It’s the best time of the year, in my opinion. Let all the pumpkins, cosy sweaters and frosty, misty mornings commence! Also, 01 September is the start of Simon Says Stamp’s STAMPtember, a month-long celebration of stamping and community. It can’t be beat!

I’m afraid I’m a little under the weather at the moment. However, I hope to be back by mid-month. In the meantime, enjoy all the STAMPtember celebrations!

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

Do you have a drawer full of random bits of card? You know, where you put every precious piece of card for use another time and then forget all about it?! Die cutting can be a great way to stash-bust your way through that drawer and make the most of your supplies. This post is also part of a blog hop celebrating the Happy Camper release from Simon Says Stamp. Scroll down for more details. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

stash busting die cutting

I used the Mid Century Elemental Plate die and I love that the latest packaging from Simon often gives colourway suggestions. I started there, searching through my card stash, finding as many colours as possible that were similar to the suggestion. Then I adapted the colours I picked based on what I had in my drawer. 

I ran each colour through my die cutter with the Mid Century Elemental Plate and collected all the little pieces into piles of each colour. On a white piece of card cut to be the same size as the plate, I attached a white die-cut base, then I added the shaped pieces in different colours using glue to keep them in place. I tried to keep the placement of the colours random. Once complete, I ran the panel through my die cutter without any dies, using it to squish the pieces into their slots and create a lovely, flat finished panel.

I repeated the process with an olive card as the background.  

I die-cut the olive panel with a Nested Tag die and then used it as the background for the focal point. I cut a Chunky Scallop from white card and then added a Fun Birdie cut from the same pieces of card as I had used for the background. I added the bird with foam tape to the scalloped circle, and then for the sentiment, I white heat embossed a greeting from the Frankly stamp set, trimmed it to a skinny banner and added more foam tape. I finished the tag with more stash-busting by digging around in my twine collection for a matching colour. 

For the card, I mounted the white panel on a white card base and then used a slightly larger Chunky Scallop cut from white card as the focal point base for another Fun Birdie and greeting again from the Frankly stamp set. 

I’m enjoying my summer of experimenting with different styles of card making. I still love watercolouring, but reaching for the same supplies all the time can feel like you are in a bit of a rut. These quick-and-easy designs feel like a breath of fresh air. 

Here’s a card I posted on Thursday for a last minute Christmas in July project. You can find the original post here. This card uses these new products:

• Festive Bough Pattern Stencil
• Festive Swag Stencil + Die Set
• Making Spirits Bright Set
• White Christmas Text
• Mini Ink Cube Set

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the Happy Camper release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Laura’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon for comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday 06 August
• The not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp exclusive Sunflower Dance 3×4 stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Happy Camper products! This gift with purchase will expire 8/3 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.
  

Now, it is time to hop on over to Lisa’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

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

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

Stencil sets are a simple way to get maximum impact and are great for mass-producing Christmas cards. In the new Happy Camper release from Simon Says Stamp, two stencil sets are perfect for some Holiday stencilling. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon happy camper release

A new  Happy Camper release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. From the new release for my cards, I used:

• Festive Bough Pattern Stencil
• Festive Swag Stencil & Die Set
• Making Spirits Bright Set
• White Christmas Text
• Mini Ink Cube Set

simple stenciling – great for mass-producing Christmas cards

The Festive Swag stencil and die set and Festive Bough Pattern stencils both come with multiple stencils making the process of mass-producing cards simple. 

The set has five stencils, and I used the following ink colours on white card along with blending brushes:

• Cranberry for the berries
• Rhubarb for the bow
• Pine for the holly leaves
• Cabbage for the other leaves
• Dew for the pine leaves

I then used the matching die to cut out the stencil. 

For the background, I stamped the White Christmas Text set in white pigment ink on Neenah Desert Storm card and white heat embossed. I then trimmed the panel with a More A2 Rectangle. 

For the greeting, I stamped a sentiment from the Making Spirits Bright set in Cranberry and die cut with the matching die. 

I added the elements to a white card base with foam tape and accented with enamel dots. 

For the second card, I used the same ink colours and the Festive Bough Pattern Stencils. 

This stencil set has four stencils, with the holly and other leaves being on the same stencil. I blended Cabbage ink over all the leaves before using a smaller brush to add Pine ink only over the holly leaves. 

My stencilling isn’t perfect as it isn’t something I do often, but I love the result of the design and any imperfections are lost in the pattern. 

For the greeting, I took another sentiment from the Making Spirits Bright set and stamped it in Cranberry ink before die cutting with the matching die. 

I cut the panel with a More A2 Rectangle die and then added all the elements to a Neenah Desert Storm card base with foam tape and accented with enamel dots.

Well, that’s me for today. I’m back on the weekend as part of a blog hop. I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I have another quick and easy, simple summer card to share today. In addition, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the new Friend Like You release from Simon Says Stamp. Scroll down for all the details.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simple summer watercoloured flowers

This card does use watercolour, which can be time-consuming, but not when using this technique of white heat-embossed Dahlia Background and quick, loose watercolour over the top. 

I used hot-pressed watercolour card for it’s smooth surface and stamped the Dahlia Background set in white pigment ink before sprinkling over white embossing powder and heat setting. I then wet the paper with a brush all over before loosely adding paint, letting one colour blend and bleed into another. I did this a couple of times to achieve more depth, and then splattered it with leftover paint and white gouache. The white heat-embossed lines resist the watercolour, and you get a lovely background full of life, which took just a few moments to create.

I die-cut the finished piece with an A7 rectangle. I like this size to add interest and white space to a design.

For the sentiment, I stamped a greeting from the Happy Day set in Eucalyptus ink on Ivory card and then die cut with a Scalloped Circle. I attached this offset over the watercolour panel with foam tape. 

The background panel is an Ivory card, and the card base is from a Neenah Desert Storm card. Again, I used foam tape to add dimension and interest to this simple card. I finished with a few enamel dots and pearls. 

Here’s a card I posted on Thursday. You can find the original post here. This card uses:

• Birdies Dies
• Scalloped Circle Dies
• Dot Spiral Embossing Folder
• Showboat Hello Dies

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the Friend Like You release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from  Amy’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday the 2nd of July.
• The not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design exclusive You 2 3×4 stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Friend Like You products! This gift with purchase will expire 6/29 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Emily’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Nichol Spohr
Amy Rysavy
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Lisa Addesa
Sandi MacIver
Miriam Prantner
Lorraine Aquilina
Kath Stewart
Barb Engler
Carly Minner
Hanh Nguyen
Mary Reiner
Enza Gudor

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

Yes, you are in the right place. I know, there’s not a touch of watercolour on this card! In fact, this card uses only cardstock and dies. So, what’s happening? Well, the summer travelling has hit hard this month. I do love it, but it doesn’t leave much time for calm watercolouring practice which, let’s be honest, does take some time. However, when I saw the new Birdies dies from the latest Friend Like You release from Simon Says Stamp, I knew they would be perfect for some speedy yet-oh-so-cute summer crafting.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon friend like you release

A new  Friend Like You release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. From the new release for my card, I used:

• Birdies dies
• Scalloped Circles dies
• Showboat Hello dies
• Craft glue 0.5oz

just cardstock and dies!

I started by picking a colour palette and, as my preference is for muted colours, I dug through my stash and came up with these for the larger bird:

• Sage (body)
• Rainforest (tail)
• Creamsicle (wing)
• Honey (legs)
• Black (eyes)

For the branch:

• Dark Chocolate

The pinks for the smaller bird were random off-cuts of unknown origin, as my current pinks were a bit too bright.

I ran each colour through with the dies from the Birdies set and attached the pieces together with foam tape and the new craft glue – so easy to use in the small bottle size.

I created the scene on a panel of Ivory card, just smaller than an A2 card base, I’d cut and scored from Neenah Desert Storm. Lots of little pieces of foam tape were the key here, particularly on the branch. 

For the greeting, the whimsical swirl of the H in the Showboat Hello dies matched the cuteness I was going for. I cut it from my random scrap of peachy-pink card and attached with more tiny pieces of foam tape.

Finally, I accented with some pale blue enamel dots. Using only die-cuts, this card was super quick, in comparison to my watercolour cards, which is perfect for this busy time of year.

I’m back tomorrow as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

Honeycombs have a special place in my heart; their design is fabulous and conjures images of lazy summer days, to the buzzing of bees. You don’t even need to have a bee in there to get the feeling, and it’s the perfect backdrop, setting the scene for a lovely flower die-cut.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

summer hazy days and the love of honeycombs

I started with the Honeycomb stencil for the background and gently blended in yellow Distress inks from the lightest Scattered Straw, through Fossilized Amber to the deeper tones of Wild Honey. I removed the stencil and then liberally splattered the panel with ink and white gouache. Over the top of the honeycomb, the splatter reminds me of seed heads floating in the breeze and insects busy on their rounds. Once dry, I die cut with a More A2 Rectangle and then set the background aside while I worked on the daisy. 

I cut the Tattered Daisy petals and flower centre from a scrap of watercolour card. I left the petals as they were, with the die-cut details enough to showcase the delicate shapes. For the flower centre, I painted a pale yellow and deepened the colour on one corner for dimension.

I had a piece of painted green card left over from my fern card the other day, so I cut the stem and leaves from that. I also cut the Giggle Hello from the painted card. 

I added the daisy with foam tape over the honeycomb background panel. There are three layers of tape between the various parts of the flower head, which makes it stand out.  

For the sentiment, I combined the Giggle Hello I’d cut previously with a coordinating greeting from the Modern Scrapbook set, stamped in clear embossing ink and heat-embossed with Antique Gold embossing powder.   

I attached the finished card front to a Neenah Desert Storm card base and accented with enamel dots, pearls and sequins.

Here’s a card I posted on Thursday. You can find the original post here. This card used:

• Curled Fern Frond dies
• More A2 Rectangles dies
• Thank You Text stamp
• Swiss Dots stamp & dies set

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the Moments In Time release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Lisa’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday the 04th of June.
• Simon’s not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp exclusive Best Fishes 3×4 stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Moments in Time release products! This gift with purchase will expire 6/1 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Emily’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Suzy Plantamura
Nichol Spohr
Amy Rysavy
Lisa Addesa
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Yana Smakula
Cheiron Brandon
Tina Smith
Sandi MacIver
Alberto Gava
Karin Åkesdotter
Kulbir Kirkland
Samantha Pfrimmer

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I call this a masculine card because it is a nature card without flowers. However, plenty of men like flowers, and equally, plenty of women, like myself, love leaves and greenery. However, I think you can see where I’m coming from: a nature-themed card with a lovely neutral palette that would be highly useful for many recipients, including men.  

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon moments in time release

A new Moments In Time release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. For my card, I used:

• Curled Fern Frond dies
• More A2 Rectangles dies
• Thank You Text stamp
• Swiss Dots stamp & dies set

masculine thank you card

The execution of this card is relatively simple. For the background, I inked the Thank You Text stamp in Antique Linen, Walnut Stain, Iced Spruce and Black Soot. I ‘huffed’ on the stamp to activate the inks, and then gently laid the stamp onto hot-pressed watercolour card. I let the stamp rest randomly on the cardstock, resulting in patches of text and equally blank areas. I then splattered with water and white gouache. The droplets react with the ink, giving a lovely worn, antique look.  Once dry, I die cut the piece with one of the More A2 Rectangles dies – you can never have too many rectangle dies!

I added the fronds over the text background with foam tape and wrapped them with twine.

For the sentiment, I took a thank you greeting from the Swiss Dots stamp set, stamped in clear embossing ink on a scrap of hot-pressed watercolour card and heat embossed with Antique Gold embossing powder. Once cool, I die-cut with the matching die and added to the card front with foam tape.

Finally, I accented with pearls and Nuvo droplets. So, can you think of someone who this card would suit?

I’m back this weekend as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I mentioned in my previous blog post how I’ve enjoyed experimenting with new-to-me Intense Liquid Colours from Bibi Cameron, and in today’s post, I explore how to use them with a stencil set to give a beautiful, soft, loose watercolour look. Today’s blog post is also part of a hop to celebrate the new You Are My Favorite release from Simon Says Stamp. You can find out all the details of the hop by scrolling down. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

using liquid watercolours with a stencil

Here’s the card using the lovely Elegant Rose stencil set. I was apprehensive how using paints would work with a stencil but loved the result!

bibi cameron intense liquid colours

I went into detail about these new-to-me Intense Liquid Colours from Bibi Cameron in my previous blog post. Please check that out for more information. I will leave the pictures here, though, so that you can see all the gorgeous colour and the shimmer and shine from the sparkle bases. Spoiler alert – I love them!

Back to my card, the first thing I knew for sure was that I needed to spray the back of the stencils with a repositionable adhesive to minimise the seepage of paint under the stencils. The Elegant Rose stencil set consists of 4 stencils that build the detail of the roses. I sprayed the back of each stencil and left them to dry while I cut a piece of watercolour card to size. To help with lining up the stencils I cut the card to the same size and then die-cut it later for my card front. 

I diluted a couple of drops of Scarlet Red to a pale pink and then, using a domed blending foam, absorbed a little of the liquid and dabbed it through the first layer of the rose stencil. With each of the stencil layers, I did get seepage despite having respositionable adhesive on the back; however, this adds to the final loose look, which I loved.

I used a slightly diluted Olive Green for the leaves, and then returned to a less diluted mix of Scarlet Red for the next layer of the rose. For the third rose layer, I used undiluted Scarlet Red, and then for the final detail layer, I used Purple Rain.

To finish, I added more detail to the leaves with concentrated Olive Green and added touches of Purple Rain to the rose to achieve the greatest depth possible. Then I finished with a generous splatter of leftover paint, white gouache and Silver Sparkle Base. Finally, when dry I die cut with an A2 Rectangles die. 

For the sentiment, I took a greeting from the Beautiful And Curious stamp set and stamped it in white pigement ink on the gorgeous new Iced Vellum and then white heat embossed. I trimmed to a banner and attached it to the card front with a line of stitching and a tiny piece of foam tape to keep it in place. 

I added the card front to a Neenah Desert Storm card base and accented with Bubblegum gems. 

Here’s a card I posted on Thursday. You can find the original post here. This card used:

• Pristine Lilac Embossing Folder
• A2 Rectangle Dies
• Mother’s Day Dies
• Mother’s Day Stamp Set

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the You Are My Favorite release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Amy’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday the 30th of April.
• Simon’s exclusive Sunny Fern emboss and cut folder is automatically added to your cart that contains $30 or more of You Are My Favorite release products! This gift with purchase will expire 4/27 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Heather’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Nina-Marie Trapani
Suzy Plantamura
Laura Bassen
Cathy Zielske
Nichol Spohr
Amy Rysavy
Debby Hughes
Heather Ruwe
Bibi Cameron
Sandi MacIver
Alberto Gava
Caryn Davies
Kath Stewart
Revati Panickar
Carol Hintermeier

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

The dimension you get with an embossing folder is fabulous. I often like to use them as a subtle tone-on-tone background, but this Pristine Lilac embossing folder, part of a new release from Simon Says Stamp, was perfect for being a focal point. I used some new-to-me liquid paints to give it a loose, watercolour look. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon you are my favorite release

A new You Are My Favorite release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. For my card, I used:

• Pristine Lilac Embossing Folder
• A2 Rectangles Dies
• Mother’s Day Dies
• Mother’s Day Stamp Set

loose floral painting with liquid watercolours

I took the Pristine Lilac embossing folder and a piece of Arches cold-pressed watercolour card, spritzed the card with water, and carefully lined up one edge of the card with the edge of the embossing folder before running it through my die-cutting machine. I ended up running this piece of card through a couple of times during the painting process, and so lining up edge-to-edge made it easier to realign for the next run through.

bibi cameron intense liquid colours

For the leaves, I used Olive Green and toned down the saturation for the shadows with a touch of Umber. I added a dilute mix of Verdigris for the sky. With all the colours, I kept the card wet so that the colours mixed, spread and blended, and I love this loose watercolour look that results. I splattered with leftover paint and also some of the Silver base.

Once dry, I ran the panel through my die-cutting machine with an A2 Rectangles die. While painting, some of the sharp definition of the embossing folder was lost, and more so once I’d die-cut the panel. So, I ran the card back through the embossing folder again, spritzing lightly on the back of the card to achieve the best impression.

Once fully dry, I rubbed a piece of sandpaper over the raised areas to scuff them up, revealing the card underneath and creating highlights. An emery board works well for this as well.

For the greeting, I combined the Mother’s Day die set cut from Matte Gold card with the ‘happy’ from the Mother’s Day stamp set, stamped in white pigment ink on card stock painted with Purple Rain, and then white heat embossed. I added over the embossed background with tiny pieces of foam tape.

To finish, I accented with gems, sequins and pearls, and a deep purple twine bow held in place with a glue dot and then mounted onto a Neenah Desert Storm card base.  

I’m back this weekend as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I love watercolour, but you don’t have to pick up a paintbrush to get a watercolour look. These simple faux watercolour wildflowers use mini Distress Ink pads and a spritz of water instead. This post is part of a blog hop to celebrate Simon Says Stamp’s Rain Or Shine release. Please scroll down for all the details.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simple faux watercolour wildflowers

I placed one of the flower bouquets from the Butterfly Blossoms set on my Misti and then used mini Distress Ink pads to ‘colour’ the stamp. The mini pads make it easy to colour just the individual parts of the image. I used:

• Milled Lavender and Seedless Preserves for the tall flowers
• Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade for the bloom on the right
• Speckled Egg and Faded Jeans for the small flowers at the bottom
• Peeled Paint for all the leaves and stems.

I then spritzed it with water and stamped it onto a panel of watercolour cards. The amount of water is key; too much and the flowers become indistinct blobs! Too little, and you don’t get that watercolour look. This is a good opportunity to take some time and experiment. It’s a quick and simple technique, so it’s only a bit of a card if it doesn’t turn out how you like. Don’t forget you can use both sides of the card too. 

I like how light and airy this turned out. I splattered with ink, pressed onto a slick surface, and picked up with a wet brush and some white gouache. This gives me a hazy spring day feeling. I stitched around the panel and then matted onto another piece of card. This gives some weight to support the simple design.

For the greeting, I chose a sentiment from the Thank You Basics set, stamped it in white pigment ink on a Black card and white heat embossed it before trimming it to a skinny banner and adding foam adhesive.

I added the finished panel to a Neenah Desert Storm card base and accented with sequins and pearls.

Here’s a card I posted yesterday. You can find the original post here. This card used:

• No Place Like Home Set

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the Rain Or Shine release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Jennifer’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday 26th of March.
• The exclusive Balloon Bouquet die is automatically added to your cart that contains $23 or more of Rain or Shine release products! This gift with purchase will expire 3/31 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Emily’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Nichol Spohr
Suzy Plantamura
Jennifer McGuire
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Lisa Addesa
Tina Smith
Anna-Karin Evaldsson
Karin Åkesdotter
Sandi MacIver
Tracy Ware
Barb Engler
Michelle Short
Charlene Madrid

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

How bright and happy is this new No Place Like Home stamp and die set from the Rain Or Shine release from Simon Says Stamp?

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon rain or shine release

A new Rain Or Shine release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. For my card, I used:

• No Place Like Home stamp and die set

home is where the heart is watercolour

I do like to no-line watercolour, but with all the small details on this set, I decided to stamp an outline to paint. I chose a deep brown ink, Versafine Clair Pinecone, to give a softer, more natural look, and I only stamped once, so the lines weren’t heavy.

I added the elements to a panel of watercolour card with foam squares for dimension.

For the greeting, I stamped the ‘Home’ in Cranberry and then Cherry inks to get a colour close to the door I had painted. I then stamped the rest of the greeting in Pinecone ink and die-cut both with their matching dies. I added more foam squares to the back and adhered to the panel.

I couldn’t resist the cute little ‘Hello’ greeting in the set, so I added that beside the sun with a pink heart enamel to coordinate with the main sentiment. I then added the finished panel to a Neenah Desert Storm card base.

I’m back tomorrow as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

When I think of watercolour, my mind goes to beauty, elegance and atmosphere, and I forget that watercolour can be cute, too! This blog post is part of a hop to celebrate the Favorite Things release from Simon Says Stamp. Scroll down to find all the details. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

watercolour can be cute too!

This card started because of the Easter egg die from the Blessings At Easter set. Now the set has gorgeous images to stamp to go along with the egg, but my mind always turns to my paints and I imagined all the different patterns that would be easy to paint – dots, simple leaves, plaid, etc., but my favourite pattern is a good stripe. I chose a palette of soft pastel yellows and pinky-peaches and loosely watercoloured a series of stripes on cold-pressed card. Once dry I die cut with the Easter Egg from the Blessings At Easter set. 

I also watercoloured a scrap piece of card with a pale pink for the Huggable Bunny ears and a darker pinky-peach for Pretty Bow and a wee heart from the Tweet Friend set.

As I liked the cream and white example on the front of the Huggable Bunny die-cut packaging, I die cut the rest of the body from more of the creamy watercolour card (a great way to use up scraps) with a little Bazzill Marshmallow for the white areas.

I also die-cut the teeny-tiny eyes and nose from a brown watercoloured card as this felt softer and more in line with the colour palette than black would.

For the greeting, I stamped the Easter sentiment from the Blessings At Easter set in Cheeky ink on a scrap of hot-pressed watercolour card, which ensured that all my cream colours matched. It’s a small detail, but it makes all the difference on a clean and simple card like this. I die-cut with the matching die.

Finally, I mounted all the elements on a double mat of card and then mounted that on Neenah Desert Storm card. Unusually for me, I didn’t even use any sequins or pearls, it just felt right as it was. 

Here’s a card I posted yesterday. You can find the original post here. This card used:

• Distressed Vintage Love Notes
• Tweet Friend
• Oh, Shiitake stencil

blog hop

As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the Favorite Things release. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from  Jennifer’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday 05th March.
• Simon’s exclusive Happy Bee Day stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains $50 or more of Favorite Things release products! This gift with purchase will expire 3/2 at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Emily’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Suzy Plantamura
Jennifer McGuire
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Lisa Addesa
Miriam Prantner
Bibi Cameron
Sandi MacIver
Kath Stewart
Betsy Green
Misty Elam
Carly Minner
Rachel Alvarado
Revati Panickar

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I love the romanticism of a vintage card but often find the style too busy for my taste. Today, I tried to hit the vintage mark while keeping things clean and simple, in line with my style and colour preference: muted tones and lots of white space. There’s a new Favorite Things release from Simon Says Stamp to check out, too. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon favorite things release

A new Favorite Things release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. For my card, I used:

• Distressed Vintage Love Notes
• Tweet Friend
• Oh, Shiitake stencil

clean and simple vintage

I started out by stamping the butterfly from the Distressed Vintage Love Notes set with mini Distress ink cubes. I used a base of Antique Linen, then Iced Spruce over the wings, Walnut Stain on the wing tips and Black Soot for the body. I spritzed it once with water and stamped it onto a cold-pressed watercolour card. This allows the colours to blend and gives a watercolour look. I also used the same method to stamp one of the postage marks using Antique Linen, Walnut Stain and Black Soot. I trimmed the elements and set them aside while working on the background.

I also stamped a postage mark hanging off the panel’s top right and bottom left edges. I stamped one of the numbers and the text phrases from the Distressed Vintage Love Notes in Black Soot. I spritzed with water and splattered with a light gold paint. I also added touches of this gold paint to the edges of the butterfly wings. I also added stitched details on two sides of the panel.

I took a simple greeting from the Tweet Friend set, stamped it in white pigment ink on a black card, and heat-embossed it with white embossing powder. I added foam tape to the butterfly and the postage mark and attached them to the top right of the panel.

I double-mounted the panel and then attached it to a card base cut and scored from a Neenah Desert Storm card. I finished with a sprinkling of pearls. 

I’m back on the weekend as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting this gorgeous Anemone Wreath. And the font in the Always and Forever set might be my all-time favourite! This post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the To Love and To Be Loved releases from Simon Says Stamp. You’ll find all the details if you scroll down.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

watercoloured anemone wreath

I used Arches Hot-Pressed watercolour card to get the fine details of the wreath design on the flat surface. I do love Cold-Pressed card but it’s texture makes it harder to preserve detail. 

I stamped with my favourite old, partly dried up ink cube of Antique Linen Distress Ink for the lightest stamped line with the Anemone Wreath set and filled in with pencil where needed. I then painted with Daniel Smith Watercolours.

I kept the colours really light to represent the flowers I think of for anemones with their almost white appearance but when you look closely there’s dusky purples and the palest of green golds too. 

In fact, for a cohesive feel, I used green gold in all areas of the wreath – touches of it on the edges of the petals, a base for the darker green leaves and as a contrast in the ochre leaves. 

Now for that glorious font in the Always and Forever stamp set with it’s matching dies. I stamped the greeting in clear embossing ink on scraps of watercolour card and heat embossed with Antique Gold powder. I then die cut with the matching die and added over the wreath with tiny pieces of foam tape. 

I added the finished panel to a Neenah Desert Storm card base and accented with pearls.

Here’s a card I posted yesterday. You can find the original post here. This card used:

• Pixie Dust stamp and die set
• Always and Forever stamp set
• EZ Strips Birthday stamp set

blog hop

 As mentioned above, this post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the To Love and To Be Loved releases. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Amy’s blog but if not, Simon’s blog is an excellent place to start.

• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each hop stop. The winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday 15th January.
• The exclusive Circle Hoops embossing folder is automatically added to your cart that contains $50 or more of To Love OR To Be Loved release products! This gift with purchase will expire 1/12 at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.

Now, it is time to hop on over to Keisha’s blog. Here’s the complete hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog  
Caly Person
Cathy Zielske
Jennifer McGuire
Barbara Tarayao
Emily Midgett
Amy Rysavy
Debby Hughes
Keisha Charles
Alberto Gava
Miriam Prantner
Heather Ruwe
Tina Smith
Jean Doeringsfeld
Tracy Ware
Natasha Vacca

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

Happy New Year! Now, is it spring yet? Maybe not with all the winter storms, but give me spring flowers to paint any time of year!

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon to be loved release

A new To Be Loved release from Simon Says Stamp is out today. For my card, I used:

• Pixie Dust stamp and die set
• Always And Forever stamp set
• EZ Strips Birthday stamp set

watercoloured spring flowers

It might be a new year, but my tried and true method of no-line watercolouring flowers never lets me down. I stamped the lovely, tall flower sprig from the Pixie Dust stamp set very lightly in Antique Linen Distress Ink, on Arches Hot-Pressed watercolour card, filling in with pencil where needed.

I kept the paint application light and airy to suit fresh, new spring flowers. Of course, there’s a bit of left-over paint and white gouache splatter too.

For the greeting, I used the ‘love’ from the Always And Forever set stamped in white pigment ink on vellum and white heat embossed. I combined this with a sentiment from the EZ Strips Birthday set stamped in white pigment ink on a black card and white heat embossed. I then used the matching EZ Strips Rectangles die to cut out the greetings. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the new EZ Strip system. A block of rectangular die-cuts matches a stamp set, so you stamp the whole block of greetings and then cut the entire block with the matching die to give you a bunch of sentiments ready to use.

I cut a panel of cold-pressed watercolour card for it’s lovely background texture and added a strip of patterned paper to the bottom. I then wrapped the vellum strip around the panel and secured on the back. I added the black sentiment strip with foam tape. Then a added more tape to the back of the flower stem and tucked it behind the vellum. I finished by accenting with sequins and pearls and mounting the panel on a Neenah Desert Storm card base.

I’m back tomorrow as part of a blog hop, and I hope you will join me then.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

This Christmas card is my last of the season and my last card of this year! I’m popping in amongst all the seasonal preparations to let you know that a new To Love release from Simon Says Stamp is out today.  

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon to love release

Check out the To Love release here.

watercoloured die-cuts

I love to watercolour; if there’s an opportunity to paint something, I’m on it! And so even when die-cutting I like to use watercoloured card. It’s a simple way to elevate the finished result. I often keep a stash of card I’ve previously watercoloured. Most of the card I used for today’s card were leftover pieces from a card I made earlier in the month. The process I use is straightforward – I take the watercolour card and paint it with layers of colour and splatter. I then set aside to dry and let the watercolour do it’s thing and then once dry I die cut.  

From my selection of watercoloured card, I die-cut the Winter Cardinal, the Whirl Bay Leaves and pieces from the Hanging Leaf Ring dies. I rubbed Black Soot ink around the edges of the cardinal pieces and then built the bird using Gina K Connect Glue and foam tape. 

On a piece of watercolour card (I like the texture), I swiped texture paste through my forever favourite Falling Snow stencil. I then built a focal point on top with the foliage and the cardinal. 

For the sentiment, I chose a greeting from the Home For The Holidays set, stamped it in white pigment ink on black card and white heat embossed before die-cutting with the matching die.

I adhered the panel to a Neenah Desert Storm card base and accented it with pearls to finish.

Well, that’s me for this year. Thank you for all your support during 2024, for every like, comment, and click. It means the world to me to share my love of creating, and your support allows me to keep doing this. Thank you.  

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

There’s a fabulous DieCember surprise today – an exclusive DieCember limited edition Tim Holtz die set! And it is as cute as can be! The Be Of Good Cheer die set will be a gift, while supplies last, with $25 or more of Tim Holtz products.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

tim holtz limited edition die set

The Tim Holtz + Sizzix die sets are always top-notch. The Be Of Good Cheer set has all the dies needed to create a cute Santa and Snowman. All the dies are individual, so breaking apart the pieces is unnecessary. Everything has been thought out, even shadow elements to create dimension.

cute as can be

I die-cut the elements from pieces of card I had previously watercoloured. You could equally use coloured card, patterned paper, or a card with lots of Distress ink loveliness—the options are endless! I built each of the faces using Gina K Connect glue to adhere each layer to the next.

I used the same technique for the background on this card back in 2020. It uses one of Tim’s techniques: embossing paste with Distress Glazes. That blog post also includes a video. 

On Arches hot pressed watercolour card, I stamped the Old Letter stamp set in white pigment ink and white heat embossed. I then die-cut a stencil from a scrap card using the Grand Pixie Snowflake die and sprayed temporary adhesive on the back. I adhered this securely onto the background panel and swiped Opaque Crackle Paste through the stencil. I sprinkled with Distress Glazes in Speckled Egg and Peeled Paint, tapped from underneath to spread the powders fully over the wet paste and then set aside to dry. Once dry, I heated the glaze until it was shiny.

I spritzed the panel and added Speckled Egg Distress Spray and Distress Oxide Spray with a wet brush. And then, of course, my favourite white gouache splatter.

I used a Basic Rectangle die to cut the background panel and then from watercoloured card, I die-cut several leaves using the Pine Needle Cluster dies. I grouped these behind Santa and adhered with glue for the leaves and foam tape for Santa. For the sentiment, I stamped the banner and greeting from the Christmas Cheer set in white pigment ink and white heat embossed before trimming and adhering with more foam tape. I added stitching around the edges and accented with a twine bow before adhering to a Neenah Desert Storm card base.

I used similar techniques for the snowman. However, I used the Stocking Gift Card die to create a shaped card.

The Be Of Good Cheer die set is a gift with purchases of $25 or more of Tim Holtz’s product while supplies last.

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

You are in the right place! I know I usually have a painterly style, but when I saw the colour-coordinated card from the new Simon Says Stamp DieCember release and this Woodland Treescape die set, I just had to try it. In addition, today’s post is part of a fun blog party – you can find all the details below.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

simon diecember release

I do love the themed releases and there is so much to love in the Diecember release! I used the following on today’s card:

• Woodland Treescape die set
• Festive Elephants stamp set
• Midnight Green card base
• Sage card
• Rain Forest card
• Steel card
• Honey card

colour coordinated card

When I saw the new colour-coordinated card, I fell in love with the muted blue/green shades. They are the perfect match for the Woodland Treescape dies.

I cut the smallest background tree die from the Rain Forest card, the cloud/lamp layer from the Steel card, and the largest opening front tree die from the Sage card. I also cut the separate trees, snowflakes, moon, and stars from a Neenah Solar White card.

In addition, I cut the cloud/lamp layer from a Black card, a white card and the Honey card. I assembled the street lamp with Gina K Connect glue.

I cut the Sage die-cut with a Basic Rectangle die, and glued to the Steel die-cut layer. In turn I glued this to the Rain Forest background tree layer. I then foam mounted the die cuts on a Midnight Green card base.

I glued the stars and snowflakes and added the moon and white trees with more foam tape.

For the sentiment, I stamped the Happy Christmas greeting from the Festive Elephants set in white pigment ink on Midnight Green card and white heat embossed it before trimming it to a skinny banner and adhering it with foam tape.

I can’t see myself giving up my paints, however, this mainly die cut card was fun and refreshingly quick and easy to put together.

I’m back over the next couple of days, I hope you will join me then for some DieCember fun!

blog party

There’s a fun blog party over at Simon Says Stamp to celebrate the Diecember release. In addition, customers who spend $100 or more on DieCember release products will receive the exclusive Fancy Ornaments embossing folder and die set. The free gift will be automatically added to your cart once you meet the dollar amount requirement. It’s a retail value of $24.99!

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! A store or the manufacturer provides items marked with an asterisk (*). You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.

This year seems to be the one of the poinsettia for me. Of my last four cards, three of them feature a poinsettia! I will take flowers and foliage whenever possible as they are my favourite to create with. Today’s blog post is part of a hop to celebrate the Festive Fun release from Simon Says Stamp. You can find all the hop details at the bottom of this post.

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

how to use white space to create a focal point

I pulled out a piece of my favourite Arches watercolour card and very, very lightly stamped the Poinsettia Swag image with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I keep a pad of this ink, which has almost run out. I don’t reink it because it gives me the faint lines I like for achieving the no-line watercolour look. Where necessary, I filled it in with a pencil to make the lines easier to see.

I stamped the image in the top right of the card front. And when I added the sentiment I overlapped the greeting with the stamped image. This creates an area of interest for the focal point and the blank areas around it are termed ‘white space’ although they don’t have to be white! It is simply a term for an area with minimal interest. White space gives the eye somewhere to rest as it moves around the card front. If the whole card front was busy, the focal point wouldn’t pop and the eye wouldn’t move around the card. I’m not the best at explaining these things, but hopefully you get the idea.

I painted with the following watercolours:

• Poinsettia – Quinacridone Coral, Pyrrol Scarlet and Pyrol Crimson
• Poinsettia Leaves – Green Gold, Undersea Green
• Poinsettia Centre – Hansa Yellow Medium
• Foliage – Perylene Green
• Berries – Quinacridone Coral, Quinacridone Violet
• Background – washed out blue of Cerulean Blue Chromium mixed with a little orange to mute the colour.

Those were the base colours, and then I mixed them to get the colours I wanted.

I added a light wash of blue around the image, although that doesn’t show up well in the photographs. I then splattered with left-over paint and white gouache.

For the sentiment, I combined the Scripty Peace die cut from a Champagne Matte card with a greeting from the Jolly Christmas set stamped in white pigment ink on a black card and white heat embossed.