Tag:

curio spring findings

Terrarium Treasures with Wanda

by Betsy July 11, 2023

written by Betsy

Hi there my creative and crafty friends! It’s Wanda here on The Greetery Blog today to share a project with you! I am very excited to share this card because it was fun to create and I hope to inspire you! I used tons of my favorite Greetery Dies and I watercolored with Distress Inks, which is one of my go-to techniques. I created a little terrarium, filled with beautiful ferns and toadstools…and a little snail too. I guess I am still in a garden frame of mind after the latest Urban Jungle release!

I’m featuring the Large Ferns Die set from the new release, along with the Toadstool Garden Dies , the Spring Curio Dies and a few more too. My finished card is an A2 card base that I covered with woodgrain paper. I layered watercolor paper and text print patterned paper with a bit of twine, then I created my terrarium/cloche scene on top.

I die cut all the pieces (terrarium, ferns, toadstools, snail, background postage frame, and sentiment tag) from watercolor paper first. The terrarium top was made using one of the larger A2 Arches Dies. For the base, I die cut just the bottom portion of the Jumbo Jar Die out of woodgrain paper and it fit just right! The sentiment tag was made using the Market Basket Dies and the stamped word “nature” is from the Curio Labels Stamp Set. I really love to encourage you to use your stamps and dies in different and new ways! There are no rules in crafting!

After everything was die cut, I mixed the elements around to see how I wanted them arranged. Once I had my layout settled, I colored all the pieces. I like to watercolor with my Mini Distress Inks because there are so many colors to choose from and they blend nicely. I simply smoosh some ink onto my glass mat or a stamping block, and then pick up the color with my water brushes. This is such an easy and fun technique. I let everything dry and then splashed on some white paint splatters.

To color the top portion of the terrarium I used blender brushes and Distress Inks to blend blue on the top (sky) and brown on the bottom (dirt)…. I attached all my elements using either glue or foam squares. Lastly I added a few clear drop embellishments. It reminds me of a little fairy garden and it makes me happy!

That’s it for my project for today! I hope you have a fantastic and creative day! I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, happy crafting! XO Wanda

July 11, 2023 17 comments

TGIF – Nature Shadowbox with Wanda + Save the Date

by Betsy July 29, 2022

written by Betsy

Hello and happy Friday, friends! Wanda is here today with the most amazing project that I can’t wait for you to see! We’ll get to that in just a minute, but before we do, I wanted to let you know that we have some new products coming to the shop next week!

Our new Wild Elegance collection will hit the shop on Thursday, August 4. We’ll be sharing some sneak peeks next week along with one big day of reveals, projects, and a blog hop on Wednesday, August 3. Laurie will also be hosting an Instagram live on Wednesday as well at 11am central, noon ET. I hope you’ll join us for the fun!

Now on to Wanda’s amazing project! I know first hand how amazing this project is because it arrived at my home a few days ago. Wanda surprised me with this wonderful work of art. It’s sitting right next to my desk where I can admire it every day (thank you, Wanda!). She’s here to share all of the details with you…

Hi crafty friends! Wanda here! I’m so happy to be joining you today on The Greetery Blog for TGIF! It’s always my pleasure to share a project with you! Today’s project is not a card! And, it’s something very special, that I actually made for Betsy! When the new Jumbo Curiosity Dies came out recently, this project idea came into my brain like a flash, and I couldn’t wait to make it. And, luckily, it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. It has safely been received at The Greetery HQ so now it’s time to share! I hope I inspire you to make different projects besides cards with your beautiful Greetery stamps and dies!

Today’s project is a botanical/entomological shadow box frame, filled with bugs and plants and wonderful things from nature…. Only it’s all paper! The shadow box frame is 9″x9″ and I bought it at Michaels. I used dark kraft tags as the basis for the scale, and amount of things to put into the box. It worked out perfectly to make eight different tags. I used loads of dies from The Greetery curio collection, and pretty stamps and labels. I used the new Honey Bees and Honeycomb Corners Dies for one of the tags…and two of my other favorites – the Toadstools and the Mighty Oak!!

To start this project, I die cut everything out of watercolor paper first. I really wanted an illustration type of feeling. And watercolor paper always looks so rich. I laid out all the plain pieces on the tags to decide which items to use. Once I had my layout set, I used my favorite watercolor paints to color all the elements. It was really fun to paint all the die cuts, and bring them to life! Every tag has a bit of green on it to tie everything together.

I set the painted elements aside to dry and went to work on the tags themselves. I splattered on some black and white paints. I used Pretty Postmarks, Destination and Curio Labels stamp sets to stamp on the tags and also stamp the small banners. I let everything sit overnight to dry, and finished the project the next morning.

I used foam tape to attach the bugs and plants and other pretties to the tags. I also used foam tape to attach the tags to the shadow box backing piece. I added a few clear drop embellishments onto some of the tags and also a few bits of twine.

So I’m laughing because I want to say “think outside the box” but I literally made A BOX! Ha. If you don’t want to make a shadow box, you could definitely make some of these watercolor tags and put a few on a card front, or into a scrapbook, or tie onto a gift!! Have a wonderful day, and happy crafting. From my studio to yours!

GREETERY SUPPLIES:

Curio Summer Findings die
Curio Spring Findings die
Curio Autumn Findings die
Curio Divider & Details die
Curio Divider & Details II die
BotaniCuts Toadstool Garden die
BotaniCuts Mighty Oak die
Honey Bees die
Plucked die
Honeycomb Corners die
Rustic Twigs die
Curio Sentiments Stamps
Crimped Circles die
Pretext Banners die
Pretty Postmarks stamp set
Sentiment Suite Basics die
Destination stamp set
*****(might have been easier to say what products I DIDN’T use! LOL)

OTHER SUPPLIES:

9×9 Shadow Box Frame (Michaels)
Kraft Tags (Michaels)
Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors 36 set
Clear Drops
Paintbrushes
Black Ink Pad
Adhesive
Watercolor Paper

July 29, 2022 54 comments

All TGIF

TGIF – Easter Amen with Kelly + Vacation Notice

by Betsy March 18, 2022

written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Thank you so much for joining us for the release fun this week! Kelly is here with some extra new-release inspiration. Before we get to her amazing project for today, just a note about next week…

Vacation Notice…

Just a note that we’ll be heading out for a bit of a spring break getaway the week of March 21-25. Orders will still be shipping out during this time, but please allow an extra day or two for processing time as staff is limited. Response to customer service inquiries will be limited. Thank you for your understanding!

Now let’s get to Kelly’s beautiful project…

Hello and welcome! It’s Kelly here for this week’s TGIF feature! I feel lucky to be here so soon after the new release! There’s so much to love about this beautiful new spring release, don’t you think? I felt like the previously released Cathedral Die and stencil set was begging to be included in showcasing the new products, so that is where my card began!

When the Cathedral Die was first released, I opted to create a yellow glow emitting from the panes rather than use the stencils to create a stain glass window. For this card, it only seemed right to create a pastel toned window! I used the 4 different stencils and 4 pastel ink colors to create the window, adding just a spritz or two of Shimmer Spray for a glass-like shine. I die cut the stenciled panel using the solid portion of the die, but then taped the dies back together with Washi tape to die cut the frame portion. I actually die cut it twice to give the frame some depth to look like the real thing. I simply glued them together using liquid glue and then glued the frame over the stenciled piece.

Once the window was done, I die cut the “Amen” sentiment using the new Amen dies. I fiddled a bit with placement so that the words could be read easily without getting lost in the frame of the window. It worked out perfectly that the line on the A and the line on the N lined up perfectly with the solid pieces of the window frame so I had somewhere to glue them for a sturdy piece.

The background was created by stamping the beautiful foliage using the Fond of Foliage background stamp for a tone-on-tone look. I adhered the window in the middle of the background panel using foam squares for dimension. The nest and blossom are from the new Curio: Spring Findings die collection. I like to die cut all of the pieces from white cardstock and then color them using finger daubers and ink.

The cute little robin tending her nest is from the Robin and Wren stamp set. I tend to shy away from mixing stamped images with die cut and then colored images (think BotaniCuts), but in this case, I think this bird looks great perched on the window frame! The finishing touch is a companion sentiment from the Amen and Alleluia stamp set. I die cut it using the Sentiment Suite Basics die set to give it that finished look. I also added a trio of sparkling clear sequins for some sparkle and shine!

March 18, 2022 24 comments

All March 2022

Breath of Spring Day 2

by Betsy March 16, 2022

written by Betsy

Welcome to our second day of product reveals for our Breath of Spring collection. I hope you enjoy all we have to share with you today! Our new collection goes up in the shop tomorrow – Thursday, March 17 at 10am EDT.

Before we begin, a reminder that Laurie will be showcasing all of the new products in an Instagram Live presentation this evening. Join her tonight – Wednesday, March 16 at 7pm CST/8pm EDT, if you’d like to check out the new goodies up close.

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Below is a quick look at all of the new products. Click on the links below each product heading for more details and information, or click HERE to see all of the new products in the shop. (**Please Note: although the new products are visible in the shop, they will not be available to purchase until 10am EDT on Thursday, March 17).

Curio: Spring Findings die

We’re continuing our popular Curio die series with a springy version! All of the fun things you might find on a spring nature walk…a nest and eggs, feathers, pretty blossoms, a curly budding fern frond, and even a little snail! These dies coordinate with the previously released items from our Curio line-up.

Click HERE for Curio: Spring Findings die details ($24)

BotaniCuts Pussy Willow die & BotaniCuts Crocus die

We have TWO new additions to our BotaniCuts series! The Crocus and Pussy Willow dies are perfect for spring projects!

Click HERE for BotaniCuts Pussy Willow die details ($17)
Click HERE for BotaniCuts Crocus die details ($24)

White Flocking Sheets

These flocking sheets are a great companion to our BotaniCuts Pussy Willow die – perfect for diecutting velvety buds without the mess of traditional flocking powders.

Click HERE for White Flocking Sheets details ($6)

If you’d like to see the BotaniCuts Pussy Willow die and Flocking Sheets in action, I put together a video for you. I’ll also show my favorite method for coloring them…

Amen & Alleluia stamp set + Amen! die + Alleluia die

We have some new sentiments, perfect for Easter (or any other praise-worthy occasion)! These sentiments are available in both stamp or die version.

Click HERE for Amen & Alleluia stamp set details ($15)
Click HERE for Amen! die details ($12)
Click HERE for Alleluia die details ($22)

Now that we’ve introduced all of today’s products, let’s get to some projects! I immensely enjoyed creating with all of the new dies from this release. I just love coloring them and adding details with pens and pencils. It’s so relaxing and enjoyable…it’s absolutely my favorite thing to create with!

My first card uses our new Curio: Spring Findings die to create a springy curio “box” card. All of the little treasures from the Spring Findings set fit inside the openings of either the Curio: Divider & Details original or version II. I used our version II here and filled all of the openings with the Spring Findings diecuts.

All of the diecuts were colored with my favorite method…sponging with Oxide Inks and adding shading with colored pencils. I also love adding little dots and details with pens…I used both brown and white pens – very simple and probably something you have in your arsenal. I also created a frame using the Curio: Cover die, and added some sentiments stamped with the Curio: Labels stamp set.

Of course the Curio: Spring Findings die can be used without the Divider dies to create all kinds of other designs, which is what I did for these next two cards. For this first one, I started with that cute nest and built a pretty focal point by clustering the fern, feathers, and blossoms from the Spring Findings set around it.

For the sentiment, I pulled out my Let’s Have a Word: Spring die along with one of the sentiments from the new Springtime set. I stamped the sentiment onto a Christmas Time Sentiments banner die and threaded it through the “S” in spring. The background of this card is a panel of watercolor paper that was sponged with some light pink ink and brown watercolor splatters

This next one might be my very favorite from the release. It reminds me of a vintage card or Ideals magazine (does anyone else remember those?) I started off by creating a frame using the BotaniCuts Pussy Willow branches on a panel of watercolor paper that I watercolored with some soft blue and blush watercolors.

Once I had my pussy willow frame, I tucked in all kinds of Spring Findings diecuts. All were once again sponged with Oxide inks and shades with pencils. The sentiment is done with a combination of our new Amen! die and a sentiment from the Amen & Alleluia stamp set. I diecut the backer for the Amen word from vellum for a soft look.

My next card again uses the BotaniCuts Pussy Willow die. This time I filled up our Sprinkled with Kindness watering can. They’re perfect together!

At the base of the watering can I put a small blossom and pussy willow branch which were cut from the Curio: Spring Findings die. I also added a “wood” strip, which was cut using the Curio: Cover die. The “thank you” sentiment is from the Sprinkled with Kindness set. I had fun creating a rustic look to the watering can by blending some different Oxide ink colors onto the stamp using my Misti to do multiple impressions, building up the colors and layers of the watering can. The ink colors I used were Weathered Wood, Aged Patina, and Rusty Hinge.

Next I have a few cards using the new BotaniCuts Crocus die. It’s so springy! Before I talk about the cards, here’s a video in case you’d like to see how I color them and how they go together (so easy!)

For this first card I clustered a whole group of purple and yellow blooms around our new Alleluia die for a pretty Easter card.

These were cut from white cardstock and colored with Oxide inks and colored pencils (I feel like a broken record today! ) The Alleluia sentiment was diecut from white cardstock, and the backer was cut from vellum. I layered everything over some gray cardstock that was splattered with white ink. I also heat embossed an Easter sentiment from the Amen & Alleluia stamp set to finish it off.

The crocus definitely aren’t just for Easter! Here I used them for a springy birthday card. I colored my crocus blooms with shades of blue and purple and arranged them on a black background so they really POP!

I added a “wood” strip along the bottom, once again cut using the Curio: Cover die. The sentient was done with our All Kinds of Happy die and Shadow die, along with the “birthday” sentiment from the All Kinds of Happy stamp set. For the diecut “happy”, I layered two diecuts over the top of each other – the one underneath was sponged with pink ink and the top with blue/purple. I offset the top layer ever so slightly so the pink just peeks out from underneath and almost “glows”.

That wraps up my projects using the new products coming to the shop on tomorrow (Thursday 3/17)! I so hope you enjoyed them – I surely enjoyed creating them!

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 prize! We’ll be giving away TWO $50 gift cards for today’s blog hop.

Read on for details…

Comment here on the blog for one entry (one comment per person).
Comment on our Inspiration Team Members’ blogs for more entries (linked below – one comment per person, per blog)
Comments close Wednesday, March 16 at 11:59pm EDT
Winners will be posted at 7am EDT on Thursday, March 17 here on the blog