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Betsy

Confetti Collection: Sneak Peek #1

by Betsy May 25, 2020

written by Betsy

Good Monday morning to you! Are you ready to kick off a fun week? We sure are! Our newest collection is coming to the shop on Friday, May 29, and it’s called Confetti! It’s a happy collection that’s about celebrations of all sorts – babies and birthdays, brides and grads, there’s a little something for all of the occasions we love to celebrate!

Your first sneak peek is here!

Hmmm…anything in particular that catches your eye and makes you want to see more? There’s so much more to show you and I can’t wait!

Tomorrow is another sneak peek day and then we’ll kick off the full reveals and projects on Wednesday. The Inspiration Team will be here along with some special guests to help make our anniversary celebration even more special!

And just a heads up for later this week! Laurie Willison will once again be hosting an Insta Live on Thursday, May 28 where she’ll be showcasing all of the new products for you. Tune in to our Instagram channel at 11 am CT and you’ll be able to get a live look and ask questions about all of the new goodies! Can’t make it live? You’ll be able to view the video from our stories for the next 24 hours.

May 25, 2020 45 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Nature Inspired Notes with Kelly

by Betsy May 22, 2020

written by Betsy

It’s TGIF time and Kelly Lunceford is joining us today with some gorgeous nature-inspired cards. I just love how Kelly uses layers! Are you planning some crafting time for the long weekend? If so, Kelly’s beautiful projects are sure to jumpstart your creativity.

Hello friends! I’m thrilled to be here today sharing a few cards for this week’s TGIF post! I used quite a few different sets, using bits and pieces from each one for today’s projects! I even added a bonus tag that was created using some leftover dies and images! I usually just put them back in with the stamp or die set when I am cleaning up, but for today I decided to put them to good use and make a coordinating tag! I’ve been doing a lot of porch deliveries these last few months and tags are perfect to have on hand to dress up a little drop-off surprise!

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The cards are similar in layout as far as the focal image, but I had some fun with the two backgrounds. The first card uses the new Fresh Floral Background Stamp that has been die cut using the Halfsies Oval Die. The portion that was left over is what I used for the tag by diecutting it with the Speed Tagging Die. I simply placed the stamped background underneath the specific tag shape that I wanted to use.

The second background uses the wonderful Windowpane Plaid background stamped simply in yellow and then die cut using the Crimped Frame Die. Each card has stamped flowers and foliage from the Signed and Sealed With a Kiss stamp set. They are tucked inside an envelope that is from the Signed and Sealed stamp set with a mini note card from the same set. The “Just a Note” and “to say Hello” and “to say I care” sentiments are also from the Signed and Sealed set. The yellow label and the stamped panel behind the envelopes are both from the With Love at Christmas stamp set. I love when a stamp set stretches beyond it’s intended season for added versatility.

I really like stamping multiples of most things when I am creating for a few reasons: I never know exactly where the design will take me so I like having options on hand, it is beneficial for me time-wise since I set everything up in my MISTI (if I’m stamping one, I may as well stamp 2 or more), and I enjoy making multiples of cards to send to friends and family. When stamping with multi step stamps, I find it to be most beneficial to die cut the shape first and then place the die back in the negative space all set up in my MISTI. That way I can make sure the edges are aligned nicely. If there isn’t more than one step, I’ll usually just stamp the image and then die cut it afterwards, making sure to line it up accurately around the stamped image and then secure it with washi tape.

I spent one Sunday afternoon creating all kinds of different colored birds from the Robin and Wren stamp set and tucked them away to use on future projects. I had three left, which just happened to work perfectly for these three projects! They are just the right touch to add to these nature inspired cards! Of course I couldn’t resist creating some coordinating envelopes using the Flappable Stencils! They are so easy to whip up and are perfect complements to the cards!

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you’re all taking this unique opportunity to mail out your special creations to brighten the lives of others!

Don’t Kelly’s projects just make you want to go create something? Her work always has that effect on me! Good thing too, because I will be stamping the weekend away, finishing up all of my projects to share with you next week! I’m so excited that we finally have some new products coming to the shop. I hope you’ll join us – we’ll kick off the week on Monday with the first of the sneak peeks for our new Confetti Collection. Ready to party?? 🎉 🎊 🎈

May 22, 2020 19 comments

All Updates

Save the Date + a Stock Update…

by Betsy May 19, 2020

written by Betsy

Happy Tuesday! I don’t have a Make & Tell for you today, but I do have some other fun news!

April 26th marked our first anniversary here at The Greetery! I can hardly believe it’s been more than a year since we launched this blog and our shop! We went into this not knowing at all what to expect, but we have been overwhelmed with your support and enthusiasm. Thank you for coming along on this ride with us – for your support, your comments, excitement over new products, encouragement, and the overall kindness displayed by all of you, our customers, has been the most fulfilling part of this whole undertaking! We can’t express enough how much we appreciate each and every one of you and we’re so happy you’re here!

With that in mind, we’re ready to do a bit of celebrating next week! Even though we’re a month behind our anticipated celebration date, if life has taught us anything in the last few months it’s that sometimes things don’t go as planned. 🙂 Next week we’ll be celebrating with the release of some new products, prizes, and lots of projects from the Inspiration Team + some special guests!

Stock Update: I know we have so many out of stock products right now that you all have been waiting ever so patiently for. Our manufacturers are working hard at getting back on track and getting our orders to us. Our packers here on our end are busy prepping what has already come in, and more things are coming later this week. We were hoping to do a major restock by the middle of this week, but a large stamp reorder we were expecting has been slightly delayed. In an effort to avoid frustration with placing multiple orders, we have decided to hold off on restocking bits and pieces as they come in, and instead do one large restock once everything that’s trickling in has arrived. We’re hoping to have a nearly fully-stocked store in time for our anniversary celebration!

We’ll see you back here on Friday for a fun TGIF post with Kelly!

May 19, 2020 51 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Spring Bouquet + Shiplap Background with Caly

by Betsy May 15, 2020

written by Betsy

Happy TGIF! We have a special guest for today’s TGIF – Caly Person is joining us today with a beautiful card she created using Budding Beauties Spring and Just Mason Around. I love the clever way she did the background…read on for all the details.

Hi Friends!
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy springtime when flowers begin to bloom and the grass is at its greenest! I love fresh cut flowers and decided to play with the Budding Beauties Spring set to create an arrangement using the Just Mason Around set.

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I began by stamping all the images using different shades of ink, being thoughtful what colors I wanted to pop off my card in the end. Baby’s breath is a soft and delicate flower that I knew would be really subtle, so I gave my cherry blossoms and tulips more vibrant colors in pink and purple. When I was done die-cutting the foliage and flowers, I looked up at my daughter – who is usually painting or coloring across from me – and asked her what color she felt my mason jar should be and knowing what my favorite color is, she said “teal!” So teal it is – or as close as I could get with my ink selection.

For my background, I found inspiration just looking at photos online. Shiplap backgrounds
stood out to me so I used the Alpha Alignment Guide to create my own. I masked off the sides of my card and ink-blended each plank from the top down with light gray ink. To give it
additional interest, I used a ruler and black drawing pen to frame in my shiplap background
before arranging my flowers and jar with foam adhesive for lots of dimension.

I felt the tulips needed additional color, so I used a dark purple colored pencil and lightly added shading until I was happy with what it looked like. I didn’t think my card needed a sentiment so I left it as it is. Sometimes, a peaceful arrangement speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Thanks so much for stopping by today.

I hope everyone is taking care during this time. Enjoy your flowers (or plant some – I assure you, it does the soul good!)
~Caly

May 15, 2020 25 comments

All Make & Tell Tuesdays

Make & Tell: Stamp a blooming forest with Budding Beauties Spring

by Betsy May 12, 2020

written by Betsy

It’s Make & Tell Tuesday time! Today I’ll be pulling out the baby’s breath image from the Budding Beauties Spring set to use in a unique way. I always love those photos or paintings where it looks like you’re looking up at the sky surrounded by a beautiful forest. We’ll be doing a fun take on that today by stamping a blooming forest using that baby’s breath image.

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We’ll start out by watercoloring a panel of watercolor paper, then add stamping and heat embossing over the top. You could use this same concept along with either Fir & Foliage No. 1 or 2 for a more traditional forest. You could change up the colors of the watercoloring to look like a sunset, or maybe even a snowy scene for the holidays.

Here’s this week’s video…

May 12, 2020 14 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Spring is in bloom with Kay

by Betsy May 8, 2020

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Kay is here with some beautiful springy projects using the Fleur Impressions set. We just had this set come back into stock in the shop, so Kay’s timing is perfect. Whether you’re new to this set or you’ve had it in your stash for a while, Kay’s beautiful cards will make you want to get this set inky!

Spring has finally made it’s way to my neck of the woods, and the flowers are blooming everywhere! We live out in the country here, and we have so many beautiful wildflowers. I am totally loving the flowers and warmer temperatures and it has inspired my card making too. I love the Fleur Impressions stamp set so much and wanted to explore some different color schemes using the different flowers in the set. I came up with two different cards, one with a warmer feel and one with a cooler feel.

My first card uses the warmer colors. I stamped the flowers in shades of red, orange and yellows. For the background, I used the Flappable Stencils. I used the stencil that makes the stripes and just rotated and stenciled a second time to give the look of plaid. I then speckled with a little bit of the same color ink.

For the frame, I used the Nordic Frames dies. I cut out the medium one and then used the smallest to cut out the center. I layered this over my background with foam tape. I then die cut all of the flowers with the Fleur Impressions coordinating dies and adhered those to the frame with foam tape. The sentiment is from the Sentiment Suite: Birthday stamp set.

And here is the same card, using the same supplies just with different colors! And if you know me very well, you know that purple and blue is one of my all time favorite color combinations!

I hope you have enjoyed my card today and I hope you are enjoying sunshine and flowers where you live too!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

May 8, 2020 14 comments

All Updates

Stock update

by Betsy May 7, 2020

written by Betsy

Hey all! I’m just popping in with a stock update. We’re starting to see a few restocks coming in.

We’ll be restocking some stamps and dies in the shop in just a bit. I wanted to keep you in the loop and let you know that we have a very limited quantity for a few of the items. Because of the long lag we’ve had in being able to get product from our manufacturers, I’m afraid our out of stock email alert list has grown beyond what we have to put in stock right now on some of the items. We have more orders coming in over the next few weeks as our manufacturers work to catch up on orders. So if you miss out on this batch, we recommend signing up again for the email alert so we can hopefully catch you on the next round.

Here is a list of what we’re adding to the shop tonight!

Stamps:

Dies:

May 7, 2020 1 comment

All Make & Tell Tuesdays

Make & Tell: Stamping a Terrarium Garden

by Betsy May 5, 2020

written by Betsy

Happy Tuesday! Are you ready for a fun Make & Tell? I’ve been digging around in the dirt a little around the yard, potting up some flowers and enjoying the sunshine. But yesterday was rainy, and it made me want to pull out my Pot-Pourri set and Terrarium die to “plant” some inky versions in my craft room!

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Pot-Pourri is such a fun set, and I haven’t given it a lot of love lately, so it was fun to pull it out again. I love stamping these plants in all shades of green for lots of interest. For the plaid background, I pulled out my Painterly Stripes Background and stamped that fun plaid using several shades of green.

The sentiment is from the Fresh Air set, and everything is layered over a Crimped Frame diecut. I used an easy masking technique to create the layers of plants. Very fun to do – you could definitely mass produce this card too…just set up your MISTI and stamp multiple panels assembly-line style.

Here’s today’s video – enjoy! 🙂

May 5, 2020 16 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Easy floral thank yous by Dawn

by Betsy May 1, 2020

written by Betsy

It’s Friday! I hope the sun is shining and you’re enjoying some of the same beautiful weather we’re having here. Dawn is here for today’s TGIF post with some pretty thank you cards that are fun and easy to mass produce using her formula! Let’s check them out…

I’ve been going through quite a few thank you notes lately, as I’ve been tucking them into artwork I’ve been shipping out! So I decided I’d better beef up my stash of thank yous, and these cards fit the bill perfectly!

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And because they really just consist of four main elements, they’re so easy to put together. They’re even the perfect type of card you could create elements for, while hanging out in front of the TV or maybe out on the deck with your family! All you need is a background (I used Painterly Stripes), a big focal element (like Sketchbook Roses), an eye-catching sentiment (how about Written in Ribbons) and a simple die cut (Nordic Frames) to separate the focal items from the background.

The really fun part about these, is that you can put them together in a wide array of color combinations, like I’m sharing today! Create your focal elements in whatever colors you can dream up, and then let those colors be the same ones you use on your background and sentiment. Easy peasy!

I love Dawn’s formula for creating these cards! Focal point, sentiment, background + a mat layer…a simple concept you can use over and over for unlimited looks. What sets would you plug into her formula?

May 1, 2020 13 comments

All Make & Tell Tuesdays

Make & Tell: Faux watercolor with solid stamps + oxide inks

by Betsy April 28, 2020

written by Betsy

Good morning and happy Tuesday! Last week I promised a video on the watercolored lemons from the card set I posted on our More Fresh Air Inspiration post.

This is a fun technique that uses solid image stamps, stamped with Distress Oxide inks, to create faux watercolor. It’s fun and easy – easier than starting with outline images, in my opinion, because much of the work is already done for you with the stamping. You’re just adding in some blends with a sort of wet-on-wet technique often used in traditional watercoloring. The entire process is done with Oxide inks – no special watercolors are needed. Just a paintbrush, your oxide inks, and water. Oh, and your favorite solid-image stamps of course! I used Lemon Blossom.

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Here’s the video for you!

To finish off my card with the full lemon pattern background, I added a sentiment from the Written in Ribbons set, and a black and white striped strip stamped with the Painterly Stripes Background stamp. For the Hello card, I created a collage sentiment by combining a few different elements – the Slim Alphabet die, a sentiment from Signed & Sealed, and another from Written in Ribbons. The different pattern strips were cut from another lemon panel, along with some stripes and plaids done with the Painterly Stripes Background.

This was a fun technique – I’m already wondering what other images from my collection might work really well for this! What would you use?

April 28, 2020 20 comments