GUEST ARTIST FEATURE: Natalia Valkovskaya

This is Natasha Valkovskaya and I’m so happy and truly honored to be here today sharing three (that’s right!) projects featuring a whole lot of amazing Wplus9 products.

I fell in love with the Woodland Basics Die the moment I saw them, and oh boy I was not disappointed when I got them! I have three cards for you today for three different seasons and occasions using the same design and featuring Woodland Basics and burlap. If you know me, you know I love burlap – it just gives so much texture and warmth to the project!

Although Christmas preparations are already in full swing in the cardmaking world, I couldn’t resist using this adorable acorn for an autumn card. I die-cut two acorns and the leaves and used a Tim Holtz Distress blending tool and Distress Inks to color them. For the base panel I die-cut a rectangle from Neenah Desert Storm cardstock and stamped the background with my absolutely favorite stamp set - Autumn Leaves - in PURE COLOR Appletini dye ink.

For the focal point, I die-cut a square from burlap and sewed it to the base panel. I adhered the leaves using Multi-Medium Matte, and the acorns with a bit of foam tape. Finally I stamped the sentiment with Hand lettered Thanks. For the card base I used Jellybean Green cardstock from My Favorite Things which turned out to be a perfect match to Appletini ink. If you don’t have a sewing machine or you don’t like sewing, you can totally use Scoretape or Ranger Multi Medium Matte to adhere burlap, like I did in my second project, going for a simple (almost) one-layer card.

Here, I heat embossed my card base using Background Builders: Knit in white. I just love this knitted look! So cozy! I also stamped some knitted rows in Gala Red for additional texture. Then I heat embossed the sentiment and finished the card off by adhering the burlap panel, which I made exactly the same way as the previous one. This time I die-cut a pine-cone and evergreen brunches and sponged them with Distress Inks.

I don’t mind frayed burlap edges, but if they bother you, you can go over them with a light coat of Multi Medium Matte and they will stay put.

For the final project I decided to use the smaller birds from the die set. The generic bird profile of these means they can be used for a variety of occasions. In Russia, doves are symbols of love and faithfulness, that’s why they are often used for wedding cards and decorations. So, I decided to create a wedding card.

Perhaps you don't have any burlap on hand? As you can see, the layout is the same as the previous cards, but this time, I swapped out the burlap for a stamped panel. I started by stamping the background with some floral images from the Happy Wishes stamp set in Lake House dye ink. Created the focal panel by die-cutting a stitched square and stamping it with Romantic Script background stamp from My Favorite Things. I used Delicata Gold ink for that.

Then I smooshed Lake House ink on my mat, spritzed it with some water and dipped my die-cut birds into this puddle. That’s why they have this subtle and a bit distressed look. I really like it! For a little something-something I decided to gold heat emboss some elements of flowers and the sentiment from the same Happy Wishes stamp set.

OK, I’m sorry, but I had to do it – a wedding card with burlap! I love how Oatmeal card stock adds to the rustic look. Sweet? I know!

That’s all from me today. Thank you for reading until the very end! See, how versatile this awesome set is?! Visit me on Instagram at @craftawaywithme for more ideas and inspiration using the Woodland Basics dies.

Take care and do more of what makes you happy! - Natalia

Featured Supplies

For your convenience, here is a list of the supplies (or equivalents) used on today's project(s), along with links to purchase. Please note: this list does contain some affiliate links.

Woodland Basics Die Wplus9 Happy Wishes 4x6 Stamp Set Background Builders: Knit Wplus9 Hand Lettered Thanks 4x6" Stamp Set Wplus9 Gift Card Layers Die Wplus9 Premium Oatmeal Cardstock Wplus9 Lake House PURE COLOR Dye Ink Pad Wplus9 Appletini PURE COLOR Dye Ink Wplus9 Pure Color Gala Red Dye Ink Simon Says Stamp STITCHED RECTANGLES Wafer Dies sssd111455 In Stitches Strathmore WATERCOLOR PAPER PAD 5.5x8.5 Bound 298103 Simon Says Stamp STITCHED SQUARES Wafer Dies sssd111454 IN STITCHES My Favorite Things ROMANTIC SCRIPT Background Cling Stamp MFT Tsukineko GOLDEN GLITZ Delicata Ink Pad DE-000-191 *Neenah Classic Crest **110 LB** SMOOTH SOLAR WHITE Paper Pack 25 Sheets *Neenah Environment ***100 LB*** SMOOTH DESERT STORM Paper Pack 25 Sheets Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark VM-001 Ranger Embossing Powder SUPER FINE GOLD EPJ37408 WOW Embossing Powder OPAQUE BRIGHT WHITE REGULAR WL01R *Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two Applicators 62191 Be Creative Tape 7MM ROLL Double Sided Sookwang Ranger .5 Oz. MINI MULTI MEDIUM MATTE Glue Adhesive Paint INK41511 3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE Permanent

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