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Love Letters Collection Day #2: Coming Up Roses

by Betsy January 16, 2020

written by Betsy

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about yesterday’s reveals! Today we’re back for Day 2 of reveals for our newest collection – Love Letters!

All of the products being introduced on the blog this week will be available for purchase in The Shop, beginning at 10am EST on Friday, January 17.

Before we get to the product introductions, just a reminder that Laurie’s doing an Instagram Live presentation of all of the new products this morning at 11:00am CST, so tune in if you’d like to check it out!

Now let’s meet today’s new products…

Sketchbook Roses stamps & die

A rose is a rose is a rose…taken straight from a hand-drawn pencil sketch, the pretty Sketchbook Roses set features a large-scale flower cluster that’s perfect for focal points and backgrounds. Using the solid images to add color to the sketchy outline is like a stamper’s version of a paint-by-number. The carefree style of this set makes for no-fuss layered stamping. Experiment with embossing the outline image with metallic powder for an elegant look, or use your favorite coloring medium to fill in the outline image. The “beautiful” script sentiment can be combined with a handful of text sentiments from the set to create projects for a variety of occasions.

This set comes on a 4″ x 8″ sheet and includes a printed full-color stamping guide

Approximate sizes:
large bouquet – 4.2″ x 4.4″
beautiful word – 2″ x 1.25″
you make life more sentiment – 2.2″ x .15″

Sentiments include:
beautiful
you make like more (beautiful)
have a (beautiful) day
hello, (beautiful)

Written in Ribbons stamps & die

Like flowing, graceful ribbons, these pretty sentiments will wrap your cards in style. The large-scale two-step script words can be stamped in any colors you can imagine. Using two shades of the same color will give you a pretty tone-on-tone look. Have fun experimenting with different inking techniques to create an ombré effect, or layer different ink colors for a bolder look. The companion dies are a bit different than your typical centered outline die in that they are slightly offset to create a fun shadow effect. The smaller text phrases can be combined with the larger script words to create a variety of phrases for several occasions.

This set comes on a 6″ x 8″ sheet and includes a full-color printed stamping guide.

Approximate sizes:
thanks – 3.5″ x 1″
happy – 3.5″ x 1.5″
hello – 3.1″ x 1.7″
just for you – 2.25″ x 2.6″

Sentiment Suite Love stamps

Do you ever find yourself hunting for the perfect sentiment to finish your card? The Sentiment Suite stamps cover the most popular card making occasions, with sentiments in many different layouts. You’re sure to find the perfect fit for your project, whether it’s a one-line sentiment, a small sentiment for a tag, or even the perfect saying to stamp on the inside! The Sentiment Suite Love set has stamps for weddings, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and more. Pair these sentiments with the Sentiment Suite Basics dies for lots of layering options! You’ll be reaching for these great basics again and again!

Let’s Have a Word: Beautiful die

Let’s have a word! This stand-alone die cuts the word “beautiful” in a lovely script font, accompanied by a few smaller sentiments to complete a handful of phrases. It coordinates beautifully with the Sketchbook Roses stamp set to provide you with more design options for the sentiments found in that set.

Set of 4 dies
Approximate sizes:
beautiful – 3.25″ x 1.75″
have a – 1.5″ x .4″
hello – 1.3″ x .4″
day – .8″ x .4″

BotaniCuts Rose die

Everything’s coming up roses! The BotaniCuts collection is a series of stand alone dies for cutting various botanical designs. This BotaniCuts Rose set creates two sizes of layered roses, an assortment of leaves, and a small rose bud. Keep it simple by cutting them from colored cardstock, or have fun experimenting with your favorite coloring method, such as ink blending, watercolor, markers, and more! The layers on these roses create beautiful dimension!

This die collection comes with a full-color printed layering guide

Set of 25 dies, wired together.
Approximate sizes:
large rose – 2.5″ x 2″
small rose – 1.8″ x 1.6″
large double leaf – 1.7″ x 2.25″
single leaf – 1.7″ x .75″
assembled rose bud – 1″ x 1.25″

To aid in your list-making and planning, below you will find the prices for today’s products.

Sketchbook Roses 4″ x 8″ stamp set – $24
Sketchbook Roses die – $24
Written in Ribbons stamp set – $24
Written in Ribbons die – $28
Sentiment Suite Love 4″ x 6″ stamp set – $15
Let’s Have a Word: Beautiful die – $8
BotaniCuts Rose die – $40

I have so many projects to share, and just wait until you see what the Inspiration Team has created for you! Before we dive into projects, I put together a video showing how to layer and assemble the BotaniCuts Pine Bough die.

So I’m just going to get right to the point here and throw out my favorite card of the day (possibly the year?!) I had so much fun completely filling this card front with the BotaniCuts Roses!

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All of the roses I used here were cut from plain white cardstock and then sponged with Distress Oxide inks. I did add a bit of shading to some of them using colored pencils to add just a little deeper color into some of the layers. I love playing around with sponging all different colors…the leaves have mixes of all different greens, and even some blues and yellows for a really pretty variety of color. I also snuck in a few BotaniCuts Pine Bough sprigs…I mentioned the other day that I was loving putting those pine sprigs in with other things too, like my daisy cards. They’re perfect here with the roses too and just add a little variety! I also used some clear Nuvo drops to create some dew drops, and also added some splatters with white acrylic ink. In the center is that pretty “hello” from the Written in Ribbons set, stamped in shades of yellow and gold. The layers and layers of color on this card just make me happy!

You might be wondering how tricky these roses are to assemble. Well, I put together a video for you that shows how easy they go together. Each layer has some guides built in in the way of scored or cut lines, so you’ll always know just how to stack them up. You will also receive a full-color layering guide with your die to keep as an easy reference.

My next card uses just a single BotaniCuts Rose along with a pretty mix of foliage. I love all of the different leaves in this die set almost as much as those blooms! The pretty bloom here was watercolored, as were the leaves.

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The mix of foliage behind the rose is made up of the leaf cluster from the new Signed & Sealed With a Kiss that was introduced yesterday, some BotaniCuts Pine Bough sprigs, and leaves from BotaniCuts Rose. It’s all layered over the medium rectangle from the Nordic Frames die, which is layered over a panel stamped with the new Windowpane Plaid background. The sentiment I used here is from the new Sentiment Suite: Love set. I love that vertical layout and it was perfect for my card design!

Creating layers and bouquets with these roses is just so fun I couldn’t stop. I sat one evening and just had fun playing around with watercoloring the leaves and flowers. The leaves are especially perfect for experimenting with different watercolor blends and color combos. You can see the leaves here have lots of shades of blue, green, and yellow.

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The rose here was done with ink sponging, along with some colored pencil shading. Behind the rose is an Inside & Out Berry Branch diecut – both the outline and some of the individual branches. The sentiment is of course from the new Written in Ribbons set, this time stamped with two different ink colors – green and blue, instead of shades of the same color. The background behind everything was stamped with the new Sketchbook Roses set. I used just the outline image, which makes super quick and pretty backgrounds!

The rest of my cards today feature the new Sketchbook Roses set. I thought it might be helpful to put a video together showing how this is put together. There are a lot of individual bits and pieces, but as you’ll see from the video, you can combine many of those into a single step if you use a stamp positioning guide like a MISTI.

So now that you’ve seen the Sketchbook Roses set in action, I have several projects using it. This first one uses the outline image along with all of the solid filler layers to create this pretty, colorful bouquet that makes for a pretty focal point all on its own.

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Behind that pretty bouquet is a panel of watercolor paper. I stamped some script from the new Pretty Postmarks set and heat embossed it with white powder before watercoloring over it with shades of pink and yellow. The sentiment here is a combination of the new Let’s Have a Word: Beautiful die and some sentiments from the Sentiment Suite: Birthday set. I used the new Postal Frames die to add the pretty edge to the bottom of the watercolor panel.

The Sketchbook Roses set has lots of opportunity to play with different techniques. I love the look of heat embossing the outline image with gold powder, and then adding color using the fill-in stamps.

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I used lots of bright ink colors and my favorite method of inking my stamps using finger daubers and Distress Oxide inks to give these images lots of interesting color blends. Because the oxide inks can get a bit messy stamping over the embossing, I stamped the outline image first in black ink to use as a guide for filling in my flowers with all of the solid images. Then when I was finished stamping all the flowers, I went back and stamped the outline again, this time with Versamark ink, then heat embossed it with gold. The sentiment here is a combination of the Let’s Have a Word: Beautiful die, and a sentiment stamp from the Sketchbook Roses set.

I loved the look of the embossing on that outline image, so I wanted to try that again, but this time add color using watercolors instead of the fill-in stamps. I wanted to just create kind of a free, messy look with lots of color!

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I used loose brushstrokes, and didn’t fill the images in completely, and used lots of color, especially in the leaves. When I was finished watercoloring that bouquet, I also added some watercolor to the background before diecutting that bouquet. Doing it this way made it feel more natural, and some of the image kind of extends into the background. For a fun shadow effect and to give the image a whole lot of pop, I diecut the bouquet from black cardstock and nested it back inside the background, then layered my watercolored bouquet over the top, offsetting it just a bit to allow the black to show, and popped it up with some foam adhesive. I also tucked in some leaves from the BotaniCuts Rose set and sprigs from the BotaniCuts Pine Bough die. The sentiment was stamped using the Sketchbook Roses set. I created a matching envelope by sponging some ink over the scalloped Flappable stencil, then stamped the outline floral from Sketchbook Roses with the stencil still in place using Versamark, and heat embossed it with white powder. The layering/shadow technique I used here was really fun and I would love to experiment with it more!

My next card again experiments with some watercoloring and the outline image from Sketchbook Roses, embossed with gold embossing powder. This card was about one hot minute from ending up in the trash. 😉 Once I decided that it was not working out, I went a little crazy and just started adding leaves by hand with my watercolors and brush.

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The result is…well, interesting. Maybe it should have gone in the trash. 🙂 I layered some diecut leaves from the BotaniCuts Rose die over the top of my watercoloring, as well as the “thanks” sentiment from the Written in Ribbons set. I added some gold splatters because well, splatters fix a lot of things!

My last card for today is a much softer take on the Sketchbook Roses set. I wanted to create a pretty wedding card and play with some colors outside of my usual color palette.

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I started by stamping the outline with some gold ink, then I filled in just the bouquet in the lower corner with with solid fill-in stamps using soft colors of Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment is from the new Written in Ribbons, stamped in the same soft colors – Tea Dye and Tattered Rose. I added a few diecut leaves from BotaniCuts Rose behind the sentiment, which were cut from watercolor paper and then watercolored. The inside is finished off with the online image stamped in gold ink, and one of the sentiments included in the Sentiment Suite: Love set.

That wraps up my projects for today, but there is still so much more! Now that you’ve gotten to meet all of today’s new products and see them in action, you can “greet” them for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Read on for details…

Comment here on the blog for one entry (one comment per person). What caught your eye today, and gets you excited to get creating?
Comment on our Inspiration Team Members’ blogs for more entries (one comment per person, per blog)
Comments close at Midnight EST on Thursday, January 16
Winners will be posted at 7am EST on Friday, January 17 here on the blog

You are in for such a treat! It’s time to see what our amazing Inspiration Team has to share with you today!

We also have a special guest today! Please give a warm Greetery welcome to Caly Person, who is joining us in today’s hop!

(click on the images to visit the Inspiration Team blogs, or click HERE if viewing this post via email)

ANGELICA

CALY

DAWN

HEATHER

KAY

KEEWAY

KELLY

LAURIE

LIZZIE

NORINE

Thank you so much for visiting today! Tomorrow is the day! All of the new products we’ve been showcasing will go up in the shop tomorrow morning at 10am EST. Just a little housekeeping note about the new products. They’re already loaded into the shop, but the stock has not been added. SO, if you see an “out of stock” notification, no worries – we’re just getting the store ready, and the stock will be added Friday morning at 10am EST!

January 16, 2020 274 comments

All January 2020 New Product Meet & Greet

Love Letters Collection Day 1: Pretty & Postal

by Betsy January 15, 2020

written by Betsy

Thank you for stopping by today – we’re ready to reveal some of the new products in our latest collection – Love Letters! I’m so excited to show you all of the details of what we’ve been working on…

All of the products being introduced on the blog this week will be available for purchase in The Shop, beginning at 10am EST on Friday, January 17.

Before we get to the product introductions, here’s a bit of fun news. We’ll be doing a live product showcase on our Instagram channel on Thursday, hosted by Laurie Willison!

Join Laurie at 11am CST on The Greetery Instagram to get an up-close look at all of the new products.

So now let’s meet today’s new products…

Signed & Sealed stamps & die

Cute as can be, you’ll want to put these little envelopes on every project! The petite envelope image from this set is perfect for tucking small notes, sentiments, floral sprigs and more. Have fun embellishing the “envelopes” with the patterned liners in two different prints. The mini wax seal adds a fun touch. Pair this set with the coordinating dies for lots of creative options!

This set comes on a 4″ x 6″ sheet.

Approximate sizes:
envelope – 2.9″ x 2.9″
wax seal – .8″ x .8″
label – 1.8″ x 1.2″
envelope liner – 2.4″ x 1.6″
just a note sentiment – 1.4″ x .4″

Sentiments include:
Just a Note
– to say hello
– to say I care
Hello
A gift for you

Signed & Sealed With a Kiss stamps & die

Signed & Sealed…With a Kiss! This stamp set is filled with images that coordinate wonderfully with the Signed & Sealed stamp set. Tuck the flower clusters, leaves, or hearts into the petite envelopes from the Signed & Sealed set. All of the sentiments included in this set are sized perfectly to fit on the label included in the Signed & Sealed set, giving you lots of creative options for weddings, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day and more. The images from this set work beautifully on their own as well!

This set comes on a 4″ x 8″ sheet and includes a full-color printed stamping guide.

Approximate sizes:
leafy branch – 3.5″ x 3.3″
lily of the valley – 1.8″ x 2.8″
single flower stem – 1″ x 1.5″
wax seal – .8″ x .8″
dotted heart – 1.2″ x 1.2″
be mine, valentine sentiment – 1.2″ x .5″

Sentiments include:
Be Mine, Valentine
sending
Lot of love
tucked inside
XOXOXO
on your wedding day
s.w.a.k.

Pretty Postmarks stamps & die

Pretty & postal, this set includes so many beautiful details to add to nearly any project. Mix and match the sentiments with the postal cancellation circles for options for a variety of occasions. The three script blocks are designed to be pretty backgrounds. Upon taking a closer look, your recipients will be delighted to find that the subtle text matches the card’s occasion! The scripts feature sayings appropriate for weddings/anniversaries, birthdays, and thank yous. The small icon images can be added to the centers of the postage stamp or cancellation circle. The postage stamp from this set also coordinates with the postage stamp quad die from the Postal Frames die set.

This set comes on a 4″ x 6″ sheet

Approximate sizes:
script blocks – appx 3″ x 1″
postage circles – 1″
cancellation lines – 1.1″ x .5″
postage stamp – .9″ x 1.1″
small icons – .4″ tall
thank you sentiment – 1″ x .4″

Sentiments include:
congratulations
thank you
happy birthday
with love
sent with love just for you (postage circle)
special delivery just for you (postage circle)

Postal Frames die

This die collection is perfect for cutting mats and frames with a pretty postal-style edge, perfect for layering over A2 cards. The die set consists of mats/frames in two sizes plus a postage cancellation, and a smaller rectangle that resembles a grouping of postage stamps. This smaller rectangle can be stamped with the postage stamp image from the Pretty Postmarks set.

Set of 4 dies
Approximate sizes:
large frame – 4″ x 5.2″
medium frame – 3.2″ x 4.4″
postage stamp quad – 1.8″ x 2.1″
postage cancellation – 2.2″ x 1″

Windowpane Plaid Background Stamp

Windowpane plaid is everywhere this season, from home decor to fashion, and now you can stamp it too. Sized just a bit larger than an A2 card, this quick and easy background stamp is sure to be a staple in your collection!

This is a single rubber cling stamp made from deeply etched quality pink rubber for a lifetime of crisp impressions.

Overall stamp size – 4.5″ x 5.75″

To aid in your list-making and planning, below you will find the prices for today’s products.

Signed & Sealed 4″ x 6″ stamp set – $15
Signed & Sealed die – $21
Signed & Sealed With a Kiss – $18
Signed & Sealed With a Kiss die – $31
Pretty Postmarks stamp set – $15
Pretty Postmarks die – $9
Postal Frames die – $28
Windowpane Plaid Background stamp – $15

I have so many projects to share, and just wait until you see what the Inspiration Team has created for you! Before we dive into projects, I put together a video showing some of the fun options with the new Signed & Sealed and Signed & Sealed With a Kiss sets…

So let’s dive into the project details! My first project is the one shown in the video.

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I loved filling this cute little envelope with wildflowers. Can you imagine all of the different color and flower combos you could come up with? Or all of the different seasons you could create them for? That postage cancellation die from the Postal Frames die set might be one of my favorite things from the whole release!

By mixing in some elements from the Signed & Sealed With a Kiss set, there are some super sweet options for Valentine’s day!

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Here I started with the largest die from the Postal Frames set and sponged it with pink/red ink. I layered another panel over the top, just trimmed down with my paper trimmer to fit inside the pierced border of the Postal Frames die, and stamped it with the new Windowpane Plaid Background stamp with black ink. Over that I layered one of the Signed & Sealed envelopes. The liner was cut from white cardstock and stamped with some hearts from the Signed & Sealed With a Kiss set. I finished if off with a sentiment from the latest in our Sentiment Suite series, which you’ll be seeing more of tomorrow! The little label from Signed & Sealed is tucked in the envelope, layered with a diecut/stamped sentiment from the Sealed With a Kiss set.

The Signed & Sealed and With a Kiss addition set gives you some fun new options for wedding and anniversary cards as well!

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I once again used the Windowpane Plaid background layered over a Postal Frames diecut. I also stamped and heat embossed one of the script backgrounds from the new Pretty Postmarks set. I filled the envelope with the lily of the valley and single bloom from the S&SWAK set, using colored pencils to add some extra shading to the images. I topped it all off with the cute faux was seal from the S&SWAK set.

I really wanted to experiment with stamping some fun patterns onto that cute little envelope liner, so for my next project I pulled out my Pine Blossom set and used some of the smaller individual images from that set.

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I used lots of bright blues, pinks, reds, and yellows for this cheery card. The sentiment I used here is from the new Pretty Postmarks set. I also stamped some of the script from that set onto the background watercolor paper, which was embossed with white powder before I did a bit of watercoloring over the top. Such a springy, cheery card!

Staying with my bright and cheery color scheme, I thought it would be fun to stamp a whole rainbow of colorful postage stamps from the new Pretty Postmarks set.

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In addition to the postage stamp from that set, there are also several small icons – some of them you might recognize from some of your favorite previously released sets, now in miniature! These little icons can be stamped inside the postage stamp, or the cancellation circle from the set. The matching die set has little dies for these so you can add them in layers for even more fun. The sentiment here was done with a combination of a few of the new things – the cancellation die from the Postal Frames set, the “Just a note” is from the Signed & Sealed set, and the circle text is from Pretty Postmarks. In the background, I watercolored a rainbow strip to layer my stamps over, which was done on a Postal Frames rectangle, cut from watercolor paper.

I just love all of the pretty little elements in these new sets, and they’re great for creating pretty clusters. So much fun to mix and match and just play with different combinations!

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For this pretty hello card, I created a postal-themed cluster by using the postage stamp and circle text from Pretty Postmarks layered over some script from that same set. I also tucked in that cancellation diecut again, along with a flower stamped with the S&SWAK set. That pretty hello sentiment also also new of course, and you’ll be hearing more about those tomorrow, but I couldn’t help sneaking a few of them in my projects today – they’re impossible to resist! Also take note of that pretty Windowpane Plaid tucked between my Postal Frames layers for just a bit of pattern.

All of the pretty elements in the Signed & Sealed With a Kiss set are perfect for tucking in those tiny envelopes, but they’re great on their own as well. I just love this leaf cluster from the set and wanted to make it the focal point for my next project.

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That two-step leaf image is simply to stamp and oh, so pretty. I stamped two of them here in varying color schemes. I used colored pencils to add a bit more shading to the berries to really make them look dimensional. The pretty watercolor paper background was cut with the largest Postal Frames die. The sentiments were stamped using the Pretty Postmarks set. I tied a bit of string around the frame to finish it off.

My final card for today is a very different take on the floral images included in the Signed & Sealed With a Kiss set.

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I stamped the lily of the valley and single stem bloom in neutral colors, again using colored pencils to add some shading. I arranged them in a unique layout which is made up of two lily of the valley diecuts and four of the single flowers. Over that I layered one of our new sentiments that you’ll see more of tomorrow. It turned out so striking on the black background!

Comment here on the blog for one entry (one comment per person). What caught your eye today, and gets you excited to get creating?
Comment on our Inspiration Team Members’ blogs for more entries (one comment per person, per blog)
Comments close at Midnight EST on Thursday, January 16
Winners will be posted at 7am EST on Friday, January 17 here on the blog

You are in for such a treat! It’s time to see what our amazing Inspiration Team has to share with you today!
(click on the images to visit their blogs, or click HERE if viewing this post via email)

ANGELICA

DAWN

HEATHER

KAY

KEEWAY

KELLY

LAURIE

LIZZIE

NORINE

WANDA

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you’re as excited about these new products as we are! We’ll be back tomorrow with more reveals and projects!

January 15, 2020 349 comments

All January 2020 Sneak Peeks

Love Letters Collection: Sneak Peek #2

by Betsy January 14, 2020

written by Betsy

It’s time for the second peek into our newest Love Letters collection!

For Peek #2, a rose is a rose is a rose…

So many pretty things to peek today…a new die in our BotaniCuts series, some pretty sentiments, and a new stamp set that’s like a stamping version of a paint by number. I can’t wait to show you all of the details!

Tomorrow we’ll start the full reveals with lots of projects from the Inspiration Team, and of course a few prizes…I hope you’ll join us! Our new Love Letters collection will be available to shop on Friday, January 17!

January 14, 2020 74 comments

All January 2020 Sneak Peeks

Love Letters Collection: Sneak Peek #1

by Betsy January 13, 2020

written by Betsy

Our newest collection is coming to the shop very soon! Let’s have a little sneak peek of the Love Letters collection…

I’ve been drawn to anything postal-themed for as long as I can remember – pretty postage stamps, seals, postmarks, postcards, and envelopes. My older sister had a stamp collection when we were kids. I loved looking at them (I wanted one too! 🙂 ) If you love postal things as much as I, you’re in for a treat this week.

I hope you’ll join us the rest of the week here on the blog! We have more sneak peeks tomorrow, and then we’ll have full product reveals, projects, and prizes on Wednesday and Thursday, with all of the new products going up in the shop on Friday morning, January 17, at 10am EST!

January 13, 2020 77 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Winter Blue Birds with Angelica

by Betsy January 10, 2020

written by Betsy

It’s finally Friday! TGIF time!

Angela is here this week and she’s going to knock your socks off with the gorgeous project she’s sharing with you today! I have to tell you, I was the lucky recipient of this card and it is even prettier in real life (if that’s possible)! If you like hearing all of the supply details you’re in for a treat as well. Angela has it all for you today…

**Edited to add: The Winter Sketches set Angelica used in her project today was restocked this morning in case you’re on the look-out for it! 🙂

Hi friends! We are almost halfway into January, and I finally finished my post-Christmas Thank you cards. The last card went out into the mail today, but not before I took a couple pictures to share with you today.

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I started with stamping a Winter Sketches branch. I used Gathered Twigs, Evergreen, Saphire, and Stargazer Pinkfresh Studio inks as my colors. Then I pulled out my Copic Markers to really enhance the branch. I added a dark shadow to with limb with E79, contrasting greens to the needles and leaves with G29 and YG05, and shaded the blue berries with B26 and B28. I die-cut the branch with the coordinating die, and finished by adding Ranger Distress Rock Candy Glitter, using Multi Media Matte as my adhesive. I set the branch aside to dry, and set up my MISTI to stamp two matching blue Robins from the Robin an d W ren stamp set.

I stamped the birds with Slumber, Sapphire, and Stargazer PF inks, and Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Distress Oxide inks for their bellies. Gathered Twigs PF ink was used for beaks and feet. I used the coordinating dies to die-cut them.

I made a quick watercolored background, using Mijello watercolors. I let the panel dry, then splattered watered-down acrylic paint and shimmer water all over the panel. I die-cut the panel with the middle rectangle from Nordic Frame Dies, and attached it to Blueberry card stock, die-cut with the large Nordic Frame Die. I mounted the panel onto a white card base, and attached the branch and birds with foam squares. I finished the card with a Sentiment Suite: Thank you Sentiment in the upper corner.

Aren’t Angela’s colors (and her coloring) amazing? Such a pretty project.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! And just a reminder…next week will be busy here on the blog as we introduce our newest collection. I hope you’ll join us for sneak peeks, product reveals, projects, and giveaways! I’ve already seen just a few bits and pieces of what the Inspiration Team has been working on and it’s just beautiful. I can’t wait to show you!

January 10, 2020 40 comments

All Make & Tell Tuesdays

Make & Tell – Oopsie Daisy Bouquets + Colored Pencil Shading

by Betsy January 7, 2020

written by Betsy

Is your work table still covered in holiday goodies? I’m not sure I’m ready to put away all of the Christmas and winter stamps and dies, but I know that I am ready for a little spring!

For today’s Make & Tell video, I’ll be giving some wintery items from our November collection a fresh spring look by combining them with the Oopsie Daisy set.

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I used one of my current favorite techniques – using colored pencils to add shading to stamped images. It’s like half the work of coloring is done before you even start! Plus the solid stamped images, especially those that have some layers like the Oopsie Daisies, usually have some shading already built in that you can just enhance a little further using the colored pencils.

Here is this week’s video…

I had some bits and pieces left after making the video, so I created this second card as well. Which one is your favorite – the blue or the pink? I love the big blue daisy on this one and the fuller bouquet. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by for today’s Make & Tell Tuesday! I hope these projects brought a bit of springy sunshine to your day!

January 7, 2020 29 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Cozy Cup Thank Yous by Dawn

by Betsy January 3, 2020

written by Betsy

You’re in for a treat once again with today’s TGIF projects! Dawn is sharing some gorgeous wintery thank yous using our Cozy Cup set paired with lots of florals from our recent releases. They’re done in Dawn’s classic vibrant colors – just the thing to warm up these dreary winter days. Let’s read on and see what Dawn has to say about today’s projects…

So, this time of year, I always like to make a stack of thank you notes to send out after Christmas, and I love to have them feel a bit holiday-ish or at least a bit wintery. I still had quite a big pile of leftover Christmas floral die cuts from previous card making sessions, so they were perfect to use on my post-Christmas thank you notes.

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I wanted to make a cohesive set of cards though, and my die cuts weren’t all totally coordinated. To tie all of my random leftovers together, I stamped a new pile of common denominators! I stamped several coffee cups in coordinating colors, and those helped to tie in the randomness from the florals, and make it all look like it goes together!!

I further unified the card set, by using the same color card base, same dark green die cut mats and similar white frames on each card.

Now you’d never know all of these pieces started out as a random pile! They look like they were made to go together! Such a fun way to use up some after Christmas leftovers!”

Don’t you just love Dawn’s cheery projects today? I can’t stop looking at all of the details, and of course her photography and vintage touches are so inspiring!

Before I close today’s post, I have just a couple of updates. We did a large die restock earlier this week, so if you’ve been waiting on dies, most of them are now in stock. We’re still having some issues with our Back in Stock email notifications, unfortunately. They are going out, but at a snail’s pace I’m afraid. We will be switching to a different service provider once these have been completed that will hopefully fix the issue and we’ll be back to real-time updates.

You may also notice if you’re looking to purchase the Cozy Cup set Dawn used in today’s post, that it is out of stock. We’re expecting that back next week, along with a few other sets that are out of stock, so it won’t be a long wait.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! I hope your 2020 is off to a terrific start!

January 3, 2020 10 comments

All January 2020 Sneak Peeks

A New Year’s wish + Save the Date

by Betsy December 31, 2019

written by Betsy

It’s the last day of 2019 and what a year it’s been. My heart and mind are full of gratitude for everything this year has brought! It’s really been a year like none other – filled with learning and challenges, and so very many good things. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since we started all of the behind the scenes planning and dreaming for this crazy venture. We want to thank you for your support and encouragement through our first year, and we wish you abundant blessings in the coming year!

I’m taking a bit of a break from Make & Tell Tuesdays with all of the holiday busyness, but I”m hoping some fun news might make up for it!

Our next release will take place the week of January 13-17. We’ll be having two days of sneak peeks, followed by two days of projects and product reveals. Our new Love Letters collection will go up in the shop on January 17. We hope you’ll join us for the fun!

Happy New Year, everyone! Celebrate, enjoy, and stay safe! 🙂

December 31, 2019 39 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Winter Sketches Watercolor with Norine

by Betsy December 27, 2019

written by Betsy

It’s TGIF time! What a crazy week. It kind of felt like we had two Mondays this week, didn’t it? But it’s Friday for real this time. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Norine is here today with a gorgeous TGIF project using the Winter Sketches set. Let’s hear all about it…

Hello Greetery Friends! Have you finally got your feet up? The wrapping paper picked up? Hopefully, Christmas dinner leftovers will take care of everyone for a little while longer and you can schedule some creative time for yourself! This week’s project is a thank you card that will serve perfectly for the current season, but translates well to other occasions, even a sympathy card.

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I’m drawn to muted colors with the Winter Sketches stamp set so for today’s card I indulged that by creating a watercolored background of blues, greens and browns. Because I used a lot of water, the colors blended to the point where you can hardly distinguish what colors were used. Getting color mixes like that is easy when you never clean the lid of your watercolor paint palette. It used to be a matter of laziness, until I realized that was where the most beautiful “non-colors” were born.

After a few attempts to stamp first and watercolor second, I decided that that order of the process dulled the ink lines more than I liked. So using the stamp panel discards as a guide I painted the color to approximately fill the background of my stamped design. Once the paint was dry, I stamped two of the pine needle outline images from the Winter Sketches set using shade of blue ink and the rough sketchy tree limb with a combination of kraft and dark grey inks.

Using more of the leftover blue, green and brown paints on my palette, I painted in the pods on the pine needle images, connected the branch limbs where I wasn’t stamping the additional layers to the branch, extended some branches and very lightly added the suggestion of more leaves to the ends of the branches. After allowing that to dry, I splattered the card panel with more blue paint as well as some white gouache paint, thinned with water to splattering consistency. Then I added a sentiment from the Sentiment Suite Thank You stamp set, stamping with Versamark ink and heat embossing with platinum embossing powder.

I paired the stamped and painted part of the card panel with a strip of plaid patterned paper from my stash along the bottom. I wrapped the card panel with a strand each of brown fiber cord and shiny platinum floss, opted for a knot over a bow so it wouldn’t distract too much from the stamped design, and adhered everything to a cream colored cardstock card base. This card went together really fast (except for the time waiting for paint to dry, when I picked up my current felt appliqué project to stitch on), and was super simple and easy to create!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get a chance to play over the next few days!

December 27, 2019 22 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Pastel Winter Wonderland with Keeway

by Betsy December 20, 2019

written by Betsy

It’s TGIF time and Keeway has created a gorgeous wintery wonderland card! I loved reading about the ink colors she used to create this beautifully soft color scheme. She’s here with all of the details…

We are just days away from Christmas and it’s been a flurry getting our shopping done and wrapping them up in time. While I’m still finishing some last minute holiday cards, I’m also beginning to work on Valentine and Spring projects, so I was inspired to split down the middle to create a holiday card with non-traditional soft violet and pink colors.

I love working with stencils and ink blending, so one of my favorite products this season was the Frosty Flakes Stencil. I started by layering the stencil over a piece of white card stock to set it up for ink blending. You can use washi tape to hold it down, or even more securely, you can use Pixie Spray, a low tack, repositional adhesive, to keep it in place as you work on the ink blending.

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When working with stencils, I like to use blending brushes as the bristles get closer into the corners of the stencil pattern better to give you a more crisp design. From each corner of the paper, I ink blended Victorian Velvet, Blueprint Sketch, Antique Linen distress oxide inks. Make sure you use Victorian Velvet first before adding the Blueprint Sketch to get that deep mauve color in those corners. I then sized down the panel to 4” by 5.25” with a paper trimmer.

I layered on some more snowflakes with white die cuts using the Frosty Corners Die. To get clean cuts, I used the metal adapter plate with my die cutting machine. I added the frosty corners about ¼” from the edge and adhered them down to liquid adhesive. I also die cut a small snow flake in white using the Frosty Corners Die and adhered it to the center of the card.

I couldn’t find a color card stock that I liked to match my color scheme, so I ink blended a piece of white card stock with Victorian Velvet and Blueprint Sketch to get the soft mauve color I wanted. I heat embossed my ‘merry christmas’ sentiment from Sentiment Suite: Christmas stamp set in white, then die cut the fishtail banner using the Sentiment Suite Basics Die.

I added some gold EMC thread down the center and held it down with my sentiment banner and foam adhesive. I added a few iridescent gems around it for a little extra bling to complete the card.

This card was designed to be versatile during the winter season! With just a change of the sentiment, it would also be great for all occasions like weddings, birthdays, sympathy, thank you, and just a friendly hello!

December 20, 2019 12 comments