A Blog Called Wanda

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

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

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

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

Happy Thanksgiving from

The Guess Family!

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 2!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery - Winter Wanderer Collection - Day 1!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Thankful for you because you're sweet!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

BZZZZZZ! Look at that sweet bee!

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

Thanksgiving Blessings and pretty leaves!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

First up - oranges!

 

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

 

Next up - reds!

 

 

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

 

 

And finally - yellows!!

 

 

The colors of Fall and Thanksgiving!

 

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

 

And here's a dream close up...

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

Happy Halloween 2020!!

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

 

Cross Stitch Vote Pin!

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

Here is my finished stitching...

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

Vintage-y Halloween Medallions! Happy Halloween Week 2020!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

Sharing my Halloween Decorations!

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Trick or Treat Shutter Card!!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

Fun with Photoplay Stamps for Fall and Halloween!

Hi there!! Popping in to share even MORE Fall and Halloween projects today! Today I'm featuring the brand new, awesome, HUGE release from Photoplay Paper called Say it with Stamps! Behind the scenes I've been consulting with the lovely people at Photoplay about this new release. Lucky me!! I've been waiting for it to come to fruition and hit the front porch for months! So happy to finally share with you. There are tons of new stamps and dies...and stencils...and cards and envelopes.... And, several of the products are meant for making the newest crafting rage - Slimline Cards. Today I have two slimline cards to show you and one spooky idea... 

You can buy PHOTOPLAY PAPER at Simon Says Stamp or you can buy PHOTOPLAY PAPER at Scrapbook.com. I hope you will click over and take a peek. I know you will find something(s) you love. I am especially loving the new stencils and the Slimline dies... All my supplies are listed HERE. 

First up is a Fall Blessings card made using a wonderful two step stencil with Distress Inks and some of the new dies. The finished card is a #6 size: 3.5" x 6.25" made from kraft cardstock. 

 

The sentiment was die cut once from brown textured cardstock and then again for the outline with vellum. I used the Notebook Banner Die to make the smaller sentiment. Here's a close up!

 

The Notebook die has a beautiful edge on it. I was so impressed with the quality of all the stamps and dies. The dies cut nice and crisp on heavy cardstock and the stamps gave me a perfect impression right from the package. Here you can also see the detail of the leaf stencil... I used small sponge daubers and my favorite Distress Inks.... You stencil the lighter color first and then go back and use the second stencil to do the darker half of the leaves. I really think this is so pretty and classic Fall.

 

My finishing touches were a bit of natural twine and some gold paint splatters... I used the decorative border dies to make that nice scalloped edge.

 

Next up are some sweet and crazy Halloween friends! I used the packaged Slimline #6 cards and envelopes for this card. I used the #6 rectangle windows to frame my images. Everything was colored with Copics...

 

I love this trick or treat sentiment die. I cut it into three pieces to fit inside my window with that spider.... I added Stickles to all the images too. The frames were die cut from gray cardstock and splattered with white paint for visual interest.

 

Halloween colors are so fun! Black, orange, purple and green!! 

 

I stamped on the matching envelope to make the card more cheery in the mail!! I really like the prepackaged cards and envelopes - great way to keep on crafting and not have to stop and make card bases!! Love that.

 

And my last spooky project for today...something unexpected! A spiderweb latte! I love latte art, but I cannot do it! So I made my own art on my homemade coffee using the cool Cobwebs stencil!! I carefully laid the stencil over the top of my foam and sprinkled cinnamon over it! Voila! You can do this as a fun treat for your Halloween party! Some spiders from the Halloween Store and you're all set. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by on this Monday morning!! I hope that you will check out the Photoplay new release. Have you been making Slimline cards yet? I have been making them a lot!! I seem to like the mini ones best. But the larger #9 Slimline gives you a lot of real estate to work with when you're crafting... Have a wonderful week, everyone! XOXO

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

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

Photoplay was so generous with what they sent me! So I thought I would share the love! I will choose one random comment from this post to receive these fun stamps and dies. Leave a comment and tell me what you're working on in your craft room right now! Ends 10/20 at midnight PST. I'll email the winner!

The Greetery - TGIF - Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Howdy hello and salutations! I'm sharing here today on my blog and also over on The Greetery Blog for TGIF! (The Greetery Inspiration Friday!)  Today I'm sharing two of my favorite things! Coffee and Fall! I do so love a good Pumpkin Spice Latte, and that's what I have made for you today. You might just be receiving your goodies from the Merry Makings release last week, so I want to give you some more inspiration for using the Hug in a Mug stamps and dies. I am always inspired by Fall colors. This project would be so cute as a favor for a girls coffee date or your Thanksgiving table. Thanks for joining me on this beautiful Fall Friday. So excited to show you this project. The idea actually came to me in my sleep Friday night! Ha. Does that happen to you? 

Here is my sweet little Pumpkin Spice Latte! All decked out for Fall! I used the new Hug in a Mug suite of stamps and dies and some older Greetery items too. A bit of this and that...stencils, stamps, ink blending....so much fun. 

 

My coffee mug was made with orange cardstock and the saucer was made from cream cardstock using the Hug in a Mug dies and the Saucer dies. I stamped the plaid border at the top of the mug, and stamped the latte art on the top using the Hug in a Mug stamp set. After the mug pieces were cut out I used the beautiful Berry Branch stencil, a blender brush, and Crackling Campfire Distress Ink to make a pretty leaf design onto it! I also brushed a bit of the ink onto the bottom of the handle for an ombre effect. I stamped the sentiment on the front in brown ink and added a wee heart too. 

 

I glued the mug handles together, glued the steam pieces together, and glued the mug together and set that aside to dry. I always use a glue pen for putting together my 3D dies. For the saucer I used cream cardstock. I again used my blender brush and ink (Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink) to gently ink the outer edges of the saucer. I glued the saucer together. Next, I die cut the Coaster Die from gingham patterned paper.

 

I put some sweet pumpkin candies inside as a treat for the recipient. Some coffee candies would be sweet too. You could add a small gift, some sweets, or whatever little trinkets your heart desires. I have so many more ideas!!

 

I splattered everything with gold watercolor ink! I used one of my favorite stamp sets to add the little seasonal embellishment on the top - the Top Down Day Autumn stamp set. I stamped the pumpkin/leaves image and die cut it with the matching dies. I cut a small slit on the left side of the image so it would fit over the edge of the mug. I used Stickles Diamond Glitter to add shine to the pumpkins and the steam. 

 

I used pumpkin candies in my little treat cup today, but I also love these Nuggets - and they are wrapped in orange! These are hard to find! Maybe I'd better hoard them...

 

 

 

 

Thanks for popping by for a cuppa joe with me today! Now I want coffee! (But I always want coffee!) I'm wishing you a happy and blessed Fall weekend. Take care until I see you soon! XOXO Be sure to pop over to The Greetery blog and leave some love! 

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

Here comes the pumpkin truck! #Blessed

Hi Crafty Friends! How's your week going?? I had something fun happen yesterday.... I won a $250 facial gift certificate from a MedSpa and I went and got it yesterday. OMG it was like heaven! I seriously can't remember the last time I had a facial - many years ago. I felt so pampered and happy. What a delightful outing. And, for the past two weeks my Knitting/Crocheting group is meeting up again. Life feels good. I think I forgot how nice it was to see people and be OUT of my house! I'm feeling cheerful today and I have a fun card to share with you! I am proud and happy to be a Spellbinders partner and I love choosing my favorite things from Spellbinders to share with you! (like the Halloween car a couple weeks ago!) 

Today's card is along those same lines...but this time it's a pumpkin truck!! #Blessed is on the tailgate. I love it so much. This suite of products is really fun and has lots of sentiments and images to mix and match in the truck! A surfboard, Christmas tree and gifts, and pumpkins! So you know I had to make a Fall card from this set. I also used some new patterned paper on this one to complete the Fall theme. This finished card is 5" x 5" square. 

 

No stamping on this card - just lots of die cuts and patterned paper! Don't be afraid to use patterned papers for your die cutting projects. This truck is gingham! And all the other elements have a design on them too. It really gives a nice look - very interesting and pretty I think. I also layered lots of papers as my card base. The focal point is the truck of course, mounted onto a stitched circle. The paper collection is called Happy Fall! Perfect right? All the supplies are listed at the bottom of my post.

 

Here's a side view so you can see all the layers and raised parts. The truck really doesn't have that many pieces (much less than the Halloween Car)... and it came together pretty quickly. I tucked those pumpkins into the slit that is built into the die. I used liquid glue to affix the pieces.

 

The banner is from the sticker pack that matches the patterned paper. I love that look!! I used silver cardstock for the taillights and the tailgate.

 

Can't you imagine this cute truck parked at the pumpkin patch?? Photo op!!! Lol. 

 

 

Okee dokee partners! That's it for today's post! I hope you have a blessed and happy day! I will be back soon with more Fall fun! XOXO

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

Simple Stories Cozy Days - fun Fall cards!

Hi friends! After a lovely week last week celebrating Christmas, we now return to our regularly scheduled Fall programming! LOL! WOWEEEEE ZOWEEEEE how much fun was The Greetery Release last week?? Dang! Thank you for all the kind and sweet comments here on my blog and over on Instagram. I think you guys felt my excitement over that wonderful release...and I'm pretty sure you loved it too! It is truly a joy and a blessing to work with The Greetery. I am so lucky!! So now it's time to get back to Fall and Halloween projects - because we have to squeeze them all in now! October is going by fast! 

Today I'm sharing three cards I made using a brand new paper collection I fell in love with this season. Yeah, I bought everything! All the paper, the stickers, the washi, the chipboard....yeah. All of it! It is a different color palette too - something to shake it up. And it has all my favorite things - sweaters, coffee, pumpkins, hedgies...leaves... It's called Cozy Days from Simple Stories. 

Here is a group photo of my three projects. I kept it cohesive by using kraft as my background card base. Everything else is from the collection. That sweet little scalloped note card is from TE and it's a staple in my craft room. 

 

This is a BIG card!! I had this idea and it would only work with some big card real estate! I'll have to deliver this one in person or make a custom envelope. It's 5.75" x 5.75"! Kraft card base.... So the idea was that I wanted to use ALL THE THINGS. Ha. I ended up creating four little Fall vignettes on the card. I tied it all together using stitched squares dies and stitched circles dies. This was my first time buying a Simple Stories Sticker Book. OMG the stickers are so nice. They are thick and glossy and beautiful. I'm very impressed.

 

Here's the first vignette, with my sentiment. I used stickers and chipboard stickers to say Happy Fall!

 

OMG how cute is that sweater? I want that sweater!! 

 

This next vignette is about the PSL! Cutest coffee stickers ever. Right??

 

And, lastly, pumpkins vignette! I scattered little hearts and enamel dots all around the card and generally just made it fun.

 

This next card is a normal size - ha. It's an A2 kraft card base. I used the ADORABLE stamp set that matches the collection. I stamped the cute images all around on a cream panel and colored them with softer Copic colors to match the paper. I used some patterned papers and stickers to embellish this card.

 

And I had to use this sweet chipboard hedgie sticker! So I made him his own mini card! This scalloped notecard die has been in my stash for years and I use it all the time. It cuts out the perfect little notecard - finished size 3" x 3". I use it for gift tags and bag tags and for making thank yous in sets. Super versatile and quick and easy. LOVE. I layered a couple of stitched circles... Then the hedgie, a sentiment sticker and a heart of course!

 

I thought this was a good pic to show that interesting and pretty color palette....

 

One last photo... On my Instagram Account I always post a picture on the first of every month with a theme for the month. I like to think of and plan these photos out and then I add the month in text over the photo. I've had a lot of time on my hands here at home to experiment with my photography lately. I'm using darker backgrounds with food photos and such. So it took me a while to get these pumpkins to stay put... And there were a lot of bouncing pumpkins. But I finally go the shot. Nice dark shadows and super moody. Lots of texture, just how I like it. So I thought I would share it here too. 

That's it for today! I have lots more Halloween and Fall projects coming up!! What are you working on? Are you starting Christmas already? Or are you Fall crafting like me? We finally have some cooler weather here so it actually felt like Fall this weekend. I am still praying for some rain!! Hope everything is going well in your corner of the world. XO

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

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 3!

The Merry Makings release will be on sale Friday, October 9th at 10am EST, 7am PST! If you're shopping, I would be very grateful if you would shop using my affiliate link to The Greetery! Thank you in advance - and happy crafting my friends! I can't wait for you to find joy creating your own projects with these beautiful stamps and dies. XO

Hi there! I am loving seeing you each day this week! Welcome to day THREE of product reveals and inspiration for the new release from The Greetery! The new release is called Merry Makings! And, yes, we have been making merry this week haven't we? This is the final day of reveals and then all the new items will be available for shopping tomorrow (Friday) morning! Today's theme is sweet treats! Think yummy cocoa or coffee, s'mores, and cookies! Okay now I'm hungry! LOL. The stamps and dies for today are some of the cutest things I've ever worked with. Leave it to Betsy to put a new spin on things. I was smiling the entire time I was making these cards and mugs.... I hope it makes you smile too. LOTS of pictures in today's post!! Spend a little time with me won't you?

First up....OH EM GEEEEE. 3D coffee mugs!!! And, they open up so you can put treats or presents inside. Are you kidding me?? No I am not! You guys know how much I love coffee so this is the perfect thing for me. I'll show you this first picture and then write more details as we go along...

There is the 3D mug and a 3D saucer for the mug - both are die sets. Then there is the Hug In A Mug stamp set that has sentiments to stamp on the mugs, and the latte art! It all goes together like magic. To make on cup, you die cut two pieces the same and glue them together. Glue on the handle and the steam. You give a little tug on the steam and the top comes off, leaving room for a prezzy or some candies.

 

There are some design elements that you can stamp onto the top of the mug. Here you can see I stamped the small scallops in red ink onto the pink mugs. I added lots of glitter to the steam pieces.

 

 

 

Here's another close up of the sentiment... I added some holly leaves from my stash. You could really add anything to these mugs. They would be great shower or party favors. See the sweet little detailed edge on the saucer??

 

 

 

Here is the mug in my hand so you can see the size of it. I added some candy canes from the Destination North Pole stamp set. This one is a peppermint mocha!

 

 

 

Now that we've had some coffee, I think we need some s'mores! My next card features the S'more Holiday stamps and dies. Another awesome two step sentiment and some more yummy treats. This finished card is an A2 kraft card base. I used two nesting rectangle dies to create a frame over my buffalo plaid! 

 

Kraft, red, black and white is so graphic and fun! I used the Square Dance Dies and Stencils to create a camping plaid in black and red. I love how it came out! I used the stencil and just really saturated black ink over the red cardstock with a sponge dauber. 

 

I stamped the sentiments, chocolate and marshmallow using my MISTI and then die cut them out with the matching dies. I used a stitched circle to 'ground' my elements. I added bits of Rock Candy Glitter too.

 

The two smaller sentiments were heat embossed with white embossing powder onto crisp black cardstock. I mounted the plaid with foam strips and then the frame was glued on top with liquid glue. The elements were affixed with foam circles!

 

 

 

Annnnddddd.... My last project for release week! Some sweet treats for Santa! Cookies and milk on the table just waiting for the jolly fellow to come down the chimney! I used the new Sweet Treats dies to make the cookies. I used a few previously released products to complete my look: Shiplap, Mason Jar and Coaster. The finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with red and then white again.

 

 

Look at those delicious cookies! I made them with Cream cardstock. Then I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink to make them look browned in the oven. I added some splatters of ink and then lots of glitter... I think they look good enough to eat! I created a plate by die cutting two circles and layering them together. Of course it's a snowflake patterned plate!

 

 

 

I used the Shiplap dies to create my tabletop. And then I used the Coaster die to create a placement for the plate of cookies. Now...how to make a glass of milk...I had to sleep on that...

 

Then the idea came to me! I used the mason jar stamps and dies to create a glass of milk for Santa. I wanted to add a straw, and I wanted the straw to show through the glass. So I stamped the first two layers of the mason jar onto regular cardstock. Then I stamped the darkest layer - third layer - of the mason jar onto vellum! I die cut both of the pieces and glued them together. And it worked! I created a straw using white and red cardstock that I trimmed with my paper trimmer. I tucked the straw inside my glass. Sometimes you gotta think outside the box!!

 

 

Alrighty! That's all your treats for today! Now I'm hungry! This completes our release week reveals. Yay! All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! (tomorrow) CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront! What is your favorite thing from the release? 

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY! 

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

 

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 2!

Greetings from the North Pole! Not really, but it sure feels like it today! I'm back today to introduce you to more amazing stamps and dies and stencils from the new release from The Greetery! This is day two of our three day launch party for the Merry Makings release. What did you think of yesterday's reveals? Don't you love it all - already? Today I am sharing two more cards and both are icy and snowy and oh so wintery.... We will be showing you new products today and tomorrow (and yesterday) and then the entire release will be available on Friday morning on The Greetery website. Cannot wait!

First up is the next installment to the Destination collection. This stamp and die set is called Destination North Pole!!! It coordinates with the maps and other stamps in the Destination lineup. Think trees and reindeers and igloos and retro yumminess...and you have the North Pole sets. My finished card is an A2 card base. I used cream cardstock for a vintage feel...

 

I framed my map scene with the postage dies. I used a pretty simple Christmas color palette of aqua, green and red... Using just three colors really gives a cohesive look and I think - a retro look. I used glitter and distress inks and all that jazz... 

 

Isn't this sentiment FABULOUS??? It's a two step stamp process. I used my MISTI and it lined up just perfectly. And then there are small sentiments to accompany the larger one - and there are matching dies. Yes!

 

I used the waterfront map die and ink blended blues, greens and browns onto the map pieces. I edged lots of the pieces with Antique Linen distress ink. 

 

I used the pine Botanicuts to add a little spray of greenery up there in the corner of my card.

 

How sweet is this stamp set??? I'm dying it's so cute.

 

This next card is a big square card with an elegant and classic feeling to it. Navy blue, gold, white and vellum - such a winning combination. I used the beautiful new Snowflake Soiree suite of products: Stencils (like the Pinwheel Party stencils in layers), Dies, and stamps! Everything works together and looks amazing. I used the snowflake stencils on my card from yesterday too.

 

I decided to only use two colors for my snowflake stenciling: White ink and Gold ink. I used sponge daubers to dab the color onto the navy cardstock. It's really pretty in person - that gold ink is brilliant!

 

There are dies for some of the snowflakes so I stenciled another snowflake and die cut it out as an accent piece. I heat embossed the sentiment in gold embossing powder onto vellum.

 

I splattered some white ink as snow onto the card and then finished off with a few pearls and gold enamel dots. My card layers are also pretty simple: White, gold, navy...

 

 

Okee Dokee! Day two is in the books! One more day tomorrow. I am loving all the projects from the design team. It is really fun to see what everyone else makes. I'm seeing it for the first time today too! It makes me happy to be part of this talented team. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront!

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the release reveals.  For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

DAY TWO DESIGN TEAM LINEUP OF INSPIRATION!

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

The Greetery Merry Makings Collection - Holiday 2020 - Day 1!

Hello Everyone! Are you in the Christmas Spirit yet (crafting wise?)? Well, if not, I think I'm going to be able to get you in the spirit this week! Today is the beginning of release week for The Greetery! This is the Winter/Holiday release and it's called Merry Makings! My jaw dropped when my design team box arrived! Whoa! It's all really fun, and pretty, and sweet, and beautiful and kinda retro...and well...PERFECT! I couldn't decide what to stamp first! Over the next three days the team will be sharing projects made with all the new products. Then on Friday morning everything will be for sale at The Greetery Website. I'm really excited to share all of this with you.

I have three cards for today! Yippee! All three are Christmas cards and they are all different styles. Let's get started! First up is this cabin in the woods inspired card made with the new Wood Slices Dies and the new Merry Sprigs. I combined the new products with some patterned papers and a bit of distressing.... The finished card is an A2 size kraft card base.

The new florals are called Merry Sprigs and they are small flower clusters perfect to tuck into Christmas and Winter themed projects. I think some mini florals are the perfect addition to The Greetery lineup of florals. And check out those Wood Slices!! Genius I tell ya! Two dies combine to make two different sized wood slices. 

 

My sentiment is stamped in white ink onto black paper to look like a chalkboard effect. I also splashed some white (snow) ink onto the florals and the sentiment panel. I layered some buffalo plaid and snowflake papers and a little bit of twine.

 

This font is BEAUTIFUL!!

 

 

 

Next up is a pretty-in-pink inspired Christmas card made using the brand new Banner and Bough Stamp/Stencil/Die combo. The finished card is an A2 card base so you can get an idea of the scale. Such a lovely image. I chose retro 50's colors for my card...

 

To make this - you use a series of stencils! Then, after you're done stenciling, you use stamps to accent the stenciled parts. It all comes together so nicely. Wowza. It was very easy to achieve this look. And then the sentiments are perfectly curved to fit into the banner. Then...use the matching die cut to trim it. This is an awesome set for mass production for flat-ish Christmas cards.

 

 

 

After I was done stamping and stenciling, I added splatters of gold paint over the floral image. I really thought it added to the 1950's look I was going for with this project. I used pink gingham to pop behind the floral spray. 

 

To finish the card, I used foam tape to attach it to the card, and then added a few pearls in the centers of the flowers and on some of the leaves. 

 

And, lastly for today - a watercolor snowy card! This finished card is an A2 card base. It features the gorgeous new Written in Ribbons Holiday word stamps and dies. (I'm also sneaking in a peek at those snowflake stencils that will be featured tomorrow - shhhh). Everything on this card is very dreamy and soft because I used Distress inks (which are water based) and sprayed everything with lots of water....

 

The star of this card is that beautiful MERRY! The words are two step stamping (pink and red here) and then there are matching dies...and matching smaller phrases to go with them. I used some previously released products to make a Christmas envelope greeting!

 

I used watercolor paper for all the parts of this card except the sentiments. I started by stenciling the snowflakes using two shades of blue Distress Ink and sponge daubers. Then I used my Sprayer to really wet it down to soften the edges. I used Distress inks for the holly bough and the envelope liner and the same technique of spraying everything with a fine mist of water from my Sprayer.

 

I tucked the holly bough inside the envelope and glued the envelope liner onto the envelope. It's sort of hard to see, but I generously splattered silver watercolor paint over the entire thing - to add shimmer like snowflakes!! It's very pretty in person! I strongly feel that everyone should have this set of watercolor paints in your crafty stash. I use them ALLLLL the time!

 

 

Okay, friends! That's it for the new product reveals for day one! I'll be back on Wednesday and Thursday with oh, about five more projects!! Can't wait. I'll see you then. All of the new goodies will be for sale Friday, October 9th! Supply links are below. CLICK HERE to shop The Greetery Storefront!

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away each day of the release reveal. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, October 9th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

THE GREETERY DESIGN TEAM LINEUP FOR TODAY!

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Spooky Florals for Halloween!

Heeeeeelllllooooooooo! It's October! Happy October! It's my favorite month of the year... Actually I like any month that ends in ber... October is Halloween, and our wedding anniversary, and (usually) football, and leaves and pumpkin spice! I love it all. So, Happy October everyone! My card today is kinda fun and funky and I had fun making it. It came out just like I envisioned too. I love it when that happens!! 

My husband and I have been watching Munsters reruns and that's what originally sparked the idea for my card! LOL. Remember how Lily Munster only liked dead flowers and weeds?? So funny! Then, as I started gathering supplies in the craft room, the idea morphed into a touch of Phantom of the Opera too! Black flowers??!! Spider webs, old music, cool charms...and it all came together. I used one of my very favorite dies from Pretty Pink Posh - the Stitched Poinsettias. But instead of red, I made black ones!! Are you feeling my vibe on this yet??

The finished card is 6" x 5" and will fit into an A7 envelope. This size gave me just a bit more room for those big fluffy flowers. I started with a dark orange card base and layered black (of course) and then cream cardstock... The music is from an old antique music book I keep for crafting...

 

I started by embossing the Webs Embossing folder onto cream cardstock. I used a sponge dauber and Black Soot Distress Ink to lightly go over the webs to make them pop off the page. I also inked around the edges of that cream panel. I splattered some black metallic watercolor paint onto that part too. I set it aside to dry.

 

I die cut out the poinsettia pieces from black cardstock. See that pretty stitching detail? Love it! I used my metallic watercolor palette and splashed purple metallic paint generously over the black petals. I LOOOOVE my new watercolor palette because see how good it shows up? Even on black paper??? EEKS!! I glued the poinsettia pieces together and then attached a Crypt Cameo in the center!!! I die cut the leaves from green cardstock and splashed green metallic paint over them. I also inked the edges of the leaves.

 

I stamped the sentiment with black ink onto cream cardstock. I used my scissors to free form cut out a spooky banner and then inked it with black ink.

 

The smaller flower has a spooky spider in the center! Beware!!

 

 

 

I stamped a pumpkin and a BOO on the inside of the card...

 

I hand dyed my own seam binding ribbon for this project. I looooove dying my own ribbon! I used the brand new Crackling Campfire Distress ink along with some green and brown inks... 

 

I wrapped the ribbon around the center of the card and then tied it into a bow, which I attached to the left side. I like the texture so much.

 

 

 

In stark contrast... Here's the gorgeous red version of this same exact die!! This is a Christmas card I made last year. I really love these dies - they are so beautiful. I like to think of new ways to use my supplies, and black flowers is right up there on that list!! CLICK HERE to see my Christmas project with these dies! 

 

Here's a close up of my layers and colors... Loving that web!

 

In this photo you can really see the purple metallic watercolor paint. It's so cool on the black paper!!

 

 

 

The other day I made some pumpkin muffins for us to snack on. I used this recipe and they came out great! I made a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. YUM! I am all stocked up on mini pumpkins at my house - they are everywhere!! 

 

Here is that gorgeous new Distress Ink Color: Crackling Campfire! I love it - perfect for all my Fall projects. I used it today to dye the ribbon and it's the prettiest deep orange.  A great addition to my crafty stash for sure.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today on this first day of October! I'm hoping the temps cool off and I can bust out some sweaters and scarves and enjoy a beautiful fall. Have a blessed and happy day, my friends! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's card. (Affiliate Links Used)... As always thank you so very much for shopping with my affiliate links - you help me keep the lights on around here and I'm grateful. 

Taylored Expressions - Hey There Card Kit Launch!

HEY THERE! Literally HEY THERE! Hahaha. Today's card is bright and cheerful and has a clear message! Yippeeee! I'm happy to share the brand new card kit from our friends at Taylored Expressions! This one is FUN and great for any occasion. Super to cheer up anyone and bring some color to the mailbox. It has a really innovative stamp/stencil combo that adds different colored shadows to the large sentiment. I think it's genius!! The kit has it all: stamps, stencils, dies, envelopes, seals...and more. CLICK HERE to shop the kit before it sells out!

My card today is a big square card. I wanted to get the most real estate from that sunshiny stencil so I made a big card. I started by stenciling the yellow rays with pretty TE ink and TE blender brushes. I also splattered some white paint over it....

 

Here's a close up of the feature! The kit has three versions of the large Hey There.... Then you use stencils to add the shadows - here I've used green pink and yellow. SO FUN!! I heat embossed the sentiment with turquoise embossing powder. It was super easy to line up the stencils next to the letters. Then I die cut it out with the matching die.

 

I added the smaller sentiment with black ink onto a stitched circle....

 

 

 

Here is a photo of some of the contents of the kit. Don't you love these colors together!? I sure do!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a photo of the stamp/stencil combo. It has a guide on the back of the packaging to make it easy to see how to line up everything. GENIUS!!

 

And here's the full kit!

Thank you for coming by today! Do you love the new Taylored Expressions Card Kit? Do you have some of the other kits?? Most of them are selling out in the first days so if you like it - head over and get yours. We could all use a little color right now, don't you think? I will see you soon, friends! XO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's card! (Affiliate links used).... CLICK HERE to go straight to the TE Website! 

More Boos!! Sweet little ghosties card!!

Hey Boos! More boos today! Another Halloween card to share with you!! This time it's little adorable ghosties colored with Copics... Lots of fun stamps and dies from Hello Bluebird! Hope you're having a great weekend. We're doing good here. Friday morning we got up to the apple orchards early in the morning and got some cider and yummy warm apple donuts. Then we went for a long drive. It was a wonderful day. Since then, I've been in the crafty cave working away! We'll start sneak peeks for The Greetery new release on Friday - woot! Thanks for stopping by today. BOO!

This finished card is a 5" x 5" square card. I used purple this time to make it spooky but pretty at the same time. Some purple distress ink blending too! It's not a color I use often but whenever I do I like it! Oh, and don't laugh - more clouds! Supply links are at the bottom of my post. 

 

The card base is white, then a layer of purple, then the stenciled cloud layer, then the trees die cut layer.... And I tucked a harvest moon in there too... I used stamps from a couple of different sets to create the Halloween scene.

 

Here's a close up of my ink blending... Two shades of purple, then splatters, then some gorgeous Nuvo drops on top. Love how it came out!!

 

I stamped and die cut the cat, pumpkins and ghosties and colored them all with my Copic Markers. I added some stickles as an accent and shimmer element.

 

Here's a side view so you can see the layers.

 

 

That's it for today's share! I'll be back on Tuesday to share the brand new kit from Taylored Expressions! Yipppeeeee! See you then! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for today's card! (Affiliate Links Used). Thank you for supporting me and shopping my links. I truly appreciate it so much! 

Hey Boo! Halloween pals out for a drive! Fun Spellbinders Dies!

Hey BOO! How are you, my crafty boos? Happy almost Friday! We call it Friday Eve! LOL. September is rolling along, Fall is officially here, and it's going to be 100 degrees where I live again! OY. Maybe if I love Fall hard enough I can will it to come to Sacramento! Hahaha. I hope you had a good week and I hope the change of season is treating you well. I'm in Halloween creating mode and trying to get all my ideas made and shared with you. Also, in the craft room, is the new release from The Greetery. You guys are gonna love it (Christmas!)... Stay tuned for that. I've been taking Christmas photos today. Best wishes for a fun weekend.

Today's card features awesome and super fun dies from the Sunday Drive Series from our friends at Spellbinders! Such a fun concept and this card made me smile the entire time I was making it. The finished card is a 5.25" x 5.25" square white card base. Layered with some lime green paper and then my top layer. Oh, and clouds are back (LOL)!! 

The Sunday Drive Dies collection is a car that looks like it's driving away - so clever! And then you can change out the words on the trunk lid and change the characters that are inside the car!! I used the Halloween ones that make a witch and skeleton. But there are also one for Christmas - Santa and a reindeer. EEK. The main die set has balloons and birthday images. 

 

You know I'm obsessed with clouds right now... These clouds were stenciled with white pigment ink onto black cardstock. Voila - spooky night sky! I splattered some white paint to look like stars... To build my scene I die cut a moon from vellum so that the clouds would come through. It looks like they're driving away into the sunset moonset! 

 

There are a lot of little pieces involved here but the set comes with a guide so you know exactly what each piece is. I like that you can customize every single thing to the color you want it. I chose to make a teal and purple monster car... And then customized the witch hair, hat, broom....

 

I die cut some bats and skeletons... I wanted to somehow use the balloons from the main die set... Hmmmmm.... Then it came to me: Skeleton Balloons! Ha! These spooky friends are maybe driving off to a Halloween party??!! The balloons are die cut with vellum and then I glued tiny skeletons onto them. I used several colors of Stickles to add glitter and shimmer to certain pieces of the scene.

 

 

 

I used foam tape and foam dots to assemble everything. A few spooky bats flying around them...

 

I used Copic Markers to add some accents and shadows to the 'hey boo,' the leaves, the hair, broom and skeleton eye sockets.

Hope I didn't scare ya today! Thanks for coming by to see my fun Halloween card. Are you making Halloween crafts yet? I feel like every year it sneaks up on me. Once September comes, the year seems to fly by so quickly. I have lots more things I want to make! Have a great weekend. XOXO 

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

Penguin Palace Stamps - New Release Blog Hop!

Hello! Glad to see you today! Welcome to Penguin Palace Stamps - first ever Blog Hop!  I'm thrilled to be joining a group of talented artists in featuring Penguin Palace's latest Fall 2020 Release. They have super cute stamps and tools for creating! The main feature of the new release is a creative, innovative and very cool new stenciling system. It's called Stencils 360! I had a lot of fun creating with the new system and am excited to show you! Sharon at PP did an awesome video showing the system and how it works - CLICK HERE to watch! I stenciled some pretty florals using the new Botanical Gardens stencil... Let's look! 

This is a big card - to feature more of the pretty design - it's a 5.5" x 5.5" square. I kept it simple, with a pretty pink card base and one layer. The sentiment is also a brand new PP stamp set - Words from the Heart 2. 

 

 

I stenciled the panel using Distress Inks in bright floral shades and using blender brushes. It's SO SIMPLE to get this multi color design! Hint - you don't have to clean your stencil off in between each color...and it's all ONE stencil! Genius!

 

After I stenciled the entire 'image' I stenciled a few extra yellow flowers and cut them out with my detail scissors to add an accent. The sentiment was stamped onto a circle and attached to the card with foam tape. 

 

Isn't this cool?? The Stencils 360 system is a big grid with markings for you to follow as you spin your ROUND stencil inside the larger grid. Here are some photos of it on my work table...

 

To do this you stencil each color and then spin!!! So easy!!!

 

Check it out!!!

 

Here are the parts of the system...

 

Each stencil has a shape on it, and you rotate the stencil according to the same design on the outline piece.

 

 

 

 

 

Truly - May you be happy - ALWAYS!

PRIZE INFO! Hop along to each blog and leave a comment.  A winner, chosen at random, who comments on each stop on the hop will win a prize of a $40CAD Gift Certificate to the Penguin Palace store!  Comments for prize close at 11:30pm PST on 7 Oct 20.  The lucky winner will be announced on 8 Oct 2020 on the Penguin Palace Blog. Good Luck!

Thanks for stopping by today to see this fun new concept in stencils. I'm happy to be able to share it with you today. Please head over to the Penguin Palace website to learn more, watch videos and shop! XOXO 

BLOG HOP DESIGNER LIST FOR TODAY'S HOP! ENJOY!

Sharon Yeung (PP Blog)

Anja Glauner

Ashley Young

Jo Thompson

Bobbi Lemanski

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Jenny Colacicco

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Ashley Tucker

Wanda Guess

Ilda Dias

Justine Hovey

Sharon Yeung (PP Blog)

Awesome new stamps from Catherine Pooler - Fall & Winter!

Hi there sweet and crafty friends! Happy Weekennnddddd! I hope you're having a delightful day today! I'm super happy because I finally got my hair cut last week! Yipppeeee! And, one of my favorite crafty friends is here visiting her family in California and I get to see here tomorrow! And go wine tasting! Yeah! Cannot wait. I also cannot wait to share two cards with you today! One Fall, and one Christmas! I'm making both right now and thought, well, why not share two things today?

Both of these cards were made with awesome new stamps and dies from Catherine Pooler. LOVE. Like really love. Fresh and pretty but still cheerful and cute all at the same time. Lots of color too!! CLICK HERE to shop the CP Store - you are sure to find something you like. Be sure to scope out the patterned paper section because their patterned paper is GORGEOUS and thick and fabulous.

First up is this sweet Fall card with warm shades and adorable images. Everything for Fall: coffee, pumpkins, acorns and leaves. What else do we need?! The finished card is an A2 cream card base then layered with orange cardstock and more cream. I used the stamps and dies from the September Club Sursee... But if you're not a subscriber, these stamps will be available for purchase at a later date! 

 

The stamps are all layered stamping and so easy to line up. To make these I actually die cut all the shapes out and then stamped right onto the shapes. Easy! I stamped some of the pieces a second time and cut out the details to make a different color (the to go cup, thermos lid, etc). All the fall shades...

 

I love Fall....and YOU!

 

NOTE: These stamp sets are from Catherine Pooler's Club Sursee Kit!! They will be available for purchase separately in the future, but right now you can only get them in the kit. Please click here for all the details! I highly recommend signing up!

 

Here's a close up of that beautiful background! I die cut the Petal Connection Cover Plate (one of my favorite CP products) and layered it over teal cardstock. Then I framed it behind a frame. I feel like it mimics clouds and wind swirling?? Are you seeing that?? 

 

I didn't use all the images I stamped for the first card.... So I made a mini card with the extras! EEK! I'll tuck this into a present this season!

 

 

 

Next up is a bright and colorful Peppermint Twist Holiday Card! Lots of glitter! This finished card is an A2 white card base. Then I layered the wonderful Peppermint Twist Cover Plate over the white. I used new patterned papers too....

 

I splattered some white paint onto my pink peppermint layer. Then I used two of the patterned papers to make a layer of color in the middle. I stamped the sentiment onto a white circle and layered that with a vellum circle!!

 

I stamped and die cut several peppermints and candies in happy colors and added lots of Diamond Stickles!

 

These cover plate dies are so precise and cut like a dream...

 

 

 

This pic shows the layers and the patterned papers up close! 

Okay! Have a great week ahead! Thank you so much for stopping by today! I'll see you soon my dears! XO

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

Mama Elephant 8th Anniversary Stampede Blog Hop!

 

 

 

Welcome back to Day 3 of the Mama Elephant Celebration blog hop! We are all helping ME to celebrate 8 years with a fantastic new holiday release along with lots of amazing crafty friends! There are three days total for this hop, so be sure to check out all three days by visiting the Mama Elephant Blog! Yippee!

My card was made using the adorable new Little Fox Agenda stamp set! I made it into a sweet greeting for a crafty pal by using the Heart, Letter, Coffee and Paint foxes! I also did a bit of Distress Ink Blending! The finished card is an A2 card base....Take a look! Thanks for stopping by today! XO

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for my project! Please read below for all the details on specials and giveaway! YEAH!!! So happy you stopped by today my friends! XO

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

Join us with some free goodies and the Mama Elephant annual sale! 

 

 

You can shop the newest release which is LIVE in our store now!

 

www.mamaelephant.com

 

 

That's not all! To celebrate this special Anniversary release, Mama Elephant is giving away ten $25 gift certificates to our store!!! That is 10 winners!!! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the 3 day Stampede. You have up to 4 chances to qualify to win!

» 1. Leave a comment on this blog post «

» 2. Like/share us on Facebook: facebook.com/mamaelephant «

» 3. Follow/tweet us on Twitter: twitter.com/heymamaelephant «
» 4. Follow/leave a comment for us on Instagram: instagram.com/mamaelephant «

(Each action qualifies for one entry, max 4 entries per stampeder please!)

Here are the designers for today. Please make sure to visit each of them and leave some kind words and comments!

Mette Witus » www.mettewitus.home.blog

Alberto Gava » www.loshakeratoalbertoblog.wordpress.com

Wanda Guess » www.ablogcalledwanda.com

Jessica Frost Ballas » www.allthesparkle.com

Nichol Spohr » www.nicholspohr.com

Claudia Mauri » www.mrsclocards.com

Leica Palma » www.leicacrafts.blogspot.com

Mama Elephant » www.mamaelephantblog.com

Thank you and Happy Stampeding!

Pinkfresh Studio Holiday 2020 Stamp and Die Release Blog Hop!!

Hey friends! Are you ready for some Christmas and Holiday Cheer today!? I sure hope so! It's a BIG blog hop to celebrate the Winter 2020 new release from Pinkfresh Studio! And....it's GORGEOUS! Lots of stamps and dies sure to fit every style! I have three cards to share with you today, and they're all completely different - showcasing different stamps and dies. I'm so excited to see what everyone else made today! Prize information, Hop links, and supply lists are at the bottom of my post - so be sure to read all the way to the end! CLICK HERE to shop the new release if you can't wait! I'm so happy that I was invited to participate today. Let's look at cards!

First up is this totally cheerful and bright Christmas card sure to make you smile! It reminds me of a Dr. Seuss book! Like maybe Who-ville??! I used one of my favorite color palettes: Lime, aqua, pink and red. The finished card is a white A2 card base, but that little reindeer is poking out the top! Hee hee. 

 

 

I used the dies from the Our Home To Yours new set to die cut out a bunch of little houses. I wanted the sleigh to be flying over my colorful town. The scale is way off, but that's what makes it fun! They're flying along dropping presents as they go! I layered aqua cardstock and then a white layer. Then a hill...

 

This is super fun! I stamped and die cut this image and then colored with Copics. I added a tiny pom for his hat. Oh, and lots of glitter!! Oh! And gems!

 

When I assembled the card, I first frosted the houses with white paint... Then I tucked them inside the hill and glued them all down. Feels frosty!!

 

Next up is a card with a totally different look! I used the beautiful new Pop Out Folk Christmas stamps and dies to make this traditional red and green card with a bit of a vintage feel. The card is A2 sized. I also used the AMAZING new alphabet dies - uggghhhhh - so pretty!!! The deer and tree are white embossed onto cardstock and then inked with the matching color to add some depth.

 

This stamp/stamp set is really nice - gives a homey feeling. I stamped the light images in the background with Antique Linen Distress ink onto cream cardstock. It's subtle and nice. The letters are mounted onto the card with foam circles.

 

Here's a close up of the deer and tree. Such detail - love it. I'm hoping you can see the inking over the paper. 

 

And here's a close up of the layers, the background stamping and the letters...

 

My third card is and icy, wintery, graphic card with lots of impact! The finished card is A2. I used the Diagonal Background die in white over bright red to look like candy cane stripes. I added a bit of white paint snow on the red before gluing the white part on top.

 

This die set is called Layered Snowflakes and there are tons of ways to put together a pretty look. I chose to use silver cardstock and vellum because I just wanted that really shiny look. The sentiment is from Our Home To Yours and I love that it comes with a matching die. I added a few pearls as accents.

 

 

 

I know I'm going to use these snowflakes dies a lot this season!! 

Okay! Whew! That's it for my cards for today! Thank you so very much for coming by my blog today! Be sure to keep scrolling for prize info and the full hop list. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for my cards. (Affiliate Links Used). CLICK HERE to go directly to the Pinkfresh Studio website to start shopping! 

Pinkfresh Studio is offering free US or discounted international shipping on all orders $50+ from September 17th to September 24th.  There are several ways to win prizes too!! Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full release on the Pinkfresh blog,  Instagram feed, & YouTube channel so be sure to follow them across social media!! AND... Each stop on the hop will be giving away a $25 gift card on our blog posts!!! YEAH! The winners will be picked randomly from the comments. Winners will be posted on September 24, 2020 on the Pinkfresh GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. GOOD LUCK!

The Blog Hop Link List is below - enjoy the hop! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Hey there pumpkin pie!

Hey there, sweetie pie pumpkin pie!!! Hee hee. I LOOOOOOVE THIS CARD! Lolz. Is it okay for me to say that? It has everything I love: Fall, gingham, texture, warm colors, leaves, and PIE! (I'm cracking myself up here!) How was your weekend? Happy Monday! The temps have changed here and we are having cool nights and it's so amazing. The smoke from all the surrounding fires is thick in the air, so we spent all weekend inside. Which meant lots of crafting. I hope you're doing well this morning! Thank you to everyone who shared their 9/11 story on my last post. And thank you to everyone who sent me an email with warm thoughts. I'm grateful! 

I keep a big bin on the counter in my craft room and I put my new/never used products in it so I can quickly find them and craft when I'm ready. This card today uses three things from the new bin! A couple of new stamps and dies from My Favorite Things, and new patterned paper for Fall. The finished card is an A2 card base from cream cardstock. Lots and lots of layers of papers, dies and textures...and colors! Usually I'll pop in some teal or aqua with my Autumn colors, but today I'm using a true blue, kind of on the dusty side, to match that blue in the patterned paper. 

 

I chose all my papers before I did my Copic Coloring - that's a good tip for having everything match! I started the card by doing my layers: Cream card base, kraft layer, gingham layer, wrap of pumpkin paper, then an orange circle, vellum circle and textured circle. Whew. 

 

I stamped all my images using brown ink on cream cardstock. This gives the card a warm feeling - totally different from using black ink on white cardstock. I colored everything with Copics - pumpkin, leaves and acorn. I die cut the little pie and inked the edges with distress ink. Is that not the cutest thing ever??

 

The textured circle is a beautiful embossing folder from Taylored Expressions. SO much pretty texture!! Love it. All the elements were attached to the front using foam circles. I used liquid glue to attach the sweetie pie word dies over everything else.

 

I stamped the sentiment onto a stitched rectangle (again using brown ink) and put it up in the corner of the card. I adore the mixed fonts!

 

 

Okay, sweetie pies! Take on the week! Thanks for coming by today to see my project. On Thursday I'll have two posts - two different blog hops! It's gonna be fun, so make sure to come back!! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supply list for this card! (Affiliate links used)

9-11 Remembrance Card - Home of the BRAVE

Hi everyone.... I decided to do a second blog post for today.... I made this card this morning and really wanted to share it on this day of remembrance of 9/11. It's truly a day of reflection and prayer for me and my household. I was moved this morning to create on the spot - something I love to do. I spent the morning thinking about 9/11 and our country and her people. I prayed and thought back to that fateful day....and made this card in quiet. I miss the days when I used to craft what I was feeling. Nowadays it seems like most of my crafting is scheduled and planned! Today's card is from my heart. 

I will briefly share my 9/11 story. Everyone remembers where they were that morning... I was at home, getting ready for work and watching the Today show in our bedroom. (It was 6am in California). Even though everything started happening in New York, I got ready and went to the office. It was weird, we all showed up for work. I don't think we knew what else to do. My co-workers and I spent most of the day watching TV at the office in the hallway in between the cubicles. I worked in a big insurance office with about 100 employees. Not one single phone was ringing... It was so quiet. There were a lot of tears and shocked disbelief. We sat there stunned until we all finally went home and tried to process what happened.

The personal side of the story is that we were due to be married in three weeks - back East in Cape Cod. In 2001, we had been dating for 8 and a half years...and we had finally planned our wedding!.... Now we were wondering should we go? Can we go? Are we allowed to fly? Will anything be open? Is it appropriate? We prayed and prayed and decided to go ahead as planned. But we had to wait and see if there would be flights... Remember for a couple of weeks there were zero planes in the air.  I distinctly remember thinking - wow, what a reminder of how short life is, and that I'd better live to the fullest while I can. Each day truly a gift. (Our wedding was just us, the photographer and the minister, so it was easy to still go) We got married on the beach at the Chatham Bars Inn - gazebo (I know some of you know where that is!) 

So here's the remarkable thing, and something my husband and I talk about all the time. We flew 3000 miles where we knew no one, to get married. We traveled around New York (Adirondacks), Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New England, and the Cape and Islands....for two and a half weeks. Every single person was KIND to us. Helpful, welcoming, lovely, sweet, and AMERICAN. People thanked us for traveling (because no one was). People helped us find our way around (no iphones yet). People gave us upgraded rooms because it was our honeymoon. I'm getting the chills writing this. We were in Boston for a few days. Every boat in the harbor had an American Flag flying. Every building had the flag out front. The post office in Salem MA had like 75 flags in front. Everywhere there was a sense of patriotism and love for our beautiful country. Compassion for others. Kindness towards strangers. I will never ever ever forget what that felt like. America at her best, after the worst thing imaginable... Something to think about here in 2020. I literally cannot believe that was almost twenty years ago. Wow. 

If you feel inclined - I would love to hear your 9/11 story in the comments. I think it's important to remember this day and to share our experiences to bring us closer together as Americans. XO

Okay, for my card... I have a couple of plastic bins in my craft room filled with patriotic stamps, dies, papers, stickers, etc. I reached for those bins and grabbed some of my very favorite Americana themed supplies from Taylored Expressions. I have lots and lots of old and new supplies from TE, so some of these things are no longer available. (CLICK HERE to see the patriotic section of TE). The finished card is an A2 kraft card base. 

 

I embossed the stars embossing folder onto kraft cardstock for my top layer. I used vellum and white heat embossed that GORGEOUS sentiment! It's big and bold and the perfect saying for today. Next I stamped the USA map and die cut it with the matching die. I thought the map would fit on the card under the sentiment, but I was wrong! LOL. So I ended up tucking the map underneath the vellum - then I wrapped the vellum around the top layer. I actually love how this looks!

 

After I embossed the stars, I used a sponge dauber and white pigment ink and inked over the stars to make them show up better. Then I squinched the paper and folded the corners using my fingers - to make it look aged. I also inked the edges with Distress ink. I added some Doodlebug Stars shapes. Finally, I used my brand new Metallic Water Colors and splashed some gold over the entire card. On the background of the card base you can see that I stamped some larger stars. 

 

 

Sending you blessings, love and kindness on this day of remembrance. I hope you had a good day. XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the supplies for this patriotic card. 

Leaves are falling, Autumn is calling!

Hello my fine crafty friends! Happy Friday! Hope you had a good week! It's been smoky here and I've been inside all week crafting and staying busy. Looking forward to the coming weeks when we can get outside again! I saw some leaves on the ground in my neighborhood which makes my fall lovin heart so happy. Leaves are falling, and Autumn is calling! That's the theme for today's card, made with awesome new stamps from my friends at Hello Bluebird! Today's card has a lot of steps but it was a joy to create! Different techniques: Copics, paints, ink blending, stickles... This one has it all. And, it's a slimline card! The finished card size is 4" x 9" so it's a big one! More room to add stuff - you know how I am...

The background for this card is the pretty new Fairy Glade Scene Die - loooove. All the pieces are dies - and you just cut out the whole scene! It's so beautiful and clever! I used Bristol cardstock for the background pieces - it's much easier to ink blend on Bristol paper!! After I made the background I used lots of pretty garden fairies and leaves to complete my scene.

These stamps and dies were part of the Summer Hello Bluebird release - so most of the samples I've seen are all in gorgeous pastels and bright vivid colors. Well....I got this idea! What about making some Fall Fairies?! SO my scene is done in warm tones of Fall - and my little fairies are wearing dresses in orange, red and olive... And they're busy decorating their little mushroom neighborhood for Fall! EEP.

 

I stamped and die cut out fairies, pumpkins and leaves (and a bee) from several Hello Bluebird stamp sets. I colored everything with Copic Markers and then added white gel pen highlights. I also added Stickles to their wings...

 

I think this is the most beautiful sentiment! Love the fonts, and the whimsical look of it! It fit perfectly into that space on the card. For the background I layered two of each piece (mushroom, greenery) to make it slightly raised on the card. The images are all mounted to the card using foam dots.

 

I love to pop a little bit of teal into my Autumn cards. I think it nicely contrasts all the yellow and orange.... So I made their wings using a few shades of teal Copics...

 

 

 

How adorable is that beeeee?

Okee Dokee! That's it for today! I'm wishing you a beautiful weekend! Next week holds a lot of crafty goodness! A pumpkin pie card (!), A new release from Mama Elephant, and the gorgeous winter release from Pinkfresh Studio! Yippppeeee! See you then! XOXO

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

BOO! Have a faboolous day!

BOO! Did I scare you?! Lolz. Today I'm sharing a fabooooolous Halloween Card! It's a little shabby haunted house at 31 Spooky Lane! I'm so excited to share this one! I realize as I'm typing this post that it's very similar to my last post with the beach house... Similar, but very different! This time it's dark and moody, and instead of crabbies, we have some ghosties hanging out in their house. I do really love making this kind of card! You can totally customize the little houses to be whatever you want them to be! Some of you might recognize those green puffy clouds in the background - I posted those on Instagram a while back. I used them as the background for my haunted house.

This card uses stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn! I used the Build A House die to make the haunted house. CLICK HERE to see another card I made with this die - a farmhouse! It's super versatile! Supplies are listed HERE or at the bottom of this post!

The finished card is an A2 card base. I used dark orange as my card base, then layered white and then my top layer with all the images. I created a little scenefull of bats, spiders and ghosts. I love making Halloween Cards!!

 

My haunted house is made out of cardstock and woodgrain cardstock. I backed the window and door with yellow paper sponged with pumpkin distress ink. The ghosties are die cut out of vellum so they are see through! The hill and scary trees are one die which makes it easy to use! I stamped some flying bats on top of the green cloud background.... SO MUCH FUN!

 

I did a two step sentiment - something I love to do! Die cut letters and then the stamped words below. And a little ghost flying out of the top!

 

Here's a good look at my cloud background!! Three shades of green... Clouds can be any color! Especially at Halloweeeeeen.

 

 

Here's a side view so you can see how everything is layered. I used liquid glue to attach the ghosts - and tucked them behind things so you don't see the glue. Vellum can sometimes be a bit tricky like that.

 

 

 

I used an alphabet stamp set to stamp 31 on the house for the address... I stamped some bats on the inside of the card too.

 

 

 

Even though it's still hot here, I've been decorating the house for Autumn! Here is my tiered tray for Fall! It's on display in our entry way and each time I pass by it I smile!! I'm ready indeed!!

 

Thanks for coming by today! Hope I didn't scare ya! Fall is my very favorite crafting time. I'm hoping to make tons of things this year to share! Hope you have a great day! I'll be back soon with more fall cards, and some Christmas cards! (Yes this time of year is weird like that!) XOXO

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

Long time no sea! Oh Crab! Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!

Hello everyone! How are you? Happy Labor Day Weekend...the end of Summer... What are your plans this weekend? It's supposed to be over 110 degrees here all weekend so we'll be staying inside for sure. UGH. I'm beyond ready for cool days and sweaters and all that good stuff for Autumn! It's just way too hot. And we can't go anywhere. Our downtown (Sacramento) got the brilliant idea that we could all eat outdoors on tables in the street. Um, no thanks. I can't wait for it to be time for everything to open again. I worry about all the small businesses and restaurants that are just hanging on. But here we are, September. Hopefully the rest of this weird year will go by fast. 

I got some fun new stamps in the mail a week or so ago, and decided to make an end of summer card to share with you! It's a little beach scene with a cute beach shack and some happy crabs. I have realized that I am not able to create a clean and simple card! Ha! This card was going to have just the shack, two palm trees and one crab. Well, as you can see... It ended up being a bunch of trees and a bunch of crabs! LOL. I kept getting ideas of things to add. Thus supporting my card making theory - MORE is MORE! This was such a fun card to make and combines two awesome companies - Heffy Doodle and Lawn Fawn. All the supplies are listed HERE and at the bottom of my post. 

This finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered some pretty teal striped paper and then the white/kraft layer. I really love all this cheerful color. And the sentiments are perfect for this time - long time no sea - anyone! I just love that little crab peeking out his front door of his beach house! 

 

Lots to see on this card! The small palm trees are a border die, and the large palm trees are separate dies - both from Lawn Fawn. I made the beach house first, using scraps of cardstock, and then inking the edges with Distress inks. I set that aside and made the palm trees next.

 

I stamped the sentiments onto the sand at the bottom of the card. The door on the die cut swings open! EEP. I used Distress inks and white splatters to make it look like a sandy beach scene. 

 

 

The house die! This die set also comes with a heart and a bone... So you can make it a dog house too! So cute! I love the anchor and the life preserver. Adorable!! 

 

I stamped the crabs, the pail, the shovel and the starfish and colored them all with Copic Markers. I added white gel pen accents too. You can see that I used small sponge daubers and distress inks to edge around the tops of the palm trees. This just gives a bit more interest and dimension.

 

I added a few clear enamel dots to add some shimmer to the card.

 

How silly is that little guy up on the roof!?

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming by today! Happy long weekend and end of summer! I hope that you have a wonderful, happy, fun and relaxing weekend. I will see you soon. LOTS to share in the coming weeks! Up next, a Halloween card, more fall cards, and a blog hop for Pinkfresh Studio. It's all good! XOXO

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

I love Hello Bluebird Stamps!! Fun gnomes and cute beach critters!

Greetings my creative friends! Happy September! I'm getting caught up on blog posts and sharing projects that I've had made... Lots going on here!! Today I'm sharing two cards I made as a guest designer for Hello Bluebird. I used their brand new release and everything is soo soo soooooo adorable! Hands down, this is one of my favorite companies. I love to color the cute critters and their designs always bring a smile to my face. I can't wait to see what they're cooking up for Winter this year!! As you are learning - I am kinda obsessed with gnomes and mushrooms! I have no explanation for it. LOL. Today I have a sweet gnome card and some beach animals! 

First up is this cutie patootie little gnome in front of his gnome house! EEK. I cannot. And that sentiment. LOVE. This finished card is a 5x5 inch square card made from white cardstock. I layered a bit of gingham and then my top layer with the images. 

 

I started by die cutting out all the pieces of the Treehouse Die from different cardstocks. I inked the edged of the tree and then splattered brown and white inks onto it for more texture. I set that aside and worked on the background. There are some stenciled clouds and a little grassy hill for him to be on.

 

The treehouse comes with those sweet little cobblestones to make a path! I stamped the sentiment onto the green hill. The clouds and the hill were inked with different distress inks and my TE blender brushes. (Supplies are all at the bottom of my post).

 

How can you not smile???

 

I adore all the little details... Little tiny shutters, and window boxes, and snails.... I added a little honeybee too! 

 

Next up is my swimming beach cuties! I used two new stamp sets for this card. The finished card is an A2 card base. The background was inked with blender brushes and distress inks! I wanted it to look like pretty clear ocean water... This card layout popped into my head as I was trying to figure out how to use ALLLLL the critters! I die cut several stitched circles and I think it all looks like bubbles! Really so much fun to make this card.

 

I colored all the images with my Copic Markers and added white gel pen accents. I also put that sweet sentiment onto a circle. All the circles are affixed to the card using foam squares. I added some clear enamel dots to keep the water theme.

 

That little fox!!!! 

 

 

 

 

That's it for today's projects! Nice to see you here on the bloggy blog. Hope you had a good week. It's the first week of September! I can't wait for the heat wave to break so we can get outside and enjoy the nice weather. XOXO

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

Fun with the new Stampin' Up Catalog!

Happy Monday everyone! Guess what? Tomorrow is September! For me, I officially kick off Fall on September 1st! I have already started decorating the house with leaves and pumpkins and pretty things... And I already had my first PSL of the season! (Actually I really like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew - you should try it)... It's a strange time for crafting right now. On my desk I still have cute Summer critters, Fall Leaves, and Reindeer stamps. It's a mix of everything. The stamp companies are all doing their big Fall/Christmas releases right now so there is lots of fun stuff to play with. How's it going in your craft room? What are you working on?

My good friend Wendy is an AWESOME Stampin' Up demonstrator. I met her several years ago at a Stampin' Up function and we hit it off right away. Luckily she only lives about 40 minutes from me so I get to see her too (not often enough though)... She sent me a new SU catalog a while back and I ordered some goodies. I've been working on cards and today I'm posting three cards I've made so far. If you need some stamps - reach out to her and she'll be happy to hook you up! 

This first card was made with the new Arrange A Wreath stamp set and matching die set. I created a pretty Autumn wreath with a little chalkboard for the sentiment! This finished card is an A2 size. I layered woodgrain paper from my stash and trimmed the corners with a corner rounder.

 

I die cut two wreaths in green, and then lots of leaves in Fall colors. I used clear Versamark ink to stamp the leaves for a tone on tone effect. I splattered everything with watered down ink and white ink. I die cut the bow from bright teal cardstock for that pop of color that I love. 

 

I stamped the sentiment in white ink and then smudged it with my fingers to look like a chalkboard. Love this look!! This will be a perfect Thanksgiving Card!

 

For this next card I used the Field Journal stamp set, the Posted For You stamp set and the Postage Stamp jumbo punch. I'm obsessed with that punch! I want to punch out all the things with it!! The finished card is an A2 card base. I used cream cardstock for all the pieces. 

 

I started by stamping all the little images from the stamp sets onto cream cardstock. I used Copic Markers to color in everything. Then I punched out my 'stamps' with the punch. Aren't they so pretty!? I edged everything with Antique Linen Distress Ink to look vintage.

 

I affixed the postage stamps to the card using foam squares. I splattered the background and stamped the sentiment in the corner in brown ink.

 

My last card is made with the adorable new Whale jumbo punch!! He's perfect!! I forgot how much fun it is to craft with punches. SO easy and fast. I also used the Whale Done stamp set and the Ridiculously Awesome stamp set. I thought the faith quote looked good with the whale. A perfectly sweet encouragement card. The finished card is A2 size.

 

Layers of white paper and vellum are so fresh and bright! And my favorite color - aqua!

 

The stripes were made by cutting strips of cardstock and gluing them onto a white panel. I stamped a couple of red hearts for a contrasting color. In these times we really do need to let our faith by bigger than our fear! 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Let's have a great week! I'm wishing you blessings and peace as we continue to deal with all that is going on in our world. Thank goodness we have crafting and creativity to keep us busy and happy. XOXO

All the stamps and dies in my cards today are from Stampin' Up! Please contact WENDY CRANFORD if there are some things you'd like to order. Tell her Wanda sent ya! She's wonderful and will take really good care of you! 

The Greetery Gathered Blessings Collection - Day 2!

Hellloooooo! I told you it was going to be busy around here this week! Today is day two of the reveals of the Gathered Blessings Collection from The Greetery! The new release will be available for shopping tomorrow! YEAH! The design team is sharing more projects today to inspire you and get you ready for Fall crafting. I'm sharing three cards today!! I had so much fun creating these cards. What a joy to work with new things from The Greetery! The list of designers is at the bottom of this post - so make sure you stop by all the blogs. 

The first card for today I think is my favorite project from this release. Because I love oak trees. My neighborhood is built all around a grove of massive and majestic California Live Oaks. (My town is called Fair Oaks!).... There is one tree right outside my kitchen window and it's turning color this week. My signal that yes, Fall will finally come after a long hot summer....

This card is an A2 size card made from brown paper. I layered two layers of Postage Frames Dies (from watercolor paper)... Then I used the brand new Mighty Oak Botanicuts dies. I die cut two of the full set of dies from watercolor paper and colored with palette water colors for a saturated look.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of those gorgeous dies!!! I layered shades of browns and greens, and a bit of mustard from my watercolor palette.... It came out so pretty! These dies are going to get a lot of use in my studio.

 

I combined two stamp sets to make this pretty sentiment.... I stamped with my MISTI since watercolor paper is bumpy! I put a light wash of aqua on that top layer to look like sky...

 

I used the Pretty Postmarks stamp set to add some text on the bottom layer. After I stamped the text I splashed some water onto it to make it more flowy and not so perfect.

 

It's hard to see in the photos, but I added gold painted accents onto the acorns, and gold splatters onto the top layer. I love a little gold water color paint!!

 

 

 

 

 

For this next card, I also used my same watercolor palette to color the new Toadstool Garden Dies! This is an A2 card size. I used the previously released Sunflower Dies and the Leafy Stencil. I wanted to create a pretty Fall Garden... All I need is a gnome!

 

I die cut out all of the toadstools and flowers from watercolor paper. Then I had fun water coloring everything with my watercolors. I decided to use many different colors just to create a fun, whimsical scene. 

 

I die cut out a little hill and water colored it to match my scene. (Supplies are listed at the bottom of my post).... I stamped the sentiment in brown ink directly onto the bottom of the card. In the background I used a stencil to add some greenery to the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

My last card for today features two new stamp sets: The Mimosa Musings stamp set and the Blessed Blooms stamp set! I'm also showcasing the new Square Dance Stencils! In my head, when I create a card, I often create a story or a mental image. For this one, I was trying to recreate the old greeting cards from the 1950's and 1960's....with soft colors and bits and bobs of glitter.... Do you see it? This finished card is an A2 size.

 

I used my MISTI to stamp the blooms sprigs in pinks and green....and die cut them out with the matching dies. I used the Square Dance Stencils to create a beautiful bold gingham background for the bottom layer.

 

 

 

How PRETTY is this sentiment??? Gosh I love it!!! And matching dies for the awesome words.... You're going to like this set I'm sure!!! SO many ways to use these sentiments.

 

 

Okay! That's it for the new release! Remember - shopping starts on Friday! What are you going to get?? It's very hard to pick a favorite!! Thank you for coming by my blog and spending a little time with me! The full list of inspiring designers is below. Make sure to visit everyone!! 

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away today and tomorrow. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, August 28th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

LINKS FOR TODAY'S INSPIRATION

FROM THE DESIGN TEAM!

The Greetery Blog

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Hero Arts Winter 2020 Catalog Launch! Sweet Greetings!

I HAVE TWO BLOG POSTS TODAY! Please scroll down for The Greetery New Release Post! 

Hello my sweet crafty friends! How are you?? Lots going on today here on my blog! I'm so excited to be sharing again! Today is a big blog hop to celebrate the launch of the 2020 Winter Catalog from Hero Arts! Yippeeee! There are so many new stamps and dies this time around. I had a hard time choosing which products to feature today! I decided on this adorable stamp set - Color Layering Gingerbread House - because it's so sweet! And I love the fonts in the sentiments.... I had a lot of fun making this card. It's one of my favorite winter/Christmas color combos: red, blue and pink... Oh and a sprinkling of glitter too! 

CLICK HERE to shop the new catalog! CLICK HERE to see the entire blog hop list! All of my supplies are at the bottom of my post, along with the prize information for the hop. Thank you for coming by today. Glad to see you here!!

My finished card is an A2 card base. I layered red cardstock and crisp white cardstock... And a bit of gingham from my stash.

 

 

I used my Hero Arts MISTI to stamp the layers of the house: brown, pink, blue and red. SO easy to line up everything on the little house. Then I used the matching die to cut it out. I also stamped and die cut gingerbread men, candy canes and peppermints!

 

 

I die cut a circle into the white layer of my card and backed it with gingham. I stamped the sentiment onto the bottom of the white layer - also using my MISTI. 

 

I made the little accent pieces into a fun banner to go across the top of my card! So cheerful!! I added Stickles and pearls for a bit of shimmer and shine to finish off the card. 

Thank you for stopping in! CLICK HERE to shop the new release! And CLICK HERE to see the full blog hop list! Have fun hopping and enjoying all the inspiration for today! I can't wait to hop around myself! 

Hero Arts will give away three $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left across the hop. Enter by leaving a comment between now and Sunday, September 6th at 11:59pm Pacific, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Arts blog the following week! Good Luck!

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

The Greetery Gathered Blessings Collection - Day 1!

Hi guys! I'm very excited to tell you all about day one of THE GREETERY Gathered Blessings new product collection! This is the gorgeous Fall release from Betsy and The Greetery SOOOOO many beautiful new stamps, dies and stencils to spark your creativity. There are two days of full product reveals and projects (today and tomorrow) and then you can shop the new release on Friday the 28th. I'm pretty sure you're going to love it and want it all! I feel so very blessed to work with these tools and bring them to you along with the rest of the design team. It is a privilege to work with this team! Today I'm sharing three cards, and I'll have three more tomorrow. Let's get started, shall we?! 

First up is a card made with previously release stamps and stencils...but with a twist for Autumn! The Top Down Day Stamp Set now has an Autumn add on! Pumpkins for the back of the car! Adorable sentiments! LOOOVE! This card is actually me - out gallivanting in the Fall foliage! LOL. This finished card is a 5x5 inch square card. Warm tones for Fall...

 

 

 

I started with a kraft card base and then layered some pretty orange gingham paper. My top layer was stenciled with a pathway and fall trees.... I used the Fir and Foliage 1 stencils and the Pathway stencils along with sponge daubers and Distress Inks. Doesn't it look like she out leap peeping??

 

Here's a close up of those pumpkins in the back of the car! I stamped them with my MISTI and C9 ink pads (supplies are all listed at the bottom of this post)... Then I used Copic Markers and a white gel pen to add accents. I love aqua/teal as an accent to orange so I made the car in those tones.

 

Here's a close up of the sentiment - and it comes with a matching die!!

 

 

 

My next card reminds me of a pretty Fall table scape... And I used loads of new supplies! This card is an A2 size. I used the new Shiplap Dies, Pitcher-esque stamps and dies, Bittersweet Bouquet stamps and dies.... And the previously released Coaster die and Crimped Rectangles.

 

I used the Shiplap dies to create my background.... Then I die cut a coaster/napkin out of patterned paper for the 'table.' I used my MISTI to stamp the pitcher and the florals to get them perfectly lined up. Warm shades.... 

 

I was trying to mimic an old blue enamelware pitcher! So I stamped it in blues and added white splatters.... 

 

I tucked the flowers in behind the pitcher and affixed them to the card with foam circles...

 

This last card for today uses the beautiful new stamp set called All Blessings Flow...and features a lovely saying in a pretty font. This is a great stamp set for many occasions - from celebrating to sympathy. I decided to make my card vivid and bright. This is an A2 sized card and uses that amazing new Square Dance Die (background) and florals...

 

The Square Dance die perfectly fits onto the front of an A2 card.... I used liquid glue to affix it to the white card base. I die cut a stitched oval in white and a larger one in vellum to act as my focal point. I stamped the sentiment and then inked the edges with Distress Ink...

 

 

 

I stamped and die cut the florals and glued them onto the card around the oval. I added a few pink enamel dots for a pop of color in amongst the leaves.

Okay! That's it for today! I will see you back here tomorrow for Day two of the release reveals. Thank you for stopping by! What is your favorite new thing from today's reveals? Hope you are having a good week! XOXO

There will be one $50 store gift certificate given away today and tomorrow. For a chance to win, leave a comment daily at each blog stop. Winners will be announced Friday morning, August 28th, on The Greetery Blog. 

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

 

LINKS FOR TODAY'S INSPIRATION

FROM THE DESIGN TEAM!

The Greetery Blog

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Altenew Wild Roses & Watercolors - fresh and pretty for a Summer day!

Hi friends! I'm back at my desk for a little while today and really wanted to share a card with you! I had surgery last week and have pretty much been in bed or on the couch for five days... I'm a very busy person so it's been hard to sit still - but definitely I needed the rest. I am recovering and feeling better today finally. All of my biopsies and test results came back benign. THANK YOU JESUS!! I am so incredibly grateful and at peace, knowing that I might finally be on the road to feeling like my old self. Thank you to everyone who sent me a message during this past week. I am blessed by so much kindness here and on social media. Makes me really feel loved. XOXOXO Thank you. 

I'm trying to get this post typed fast because we are probably going to have a power outage! I live in Northern California and we are having an unprecedented heat wave. As a result they are doing rolling blackouts. It will probably end up being two weeks of over 100 degree temps. And it's not cooling off at night. This is not normal (but then what in 2020 is normal?) and we are hot hot hot. I think it was 112 yesterday and it was still 100 at 9pm!! Yeeks!! We have all the lights out and all the blinds closed. Lucky is laying all spread out...we're a mess! 

A couple of weeks ago I made these beautiful die cut roses! I set them aside for a bit, and then a week or so ago I made them into a colorful and bright card. So excited to share it with you. No stamps on this card - just die cuts! All my supplies are listed at the bottom of this post. 

The finished card is an A2 white card base. The blue layer was die cut with a beautiful plaid background die. SO FRESH!! I splattered white ink onto the blue panel.

 

You guys!!! These dies are so easy!!! And it looks hard - I kinda love that. The dies all fit together and you build the color. Here's a close up of the leaves. I die cut all the pieces out of watercolor paper. And everything was painted with my brand new Altenew 24 pan watercolors. For the leaves I did progressively darker shades of green.... Then I glued all the pieces together with liquid glue and my tweezers.

 

The wild roses are three pieces (pinks) and then two pieces for the center (yellows)... I dried them with my heat tool and kept adding color until I got it super vivid!! And then I splattered everything. That's my favorite move. LOL. The flowers were mounted onto the card using foam squares. I used my fingers to gently turn the petals up off the paper.

 

A gorgeous script hello glued onto the flowers....

 

Here are my flowers before I made them into a card...

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the background die!

Okay friends! I got through the post before the power went out! I'm hoping maybe we won't get the power outage this time around! I'm off to get a giant glass of ice water and put my feet up. I am wishing you a peaceful and happy week. Thanks for stopping by today. XOXO

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

Introducing the beautiful Field Notes Card Kit from Taylored Expressions!

Hello friends. I hope this post finds you well and happy and I hope you're having a good week so far. August is rolling along, and that's awesome, because we are one step closer to Fall/Autumn! And then maybe this crazy, weird and not-so-great year can be over. 2020 has been a huge test for me. Maybe I will end up writing a post about this strange time, but not just yet. The story is still writing itself. Tomorrow I am having surgery and I'm pretty scared. I haven't had anesthesia or surgery in almost 30 years. I'm trying to stay calm and collected, but my anxiety is already through the roof with all that's happened this year. So if you have a moment tomorrow - say a little prayer for me that all goes well. I would appreciate the good vibes and good thoughts. XOXO

On to the crafty business at hand now! Today is the launch date for the newest card kit from Taylored Expressions. This is number four already, and they are so good! This new one is called Field Notes and I'm swooning over these gorgeous sketchy florals.... The kit includes three stamp sets, dies, stencils, envelopes, envelope seals....all in a pretty storage pouch. It's just lovely. I was inspired by the florals to do some water coloring with Distress Inks for my cards. I love how they came out. I have a bunch more ideas too!!

 

Isn't this a gorgeous stamp!? My first card is in hues of olive, yellow and brown for a vintage feeling. The card is an A2 card base from Kraft cardstock. The green layer is Sweet Basil cardstock from TE (all supplies are listed in the supply link at the bottom of my post). The top layer and the stamped images are on watercolor paper.

 

I used the fabulous new Masking Stencils that come in the kit to create a color blocked background with Distress inks. I started with watercolor paper and then moved the stencil around on the paper and inked blocks of Antique Linen, Crushed Olive and Mustard Distress Inks. SO FUN! I love this technique. Once the color blocks were on the paper, I misted the paper with water and dried it with my heat tool. Then I added brown splatters and inked the edges with Distress ink. I wrapped twine around the card and attached the little tag onto the twine. I think it looks like a sketchbook!!

 

This is what the included stencils set looks like. You can use the center portions or the larger portion to stencil so many different effects.

 

 

The flower was stamped with Distress ink so it would be 'flowy' with water. I used a water brush and Distress inks to color the flower. The flower is mounted onto the card with foam squares.

 

This is one of the three stamp sets included. Aren't these so pretty!? And red rubber, too. For that perfect impression!!

 

My second card is also an A2 Kraft cardstock card base. The top layer is watercolor paper. I stamped the floral three times and die cut them out with the matching dies. I used the stencil to color block some pretty aqua in the center of the card. I stamped the sentiment and the flowers with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Using brown ink instead of black ink I feel automatically makes your project seem vintage.

 

I watercolored with a water brush and distress inks - the flowers - in shades of pink and purple and green. I thought about coloring them all green too - maybe next time!

 

I used foam tape to affix the florals to the card, off center. Clean and simple, but so very pretty. I think this could be a good card for get well or sympathy. 

 

FIELD NOTES CARD KIT CONTENTS!

Okay my crafty friends - time to shop and get your kit before they sell out! I hope you take care and have fun crafting until I see you back here soon.

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see my supply links for these projects! (Affiliate links used)

Waffle Flower - Stitchables Release - Blog Hop! Stitching + Card Making together!

Hello there everyone! I have something really super fun and fabulous to share today! LOTS of photos in this post, so you know the drill, grab some coffee and get ready! Today's post has a new release from one of my favorite companies, and it combines two of my crafting loves - cardmaking and cross stitching! WOO HOOOO! Waffle Flower introduces their new Stitchables Collection today! And we're having a big blog hop to kick off the new products! Lemme just tell ya, I had a really fun time making these cards to show you. Basically, you use paper as your cross stitching fabric - and you can design anything your heart desires. So I made a rainbow heart, a vintage strawberry card, and a cute Christmas card. So easy and fun. This would be a great project to do with kids too. All the details about the blog hop, prizes, and more are all at the bottom of my post. CLICK HERE if you can't wait to shop the new release...

First up is the vintage strawberry card! There are tons of free cross stitch designs online. HERE is the free pattern for this strawberry. I used the new Stichable Pinking Rectangle Die and the Stitched Sentiments stamp set for this card. I also used cream cardstock for a vintage feel. The finished card is a 5x5 inch square. Paired with a bit of Distress Ink, and gorgeous gingham...

 

Look at all the fun dies in this release!!! Squeeee!!!

 

I started by die cutting my cross stitch square from cream cardstock. I used the free pattern and DMC Floss. THIS SHOP is where I buy all my cross stitching threads and supplies... I used three strands since the holes are large enough to hold three... I stitched with red, pink, two greens and a nice buttery yellow. After the stitching was done, I used a sponge dauber and Antique Linen Distress Ink to ink the edges. 

 

To assemble my card: Kraft card base, vellum, gingham, red cardstock, stitched layer. FUN!! I put a square of cream cardstock under the stitching layer so red wouldn't show through. How adorable is that sentiment??? The Stitched Sentiments stamp set has lots of fun stitching related sayings. Love it.

 

I added a few yellow enamel dots because I wanted to pop that color a little bit more. I'm obsessed with that tiny eyelet detail on the die cut.

 

Sew glad to be your friend! How fun would this be to give to your favorite crafting friend!?

 

Here are my thread choices!

 

 

 

Next up is a bright, bold and fabulous rainbow heart! This finished card is a grey A2 card base with a white layer and then the stitching layer. I used the Stitchable Pinking Heart Die and the Stitchable Hearts Border Die set (for the tiny tag). I chose rainbow colors from my floss stash and just stitched in rainbow order all the way down. 

 

I used the Rainbows stamp set and dies to make the clouds, sentiment and rainbow die cut....

 

I used the 1/8 inch foam tape strips (supplies linked at the bottom) to adhere my stitching to the card.

 

I stitched that cute tag with red floss. I always have jewelry supplies on hand so I grabbed a ring and put it through the eyelet detail so it would dangle off the rainbow heart. Finishing touch? Clear enamel dots of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And...my third stitched card is a super sweet Christmas card! I used the Christmas Bundle and the Hat Die to make this one. The finished card is an A2 white card base. Layered with dark aqua/teal and then kraft. I love kraft paper with white ink... I die cut the hat die from Kraft paper and stitched with pink and teal embroidery flosses.

 

Once my stitching was done, I added a Tim Holtz Snowflake charm as the perfect accent! To make the card, I heat embossed "Merry Christmas" with white embossing powder and then stamped snowflakes onto the kraft layer. I used the AWESOME Waffle Flower Enamel Dots as snowy white accents.

 

I affixed the hat to the card using the 1/8 inch foam strips to pop it up off the card...

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! For today’s hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners. You can leave a comment on this blog and along the hop by 11:59pm EDT on August 9th, 2020 for your chances to win. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower Blog on 8-12-20. Good Luck! There are more giveaways to enter on the WF Instagram! 

 

SPECIALS! From now till August 7th, 2020, all orders over $50 placed at waffleflower.com will receive a free Cloud Storage Magnetic Board! For those of you who are new to Waffle Flower, they have a Last Chance section on their website that lists many goodies for 25% off until they are gone! This would be a great place to start your collection!

 

There are TEN stops on the blog hop today! Next up is Amy! CLICK HERE for Amy Rysavy and her gorgeous projects!    CLICK HERE to go to the Waffle Flower Blog for the full list. SO much fun.

 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below for the full supply list for today's cards. (Affiliate Links Used). Have fun shopping and crafting! Thank you for coming by today! XO

Concord & 9th Feature Friday - Hexagon Designer Dies and New Cardstock!

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! This was a tough week and I'm happy it's over.... And I have something happy to share with you! As you know, I've been guest designing with Concord & 9th all month to help launch their new color collection. Each week the designers are given a topic/challenge. This week's challenge is 'color spectrum' or use-all-the-colors! Love it! This is my final Feature Friday for July. (Can you believe it's August tomorrow???) Thanks for following along with me all month! CLICK HERE to see all the new items in the Color Collection! 

My card today features the cool and clever Hexagon Designer Dies set. It's a grid of tiny hexagons and you can design images or words into it! Kind of like those uber cool hexagon tile floors in fancy coffee shops! The possibilities are endless! I chose to use a flower design and make the flowers into a sort of rainbow pattern! No stamping on this card - all dies and gorgeous cardstock. The finished card is A2 size - and you can see that the die completely covers the front of an A2 card.

 

 

Here is my color palette for this project - alllll the pretties!!

 

I ran the hexagon die through my cutting machine once for each color. I ended up with a big ole pile of tiny hexagons! The frame is in Dove gray. Then I used liquid glue and tweezers to put the colored hexagons into the right places. The sentiment is a pretty happy mail die mounted onto the graphic frame. I used a white gel pen to outline the die, and added a few hearts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to give a big shout out to Concord & 9th and Congratulations on their wonderful new color collection launch! I was so honored and happy to be part of all the fun and excitement. I loved sharing projects with you all month long, and I hope you maybe picked up a few goodies for your craft room. I'll be back soon with more crafty things. Have a great weekend! XOXO

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

Flying by to say hi with some Lawn Fawn Ladybugs!

Hey ladybugs! Happy weekend! Hope you're doing well and enjoying the weekend. I'm flying by to say hi with some cute ladybugs and pretty leaves. I colored these images for the Daily Marker 30 Day Challenge a couple weeks ago and now made them into a card. I used stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn and lots of Copic Markers... A touch of gingham and that's it! A clean and simple and graphic card design. I love these Lawn Fawn leaves - So happy to have finally colored them up and used them.

My finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered kraft paper and then the top layer is white. I die cut a circle out of the right side of the top panel and backed it with gingham from my stash.

 

The stamp set comes with the leaves and this adorable magnifying glass image!! How fun. I stamped and die cut everything and spent a good while coloring. I used vivid deep yellow greens and tried some new shading techniques. 

 

 

 

 

 

I stamped the sentiment on top of the white panel. It's perfect for this card! I stamped a ladybug flight trail and then mounted the little lady with a foam circle on top of it. Everything else is also attached with foam circles. The spots on the leaves are made with splatters of Distress Ink. I also added white gel pen accents.

 

 

That's it for this Summer Sunday! Have a blessed and happy day my friends. I'll be back soon.... XOXO

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

Concord & 9th Feature Friday - Color Focus on Sprout and Sea Glass!

Hi party people! It's Friday again! Man, I feel like these weeks are flying by... Is it only me? Days at home seem faster to me and here we are almost to August. Today the hubs and I are out on an adventure. It was time to get out. Haven't left the house in three weeks and I'm getting weird. It's not normal to be in this situation and it's definitely affecting my psyche. I hope and wish that you are having a beautiful day so far. 

Today is week #3 of Feature Fridays for Concord & 9th!! WOOHOOO! As you know, we are spending the month of July featuring the new color collection from Concord & 9th with a team of bloggers. Today's assignment was for each of us to choose two colors to focus our projects on. I chose Sea Glass and Sprout! My favorite colors always go towards aquas, teals, greens...so it was an easy choice! I made two cards to share with you. Let's get to it! Here are my two cards. I used Turnabout Stamps on both of them - LOVE me some Turnabouts!

 

Hey girl!!! This first card is an A2 card base made from the new Wheat Cardstock. I layered Sprout cardstock and then a layer of white cardstock for my top layer. I used the Blooms Turnabout stamp and used bright, happy colors!! That formed my background paper. Once my Turnabout layer was formed I used the Hey Girl die the die cut the word HEY out of it.

 

The floral layer was affixed over the Sprout green layer with foam tape to create depth and let the HEY show through! I die cut the 'girl' word from rich black cardstock and layered it on top of the opening using clear glue.

 

A pretty flower die cut from Sorbet cardstock and leaves with Sprout cardstock complete the card. It's SUPER fresh and perfect for a happy hey girl to our friends.

 

 

 

These are my two feature colors for today!

 

Next up is a big ol square card with a big ol hello! I used the Oh Hello Turnabout stamp (which is now discontinued) and the Say Hello stamp set and dies to create this card. I featured Sea Glass...which is the most beautiful shade of green tinted aqua. GORGEOUS. I combined it with great and teal for a classic color palette.

 

The strip across the front of the card is the gorgeous Dove cardstock, splattered with a bit of white paint. I layered the hello die with Sea Glass cardstock and some polka dot vellum from my stash.

 

The sunshine word was heat embossed onto Dove cardstock with white embossing powder. I added a few enamel dots from my stash as well.

 

 

 

It's like a color explosion! And I love it! I've been having a great time using the new products and sharing them with you!! What is your favorite new color??

Thank you for stopping by on this lovely Summer Friday! I will see you soon friends! 

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

Baby It's Cold Outside - the brand new Taylored Expressions Card Kit!

Hi friends! Last week was a complete whirlwind of fun crafty stuff!! I hope you got some new goodies and found some inspiration here along the way. Wasn't that Greetery release amazing?? Thank you for all the lovely, kind and thoughtful comments on my blog posts last week. I read EVERY comment and they always uplift me! Bless you all!

Today I'm here to show you the newest, latest, greatest Card Kit from Taylored Expressions! This is number three! I am LOVING all the kits. This one is called Baby It's Cold Outside and it features adorable snowmen!!! The kit has stamps and dies and stencils along with envelopes and seals and more - all in a cute zipper pouch for storage! It feels weird to make a winter card already, but I am always down for a snowman project! Hope this brings you some good wishes!

My finished card is a white A2 card base. I layered gorgeous red paper and then my top layer is kraft. 

 

The card kit is super innovative... The background snowmen are all one big red rubber stamp! But then, there is a die cut to cut out whichever snowman head you want to put on the body. Genius! I started by stamping the whole stamp (with my MISTI) with white pigment ink onto a kraft panel. I splattered some white ink (snow ya know) onto that panel and set it aside for the pigment ink to dry. 

Next I stamped the snowman stamp in black ink onto white paper and die cut two faces and two bodies. I colored them with Copics and added Diamond Stickles to them and white gel pen accents. I set them aside to let the Stickles dry.

 

Here's a close up of the background! The sentiments all fit onto the included sentiment banner die.

 

I used the snowflake stencil included in the kit to stencil the background of my stitched circle. Then I also stamped some larger, darker snowflakes on top of the stenciling. Gave me a nice dimensional snowy effect. I wrapped some pretty twine around the top layer and glued everything together. A nice, clean card layout.

 

Here's a picture of the included envelopes and seals. SO SWEET! Snowman mail!

 

And here's a photo of the entire kit! Yipppeeeee!

The kit is available NOW for purchase in the Taylored Expressions store. Get it while it lasts! Have a blessed and beautiful day. I will see you soon! XO

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

Hip Hip Hooray! Fun watercolor birthday card for Concord & 9th Feature Friday!

Hi friends! Happy Friday! And since it's a July Friday - you know what that means! Concord & 9th Feature Friday! Woot! I'm super honored to be part of the launch team for Concord & 9th's Color Collection!! I'll be sharing projects every Friday this month featuring the new colors. The team has been given certain topics to feature each week. This week we're all sharing a favorite ink or paper technique. I wanted to see how the new ink pads would be to watercolor with, because I love water coloring with ink pads!! I'm going to just tell you that the new inks were GREAT to water color with! Yeah!!

I chose to make a slimline birthday card using some of my fav stamp sets from Concord & 9th.... My finished card is 3.75" x 6.75". It will fit into a 5x7 envelope for mailing. The card base is kraft and I chose this color palette: Cranberry, Buttercup and Wheat.

 

I used watercolor paper for all the stamped parts of this card. I used my MISTI to get a nice clean impression on the textured paper. I started by stamping and die cutting out the hat, bow and present. The face and the sentiment are stamped directly onto the card. The Buttercup sprinkles are also stamped right onto that top layer. I used Cranberry Cardstock for the bottom layer in between the kraft and white.

 

To watercolor with the ink pads, I used a stamping block and 'smushed' ink onto it. I used a paint brush and water mixed with the ink to paint. I think the colors stayed true and vivid!! Love how easy it was...The brown for the hair was a mixture of a bunch of colors until I got the desired shade. 

 

I'm loving this clean card design - you could make this in any color! Those sentiments from the Type Talk Stamp Set and perfect for these long cards!!

 

 

 

I added a few gems to the card for a bit of festive shimmer!

 

CLICK HERE to shop all the colors!! Here they are in all their glory!! :-)

 

Thank you for stopping by on Feature Friday! YEAH! Did you get some of the new goodies?? What is your favorite technique?? Colors?!  CLICK HERE to shop the Concord & 9th Store!!

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

 

The Greetery Destination Summer Collection - Day 2! Destination Cape Cod and Destination Sedona!

Hello my crafty pals! Pack a suitcase, and grab your sunnies, cuz I'm about to take you on a virtual road trip! (that's the only kind we can do right now!)... I'm here to introduce you to the brand new, fun, creative and fabulous new stamps from The Greetery... Destination! These stamps and dies and stencils I'm showing you today are all part of the new Destination Summer release from The Greetery - and it's all available tomorrow at 10am EST. (Friday 7-17) I can't wait to share some fun cards with you today. I'm typing this beforehand of course, and I cannot wait to see what all the other designers create with these supplies!! The new products are: Destination stamps + dies, Destination Summer stamps + dies, Maps Dies (3), and Maps Stencils.

These new stamps and dies are meant for you to have fun creating your own maps!! OMG it's so creative!! I love it so much. I'm thinking invitations, wedding save the dates, miss you cards....and on and on. My two cards were inspired by the cartoon maps you get when you go on vacation somewhere fun. I chose two destinations for my creative process: Cape Cod and Sedona AZ. 

First up....Destination Cape Cod! Because it's my most favorite place on earth!! My husband and I were married on Cape Cod and I truly left my heart there. I can't wait to go back some day again... It's quintessentially SUMMER there, and in my card. Cottages, sailboats, and umbrellas... I'm closing my eyes and picturing it right now... My finished card is slightly larger than an A2 - I needed more room. So the size is 4.5" x 7". Therefore it will still fit into a 5x7 envelope. I used the Waterfront Die and then the stamps from both new stamp sets. I also used the Pretty Postmarks and the Slim Alphabet die for the words.... Let's get started!

 

I stamped compasses and postmarks along the bottom edge of the card to be the map "title" and of course put a little heart there. I used brown ink for a more vintage feel. 

 

Here's a broad overview of the map!! This die is the Waterfront Map and it has a body of water on one side. I die cut out the roads and then pieced in papers to serve as water, land, beach and greenery!! HOW FUN IS THIS???!!! I glued the pieces in using liquid glue, and the map is mounted onto a white layer.

 

The sentiment was stamped onto a vellum strip and wrapped around the center of the map. Once the map was assembled, I went to town stamping and die cutting all those cute little pieces!!! Cars, bikes, boats..... I kept a simple, clean, nautical color palette that brings the card together. Red, Blue, Yellow and aqua - the colors of Summer.

 

In this photo, you can see I tried to create a beach!! Sunshine and sun umbrellas! There are stamps of seagulls and waves to add to your cards.

 

This beautiful compass stamp has different layers to stamp around it!!! Betsy thought of everything. Truly. 

 

 

In January of this year, I was able to go on a trip to Sedona Arizona! It's the last place I went this year (sad but true)... Sedona was AMAZING. Wow, I really didn't know what to expect, but my mind was blown by the beauty and serenity of it. It left an impression on me for sure. I decided to make a Sedona map to commemorate that trip. This card is an A2 card base. I used the Round Map die for this one - it's the smallest of the three map dies. I chose to stamp all my images in warm desert tones onto kraft cardstock. It feels like Arizona!!

 

Mountains, cacti, flowers....all the desert things! Oh, and that sweet camera too!! I splattered gold onto the flowers and the map because that's what Sedona felt like to me. Golden sunshine!!

 

For this map I made some of the panels to look like sky and some to look like dirt and desert...

 

Really really REALLY fun... 

 

The cacti are so cute!! I used a Copic Marker to add some more pop to my greens...

 

Don't you wish we were all piled in that truck going somewhere fun right now!!??

Okay, that's it for me for today!! Now don't you feel like going on a road trip? I do!! Thanks for coming by today to see the new products from The Greetery! ALLLLL the new items will be available for purchase on Friday 7/17 at 10am EST!!

There will be great PRIZES of one $50 gift card each day - comments from all the blogs are included in the giveaways (winners announced Friday AM on The Greetery Blog). Be sure to stop by everyone's blogs and leave a comment to enter to win!! 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see my supplies for today... I'll update the list on Friday with the new items, but many things are not new! (Affiliate Links Used)

TODAY'S LINEUP OF INSPIRATION!!

The Greetery Blog

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

 Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Kelly Lunceford

Wanda Guess

The Greetery Destination Summer Collection - Day 1! Fresh Market Florals and Farmer's Market Peaches!

Heeeeeey there my sweet peaches! It's that super fun time again - time for a new release from The Greetery! As always, I am completely blown away by the new stamps, dies and stencils and I can't wait to share projects with you!! The design team will share projects today and tomorrow, and then the new release will be available for purchase at The Greetery Store Friday 7/17 at 10am EST. The new release is called Destination Summer! We've got peaches and florals and fun travel themed products to inspire your creativity! I have a LOT of pictures today, so get a cuppa and sit down and enjoy some time with me. The list of all the designers is at the bottom of my post. Hope you are doing well and staying happy and healthy. Let's get started!

First up I'm featuring the Peach Suite of products: Print Shop Peachy Keen stamp + stencil combo, Just Peachy Sentiments stamps and dies, and the Create-a-Crate die!! It's literally so fresh and sweet!! Another amazing stencil set that has matching coordinating dies. I'm obsessed with this concept.... I made a peach card and a little crate full of peach candies. I would actually plan an entire party around this! LOL. So much fun to create.

 

The finished card is an A2 card base from cream cardstock. (Tip - for a more vintage feeling project, use cream instead of white cardstock) The first thing that came to my mind when I saw these products was vintagey Farmer's Market!! So that's the inspiration for my card and treat crate. I used the new Concord & 9th inks and papers and it all worked beautifully together. The background peach panel is the stencils + stamps!!! OMG. Can you even stand it? I cannot.

 

And here's the front of my crate!! I decorated it and had lots of fun adding inks, splatters and some stickers.

 

I stenciled the background onto cream cardstock (blender brushes and C9 inks - supplies listed below). Then I stamped and die cut another peach and some leaves. I die cut the 'peach' word using cardstock and vellum. Now, I have to talk about my paper hoarding... Which actually worked in my favor this time. In my head I KNEW that these gorgeous stickers and papers from Prima would be PERFECT for this project!! I cut out some graphics and used some stickers both on my card and my crate - too look like vintage fruit crates!! I love how this all came together.

 

I die cut some rectangles to act as my focal piece. I stamped the "you're a" at the top of the cream panel. Then I splattered everything with Distress ink. I also edged everything with a dauber and Distress Ink. I tucked the leaves in between the layers and on top of the peach.

 

Okay, now let's talk about that Create a Crate die!!! OH MY WORD. So clever and creative!! Just like the cake plate die from the last release, this is super easy to assemble. Die cut two ends and then four of the planks that go across. Easy! I used woodgrain cardstock for mine and then dusted off my little bin of brads from 1997! LOL. (Glad again that I'm a craft hoarder)... I splattered brown and white ink to 'age' the crate. Then I decorated it with stickers and cardstock.

The front of the crate is pictured above with the card. This is the back of the crate!! 

 

I used a cello bag from my party stash and some twine and ribbon... OH and that teeny tiny peach on a teeny tiny tag!!! So sweet. I put the peaches candies inside the bag and tied it with the ribbon and twine. I put in enough candy to fill that crate!! I used candy, but you could tuck in cookies, small note cards or small gifts. LOVE.....

 

Here's the crate in my hand for size reference... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added a few clear drops to the card to look shiny and pretty!! The layers and the peach were attached with foam dots for dimension...

 

Next up I have two pretty floral cards to share using the brand new Budding Beauties Summer stamps and dies.... Also featuring: Sprinkled with Kindness stamps + die and Petite Eucalyptus stamp + cut combo!! No one does florals like our friend Betsy!! This is a slimline card because I needed some height for that pretty mason jar and all the blooms to fit... The finished card size is 3.5" x 6.5" and is white cardstock. I cut one smaller layer and inked it with Distress ink for a pretty blue background. (the sentiment is in a stamp set we're showing tomorrow!)

 

 

I stamped and die cut the daisies and the eucalyptus blooms. I also added accents with a very sharp colored pencil. It just adds a little depth to the flowers.

 

This pretty mason jar is one of my favorite products from The Greetery!! I used my MISTI to line it up perfectly!!

 

 

 

And....card three for today!!! I used the gorgeous hydrangeas stamps and the beautiful new Watering Can stamps and dies for this one! It's a finished A2 card base. Combined with pretty purple and gingham.... sigh.... The sentiment is gold embossed on vellum and then wrapped around the corner of the top layer.

 

I used my MISTI to line up the flowers and the layers on the watering can. I wanted the can to look old so I splattered gray ink and white ink onto it....

 

I tried several combinations to get the right color I wanted... I ended up using two shades of gray and one shade of stone (light warm gray) to achieve this look. The fun thing is you could make this any bright color!! Maybe I need to do a vivid green can next!!

 

I used a ton of inks for all these cards today. I tried to link them all in case you like my combos. The peaches combo, in my opinion is perfect!!! Again, I tried about 20 ink pads on that!! 

Okay friends, that was a lot of stuff!! Thanks for coming by today to see the new products from The Greetery! We'll be back with more tomorrow and then all the new items will be available for purchase on Friday 7/17 at 10am EST!!

There will be great PRIZES of one $50 gift card each day - comments from all the blogs are included in the giveaways (winners announced Friday AM on The Greetery Blog). Be sure to stop by everyone's blogs and leave a comment to enter to win!! 

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see my supplies for today... I'll update the list on Friday with the new items, but many things are not new! (Affiliate Links Used)

TODAY'S LINEUP OF INSPIRATION!!

The Greetery Blog

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

 Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Keeway Tsao

Angelica Conrad

Kelly Lunceford

Norine Borys

Wanda Guess

Soaring by to say hi! Sweet Summer Kites card for Feature Friday!

Hey everyone! Soaring by to say hi today with a fun and colorful kite card! Hope you had a good week. I feel like this week went by so fast. Lots going on here in my craft room! So excited about the ink and paper launch from Concord & 9th this week and lots of other good crafty things. It's really hot here and I'm trying not to melt. Haven't even left the house in a week. Isn't that strange?? I usually have just been going out one time a week for errands, groceries etc. I wonder if life will ever return to normal?? 

I'm super honored to be part of the launch team for Concord & 9th's Color Collection!! I'll be sharing projects every Friday this month featuring the new colors. The team has been given certain topics to feature each week. This week we're talking about some of our favorite color combinations of the new inks!! Well, that was easy and hard! Easy because I love so many color combos...and hard because I had to choose one! I decided upon a bright and happy Summer Color combination: Buttercup, Honeysuckle, Aqua Sky and Midnight! I used the awesome new Kite Turnabout stamp and this card happened!! 

My finished card is a 5x5 inch square. I've been making lots of square cards and odd sized cards lately. I let the layout speak to me and then build my card base/card size around it. This one just felt like a square! 

 

I LOVE Turnabout Stamps! Do you have some?? This kite one is SO nice!! It's my first time inking it up... You can see how nicely the inks did on a brand new stamp. Perfect! This was my first try at this turnabout. I stamped the background kites first with my MISTI and my four colors. I trimmed it into a 4.5 x 4.5 inch square and set it aside.

 

Here is my fresh color combination today!!! I love it!!!

 

To build my card I stamped two kites, one Buttercup and one Honeysuckle. I die cut them with the matching dies. Then I die cut a white stitched circle and stamped the sentiment directly onto the circle. I also stamped some little hearts onto the circle.

 

Here are my four colors - in the matching cardstock!

 

To finish the card I did a layer of Aqua Sky paper, then my kite stamped paper. I wrapped those two layers with a strip of vellum and attached it to a white card base with foam tape. I affixed the circle in the center and then put the kites on, again with foam tape.

 

I hope I've inspired you to try a summer project with these colors!

 

Just a reminder that all the new inks and papers are available now for purchase! There are some great bundles on the Concord & 9th website. These are all of the colors. The directions for my cute swatch book are on my post from earlier this week. 

Thank you for stopping by on Feature Friday! YEAH! Did you get some of the new goodies?? CLICK HERE to shop the Concord & 9th Store!! I'll be back next week with a brand new release from The Greetery!!! You're gonna love that too!! XOXO

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

Introducing: Concord & 9th Color Collection! Ink pads and papers! Coming this week!

Hi everyone!! I am over the moon excited about today's blog post! I worked really really hard on this post and all the photos and projects and everything. Truly a fun and exciting post that I really put my heart into. I'm glad I can finally share everything with you and tell you what's up with our friends at Concord & 9th! Today I am part of the team helping to launch the first Color Collection from Concord & 9th! Creating in Color! Beautiful ink pads and matching cardstock in gorgeous colors! YIPPEEEE! 

At Creativation I was able to see the new color collection in person at the C9 booth... and I was excited back then! But then, you know, 2020 happened and everything kept getting delayed. Well...now it's time! Finally it's time! I have been making projects for a couple of weeks and really have given the inks and papers a crafty workout. Verdict: LOVE. For sure these inks are staying on my desk. They are wonderful. I'll talk more about them later in my post. I have two projects to share today. AND...there is a huge Instagram Hop going on with AMAZING prizes!! I'll tell you the details about that too!

Concord & 9th is one of my favorite companies - you guys already know that! I used new dies from this month's release for my card today! I'll be posting today to launch the festivities, and then I'll be posting every Friday in July - more projects made with the new inks and papers. Soooo a lot happening and I'm so glad. All the new ink pads, cardstock and July stamps/dies will be available in the C9 Store on Thursday, July 9th at 11am EST!! Set your alarm for it!

First up today is a big chunky flower card!! I used six of the new hues to make this one.... SO FRESH! I also used the new Fresh Cut Florals dies that will be released later this week. A whole card with just dies - no stamping on this one. The finished card is slightly larger than an A2 card. I made a custom size for this one. Colors: Honeysuckle, Stardust, Ballet Slipper, Parsley, Aqua Sky and Sorbet. YUM.

 

It was super fun and relaxing to sit and die cut flowers and put them together.... You can see that I used the same color ink pad and cardstock to make the florals: I used Honeysuckle cardstock and then inked the edges with Honeysuckle Ink, etc. Gives more depth and dimension to otherwise plain die cuts. I also used a white gel pen to add accents to all the pieces. 

 

I unified the look by making the flower centers all black. Makes it pop and look graphic too. Very modern! The sentiment is also a die cut from black cardstock. I love how this turned out. These flowers are pretty on a card but would be perfect for making a paper wreath, or gluing onto treat boxes or presents!!

 

 

 

Here are the cardstock colors used on this project.... I'll be sharing my cute little swatch book next!!! 

 

 

 

Let's talk about that beautiful Stitched Blooms Die! OH MY WORD.... It's a die that makes this amazing design into the paper!!! I think you're going to be seeing this a lot in my projects. I felt like it just added a little something!

 

Okay - so the color collection comes in: Full size ink pads, ink cubes, reinkers and cardstock. 22 fresh and fabulous colors of ink. The paper pack includes black and white also. Kraft is called Wheat in this collection. The pinks and greens are luscious... All the ink pads are foam. They are CRISP and clear! So my test of new inks is to use Neenah Solar White paper with a brand new stamp and the brand new ink... These ink pads passed the test with flying colors! NO pooling or blotches... You'll see in my project on Friday - I used tons of inks. They are so nice.

CLICK HERE to read the details about the colors on the C9 website!

I made this adorable little swatch book on a ring to keep track of my colors. I love this project!! Here are all the cardstock colors...

 

And here are all my pretty ink pads all in a row.... Swoon....

 

 

 

And here is my sweet little swatch book!! EEP. Don't you love it!? I used the Crafty Turnabout Stamp Set, Crafty Dies, Tall Type Alphas and Numbers, and of course the new cardstock. I used the postage stamp die from the Crafty Dies set and die cut one of each color of cardstock. I used a hole punch to punch a hole in the corner of each one. Then I made a front cover and a back cover!! I put them all on a ring that is now happily hanging in my craft room. The #C9 part is the back cover!!

 

Here is the front cover.... The scissors are from Oceanside and Dove papers and the stamp is Wheat and Honeysuckle papers. The hearts are the Cranberry paper.

 

And here is the back cover! Black, Dove, Aqua Sky, and Mushroom papers. Aqua Sky ink! I used the Crafty Dies and the Tall Type Alpha and Numbers...

 

Here's a picture of it in my hand so you can see the scale of it. Those dies are the sweetest thing!!

 

 

Okay! You've made it through this long post! Thanks for coming by to visit today! I hope you can feel my excitement and I hope you are excited too! I cannot wait to share all month with you. My projects are coming along nicely and I'm very inspired. All the new inks and papers will be available with the July release: Thursday July 9th, 11am EST.

PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT PRIZE ALERT!!! The prizes for this release are all happening on Instagram!! We are doing an Insta-hop with 18 craft bloggers. We are all featuring the new color collection on our Instagram feeds!! Please pop over to my Instagram for all the details. The prizes are AMAAAZZZING but you can only enter on IG. Here's a hint - the grand prize is one of everything!!! Oh YEAH! Good Luck friends!

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see the supplies I used for today's projects! (Affiliate Links Used). I will see you soon (Friday!) Take care. XOXO

Taylored Expressions - Farm Fresh Kit Launch!

HAY THERE!!! Oh my goodness are you in for a yeehaw treat today! I'm SO excited to share this new kit with you! I've been keeping this a secret for a long time. It's finally time to launch the newest Card Kit from Taylored Expressions! It's called Farm Fresh! It's adorable and sweet and happy. Just what we need!! Stamps, dies, stencils, stickers, wobbles, envelopes....It has everything. And there's a red rubber gingham background stamp!! Yeahhhhhh. I totally love it. And, just like the last kit, I'm predicting a fast sell out!! DO NOT WAIT on this one!! It will make you smile. 

I made two cards to share with you. Let's get started! First up is this cutie little horse out getting some sun by the barn! This finished card is an A2 kraft card base. I layered some gingham (you know me) and some red cardstock. I used the stencils from the kit to create green rolling hills. I used a previously released clouds die to make the sky. Hay there!

 

The stamp sets are all red rubber and they stamp like a dream. If you've never stamped with TE rubber stamps you are missing out. Crisp and perfect images every time. The animals have two parts, the body and the head. So you can make them wobble!! The barn and the horse were colored with Copic Markers. Love the sentiments!

 

Here's a close up of the new stencils. I used two shades of green ink and then added a few ink splatters for effect.

 

The kit includes action wobbles that fit under the heads of the animals. EEK. I love an action wobble!!! 

 

The images are super fun and easy to color - goes quickly. I added a few white gel pen accents on my coloring and white splatters on the barn.

 

 

 

This next card CRACKS me up. Get it?? LOL. I tried this card two different ways, but ended up leaving it in the silly format with those chicken legs sticking out the side of the card. We need some levity right now, wouldn't you agree??!! This finished card is a 5x5 inch square kraft card base. I layered yellow paper too. I think the chicken is my favorite animal from the stamp set. Adorbs. The background gingham you see here in red is that awesome stamp that comes in the kit. I used my MISTI for a crisp image since it's a large stamp. 

 

This is a good card for right now when we can't go see our friends.... Just chicken in!! I die cut a square from the center of a larger square and mounted the gingham panel behind it. Then I stamped and die cut a bunch of chickens and colored with Copics. I also stamped, cut and colored two of the little fences. The sentiment goes right in the center!

 

I mounted the chickens inside the square to look like they were popping in to say hi! I tried the card without the legs sticking out and it's more 'clean' but my husband and I both decided the legs sticking out were more fun!! What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of photos of what's in the kit!! You will receive a storage bag with a big beautiful label with the kit name... Envelopes and seals that match, stamps, dies, stencils, and wobbles. It's awesome.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by my farm today to see what's new!! I'm wishing you a blessed and beautiful day! Please buy your kit right away if you want one. I know the rainbow kit from last month only lasted 2-3 days before selling out. Taylor has thought of everything. I know you'll enjoy it!!

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