Weekender with Wanda – My top picks for Spring!
Hey crafty pals! Happy Saturday! Welcome back to this edition of Weekender with Wanda on the Simon Says Stamp blog! I’m always really happy that we get to spend part of our weekend together! Did you already check out the awesome Reason to Smile Release Blog Hop that was posted yesterday? There is still plenty of time! Seventeen crafty bloggers posted projects and cards. There are prize giveaways for each blog valued at approximately $50 each! Scroll down to see the list and start hopping after you read my post!
As I talked about last weekend – I am really into Spring crafting right now. I thought it would be fun to share some of my Top Product Picks for Spring today. I have chosen five sets of my favorite new products that are perfect for your Spring crafting. I made a card to share using one of my top picks too! All of the awesome new items from CHA are rolling in and I am very excited to see it all and get busy in the studio. My link list at the bottom of the post lists all the products I used to make today’s card, and also all the links to my favorites. Do you have a favorite new item in your crafty stash right now? I’d love to know!
My card to share today was created using beautiful products from Altenew. I inked up the Garden Grow and Label Love stamp sets to make a soft watercolor card full of images. The stamp set has so many images to choose from, and I wanted to use them all! I didn’t actually use them all, but I found a way to stamp a bunch of them!
I started by stamping several images loosely into a square onto a sheet of watercolor paper. It’s easy to do this because there are so many shapes and sizes of images. When I was finished I took the tiny heart stamp and filled in some of the bare spots in my cluster. This doesn’t have to be exact or precise. I kind of like that it is sort of organic and soft. I used Distress Markers and a paint brush and water to color the images.
This is very free-handed watercoloring. No need to stay inside the lines! After I was done coloring the images I cut out a square using the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Stitched Squares dies. I layered a pretty shade of green cardstock and then a kraft card base. Some Natural twine completes the garden theme. I stamped the Hello Label in SSS Intense Black Ink.
I really could make a million variations of this card! Different color choices, different images…. I’ll be making more with this one for certain!
Now that I’ve shared a card – I want to share my Top Picks For Spring! First up is the Altenew Garden Grow stamp set and dies, and the Label Love stamp set. Click on any of the images to learn more about the products.
My three favorite Spring card-making paper pads are Echo Park Spring, Pebbles Spring Fling, and Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid! These are all 6×6 paper pads that are the right size and scale for cards! (I may have ordered three packs of one of these choices!)
My next Top Pick For Spring is the newest collection from Reverse Confetti. I adore the new Flower Wrap Die! It cuts a perfect shape for a bunch of flowers – and I like it with the Garden Bunch stamp set. I am also loving the cute Hippity Hoppity Stamp Set.
My next Top Pick is something I really loved right away when I saw it at CHA. It’s the French Riviera Collection from Prima. There are papers, flowers, gems, wood pieces and chipboard shapes that all coordinate in beautiful blue beach tones. So pretty.
And of course – my final Top Pick is everything from the Simon Says Stamp Reason to Smile release!! In particular my favorites are the new Gingham Background Stamp and the Melody’s Easter Stamp set.
This is such a cute card! Thanks for showing the items you used. I’m going to have to figure out how to follow this blog for inspiration! Looks like there are all kinds of wonderful ideas here!
This card is SO lovely!! Great design and coloring!
Love the Altenew garden card. The watercoloring is beautiful.
What a lovely card! I’m going to have to try that way to use a bunch of stamps on one card – it looks so good!
Love the playful vibe of this card. Your creations are always lovely!
Beautiful graphic card. I love the touch of color and the random stamping of the items, so pretty & modern
Pretty card, Wanda- I have such a hard time not keeping in the lines. I need intervention, or maybe some classes. A great release for SSS- expecially love the cute bunny in Melody’s Easter!
Love the card and your right you could make a lot of different cards with this design, it is endless!!! Job well done, love the new sets coming out.
Great card and fantastic product picks!
Love the collage of garden goodness!
Oh I love your card. And I have this nbu stamp never been used. Need to pin your card
Love the card idea great way to use multiple stamps, after seeing your top picks I have to order some of the Riviera products from Prima.
lovely card…
Hands down my favorite card of yours! I love the garden theme, the creative lay-out and the bright, cheerful colors. I also discovered a product I didn’t know about before. :) Thank you!
Lovely card, I like watercoloring outside the lines.
That is a wonderful card! I like that your layout idea can be used for other cad themes :)
beautiful card
This is a really cute card.
Wanda, this is such a beautiful sweet little card! And it also has a beautiful simplicity to it.
Thanks for sharing!
Michelle
Great use of colors. So pretty.
I love this card – make me feel serene for some reason!
Just LOVE the garden theme card! My sis would love a card like yours since she loves to garden! I need to get out my distress markers again, too! Love the pretty coloring on your wonderful card!
Beautiful card and lovely colors! xx
Beautiful garden card!! Lovely coloring!
-Berina
Moxie Craftie
I love this card, the coloring is beautiful and also the layering of papers..thanks for sharing.
Love the garden images and soft watercolor! Thanks for the tip of arranging small images together in a loose square – I can always use ideas on how to use those small images.
A cute way to use small images. Hugz
I love this card – the softness and the sweet images are just gorgeous, especially for someone who enjoys gardening.
SUPER SWEET Garden Card Design!! I LOVE the Images and the FUN Watercoloring you did!! =) THANKS SO MUCH for sharing and have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)
Beautiful card and great idea.
Cute card! Makes me want to go outside and garden
Such a pretty Spring card, love the soft watercoloring!
Beautiful spring card! I love the loose watercolor feel with it. Perfect!
Love your card and the stamp set you used. Thanks for sharing some of the great new products out there – my wish list gets ever longer !!!
I have fallen in love with this card!
love the structured collage! and boy don’t I wish I’d kept my old Dymo labeler:)
Love your tutorials. This card is cute. This stamp set is perfect to make a whole assortment of cards.
Sweet hints of Spring, Wanda! I do love the soft colors. Thanks SSS!
I love all the small images you used! I never thought of doing that, Lovely card and thanks for sharing your fav products.
I like that you have used natural twine and kraft cardstock on this cute gardening/nature card.
Such a cute card! I can’t wait for Spring, either!
Love the color outside the lines look !!
Such a pretty looking card and you make it sound so easy to make too :)
Dear Wanda, this card is so lovely! I have never thought of combining so many different stamps of the same theme to combine a card and I LOVE the way your card turned out! I also love its coloring! Thank you for this great idea!
This card would be adorable to send to all of my “green thumb” friends!! Alas, I cannot keep even a plastic plant alive, but LOVE all things spring!
The watercolouring looks great!! Such a fun card!
This is such a pretty card design!
Love the collage style stamp, super sweet card!
I agree about the Flower Wrap Die. May Day is coming!
Wonderful Spring card! Love the watercolor technique! Thanks for the inspiration,
Have a wonderful day!