Tag: simon says stamp

Snowflake Season – Simon Says Stamp card Kit

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Hi friends! I hope your week is off to a great start! It is another super cold week here! I am dreaming of a warm spring day, aren’t you? I love the January 2021 Snowflake Season card kit from Simon Says Stamp! The card kits are an amazing deal and full of product! I encourage you to check them out! I always look forward to the new kits and what the month has to offer! The card kit is currently sold out, but the individual kit contents are available for purchase!

Background

I started my cards today by using the pattern paper from the kit – Blurry Flurries (Whimsy Stamps). The paper is currently sold out, but WOW this paper is stunning! You can have Simon contact you when it is back in stock – just the click the Notify Me button. I started by using the pattern paper from the kit! This paper is double sided, it was hard to choose which side to use, I loved them all! I used the Filigree Snowflakes embossing folder also in the kit to emboss the pattern paper panels I chose to use for my cards. I used my Big Shot for the embossing. Simon offers the sandwhich by machine on their website, be sure to check this out! I ran all 4 panels through my machine. I wanted to add a bit more shimmer and shine to each panel. I used metallic watercolors to add sparkle to each panel. On a couple of the panels I also used gold ink. I swiped the ink pad gently across the panel to add the ink. I then trimmed down the pattern paper panels using a Hero Arts nested Rectangle die. I also trimmed 4 sheets of the colored card stock also included in the kit. I trimmed panels to match my die cut snowflakes.

Putting it Together & Sentiment

The kit also includes the Eliza snowflake wafer die. I die cut the snowflake 4 times, using the colored card stock from the kit, as well as the Silver Holgraphic Cardstock! This card stock is so beautiful and shiny! Once they were die cut I embossed the snowflakes using WOW Embossing Powder. I chose 3 different powders for my die cuts today: Disco Ball, Fairy Dust, and Pearl Gold Sparkle). These 3 powders are so sparkly and beautiful! I treated each die cut with my embossing buddy and then added WOW embossing ink and sprinkled the powders on each. Then I heat set each snowflake! I love the added shine these powders gave my card. I die cut the Silver Holographic Card stock using the Waffle Flower Skinny Strips die. I adhered the 2 panels to my A2 card base, as well as the skinny strip. I then adhered my snowflake. I chose 2 sentiments from the Snowflake Season stamp set. I stamped these in black on white card stock. I trimmed my sentiments and then adhered these with foam tape. I added a few sequins to each card and my winter greetings are complete!

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope this post finds you doing well!

Crafty Hugs – I’ll be back soon!

Natasha

Watercolor – Mixed Media

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Hi Friends! Hope this post finds you doing well and healthy! I love to set crafty goals for myself and one goal I have this year is to learn more about mixed media! I have a long way to go and today’s card is my first attempt! I made mistakes along the way, but in the end I had fun creating! So let’s get started!

Stamping & Coloring

For today’s card I am using the beautiful Floral Heart stamp set from Simon Says Stamp! This heart is stunning and it is a large stamped image! It fills up an A2 card base very nicely! I inked up the image using my WOW embossing pad and stamped the image on Canson XL watercolor card stock. I used my Misti stamping tool as this paper has texture and I stamped it 3x to ensure I had a clean impression. I then used a gold embossing powder for the heart image. I taped down my image to my board to help with warping. For the image I chose to use liquid watercolors from Brutus Monroe, as well as shimmer spray from Tattered Angels. I added the color to my glass mat and wet the heart image and then applied the ink to my card stock. It was fun to see how the colors mixed together. I chose 2 shades of pink, purple, and a yellow. I let the panel dry in between my color layers and reapplied the ink once dry. I repeated this process 3 times to ensure a bright heart image.

Once my heart was complete I used my Gansai Tambi watercolor set to add the blue around the heart image. I chose 3 different shade of blue for the background of the panel. I followed the same process as shared above and allowed it to dry in between layers. I also added some gold as well to the image for added shine and interest!

Background

Once everything was dry it was time to add some more design elements to the card. This is where my mistakes started to happen…. but this is what I love about card making! I love to try new things and when they don’t go as planned, see how I can “fix” it! I wanted to add some texture to the background panel, so I chose to use a background stamp, as well as a stencil and texture paste! For the background stamp I used the Sketchy Lines background stamp from Simon Says Stamp. I initially stamped them in black and I didn’t like the “feel” of it. So I decided to emboss them in gold. This was mistake one, but in the end I liked the gold! I stamped a few heart images in the background using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink from the Mandy’s Flowers stamp set! I then added some texture using a Tim Holtz Stencil set – Mini Layering Set 43. I chose the splatter stencil and used clear texture paste with the stencil. I decided to add a bit of glitter to the paste for added shine. This was my 2nd mistake… I added too much! But I still went with it! What do you think? I trimmed down my panel using a double stitched rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs.

Putting it Together & Sentiment

For my card I chose to use the Love You die sentiment set from CZ Designs and Simon Says Stamp! I love these dies! The font is AMAZING! I doe cut this using both black and white card stock. I adhered these together and added them to my panel. I then chose a sentiment from the All Things Happy – sentiment set. I love these pre-printed sentiments too! The card stock is super thick and these are so easy to use!

Thank you for stopping by today! I can’t wait to learn more about adding mixied media elements to my cards!

Crafty Hugs!

Natasha

Love You Too Release – Simon Says Stamp

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Hi Crafty Friends! I am so excited to stop in to share with you the beautiful new release from Simon Says Stamp – Love You Too! This release is gorgeous – truly something for everyone! You can check it out here.

I am super excited to share with you the beautiful new Sweet Friend stamp set! This set is just gorgeous! I love the floral images, the sentiments, and the adorable bumble bee! So let’s get started!

Stamping/Coloring

I started by stamping all of the floral images in the set on Fabriano Hot Pressed watercolor cardstock. I stamped the images using Versafine ink in black and I heat embossed them using a clear powder. When I started my card I wasn’t exactly sure of my layout yet, so I colored all of the images. For this card I used my Karin markers. I continued to work in layers and allowed them to dry in between. These floral images are so fun to color! Once everything was colored I set these aside to dry. Once they were dry, I used my Brother Scan and cut to “fussy cut” the images. It was time to get started on my background!

Background

To create my background I used the gorgeous Lumen 3D embossing folder from the Holly Jolly release. I am loving the new 3D embossing folders Simon is creating! The details are gorgeous! On the Simon website you can find the “sandwhich” for your die cutting machine. I trimmed down a panel of white card stock and used my 3D folder in my Big Shot machine. I then used my Gansai Tambi watercolors to create the watercolor background. I placed several colors on my glass mat and added the colors to my 3D panel. I continued to add layers until I was happy with the colors. I wanted the background to be a soft pallet. I then trimmed down the panel (once it was dry) using a GMD rectangle die. I then set it aside.

Putting it Together/Sentiment

I chose 2 sentiments from the Sweet Friend stamp set. I stamped them using WOW embossing ink and then used a white embossing powder on black cardstock. I then adhered the 3D panel to a card base and started to decide on placement of the floral images. Once I chose the laytout, I did decide to add some splatter to the florals. Once that was complete I adhered everything with foam tape and added a few sequins!

I hope you like it! I am loving this AMAZING new release! Tell me what your favorite new product is.

Have a good day! Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Watercolor on an Embossing Folder

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Hi Friends! I wanted to stop in to share a card using the beautiful Peony Bundle Embossing Folder from Simon Says Stamp! I love this folder and couldn’t wait to ink it up! I was inspired by two crafty friends and recent cards they made using 3D embossing folders – I couldn’t wait to try this technique using this gorgeous 3D embossing folder! I was inspired by 2 special crafty friends Bonnie and Mansi. You can click on their names and it will bring you to their Instagram page – you will be inspired by their gorgeous work as well!

Embossing Folder/Coloring

I started with a piece of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper in an A2 panel size. I spritzed the panel with water and placed this inside my embossing folder and ran this through my big shot. I did have to figure out the best “sandwhich” with these new folders as they are a bit thicker. I did find using the bottom plate of the big shot and several pieces of thicker card stock on top of the embossing folder was the best “sandwhich” for me. On the SSS page you will find how to create a ” sandhwhich” for your die cutting machine – Peony Bundle Embossing Folder. Once my panel was embossed I taped the panel onto my wood board and I was ready to watercolor. I truly enjoyed this process and adding several layers of color! For my card today I used my Mijello Mission Gold watercolors. I LOVE these colors and the vibrancy of these colors! I completed the watercoloring over a couple of evenings. I painted around the floral image using black. I liked the softened gray around the outside of the floral. Once my panel was complete, I let it dry.

Background

I trimmed the floral image using a Hero Arts rectangle die. I wanted to add a bit of interest and dimension behind the floral image. I used an embossing folder from my stash. The folder is from Jo Ann Fabrics. I like the bit of extra dimension behind my watercolor. I adhered the embossed panel onto an A2 card base. I wanted to add some splatters to my Peony Bundle panel. I used my Arteza metallic watercolors. I chose several colors from my set. I unfortunately added a few too many, but it is ok! I went with it and in the end I am happy with the result.

Card Assembly/Sentiment

It was time to adhere the watercolor panel to my card base. I wanted this card to mail easily and so I used a flat tape to adhered the panel to the card base. To ensure proper placement I used my T-square ruler. I have a small cup of sentiments on my desk and I chose a sentiment from this cup! I love this sentiment, it is from a Gray Muse Stamp set. I loved the navy background and thought it was a nice way to tie in the deep blue within the green leaves. I added my favorite twine – May Arts twine! I love this stuff – it adds the perfect finishing touch to a card!

I hope you enjoyed this card! I learned a lot while watercoloring this panel! Most importantly I had fun! Thank you to Bonnie and Mansi for their beautiful inspiration!

I will be back later this week to share some new crafty inspiration!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Simon Says Stamp – Love you Release

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Hi Crafty Friends! I hope this post finds you doing well! It is hard to believe it is December! Today I am back sharing a new card using the new Boho Circle Stencil from the beautiful Simon Says Stamp – Love You Release! This release is so beautiful – I seriously love it all! You can check out all of the new release here – Simon Says Stamp Love you December 2020 Release.

Stencil/Coloring & Background

I started with the Boho Circle Stencil on Canson Watercolor cardstock. I began by prepping the area for embossing using my embossing buddy. I taped my cardstock on my stencil and then used my WOW embossing pad to emboss the stencil onto the watercolor cardstock. I made sure to add 2 layers of embossing ink to ensure I had good coverage. I then sprinkled clear embossing powder and heat set the stenciled image. I love watching the powder melt! The pattern on the Boho stencil is so beautiful and for this card I wanted to create a bright and colorful card! I thought it would be fun to send to a friend during these cold winter month’s!

I then taped down my card panel onto a hard board. For this card I colored the background of the stamp using Ken Oliver Color Burst powders! These powders are so fun and truly easy to use! I chose 3 colors: Alizarin Crimson, Orange, and Lemon Yellow. With these powders you truly don’t need too much. I sprinkled a little of each color onto my card stock and then spritzed the panel with water. The water does all the work! They blend easily and are truly so pigmented! I then set it aside to dry on it’s own.

Card Assembly/Sentiment

While my card panel was drying, I die cut the gorgeous Detail Meadow Butterly. I have had this gorgeous die in my stash for a bit, I thought it was the perfect addition to this bright and colorful card. I die cut this on Canson watercolor paper as well. I wasn’t sure if I was going to add color to it, in the end I decided to leave it white. I chose a sentiment from the Summer Rose Stamp set. I heat embossed this on black cardstock using white embossing powder. I then trimmed down my stenciled background using a rectangle die from Gina Marie Designs. I then adhered my card together using foam tape on the butterfly and the sentiment strip. I added a few Simon Says Stamp sequins from a past card kit. I hope you like it!

I will be sharing my other 2 cards on social media over the next few days! I will share them here with you!

Boho Stencil – Foiling

Boho Stencil/Ink Blending

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Sunflower – Sending Smiles

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Hi crafty friends! I hope you had a nice weekend! It felt so good to have a weekend – I spent a lot of it in my craft room! I spent time organizing and creating! It felt so good! I was so excited to use the beautiful Simon Says stamp – Sunflower Background! I love this stamp and knew when I saw it released I had to add this to my stash! It is currently sold out, but you can check the store and have them notify you when it is back in stock!

I started by stamping this gorgeous background on Canson water color card stock. I used WOW embossing ink and Brutus Monroe Gilded Gold embossing powder! I love the added touches of gold for a fall card! I spent a couple of evenings working on watercoloring this beautiful stamp and working in layers! I used my Mijello Mission Gold watercolors on this card! I love these colors and they truly blend beautifully, but are also very vibrant! Which I love! In my leaves I did add some gold water color from my Gansai Tambi colors. I love adding touches of gold to my leaves!

I then chose to use the sentiment Sending Smiles from the Simon Says Stamp September card kit! I love this die! This die is sold separately as well – you can see it here. I die cut the background layer using vellum and then die cut the words using cardstock from my stash. I die cut the sentiment 2x and layered these together! I love how the die cuts out the heart shape as well! I thought they were so cute I added them to the (d & g) within the sentiment! I completed the card by die cutting the panel using a Hero Arts rectangle die. I had a small panel left over and I did adhere this inside the card as well!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great week!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Make Merry – Simon Says Stamp release

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Hi Crafty Friends! I hope this post finds you doing well! I am hoping to get back on track with my blog… I am excited to be here today to share a brand new release with you from Simon Says Stamp! It is an awesome and FESTIVE release – Make Merry! You can see the release here !

Today I am sharing 3 cards using the beautiful new stamp set Holiday Sparkle Greetings! I love this new stamp set – it has 4 beautiful greetings, they are perfect for an A2 sized card, as well as a slimline card. This set also has fun stamps to add more embellishments to use on your cards!

Card 1 – Holiday Sparkle Greetings

I had so much fun creating my cards today! My first 2 cards is a 2 for 1 card! I love when I can create 2 cards out of 1 background! In one of my recent orders from Simon Says stamp I ordered the Round and Round Background stamp! I love the versatility of this stamp and thought it would be a fun stamp to create a festive background! I started by stamping the image on Canson Water color card stock. I heat embossed the image using Gold embossing powder. To create the red background I used Nuvo Shimmer powders – in Catherine Wheel. I love these powders and when working with them you do not need very much. I added a bit of powder to my paper and then sprayed my paper with water. It is so fun to see the powders and water do all the work! I then set this aside to dry! I find these work best when you allow them to dry on their own.

I then chose a sentiment from the set – Joy! I prepped my area using my embossing buddy. I then stamped the Joy sentiment and all of the dot embellishment stamps and heat embossed these in gold. Once everything was dry, I trimmed down my Round and Round background panel and cut this in half. I then adhered my card together. I added a strip of glitter cardstock between the layers as well for added interest! My card was complete!

Card 2

For my 2nd card I followed the same steps as above. This 2nd card came together very quickly. I did add strips of gold cardstock to change this card up a bit. I still think it is fun and festive!

Card 3

For my last card I am using the Holiday Sparkle Greetings stamp set and 2 sets from Stamptember (Laugh in Flowers and Long Stem Flowers). I love the different sentiments in this new set – I chose to work with the happy sentiment to create a birthday card! I was so excited to use Laugh in Flowers – I have had this in my stash now for a couple weeks and I couldn’t wait to use it! I hope you enjoy it!

I started by creating a rainbow background using distress oxides. I then added splatters to the background using water and gold metallic watercolor. I then set this aside to dry. Once everything was completely dry, I stamped the sentiment Happy – Holiday Sparkle Greetings. I added a couple flowers from Laugh in Flowers and a birthday sentiment from the Stamptember collab/Long Stem Flowers. The flowers were stamped using Altenew ink cubes and a gold pigment ink.

I then trimmed down the panel using a Gina Marie Designs scalloped slimline die. I added a few sequins (September card kit – Simon says Stamp) and a bow using twine.

I hope my cards inspire you today to check out the amazing new release!

Have a great week!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

STAMPtember PARTY!!!!!

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Hi everyone! It’s party time! Have you seen the AMAZING new STAMPtember release – it is AWESOME!!!!! I love it and I am so excited to participate in the PARTY today! Come join the party and be sure to check out the Simon Says Stamp blog. You will see beautiful inspiration using the awesome new release! Come check it out!

Today is special party! We are celebrating Simon Says Stamp 11th – STAMPtember! Come join the fun and discover all the different promotions that Simon Says Stamp has to offer! Be sure to check out the designers blogs, Facebook posts, and Instagram to see what promotions they have available to you! It’s going to be so much fun!

Let’s get this party started – using the Circle Pattern background stamp! I love this new background stamp! I have created 3 cards so far using this new release and I know I will be using this again! It is such a versatile stamp to have in your collection! For today’s card I wanted to focus on mainly using the background stamp with a few added sentiments! The party begins with a rainbow inspired card!

I started by preparing a piece of Canson XL watercolor cardstock with my embossing buddy. I heat embossed the background stamp using white embossing powder. I was now ready to create my rainbow of watercolor! To create my rainbow I used my Gansai Tambi watercolors.

  • 32 Red
  • 33 Cadium Orange
  • 40 Lemon Yellow
  • 51 Sap Light Green
  • 64 Ultramarine
  • 139 Cobalt Violet

I used a wet on wet technique to create this background. I wet the background panel down with water. I then added the layers of each of the colors listed above. I completed this 2x, letting it dry between each layer on it’s own. I find this gives the best results.

Once it was dry, I added some metallic watercolor splatters. Then I trimmed down the panel using a stitched rectangle die. I die cut the outer panel using my largest die, then die cut another using the next largest die to add more dimension. Then I die cut two circles on my A2 panel using a punch and added foam tape behind these! I set these aside and began to work on my sentiments!

For the sentiments I chose to use the CZ Designs – You Da Best die. I die cut the outer portion using black cardstock and then the middle using white cardstock. I die cut the white portion 3x and stacked these to create more dimension. I wanted to add 2 smaller sentiments in the circle die cuts. I thought it would be a fun way to “pop” up the sentiments for added interest! I chose 2 sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Flowers set. I heat embossed these in white on black cardstock. I then adhered my card together and added a few sequins for more sparkle and fun!

I hope this card makes you smile and keeps the party going! I had a lot of fun with this one!

Thank you so much to Simon Says Stamp for having me join your designer family! I am having a great time and I am very thankful! I am excited for a month long party! Be sure to join Simon Says Stamp Facebook live events all month long! The next live will be Friday 9/4/2020 EDT. You will see more beautiful inspiration and maybe some more awesome giveaways!

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I am excited to share my promotion with you! Happy shopping!

Happy STAMPtember!!!!!!!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Simon Says Stamp – Let’s Connect NEW RELEASE!!!

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Hi everyone I am super excited to share with you the newest release from Simon Says Stamp. Simon’s newest release is called Let’s Connect. This release is full of amazing new stamp sets, dies, stencils, and sequins! I am super excited to share one of them with you today. You can see all of Simon’s latest release here. It’s an AWESOME release!!!!! For my first card I will be using the new background stamp called Reverse Crackle background. Let’s get started.

For my first card using the Reverse Crackle Background I wanted to focus mainly on using the background stamp only with some additional sentiments/die cuts added. I started by creating an ink smooshed background using Distress Oxide Inks. The colors I used are Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, and Squeezed Lemonade. I placed small amounts of color on my gel press plate then spritzed the color with water. I then laid a piece of Bristol smooth card stock on top and used my brayer to move the color around. I completed this two times then set the panel aside to dry.

Once my card panel was dry, I used my embossing buddy and covered the panel. I then used clear embossing ink from WOW on my background stamp. Then I stamped the image on top of my inked panel. I did not cover all of the background, as I wanted to create a mixed media effect. I used my Misti tool and stamped the background twice. I then used a paint brush to remove some of the unwanted areas of the stamped image. I then used gold embossing powder and heat set the stamped image.

I was then ready to work on the sentiments. I chose to use the Simon Says Stamp Big Thanks Words stamp set & coordinating die set. I die cut the large outer thanks using vellum and then die cut two words of thanks using black card stock. I then adhered these together. I used a sentiment from the big thanks words set and heat embossed it on black card stock using white embossing powder. Then I adhered everything together using foam tape for added dimension.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my first card using one of Simon’s latest releases. I have two more cards that I will be sharing where I am using the background stamp along with several of my favorite Simon says stamp sets. I will be back soon!

Supplies Used:

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Time to be Grateful – Unity Stamp Company

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Good morning everyone! I hope this post finds you doing well. Today I am sharing another limited time digital stamp release from Unity Stamp Company – Time to be Grateful. This set is beautiful, the file you purchase has pre-made A2 panels with the beautiful girl, sentiments, and foliage. I love that they have pre-made panels, as well as individual images! It allows you to jump right in and color, as well as create your own panels! LOVE IT! If you have been following me for a little while you know I like to set crafty goals for myself. Another goal I have is to color people. I was inspired by a recent live post on the Unity Stamp Company – facebook page by Bobbie Sue McConathy. You can catch the replay of her live (click on the link)! I just adore her work, her energy, and her cards! Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement Bobbie Sue!

I started by printing my images and sentiment on Bristol Smooth card stock. I love this paper when I use my zig markers. I love this image… from her jeans, to her adorable sweatshirt, and her purse! I have to admit I want this purse in real life! I colored the image in using my zig clean color brush markers. I like to start with my lightest layer and then add more color in deeper tones to add the dimension. I was most nervous about coloring the skin, I used Bobbie Sue’s video (see above link) to help me through this part. One tip she had was to start with the skin first. This way if you use darker colors next to the skin you don’t have to worry so much about them bleeding over. Once I was happy with my coloring I added pencils in the shadow areas for more dimension.

I then fussy cut the girl out and set her aside. I chose a stencil to use for my background (Flower pattern stencil – Simon Says Stamp). I used a combination of distress oxides – Faded Jeans and Tumbled Glass. I started with deeper tones in the bottom left and worked my way to lighter tones across the panel. I then glued my girl down onto the panel and set it aside to dry.

To complete my card I adhered the panel onto a gray card base and added some enamel dots from Gina Marie designs. I hope you like this card and you check out the limited time digital stamps from Unity Stamp Company. I have linked their latest releases here! Be sure to check them out! I appreciate if you would use my affiliate link as well! Thank you for stopping by today and wishing you a nice Sunday!

Supplies Used:

  • Stamps: Time to be Grateful – Unity Stamp Company
  • Paper: Bristol Smooth Card Stock
  • Coloring Medium – Zig Clean Color Brush Markers, Arteza 120 colored pencils
  • Other: Simon Says Stamp – Flower Pattern stencil, distress oxides: Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass, Gina Marie Designs (enamel dots)

Sending you Crafty Hugs,

Natasha