Five for Friday! A Sad Farewell

Tammy has decided to bring our creative team to a close.  She has made this team fun, and it was a pleasure and a joy to be part of it - it's been one of my best experiences, and I'm heart-broken that it's coming to an end.  I adore Tammy's designs, they all come from  her heart, and am in awe of my teammates talents; I loved seeing how each of the team interpreted Tammy's designs.  I am going to miss our official Friday posts, but I'll be using Tammy's products forever - they are that timeless!

I have 2 cards for our final Five for Friday today, both of them in the colors of the season.

supplies: cream, green, and Schoolhouse Red card stock, striped paper from Authentique Retro Christmas, Rejoice cling stamp, Zig markers to color, Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch, clear Wink of Stella pen, tiny gold pearls

This stamp could be used for many situations, but I chose to make a Christmas card this time - we certainly have so many things to rejoice for at this time of year!   I simply colored it in reds and greens, with a bit of yellow for the stars, and added a bit of twinkle with a Wink of Stella clear brush. The panel was then added to this seasonal stripe along with some punched lace.  The trio of roses on each side of the card was separately stamped, cut out, and lifted above the base, adding some little gold pearls.  This is a big stamp, so my card turned out to be 6" X 5 1/2".

My final card is for Tammy and uses one of my favorites of her designs - she and I share a love of hearts and flowers, so I thought this card would serve to let her know how fortunate I felt being a part of her journey......that tiny sentiment at the bottom says it all.  So charming!

supplies: Bristol paper and a burgundy dot dp, Tammy's Thank You cling stamp, Zig markers to color, spun sugar distress ink to shade heart, buttons, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle die

And this card serves to thank you for supporting our team during our time together......

I hope you'll visit Tammy's Blog to see what my teammates have made - prepare to be wowed!  And Tammy, I wish you all the very best - I know we'll be seeing lots of your designs going forward!

Simon Says........Party Time!

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

This week we want you to get your party on and show us something festive!  We are showcasing Simon's exclusive products this week.

I wanted to make a card that would work for any happy occasion, though with New Year's on the way, I wanted to make it extra festive, so I did that by adding glittery papers to my design.

supplies: white, Simon's Audrey Blue and Doll Pink cardstock, silver, raspberry and turquoise glitter card stock, Simon's Birthday Bits clear stamp set (sentiment, stars),  silver, Simon Doll Pink, and Audrey Blue inks, Liquid Platinum embossing powder (sentiment), Tammy Tutterow Party dies, Simon's Holiday Shapes die (stars), MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

I cut my hat pieces from silver and raspberry glitter card stock, (used a circle die from my stash for the dots on the hat) and pieced it together.  The sentiment was embossed for more sparkle, and after affixing these 2 elements, I stamped star confetti all around, adding some stars cut from the glitter papers also.

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!

Sharing a Christmas Card.......

.........a mix of old and new.  I'm winding down the year and will be around mostly for assigned DT posts, but I may sneak in and out to share some Christmas cards you haven't seen yet for this year.

supplies: Schoolhouse Red, green, white and gold foiled card stock, PTI Mix & Mat Scallops dies, Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia dies, (retired) The Craft Meow sentiment, gold pearl, adhesive foam strips

I love the elegant effect that this rectangular doily set of dies gives to my card.  In my mind I can imagine them as snowflakes.   It is actually a set of 3 dies, but I've left them attached to cut them and this is the result.  I was afraid that my black ink would smear on the gold foil paper, so I quickly heat embossed it with clear powder to avoid that problem.  This set of poinsettia dies cuts and also embosses some detail into the petals; I used 3 of the smallest sizes.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.  I'm listening to some wonderful music on PBS tonight!

New Simon Release!

Simon is unveiling some a new release called Friends!  Here's a quick card I made with what I was sent.

supplies: white cardstock, Doodlebug dps, Simon's Love and Friendship stamp set, Zig markers, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

I'm no colorist, so I tried to minimize that by paper-piecing as much as I could.  This set has lots of tiny sentiments that will fit inside this big balloon, plus lots of other stamps that you can mix and match with these little friends.

It's nice to switch to something besides Christmas cards.  Go HERE to see the full release!  What's your favorite?

Simon Says.........Stitch It!

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

Our theme this week is Stitch It!  Make sure you have some kind of stitching on your creation - it can be stamped, actually stitched, or you could use a stitched die of some kind.  We are showcasing We R Memory Keepers goodies this week, and I had lots of fun and made 2 cards!

supplies: white and aqua card stock, We R Memory Keepers Stitch Happy Card Kit, navy embroidery floss and needle, Simon's Expressions for You die and matching stamp set and Stitched Rectangle dies, Hero Arts Navy ink, Doodlebug heart sprinkles, adhesive foam squares

The card kit includes 10 cards and envelopes and ephemera to match.  I chose 2 of the cards in this navy stripe and dots and used my Simon Stitched Rectangles to cut out some panels.  I framed the smaller striped panel in white card stock, then used my needle to punch holes along the edges, following the stitches from the die.  Then I simply stitched with embroidery floss all the way around, and after adding the floral die cut from the kit, I tied a bow at the top left corner.  After adding my sentiment, I lifted this panel above the rest of the card.

My friend Mary Anne reminded me about perforated paper to use with cross-stitching, so I incorporated that along with another of the printed cards and this sweet little bird in the ephemera pack.

supplies: white and ivory cardstock, We R Memory Keepers Stitch Happy Card Kit, (card and bird), cream perforated paper, 3 colors of DMZ embroidery floss, Simon's Sending and Wishing stamps and Spring Rain ink, MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Square die

I tried to pull the colors from the dots for my stitched hearts, and then just added my panel to a scalloped frame.  Isn't this bird sweet?

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!

Merry & Bright Tag

Here's a tag I made earlier but haven't shared yet.

supplies: white, Doll Pink, and Audrey Blue card stock, Simon's Pine Needle Wreath die and Merry & Bright dies, Spellbinder's Scalloped Circle die, pink ribbon, pink gems

This wreath die is perfect for a round tag and using dies makes making tags fast and easy - this could be made in colors to match your wrapping paper, and it could double for an ornament, too!

How are your Christmas preparations going?  Thanks for stopping by during this busy season!

Five for Friday

It's time for another of Tammy's Five for Friday posts, and I have 2 cards for you today.

My first card reflects the coziness of the season.

supplies: white, pink, and Core'dinations aqua card stock, pink and aqua Amuse petite polka dot and aqua Penny Black gingham papers, Tammy's Mittens cling stamp, Taylored Expressions Winter Flurry embossing folder, Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencil and picked raspberry distress oxide ink, retired sentiment from Hero Arts Holiday Sayings, tiny pink buttons

I stamped the mittens on some petite polka dot and gingham papers, cut them out, and pieced in the hearts and cuffs, adding a button on each.   I stenciled the sweater pattern, trimmed and framed it, and embossed and sanded the snowflakes and trimmed that.  Then I just layered everything up.

My next card is for Christmas.

supplies: ivory, gold, and green cardstock, tiny red check patterned paper from Authentique, Tammy's Be Merry cling stamp, Zig markers to color and a clear Wink of Stella brush to add a bit of sparkle on the red letters, Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Greens pine die, Lawn Fawn twine

I stamped  the design on both gold cardstock and the patterned background paper, then added the colored details on the gold one, cut it out, and glued it over the patterned one.  I added some greenery and a bow to make it look like it's hanging from a tree.

I hope you'll visit Tammy's Blog to see what my talented sisters have done this time!  They always blow me away!

Simon Says.........Gift It!

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

Our theme this week is "Gift It!" - make a gift tag, a gift box, wrapping paper, anything that has to do with a gift.  The design team are showcasing My Favorite Things this week.  I have really grown to love making tags, so that's what I have for you this week.

supplies: white cardstock and various design papers to match colors in image, My Favorite Things Santa's Elves clear stamps, markers to color, MFT Stitched Tag die, Lawn Fawn twine and my own jingle bells

I knew I wanted to use this stamp set for this week's challenge, it's one of my favorites for the holidays, and when I pulled it out of my Christmas supplies, I found this little guy and his pile of gifts all colored and cut out already!  Talk about easy, all I had to do was find some matching papers, and mount everything onto my tag.  I decided to add some bells because he has one hanging from his hat!

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!

Woodland Wreaths

I'm finishing up my Christmas cards.   It's a joy each year to open my bin of Christmas goodies and rediscover some beautiful stamps that I love.  Here are 2 cards using a beautiful Wplus9 set called Woodland Wreaths - I used the same colors on both for a kind of seaside feel, and changed up the backgrounds.  And I think this may be the first time I've put white berries on them......

supplies: Simon's Surf Blue and Green Apple cardstock, white cardstock, Wplus9 Woodland Wreath stamps and matching dies, Simon's Jelly Bean, Hero Arts Latte chalk ink, and broken china distress oxide inks, Memory Box Peace Collage woodblock stamp, VersaMark and white embossing powder, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die

I knew Memory Box for their woodblock stamps when I first started this hobby - and their Peace Collage remains a favorite of mine.

And my 2nd version:

supplies: same cardstocks and inks, Wplus9 Woodland Wreaths stamps and matching dies, Hero Arts Holiday Sayings sentiment, Sizzix Ornate Frames embossing folder

I've listed my supplies, but I'm not linking them - most of them are out of stock or discontinued.

How are you coming with your Christmas cards?  I think I'm going to call mine finished!  

Rejoice!

Sharing a card today that contains all my favorite things: music, a wreath, and a bird!  This is a CASE of LaVon's card from last year, using many of the same elements, and adding a new Simon die to the mix.

supplies: cream, green and Schoolhouse Red card stock, vellum, gold foil paper, retired Hero Arts Pine Cone Wreath and Merriest Christmas Wishes stamps, cardinal from Hero Arts Vintage Christmas Post stamp set, Simon's Rejoice die, music stamp from a retired Skipping Stones set, antique linen distress ink, Zig markers

Thanks for your visit.  

It's DieCember!

And here's a card I made with the die that I was sent - it's called Moon and Star Border.

supplies: white and glitter white cardstock, wilted violet, blueprint sketch, and chipped sapphire distress inks, Simon's Moon and Star Border die and Seeing Stars sentiment

I simply inked up a panel with 3 distress inks, then randomly cut the border die on the diagonal, and affixed it to a backing of white glitter paper, adding a few of the stars to my sentiment strip.

You can see all the fun new things HERE.  What's your favorite?

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

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

It's Anything Goes week, and the team are playing with Tim Holtz products.

I've been wanting this Scribble Woodland cling stamp set, and when they arrived recently, I made a monochromatic card with the lovely little cabin stamp and one of the sentiments.  I love little cottages in the woods!

supplies: white, glitter white, dark teal, and Audrey Blue cardstock, Tim Holtz Scribble Woodland cottage and sentiment, peacock feathers distress oxide ink, shaded with peacock feathers and mermaid lagoon distress inks, spritzed with water, Tim Holtz Woodlands die, Taylored Expressions Winter flurry embossing folder, Spellbinders Circle die, glue pen and Prisma glitter, adhesive foam squares

Next up, a card using a plaid stencil for the background.

supplies: kraft, green, and Simon's Lipstick Red card stock, Tim Holtz Plaid stencil, Candied Apple distress ink, Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Greens dies, Simon's Merry & Bright sentiment and Stitched Circle die, adhesive foam squares

Now it's your turn!  Once again we have another $50.00 gift voucher

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!

Mint Wishes

The sold-out Simon Ltd Edition Holiday Card Kit arrived today, and in between bagging leaves, I dove right into it!  I got it mostly for the pretty patterned papers, and they did not disappoint; I almost don't want to cut into them, so I used them minimally for my first card.

supplies: mint, green, and silver glitter card stock, vellum, pattern plank and mint stripe from Kaisercraft Mint Wishes paper pad, Simon's More Spring Flowers and Yuletide Holiday clear stamps,  Hero Arts Charcoal ink for sentiment, Tim Holtz Mini Holiday Greens, clear sequins

I tried a white on white embossed rose, but in the end, I watercolored that one lightly in Cracked Pistachio distress ink, and added a white-embossed vellum one on top to make it paler.

Here's one more, again using the gorgeous papers, and adding the Joy die from the kit, and my own silver snowflakes and sequins.

The "Merry Christmas" strips are from one of the papers that has 5 or 6 different stripes on it - I just cut it apart and used it to separate the other papers a bit.

Love this kit!!

Cyber Week at Simon Says Stamp

Simon has planned a fun week beginning today through Friday, as a prequel to DIEcember!  I was sent the newest Suzy's Watercolor Prints, and here is a sample:

supplies:pink and dark green card stock, Suzy's Classical Christmas Watercolor Print, Zig markers and water to color

This is just one of 12 holiday designs in the pack of Watercolor Prints, and I really enjoyed taking my time to color this up.  I chose to trim it a bit, but they are A2 size and can be popped right onto a card base for an easy card!