Red, White & Blue

It's an unusually chilly and rainy weekend in VA which gave me an excuse to head to my craft room and create something. I saw the tac tac toe challenge at The Paper Players and knew right away I wanted to use the flag die set from Ink to Paper using patterned red, white and blue papers!

 I have to give credit to Lori Craig for her creative use of the Into the Blooms II dies as fireworks. I cut them from both vellum and silver card stock. The flag was popped up with a foam panel.

PAPER: Yankee Doodles 6x6 pad by We R Memory Keepers; White, Luxe Silver (Ink to Paper).

DIES: Into the Blooms II, Love to Layer: American Flag (Ink to Paper). 

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you are in the US, have a wonderful holiday weekend!  ~Wanda

Fusion Card Challenge

Are you ready for another Fusion Card Challenge? This time, I only went with the inspiration photo and was totally inspired by the floral arrangement in the foreground of the desk. It gave me a chance to play with the new tulip and basket dies from The Greetery!

 Wow! These dies are so much fun and are easier to assemble if you watch Betsy Veldman's two video tutorials first. I color blended the florals with distress oxide inks on Bristol Smooth Surface paper then added some detailing with Prismacolor pencils. I added the basket liner and ruffle using Bitty Big: Pale Peony paper by Ink to Paper. The basket was die cut from Dark Indigo card stock (also ITP). The tiny sentiments are so sweet to add to the layered label on the basket.

I am also using the sketch for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week.

STAMPS: Market Basket Sentiments (The Greetery).

INK: Dark Indigo (Ink to Paper); Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Kitsch Flamingo, Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness distress oxide inks.

DIES: Market Baskets, BotaniCuts Tulips, Crimped Slimline (The Greetery).

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope to see you in the gallery!                                                                      ~Wanda

Color Throwdown #644

Happy hump day once again! It's time for another Color Throwdown challenge and this week Amy Rohl is hosting and has chosen yellow, gray, black and white for our colors. I thought it would be perfect to try out a new tie dye stencil I recently purchased from Erin Lee Creative and I totally love it!

My card base is 5 1/4" square and I used Bright Buttercup, Weathervane and True Black dye inks by Ink to Paper.

I cut two yellow sentiments and one white sentiment to add dimension then topped it off with some clear sequins.

DIES: To Die For Sentiments: You Brighten My Life (Ink to Paper).

We'd love to have you play along with the challenge! For more inspiration from the rest of the design team, head over to the Color Throwdown blog and check it out!  ~Wanda

Lots of Layers

 

Good Monday morning everyone! I completed this card last month when Papertrey Ink/Ink to Paper was featuring their new WOW! embossing powders that they now carry in the store. This card features the Rose Gold color and I especially love how it looks when used with Sweet Blush!

I used the smallest of PTI's polka dot stencils and wiped the torn edge panel down with an anti-static tool, then applied Versamark ink and the Rose Gold embossing powder. I wanted the next layer to have the texture you get from the Border Bling: Tin Stitch die and spliced the two ends together so I'd end up with a smaller rectangle then covered the "seam" with a 1/2" strip. The top torn edge panel was embossed along the edges to give it a more cohesive look.

I then arranged some of my favorite florals from the Prominent Petals stamp set. 

INK: Sweet Blush, Pale Peony, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, Simply Chartreuse dye inks by Ink to Paper.

Enjoy your day!       ~Wanda

Freshly Made Sketches

TGIF! Hope your week is going well. It's at the height of strawberry season here in VA so, I bought enough berries this morning to make a quadruple batch of freezer jam. Now, just so you know...we eat very little jam ourselves but it will go to our 3 adult kids and their families who love it! I took a break from that chore and created this card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Loved this sketch and wanted to stencil a portion of the background. The flowers are a new fave die set - released this month at Ink to Paper. I had fun distressing this new vase design as well.  

STAMPS: Just Sentiments: Summer, Vase Collection 1 (Ink to Paper).

PAPER: Ranger water color paper; Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate, White (Ink to Paper).

INK: Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Dried Marigold, Candied Apple, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain distress oxide inks by Ranger; Dark Chocolate by Ink to Paper.

DIES: Into the Blooms 2, Vase Collection 1 (Ink to Paper); Stitched Basic Elements Die-Namics by My Favorite Things.

OTHER: Jute twine; Modern stencils by Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend!  ~Wanda

Color Throwdown #643

 

Some of my favorite shades of blues and greens are in the new palette for this week's Color Throwdown challenge! I used distress oxide inks I thought were the closest: Salvaged Patina, Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass.

I color blended the background using brushes. I smooshed the three different ink colors onto acrylic blocks, sprayed with water then used a paint brush to apply the colors to the shells (die cut from Bristol Smooth Surface paper). After air drying, I added some Prismacolor pencil details then splattered with yellow gold Gansai Tambi Starry Colors paint.
 

STAMPS: Just Sentiments: Summer (Ink to Paper).

PAPER: Bristol Smooth Surface; White (Ink to Paper).

INK: Distress oxide by Ranger (see above description); Versamark.

DIES: Cover Plate: Ornate, Love to Layer: Scalloped Circles, Summer Shells (Ink to Paper). 

OTHER: Gold embossing powder. 

We would love to have you join us in the challenge. 

Happy stamping!  ~Wanda

Spring Tulips

I'm playing along with the Seize the Birthday challenge. It's been a long time since I joined in, but I loved the theme of "Make it a bouquet" which was perfect to play with the new tulip and basket dies from The Greetery. I was also inspired to play with The Card Concept challenge and was inspired to use the gingham background based on the windowpanes' pattern and also the orange and lavender colors in the flowers. I consider this style to be clean and layered. 

The background was a bit bolder than I wanted (you need your

shades on), but I used Lemon Tart, Bright Buttercup and Summer Sunrise dye inks (Ink to Paper) with the Square Dance stencils from The Greetery. I'm in love with this new basket die and also love pairing it with the BotaniCuts Tulips dies.

I added some highlights to the tulips with colored pencils and curled the petals with a pencil to give it more dimension.

STAMPS: Market Basket Sentiments (The Greetery).

PAPER: Share Your Heart patterned paper, White, True Black (Ink to Paper); Bristol Smooth Surface.

INK: True Black, Lemon Tart, Bright Buttercup, Summer Sunrise (Ink to Paper); Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness distress oxide inks by Ranger.

DIES: Crimped Circles, BotaniCuts Tulips, Market Baskets (The Greetery); Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Square Dance stencils (The Greetery).

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!  ~Wanda

Release Day at Ink to Paper

 

Four days of reveals are over and it's finally release day! Tonight at 10 pm EST, the store will be open with the May products. I created another card using the fun Summer Shells dies set and a sentiment from Just Sentiments: Summer.

I ordered four colors of Nuvo embellishment mousse which is a completely new product for me. I was gifted with the Dual Tipped blender brush set and broke them in by brushing lightly using the Aloe Vera color to create the plaid background.

The mousse reacts with water so I scooped a tiny bit of mousse onto my glass mat, sprayed it with water then used an Aquapainter to pick up the colors to "paint" the shells. I watched a number of YouTube videos by various people to get an idea of all that can be done with this product. The tiny mica flakes that help make up the mousse give a fun sheen to your project!

STAMPS: Just Sentiments: Summer (Ink to Paper).

PAPER: Bristol Smooth Surface; Fine Linen, White (Ink to Paper).

INK: Versamark.

DIES: Summer Shells, Love to Layer: Torn Edges (Ink to Paper); Circles by Spellbinders; Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things).

OTHER: Gold embossing powder; Nuvo embellishment mousse in Aloe Vera, Aquamarine and Indian Gold colors.

That's all for today. My blog was acting really wonky last night so hope the glitch is over to stay!    ~Wanda

Day 4 Reveal at Ink to Paper

 

We are already on the fourth and last day of reveals for the May release at Ink to Paper. Are you enjoying the summer theme of these new products so far? Today, we are introducing you to Feathered Friends Mini 11 stamp set and dies + Say It Essentials stamp set + Perfect Pair Essentials stamp set and dies.

This sweet owl is just too cute and looks great paired with the Into the Blooms II dies! The leaves are from Floral Delicacies and I simply cut apart the large leafy die and tucked the pieces here and there.

STAMPS: Feathered Friends Mini 11, Say it Essentials.
INK: Soft Stone, Weathervane, Smokey Shadow, True Black, Saffron Spice, Aqua Mist, Tropical Teal, Summer Sunrise, Pale Peony, Green Parakeet.
PAPER: Lemon Tart, White, Sweet Blush, Limeade Ice, True Black, Share Your Heart patterned paper.
DIES: Into the Blooms II, Feathered Friends Mini 11, Floral Delicacies, To the Point Edgers, Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical die.

The new Perfect Pair Essentials sentiment set will have you covered for nearly every occasion! I'm a sucker for beautiful fonts and the large script words paired with the simple printed words are a combination I love! I used the Summer Seashells dies which were color blended with distress oxide inks on Bristol Smooth Surface paper.

The woven background stamp was white embossed on Tropical Teal card stock then layered with a skinny frame and a circle die.
 

STAMPS: Perfect Pair Essentials
INK: Salvaged Patina, Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers distress oxide; True Black; Versamark.
PAPER: Hawaiian Shores, White.
DIES: Summer Shells, Love to Layer: Scalloped Circles, Skinny Frames: Diagonal Border, Stitched Rectangle.
OTHER: White embossing powder.

That's it for this month's release! Tomorrow at 10pm EST, the release will be available to buy in store at Ink to Paper. Thanks so much for stopping by and for leaving the kind comments!  ~Wanda

SUPPLIES

 

Day 3 Reveal at Ink to Paper

Welcome back to day three of the May release reveals at Ink to Paper! Today we are introducing Love to Layer: American Flag dies and To Die for Sentiments: God Bless America die. Here are 3 cards plus a little home decor project using these new dies.

Let's start with my slimline card. I die cut a panel from patterned paper using the Torn Edges die then cut it in half. The flag die was layered over more patterned paper and was topped off with this great new sentiment die.

STAMPS: (none)
INK: (none)
PAPER: Yankee Doodles 6x6" pad (We R Memory Keepers), Pure Poppy, White, Luxe Silver.
DIES: Love to Layer: Torn Edges, Love to Layer: American Flag, To Die for Sentiments: God Bless America.

I thought the glitter card stock peeking through the starry openings in the Twinkle border die would add a fun touch. I cut out red, white and blue XO Heart Frames and adhered them together with liquid glue (FYI - my new fave glue is Bearly Art precision craft glue). I popped the wreath up with foam tape and also popped a small circle die in the center so I'd have an even base to add the sentiment die.

I used Mermaid Tails embossing powder on the sentiment which has a hint of bluish green flecks in the silver powder.

STAMPS: (none)
INK: Versamark.
PAPER: Red glitter, White, Pure Poppy; Brilliant Blue (retired Stampin' Up).
DIES: Border Bling: Twinkle, XO Heart Frames, To Die For Sentiments: God Bless America.
OTHER: WOW! Mermaid Tails embossing powder.

Save those leftover scraps from the flag die cuts and get creative. I used the stripes and the starry rectangle pieces to create a fun background! The tiny stars can be used for a future shaker card design.

The circle was popped up with foam tape to really draw the eye to the sentiment focal point. 

STAMPS: (none)
INK: (none)
PAPER: White, Pure Poppy, Luxe Silver (Ink to Paper); Brilliant Blue (retired Stampin' Up).
DIES: Love to Layer: American Flag, To Die For Sentiments: God Bless America, Love to Layer: Scalloped Circles.

Why not add some seasonal decor to your home by changing up a picture frame, easel stand or wooden pedestal stand as shown here. This will brighten up my crafting space through Memorial Day and Fourth of July.

Remember that button embellishments will appear to be more finished by adding thread to the button holes. A large clear adhesive dot was used on the back to adhere it.  

PAPER: Dark Indigo.
DIES: To Die for Sentiments: God Bless America.
OTHER: Red satin ribbon, Buttons, Pre-printed burlap banner flag.

Thanks for hanging in there on this long post. One more day of reveals so tune in again tomorrow for more summertime goodies!

SUPPLIES

 

                                                                       ~Wanda