Changes

Hello there lovelies!  It’s Shay here.  This is a particularly difficult post to write as change is never easy. 

If you missed Julie’s blog post on Sunday please CLICK HERE. 

Julie, co-founder + co-owner and all-round awesome designer, is stepping down from being an owner of w&w at the end of this year.  It has been such an amazing journey from just talking into the wee hours of what we could do to running a company that produces collections that include stamps, dies and stencils.  I feel fortunate that Julie was beside me as we found the courage together to reach for, fulfill and even surpass our dreams.  I will always treasure all that I have experienced with and learned from Julie and her tremendous talent, attention to detail, patience, sweetness and friendship.  

Although I am mightily sad to not have Julie as my business partner, as her friend I am so grateful she is going to take some time to just concentrate on Julie. 

Julie, like many women, don’t put themselves at the top of their list of priorities.  Even airlines have to remind those with children that the air mask should go on the adult’s face first and then the child’s face next because if you don’t take care of yourself first how can you take care of anyone else?  Julie is a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, human mother to Walter, friend and teacher besides having been an owner, worker and designer here at w&w.  She put in long hours after her day job, sacrificing much and it is time for her to slow down and make herself the focus and design and craft just for fun and herself.  

I really love this picture of Julie (far right) and I at our first CHA back in January of this year at the Pinkfresh Studio booth with Kinnari Zavari (of Pinkfresh Studio), Kelly Griglione (one of the w&w Talent), Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Evelin Tee (the lovely designer we worked with to create Happiest of Holidays with Evelin T Designs and Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs).



Of course Julie would love to hear from you!  Julie has a blog you can follow her at: starlight windsong; a facebook page: Julie Mogford Designs; along with an Instagram account: @juliemogford.  You will want to follow her as she isn’t done crafting and designing.  

What does this mean for w&w?  Julie + Walter will always be a part of the w&w family.  If and when she feels she wants to join in, she will do so as she feels best fits into her life (and I wouldn’t have it any other way).  The running of w&w will be carried on by me.  It will be quite an adjustment to take it all on myself especially in the designing arena.  My mind is brimming with ideas, I just need to learn the ins and outs of how to make them a reality! 

You should know that what w&w is what it is not only from Julie’s and my efforts, but also due to the support of Julie’s husband, Davis, and also that of my parents and sister.  In the future my family will be even more instrumental as their enormous help enables me to do all I do.  Family is everything and that is something Julie and I have always agreed upon wholeheartedly.

Joni Andaya, one of our original members of the Talent, will be stepping down.  

Just see this lovely card by Joni from our very first release:

And then this stunning card by Joni from our most current release:

Joni has been an incredible designer, wonderful member of our w&w creative family and an inspiration to us all.  She was the first product designer we collaborated with to design a stamp set, In Bloom: Lola's Bouquet with Joni Andaya.  Her creative and heart-stoppingly (a made up word that had to be used) gorgeous contributions will be missed but she will remain part of the w&w family as a free agent so we hope to see her here from time to time.  We love you, Joni, and thank you for taking a chance on us and being an integral part of w&w's success!

Now, for some cheerier news!  Introducing The Talent of 2016:

Gayatri, Heather P., Kelly, Lea, Mayuri and Vanessa are all staying on as part of the Talent.  I feel very blessed as these sensational ladies make w&w wonderful and brighten my days by being themselves and with the beauty of their projects! 

I have invited Heather Hoffman and Lydia Evans to become part of the Talent in 2016 and happily they have both said yes!  I am very excited as I adore these ladies and their work so much.  I know they will be amazing additions to the Talent.  Please give them a very warm w&w welcome!

Winnie & Walter’s birthday month is January, but in light of all these changes (plus going to CHA next week to check out all the new goodness--hope to see you there.) we are going to have our month long birthday celebration in February…let’s call it a belated birthday bash.  We will have month long challenges, plenty of giveaways, lots of inspiration and a “small” release to help celebrate.

I hope you will stick around and see where w&w will go…it’s going to be quite an adventure! 

I wish you and your family a very blessed 2016 full of laughter, love, excellent health, relaxation and the joys of crafting.

Happy crafting,

Shay + Winnie

Thanks with Kate

Hello.

I hope you have all enjoyed Christmas break.

I had a nice time with my family and we were all thoroughly spoilt.

So once the gifts are finished its nice to let people know how grateful you are, and i really enjoy making "thank you" cards

On all three of my cards i have used the Scenery: Multifaceted Creative Screenings with lucky clover and blueprint sketch distress inks.

I chose my colour because they were on my table ..really :)

I blended the inks directly onto my card base  before adding the flower from In Bloom: Elsa's Flora.

Its coloured with prisma color pencils and clear wink of stella.

I added the In a Word: Thanks Cutaway which is coloured with the same inks and finished with glossy accents.

Again i blended the distress inks and the creative screening directly onto  my card base.

I only did the top part of the card as the rest is covered.

I used partial die cutting with the thanks cutaway ... *note* my die slipped and i went with it you could of course be more prepared than me and use some tape to hold it in place ;)

I then added a strip of coloured card and some sequins to finish but keep it very clean and simple.

I started this the same as the first two cards.

I then used the Goldie Trim Cutaways to cut the scalloped edge.

I also added the multifaceted pattern with distress inks to the top of the panel and faded it out.

The sentiment comes from Scenery: Bigger Bang Confetti stamp set (limited edition).

I added the small rose from In Bloom: Elsa's Flora again its coloured with pencils.

Thanks for looking.

In Bloom: Elsa's Flora

In Bloom: Hollie's Festive Florals

Goldie Trim Cutaways

In a Word: Thanks Cutaway

Scenery: Multifaceted Creative Screenings

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A Letter From Julie

Dearest Winnie & Walter Family,

These last two years have been an amazing adventure. Shay and I could never have dreamt that our little company would achieve so much in so little time. We know that this is due to our fabulous Design Team “The Talent” and to all of you, our wonderful w&w family. You all are truly a blessing to Shay and me.

After much thought and many tears, I have come to the conclusion that I must make some changes in my life. As much as I love Winnie & Walter, I have discussed with Shay that my role in the company is more than I can really continue, and I will no longer be the co-owner after December 31, 2015. Although I am leaving, I will never be too far away. I will be taking some time to address some health and family matters and re-imagining my role in the crafting community to better fit my current lifestyle and needs. One thing you should know is that my love and need for crafting will never subside. I am planning to join in from time to time, and will definitely be a w&w fan forever. I want to thank Shay for being my partner on this journey and for her support and understanding during this change in my personal life. Shay will be carrying on to keep growing the w&w company and I know the sky’s the limit with her vision.  I also want to thank our incredible design team, both past and present, for your talent and friendship.

Thank you again for your warm comments, fabulous creations, and loving support of Winnie & Walter. I will always treasure this time and all of you!

Sincerely,


Julie Mogford

December Leading Lady Piali Biswas | Take Four

Sadly it is our last Saturday with our outstanding December Leading Lady, Piali Biswas.  We've felt so blessed to spend the last four weeks with Piali, for the versatility, vibrancy, beauty and mastery of each of your performances.  It has been a delight and honor to have you as our leading lady.  

If you missed her smashing debut you must see it...CLICK HERE or her sensational second performance with fancy wrapping CLICK HERE or her triumphant third performance where she stuns with a trio of sophisticated and elegant cards CLICK HERE.

Lucky for us all we have her final command performance today.  

Hello Lovely Winnie& Walter Fans!!!

Happy Saturday!! Hope you all are enjoying your Winter break !!!
I also hope Santa got you all the lovely things on your wishlist & you had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones!!

I'm back here with my last post as the Leading Lady for this month!
As you know all good things must come to an end, my fun time of being in the Winnie & Walter limelight is almost over... :(
Thank you so much Julie & Shay for making This Christmas extra special for me!!!

Today I'm going to share the Forth step of Holiday crafting with you all!!
I already shared
Step#1
Holiday Cardmaking
Step#2
Pretty Packaging
Step#3
Holiday Thank you and New Year's card.

Now its time for...
Step#4
Holiday Memory Keeping!!!

Documenting  the treasured moments are important, we can later look thru the scrapbook layouts or albums and relive the moment all over again!!

Here is my first layout...

 My neighbor decorates the most amazing Christmas tree...so I made this layout for her to treasure!!!
I apologize for the poor photography as there is no sunlight for almost a week here, I couldn't capture shine & sparkle of all the gold glitter embossing.

I used one of my all time favorite W&W set... Winter Wonderland to create the gold embossed background for this layout. I love the WOW Gold Glitter embossing powder!
For the title I used In a Word: Joy Cutaway.



 I love to add lots of texture to my layouts, and sometimes 3D objects too.
The bow made with Take a Bow Cutaways was perfect for this LO.

I also used the different star & bell images from Comfort + Joy set, did some third generation stamping.
Stamped the layers of sentiments from Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs and Comfort + Joy on the background too.
W&W stamps and Dies are perfect for Scrapbookers... they are so versatile!
I love to stretch my cardmaking supplies for the scrapbooking!

Next layout is about my younger fur baby's 1st Christmas...

 Meet TWIX, my puppy ...he turns 1 in Jan, so this was his 1st Christmas.
He was such a good sport by letting mommy take few pictures of him, unfortunately my other puppy KOKO didn't allow me to get a single photo.

 This is more of a CAS layout...
I created the soft inked sponged background using Scenery: Do you see what I see? creative screenings.



I used my favorite True Multifaceted Star Cutaways for this layout...layered it for texture and fun!!
I used several word stickers from Doodlebug too.
 I also stamped Comfort+Joy sentiment from  Comfort + Joy set.

Added few border diecuts created using a die from Essentials: Noelle Cutaways.

For the title I used In a word: Merry cutaway....added three layers of the it for fun!!
To complete my title I stamped sentiment is from Happiest of Holidays with Evelin T Designs set., I double stamped it to add movement.

I have to create few more layouts of this holiday season....very soon I will share it on my blog.

Hope you liked these layouts and use your stamping supplies for scrapbooking too.

As you all know Julie & Shay generously gave me a $30 Gift Certificate to share with my readers.

Please visit my Blog for a chance to win.

This is the last chance !!!!

Thanks for stopping by..

Happy Crafting!

Piali

Comfort + Joy	Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs	Winter Woodland	Essentials: Noelle Cutaways	In a Word: Joy Cutaway	In a Word: Merry Cutaway
Take a Bow Cutaways	True Multifaceted Star Cutaways	Scenery: Do You See What I See? Creative Screenings

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Special Guest Star May Flaum | Thanks

 

We have a special treat for you today!  Our lovely and talented friend, May Flaum, is back to share a gorgeous project with photo tutorial!  

If you missed her first appearance (and video) back in May of this year on the w&w blog CLICK HERE!

Without further ado, May Flaum....

When it comes to holiday cards, thank you cards are my most important! May Flaum (www.craftwithmay.com) here, and I’m excited to share this with you today. Using a new favorite stamp set and die I’m creating a Christmas thanks card to send out and I’m just loving the results of the distress ink and white embossing powder with these stamps. I hope you enjoy this step-by-step tutuorial.

1.       Die cut “thanks” from watercolor paper card front and save word for later.

2.       Using clear embossing ink and white powder on watercolor paper, stamp and then heat set key images one at a time.

3.       Once you’re happy with the key images you have, begin stamping in your filler/background images with distress ink. Add a bit of water to blur and blend.

Tip: check where stamp will go and just wipe off ink of any area you feel will overlap onto a key image

4.       Using distress ink placed onto some plastic/nonstick surface or watercolor, color in the key focal point images.

5.       Add in coloring around focal point images as need to help the white embossing really pop.

6.       Drop green ink or mist onto background and add water to create watercolor droplets of color. Add gold as desired. Dry totally.

7.       While the card front dries, use a gold ink pad (or gold paint) and coat the word thanks that was previously die cut. Leave as-is, or coat in clear embossing powder for an extra shine as I did here.

8.       Once the card front is dry, adhere and stitch to a red card. Then finish the card by attaching the “thanks” die cut back in place.

This card was so much fun to make and combines so many favorite techniques and products. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and create some thank you cards of your own! To check out more of what I’m making feel free to visit me at www.craftwithmay.com or follow me on Instagram @craftwithmay

In Bloom: Elsa's Flora

In a Word: Thanks Cutaway

InLinkz.com

October 2015 Release Showcase with Mayuri

Hello there - Mayuri here to share some cards using the October Release - I didn't get a chance to create anything back then because I was filming my Craftsy Class, but wanted to show you how versatile these stamps and dies are!

Here's the first card:

​
This one came together by adding a subtle pattern in the background to make the focal element pop - I used translucent embossing paste through the Scenery: The Peppermint Zone Creative Screenings onto a black card base. 

While that was drying I swiped some Distress Ink cubes across an acrylic block, spritzed with water and then stamped down onto a panel of white cardstock. I did this with several colours, heat set and then stamped a sentiment from Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs with Versamark ink. I sprinkled white embossing powder and heat set before trimming the panel down, adding some gold washitape to the bottom and foam mounting to the card base. Here's the second card:

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This one showcases how much fun you can have with the In Bloom: Paulina's Greenery Cutaways.  I simply die-cut the wreath out of four different coloured bits of cardstock, but also out of the centre of a piece of white cardstock to act like an aperture. On a white card base, I blended some Worn Lipstick and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks and stamped a sentiment from Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs in the centre, before foam mounting the white panel to the card base. 

I then arranged the four wreath die-cuts on top, allowing the blended ink and the sentiment to show through. A few enamel dots and Glossy Accent blobs finished the card up nicely! Here's the third card:

You can use any stamps in your stash to create a pattern around a sentiment, but I think the images from In Bloom: Elsa's Flora make it so easy for this look. I stamped a sentiment from Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs in the centre of a white cardstock panel with black dye ink, then stamped various images around it with different shades of green ink for the leaves and brown for the cones.

I also stamped the holly images from the same set, and filled in the berries with Xmas Red Stickles for a bit of fun! I added a few gold ink splats and then mounted the panel to a white card base. Here's the fourth card:

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I love creating sceneries and the cute images from Our Town made it so fun to create a street full of colourful houses. I stamped them with Distress Inks and then added pops of black for the smaller images. The sparkly sky is made by stamping the stars from the same set with Delicata Golden Glitz ink and brushing with Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls.

The sentiment comes from Happiest of Holidays with Evelin T Designs and was stamped onto a panel that I'd trimmed to look like a snow bank. I foam mounted the colourful street and the snow bank to a white card base to finish up. And here's the final card:

I created the background using the Scenery: Madison Creative Screenings and one of my favourite techniques. I added droplets of Dylusions Ink Sprays onto a large acrylic block, covering the entire surface and then liberally sprayed a piece of watercolour cardstock with water. I laid the stencil down and immediately pressed the inky acrylic block on top. I jiggled the block around a little to allow the ink to move and create an amazing, blended look through the stencil - you have to try it to believe it!

I removed the block and the stencil before heat setting the panel. I then trimmed it to the same size as my card base and adhered it straight down. The sentiment was created by die-cutting the In a Word: Hello Cutaway out of white and black cardstock, and then adhering them both together to create a thicker embellishment. This was then adhered to the card front.

I hope you enjoyed my showcase of the October Release! 

Have a great Christmas and New Year ;-)

Mayuri

Happiest of Holidays with Evelin T Designs	In Bloom: Elsa's Flora	Merry & Bright with Evelin T Designs	Our Town	Essentials: Katharine Cutaways	In a Word: Hello Cutaway
In Bloom: Paulina's Greenery Cutaways	Scenery: Madison Creative Screenings	http://www.winniewalter.com/products/scenery-the-peppermint-zone-creative-screenings

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