I'm so excited to be here today to help introduce the AMAZING and beautiful Icing Collection from The Greetery! Things are just a little bit different this time around; the collection will be available for purchase TODAY at 10 am ET! I will be back with another post at that time with a direct link to the new collection, so make sure to pop back by at 10 am! You can read all about each of the new products for the official "meet and greet" on The Greetery Blog. Make sure to leave a comment here, and on each of the designers' blogs, for a chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates to the shop! My first project for today is brimming with many of the new products, all curated for lots of mixing and matching, and of course, the possibilities are endless! The highlight of this card are the beautiful new Nordic Birds dies that have simply stolen my heart! I am a bird lover, so these sweet birds have been such a joy to create with!
As you can see, there are two different sized birds; I chose to die cut then from white and Antique Gold and then I swapped wing colors for some contrast and interest.
I gussied them up using foliage and a bow from the new Ornamental Tag die collection. I used this die set quite a bit on my projects today so you will be able to see how versatile it can be. I die cut the foliage from white cardstock and then colored it with distress oxide inks and finger sponge daubers. There are little "buds" on the end of a few of the pieces which I would normally add a flower, but for my projects today, I adhered gems, pearls, and sequins in lieu of flowers, but flowers would be equally beautiful, depending on what you're working on.
The left border of the card is created using the new Ribbon Maker: Crystal Strand along with the new Frost Buds die ( I will be showcasing those a bit more on my next project). I die cut it from the same Forest cardstock as the background panel and then mounted it using foam squares. I added more sequins, pearls, and gems (believe me, I have been having A LOT of fun) to each of the snowflakes and Frost Buds.
The sequins are from a beautiful new mix that will be available with the rest of the collection. It comes in a small jar with oodles of sequins for years of creative time! I added some gold watercolor paint splatters before I added the birds and the white buds. I let it dry and then added the birds, white buds, additional greenery and the sentiment.
The sentiment is from the previously released Winter Crest Stamp set and the very, very back background (ha ha!) is stamped using the Pine and Berry Background Stamp. I used the same Forest cardstock with white ink . I really like how it gave a bit of lightness to the final design! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, the arch is from the Arch Box Large Die and was the perfect layer to attach the birds. Yep....more birds! ha ha! This time I made a gift box using the Arch Box Large Die and then accented with the new Frost Buds Die and Nordic Birds Die. I know I mentioned in the original post where this box was showcased, but it is such a nice size!
After it was all said and done, I forgot I wanted to try adding some Fancy Feet Die to see if it would add some detail without looking like a postbox and I TOTALLY forgot! ha ha! So, I think I will still give that a try! I tied a simple knot of specialty ribbon and adorned the box with a tag that I made using the Inside and Out tag die that I will be showing next!
I tied it to the ribbon using metallic gold DMC floss.
Here is a set of three of the MANY tags I made....they are SO MUCH fun and super addictive! You'll just want to try different combinations! ha ha!
Here you can see a few more.....I die cut all of the Crystal Charms using the Crystal Charms Die from Antique Gold cardstock and powder green. The powder green is really hard to photograph, unfortunately. It is the same color that I made the box from if that helps!
I was so pleased with my tag collection and I was so excited to show my daughter and she said, "are those Victorian baby rattles?" I just about died! LOL! No, my dear, they are not baby rattles, but beautiful crystal gift tags! ha ha!
To begin this process, I used the Inside and Out stamp set and Inside and Out stencil to the main message portion. I used the Inside and Out Tag Die which cuts four of the outside and four of the inside sentiments. I didn't use the inside like Betsy will most likely show, but rather adhered the "to: from:" portion to the back of the tag that I will show later on.
Once that was done, I used the Ornamental Tag Die for the backer and the foliage and bow. I secured the first Crystal Charm directly onto the tag backer using liquid glue before adding the foliage. Once that was done, I was able to continue on with the crystal strand. there are tiny "jump ring" dies included so it really makes them look realistic.
Here you can see the backside where I attached the "to: from:" portion.
In past posts, I have explained my process for making lots of little embellishments and details and the process for these tags wasn't any different. I got all of the foliage ready, all of the crystals ready, all of the main tag portions ready and then just had an absolute ball putting these all together. I still have quite a bit of crystal pieces left over so it looks like another crafty tag session is in order! The best part was adding all of the sequins, gems, and pearls. I bought THESE to use on some projects I shared last week and I just couldn't stop....the best part is the assortment comes with those awesome tweezers that make using them an absolute breeze! Eep! I think I may have saved the best for last! I'm absolutely head-over-heels in love with the new critters being offered in the Hey Honeycomb series! I chose to use the penguin for today's post, but there is also a polar bear, and a snowman. I'm sure between all of us designers, you will see each of them in action!
For this go-round, there is an all-white honeycomb assortment for each of these new characters. I just love how this little penguin looks all puffed up!
A few things to note: all of the pieces of the penguin are included with the die, but there is NOT a die for the eyes. You can easily use the die as a stencil because Betsy cleverly left the eye portion open, so all you have to do it trace it and color it in. Please be aware that it is most effective if you drop the diecut back into the die backwards, but making sure it is perfectly lined up and dropped back in the guides so the eyes line up perfectly. My first penguin was giving me the side-eye, so he ended up in the garbage! ha ha! I tried just placing the die over the top of the die cut without placing it back in the guides and it was off-center. ha ha!
As with the other Hey Honeycomb products, there is a coordinating stamp set that you can use with the Honeycomb ball not pulled open. This stamp set is called Hey Honeycomb Holiday Stamp Set. Also, I want to point something up with these two side-by-side; I added Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the feet, cheeks, eyes, and nose. Once it was dry, I added white gel pen detailing to the eyes on the left penguin, but I FORGOT on the left penguin. That tiny detail really makes a big difference in bringing the penguin to life! I feel safe with all of you and that's why I point out my mistakes freely so we can all learn together! ha ha!
I didn't get nearly enough time with the Ribbon Frame Die on the last release so I was positively giddy when I saw how cute it looks with this little penguin! P.S. it looks equally precious with the Nordic Birds, and I can't wait to finish that idea! To begin, I used the Snowflakes Prints Stencil and Speckled Egg distress oxide ink on A2 panels of white cardstock. I added some ink around the edges of one and left the other white....I like options! I die cut the Ribbon Frame from Oat Milk cardstock and then used the Ribbon Frame Stencil and more Speckled Egg ink to add the shading. I layered it over the top using little strips of foam squares. The snowflakes over the bows are from the Ribbon Maker: Crystal Strand....I just carefully snipped it apart and then added it using foam squares. I added more Frost Buds, the penguin and the sentiment is from Christmas Time Sentiments. I added some glitter for some frosty, sparkling detail! I had SO much fun with this release and I hope you fall in love with it as much as I have! It's absolutely gorgeous and wonderful! Don't forget to stop back by at 10 am and make sure to leave a comment here and on each of the designers' blogs. Thanks for fluttering by!
Kelly (you are here)
