Simon Says: New Release - Cherished!

Simon Says Stamp has a new release today - Cherished. 

I love the quirkiness of the "Crafting Time" stamp I got to work with!

I don't know about you, but this definitely describes my crafting friends and I! Nothing better than crafting in PJ's and being totally comfortable!!

I took two different papers I had made with the gelli plate to layer under the saying. I used my MISTI and stamped the words repeatedly with Simon Says Stamp Black Premium Dye ink until the image was totally crisp and clear. Layered them up and finished it off with a bit of twine.

I think I may have to make up a batch of these to share at our next crafty get together :)

Head on over to visit Simon and check out the new release!

You can also search these hashtags to see some new creations with this release:

#simonsaysstamp   #SSSCherished

Enjoy!!  -Maura

Happy Birthday Dan!

I made a birthday card for my son, Dan. He loves to garden, so I thought I would go with a nature theme.

I started by creating my background with Distress Oxide inks. Rub them on the craft mat, spritz with water, and lay the card into it. Repeat as often as you like - I like to dry one layer before adding another. 

Next, I stamped leaf images from stamps I made into the background.

Then, using my MISTI, I placed the flower stamps exactly where I wanted them and stamped.

Birthday wishes stamped inside the card...with the MISTI you can stamp repeatedly until you get a beautiful crisp image.

I added a touch of red and orange to balance out the greens, doodled in a tiny bit and stamped the envelope. I hope you've enjoyed this fun and easy card!

Let me know if you have any questions.

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

Little Critters have BIG Dreams!

Happy Monday, friends! We have a new challenge for you this week - Little Critters. I think you can have a lot of fun with this one, and I bet we get a lot of cuteness! I have been waiting for the opportunity to use my cute little Lovebirds stamp, and I thought this was the perfect time, so I created a tag for them. 

I added a few more colors to my stash of Distress Oxide inks, and wanted to learn a bit more about using them. So, I watched a couple of videos while I played. Tim Holtz has a great demo at Creativation 2017 and Jennifer McGuire has a good one too, where she demos backgrounds and cards. 

So, using my fave color palette, I blended a bit of the distress oxides onto the tag.

Here's how it looks after spritzing with water and drying.

Then, I rubbed the colors onto the craft sheet, spritzed with water and lay the tag into it several times, drying between each layer. Since I had a lot left on the craft mat, I used a piece of watercolor paper to pick it up - why waste any, right?

Next step, stamping with water...yes, you heard me correctly! I spritzed water onto the stamp, stamped off once, then stamped directly onto the tag to get a subtle design. 

As you can see, I add a bit of orange, then using my MISTI, I stamped the saying with the purple, moved the tag slightly and stamped with the black - I was aiming for a shadow effect.

Closeup details with a bit of doodling to show the amazing texture distress oxides create.

A mix of lovely fibers to tie on the tag, two sweet lovebird popped up - remember I told you I put the leftover ink onto the watercolor paper? It worked perfectly to stamp my birds on!

Turn your cant's into CANS and your DREAMS into PLANS! I like this motto!!

I hope you've enjoyed my quick and easy tag, and try out some distress inks yourself. I know I have a lot more to learn about them, but I am having fun playing right now. Hope you will join us this week in our Little Critters challenge! 

Simon Says Stamp offers a $50 voucher to one participant!

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

A great place to shop - fast and friendly!!

Simon is on Instagram! Use hashtag #sssmchallenge

I wonder what kind of little critters the design team has hold of this week? Let's head on over and check it out!

Guest Blogger at OOAK Artisans Today!

Hello friends! 

Today I have the honor of being a guest blogger with OOAK Artisan Showcase. 

Shelley Graham Turner, an artist herself is on a mission to share art with people of all ages. I met her at the wonderful Color Crush workshop she organized, and she is brimming with ideas, and she and I both love the color green! Please head on over to OOAK to see what I have made!

I have a friend who is retiring from many years of teaching, and I wanted to create a unique gift for her. A local motel always has great seasonal quotes on their sign, and when I saw this one, I knew I had to make something using it - "Live Life in Full Bloom."

Time to play with flowers and colors! I started with this flower mask and used a palette knife and modeling paste to get the flowers defined. Then, I decided to use the knife and spread more paste randomly on the canvas for textures.

First color layer - greens! We have to start with our favorites, right Shelley?

Next up - oranges!

And I have to include pinks, because my friend loves pink!

Time for some black and lots of stenciling. I love to use a cosmetic sponge with just a bit of the paint and dab through the stencil.

Stencil white flowers over it to add another layer.

Now, for a bit of smudgy green and stamped leaves.

I felt the need to add in more flowers and more pink, so mixed up some pink and smudged it in across the center, let it dry and then stamped.

Since my white flowers disappeared into the background, I stenciled more in again on top, doodled around the big flowers, and dusted them with gold.

Smudged a bit more green in, and more stenciling with the black. I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time knowing when to stop and move on!

Unify it all with a bit of black mister...

I stamped these wonderful face images from my friend Andrea at Snapping Monsters onto 200 lb. watercolor paper, then mixed colors to get a skin tone and hair. As you will see, I then changed my mind and made one with green hair! I also typed the words onto the heavy paper to cut out, edge with black and use.

View so you can see the layering - green girl and words are popped up once, pink girl is popped twice.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Be sure to head on over to OOAK and check out all the fabulous inspiration there! And...LIVE LIFE IN FULL BLOOM!

SUPPLIES:

DecoArt Fluid Acrylics - Yellow Green Light, Green Gold, Quinacridone Magenta, Quinacridone Violet, Cadmium Orange Hue, Transparent Yellow Oxide, Titan Buff

DecoArt Americana - Shrimp, Pink Tropics, Razzle Berry, Bright Salmon, Apple Green, Sea Glass, Snow White, Lamp Black

DecoArt Mediums - Ultra Matte Varnish, Modeling Paste, Gold Rush Metallic Lustre, Carbon Black Mister

Stamps - Snapping Monsters Wonder Girls, Carabelle Studio/Birgit Koopsen “There are always flowers’, “The earth has music”

Stencils - Carabelle Studios/Birgit Koopsen “2Flowers”, “1/58”, “Decoupage”, “Fleurs by Azoline”

Other - canvas board, 200 lb. watercolor paper, brushes, palette knife, heat gun, foam tape, Ranger Jet Black Archival ink, typewriter, black pens, baby wipes, cosmetic sponges

Home, Sweet Home!

Happy Monday! You know what this day means - a brand new challenge at Simon Says Stamp! This week our theme is HOME, SWEET HOME! Interpret it however you will, but be sure to share with us, because you could win a $50 voucher from Simon! 

I found a house shaped block of wood in my stash and decided to have some fun altering it with bright tropical colors! I loved playing with the papers, stamps, paints and found objects to make this. 

I started out by using the wood as the template to cut out the patterned paper - Crate Paper's Oasis, and cut and distressed a piece of corrugated cardboard to use as the roof. Once I had my pieces cut, I had fun stamping a variety of images onto the sheets, and since my house is full (of maybe I should say stuffed) of books, I added a few bookish sayings. 

Remember, you never have to use a full stamp, you can choose just part of it to use like I did here with several images.

After I adhered the papers to the wood, I went around the edges with Dina Wakley's Media tape to help finish it off.

Oh, yes, I like these blues for the roof - ocean on the bottom and turquoise dabbed on top.

Next step, I painted some areas in with pink and blue.

I wanted to create a white wash in some areas, so I mixed the white paint with some clear gesso to create this effect. Usually, I cut the paint with water, but this worked really well!

I found some old Prima resin frames in my stash, so added a bit of patterned paper behind it and then attached it to the house. 

I'll share a number of views of the house so you can see each side. In addition to the window, I inked a ruler piece and added it to the base.

The rest of the ruler is on the back, along with some resin roses tinted with ink, and a wood plant I found in my stash.

My little house makes me happy! I have to make more of these to add to this one, maybe in different sizes and shapes. I hope I have inspired you to join our Home Sweet Home challenge this week, I can't wait to see what you make! 

SUPPLIES:

                                       

                                       

A great place to shop!! Friendly folk and fast service!

Simon is on Instagram! Please use hashtag #sssmchallenge

Amazing things are going on in the Monday challenge, and I know this week will be full of inspiration, so lets head over there to see what everyone is creating!