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.  The team are playing with Simon Says Stamp exclusive sets.  Since it's the end of October, I decided to do 2 more fall cards before we get rolling on all-Christmas, all-the-time.  My favorite thing about fall is the changing leaves on our trees, so my cards feature trees this week, using some older Simon stamps and dies.

supplies: white, Dark Chocolate, Burnt Orange, Orange Peel, Sunshine, Green Leaf, Schoolhouse Red, Lipstick Red card stock, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall dp, Simon's All Seasons Tree and Stitched Rectangle dies, sentiment from Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox, fun foam

Since this design is so simple, I popped 2 of the layers up using fun foam, and lined each one with a bit of plaid.  My next card is a pretty simple design, too.

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Simon's One with Nature stamps and Autumn Blessings dies, Nuvo markers to color, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

I scribbled the markers onto white card stock, cut my sentiment from that panel, then inlaid the sentiment and added the finished panel to a blue card - I like the mix of autumn colors and this blue.

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!

Simon's November Card Kit!

Here's a card I made using the supplies in the latest Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.

supplies: Ivory, Orange Peel, and Desert Storm cardstocks, Thanks and Leaves clear stamp set, a mix of fall-colored inks, bronze sequins from the kit

The kit is the perfect mix of items that we will use over and over for this fall season and for years to come - the solid leaves are a perfect size - small enough for stamping a background and large enough to cut them out by hand like I did.  The many sentiments are in a lovely font.  And I included the pretty metallic orange peel envelope in my pic that's included in the kit, along with lots of other things I didn't use yet.  I'm looking forward to playing with the butterflies and the Snarky Small Talk stickers - a complete set of 8 pages is included in the kit!

Be sure to visit Simon's Gallery to see lots more examples to inspire you!

Simon Says........Halloween/Spooky

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

Our theme this week is "Halloween/Spooky", and we'll be playing with Echo Park products.  I chose a stencil and made 2 cards with it.

supplies: purple, black and Green Apple card stock, Echo Park Creepy Bats stencil, black soot distress ink, Simon Trick or Treat cat and sentiment, Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam strips

I stencilled the bats onto green card, cut a stitched rectangle, framed it with black and placed that panel on a purple card.  The bat is fussy-cut from the excess stencilled panel, and it and the cat are popped above the card.

Here's one more.

supplies: Simon's black, slate, sunshine, and orange peel card stock, Echo Park Creepy Bats stencil, black soot distress ink, some stamped bats from above Trick or Treat set, Impression Obsession Birch Tree dies, Hero Arts Upper Case Alphabet dies, Spellbinders circle die

I stencilled on the slate card, then added a moon, using just one of the stencil bats for the large bat and stamped some smaller ones across the moon, too.  

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!

Snowflakes!

I'm always late to the party - just now trying out my first set of Concord & 9th Turnabout Stamps.  Why did I wait so long?!

I chose the Turnabout Snowflake set and stamped off a whole bunch of backgrounds.  You may see more of these down the road, but these 2 are my favorites this time.  Both of them started with a colored cardstock base, and I used VersaMark ink and embossing powders on each turn......

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, and glitter white card stock, Snowflake Turnabout background, VersaMark ink with silver, white, clear, and platinum embossing powders, Simon's Joy dies, MFT Blueprints 20 Scalloped Rectangle (retired)

Here's a blue version, using the same embossing powders.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue and glitter aqua card stock, Snowflake Turnabout background, VersaMark ink with silver, white, clear, and platinum embossing powders, Simon's Holiday Frames die, Reverse Confetti Snowflake Trio dies

These are easy to work with and the sky's the limit for color combinations!  You'll be seeing more Turnabouts as soon as the budget allows!

Give Thanks

Here's another card using one of the dies from this month's Spellbinders Small Die of the Month kit. I was inspired by Kath's card HERE to make a smooshed background to showcase this wishbone thanks die.

supplies: watercolor paper and kraft card stock, October Spellbinders small die of the month, distress oxide inks (carved pumpkin, barn door, and candied apple), (retired) Hero Arts Thanksgiving sentiment, Penny Black border die

Starting with a piece of watercolor paper, I smooshed several fall colors of distress oxide inks, drying each before going on to the next color.  I also stamped maple leaves with some of the same inks.  Then I attached my wishbone die and stamped the sentiment before trimming the panel out to add to a kraft card base.

This die kit has an acorn die, plus 2 stand-alone sentiment dies, perfect for Thanksgiving.  It's available only this month, while supplies last.  

For MFT's Color Challenge

I haven't played in any challenges in ages, so when I saw this one based on colors which rang all my bells, I jumped!   This is for the MFT Challenge #103.

supplies: white, Lavender, Audrey Blue, Green Apple and Slate card, a woodgrain grey, highlighted with grey ink, MFT's Plaid Patterns pad, Birds of a Feather dies, Tammy Tutterow Sweet Tweets Birdhouse die, stitched oval die, Simon's Mini Hearts dies, sentiment from Wplus9 Blanket Stitched Blooms, pearls

I just got this Plaid Patterns paper pad, and I think this pretty one reflects the colors for the challenge nicely.  And this was a nice colorway to use with my current favorite Birds of a Feather dies!

Simon Says.......Animal Antics

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

This week our theme is Animal Antics; this always generates a gallery-ful of fun!  We are highlighting a new stamp company called Hello, Bluebird.  If you have any of their fun products, we'd love to see you using them, but it's not necessary to play along.

supplies: white cardstock, Hello, Bluebird Woodland Littles, Simon's Birch Tree Window and Stitched Rectangle dies, ripe persimmon, carved pumpkin, and mustard seed distress inks for background, Tonic Nuvo Creative Pen markers to color the littles, adhesive foam squares

The littles were colored and fussy-cut, then arranged over the trimmed Birch Tree Window panel.  I stamped some of the leaves on the panel, and affixed others that I had cut out. The panel was then popped above the distress-inked background.

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!

CASEing Pam

I was bopping along on IG yesterday and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw THIS card by Pam Sparks.  I couldn't get it out of my head, and so this morning, I tried my own version of her gorgeous design.

supplies:2 greens, Cornflower Blue, Soft Navy, and a taupy cardstock, Winnie & Walter Scenery Stripes to stamp plaid, blueprint sketch oxide and VersaFine Onyx black inks, black marker, white pencil, SN@P Wood and Notebook Basics dp, Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Greens and Holiday Words dies, pinecone from a Hero Arts card kit, black watch tartan ribbon

I LOVED Pam's mix of wood and a tartan background, so I made a plaid background based on my family tartan, then found green and blue cardstocks to compliment it for my die-cut sprigs and sentiment.  

Thank you, Pam, for your inspiration!  

Simon Says........Anything But a Card

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

Our theme this week is "Anything But a Card", and we're highlighting My Favorite Things products.  I tried something new and made a fall home decor project.

One of my very favorite stamp sets from MFT is their Harvest Mouse set.  It took me forever to finally bring it home, and I love playing with it every year!  This year I used it to make an embelishment to add to a candle surrounded by cinnamon sticks.

supplies: orange candle, 3" cinnamon sticks, Glossy Accents as glue, cream and Burnt Orange card stock, My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse, Zig markers to color, text background from Newton's Nook Fall-ing for You, Simon's Stitched Circle die, twine

I started by gluing the cinnamon sticks around the orange candle.  I secured them with 3 wide rubber bands for a few hours afterwards to make sure that they were good and stable and stuck.  Meanwhile, I stamped my mouse and some extra pumpkins and leaves, colored them with Zig markers and cut them out.  Then they were affixed to my stitched circle on which I had stamped a text background and after punching some holes to pass my twine through, I backed the circle with a larger framed one, then tied the whole thing to the covered candle.  Here's a little closer shot:

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!

Simon's New Fun & Festive Release is here!

There's a new release debuting NOW at Simon Says Stamp!  It's called Fun & Festive!

I was sent this fun Winter Scene clear stamp set - what a great idea this set is!  I made a card and a tag with it:

supplies: white, Schoolhouse Red, and Surf Blue cardstock, unknown blue print dp, Simon Winter Scene set, VersaFine Onyx Black and Hero Arts Red Royal inks, Tonic Nuvo Creative Pen markers to color house and trees, glue pen and prisma glitter for roof and hills, Kaisercraft Tiny Hearts embossing folder, adhesive foam squares

Here's my tag, using some more elements from the set:

supplies: white cardstock, dark blue and white glitter cardstock, Simon's Winter Scene, Nuvo Creative Pen markers, Tim Holtz idealogy Small Talk Occasions sticker and Holiday Greens Mini die, MFT Stitched Tag die, red and white baker's twine, glue pen and prisma glitter

Since this is a pretty simplistic scene, I beefed it up by using lots of glitter - glitter card for the snowy slope and night sky, and glitter to the snowy parts of the mountains, trees, and the star. 

I fussy-cut all my images, but there's a matching Winter Scene die set, if you'd prefer.  As always, this release includes a nice mix of stamp sets, background cling stamps, dies, sequins, and coloring cards.  Enjoy - you can find them all HERE. 

Thanks for stopping by - I'll hopefully see you again in a couple of hours for my weekly Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge post. 

Playing with some Cut and Emboss Folders

Spellbinders very kindly sent me some of their amazing Cut and Emboss folders, and here are some cards that I made with them.  What a great idea this is!

supplies: white and pink card stock, Diamond Lace Frame cut and emboss folder, old PSX woodblock heart stamp, labeled G-251, Zig Light Pink marker, Wink of Stella clear glitter pen, Doodlebug Tiny Heart sprinkle, adhesive foam squares 

Those of you who know me well, know that I am a heart freak, so I was thrilled to receive this gorgeous Diamond Lace Frame folder!  Aren't the details amazing?!  I chose to fill the center diamond with a long-retired crazy-quilted hanging heart, watercolored in pink.  The sentiment strip was coated in clear Wink of Stella, and I added a tiny dimensional heart just below the sentiment, then popped the whole panel above my pink card base.

supplies: white and Pool card stock, white glitter card stock, Dotted Lace cut and emboss folder, Hero Arts Miracle of the Holidays stamp, Concord & 9th Take a Bough snowflake die, irridescent sequins

When I looked at this Dotted Lace folder, I saw a large snowflake with snow falling all around it.  So I chose a pool cardstock with a white core so that I could sand the details to make the dots look more like snow.  I found an old favorite sentiment that fit nicely inside the middle, and then just added some glittery snowflakes and a couple sequins to draw your eye to the large design around the sentiment strip.

Thank you so very much, Team Spellbinders, for allowing me to play with your beautiful products!

Birthday Hugs

I haven't played with these dies in a while - this card is for a friend's birthday this month.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, Surf Blue, Sunshine, Orange Peel, Green Leaf, Green Apple, and a coral card stock, Lawn Fawn Quilted Backdrop die, My Favorite Things Scribble Roses Overlay dies, leaves from Simon's Single Roses, Painted Hugs, and Stitched Rectangle dies, Doodlebug Rainbow Hearts shape sprinkles

I decided this time that I'd add back a few of the pieces from each flower to give them a bit more presence.  And the sentiment die is cut from 2 shades of aqua and off-set a bit for the same reason.

Hope you're enjoying your day - thanks for stopping by!

A Harvest of Blessings

I got myself some Mix & Mat dies earlier this year, and mixed 2 of them for today's card.

supplies: white, kraft, and Orange Peel card stock, PTI's Plaid and Pinked Edge mix & mat dies, distress inks and blending tool to color leaf panel, sentiment from MFT Harvest Mouse stamps, adhesive foam squares

I love that birch frame!

Hope you have a great week!

Sketched Flowers

Playing today with the big stamp set in the (sold out) Simon Says Stamp October Card Kit.  Thankfully, the beautiful stamp set will always be available.  I colored it in fall colors and paired it with a striped pattern paper.

supplies: white and black card stock, MFT Dots & Stripes Sorbet paper pad, Sketched Flowers clear stamp, watercolored with distress inks, adhesive foam squares

After stamping and coloring the floral spray with diluted distress inks, I splattered more of the inks, then trimmed the panel down, fussy-cutting a few of the edges, then lined it in black.  This panel was placed onto the stripes, and my sentiment from the same set was added.  I stamped and colored an extra center flower and popped it above the card for a bit of dimension.

Edited to add:

Here's also a play with the alcohol inks and yupo paper included in the kit; I don't particularly like the dropped circles look, so I reverted to the old polished stone technique, using a felt pad to pounce and distribute the colors.

supplies: Burnt Orange and black cardstock, Yupo paper, Sunset Orange and Sunshine Yellow alcohol ink refills, Sketched Flowers, stamped in VersaFine Onyx Black, Simon's Thanks and Stitched Rectangle dies

FYI, VersaFine never really dried on this Yupo surface - when I went back in with an orange alcohol marker to add some details, it smeared a bit.  

Thanks for stopping by!

A Foiled Card from the October Card Kit

We've been away the last couple of weeks, visiting all our favorite places in Maine and enjoying it thorougly; this was one of our best vacations!  My Simon October Card Kit was waiting for me when we got home, and here's my first play with it - I wanted to try one of the foiling cards included in the kit.

supplies: Burnt Orange and black cardstock, an exclusive Gina K Designs leaves card, foiled with Sweet Mango foil, then trimmed and colored with Tonic Nuvo markers

I'm still lazy from my vacation, so I didn't even attempt to get a photo that showed the beautiful foiling of the leaves and sentiment, but I love the twinkle it has from across the room!  These make for super-easy card making!

Thanks for coming by to visit today! I'll leave you with just one picture of a perfect day along Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. Maine - "the way life should be"!