Tag:

square dance

All

Sweet Strawberry Pie Hello with Kelly

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Hello and welcome friends! It’s Kelly here today with something fitting for the upcoming spring season. As I was preparing my Easter dinner and dessert, I chose to serve strawberry shortcake and those beautiful berries inspired today’s project. When the To Pie For Die came out, it was autumn pie season so I was thrilled to pull it out for the spring season and make something fresh and fruity!

To begin, I die cut the strawberries using the BotaniCuts Strawberries dies from white cardstock. I used finger daubers and Distress Oxide inks to add the color to both the greenery, berries, and flowers. I added some extra detail using colored pencils to the individual leaves, the berry tops, and the little strawberry blossoms. Once that was done, I set them aside and got to work on the pie.

As I mentioned earlier, I used the To Pie For Dies; I die cut the crust portion from light beige cardstock and the “filling” portion from white cardstock. I used the extra bits of lattice strips to weave though crust for an authentic lattice pie crust. I used some brown ink to add to the edges of the crust for that “golden brown” look and over the top of the intersecting lattice portions for realism. The “filling” was colored using the darkest ink I used on the berries. I glued the entire thing together to complete the pie and set it aside.

The background was created using the Square Dance Stencil Collection. I used the same color ink for all of the steps for a subtle tone-on-tone look, but used different pressure for each of the steps. I added some ink splatter in a darker ink for some contrast and interest. I added it to a top-folding A2 card base using liquid glue and then got to work with the arrangement of the card. I didn’t have a “set” idea for the sentiment so I had fun looking through options, but finally settled on the Scripty Hello Die and the accent sentiment from the Scripted Sentiments. I used the swirly portion from the Frosted Frames Die and left the loops intact because I like how it “grounded” the frame a bit more. I added it to the stenciled background panel using liquid glue. I added the pie with foam squares pretty much in the middle of the card, added the berry cluster using additional foam squares. The sentiments are also added using mini foam squares. I added a few berries and leaves to the bottom with some additional blossoms for added interest.

This is one of those cards that just makes me happy and I sure hope that it makes the recipient happy, too! Thanks for joining me today!

21 comments
7 FacebookPinterestEmail
All

Lovely Lilacs with Dawn

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Hello there! Dawn here and it’s my turn to share a new project and today, I couldn’t resist a couple more cards using the new BotaniCuts Lilac! We are anxiously awaiting the first blooms on our lilac bushes! It’s an exciting time of the year, as Spring approaches!

One of the things that fascinates me about lilacs is all the different varieties and colors that they come in! Deep rich purple and orchid tones, medium purple shades, light lavenders and almost pinks, purple and white multi-colored blooms and even white. It was with that in mind, that I set about to make these cards, pulling out all the shades of purple card stock and die cutting a variety of blooms!

I also had to fill up a couple of jars from Just Mason Around, because that’s exactly what I do with our lilacs when I cut some and bring them in the house! I used the Square Dance die for the background. I love the lattice work feel look that adds to the garden theme.

After layering up all those die cuts, I used some colored pencils to add simple dots to the centers of the flowers, as well as to trace along the impressed lines on each die cut leaf. So simple, but both of those touches really do add depth to the bouquet. Lastly, I tucked in a simple piece of card stock with a sentiment from All Occasion Script Sentiments.

PRO TIP: When making multiples of essentially the same card, you can change it up even just a bit to keep things interesting for you, the maker. Two small changes that can make a big impact are the background colors…..notice how they entirely change the feel of each card! And I also changed up the sentiment placement.

This simple sentiment was stamped on a card stock scrap and I cut the little notch out by hand on the one, to turn it into a banner.  Easy peasy.

Hope you’ve been inspired to do some creating of your own! Maybe you have these exact products to work with or maybe you just have the lilacs and might want to search your stash to find an interesting stamp to use for the vessel. Or maybe you’ve got these darling jars and need to just get them out and fill them with some other blooms from your stash!

Either way, I hope you’ll get crafty soon, and have some fun while you’re at it!

15 comments
6 FacebookPinterestEmail
All

Beautiful Takes the Cake Floral with Kelly

by Betsy
written by Betsy

We hope you’re having a fabulous week! Kelly is here with a project to inspire you to find some creative time this week and pull out some of those new goodies!

Hello and welcome! It’s Kelly here today for this week’s TGIF! I was inspired by Betsy’s lovely “MOM”
card that she shared during the Hip Hip Hooray release AND inspiration from Bath and Body Works!
Have you seen the new collection in the “Gingham” series? My card was inspired by the new “Gingham
Fresh” packaging…absolutely delightful! I’m always a sucker for pretty packaging and pretty bottles, etc.,
BUT it’s always fun to find fresh inspiration that gets your creative juices flowing! In fact, my juices are
flowing so freely that I don’t want to go back to regular life! Has that ever happened to you? LOL!

I started my card by creating the most important part: the GINGHAM, of course! I used the Square
Dance stencil using two shades of ink to achieve the look on the lotion and soap bottles that I
bought and was using as reference. The bottles show a loose, uneven gingham, so I didn’t stress too
much about getting things perfectly lined up! Yay for imperfection, right? Once the panel was stenciled,
I trimmed it down to 4 by 5 ¼ inches and set it aside.


The next step was to create the lovely floral strip; this was achieved by stenciling two of the cake
portions from the Takes the Cake stamp + stencil set. I used Laurie’s INGENIUS way of using the MISTI for the
stenciling! I watched her do that on the Instagram LIVE for the Hip Hip Hooray release and wondered
what rock I had been living under! Ha ha! Absolutely genius!!! I chose shades of yellow and green and
absolutely LOVE how it turned out! I think I’m going to make another card using it as it was intended for
a beautiful cake! Once all of the stenciling was complete, I die cut it using the Takes the Cake Floral Details die
collection.


I also die cut two of the Ribbon Maker: Petite Scallops out of white cardstock. I cut a panel of white
cardstock just wide enough for the floral pieces and then adhered the scallops on the backside using
ScorTape. The floral pieces are added to the panel using foam squares for dimension. Once that was
done, I added it to the gingham layer using additional foam squares. It’s no secret that I LOVE
dimension, but I have felt that I can’t mail bulky cards because they will get caught in the sorting
machine even if I use the non-machinable stamp. I asked a friend at the post office what I could do to
avoid having that happen. She told me to simply write “Please hand cancel” at the bottom of the
envelope under the address and that would help. I was visiting a widow that I had mailed a VERY heavy
and bulky card, and there it was, sitting completely unscathed on her side table! Whew! Now I don’t
worry so much about mailing bulky cards!


I die cut enough pieces to create the cupcake using the Hey Cupcake dies and inked them up using the same ink as the floral portion for continuity. I glued it all together and added some glitter. I also layered it onto one of the crimped circles using light gray cardstock for contrast. I think they look like little plates or chargers anyway, so it just added to the look, I think! I stamped the sentiment using the Tear Strip Tags: Birthday stamp set and then die cut it using the new Tear Strip Banner dies. I love having this additional option for these fabulous sentiments! I might have had TOO much fun making this because I didn’t want to stop! Ha ha! I can’t wait to give this along with the lotion and soap that was the inspiration for a coordinating look….that’s my favorite! Thanks for joining me today!

30 comments
6 FacebookPinterestEmail
All

TGIF – Glorious Morning Glories with Dawn + Hip Hip Hooray Peek #2

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Happy Friday! Dawn’s here with a gorgeous project to kick off your Friday, plus as promised we have another Hip-Hip-Hooray sneak peek!

We have so many fun things to share with you next week! I hope you’ll join us for all of the fun. In the meantime, here is Dawn with some inspiration to head into the weekend, where hopefully you have some crafty things planned…

“Hey, Friends! It’s my turn to share for TGIF at The Greetery  and these were such fun cards to make! When the BotaniCuts Morning Glory Die set came out, I couldn’t resist making several clusters of these super sweet morning glories, all of them inspired by real varieties that we’ve grown in our own yard, and am excited to share some more of them with you today!

PRO TIP: I die cut white card stock with the Square Dance die and then cut that in half, for the two different cards! It serves as lattice or a fence for the morning glories to be ‘growing’ on!

PRO TIP: Notice how I took basically the same layout but changed the two cards up, by orienting one vertically and one horizontally! You can do this with a whole set of cards for a gift! Create a set of about 6 cards, coordinating the colors but making 3 cards in one orientation and color combo and the other three in a different orientation and color combo! Also, if there’s a particular layout that you love, but maybe you’ve made it a zillion times and just want to do something a bit new, consider how you could flip it the other direction and remake that same layout in a different orientation! We don’t always have to completely reinvent the wheel, if there’s something we love and is really working well for us!

PRO TIP: If you don’t grow morning glories yourself, google them and scroll through the photos of all the real life varieties there are! I bet you’ll be shocked at some of the different color combos! They’re just so striking!

So, we have some light blue morning glories that come up every year, and they’ve got some purple striping down toward the center of the flowers. If you’ve followed me on Instagram for awhile, you’ve probably seen me share some of them in my feed or in my Stories! They’re SO pretty, and they were the inspiration for these flowers.

PRO TIP: If you don’t have a small blending brush, you can buy an inexpensive paint brush to use for blending on fine details like the purple stripes on these flowers!

Head over to my blog today for quite a few more PRO TIPS to help you create some morning glories of your own!”

Supplies
BotaniCuts Morning Glory die
Square Dance die
New Day Sentiments stamp set and matching die

21 comments
10 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllTGIF

TGIF – Beautiful Balloons with Wanda + Save the Date

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Happy Friday! We have lots to share over the next week here at The Greetery! We’ve been busy behind the scenes getting everything ready for the release of a new collection called New Beginnings…filled to the brim with sweet things for Easter, spring, and babies!

We’ll spend next week counting down to release day on Friday with sneak peeks, reveals, and projects from the team. I hope you’ll join us!

For today, Wanda is here with a beautiful TGIF project to kick off your weekend, which hopefully involves some crafty time. 🙂

Hi there my Greetery friends! It’s Wanda, here to share a fun and cheerful birthday greeting with you today! We always need to have birthday cards on hand, right? It’s the most popular kind of card to make! I am excited to share my pink and green birthday card with you. I am featuring the gorgeous Balloon Bouquet stamps and dies along with the Square Dance Stencils and more great Greetery products. Let’s get started! 

My finished card is an A2 white card base that I covered with pink cardstock. I used the Square Dance Stencils and Blender Brushes to ink up a pink gingham background. I stenciled only using one color of ink, instead of two or three – to get a much softer effect. I die cut out an A2 Arches die to frame the gingham pattern as my background.

I used the Balloon Bouquet stamps and dies to ink up that main large balloon. I used subtle shades of pinks and cool greens. I die cut out the floral portion after stamping it with four matching stamps. I used the same ink color to blend out just the bottom portion of the balloon to match and add some color interest. I die cut out other balloons using vellum and pink cardstock and the Big Balloons die. The strings were die cut from silver cardstock. I inked the main sentiment onto the large balloon using sparkling silver embossing powder. I lastly die cut and stamped that small banner using the Cake Pops Sentiments stamp set and the Cake Pops Banner dies. 

My finishing touches here are some pink glitter droplets and some white paint splatters! I made this a birthday card but I think this could also be a baby card or even a graduation card, simply by changing up the colors and sentiments! I look forward to sharing with you again soon. In the meantime, keep on crafting! XO Wanda

33 comments
7 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllTGIF

TGIF – Cozy Winter Card with Kelly

by Betsy
written by Betsy

After a little break for the holidays, TGIF is back and Kelly is here today to bring us some gorgeous winter inspiration! Her beautiful project makes me want to curl up under a cozy blanket, grab some hot cocoa, and get crafty. Sounds like a weekend plan to me! 🙂

Hello friends! It’s Kelly here and it’s my turn for this week’s TGIF! I’m the type of person who enjoys
“celebrating the season” no matter what it may be! I love the beauty of winter; freshly fallen snow
glittering in the sunlight, cozy blankets and cups of hot cocoa, flickering candles to brighten the evenings
and so much more! While it’s fun to pull out our neglected floral sets right after Christmas, I think it’s
just as fun to use snowflakes and such to create winter cards as well!


To begin today’s card, I die cut some pinecones and pine boughs using the BotaniCuts Pine Bough die
set. I die cut everything from Rustic White cardstock and then inked the pine boughs using Iced Spruce
Distress Oxide ink and then a brighter green from a random finger dauber (sorry for that unspecific
detail) LOL! I didn’t saturate the pine boughs so they would have some white areas to pick up the light.
For the pinecones, I left them white with just a touch of Weathered Wood Distress Oxide ink and some
colored pencil details. Betsy made a fabulous video when these pinecone dies were first released
explaining how to make them look like this. I did add the ink around the edges, which is a little bit
different than hers, but that video is very helpful for this look.


I set the assembled branches and pinecones aside and got to work on the background. I die cut a piece
of Kraft cardstock using the Square Dance die and added some Ground Espresso ink using the Square
Dance stencils. Once that was done, I adhered it to a top-folding A2 Rustic White card base. I added a
panel of watercolor paper that was die cut with the middle size in the Nordic Frame die collection. I
adhered the branches and pinecones using foam squares for dimension and then added some white
paint splatter to create the snowy look.


The snowflakes are adhered using liquid glue and are die cut from the same Rustic White cardstock die
cut using the Frosty Corners dies. I die cut the “Hello” word using the Written in Ribbons die set and
stamped it using Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Oxide inks with the Written in Ribbons
stamp set. I love the dimension that this two-step stamped image gives the card! The Written in Ribbons
stamp set has a nice collection of companion sentiments to finish off the phrase you have planned to
use, but for this card, I decided to use the Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You stamp set to accent the
“hello” portion. This particular card is headed to someone who is going through Chemo right now, so I
wanted the extra depth of the “thinking of you” sentiment.


Once it was stamped, I die cut it using the Sentiment Suite Basics die collection and then tucked it under
the bottom wisp of the H in “hello”. The finishing touch is a sprinkling of chunky glitter to really enhance
the snowy, winter vibe I was going for! Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope you’ll take some
crafty time to capture some of the things you love about winter, too!

BotaniCuts Pine Bough die
Sentiment Suite Basics die
Square Dance die
Square Dance stencils
Nordic Frame die
Frosty Corners dies
Written in Ribbons stamp set
Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You stamp set

24 comments
5 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllTGIF

TGIF – How Does Your Garden Grow?

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Happy Friday, friends! I’m up for today’s TGIF project – it’s something I’ve had in mind for a bit, and was excited to find some time this week to put the idea into action! I’ve been loving the BotaniCuts Wildflower die from our latest release, and I thought it would be fun to combine it with our Square Dance die (which makes a great lattice background!) to grow a cute springy garden. While it’s been pretty nice here, we are still a ways off from having real flowers growing, so the paper version will have to do for now.

I set to work creating this spring scene by starting off with the BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix die. I used the same technique as in THIS introductory video for the die — sponging with ink and adding details with colored pencils and pens. When I was finished coloring, I assembled the little blossoms onto the stems. I then had a whole garden of wildflowers to arrange on my lattice background.

[imagelinks id=”258″]

I decided it would be fun to create a card base that allowed the lattice to peek-a-boo to the inside of the card, so I pulled out my Nordic Frames die and diecut it from the front of my card base. This left just a narrow border around the edges. Since you are using the negative portion of the diecut, any die that’s slightly smaller than your card base will work – the design or pattern of it doesn’t really matter, you just need it to create a window. I sponged some Tumbled Glass Oxide ink to the top portion of the card base – both on that outer frame/card front and on the inside of the card, since it shows through the window.

I then went to work arranging my wildflower stems on the Square Dance lattice diecut, tucking the stems into the squares, and layering them to create a full garden. Once I was happy with it and the flowers were all adhered, I secured my lattice panel over my card base (the one I just cut the window from). The lattice just gets adhered to that narrow frame around the edges. To give the inside of the card a cleaner appearance and cover my flower stems, I cut a second lattice and adhered it to the inside of the card, back-to-back against my front lattice piece.

To finish it off, I decided my garden needed some grass, so I used the Drifting die to cut the gentle slope and pretty scroll detail along the bottom. This die was designed to be snow drifts, but sponge it with some green ink and it makes for pretty rolling hills, too! Finally, I added a sentiment which was done with the Let’s Have a Word: Spring die and a “happy” from the PreText Sentiments stamp set, stamped onto a matching PreText Banners diecut.

Thanks so much for joining me today – I hope you enjoyed this fun project and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

15 comments
6 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllTGIF

TGIF – Sunshine & Lemons with Dawn + Save the Date!

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Happy Friday! This week has been so beautiful and sunshine-y here, it is starting to feel like spring! I hope you’ve seen a bit of sun in your neck of the woods too. In case you haven’t, Dawn is here today with a couple of sunshine-y projects that will definitely brighten your day right up and give you a case of spring fever.

Speaking of which, it’s time to save the date! Our newest collection, Spring Fever, is coming soon! We’ll start sharing some sneak peeks next week.

Now let’s hear from Dawn about this pair of cute cards she has for us today…

After all the frigid temps and snow we’ve had for weeks, it’s finally warming up here and it’s got me itching for Spring!  Nothing says Spring like flowers or some cheery yellow, so I paired both elements to create a couple of Spring-y cards to share with you today!

[imagelinks id=”241″]

I’ve been thinking about painting some artwork with lemons on it, but haven’t gotten it done yet.  What I HAVE done though, is some stamping with the darling Lemon Blossom stamp set — still a favorite of mine!  I loved pairing it with an earlier release stamp set (Autumn Sketches), as well a more recent one (Opposites Attract), to create this combo. 

Whether you like a more bright, modern feel or a softer, more vintage feel, these cards have you covered! 

And for the brighter version, I grabbed a simple, flat, brown paper bag to create a little surprise pocket on the front of the card.  So easy!  This gives me a cute spot to tuck an additional portion of the sentiment, making the card a little interactive.

I also love taking a single image from a stamp set, and stamping it in a repeating pattern to create a lovely background.  Even better in my book, if the chosen image happens to have a vintage feel, creating the look of vintage wallpaper!  Such a simple way to get more mileage out of your stamps! 

I stamped a pile of these Autumn Sketches backgrounds ages ago, and I’m still finding uses for them even now!  It’s one of my favorite crafting tips….stamp multiples at once and then you have them when you need them and can grab and go!  Plus, you never know what new products you’ll be able to pair them with down the road!

Hope these cards give you a bit of Springtime inspiration!  Anyone else got Spring fever like me?? 

9 comments
3 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllTGIF

TGIF – Woodland Christmas

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Happy Friday! It’s TGIF time. I’m taking a turn for this week’s TGIF and I have a project for you today that uses some of our BotaniCuts dies that were released this fall, but today I’m giving them a holiday twist.

[imagelinks id=”196″]

I’ve been thinking about the mushrooms from the BotaniCuts Toadstool Garden and how fun it would be to glitter them up for a snowy woodland holiday card. I also added in a couple of acorns from our BotaniCuts Mighty Oak die, and pine sprigs cut with the BotaniCuts Pine Bough.

I also scattered in some small snowflakes using the Frosty Corners die. I glittered everything up using the glass glitter from the Hug in a Mug Embellishment kit.

I layered all of my woodland diecuts over a wood slice, cut of course using our Wood Slices die. I inked that up with some Distress Oxide inks. I layered that over a buffalo plaid background that was created with our Square Dance die and Stencil – such a fun and quick way to create a pretty background! I diecut the Square Dance die from burgundy cardstock, sponged it with black ink using the stencil, and layered it over a red card base – instant buffalo plaid! I finished it off with a sentiment from the Sentiment Suite: Christmas set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed this holiday twist on these autumn products! So fun to change things up and just play with different ideas!

14 comments
3 FacebookPinterestEmail
AllSneak PeeksTGIF

TGIF – Gingham & Pine with Laurie + Merry Makings Sneak Peek #1

by Betsy
written by Betsy

Laurie is here with a festive TGIF to get us in the mood for all of the holiday stuff coming next week! Speaking of which, before we get to Laurie’s project, here’s your first peek at the Merry Makings collection.

We have so much to show you, but this first peek is all about making the holidays beautiful. Filled with florals and natural elements, these are products that I think you’ll reach for over and over…some even after the holidays have passed.

I’ll be back tomorrow with Peek #2!

Now that we got that out of our systems, let’s turn it over to Laurie for today’s festive TGIF…

Hello friends, it’s Laurie here with a quick and simple holiday card using the adorable Square Dance Stencils in a unique way.  I’ll also be using the  Bontanicuts Pine Bough Die and a sentiment from the Tree Trimmings Stamp Set.

[imagelinks id=”167″]

To create this card, I grabbed a full sheet of neenah cardstock and blended the Square Dance Stencils in a large area so I could use the pattern vertically instead of at an angle.  I love the red background and how perfect it is for Christmas.  I cut the patterned piece to leave 1 ¼” along the bottom of the card base.  I added the panel to the top of the card with fun foam and then stamped the sentiment along the bottom in a dark brown ink.

Next, I die cut all the pieces to create the Pine Bough and Pine Cones.  After adhering them together, I added some fine white paint splatter and a little bit of sparkle with Glimmer Dust.  

I used some foam tape to add the bough to the top of the card and then finished it off with a little twine bow and silver bells.

Thanks for coming by today!  Hope you have a great day!

38 comments
7 FacebookPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2
Privacy Policy / Terms of Service / Contact Us
©2020 - The Greetery, LLC

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Read More