Delicate Flowers

Finally getting around to playing with the lovely Delicate Flowers stamp set.

supplies: black and white cardstock, Bristol paper,  MFT Striped dp, Delicate Flowers clear stamps, colored with a combination of Zig and Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Penny Black Stitched Stackers die, peach sequins

I was going for a peachy color, so I mixed pink, gold, and orange to get these colors.  I placed my flowers on this stitched die-cut panel; I think it provides a nice subtle interest without overpowering the design.

Hope you're enjoying your holiday here in the States, and to the rest of you, hope you're off to a good start for the week!

Too early for an autumn card??

We had a couple of gorgeous days this week, a break in our humidity with cool breezes and sunny skies - it made me think of fall.  So I made this card with some stamps I haven't used in awhile.

supplies: kraft and Dark Chocolate card stock, plank dp from Carta Bella Spring Market papers,  Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquets Mums, Spectrum Aqua markers and water to color, sentiment from Simon's Mandy's Flowers, VersaFine Clair Pinecone ink, sequins

Thanks for stopping by - hope your weekend is a great one!

Modern Rose Background

I wanted to play again with the sweet Modern Rose Blooms background; this time I colored the stamp with some water-based markers, then spritzed it and stamped on watercolor paper.

supplies: watercolor paper, ivory, lavender and surf blue card stock, Simon's Modern Rose Blooms cling, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Mandy's Flowers, Tonic Nuvo markers, twine and a Doodlebug Tiny Heart

You can see how the amount of water that I spritzed affected each area of the panel - it's not equal across the board, but I guess that shows that it's handmade!  It will be interesting to try this stamp in other color combinations.

I'll see you again tomorrow, I hope, for a new Simon Wednesday challenge!

And one more time........

and we'll call it done for this year's Hollyhock studies.......

supplies: white card stock, Bristol paper, dps from Echo Park Bundle of Joy Dots & Stripes, Penny Black Hollyhocks wood stamp, Spectrum Aqua markers and water,  Wplus9 Hello die, PTI mix and mat die

A pretty simple design, I'll skip the explanations this time.  Thanks for stopping by!

Daffodils and Gingham

I have all my "must-dos" finished for awhile, so I took some time to make something that pleases me!
I recently received this pretty lacey cover die and a pad of pastel gingham papers and here's what I made:

supplies: white card, Bristol paper, Echo Park Dots & Stripes Gingham, Simon's Friendship Blooms, sentiment from Memory Box Spring Lilacs, Zig markers and water, Spellbinders Floral Panel Card die, adhesive foam strips

Here's another using the same cover plate die, this time watercoloring the leaves and flowers with some Aqua markers.  Doing it this way shows off the sweet lily of the valley flowers that you might miss in the card above.

supplies: white, Surf Blue, and Audrey Blue card, Spellbinder's Floral Panel Card die, Simon's Sending die and sentiment from Sending & Wishing stamp set, Spectrum Aqua markers and water

Spring is certainly dragging its feet here in NE Ohio.  Hope my cards help you to wait for it.  

Simon Says Stamp Fluttering By Release Blog Hop

Welcome to my little stop on Day 1 of the Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop, featuring our newest release, Fluttering By!

You should have arrived here from Melissa Phillips' blog.  If you have just happened upon me today and want to start the hop from the beginning, go to the Simon Says Stamp blog.  We'll be giving away a $25.00 gift certificate at every stop on the hop, so don't forget to leave a comment!  The winners will be announced at the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog next Wednesday, April 18.

My first card features the sweet Center Cut Flowers.  This is a large cling stamp with a square border of flowers and this smaller circular bunch inside it, which is removable and can be stamped separately.  When I first looked at this stamp, my mind went immediately to an old-fashioned tussy-mussy, a little handheld bouquet of violets encircled in a doily.

supplies: white, periwinkle, and black card stock, Bristol paper, Simon's Center Cut Flowers and Hope dies, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Tim Holtz Doily embossing folder, purple adhesive genstones

Since we've been having an extended winter, my "hope" is that spring arrives soon!

My next card uses the Stitching Butterflies dies.

supplies: white, black, and pink cardstock, dps from MFT Plaid Patterns Merry & Bright and Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes pads, Simon's Stitching Butterflies dies, Stitched Rectangle dies, and sentiment from Beautiful Day, adhesive strips

 I carried the stitching theme throughout the card by using the Stitched Rectangles.

And finally, I received a new stencil, called New Beginnings.

supplies: white and Green Apple cardstock, Simon's New Beginnings stencil, sentiment from Beautiful Day, Stitched Rectangle die, gathered twigs, twisted citron, and worn lipstick distress inks, finger dauber and Fantastix to apply inks through the stencil

That's it from me - your next stop is at the amazing Kathy Racoosin's blog.  I know she'll have something scrumptious to show you!

Here's the Hop order for today:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Kristina Werner

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Kelly Latevola

Suzy Plantamura

Heather Hoffman

Melissa Phillips

Lin Brandyberry

Kathy Racoosin

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

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

Our theme this week is Anything Goes and my teamies and I are showcasing Wplus9 goodies.  

I have 2 cards, both using flowers in the colors of the season.

supplies: Bristol paper and Audrey Blue card stock, Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquets Mums and Hand Lettered Thanks stamps, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Simon's Thanks and Stitched Rectangle dies

When I think of mums, I think of those in autumn colors of golds, burgundies, and rusts, and colored these with that in mind.  Dawn of Wplus9 makes it so easy to make a card with her Beautiful Bouquets stamps - I just trimmed a piece of Bristol, stamped and watercolored the image, and added a few splatters and my sentiment. 

This next one features an older stamp, but one I still enjoy playing with, because it's one of those multi-stamp sets where you can overstamp to give a little more detail:

supplies: Simon Cream and Orange Peel card stock, Wplus9 Watercolored Anemones, Altenew Warm and Cozy inks, Hero Arts Green Hills and Grass inks, Simon's Thanks Scallop Border die

I stamped the sprays and flowers, cut them out, and then trimmed the lower one to fit under and around the scalloped panel.

Now it's your turn!  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!

Simon Says Stamp Encouraging Words Blog Hop!

Welcome to my stop on the Simon Encouraging Words Blog Hop!  The hop started yesterday and continues today.

I was sent the new Suzy Watercolor Paintable Prints set called Fruit Puns.  Here are 2 cards plus 2 panels that I watercolored with my Spectrum Aqua markers and water.

Since these panels are A2 card sized, they take just a tiny bit of trimming to frame with a colored cardstock to make these simple cards.  There are 9 panels in the set, which is made of nice heavy watercolor paper, and all of the sentiments are punny ones!  Aren't they fun?   Here's what the whole set looks like:

You should hop over now to one of my favorite card makers,  Lisa Addesa !   Or if you haven't started the hop yet, you can begin at the Simon Says Stamp blog. 

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25.00 coupon at EACH STOP along the blog!  That's 11 winners from just today's hop (and don't forget to do the same for the blogs on the Friday hop!)  The winners will be chosen randomly from the comments at each blog, so make sure you leave a comment at each stop to increase your chances of winning.  The winners will be posted on the Simon blog next Tuesday, August 8.

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

From My Heart

It's a little dreary here today, so I made a happy card.

supplies: white cardstock, Bristol paper for watercoloring flowers and leaves, Winnie & Walter Big, Bold &Extra flowers and leaves, Spectrum Aqua markers and water to color, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, Your Next Stamp Mini Heart Ink Splatters, worn lipstick oxide distress ink, Tammy Tutterow Tiny Sentiments, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, adhesive foam squares

I'm in love with Tammy's Tiny Sentiments, and they really aren't that tiny - I'm finding they work for almost any situation.  And aren't those heart splatters adorable?  Your Next Stamp also makes them in flowers and stars, butterflies and autumn leaves!  I think I need them all - I always hold my breath when I try to splatter ink on my own!

This works for Your Next Stamp's Color Challenge #68, so I'm entering it there!

Thanks for stopping by!

For a Friend

I am always on the lookout for lilac stamps - they're a sentimental favorite of mine, and until this year I only had one option for lilacs.  When I saw this sweet set from Memory Box a couple months ago, it went right onto my wishlist, but it's taken me this long to get it home.  Here's it's first stamping:

supplies: white, lilac, and watercolor cardstock, Memory Box Spring Lilacs, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, Altenew Layered Plaid cover die, silk ribbon

I paired it with an Altenew cover plate that is supposed to make a plaid when paired with it's sister cover plate.  A friend cut me a few of each, and I'm hoarding them, so I only used this one - I thought it gave a Frank Lloyd Wright kind of feel.

Altnew, if you're reading this, a lilac would be a GREAT flower for your Build a Flower series..... Pretty Please?

Guest Designing at Wplus9!!

I was so thrilled to be asked to Guest Design over at Wplus9's Stamp Away with Me blog!  Here are the 3 cards I made for today!

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, Cornflower, Green Apple, Surf Blue cardstock, Wplus9 Quilt Prints stamp set, pool, Tide Pool, Soft Pool, Pool, Green Hills, and Soft Granite inks, Hand Lettered Hello stamp and die,  Stitched Rectangle dies, Winnie & Walter Big Bold Friends cutaway, stamped sentiment from Prayers stamp set, cuttlebug Houndstooth embossing folder

supplies: white cardstock base and Bristol paper, Wplus9 Modern Anemones and Modern Petunias, Spectrum Aqua markers and water to color, Stitched Rectangle die and moonshine sequins

For more details and pictures, please visit Dawn's blog!

Just for Fun

I have most of my required work done, so now I can play!  Today I have a very simple card that uses the pretty rose image from a new Simon clear stamp set.

supplies: white cardstock base and Bristol paper, Simon's More Spring Flowers, colored with Spectrum Aqua markers and water, sentiment from My Favorite Things All Occasion Sentiments, Winnie & Walter Audrey's cutaways (pinpoint scallop rectangle)

I stroked the Spectrum Aqua markers onto an acrylic block, then dipped my paintbrush in water and mixed it on the block, then moved the color to my image.  I decided to leave the panel as is, no sequins, no paint splatters, no dots.  Clean and simple......

Spring is taking longer than I'd like to get here, so I'm making my own here in my craft room!  Hope my card brings you a little spring!

Simon Says...........A Bit o' Green

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

With a nod to the upcoming St. Patrick's Day, our theme this week is "A Bit o' Green", and the design team are using Taylored Expressions products; if you have any of their products, we'd love you to use them, too, but it isn't a requirement to enter.

I used a bit of green and a whole lot of green for my cards this week!

My first card features a Taylored Expressions cutting plate, to make a spring-feeling woodland card.  I mixed 3 distress inks for my background spring green.

supplies: white and Desert Storm cardstock, music dp, Taylored Expressions Birch Tree cutting plate, Avery Elle Kitsch Christmas (deer), Spectrum Aqua markers to color, DieNamics Snow Drifts die, mowed lawn, lucky clover, and twisted citron distress inks and water splatters, sentiment from Simon's Beautiful Ride

I cut my birch trees from music dp; I think this gives a more spring-like feel than stark white cardstock.  Then I sponged my 3 distress inks randomly onto a white cardstock panel and lightly spritzed it with water.  I sponged only mowed lawn onto a 2nd cardstock scrap, spritzed again, die-cut the top edge with a Snow Drifts die, and stamped my sentiment.  These 3 panels were then layered onto the card base.  My little fawns were stamped on a light kraft cardstock and colored with markers before fussy-cutting them and placing on the card.  I was tickled to use them because they were designed by our teamie Caryn!

For my 2nd card, I used a pretty TE bouquet cling stamp, and the leaves and sentiment are my "bit o' green":

supplies: Cornflower Blue and Green Apple cardstock, Bristol paper, Taylored Expressions Wildflower Bouquet, Zig watercolor markers and water to color, Spellbinder's Floral Oval die

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!

Thinking of You

I have another card today using some of Tammy Tutterow's cling stamps.

supplies:  watercolor paper, Tammy Tutterow Thinking of You and Simple Line Border, Spectrum Aqua markers and water,  tumbled glass distress ink and blending tool

I love this doodled frame stamp that Tammy calls Simple Line Border - it's a great way to add a little interest to a one-layer card!  And this main stamp with the sweet flower pot and gorgeous written sentiment will be so useful for lots of different occasions.

Thanks for stopping by today - I appreciate your visit!

From the Bottom of my Heart

Here's a card using another sweet Tammy Tutterow Designs cling stamp:

supplies: watercolor cardstock, pink gingham from MFT Tiny Checks Brights, Thank You cling stamp, Spectrum Aqua markers, water, spun sugar and antique linen distress inks as watercolors, Stitched Rectangle die, pink buttons

Tammy, you had me with the heart and flowers!  and isn't that tiny sentiment at the bottom right adorable where she placed it?  I simply water-colored this, splattered some left-over spun sugar distress water, and added 2 of my favorite things: gingham and buttons!

Rainbow Happy

Here's a card using one of Tammy Tutterow's cling stamps.  I don't make many rainbow cards, but this colorway seemed the way to go for my first play with this stamp.

supplies: white cardstock, Tammy Tutterow Happy is My Favorite Color, Spectrum Aqua markers to color, Simon Stitched Scallop die, striped stencil

How to's: Stamp and clear emboss stamp, trim with scallop die, color in letters and flowers.  On card front, use stencil to add stripes; adhere scalloped panel to card.

We're having an Indian Summer here - enjoy!

More Harvest Mice

I think I mentioned earlier when I posted my first cards using MFT's Harvest Mouse, that it took me until January last year to get this set that was released sometime last fall.  So this is really my first time playing with it in depth.  I made a card for my youngest sister here, so then of course I had to make some for my other sis and Mom!  Here they are:

supplies: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid dp, watercolor cardstock, peacock feathers and fossilized amber distress inks and water, MFT Harvest Mouse stamp set, Spectrum Aqua markers, Winnie & Walter Audrey's Cutaways scalloped rectangle and stamped sentiment from the Big, the Bold, and Friends, Simon's Small Forest Tree die, Kelly Purkey alphabet stickers, adhesive foam squares

supplies: Core'dinations plaid cardstock, Simon's Burnt Orange cardstock, a recycled cream cardstock, MFT Harvest Mouse, Spectrum Aqua markers, May Arts twine, Simon's Stitched Circles dies, Doodlebug enamel heart, adhesive foam squares

I'm feeling fall in the air!

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

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

It's the last week of the month, so that means it's Anything Goes!  My teamies and I are playing with Avery Elle products this week, and if you have anything of their's, we'd love to see you using them too!

I love wreaths, and have had this Banner & Wreath set on my wishlist, so I was thrilled to be able to get it and use it for this challenge.  The little birds that are included were a real plus for me!  I decided to use seasonal colors, as fall has been calling to me these last hot days of August.

supplies: white and Hero Arts Latte cardstock, Avery Elle Banner & Wreath stamps, Memento Markers, VersaFine onyx black and Hero Arts Latte inks,  MFT DieNamics Stitched Mini Scallop die, flower sequins

This set has the perfect sized wreath, and lots and lots of floral sprigs  - I only used one of them, along with the birds and 1 of the sentiments in this set.  There are matching dies, but I enjoyed fussy-cutting these out myself.

My next card was heavily influenced by Dawn W's card:

supplies: Bristol paper, Avery Elle Floral Frame clear stamp set, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, peacock feathers and a bit of twisted citron distress inks for background washes, adhesive foam squares, Simon moonshine sequins

I white embossed my flower sprays, colored them in with a bit of water, and fussy-cut around their inside edges, leaving the corners of each piece intact.  Then I watercolored the outside edges of each panel.  I did the same for the card base before stamping and white embossing the sentiment.  To finish, the panels were popped above the card base, and I sprinkled some sequins.

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!

Tomorrow begins a month-long celebration of stamping called STAMPtember, at Simon Says Stamp!  I am right there with you in counting down the hours until the new products will be released!  I'll see you there!