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Woodblock Wednesday

No, it is not Wednesday, so this is a day late, but still in time to post on Amy’s blog.

Somehow I’ve never gotten back on track since we’ve returned from our trip. The days fly by, and most of the creating I’ve done has been for my Design Team commitments. There have been frequent, and fun, social engagements, time to watch grandchildren compete in a field hockey tournament, and more than the usual reading required for the three book groups I participate in. Much to my dismay, one of the groups changed the book for the May read from one I had already read to one that had 480 pages! It was The Searcher by Tana French, and I have to admit it was a good read. Nonetheless, yesterday I discovered that I had missed Woodblock Wednesday, so the first project today was to catch up with that.


The two stamps by Annette Watkins were right on top of the drawer I looked in, and I didn’t hesitate to pull them out knowing they’d make an easy CAS card. They’ve long been favorites of mine. I colored the flowers and foliage with Copic markers.


The sentiment stamp is perfect for a Thinking of You card which I need way more frequently than I wish. Luckily, since I was in a hurry, both stamps stamped perfectly the first time.


Hop over to Amy’s blog to see a selection of fun cards created with wooden stamps!

Woodblock Wednesday: March 2026 Edition

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This is my second post for the day. I’ve been a lot busier at the craft table than the posts here would indicate because I’ve had to work ahead for both Color Hues and Memory Box since there’s more than the usual travel in March and April. I did, however, make time to create a card for Woodblock Wednesday.

This wonderful stamp of a fountain pen is very old. It has a date of 1994 on it and is from Stampa Rosa. The summer of 1996 we went on a three week trip to California with our kids. I was already heavily into stamping, and planned several stops at stamp stores; one of them was Stampa Rosa. What I remember specifically about this store was how welcoming and helpful the staff was. (I also fondly remember how patient my two teenagers were! Remember there were no “devices” in 1996.) I love that pulling out a stamp can bring back memories you haven’t thought about in awhile.


My first idea was to stamp this in three different colors. No matter what ink I chose, I couldn’t get a clean image. When I moved to black, it was perfect. Just as well, as I’m in need of masculine birthday cards, and this one now has someone’s name on it. It’s stamped on white cardstock, but it looks more ivory in the top photo. I tried redoing it, but it’s just the light I have! After stamping it three times, I die cut it with one of the Greetery Postal Frames.

The sentiment from Stamp Oasis was stamped on white cardstock and die cut with one of Simon Says Stitched Rectangles. The card needed some interest in the background so I ran a panel of black cardstock through the die cutting machine with Altenew’s Basic Plaid 3D Embossing Folder. (Sadly, not easy to see.)

I’m sending this card to the AAA Card Challenge: Anything CAS, but not the optional twist!

Thanks, as always, to Amy for hosting Woodblock Wednesday.


Woodblock Wednesday-February 2026 Edition

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I’ve missed the last two Woodblock Wednesdays so as soon as we got home from our winter break in Georgia, I sat down to create a card for today’s Woodblock Wednesday post. 

On our way home, we spent two nights with Tracy’s brother and sister-in-law who rent a house in Wilmington, NC for two-three months. The weather there was the warmest we saw on the whole trip! I wanted to send them a thank you note so that was on my mind when I chose the stamps for this card.


I had to stamp the main image (Steamy Cups by Stampington & Co.) a couple of times before I found the right coloring medium. First I tried colored pencils, but I wasn’t thrilled with how it came out. Then I remembered buying new set of retractable markers at Dick Blick’s the last time I was there. I don’t have a wide range of colors in the set by Zebra, but was able to make them work. 

After coloring the image, I die cut it with Waffle Flowers Lacy Layers. First the main image, and then another layer with a pretty scalloped and stitched edge. Seemed perfect for the stack of tea cups. The sentiment, Thanks Script, is from A Muse Artstamps. I know I bought it at Impress Stamps in Seattle many years ago, and it remains a favorite. I must admit I often forget about my wooden stamps when I’m looking for sentiments.

Thanks, as always, Amy, for hosting this monthly post!

I’m sending this of to Addicted to Stamps and More where the challenge is Make Your Mark. 

Guesting for November’s Woodblock Wednesday

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I’m so delighted to have been asked to guest for the November Woodblock Wednesday. I’m actually all set for Christmas cards, but one more is always good to have. I found this Memory Box Snow Globe in my holiday drawer and knew right away what I wanted to do with it. 

It took two tries to get a good impression of the stamp with the Dark Indigo ink from Papertrey Ink.  Ellen Hutson’s Essential Circles had just the right size to die cut the stamped image. Then I used the next largest circle to die cut a mat from Dark Indigo cardstock. 

Before I added the focal piece to the card base, I decided on the placement and embossed the stamped greeting from Savvy Stamps in white. Once I added the snow globe, I was pleased with the very CAS design, and opted not to add any embellishments. 

I’m looking forward to seeing what cards pop up in the gallery for Woodblock Wednesday. Thanks, Amy, for the invitation and the monthly challenge. 

I’m entering this in the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Stash Challenge which is Stamps.

Woodblock Wednesday-August 2025

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There's been a lot going on around here, including a lot of crafting. Not all of that is ready to be shared. I did participate in the Pinkfresh Studio Create and Connect event this weekend, and have some cards ready to post later this week. I missed one class in order to go to Skylar and Ella's juried horse show. Both of them are becoming accomplished riders, and it's a lot of fun to watch them compete. I didn't finish the second card in a couple of classes so I probably have 3-4 hours of videos left to watch. All that to say, getting a card together for Woodblock Wednesday was a last minute event. (Thus the less than optimal photographs.)

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I've been heavily into Christmas cards, so grabbed an old set of tiny trees by Hero Arts, appropriately named Tiny Holiday Trees. When I set out to stamp these I'm reminded of how much I rely on the MISTI for stamp placement and the ability to restamp. I may have an old stamp positioner around somewhere, but I have no idea where it is. This was the third attempt.

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I stamped the trees with two Simon Says inks. The middle tree is more olive IRL than it appears in the photo. I die cut the trees with a Stitched Rectangle by Simon Says and then matted it with the next largest one die cut with New Leaf cardstock (PTI.)

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I wanted an alternative to red for the card base and decided on Paper Source Night cardstock– a very pretty (almost) navy. The sentiment from Savvy Stamps was embossed on white on a scrap of the Night cardstock and die cut with one of The Greetery's Pretext Banners. The final touch were three Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Clear Drops for the tops of the trees.

It turns out that this card perfectly fits the new Freshly Made Sketches Challenge:

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Woodblock Wednesday: July 2025 Edition

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Today's card was designed with three challenges in mind: the monthly Woodblock Wednesday, and Inkspirational's Birthday Challenge which closes on August 1st, and Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes.

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From the very first trip I made to a stamp store, I've loved Annette Watkin's designs. One of these stamps is labeled 1992, and the other 1993. That's just about the time I made my first trip to a stamp store! I see they are now referenced on Etsy as "vintage stamps." I still love these, and they make a great CAS card.

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After coloring the flowers with Copic markers, I die cut the frame with Simon Says Stitched Squares. I added it to a square card base with dimensional tape. Easy peasy, and I hope I remember this design next spring/summer when I'm looking for some easy birthday cards to make. 

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Thanks, always, to Amy for hosting Woodblock Wednesday. I love looking through the woodblock stamps I saved, and often wish I'd saved a few more!

 

 

May Woodblock Wednesday

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I missed the last two Woodblock Wednesday posts–the first because time slipped away from me and the second because I was out of the country. But I pulled out an old favorite from Judith for this month's Woodblock Wednesday.

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The card design started when I found this previously created card base in my envelope of "things to be used." I pulled out the woodblock stamp and the daisy worked well for both the outside and the inside of the card. Lawn Fawn's Nighttime Sky stencil came in handy for creating an ink blended background for the flower. The sentiment was also in an envelope of sentiments I had created with the Betterpress. This one is from Spellbinder's You Are Everything set. 

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The inside sentiment is also from the Spellbinder's Betterpress set. I added some enamel dots for an embellishment, two of which show on the outside and the inside.

Thanks to Amy Tsuruta for hosting these monthly events that encourage me to use the woodblock stamps I couldn't part with. I must admit since Woodblock Wednesday began, I've wished I hadn't sold or given away so many of my woodblocks stamps.

Woodblock Wednesday: February Edition

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When I recently needed a get well card, I went to my wooden stamps and came up with this cute one. I can't read the company's name, but it came from St. Louis, and one of the dates on it is 1994. 

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I was in the midst of making valentines, so stuck to the same colors: pink and red. I used Copic markers for the lid on the pill box, but used my red Staedtler triplus fineliner to color in the heart-shaped pills. I die cut the image with Reverse Confetti's Pierced Round Top die and then die cut the next size in pink, and added it to a gray card base.

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I added three little red hearts die cut with Hero Arts Infinity Hearts and The Greetery's Cupid's Arrow.

I'll be soaking up the sun in Aruba when this post goes live, but hopefully, will get it linked up to the Woodblock Wednesday post on Amy's blog.

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Woodblock Wednesday: Just Ducky

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It's the last Wednesday in January (how can that be?) so it's Woodblock Wednesday hosted by Amy Tsuruta. 

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Since Valentine's Day is not far off, I wanted to find a woodblock stamp I haven't used (in forever!) for this month's challenge. I came upon this funky looking duck, (Just Ducky by Mostly Animals stamps) holding a heart and decided he'd be fun to play with. Actually, the stamp is quite small so he proved to be a little challenging. This is what I came up with:

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It's ironic in a way that the card is actually bigger than an A2 card. It measured 6 1/4 X 4 1/2. It's an odd size, but I have a set of ready made card bases from Bearly Arts that I used as a template. I needed a big heart for The Stamp Market's  Skinny Upper Case Alphabet.  I stamp the duck, colored him with Copic markers and fussy cut him.

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I die cut the largest heart from Hero Arts, Infinity Hearts, and used Honey Bee's Fluttering Hearts Pierced Coverplate to add some interest and texture. Next I stacked two of each letter and adhered them to the heart before adding it to the card base. Finally, I put some dimensional tape on the little ducky to make him stand out a bit. Three of the tiniest hearts from the Hero Art set finished off the front of the card.

I wanted another woodblock stamp for the inside sentiment. The first one I pulled out was damaged and left a thin white line across part of the sentiment. That was a first, but there was another contender, Be Mine by Fun Stamps, 1989.

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I die cut two more hearts, and ran the smaller through with the Honey Bee coverplate, stamped the sentiment and added some dimensional tape to it. Finally, one more tiny red heart!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope it's warm and toasty where you are–in or out. Definitely in here. We're experiencing one cold snap after another.

Merry Christmas!

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Posting on Christmas Day is a bit of a novelty, but today is also Woodblock Wednesday for December.

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Since I'll be on the road tomorrow, it's best to post and link to Amy's blog today. This month's woodblock stamp turned out to be a bit of repetition. It's another of the beautiful Magenta stamps, but with a very similar feel. Since I already had put it on my table for Woodblock Wednesday, I decided not to overthink it. I needed a thank you note so that's the route I took.

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A sign of the season is the fact that I took a photo of the card without including the woodblock stamp that I used. And, of course, the card is already in the mail since it went to a stamping friend who gave me a beautiful flower arrangement the last time we were together. The card design and colors didn't vary much this month either, but this is the first of the Magenta stamps that I've colored with Copic markers. The stitched border is from Waffleflower's Lacy Layers. The lacy layer was a bit much so I kept it simple. 

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The sentiment from Altenew's Sentiment Strips 2 is gold embossed and trimmed down to create a small banner. I used some black dimensional foam to it for a bit of interest.

We celebrated with Matt and his family yesterday afternoon. They'll be back for a visit with Tracy's family who will be here for dinner. There's just nine of us now. One Christmas, we had twenty-seven! Tomorrow we'll head to Wisconsin for another Christmas celebration as well as Caleb's and Hannah's birthdays on the 30th. 

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it is a joyous one. Thanks for taking a look, and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!

Woodblock Wednesday-November

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Woodblock Wednesday snuck up on me this month. It's been hard to get to everything that needs to be done after being away for 10 days. I'm making progress, but had to hop to it to get this card made. Fortunately, the image didn't need any coloring. It took several tries to get a good stamping, so I tried both Copics and colored pencils on some the rejects, and decided this woodblock print was best left alone.

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This Magenta stamp has no name printed on it, and is almost as big as the card! I have no idea where or when I purchased it.

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I chose two narrow mats–one dark green and another gold, and layered them on a red mini-slimline card. It's been quite awhile since I've made a mini-slimline card but it was perfect for this stamp. 

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The sentiment is one of Memory Box's Black Greeting Tabs. I tried to purchase another set of them this year, but was only able to find a "Happy Holidays" version. They're just right so many times! 

This is off as my second entry into the Festive Friday Gallery–it's just a perfect list of elements for a Christmas card. This time I used red, green, gold, and a Christmas sentiment. The gold mat probably qualifies as glimmer as well. 

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If you celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. I hope the gathering is one of laughter and love! I have so many blessings to be thankful for. 

Woodblock Wednesday-August

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The fourth Wednesday is always Woodblock Wednesday, and this month the last Wednesday in the month. I read an Opinion piece in the New York Times recently saying that although most people see Labor Day (Monday) as the end of the summer, you don't have to buy into that. Most of my adult life Labor Day was the last weekend of summer because it brought the beginning of the new school year. I actually loved the start of a school year, but this year I'm going to try to hold on to that summer feeling for a few more weeks. 

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We got home last yesterday from a fun week on Intermediate Lake in Michigan and two days with friends in the wine country of Traverse City. I'll have some photos up by the end of the week. Luckily, I made my Woodblock Wednesday card before we left, and you can see that summer was definitely on my mind. 

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This is another old woodblock that's been in my collection for years. The manufacturer was Fred B. Mullet, and I have no idea where I picked it up. I stamped it on watercolor paper and water colored it with Distress Oxide Inks. Both the narrow frame and the card base were created with woodgrain papers from Simon Says.

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The sentiment is from Colorado Crafts' A Fox's Life which a friend gave me. It's never been used so it's off to Darnell's NBUS.  Thanks, as always, to Amy Tsuruta for hosting Woodblock Wednesday! 

Woodblock Wednesday: July

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July is definitely flying by. I did think that time would slow down a bit now that we're home for several weeks, but not so. I chose another woodblock stamp from the Lockhart Stamp Co. for July's Woodblock Wednesday. This bright red Adirondack chair reminds me of the red chairs we encountered in random places throughout the Canadian Rocky Mountains National Parks when we visited. After we returned we bought our own red Adirondack chairs. 

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I used a Taylored Expressions Masking Stencil to create the blue background. The image was colored with Copic markers, and then die cut with Simon Says Stitched Rectangles. I added a second square and with dimensional tape added it to a square card.

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The sentiment is from a My Favorite Things set: Itty Bitty Basics embossed in white and die cut with MFT's Itty Bitty Strips. In addition to Woodblock Wednesday, I'm sending this to the Four Seasons Blog: Summer and Shop Your Stash, also Summer.

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Woodblock Wednesday: June Edition

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I look forward to Woodblock Wednesday every month, and actually wish I had saved a few more of my woodblock stamps. I got down to the wire this month, just finishing this last night. The stamp is a Magenta one that I used over and over before the stamping world exploded with acrylic and red rubber stamps. I was in the mood to watercolor so got out my Daniel Smith palette and mixed up a bit of yellow, green, and blue.

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The sketch is one I saw on one of the recent videos by Jill Foster for Penny Black, a series called "Permission to Play." All her sketches utilize embossing folders, and this is a new one of mine: 3-D Checkered Squares by Altenew. I cut a narrow strip of the watercolor paper to add a border where the watercolor and the embossing folder meet. 

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The sentiment also comes from a new set: All Occasion Script from The Greetery. I'll be tossing this in the fabulous gallery at NBUS to celebrate using another two new products, along with one of my oldest!

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Woodblock Wednesday: May 2024

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It's time for a new Woodblock Wednesday! I'm throughly enjoying going through the collection of wooden stamps I've kept. I wish I'd saved a few more. When I went through them looking for an image for April's Woodblock Wednesday, I pulled out the two stamps I knew I wanted to use this month. They've been sitting on my desk, patiently waiting. Both stamps are from Uptown Design Co. and designed by Holly Pond Hill.

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I don't have any memory of purchasing them, but I'm quite sure my daughter and her love of chocolate cake was a motivation for the purchase. Since she doesn't read my blog, it's likely this will be her birthday card this year. In some cases she has a great memory for things given to her many years ago, so I wonder if she'll have any recollection of it. Luckily for me, both stamps stamped perfectly the very first time. I pulled out my Prismacolor pencils to color the cute little mouse.

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After trimming the card down and adhering it to a light gray card base, I cut three Double Scalloped Stitched Frames from Poppy Stamps and layered them for some dimension before adding them around the image. It's another CAS card as it needs no embellishment. 

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