February Favorites

 Here are my personal favorites of the cards I made this month.  Hearts and flowers!!

If you missed one of these, just scroll back through my February posts for any details you'd like.

Thanks for your visit today!

March Card Kit

 I received my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit for March yesterday!  Here's my first play with it.  I was intrigued with the flair elements in the kit, and built my card around one of them.

supplies: Desert Storm, Cotton Candy, and a pink cardstock, vellum, patterned papers from Carta Bella Paper Flower Garden pad, Tim Holtz Quote Flair (center of flower), Idea-ology Sentiment Label Sticker, Simon Beautiful die set, Tammy Tutterow retired flower and leaf dies, adhesive foam squares

Here's a look at the Quote Flair I chose - I've always loved that quote.  You'll get a package of 12 different ones in the kit.

The card kit also has a large stamp set called Spring Windows, with lots of elements that I'll play with next time. 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your weekend - our snow is melting, and we saw a robin yesterday!!!

Mauve

 Playing again with the beautiful spray of flowers from a current favorite stamp set.

supplies: white and orchid-pink cardstock, Simon You Have My Heart flower spray,  Nuvo markers, sentiment from Sending Happy Thoughts, and Sunny Studio Quilted Hearts embossing folder, adhesive foam squares to pop up 2 flowers

Not much of an explanation needed today.......I stamped the floral spray twice, colored and cut out one of them, and then cut out 2 extra flowers to pop above it for dimension.  I love the feminine handwriting of this sentiment; I stamped it before embossing the panel with this lovely quilted heart pattern.

As always, thanks so much for coming by!

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

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

It's Anything Goes week, and the team is featuring Tim Holtz products!  I have 2 cards for you today, both made almost exclusively with dies.  

For this first one, I used some favorite dies, cutting them from patterned papers.

supplies: Tim Holtz Feathered Friends bird die, a Funky Foliage leafy branch die, and various small-scale tone-on-tone Doodlebug patterned papers, Simon's Beautiful Butterflies sentiment, a Doodlebug heart sprinkle

I tried all kinds of combinations of patterned papers for my bird, and finally settled on this one in blues.  You know how I like my ginghams, and his wing and under-body are made of a paper that has tiny music notes on it!  I pieced him together, constructed some leafy branches for him to sit in, and then arranged them all on a background wood-grain panel, adding the sweet sentiment and a little heart to match.

Here's a 2nd card, using Tim's Colorize Bloom dies.  These are so easy to put together!

supplies: white, kraft, yellows, pinks, purple, Lavender, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, and Green Leaf cardstock, Colorize Bloom dies, Simon's (retired) Beautiful Day sentiment, tumbled glass distress ink, a retired script woodblock stamp

I simply constructed the leaves, buds, and flowers, then made an arrangement of them and placed them over a panel with a subtle script in the background.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 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!

New Release at Simon Says Stamp: Hello Beautiful!

 Simon's newest release, Hello Beautiful, is now live!  You can see it HERE.

I was sent a new stencil called Mix and Match Squares, and made 2 cards with it today.

supplies: white cardstock, Simon's Mix and Match Squares stencil, tumbled glass oxide ink, Stylized Tulips die, mustard seed and mowed lawn distress ink and zig markers in yellow and green, Newton's Nook sentiment from Woodland Spring, My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares to pop up tulip

I brushed some tumbled glass oxide ink through the stencil, trimmed it out with a wonky stitches die,  then embossed it to make it look nice and crisp.  I stamped my sentiment in the center of one of the lower squares, and then affixed that panel to a white card base.  Next I just cut out 2 sets of the stylized tulip, and used distress inks and markers to color them.  I left one tulip assembled, and punched out the details of the 2nd one, then glued it over the full design for a little extra detail.

For my 2nd card, I chose to blend some yellows and orange oxide inks  to make a background.

supplies: white cardstock, acetate, Simon's Detail Ringlet cover die, Mix and Match Squares stencil, (retired) Hello Sunshine Frame dies, oxide inks in squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, fossilized amber, spiced marmalade, carved pumpkin, and ripe persimmon, enamel dot, adhesive foam strips

I happened to have a panel of white cardstock that I had already run through my machine with the Detail Ringlet die, so I trimmed that a bit smaller than an A2 size, and then attached the new stencil and diagonally applied my oxide inks.  I used some of the same inks to color the sun and the word.  To finish I added a large glittery enamel dot to the sun.

I added a backing of acetate to the polaroid die-cut so that I could attach my sun, and then lifted it above the inked stencilled panel. The opening adds another square to the mix!

To see the whole release, please click HERE, and for ideas on how to use them, I hope you'll visit our Gallery HERE.  As always, we've planned blog hops for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26 and 27, and an Instagram hop on Friday, March 5.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll hopefully see you again later this morning for my regular Simon Wednesday Challenge post.

Birthday Birdhouse

 I think these Lawn Fawn birdhouse dies are perfect!  Here's a simple design using them, made for a special man's birthday.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, Green Apple, Lipstick Red cardstock, Lawn Fawn Watercolor and Knock on Wood patterned papers, Lawn Fawn Birdhouse dies,  PTI cloud dies, Simon Stitched Rectangle die and sentiment from Happy stamp set, Doodlebug heart sprinkle

I love the stitched details in these dies, so I pulled that outward to frame up the background paper.  There are lots of little posies in this set too, but I decided to leave them out this time and just use the leaf sprigs, since this is for a guy.

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Frame Builder Dies

 Today I'm playing with some new-to-me dies.  

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supplies: white, Lavender and a darker purple cardstock, Doodlebug patterned papers, Pink Fresh Studio Botanical Rectangle Frame Builder die, Simon Miss You sentiment die, Taylored Expressions Rosy Posy embossing folder

This Frame Builder die set is an interesting one - you can either make your frame by cutting the die twice, and spacing it as close or as far away as you want on your card front (see my 2nd card below), or you can cut it once like this, then use the negative of the cut to complete the rectangle.  I inlaid the flower with some tiny Doodlebug patterns: flowers, dots, and gingham, then framed my rectangle in lavender and popped it above an embossed background that mimics the flower.

Here's a closer look at the patterns.

This die set includes this floral corner, and also a leaf corner, so it's a nice value for the money.  You can use either one, or both to make your frame.

Next I made an easy card using the other die twice.

supplies: white cardstock, a patterned paper from Simple Stories Simple Vintage Garden District pad, Pink Fresh Studio Botanical Rectangle Frame Builder, Simon Sending Smiles die

Pink Fresh makes other Botanical Frame Builder dies like these in circle, oval, diamond, or triangle shapes, too!

Thanks for visiting me today - enjoy your day!

Just Because

 I've been eyeing these Wplus9 layered stamps for quite a while......they would go in and out of stock, so it's taken me this long to get them home.  Here's my first card.

supplies: white and Green Apple cardstock, Wplus9 Thinking of You layered flowers stamps, various Altenew mini ink cubes, stripe stencil, Simon Just Because die

Each flower or leaf has an outline, then several solid layers to add color to it.  Making a background like this was a good way to get to know them, and I chose colors to bring spring a little closer today.  When I was finished stamping them, I went back with green ink and a 3-dot stamp to fill in some of the white areas.  

I've always loved a mix of stripes and flowers, so next I stencilled some green stripes at the top and bottom of my card base, then trimmed the floral panel, lined the top and bottom edge with a green cardstock, then added it and my large sentiment to the stripes.

Hope you're having a good day.  Enjoy the weekend!

Simon Says..........Favorite Technique

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

This week we want you to share your Favorite Technique with us!  The team is playing with My Favorite Things goodies!

One of my favorite techniques is the Eclipse, or Hidden Sentiment, technique.  Here's my card.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and Green Leaf cardstock, My Favorite Things Big Birthday Wishes die, and their (retired) Flashy Florals layered stamp set, Altenew mini inks, Doodlebug sprinkles

Starting with a panel of white A2 card, I first made some little pencil dots to guide me where the BIG sentiment would lie.  Then I stamped flowers and leaves in that general area, masking as needed. The centers of each flower were white embossed as the final step.  

Next I centered the large die on the panel and made my cut.  I saved the "BIG" letters and the details of the smaller words.  Next I attached 2 strips of blue and green cardstock under the lower words, then glued the panel to my card base.  I used those little pieces of the die-cut that I had saved to add details to the letters.

All that remained was to cut about 6 more layers of "BIG" and glue them to the stamped layers before adding them to the finished card, along with some matching sprinkles for the centers of each flower.  

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 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!

Happy Valentine's Day

 Here's one last card for the occasion.  

supplies: cream, kraft, Green Apple, Green Leaf, yellow, and blue cardstock, Simon's Love Is Background cling, The Greetery Boxwood Heart Base and Detail dies, Forget-me-Not Botanicuts, Fit to Be Tied twine bow die, Hero Arts Love Stamp and Cut die

My card today has lots of my favorites: text, a heart, flowers, and the color blue!  Valentine's Day for me is about letting all my loved ones know how I feel about them.  But the I Corinthians 13 text is something we should all strive for, everyday.

Thanks for coming by - hope your day is a special one!

Sending Love and Hugs

 I think this heart wreath is one of the prettiest I've seen!  It's perfection for me because the details don't have such an expanse to color.  Today I teamed it with a repeated tiny sentiment.

supplies: white and rose cardstock, Simon You Have My Heart wreath and (retired) Love and Friendship sentiment, markers to color, a retired bow die

This was one layer until I trimmed it out to put on a pink card base and added the bow die.......

Thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says.......Slimline Cards

 

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

This week we'd like to see your Slimline Cards!  The team is showcasing LDRS Creative products this week, but you can use any supplies you have for your creation.

I found a really net set of dies meant for slimlines, called Slim Line Corner Scallop dies.  There are a whopping FOURTEEN dies in the set, everything you could possibly need to get started making these fun cards! 

supplies: white and coral cardstock, LDRS Creative Slim Line Corner Scallop dies, Pink Fresh Studio Floral Notes stencils, Altenew mini ink cubes, Simon Leafy Frames sentiment, Doodlebug gold sprinkles

For this card I used the 2 largest framing dies in the set, and a set of layering stencils.  These peachy pinks are so appealing to me in these dreary days. And I thought the scale of this sentiment worked nicely with the overall design.

This die set contains the above 2 large framing dies, and window dies in squares, flower shapes, and heart shapes, plus a leaf!  Many of the dies have stitched details.  I decided to use the heart dies and one of the large stitched rectangle dies to make a 2nd card.  I love blues and yellows, and these Wplus9 elements were the perfect scale to go with the heart motif.

supplies: white and blue cardstock, LDRS Creative Slim Line Corner Scallop dies, Wplus9 Hello and Thanks birds and flowers, Simon (retired) Flower Friend sentiment

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 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 Valentine, With Love

Just sharing a Valentine for a friend.  Sorry to say, most of my supplies have been retired.  

supplies: white, coral, and green cardstock, Memory Box Cottage Meadow dp, Tammy Tutterow (retired) Sew Sweet Valentine heart dies and Sew Tiny Sentiments, My Favorite Things Stitched Blooms and Stitched Flowers dies, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

These heart dies make a card a tiny bit larger than A2 size, measuring 4 3/4" X 5 1/2".  I love the vintage feel of the eyelet border!  I cut 2 of the eyelet heart, scored 1 close to the top, and glued the top part of it to my card front so that it could be opened for a message inside.

A group of these strung together would make a fun heart banner, wouldn't they?  Here's 1 more.

Thanks for stopping by - keep cozy!

Colorize Bloom Card

I've been intrigued with Tim Holtz Colorize dies, and when I saw this Bloom one appear, I brought it home to play.

supplies: ivory, pale peach, 2 yellows, kraft, black, Green Leaf and Green Apple cardstock, Tim Holtz Colorize Bloom dies, Altnew Tea Party inks, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die, Simon Beautiful Day sentiment

I wanted some peach-colored flowers, but couldn't find 4 colors of cardstock that worked together, so I took a piece of Bristol paper and brushed on each of the 4 colors from the Tea Party ink collection, then cut out my pieces.  Everything else is made of colored cardstock.  

These are easy to put together, as there are little guidelines in the base of each element to show us where to add the next layer.  I chose this sentiment because it will work for so many things, and fussy-cut it out so that I didn't cover up any of the die-cuts any more than I had to.

Thanks for stopping by - come again!

Some Valentine Cards

 Playing  with some Hero Arts goodies today, products from a card kit from a year ago that have been added permanently to their line in the new 2021 catalog!

supplies: cream, Audrey Blue, Cotton Candy, white, and green cardstock, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail clear stamp set, Fancy Cuts Die Envelope Accessories dies, Fancy Cuts Die Boutique Accessories, Honey Bee Fluttering Hearts cover plate die, Doodlebug heart sprinkles

For this first card I decided to use the rosebud die and this open flower die, along with 2 leaf dies and the envelope.  I cut them all out of colored cardstock to begin, then used some inks and markers to highlight the details in the diecuts.  The background panel was embossed rather than cut.  I think this one will go to my Mom.

My next card could be used for a variety of occasions.  I used pastel colors for spring.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, Lavender, yellow, and a rose pink cardstock, unknown text dp, Hero Arts Sending Love Mail (sentiment) set, Boutique Accessories and Envelope Accessories flower, leaves, and cone dies, markers for details, Sunny Studio Eyelet Frilly Frames dies, Honey Bee Stacking Hearts die, Doodlebug heart sprinkle

I cut out a variety of flowers from some pastel cardstock and added a little marker coloring to help bring out the details.  I cut my flower wrap from an old piece of text patterned paper, and then added the flowers.  I liked the idea of a little heart tag to hold my sentiment.  And the bouquet looks pretty against the eyelet background.  I could have chosen any of the pastels for my card base, but today blue appealed to me.  

The stamp set has a nice variety of sentiments for all occasions, and there's a skinny banner die that they all fit into.

If you'd like to see what I did with these a year ago, please visit THIS blog post.   

Simon Says.........Love is in the Air

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

Valentine's Day is coming soon, so our theme this week is "Love is in the Air!"  And we're highlighting our own Simon exclusive products.  Here's my card.

supplies: white, cream and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, Simon's You Have My Heart heart wreath and sentiment and Turtle Doves dies

I ordered both of these sets as soon as they appeared in December, and it's a happy coincidence that the doves fit so nicely inside the stamped heart!  The tiny bow and hearts come with the birds. 

This one will be for my husband - this June will be our 50th anniversary!  I got a keeper for sure!

Now it's your turn!  We have a $25.00 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!