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

It's the last Wednesday of the month, and that means an Anything Goes Challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge blog!

The Design Team are using products from Altenew, one of my favorite companies!  So I chose one of their beautiful multi-step stamp sets and made some red roses for a Christmas card, and added a few snowflakes for sparkle:

supplies: white cardstock, white glitter cardstock, design paper from Lawn Fawn Let's Polka pad, Altenew Vintage Roses, Hero Arts inks: Pale Tomato, Punch, Red Royal, Raspberry Jam, Green Hills, Grass, and Forever Green, Simon Holiday Frame die, snowflake die from Wplus9 Seasonal Sentiments

These multi-step stamps may seem a little daunting at first, but as anything else, a little practice makes perfect.  I love the detail that's achieved with them!

And here's one more card, using another of my favorite Altenew stamp sets, Painted Flowers, to make a pastel, shimmery wreath:

supplies: White and platinum foil cardstock, Altenew Painted Flowers, colored with spun sugar and bundled sage distress inks, VersaMark and Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder, Wplus9 Hand Lettered Holiday die, Simon Stitched Rectangle die, sequins

And a second shot to show you the shimmer of the embossing and the foil:

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!

Do you use Instagram?  If you do, we'd love you to add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there, too! 

Layered Stamping on Kraft

I really liked Dawn's beautiful example for us at PTI's Make it Monday this week: layered stamping on kraft.

supplies: kraft cardstock, pine boughs and cones from Winnie & Walter's Winter Wonderland, snow and sentiment from PTI's In the Meadow, diamond stickles to add some sparkle

The idea behind this technique is to do a first stamping using white ink to help the secondary stamping in colors to show up better against the kraft cardstock.  I especially like that the woodsy feeling seems to be increased by using kraft as my base.  Thank you, Dawn!

All Good Wishes

.....to those of us in the States celebrating Thanksgiving this week!  I hope you are able to be with the people who mean the most to you!

I have a card today for this month's Throwback Thursday challenge at Wplus9.

supplies: white cardstock, Woodland Wreaths stamps and dies, a sentiment from a Tim Holtz discontinued card kit, Christmas red stickles, stitched rectangle panel

This is my only Christmas set from Wplus9, so I followed Maureen's examples and used a bright lime green and red combination, with a black sentiment.  

Snow Much Joy

I have been on the hunt for a Hero Arts snowman for a couple of years.  He's from their Snow Much Joy set from 2013, which has been discontinued by Hero Arts.  He's perfect for coloring or paper-piecing, or a combination of both like I did, and is easy to cut out, too.  I finally found a set last week on Ebay and so here is my first stamping of him!

supplies: white cardstock, dps from a Lawn Fawn Christmas paper pad, Hero Arts Snow Much Joy snowman, Dienamics Stitched Tag die, Lawn Fawn stitched snowflake die, Doodlebug baker's twine, and tiny red pearls

I'd like to enter this into Tracey's 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  I was inspired by the snowmen tags on Day 9 of her challenge.

Some Christmas cards

It's time to get the Christmas Card train chugging away, and so I've been making them as I see ideas out there on your blogs.  Both of today's cards are CASEs.

supplies: white cardstock, Penny Black Peace and Joy, sentiment from a retired The Craft's Meow Christmas Lantern, Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways, tumbled glass distress ink

I saw this design on Janet's Swanlady Impressions blog the other day and thought it was the perfect card for this year, especially.

supplies: white, kraft, and Audrey Blue cardstock, Taylored Expressions Winter Flurry embossing folder, Colorbox Frost White ink, Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways scalloped edge die and their Winter Wonderland stamp set, crinkle ribbon, sequins to match

I found this idea looking at a Team Richard Garay Instagram feed, which led me to Michelle's Stop and Stamp the Roses blog.  I just adored her kraft, aqua, and white colors together, and I just received this lovely snowflake embossing folder, so everything came together nicely.  After embossing, I swiped a tiny white ink pad across the surface.  I kind of like the messy white-wash look it gave!

Thank you, Janet and Michelle, for your wonderful inspiration!

How is your Christmas card making going?  I've made a pretty good start, but I always find myself making some multiples when it comes time to match up the list with what I have made!  We're supposed to get our first snow here this weekend, so you know what I'll be doing: staying inside where it's cozy and making cards!

Bold Blessings

After seeing the gorgeous inspiration board at the November Pin-Sights challenge, I had to give it a try!

supplies: teals and browns cardstock (many from Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Notalgic Collection 6" pad, Bold Blossoms dies, Christmas Blessings die, Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder, sequins

Aren't these colors AMAZING?!

Grateful

Here's one final card for fall, inspired by the Sparkle & Shine challenge going on now.

supplies: white cardstock, Memory Box Maple Wreath, markers to color, kraft ribbon, assorted sequins, Winnie & Walter Big, Bold Blessings sentiment, Hero Arts Butter to Orange Ombre and Pale Tomato inks

Here's our inspiration:

Lots of fussy cutting here........I was inspired by that wreath of leaves, adding a kraft ribbon to represent the corn stalks, and did an ombre stamping for the sentiment.

Simon Says........Christmas!

It's Wednesday, and that means another challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog!

It's getting to be that time of year, and so our theme this week is Christmas!  The design team are all using products from My Favorite Things, and we'd love to see you using them, too, though it's not a requirement to enter, as long as you follow along with our theme.

I wasn't sure I'd use this new Santa's Elves clear stamp set, but once I got it home and started playing with these adorable cuties, I couldn't stop!

supplies: white, lime, and red cardstock, Doodlebug dp, My Favorite Things Santa's Elves, markers to color, Simon's Merry & Bright and Stitched Rectangle dies, Hero Arts glitter and glue pen to add sparkle to his hat

I liked this teal and red combination and made a tag, too:

supplies: white and teal cardstock, red gingham dp, MFT Santa's Elves, markers to color, Die-Namics Stitched Tag, Simon's Merry & Bright dies, Doodlebug twine 

I've had this quilt cover-up die for awhile, but I always enjoy making a little paper quilt with it.   I used some papers from an older Doodlebug pad, and then added a snowflake to tie in with the snowflake background.

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug Home for the Holidays 6" paper pad, MFT Die-Namics Quilt Square Coverup, Wplus9 Snowflake Trio and Hand Lettered Holiday dies, red sequin

I guess I have "Merry" on the brain this week!

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!

Do you use Instagram?  If you do, we'd love you to add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there, too! 

Inspired by all the cute elf tags on Day 8 of the 25 Days of Christmas Tags, I'd like to enter my tag into Tracey's Tag challenge.

Merry Kissmas!

Last year at about this time a group of friends got together and had a day of die-cutting, sharing our dies.  I put all of my cuts into a bag and never used them, but yesterday, I pulled that bag out and decided to put them to use.  Here's my card, hopefully not the last using these supplies:

supplies: white and green cardstock, dotty red dp, 2 leaf spray die-cuts (maybe PTI?), DieNamics Spring Wreath bow die, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, sentiments from Simon's Presents and Ornaments and Big Holiday Wishes, Hero Arts poppy ink, white pearls

My sentiment is made from 2 different sentiments.  I love the look of a mixed font!  I'm entering this card into Virginia's View All About Textures challenge.

And a last minute entry for the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge:

Thanks for coming by - I'll see you tomorrow with my cards for the Simon Wednesday Challenge!

Memory Box Glitter challenge

Memory Box has a monthly challenge - this month we're to use glitter on our creations.

My first card uses some of my favorite Memory Box products.

supplies: Audrey Blue, taupe, red and white glitter cardstock, Memory Box Peace Collage wood stamp, embossed in white, Memory Box GrapeVine Wreath and Perched Reed Bird dies, snowflake and berry dies.

And for a 2nd entry, I used a delicate little die that I won last month to make a tag.

supplies: white, green, and red glitter cardstock, Memory Box Jolly Holly Branches die, Lawn Fawn sentiment from Deck the Halls, Stickles Xmas Red for berries, DieNamics Stitched Tag die,  dotty red ribbon

Some Wreaths for Christmas

I'm rediscovering this wonderful Wplus9 stamp set and matching dies called Woodland Wreaths.  Here are some cards I made with it:

supplies: white, Simon Mint, and woodgrain cardstock, Wplus9 Woodland Wreaths stamp set and matching die, Hero Arts Joy to All sentiment, pink pearls, pink ribbon

supplies: white, red, and Simon Audrey Blue cardstock, Wplus9 Woodland Wreaths stamps and die, Christmas red stickles for berries, red and white baker's twine, Darice embossing folder

And one more, for the Simon Flickr Challenge going on right now; when I saw those colors I had to give them a try!

supplies: Simon's cotton candy and surf blue cardstock, white cardstock, cotton candy, Charcoal,   and Lake House inks, Christmas Blessings die, Wplus9 Woodland Wreath stamps and dies, Sizzix/Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder

Hope your week is off to a good start!  Thanks for visiting!

Simon's December Card Kit

I have 3 cards to share today, all made from the December Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp.  The papers this month are by PinkFresh Studios, and they're really graphic, so I kept my designs fairly simple to show them off.

My first card uses a few of the stamps in the Gifts of Love clear stamp set in the kit, plus one of the design papers and some of the self-adhesive sequins.

My next 2 cards use only the papers and accessories in the kit, no stamping! 

See what I mean about the graphic designs of the papers?  Here I simply trimmed out this little scene, and then added some of the puffy stickers that match them, (the tree, the house, and the sentiment) and more of those sequins. 

And my last one uses a partial cut of another of the papers, with more of the puffy stickers added.   Isn't that deer pretty?  I know just who I'll be sending this one to!

Because this kit is so unique this month, I wouldn't wait too long to order it if I were you!  I know you'll have lots of fun playing with what's inside!

Joy to the World

The new Get Sketchy with Joni challenge is up at the Wplus9 blog.  Here's my interpretation:

supplies: white and red cardstock, music and wood planking dps, Wplus9 Woodland Wreaths stamps and dies, Hand Lettered Holiday stamp and die, snowflake from Seasonal Sentiments, various other small snowflake dies, all coated with Wink of Stella, Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Christmas Red stickles on berries

Here's the sketch from Joni:

From the Craft Room

This month at the Altenew blog, they have given us a challenge called "From the Craft Room", which is a grouping of crafty items.  We are to use these to inspire us to make a card.  Here's mine:

supplies: white, grey, and silver foil cardstock, Altenew Vintage Roses and Vintage Flowers (for leaves), Hero Arts Tweed Pattern, various corals, navies, and grey inks, Simon's Big Hugs die, natural twine, chipboard banner, wood veneer leaves, silver sequins

Here's our inspiration:

I tried to pull as much out of this photo as I could: a grey graphic background, coral and navy colors, twine, something using wood veneer, and something silver.  I was glad to use up some hoarded supplies, and it was fun to see this all come together!

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy your weekend!

Winnie & Walter ReRun #6

I have a card today for Winnie & Walter's ReRun challenge.

supplies: white cardstock, Winnie & Walter Winter Wonderland images, the Big, the Bold, & the Merry sentiment, and Audrey's Cutaways scalloped dies, sequins

I don't have the stamp set being featured, but I was inspired to use what I do have by Shay's Happy Christmas poinsettia card.  I loved her use of the scalloped panel with stamped elements in the right corner and a sentiment.  That's where I intended to go, too, but this card didn't want to stop there.

I stamped and fussy-cut the pine branches using 2 shades of green ink, then arranged them before gluing them down only at their bases, so that the rest of the image looks more dimensional.  I did the same with the berry sprigs, inserting them amongst the pine, and lastly popped my cardinal above everything.  I sprinkled on a few sequins  - what's a Christmas card without a little bit of sparkle?  The inner scalloped panel was popped above the bigger panel and the card base - I love the dimensional effect this gives!

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

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

Our theme this week is "Thinking of You", and my teamies and I are using Hero Arts products this week.  I made 3 cards this week, because Hero Arts is one of my favorite companies.  I've used a variety of their newer and older products:

supplies: Hero Arts DesignBlock Big Post Card, Hello Stamp & Cut, Antique Flowers & Butterflies Stamp & Die-cut set, Heart Accent Pearls, dp from Pink Paislee Sweetness paper pad, aqua seam binding

This big post card stamp is perfect to stamp over shabby-chic design papers like this one, and then you can add stamped or die-cut details to it.  To make it into a card, I traced the shape on a piece of cardstock for the backing, punched a hole at the top of both pieces, and then tied them together to make a unique card.
  
My second card uses probably my all-time favorite Hero Arts flower stamp, and I love mixing it with text.   I don't think I've ever colored it red before!

supplies: Ivory and red cardstock, Hero Arts Hydrangea, sentiment from Hello Sunshine Daisies, and background is Friend Definition, markers to color flower and leaves

My last card is a much simpler design; this could be a sympathy card:

supplies: Simon's Sea Glass and Audrey Blue cardstock, watercolor paper, Hero Arts Forever cling stamp set, Spectrum Aqua markers, VersaFine onyx black ink, tumbled glass distress ink, watered down for background, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, aqua pearls for berries

I first inked up my stamp with some Spectrum Aqua markers before stamping it on watercolor paper, then went back in with a damp paint brush to spread the color around just a bit.  After that was dry I wet the rest of my panel and used tumbled glass distress ink as a wash for my background.  Then I stamped the sentiment.

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!

Do you use Instagram?  If you do, we'd love you to add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there, too!