FYI

Dashing by with a quick post to make sure you know that there's a great sale going on this weekend at the Simon Says Stamp Store!

If you've had some Simon goodies on your wishlist, now's the time to grab them!  Use code SSSFLASH to get 25% off all Simon Brand products.  They can be found HERE.  Happy shopping!

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

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

Since it's the end of the month, it's our traditional "Anything Goes" this week; the design team are playing with Lawn Fawn products, and if you have any, we'd love to see you use them, too.  

It has been so hot here that I am pining for the coolness of fall, so I pulled out some favorite Lawn Fawn dies and here's my card for this week:

supplies: ivory and dark chocolate cardstock, vellum, Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves die, lots of distress inks in fall colors, Lawn Fawn Scripty Hugs die, Winnie & Walter Big, Bold Seasons sentiment, embossed in white, Simon's Stitched Rectangles die, foam squares

To make my card, I die-cut 6 maple leaves and set them aside.  Then I used the negative image of that leaf to "stencil" it across my card front using distress inks.   I also used watered-down distress inks to splatter some of the same colors on my card.  Then I sponged color on my die-cut leaves.  These were affixed to a vellum stitched rectangle panel, along with my sentiments, and then that vellum panel was lifted above my card base with foam squares.

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!

Under the Same Stars

I'm here today with a card I made using Simon's latest Card Kit, Seeing Stars.  It is packed with so many fun items: besides the usual stamp set and papers, there are a die, a stencil, and 2 mini distress inks!!

Here's my card:

Everything you see except the striped twine is in the kit.  I used the Vented Star die, Seeing Stars clear stamp set, and the inks, cardstock, and the woodgrain dp that was part of the kit.  The twine is a Lawn Fawn coral one.

Though this seems to be themed for 4th of July and other patriotic events, I hope I've shown that, with this sweet sentiment, it can be used for other occasions, too, especially for making cards for our servicemen.

I'm excited to play next with the Motif Resist papers in this kit, and the Fireworks stencil!  Don't wait too long if you'd like this one - I'm betting it will be another sell-out!

Hello Gorgeous!

Recently I won a gift card to Hero Arts through Kathy's 30 day Coloring Challenge.   My choice was the Color Layering Flamingo and matching frame cut, and I am so amazed at the fantastic shipping and customer service from Hero Arts!  Coming from California all the way across the country, I had these in my hands yesterday - 3 days from ordering to receiving!  Here's my first card using this set.  It's as hot here as the tropics, so that's the direction I went:

supplies white, turquoise, teal, and watercolor paper, Hero Arts Color Layering Flamingo and Frame Cut, Simon Tropical Leaves and a variety of distress inks, water, adhesive foam

I stamped and die-cut my flamingo, and sentiment first.  Next, starting with a watercolor panel, I stamped various leaves across it, then spritzed it with water to make the colors blend, then went back in selectively with the palm stamp and restamped for a bit more dimension.  I also splattered some distress ink.  That panel was then dried, trimmed, and edged with turquoise before affixing it to my white card base.  Then I just added my gorgeous flamingo and sentiment, popping up the flamingo with some adhesive foam that I die-cut.

Hope you're keeping cool - thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says........Things with Wings

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

Our theme this week is "Things with Wings"!  The Design Team are using Doodlebug Designs products, a company that I love!  I have oodles of their products - love their 6" paper pads, which have miniature patterns, perfect for card making, and I am a big fan of their washi tape and enamel dots, which they call sprinkles.  I'm choosing butterflies as my "winged thing" this week, and I made 3 cards for you!

For my first card, I chose citrus colors and used washi tape for a summer theme:

supplies: white and black cardstock, Doodlebug Limeade Daisy Petite Prints, Tangerine and Bumblebee Swiss Dot washi tapes, Limeade, Tangerine, and Bumblebee sprinkles, Simon's Leanna butterly die, DieNamics Blueprints 20 "x" die, Paper Smooches sentiment from Summer Groves

This butterfly design paper from Doodlebug was too perfect not to use for this challenge:

supplies: white and purple cardstock, butterfly and pink design papers from Doodlebug's Hello Spring paper pad, BumbleBee sprinkles, Tim Holtz Detailed Butterflies die, Simon's Stitched Circle die, Spellbinder's Scalloped Circle die, Simon's Birthday Flowers sentiment, Mini Misti

And finally, for my last card, I used papers from a Doodlebug winter collection, Polar Pals, and paper-pieced my butterfly.  Love this cool plaid!

supplies: white cardstock, dps from Doodlebug Polar Pals paper pad, Hero Arts Artist's Butterfly stamp, Simon's Painted Hello die, Spellbinder's Scalloped Rectangle die, Doodlebug White Glitter and Blue Jean sprinkles, Mini Misti

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!

Hugs & Prayers

Another card using this lovely flower - I needed a sympathy card, and I tried to think of the most soothing colors for it - I decided on blues and greens.

supplies: white and blue cardstock, Altenew Beautiful Day, their Glacier Caves blue set of inks, MFT Gumdrop and JellyBean greens inks, faded jeans and peeled paint distress inks and water, Simon's Friendship Blooms sentiment, stamped in Hero Arts Navy ink, DieNamics Blueprints 20 scalloped rectangle die, foam squares

After I had finished the flower and leaves, I looked for some distress inks in the same shades, and did a smooshed background with them.

Sunny Day

Taylored Expressions has posted its current Share Joy challenge, and when I saw one of the options was CAS, I jumped in!

My way of displaying almost any flowers I have for inside the house is to plop then into a canning jar.  So when I saw TE's Wildflower Bouquet, it came home to live with me.  Here's its first stamping:

supplies: white and bright yellow cardstock, Taylored Expressions Wildflower Bouquet, Mini Misti, Spectrum Aqua markers to color, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle die, Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares

I'd also like to enter this into Virginia's View "All About Color" challenge!

Happy Weekend!  Thanks for coming by!

Inspired by Donna - yet again!

 I'm reposting a tag that was removed by Blogger in 2021, don't quite understand why, but I'll be careful in my linking this time.  This was one of my favorite creations, so I want it to be still on my blog.  

white cardstock, black dotted dp, Altenew Beautiful Day multi-step stamps, sentiment from Simon's retired Flower Friend, black enamel dots

This was made to enter a tag challenge where my friend Donna Mikasa was the featured designer.

Sew Much

I recently treated myself to a couple of PTI quilt stamp and dies sets.  I no longer make quilts, but I am still in love with them, and stamping a paper one is the next best thing!  First up is the spring set, a wedding ring design.

supplies: white and Green Apple cardstock, PTI Quilted Spring stamps and dies, sentiment from Simon's I Only Have Eyes for You, Ranger Pink Gumball and Electric Lime dye inks, Simon White pigment ink, VersaFine onyx black ink, Mini Misti, Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares

I'm really pleased with this new set - it truly has everything you need to make a paper quilt, even stitching stamps!  And it's fun!  The sentiment is the perfect match, too! So sorry that it's evidently been discontinued, as I couldn't find it in the store......

Here's the summer version of these quilt patterns, a pinwheel design.

supplies: recycled cream and Audrey Blue cardstock, PTI Quilted Summer dies and a matching stamp for the center flower, ancient design papers from October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye, Amuse, and Doodlebug, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scallop border die, Wplus9 "sending" sentiment from Hand Lettered Holiday, Audrey Blue ink, Simon's Sunshine die, and a Doodlebug BumbleBee enamel dot

This time I used mainly the die and some pretty papers and paper-pieced my quilt block.

Thanks for stopping by.

Simon Says........Create a Scene

Before we get started today, I just wanted to send out a huge thank you to all of you who took the time to comment on my last post.  I so enjoyed reading them!  

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

Hello!  This week our theme is "Create a Scene", and the team are all playing with products from Newton's Nook.  Having grown up with dachshunds, I thought I'd play with their Delightful Doxies clear set.

supplies: white, pink, yellow, Green Apple cardstock, rust Core'dinations cardstock, dps from MFT Lucky Prints paper pad, DieNamics Snow Drifts die, Newton's Nook Delightful Doxies, PTI cloud dies, Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares, Mini Misti

I don't do well coloring large areas, so I decided to make my scene by paper-piecing.  The dogs and balloons were stamped on colored cardstock, cut-out, and then popped above the background elements.  As you can see, I stamped the dogs on the background first so that I didn't have to cut out the teensy balloon strings.

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 here's a little clue to something BIG on the way in just 2 days:  a collection of the industry's finest!

Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge with Hero Arts Friends

Welcome to a blog hop as part of Kathy's 30 Day Coloring Challenge!  Kathy loves to color, and she is hosting her FIFTH coloring challenge!  The premise of the challenge is to color something every day, even if it's for five minutes - it doesn't matter what you color or what medium you use.  

From 2009 - 2012, Hero Arts put together classes of 4 to 8 "Hero Hostesses" for a 4-month term.  Our job was to make people feel welcome in the Hero Arts Flickr group, and to contribute our work using Hero Arts stamps.  There ended up being 36 of us before the program was discontinued, and as we were a kind of crafting sorority,  Kathy was the one who coined "sista" as the name we called each other.  We have had loads of fun together, meeting up in real life many times.  I treasure each of these ladies, and have a soft spot in my heart for each of them and Hero Arts.

Fast forward to 2016.  Kathy has asked us, along with some special guests, to participate in a blog hop for her current Coloring Challenge.  And Hero Arts has generously contributed TWO $25.00 shopping sprees, chosen from all those who comment!!

You should have come from my friend Virginia Lu's blog, Yes, Virginia.  If you are just happening across my blog today, and want to see the blog hop order, you can start at Kathy's blog, The Daily Marker. 

Here's the card I made, using a Hero Arts stamp that was introduced about the time I was a Hostess in 2009.  Sadly, it's retired now.  I paired it with some pretty plaid design paper and added a felt and button flower:

supplies: white, dark rose, and a gold shimmer cardstock, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid dp, Hero Arts Wallpaper Flower woodblock stamp, K5185, Spectrum Noir markers to color, Wink of Stella clear marker, Simon Says Stamp Painted Hugs die, My Favorite Things Flashy Florals flower die, leaf die from Simon's Single Roses die set, Taylored Expressions Cotton Candy and Split Pea felt, yellow button, Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares

I've been hoarding this pretty plaid, but this occasion is a special one, so I pulled the colors from it to color my stamped panel, and my medium of choice was alcohol markers.

Hero Arts is giving away TWO $25.00 shopping sprees, randomly selected from the blog comments along the hop.  You have a week to comment, until July 18, at 12:00 midnight, and the winners will be announced July 19 on Kathy's blog.

Now, hop on over to Kathy Wade's blog, Wading in Creativity.  Enjoy, and we hope that you'll play along in Kathy's Coloring challenge, too!  Feel free to jump in anytime from now until August 5  - everyone is welcome!  You don't even have to make a card, just do some coloring and have fun with it!

More July Birthdays

I have 2 more birthday cards to share today.

supplies: white and black cardstock, Hero Arts green card base, black and white chevron dp, Bristol paper, wilted violet, abandoned coral, mustard seed, and mowed lawn mini distress inks and water, Tim Holtz Birthday Blueprints cling stamp, sentiment from Simon's Big Birthday Wishes, Mini Misti, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequin

To make my background, I smooshed my mini inks all over an acrylic block about the same size as my Bristol paper, then spritzed it a bit, and "stamped" it on my paper, letting it sit a bit to allow the inks to spread.  After I was sure that was dry, I overstamped the birthday hat and sentiment several times using my Mini Misti to get a good dark impression.

Since July's birthstone is the ruby, I went with that color for my next card, for a special lady.

supplies: white, dark rose, and Green Apple cardstock, Taylored Expressions Rosy Posey embossing folder, some scribble flowers dies and leaves, sentiment from Simon's Birthday Bits stamp set, Pretty Pink Posh Watermelon sequins

Before I go, have you seen this teaser yet?

It is SO Top Secret, that even the Simon DT teams don't know anything about it!  Stay tuned - all will be revealed on July 15!

Florals and Dots

Here's another card using MFT's Flashy Florals stamps and dies; I can't seem to stop playing with them!

supplies: white and black cardstock, black and white design paper, My Favorite Things Flashy Florals stamps and dies, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Border, Winnie & Walter In a Word: Happy cutaway, Hero Arts retired sentiment, mini Misti

I think the black and white dots make everything look crisp!  Thanks for stopping by today - have a fantastic weekend!

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

Happy Wednesday!  It's time for another challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog!

We have a fun challenge this week - our own Jenn has made us an inspiration board, and we'd like to see what kinds of cards you make using the colors and/or the pictures as your inspiration!  The DT are using exclusive Simon products this week.

Here's the board:

Here's my card:

supplies: white cardstock, Simon's Waves Stencil, peacock feathers, pine needles, squeezed lemonade, wild honey, and broken china distress inks, Simon's Sailing clear stamp set, Spectrum Noir markers to color, Mini Misti

I used the stencil, along with peacock feathers and pine needles inks to make my water, masking the top part of the panel.  After removing the stencil and masking the stencilled area on my panel, I used a die-cut circle to mask my sun, and sponged on the yellows and broken china inks.  Separately, I stamped, colored, and fussy-cut the sail boats, and then attached them to the finished card.

I made that card soon after I saw the inspiration photo.  A few weeks later, I was playing with stamping my own plank background, and found some additional inspiration on Pinterest (which the owner has asked me to remove from my blog) and here's what resulted:

white and yellow/gold cardstock, Hero Arts Woodgrain stamp, stamped in Hero Arts Charcoal ink,  Martha Stewart Scoring Board, tumbled glass, blueprint sketch, peacock feathers, lucky clover, and hickory smoke distress inks, Simon's Flip Flop Season, One with Nature (sentiment), and Simple Letter Outlines stamps, white  gel pen

I stamped the woodgrain  in dark grey ink, then turned my panel over and scored some lines to make planking.  Flipped it back over to the front, and used distress inks to shade the planks, following Jenn's colors as best I could, and using a gel pen to mimic waves.  The panel was affixed to a white card, and then I added the rest of the elements.

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!

A Christmas Quilt for Heather

Yesterday, my friend Heather issued a challenge to make a "Cozy Christmas Quilt", and I was so inspired by her amazing examples that I got right to it, and used her colors, too.

supplies: white and red cardstock, Lil Inker Circles and Diamonds Stitch Pattern cover plate, and their coordinating Darling Diamonds stamp set, Hero Arts Ombre Green and MFT Red Hot inks, Tim Holtz Handwritten Holidays die, Simon Stitched Rectangle dies, Hero Arts metallic red dots

Lil Inker's cover plate and matching die set is always fun to play with: you just die-cut the stitched design, then use the stamps to fill it in as you like - there are a million variations!  I used the lightest (lime) ink from the Ombre pad for my diamonds, and the darkest (forever green) for some of my crescents.

Be sure to visit Heather's blog, Stamping and Stitching,  to see what she did - and prepare to be amazed!

Happy Birthday USA!

I saw this idea on a sweater in a catalog recently, and thought it would make a cute card for our 240th birthday:

supplies: white cardstock, Avery Elle Brushed stamp, Hero Arts Red Royal Ink, Wplus9 Doodle Buds stamp and matching die, various blue markers, Signo white gel pen, Simon's Birthday Flowers sentiment, Hero Arts Uppercase Alphabet dies, red, white, and blue scraps of cardstock, Paper Sweeties Apple Pie flower sequins

Have a safe holiday, everyone!

CASE this Sketch #179

As soon as I saw this week's sketch at CASE this Sketch challenge, I thought of my Fancy Banner stamps and die.  Here's my entry:

supplies: white and Hero Arts kraft cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fancy Banner 2 stamps and die, markers to color, Simon Chisolm Wreath die, Simon Stitched Rectangle die, Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares 

This was really hard for me to leave this alone......I fought not to add a small colored frame around the inner rectangle, or add splatters or sequins.  For me, this is CAS to the max......lots of white space!

Here's the sketch - isn't it cute?

Summer Hugs

I'm having another play with Taylored Expressions Rosy Posy embossing folder - this time with distress inks.

supplies: white and coral cardstock, Taylored Expressions Rosy Posey embossing folder, picked raspberry, ripe persimmon, carved pumpkin, fossilized amber, spiced marmalade, and abandoned coral distress inks, round blending tool, craft store chipboard sentiment, Simon's Moonshine sequins, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Borders die

If you'd like to see this folder used the "normal" way, HERE's another card.

Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!