I'm so excited to be here today for day 1 of full reveals for the Handiwork Collection from The Greetery! It is SUCH fun collection and I hope you love it as much as I do. You can find the official "meet and greet" over on The Greetery Blog to introduce you to all of the fabulous new products! Make sure to leave a comment here and on the other designers' blogs for a chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates! My first card for today features the AMAZING new Hoopla Oval Dies, the Aida Cloth Texture Plate, the new Embroidered Blooms dies, and last, but not least, the new Stitched Sentiments. I'm also sneaking a peek at the new Embroidered Background stamp that will be featured tomorrow, but I just couldn't resist! To begin this card, I die cut the beautiful Emroidered Blooms quite a few times (you will see JUST how many over the next two days...ha ha!) and then colored them using Distress Oxide inks. I absolutely adore using multi-colored thread when I stitch, so I love how these leaves and blooms turned out! Once the flowers were done, I got to work on the hoop. There are two size of hoops included in the new Hoopla Oval dies; I chose to use the largest of the two for this card. I also die cut the Aida Cloth background onto a panel of Fine Linen cardstock and then cut it using the Hoopla Oval Inserts die. This is a fun companion set to be used with the Hoopla Oval dies, but could also be used on their own. I colored the hoop using Distress Oxide Inks and then I die cut the 'hardware' included in the Hoopla Oval die set using metallic cardstock for the silver pieces. I had fun arranging the flowers to make it look like a real stitched piece (and made me want to pull out a stitching project, if I'm being perfectly honest) . The sentiment was created by die cutting the Thanks portion using the new Stitched Sentiments die and then stamping it in black (I die cut it using the same cardstock as the Aida cloth portion for a seamless look) The 'sew much" was stamped onto the same cardstock and added to the bottom. There is an option for it to just say 'so much' for versatility. I just couldn't resist the punn-y sentiment! They're my favorite! I stamped the Embroidered Background using Distress Oxide ink onto an A2 card base and then added the hoop using foam squares. My second card also uses the Embroidered Blooms dies and the Aida Cloth Background die. This card was 100 % inspired by a new dress I bought for a Fiesta party I put on for the older kids at church! It is such a fun dress and I knew I could recreate it nicely with these beautiful dies. This card is a mini-slimline size and is just perfect to showcase all of these fun pieces included in the die set. I layered the largest of the blooms together with the smaller flower for a bold focal image. The cute 'lazy daisy' stitched pieces are so fun, too! The little french knot accents just slay me! I love making french knots on my stitched projects and these ones look so real! The sentiment is heat embossed in white and is from the New Day Sentiments Stamp set. I didn't use the 'Press n' Seal' technique for my cards, but it would definitely be helpful with these new dies. Since I was using my dress as I guide, I roughly laid it out and then got the main placement idea and then I just had fun. If you're wanting to be more precise, then I would definitely suggest the Press n' seal technique. It will also allow you to get all of your glue on precisely and not have any smears if you are careful. (wink) My final project for today uses THE cutest new Hoopla Mini dies, the FABULOUS new Stitched Scallops Notecard die AND the new Floral Sampler Stamp set. I created a set of 4 of these sweet little scalloped note cards just perfect for gift-giving or for your own stash. If you stopped by for the last release, these notecards fit perfectly into the burlap sacks I showed with my greenhouse card set. I didn't want to be a broken record so I didn't showcase them that way, but it would be perfect! I also toyed around with sewing up a cute little bag to put them in, so I'll share that if I end up doing that. I had so much fun stamping a BUNCH of the images from the Floral Sampler stamp/die set . I also prepared four of the different Hoopla Mini hoops to use as accents as well. The Stitched Sentiments also got to shine again on these cute notecards. You can see the entire set here. The Hoopla Mini dies come with lots of different shapes for verstatility. This little heart hoop is just the cutest thing, don't you think? I can't wait to use these cute scalloped note cards again...they are just so adorable! Thanks for fluttering by! Angelica Dana Dawn Kelly (you are here) Laurie Melissa Wanda