A Blog Called Wanda

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

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

CLICK HERE TO SEE AND SHOP THE ENTIRE NEW RELEASE!

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Once again, all those yummy new colors for 2024!

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY - CLICK HERE!

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

Pretty Pink Posh - New Release - Big Birthday Cupcake!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

 

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WEBSITE!

 

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

 

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

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

Details for this piece:

Finished size: 13" x 3"

Pattern: Big Hearted Tiny Town by Heart in Hand

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

Fabric: 14 Aida in Vintage Taupe/Country Mocha

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Gosh, I literally can't stand it. 

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

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WEBSITE!

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

I stamped my two sentiments in rich black ink!

 

A few golden gems finish off the festive look.

 

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

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

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF MY WEBSITE!

 

 

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE PPP NEW RELEASE!!

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

 

BLOG HOP LIST FOR TODAY! ENJOY THE HOP!

 

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

 

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

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

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

AVAILABLE 2-9-24 AT 11AM EST!

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

AVAILABLE 2-9-24 AT 11AM EST!

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

 

Fancy Heart Rosettes!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

 

Yummmmmy Valentine Cupcakes!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

I found the most adorable plates and napkins!

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

 

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

 

Vintage Heart Boxes for Valentine's Day!

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

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

CLICK HERE FOR MY SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

Side views...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

And here are my finished envelopes!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

HERE'S HOW TO SUPPORT A BLOG CALLED WANDA!

BUY ME A COFFEE WEBSITE

SHOP VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS AT THE STORES LISTED HERE

SHOP AMAZON VIA MY STOREFRONT

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SHOP THE SUPPLY LIST LINKS ON ANY BLOG POST

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SHOP ANY OF THE LINKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BLOG HOME PAGE

CONTACT ME FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES OR ONE ON ONE CRAFT COACHING

 

 

Fun with Lawn Fawn for Valentine's Day!

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING MY LINKS! 

 

Vintage Look Cross Stitch Brooch Project!

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

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

Here are the details:

Pattern: Chintz Alphabet by JBW Designs

Thread: My own chose colors - Aurifil Floss

Fabric: 28 Count Linen

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

Here is my finished stitching still on the wee hoop!

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

The Greetery Love Letters PS Release Day! Yeah!

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

LOVE LETTERS PS IS AVAILABLE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

 

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

Thank you for shopping via my links -

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

 

 

The Greetery - Love Letters PS Collection - Day Two!

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

THE GREETERY LOVE LETTERS PS COLLECTION

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

The Greetery - Love Letters PS Collection - Day One!

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

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

THE GREETERY LOVE LETTERS PS COLLECTION

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

I like the mix and match sentiments too!

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

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

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

Valentine Cross Stitch Pillow!

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

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

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

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

Here are the details about the stitching:

Pattern:  Valentine House Trio by Waxing Moon Designs    

Fabric:    14 Count Aida 

Floss:      DMC Floss - My own color choices 

Gingham Fabric and Pom Pom Trim: Hobby Lobby

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The little birds with the letter is so sweet!

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!

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

 

So far, so good!!!

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILED SUPPLY LIST!

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILED SUPPLY LIST!

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP AT THE GREETERY!

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

 

Pretty Pink Posh - New Release - Feeling Lucky!

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

I'm hungry now!

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

 

TODAY'S FUN BLOG HOP LINEUP!!

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Nichol Spohr

Carissa Wiley

Mindy Eggen

Caly Person

Wanda Guess

Lauren Taylor

Gemma Campbell

Jeanne Jachna

 

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

 

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2024 IS HERE!

BLESSINGS AND LOVE TO YOU!

 

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

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

 

 

Merry Christmas 2023! Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023!

FROM MY HOME TO YOURS!

WISHING YOU A WARM AND LOVELY CHRISTMAS!

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT YEAR OF CREATING TOGETHER!

 

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

A quick post with a refreshing Peppermint treat!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Snowman Cross Stitch - Merry Christmas!

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

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

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

Fabric:   28 Count Linen 

Floss:     DMC Floss - My own color choices

Frame:   Four inch embroidery hoop 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

Puffy Stars Christmas Treat Boxes!

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

Home for Christmas - Cozy Cross Stitch!

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

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

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

Fabric:   14 Aida Vintage Taupe

Floss:     DMC Floss - My own color choices

Frame:   Michael's 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

Look at those little birdies!!!!

 

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

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

 

Baking Spirits Bright - Gingerbread Christmas Card!

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

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

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

CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S SUPPLY LIST!

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

 

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

 

CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S SUPPLY LIST!

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

 

Here's a close up of those cute cookies!

 

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

 

CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S SUPPLY LIST!

 

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

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

Take care and have an awesome weekend!! XOXO

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

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

 

The Greetery - Pretty Peppermints for Christmas!

Greetings of the season my creative and crafty friends! How is your week going so far? Are you ready for Christmas to arrive? I think we are ready here (As ready as we're going to be LOL)! Yesterday was my husband's birthday so we've done a little birthday celebrating too. When Christmas is this close, I like to nest in and forget the TO DO lists and spend time at church and visiting friends, and being cozy. My thought is if it's not done now, it probably won't get done, and that's okay. I really enjoy this season and being present is important to me. Cocoa and Christmas Lights, visits to the ice rink, Church concerts, Christmas movies and all that good stuff. Thank you for all the nice comments and words of encouragement on my last post. XOXO

Today I'm sharing a project on The Greetery blog, and of course here on my blog too! I made some pretty and festive peppermint treats filled with candies and love. I used the awesome Candy Pops Suite of products and gave them a vintage feeling by my color choices and embellishments. I made these for treats for my Bible Study group and they are filled with yummy M&M's! These would also be so nice on a Christmas table for place card gifts. These Candy Pops Peppermints really are the most fun project to make! I hope I'll inspire you to make some too!!

 

I made these peppermint treats using lots of products from the Candy Pops Collection. I used the Candy Pops Dies, the Candy Pops Sentiments, The 1/2" Bubbles, and the Peppermint Dies. I used cream cardstock with red, and some gingham to give a bit of a vintage flair to my peppermints. One trick I use a lot is to use cream cardstock instead of bright white, whenever I want a vintage look. 

 

 

 

 

These are truly so easy to make, and Betsy has an excellent video about the assembly (Click Here) so you really can make them so fast. I filled the bubbles with red M&M's to match the red cardstock. I die cut out all my pieces using cream, red, and white glitter cardstocks. I assembled the bubbles into the candy portion and then splashed on some silver watercolor paint for more shimmer. 

 

 

 

My finishing touches are black and cream gingham ribbon (1/4" from Hobby Lobby) and the gorgeous Holly Embellishments from The Greetery! I used the tear away circle on the back of the candy pops to make them easy to open and enjoy. This is such a happy theme and cheerful little treat to hand out. 

 

 

 

 

That's it for my project for today! I hope I've inspired you to make some candy treats! I'm wishing you a wonderful and creative day and I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting and Merry Christmas! XO Wanda

CLICK HERE TO SHOP AT THE GREETERY!

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

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

 

Cross Stitch - Frosty's Night Out!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I am wishing you a great week ahead....and only three weeks until Christmas! Wow! I wish I could stop time for a couple weeks, and get everything done, and then resume the holiday season! Are you ready for the holidays yet? Our home is about 1/2 decorated both inside and out but it's looking festive. Heck, that may be all that happens this year... Yesterday we went to a wonderful outdoor craft fair and enjoyed the beautiful chilly weather and sunshine... And an old fashioned ice rink with carols.... It definitely feels holiday-y in my part of the world. I haven't posted here on my blog since Thanksgiving but I'm back today with a finished cross stitch project that I completed on Saturday!

This year has been super super hard for me and my hubs. It's been hard emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially....and here we are at the end of the year. You know what? We made it! We made it through everything that tried to break us this year. The good Lord made sure we were provided for every step of the way and for that I am VERY grateful. Spiritually I am very strong. However, I sit here feeling kind of numb and so so so tired. I haven't crafted a card in about two weeks or posted on Instagram for a long time. It's not like me, but I'm trying to give myself some time, space, and grace. I am a happy crafter - so I find it really hard to be creative when I'm not feeling my usual upbeat self. In case you're feeling down or discouraged, let me be the first to send a hug and some kind words....It's okay. The world is A LOT right now. Just do the best you can and take it one thing at a time. I love you guys and I hope you're doing great! Thank you for being here with me all year! 

My project for today is a fun Winter/Christmas themed cross stitch. I bought this pattern four years ago (!) when I was lucky enough to visit The Attic Needleworks in Mesa, Arizona in person! It is a wonderful shop full of inspiration and amazing cross stitch items!! I am really glad I got to go there. I bought a few patterns that day, and finally made this one! 

The pattern is called Frosty's Night Out and it's from Blackbird Designs. I used 14 Count Aida fabric - in blue, with a piece from my stash. I'm sorry that I can't remember the exact color or where I bought it. I used the called for Fancy Floss colors. I did a simple finish in a hoop and I will be giving him as a gift for a friend. I added a black and white gingham bow because it already feels kind of vintage!! For size reference - the hoop it's on is a seven inch hoop.

 

As we know, I love anything gingham!!

 

I love the variety of snowflakes that surround Mr. Frosty! They were fun to stitch!

 

 

 

Look at his pink cheeks and carrot nose. Quite handsome, don't you think?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the front of the pattern book! I love it when patterns come in this format - so much easier to read and follow! This pattern is readily available online now if you google the title. It was a pretty easy stitch with lots of pretty colors.

That's it for me today!! Good to be back with you here on the bloggy blog. I hope you have a great week and a great holiday season! I'm not sure what I'll post next.... I do have a fun Greetery project to show you next week, though. I'm trying not to put a ton of pressure on myself to create. I figure it will come when it comes.... I've been stamping/paper crafting for 30 years next year!! Honestly sometimes I can't believe I can keep making new stuff. LOLZ. Sending out hugs your way today. XOXO

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

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2023 - from my home to yours!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Just popping in today to wish you all a very very Happy Thanksgiving! There is much to be grateful for this day! I am super thankful and grateful for all of you my friends, and your support and love over the past year! You mean a lot to me, and I am wishing you a blessed and warm holiday filled with love and laughter and pie! Thinking of you, wherever you are, and sending hugs your way! XOXO Wanda

 

 

 

The Greetery All That Glitters Release Day! Yippee!

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

AND ON SALE!

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS AVAILABLE!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

 

It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new All That Glitters release to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back to yesterday's blog post, you can see all my projects, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions - reach out!! 

SALE SALE SALE!!! And, as every year, Betsy is doing her annual Thankful For You SALE!! Here are the details:  Storewide 15% off, including the new release items!!!! Also, some products are an additional 15% off! OH YEAH!! Sale starts NOW and ends Saturday, 11/25 at 11:59pm EST! The Discount is automatically applied at checkout and cannot be combined with reward points!! NOTE: Sale does not apply to orders placed prior to the start of the sale (10am EST on 11/21)! THANKS BETSY!! 

 

 

Thank you for ALL the amazingly kind comments on my project reveals post!!! You are so nice to bless me so kindly! I would be so grateful, as always, if you would shop via my Greetery affiliate link! Have fun!

 

 

The Greetery - All That Glitters Collection - New Release for Holiday 2023!

Hello everyone! Happy Monday, and HAPPY MONDAY! Why is it so happy?? Because I'm here to share the new release from The Greetery! It's the final release for 2023, and it's truly gorgeous! The new release is called ALL THAT GLITTERS! And it has tags, and stars, and snowflakes, and so many wonderful things for gift giving, gift wrapping, and cards! It's really all so lovely! And it's my pleasure to share everything with you today.

Usually, we have a few days of new release projects, but this time around we are doing all the goodness in one day - today! So I have a ton of projects to share today and loads of pictures. The team will be sharing today only, and then tomorrow will be release day at 10am EST! OH YEAH! You don't have to wait long my friends! Grab a cuppa and a blanket and settle in with me so I can show you all my cards, tags and boxes today! I'm so glad you're here! XO

THE GREETERY ALL THAT GLITTERS COLLECTION

LIVE FOR SHOPPING TOMORROW, 11/21 AT 10AM!! 

For all my projects for this release I went with a cohesive color palette and theme. I was instantly inspired to 'go vintage' with this release, so that's what I did! I really do love vintage Christmas!! Usually when my design team box comes, I lay everything out on my counter in my craft room, and just let it sit there and I will walk by it a few times and mix and match pieces together, and then let my brain think of ideas! I was really just drawn to a classic color palette with some glittery sparkle. My colors/papers are Green, Red, Cream, Kraft, Gold, and Black + Music Paper! All my supplies are listed here!

First up is a big bold card that is 5" x 5" square. I used woodgrain and black as my background layers. This card features the brand new Pears Dies and the brand new Magnolia Wreath Dies! OOH LA LA! I also am featuring that gorgeous bow from last month's release! It all comes together so well! This card has LOTS of glitter.... And some white snowy paint splatters too! 

 

I die cut the pears from yellow cardstock and then coated them in glitter to look like sugared fruits. The sentiment is from the Winterland Layers stamp set and I embossed it in white onto black cardstock.

 

I die cut the Magnolia Wreath dies from deep rich green cardstock!! DELICIOUS!! Again I went with white paint splattes and lots of glitter!!

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

The big red bow again coated in glitter! Yeah... I love glitter!!!

 

 

 

For the black layer, I crumpled it in my hands and then uncrumpled it to look aged and worn. I also tattered the edges and curled up the corners. I feel like this just adds some interest and texture to a vintage looking card. As the last step I added some bright red enamel dots to look like berries.

Next up are some gift card/treat boxes I made to feature the brand new Snowflakes Dies, Baubles Dies, and Snowflake Stencils!! These are so frosty and pretty!! Again with my same color palette to look warm and pretty. I found this beautiful green ribbon at Hobby Lobby and it was perfect for this project. I used kraft cardstock and my Pillow Box Punch Board to make three pillow boxes. Then I decorated them with all the gorgeous new things! 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

The main focus point for each box is one of the new dies - snowflakes and baubles - die cut from gold cardstock. I mixed and matched other supplies and tags, and rosettes and sparkly bits!!

I used the tear strips banners here on this one....

 

 

I used the brand new snowflake stencils and white pigment ink to make a pretty design on this pillow box!! 

 

On this one I made a music paper rosette and made another tear strip banner!! 

 

 

 

 

These were sooooo much fun to make! And they will be more fun to give away!!

 

My next project today is a card I made to feature the brand new Large and Small Rustic Stars Dies! My finished card is an A2 cream card base layered with woodgrain and music paper. When I think of stars, I almost always think of New Year cards! So, that's what I made here!! Gold and vellum stars, with bold black numbers and pretty pine wisps..... Where's the champagne!!??

 

 

As luck would have it, the music paper even said NEW YEAR on it, so I placed that part where you could read it! I die cut out the stars from vellum and gold, and the numbers from black cardstock. I kind of played around with the placement until I got the design I liked. I tucked in some greenery for just a pop of elegant color. 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

 

 

 

My last two projects for today (yes, I have more LOL) are both sets of tags made with new supplies from this release! This set of tags features the brand new Tear Strips Cover Ups dies! They are made to work together with the Tear Strips to make designs!! Really cool and classy and FUN! I used the Tear Strip Banners in woodgrain and then popped red behind them! LOVE these for gift tie ons. I will use a white pen to write names on the back of each one. Super easy and cool project. 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

The detail on these dies is incredible! I made a second tag from gold cardstock, well, just because! 

 

And my final (Ta da) project for today features the brand new Four Square Tags Dies and Four Square Stamps and Dies! Another super innovative tags design from Betsy! This one die cuts out four tags at once, each with a different top design element! GENIUS! I made my tags from Woodgrain cardstock and then did a second set from red cardstock and trimmed just the tops off to make them two tone. 

 

The stamps are all from the new set, and I used white heat embossing on black for a graphic look!! 

 

This snowflake stamp is so pretty! You might have noticed that I used this snowflake (with white ink) on one of my pillow boxes!! Lovely. I used white pigment ink to lightly add white edges to the tops of the tags - to look like snow. 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR TODAY!

 

Everything is very cohesive and classic Christmas with red, white, and black.... 

 

 

Okay, my friends! Did you ever think you would get to the end of this post!? It was SO FUN to make everything and to share it all with you today! I'm so glad you're here and I hope I've inspired you to get creative in these last few weeks before Christmas!! It is really truly my pleasure to create for The Greetery!! 

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

NEW RELEASE IS LIVE TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 21ST AT 10AM EST!!

Tomorrow there will be a special surprise....so be sure to look at my blog post in the morning at 10am EST!!!

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

 

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

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

Merry and Bright Candy Canes!

Hey Friends! Happy Friday! Did you have a good week!? I sure hope so! And, here we are, less than a week from Thanksgiving!! Yikes, how did that happen? The year is rolling by at the speed of light! I am ready for Thanksgiving and the holidays and getting cozy and all that good stuff! Are you all prepared to have Thanksgiving? Is it at your house? FUN!! Our weather here has been delightful with some pretty clouds and lots and lots of leaves. It's definitely my favorite time of year! I've been doing a lot of organizing and buzzing around town trying to get things done before I next in for Winter! Not doing a ton of crafting - this is kind of a slow time, oddly enough. I do have some fun holiday ideas I want to try and make!! Today I'm sharing a card I made with beautiful new and old supplies from Honey Bee Stamps! I have a thing for candy canes and I have so many different stamps and dies with candy canes on them.... The ones I used today are three layers so I chose pink as my third color - it's so sweet and pretty!!

My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with gorgeous striped paper and then a scalloped rectangle... Then the feature is those candy canes and some winter foliage and a silver, sparkly bow! (All my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post)! 

 

Here's a side view of my card to show the layers! I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder onto black paper.... I popped up the white rectangle with foam tape because I love a lot of dimension. 

 

The candy canes die set comes with the pretty foliage and that sweet bow. I used two shades of green for the foliage and bright silver cardstock for the bow. I think overall I ended up with kind of a 50's retro look, which I love! Look at the beautiful debossing on the leaves from the dies!!! OOH LA LA. 

 

I used some clear droplets on the card to look like icicles! Makes it feel cold! LOLZ. 

 

To make the candy canes, I die cut white, pink and red cardstocks and then glued them together. SO easy and I love the result.

 

 

 

 

 

May your days be merry and bright indeed!! 

That's it for today! I hope you have an awesome weekend! I will be back on Monday with the introduction of a GORGEOUS new release from The Greetery! The final release of the year from one of our favorite companies! You are going to love it! I can't wait to show you!!

NOTE!! If you're shopping, I would be so excited and grateful if you would use any of my affiliate shopping links!  CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST! (Including Amazon - and hopefully soon Target!) This helps me out more than I can even tell you and I thank you in advance!! THANK YOU in advance!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

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

 

Pinkfresh Studio October New Release Blog Hop - Beautiful Blue Snowflake!

Winter greetings coming your way today! We are celebrating the gorgeous new release from Pinkfresh Studio with a giant blog hop! Yeah! I am so excited to be joining in the fun and festivities of the blog hop. As always, the new release is wonderful! Stamps, dies, stencils...all in classic and creative themes... So much to love! I am happy to share my project with you! The blog hop links, prizes information, and supplies information is all at the bottom of my post. If you're new here - welcome to my blog! Enjoy the hop everyone! XO

My finished card is a white A2 card base, covered in another layer of white that has been die cut with the Sparkling Diamonds Die. The feature of my card is the AWESOME brand new Folk Snowflake Suite: Stamps, Dies, and matching Stencils. I went with a frosty blue theme that just screams winter! 

 

 

 

In this side view, you can see that I heat embossed the beautiful snowflake stamp first, then die cut it, then stenciled it in three shades of blue inks. The white embossing really pops against the blues, and adds that shiny white look. I matched the blues in the scalloped circle cut out. Behind the cut out portion, I used vellum to soften the background. I stenciled using the amazing small blender brushes from PFS.

 

For the smaller accent snowflakes I used the Snowflakes Background stamp and matching dies. I added the GORGEOUS Starry Sky Ombre Glitter Drops to each snowflake. 

 

 

 

I heat embossed my sentiment with white embossing powder onto blue cardstock and die cut it out with the matching die. Very classy!!

 

 

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

PRIZE INFO: Pinkfresh Studio will be giving away the full new release on the Pinkfresh Blog & YouTube channel!! They will also be giving away a total of TEN $25  gift cards along the hop. The lucky winners will be picked from the comments left on all the blog hop stops! Pinkfresh Studio will pull the winners & post them on November 21, 2023 on the Pinkfresh Studio GIVEAWAY PAGE. You must check that page & claim your prize within 2 weeks. Don't forget to look! Good Luck!

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

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY THE BLOG HOP! 

ENJOY THE INSPIRATION TODAY AND HAVE FUN!

 

The Greetery Fair Isle and Pretty Pines....

Helllooooo friends! How was your week? This week flew by so fast! I hope you had a good one! We have had the best weather this week here in Sacramento and it was a nice week with lots of things accomplished. Not sure what we're doing this weekend yet! How about you?! Got any fun plans? Are you knee deep in holiday crafting? We are going to go to some vintage markets this weekend and I'm excited to be outside in the brisk weather and also to see some beautiful Christmas things. There are so many activities this time of year!! 

Today I have a project up on The Greetery Blog, and like always, I'm sharing it here on my blog too! It's another Christmas card mixing and matching old and new Greetery stamps, dies, and stencils. I was in the Christmas spirit after the last amazing Greetery release, so I made another Wintery Christmas card to share with you today. You can never get too early of a start on those Christmas cards! 

I created a little Alpine scene with frosty pines and fair isle pattern... LOVE! My finished card is an A2 white card base that I covered in red cardstock. My patterned layer was made with the gorgeous Fair Isle Stencils.... Then the Frost Pines Dies are on top... I used some vellum and a bit of sparkle to make it fun.

 

Here's a close up of all my layers! I started by making my background stenciled panel. I used Distress Inks in shades of greens, reds and aqua with my soft blender brushes. It came out so nice! Next I die cut out two of the Frosty Pines Dies. I used Kraft, Green, and white paper for the trees. I assembled my trees and then splattered them with white paint 'snow'. I also generously added Diamond Stickles onto the snowy portions of the trees. A few red pearls for a little pop of color on that top circle. I am kind of obsessed with those stencils and I used traditional Christmas colors! I wish I had a sweater with this print because I do love a fair isle!

 

I stenciled with both small and large blender brushes and Distress Inks. So easy to achieve this pretty result.

 

The sentiment is from the Merry Sprigs stamp set. I really like this cool retro looking font! 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you a very happy day and a happy weekend! Lots of love from my craft room to yours!! XOXO

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

Henry the Snowman Cross Stitch Project!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! Here it is November! Hope you had a great weekend! It's my favorite month, and our house is all decorated with Fall/Thanksgiving decor and we even have a cute blow up turkey in the front yard! My hubs' favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so we don't skip right to Christmas at our house. That's fine with me because I loooooove Autumn and tend to stretch it all the way out until The week after Thanksgiving. I had an amazing weekend and it was my birthday on Friday!! On my birthday we went out to my favorite coffee shop and lingered and hung out for a bit. Then we went on a beautiful drive up to the lake and into the mountains to see some fall color and some nature. It was an absolutely sparkling perfect day. We ended with a yummy birthday dinner. The BIG celebration was on Saturday night, though. I fulfilled one of my long time concert wishes - and we went to see Gwen Stefani in concert here locally! I was soooooo excited! I dressed up and put on lots of sparkly makeup and checkerboard fingernails.... The show was awesome! And the venue only holds 4,000 people so the show was very intimate! She was funny, and glittery, and a crazy good dancer, and her voice is just the same as you would imagine. What a FUN night!! Lots of people in the audience were dressed up and the mood was great. I had the best time. The other super fun thing is that my husband contacted the venue beforehand and the put Happy Birthday Wanda on the jumbotron and then put US on the jumbotron!! Everyone was clapping and it was so cool. Also, after the show, people were coming up to me and wishing me happy birthday! Ha! They recognized me from the screen. What a nice birthday it was!! 

Now, although our house in not in Christmas mode, the craft room is definitely in Christmas mode! As you know I've been making Christmas cards for months already!! And there is more coming! I've been working on some new releases and you'll see those things soon! Today I have another Cross Stitch project to share with you! I started this one two years ago and FINALLY just now finished it. It was just a matter of putting my mind to it!! The pattern is called Henry and the designer is All Through The Night. I stitched on 14 Count Aida Fabric in the color Raw, and I used the called for threads listed on the pattern. The frame is from Michaels!! He's really cute and I absolutely love his plaid pants!!

 

I mean, seriously, a snowman wearing a reindeer sweater!!! SO FUN!!!

 

 

 

I like the little branches and berries as an accent...the whole thing is so cheery!!

 

 

 

 

 

This color palette feels sort of vintagey to me so I kept the frame simple with a nice wood frame. When I frame my stitches, I don't put the glass back in the frame because I like to see the texture. I back my pieces with quilt batting to make it 'poof' out a bit. 

Cheers to a great week ahead! I'll be sharing a Greetery card later in the week and whatever else I can think of!! Take care!! XOXO

 

Lawn Fawn Tiny Gift Boxes for Halloween! Boo!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN GHOULFRIENDS!! BOO!! It's less than a week until Halloween now and I have one last project to share with you, with a pumpkin theme!! As usual, I had way more ideas than time and this was the last thing that I got made in time for Halloween. I guess there's always next year. I think to myself (again) ...self...you gotta start earlier! LOL. The weather turned very cold this week (40's at night) and the leaves are colorful and I'm generally in a fall mood. LOOOVE it. We carved pumpkins on Thursday and the front yard is all decorated. My costume is ready and the candy has been purchased! Bring on Halloween 2023! Also, this coming up week is my birthday and we have something SUPER fun planned! We are going to see Gwen Stefani in concert! I absolutely love her and she's been on my concert bucket list for ages. Well, she's playing this weekend in our city and in a venue that's only 4,000 people so we will have an intimate show. I've been a No Doubt fan from the beginning and love her on The Voice too! I'm am beyond excited for next Saturday!! I have my outfit all planned even, and you know it involves checkerboards and sequins!!  Anyhoooooo, on to my project! 

I used supplies from Lawn Fawn to make (more) Tiny Gift Boxes! I really love these gift boxes, and you've seen here on my blog the little Bees and Ladybugs and the adorable skunks, and more. Well, this fall they came out with a ghost one and I had to have her! Hee Hee. I made a little trio of tiny gift/treat boxes today; a cat, a jack o lantern, and a ghost. I also made a little banner with some Lawn Fawn Stamps. To make these, you use the Tiny Gift Box Base, and then the add ons for the different characters. (Supplies are all listed out at the bottom of my post)... Let's look!

 

Here's a top down shot of the tiny boxes. I used Lawn Fawn Gingham paper to make the boxes and that makes them so much cuter!! Purple, orange and green for Halloween!! The boxes die cut out in ONE piece which is awesome. Simply fold and glue and they go together quick and easy.

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!!

 

I used the Fangtastic Friends and the Wavy Banners to make my little Halloween Sign. The bats are colored in with Copic Markers and then I used white gel pen accents and some sparkly glitter glue too!

 

I really cannot pick a favorite, but I do think I'm partial to that little ghostie witch!! Hee hee. I love that the pumpkin one has a 3D stem and those cute leaves... Of course I made a black cat!! The ghost has wittle arms that hold that wittle pumpkin. Lolz. I used Copic markers to add accents to the different die cut pieces. I also used glitter glue and white gel pen accents on everything to add those little details I love.

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!!

 

The rest of the photos are mostly just close ups of everything so you can see everything. In reality, this project is sooooo easy. A great thing to make with the kiddos, or to make a bunch to bring to the office. A little bit of candy fits inside and it's perfect. 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLY LIST CLICK HERE!!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another fun photo for today!! I absolutely love to get coffee and we have a great coffee scene here in Sacramento!! The other day I went to my favorite place and ask for some spooky latte art. Well, they delivered! Check out this awesome pumpkin!! I had my skeleton hand in my backpack for props and I took some fun photos. I do think it's important to be silly sometimes and find the joy in the small things. Lord knows it's been a hard year and something like a pumpkin coffee can make me smile and pause for a moment....

 

 

Okay friends! Have an awesome weekend! I think from here on out I'll probably be switching to Christmas crafting mode... And maybe something for Thanksgiving too! I really feel like the rest of the year is going to go by so fast. Wishing you a fun and happy Halloween - all treats and no tricks! Take care and love ya. Leave me a comment and tell me what's up with you!!! I love to hear from you! XOXO

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

Boo to You Cross Stitch Project! Another Halloween Finish!

Hi friends! Happy Sunday! How's your weekend going?! I hope you are doing great and enjoying life in general! It's been a nice weekend here - all the windows open and a breeze in the air. It's almost my birthday and we have some fun things planned. I absolutely love this time of year! I finished another Halloween Stitching this weekend and got it framed (go me!) so I thought I'd share it with you today! It's a fun, vintage, pumpkin lady with a cute little outfit! Ha! I hope you like her. XOXO

For scale, the frame is an 8x10 frame that I bought at Hobby Lobby. I used a bit of silver wax to add some depth to the black frame and a little more vintage-ness too! My fabric is 14 count Aida and the pattern is called Boo To You. The pattern is from one of my favorite cross stitch artists - Brenda Gervais. Her patterns are so whimsical and fun! She's wearing a candy corn necklace! I mean, c'mon!

 

The next photos are some close ups of the different elements. I used the called for threads and they are all 'fancy floss' and variegated threads. Kinda turns out cool with the variegated threads!! To frame my piece, I ironed it really well and then backed it with two layers of quilt batting to make it puffy out of the frame. I don't use the glass when I frame my stitching. Just personal preference. My supplies are all listed at the bottom of the post. 

 

The shoes! The gingham skirt! Hee hee. 

 

The one change I made to the pattern is that I made her cheeks pink instead of dark orange. I just wanted her to have rosy pink cheeks!!

 

 

 

She is ready for trick or treating!

 

 

 

Here's a in-process photo I took when it was about half done!

 

 

This photo is of another pattern in this series. It's called Peppermint Pals! I have a story about this one, and it's a sad tale... I finished this one in 2019 and snapped this photo with my phone when it was done. Well..... My hubs and I went out one Saturday last year, and I had three stitching pieces with me. This snowman one, and two Halloween ones.... We went out to find fabric, and trim, and frames, and what not. Went to Hobby Lobby, the fabric store, Michaels....etc. And I brought the stitching pieces with me to match everything and look at frames. Well....when we got home that day and unloaded the car, my stitching pieces were NOWHERE to be found!!! Somewhere along the line, they must have fallen out of my tote, or I set them down somewhere. Gosh, how sad that was! I remade one of the smaller ones, but haven't redone the other two (including this guy).... I wanted to share him, since he goes with the other one today. Isn't he adorable??!!

 

 

Okay, friends! Thanks for stopping by today for a visit! Have a fabulous week! I'm not sure when I'll be posting next...I have some ideas, but not sure what I'll manage to get done still before Halloween!! Until I see you, take care! XOXO

CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to see my supplies for today's post! 

 

Pretty Pink Posh - New Release - Christmas Stockings!

Hi crafty friends! How are you today? Hope you're doing great and getting crafty! Today I'm sharing another project I made with the brand new Pretty Pink Posh Holiday Release! I adore this new release so much! I shared two cards last week for the big blog hop, both Christmas cards. Well, today I used the new products with some other PPP items to make a cute stocking card!  Today PPP is having a big Instagram Hop to celebrate this new PPP Release! So be sure to head over to Instagram and leave a comment to be able to win a PPP gift certificate! As always with an Instagram Hop, I'm sharing my card here too. I couldn't wait to show you this card!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

My card features the brand new Build A Stocking Dies, the new Holiday Mug Additions, and the new Eyelet Rectangles! My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with an eyelet rectangle and then those adorable stockings!! 

 

Here's a side view of my card to show you my layers and elements.... I love those little peppermint candies! And the details on the stockings are just perfection...

 

I ink blended just the top of my rectangle using ink and a blender brush. I generously splashed on silver metallic paint splatters. It's so shimmery and pretty in person...

 

That little tag is so sweet! I added a bit of twine and a heart....

 

 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

I die cut the stockings from colored cardstock and used Copic Markers to add a bit of shading. I used white glitter paper for the tops of the stockings. I used gems in the centers of the candies...

 

 

I'm all about the details.... A Bow, a snowflake, some little trees....everything Christmas!

 

 

That's it for today's spooky fun project!! Be sure to head over to Instagram to leave comments in the hop! I hope you have a fantastic day! Thanks for spending part of it with me here! I'll be back tomorrow with a new card for The Greetery! XOXO

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

 

Graceful Watercolor Leaves with The Greetery!

Hi there my creative and crafty friends! Happy weekend! This past week I had the honor of having a project featured over on The Greetery Blog! I wanted to make sure to post my card here for you as well. I know we're switching between a lot of things lately...Fall, Christmas, Halloween! Tis the season for sure! My Greetery project is an ode to fall....because my heart is still happily in Autumn mode and I am excited about falling leaves and crisp mornings... This is what inspired my card for today! I tried to capture the serene mood of a Fall morning with a bright blue sky and pretty trees.... I kept it clean and simple and graphic....

 

My finished card is an A2 white card base that I covered with Woodgrain cardstock. The rest of the card pieces are all watercolor paper for a nice creamy look. I am featuring one of my favorite Greetery stamp sets - Autumn Sketches! I used the matching Autumn Sketches dies along with the beautiful A2 Arches dies and the Blessed Blooms Stamp Set. 

 

 

 

I used one of my favorite techniques - which is stamping with Distress Inks and then water blending the inks to mimic watercolor painting. This is such an easy and fun technique that gives great results! I started the project by using Distress Ink pads to do my layered stamping - one layer brown for the branches, and then yellow and orange layers for the leaves. After I was done stamping, I die cut out the branches/leaves clusters. I then took my water brush and "painted" over my stamping! I also went back in and added a bit more color to some of the leaves....

 

 

 

 

I die cut out an arch, using the A2 Arches dies. I again used Distress Ink Pads in blues (smushed onto a stamping block) with a wet on wet watercolor technique to make my blue sky background. The sentiment is very simple to match the mood.... I used my MISTI and brown ink for perfect placement. For my finishing touch I added some clear enamel dots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for my card for today! I hope you are enjoying a happy Autumn season.... I'm wishing you a wonderful and creative day and I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting! XO Wanda

 

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

 

 

Pretty Pink Posh - Holiday New Release 2023 - Christmas Cards!

Helllooooo and howdy and Happy Friday! I have MORE Christmas cards to share with you today! I am almost done making all my Christmas cards now! Ha! There were so many beautiful new releases this year and I'm so honored to be part of the fun to show them to you here on my blog. Today is yet another awesome Holiday release - this time from Pretty Pink Posh!! The new release is already available in the PPP store and it's SO GOOD! Perfectly cheerful and happy and warm. Today is day three of a big blog hop celebrating the new October/Holiday release from our friends at Pretty Pink Posh. I hope my cards today get you in the mood to so some holiday crafting! I have two cards today, and then I'll share another card next week when we do the Instagram Hop. 

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

My first card for today features the brand new Holiday Birds dies, the brand new Pierced Snowflakes Die and the new Sentiment Strips Christmas Stamp Set! I also used the gorgeous Decorative Birdhouses dies and some other favorite PPP items. All my exact supplies are listed at the bottom of my post!! My finished card is an A2 white card base. The blue layer mimics a pretty winter sky with snowflakes...then my focal images.

 

 

Here's a side view of my card to show you the layers and elements.... That pretty sentiment fits perfectly across the bottom of my card....

 

 

The new Holiday Birds are SOOO CUTE!!! There are three little birds (I made cardinals), a little hat, a scarf, and more! EEP. He's about to nest down for the winter in his cute house!!

 

Here's a close up of that gorgeous new background die with the snowflakes. I splattered on some white paint/snow....

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

 

I used plaid, black and green to make my birdhouse. I wanted it to be very Christmas-y!

 

For the opening of the birdhouse I used the little tree that comes in the new Stocking Shaker set. It was the perfect size! I added a little heart over the opening of their love nest. I added snowflakes too.... 

 

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

 

My second card today features the brand new Candy Cane Stencils Set, the new Merry Christmas Shadow dies, and the new Eyelet Rectangles Dies. I used a traditional color palette of red, white and silver, with just a little pop of green!! My finished card is an A2 white card base. Layered with red, kraft, vellum and white. 

 

 

Here's a side view of my layers.... I used vellum with that beautiful new rectangle die and I love it!! The sentiment was die cut from silver glitter paper for some Christmas shimmer! The candy canes are from the Winter Mug Die Set. They are so fresh and pretty.

 

I added red enamel dots for the holly berries and two shades of green for the holly leaves. 

 

In this photo, you can get a close up look of the new stencil set! LOOOOVE! (I always love a candy cane theme).... I used kraft cardstock and stenciled with white pigment ink (Using a small sponge dauber). I dried the pigment ink with my heat tool. Then I used bright red ink and a dauber to go over the white. The key here is to really make sure that white ink is dry first before doing the red ink. It came out so nice.

 

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

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

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

BLOG HOP PRIZE INFO! There are FOUR $30 gift certificates up for grabs (one winner each day of the hop). Winners will be picked randomly along the blog hop from all the comments. Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 10/19!! Winners will be announced on the PPP blog. Good Luck!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW PPP RELEASE!

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

TODAY'S FUN BLOG HOP LINEUP!!

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Cathy Zielske

Wanda Guess

Barbara Tarayao

Jeanne Jachna

Dana Kirby

Mindy Eggen

 

Hey Boo! Fun Halloween Projects with bling!

Hey Boo! Hope your week is going great! I have had a great week so far. It rained here on Monday! Just enough to make everything fresh and clean. Oh, I am really ready for that nice gloomy weather! I'm working on another Halloween stitching project right now and hope to finish before the end of the month.  I'm going to run out of time to post Halloween projects! So I have some more to share with you today! I got in some good crafting time this week already and I have really cheery and cute things to show you! My color inspiration is down further in my post, but I am loving the use of pink for Halloween this year. It seems to be the new in thing, and I'm here for it! Makes everything a little more faboooolous! I am sharing a card today and some cute cat shaker bits and bobs....

My finished card is an A2 white card base, layered with white and black and a cool background die cut. The star is that cute ghostie holding a heart! I popped in bright orange and hot pink along with silver glitter and I like the look. All the dies I used are from The Stamp Market.

 

The little ghostie arms are a separate die so you can move them around! Isn't that fun?? I layered orange and silver for the 'boo' word to make it stand out. I added both pink and orange gems because, well, bling!

 

I die cut the background die a second time using silver glitter paper and sprinkled some extra pieces onto that top panel.

 

 

 

I also made some sweet kitty cat shakers!! I used patterned paper from The Stamp Market and all the bits inside are from my stash. I chose orange, black, clear and pink fillings! The whiskers are from glitter paper.

 

 

 

I think I might make these into some mini cards - or maybe some tie ons for goodie bags!

My husband found me this awesome mug and got it for me for a present! I've been drinking my water out of it every day. It is SO CHEERFUL and it makes me smile. So this mug was the inspiration for my card - for obvious reasons! TOOOOOO fun. 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay ghoulfriends, that's it for today! Have a happy and creative day and I'll be back on Friday as promised! XOXO

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

Sweet Trick or Treat Kitty Cross Stitch!

Hello friends! Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend! It was hot here this weekend and that's what usually happens in early October - we have one last blast of heat then we settle into Autumn. The mornings are so beautiful and cool and the leaves are starting to turn! My husband put out all the Halloween decorations in our front yard (he goes all out, even a fog machine and a graveyard!) I love it! We celebrated our wedding anniversary last week and on Saturday night we went out to dinner and an awesome concert for our anniversary. We saw The Lumineers and they were so amazing live. WOW....just wow. They sounded ten times better than on the record. Something about the piano and the violin live with his voice. I am still thinking about it. 

Before I start today's post - just wanted to say - again - thank you for alllllll the love on my Greetery posts last week! It is so much fun to show you the new releases and I can feel your excitement too. I hope you have lots of fun crafting with your new goodies!! I will have some more fun Christmas cards to share later this week, but for today it's all Halloween! 

Today's share is a fun little cross stitch project I finished up late last week! I LOVE Halloween cross stitch! The pattern is called Trick or Treat and the designer is Barbara Ana Designs. I bought the pattern off Etsy. I used 14 count Aida fabric and DMC floss. I did change up the colors on the pumpkins and the leaves motif. I almost always add my own personal touch. I also added a little button to her bow! Like with my last project, I haven't decided how to finish it yet, so it will go in the stack of almost finished projects!! 

 

I love her little top hat!! And her fluffy skirt!! She is a kitten princess with her pumpkin staff....

 

Look at those curly shoes!!

 

Trick or Treat!!

 

 

 

 

That's it for me for today! Hope you have a GREAT week! I'll be back on Wednesday and Friday! See you then! XOXO

 

The Greetery Holiday 2023 Collection Release Day! Yippeee!

 

HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

RECOLLECTIVE HOLIDAY IS HERE!

CLICK HERE!!

It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new Recollective Holiday release to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back through my last three blog posts you can see all my projects, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions - reach out! 

Thank you for ALL the amazingly kind comments on my project reveals post!!! You are so nice to bless me so kindly! I would be so grateful, as always, if you would shop via my Greetery affiliate link! Have fun!

 

The Greetery - Recollective Holiday Collection - New Release Day 3

Whew! Okay friends, welcome back to DAY THREE of The Greetery Release Week! If you haven't already, be sure to scroll back through my last two blog posts so that you make sure to see everything! It's been a lot of projects this week!! The Recollective Holiday Collection from The Greetery is here! And, just one more day until you can shop and create your own projects!! Thanks again, as always, for the lovely comments and the support. It means a lot to me and I read all the comments - and you guys make me smile. Bless you! Today I am sharing my final two projects from release week, and they have an interesting theme that you probably won't guess - Cars!!! Yes, cars!! Hee hee. Let's go!

THE NEW RELEASE DAY IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6TH  AT 10AM EST! TOMORROW!

Remember back when Betsy did the cutest Van Die?? Well, now we have a Hatchback! It's called, appropriately enough, the Holiday Hatchback! And it's like Barbie, because it has accessories! (I am cracking myself up right now)! The brand new Holiday Hatchback opens up from the bottom so you can tuck in little candy treats, small gifts, or even a gift card! It would be so cute as an ornament, or home decor, or place settings! And, of course, it's not just for the holidays. I'm thinking new drivers, a car themed party.....the ideas are endless. Let's take a peek at my car I created! I used the Hatchback Dies, the matching Tree Die, and the matching Skis Die! There is also a Luggage Die! My inspiration is my love of skiing (when I was younger!) and Lake Tahoe. We live not too far from Lake Tahoe and it's a regular occurrence to see cars on the freeway with trees, skis, and tons of snow packed on them! 

 

I made a little home decoration theme for my project! The sign was made using one of the stamps from the also new Holiday Cheer stamp set (featured later in my post today).

 

It's very easy to figure out where all the parts and pieces go, and it's totally customizable! Choose any color, any trim, etc. I used some gems for the headlights and I also used matte silver cardstock for the bumpers, etc. The trim is from my favorite woodgrain paper. 

 

Oh gosh, those skis are SO fun! And the tree on top is the perfect size. I assembled the tree by putting together three of the tree dies so it would be 3d. I added tons of snow to everything!

 

My knees are too old for skiing now, but I'm not opposed to some hot cocoa by the fire!

 

 

 

 

 

And, my final project for release week is featuring the brand new Cheer Mobile Stamps and Dies! I used the new stamps and dies along with some of my previously released Greetery favorites!! My finished card is a white A2 card base, layered with red and then white. I used the Snowflake Soiree stencils and added some pretty pines...again inspired by skiing at the lake!

 

This car is definitely on the way to gramma's house, loaded up with presents! Driving through the snowy woods ready for a celebration! And again, this car isn't just for the holidays! Presents are good any time as a theme with cute cars. The sentiments have matching dies which I love. I created my cute red card by stamping with my MISTI.

 

I stenciled my Snowflake Soiree Stencils using only two shades of blue, instead of using four color shades. I wanted the look to be icy and cool. 

 

 

 

 

Okay, friends! That's it for me for this new release week! Oh, what fun we've had dashing through the snow and getting ready for the holidays! Thanks for spending some (lots of) time with me this week! XOXO

DAY THREE PRIZE INFORMATION!! The Greetery will be giving away TWO more $50 gift certificates for today! That makes a total of SIX gift certificates over all three days.... To be entered to win, leave a comment on each blog for today!  Random comments will be chosen and announced on The Greetery Blog!  

The new release is LIVE tomorrow, October 6th, at 10am EST!  It is definitely my pleasure to share The Greetery products with you! I feel very lucky to be part of this team. Happy Shopping tomorrow! I am very excited to see what everyone makes with these gorgeous new winter themed products.

I truly appreciate it if you remember to shop via my links! tomorrow. It helps me so very much! 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE NEW RELEASE!

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

The Greetery - Recollective Holiday Collection - New Release Day 2

Welcome back to day two of the new Recollective Holiday Collection for The Greetery! Thanks again for joining me today! The new winter collection continues today with the design team featuring more new products! (And we'll have even more tomorrow too!) I hope you've been enjoying the release so far. Thank you for all the love and nice comments. This is such a fun time of year to share with all of you!! I hope you're in the mood today for some bright and sparkly projects! Yesterday's projects were classically Christmas and today's projects are fun, retro, colorful Christmas!! A little something for every style and even more gorgeous new stamps and dies.... Hope you're having a good day so far. Let's get started!! 

THE NEW RELEASE DAY IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6TH  AT 10AM EST!

My first card for today features the brand new Bright and Bubbly stamps, sentiments and dies! Everyone remembers those cool ornaments from the 60's...well Betsy brought them back to life for us to craft with! My finished card is a white A2 card base layered with aqua, vellum, and more white... All to serve as a background for those bright colorful ornaments. My sentiment is sparkly silver and the whole card makes me smile!

 

Here's a side view of my card and die cut layers.... I used the new Juniper Dies as my 'tree' part of the card. All the die cut pieces were generously splattered with silver metallic watercolor ink. 

 

 

I shaded each ornament with Copic Markers and I also used some Stickles for the candle portion. I added clear gemstones to look like the old liquid ornaments. This card has a lot of details and I love it all!

 

 

 

The sentiment was heat embossing with very sparkly silver embossing powder!

 

 

 

My second card for today's reveals features the brand new Christmas Sampler stencils and stamps!! It's homespun, warm, cozy Christmas! My finished card is an A2 card base covered in black woodgrain... This card is all about those stencils!! A perfectly put together set of stencils to easily make this pretty background. The sentiment was stamped on last and the stamp set has several options that fit into those spaces.

 

After I was done stenciling, I added white paint splatters as 'snow' to the card. Just felt right!

 

I rounded the corners and added a gem there at the top...

 

 

 

 

I am excited to see the color combinations everyone else came up with for this stencil set! The possibilities are endless!

 

Last up for today is another cheerful card with a festive plaid! This card features the brand new Plaid Tidings Suite of stamps, stencils, and dies. I mean, c'mon! Plaid words?? YES!!! My finished card is an A2 white card base layered again with aqua and white. I used the 'glow' stamp from the Bright and Bubbly set to make some details in the background. 

 

The stencils are so easy to do!! Pick your colors and make it festive! I stenciled and then die cut out the words using the matching die. I added the rounded sentiment from the accompanying/matching stamps. Simple and pretty. 

 

These two step holly sprigs are also part of this set and I tucked some in there for good measure. 

 

The big words are attached to the card using foam tape and then I added a few blue pearls...

Alright my friends, that's it for day two! But, guess what? Tomorrow is day THREE! More projects and more products for you to see! Cannot wait to see you again tomorrow morning!! Isn't this fun?!

DAY TWO PRIZE INFORMATION!! The Greetery will be giving away TWO more $50 gift certificates for today! That makes SIX gift certificates total over all three days.... To be entered to win, leave a comment on each blog post for today!  Random comments will be chosen and announced on The Greetery Blog!  

THE NEW RELEASE DAY IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6TH  AT 10AM EST!

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

 

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY!

Angelica

Dana 

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

The Greetery - Recollective Holiday Collection - New Release Day 1

Hello there my crafty friends! Today is the start of something big! Something we all look forward to all year! It's time to reveal The Greetery Holiday Collection for 2023! (It's also my wedding anniversary, so a lot to celebrate today!) I know that you know that I know (hahaha) that Betsy goes all out for the Christmas release every year and this year is spectacular! The new release is called the Recollective Holiday Collection! Stamps, Dies, Stencils, and 3d projects, all with a beautiful homespun holiday feeling. I think you're gonna love it! There are THREE reveal days this time around! The design team will be sharing our projects Today, Tomorrow, and Thursday and revealing all the new products for you. I have eight different projects to show you over the next few days. There will be tons of fun, photos, inspiration, prizes, and more! Let's grab a cup of cocoa and have some fun together! Welcome! As always, my full supply list is at the bottom of this post, and I'll update it once the new items are available!

THE NEW RELEASE DAY IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6TH AT 10AM EST!

My first card for today features the brand new Big Beautiful Bow Die, along with the new Juniper Dies, and the sentiment from the brand new Wrapped In Love stamp set!! I also used previous products - Ruscus and Pine Wisp! I created a present on a card! My finished card is an A2 card base made from cream cardstock, and then covered in small gingham. That gorgeous bow is the star of the card....

 

This new sentiment set is awesome! Mix and match different sentiments/fonts with a gift theme! Love it! I used brown ink to stamp my sentiments since this card has a vintage feeling to it. The top layer is cream and then I used shades of green and vivid red.... I splattered my card with gold watercolor ink too.

 

I mixed in some vellum and two green tones for interest. I also added some snow to make it feel more vintage and wintery! This bow is easy to assemble of course - Betsy thought of everything - and the dies line up easily to create this pretty bow.

 

 

 

 

 

I used a dark red/mahogany Copic Marker and inked parts of the bow to look like a shadow/shading...

 

My second card for today's festivities features the brand new Wrapped In Love suite of stamps and dies!! This is so cute, fun and clever!! A whole line of products set around gift wrapping!! My finished card is a kraft A2 card base. I layered the Nordic dies as my top layer and put red underneath to show through. 

 

Cute scissors, tape, tags, twine....everything you need for gift wrapping!!! And more beautiful, thoughtful, sentiments. Here's a side view of my layers...

 

I used kraft, white, red, and green for a very classic Christmas palette. The dies are matched up to look like a roll of wrapping paper!! And those tiny tags!! I used a tiny bit of vellum for my 'tape' dispenser! The scissors were die cut with both gold and silver cardstock. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, seriously, can you stand this??!!! It's so great!!

 

 

My final card for today features the brand new Winterland Layers stamps and dies and the brand new Comfort and Joy stamps and dies.... My finished card is an A2 card base layered with cream, kraft, and red.... The Winterland layers are pretty foliage meant for the holidays. The Comfort and Joy stamp set has caring messages for people who might be having a difficult holiday season (SO thoughtful and wonderful)....

 

I kept this card clean and simple by layering the Nordic Dies and inking the edges for a soft look.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm always so very happy for a new release!! Especially a holiday release! That's it for day one of the new release reveals! Be sure to come back tomorrow and Thursday and I will be sharing five more cards and projects featuring the new items! What's your favorite thing so far?  The new release will be for sale on Friday, October 6th at 10am EST!  See you tomorrow with more projects! XOXO

DAY ONE PRIZE INFORMATION! The Greetery will be giving away TWO $50 gift certificates each day (for three days)!  To be entered to win, leave a comment on each designer's blog  post for today!  Random comments will be chosen and announced on The Greetery Blog! 

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE GREETERY STORE!

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

DESIGN TEAM INSPIRATION LINKS FOR TODAY!

Angelica

Dana

Dawn

Kelly

Laurie

Melissa

Wanda

 

Guest Designing with Doodlebug - Sweet & Spooky Collection - Pop Up Halloween Card!

Hi friends! Happy October! YEAH! We even had some rain yesterday! Hope you're having a good weekend. So excited for my favorite month (well, one of them!) How have you been? I'm very excited and happy to be making a Doodlebug project and to be back as a guest designer on the Doodlebug Blog today!! You guys already know how much I love Halloween, and the only thing better than Halloween is....Doodlebug Halloween! I look forward to the new collection every Fall! Today, I'm sharing a project I made with the new Sweet and Spooky Collection. It's fantastic! I love how Doodlebug incorporated some aqua and pink in with all the other traditional Halloween colors. It's fresh and cute with just the right amount of spooky! 

SUPPLIES ARE LISTED - CLICK HERE - OR AT THE BOTTOM OF MY POST!

My card today is a pop up card! I made a little street scene for Halloween night - with trick or treaters, a haunted house, and some adorable ghosties! I used a die set that makes a pop up card - it's so simple and easy to put together.  I love that Doodlebug papers are double sided, so the front is just as cute as the back!! This card folds into an A2 envelope, and I used the awesome Cards and Envelopes Sweet and Spooky pack for the envelope. 

 

 

 

I assembled my card from 12x12 Spooky and Sweet paper using the aqua spiderwebs paper as a nice neutral background. I used lots of stickers and die cut pieces to decorate everything! When I first started paper crafting it was a 'thing' to make cards entirely from stickers! And it's so easy with the gorgeous stickers from Doodlebug! I put the haunted house in the background and the cute trick or treaters.... And then I glued the ghosties to the top to make it look like they're flying around. 

 

 

SUPPLIES ARE LISTED - CLICK HERE - OR AT THE BOTTOM OF MY POST!

Those big cardstock stickers are perfect for sentiments! I used the Happy Halloween banner sticker across the bottom of my card and decorated with a few shape sprinkles. 

 

I used the orange envelope from the Cards and Envelopes pack and decorated the front of it with matching stickers. I also splattered on a bit of black paint for good measure. 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLIES ARE LISTED - CLICK HERE - OR AT THE BOTTOM OF MY POST!

Here is the back of my card - again, the double sided papers make any project just that much cuter!!

 

 

 

 

SUPPLIES ARE LISTED - CLICK HERE - OR AT THE BOTTOM OF MY POST!

That's it for me for today! My supplies for today are listed below.  Happy October!! I hope you have a very Sweet and Spooky Halloween! All treats and NO tricks! Have a great day, and Happy Crafting!

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

 

Halloween Tiny Town Cross Stitch!

Hi there my friends! How are you today? It's a new week and it feels like Fall here! This morning when I woke up it was 60 degrees outside! YES! Time for some fresh air in the house. Love that so much. We had a pretty quiet weekend around here....most of our plans got cancelled since my husband and I are both sick. Ugh. 2023 has been a very trying and difficult year for us. But we are hanging in there. The coming of Autumn always makes me in a hopeful mood. I am organizing in the craft room and making tons of Christmas projects to share with you. I know the rest of the year is going to fly by so quickly! I finished a new cross stitch piece last week and I thought I'd share that with you today!! I haven't decided how I'm going to "finish" it so for now it's ironed and tucked away until I come up with an idea! I do love a Halloween cross stitch!! 

If you want to see more of my finished cross stitch projects you can CLICK HERE!

Here is my finish! It's called Halloween Tiny Town and it's by Heart In Hand... There are a series of "tiny towns" and I've bought a few of them! There is a Valentine one, and a Seaside one, and a Fall one...They are so cute!! If you're a beginner, this would be a great series to start with. The finished pieces are not overwhelming... I stitched on 14 count Aida and I used DMC and Weeks threads. I used mostly the called for thread colors, but I did pop up that bright orange a bit with a stronger color.... The finished size of just the pattern is 3" x 13" so I cut my fabric to 7" x 17" for a two inch border.

 

This was such a fun stitch!! I love the flying bats, and the ghosts holding the boo banner...and those tiny pumpkins on the fence!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How cute is that hanging bat beneath the full moon?? Adorable!!

And a wise old owl in a tree!

 

And I do also like that touch of pink in there too! Seriously just the cutest little Halloween town. I wish I lived there!!

 

That's it for today! I'll be back this weekend with a Doodlebug Project! I'm guest designing with their new Halloween Collection and it's sweet and spooky for sure. Wishing you a wonderful week! XOXO