Thursday, August 4, 2016

AUGUST 2016 RELEASE: Bunny Mask-erade

Hello crafters! Hasn't this week been fantastic? If you are just joining us, be sure to check out Day 1 and Day 2 and Day 3 as well. Remember, everything will be available for purchase beginning August 5, 2016.

I love release week! Well, except for one thing . . .I can't decide what to use first! Seriously, this release is filled with so many cute critters I couldn't make a choice. Finally, I decided to use the adorable Bunny Mask-erade so I could use a few of each.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 5, 2016

Bunny Mask-erade
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$15 USD

Bunny Mask-erade Companion Die
Steel Rule Die
$18 USD

Aren't these guys just absolutely enchanting?! I am completely in the love with their costumes. I did a ton of die cutting for this card which is a bit different for me. But I couldn't stop adding little elements from the set. Everything was too cute to ignore ha!

You can watch the card come to life in the video below.

Watch above or watch in HD at YouTube

These little cutie pies were so much fun to color. If this card is too busy for you, you could definitely scale it down to just one bunny with a simple ink blended background and maybe a pumpkin or two.

Here's a close up of these sweethearts. I'm going to go die of cuteness overload now.

Giveaway Alert

Would you like to win a $50 store credit to wplus9.com? Just leave a comment below by 10:00 p.m. EST TONIGHT 08/04/16 to enter and we will select one random winner from all comments. Winner will be posted on our Winners page by 11:00 p.m. tonight (08/04/16).

Thanks for dropping in, but we still aren't done with the inspiration. Dawn will be back tomorrow with a release wrap-up and more projects!




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.


Wednesday, August 3, 2016

AUGUST 2016 RELEASE: Friends For All Seasons: Fall

Hello, and welcome back! I hope that you are all enjoying the new products that will be available for purchase beginning August 5, 2016. If you are just joining us, be sure to check out Day 1 and Day 2 as well.

Today, we're looking at the next installment in our Friends For All Seasons series by Stephany Zerbe - Friends For All Seasons: Fall stamp set and companion die.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 5, 2016

Friends For All Seasons: Fall
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$15 USD

Friends For All Seasons: Fal Companion Die
Steel Rule Die
$14 USD

I've gotta tell ya, I just love this series! The deadpan expression on each of these little guys kills me. They are packed with filler images and great sentiments, and this set doesn't disappoint.

The sentiments in this set focus on birthdays, my kind of birthdays, belated birthdays! Creating fun and cute cards are quick and easy with these little guys. I laid down a quick wash of Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers for a loose and whimsical background. I stamped my balloons and bear, added the heart to his belly, and colored them in with Copics. The large simple style of these illustrations make them perfect for beginning and advanced colorists. I die cut each and adhered them with a little foam adhesive.

I heat embossed the sentiment "Did I miss the cake?" in white onto black card stock and stamped the "I mean...hope it was great! Happy Belated Birthday!" on the inside of the card.

Next up I wanted to use that cutie in his scarf and incorporate the fall leaves. This is another super simple design and layout. Thanks to the vibrant colors and strong images you really don't have to do to much else to pull of a clean and simple design.

How about that background? I just stamped the little rounded grass lines repeatedly (in a truly random pattern) all over my card base. I was so shocked at how this simple touch really made such a huge impact.

For the sentiment, I used the previously released Friends For All Seasons: Spring stamp set. All of these sets are made to be interchangeable and look adorable when stamped all together. Ask me how I know?

And before I go, I have one more. I loved that last layout and card so much, that I had to try it with the Forest Friends sets. I used the little bees and bee hive images to stamp a random pattern all over my card base. I opted to just color in the bees and leave the others uncolored. I will try not to use this layout on every other card, but I can't make any promises!

Oh my! I usually always have a favorite card sample...and this one might be it. These sets are very dear to me as they are the first that Steph and I did some serious collaborating on. I remember clearly the calls and the laughs and excitement we had over these. And I just fell head over heels in love with them when they were all done.

If you missed the intro to these, be sure to revisit Day 1 for all of the details on these two adorable sets.

As always, thanks for sharing a little of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow with more, so be sure to come back!

Giveaway Alert

Would you like to win a $25 store credit to wplus9.com? Just leave a comment below to enter by 9:00 a.m. EST on 08/04/16 to enter and we will select one random winner from all comments. Winner will be posted on our Winners page on 08/04/16.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

AUGUST 2016 RELEASE: All Year Cheer

Hello, and welcome back to another day of previews! We are going to continue taking a look at all of the new products that will be available for purchase beginning August 5, 2016. If you are just joining us, be sure to check out Day 1 as well.

Today, I wanted to give a you look at the upcoming All Year Cheer stamp set and companion die.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 5, 2016

All Year Cheer
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$15 USD

All Year Cheer Companion Die
Steel Rule Die
$15 USD

Today we are getting back to basics with some good ole' stamping. If you are a purist stamper at heart, you are going to love this set! Don't get me wrong, you can certainly pull out your bag of tricks and techniques...but you don't have to. A little ink is all you need. And maybe your dies if you just can't resist.

How cute are they? Here I stamped the tree branch and leaves directly onto my base panel along with the sentiment and a few of the littlest flowers included in the set. I then stamped and die cut the larger flowers to add to my branches.

As the name implies - All Year Cheer - you could swap out any of the elements here to make a card appropriate for Spring through Winter.

These multi-step stamped birds (say that threes times real fast!) are simply sweet. They have each have 4 main stamps to build them. I like to stamp their bellies first, then their heads. If you are die-cutting them, I advise doing that now, and then adding their legs. Their eyes and beaks are all contained on the same stamp, so you can stamp them all in the same color, or do selective inking.

Next up, I wanted to show you how well this set coordinates with the previously released Summer Blooms stamp set.

I started with the branches and leaves again and then added some of the smaller flowers from Summer Blooms for my "background". I did a little ombre action on this one by stamping the flowers first in Bloomsberry and then over stamping with a little Cockleshell on the lower half of each flower.

I used the same inking for the bird with a twist. Start by stamping off Falling For Blue on scratch paper, then ink the stamp (without cleaning it) with Lake House, then stamp. Now ink the top portion of the stamp again with Falling For Blue and over-stamp.

To separate him and his branch from the background flowers, I stamped and die cut his branch and those little pink rose-like flowers, also from All Year Cheer.

For my last sample today, I wanted to showcase those fall leaves in the set.

You knew I was creating a wreath. I mean come on, I'm kind of obsessed with wreaths! But how could I not?

For these, I did all of my die cutting first and then stamped my leaves using Gala Red, Pumpkin Spice, Last Leaf, and Hayride. Even though these are open dies, meaning you can stamp first and then die cut, I find it much faster to die cut a bunch and then stamp them. They are very easy to line up and if they are just a bit "off"...it's handmade.

For the details on my bird, I added a little shading by way of stippling with Copic Markers. I stamped the bird in Lake House and Hayride/Pumpkin Spice inks (using the same technique referenced above - stamp off the Pumpkin Spice and then ink with Hayride). I finished him off by adding a little reflection in his eye using a White gel pen.

To create the gradient background, I used Post-It tape to mask the edges of my panel and then ink blended the background using Hayride and Pumpkin Spice. To create the "watermarks", I used a paint brush to flick splatters of Copic Blending solution onto the panel. The Copic Blending Solution will "bleach" and push our inks away leaving the water drop effect.

That's it for today. I hope you love this set as much as I do. I have more to share with you so be sure to come back tomorrow!

Giveaway Alert

Would you like to win a $25 store credit to wplus9.com? Just leave a comment below by 9:00 a.m. EST on 08/03/16 to enter and we will select one random winner from all comments. Winner will be posted on our Winners page by noon on 08/03/16.

Monday, August 1, 2016

AUGUST 2016 RELEASE: Forest Friends with Joni

Hello everyone, and welcome to our August 2016 Release previews! All of the new products that we will be sharing with you over the next couple of days will be available for purchase beginning August 5, 2016 at wplus9.com as well as at many of your favorite retailers.

For my first project, I used the new upcoming Forest Friends and Curious Forest Friends stamp sets illustrated by Stephany Zerbe. Both sets can be used alone or together to create some really cute and fun scenes.

AVAILABLE AUGUST 5, 2016

Forest Friends
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$15 USD

Forest Friends Companion Die
Steel Rule Die
$15 USD

Curious Forest Friends
4x6" Clear Stamp Set
$15 USD

Curious Forest Friends Companion Die
Steel Rule Die
$20 USD

For my card panel I simply stamped the tree from the Forest Friends stamp set and masked it with a Post It. Then stamped the tree trunk with that cute little bear hanging from it - from Curious Forest Friends stamp set - and colored it with Copic markers. The other bear - from the Forest Friends stamp set - was fussy cut and adhered on the tree with foam tape for added dimension. There are a lot of images in these sets. I filled out my scene by adding two more mushrooms to the right side of the tree after masking it. I created the ground using distressing first then created a few clusters of grass using Copic makers. I also added some brown dots around the base of the tree which represents some tiny rocks for the scene. Finally, I added the falling leaves and the "Wishing you a fun filled day." sentiment.

I also wanted to share with you the gift wrap that I created to match the card. I bought a white roll of wrapping paper and then stamped the cute images.

Aren't they just adorable? So many possibilities!



Giveaway Alert

Would you like to win a $25 store credit to wplus9.com? Just leave a comment below by 9:00 a.m. EST on 08/02/16 to enter and we will select one random winner from all comments. Winner will be posted on our Winners page by noon on 08/02/16.

Thank you so much for joining us today. And be sure to stop by again tomorrow as we have continue to preview this amazing release!

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