create with cheiron

simon says stamp: hugs & kisses blog hop (day 1)

Hi there crafty friends! I am thrilled to be joining Simon Says Stamp today to celebrate their newest 2 releases, Hugs and Kisses. So many fun stamps and dies and you know I love to make cards with hearts all year long, so these were perfect for me! I have two fun cards to share with you today, but before I do that let me point you in the direction of the graphic above...be sure to use that code with your Simon Says Stamp order to get the free gift with purchase for the hop...use RBW23 to get the End of the Rainbow set FREE with any purchase. The promotion will  expire 1/22 at 11:59 pm EST.

I also wanted to point out that Simon Says stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from the blog comment section, so please be sure to leave a comment below for your chance to win.  Simon Says Stamp will announce the winner on their blog on Wednesday the 25th of January. The winner can email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize. 

Now let's get into the cards. I have 2 Valentine cards with two completely different looks using the brand new Heart Chain die.The first one uses a repeating pattern of the Heart Chain in Distress Watercolor cardstock on a panel inlaid with hearts that were cut from a rainbow Alcohol Ink Panel...this one was a labor of love but completely worth it to me. I adhered all the outlines of the Heart Chain diecuts from Distress Watercolor cardstock to the panel. Then I cut out Alcohol Ink heart and adhered each of the hearts into the open spaces using foam tape. I finished the card with a clean and simple CZ Design Love Ya die as my sentiment. 





For my second card, I have something in a much more grungy style. I used the Heart Chain die  to cut several chains of the new Rich Red Matte Metallic Cardstock and created my own paper by layering that onto black cardstock. I die cut the paper with the Heart Panes Cover die and I also die cut another paper that I had layered with Tim Holtz Typeset Collage Paper. I combined the two patterns together for a more edgy look and even sanded the heart in the center that I had cut with the metallic cardstock. I added each panel to the card base with foam squares, then added the sentiment strip from the Reverse Bold Love sentiment strips. To finish the card, I added some Stirling Foundry Wax mixed with a bit of alcohol, splattered over the entire card and then heated it with my embossing gun. Something totally different for me, but I really love the finished look! 

Be sure to visit all the stops on the hop for tons of inspiration and additional chances to win just by commenting! Thanks for stopping by :)

HOP ORDER:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nichol Spohr

Laura Bassen

Cathy Zielske

Jennifer McGuire

Barbara Tarayao

Heather Ruwe

Keisha Charles

Mindy Eggen

Sidnie Des Jardins

Amanda Korotkova

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Cheiron Brandon

Alberto Gava

Emily Midgett

Vicky Papaioannou

 

SUPPLIES: 

simon says stamp monday challenge: shake it up

Hi all and welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thank you for playing along with us last week in the Light It Up challenge and we hope you will join us again this week too :)  This week our challenge is Shake It Up, and we are making cards with shakers...or whatever else you have that fits into the theme. 

I wanted to create a fun valentine with the Tim Holtz Sizzx Retro TV die. I cut the die from Grey Woodgrain, added lots of red and pink Lovestruck shaker beads inside the Sizzix Round Square dome and put the TV together. For the outside I added little hearts in place of the knobs with a bit of glossy accents to make them shine. For my background I kept it simple with a tone on tone pattern using pieces from the Atomic Elements set. And finally for the sentiment, I created my own using Sizzix Adhesive sheets on the back of the paper that I used to cut out the Alphanumeric Label dies to make it super easy to put together. 

See full supply list at the bottom of this post :)  

The lovely folks over at Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a FABULOUS $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! All you have to do is take out your crafty supplies, make something following this week’s prompt, and add a link in the Inlinkz at the bottom of this post! You can join up to 5 times so you could have 5 chances to win! How AWESOME is that!! All winners are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance to win! Woo Hoo!! Good Luck to everyone! The Design Team is looking forward to seeing your crafty makes and will pop around to visit you ASAP!

You can find links to the supplies I've used below; click on the picture of shop icon to get taken directly to the product. I use affiliate links which means if you use them to make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you :) I truly appreciate your support. 

SUPPLIES:

simon says stamp: DieCember® 2022 Blog Hop (day 2)

Welcome to Day 2 of the Simon Says Stamp DieCember® Blog Hop! If you have not checked out this awesome new release, you can see it all HERE! 

Before we get started with today's projects I wanted to bring your attention to a very special code in the graphic above...be sure to use the code MERRY to get a free Merry on a Line die with a purchase of $25 or more. This promotion expires on 12/4 at 11:59 EST or until supplies last. 

Also Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from each blog's comment section. They will choose the winners and post on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 7th of December. Now onto the projects! 

Today I have 3 different cards for you using the brand new Pointed Evergreens dies. For these 3 cards, I achieved totally different looks for each by varying the papers I used to cut the Pointed Evergreens for each card. 

For my first card, I kept it traditional by using a piece of paper that I colored with green Distress Paints. Once they were dry, I cut the Pointed Evergreens from them and then added some Texture Paste to the edges of parts of the trees using a palette knife and a little Rock Candy Distress Glitter. Once the glitter was dry, I adhered the trees to a white panel and then added a simple black sentiment. For the background, I used the Christmas Star cling stamp along with Simon's Pawsitively Saturated Ink in Cappuccino for a tone on tone look. To finish the card I added a sentiment from the CZ Design Clean Line Christmas set.


For my second card, I wanted something fun and sparkly for the season, this time I used some of the new Simon Luxe Glitter cardstock in black...isn't it just so lovely?!?  I cut the Pointed Evergreens from the black glitter cardstock, added a few tiny stars cut from the Magic Stars Wafer dies  to the top of them and a sentiment from the Ornamental Christmas stamp set embossed in gold. 

For my third card, I cut into one of my "rainbow" experiment papers that I made with Distress Watercolor Pencils and cut out the Pointed Evergreens and combined it with some bright yellow cardstock. For the sentiment, I stamped a simple Joy from the CZ Design Let's Make a Tag set. 

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you will stop and check out all the stops on the hop!

 

HOP ORDER:

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Alberto Gava

Miriam Prantner

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Amanda Korotkova

Mindy Eggen

Emma Williams

Cheiron Brandon

Heather Hoffman

Emily Midgett

Lea Lawson

Sandi MacIver

Kim Hamilton

 

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get cracking on christmas: october 2022

Hi there crafty friends! It's time for another month of Get Cracking on Christmas, a super fun challenge that my friend Jenn Shurkus hosts to get you working on your Christmas cards all throughout the year. It's the perfect time to play with all of those Christmas stamps, dies and other fun products I buy and never get around to using. I have not had time to play along the past couple of months so today I am back with a small batch of cards to help build up the stash. I even have a separate bin that I have started to store my cards in, so when I need to start addressing them, they are all ready. That time will be here before we know it!

I hope you are building a nice stash of holiday cards. If you are not following me on Instagram, I would love it if you followed me over there. I will have lots more ideas for Christmas cards coming soon and today I have a fun little reel showing you how this card came together. 


This card is a "remake" of one of my very favorite cards from last year...pretty much the same design (see original post here) but in pink...with glitter! It took me a few steps to figure out how to best get just the right amount of glitter on this card, and I found the best way to do that was to apply Distress Collage Medium to it with a small Tim Holtz brayer and then spray on some glitter with the Stampers Anonymous Glitter Duster. While I was doing all this I figured I would make a few so now I have 8 more Christmas cards to add to my stash :) 


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new tim holtz distress color reveal on Saturday, October 29th!

Hello there crafty friends! Just a quick post to let you know the NEWEST color of Distress is going to be revealed on Saturday, October 29th on Tim Holtz's You Tube Channel! Be sure to tune in at 9 AM PST/12 PM EST/5PM UK to see the debut. If you are like me and always want the new color no matter what, you can RESERVE YOURS NOW at Simon Says Stamp! 

RESERVE YOUR NEW DISTRESS NOW 

simon says stamp IG hop (and a chance to win)

Hi there crafty friends! I am joining Simon Says Stamp today in an Instagram Hop to celebrate their Cozy Hugs release, leave a comment over on my post for a chance to win a $25 gift card to the SImon Says Stamp store :) 


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*new* tim holtz stampers anonymous christmas

Hello crafty friends. A quick post to let you know that all new Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Christmas stamps are shipping now and you can get them at Simon Says Stamp today! A couple of my favorites are the Bottlebrush Trees and the new Christmas Element stencils. 

simon says stamp cozy hugs release blog hop: day 1

Hello there crafty friends and welcome to Day 1 of the Simon Says Stamp Cozy Hugs Release Blog Hop! This new release has so many fun things to send Cozy wishes to your family and friends. Before I share my projects for today, I want to draw your attention to the graphic above. This graphic includes a code for a free gift with purchase! When you use the code COZY, you will get a Giant Hugs Card Wrap Die FREE with a purchase of $75 or more. This promotion will expire at 10/9 at 11:59 pm EDT (or before while supplies last).

As always, I have created a trio of cards featuring one of the new products. Today I am using the new Layering Peppermints stencil to create 3 cards with 3 different looks and show you some of the fun possibilities for this stencil set. There are two layers to this stencil - the first has open shapes and then the second has the top detail layer of all the candies. 

The first card is classic Christmas - red and green on white with the Layering Peppermints stencil and CZ Design Big Merry die cut sentiment. I stenciled a lighter color of Distress Ink onto Distress Watercolor Cardstock through the first stencil (spun sugar, mustard seed, dried marigold, twisted citron) and then added a darker color to each (candied apple, fossilized amber, carved pumpkin and lucky clover). The Simon Says Stamp detail blending brushes make it so easy to do this! Once that was done, I cleaned my stencil and added Glitter Gel through the areas on the detailed stencil that had the biggest candies. Once the gel was dry, I cut the panel using a Wonky Rectangle die and then I added the Chunky Merry Sentiment. 

For my second card, I wanted to create on kraft. I used the Layering Peppermints stencil by putting Picket Fence Distress Ink through the stencil with the bigger openings using a blending brush on Distress Kraft Heavystock. Then I layered the detailed stencil over it and used Distress Inks in aged mahogany, picked raspberry, rustic wilderness and mermaid lagoon. For the candy wrappers I slightly went into the edges with pumice stone Distress Ink. I cut the panel with a Stitched Rectangles die, and then inked the edges of the panel with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I layered the panel onto a notecard cut from the same Distress Kraft Heavystock and then added the Chunky Joy sentiment . 

The final card has texture and shine on all of the candies. For this card I used the Layering Peppermints stencil along with Translucent Distress Crackle Paste and Distress Texture Pastes in Translucent. For the more open stencil, I applied white gesso through the stencil lightly with a foam blending tool to achieve a white base for each shape. Once the gesso was dry, I took the detailed stencil and went over each type of candy one at a time with a palette knife and the texture paste, then sprinkled on Distress Embossing glaze, waiting for the paste to dry before embossing and moving onto the next color. I used Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Candied Apple glazes. To complete the card I added the Chunky Happy die to make a card that is fun for any time of year. 

I hope you enjoyed this fun look at some ideas to use the Layering Peppermints stencil, there are so many other ideas I have for it! 

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop to one commenter on each blog!  Simon Says Stamp will choose the winners over the weekend and post on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, the 12th of October.  The winner can email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize!  See the hop order below. 

HOP ORDER: 

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Caly Person

Nichol Spohr

Cathy Zielske

Amy Rysavy

Suzy Plantamura

Keisha Charles

Yana Smakula

Sidnie Des Jardins

Heather Ruwe

Bibi Cameron

Cheiron Brandon

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Lisa Addesa

Lea Lawson

Barb Engler

 

SUPPLIES: 

simon says stamp monday challenge: stamp it

Hi all and welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thank you for playing along with us last week in the Mixed Media challenge and we hope you will join us again this week too :) 

This week our challenge is Stamp It and the design team is using products from Simon Says Stamp in order to celebrate STAMPtember! This week our challenge is to use a stamp...and I have saved the stamping for the inside of my card, because who would want to cover up those Etched Oak Leaves? 

I combined some Distress Ink Etched Oak Leaves inked with my favorite fall colors of Distress inks with the Handwritten Hello cut from Tim Holtz Metallic Kraftstock. I foam taped all the leaves to the panel, turned it over and trimmed off the edges and then added a splattering of Distress Foundry Wax then heat set it for some more interest. 

See full supply list at the bottom of this post :)  

The lovely folks over at Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a FABULOUS $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! All you have to do is take out your crafty supplies, make something following this week’s prompt, and add a link in the Inlinkz at the bottom of this post! You can join up to 5 times so you could have 5 chances to win! How AWESOME is that!! All winners are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance to win! Woo Hoo!! Good Luck to everyone! The Design Team is looking forward to seeing your crafty makes and will pop around to visit you ASAP!

You can find links to the supplies I've used below; click on the picture of shop icon to get taken directly to the product. I use affiliate links which means if you use them to make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you :) I truly appreciate your support. 

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time for a STAMPtember®️ Blog PARTY!!!

Hello crafty friends! I am so excited that STAMPtember®️ is finally here! If you are not sure what this is, Simon Says Stamp has a month long celebration each September where they do an awesome Simon Says Stamp branded product release at the start of the month and then also feature EXCLUSIVE collaborations from some of your favorite stamp companies all month long. Different stamps are released through out the month, and once these exclusive collaborations are gone, they are gone...so get them while you can! Head on over to the Simon Says Stamp Blog today to see all of the Simon Says Stamp designers and friends that are joining the party with some very special creations! 

My tradition for the past few new releases is to take a product and show it used 3 different ways, being that it's STAMPtember®️ and all, I have one stamp that I have used 4 different ways to share with you. Before we get to that, let me point out the graphic below that gives you a code for a FREE gift with purchase...the code is valid until 9/4 at 11:59pm or while supplies last. 

Now onto the cards! These cards are all created using the Overlapping Drops Background Cling stamp and a greeting stamped and cut from the Christmas Blessings stamp and die set. 


To create this card, I embossed the Overlapping Drops background in clear embossing powder, and sprayed it with the new Tim Holtz Distress Mica stains before adding the Etched Eucalyptus Wreath die and sentiment from the Christmas Blessings set. 

Warm Wishes Card: 
Overlapping Drops Cling Stamp 
Christmas Blessings stamp and die set 
Clear Detail Embossing Powder
Distress Mica Stain Halloween sets 3 and 4 


This one is super simple and festive, stamp and emboss both the Overlapping Drops and the sentiment from the Christmas Blessings set in Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder. 

Holiday WIshes to You Card: 
Overlapping Drops Cling Stamp 
Christmas Blessings stamp and die set 
Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder 


For this card, I stamped and embossed the Overlapping Drops and Christmas Blessings sentiment in Gold Embossing Powder. Then I painted in some of the drops with gold watercolors and added a few metallic drops for extra sparkle. 

Cheers to the New Year Card: 

Overlapping Drops Cling Stamp 
Christmas Blessings stamp and die set 
Gold Embossing Powder 
Finetec Mica Watercolors 

For my final card, I embossed the Overlapping Drops in clear, and colored them in using Karin Metallic Markers and added just a bit of splatter to make it more fun.

Season's Greetings Card:

Overlapping Drops Cling Stamp 
Christmas Blessings stamp and die set 
Clear Embossing Powder 
Karin Decobrush Metallic Markers 

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