simon says... anything goes

Hello, again.. are you ready? :)

There's a new challenge over at the Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week's theme is Anything Goes. And the team all used Art Impressions on our projects. They have some really fun images.. will definitely bring a smile to you and your recipient's faces! If you have Art Impressions in your stash, use it along with us! But if not, no big twig.. it's not a requirement. :)

Here's my card:

See what I mean? How adorable is that?! I busted out the trusty PRISMACOLOR pencils with which to color this sweet SANTA & PENGUINS image. I know my coloring isn't the best - not my thing usually.. but it's good to be challenged, and I'm happy with how it came out. :) The sentiment is from THIS Hero Arts set, and it's on a panel that's been embossed with the Cuttlebug SWISS DOTS embossing folder to mimic snow. And I know I've been using this color combo a lot lately.. I just love it, though. ♥

Alrighty, it's your turn! Upload your project HERE before 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 2nd), and you'll be included in the random drawing for that amazing gift voucher to use at Simon Says Stamp!

Not only that, but Art Impressions is also sponsoring our challenge this week by offering up this FAB selection of products for one lucky winner, valued at over $100!

So there's TWO ways to win this week! And that's not all... swing by their Facebook page HERE, "like" their page, and leave a comment on their Facebook wall telling them 'Simon Says Stamp sent ya' and you'll be entered into a completely separate contest to win a selection of Art Impressions holiday stamps! WOW...

Lookie! You could win my Santa & Penguins stamp! :D Click the photo above, or click HERE to be taken to the Art Impression's Facebook page. This contest also ends at the same time as the weekly challenge ends, so don't wait! :)

Lastly, don't forget to stop by the challenge blog HERE to see what my amazing teammates did using their Art Impressions stamps...SO much fun. 

Whew! Thanks for reading today. See you sooner than soon! ;)

2011 Hero Hostess Blog Hop!

Hi, there! Welcome to the next stop on the 2011 Hero Hostess Blog Hop! Weren't Lin's creations amazing?! These hops are just so much fun because there's always a ton of great inspiration to be had, all at once. It's like, inspiration overload... I love it! :D

Here's my card for today... I got to play with the new 2011 Poly Clear set CL488 Congrats (click to see larger):


This is a great set... three really beautiful frames, and a handful of frequently-used sentiments to go inside them! I chose this text frame, and stamped it several times: once on the white card base, once on the shimmery green card stock, and then twice more on white card stock scraps. I cut two parts out from the stamped white pieces (text oval and "Thank You" strip), and colored them with Prismacolor pencils and set them aside. I also cut into the image on the green card stock, so the final image would be half on the white, and half on the green, for interest.

Then I stamped the Stripes Pattern on to the shimmery green card stock, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Once the green panel and image were matched up with/adhered to the white base and image, a swirl of black rhinestones accentuate the swirl pattern on the side of the label image. They also provide contrast to the straight lines in the text and background. Then the colored text oval and sentiment strip were layered with pop dots. Finally, a bright yellow flower tops it off. :)

I'm SO very grateful to Hero for including me in this hop... can't ever say enough about that company! And I'm so grateful to my fellow Hostesses as well... such sweet and inspiring ladies! ♥ And speaking of the other Hostesses, it's time that I direct you onward to fellow Hostess, Suzanne Czosek's blog. I'm excited to see what's she's put together... nothing short of brilliant, I'm sure! ;) Don't forget - if you find a broken link along the way, you can always go back to the Hero Arts Blog (or www.heroarts.com/blogs/club) for the master list of blog links. Also, please email Tami at tami@heroarts.com and provide the blog address that has the bad link so it can be fixed. Thanks!

AND... don't forget to leave a comment, because every comment left along the hop gives you a chance to win new Hero Arts 2011 stamps! But how about ANOTHER give-away... right here on my blog? ;) That's right! I'm feeling particularly blessed these days, and wanted to pay it forward by offering these two fabulous, brand new stamps sets - one of them a new 2011 set! - to a special ink-loving home:

Sweet Wonderful You and Musical Clef
Photo credit: ©Hero Arts

Just leave one comment per person, please, :) and a way for me to get a hold of you. Anyone is eligible. I'll draw a winner this weekend, once the hop has concluded. Good luck!

Thanks for "hopping" by today!

*** Commenting for this post now closed. Thanks!***

SUPPLIES:
stamps: Hero Arts CL488 and CG118
inks: VersaMark and Memories black
paper: shimmery green from Jo Ann's and white is Georgia Pacific
misc: Ranger clear detail embossing powder, Prismacolor pencils & Gamsol, Prima black swirl rhinestones & yellow flower, Hero black Gemstones (flower center), fine-tipped scissors, and pop dots.

WSW Anything Goes and Color Wheel Challenges

This card is for the WSW Color Wheel and Anything Goes Challenges going on over at Two Peas. The color wheel challenge was to use an analogous color scheme - colors next to each other on the color wheel - keeping in mind the gallon/pint/ounce principle. Obviously, I went with the yellow through green color scheme and used lime as my main color, yellow as my secondary, and darker green as my accent (click to see larger):


The Anything Goes Challenge was to use at least three stamps on your project. The three stamps I used here were the tree (which I really LOVE and thought it would be perfect with these colors), the flower, and the sentiment. I knew I needed to add touches of some sort of neutral color, and as usual, I chose black... I just love the way it always helps to make the other colors pop. Here is a close up of the black Gemstones that I used for the flowers' centers:


Thanks again for stopping by today. Have a great weekend! :)

ETA: This card can be seen in the Aug. '08 issue of Scrapbook News & Review.

**Comments have been disabled for this post.**

SUPPLIES
paper - SU!'s Whisper White and Green Galore (card base)... darker green and yellow are unknown
stamps - all Hero Arts (CL182 and CL184)
ink - Memories black, SU! Glorious Green
misc - Prismas and Gamsol, paper snips, Fiskars punch, Offray ribbon, Hero Arts black Gemstones, machine stitching and pop dots

One more bird...

My final entry for the the bird challenge over at The hero Club Blog. As usual, these pictures didn't come out that great, but I'm in a huge hurry, so they'll have to do (click to see larger):


The background was made by stamping multiple bird images (mostly from Hero Arts and one from SU) with VersaMark and then embossing with clear embossing powder. The main image was stamped and colored with Prismas and Gamsol. The sentiment was stamped and colored, and then another, leafy flourish stamp was stamped on top of it with VersaMark and clear embossed as well. It's difficult to see this detail in the photo, making it appear that the sentiment is just floating, but IRL, it's much more defined and grounds the sentiment. Hopefully a second, close-up shot will help? (Again, click to see larger...)


Anyway, the clear embossing was inspired by a sweet friend's card, seen here. It was really difficult for me to get a clear picture of it... :P On an unrelated note, this is the third card I've made now that doesn't have any ribbon on it. I wonder if I'm coming down with something?? ;)

Thanks for looking. Hope your weekend is going well. :)

SUPPLIES:
Paper - Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Pixie Pink
Stamps - Hero Arts Sparkle Clear 'A Little Birdie', Clear Design 'Anytime Messages' sets and 'Leaf Flourish', SU's 'Wild About You' set (small, solid bird)
Ink - VersaFine, VersaMark
Misc - Prismas and Gamsol, Ranger clear detail embossing powder and heat tool, small corner rounder, SU scallop punch, circle punches, Hero Arts Gemstones

Distressed apples

I promised something to see today, didn't I? Here's a thank you card that seemed to take on a life of its own (click to see larger):

I love this apple bucket image... it just begs for Prismas and Gamsol. ;) I also wanted to go with a rustic, almost autumnal feel, so a lot of sponging and distressing were in order. I must've gotten a little carried away because after a while, you couldn't even tell what the original card stock colors were! Anyway, the main image was stamped and colored as mentioned above. A second image was stamped and the little apple in the foreground was colored, cut out, and mounted over the original apple with a shallow pop dot to give dimension. I love the Aida Cloth background - it looks like burlap to me. And the Sanded background gives a very subtle yet still distressed look. I wanted to give it an additional homespun feel with some black stitching, but after a 15 minute wrestle with my bobbin, I decided some faux stitching would work just fine. ;)

This pic didn't come out too bad, I guess... still had to play with it a little bit in DIP, however. Thanks for stopping by today. The weekend is almost here! :)


SUPPLIES:
Paper - SU Ruby Red, So Saffron, Basic Black, Whisper White
Stamps - SU 'Give Thanks' set, 'Aida Cloth' & 'Sanded' backgrounds
Ink - SU Cranberry Crisp, So Saffron, Marigold Morning & Memories black
Misc - Prismas & Gamsol, sponges, paper distressor, pop dots, ribbon (Michael's), brads, SU paper piercing mat, piercing tool, black pen, & Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Technique - Magic Colored Pencil/Gamsol Magic

Set Sail Birthday

*SIGH* Where to even begin with this card?! LOL

Like I said, this card goes in an entirely different direction from the OLCs I've been making lately. I think after all that simplicity, I was ready to stretch creatively and challenge myself a bit. ;)

It's for my Dad - his birthday was this past weekend, and even though he's not really the nautical type, he IS into model ships. I can rememebr "helping" him put them together as far back as age 4 (me, not him LOL). The REALLY intricate ones, too... yards and yards of twine, a miniscule wheel and ornate deck railings. These images really remind me of back then. :) I've had this gorgeous stamp set forever and never felt brave enough to attempt inking it until now. I hope I did it justice (click to see larger):


In case anyone's interested, here's the full instructions (with some **handy tips**):
1. Stamp Cheesecloth BG with Soft Sky ink onto Soft Sky card base and sponge edges with Timber Brown StazOn
2. Using the SAMJ, line up the compass image and stamp with Blue Bayou ink
3. Stamp ship/frame image with Timber Brown StazOn onto Very Vanilla card stock
4. Stamp ship/frame image with Blue bayou ink onto Soft Sky card stock and set aside
5. On the Vanilla/Timber image, color with Prismas, blend and shade with Gamsol & a stump
6. Using an X-Acto knife, CAREFULLY cut out the negative spaces of the ship (between the ropes and sails), then the ship itself, then the inside edges of the frame... discard everything but the ship and frame
7. Very carefully, tear around the frame and sponge the edges with Timber Brown... apply 1/16th inch pop dots to the back
8. Apply 1/16th inch pop dots to the back of the ship (this is kinda tricky because you need to cut your pop dots into tiny, little slivers so they will fit in between the open spaces that were cut and removed, make sense? You'll do the same thing with the sentiment later on)
9. On the Sky/Bayou image, cut about 1/4th of an inch off the outside of the frame... color the seagulls with the Unibal Signo gel pen
10. Carefully adhere the Vanilla frame image directly over the Sky/Bayou image, lining everything up... do the same with the ship
11. Stamp Linen BG with Blue Bayou ink onto Blue Bayou card stock panel and sponge edges with Timber Brown... mat with Chocolate Chip card stock and distress the edges
12. Adhere the framed/dimensional image onto the Bayou/Chocolate strip and set aside
13. Stamp AYCI sentiment with Timber Brown onto Vary Vanilla card stock
14. Using an X-Acto knife, CAREFULLY cut out the sentiment... apply (the slivered) 1/16th inch pop dots to the back
15. **BIG TIP**: Ink up the same sentiment with Soft Sky ink, STAMP OFF ONCE, and then use your SAMJ to position the sentiment over the compass and then stamp - what this does is gives you a VERY faint ghost-like image of the sentiment so you'll be able to put the now cut up letters in their right places, nice and straight and perfectly spaced, just like the original image... you won't even be able to see the stamped image underneath, because you made sure to stamp off once first ;)
16. Adhere the sentiment
17. Measure out where you want your eyelets on your twill ribbon and attach them... adhere to the top and bottom of the card base using red-line tape
18. Adhere the Bayou/Chocolate/dimensional panel and admire! :)

*Whew!* Yes, the card really DID take me that long. And YES, I am a complete nutjob for cutting out the ship and the sentiment like that! LOL All in all, I think I went through about three sponges, 2 X-Acto blades, but just one transfusion. LOL ;)

One **BIG TIP** when using your X-Acto knife, always use a glass cutting mat. Glass mats are smooth and give you the best possible control when using your knife. It also helps keep the blade sharper, longer.

My next **BIG TIP**, always turn the paper while cutting and not your wrist... it allows for more fluid movements and control when going around curved areas.

Another **BIG TIP** about using an X-Acto knife for cutting out small areas with negative spaces... always cut out the INSIDE of your image or letter FIRST, then cut away at the outside. It's much easier to handle the paper when it's still large and in tact while cutting out these teeny, tiny details than it is to try and hold a teeny, tiny image/letter and THEN cut the centers out! LOL Talk about some serious blood loss doing it the wrong way! ;) Not that I injured myself while cutting, no... I'm just a clutz and stupidly chose to try and catch my X-Acto as it started to fall off of my work space. :P Yeah, uhh... BIG TIP numero 5: When a sharp object is in motion, DON'T TRY TO TOUCH IT until it comes to a COMPLETE stop. LOL Although this should be common sense for most people. ;) (I have since purchased this adorable little tool to prevent that very thing from ever happening again... not to mention, it was just too darn cute to resist! ;))

Anyway, enough chatter. I hope you like it. :) Have a great day and thanks for the peek!


CARD SUPPLIES
Paper: SU's Very Vanilla, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, and Chocolate Chip
Stamps: SU's "Set Sail", "Cheesecloth" background, "Linen" background, and "All Year Cheer I" sentiment, all retired... All night Media "compass" image
Ink: SU's Soft Sky and Blue Bayou, StazOn Timber Brown
Misc: Prismas & Gamsol, sponges, X-Acto knife, paper distresser, white Unibal Signo gel pen, twill ribbon, aged copper eyelets, and red-line tape

Birthday "Bouquet" card with the Magic Colored Pencil Technique

Hey there! I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving! :) We sure did. It's always nice to visit with family when you only get to see them a handful of times a year.

I managed to get all of my tasks completed before we left... with the exception of one card. But that's in the works as we speak. ;) Here's a pic of the one I did manage to get done:


This was for my Mom, who's birthday falls right around Thanksgiving. My Mom is a very traditional woman, with classic, elegant taste, so I decided to go with something floral as the theme. I used her favorite color (monochromatic blues) and favorite flower (daisy) as my inspiration for the card. The flowers and leaves are all individually stamped, colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol and a stump. (This is known as the Magic Colored Pencil Technique that was pioneered by the great artist, Debbie Gimbel. It's one of my favorite techniques for coloring in images and I wish I had the time to do it more often!) I cut them all out and arranged them on the card with different thickness pop-dots to give it a real "bouquet" feel. The sentiment was heat embossed and I lightly shaded the background of the flowers with one of my pencils and blended with the stump, leaving the area around the sentiment white. I punched the corners of the white card stock with my Stampin' Up! ticket corner punch (identical to the one I offered in my give-away) and matted it onto dark blue carstock. (I LOVE that new punch!) I used my edge distresser for texture on the edges and added gold brads to the corners. I then matted the whole thing onto gold shimmer card stock, as well as added some gold Stickles to the flower centers to tie in with the other gold accents and give it some sparkle. I set it aside and put together the card's base.

I stamped the Floral background (yes, I said "backgound" WOO HOO - two cards down, eight more to go in my own personal background stamp challenge) with a darker ink onto the lighter blue card stock. That was matted onto the gold shimmer card stock and then again on dark blue card stock, which was adhered to the card base. I then adhered the matted bouquet panel with more pop-dots on to the floral background. To say that I am pleased with how this card turned out would be an understatement. LOL I'm thrilled with how it came out! Even if it did take me FOR-EV-ER. Seriously... you do NOT want to know how long this card took to me to make. ROFL But it was for Mom... and she's always worth it, right? ;)

As you may have noticed, I decided to take a picture of the card instead of scanning it like I normally would. I figured with all of those pop-dots on there, I was not in the mood to deal with the headache of trying to get it to scan right! LOL I've decided that I like taking pics of my cards a lot more than scanning them. When taking a photo, I don't have to be concerned about pop-dots or other 3D embellishments throwing off the scan. Photographing them gives them a more realistic, dimensional look to the card. Like you're right there at my dining room table, looking at it with me. ;) I've decided that I'm going to post my cards this way from now on, and as you can see, I would REALLY appreciate ANY tips you girls who photograph your cards can give me! Quite obviously, I NEED the advice, LOL... pretty please!

Thanks again for reading. I hope you have a wonderful week! :)


SUPPLIES:
Paper - SU! Whisper White, unknown blue, unknown gold
Stamps - SU! "Floral" background and "In Full Bloom" set, sentiment is All Night Media
Ink - VersaMagic Indigo, Memories black
Misc - sponges, Prismas & Gamsol, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Perfect Layers, clear EP & heat tool, edge distressing tool, Goldenrod Stickles, antique gold brads and pop dots