• Better late than never – my 4th of July Cross Stitch! Primrose Cottage 4th of July Rules Pattern!

    Hi everyone! Let’s kick off a new week! The world has gone mad and crafting is a good way to escape right now. I’m so grateful I have a hobby (hobbies) that help keep me in the moment and keep my mind occupied. I hope that you are doing well and that you have a happy week this week. Today’s project is a ‘better late than never’ project! I had high hopes to finish and frame this cross stitch piece for the 4th of July this year… But alas, I finished it just this morning at around 1am! Oh well, it will be ready to hang next July! Ha! I really wanted to share it with you today. I do love a patriotic cross stitch. 

    This pattern is called 4th of July Rules and it’s by Primrose Cottage. FULL SUPPLIES are HERE or at the bottom of my post! I stitched on natural 30 count fabric and used DMC floss in my own chosen colors. I love brighter yellows and reds!! Here is my completed piece! Finished stitching size is approximately 5″ x 20″ so it’s a long narrow piece. I’m not sure if I will put it inside a frame, or maybe make it a wall hanging on a string?? I have time to decide, don’t I?? LOL. 

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    This was a fun stitch – not too hard and not too easy. Just enough colors, but not too many colors…. Lots of my favorite elements – a tiny flag, some bunting, pretty words….and patriotic colors! 

     

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    In stamping, and in cross stitch, I really love to combine different fonts and I love how this all comes together with the wording!! 

    CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPPLY LINKS FOR TODAY!

    A cute little bunny pulling her wagon full of fireworks! EEP. 

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    And, most importantly, Celebrate our Freedom!

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    This next photo was one I posted when I first started out… I think my favorite part is the house and flag image!!

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    And one more in process photo!

     

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    Here is a photo of the pattern book! Let me tell you – this book is SO NICE!!! The pattern is broken down into six segments, and each page is one segment and it’s in full color! And the pattern is HUGE so it’s very easy to see and read. I really appreciate this type of format since I have very bad eyesight. It was a dream following this pattern!! 

    I’m going to stitch up HIVE RULES as my next edition of rules!!! It’s a bee theme – and the colors are swoonworthy!!

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    That’s it for today! I hope you’ll be inspired to start a cross stitch project! (Or if you’re like me, finish some!) Wishing you a lovely, happy, and creative day my friends. XOXO

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

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  • Introducing the limited edition BOO BOX Card Kit!! It’s fun and fabulous!! Let’s get ready for Halloween!!

    Hey friends! Happy weekend! I hope you're doing great! I'm relieved that yesterday here in Sacramento we broke our two week streak of days over 100 degrees! Whew, that was hard! It's been so hot, and literally that just shuts down my brain! We had a cool morning on Saturday and it was enough to renew my spirit! You know what else renews my spirit? The thought that Fall is just a moment away! Yeah – my favorite season is next! And, today, I have something super duper fun and exciting to show you! The first Halloween cards of 2024! And a FABOOOLOUS card kit Boo Box from Catherine Pooler! 

    The CP BOO BOX is a Limited Edition card kit full of stamps, dies, patterned paper, embossing powder and more! If you buy the kit you will also get access to videos and ideas from different designers! The items in the kit are ONLY available in the kit and won't be released separately later. And when the kits are gone, they're gone. I'm predicting a sellout for sure. This is the best box of this type I've ever seen and well worth the price. On my Instagram Stories later this morning I will be posting a full unboxing video to show you everything! 

    Details to know: You can sign up to be on the waitlist (no payment or obligation required) and if you sign up, you will get an email to buy the kit early before it goes on sale for general purchase! Kit goes on sale at noon EST! 

    I'm sharing two cheerful and bright Halloween cards today that I made with supplies from the Boo Box! Let's get started! First up is some spooky cute ghosties and a bit of sparkle too! My finished card is an A2 card base layered with gorgeous orange stripes, vellum and a tag! This card is so fun!

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    The Boo Box has two large stamp sets and one sentiment stamp set, along with lots of standalone dies and a big background stamp. I think my favorite images are these adorable ghosts! I stamped and die cut them out and added pink cheeks with a Copic Marker! I die cut the spooky die from both glitter paper and black paper and stacked them. I stamped some yellow stars in the background….


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    The Boo Box includes a die set with a great tag and add ons for the tag!! Love that! The little bat is included in the tag dies set…. I tied a bow at the top and attached the bat! 

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    My second card for today features lots of Halloween icons in a grid pattern…. My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with that awesome plaid patterned paper… The Boo Box includes a great grid die set and I die cut out some of the grids and added the classic Halloween icons – cat, bat, witch hat and pumpkin!

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    That little cat makes me smile! I added the sentiment in the center of my card and placed the grids around the sentiment.  A few splatters of black paint and some glitter stars complete the look!! I added glitter glue accents to all the images too.

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    Here's the BOO BOX! And not everything is shown! It's AMAZING – so many great things – literally everything you could need to make your 2024 Halloween cards! 

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  • The Greetery Summer Watercolor Butterfly Card!

    Hi there my creative and crafty friends! I'm up on The Greetery Blog today to share a project with you! I am always so excited and happy to share with you over there! And of course, sharing my card here too. Hope you had a great 4th of July! Sacramento has been HOT. Gosh, so hot. We are set to break an all time record for most days over 100 degrees. I think my brain is cooked! I'm laying low and moving slow…. For my project for today I created a watercolor card with a nature theme and an all purpose sentiment. I haven't made a watercolor card in a while and I was inspired by the pretty butterflies of Summertime…. Simple and airy for the season….
     
    My finished card is an A2 size Kraft card base, layered with watercolor paper die cut with the beautiful A2 Scallops Dies. All the die cut pieces on this card were made using watercolor paper. I kept the design clean and simple and let that pretty purple butterfly shine! All the coloring was done with my set of Mini Distress Inks and a water brush… I do love this technique.
     
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    I started by die cutting the Fern Dies, the Butterfly Dies, the background panel and the sentiment panel from watercolor paper. I used Distress Inks and water brushes to color all the pieces and set them aside to dry. For the background I used a wet on wet watercolor technique: Put down a good amount of clear water onto the paper, then add the blue ink into the water and let it spread out into a free form shape! I use a large brush for the plain water and lots of water…. You never know what you'll get with this and I love that!!
     
     
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    After all my pieces were dry, I glued together the Fern and the Butterfly using liquid glue. I added a purple enamel dot to the butterfly. I stamped the sentiment in brown Distress Ink and then went over the writing with a detail water brush to make it 'messy.' I assembled all the elements together and I used foam tape to attach the sentiment. I do love the greens against the bright purple butterfly….
     
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    That's it for my project for today! I hope you have a fantastic and creative day! I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting! XO Wanda
     
     

  • Happy 4th of July 2024!

    Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! Happy Birthday America! Sending love and good wishes for a fun and fabulous holiday today! I hope you have a fun day and get lots of BBQ and fireworks! I am looking forward to the 4th of July in our neighborhood. Everyone is always outside enjoying the warm evening and lighting off cool fireworks displays and the atmosphere is so jovial and happy. I have been making tons of patriotic cards and projects to show you, and today I have one last patriotic card! I used lots and lots of brand new supplies from the amazing new Summer 2024 release from Honey Bee Stamps. What an awesome release – so many good products. I have many more ideas! Check it out here!

    This card features the brand new Eagle Dies, The Land of the Free background stamp (LOVE), the new Because of the Brave sentiments, and more… My finished card is an A2 cream card base, layered with blue stripes and then more (lots more) layers and elements! I used a traditional Americana color palette and kept it vintage too…. Everything classically USA. (By the way, are you excited for the Olympics?!) I used it all — patterned paper, glitter cardstock, vellum, wax seal, and distress ink! Oh and don't forget the gold splatters!

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    Here's a side view of all the layers and elements on my card. For the sentiment I die cut out the large letters from gold cardstock and then layered the vellum sentiment over the top. 

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    I double layered the letters USA with gold and dark brown cardstocks. I stamped the sentiment onto the vellum using Stazon black ink using my MISTI.

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    The star of the show are these new Eagle Dies!!! WOW. The layers are easy to understand and easy to put together – and it really looks like an eagle!! I added gold paint to the tips of his wings for some extra pizazz!! Isn't he marvelous?? In this photo you can also see that I used a background die on the circle just behind the eagle. I thought it looked really vintage….

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    This new background stamp is great! I stamped it in gold/yellow ink and then used distress inks around the edges. I crumpled the stamped panel into a ball in my hands and then unfolded it flat and this way it looks like old paper/cloth. I splattered gold paint on that panel also.

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    Hands down, Honey Bee has the best wax seals and melts! This new 3D star is perfection. I made my seal in blue wax to fit the color theme. It is affixed using foam squares.

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    Look at the detail in that wax seal! Perfection!

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    And lastly, here's a patriotic photo of me out in our front yard last week! We were getting ready to go somewhere so I took a quick photo to update my Facebook profile pic! Yes – I am very patriotic! 🙂

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    That's it for today! And I think that's it for the 4th of July projects! I have some patriotic stitching but I didn't finish them all! Boo! Seems there is never enough time for stitching! And my eyes get tired after a while – so I am very slow. I need to be better about starting earlier with that. As usual, never enough time! Happy 4th of July everyone! XOXO

    CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE AMAZING NEW HONEY BEE RELEASE!!

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

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  • 4th of July Patriotic Pinwheel Wreath Project!

    Happy Monday! Happy July! It's going to be a good week! There's a fun holiday involved! Yeah! I am very into Americana themed items – crafts, home decor, clothes, cards, stitching…. Well, you get the idea! Our home is very decorated for the 4th of July with lots of flags and good things. I am wishing you a good week and a fun holiday with family and friends! I recently made it a goal to read more….Summer is a great time for lazy afternoons reading!! I have been an avid reader since I was very small and lately life just got busy and I stopped reading and I miss it!! Anyone else have a giant stack of books waiting on the nightstand?? I recently updated my Amazon Summer 2024 reading list if you want to check it out!! 

    My project for today is a home decor piece made from paper!! And card making supplies! 

    My project is a Paper Pinwheel Wreath! Made from patriotic papers and 4th of July theme. It's made from lots and lots of pinwheels hot glued onto a wreath form. It was a very fun project and it came together quickly and easily. This would be a really good group project because it's the same thing made over and over again and it's easy to finish in an afternoon. Here is my wreath and where it's hanging in our home – on the cabinets between the kitchen and our nook. All my supplies are at the bottom of my post or CLICK HERE!

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    I photo'd it on this white door so you could see the size and scale against a plain background…

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    In my stash, I had these buttons from Michaels so I added a few of them!

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    I used the AMAZING 3D Pinwheel Dies to make this project. I made about 30 large and small pinwheels but it only ended up taking about 14 pinwheels to finish my wreath. I actually thought it would take a lot more!! I die cut all my pinwheels first – sooooo easy. 

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    Here they are before assembly – small and large ones!

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    I folded them over and used colorful brads to finish/close them up! This could not be more fun or simple!

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    On my desk…. I used a wreath form (in the supplies) and acrylic paint. I painted the wreath form blue (I forgot to take a photo of that part!) and then I used hot glue to attach all the pinwheels to the wreath form. (I only burned myself once! Ha) I glued them right under the part with the brad. 

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    You, again, could make this project with any theme! I am definitely going to make a Halloween one. I have so many cute Halloween papers! As I continue to try to use my stash!!

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    After the entire wreath was assembled I generously splattered on rich gold paint for a little bit of shimmer….

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    My trusty sidekick Lucky was right there on my desk when I finished my project…. So I snapped a quick photo of him inside my wreath! How fun is he??!! 

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    That's it for today! Happy July! Happy 4th! I'll be back on Thursday with a cool card with a VERY Americana theme! I can't wait to show you! I hope you'll try to make a paper wreath!

    CLICK HERE to see another project I made last year with the same patriotic pinwheels idea!

  • Fabric Garlands! A quick and easy home decor project!

    Hellooooooo sweet friends! I have a fun craft project today – and it doesn't have any paper involved! Yes, you heard me right! It's a fabric project! So super fun, quick, easy, and awesome. I have had the supplies to make this (these) for a couple of years. Oh my. Well, I went to a craft retreat a couple months back and I finally made my fabric strip garlands! You know how you have things in your craft room for a long time and keep thinking "I need to make that"? Well, I did! Hee hee. And now I want to make more! Let's get started before I keep yammering on more. 

    I initially made this red, white and blue fabric strip garland to hang in our kitchen for the 4th of July! This garland is also the perfect size to go across the fireplace mantle or our entertainment center!  I bought two packs of fat quarters (blue pack and red pack) at Hobby Lobby, and I also got the rope at Hobby Lobby. That's all you need to get this result….

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    I hung the finished garland over our kitchen curtains! It looks so cute! It adds the right amount of homey feeling!

     

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    Supplies! That's it! I roughly cut the fat quarters into two inch strips. At first I used my ruler, but then I ended up just eye balling the strips and it went very fast cutting them all up. Again – EASY!! Each strip is about 20 inches long to start.

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    I laid the rope out on my desk (I cut it about 8 feet long to have lots of room and then trimmed it later). I just started knotting the fabric strips over the rope making sure to keep the colors and patterns varied. I love this combination of gingham, strips, chambray…. It's very pretty!!

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    You just fluff it up and straighten it out when you hang it! I think start to finish this took me about two hours to make!!

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    Here are two other garlands I made using the same fun technique. For these next two I used Moda Fabric Jelly Rolls for the fabric. And I think this will be my preferred method for any other ones I made. Moda makes the most gorgeous fabrics! And, the Jelly Rolls come with the fabric already in strips (with a pretty zig zag edge too)! For the Jelly Rolls, I unrolled all of the strips and then cut them in the middle, so each big strip became two small strips. Really the perfect amount for a garland. 

    This one is all season, shabby chic! In all my favorite colors!! I added in some crochet trim and some velvet ribbon too. This one I think will hang in my craft room! I LOVE it. 

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    Here's a close up of the knots. Wrap the strip around the rope, and pull the ends through (kind of like you would tie a string on the top of a tag). 

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    And the last one I made is retro Halloween! Kitty cats and candy corns and polka dots. LOVE! This one was made with another Moda Jelly Roll fabric pack. The colors are lovely!

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    CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE PRETTY FABRIC PACKS!!

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    Okee dokee! That's it for today! I hope I've inspired you to try a new crafting project! This was literally so easy. I think it would be really cute to make one for a baby's room or for a special color themed party. Also, I already have the fabric for a holiday one. Can't stop, won't stop. LOLZ. Have a blessed and beautiful day my friends. See you soon! XOXO

     

  • Hey Lady! Cute Ladybug Card Kit available now!

    Hey Lady!! Hello my little ladybugs! I'm flying by with a quick post today to let you know that there's an adorable new Card Kit from Taylored Expressions today! It's available now and I love love love it! I made this sweet card using items from the kit. There are stencils and stamps and matching dies…and more! I think you'll like it too. You can shop it here!

    My finished card is an A2 white card base layered with gingham and then one of the printed sentiment panels. I used the stencils, stamps and dies to cut out all the ladybugs and affixed them to my card using foam squares. I added a little swirly path for the one ladybug…. And some glittery pink gems! All my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post or HERE. 

    When I stenciled the ladybugs I used two ink shades for an ombre look. I also used dark pink instead of red for some hip ladybugs. Ha! I used matching pink gingham paper and it's all so dang cheerful!

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    Here are some photos of everything that comes in the Hey Lady Kit!

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  • Summer cards with Catherine Pooler – Let’s Hit The Beach!

    Hey hey hey friends! Are you ready to hit the beach today? It's full on Summer now! I'm inside the craft room with the fans on and it's 105 degrees today. Nope, not going anywhere. LOL. All the lights out and lots of water! Hope you are having an awesome weekend. I have so many fun Summer crafts to share with ya lately – so excited! Today's post features the awesome and fabulous Resort Release from Catherine Pooler and Sizzix. I loved it the second I saw this release and wanted to create with it! Think beach umbrellas and towels, cute swimmers, a stenciled pool deck, and adorable sentiments. It screams "Let's Hit The Beach!" I am sharing three cards all made with the Resort Bundle…. Let's gooooo!

    My first two cards feature a retro 50's/60's color palette or aqua and lime and yellow…. I do love a retro vibe. For this first card I used those perfect beach umbrellas to make a clean and simple card. My finished card is an A2 white card base. I layered soft aqua and then my top panel….

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    The sentiment is perfect! Each beach umbrella was made with two step stamping in my MISTI and then I added a matching pearl to each one. You can see my subtle shadow line on the umbrellas. I did this using a C2 Copic Marker. It's, again, subtle, but I do think it makes a difference!

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    Each umbrella was attached to the card using foam squares. I inked just the top of the panel to mimic the warm golden sunshine. I do really love these colors together!!

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    The stamps align to perfection!!! I stamped the outline in black first and then my colors inside second.

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    Next up are these adorable synchronized swimmers ready to jump in! This finished card is an A2 white card base. I used the pool deck stencils to make the background and then feature the swimmers and another great sentiment.

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    For the background – instead of using all four of the stencils in the pack, I only used two of them – the ones with triangles and squares. This made my design a little less busy and left some white space. I do like the result. I added some waves across the bottom of my card for them to jump in/out of!!

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    The swimmers have these one piece suits, and also a bikini option. The possibilities are endless!! I love their tiny swim caps. I added a few shadows using Copic markers on their swimsuits. 

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    For my final card, I went with a nautical color palette of red, white and bright blue! I created a shoreline with festive umbrellas and a towel… My finished card is an A2 card base in white, layered with blue and also some kraft. 

     

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    I hand tore the kraft cardstock in an irregular way to look like sand. Then I put some white paint along the edge and splatters to look like the waves. I stamped the sentiment sideways and it's nice and big. I used all red/white umbrellas for a French Riviera vibe. 

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    This entire release is literally so HAPPY and fun! I could see making some pool party invitations or birthday cards for summer parties. Any color would look good and there's a sentiment for every occasion. I hope you'll check it out!! 

     

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    That's it for today's Summer cards! I'll be back soon with more more more! I hope you are finding time to get your craft on lately! I'm still working on some 4th of July stitching. I'm starting to accept the fact that I may not finish….but I'll keep working on it!! XOXOXO

  • Happy First Day of Summer – May Your Day Be Sunkissed!

    Hi everyone! It's almost Friday! And it's the official first day of Summer 2024! I am excited for Summer for a few reasons….mostly the Olympics! And also, because when Summer is over – it's FALL! Lolz. I've been working on some patriotic stitching and other 4th of July projects to share.  It's been hot here in Sacramento and we're due to get 100's again starting this weekend. I could do with a little road trip to the beach! Well, my card is the perfect beach card! There is an AMAZING new release from Honey Bee Stamps and I have been making projects with it. Today's card is perfect for this first day of the new season! All the new dies are so great – and I do love paper piecing a good die cut card together. This card was super fun to make – colorful, happy and beach themed! SHOP the new release here! I'll be sharing another card made with the gorgeous new Americana themed items soon. Yay!

    My finished card is an A2 white card base. Layered with sky blue stripes and then my beach scene…. I used Summer colors of aqua, lime, hot pink and yellow…. My uncle, and then my mom both had VW vans and they are so cute and fun. Really brings to mind certain memories doesn't it? 

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    When I'm making cards like this – with lots of pieces and bits – I usually die cut out everything first and put the pieced in little stacks. Then I sit down and ink the pieces if needed and assemble them. Once all the elements are assembled I will play with them until I get the right scene look I want. I really wanted both the palm trees and the umbrella in there, so it took some time to get it just right. Tip: Once everything is the way I want, I'll take a quick iPhone photo for reference in gluing it all down.

     

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    I used this pretty new sentiment set – I adore this font! I stamped it in aqua ink to match my van and then die cut it out with the matching dies. I created a 'beach' by freehand cutting a kraft strip to go across the bottom of my oval. I added a little white beach fence too!! All my supplies are listed at the bottom of my post.

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    I used two different shades of green for my palm trees, and added some pearl coconuts!! I die cut a yellow surfboard and inked it with yellow and orange distress inks for a sunset look! The windows in the van are vellum and I added white gel pen accents to them. The headlights are grey pearls…

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    I just had to add a couple of seagulls flying by. I added gems to the pieces and a little bit of Stickles Diamond glitter glue too. If you zoom in on this card, you can smell the ocean! (I wish) LOL!

     

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    Hope you had a great week so far! Happy SUMMER! Wishing you a fun Summer full of everything you enjoy!! Our favorite coffee shop is hosting a social club on the weekends where no phones are allowed and there will be live music and good conversation! What a grand idea – we'll be stopping by there tomorrow night. And then next week some fun art festivals. Yeah! See you soon! Lots of projects to share before the 4th of July! XOXO

  • The Greetery Garden Party Release Day! Yeah!

     

    HEY FRIENDS!! EXCITING NEWS!!

    THE GREETERY NEW RELEASE IS LIVE NOW!!

    THE GARDEN PARTY COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE!

    CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

     

    It was my pleasure to introduce the brand new and beautiful Garden Party Collection to you this week!! And, I hope you love it as much as I do!! Happy Crafting!! If you scroll back to my last two blog posts, you can see all my projects from the new release, and the accompanying supply lists. If you have any questions – reach out!! Thanks for all the love and kind comments this week! We are ready for Summer!  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

     

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