2 Wreaths - One Bold and One Dainty

Here's my first play with Gina K's Wreath Builder stencil and stamp set.  I made 2 cards with it.

My first card uses just 4 of the many elements in the stamp set: 2 sets of leaves, a flower, and a heart.  I limited this to only 2 colors, a mint and a soft pink:

supplies: white and dark mint card, Gina K Wreath Builder stencil and stamp set, Altenew Puffy Heart and Volcano Lake inks, VersaFine Onyx Black ink, pink pearls

On my next card I paired the stencil with a Hero Arts multi-step stamp set and a Simon sentiment die, and made a much bolder and brighter wreath.

supplies: white and black card, Hero Arts Color Layering Hibiscus, Altenew's Pocketful of Sunshine, Warm & Cozy, Tea Party, Rose Petal, and Tropical Forest mini inks, Gina K's Wreath builder stencil, Simon's Big Hugs die

This stamp set has so many elements to make a beautiful wreath - I highly recommend it for those of you who love wreaths as much as I do.

Simon Says..........Easter Inspired

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

We're asking you to be inspired by Easter this week - we're playing with Your Next Stamp products.  You don't have to use their products to enter, but we'd love to see them if you do! Our Jenn designed a Spring/Easter inspiration board - such pretty pastels!

Here's my take on it.

supplies: white cardstock, My Favorite Things Lucky Prints dps, Your Next Stamp A Cute Stack stamp set and sentiment from Simon's Some Bunny, Zig markers, Simon's Stitched Circle die

I had trouble finding a good place for my sentiment - I solved the problem by cutting the stamp in half and stamping one word above the other, then die-cutting it into a circle.

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!

Sweet Tweets

Here's another card using some brand new Tammy Tutterow dies - I had so much fun putting together this little scene!

supplies: white and Audrey Blue card, various printed papers from Lawn Fawn, Doodlebug, Amuse, and My Favorite Things, Tammy's Sweet Tweets die set, PTI clouds, MFT Scalloped Rectangle, sentiment from Wplus9 Doodle Buds, twine

This is a set from Tammy's newest collection called Sew Sweet - she's moving into making products that can be used with felt or other materials, along with paper, of course.

Hope you're having a great day - thanks for visiting!

Sew Sweet Valentine

Tammy Tutterow has designed a coordinated line of stamps and dies that can be used with paper, but also with fabric!  She calls them Sew Sweet.  Here's my first play with a couple of the new goodies:

supplies: white, Green Apple, Lavender, gold and pink card, a pink gingham, Sew Sweet Valentine dies, Sew Tiny Sentiment

I am swooning over the lacy base - isn't it perfect?  I made this into a shaped card, about 5 12" X 4 1/2".  To do that, I cut a 2nd lacy base, scored it about an inch down from the top, folded it into a "mountain", then glued that scored part to the front.  And Tammy's wonderful handwriting is the icing on the cake!

I couldn't resist one more photo:

Simon Best Days Blog Hop

Welcome to Day 2 of Simon Says Stamp's Best Days Blog Hop!  

You should have arrived here from my DT teamie, Tracy Freeman's blog.  If you have just happened upon my blog 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, Mar. 14.

I was thrilled to receive this Birch Circle die!  Birch trees have always been favorites of mine, and a large one in our back yard was a big reason that we bought our house.  I love the beautiful spring greens of the new leaves as they leaf out, and my card reflects that.

supplies: white, Green Apple, Green Leaf, Audrey Blue, and Desert Storm card stock, Birch Circle die, leaf die, Flower Friend sentiment, bird from Oh Baby, Audrey Blue and Green Apple ink

I cut the Birch Circle from both white cardstock and from a Desert Storm card front, then trimmed away the trees from the card base, and attached the white circle under it.  The inside of the card was lined with a rectangle of Audrey Blue card.  Then I attached some die-cut leaves in 2 pretty greens and the little sentiment and bird.

My 2nd card is a baby card that is made with the new Sweet Elephants die and a sentiment from a stamp set called Oh Baby.

supplies: white, black, and Green Apple card stock, My Favorite Things Tiny Check and Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots patterned papers, Simon's new Sweet Elephants die and sentiment from Oh Baby stamp set, Simon Stitched Circle and largest Scallop Stitches dies, tiny green buttons, adhesive foam squares

I thought that the gingham and the mini dots were perfect for a baby card, and the little buttons were a fun embellishment, too.  I used a teensy bit of black card under the elephant to make his eye show up better.

And one more - simply using the Oh Baby die along with the sweet foot prints from the stamp set, set on a pieced strip quilt.

supplies: white and Mint card, 1/2" strips of patterned papers, Simon's new Oh Baby die and their new Oh Baby stamp set, Stitched Rectangle and Stitched Circle dies, adhesive foam

I cut 2 of the mint dies, and an extra of the shadow die in adhesive foam so that the whole thing would be above the background.  I also popped the little footprints up.

That's it for me - your next stop is at Gayatri Murali's blog.  And don't forget to visit the stops along the Friday hop yesterday as well, for even more chances to win a $25.00 gift certificate!  If you hop and comment on both days, you'll have almost 30 chances to win!

Here's the hop order for today:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Debby Hughes

Laura Bassen

Yana Smakula

Nichol Spohr

Amanda Korotkova

Amy Rysavy

Lisa Addesa

Heather Hoffman

Barb Engler

Bibi Cameron

Tracy Freeman

Lin Brandyberry

Gayatri Murali

Thanks for stopping by - happy hopping!

From the Scrap Pile

I put this card together using bits and pieces from my scrap pile.....

supplies: white, dark chocolate, and fog grey card, Altenew Garden Treasure flowers and leaves stamped with their Warm & Cozy, Tea Party, and Tropical Leaves mini inks, board dp from SN@P Wood and Notebook Basics, sentiment from Simon's Birthday Flowers, adhesive foam squares

Thanks for coming by!  I'll be back tomorrow as part of Simon's Best Days blog hop - hope you'll join me again then.

A New Release at Simon Says Stamp!

Have you seen all the new product from Simon's latest release?  Best Days is all about spring and Easter and everything that happens during this season of rebirth!

I'm loving the floral goodies: Even MORE Spring Flowers and Bold Flowers stamp sets, and the Blooming Circle and Blooming Wave dies. Plus there 's a really cute Picture Book Sky Background  die  and a Waves and Hills stencil that look like fun! What are you excited about?  See them all HERE!

And then tune back both Friday and Saturday for a 2-day Blog Hop, where we'll be giving away a $25 gift certificate at EACH stop! The Hop will start each day at 8:00 am Eastern, beginning at the Simon Says Stamp Blog!  I'll see you there!

Simon Says..........Girl Power!

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

We have a fun challenge for you this week: Girl Power!  Can't wait to see how you all interpret this one!  The team is showcasing Winnie & Walter products.

supplies: white, black, and Green Apple card stock, Winnie & Walter Bed of Roses stamp, Zig markers (#20 Pink, #50 Yellow, #80 Violet, and #41 Light Green) and water, and Noelle and Big Bold Happy dies, and Avery Elle Simply Said Hello sentiment

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!

Is It Spring Yet?

I love this time of year because of the colors after so many months of grey, so I pulled out a couple sets of spring flower stamps and here's what I made today:

supplies: Bristol paper, white, black, and Lemon Chiffon card, Friendship Blooms, More Spring Flowers, and sentiment from Love and Friendship stamps, Zig markers and water, Winnie & Walter Noelle scalloped rectangle die

I stamped several of the daffodils and crocuses, colored them, cut them out, and then played with them until I liked the arrangement.  I glued down just the bottom of some of the leaves and flowers, leaving the tops to bend forward a bit for dimension.  Needed just a tiny sentiment to tuck in, and this one fit the bill.

Hope you're seeing some signs of spring where you live!

Warm Hugs

I recently received Altenew's new Sewn with Love stamps and matching dies, and here are 2 cards using different colorways using them.

supplies: white and lemon chiffon card, Sewn with Love stamp and die sets, Altenew Pocketful of Sunshine and Tropical Forest mini ink sets, Creative Edges Lace die, natural twine

This multi-step stamp set has a little bit of a learning curve, but using the die first makes a nice guide to the stamping.  There are also 6 tiny sentiments like this one and a large one, too, included in the set along with the flower and leaf parts and some hearts!  And I hear there are more stamps like this in the pipeline!

supplies: white and Doll Pink card, Sewn with Love stamps and matching die, Altenew Cherry Blossom and Green Meadow mini ink sets, Creative Edges Lace die

I'll be sending this version to my Mom to help her get through winter until spring arrives.    Hope these bring a smile to you, too!

Just for You

Here's a mix of layered stamping, and a stencil.

supplies: Surf Blue and white card, Altenew  Beautiful Day flower and leaves, Altenew Warm & Cozy, Sweet Dreams and Tropical Forest mini ink cube sets, Simon's retired Summer Garden sentiment, unknown stencil, tumbled glass distress ink, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle die, Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins

I stamped the flower twice, and cut out a whole one and just the inner petals, and stacked them with an adhesive foam square for some dimension.  Then I stencilled a panel of white card, trimmed it into a smaller rectangle, and added my sentiment, along with the flower and leaves, and some sparkly sequins.

Thanks for your visit!

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

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

Our theme this week is your ever-popular Anything Goes, and the team are showcasing Memory Box products.  I have a card using a Memory Box die, and another made with one of their stamp sets.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, Surf Blue, Green Apple, and Green Leaf card stock, Memory Box Catalina Wreath die, Simon's Handwritten Sentiments, VersaFine Onyx Black, adhesive strips

I cut the wreath 4 times from each of the colors, then trimmed out the flowers and pieced them back onto the Green Apple wreath and popped that one over the Green Leaf one.

I think you'll agree that we're all ready for spring about now - here's a card with one of my favorite flowers for spring.

supplies: Bristol paper, white and blue card stock, Memory Box Spring Lilacs, colored with Zig markers (Cornflower, Violet, May Green, Light Green, Mid Brown) and water, MFT Mini Stitched Scallop Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares to lift lilac

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!

Showers & Flowers

Here are 2 more cards, this time using the March Card Kit stamp set called Showers & Flowers.  Both of these were first stamped on watercolor paper, then colored with my Zig markers and water.

supplies: watercolor paper, Surf Blue and black card, Showers & Flowers image and sentiment, Thanks die, MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Square die, Zig markers and water

This wasn't colored as I planned.  I first colored all the flowers and leaves, and when I started to do the boots, I mistook the one laying down as a clay pot on its side, and started coloring it with a clay color.  THEN I realized it was the top of a boot, but by then I was committed, so the wellies are a very unusual color!

Next up is a card using a 2nd image from the same stamp set:

supplies: watercolor paper, Sunshine, Bright Yellow, and black card, Showers & Flowers image and sentiment, Stitched Rectangle die, Doodlebug heart sprinkle, Zig markers and water

Again I stamped the darling image on watercolor paper, colored it with Zig markers and water, trimmed it out with a stitched rectangle, then stamped the sentiment from the same set.  Then the panel was framed up with card that pulls the colors I used.

The images in this set are the perfect size to allow for adding sentiments or trimming into a smaller card, and the sentiments are fun too!

Hope your week is off to a great start!  

Tropical Birthday

Here's a card I made for my husband's birthday while we're in Florida.  He has come to enjoy flowers as much as I do.  One of our favorite things about spending time here is how different the vegetation is as compared to home, especially at this time of year, when it's so drab at home......

supplies: white, Orange Peel, Sunshine, coral, and black card stock, Newton's Nook Tropical Leaves stencil, Altenew Tropical Forest mini inks, Memory Box Hibiscus die, Simon's Big Hugs die, My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched Rectangle die

Though it doesn't show much in this picture, I also inked the centers of the flowers for a little extra detail.

Thank you for coming to visit today!