Peaches and Cream

I was thrilled to be sent the new August Large Die of the Month from Spellbinders to play with - I love the large scrollwork on the 3 main images!  I chose the single flower and the smaller of the scroll dies, and here is my card using them:

supplies: cream and carnation card stock, coordinating patterned papers from an old Graphic 45 paper pad, August's Large Die of the Month, Tammy Tutterow's Sentiments 2 stamp and matching die, markers to color, cream Doodlebug enamel hearts, adhesive foam squares

I chose these papers because I thought the main one reflected the die design.  Since the sentiment had a little heart, I also added some to the very tips of the large scrolled piece.  The single flower is the exact duplicate of the one in this scroll design, so I inlaid some peachy-pink into it and popped it up above the rest of the card.

Hope you're having a great week - thanks for stopping by!

For a Fall Birthday

Another wreath card today, still in my autumn mood.......

supplies: kraft and white card stock, Lawn Fawn (retired) Into the Woods woodgrain dp, Simon's Stitched Maple Trio dies, distress oxide inks, sentiment from  (retired) Birthday Flowers and a PTI die, VersaFine Clair Acorn ink, Stitched Rectangle die, twine, bright yellow enamel dot

I have lots of birthdays in September and October, so this will be saved until then.

Thanks for stopping by!

I LOVE Autumn

......I knew, it's the beginning of August and here I am starting up on fall stuff.  I can't help it, it's my favorite time of year......

I decided to CASE myself and make a fall wreath.  Here's my original card, made in 2016:

I used the same stamp set to make my wreath, but updated it with a newer 4 Seasons sentiment die and a plaid background......I have learned to love fall colors mixed with turquoise/aqua!

supplies: white card stock, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow patterned paper, Simon's retired Nutty Over You, Simon's Fresh Fruit mini ink cubes, plus Audrey Blue and 2 brown inks, Gina K Wreath Builder stencil, 4 Seasons die and 4 Seasons Sayings, twine, enamel heart, adhesive foam squares to pop wreath up

As I did last time, I stamped the brown vine into a circle, then methodically added leaves and branches in bright colors.  I'm so sorry that this Simon set is discontinued, but Gina K has an Autumn Wreath Builder set that would give you the stamps to do something very similar.  I used the same inks to color a scrap to cut the Autumn die from, and triple-layered it before adding it to my card.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend - we'll be spending part of ours with our youngest son!  Can't wait!   

Inspired by Shari

I needed a birthday card for our nephew, and Shari's post at the Simon Blog yesterday came just at the right time!   I was wowed by her technique, but I don't have all that many distress oxide inks yet, so I thought I'd try her idea with my regular distress inks.  Here's my result:

supplies: white, kraft Green Apple and Green Leaf card, distress inks: twisted citron, broken china, stormy sky, and vintage photo, rectangular blending foam and tool, retired Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder, Winnie & Walter In a Word: Happy cutaway, retired Hero Arts Essential Messages sentiment, Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves die, twine, wood dot

Using my rectangular sponge and matching blending tool, I swiped colors vertically on my white card stock, then I embossed it with the woodgrain folder.  Next I lightly sponged some more vintage photo over the raised area to bring out more of the detail.  That panel was then trimmed to fit inside an A2 card, and I cut out my happy sentiment, along with 5 other kraft ones to layer with it for thickness.  I affixed it to my card base, added my sentiment strip, and then 2 leaves sponged with peeled paint distress ink at the top.

Edited to add:  Since I had so much fun with this, I wanted to try another version, this time substituting a woodgrain plank stamp for the embossing folder.  Instead of leaves as an embellishment, I used a wood veneer bird, stained a bit with vintage photo ink.  And since my card base is a darker brown, I used some copper embossing powder to make my stamped sentiment stand out.  This one turned out on the darker side, thanks to the darker card base and my adding of peeled paint to the palette.  I think I prefer my original version......

I'm so sorry so many of these supplies are retired or not linked, but I used what I had.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.  

Simon Says........Make Your Own Background

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

This week our theme is "Make Your Own Background", and my teammates and I are showcasing Concord & 9th products.

I chose their Plaid Background stamp set, and made 2 cards with it.

supplies: white, gold, black, and Green Leaf cardstock, Concord & 9th Plaid Background clear set and sentiment from Brushed Blossom set, Altenew Warm Sunshine and VersaFine Onyx Black inks, Altenew Fantasy Floral flower and leaf dies, Simon's Summer Gold sequins, adhesive foam squares

I love black, white and yellow together!  Here's another version, using the same inks but stamping on a pale yellow cardstock to begin:

supplies: white, black, and Lemon Chiffon card stock, Concord & 9th Plaid Background, Altenew Warm Sunshine and VersaFine Onyx Black inks, Simon's Summer Flowers and My Sunshine stamps, sunshine die, Nuvo Sunshine Yellow and Irish Clover marker sets to color, adhesive foam squares

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!

Happily Ever After

Here's another set of gorgeous dies that Spellbinders sent me - I paired it with a damask embossing folder for a wedding card:

supplies: white, cream, and silver metallic card stock, Spellbinders Layered Happily Ever After dies, Taylored Expressions Damask embossing folder, silver brads for flower centers, adhesive foam

I first cut an A2 panel in white card, and from that cut out the arched shape; then that panel was embossed with the folder.  On my white card base, I affixed a cream bride and groom diecut in the center.  On the embossed panel, I added the sentiment die cut in silver, and then popped that panel above my card base with some adhesive foam.  The flowers were also cut from cream card to make them stand out a bit better from the white background, and I added tiny silver brads to their centers.

What a great set to have for weddings!  Going forward, I think I'd use the bride's wedding colors for some of these details.......

Summer Sunshine

I think this Sunny Studio pad of gingham papers is ever so pretty, so I chose one as background and used a Simon wreath die as my focal point.

supplies:  white, yellow, and green card stock, Sunny Studio Classic Gingham paper pad, Simon's Blooming Circle die, Gina K. Wreath Builder sentiment, pearls

I cut the wreath from yellow and green card, then used one of the negatives as my guide to reform the wreath on a white backing.

Hope this brings a smile!

Cinch & Go Flowers

I was so pleased to receive some Spellbinders dies recently!  Here are 2 cards using Becca Feeken's Cinch & Go Flowers III.

The first one uses shades of aqua:

supplies: white, Sea Glass, Surf Blue, Audrey Blue, and Green Apple card stock, Doodlebug patterned papers, Becca Feeken's Cinch & Go Flowers, Simon's Beautiful Flowers sentiment, glittery blue brads

And my 2nd uses my happy colors of white, yellow, and black:

supplies: white, black, and Green Apple card stock, patterned papers from Lawn Fawn and My Favorite Things, Cinch & Go dies, sentiments from Simon's Happy & Smile and Happy stamp sets, yellow brads

The layered dies have 4 sizes of the flower, plus a backing and a leaf sprig.  On these cards, I used all 4 layers of the flower, but they would work in any combination.  I used white and colored card stock, but you could sponge on distress inks to make your own custom colors.  Irregardless, they add a wonderful dimension and take a card to the next level!

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday - thanks for stopping by!

Butterflies

As soon as I saw these papers from Bo Bunny's Early Bird paper pack in the Simon August Card Kit,  I knew what I'd do with them.

supplies: white, pink, Surf Blue, yellow, Soft Navy and kraft card stock, dps from Early Bird paper pack, Simon's Stitching Butterflies dies and sentiment from Beautiful Day, Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangle die, adhesive foam squares to pop up butterflies

This may be too busy for a variety of reasons, but for me, it brings back my quilting days - I loved to find just the right patterns to mix together!  Thank you for stopping by.

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!

Simon's Friendly Frolic release!

Simon has a fun new release today, called Friendly Frolic!  I was sent this pretty floral set and here's what I made:

supplies: ivory and rose card stock, watercolor paper, Simon's Sketch Lotus Flowers, Spectrum Aqua markers and water, Simon's Stitched Rectangle die, sequins

This new set also has a die to match, or you can buy it along with the stamps in a SET, if you prefer.  For those of you who love the Picture Book dies, there are THIRTEEN new ones - dinosaurs and sea creatures!! And there are dies to match the popular stamp set Beautiful Flowers.  I have my eye on the new Leafy Frame cover plate die.  Won't it be pretty for fall/autumn cards? And there's a botanical/herbal pun stamp set that looks fun: Plantiful Puns!

As always, there's something for everyone - be sure to visit THIS page to see everything.  Happy shopping!

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 we are highlighting Art Impressions products this week.  I am slowly collecting their Window to the World series of cling stamps - here's my latest.

supplies: white and Surf Blue card stock, MFT Plaid Patterns Merry & Bright dp, Art Impressions Peace Window, Zig markers and water to color, sentiment pieced from a retired The Craft's Meow set and Winnie & Walter's Big, Bold, Happy, MFT Mini Stitched Scallop Square die, adhesive foam squares

And one more, since this time of year fits.  I actually made a window for this one......and amped up the colors a bit from my first card.

supplies: white card stock, AI Window to the World Island, Zig markers and water to color, Newton's Nook Tropical Leaves stencil, blending brush and green distress inks: twisted citron, peeled paint, mowed lawn, lucky clover, and pine needles, purple tape for masking, Sizzix foam adhesive sheet

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!

Don't forget about our ongoing Kid's Challenge this month. All details can be found HERE. 

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!

Black, White and Yellow

Here's another card using the supplies in the August Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp.  I have always loved text/script as an element, and adding black and yellow to the mix is icing on the cake for me.

supplies: white and yellow card stock, dps from Bo Bunny Early Bird and a black dot, Simon's Mandy's Flowers clear stamp set, Tonic Nuvo Sunshine and Irish Clover markers, Doodlebug Tiny Hearts, adhesive foam squares to lift flower

Here's the Card Kit:

Enjoy your week!