Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY friends! I am very happy you are stopping by today, as I am honored to be part of the Simon Says Stamp Believe in the Season release BLOG HOP!
If you have already been hopping along (and arrived from the amazingly talented Suzy’s blog) – or are just joining in – a big welcome to all!
Simon just released a whole collection of simply gorgeous holiday-themed products, and I have had SO many ideas for all these products, I literally couldn’t stop creating with them! Today I have THREE cards to share with you, and if you haven’t stopped by my blog lately, you’ll want to check out this post I shared yesterday where I created three more cards using a variety of items from the new release.
So let’s see some inspiration, right??
My first card features one of my favorite new sets from the release; Winter Flowers! Aren’t they just gorgeous?? I did watercoloring for these using my Zig Clean Color markers. I only used one shade of marker on each image, which illustrates that you really don’t need every marker in the collection (unless you are plagued with Full Set Syndrome like so many of us crafters seem to be!).
The coordinating dies make cutting out all these images a breeze (which is good because I used A LOT of images on this card and that would have been quite a job fussy cutting!). I love that you can even pop up some of the smaller single berries over the berries in the cluster image too; this creates a bit more dimension to the design I think.
My sentiment is from the Christmas Essentials stamp set; I really like the classic feel of the font in this sentiment because it can pair with absolutely any style of card perfectly!
The images are all clustered onto an ivory colored card base and I also added Spectrum Noir sparkle and Glossy Accents over some of the images too. Easy-peasy design and SO MUCH FUN to make!
Next card!
The Christmas Essentials set was on my desk after making that first card, so I kept it out and used it to create a watercolor background, also using my Zig markers. I again purposely used very few markers for the coloring, because I love experimenting to see how much dimension I can create on an image using just a single marker.
For the sentiment, I used the gorgeous Believe script die, and cut it from both Simon’s Ruby Red Glimmer cardstock and watercolor paper that I added color to using the same flesh color marker I used in the background.
I popped that believe sentiment off the card and tucked a smaller heat embossed sentiment underneath (from the Simon Says Stamp Christmas Toys stamp set that was released during STAMPtember). For some finishing touches, I scattered a few sequins around and layered some more glimmer cardstock behind my watercolored panel (this time I used Sunshine glimmer cardstock).
My final card for today features the beautiful Poinsettias stamp set and the same Believe die I used in the card above.
I created a similar looking card yesterday that featured the Poinsettia stamp set; I love how it turned out so much that I wanted to create a second version, but adjust it slightly and incorporate a few extra products from the new release.
AND I filmed the entire process for you! In the video below, I’ll share the details on how I created this card, including how easy it was to add the realistic shading to the images (trust me, it is easy!).
So be sure to watch the video to see the entire card come together, as well as get some tips and tricks on creating a stencil-embossed background with your die cutting machine, and adding a frosted-glass edge to vellum!
WATCH THE VIDEO
If you enjoy the video, please give it a big “thumbs up” and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more weekly inspiration!
KEEP HOPPING & A GIVEAWAY!
Would you like to win a little shopping spree to Simon Says Stamp??? Leave a comment on this post and I will draw one random winner to receive a $25 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp! AND all the other fabulous ladies participating in this hop are giving away a gift certificate on their blogs too, so make sure you leave a comment on EVERYONE’S posts (not only to win a prize, but also because your words mean SO much to everyone and its uplifting to us to see you enjoy these hops!)
Your next stop in the hop is my talented friend Nichol’s blog! If you get lost along the way or want to start at the beginning, here’s the entire hop order:
Simon Says Stamp
Laura Bassen
Debby Hughes
Kristina Werner
Jennifer McGuire
Kathy Racoosin
Suzy Plantamura
Nina Marie Trapani — you are here! :)
Nichol Spohrs
Yana Smakula
Wanda Guess
Heather Ruwe
Kelly Latevola
Anna-Karin Evaldsson
Barb Engler
Shari Carroll
Heather Hoffman
SHOP THE NEW BELIEVE IN THE SEASON RELEASE
I am REALLY excited about all the new products in this Simon release, including the new sentiment stamp set I designed called Happy Christmas!! You can see the set HERE on the Simon store… here’s a quick look at it:
You can also check out all the products included in the new Believe in the Season release; or start shopping at Simon Says Stamp HERE.
PRODUCTS
If you are interested in any of the products used in this post, I have them all linked below to Simon Says Stamp. Affiliate links used when possible.