Simon Says.........Clean & Simple

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

Our theme this week is Clean & Simple and we are playing with Hero Arts goodies!  I pulled out a beautiful layered stamping set called Color Layering Cardinal. It's fairly easy to line up and the details are wonderful!

supplies: white card, Hero Arts Color Layering Cardinal, Lipstick Red, fired brick, and aged mahogany inks, sentiment from Simon's Sending & Wishing and Sending Happy Thoughts, red marker for berries, tumbled glass ink and finger dauber for background shading

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

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

Birthday Wishes

Here's a card using another of the Wreath Turnabout stamps.

supplies: white and Cotton Candy cardstock, Concord & 9th Wreath Turnabout stamp set, Altenew Frayed Leaf, Forest Glade, and 2 lightest shades from Cherry Blossom mini inks, sentiment from Simon Birthday Flowers,  MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, tiny pink gems

Thanks for stopping by today - wishing you a great week upcoming!

Simon Says ........Card & Envelope

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

This week we want you to make a card and an envelope to match.  You can make your own envelope or decorate one that is ready-made.  The team are playing with We R Memory Keepers products this week.  I used my corner chomper to round the bottom corners of my card and the envelope flap.

supplies: glitter white (for large snowflake), white and Surf Blue card stock, MFT Tiny Check dp, Echo Park Snow Flurry embossing folder, metallic white ink for accenting, Simon Scallop Stitches and Eliza Snowflake dies and Four Seasons Sayings sentiment, large pearl, corner chomper to round bottom corners

I bought this snowflake embossing folder because of the smaller size of the flakes and the density of the design.  Of course I had to add a little gingham

Here it is again with its matching envelope.  I embossed the flap using the same folder, and stamped some snowflakes on the lower left corner of the front.

supplies for envelope: Simon Metallic White envelope, Lots of Snowflakes stamps, Lake House ink, Snow Flurry embossing folder

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

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

Flowers in the Snow

We all need to write thank yous for the gifts we just received........

supplies: white and Audrey Blue card, Echo Park Snow Flurry embossing folder, Altenew Hope clear stamp set, Audrey Blue, High Dive, Warm Sunshine, Orange Cream, and Green Meadow inks, Simon's Thanks dies, adhesive foam squares

I think this flower looks like a simple peony, even the leaves and buds, and my first instinct was to stamp it in pinks.  But since this is January, and I wanted to pair it with the embossed snowflake background, I thought these blues would be a better choice this time.  

Spellbinder's January Small Die of the Month: First Crush

I was privileged to receive the Small Die of the Month for January 2019.  For anyone who remembers paper dolls, you are going to adore this sweet set - they have thought of everything!  Here's what I made with just the girl (there's a boy, too!).

supplies: white card base, kraft, slate, and cream card, dps from Doodlebug and Moda Scraps (sky), Spellbinders Small Die of the Month for January

She turned out about 4 1/2" tall and extending the balloon above her, I made my card just shy of 7" long by 4 1/2" wide.  You have a choice of hairstyles for her - I thought these pigtails were cute, but there are also braids.  See the embossed details?  She even has shoes and socks!  The heart balloon and string are part of the set also - I found a little sentiment that fit inside, but you could add your sentiment down below, too.  You can position the arms anywhere you'd like - if you make more than one doll, they could be holding hands.

I hope you'll give this set a try - it's available only this month, while supplies last.  You can see lots more examples and more parts of this set HERE.  Thanks, Team Spellbinders, for allowing me to play with it!

Altenew January Inspiration

When I saw Norine's beautiful photo taken at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, and used as our inspiration for this month's challenge at Altenew, I couldn't resist giving it a try.  My mind went instantly to my big Peony Dream dies, and literal Lin came up with this:

supplies: black, pine green, Orange Peel, Sunshine, and Lipstick Red card, Altenew Peony Dream flower dies and sentiment die from Flower Arrangement die set, Lawn Fawn Quilted Backdrop die

Here's our inspiration:

Simon Says..........Something New

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year!  Welcome to our first challenge of 2019 at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is "Something New" - you can use new supplies you got over the Holidays, make something for a new baby, a new home, a new start.  The team are showcasing our own exclusive Simon Says Stamp products this week.

My "something new" is from the recently released You Are Loved collection.  Now that Christmas is over, I begin thinking about spring.  I have 2 cards using my new Outline Clustered Leaves die.  

supplies: white and Apple Green cardstock, various MFT dps, Simon Outline Clustered Leaves and Small Hello dies, Spellbinders Layered Butterflies stamps, Altenew Cherry Blossom mini ink cubes

Here I used most of this large die, and inlaid some plaid, gingham, and dotty papers into it.  The butterfly is a fairly new stamp, too.

Next up, I love the combination of greens and kraft.

supplies: kraft, Green Leaf and Gum Drop card stock, Simon's Outline Clustered Leaves and 4 Seasons dies, Four Seasons Sayings sentiment, Your Next Stamp gumdrops

I cut the clustered leaves from kraft and 2 green cardstocks, then inlaid the darker green one into the kraft, and paper-pieced the leaves back into the design, using both greens.  This is a large die, so my card is about 6 3/4" long by 4 1/2" wide.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  I can't wait to see what you all make this week!

Just Because.......

Happy New Year, everyone!  I woke up this morning wanting to be creative, and, inspired by Betty's card, here are my results.

supplies: white and Surf Blue card, Concord & 9th Wreath Turnabout stamps, sentiment from Hero Arts Hello Sunshine Daisies, Altenew Dew Drops, Sea Breeze, Frayed Leaf and Forest Glades inks, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangles die, a Tiny Hearts sprinkle

I loved Betty's soft greens and blues - they seem perfect for this time of year when we're all a little introspective.  

Here's a 2nd version:

supplies: same as above, with sentiment from Tammy Tutterow's Sentiments 2, colored with a Zig marker.

For this card, I centered the design on my panel, then cut it down the middle and centered those panels around my stamped sentiment. 

Looking Back - My Favorite Cards of 2018

Today I continue a 7-year tradition of looking back throughout this year on my blog and choosing my favorites of the year.  If you'd like further details, each one is linked back to its original post that will show you the supplies/techniques I have used.  Just click on the card.

This year, Altenew came out with layering dies, and I was sold!

For Valentine's Day, some hearts and flowers......I still love the effect that an embossed background adds.  

.....and a CAS wreath card.

A sewing theme theme going on in the next 2 cards - I fell in love with Tammy Tutterow's Sew Sweet dies, designed for felt projects, but just as sweet using paper!

More Altenew - from their Sewn with Love stamps and matching dies - these appear to be cross-stitched, but they aren't!

This next Simon stamp reminded me of a bouquet of violets, so I made my own little tussy mussy.

I CASEd my own card from back in 2014, substituting gingham papers for the washi tape I originally used, and dies for the stamps.

And a Mother's Day card using PTI, Altenew, and Simon goodness.

Florals and stripes in sherbet colors ......

Love these bright happy colors from Sunny Studios paper pads:

A card using some Spellbinders dies, a gingham, and blues:

More favorites, planking and painted flowers....

Another fave motif, plaid, in happy colors!

I made several cards using these Birds of a Feather dies and loved them all!

......and thinking ahead to fall - love the seasonal colors I can get using distress inks, just as pretty as our maple trees in front of our home.

I enjoyed making this colorful one for a Simon Wednesday blog challenge, especially paper-piecing with this pretty patterned paper.

But I wasn't finished with summer yet!

More fave motifs, birds and plaid again.

....and a CASE of a card by Pam Sparks - I love her work!

As usual, I was late to the party discovering Concord &9th's Turnabout stamp sets......I love the freedom they give us in choosing colors!

I liked this mix of a cover plate and layered stamping for Thanksgiving.

And finishing up the year, some Christmas cards and tags.

The biggest change this year is my output - blog posts are down from previous years.  Blogging in general is being replaced by IG and other social media sites.  They're okay, but I still enjoy the process of creating and sharing my thoughts and ideas, and having this forum to preserve them.  Hope you do, too, and will continue to occasionally visit me here!

Many thanks for your visit - I'm wishing you all a happy, healthy and creative New Year!

Simon's January 2019 Card Kit

Mine arrived while we were away for Christmas, so I'm just now getting to play.

Here's a fast card I made using a sentiment and a snowman from the stamp set and some snowflake papers from the included paper pad.

supplies: Simon's January 2019 Card Kit (Snow Much stamp set, Echo Park Celebrate Winter papers, and Darice Pom-Poms), VersaFine Onyx Black ink, Nuvo markers to color snowman, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares to pop up snowman

It was fun to add the pom-pom to his hat, it was the perfect size!  I just glued it on with some tacky glue and held it with a clothespin for a minute or so to make sure it stuck.

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

Happy Wednesday!  Welcome to our final challenge of 2018 at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!  

Our theme is Anything Goes this week, and the team is playing with Stampendous goodies.  I chose a darling stamp/die set for this week.  I love snowmen and birds, so a combination of the 2 is a winner in my eyes!

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, heavy acetate panel, Stampendous Snowman Cardinals stamp and die set, Nuvo Creative Pen markers to color, sentiment from Simon's An Arctic Christmas, adhesive foam, snowflake embossing folder

I started with a side-folding A2 white card, and on the front, I stamped the trees and the little cardinal on the ground.  I colored in the details, then fussy-cut the top edge and trimmed the back of the card to the same height.  Next I embossed the acetate with snowflakes, then secured it to the back of the front of the card.  Similarly, I attached an A2 piece of blue card to the back of the inside.  So what's holding everything together is the lower half of the side-folded card.    Then I stamped, colored, and die-cut the cute snowman, and die-cut a piece of foam, then glued them together.  I made a banner sentiment and attached it to the acetate, also adding the popped-up snowman.  Here's another pic to show you the effect.

If you look closely you can see that the top-half of the front of the card is clear.  On the inside the card is about half blue and half white, and the white area is where I'll put an inside sentiment.  In order to tidy things up, I also added a plain piece of white card to hide the adhesive I used to secure the acetate to the front of the card.  Here are a couple of pics to illustrate:

These dies cut right up against the images, and were a wonderful thing to have in order to cut the foam for behind my snowman.  I used the tree die to do the same thing in paper to line the back of the trees.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

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