Simon Says Stamp Shine On Release!

 Hello, hello!  There is a brand new release at Simon Says Stamp called Shine On and it is another stellar release.  You can see the entire release right here. (Using the shared links allows me to earn a small commission at no cost to you.)  Simon Says Stamp was so kind and generous and sent me several products from this release to create with.  Today I'm going to share two of the four cards that I made.  Let's take a look at what I made.

This first card was made with the super fun Tall Happy Cover die and the pretty Dewdrop Daisy set set. I fell in love with both of these products the moment I pulled them from the package and couldn't wait to get started making a card with them.  I went really simple with this card by just die cutting out the Tall Happy from white cardstock and then inking it from the bottom up using Squeezed Lemonade distess ink.  My inking is kind of uneven, but I actually really like the look.  I adhered it to a white cardstock base and then worked on the daisy.  I diecut everything from white cardstock, trimmed off the stem and the leaves and then added Squeezed Lemonade to the flower and Mowed Lawn to the leaves.  I put the flower and leaves together and adhered it to the card front.  I finished with the tiny birthday sentiment that is from the EZ Stripes Birthday stamp and die set.   Going to add this one to the Die Cut Diva's June challenge of anything goes.

This card was made with the Clever Fox stamp set and the matching stencils.   This is another set that I love, too!  So perfect for masculine cards.  I stamped the fox and then used the stencils to ink him up.  I don't have a ton of inks in shades of brown (working on changing that!), but I do have a set from Pinkfresh Studio.  I used those to give the different shades to the fox.  For the kraft background I used the new Presto Pop embossing folder.  The background the fox is sitting on was created using the Forest Background die that was release during Diecember 2025.  I finished with the happy birthday sentiment from the Clever Fox stamp set.   Adding this one to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

Well, that's it for now.  I will be back in a few days with the other two cards that I made.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Birch Press Design Blog Post #2

Hello!  Wow... it is already the end of June.  I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today and here is a little peek of what I created.

I hope you will head over to the Birch Press blog to see what I created.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day

I'm So Grateful...

 Hello!   Well, it has been a while, again, since I last posted.  This seems to be my pattern:  Post several cards then disappear for a week or so.  Don't think the pattern will change anytime soon, either.   It isn't that I'm not making things because I am.  I just can't share what I have made yet.  But I'm here today with a "I just want to make something" card.  I will be sending this one off to Color Hues (yellow and black), Freshly Made Sketches and Just Us Girls (moodboard).   So, let's see what I made.

I had been going through some cards that I had made a long time ago and came across a card that I had made using this pretty Memory Box die set called Cottage Flower Stem.  I decided that I need to find that die set and make another card with it.  And here it is, lol!  I die cut just the flower from yellow cardstock and the flower with stem from white cardstock.  I did add a little bit of distress oxide ink in yellow to the flower center and to the bottom layer to provide a little contrast.  For the FMS portion of the card I die cut a piece of patterned paper from the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Indigo Garden using a small rectangle die.  I created the flower and then adhered that to the white flower stem.  The rectangles were layered on a white cardstock panel and then I added the flower.  I thought about having the leaves be black, but decided against that as I felt I had enough black already.  I did add some pale yellow sequins, tho.  Finished with the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp set. I thought about creating a card for JUGs using lots of flowers, but decided that this single yellow flower worked for the challenge.   Let me know what you think.

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birch Press Design June Blog Post #1

 Hello, hello!  Can't believe it is already June!  Time is flying by absolutely way too fast!  Today I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog and here is a little peek at what I created.

I hope you will head over to the Birch Press Design blog to see my card.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Masculine Cards

 Hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made for my mom to give to her grandsons for their birthdays.  Both were made with products from the 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer collection.  I will be posting the cards to the following challenges:  The Paper Players (masculine), Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge (masculine) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (masculine, as well).  The products I used while aren't from Tim Holtz have similar vintage vibe.  Let's have a look at the cards. 

Both cards have the exact same layout.  For this card I used a large airplane laser cut, as well as a backpack and a camera.  The patterned paper from the Wanderlust Explorer features a map in the background.  I layered everything on a kraft cardstock base and then added the gold foiled Memory Box sentiment.

For the train I used a patterned paper that features faded images of tickets and travel schedules.  The large train laser cut was paired with a steamer trunk, another vintage camera and the "happy birthday" sentiment from Memory Box.

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Guest Designing for Not 2 Shabby!

Hello!  Popping in to share my first of four cards I will be sharing this month as a guest designer for Not 2 Shabby Shop.  They have lots of fun and playful branded products in their shop, as well as products from other companies.   You can check them out here.  I was contacted by them a few months ago about guesting for them and said yes!   This month I will be creating with products from their monthly paper pad club, as well as using some of their preprinted sentiment strips.  Let's look at the first card I created.

 Aren't those little turtles just the cutest things?  This card will be going to one of my great nieces for sure!  I did make a bit of a mistake in that I should have put the smallest turtle (the one with the ice cream cone) in the center, but sometimes you can still make a rookie mistake, lol.   The turtles are from the Sweet & Playful Turtles ephemera pack and the papers are from the Cute Sea Critters and Playful Prints 6x6 paper pads.  I used the layout from Freshly Made Sketches (did flip it upside down, tho) for the card.  Finished with the sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp) that I stamped on the same paper I used for the main background.  I will also be posting this over at Seize the Birthday as it does have the topping of sweet treats!  This card just makes me smile.  How about you?

Well, that is it for me today!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

just for you...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share a card that I made for a few challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches (two weeks in a row... yay me, lol!), Just Us Girls (stencil week) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).  Let's look at what I made.

I hadn't bought a Simon Says Stamp card kit in several years and decided to purchase the one for May, 2026.  I was intrigued by the stamp set Long Stem Florals and the stencil that went with the stamp set so decided to save up my money and get the kit.   I was disappointed that by the time I got the kit it didn't include the Simple Stories Simple Vintage Junk Drawer papers, but some very unattractive Tim Holtz papers.  One of the patterns actually looks like a cross section of a lung dyed blue!  Yuck!  Anyway, I have lots of Simple Stories papers that will works so all is well.  Anyway, as you can see, I used the stamp set and stencils, but no patterned paper.  I also used the smallest tag from the die set included in the kit.  I had intended on participating in the most recent Color Hues challenge, but knew I wouldn't have it done by the time the challenge closed.   But I liked the color combo so much (violet and lime green) that I decided to use it anyway.  I thought the stamped and stenciled floral image, as well as the little tag were perfect for Cecile's super cool FMS sketch.  I went with vellum for the tag so you can still see some of the stem underneath.   The sentiment was heat embossed.  I finished with the white twine and some iridescent sequins.

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Simon Says Stamp Always There Release!

 Hello!  It has been a while since the last Simon Says Stamp release, but they are back and better than ever with the Always There release!  I have two cards to share today that I made using products from this release that SSS generously sent to me to create with.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is this cutie patootie giraffe die set called Fable Giraffe.  I think this card will be going to my pink loving great niece when she turns five this fall.   I also used another new product from the release: Sparkler Scallop Frames die set.  I LOVE this die set and you will be seeing me use it alot in the future!  I die cut the giraffe from pink cardstock and then inked up pieces with Spun Sugar distress ink.  I adhered the pieces and then added Nuvo drops in black to the eyes.  I found some pretty pink gingham paper and die cut that with one of the Sparkler Scallop Frames.  White cardstock was die cut with a larger Sparkler Scallop Frames die and layered together.  I used the smallest die from the set, die cut it from white cardstock and then stamped it with the happy birthday sentiment that fit perfectly inside.  The balloon cluster is from the new Pawfect Together stamp set and was stamped on pink cardstock, some Spun Sugar was added to the balloons and then I covered that up with Nuvo drops in White Blizzard, lol!  I layered everything on a pink cardstock base.  Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

This card ended up being my favorite of the four cards that I made.  This card uses the Timeless Thanks die set and the CZ Design Mod Composition background stamp.  I hadn't done emboss/resist in a very long time and thought the Mod Composition stamp would be perfect for that technique.   I stamped the background on white cardstock with watermark ink, applied white embossing powder and then heat set it.  I used Altenew's Soft Lilac ink to bring out the white embossing.  I love the soft subtle color that was achieved.  For the Timeless Thanks I used a fairly new Simon Says Stamp cardstock called Moonflower.  I love this cardstock.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  I die cut the shadow layer from white and adhered them together.  The sentiment is from the CZ Design Thanks, Mom stamp and die set.  I stamped the sentiment on the Moonflower cardstock with VersaFine Clare Morning Mist ink, die cut it plus a couple other layers and adhered both to the background.  The background was die cut with the SSS A2 Frame dies set.  

That's it for now.  I will be back to share the other two cards that I made with products from the release.  Click here to see the full release or use the link on my sidebar.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birch Press Design Blog Post #2

Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I made:

Hope you will head over to the BPD blog to see what I made.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

best day ever...

 Hello!  Popping in with a quick share of a card that I made for a couple of challenges:  Freshly Made Sketches and Card Concept.  I haven't participated in either of these challenges in a while.  Just haven't had the motivation to make cards (except for obligations) lately.   Trying to change that state of mind, lol!  Let's look at what I made. 

The FMS sketch is a simple one so that made things a bit easier for me.  Using chipboard and patterned paper helped speed things along, as well.  The theme at Card Concept is seaside/nautical and since I had recently made a couple of nautical theme cards, the 49 and Market Summer Porch products were still fresh in my mind.  Card is pretty straight forward:  Clean and simple with a few layers.  Die cut patterned paper to feature the sailboats, added the chipboard lighthouse and sentiment, a couple of pieces of cello tape and the butterfly.  Added that piece to more patterned paper, a cardstock base and boom... I was done!

Well, that is it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Birch Press Design May Blog Post #1

Hello, hello!  Popping in to let you know that I have a blog post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.  Here is a little peek of what I created. 

I hope you will head over to the blog to check out what I created.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

literally the best...

 Hello!  Got another card made so I'm popping into share it.  Haven't had the motivation lately to make anything other than the two cards I made for my niece's boyfriend.  She absolutely loves the cards and can't wait to give them to him!  Today's card is for Color Hues and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  I just couldn't resist the fun color combo of yellow and blue.  Let's look at what I made.

I kept things very simple by creating flowers using the Birch Press Design Block Print Daisy Flowers die set.  There are two sizes of daisies in the die set. I cut each die from blue and yellow cardstock and then layered a small daisy over the larger one, alternating the colors.   I die cut the centers from white cardstock, adhered them and then added Nuvo drops in Morning Dew to the centers.  When the centers were dry I created the layout on a white cardstock base, adhered everything and then finished with the sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp and die set.  Like I said, very simple. 

That's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Go Navy!

 Hello!  Can't believe it is already May!  Time is just flying by and honestly, I don't like it!  But what can I do?  Not much.  I'm popping in today to share two cards that I made for someone who is graduating from the United States Naval Academy on May 16th of this year.   I have a niece who is currently finishing up her junior year at the Naval Academy, and it is her boyfriend, Frank, who is graduating.   My sister (my niece's mom) asked if I could make a card for him from the family and I said, yes!  Then she told her daughter and suddenly I was making two!   It was a little nerve wracking to come up with an idea for the second card, but I accomplished the task.  So, let's see what I created.

First up is the card that I made that is from the family.  A couple of summers ago I purchased some 49 and Market products called Summer Porch.  They have a nautical theme and I thought for sure I could find something to use on the card and I was in luck!  I knew that Frank rowed for one of the Naval Academy crew teams so I was excited to see the set of oars in a pack of chipboard images.  There was also the anchor!   I die cut some of the more nautical themed patterned paper using the postage edge dies from Pinkfresh Studio as a background.  I used dark blue patterned paper to die cut the USNA and 2026.   The little blue rope was from a pack of ephemera.  I adhered the USNA and 2026 to one of the postage background pieces and then stamped the "class of:" in between.  I then layered on all of the various pieces.  I finished with the Naval Academy motto Ex Scientia Tridens (which in Latin means From Knowledge, Sea Power) and Semper Fidelis.  I included Semper Fidelis because Frank will be commissioned as a Marine Corp officer instead of a Naval officer when he graduates.  I will be adding this one to the current Die Cut Diva's challenge of celebrations. 

This is the card that I made for my niece to give to Frank.  I hope that she likes it.  My sister did so that is a good sign!  I'm going to put this card into the current JUGs challenge because it does have a big die cut sentiment.  I used the Naval Academy colors of navy and gold for the letters and numbers.   I die cut both and then adhered them together offsetting so that the gold showed.  I was very careful when positioning everything using my T-square ruler to keep everything straight.   I used the computer to generate the word "ACADEMY" printing it in dark blue and then trimming it down and backing it with the same gold cardstock used for the lettering.   I added the Naval Academy motto (also computer generated) as well as the "class of:".  The finishing touch was the anchor charm and the little gold heart.  The charm was a bright shiny silver, but I was able to tone it down by adding some distress foundry wax in the color Gilded.  I heat set it and then wiped most off it off.  Love how it turned out.   I really hope that Frank likes the cards.  

Well, that is it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birch Press Design April Post #2

Hello, hello!  Can't believe it is the end of April!  I'm popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today.   Here is a little peek of what I created. 

Hope you will head over to the blog to check out what I created.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

sending hugs...

 Hello!  Popping in to share a card for a few challenges all of which will be closing very soon!  I have tried for days to get a card, any card made.  Finally, this one came together for me.   Let's have a look.

About a month ago I got this sweet little personalized stamp set in the mail from Altenew.  This is the second one they have sent me as I got the one they sent out last year.  It is a little surprising to me that I have gotten these sets as I don't often buy from Altenew.  They have beautiful products, but I find their selection overwhelming and honestly, I don't have a lot of money to spend on crafty supplies.   Anyway, this little stamp is so pretty that I just had to get something made with it.  Along came the current Color Hues challenge of coral and green.  Perfect!  Then I saw that the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge was feminine.  What is more feminine than a little flower cluster?  Then I decided to check out the Altenew April challenge.  The colors in the challenge work with my little flower!  Yay!

I stamped the flower using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored it with Copic markers.  I had to come up with my coral color myself and thankfully I had Copics that worked.  I think I did a pretty good job, too.   After I finished coloring the image I stamped it again to make the black lines a little bolder.  I did leave the image in my stamp positioner for that purpose.  I fussy cut the image which wasn't too hard to do.  Hoping they come up with a matching die.  The set I got last year has a matching die set so I am going to try to pick that up eventually.  I used my Simon Says Stamp Scalloped Arched Frames dies to cut white glitter cardstock and fog cardstock (both from Simon Says Stamp).  I adhered the glitter frame to the white cardstock panel, then added thin foam squares to the gray interior piece and inserted it into the frame.  I added the floral image using thin foam squares, as well.  I finished with the sentiment that is also in the set.  I die cut it with a labels die from my stash.   A simple card, but sometimes that is all you need!

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Just Us Girls Guest Designer - Week 4 - Anything Goes with Stencils

 Hello!  I'm back to share my final project as a guest designer for JUGs this month.   Once, again, I had a lot of fun guesting with the JUGs team!  They are amazing.  Thanks so much for having me.  This week is stencil week and that means anything goes with stencils.  I had so many ideas for stenciling but had to settle on one.  For my card I used Waffle Flower Crafts Postage Collage Butterfly stencils and the Postage Collage die.  Let's see what I created.

My card for word week with JUGs featured stenciling and so I had alot of inks out on my desk as I decided what colors I would use.  When I made this card, I had spring on my mind and was thinking about the beautiful daffodils that bloom around here.  When I finished this card, I realized that it was actually giving off a fall vibe!    I used Altenew inks for the butterflies and then when I was finished with the ink stenciling I added some Ranger texture paste in transparent matte to the butterflies using the final stencil that adds the bodies and wing details.  I removed the stencil and then poured on Rock Candy glitter.  I do want to note that I did die cut the panel first with the Postage Collage die.  This made lining up the stencils so easy!   I finished with the sentiment that is also from Waffle Flower. 

That's it for me.  I hope you will pull out your stencils and join the fun at JUGs this week.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birch Press Design April Post #1

 Hello, hello!  Just popping in to let you know that I have a post up on the Birch Press Design blog today and here is a little peek of what I created.

Hope you will head over to the Birch Press blog to see the full card.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Just Us Girls Guest Designer Week 3 - Moodboard

 Hello, hello!  I'm back to share my project for this week's JUGs challenge.  This week is mood board week it is a pretty one!   Let's have a look at what I made.

Of all the cards I had to create for this month's JUGs challenges this one was the easiest by far. Initially I thought it was going to be hard because I don't have much in the way of umbrella themed products.  But as I was thinking about what to do I was also going through my crafty stash and came across these pre-printed cards that I had gotten in a Simon Says Stamp card kit several years ago.  I idly flip through them and saw this one with the cute little chick and her umbrella.  Perfect for the challenge as the mood board features umbrellas!  Problem solved - YAY!   The image is printed on watercolor cardstock so I pulled out my Jane Davenport watercolors and got going painting this cute little image up.  Once I was done with the watercoloring and the image was dry I added a bit of gloss to the little raindrops using glossy accents.   When the glossy accent drops were dry I die cut the panel and adhered it to a yellow cardstock base with foam tape.   I love it when a card comes together like that!

Well, that's it for me today.  I hope you will take up the challenge of this week's mood board and play along at JUGs.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Birthday Wishes

 Hello!  Popping in with a card for a few challenges:  Sunday Stamps (sketch) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (food or drink - some people think candy is food, lol!).  I had wanted to enter this in the Color Hues challenge, but missed the deadline.  Shoot!  Going to add this to Seize the Birthday in the anything goes category.    Let's have a look at what I created.

This card came about because I really like the sketch at Sunday Stamps and I wanted to make something with it.  In fact I liked the sketch so much I made another card using that same sketch.  I will be sharing that one on Friday on the Birch Press Design blog so stay tuned, lol!  When I started this card I originally made a little cupcake using the Sweet Birthday stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp.  I stamped the cupcake pieces and colored them with Copic markers.  Once I put the cupcake together I didn't like it.  I really didn't like it after I decided to add some glossy accents and Rock Candy glitter.  So I threw it away and started over.  This time with the heart shaped lollipop in the stamp set.  I stamped it twice and colored each one with Copic markers approximating the Color Hues colors.   Once that was done I added highlights with a white gel pen.  I think I added too many, but what is done is done, lol!  I then die cut a panel of white cardstock and stenciled tiny blue hearts using Chipped Sapphire distress ink.  To keep the heart theme going I used a Poppystamps circle die set that features hearts.  I adhered that to my panel and then added the two lollipops.   The die cut sentiment is also from Simon Says Stamp and this was my first time using it.  I colored some white cardstock with two of the Copic markers used to color the fuchsia lollipop and then die cut the words.   I used extra heavy vellum to die cut the shadow layer, adhered the words with glue and then added the sentiment to finish the card.  

Well, that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Just Us Girls Guest Designer Word Week - Spotlight

Hello everyone!  It is word week at JUGs this time around and the word is spotlight technique.  I have to be honest and tell you that I was thrown for a bit of a loop when I saw the word.  Had to go look up the spotlight technique to make sure I knew what I was doing, lol!   It also didn't help that I was struggling with a bad head cold!  Thankfully I was able to persevere and get something made.  Let's look at what I created.

I hadn't used any of my Altenew products in quite some time and so I decided that I wanted to use them for this card.   I searched through what I had and settled on the Sweet Lilies stamps, stencil and die set.  I looked through my collection of Altenew Fresh Dye inks and settled on a grouping of light purples and light pinks for the flowers and darker greens for the leaves.  I then determined what size of circle die I was going to use for the spotlight portion of the card.  I picked a circle die that would include as much of one of the lilies in it as possible.  Then I stamped the image twice.  One for the spotlight portion and one for the full image as you see on the card.  Then I stenciled the flowers and the leaves.   Once I had the majority of the image that I would need stenciled I die cut it and then adhered it to the background panel with thin foam squares.  I finished the card with sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Thanks, Mom stamp set.  I had been able to purchase the matching dies and used those as well.   

Well, that's it for me.  I hope you will play along with this week's technique.  It really is a fun one and there are lots of directions to go in.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

JUGS Guest Designer - Die Week - Easter or Spring

Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to be guest designing for Just Us Girls for the month of April!  Thanks so much for the JUGs team for having me.  It is week die week this week with a theme spring and/or Easter.  I went with Easter.  Let's have a look at what I made.

Since Easter is just a few days away I decided to make an Easter card for my pink loving great niece, Mia.  She absolutely loves pink!   You will pretty much always see her wearing something pink.   For the card I pulled out the super cute Bunny Ears die set from Waffle Flower.  This set is no longer available, sadly.  I die cut the majority of the pieces from white cardstock and then the ear fold over piece and the bow from a pink cardstock with little polka dots in it.  I added some Spun Sugar distress oxide ink to the interior piece and then adhered them to the main bunny ears, along with the fold over piece.   There is a little arched piece that covers up the bottom tips of the interior pieces and that was adhered with glue, as well, and then I added the little bow.  I used the Waffle Flower Happy Easter Duo stamp set for the large sentiment that was also stamped in pink ink (don't remember which one).  The sentiment was die cut with the matching die and then layered with two additional die cuts.  I also added two more layers to the bunny ears to give them a bit more substance.   For a little more interest and fun I embossed a white cardstock panel with the Simon Says Stamp Bouncy Bunny embossing folder and added it to a pink cardstock rectangle.  That was adhered to a white card base and then I added the bunny ears and sentiment.  I think Mia will love it!

Well, that is it for me!  I hope you will play along with JUGs this week and actually for the whole entire month of April.  They have a really good line up of challenges!   Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

just for you...

 Hello, hello!  I hope that everyone is doing well.  Spring is here and with the arrival of spring I got the worst cold I have had in about four years!   Knocked me on my butt cold!  This whole week has been a struggle to get anything done, but I did manage to make a card for a few challenges... only took me two days, lol!  I will be sending this card off to Freshly Made Sketches, JUGs (stencil week) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (anything goes).  Let's look at what I created.  

When I saw it was stencil week at JUGs I immediately thought of several Waffle Flower stencil sets that I have but have not used.   One of the sets is called Painted Flower.   I thought it was a fun and unusual looking flower when I purchased the stencil and die combo.    The large center element on the FMS sketch looked perfect to create using two of the flowers.  So, I pulled out some coordinating Altenew Fresh Dye inks and got to work between blowing my nose, lol!  I used additional Waffle Flower products to complete my card:  A preprinted sentiment strip, some patterned paper and A2 frames die set.  Simple, but given my week I think I did pretty good!

Well, that's it for me.   Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!