Winnie & Walter Leading Lady: Make New Friends but Keep the Old

Do you remember that song that others might have sang to you as a child? Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold.  I have to admit that I sing it to my children occasionally, and it always makes us smile.  It's a wonderful reminder to us that while new things are fun and exciting, older things should not be tossed aside as they may still be reliable, trusted and cherished.  I feel this can be applied to crafting as well.  There are always so many wonderful new products that we can't wait to get our hands on (and for good reason to!), but we shouldn't forget about those oldies but goodies, and it's fun to mix the two.  So for my final post as Leading Lady I'm going to share a few ways I mixed so many great new products with some of my older stained and loved Winnie and Walter goodies.

My first project is also a case(ing) of one of my older projects.  I love the look of inlaid die cutting, and the Mini Scenery: Bed of Roses Stamp Set is the perfect to set to die cut sentiments into...

For this new version of the card I decided to also use a spotlight technique, and colored in the outer parts of the die cut word with bright colors and I kept the sentiment (from the In a Word: Cuddles Cutaway)  monotone with grey.

I think this helps the sentiment stand out a little more, and it also draws the eye in.  I also used the Essentials: Lana Cutaway to frame the panel.  And here's a look at the project I had case(d) this card from just so you can compare the two.

My second project(s) are mini in size, but pack a cute punch...

Every day I send notes in my kids' lunch bags.  Sometimes they are just to send a smile, to build them up if I know they've hit a rough patch, or to let them know I'm thinking of them.  These mini cards are the perfect size to do just that!  For these cards I've mixed the older Ring in the Celebration Stamp Set with the newer Dog-gone Cute with Evelin T Designs Stamp and Cutaways and the Purrfect with Evelin T Designs Stamp and Cutaways.

To color these fur babies in I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, and I was so excited on how the fur turned out.  I normally have a hard time achieving a fur look on my animals, but the thin brush tip on these markers made it super easy.  The rest of the cards were colored with Distress Ink, and a few enamel dots on each finished them off.

This next project shows off another super cute kitty from the Purrfect with Evelin T Designs Stamp and Cutaways in a fun way...

I've used the older True Multifaceted Star Cutaway as a play toy for this cute kitty.  And I finished the card off with a sentiment and stars from the Wishing You with Evelin T Designs Set.

For my final project I've taken it off the page and I wanted to share a sweet wooden tag/ornament that is sure to please the recipient or to brighten any spot in your own home...

In one of my earlier posts this month I showed coloring on wood veneer, not I'm showing stamping and coloring onto a wood slice!  Colored pencils are the key to these adorable tags.  I actually created some of these a few weeks ago using the LS Exclusives: So Tweet with Evelin T Designs Stamp Set and added them onto gift bags.  It was like giving a gift on a gift!  For the above example I used a sentiment from the In a Word: Love Stamp Set and regular Dye Ink.

And there you have it!  My final project as a leading lady for the month of March.  I can not thank Shay enough for having me, and letting me share some of my projects with all of you.  And thank you to all who have come to visit, check my projects out, and have left such kind words for me.
And don't forget to leave a comment on todays post for a last entry into my giveaway.

And if you leave comments on any cooresponding instagram posts you will get an extra entry! :)

And as my title to this post indicated I hope I've made some new friends and delighted some old friends along the way.  

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

I Believe in You

Hi!  Today I am up on the Crafty Doodle Chic Blog sharing another sweet Stamping Bella Rosie and Bernie card...

I hope you'll stop by to check out my full post!  Thanks so much and Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Welcoming Spring with Crafters Companion

Hello!  I hope you had a nice weekend!  Today I'm popping in with a Spring card (even though we are still shivering in Ohio, it is technically Spring lol) that I've created using the newest Sheena Douglas' Lucious Lily Dies and Stamp set...

I used my Spectrum Noir Colorblend Pencils in Essentials to color the images in.  I love how the matching die cuts all of the small intricate parts out for you as well as gives the flowers more dimension by embossing into them, as you can see in the next photo...

I also added some beautiful sparkle with a clear Sparkle Pen :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope Spring finds you soon wherever you are!
Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Winnie & Walter: For the Love of Paper (Giveaway)

Hello!  It is Lisa here again with my 4th post this month, and this week I'm focusing on something we all love... Paper.  I'm titling this weeks theme: For the Love of Paper, and I'm going to show some fun ways to use up your paper especially patterned paper.  Let's get started.

For my first project I'm using a scrap from a previous project last week (think rainbow heart) along with lots of diecutting the word You from the Dotty About You with Lydia Evans Cutaways...

I love the clean and simple look of this card and how just the one you is pops with color.  Now I know that the patterned paper I used on the "you" doesn't exactly match the rainbow heart scrap, but somehow it works.  By grounding the diecut panel with a thin border of navy blue cardstock, I find the colors quite complimentary.  Of course a few flat back gems didn't hurt as a final touch, hehehe!

This next project was actually something I've wanted to try for years, and just never think to try it.  I once saw a beautiful card in a magazine created by Miriam Prantner that showed heat embossing an image onto patterned paper with clear embossing powder.  Once it had set the paper was then covered with ink, and thanks to the resisting properties of embossing the patterned paper only peeks through the clear embossed images.  This technique was perfect to use with the Scenery: Seeing Hearts Stamp Set...

Tip: Once the ink is applied buff the embossed areas with a microfiber cloth to help the pattern underneath show through.  I finished this card off with a few more strips of patterned paper, using a border die from the Georgette Border Cutaways on the pink strip.  I also used the In A Phrase: Hugs & Kisses with Angelica Suarez Cutaways for a sentiment and hearts from the Essentials: Audrey Cutaways as embellishments.

My third card includes the technique Paper Piecing.  This was one of the first technique I really played with when I first started card making, and while I don't use it as often anymore I still love the look of it on my projects. (I might have to add it back to my arsenal soon)

I was inspired by the tennis ball image in the Dog-gone Cute with Evelin T Designs set, so I decided to re-create a larger tennis ball as my cardbase.  I then stamped the St. Bernard onto a brownish patterned paper and a white.  I cut out the parts I wanted to be white and adhered them to the brown image before fussy cutting the whole thing.  I did the same thing with the bowl and tennis ball, but with different colored paper.  Since I felt the image looked a little flat I added some shading with my Spectrum Noir Markers.

Finally, for my fourth card I decided to use lots of scrap patterned paper that I keep in a bag.  I really try to keep as many scraps as I can for future use, but sometimes my scrap pile can become a bit overwhelming in itself.  This project is a great scrap buster, and it looks so bright and cheerful with all of the different colors.

The Dotty About You with Lydia Evans Cutaways has some great funky circle cuts in various sizes so I used them all to create my own patterned frame.  I then adhered a few coordinating flat circle sequins for extra shine.  For the center of the card I chose a sentiment from the In Bloom: Ashlee's Rosie Posie with Lydia Evans Stamp Set.  The script on the word beautiful, is so pretty and well beautiful!  I also like that you can mix and match your sentiment from this set with the various options provided.

And there you have it Winnie & Walter fans, a slew of fun ways to use Patterned Paper.  From diecutting, to embossing, and paper piecing we've covered just a few techniques that paper lovers everywhere can rejoice while creating.  I hope I've given you some inspiration to dust off an old love, or try something new either way I encourage you to get your craft on!  And don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a $30 gc to the Winnie & Walter Store! Plus you can earn a bonus entry by liking and commenting any of my coordinating Instagram posts!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

You Make the World a Better Place...

Hi!  I'm up on the Crafty Doodle Blog today and I have a super sweet Stamping Bella Watercolored card to share with all of you.

I hope I see you over there to check out the full card and then take a peek at all of the new Stamping Bella products now available in the store.
Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Margaritas and a Hug

Doesn't that title just make you happy reading it?  I know I sure could use both from time to time lol! Today I am over on the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog, and I'm having fun with the Supercalifragilistic Stamp set and some alcohol inks...

Hope you can stop by for all of the details!  And did you catch the newest CAS-ual Friday Stamps Release last week?!  So much cuteness and fun in one release you have to check it all out!  And don't forget to grab this when you go...

Winnie & Walter Leading Lady: The Supporting Actress

Hello, hello!  I hope you are having an amazing start to your weekend, we are up in Cleveland visiting family and celebrating my youngest's Birthday with family.  But thanks to technology this post has been scheduled and set to go for a few days :).  Today my post is titled "The Supporting Actress".  So often we as cardmakers want to bring something to the front of a card that takes the spotlight, and really makes our projects shine.  But, what about that background that sometimes we work hard on and it just seems to fade away?  Or we spend so much time on our spotlight image, and we don't do anything with our background.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE cards like that and sometimes the background just isn't what we are wanting our recipients to pay much attention to, or we just want a clean and simple card that doesn't need a background.  For today, however, I wanted to shine the spotlight on the backgrounds of my cards and give them the lead. (You might want to get your sunglasses on too, lol)

Now you see why I mentioned sunglasses? lol  And I have to admit I might be a little obsessed with the script love die that comes in the In A Word: Love Coordinating Cutaways, as I've already used it three times this month.  For this fun rainbow card I started by cutting strips of DCWV Shimmer Cardstock and adhering them to a white panel. Next, I diecut the scalloped heart from the True Dotty Heart Cutaways from the center of my rainbow. I then diecut the regular heart from this same set out of the center of the scalloped heart that I had cut out.  This sounds more confusing than it actually is... really it's just diecutting the center of a diecut (does that sound any less confusing?).  This left me with a negative scalloped cut in my rainbow strips, then I filled it in with the regular heart cut.  Maybe this should be called inlaid diecutting within a negative cut... or something like that.  Any who, I love the results!  I finished it off my diecutting the xoxo strip along the bottom and keeping it intact, and adding the script love die across my hearts.  The rainbow background though, is definitely the star of it all.

For my next card I used diecutting again to help my background shine.  This time I created my own paper lace of sorts by diecutting the same floral strip from the Georgette Border Cutaways repeatedly.

I wanted the design to really pop, so I chose contrasting colors to really draw the eyes in.  Since I was going for a more natural look I didn't measure my cuts out, and rather just moved it around to from strip to strip.  I then added the In a Word: Happy Cutaway that was sprinkled with glitter, and I finished the card with a few rhinestones.  By keeping the sentiment simple, and using clear rhinestones I was able to keep the focus on the lacy background.

For my final project I've used stamping to create a fun and eclectic background with the Dotty About You with Lydia Evans Set...

By randomly stamping the various images in this set in different colors you could create an entire set of cards.  Vellum also comes in handy with this card as it allows the background to be seen behind the sentiment.  I also added a few hand drawn wavy lines to frame the stamped panel in and to keep the eyes moving inward.

I hope that today's post has inspired you to maybe take a second look at your backgrounds, and maybe make them the star of an upcoming project.  After all the supporting actress/actor can really make a scene shine that much brighter.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope to see you over on my blog as well!

Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Final CAS-ual Friday Stamps Reveal Day

Woo hoo!  You've made through a whole week of new awesomeness by CAS-ual Friday Stamps!  Today we are ending the week with the Little Birdies Stamp set that has some of the cutest little chicks that will brighten anyone's day...

Now in the stamp set itself there are three little birds stacked onto of each other, but I wanted to do something a little different, so after I stamped and colored I hand cut the ones I wanted out.  I then propped them up with some fun patterned paper, and added a little sentiment from the same set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you would like to see more samples using this new set head over to the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog, and if you already need these cuties for yourself you can pick them up in the store now!  Don't forget this...

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Sparkling on the Crafty Doodle Chick Blog

Hi!!!  I'm getting my sparkle on over on the Crafty Doodle Chick Blog today.  Stop by and say hi, and  check out how my card came together...

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

CASual Friday Stamps Reveal Day 4

Hello!  We are back with day 4 of the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Release, and today we are showcasing the unique Pretty Passover Stamp Set and Fri-dies.  Michele is known for providing beautiful stamp sets for various Jewish holidays and this one is no different...

As you will notice I've used the Star of David Fri-dies as the focus on the front of my card.  I started by drawing wavy stripes with my Spectrum Noir Glitter Pens, then I die cut the Star of David out of more color cardstock and added it back into the negative space.

And here is a look at the inside of the card...

Head over to the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog for more inspiration and peeks at this new set!  Also, all new products are available now for purchase so don't forget to use my code to save a little while you are shopping...

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

CASual Friday Stamps Reveal Day 3

Today is my daughter's 7th Birthday, and it is oh so appropriate that CAS-ual Friday Stamps  is revealing their Serendipi-tea stamp set and Fri-dies as we had a Tea party Theme for her parties this year!

To create my card I started by stamping, coloring and cutting my tea cup.  I then stamped my sentiment on a strip of white cardstock.  I wanted to give my card an elegant/antique look so I used various papers from an older Crate Paper Pad.  I love the little hearts found in the sentiments of this set.

Hop over to the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog for more details and inspiration on the new Serendipi-tea stamp set...

And don't forget to use my code when you go to check out!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

More Cowbell CAS-ual Friday Stamps Reveal Day 2

And we are back... with a whole lot of fun from today's new stamp set by CAS-ual Friday Stamps...

Wait for it... wait for it...

bwahahaha!  And there it is folks!  This classic SNL kit has now been immortalized with this super fun Cowbell Stamp Set and Fri-Die.  And this fun cowbell on the inside also wobbles.  Love it!

Stop by the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog for more peeks and inspiration from my fellow Girl Fri-days, and Happy Crafting!
Lisa

CAS-ual Friday's Release Week Day 1

Hello!!!!  It is release week over on the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog, and there are so many fun new goodies to share with you!  Today we are showing a peek at the new stamp and die set (yes! She is adding dies to her stamps now!) called Somebunny and Bunnies Fri-die...

Aren't they so sweet?!  I decided to create some fun bookmarks for my two kiddos, as we are a huge book reading family, and this set was perfect!  I started by adding a mix of distress oxide inks to my backgrounds.  I knew the minute I saw this set, which bunny was going to be with which kid as my son and I have always said "Love you to the moon and back"since he was little, and my daughter is celebrating her 7th Birthday this week!  Perfect I tell ya!  After my backgrounds were inked I stamped the sentiments and a few hearts and stars.  Finally, I stamped, colored and cut the bunnies out.

Make sure you stop by the CAS-ual Friday Stamps Blog for more peeks at this new set and to see what the rest of the tea has created.

I also have a coupon code to save you 15% off of your total CAS-ual Friday Purchase, woot woot!

Thanks so much for visiting me and Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Winnie & Walter Spotlight #2

Hello!  I am so happy to be back with all of you again!  If you were able to catch my first Winnie & Walter Leading Lady post here, then you might remember that I am planning on having a theme for each of my posts through the month of March.  Today's post I am titling "Off the Page",  and I am going to focus on various mediums you can stamp on besides paper.  Don't get me wrong I love paper, and my collection can totally attest to that (as can my husband! lol), but there are lots of mediums out there that give beautiful and unique results that you may not have considered using.

For my first off the page project I'm going to share stamping on cork.  This tends to be a more common medium when stamping, and with good reason as it is easy to come by, gives great results, and adds fun texture...

 For this card I stamped this coffee cup and steam from the Warm Wishes to You Stamp Set right onto a piece of adhesive backed cork.  I then die cut both with the coordinating Cutaways.  I then added this onto a few sheets of patterned paper.  As a final touch I added glossy accents to represent the liquid in the cup, and I love the touch of shine too!

For the next medium I chose to work with adhesive Wood Veneer.  I love the look of wood and woodgrains on projects, and so I decided to see what else this medium had to offer in two very unique ways.  First, I wanted to stamp so sweet little critters and color them in. Here is what I came up with...

Isn't she too much fun?!  This image comes from the Purrfect with Evelin T Designs, and I've used the matching Cutaways too.  My cat is always trying to fit in the smallest boxes, or game boxes when we have them out, it's just too funny!  Now I knew I wanted to color my images in, but I also knew that wood soaks and spreads with the touch of inks so markers were out.  The same went for watercolors, obviously they would spread as well and I wanted a nice clean image.  That's when I looked over and saw my Spectrum Noir Blendable Pencils, and I have to say I'm hooked!  I was surprised at how easy it was to blend my colors as well.  After creating this card I already have all kinds of plans on coloring in some of those larger floral images onto this Wood Veneer, doesn't that just sound lovely?

As I stated before I knew that inks would spread easily on the Wood Veneer so I wanted to give it a little test.  Alcohol inks are all the rage right now, so I thought why not start there?  And friends I LOVE it!  They blend and spread like butter...

 For this card I started by blending purple and pink alcohol ink colors over an entire piece of Wood Veneer.  Since the ink dries quickly I was able to die cut my hearts from the True Dotty Heart Cutaways right away.  And of course I had to fill all of those little dots with a fun mix of flat back gems.  While these were drying, I created my background panel by stamping various sentiments from the Sentimental Love Stamp Set.  And viola!

I have one final card for today that mixes the Wood Veneer with a new medium: Craft Metal.  I have used Craft Metal before to emboss and die cut with, but I had never tried stamping on it so I gave it a go... and it worked!

I wanted to color my stamped flowers in with Alcohol Markers so I used a Alcohol friendly ink and set it to dry for a bit before working with it.  If I were to stamp onto this Craft Metal and try to color on it right away it would do nothing but smear the images.  I also heat set the images just to make sure they were fully dry (make sure you use tweezers or something besides your hand to hold it when you are heating it up, or the metal may burn your hands).    While you may not be able to layer your coloring on Craft Metal or blend colors, it will give you a watercolor look as the coloring dried, and I love it!  For this card I used the In Bloom: Ashlee's Rosie Posies with Lydia Evans, and it's coordinating cutaways, as well as left over Wood Veneer heart from the True Dotty Heart Cutaways.  I then finished it off with the Hugs and Kisses Cutaway layered in black and silver.

Whew!  And there you have it!  Lots of ways for you to go off the page with your crafting.  Do you have a favorite medium other than paper to work with?  Thanks so much for stopping by today, the amazingly sweet Shay is letting me do a $30 giveaway to one of my readers! Yay!!!  So leave a comment below telling me something you enjoy stamping on besides paper and you'll be entered to win.  Also, if you would like to follow me on my Instagram page, or if you already do leave me a little love to the corresponding Instagram picture and I'll give you an extra entry! :)

Happy Crafting!

Lisa