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

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!

February 18, 2024
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!

February 16, 2024
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!

February 14, 2024
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)

February 14, 2024
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

February 10, 2024
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

February 10, 2024
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!

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!

February 9, 2024
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!!

February 7, 2024
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)!

February 4, 2024
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!

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

February 1, 2024