simon says... make your own background

Hi, friends.. it's Wednesday! And this week's theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is Make Your Own Background!

So put away that patterned paper, and create your own! :) This week's product focus was stencils.. aaaaalll the rage right now. So here's my card, using a stencil, some ink, and a sponge to create my background:

I used Simon's Exclusive BLOCKED CIRCLES stencil with a couple Distress Inks (FESTIVE BERRIES and TUMBLED GLASS) and slightly shifted the stencil between color applications to get that great pattern. I accented it with a circle stamp from Simon's Exclusive LOTS OF DOTS set. The sentiment is from the Simon Exclusive HAPPY EVERY DAY set as well. I pretty much love how this came out.. it was SO quick to do. Plus, imagine the color combinations you could do with this! What do you think? :)

So now you're up! Link your custom-made background project HERE no later than 8am next Wednesday (the 11th), and you'll be included in the random drawing for a very generous prize voucher to spend at Simon!

And have you heard? Simon Says Stamp just introduced their very own line of inks and card stocks! Super quality, gorgeous colors... head HERE to check 'em out!

That's all from me.. thank you for peekin'. See you soon! :)

simon says... anything goes

That's right, friends! Time for another Wednesday challenge, and time for another chance at a very generous gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp!

This week's theme is Anything Goes.. always popular. :) And the product line we all used was none other than the FAB Tim Holtz/Ranger! If you have Timmy/Ranger products in your stash, we'd love to see you use them along with us, but it's not a requirement.

So here's my card:

I used an image from the PSYCHEDELIC GRUNGE stamp set along with a sentiment from THE JOURNEY clear stamp set. I used BROKEN CHINA for the blue ink as well (the green is THIS one from Hero Arts), and spritzed the inked image with water before stamping to blend the inks together a little more. A Hero Arts NOTECARD, some fussy cutting, and some ENAMEL DOTS, and ta-da! :)

And now it's your turn! Upload your project HERE no later than 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 4th), and you'll be in the drawing for that awesome gift voucher! And head on over HERE to see the rest of the DT projects!

Thanks for reading today... I hope you and your family have an amazing Thanksgiving! See you soon. :)

simon says... sketch time

Hi, friends! Another Wednesday! :)

The product lines we all used on our creations this week was either Jane's Doodles or Authentique... both FAB companies! If you have either of these product lines in your stash, we'd love to see them used on your entry/ies was well, but it's not a requirement of the challenge. 

The theme this week is a sketch, provided by my amazing teammie, Heather! Isn't it awesome?!

So now, here's my card:

I used the gorgeous PRETTY PEONIES set from Jane's Doodles. The image was stamped on NEENAH SOLAR WHITE, tightly cropped, and the stem colored with Copics YG03 and YG63. Next, I stamped/cut the petals from the patterned paper, and adhered it over the stem with pop dots. Finally, the flower center was stamped on another piece of the white card stock, colored with Copic Y08, and cut/adhered on top of the patterned petals. This sketch calls for a few layers, which can be difficult for me, but I'm quite fond of how this came out! It's all a testament to Heather's amazing design! :)

By the way, Copics are on sale right now over at Simon Says... run! GO! :D

So now it's your turn: upload your project HERE by 8am EDT on the 27th, and you'll be entered into the weekly random drawing for another generous gift voucher to spend at Simon!

And check out what the rest of the team did for this challenge right HERE!

Thank you for stopping by today... see you real soon! xo

simon says... thanks/Thanksgiving

Hi friends!

As usual every Wednesday, the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog has a new challenge for ya!

This week's theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving. And the product line we all used was Hero Arts. If you have Hero Arts in your stash, we'd love to see it used, too! But it's not a requirement.

Here's my card:

I've had this SIMPLE LEAF BACKGROUND for a while now, and love how it looks using the emboss resist technique. After embossing with clear embossing powder on to their SNOW LAYERING PAPER, I generously sponged autumnal-colored inks all over. The sentiment is from Hero's THANKS A BUNCH set and stamped with CUP O' JOE ink. A few of their coordinating gemstones and a bit of corner rounding here-n-there finishes it off. :)

So now it's your turn! Upload your Thanks/Thanksgiving creation HERE before 8am the 20th, and you'll be entered in the random drawing for that amazing gift voucher to spend at Simon Says!

And head over to the challenge blog HERE to see what my amazing teamies did for this challenge as well!

Thanks for reading. I hope you and yours are doing well as we head into the holiday season.. can't believe it's almost the end of the year. Where did it all go?! :)

See you soon.....  ♥

simon says... KISS!

Hi friends! It's Wednesday! :)

Time for a new challenge, and another opportunity to win that amazing $50 gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp! 

This week's theme is Clean & Simple. My fave. ;) And the product line we all worked with was from the FAB Kelly Purkey! If you have any KP Exclusives goodies in your stash, we'd love to see you use them as well! But it's not a challenge requirement.

As for my card:

I used the fun AUTUMN stamp set (the tag image was heat embossed on KRAFT and then fussy cut), along with THIS OCEAN INK from Hero Arts, and a sprinkling of enamel dots. To me, Clean & Simple means minimal layers, strong design, and white space... i luuuuuv the white space. :)

So, link up your Clean & Simple creation HERE, before 8am EDT next Wednesday (11-13-13), and you could be the randomly-drawn winner of that amazing voucher to Simon Says Stamp!

Only five entries per person, and no back-linking, please... only new projects will be accepted. And swing by HERE to see what the rest of the team did for this challenge... as always, simply amazing!

Thanks so much for stopping by... see you soon! :)

simon says... anything goes

Are you ready? :)

This week's theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is Anything Goes! And the product line we all used was none other than Simon's Exclusives! If you have any Simon Says Stamp goodies in your stash, we'd love it if you showed us, but it's not a requirement of the challenge.

So, on to my card for the week:

I like to stamp sentiments "collage style" and make them the focal point of my design. With clear stamps like these, it's easy to just stick them all over one large acrylic block and stamp all at once! I used words from several different sets here... mostly from the BABY and SO BEAUTIFUL sets, but also from HANDWRITTEN GREETINGS and the THANKS sets as well. Inks are all Hero Arts - SOFT POOL, FRESH PEACH, and CHARCOAL. The card base is Hero Arts, too.

So now you're up! Link your Anything Goes project HERE, by 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 6th), and you'll be entered into the random drawing for an amazing gift voucher to spend at Simon!

Also! Be sure to check out Simon's BRAND NEW BLOG, right HERE!

It's bigger and better than ever! :)

Thanks for reading today.. see you soon... xo

simon says... halloween (or halloween colors)

Back again, with a Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog post! :)

As always, your participation could win you (via random drawing) a very generous gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp!

This week's theme is Halloween/ Halloween Colors (purple, orange, black). Here's a color inspiration board to get the mojo goin'...

..so even if Halloween cards aren't your thing, you can still play along using the colors shown as your inspiration... yay! :)

Here's my card:

I used the Hero Arts SCARY HOUSE cling stamp and heat embossed it on to a glossy paper, gradient background (sponged Dusty Concord, Worn Lipstick, and Spiced Marmalade - the moon was masked). The card base is Simon's WHITE WOODGRAIN CARD STOCK, liberally inked with Hero's Charcoal Mid-Tone ink (direct to paper technique). After using the Charcoal ink, I inked up my brayer with some BLACK INK and lightly rolled it over the paper a few times. The brayer ensures the black ink just sits on "top" of the woodgrain, and not get in the recessed areas.

It really helps emphasize the texture and give it a very weathered look (that center-left photo on the inspiration board is what really inspired this technique)! The sentiment was created using KELLY PURKEY WHITE ALPHA STICKERS, stacking several of each letter so they look like they're pop-dotted.

Now it's your turn! Upload your Halloween/Color Challenge project HERE, no later than 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 30th), and you'll be entered into the drawing for that amazing gift voucher!

And please go HERE to see the incredible projects created by the rest of my fab teamies, including our newest addition, Emily Leiphart! :)

Thanks for reading.. later, 'gators! xo

Simon says... Christmas/Happy Holiday

Hiya, friends! Are you ready? :)

This week's theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is Christmas/Happy Holiday. Perfect timing, as I bet many are already working on their seasonal cards, yes?  :)

Here's mine:

This Hero Arts POINSETTIA image is one of my all-time favorites. It's perfect! I stamped it with RED ROYAL ink, fussy cut it out, and added some STARDUST glitter to the center with Glossy Accents. The background is an image from the Hero Arts POINSETTIA & BERRIES set, stamped with Hero's white dye ink for a subtle look. The sentiment is also from Hero's MIRACLE OF THE HOLIDAY clear set stamped with CUP O' JOE ink... even the card base is GRENADINE Layering Paper! :)

Now it's your turn... upload your holiday project HERE by 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 23rd), and you'll have a chance to win a very generous gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp!

Only five entries per person, and only new creations accepted.. no backlinking, please. :) Be sure to head HERE to see the creations from the rest of the DT, too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today... see you soon! xx

simon says... use a stamp

That's right, peeps! :)

This week's Wednesday Challenge theme is to Use A Stamp... red rubber, photo polymer, whatever you like, as long as it's not digital. :) The product lines the DT used this week were Clearly Besotted and Neat & Tangled. If you have either of these fab stamp lines in your stash, please use them in your creations along with us! But it's not requirement of the challenge. :)

So now for my card:

This is one of those cards that I think looks better in person, LOL. It's probably because I couldn't get the background to show up very well... NOT a great photographer, here. ;) But I just loved this hydrangea image from Clearly Besotted's JUST FABULOUS set. There's even a matching die set! I didn't use them here.. instead, I chose to fussy cut everything, but left it slightly connected to the "frame" for interest. The vase was heat embossed (with THIS ink and THIS EP), and the flower was stamped with THIS ink and THIS ink. I used THIS white dye ink to stamp the background inside the frame:

I used the fine-line image in the set to do the background, which really adds a lot, I think! :)

Ok, so now it's your turn! Upload your stamped project HERE by 8am EDT next Wednesday (the 16th), and you'll have a random shot at a very generous gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp, provided by the very sweet Heidi and her gang!

Thanks for reading today... see you soon! xx