My September Favorites

Here are my favorite cards from this month.

I'd love to know which of these is your favorite!  Thanks for coming by.

Some Seasonal Cards

Tammy Tutterow has several new goodies with Pink & Main in their September release!  Here's a sampling of 2 of her stamp sets with a matching die set, too.

supplies: cream, Dark Chocolate, and several fall colored cardstocks, Tammy's Fall Sentiments stamps, Simon's wreath, stitched leaves, and Stitched Rectangle dies, twine, enamel dot

Starting with a panel of cream cardstock, which I masked with washi tape on the edges,  I first stamped "Happy Fall" in a rust ink, then filled in the panel with the other 5 sentiments in a brown ink.  After removing the washi, I attached the panel to a rust dp on my card base, and then glued on 2 of the wreaths and leaves and a twine bow.

This set also has some Halloween and Thanksgiving sentiments and some tiny leaves and an acorn.

I used Tammy's Trick or Treat stamps and one of the matching dies for my next card

supplies: cream and black cardstock, Trick or Treat stamp set and matching die, markers to color, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle, Gina K foil on sentiment, laminator

I stamped the pumpkin randomly across my trimmed panel, then added each of the 5 faces to them.  I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment on black cardstock, added some orange foil, and ran it through my laminator several times, then glued the sentiment to the center of the stamped panel.  

Thanks for stopping by today - wishing you a great weekend!

Thankful Flowers

Hi!  Today I have a card using the supplies in the Simon Says Stamp October Card Kit. 

supplies: white cardstock, striped dp from MME My Heritage, Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Stock paper, Simon's Thankful Flowers and Bold Thanks die

I stamped the lovely flowers onto white cardstock and clear embossed the image, then fussy-cut the bottom half away.  Next I added a thin strip of metallic kraft paper to the bottom and trimmed it closely, following the stamp lines.  This panel was placed over the striped dp on a card base, and to finish I added my die-cut Thanks.  

Here's the kit for this month - very classy!  Note that it includes a pair of mini scissors, perfect for fussy-cutting!

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

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

As always at the end of each month, our theme is Anything Goes, and this week the team is showcasing Crafters Companion products.  I chose a lovely embossing folder to play with, and made 2 cards today.

Since it's officially Fall, I used some autumnal colors for my first card.

supplies: 2 oranges, dark chocolate, sunshine, and green leaf cardstock, Floral Fusion 3D embossing folder, MFT Stitched Blooms dies, Tammy Tutterow sentiment, embossed in gold

I taped the 2 orange cardstocks together and sized them for an A2 card before running them through the embossing folder.  Then I covered up the seam with a strip of chocolate, and added my die-cut flower and leaves.

Next, an easy card that will work for many occasions.

supplies: white and the mid-tone of a (retired) Hero Arts Pool layering paper, Crafter's Companion Floral Fusion 3D embossing folder, Simon Tiny Words Faith sentiment and Leanna butterfly die

I trimmed a panel of this minty aqua cardstock before inserting it into the embossing folder.  Because this cardstock has a white core, I was then able to sand the front and bring out the lovely details of the florals.  Then I simply framed it in white  and attached it to a card of the same color, adding a favorite butterfly die and a sentiment. 

The CC embossing folders are a big 5 x 7, so by moving your paper around to different areas each time, you'll get a slightly different result.

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!  

Crisp Leaves

Playing with my new fall The Greetery stamps!

supplies: white cardstock, woodgrain patterned paper from SN@P Wood & Notebook Basics, The Greetery Autumn Sketches layering stamps, Altenew mini ink cubes, sentiment from a retired The Craft's Meow set

I simply stamped and fussy cut my leaf branches, and a few extra leaves, then arranged them around my sentiment.  Thought they'd all go nicely against a wood plank background.  

Next, another play with a canning jar.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, The Greetery Mason Jar Fillers stencil, Just Mason Around, Autumn Sketches (colored leaves) and Budding Beauties layering stamps, Altenew mini inks, sentiment from Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox, natural twine

I stencilled the twigs onto my white panel and the Mason Jar, then separately stamped and cut-out the berry branches and a few fall leaves, arranged them with the help of some Press 'n' Seal, and lastly stamped my little sentiment.

These products of Betsy's are wonderful; I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase of them!  Everything plays nicely together, and I hope she continues with these layered stencils - they are easy and fun to work with!   I hear she has a new holiday release coming at the end of this week - hold onto your wallets!!  

Fall Blessings

Hello friends!  I received a new Pink Fresh Studios Modern Bloom die that I couldn't wait to play with! I paper-pieced it with fall colors against a bright blue sky.

supplies: white, black, orange, Audrey Blue, Sunshine, Green Apple, and Green Leaf cardstock, Pink Fresh Studios Modern Bloom die, sentiment from a retired The Crafts Meow set, Autumn Borders

This took a little minute, but I cut the die from all of the cardstock colors, then glued the white outline to a blue backing and inlaid the leaves and flowers.  I didn't want to cover up much with a sentiment, so I chose this nice small one.

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Falling for Fall! Two for One!

Hello crafters.  I apologize in advance to all of you summer-lovers who don't like autumn.  I'm not one of you - fall is my favorite season, the season when I met and fell in love with my husband, the season of fond memories with my parents and sisters, of high school football games, of crisp, cool weather.  You may want to avoid my blog here for a month or so.........

I have most of my to-do list done for cards, so I'll be playing a bit with seasonal cards.  I have so many fall stamps, dies, etc., that I've put most of them into a big bin which I pull out at this time of year.  When I opened it this year I found this panel that I had stamped last year.  I had inked the Leaves Background cling in distress inks, spritzed the stamp lightly with water, and then stamped it onto some watercolor paper. 

So I first decided to use the panel as a frame for a fun fall sentiment. 

supplies: ivory and Lipstick Red cardstock, watercolor paper, Simon's Leaves Background cling, mustard seed, spiced marmalade, and fired brick distress inks, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle dies, Newton's Nook Fall-ing for You clear stamp set, Altenew mini inks: Maple Yellow, Snapdragon, Marigold, and Firebrick, adhesive foam to pop frame above card base

I cut the rectangle from the panel and set it aside (see below), then used it to help me place my sentiment onto my card base, inking it in 4 different inks for an ombre look.  Then I lined the frame with a smaller rectangle die in Lipstick Red, added some foam to the back, and popped it over my card base. 

For my next card, I used that rectangle cut from the center of my panel, and overstamped and heat embossed the same sentiment before framing it again in Lipstick Red.  And again, I used some leftovers that I found in my fall box.

supplies: ivory, Lipstick Red, and Sunshine cardstock, Simon Leaves Background, Newton's Nook Fall-ing for You sentiment, Altenew Espresso mini ink, clear embossing powder, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle dies, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die, Neat & Tangled (retired) Maple Thanks Leaf die

I was just going to mount my framed stamped piece onto an ivory card, but it looked too plain to me, so I cut the Hemstitch Rectangle from the front of the card, and lined it with Sunshine cardstock inside.  Then I spied these Maple Leaf leftovers cut from a distress-ink sponged panel, and glued them under my framed leaf print.  Much better!

Are you looking forward to the weekend?  Enjoy!

Simon Says..........Interactive

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is "Interactive" and we're showcasing Lawn Fawn products.  We'd love to see you using their products, too, but it's not a requirement to play along, as long as you follow our theme.

I found a technique called a Hinged Card.  And since it's September and I'm in fall mode, here's what I did:

supplies: kraft card base, various fall patterned papers, Lawn Fawn Our Friendship Grows sunflowers and leaves, Simon's Script Thanks die and (inside) sentiment from Autumn Blessings, brad as a hinge

I used a brad through the gold flower to hold the top 2 panels together. The very top panel swivels upwards and to the left to reveal the hidden stamped sentiment at the top right (see below).  The top panel is not attached to the card base, only to the center panel and the gold flower, and the center panel is attached on the right, bottom and partially on the left to the card base. 

Here's how the card looks when the top of the hinge slides upwards:

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!

A Note to Say Hello

Hello!  Hope your week is off to a GREAT start!  I could use a dose of cooler weather, but I'm not complaining.......using these colors for my card today gave me enough of a taste for awhile.

I've been away recently, on a cruise to Alaska!  We had amazing weather, not one drop of rain, so we could see the beautiful scenery perfectly!  We came home feeling pampered, and made some wonderful memories.

One day at sea there was a papercrafting class offered, and I met some lovely people from all over the world.  We made an origami flower!  There was a sweet lady from Wales in that class and we got to talking about our passions, and she showed me something completely new to me, cards made using vellum/parchment and Groovi plates; she shared 2 beautiful cards using this method, and I wanted to send her one of my cards too.  Here's what I made, in her favorite colors.

supplies: white, Sunshine, and Orange Peel cardstock, Wplus9 Hello and Thanks and part of sentiment from Hand Lettered Hello, markers to color, Altenew Golden Sunset and VersaFine Onyx Black inks, scalloped dies from Winnie & Walter Audrey and MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle

Thanks for visiting today - if any of you are familiar with Groovi plates and parchment crafting, I'd love to see your work, too; leave me a link.  I hope it makes its way over here to the states soon!  

Some Greetery Goodies!

Hello friends! Here's some more new Greetery products. 

supplies: white  and various fall colors of cardstock, Sunny Studio Gingham Jewel Tones patterned paper, The Greetery Botanicuts Sunflower die and Budding Beauties Autumn stamps, my own (unknown)  twig wreath, sentiment from Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox, Penny Black Stitched Stackers rectangle dies

I cut all kinds of sunflowers - you'll be seeing more of them soon, and then stamped and fussy-cut some berry sprigs to go with them, and arranged them on a wreath.  I think the gold/yellow gingham makes a happy border for everything.

Thanks for stopping by today - hope it's a good one!

Daisies and Lavender

Hello friends!  Playing again with some new The Greetery stamps.  I love how they can all be mixed and matched!  And I also love them because I didn't have to color them in - since they're all made to be inked in stages, I had a fun time putting this together!

supplies: white cardstock, The Greetery Just Mason Around, Robin & Wren, Oopsie Daisy clear stamps, and Mason Jar Fillers stencils, Altenew mini ink cubes

I've left off a sentiment again - I would normally have put one where the bird is, but I liked him there better!  

Hope your week has been a good one - enjoy the weekend!

Simon Says.........Bling it On!

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is "Bling it On!" and the team is playing with Stamping Bella products.  

I have had my eye on this Lilac Garden Girl for ages, and so I grabbed one up for today.  And it was easy to add some tiny crystal drops to the center of the largest blossoms to get my bling on!

supplies: white and Blue Violet cardstock, StampingBella Tiny Townie Garden Girl Lilac cling stamp, Nuvo markers in Parma Violets, Lucky Clover, and Turtle Dove, Simon Mandy's Flowers sentiment, Sunny Studio Frilly Frames Lattice dies, Honey Bee crystal gem stickers

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!  

Most of All

Hi friends!  I made these cards a few weeks ago to enter Concord and 9th's 4th Birthday celebration on IG.  I love mixing turquoise/aqua with fall colors.....

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Concord & 9th Everyday Bouquet Turnabout, Altenew mini inks in Aqualicious, Espresso, Snapdragon, and Firebrick, sentiment from Concord & 9th Give Thanks, wood veneer hearts

Next, I used the same colors and inks and pulled out some older sets from Concord & 9th.  I think these dies were maybe the first thing I bought from them.

supplies: Audrey Blue, white, Sunshine, Dark Chocolate, kraft, and Lipstick Red cardstock, Concord & 9th Plaid Background, same inks as above, Layering Leaves dies, Simon Thanks Scallop Border die, twine, Doodlebug heart sprinkle

Hope you're enjoying your day - thanks for visiting me today!

Fall

Hi!  September shifts me into autumn mode, so here I am today with a card that uses a new-to-me stamp set combined with a stencilled tree.

supplies: ivory and dark chocolate cardstock, The Greetery Fir & Foliage #1 stencils, (retired) Neat & Tangled Hello Fall stamp set, distress inks in golds, oranges, reds, and browns

I love these kind of stamp sets that have a large text feature, and was lucky to scoop up all the seasons but 1 when Neat & Tangled had a good sale this summer.  I stamped this fall definition in a dark brown ink, and the "Fall" in  3 colors, placing them to the right of my panel.  Then I used the 3-step stencil to add my tree.  I used some of the diluted distress inks to splatter across the surface before trimming and framing in a dark brown.

The text about sums up what I love about Fall - what about you?

Simon Says..........Stamp It!

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

It's STAMPtember!!  So of course, our theme this week is Stamp It!  Today I'm using the new Handwriting Paper cling stamp that was just released.

supplies: Schoolhouse Red and white cardstock, Handwriting Paper cling, a retired apple dp, sentiment pieced from Thankful Heart and Back to School, Lipstick Red ink, PinkFresh paper bow dies, Pebbles puffy apples from a previous card kit

I made 2 other cards with this stamp a few days ago HERE and HERE, if you want more ideas for it.

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!

STAMPtember Blog Party!

I'm excited today to be participating in a STAMPtember Blog Party!  This is NOT a hop, just a blog celebration of friends who are excited to show off the new STAMPtember goodies that were released yesterday HERE.  Each of us will have a promotional banner to share with our followers - we want you to have fun and see all the different promotions available throughout the party!  Mine is at the top of this post - a 10th Anniversary STAMPtember apron, a $34.99 value, free for anyone who spends $100 or more, now through Sept. 3 at midnight!  Just use the code APRN95.

Everything starts at the Simon Says Stamp Blog.  Visit there often, as throughout all of September we will be celebrating with exclusive collaborations, contests, prizes, promotions and lots of surprises!!

I was sent this new cling called Handwriting Paper. I decided to stamp it once vertically and once horizontally, giving me this grid background, which I made into a 2-color plaid.

supplies: white cardstock, Handwriting Paper cling, peacock feathers and mowed lawn distress oxide inks, diluted with water, Painted Hello and Rad Roses dies

I smooshed my 2 colors of oxides on an acrylic block, spritzed them with water, and used them to paint in the stripes and also the flowers and leaves.  

I used this same cling stamp yesterday on my previous post HERE, if you'd like to see another example of it.

Thanks for coming by today.  If you haven't already, head over to the Simon Says Stamp Blog to see a complete list of others participating in today's party.  And don't forget to take note of all the promotions you'll find as you visit each one.  Enjoy!

It's STAMPtember!!

Today begins a whole month of new releases  and collaborations from Simon Says Stamp!

You can find just the start of the exciting new releases HERE, with a look at our brand new Simon exclusive products for STAMPtember.  Visit the Simon Says Stamp Blog often this month as we reveal exclusive collaborations, along with contests, prizes and promotions!

You can see all new exclusive Simon products now,  just click on the banner up above. 

Tomorrow, Sept. 2, we're planning a Blog Party with lots of participants.  Each participant will have a little surprise for you, and you'll get to see the new products in action!

And as the week and the month progress, look for Simon collaborations with some of your favorite companies.  

Here's a card I made with the cling stamp I was sent, called Handwriting Paper:

supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Handwriting Paper cling stamp, patterned papers from Sunny Studios and Simple Stories, apple from a (retired) Hero Arts set, (retired) Hero Arts Lower Case Alphabet die, Winnie & Walter stamped sentiment, twine, button

I'll have 2 more cards using this stamp in the coming days.

AND have you seen this?  WOW!

STAMPtember lasts 30 days, so be sure to tune in every day to see what Simon Says Stamp has planned - I'll see you there!