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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And here are my finished envelopes!!

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

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

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

January 28, 2024
A note from my heart and some real talk today…. Grab a cuppa and spend time with me….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERE'S HOW TO SUPPORT A BLOG CALLED WANDA!

BUY ME A COFFEE WEBSITE

SHOP VIA MY AFFILIATE LINKS AT THE STORES LISTED HERE

SHOP AMAZON VIA MY STOREFRONT

SHOP AT TARGET VIA MY STOREFRONT

CONTRIBUTE VIA PAYPAL

SHOP THE SUPPLY LIST LINKS ON ANY BLOG POST

CHECK OUT MY CRAFT DESTASH PAGE

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

CONTACT ME FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES OR ONE ON ONE CRAFT COACHING

January 25, 2024