasions! I used the new gingham paper at the bottom of my card. Love.

 

Here is the detailed view of that big gorgeous butterfly!! A circle of vellum provides her a landing spot on my card.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the stenciling. I used the Whimsical Wishes Stencils but in a different way! I used the bottom part of the stencil, but put it at the top of the card. I also did not stencil all the elements in the design. It's fun to look at your stencils in a different way - and only use part of it!!

 

 

 

Once again, all those yummy new colors for 2024!

 

Next up is a card featuring the gorgeous new Primrose Garden Dies! OOH LA LA!! This is really fantastic! It's a huge floral die set that completely fills the front of an A2 card! I covered my white card base with the new gingham and then let that floral pop!!

The matching Primrose Garden stamp set has the perfect sentiments to fit into the banner die. It's so great!! 

 

 

 

Here is my project on my desk, along with the dies... It's so cool how this is designed. You cut a cardstock panel to A2 size and then run the floral detail die through your machine. Then, you can leave it like that, or use the outline die and cut around the floral!!! The design that is imprinted into the paper serves as your guide for where to place each floral. Um, genius!! It was so simple to put it all together. The hardest part was deciding which colors to use!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added bits of accent color using my Copic Markers....

 

 

 

 

 

And, last but not least, for release week is my card featuring the brand new Contempo Turnabout stamp set! My finished card is an A2 card base layered with bold blueberry paper and then the turnabout pattern! I wanted more of a masculine look to this graphic card so I used deeper/bolder colors!! The sentiments are from the matching accessory stamps!! I do love a good turnabout stamp!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been such a pleasure working with all the new colors and products - and a pleasure to share it all with you too!

Whew! That's a lot of cards! But it's all so much fun! Thanks for joining me over the past few days as we talk about the new release!! Take care, and have an awesome week ahead!! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE FROM CONCORD AND 9TH!

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

 

Concord & 9th New Release - February 2024! New colors and a wonderful new release! Part 1!

Hi friends! How are you on this fine Friday?! Did you have a nice Valentine's Day?? I hope so! We are going to celebrate today by going out to dinner and hanging out all day. First we have to get our taxes done. UGH. But the good thing is that then it will be over for 365 days! Ha! I hope you have a fun weekend planned and that Spring is Springing where you live. Our front yard is already full of daffodils and it's so lovely! 

I am happy and excited to be one of the guest designers for Concord and 9th this month! Woot! They have a new 2024 color collection and then also a full collection of new stamps, dies, stencils too! The new colors are fresh and pretty and modern and I love them all!! And I know I already told you last week, but there's GINGHAM!!! Hee hee. Everything is wonderful and fun! I'll be sharing my projects on social media and then here on my blog in two blog posts - today and Sunday. Six cards total (Seven if you count the Let's Party card) made with new things! Can't wait to show you everything. Let's get started!

First up is a birthday card chock full of beautiful balloons! This card is an A2 card base in white that I layered with a stenciled panel, some of the new patterned paper, and then those gorgeous balloon dies. This card features the brand new Bunch of Balloons stamps, dies and stencils...and many of the new colors. 

 

I really really like this cute font!! I die cut the balloons and then ink blended just the tops with the matching colors, and then stamped stars on them, also in the matching colors. The two main balloons are new colors: Watermelon and Eucalyptus. I added in some vellum balloons too.

 

 

 

 

This set of stencils is a DREAM!! Here is my entire stenciled panel and the colors I used! EEEEEK. SOOOO pretty!! I used large and small blender brushes to add detail to the shading of the colors. I love to do this with stencils. This color combination is such a good one for birthdays. Feels light and happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are all the new colors, my swatches, enamel dots and GINGHAM!!!!

 

My next card to share today is also a birthday card filled with Balloons! This card features the brand new Bunch of Balloons stencils and the brand new All Together Alphabet! The alphabet dies are the perfect size to fit into the cheerful balloons!! My finished card is a white A2 card base covered with the new striped paper and then my stenciled panel. I used all six new colors for this card! Aren't they pretty together?

 

 

I stamped the sentiment twice for a fun effect! I die cut Y A Y out of C9 silver glitter cardstock!

 

SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY - CLICK HERE!

 

I tried to do my ink application so as to leave a white space in the center of each balloon. I kind of like this effect!!

 

 

Both of these cards feature the new alphabet dies in different ways. I really like the size and font of the new letters!!

Here's a sneak at my other cards too! (for Friday!)

 

My last card for today - doesn't have any balloons! LOLZ! It has big bold beautiful flowers!! This card features the brand new Empire Inlay Background cover die! It's modern and graphic and cool! This card also features the brand new Everyday Expressions dies!! I used one of my favorite floral sets from C9 - Picked Posie! The flowers are made with the new Wildberry cardstock. LOVE!!! The finished card is an A2 cream cardbase. The inlay die is die cut from Kraft to serve as a nice neutral background for those bold flowers. 

 

Here's a side view of my card so you can see the layers. I ink shaded with blender brushes and ink pads onto the die cut pieces. Really came out nice. I splattered on gold paint for a touch of elegance.

 

 

Here's a close up of the details on the Empire Inlay background die.

 

These new sentiments dies are everything.... The cutest font and the perfect size! I'm using them on another card too - to show you on Sunday....I layered Mushroom cardstock and vellum....

That's it for today!! What do you think of the new colors? The new release? What is your favorite item??? Did you order some things to play with? I hope I've inspired you today. Shout out to the lovelies at Concord and 9th for inviting me to be part of the fun this month!!!  I'll be back soon! XOXO 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW CONCORD & 9TH RELEASE!

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

 

Pretty Pink Posh - New Release - Big Birthday Cupcake!

Hey guys! Me again! Today was a big Instagram Hop too! In addition to Valentine's Day, I have a big fat cupcake birthday card to share with you! The new release from Pretty Pink Posh continues this week with an Insta Hop and I wanted to share my card with you here. If you're on Instagram, make sure to stop by my post and leave a comment for a chance to win a gift certificate! Woot! This new release is all about birthdays and celebrations. I feel like you can never have enough ideas for birthday cards, right? Let's get to it!

My card features the brand new Big Birthday Cupcake Die Set along with the brand new Pierced Stars background die and the brand new Party Balloons Dies! That's a whole lotta new right there!! PPP has a way of making us the PERFECT basics - like balloons and hearts, and even shamrocks. I use them over and over... My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with a pretty blue, a white layer and then an ink blended layer. This is a new color combo - and I kinda like it! Soft blue, and pink with a pop of red and chocolate brown! Let's party!

 

Here's a side view of my layers! I used pretty gingham (of course) for my cupcake bottom. I used kraft cardstock for the cake part. I decorated with this and that, stars and hearts....

 

I love that gooey chocolate fudge layer!! I added glitter glue to it too! That little banner is soooo perfect!

 

I die cut the star balloon from red paper and then lined it behind with some vellum.... So pretty and festive!

I covered up most of it, but there is a gorgeous star background die there! Ha. I ink blended with Flamingo Oxide Ink - so delicious! I also splattered on silver paint. 

 

I wanted a stripey hat so I die cut the hat from both red and gingham and then fussy cut out the stripes. SO cute - with a big red dot on top.

 

 

Okay friends! There is a lot going on around here and I'm trying to keep it all straight! Ha! I may have said "YES" to everything this month! And there's more coming. Wishing you a happy day. See you soon! Be sure to create something today!

If you would like to buy this card and support my blog content - CLICK HERE! 

Head over to Instagram to see this card and enter to win a Pretty Pink Posh Gift Certificate!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WEBSITE!

 

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

 

Cute Valentine stitch for Valentine's Day 2024! Big Hearted Tiny Town project!

Hello creative souls! Salutations for this good day! Happy Valentine's Day! Love is in the air and it's time for candy and flowers! Yeah!! Hope you have a fun Valentine's Day!! I finished up one final cross stitch in the nick of time! I have been working on the Tiny Town series and now I have completed two of them! Yeah! Also, I think I have the right finishing idea for my Towns, and I will post that once I have it all finished and looking cute! CLICK HERE to see my Halloween Town stitch! CLICK HERE to see all of the Tiny Towns! For me the Seaside one will be next up on the hoop. I am so happy to see that cross stitching is really a 'thing' again. It's awesome seeing everyone's beautiful pieces. One of my very favorite things about cross stitch is that it is easy to put in your tote and bring with you. I stitch in the car a lot - when waiting for appointments etc., or at the coffee shop (It always sparks a conversation and I have met the nicest people that way), at a friend's house....anywhere!  If you are a beginner, these Tiny Town patterns are super fun and easy to learn on!! 

Details for this piece:

Finished size: 13" x 3"

Pattern: Big Hearted Tiny Town by Heart in Hand

Floss: Called for fancy floss from Classic Colorworks and Weeks Dye Works

Fabric: 14 Aida in Vintage Taupe/Country Mocha

 

Here are some close ups of all the adorable elements! Tiny flags and hearts...and that post box!!! The pattern comes with the four heart buttons to sew on at the end. EEK.

 

I love the little white picket fence going through the town...

 

 

 

And sweet pink trees! And heart clouds coming from the chimneys.... The details are the thing for sure. You know I always love the details...

 

I took a few pictures when it was half way done!

 

I used the called for threads - changing a few of the colors slightly. I do like the variation in the thread colors that happens with the fancy floss. I used 14 Aida from Amazon (also available at Hobby Lobby) in Vintage Taupe. After some research I think that color has been retired and become Vintage Country Mocha. It is basically the same color. 

 

Gosh, I literally can't stand it. 

Okee dokee my sweethearts! Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you get spoiled and loved on today!! Much love from my studio to yours! XOXOXO

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WEBSITE!

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY'S CROSS STITCH! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

Happy Lunar New Year - it's officially the Year of the Dragon!

This is my second post for today! Please scroll down to the next post for the PPP BLOG HOP!!! 

It's me again friends!! I'm back today with another blog post, and another Lunar New Year card!! Today is the official start of the Year of the Dragon!! Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year! It's my year, baby! The year of the Wood Dragon - which is specifically the kind of dragon I am. I hope that means a great year for me!!! Let's have a wonderful year! To see my red envelopes for this year, and - To read more about Lunar New Year - head over to my other post about it here!! 

Today's CNY card is fun and cute and happy, oh, and colorful! I used lots of stamp sets from Mama Elephant and created a blast of red and gold and some cute dragons! Yes, cute dragons! I had fun Copic coloring and ink blending and all the good stuff. My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with vivid red stripes and then an ink blended panel. 

 

I stamped three little dragons and colored them in shades of red and gold. I also stamped their accessory items! I hand cut everything out since I don't have the matching dies for this set. I added white gel pen accents, glitter accents, and even some tiny hearts. They kinda make me giggle.

 

There's even a tiny dragon balloon!! Hee hee.

 

For my focal panel, I ink blended just the top of a stitched rectangle, using three shades of Distress Oxide inks and blender brushes. I dried the ink using my heat gun before going back and stamping on some fireworks and then adding metallic splatters. Tip: If you're going to splatter, or add stamping over your ink blending, make sure your ink blending is nice and dry!!

 

I stamped my two sentiments in rich black ink!

 

A few golden gems finish off the festive look.

 

Here's a close up of my little parade of dragons!

Happy Lunar New Year my friends! Wishing all of us a happy, healthy and prosperous new year this year! Have a great day and we'll see you soon, with some fun stuff! There's a lot of good stuff coming!  WOOT! Take care! XOXO

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF MY WEBSITE!

 

 

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

Pretty Pink Posh - 10th Birthday Celebration Blog Hop! Birthday Treat Boxes!

Hello crafty friends! Nice to see you today! If you're new here today, welcome! We like to have a good time here! Today is a fun celebration of an awesome occasion! Our friends at Pretty Pink Posh are having a 10 Year Anniversary/Birthday this month! Ten years of crafty goodness! Huge congratulations to my friend Paulina on achieving this milestone! I'm so happy for PPP, and looking forward to many more years of creativity and fun together! I am excited to be part of a giant multi day blog hop to celebrate the February new release - stamps, dies, stencils, and more! All with a fantastic party theme. The new release is bright and cheerful and happy!! And, the new release is available for shopping now! Enjoy the hop, and I'm excited to share a party project with you!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE PPP NEW RELEASE!!

If you're new to my blog because of the hop - I would love to have you subscribe to my newsletter! That way, you'll get an email every time I have a new project! CLICK HERE to subscribe now! 

My project today features the brand new Birthday Treat Box Dies, the brand new Birthday Cupcakes stamps and dies, and the brand new Party Balloons Dies! I made party favor boxes perfect for any birthday party!! I think if I was having a party, the best part would be the treats! LOL. I used vivid, bright, party colors of red, yellow and aqua and just had fun creating! 

 

 

 

I made my treat boxes - the die is SO EASY!! and then decorated with balloons, and cupcakes and all the good things!! The stamped images are from the new Birthday Cupcakes stamp set. I stamped in black ink and die cut them out using the matching dies. I colored everything with my Copic Markers and then added glitter accents and white gel pen accents too. My project looks cohesive because I used a very simple color palette, and used the same palette on all the different elements. 

 

To the front of each treat box I added a white scalloped circle and then the cupcakes. I finished off with festive twine and little hearts! I splashed on silvery white paint too - just a bit of shimmer!!

 

I wanted some height to my project, so I die cut out some awesome balloons and splashed them with paint. I made the balloon string from two layers of silver cardstock (to make it stronger) and then glued that to the back of my boxes. It turned out so fun!!

 

The treat box dies have this pretty scalloped edge!!! To make the back part gingham, I die cut a second layer and glued the gingham paper into just the back panel. It's a nice touch and a nice way to use some patterned paper!! 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

 

I took a lot of photos because there are lots of details!! I put crinkle paper inside the boxes and a gift card and some candies would be perfect inside!! The white scalloped circle and also the cupcakes are attached with foam squares and the twine is tucked behind the layers. 

 

The fun thing about these is that they work for any occasion! And you can make them in any color to match your party!! 

 

 

That's it for my project for today!! It's so fun being part of this giant blog hop!! The links to the other bloggers for today are at the very bottom of my post! Be sure to visit all the blogs and leave your comments!!

PRIZE INFO:  There are FIVE $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day). Winners will be picked randomly from comments along the blog hop. All  comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 2/16/2024. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog. GOOD LUCK!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

 

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

 

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Wanda Guess
Mindy Eggen
Gemma Campbell
Rebecca Keppel
Lindsey Larsen

 

Concord & 9th New Release, New Colors, and New Patterned Paper! Let's Party!

Hey friends! Gosh, there is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF happening this month already! Whew. I am having a hard time keeping track of all the crafting goodness!! Happy Friday! And, today is the 9th of the month, which means that there is a NEW RELEASE from Concord & 9th today! Yahoooo! The new release is available today, February 9th, at 11am EST! It's SO GOOD! I think you're gonna love it. Like love it love it. There are six new colors being introduced today - in ink pads, ink cubes, cardstock and enamel dots..... AND AND AND a new patterned paper pack that has GINGHAM! Can you sense my excitement??!! It's awesome. To celebrate the launch, there is a big Instagram Hop today. As usual with an Instagram Hop, I'm sharing here too of course!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE CONCORD & 9TH NEW RELEASE!

AVAILABLE 2-9-24 AT 11AM EST!

My card for the Instagram Hop features the brand new All Together Alphabet sets in Upper Case and Lower Case (includes numbers and symbols). My card also features the brand new cardstock colors, ink colors and patterned paper. It's truly a party! My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with patterned paper and cardstock. Then the alphabet is the star of the show.

 

All the new colors truly are like a breath of fresh air for spring! Makes me so happy! Hard to choose a favorite, but I think it's Eucalyptus!! Or maybe watermelon...or maybe grasshopper!! I used my Swatchbook stamps and dies to make a swatch card with the new colors. I do love making those fabulous swatches! Supplies are listed/linked at the bottom of my post!

 

I ink blended the top of a stitched circle using a blender brush and the beautiful new Eucalyptus Ink pad! I splattered on some white gloss spray to look like confetti!! I die cut silver stars from the lower case alphabet set and sprinkled them on the card. I also added the new Watermelon Enamel Dots.

 

The new colors are delicious!!!! Here's a closer look!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Let's party indeed!! It's Friday!! There are new stamps and dies!! So much good stuff. Have a blessed and happy day, and a wonderful weekend!! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE CONCORD & 9TH NEW RELEASE!

AVAILABLE 2-9-24 AT 11AM EST!

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

 

Fancy Heart Rosettes!

Hey, hey, hey my loves! Good greetings on this fine Wednesday! It's humpday and the week is flying by! We had one heckofa storm! But the sun came back out and yesterday was the most magnificent day!! One week until Valentine's Day and I still have a bunch of stuff to share with you before we get there! Hee hee. I really had fun creating for VD this year! Did you get into the spirit this year too? Our house has some fun decorations and I managed a couple of cross stitch pieces, and of course, lots of cards. It's been a lovely February so far! Tomorrow night I'm going to a fun Galentine's Event and I can't wait!!  Hope you're doing great! I'm here to inspire you to create today!

Today's project is a quick and easy project I did to make some decorations for our entry way table. I again used a bunch of pretty papers and embellishments from my stash. (I'm proud of myself for using everything - ha!) I used craft dies from Alexandra Renke - Heart Rosette Dies. I didn't link to any supplies in this post because all the papers, etc are old and the dies are only available from Alexandra Renke website! To make the rosettes it's two pieces glued together and then the heart center. SO fun and cute! I have these in a little basket and they are very cheery. Remember to make things for yourself and your home too! It makes me smile to see them. These would also be fun to tie on a present or make into a banner. If you don't have heart rosette dies, you can make round rosettes and they would be just as fun!! 

 

Hmmmm, how old are those stickers??? Who knows!? Ha. But they sure are cute. Probably why I've saved them for so many years. Can anyone relate??

 

I splattered everything with some pretty gold paint after they were all put together!

 

 

 

Stripes and polka dots, oh my!!! And hearts and flowers.... All the good things.

 

 

 

 

Okay, my sweet Galentines.... Until we meet again.... Smooches!! XOXO 

 

I'll be doing the new release blog hop for Pretty Pink Posh later this week, but their awesome new release is available TODAY/NOW! And there are some great specials for their 10th birthday! Here's the scoop on the specials and click the picture to shop!! 

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

 

Yummmmmy Valentine Cupcakes!

Hello friends! Happy Weekend! We've been told to batten down the hatches here in California today, so we are going to be staying snug inside, and watching church online. Supposed to be a big big storm coming through. Lots of coffee and maybe some naps too for us today! Hope you're having a great weekend where you are! Today I have a sweet treat to share with you! I love to make cupcakes and decorate them for holidays and birthdays... It's one of my favorite things actually! I used to love bringing them into the office when I worked in an office. Cupcakes just simply make everything better. And, they're easy to make! I haven't made any for a while, so I thought, well, let's make some pretty Valentine Cupcakes! This was a fun project and I decorated them with all kinds of candies, and Valentine goodies. They were (were) delicious too! 

HERE are some winter cupcakes I made a long time ago.... And HERE are some summer/tropical cupcakes I made.... 

Sometimes I make both the cake and the frosting from scratch. Sometimes I make the frosting from scratch, or just the cake. It really all depends on my mood. For this batch, I used boxed cake mix and ready made frosting and added my special touches. The cake is triple chocolate fudge and the icing is buttercream, died pink of course! All my supplies and details are listed HERE or at the bottom of my post via the supply graphic/link! 

 

I used red foil cupcake liners to be EXTRA fun! I added sprinkles, and lips, and hearts and straws.... See, just like with my cards - more is MORE! MORE fun that is! Those big red lips crack me up. The frosting is also sprayed with edible shimmer, but it's very hard to photograph. I used a big star frosting tip and gel food coloring for the frosting. Love me some big frosting swirls, for sure!!

 

One of my tips always is to keep everything cold. It's so much easier to work with the frosting if it's cold, and the cold also keeps the cake extra moist and fresh. As soon as my cupcakes are cooled from the oven, I cover them and pop them right into the refrigerator until they get frosted. Once they're frosted, they go back into the refrigerator until we gobble them up! The straws are just regular drinking straws that I cut in half. There is no limit to how to decorate!

 

 

 

 

 

I found the most adorable plates and napkins!

 

The muffin tin in the photo is a favorite find from our local antique mall. I love decorating with vintage things!

 

This one has a chocolate heart stuck into the frosting! The paper wrapper is from my stash - a very very old die that is no longer available. I use it all the time to match the theme. I did link to another wrapper that looks very close to this one!

 

 

 

 

In this picture you can kind of see the shimmer.... It's so pretty in person!

 

 

 

 

Okay have I made you hungry for some sweets!? Maybe I need to make some more! LOL. There's still plenty of time to plan a Galentine's Event!! I hope I've encouraged you to whip up a batch and decorate them in your favorite color, or theme, or just because. Because cupcakes make life better!

Here's a quick pic of Lucky in my craft room the other day. The bestest, cutest boy. He takes his job as craft room manager very seriously!!

 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see all the supplies for everything today! (Affiliate Links Used)!

 

Vintage Heart Boxes for Valentine's Day!

Hey, howdy, hello crafty friends! Guess what? It's February already! Whew - January was a blur! This year is starting off so much better than last year and this week has been very busy. I'm excited that my Bible Study group started meeting up again this week after a holiday hiatus, and I've been going to stitching meet up which is so fun, and I got my hair cut! That's a good thing. I love getting my hair done! And it's been a minute. LOLZ. Happy February - the month of love and lots of other good things. For some reason this year, more than other years, I am really into Valentine's Day! I've been making many projects and cards and treats. I'm going to have to cram it all in here on my blog before the 14th! Have you been making Valentines already? I hope that you're having a good week too! XO

Today's project is really fun and I love how it came out! I had this vision in my head and it turned out better than I hoped! I made pretty vintage heart boxes using a wonderful die set from Concord & 9th, and all my vintagey goodies in my stash. When I was little, I always got a heart shaped box of chocolates from my parents for VD, and these heart boxes remind me of chocolate boxes!! This is a super fun project to put together and very easy. CLICK HERE to see another project I made with these heart box dies! I think these would be beautiful for a bridal shower or wedding favors, and with pastels, for a baby party. The possibilities are endless!

CLICK HERE FOR MY SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

I took lots of pictures to show you all the details. I ended up making three different boxes, all vintage style...

 

I am kind of obsessed with Anna Griffin crafting supplies and have been for a long time! I have a nice collection of things to mix and match together for my vintage projects. I am especially fond of the flowers...I used some Anna Griffin flowers on each box. (I even made our wedding announcements from Anna Griffin Vellum!)  I used doilies and trim, and embellishments and pearls and glitter glue....and and and.... I just got out my stash and found some pretty things to decorate the boxes. That is one of my resolutions this year - use my stash! I've been doing good so far. Heck, I have enough crafting stuff to last me 100 years. Time to use it!

 

Lots of gold paint splatters on everything and also glitter glue and pearls...

 

I even found some old millinery leaves! It's fun to use what you have on hand.

 

Here is a side view of the box assembled. I'll go into some more details about making the hearts here in a second.

 

 

 

Here is one of the boxes in my hand to show you the size and scale. It's really the perfect size!!

 

The die set is very simple to understand and use. Basically you make two identical heart pieces and then they fit together to make a box with a lid. It's a genius product from Concord & 9th of course. Everything they do is genius! Here are all my pieces to make the two hearts. That's it!! I made the top and bottom of all the boxes out of cream cardstock and then layered vintage looking papers.

 

 

If you use double sided paper, then the inside will be pretty too! TIP: If you're using text paper, or paper that has a definitive up/down pattern, be sure to die cut your pieces so that the writing/pattern will be right side up on both pieces. Here in this next photo is a completed box before any embellishments.

 

And here are all three boxes plain - which would also be pretty!! 

 

 

 

Part of my valentine stash of goodies. In my craft room, most of my stamps and dies are stored by company. However, there are three things that I store in separate bins: Halloween, Christmas, and Valentines. That way, it's easy to have those things all together for holiday crafting. I like to get the bins out and see what I forgot I had! LOLZ.

 

And this is a photo of the bottoms of the three boxes! (Just like the tops!) I chose to add a patterned paper heart to each one so that they would be pretty all around. 

 

Inside each one, I tucked in some crinkle paper, and some little candy hearts. Reminds me of days gone past - a little heart full of candies.

 

 

 

 

Side views...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay friends, that's it for today's project! Wishing you a blessed and happy day today, and a great weekend coming up. February is going to be very busy from a creative standpoint and lots of good things are coming. Thank you for your continued support and love. XOXO

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

 

The Year of the Dragon! 2024! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Before I get started today, I want to say thank you to everyone who responded to my post from Thursday last week. Thank you thank you thank you! I received such overwhelmingly positive feedback. Notes, messages, coffees, shopping. SUPPORT. Thank you everyone! I'm going to keep going and I'm going to pray for your continued support through the year. Bless you! 

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Lunar New Year 2024! It's the Year of the Dragon! The Wood Dragoon, to be exact! And....I am a Wood Dragon so it is my year! Woohoooo! And since each zodiac only comes around 12 years that means that I am going to be 60 later this year! Holy guacamole. Not really sure how this happened, but here we are! So I'm going to embrace it! I love to celebrate and honor the Lunar New Year. I lived in the Bay Area for many years and I really came to know and love all the Asian cultures and the beautiful traditions and celebrations. Maybe this year since it's my year, I'll try to go to the San Francisco parade next month! That would be amazing. It's been a while since I attended a parade! The Lunar New Year starts on February 10th this year. Do you know what Zodiac sign you are?? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!

Last year was the Year of the Rabbit - CLICK HERE to see last year's card! Last year I made a super cool pop up card!

The Dragon is a majestic and lucky creature in Chinese folklore, symbolizing bravery, creativity, and innovation. According to the Chinese horoscope, 2024 is a year full of potential and opportunities for personal growth, professional success, and social impact. People born in the Year of the Dragon are charismatic, ambitious, adventurous, and fearless. They have confidence, independence, and vision. They are not afraid to pursue their dreams and goals. They are optimistic, ambitious and adventurous. They like to explore new ideas and challenge themselves. They are also generous, compassionate and loyal to their friends. CLICK HERE to read more about the Dragon!

One of the traditions of Lunar New Year is to give Red Envelopes to friends and family. For my project for this year I made my own custom red envelopes! I used traditional colors of red, black and gold and made the envelopes and decorated them with stamps and dies and stickers. This was really such a fun project!! I made three envelopes and the finished size is 5.75" x 3.75".

 

I used this GORGEOUS new die to make the lovely lanterns in red and gold. I layered two red pieces and then die cut the lantern again with gold paper and filled in the openings. I cut off the bottom part in red and made that part gold. I embellished with gorgeous red gems! This die is so pretty! I'm also envisioning it in spring in pastel colors - maybe a little banner?? Love it!

 

The Happy New Year was die cut in gold paper. In this close up you can see my stamping on the envelope! I used clear ink and different stamps to add bamboo and fireworks behind the main image. The cutest little panda bear die set fit perfectly on the front of this envelope! The blossoms are old stickers from my stash. I used black gems to add impact on all the envelopes. SO classy with the red and black together...

 

 

 

Each envelope is slightly different. Here I layered black and gold cardstock to make a feature for the beautiful lantern.... I stamped the fireworks in black and also the sentiment. 

 

For this one I added the year 2024 in gold embossing along the left side of the envelope. I used a VERY old stamp set I've had for 25+ years!!! It's from All Night Media and it's fabulous. You know how you have those things in your craft room you will never get rid of???

All the envelopes are splattered with gold paint for good measure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made my envelopes using my Envelope Punch Board. Do you have an Envelope Board? If not, you should definitely consider it. It allows you to custom make your own envelopes to any size!! I use it all the time.  I stamped the bamboo on the envelope before gluing it together. SO much easier this way. I also used Distress Ink and a blender brush to ink the tops of the envelopes and shade them....it comes out so rich. Tone on tone distress ink blending - you gotta try it!

 

And here are my finished envelopes!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used foam tape to attach the lanterns to the envelopes. I really love how these came out!!

 

 

 

I just ordered/received some new Mama Elephant Lunar New Year stamps in the mail the other day. I'm going to try to make some more cards before the 10th. We'll see what I can do! Until, or if.... This might be my Lunar New Year project for 2024!! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

 

 

That's it for today! Happy Sunday! Go Niners! Hope you have a blessed and happy day today and a great week ahead! Thanks for being here and thank you for your support! XOXO 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY'S RED ENVELOPES PROJECT! (Affiliate Links Used)!

A note from my heart and some real talk today.... Grab a cuppa and spend time with me....

Hello my dear and lovely crafty friends! Hope you're doing great today, and I'm sending some good vibes your way on this lovely day. This post might be long and involved... Grab some coffee and let's chat. As I sit down to write this post, so many things are going through my head. Things I want to say, and stuff I want to tell you, things I need to say, and how do I word these things, and what will be the response?.... I'm optimistic that you all will be supportive, because you always are. Over the years, you have become my tribe, my posse, my girl gang. I have gotten to know you all, and you have gotten to know me. We have been through a lot together. Many of you have become my friends. It's been wonderful and uplifting. We have crafted a LOT of things together over the years! Can you believe that I have been blogging for fifteen years this year!!! FIFTEEN! I have been making cards for 30 years this year!!! Gosh, just writing that is weird. Like how did all those years go by? In a blink. I have learned so much and I have been blessed so much by you, and the companies I get to work with. It's been a ride for sure - a good ride! E ticket! 

As I've alluded to in recent past posts, last year was really hard for my little family. Lots of things went wrong and it was a test. I was filled with so much anxiety most of last year and much of the time I felt like I was hanging on by that proverbial thread. As God always does, HE brought us through everything and we are going to be fine. We grow most when we are tested and tried. Forged. God shows up in the dark places and that's definitely what has happened to me in the past year. My faith is so strong and I am ready to take on 2024. Renewed and ready to step into my called purpose more. I have been spending a lot of time in prayer and contemplation these past few weeks of the new year. I have been planning and dreaming and deciding what this year will look like, both creatively and generally in life. I want to share some things with you and get your feedback for how A Blog Called Wanda will go forward from here on out!! 

My goal on my blog has always been to produce a creative "magazine" of sorts. A web magazine. I have always loved magazines! When I was in 5th grade, my best friend and I actually 'published' a monthly magazine for our friends! My dream was to be a photo journalist when I was a kid. To this day, one of my favorite things to do is to grab a stack of pretty magazines and a coffee, and relax. That is what I try to create for you - a time to relax, a good story, a project, some encouragement, handcrafted things, beautiful photographs.  I love to share new products with you and ideas for cards and more! I want you to feel excited to try something new. I was obsessed when Martha Stewart Living Magazine came out and subscribed from day one. Crafts, and collections, and good stories and cooking and all the pretty things. So here on my blog is my magazine for you. It's mostly crafting but I would like to be able to share other topics and things with you more in this new year. 

I am so passionate about my blog, and my little crafty corner of the internet. I have poured my heart and soul into every post from day one. I love sharing creativity with people and I also love the interaction and fun we have here. It means so much to me as a creative soul to have my projects out there for people to enjoy and to spark your creativity. I truly believe that making art should be part of everyone's life in some way. Doing this has enriched me beyond what I ever would have thought all those years ago! 

Many of you will remember my post nine years ago when I sat down and told you that I was quitting my corporate job to become a full time creative entrepreneur. Man, that was REALLY scary!! It was the biggest leap of faith ever for this self described control freak and no-risk girl. Since then, I have been making a living through my photography, and creativity. (If you didn't know, I do the product/web/catalog photography for many of your favorite crafting companies!) I also make my living from affiliate shopping links on crafting products, Amazon and now Target. The ways that I used to make a living allowed me to be able to share my blog content with you and spend the time doing so. However, lots of those opportunities are changing or are gone altogether over the past nine years, which means that I need to adapt and pivot.

Here's where I need to get your input, advice and support going forward. I need to find out from my regular readers and subscribers if my content has enough value to you that you would be willing to be more active in making sure it happens. The best way I can put it is that I'm spending many many hours creating content here for almost zero financial payback. I have come to the conclusion that I don't think I can spend this amount of time anymore with no financial gain, so I am faced with the decision to either stop blogging full time, and go back to 'traditional' work, or to ask you for some help - and continue to create here with you the same as always.  I know what my choice is because I absolutely LOVE doing this! But, I am at peace with whatever happens going forward. I've turned it over to God completely and my answer will be made clear - I know that. My hope is that we will figure it out together and keep creating together for a long time. I don't know if it's time to slow down, or keep going full ahead. I will always be loyal to The Greetery and the other companies that I blog for regularly and keep working with them!! I hope all this makes sense. 

Like many of us in my generation, I didn't grow up valuing myself and my contributions. I wasn't really taught to value my God given gifts or to ask for anything. Be seen and not heard, especially for girls! I know I'm not the only one. In my age and wisdom, I now realize that we are all so dang amazing really. And our voices, talents and contributions are also amazing. And it's okay to ask for help and it's okay to know your worth and it's okay to put yourself out there. Today I'm putting it out there to you! You know me by now, and I'm always going to keep it real. It's always a good idea to reassess and re-evaluate, and it just felt like now is the time to do that. 

Here's what I would like to propose... I would like to ask you to consider helping financially to keep the lights on here at A Blog Called Wanda every month going forward. There are lots of easy ways to do this. I'll outline them at the end of this post. We all pay for many different things each month without even thinking about it. Iphone apps, news and website subscriptions, entertainment, books and magazines, coffees, tv channels.... And most of the time, those companies don't even care about your contribution. Here, though, I really care, and each time you help me, it makes a huge difference. You help me achieve my dreams. I don't think I would ever make the move to being a subscription site, and I'm not proposing anything formal like that. I wanted to reach out to you first, and see how it goes from here - If you would be interested and/or willing to contribute for my content.  Thank you for everything you already do to give me support - it is so appreciated!

Right now I am spending a lot of time hustling for more one-off, small jobs. If I don't have to do that I will have more time for making content here for you, and trying new things... With your help, I want to do more for you here! Some of my brainstorming ideas of things I want to do are:  More detailed instruction, more tips, and more step out photos. Even more projects! I could send out cards that are featured here. I can post about other lifestyle topics, and put together Prizes and giveaways! I feel like it would be a win/win! (Or other suggestions you have on what you'd like to see.) This is our space, not just mine. 

Thank you for reading this far - truly - you are the best. Thank you for everything over the years here. You guys uplift me all the time with your notes, comments, emails, and the beautiful cards and letters you send me. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity - no matter what happens going forward. It's been an absolute pleasure all these years to create for you and encourage you to create too. A complete blessing. It was very hard for me to write this, but I just feel like I need to put it out there in an honest way so we can have the conversation. All this being said, I have about ten projects to share before Valentine's Day - I've been so busy crafting! I look forward to your feedback here - Thank You! 

 

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Fun with Lawn Fawn for Valentine's Day!

Hey hey hey friends! How's your week been? I've had a super busy and fun week! Lots going on here this week - more than usual. Life is getting back to normal after the first of the year and all my activities are starting again... We already have camellias blooming in the front yard and life is good. Last January was really awful and full of such stress. I am very grateful that this January is starting off much better. I hope you're doing great today. I have some fun cards to share with you my friends!!

I am frantically trying to make all the Valentine things!! That's mostly what I'll be sharing the next couple of weeks. On Saturday I busted out my bin of Lawn Fawn goodness and made two cards! So that's what's what for today! Hearts and pink and red and gingham and all that good stuff! XO

My first card features one of my favorite suite of dies from Lawn Fawn - The Build a House series! There are several add-ons and I combined almost all of them to create a Valentine Cottage! (CLICK HERE or HERE to see two other projects I made with these dies). Wouldn't you just like to cozy up by the fire with some coffee in this sweet house?! I would! My finished card is an A2 card base layered with pink stripes and a scalloped rectangle layer. It was so much fun to mix and match all the elements into my own custom house!

 

Here's a side view of my cottage. The door is open so you can come over and visit! Lots of dimension and little bitty pieces on this one. I love it!!

 

I made my own stripey awning by die cutting that piece from white and red and then snipping out the red parts. It is soooo sweet! I put on a little bluebird there - he's ready for spring already!! Pink shutters and a pink door....

 

 

That teeny tiny flag kills me!!! ACK. SO adorable. I put a little heart on it too!! Love is in the air! The Be Mine is one of the small dies that comes in the Stitched Heart Envelope set. I put it onto a vellum scallop circle and added a pink heart.

 

 

 

 

I added Copic Marker accents on most of the pieces and also did some white paint splatters on different pieces....and don't forget the white gel pen!!

 

 

Next up is a cheery cherry card! My finished card is an A2 card base covered in black and white gingham from my stash! I layered a white panel with a scalloped insert as my focal point for those big juicy cherries! The cherries are die cut and then ink blended with distress inks to make a bit more shadow.

 

The sentiment is clean and simple - I Love You! Die cut from black cardstock for more impact on the bottom of my card and to match the gingham.

 

I used the double cherry die cut and layered it twice so it would be a bit thicker. I die cut the leaves from two different shades of green. I used small sponge daubers and mini distress inks to add red and green shading to the pieces. Then I went in with my white gel pen and added small accents.

 

For the circle, I die cut my scalloped layer from the white cardstock. I die cut the hearts layer from pink cardstock and layered the two together with white behind. Really a pretty and subtle background that I love!! 

 

 

I couldn't resist sprinkling on a few red hearts too! 

 

 

 

I meant to pop the top layer of white with foam tape over the pink, but I forgot and glued it down! Oh well! Maybe I gotta stop with the foam tape! Ha!

Okay, my loves. Wishing you a cheery cherry cheerful day!! I'll be back with some more fun soon!! Take care, and keep on crafting! XOXO

CLICK HERE to see the full supply list for today! (Affiliate Links Used)!

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MY LINKS! 

 

Vintage Look Cross Stitch Brooch Project!

Hello my sweet crafty friends! Happy Monday! We survived the excitement of The Greetery new release last week! Wowza! Did you love it all as much as I did? Did you get your orders in? I can't wait for you to create and have fun with everything! Hope you had a great weekend! It was rain and football here... Our Forty Niners won - yay!! I got in a TON of crafting time the past 3-4 days and I have so many things to share with you before Valentine's Day! This week our church is having a Bible Conference each night for four nights and we get to hear Christine Caine in person tonight. She is ammmaaaazing and always leaves us uplifted and inspired. We are so lucky to have seen her a few times. What an incredible woman with an incredible testimony. I'm so excited to go tonight! Let's have a great week! XOXO

Today's project is a fun cross stitch project and I made my stitching into a brooch that I can wear! My first time doing this, but probably not my last time. A tiny quick stitch mounted onto a form and then assembled with a pin back! There's lots of photos so you can see everything, and my supply list is at the bottom of my post as usual!

Here are the details:

Pattern: Chintz Alphabet by JBW Designs

Thread: My own chose colors - Aurifil Floss

Fabric: 28 Count Linen

 

I LOOOOOVE a jean jacket! Actually I love several jean jackets! Ha, over the years I have collected quite a few. It's one of my favorite things to wear. I will most likely wear my brooch this way - with a lace top and a denim jacket. I like wearing handmade things because it always starts a conversation and then I can gab with other creative people! I have a pretty big collection of pins - going back to the 80's! I used to wear a suit every day to work and I loved to wear pins on my suit jacket. They have good memories! I still wear a lot of them and pin them on my purse, or a hat....

 

I stitched on linen and it's so small, that it went quickly. I chose my own color palette, but based loosely on the colors in the pattern. I used Aurifil Floss this time and dang, the colors are so beautiful and vivid!

 

For the backing, of course, I used gingham! I affixed the pin back using hot glue.

 

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

 

 

Here is my finished stitching still on the wee hoop!

 

Here are my supplies.... The finishing form has two pieces. I used batting in between the stitched fabric and the metal form so it is a bit poofed out. Perfect. So, to make it you put your stitching and batting around the metal piece and criss cross it on the back with thread to hug it in shape. I did the same with the gingham. Then I used hot glue to glue the two ovals together. It's actually an ornament form, but I made it into a pin!

 

Here is the pattern....Chintz Alphabet by JBW Designs....

 

 

And I stitched only this small portion of the pattern.... I might go back and make myself a W pin using the alphabet! I think that would be kinda fun. Like Laverne and her "L" on her sweater!!

 

So that's today's project! Not sure what I'll be posting next. I have some valentine ideas rolling around in my brain. Let's see if I can make them in time! I do know that February is going to be VERY busy. So many good things coming from our favorite companies. I think I might have said yes to too many things, but we will make it happen here in the craft room!! Have a great week! XOXO

If you're shopping Amazon or Target, you can always go through my Storefronts to see my latest recommendations! The links are at the top of the right hand column here on my blog! 

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

 

The Greetery Love Letters PS Release Day! Yeah!

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

LOVE LETTERS PS IS AVAILABLE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

 

It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new Love Letters PS Collection to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back to my last two blog posts, you can see all my projects, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions - reach out!! Thanks for all the love and kind comments this week! I think it's fair to say you love this new release as much as I do! Happy Creating! Can't wait to see what YOU make!

Thank you for shopping via my links -

it helps me so very much and I'm so grateful!! XOXO

 

 

The Greetery - Love Letters PS Collection - Day Two!

Hellooooo everyone! Welcome to Day Two of the release reveal for The Greetery Love Letters PS Collection! Based on your comments, you really enjoyed Day One! And there's even more fun and inspiration today! Today the design team will be sharing the rest of our projects with you to get you excited for release day. What is your favorite thing so far??!! It's really hard to choose a favorite thing this time, isn't it?! I have three more cards to show you today! Let's get started! 

THE GREETERY LOVE LETTERS PS COLLECTION

LIVE FOR SHOPPING FRIDAY, 1/19 AT 10AM!! 

 

My first card features the brand new Vintage Type Dies!! YEAH YEAH YEAH! I do so love a vintage typewriter! And now we have our very own, designed by Betsy! It's big and bold, and has all the right pieces and parts...even an included stamp set to do the letters! Genius! My finished card is an A2 cream card base layered with vintagey stripes, and text paper, and more cream. The typewriter is the star of the show here! I also used the brand new Just My Type Stamp Set and the previously released Ferns....

 

The stamp set is all one piece and I stamped it on a piece of cream cardstock and matched it up perfectly with the holes in the typewriter. I stamped the small swirls in gold ink and also splattered on some gold ink. This is really so cool!

 

I inked the edges of my "paper" with Distress Ink and stamped on some red hearts. The charm is from my stash - an old Tim Holtz item.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

Here's a photo of my paper layers....

 

 

 

This is my very own antique typewriter in my house - decorated for Valentine's Day! Now you can see why I was so excited for this typewriter set! I am going to use this all the time I think!

 

 

 

 

My next two cards I made sort of clean and simple (that's hard for me you know!) because I thought it might be a nice change. And these design elements are so perfect on their own.... This card features the brand new Inked Well dies, the new Pen Pal dies, and the new Just My Type stamps and Air Mail stencils! My finished card is an A2 cream card base layered with rich black. My color palette is super graphic: Black, Cream, Grey and Gold..... Delicious!

 

It's hard to photograph but the ink bottle and the top of the pen are heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I tried to think of a way to make them look shiny and hard. I die cut the ink bottle from black cardstock and then used my MISTI to line up the accent stamp. I heat embossed it twice in clear and it's super cool and shiny!! Just like an ink bottle. I adore that sentiment!!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

Hopefully you can see the gloss in the pen top here too! I used gold paper for my nib and accents.

 

I used the new Air Mail stencils in grey and black inks and then cut off a slice for my card. I thought this looked like the top of a desk, when someone was writing a postcard...

 

 

 

 

And my final card for release week.... This card features the brand new Inked Well stamps and dies and the brand new Scripted Sentiments! SOOO pretty! Think ink quills and big bold sentiments. Perfect! My finished card is an A2 card base in kraft, layered with teal and cream and gold... I stamped those giant beautiful feathers onto the top cream panel, and layered my sentiment on vellum. Again, super clean and simple and graphic....

 

After I stamped the feathers, I went back with the same color inks and added splatters in that color! I added a few golden gems for a bit of shine.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

 

 

That's it friends! It's been a pleasure sharing the new release with you! Thank you for your support and kind comments - and for sharing my enthusiasm for The Greetery. We all love The Greetery! Have a blessed and happy day! XOXO

PRIZES INFO: Betsy will be giving away several $50 gift cards as part of the new release week. To enter to win, please leave a comment on everyone's blog posts for today and yesterday! She will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog!! YEAH!!

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE FRIDAY 1/19 AT 10AM EST!!

CLICK HERE to see all the supplies I used in today's projects! I will update the links when the new release goes live! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY THE INSPIRATION AND FESTIVITIES!!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

The Greetery - Love Letters PS Collection - Day One!

Hi everyone! How are you this week? I hope it's going great....and I can tell you, it's about to get better! I am VERY excited to be here today to introduce you to the first new release of 2024 from The Greetery! The new release is called Love Letters PS and it's AMAZING! It might be my favorite Greetery release every! (That's saying a lot because I love every release!) This new release has all the vintage things with a correspondence/mail theme. It's exactly everything I love in crafting!! Also some awesome Valentine things, love things, stencils, stamps, dies..... It's so great and I cannot wait to show you everything! Yeah!

There will be two release reveal days - today and tomorrow - and the team will be sharing everything with you on our blogs. The new release will be available for shopping on Friday morning, 1/19 at 10am EST! Today, I'm sharing three projects and tomorrow three more projects. Let's get started, shall we?! I'm so glad you're here! XO

THE GREETERY LOVE LETTERS PS COLLECTION

LIVE FOR SHOPPING FRIDAY 1/19 AT 10AM EST!!

 

My first card for today features the brand new Sent With Love Stamps and Dies! OMG how I squealed with delight when I saw all this bitty elements! This set is just like the Christmas Wrapped with Love set! And you could definitely use them together. All the mini crafty things! Tiny envelopes, and scissors and stamps. Seriously cute. My finished card is an A2 card base layered with white, red and gingham... Then, as is my style, I put ALL THE THINGS on my card! Ha. I went with a color palette of red, white and teal. I had so much fun making all these elements. The perfect card for a crafting friend.

 

Here's a side view of my card to show you all the different elements. There is a heart stamp that stamps onto a sheet of postage stamps! Gosh. Swoon. And that tiny pen?! Get outta here. 

 

 

The die set has a die that makes a tiny envelope liner! Betsy thinks of everything!

 

I scattered a bunch of tiny red hearts around the card....

 

I like the mix and match sentiments too!

 

Here are my card layers... More is MORE! Yeah. I added a sprinkling of gems to make it sparkle....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next card features the brand new Flourished Phrases (Love) stamps, stencils, and dies along with the brand new Air Mail Border Stencils, the brand new Pen Pal Dies, and MORE! This is such a cool concept! For my card I used the Love version of this set. There is also a Hello version. I'm looking forward to see what the other design team members made with that! I created a vintage postcard with all the new supplies. I am obsessed. My finished card is an A2 horizontal card base. I used cream cardstock instead of bright white. I started by stenciling the air mail stripes around the cream layer. 

 

 

I used the brand new Postal Modern Stamps and Dies to make this little cluster of postage stamps on my card. LOVE it!

 

The big LOVE word is a set of stencils that do the words, the outline and the flourish. There are matching dies and I die cut out the LOVE letters to give a bit of dimension. I die cut the pen from the new Pen Pal Dies.... 

 

A splattering of gold paint gives a little shimmer....

 

 

 

 

 

And, lastly, I made a set of Valentine tags using the previously released Four Square Tags and the brand new Four Square Valentine Stamps and Dies! I also used elements from the brand new Postal Modern set! I used a color palette of cream, kraft and pink, with pops of gold, to make it vintage. That pretty ribbon is from Hobby Lobby! Remember the Four Square Tags dies cuts out four square tags at once - brilliant!!

 

 

I first made my tags from kraft cardstock, then I die cut them a second time to get the cream toppers for my tags. I had fun mixing and matching embossed elements in gold and pink...

 

This sentiment is SO cute, and I love that there are matching dies for everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZES INFO: Betsy will be giving away some $50 gift cards as part of the new release week. To enter to win, please leave a comment on everyone's blog posts for today and tomorrow! She will announce the winners on The Greetery Blog!! YEAH!!

THE NEW RELEASE IS LIVE FRIDAY 1/19 AT 10AM EST!!

CLICK HERE to see all the supplies I used in today's projects! I will update the links when the new release goes live! (Affiliate Links Used)

 

DESIGN TEAM LINKS FOR TODAY!! ENJOY THE INSPIRATION AND FESTIVITIES!!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

Valentine Cross Stitch Pillow!

Hi friends! Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week! I've been SUPER busy in the craft room and I have lots of good things to share with you soon! This weekend we have  fun things planned at church, and also MORE crafting! Ha. It's been cold here (California cold) and we are nesting and catching up on movies and drinking lots of coffee. I do somehow appreciate the calmness of January after all the hoopla of December. Time to take a big breath, organize, and regroup. I enjoy the cold weather and I like it that my husband can rest and isn't out in the yard working all the time. And I like wearing sweaters! LOL.  Next week is the first Greetery release of 2024 and I guarantee you're going to absolutely love it. I may go out on a limb and say it might be my favorite Greetery release ever!! (That's saying a lot). Cannot wait for you to see everything!! Stay tuned!!

Today's project is a Valentine Cross stitch I made! And then, I made it into a pillow! YEAH! My first ever cross stitch pillow! I have had a mental block about doing this for years. I am not super confident in my sewing skills. And I didn't want to ruin my stitching by messing up the sewing part! Usually I only use my sewing machine to sew on paper! But I watched a bunch of Youtube videos, and then went for it! I must say, for my first try I am really happy with how it turned out! Now I can make more, with the lessons learned from this one. So excited!

This pattern is one of three in the same pack! It's called Valentine House Trio. I decided to make the house with the birds/letter first because I love a mail theme!! The finished stitch is about 5x7 inches. 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

Here are the details about the stitching:

Pattern:  Valentine House Trio by Waxing Moon Designs    

Fabric:    14 Count Aida 

Floss:      DMC Floss - My own color choices 

Gingham Fabric and Pom Pom Trim: Hobby Lobby

 

 

My little finished pillow!! This stitch was fun and easy! It went really quickly and I just love all the little details - the love letter, the swirls in the tree and the little bunting banner at the bottom. Really so much fun!! I used my own stash of DMC flosses for this one. When Floss goes on sale at Joann's I will buy a lot of them! And I have them separated in bins in my craft room by color family. I can usually start a stitch using what I have on hand here and rarely use the exact colors. I could very easily make this into an Autumn House or a Christmas House just by changing the colors!! Isn't that fun? 

 

I love the little BE MINE words along the side!!

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

Here's a close up of the pom pom trim after I sewed it on... I think it's the perfect final touch.

 

The little birds with the letter is so sweet!

 

Here is the backside of my finished pillow. Gingham of course! You guys know me! Never enough gingham!

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

First I ironed my stitching and put interfacing on the back of it to make it nice and perfect!! I trimmed my stitching piece one inch around all four sides - one inch from the border of the stitching. 

 

I trimmed my gingham piece to the exact same size as the stitching piece. (In hindsight I would also put interfacing on the gingham to make it have a little more body. Just preference) I put the two pieces back to back and sewed all around it, leaving about three inches unsewed at the bottom so I could turn it inside out and add stuffing. I was under close watch by my sweet furry friend Lucky!!

 

Checking my stitches!! I loooooove my aqua sewing machine!!! It's just perfect for beginners. Not too complicated but sturdy and easy to use. It comes in a bunch of colors too! It's in the supply list!! (It works great on paper lol, now I'm using it on fabric!)

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

I turned it inside out and pushed the corners out with a bone folder. I ironed it again to make it nice and pretty!! I love my tiny iron and ironing pad for this purpose - it goes right on my work surface and I don't have to have the ironing board and big iron set up in the craft room for such a small project!!

 

So far, so good!!!

 

Time to stuff it!! One tip I got from the interwebs was to add both poly fill stuffing AND poly fill pellets! So I added both types of stuffing to my pillow. The actual stuffing is fluffy and good for making it poofy. But, then it's very light and hard to sit upright. I put in about 1/2 cup of the pellets at the bottom of the pillow and that made a world of difference!! Gave it some weight and allows it to stand. What a cool invention!!

 

I hand sewed my pillow shut at the bottom using simple sewing. Then I added the pom pom trim by sewing it by hand onto the edge. I really didn't trust myself to try to sew it on perfectly so I just did it by hand. Didn't take me too long at all. 

 

 

It's been super fun to share this project with you! I know a lot of you are fellow stitchers and I love that!! It's such a fun hobby and one of my favorite parts is that you can easily bring it with you!! I always have a project in my purse or backpack!! I have a couple more stitches to post before Valentine's Day - looking forward to it! You can see all my cross stitch projects by CLICKING HERE! 

CLICK HERE to see all the supplies I used in today's project (Affiliate Links Used)! 

 

Chocolate Strawberries - with Paper! Yummy card and sweet Valentine Wishes for you!

Hey hey hey! LOTS and LOTS of Valentine's are happening here in my craft room! I ain't mad about it! So many good things to share with you right now! And just you wait until later in the month..... Hee hee! Today I'm sharing a project on The Greetery blog, and of course here on my blog too! I made a sweet card for Valentine's Day!!  I used the super fabulous Strawberries dies and created a box of chocolates using traditional valentine colors.... In January, it's always nice to finish up the holidays, start a new year, and get super excited about making Valentine's! A nice change of colors and themes, and so many hearts. One of my very favorite Valentine treats (well any time actually) is Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and that's just what inspired my card for today! (Fun fact - there is a national company called Shari's Berries that makes the BEST chocolate strawberries.... That company started right here in Sacramento and back in the day you could just pop in the store and get one to go! It wasn't that far from my house, so guess what? I popped in a lot! Hahaha. Now they ship all over the world - such a cool success story!) Anyhoo, on to my card for today!

My finished card is A2 sized, and made from kraft cardstock. I layered deep pink and cream cardstocks to serve as my base for the strawberries. My card features lots of pretty stamps and die sets, including the Botanicuts Strawberries Dies combined with the Dippers Dies, the gorgeous Falling Hearts Background, and lots more. I kept a traditional Valentine color palette of cream, red, pink and brown. My supplies are listed at the bottom of my post or CLICK HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILED SUPPLY LIST!

 

 

 

I started by die cutting the Falling Hearts Background from cream cardstock. I layered it over another sheet of cream cardstock for a tonal pattern. I splattered on some brown metallic paint and set that aside to dry. Next, I die cut out the strawberries, leaves, chocolate, and frosting pieces. I used small sponge daubers and Distress Inks to ink all the pieces and then glued them together using liquid glue. I added pretty glitter to the strawberries also. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILED SUPPLY LIST!

 

I used the Curio Confections Dies set to make the little papers for the strawberries. I layered kraft and vellum pieces to mimic how they might look on a dessert table. (Okay now I'm hungry!) I die cut out the Sweet word dies using red cardstock and vellum to be my main sentiment. My secondary sentiment is from the Sweet Tooth Stamps set and stamped in brown onto a cream banner from Sentiment Suite Basics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used foam tape to attach the strawberries to the card in a grid. I added a few pretty red hearts and then put the sentiments on last. Such a fun way to kick off sweetheart season! 

 

 

 

That's it for my card for today! Wishing you a happy Winter and Happy New Year AND Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have a wonderful and creative day and I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting! XO Wanda

 

As always, if you're crafty shopping, I would be very grateful if you use my links to my favorite shops and help me out! Also, I've updated my gift ideas section in my Amazon Storefront, so you can check that out too!! And, very excited to now be a Target Creator which means I can share my favorite things from Target with you! Thank you! 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP AT THE GREETERY!

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

 

Pretty Pink Posh - New Release - Feeling Lucky!

Hellooooooo! Happy Monday! How are you? How's your new year going so far? Hope you're doing great and getting back to a normal post holiday routine. I like January for cleaning and organizing and generally nesting at home. I tend to cook more when it's cold outside, and craft in my cozy craft room... Today I'm sharing another project I made with the brand new Pretty Pink Posh January Release! I adore this new release so much! I shared two cards last week for the big blog hop, both Valentine Cards.... Well, today I used the new products with some other PPP items to make a shamrockin' St. Patrick's Day Card!!  Today PPP is having a big Instagram Hop to celebrate this new PPP Release! So be sure to head over to Instagram and leave a comment to be able to win a PPP gift certificate! As always with an Instagram Hop, I'm sharing my card here too. I couldn't wait to show you this card!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

My card today features the brand new Stitched Shamrock Dies, the brand new Lucky Shadow Dies, the brand new Shamrock Stencils, and some other PPP items! My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with my stenciled panel, some vellum and some wonky rectangles! All my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post or click here. As you know, my sweet kitty cat is named Lucky! He was born on St. Patrick's Day and he has the most beautiful green eyes too. So this card is dedicated to Lucky the cat!! Ha. 

I used the awesome new Shamrock stencils to make the background layer for my card. I used two shades of green inks (listed in supplies) and both small and large blender brushes to stencil the panel. I splattered on gold ink and set that aside to dry. In this photo side view you can see all my different layers!

 

I die cut my shamrocks out of green cardstock and then inked them using the same inks I stenciled with. I also splattered on lots of gold ink to make them shiny and flashy. 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

I die cut them Lucky word from gold glitter cardstock!! The sentiment at the bottom of the small wonky rectangle is from the Friends Forever stamp set. I love that it fit just right in that spot!

 

I added a couple of gold enamel dots on the card. I really love green and gold for St. Patrick's Day! 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

That's it for today's fun project!! Be sure to head over to Instagram to leave comments in the hop! I hope you have a fantastic day! Thanks for spending part of it with me here! I'll be back soon with some more fun things to share. I'm working on a Valentine cross stitch and it's almost done. Not sure what else I'll be up to! Keep on crafting, friends! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

Pretty Pink Posh - January 2024 New Release - Valentine Cupcakes!

Hi friends! Happy 2024! Hope you had a fun New Year's Eve! This is my first blog post for the new year and I have really fun cards to share with you today! Let's have a great 2024 filled with creativity and fun projects! Once it turns to the new year, it's time to think about Valentine's Day crafting, and I love it! Time for pink and hearts and chocolates and cupcakes and all things frilly and sweet! Today is day one of a giant blog hop to celebrate the January 2024 new release from Pretty Pink Posh. It's a wonderful release and I think you're going to LOVE it! Chock full of X's and O's for Valentine's Day and also fun things for St. Patrick's Day! I will share two cards today, and another card next week for the Instagram Hop! Are you ready to turn over to new themes? 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP JANUARY 2024 RELEASE!!

My first card for today features the brand new Big Valentine Cupcakes Dies, the brand new Stitched Hearts, the brand new Pierced Hearts Background, and the brand new Sentiment Strips Valentines (along with some older products too!!) All my exact supplies are listed at the bottom of this post! My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with kraft, pink, vellum and a white eyelet layer!! That big cupcake is the star of the show!

 

 

 

Here's a side view of my card to show all my layers and bits and bobs!! Of course, you know me, I went over the top with glitter, pearls and silver paint splashes!! This die set is awesome!! I'm already thinking birthday cards!

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP HOLIDAY 2023 RELEASE!!

For the frosting on top and the polka dot part, I actually layered two pieces so those parts would be thicker. I often do this to add more depth to the die cut pieces. I used Copic Markers and Distress Inks to shade all the die cut pieces. I also added sparkly glitter!! I used the numbers dies from the Graduation set to make a red 14 and put that on a vellum heart. I used the new sentiment strips for the 'be my valentine' strip.

 

These eyelet rectangle dies are such a great addition to my stash. I use them all the time!! I ink blended the top part of the eyelet rectangle with pretty aqua ink to match the cupcake paper. I like the contrast of that pretty blue with all that pink. (Is it me or does it look like that cherry is smiling??!!)

 

The pretty new background die makes the most perfect pierced hearts.... sigh....

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP HOLIDAY 2023 RELEASE!!

 

I want to lick the frosting off this cupcake - it looks so yummy! I don't think I will though! LOLZ.

 

Staying on theme, my second card for today also has cupcakes!! This card features the brand new Sweet Chocolates stamp set and the brand new Valentine Cupcakes stamp set. My finished card is a white A2 card base layered with chocolate brown cardstock, and festive candy stripes, and vellum - then an eyelet rectangle! I had fun mixing and matching the cupcakes and chocolates!!

Here's a side view of my card and all the layers. The pieces were affixed to the card using foam squares for added dimension. For my finishing element I used tiny pink hearts!! 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP HOLIDAY 2023 RELEASE!!

 

I colored all the images with my Copic Markers and then added white gel pen accents. Then, of course, glitter! I really like brown and pink together because for some reason it reminds me of a soda shop! Hee hee. Everything is so dang adorable. 

 

I used a two part sentiment in black at the bottom of the card. I love it when words have matching dies - it looks so clean.

 

I'm hungry now!

 

 

 

I did a quick selfie in our front yard on New Year's Eve to commemorate the occasion! Hubs and I enjoyed a nice day and I got to wear my cute new Cheers sweater (From Target!)  and my new sassy beret! (Did you know you can set a self timer for a selfie on your iPhone??? I set my phone against the planter box to take this shot...it's a great trick to get you in the photos too!) Here's a tutorial I found. 

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today for this fun introduction of this wonderful new release, and for the exciting blog hop! It was nice to share with you! Have a great day today and keep on crafting! I have one more card to share next week that I made with this new release. Hint, it will make you feel Lucky! Can't wait to show it to you! XOXO

If you're new to my blog today because of the hop - please take a moment and subscribe to my content! You will be emailed any time I do a new blog post! HERE'S THE LINK TO SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBE! 

BLOG HOP PRIZE INFO! There are THREE $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day of the hop). Winners will be picked randomly along the blog hop from all the comments. Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 1/11/2024! Winners will be announced on the PPP blog. Good Luck!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see all the supplies I used for today's projects!

 

TODAY'S FUN BLOG HOP LINEUP!!

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Nichol Spohr

Carissa Wiley

Mindy Eggen

Caly Person

Wanda Guess

Lauren Taylor

Gemma Campbell

Jeanne Jachna

 

Happy New Year 2024! Blessings for an awesome and creative new year ahead!

 

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2024 IS HERE!

BLESSINGS AND LOVE TO YOU!

 

Hi everyone! Happy NEW YEAR! Hard to believe another year has come and gone.... Cheers to you for a wonderful, happy, healthy, prosperous and creative new year in 2024! Thank you for all of your love and support in the past year. We turn the calendar page, and a new year full of possibilities and hope awaits us. Let's get creative and have some fun!! Sending hugs and good wishes to you, my crafty friends!

I made this card back in November as part of the All That Glitters collection from The Greetery! I always love gold and black for new year cards!! Click here to read more about this card! I'll be back in a couple of days with some really fun Valentine's for ya! XOXO

 

 

Merry Christmas 2023! Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023!

FROM MY HOME TO YOURS!

WISHING YOU A WARM AND LOVELY CHRISTMAS!

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT YEAR OF CREATING TOGETHER!

 

 

Hi there my sweet friends! Hope you're having (or had) a wonderful and happy, joyful, peaceful Christmas!! I'm sending love and light your way today and I'm grateful for your love and support all year. I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from around my home this season.... The nativity scene above is a favorite piece of art that is front and center in our bookshelf in our family room. I keep a candle under it to gently light the scene. Truly the reason for the season!

Here's a little scene I created on our kitchen table. I mixed and matched some cloches and trees and twinkle lights... Fake snow and pretty things!! That big mason jar is an antique and it's one of my favorite things I've ever found at an antique fair. It has the original solid glass lid and metal ring. It weighs a ton and it's in perfect condition!! 

 

One of my favorite Christmas mugs filled with peppermint cocoa by the tree!! 

 

Lucky helping me put up the decorations!! He's so sweet and such a good kitty. He never messes with anything and likes to sit under the tree (like the present he is!!! Ha) Such a good boy!!

 

This sweet little tinsel tree I got at a vintage market this year! I really love Christmas lights and we have TONS at our house. My husband has decorated the front yard so much that now we have people driving by to look at it! I call it the "spectacular spectacular!" Also, my husband's nickname is Mark Griswold! We are a festive bunch. 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

A quick post with a refreshing Peppermint treat!

Hi friends! A very quick post today to share a fun Peppermint treat that we enjoy at our house! In Fall I am ALLLLL about the Pumpkin Spice Life.... But in Winter I am VERY much about the Peppermint Life! Ha! I love anything peppermint - candy, cake, coffee, and ice cream! (I sound like Buddy the Elf! Ha!) I am not really a sweets person most of the year, but of course at Christmas, I become a sweets person!! Have you ever had one of the Peppermint Chocolate Milkshakes at Chik-fil-a? If you haven't tried one, you need to! We love them. So, I have recreated that delectable treat at home using Peppermint Chocolate Ice Cream!! (we like the ice cream from Acme Valley) If you can't find Peppermint Chocolate ice cream, use Peppermint Ice Cream, and blend in some chocolate chips!! To make these you simply blend the ice cream and a little milk in the blender, and voila - a yummy milkshake! Top with some whipped cream (If you're lucky you can find Peppermint whipped cream at Target) and candy cane pieces, and add a cute straw - and enjoy! I made us shakes the other day, and decided to take some pretty pictures! Cheers! Enjoy your weekend! XO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Snowman Cross Stitch - Merry Christmas!

Hey there my dear crafty friends! Happy Friday! Happy Christmas weekend! The time is here and I am ready to celebrate Christmas, relax, and take a big exhale. The season is almost over so I need to enjoy all those Christmas lights and drink all the cocoa! Hahaha. Also, only a few more days to wear all my fun Christmas sweaters! (I have been collecting Christmas Sweaters and brooches for about 30 years now and I love to dress festive) Time for church and Christmas music and peace. This post will be my last crafting project for Christmas 2023! I can't believe I finished another cross stitch! It's a small one, but super cute and fun!! 

This came together quickly and is a small stitch. I did the Valentine one of this series a couple of years ago and it is also super cute. I added a tiny heart button to my snowman for just another little pop of red. I finished off with gingham ribbon from my stash, and a vintage button glued on with my hot glue gun. This was my first time cross stitching on Linen fabric! It was definitely harder because of my poor eyesight, but I really do like the results.

Pattern:  Holiday Hoopla Christmas, by Brenda Gervais, With Thy Needle and Thread

Fabric:   28 Count Linen 

Floss:     DMC Floss - My own color choices

Frame:   Four inch embroidery hoop 

 

 

 

In case you didn't already know....I love Snowmen!!! LOLZ. This guy is sweet and simple with his Santa hat and twig arms and carrot nose....

 

 

 

I made a bow from red/cream gingham ribbon and hot glued it to the top of the hoop, then added a button on top. 

 

 

 

 

Here's the back of my finished piece! I saw this technique on someone's Instagram and thought "GENIUS!" Gosh, this is so smart - and so easy. I had this pretty vintage looking gingham in black so I used that for the backing. To do this, sandwich the stitching and the fabric together, and put both in the hoop! That's it! I used my good fabric scissors to trim very close to the hoop. Done! And it hides your stitching and looks really clean. This will now be my go-to when I finish in a hoop.

 

Here's a photo of the finished piece in my hand, for size and scale. I think this would be soooooo pretty as a package tie on! Or as a Christmas ornament. It's the perfect size. Next year I think I might try to make a bunch of these. I just started too late this year. Really such a joyful project. 

That's it for me today!! And that's it for Christmas crafting 2023!! It's been a fun season sharing with you! Have a great Christmas weekend my friends! Lots of love from my home to yours!! XOXO

As always, if you're crafty shopping, I would be very grateful if you use my links to my favorite shops and help me out! Also, I've updated my gift ideas section in my Amazon Storefront, so you can check that out too!! Thank you! 

Puffy Stars Christmas Treat Boxes!

Hey hey hey! One week until Christmas! Happy Monday! How's it going?! I'm busy in the craft room trying to get all the things done before next week! It's pouring rain here in Sacramento today and I do really love a rainy day in the craft room. I put up Christmas lights in here this year and they're so pretty. I might just leave them up all year! It's very cozy and I'm getting a lot done. Here's wishing you a wonderful pre-Christmas week everyone! I think I might finish one more little cross stitch too! 

My project for today are these adorable puffy heart treat boxes! I used dies from The Stamp Market to make these cool boxes (Pillow Box Star) and also the snowflakes. They are super easy to put together too - a bonus! I used pretty pastel colors and a bit of silver watercolor paint for shimmer.... My supplies are listed at the bottom of my post - or here! 

 

I assembled each star box and then topped each one with a vellum scallop circle and a snowflake. I splattered silver paint on everything!! I added a big gem in the center of the snowflakes. Such a pretty color palette!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a box in my hand so you can see the size and scale. Mine are filled with candies of course!

 

 

 

Here is the back of the box. There is one die and you cut it out twice and fold along the curved score lines. Then you simply match up two of them on top of each other and glue them together. You would leave one flap unglued so the recipient can get their treats out. TIP: I used my cordless hot glue gun to glue these together - SO FAST and simple... Much easier than trying to tape them or glue them with liquid glue.

 

 

 

I think these would be VERY cute for place setting gifts - either for Christmas, New Years or even the 4th of July! Your color choices can determine what the feeling and occasion would be!

Thanks for popping by today and spending some creative time with me! Hope you have an awesome week! Sending Christmas hugs from me to you!

I have a Destash page on Instagram and from time to time I will list gently used crafting items for sale. Right now, I just listed a big lot of stamps and dies from The Greetery! It's a very good deal! If you're interested, here's the link - and just email me or comment on the post! 

As always, if you're crafty shopping, I would be very grateful if you use my links to my favorite shops and help me out! Also, I've updated my gift ideas section in my Amazon Storefront, so you can check that out too!! Thank you! 

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

Home for Christmas - Cozy Cross Stitch!

Hello crafty friends! Happy Saturday! Shockingly, I finished another Christmas cross stitch, so I thought I'd pop in and share it with you today! I have been staying up too late and enjoying every minute! Just a little bit longer to get things made for Christmas! We had a fun evening yesterday going out to dinner and then to the ice rink in the little town near us. It's so festive to sit outside and listen to the music and see the huge tree and all the lights. It makes me so happy and content. Today we're hanging out at home, my husband is putting up MORE lights outside, and my college is playing in a bowl game this evening.... Time to nest in for the holidays... How are you doing? Are you ready? Is everything done? Hope you're doing great! Sending warm wishes your way. 

Here's my cross stitch - simply framed with a frame from Michael's and some self added splatters to look like snow. The stitched area on 14 Aida is 6"x8" and it was a fun and quick stitch. I chose all my own colors - DMC floss. I wish we could meet up for some cocoa in this cozy little gingerbread house, don't you?! 

Pattern:  Home For Christmas, by Brenda Gervais, With Thy Needle and Thread

Fabric:   14 Aida Vintage Taupe

Floss:     DMC Floss - My own color choices

Frame:   Michael's 

 

 

 

 

I slightly modified the snowflakes on the pattern... The pattern has half of a snowflake on the left side, but I went ahead and stitched the entire big snowflake there because it was so pretty!! 

 

I love those pretty peppermints at the bottom of the pattern!!

 

 

The little red berries are a new stitch to me - it's called a Smyrna Cross! I also added a yellow one at the top of the tree!

 

 

 

Look at those little birdies!!!!

 

And the smallest touch of pink on the door and the shutters!

Cheers to the weekend! Hope you're doing well and enjoying the season! Sending love your way from my craft room to yours! Talk to you soon! XOXO

 

Baking Spirits Bright - Gingerbread Christmas Card!

Hey there friends! Sending good wishes on this Thursday afternoon, just ten days away from Christmas! Hope you're doing great, and getting all the things done, and enjoying the season. I am desperately trying to get organized this week....in the craft room, in the kitchen, all the holiday decorations... It's not going that great. LOLZ!! I stayed up until 2am cross stitching last night because I'm weird like that. We have some fun plans this weekend, including my college in a bowl game, and some church things. Then, before we know it, Christmas will arrive! 

I got some time in the craft room today and made a cute card with brand new supplies from Taylored Expressions! I have had these stamps on my desk for a couple of weeks just waiting to be played with. I'm featuring the new Baking Spirits Bright stamps and dies along with some ink blending, hearts, and of course a touch of gingham.... 

My finished card is an A2 cream card base, layered with red, gingham, and a cream scalloped rectangle. The adorable gingerbread cookies are the stars of the show! I mean seriously SO CUTE! 

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Here's a side view of my card so you can see all the layers. I raised up the cream rectangle and the cookies with foam tape. 

 

To start my card, I die cut all the shapes out first. The matching die set has two sizes for each shape - genius! One die cuts out the stamped portion, and the second die makes an outline. You can use one or both as you desire. So...I die cut first and then used blender brushes and distress inks to shade with some brown inks. Then I splattered white and brown inks to look like cookies. After all the shading and splattering dried, I used white heat embossing to make the images. Looks just like icing!

 

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I used red, green and champagne colored pearls to add "candies" to the cookies. I love just that little bit of dimension. I die cut out some hearts to add more love and more red to the card. I stamped the sentiment in brown ink to match the rest of the card. 

 

Here's a close up of those cute cookies!

 

I used Sage Distress Ink and a blender brush to add green to just the top of the cream rectangle. 

 

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Don't those little pearls look like gumdrops!? Love it!

These are soooooo fun and cute!! I wish I had more time because I want to make MORE! I think next year I will put them onto tags and use them as tie ons for baked goods to give the neighbors and my friends. They are perfect for that!! Or just present tags, or more cards!! Happy I got to use them before Christmas came!! 

Take care and have an awesome weekend!! XOXO

As always, if you're crafty shopping, I would be very grateful if you use my links to my favorite shops and help me out! Also, I've updated my gift ideas section in my Amazon Storefront, so you can check that out too!! Thank you! 

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