A Blog Called Wanda - Photography, Paper Crafting, and Life from Northern California!

Bee Creative! Bee Crafty!

Hello and Happy Saturday my crafty friends! YAY! It's the weekend and I'm stamping! What's better than that? Nothing! Okay, maybe if someone brought me a pitcher of margaritas – that would be better! LOL. It's been a creative day here in my crafty bee hive and I'm excited to show you my card for today! But first, can I share some super cool and fantabulous news? My seahorse tag was picked as a winner by Tim Holtz for July's 12 tags of 2014!! No, I'm totally NOT kidding! My heart skipped a beat yesterday when I went on Tim's blog to see the new tag for August…and I scrolled down…and there was my name! You know, that is one of my favorite projects I think I've ever made so it was extra nice to be recognized for this one. I get a prize (I have no idea what!!!) and a new blog badge (love)…. Thanks for letting me blabber on about it.



So in honor of this awesome news, I decided to get all girlie grunge in the craft room and use some favorite Tim Holtz products. I had purchased the Layered Bee die and texture fade at the same time I bought the Layered Butterfly  die but I hadn't used it yet. I thought that would be a good project for today. My creative process is usually to be inspired by something (the bee die) and then scurry around the craft room gathering things that I think will work. I don't always use everything, but I like to have options…

Here are the things I chose…some stamps, some text paper, cool dies, and embellishments… Here's a trick I do when I get a new Sizzix Die. I cut the paper that comes in the package and mount it on the top of my die with double stick tape. That way I always have the reference – and to me it's easier than reading the side!

And, here's my card!

There's a whole lot going on here!! I was thinking to myself…maybe it's a bit much? But I kept going anyway! Here's a close up of the dyed-to-match ribbon and some tattered floral flowers covered in rock candy glitter! I made my own saying using the tiny word stickers and put them on a stick pin….

YES! Create art forever!

For the bee I cut out an extra set of wings and layered them on top of each other. The lower set is glued on to the back of the main die cut. I added some pretty yellow honeycombs for our sweet bee to hang out on. Using all shades of yellow Distress Inks and dies: Wild Honey, Lemonade and Mustard. I also used lots of Corduroy Distress Ink. The bee and the honeycombs are watercolored with the Distress Inks. The ribbon was dyed using the Distress Stains in the same shades. the flowers are Worn Lipstick Ink.

This is kind of a cool technique that I haven't done in a while. I got some text paper and stamped and clear embossed a beautiful Tim Holtz Damask stamp onto it. It's hard to see in the photo….

Then, I took some Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a dauber, and started sponging around the design! See how it pops right off the page? I added some Wild Honey ink too…

I just started going a little crazy with the watercoloring. I try not to be too OCD about it…

For an added bit of grunge, I did some speckles of brown onto the honeycomb die cuts using the Spritzer Tool and my Gathered Twig marker.

I cut out the flowers from a sheet of Menagerie Paper Stash (also from Tim Holtz) and put that over my text paper. Then I layered on the honeycombs…. It's starting to come together….

I added Rock Candy Distress Glitter to the wings of the bee – both sets of wings…

This card is gonna need a BIG envelope!

This week's challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is "Anything Goes" so I think this card will fit the bill! That is always a fun challenge to enter – and you have a chance at a gift certificate! Yay! There's still time for you to enter too!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE

SSS WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE BLOG!

It has been so fun to share with you today! What are you working on right now? Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. XOXO

August 2, 2014
Papertrey Ink Make-it-Monday – Diamond Stamping!

Hello my friends! I did something really rare last night….I came home and stamped after work! Yep, I left on time instead of staying late and after dinner went into the crafty cave. Yeah! It made me so happy to create after a long day at the office.

Before I share my card for today I have some fun news! I was sooooo excited this morning to see that I was the inaugural winner of the Mama Elephant Challenge! There were so many great entries that I cannot believe they chose my card. I'm so thankful. And, I get a cool new blog badge, and I won a free stamp set. What's better than that?!

I saw the new Papertrey Ink Make it Monday theme this week when it went live, and I knew I wanted to participate in this one! The theme is Diamond Stamping. CLICK HERE TO SEE THEIR POST. There are already lots of cool entries. I got out my Argyle stamp set and then went through all my other PTI stamp sets to see what might come to me…. And Scent-imentals struck my fancy. This cute little coffee stamp and great sentiment….

I stamped my argyle pattern repeatedly in Cocoa Memento Ink onto PTI Cream Cardstock. I thought about using red as my coordinating color, but then changed to a pretty aqua… I layered the cup onto some frame dies with foam tape.

I reaaaaalllly like this sentiment!! You know I loves me some coffee!!

I needed one last pop of color, so I found a pretty glass button in my stash…

Thank you for spending part of your day with me!

I hope you're having a fantastic week! XO

July 30, 2014
Nautical & Floral Card – Simon Says Emboss It Challenge!

Hi peeps!! I hope everyone doesn't mind two cards in a row using red and aqua! Seems like I've found myself on a roll with these colors. Today's card was inspired by a sheet of beautiful floral patterned paper…. I was searching for a challenge to enter and found a good one with the first place I checked – The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog! This week's theme is "Emboss it" and that's just what I did! My card incorporates two kinds of embossing – heat embossing (the gold anchor) and dry embossing (the tiny anchor embossing folder)… Yippeeeee!

I love anything nautical, and I really looooooove nautical/sea themed things combined with florals. It's just so fab and girly. Inspired by the colors in the patterned paper, I just started putting things together, and this is what I came up with.

So, at the last minute I had to add a butterfly! LOL. Everything is better with a butterfly! You can see that I distressed all my paper edges using the distress tool and some Antique Linen ink. Some of my layers are popped on foam tape too. My sentiment is stamped with Stayz-on ink on vellum. I hand cut the piece out with my scissors – I wanted it rough and frayed looking….

The anchor embossing folder is from Lifestyle crafts – so nice and crisp.

My anchor started off brown!! I smashed lots and lots of versamark ink onto the piece and then heat embossed it twice with gold embossing powder. Gold is really on trend right now.

Here is a side shot – I wanted to show the vellum piece.

So there you have it! More aqua and red! A fun challenge, and a fun day for me in the craft room. Happy Sunday to everyone! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. Best wishes for a great week ahead. XO

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE

SSS WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE BLOG!

July 27, 2014
Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop! Photo Inspiration & Shabby Chic!

You know what day it is? Well, yes, it is FRIDAY! And, it's also Papertrey Ink Blog Hop day for July! Yippeeeee. Two of my favorite things! I had SO. MUCH. FUN. making this card I'm sharing today. I think my card will win the award for the most products ever used on one card. LOL. Seriously, the photo inspiration for today's challenge was so yummy. I just couldn't help myself. I probably could have made 10 cards if I had the time. The color scheme is beautiful….it has birds, and gingham…and a doily, and flowers, and a banner…and hearts! Squee! You have all day to make a card too – c'mon and join in the fun. This is one of my fav hops because everyone makes such wonderful cards and it's fun to check 'em out. CLICK HERE to see the post.

Without further ado, here is my card:

I adore this word die! I layered it with red on the bottom and white on top – so crisp!

I used all the Button Stacks dies to make my flowers. That was so much fun – mixing and matching everything until I got it just the way I wanted it.

A pretty row of pennants….

Here is the inspiration photo….LOVE!

You see from the inspiration photo…I was INSPIRED! LOL. I used the color scheme without the green, the buttons, the heart shape, the banner….. I couldn't stop!

This shot shows my layers and textures…

Close up of those button flowers….I threaded some twine through some of them for a more shabby chic feeling. To others I added some enamel dots in that pretty turquoise…

Hello!

I LOOOOOVE PTI BLOG HOP DAY! So much to see….this time especially. I can't wait to check out everyone else's blogs to see how they were inspired by the photo. Have a super wonderful day my crafty friends, and a great weekend. XOXO

July 25, 2014
Layered Butterfly card – so fabulous and fun!

Hey friends! Are you having a great weekend?! I am spending today getting caught up on things! Yesterday, to my delight, I got to hang out with my fellow craft blogger and friend Audrey Pettit (HER BLOG HERE)! She is visiting from back east and we had a great time walking and shopping in Berkeley. We met online through our blogs and she is just the bestest. How nice to make friends from all over the world – one of the best parts of being in this awesome, crafty, bloggy circle of friends….

I CANNOT wait to share this card with you today!! I used another one of my CHA 'must haves' to craft a pretty butterfly creation. Have you seen the new Tim Holtz Layered Bee, Dragonfly and Butterfly dies with the matching texture fades? OMG. FABULOUSNESS! Again, these are something I have been stalking, I mean waiting for, ever since January!! Finally got this gorgeous butterfly die in my hot little hands and I didn't waste any time getting inky!

The coolest part about these new dies is that they have a matching embossing folder! YUM. You cut the die out first and then put the cut-out shape into the embossing folder/texture fade! It puts in the gorgeous embossed details. I took lots of pictures to show you. I got the Bee one too…

Here is my finished card:

Here is a good side shot to show you the lovely embossed parts of the butterfly. In the background is a compass embossing folder that I distressed a bit with some Antique Linen ink and some splashes of water.

My butterfly was cut from watercolor paper. You guys know I do that a lot….so the paper will stand up to everything I do to it. For the color, I used some new Prima Mists in an aqua and a gold. Then I used three different shades of Distress Glitter…cuz you know…MORE IS MORE. After all was said and done, I used my fingers to gently curve the wings upward before they were completely dry.

Here's a close up of the background layer piece…

Glittery goodness! And some gems for good measure. I also dyed-to-match some pretty Tim Holtz ribbon using a few shades of blues and greens…

For the metal piece, I coated the entire thing with Broken China Distress Paint and let it dry. Then I went back with some sandpaper and sanded off the top part, so that only the letters will show up blue. I thought this was a nice sentiment for this pretty butterfly.

Whenever I make something with all these paints, and glitters, and inks it makes me so happy! I love the entire process of choosing each color and each element, and then layering them all, and making it come to life. I think if you gave this die to 100 different crafters, we would all make something totally unique and wonderful, and that too makes me happy. Have a blessed and creative day my friends! XO

SUPPLIES:

July 20, 2014
Fun watercolor stripes – and flowers!

Hey everybody! How are ya? Just me popping in today to share a fun card I made for the Taylored Expressions Blog! I painted my own striped background paper and then colored some bright pink roses for a Summer vibe. I used one of my favorite TE Stamp sets too! And, you'll notice, I'm still in my watercolor phase. Just can't get enough!! This was a super fun card to create and would be neat in almost any color combination. Hope you will try this one!

The card started with a watercolor paper panel. I used some Distress Ink to make my own 'paint' and then drew some freehand (translation not perfect) stripes across the page. I set that aside to dry and stamped some roses…

Here are my stripes-in-progress…

I stamped a few leaves and flowers (also on watercolor paper). You can see my coloring is very "messy" and free. This gives a very specific feel to the project. One big tip when watercoloring – leave white space – leave some open area. Try it – you'll see a big difference!

YOU make my heart happy when you come by to visit me! Have a wonderful day my friends!

July 17, 2014
Aloha! Pretty Hibiscus Flowers!

Aloha sweet and crafty friends! How are ya? Nope, I'm not in Hawaii right now, but I made a card that helps me remember the beauty of the islands…. The hubs and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in Hawaii in 2007 and the memories of the beautiful flowers have never left me. If I close my eyes I can still hear the waves and smell the delicious aroma of the plumeria leis and picture the gorgeous hibiscus flowers…. Someday I hope to return! But, for today, we will have to settle for a card made with some cool dies from My Favorite Things Stamps. I am continuing my quest to use all my craft supplies, and this is the first time using these dies. They are really fun! Best wishes for a fabulous day…. Aloha!

This card has LOTS of dimension! The flowers POP right off the page! I used a pretty raspberry pink paper for the flowers. I stamped the flowers first using one of the matching MFT stamps and Versamark Ink. On the leaves, I used a bit of dark green chalk to add some definition…

Love how the Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies, with their stitching, perfectly match the new Fishtail Stax dies!

Aloha! Wonder how I'm going to mail this one??? LOL. #craftygirlproblems….

So….as I was sitting here typing this post, and reminiscing about Hawaii, I thought "hey, why don't I find the SD card with our vacation pics?!" This trip was the first time for me using a digital camera, which I remember as being so weird. (I have been a photographer since the age of 14 and was a total holdout to go from film to digital). I really enjoyed clicking through our photos and thought I would share a few with you! (Cue Barbra, and 'misty water colored memories…') I did not edit these photos on purpose (except to size and watermark) so you could see the amazing colors!

Giant Hibiscus – about as big as my hand – all covered in water drops…

These are my favorite! Plumeria – I wish we could smell them right now!

Another ginormous hibiscus….

The gorgeous beach in Maui…

The amazing Na Pali coast of Kauai! I think this is where they filmed the show "Lost"….

Hubs got up really early one morning and hiked to the top of Diamond Head (um, yeah, I do not get up early on vacation). He took this amazing photo of downtown Honolulu!

And here we are at a luau one night! So tan and happy!! (and probably a bit tipsy)….

July 13, 2014
12 Tags of 2014 – July – Under the Sea!

Hi friends!! How are you!? I am suuuuuuuper excited to share my project with you today! It's my take on the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 – July edition! Yahoooo! So you guys know that I've been yammering on since January (CHA) about how much I WANT/NEED/DESIRE/MUST HAVE NOW the new Sand and Sea dies from Tim Holtz!! I finally got my hands on them, and then….Tim went and used them for his tag this month! I am as happy as a little clam in the sea… I spent a LONG time making this fun tag and I hope you like it! This truly was a creative process which brought me a lot of joy. CLICK HERE for Tim's post with the inspiration for my tag. You have all month, maybe you will join in the fun too?

Here is my finished tag!

Lots and lots of Distress Glitter goodness going on right there!!!

Two pretty marmalade sea horses! (Also sparkly!)

The sea is where I dream to be….always….

I cut all my die pieces out of watercolor paper. I do that because it's thick and can stand up to lots of ink, water, glue, glitter, and whatever else I dream up! I always cut out extra pieces in case I change my mind or in case I wreck something in the process…

My seahorses are a combination of marmalade distress ink, lipstick distress ink and lemonade distress ink! YUM. Then I edged them with corduroy ink…. The algae are two different colors of green and the sand layer is a few shades of brown…

For my blue layer I sponged all different colors of blue ink and then spritzed the entire tag with water. Then I went back with blue water droplets to give a watery look. In this photo, I'm starting to build my scene. The 'sand' is rock candy glitter and linen distress glitter mixed together. On the algae I used distress glitter too.

My starfish was made using spun sugar ink and spun sugar glitter mixed with rock candy glitter! I love this so much!!

I stood up for a second to get something and realized how much stuff was on my desk! Yes, I used just a few items for this project! It's a messy job, but someone's gotta do it!

No project is complete without dyed to match ribbon! I LOVE this color. I used the same three colors as the seahorses and it just all blended into this beautiful salmon/coral color. Delicious!

My finishing touches – more glitter (yay!) and some pearls! The seahorses have Three colors of glitter on them. I am pretty much addicted to Distress Glitter!

I hope that you have had fun checking out my project and my process! Have a super weekend everyone! Until next time….

July 10, 2014
Go with all your heart!

MONDAY!!! OMG how did that happen? I'll tell you how…I've been sick and coughing up a lung for the last two weeks of my life and the days are all running together. Seriously….tired of being sick. Feel like I have the plague. And, when it's 105 degrees outside I might just be a bit cranky too.

Oh well…on with life, and another week begins. I hope you guys all had a wonderful 4th of July! In between napping and generally laying on the couch all weekend (and about 75 hours on Pinterest) I managed to get crafty. I finally inked up some of my new Mama Elephant stamps and used some of my new dies too. I'm trying really hard to use my new supplies!! I'm entering this card into the current Mama Elephant & Me challenge. I used the colors from the inspiration photo!! You have lots of time to join in too! CLICK HERE to go to the challenge blog!

These stamps are so completely adorable….

I used three or four different stamp sets to make this one. That panda is soooo sweet! And, I love the sentiment so much too. Just feels happy and cheery!

Just a few Copics for the balloons, nothing super fancy here. I thought about adding glitter to them, but decided against it.

Here is the inspiration photo from the Challenge! SO pretty!

The panda and the balloons, and the sentiment flag are all layered with foam tape. The yellow sun rays are a stamp – and I used some pretty Mama Elephant ink to make my bottom background layer. The clouds are made of vellum.

I'm trying something new with my card photos… Instead of shooting them under my bright lights in the craft room, I moved out into the living room next to a window for some natural light. We live back in a green belt/canyon with tons of trees so we don't have tons of light flooding in our house. I do like the shadows, because it shows the dimension of the cards. Also, I think the colors are much more true. I am always striving for those "POW" card photos and love to try out different things!

Wherever you go this week, go with all your heart! Mwah! XO

July 7, 2014
Happy 4th of July 2014!!

Hello friends! Happy 4th of July! Woot woot! I hope that you have a wonderful day planned! What do you do to celebrate? Fireworks? Picnic? Hanging out? Whatever it is….enjoy! For the Taylored Expressions fans, I have a bright and starry card over on the TE Blog today if you want to check it out. I love making patriotic projects! There is nothing better than the red, white and blue of our flag….

I had some fun inking up my favorite Tim Holtz patriotic supplies…and lots of stars…for this card I'm sharing with you today. I wanted my card to feel old fashioned and vintage…. Because that's another thing I love – vintage Americana! I was kind of wishing I had a background stamp of the Constitution – wouldn't that be cool as the bottom layer?? I'll have to check into that!

I started by stenciling a panel of stars diagonally across a piece of watercolor paper in Antique Linen Distress Ink. Then I roughed up and sponged the edges of the panel. Then I watercolor painted some flags and the USA Mini Blueprint stamps. I stamped them in brown ink first.

Here is my bottom layer, with the stars…

I always have to make my own matching ribbon…

I threw in some #hashtags stamps in the corner…and also added some gold metallic stars for good measure.

This laurel leaf embellishment started of silve/bronze. I added a layer of Wild Honey Distress Paint over the top of it to make it look golden, then mounted it over my ribbon bow…

HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!

July 4, 2014