Okay friends….hold on to your hats! Today is a SUPER FUN day and a REALLY FABULOUS announcement. I'm very very very happy to be part of this, and to finally share with all of you! My friend and amazing artist Betsy Veldman is opening up her own stamp company! YES! It's called The Greetery. Isn't that a pretty name? Her tag line is "Where Making and Giving Meet." I have admired, loved, collected, and created with her beautiful designs for many years. Her art and her stamps/kits have been among my favorites forever. She is a wonderful, kind person, and so very talented.
Today, I am honored to be part of the kickoff countdown to The Greetery's product launch! Betsy's been doing sneak peeks on The Greetery Blog for the past couple of weeks. This week there will be guest artists sharing projects every day. Then, The Greetery storefront goes live on Friday April 26th at 10am ET. (I'm predicting a sell out!) Big, heartfelt congratulations to Betsy on her new creative business venture! WOOT!
I have three projects to share with you! Lots of pictures in this post, and I'll try to give you as many instructions and tips as possible as I go along. The stamps and dies are all made in the USA and they stamp and cut perfectly right out of the package. Excellent quality! It was a creative pleasure to work with the innovative new stamps. I'm featuring the "Hand in Hand" stamps and dies, the "Fir and Foliage No. 1" stamps and dies, and the Pathway Stencil.
First up is a card made with both of the stamp sets and also the Pathway Stencil. I used it all! Because I just had to! The finished card is A2 size for scale. Everything was inked and water colored using Tim Holtz Distress Inks and a small water brush. The images are so pretty. I am obsessed with the trees!
The next few images are some close ups, because I know you all are going to want to see everything! There are two different sized trees, and each tree is made up on one tree trunk stamp and three different foliage layering stamps. Genius! The lady and the dog are part of the Hand in Hand set. There is also a man and two children! I used the Pathway stencil to make the walkway they are on. It's a two step stencil.
The dies cut a clean, perfect edge. I stamped everything using Archival Black Ink on the lady and the dog. The rest is all Distress Inks.
I used a cloud stencil to make one row of blue clouds at the top. The sentiment was stamped onto a thin strip of vellum and layered around the card, and under the tree.
Here are some step out photos for you! I stamped the tree trunk in brown Distress Ink onto watercolor paper. (Everything is stamped onto watercolor paper for this card). After I stamped it I used a brush to gently move the ink around on the page. Tip – Stamp the tree trunk first, and then use the trunk to line up your die cut. Cut it out, and then use the outline to line up the foliage!
See the difference just a bit of water makes? It really looks water colored!!
I added the first layer of foliage in the lightest green and softened it with water…
Then I stamped the other two colors of green and softened those colors with water as well. Tip – let each color dry completely before doing the next color.
Here is the stenciled portion only. I inked it with a sponge dauber and Distress Inks. Then I splattered a bit of ink over it to look liked aged stones.
I added some bits of green to 'ground' the stone walkway…
Now, those of you that have followed my blog for a while know that I LOVE FALL!! So, of course, I had to make an Autumn tree!! I did the same technique as above, but in shades of yellow, orange and red Distress Inks! This card is also an A2 size. I die cut an oval and used an old text stamp to stamp words across the bottom of the oval. This would be a good sympathy card, or masculine card. I purposely left off a sentiment so I can use it for any occasion.
Just a small strip of pretty orange gingham paper makes this card complete. The edges of the oval were inked with brown Distress Inks for an antique feeling.
A very clean and simple card design – but that tree makes a huge impact!
My third card for today is a colorful umbrella card with lots of white space. I stamped the umbrellas onto watercolor paper and colored them with Distress Inks. This is an A2 card, and the base is made from Neenah Solar White cardstock. This umbrella image is part of the Hand in Hand stamp set.
Each umbrella is attached to the card (in rainbow order of course) with foam tape. I added a few raindrop gems to finish off the card. The sentiment was stamped onto a banner.
Lastly, here is a photo of the beautiful Greetery logo and packaging. Betsy has thought of everything – and it's all beautiful and fresh! I really can't wait for you to try out some of these stamps too! I know you will love them just as much as I do!
Thank you for stopping by to share in my excitement of the launch of The Greetery! I hope you have a wonderful week! XOXO
CLICK HERE to see Betsy's blog post for today! Please make sure to visit the blogs of my fellow artists and friends – who are also sharing The Greetery projects! What fun!
Comments
197 responses to “Introducing The Greetery – by Betsy Veldman!”
Gorgeous! I love the umbrella card! Your colors,are beautiful!
Wow. I love all your cards. Thanks for the close up photos on how you did the tree. I also love the cobblestone path and how it turned out.
Gorgeous trees! I love how you used them in the scene and how just one of them makes a wonderful focal point!
These are beautiful, Wanda, and thank you for the step-by-step instruction. It is very helpful.
Amazing cards!
Hi Wanda!
Wonderful to see you showcasing Betsy’s amazing first release! I love your creative expression in this set along with the instructional techniques and images you have shared … except … it has only served to add to my excitement for Release Day!! 🙂
I love the cards you’ve shared here! And all the process pictures you shared to help us hopefully recreate some of your art when we get our hands on this release! The cards are so lovely! Can’t wait for Friday!
What an awesome 1st release! Betsy, you never cease to amaze your fans. All of my favorite guests, too.
obsessed with your trees! Thanks for sharing!
I love how you stamped on watercolor paper and then used water to move the ink around! Fabulous idea! And the fall card is just gorgeous. But I think my favorite might be the umbrellas!! I really need to do a card like that!!
Beautiful card, and that puppy is adorable! Thanks for sharing your creative process!
Your cards are gorgeous! Thank you for providing such detailed descriptions and photos of your process!
Oh that fall tree is so beautiful! Love what you’ve created, Wanda. Thanks for all the tips too. I’m not a watercolorer, so appreciate the tips on softening the images with a bit of water.
All beautiful! The watercoloring is so brilliant. Cant wait to try all these great products. Tfs
Such a beautiful fall tree! And so cute to use just the umbrellas!!!! I can not wait to own this set. Thanks for your inspiration!
So very pretty Wanda! TFS
Oh Wanda, I can feel your excitement! Love your cards too! Your orange tree is gorgeous, nice design for a multitude of expressions, and love the bright umbrellas!
Your cards are beautiful Wanda! So good to see you working with Betsy! Your fall card is my favorite! Just think of all the color combinations in the fall!!
I love all of your cards! The colors you used are happy and vibrant. I am excited for this release!
Love the cards you created with Betsy’s new products.
I’m with you Wanda, I really like the trees. The stencils look to be user friendly and the trees are quite unique. Love them.
Love your warm scene.
I do like your style.
Amazing cards – amazing release! I, too, predict a sell out of this new release.
Thank you for the more detailed comments and images of how you did your trees!
What a sweet friend you are! Your excitement for Betsy’s release is contagious – and I was already excited. Your projects are all beautiful. Appreciate the up close and stepped out images. Your umbrella card is so much fun too!
I love you samples! So happy for Betsy!
Beautiful cards, Wanda! These new products look amazing! I love the woodgrain and gingham accents on your second card! Can’t wait to see more!
Gorgeous cards, but the “umbrella” card is my absolute favorite, love the simplicity and the way you placed the “brella’s”, great cards!
These cards are beautiful. So excited for Betsy and her new company!
Wonderful cards. I love the richness of your color applications!
Stunning cards and the tutorial is so very helpful, love your tips!
Gorgeous cards! So excited about this new company and glad you are a part of it!
Those umbrellas are awesome. I love them all, wonderful use of the new stamps.
Love your cards Wanda! Thanks so much for the close up details – it really is helpful. Good reminder about using distress inks for watercoloring. How you strategically attached the vellum – love it! And while I don’t even want to think about fall – the colors on your fall card are stunning. Thanks for the inspiration Wanda! Hope to see more!
Lovely card and info, thank you!!
I’ve followed you for awhile now and so excited to see you with Betsy on her 1st release !!! Yes you do have a way with the watercoloring. You makes easy for those of us who are intimidated by it. However your umbrella card just makes me Happy. Love them all ! Cant wait to see what you the rest of the week. So excited !
Fall is my favorite season and those trees are going to be perfect!
Love all your cards, but that autumn tree is beautiful!
Thank you for a beautiful and informative post, Wanda. Love each of your cards.
I love your tree card so much, it will be inspiration for my first set of cards when my order comes in! It uses so many of the things that I have and that pretty paper is perfect. I think it would be a useful way to make other ‘seasons’ as well, by using different colors that match whatever background paper strip I may use. This is an idea-builder card for me.
Beautiful cards and love what you did with the umbrellas. So many options with these stamps.
The woman and the dog card is so sweet. Love your autumn card…so cozy! The umbrella card was unexpected…love it.
Lovely projects! And that umbrella card – how fun!
Great step-by-step instructions. Love your beautiful cards. The umbrellas…sweet!
What an inclusive set. I think this walking the dogs inched it for me. I’m a totally puppy fan.
Absolutely amazing cards!! I love the watercolor look — so pretty!
Wow Wanda! These are all amazing! Love the details of the scene card, and then that colourful umbrella card is simple perfection!
Such pretty cards! Thanks for your tips on water coloring; having pictures helps. The speckling on the stone pathway is a good idea.
Wanda, love all your samples today but the umbrellas are my favorite! Appreciate all the step by step photos of your process though…very helpful.
Two beautiful cards! I love the way you did your tree and I have to say that CAS umbrella card is so fun, happy and bright! Love that one!
Such gorgeous cards, Wanda! Love that you are in on the Greetery excitement as I love visiting your blog. The tip of softening the stamped lines with watercolor is really helpful.
Beautiful cards! I especially love that autumn tree card – simply gorgeous and, yes, a card for many occasions!! Looking forward to the release!
A WONDERFUL JOB, Wanda!!! It IS LIKE getting a bit of one of Betsy’s kits, isn’t it? LOL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! Betsy’s kits are the first “kits” I ever bought!!! 😉 LOVE what you’ve done with Betsy’s products! LOVE your tip about the tree too & how to water color it! Your fall tree looks WONDERFUL AS WELL! This tree image is SO VERSATILE! LOVE IT! 😀 BLESSINGS WANDA!!!! <3
So happy that you’re part of Betsy’s new team!! Have followed you for years and LOVE everything you create. And Lucky too, of course. Congratulations on these amazing projects today.
The cards are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your tips on how to line up the dies and watercoloring!
Just beautiful coloring, designs, and stamps. I LOVE Fall too and that fall tree is amazing. Love ALL the trees! So wonderful to see you gals together for this new release! Thank you for the inspiration! It’s just amazing!
I enjoyed your looking at the steps you used to achieve the look on your cards.
Wow wow wow!! Each of your cards is more and more gorgeous!! Love them all! So excited for this release!
Thank you so much for all of the photos…it helps so much. I am in LOVE with that autumn tree…so beautiful.
Amazing cards and I like how you show your process. Thanks for all your clever work!
Love your autumn tree card ! All the work you’ve put into show casing the stamps , dies, and stencils are beautifully done. Love the pop of rainbow colors on the umbrella card , it’s a fresh and fun idea.
Just beautiful! Love it all!
I am thrilled to see you designing with Betsy’s product. The dimension on your cards – especially that first one – blew me away. So, so lovely!!!!
Your cards are beautiful, and I love the different ways you’ve used the stamps and dies.
So beautiful! Love them a lot. Cannot wait to purchase these sets!
Gorgeous! I love the fall colors and the yellow coat
Stunning examples using the new stamp sets! I think the Autumn card is my favorite, but they are all wonderful!
I love how you made the tree look water colored! Beautiful cards!
Hi Wanda! It’s just impossible to contain my excitement about Betsy’s new company, The Greetery & 1st release. I know you must have felt the same way. I’ve missed your beautiful work and today’s post is WONDERFUL! My sincere thanks for sharing your process, it’s VERY helpful. It’s exactly what I needed to try my hand at water coloring in a serious way. I love both of your cards! Thank you Wanda! 😊
Wanda your cards are wonderful, you always inspire me!
Love your cards, Wanda! I especially love your stunning autumn tree card – the colors and texture are fabulous!
Wanda… That umbrella card is fabulous! And your layering of the trees & the couple walking is perfect – great projects today, thanks for sharing!
WOW! Fantastic cards. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
I especially like your umbrella card
You rock with all your tips and photos of these new stamps/dies! Thanks for supporting Betsy too!
Lovely cards!!!
You are so talented.
Your creations are beautiful.
Your tips will come in handy==thank you for sharing them.
Such lovely creations.
Thanks for the tips. I love your rainbow umbrellas!
Thanks for the stepped-out photos and the careful descriptions of how you created each card. I especially liked your fall card; the colors were so pretty!
Love, Love, LOVE your projects! I think we are all as excited as you are for Betsy and The Greetery! Can hardly wait until release day! Aaaaahhh!!! 🙂
I like how you showed your steps in making your card
Love your cards. Hkad you’re work with Betsy
I love the fall tree and the unique use of the umbrellas. Beautiful cards.
Fantastic creations!! Each card is unique and awesome! I love the first scene a lot! And the last one with umbrellas is so colorful, beautiful and CAS 🙂
I love the Fall tree. Great inspiration for a few months from now – not ready for it yet!
Gah! I am so excited for Betsy’s new venture and your cards are sooooooooooooooooooo gorgeous! I am IN LOVE with the autumn tree! Perfection!
I don’t know that I’ve seen your watercoloring before! It’s BEAUTIFUL! Signing up for blog updates!
Beautiful projects. Can’t wait till I can play with this release!!
It’s barely Spring and you have me looking forward to Fall already with that beautiful tree. I sure enjoyed your detailed explanation of your creative process and I learned several new tips.
Your cards are dreamy – I like how Distress Inks created an ethereal look. Pretty!
Gorgeous cards, Wanda – I particularly love the umbrellas – so colourful.
My favorite season is fall also. What you did with the trees was gorgeous! Thank you for all of your step-by-step how-to photos.
You are all so creative. I especially like the layered tree stencil and stamps.
Beautiful cards!
Wanda, Totally agree with you, hope I can get some products in my cart before they sell out! So glad Betsy is doing this! And fabulous showcasing of the new stamps! Gorgeous cards! Have a great day!
Your umbrella card is my favorite. Thanks for the watercolor tips!
Great cards! I love that fall tree especially. I have a lot of autumn birthdays and that tree will be perfect. Love the water color effect you achieved. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Wanda, for being part of Betsy’s debut! I love that you included some step by step photos, just for those of us that need the encouragment! Your cards turned out SO lovely!
Love your umbrella card!
Gorgeous! Both the stamps and the cards you made using them. Love it!
Your cards are just stunning! I love the detail you show in your photos. I am beyond thrilled for Betsy and see she has put together a First Rate design team for your launch!
Wow! Your cards are awesome. Especially love the Orange tree. It really pops. Thanks for the steps. Definitely helps. Looking forward to more of your work
Such lovely cards Wanda!! Glad I’m not the only one obsessed with the new tree stamps…you totally water colored them just beautifully! LOVE your umbrella card too! Thanks so much for such beautiful inspiration!! :0)
Love that you are a part of this first release. Your work always amazes me and as always, your cards are stunning. You’ve certainly done justice to this first day of remarkable sets.
BEAUTIFUL cards with Betsy’s new release. So happy to see your creativity showcasing Betsy’s new endeavor! I think we are all as excited as you are about this and yes, I agree, it will be a sell out!
Your cards are beautiful! I can’t wait see more!
Beautiful, beautiful creations with these great sets. I love the fall tree card and the umbrella card is so unique! Thanks for sharing.
Your trees and path look so realistic. Love the little spatters of dark on the path.
Beautiful as usual! Love visiting your blog to see your inspiration! Looking forward to seeing the rest of Betsy’s collection.
Beautiful colors and dimension on your cards.
Great cards and fun collection
Beautiful especially the fall colored one!!
I love your cards. I especially love the umbrellas – very creative.
Your cards are beautiful but I especially love the autumn tree! What a.great release!
Stunning use of products. I appreciated your comments on the quality of the items as well.
Beautiful creations, Wanda! I love the trees and your color variations! The fall version is just gorgeous… my favorite season too!
Look at you, using those umbrellas!! What a great idea. Looking at the cards, you can almost “feel” the fall day. How beautiful.
Beautiful cards, Wanda. Thank you for all the photos. It really helps to see the different stages of assembly. I’m so glad you’re part of Betsy’s first release. I can’t wait to see more projects from you.
Thanks for all the step-by-step photos—the sneaky watercoloring effect is clever and the results are stunning! Autumn is my favorite season too, and the colors of your fall tree make me happy. And the umbrella card is so bright and clean and simple, I just love it!
Love all three of your cards! What a fantastic way to use the umbrellas!
Wow!!! Your cards are amazing! Gorgeous colors!!
You always rock it, Wanda! Your cards and watercoloring is always fabulous!
I love your umbrella card!!! The colors are so happy! Thank you for your tips and pics on using Betsy’s first release!!
Love the cards. So pretty and colorful.
I especially like your fall themed card, Wanda.
Beautiful cards. Love the trees you created. Stunning. TFS.
All of your cards are so pretty!!
You have such a way with color.
I love the combination of the woman and the dog! And the colors – red & oranges – on that tree are stunning!
Your fall tree – I’m in love!!!!!!!!
Amazing creations!
Oh, my!!! Lovin’ those gorgeous trees! You made them so beautiful…look so real! And, I truly appreciate your tutorial with great tips! Fab card with the colorful umbrellas, too!!
WOW–beautiful cards!!!
Your cards are fantastic! My fave is the autumn tree, so elegant and classy. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
I LOVE your autumn tree. So pretty!
Love all of your cards … beautiful inspiration!
All beautiful cards Wanda! For some reason, and surprising to me, the umbrella card is my favorite of the three, I just love it!
Yay, Wanda, so thrilled to see you helping Betsy launch her new products! All three cards are just lovely but that Autumn tree really stands out for a generic-type Card. Your scene is so realistic and those umbrellas so colorful.
Great cards Wanda! Always a treat to visit your blog!
Gorgeous cards! I love your painting style- thanks for the tips!
Wonderful instructions. Thank you
Love your cards, Wanda…and the great tips for lining up the trees! I especially like how you shade and highlight with your coloring. Nice!
Fabulous cards, Wanda! I can just feel your excitement. Thanks for including so many helpful tips today. Your umbrella card is a true delight! It just warms my heart to see my favorite designers teaming up ‘hand in hand’ for the launch of The Greetery. It’s such an exciting week for all of us! 💗
So fun!
Wanda, your cards are so pretty but my favorite is the Autumn tree! Love the colors! Love the look of painting over the stamped image…makes it look like you watercolored the image! Brilliant!
Really beautiful projects, Wanda! Your fall tree is stunning. Thank you for the tips.
I am so excited for this release! Your cards are amazing- thank you so much for all of the detailed information, you’re the best 🙂
Your take on Betsy’s stamps is just beautiful! I really appreciate the tips you’ve given. It’s the small things that take a card to a polished little gift.
You’ve outdone yourself! Awe-inspiring cards! I love using distress ink to give my images that watercolored look; love your rainbow of umbrellas!
Love the first release set, love your three cards and of course I adore those red gumboots! Gorgeous. Thanks, Wanda!
Wanda! These are lovely! I like every single element! Your use of color really makes everything pop! So happy for Betsy as I too have loved her designs for a long time!
These trees are fabulous. Love that you used it center stage with the orange!
These are fantastic! I am especially loving the clean and simple perfection of that last card and those gorgeous fall colors on the second!
You’ve done an amazing job showing off these new stamps. I’m excited about this new line.
simply BEAUTIFUL – I cannot wait for this release! Your cards are amazing. I have followed you for a long time and enjoy your cards. I just told a friend “I need to watercolor more” after seeing this post. Thank you for your creativity!
Oh these are so pretty! Especially love the layered tree and that whole scene! Lovely images and colors… cool umbrellas! 🙂
Wanda this was the announcement that was heard around the blogging World!! So glad you got your inky fingers on them first… good for you, great for Betsy! Beautiful cards!
BTW those umbrellas? Ahhhh Mazing!
=]
Awesome job on all your cards they are adorable!
So excited to see more.
Fabulous cards Wanda!
How exciting! Congrats to Betsy for taking the leap. I love your cards and can’t wait to see more from this new company. 😀
Beautiful, beautiful cards, Wanda! I love what you did with the trees and with the umbrellas!
Love how you showcased these new stamps. Can’t wait to place an order.
Great showcase for this set, Wanda. I love that you can use the same stamp for all seasons! So fun!
I really like how you splattered the stones. I have never thought to do that, but WOW, does it add a wonderful look.
So talented! Love your cards!
All cards are simply gorgeous!
I love Autumn – it’s my favorite time of the year.
Your work is fantabulous, as always! I am loving everything I see in this release. Thank you for sharing your creativity.
Such great inspiration! Love all your cards today. The umbrella card is so fun…just something about it!
Gorgeous scenes!
Love the colors
on both.
Carla from Utah
Umbrellas are amazing! Amazing!
Your orange tree is awesome — really striking! Great card with the umbrellas too. It really extends the value of the set when the images can be used for such different purposes.
What beautiful projects and a very thorough post! Thank you for sharing all the details!
Love all of your cards. Thanks for the series of pictures of how you colored the tree. I really like the umbrella card!
Great new stamps. Will be able to get so many different looks from each set. Good way to stretch your stamp $$. Your showcase of the stamps is fabulous.
This is an amazing announcement. I have appreciated Betsy’s work for a while. Your cards are nicely done and a great example of the Greetery’s offerings. Those trees, oh my. I hope you are a regular guest and look so forward to seeing what comes next. Hope you Easter was blessed…
Oh my Wanda, your cards are all stunning! I love the way you’ve used each image individually as well as all together to create a beautiful scene. Your cards show how perfectly they can all be used for completely different looks. Beautiful work!!!
Simply wonderful! Loving this release!!
I just love your “watercoloring” Wanda! Your projects always inspire me. So glad to see your talent at work for The Greetery!!!
Amazing cards! Love the new stencils and the new Greetery company.
Thank you for the step by step instructions and photos. I really appreciate those. Gorgeous cards with these beautiful new products! 🙂
This is truly my favorite stamps and stencils I have ever seen! I love making scene cards and these products will definitely make things a little easier!
Lovely cards. The scene you’ve created is awesome with such great depth and detail. But I also truly love your other two, simpler cards using these new sets. They are both striking in their color and design. TFS!!!
I love all of your cards. They are beautiful.
oh my. More beautiful cards. Thank you for the inspiration.
Lovely cards!
Fabulous cards, Wanda! So nice to see you introducing Betsy’s stamps.
So great to see you showcase Betsy’s new designs. The cards are all so pretty, but I love the umbrella one – it’s so fresh and modern.
How have I not seen your blog before? I can tell I will be stopping by often – what fantastic cards!!
Beautiful cards Wanda! I love the speckles on the stones of the walkway – so creative!
there is so much depth to your
outdoor card. Love it.
The umbrellas make a fun
card. thanks for sharing
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Lovely cards! So many ideas in one post. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful cards Wanda! Love that you share the creative process too!
I don’t know which I like better the fabulous depth in the layers of the trees or the wonderful meandering stone pathway!! So serene!
What beautiful cards! I love the CAS look on the umbrella card!