It's a STAMPtember Blog Party!!

Hello, hello!  Can you believe that it is already September?  And with the arrival of September that means STAMPtember has also arrived!!  Today I'm participating in a BLOG PARTY hosted by Simon Says Stamp to celebrate the start of STAMPtember. And because it is a celebrate there are party favors!  I have a code to share that allow you to get a free word die with ANY PURCHASE!  Check out all the deets in the banner at the end of this post.  Simon Says Stamp was so kind and provided me with the super adorable Best Witches stamp set to create with.   You can kind all the new STAMPtember products right here.  Let's have a look at what I created with the Best Witches stamp set.

When I pulled the stamp set out of the mailer it arrived in, I saw the stack of books and thought how fun it would be to create a little scene with one of the critter witches (that's what I call them, lol) sitting on top of the stack.   I love this card turned out.   A little side note, thanks to Simon Says Stamp I have done more masking and coloring of images in the last two months than I have done in the last FIVE years!   I figured out my scene, created my masks and then stamped all the images.  Once stamped I colored everything with Copic markers and then die cut the panel with a SSS A2 Rectangle frames die. I stamped the little book in the magic spell (or at least that is how I see it, lol!), colored it and then trimmed it out.  To finish the card I placed the masks back on the images and then used some distress mica spray in Harvest Moon in the approximate spot where the little book would be floating.  Once everything was dry I stamped the sentiment and then added the little book.   

As you can see, there is a bit of similarity between the two cards.  This card is the one that I actually made first and it gave me the idea to keep going in the same vein with the card shared above.   I created the tag using the largest Simon Says Stamp Label Tag die.  I stamped the little critter witch on the tag and colored it with Copic makers.  I then made a mask of the little critter witch, covered up my coloring and spritz the tag with distress mica spray in Bubbling Cauldron and Fortune Teller.  I stamped and colored the bubbling cauldron with Copics, trimmed it out and then adhered it to my tag.  To keep the sparkle going I trimmed down strips of purple, bright green and black glitter card stock and adhered them to my rectangle panel.  The tag was added to the card front along with a bright green twine bow.  I stamped the sentiment, die cut it with a sentiment strip die and adhered to the card front. 

That's it for me!  Make sure you check out the full release at Simon Says Stamp.  There is a link in my sidebar that will take you directly to Simon Says Stamp.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

by the water...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with two cards for two challenges and both feature water, sort of, lol!   First up is my card for the Paper Players.   Their challenge is "by the water", thus the title of my blog post.  Here is what I made.

Last week I was able to make a day trip to the Washington coast with my boys and when I saw the challenge at the Paper Players, it had me thinking about my trip and seashells!   A few months ago, I was able to purchase a die set from Waffle Flower that features seashells that fit perfectly inside their postage collage die.   I die cut all the images and then used just three colors of oxide inks to ink up my shells and starfish.  I die cut the postage collage and then inked up each little panel with Salty Ocean and Antique Linen oxide inks and the coordinating stencil to create a sandy beach with water in the background.   The sentiment is also from Waffle Flower and that was stamped in one of the postage openings.   The small "sending" is from a Simon Says Stamp set.  I stamped it and die cut it with small strip die.  Everything was arranged on the panel and then it was added to a kraft cardstock base.  

My next card is for Color Throwdown and uses a die set from the most recent Birch Press Design release.  This one is called Koi Duo.   Here is what I created. 

One of my favorite places is Kubota Garden in the Seattle neighborhood of Rainier Beach.  My mother-in-law was friends with the granddaughters of the creator of the garden, Fujitaro Kubota.  It is so serene and peaceful there.  There are several ponds and all of them have koi swimming around.  It is kind of relaxing watching them moving slowly through the water.  So, that is what I was thinking when I created this card using the CTD colors.   The water element is represented by the grouping of black hexagons.  I used another Birch Press Design die called Honeycomb Cutout.  I used glossy black cardstock to give the hexagons the look of wet tiles.   I wasn't sure how the koi would turn out done in hot pink, peach and green, but I think I was able to create a harmonious look.    Let me know what you think.   Arranged everything on a white panel and finished with the small sentiment from a Simon Says Stamp set. 

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

Simon Says Stamp Happy Camper Blog Hop - Day 2!

 Hello everyone!  I'm so excited to be taking part in the Simon Says Stamp day 2 blog hop celebrating the new Happy Camper release!  I have three cards that I will be sharing that I created with the super sweet Cute Campers stamp set.  For the release Simon Says Stamp has a promotion going on.   Purchase any item from the Happy Camper release and receive the brand new, never been release Sunflower Dance stamp set!  This promotion runs through August 3rd at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.  Also, one lucky commentor on this blog post will receive a $25 Simon Says Stamp gift certificate!  YAY! (Winners will be contacted via email by Simon Says Stamp.) You should have gotten here from Karin Akesdotter's blog.  Now, let's have a look at what I created. 

For this card I did several different techniques:  masking, ink blending and coloring.  I don't often do a lot of masking, but this fun little stamp set is made for masking!  I figured out where I wanted all the images and then created the masks.   Once I had all the images stamped I covered them with their respective masks and did some ink blending for the sky and ground.  I did create additional masks for the horizon line so there was a defined line between sky and ground.  Once the ink blending was done I colored the images with Copic markers.  I did remask the fire so that I could ink blend the glow from the fire.   I die cut the panel, stamped the sentiment and then added the "stars" with a white gel pen.

While I'm super pleased with how the first card turned out, this card is my favorite of the three I made.  The clean and simple scene that I created is more my style.  I started by stamping the main scene image across a panel of kraft cardstock using kraft ink for a tone on tone look.  I die cut the panel down using a Simon Says Stamp A2 frames rectangle die.  I did some selective inking of the large scene stamp so that I only had the two trees, bush and camper.  I stamped that on a white cardstock panel and then die cut it down with a tag die.  The little puppy and fire were stamped on a scrap of white cardstock.  I colored everything with Copic markers.  The puppy and fire were fussy cut and added to the tag along with a twine bow.  I adhered the background panel and tag to a card base and then added the fun sentiment that I die cut with a little banner die.  

My last card was made in a similar manner to the second card.  I inked up the portion of the largest image that featured the tent and stamped it.  I also stamped the little critter.  He looks like a little chipmunk to me.  I then water colored the images with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  Once dry I fussy cut them out.  I used a piece of left over water color cardstock to create the background.  I thought it would be fun to have him sitting beside a little lake or stream.  Once the panel was dry I die cut the panel with a smaller A2 frame die, stamped the sentiment and then adhered it to a kraft cardstock base.  I then added my little scene. 

Well, that's it for me.  I'm the last stop on the hop.  If you started with me, the entire blog hop link list is below.   Make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win the $25 gift certificate.   

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Suzy Plantamura

Cathy Zielske

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Lisa Addesa

Emily Midgett

Heather Ruwe

Sandi MacIver

Tina Smith

Hanh Nguyen

Barb Engler

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Karin Åkesdotter

Rosemary Dennis

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Birthday cards...

 Hello!  Stopping in to share a couple of birthday cards that I made using products from the 49 and Market Summer Porch collection.  It is one of my favorites.   Let's have a look at what I created.

I will be sending this one off to Freshly Made Sketches.  It is a very simple take on the sketch facilitated by the fact that I could use patterned paper to create the corner elements on the sketch.  The center portion was easy as I just added a frame, the flower pot and butterfly laser cuts.  The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set that I stamped on a scrap of Summer Porch patterned paper and die cut with the matching die.  

The second card is for the JUGs challenge.  This week is word week and the word is water.  Let's have a look.

This card is on it's way to Scottsdale, Arizona.  My niece recently graduated from the University of Washington - Tacoma with a finance degree and got her first job at an organization located in Scottsdale.  She starts her job on July 14th and her birthday is July 15th!  I'm hoping this card reminds her a little bit of the Pacific Northwest.   For this one I used the largest postage edge die from Pinkfresh Studio to die cut the patterned paper from the Summer Porch collection.  I added the postage stamp in the one corner and the leafy stem, berries and butterfly in the other.  The sentiment is from the same Simon Says Stamp set I used for the first card.  I finished off the inside with another sentiment.  Another super simple card.  

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

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release!

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in to share two cards that I made with a background stamp from the Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You release.  Simon was so kind and sent me the Dahlia Background stamp to create with.  It is so beautiful!   You can check out the enter release here.  Let's look at what I made.

For the first card I went with a soft look using Copic markers.  I stamped the image multiple times because I my big MISTI stamping tool is wonky and I can never get a good, stamped image the first time around with large images.  Anyway, I finally did get it stamped and then colored the image very simply with a light pink and light green Copic.  I used my colorless blender to blend the colors out a little bit.  I die cut the image, adhered it to a white cardstock base and then added the sentiment that I stamped on vellum with VersaMark watermark ink.  Platinum embossing powder was applied and heat set.  The sentiment was then die cut with the matching die.  Adhered that with rolled up glue dots.

For the second card I went for a bolder look.

I stamped the image on watercolor cardstock and then colored it with my Jane Davenport watercolors.  I did use two different colors for the flowers, but the difference in the colors is pretty subtle.  I do like how it turned out.  I die cut the panel with a SSS A2 frame die.  The thin frame was glued to my cardstock base and then the interior panel was popped up for some dimension.  The A2 Frames die set comes with the hello sentiment and shadow layer so I die cut the word from glossy black cardstock and the shadow from vellum.  Adhered them together and then added it to the card front.   Going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of anything goes.

Well, that's it for me.  Make sure you head over to Simon Says Stamp to see the full release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Similar Layouts - Different Color Ways

 Hello!  I feel like it has been along time since I last posted!  So, here I am today popping in with two cards.  One card is for Color Hues and the other is for Color Throwdown and Paper Players.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is my card for Color Hues.  The colors this time around are peach and cobalt.  The inks I used are on the darker end of that spectrum.    I did some stamping using the Simon Says Stamp Brushed Flowers stamp and die set that I found during another round of cleaning out my stash.  The stamp set is so pretty and has lots of lovely sentiments.   I stamped the stem, the two smaller leaves and one heart using navy ink.  The images were stamped directly onto my white panel.  I then stamped the two flowers in coral and die cut them.  For my sentiment I went with grey instead of black for a little softer look.  I adhered the flowers and decided to add a second stamped heart.  This time in coral.  I finished with some Nuvo drops in Morning Dew.

This next card is for Paper Players and Color Throwdown.  Let's have a look.

The challenge at Paper Players this week is one layer and they mean it, lol!  No stamping on a panel and then gluing it to your card base.  That isn't one layer!  As you can see I used the same stamp set and similar layer out.  I changed out the flower and stamped only one heart.  I did add some little turquoise gems for a little more of the turquoise.   It was so nice to just stamp and not have to die cut!

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

Wanderlust Explorer Birthday Cards

 Hello!  Popping in with a couple of cards that I made using papers and laser cuts from the 49 and Market Wanderlust Explorer collection.  Let's have a look at what I made.

For the last few years I have been making birthday cards for my mom to give to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  So these two cards will be going to her to give to her grandsons (my boys).  I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps for this card.  Pretty simple.  Die cut a piece of patterned paper, roughed up the edges and added a little ink to the edges.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the laser cut pieces.  Finished with a Memory Box tab that I inked up with some ink left on the blender brush I use for brown oxide inks.   Going to add this one to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, too.

Next up is a card for Freshly Made Sketches.  Let's have a look.

Another very simple card.  Die cut patterned paper, adhered it to a panel of off white cardstock that was slightly larger and then cut the panel in to two pieces.  Adhered to a kraft cardstock base and then added the airplane that was popped up with thin foam squares.  Finished with the banner sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Banner Sentiments stamp set.  Stamped it on a scrap of Wanderlust Explorer patterned paper, trimmed it out and then adhered it with glue.  

Simon Says Stamp Moments in Time Release!

 Hey friends!  Popping in to share four cards that I made with a stamp set from the new Simon Says Stamp release called Moments in Time.    Simon was so generous and sent me the super versatile Banner Greetings stamp set.  Let's have a look at what I made.

First up is a sympathy card.  The stamp set has two different banners and then sentiments that fit inside. I used the Simon Says Stamp Etched Eucalyptus Wreath and the Blossom Swag embossing folder.  After embossing my panel I splattered it with watered down Bundled Sage distress ink.  The wreath was die cut from a mint green cardstock and vellum, layered and then adhered to the card front.  I stamped the banner and sentiment and trimmed it out.  I wish I had placed the banner a little bit differently, but overall happy with the design. 

I went with a more monochromatic look for this card.  I think it is perfect for a guy or a gal.  I die cut the Etched Berry Branch from dark gray cardstock and adhered it to a panel of light gray cardstock that I embossed with the Simon Says Stamp Geometric Lattice embossing folder.  The sentiment and banner were stamped on the same light gray cardstock as the embossed panel, trimmed out and adhered.  

This card happened because I already had the two little buttercups diecut!  I just needed to put them together, add some patterned paper, the sentiment and I was done.  I did add a little bit of interest by embossing the patterned paper panel with another Simon Says Stamp embossing folder.  I like the subtle look

This final card didn't start out being my favorite, but once I had it all put together I love it!  I started by stenciling a panel of white cardstock with a poppy stencil from Simon Says Stamp.  I used Candied Apple distress oxide ink.  I then die cut the panel with the Simon Says Stamp A2 Nesting Frames die set.  I die cut a panel of white carstock and adhered the frame.  I then die cut additional panels to fit behind the inner panel so that it would be slightly popped up from the frame.  I adhered that to my white panel.  Then I die cut the flower (SSS Sunrise Stem) from white cardstock, inked up just the flower with Candied Apple and adhered the pieces to my card front.  I stamped the banner and sentiment, trimmed it out and then inked up the banner with the residual ink on my blending brush.  The banner was adhered and I was done.  I like the rather striking and unusual look of this card. 

Well, that's it for me.  Don't forget to check out the release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Just Us Girls Challenge #775 - Mood Board

 Hello!  I'm back for more fun with the JUGs team!  This week is mood board week and Carol picked a fun one.  I do have to admit that when I first saw it, I was a little stumped, but eventually I think I came up with a good take on the mood board.  Let's have a look at what I made.

Since the mood board has a crafty theme to it I looked through my stash to see what I had that would relate to that.  I found an older Simon Says Stamp set called Crafty Friends.   There are small images of a pencils, paintbrush and marker in the set, but I decided to go with the diagonal striped image to create my row of color.  I focused on the red/pink/yellow/orange colors and the heart shape.  I used Pinkfresh Studio inks in my chosen colors in two shades.   Once finished with the stamping I die cut the panel and then die cut the heart from the center.  I stamped the sentiment from the Crafty Friends stamp set inside the heart and then assembled my card.  I used thin foam squares for the main panel and then slightly thicker ones for the heart.  I finished off the card with three tiny Trinity Stamps Rainbow Fish pearls.  

Well, that's it for me.  I hope you enjoyed today's project and will take the time to play along at Just Us Girls!  Have a wonderful day. 

 

two cards...

 Hello!  I got some time to make a couple of cards and I'm here to share!  One card is for Freshly Made Sketches and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.  The other is for Color Throwdown.  Let's see what I made.

What do you do when you want to make a card, but you just aren't feeling some of the supplies you already have on your desk?  You turn to pretty patterned papers and ephemera!  Or at least that is what I did for this card.  I pulled out my pack of 49 and Market Birdsong patterned paper and laser cuts, rummaged around for a bit and came up with this card.   I die cut the patterned paper and then layered on all the elements that I chose.  I finished with the pre-printed sentiment.  Even the little bow is a laser cut.   

I made this fun little card with a cute stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp that was a free gift with purchase.  I got the offer around my birthday, so I decided to go for it and made a small purchase.  It has been on my desk since it arrived in early December!  I thought the CTD colors were perfect to create a birthday card that I will probably save to give to my great nephew on his birthday later this year.  The stamps are all one piece and the birthday is a separate stamp.  I stamped the stamps using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored the images very simply with Copic markers in the CTD colors.   I then die cut the image with the matching die.  The die cuts everything out as one piece so in order to have 5 individual stamps I had to cut them apart.  The birthday was stamped using VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink and die cut, as well.  The happy sentiment is from another SSS birthday stamp set.  I layered all the stamps using just glue as I wanted to keep the card as flat as possible for mailing.  

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

JUGs challenge #774 - Word Week - Fruit

 Hello, hello!  I'm back for week 2 of my guest designer turn at Just Us Girls!  This week is word week and the word is fruit!   I must admit I wasn't even sure that I had anything in my stash that would work, but thankfully I remember a Simon Says Stamp stamp and die set that I have that features lemons.  Let's have a look at what I made.

I stamped all the lemon images in the stamp set in VersaFine CLAIR Nocturne ink, applied clear embossing powder, heat set and then watercolored them with just two Tonic Studio Aqua Flow pens:  yellow and dark green.  The same was done for the butterfly.   Once dry I die cut all the images.  The stamp set happened to be part of a card kit that I had purchased and so I used some of the patterned paper from the kit.  The paper is from Simple Stories, but unfortunately I don't know which paper line.  I die cut the paper, arranged my lemons and then stamped the sentiment from the kit.   The panel was added to a white cardstock base and then I attached the butterfly.  I'm super happy with how this card turned out. 

I hope to see you playing along with this week's challenge.  All the information can be found on the JUGs blog.   Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Simon Says Stamp You Are My Favorite Release!

 Hello everyone!  I'm back to share three projects I made with the lovely Timeless Blossoms stamp set from the new Simon Says Stamp release called You Are My Favorite.  Simon was so kind and sent me this pretty stamp set to create with!  Let's have a look at what I made.

The Timeless Blossoms stamp set has lot of great sentiments including the Happy Mother's Day sentiment.  With Mother's Day just around the corner I thought it appropriate to make Mother's Day cards.  I used the color combo from Color Hues to stamp my floral heart.  I used two Pinkfresh Studio inks:  Soft Lilac and Ocean Breeze.  The floral heart is comprised of three separate stamps.  The first stamp are the leaves, the second has the lily like flower and roses and the final layer has more roses.  After stamping the first layer using the Ocean Breeze ink I stamped the second layer 6 times with the Soft Lilac in order to get the darker lilac color I wanted.  The third layer was stamped twice with the Soft Lilac.   I die cut the panel and then adhered it to another larger panel of light gray cardstock.  I adhered a twine bow and the sentiment over the top of it.  The tiny sequins are light aqua in color. 

The Timeless Blossoms stamp set also includes a small swag image, as well as one single rose with leaves.  I used those two sets of stamps for the second Mother's Day card.  This time I went with a peach and coral color combo and a pale green for the leaves.   To get the swags stamped equal distance apart I stamped the first layer and then rotated my cardstock 180 degrees and stamped the layer again.  Then I stamped the second layer, rotated the cardstock and stamped the second layer.  Did that one more time for the final layer.  Then I positioned and stamped the single rose and leaves in the same way.  I die cut the panel with a Simon Says Stamp A2 frames die to create the frame and then with a smaller die from the same set to create the interior panel.   I stamped the sentiment in light gray ink and then adhered the panel inside the frame using foam tape.  I finished with tiny clear sequins.

For my final project I decided to create a little decor piece.   I started by stamping the floral heart 

Using a yellow, lilac and olive green color scheme.  Since the image is heart shaped, I wanted to see if it would fit inside of this pretty scalloped edge heart die, I have from another Simon Says Stamp stamp and die set I have called Happy Hello.  I was so excited to see that it was a pretty perfect fit!   I painted a Tim Holtz frame with white paint and added polka dot patterned paper to the back before adhering it to the frame.  The heart was popped up in the center using foam squares.  I then stamped the two little roses and leaves and fussy cut them out.  The sentiment is a from a Simon Says Stamp set that is 10 years old!  I rediscovered it as I was going through my stash looking for the right sentiment.  I think the sentiment is just perfect for this piece!  I stamped it in gray ink, die cut it with the matching die and popped it up with foam squares.   The little corner flowers were also popped up.  I just love how this turned out.   I'm going to add this to the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge of blooming blooms.

Well, that is it for me.  Don't forget to check out the new Simon Says Stamp release.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

just because...

 Hello, hello!  I'm popping in with a card for Freshly Made Sketches and Color Hues.  Let's have a look at what I made.

Do you ever come up with your idea for a card and then can't find one of the items you need to complete said idea?  Happens to me all the time, lol!  Such was the case with this card.  I couldn't find my set of MFT fishtail flag banner dies.  In the process of looking for them and for another product I came across the Simon Says Stamp Happy Hello suite of products.  The Happy Hello die set had the other die I needed for another project, but as I was looking at everything I realized that the funky flowers in the Happy Hello stamp set would be perfect to use for my card!  I stamped the stems in MFT Tropical Teal and the flowers in PFS Clementine and then die cut them with the matching die.  I used a smaller fishtail flag banner die for the banner element and layered on the flowers.    I wrapped some bright orange twine around the top and tied a bow.  The sentiment is also from Happy Hello.  I stamped it in the Tropical Teal and then die cut it with a label die.  I had this light gray cardstock panel that I had used to figure out how many shims I needed to emboss a die into cardstock.  Because it is a technique I don't do that often I forget what my embossing "sandwich" needs to be. I used a Birch Press Design layering die for the embossing.  The embossing is subtle, but I think adds a nice touch.  Anyway, adhered the panel to a white cardstock base, added the banner with thin foam squares and then the sentiment.   Simple, but I love those boldly colored funky flowers!

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

Bunny Kisses...

 Hello, hello!  Popping in with a sweet Easter card that I created for Color Throwdown and Just Us Girls.   The challenge at JUGs is to use a die, but no flower dies.  Let's have a look.

Even though Easter isn't until April 20th I realized the other day that I need to hop to it and get a few more cards made.  I remembered the super cute Bunny Kisses stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp that was released last year and thought it would be perfect with the CTD colors.   I love how the two bunnies look just like candy stamped in yellow and lavendar.  I did some direct to paper inking with mint ink and then die cut the little hearts and leafy stems from the cardstock.   The sentiment was stamped in black and die cut with the matching sentiment die.   Layered everything up and I was done.  I think this will be going to my great niece who lives in California.   

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