Simon Says..............Photo Inspiration

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week we have a photo inspiration board for you, put together by Jenn:

And the DT are playing with Paper Smooches products.

I concentrated on three of these colors, and played with a cute birch tree die.

supplies: white, kraft, gold, Burnt Orange and Dark Chocolate card stock, Paper Smooches Birch Trees dies, Impression Obsession Autumn Leaves die, Simon's Trick or Treat bats, Hero Arts (retired) Halloween sentiments, Simon's Stitched Circle die

Now it's your turn - how will you be inspired?  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

Pumpkin Spice and You

I recently received some new goodies, and today was my day to play with them.

supplies: Surf Blue and cream cardstock, lots of fall design papers, Newton's Nook Fall-ing for You, Hero Arts Coffee Cup dies, My Favorite Things Stitched Tag die, Technique Tuesday Hugs die, Impression Obsession leaf die, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, natural twine

I thought this sentiment summed up pretty well what fall means to me, and it was fun to pair it with the coffee cup.  I love all the fall coffee flavors that pop up each season!

Hope your weekend is turning out to be a great one!  And I wanted to make sure you've seen the upcoming November Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp - I think it may be their best one yet!  I am absolutely certain it will be a sell-out, if for no other reason than the big 6 x 8 Kind Flowers stamp set in it will sell separately for what a card kit subscription will cost you; it's like getting the gorgeous papers and everything else in the kit for free!  Run, don't walk, and order yours today! HERE's the video that shows everything in the kit.  And be sure to visit the Gallery to see some cards using it.

Here's a peek:

Five for Friday!

It's Five for Friday at Tammy Tutterow's blog, and I decided to use her heart and flowers dies to make a fall heart card.

supplies: ivory and kraft cardstock, patterned papers from Doodlebug's Flea Market and a retired blue dot, Tammy's Prim Heart and Bitty Posies dies, Tim Holtz Wish sentiment, My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 stitched rectangle die, adhesive foam squares to pop up heart

Here's a closer pic so that you can read the sentiment better, since it's a tiny one:

I hope you'll visit Tammy's Blog to see what my talented sisters have done this time!

New Holiday Release at Simon Says Stamp - Making Spirits Bright!!

I'm pleased to share some cards that I made using the die that I received for this new Making Spirits Bright holiday release - it's called Pine Needle Wreath!  I have 2 cards - one in traditional Christmas colors, and the 2nd in a more modern lime and pink.

supplies: white, green, and Simon's Schoolhouse Red card stock, Pine Needle Wreath, Hero Arts Joy die, red pearls

I used Jennifer McGuire's layered die technique for this one, cutting the die 4 times from green card stock and layering it, using the negative of the die-cut to position the pine branches.

The next one is a more traditional use of the die, just cutting it from white cardstock, and aligning it over a lime one to let the branches show through.

supplies: pink, white, and Simon's Green Apple card stock, My Favorite Things Merry & Bright Plaid design paper, Simon's Pine Needle Wreath and Merry & Bright clear stamp sentiment, Altenew Puffy Heart ink, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scallop  Border die, bow die from MFT (retired) Spring Wreath, pink pearls

Be sure to visit the Simon Says Stamp store to see the rest of this newest release for the Holidays!

Simon Says............Thinking of You

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this time is "Thinking of You"; the design team are playing with Memory Box products.  We'd love to see you using your Memory Box products, but it's not a requirement to enter the challenge.

Here's my first card, using this sweet little lacy butterfly duo:

supplies: white and pool card stock, design papers from Pebbles Garden Party (floral, pink grid, and aqua gingham), Memory Box Calais Butterflies, Simon Expressions for You die and stamp set and Stitched Rectangle die, pink and aqua pearls

I first cut out my stitched rectangle, then die-cut the butterfly duo twice from that, and inlaid the butterflies back in.  I purposely cut the butterflies to hang out over the stitched panel just a bit.  Separately I die-cut the butterflies again from design papers, and separated out the larger butterfly to pop above my card surface.

Next, a card with flowers and an embossed doily:

supplies: white, Simon's Green Leaf, Doodlebug Cupcake cardstock, pink plaid from Doodlebug Gingham/Linen Rainbow petite prints pad, Memory Box Bella Bouquet, Sizzix/Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder, MFT Blueprints 20 scalloped rectangle die, and (retired) bow die from their Spring Wreath die set, (retired) The Craft's Meow sentiment from Potted Garden, adhesive foam squares

A hint about mixing stamping and dry-embossing - stamp first, then emboss over that - as you can see, the embossing doesn't mar the sentiment done this way, but it would be almost impossible to get a good impression if you tried to stamp over an embossed surface.....

Now it's your turn!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

For World Card Making Day!

I always try to make time for making some cards on every World Card Making Day - I love the thought that so many of us are doing the same thing all over the world!  I have 3 cards for you, all of them for fall birthdays.

I'm first playing with a new wreath die I just received this week.  Here are my first cards using it.

supplies: Simon Orange Peel  and a cream recycled cardstock, Poppy Stamps Leafy Wreath Collage die, distress inks, PTI Birthday die, remainder of stamped sentiment from Winnie & Walter Big, Bold & Happy clear stamps

I simply cut the die from a recycled panel, then popped it over another panel that I had sponged with distress inks.  

My 2nd card took a little more work:

supplies: white and Simon's Burnt Orange card stock, Poppy Stamps Leafy Wreath Collage, distress inks, sentiment from Simon's Birthday Flowers, natural twine bow

For this one I first sponged 3 different panels with distress inks, in pink, gold, and orange mixes, then cut out the leaves from each one.  Then I used one of the negative die-cut wreaths and temporarily positioned it over a white panel as a mask, then carefully glued a variety of the die-cut leaves through the mask.  I was using Jennifer McGuire's Layered Die Cuts technique HERE.  When everything was secure, I lifted off the mask, stamped a sentiment using 3 inks, and secured it to my card backing, adding a twine bow and topping that with another of the leaves.

And here's one more, using some beautiful rose dies in autumn colors.

supplies: cream, yellow, Simon's Lipstick Red and Orange Peel card stock, My Favorite Things Dots & Stripes Fresh dp, Altenew Fantasy Florals dies, My Favorite Things All Occasion sentiment

I used Michelle's idea to cut the leaves from the backing and allow a printed paper to show through for them.  

Thanks for stopping by today - hope you have a lovely weekend!

Simon Says...........Christmas of Joy

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is Christmas, and my teamies and I are playing with Penny Black products.  I have always been partial to their beautiful bird stamps, and so I decided to use 2 older ones for my post today, and coincidentally, both cards also use one of my favorite sentiment words, "Joy"!

supplies: white and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, Penny Black Nature's Best cling stamp and Joy to the World die, alcohol markers to color, red pearls

My 2nd card features a collage-style wood stamp, another style of stamp that Penny Black does very well:

supplies: ivory, green, and copper glitter card stock, and a panel of patterned paper for my stash, old paper distress ink, Penny Black Song of Joy wood stamp, Zig markers to color, copper watercolor paint for hanging star, tiny gold sequin for center of star, Wplus9 Hand Lettered Holiday die, adhesive foam to pop up star

I stamped and embossed the image on ivory cardstock, then used my Zig markers to color in the greenery, bird, and berries.  Next I sponged the panel with old paper distress ink before framing it in a green card stock, and mounting that onto my patterned panel.  I separately stamped the star/ornament and watercolored it with a copper pearlescent paint to match the sentiment that was die-cut from copper glitter paper, and popped that above the card, adding a teensy sequin to its center for more sparkle.  I chose "Joy" because the name of the stamp is "Song of Joy".

Now it's your turn!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

Last of the Roses.......

As I said earlier, we've been away for a few weeks, to Maine and Nova Scotia, trying to find some fall weather.  We were unsuccessful,  but enjoyed the change of beautiful scenery and wonderful fresh seafood!  Our daughter-in-law wondered if we would turn into lobsters, we ate so much of it!

As I always do after taking that much time off, I have a hard time getting back into creating.  So for these first few days I've been using materials that are no-brainers, and practically make a card themselves, like these amazing Altenew floral dies.  I paired them with some Doodlebug cardstock to allow me to use 3 shades of this corally pink, and made the leaves a darker green than I usually use.....I like the results!

supplies: ivory cardstock, Altenew Fantasy Florals dies, 3 different corals/pinks and a yellow from Doodlebug Rainbow Textured cardstock collection and an unknown dark green for the leaves, sentiment from Hero Arts Hello Sunshine Daisies, Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways stitched scalloped rectangle die, Doodlebug enamel hearts sprinkles

This time I used some thin foam adhesive to separate the 3 layers of the roses from each other, and after arranging them I just added a sweet sentiment and some hearts that match perfectly in color, thanks to them both being Doodlebug products!  I was trying to recreate our knockout Rainbow roses, which are still blooming.

A Grateful Heart

Here's another card using the Brushstrokes Messages stamp set from Simon's October Card Kit.  This time I used fall colors.

supplies: white cardstock, brush strokes and heart from Simon's Brush Stroke Messages clear stamp set, Simon's Fresh Fruit ink cubes and VersaFine Onyx black ink, sentiment from a (retired) Hero Arts September 2016 card kit, gold glitter hearts

I used just one of the brush stroke stamps repeatedly, using fall colored ink, shortening the strokes as I went upwards.  I stamped the sentiment, then added a heart from the set stamped to give a feel of falling leaves, and a bit of glitz with the heart stickers to finish. 

Hope you're having a great Sunday - thanks for stopping by!

Simon's October Card Kit: Brushstroke Messages

We've been on our annual September getaway these last few weeks, and returned to find my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit for October waiting for me!  It's always hard to get started creating after a layoff, so I decided to dive right in using this kit.  Here's my first card using it:

supplies: Simon's Brushstroke Messages Card Kit for October, which included Soft Navy cardstock, My Mind's Eye Blush paper pad, Simon's Spiral Flower die, Brushstroke Messages clear stamps, Simon's Steel Navy embossing powder

I used one of the foiled patterned papers for my background, and stamped the sentiment with Versamark and the new Steel Navy embossing powder.  I die-cut 3 of the Spiral Flowers from pink, white, and navy and mixed and matched the frame and inner parts of them, and added some leaves fussy-cut from another of the patterned papers.  Then the panel was added to a Soft Navy card base.  Everything was in the kit except the center dots of my flowers.

It looks like the kit sold out, but I've listed as many of the elements that I could up there under supplies.  Here's what the kit looks like - it has some beautiful My Mind's Eye foiled copper patterned papers, and a fabulous new stamp set that includes lots of brush strokes!  Can't wait to play with them next!

Five for Friday!

Tomorrow is Five for Friday at Tammy Tutterow's blog, and I've made a favorite kind of card - an autumn wreath, with her Bitty Posies dies!

supplies: kraft, white, Simon's Green Apple, Green Leaf, Sunshine, Orange Peel, Burnt Orange, and Lipstick Red card stock, Tammy's BITTY POSIES dies, Impression Obsession Wooden Plank cling stamp, Hero Arts Wet Cement ink, Simon's Chisolm Wreath and Stitched Rectangle dies, sentiment from Newton's Nook Autumn Newton, buttons, May Arts natural twine

After stamping my plank background, I cut the twig wreath and the flowers and leaves, adding tiny buttons to the flowers, and then played with them until I liked the arrangement.  I wanted the wreath to be the star here, so I kept my sentiment small, and garnished it with some more little buttons.

I encourage you to visit Tammy's Blog to see what my talented sisters have done this time!

Simon Says........Anything Goes

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

As always at the end of each month, our theme is Anything Goes!  You can make anything you'd like!  My teamies and I are playing with Stampendous products this week.

Stampendous has a stamp series based on the art of Laurel Burch, and these stamps are so different from what I already have, that I wanted to try one of them.  If you like to color, you will love these!  This one's called Lion with Bird.   I added my own sentiment, one from a Simon set.

supplies: white card base, Bristol paper, strips of Simon Sunshine, Island Blue, Orange Peel, and Green Leaf cardstock, Stampendous Laurel Burch Lion with Bird, Spectrum Noir Essentials and Primaries colored pencils, sentiment from Simon's Wild Cuddly Critters, Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, Uniball white pen, adhesive foam squares

I tried coloring this image 3 times, once with alcohol markers, once with Zig markers, and lastly with colord pencils.  I chose that last option because I had more color choices that way, and could do a little bit of shading.  After stamping and coloring the image, I added in white dots where there were any in the design, then trimmed it out with a wonky stitched die.  The bird was stamped and colored a second time to pop him above the card, as was the flower, and I added some card stock strips as a border to pull the colors outward.

Now it's your turn - I can't wait to see what you create!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

And don't forget about STAMPtember!

Simon Says.......Pop It Up!

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our challenge this week is to "pop it up"!  And my teammates and I are playing with Lawn Fawn goodies!

It's September, so I take that as my okay to start making fall cards, and I have 2 for you today.

supplies: kraft and Audrey Blue cardstock, Bristol Paper for leaves, Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves dies, various distress inks, inking tool, Simon's Autumn Blessings and Small Forest Tree dies, Impression Obsession Wooden Plank cling stamp, Audrey Blue ink, May Arts natural twine, Little B acorn stickers, adhesive foam squares, Glad Press & Seal

I adore this Stitched Leaves die set, and use it every year!  The stitched accents hold up really well to inking, and give a nice detail to the leaves. This time I decided to make a spray of autumn leaves against a bright plank background (I love teal/aqua with fall colors).  So after sponging my leaves with lots of distress inks, I arranged them as you see, adding some branches here and there, and then pressed some Glad wrap over them to hold them as I wanted.  That was turned upside down so I could add some tape to hold everything together on the reverse.  When I had constructed the rest of my card, I added my favorite "popping" squares, attached the spray to my card, and then peeled off the wrap.

Up next, another thing I love about fall - fresh, crisp apples!

 

supplies: white and red cardstock, a kraft wood-grain embossed paper (for the basket), dps from Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Christmas and SN@P Wood and Notebook Basics pads,  Lawn Fawn's Thanks a Bushel stamp set, Simon's Stitched Rectangle and Circles dies, adhesive foam squares

I followed a sketch and used more planking and this bright cheery plaid for the panels, and to piece my apples.  The stitched circle and apple are popped up.

Now it's your turn - I can't wait to see what you create!  Heidi has provided another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

And don't forget about STAMPtember!

Five for Friday!

Here's a card that I made for the Five for Friday post at Tammy Tutterow's blog  - - I'm playing with some more of her newest Happy Grams 4 release!

supplies: Bristol paper, Bazzill Candy Necklace card stock, Tammy's Nothing But Love cling background stamp, Sentiments 2 stamp and die, and smallest Prim Heart die, twisted citron, lucky clover and mowed lawn distress ink with water to watercolor, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, Doodlebug Rainbow Heart sprinkles

I'm so pleased that she's given us another text background to play with!  Since I did a heart/love-themed card last time in traditional pinks, I thought I'd choose some very non-traditional colors for this kind of card - it may appeal better to guys in these colors.  So I stamped and white embossed the background, then diluted my 3 distress inks and washed the colors over the stamped panel.  That was trimmed, attached to my card base and then I just added Tammy's Prim Heart, sponged in lucky clover and spritzed, some little enamel hearts, and the sentiment.

I hope you'll visit Tammy's Blog to see what my talented sisters have done this time!