Happy Floral Birthday | Delicate Flowers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Happy New Year to everyone, as well! It's been a super busy holiday season here, but it's time to get back at it. I have a lot planned for the new year, and hopefully we can get everything back on track soon.

Today's card is stamped with Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink on Bristol Smooth cardstock. I used the Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers to add some very soft colour to this design.

I wanted it to be bold and beautiful but still look incredibly delicate, which I think it does quite nicely.

The floral images are stamped from SSS Delicate Flowers and the greeting is from the SSS Sketched Flowers sets. I love that many of these sets can be mixed and matched to get the perfect look.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

2019 Happy Holidays Card Series | Day 5 | Winter's Beauty

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Hindsight is one of those super fun things where you consider what you would do differently if you could go back to a certain point, knowing what you know now.

For example, if I could go back to when I created this year's collection, knowing what I know now, I probably would include at least one Holiday Get Well Card. Because 'Tis the Season, right?

My co-workers are sick, my daughter is sick and shockingly, I'm feeling rather stuffed up. So if I had the opportunity to go back, today's card would be a festive get well card. Sorry about your Yuletide illnesses.

But that's the thing about hindsight. We can't go back. We just keep moving forward and work with what we've got; shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Today's card features the Sketched Flowers from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped this image with VersaMark ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, then heat embossed it with Lawn Fawn's Gold embossing powder.

The greeting, stamped the same way, is from CTMH "To You and Yours, Seasons and Nature".

I then coloured all the images with Copic markers. I wanted to keep all the colours on the very cool side of the spectrum to create a beautiful winter bouquet.

I know that there have been many people saying that using Copic markers with a heat embossed image will ruin your nibs. Maybe. Perhaps it *might* ruin your nibs. I have personally never had a problem and I love the way the image looks afterwards. I won't tell you to do it, but I don't think you should let someone else tell you not to do it either. You need to do what you are comfortable with. Just be careful.

I created a splatter using the "Perfect Gold" Perfect Pearls, and trimmed about a half an inch off the top to add the golden strip and the black piece.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Think this card looks familiar? That's because I did a blog and a video of this design last year for a YouTube tutorial using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers. You can check out that video here!

Simon Says Stamp July 2019 Card Kit | Just Bee-cause

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a card (and VIDEO!!) featuring the Simon Says Stamp 2019 Card Kit. Click the video below to see how this card came together as well as what I did for the *inside* of the card.

I don't normally finish off the inside of my cards, and it's really something I want to try and work on.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

I also really want to thank everyone who has reached out to me over the past little while to make sure that I'm doing okay. I am, it's just been crazy busy, especially now that summer has finally arrived.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Simon Says Stamp Valentine's Day Card Kit 2019 | Hung Up on You

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

So I had to wait until now to post today's card, because I had to wait (forever) for the hubby to open it. He's away in Toronto for work (yeah, on Valentine's Day) so I slipped it into his bag for him to open today. While he may have opened it when he arrived on Monday, but I couldn't run the risk. You know how it is.

Today's card features the sweetest little sloth (and the entire reason I purchased the Limited Edition card kit) from Simon Says Stamp's "The Sweetest" stamp set.

All the pieces are from the card kit, which is not only super fun, but something I don't think I've done. So yay!!

I stamped the sloth and the greeting with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on one of the itty-bitty note cards that was included in the kit.

I coloured him in with Copic markers (the note cards are definitely Copic-friendly), using soft blues to create a halo around him.

I used the bow tie part of the sloth die to cut out the hearts from the red glitter paper and adhered them around the card.

To finish off this little card, I covered the heart-shaped leaves with clear Wink of Stella and then Glossy Accents. I cut down a piece of white cardstock to a matching card base and adhered the panel to the front.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Simon Says Stamp Limited Edition Valentine's Day 2019 Card Kit Unboxing

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day!

Today I have an unboxing video for the 2019 Limited Edition Valentine's Day #SSSKC. I'm not sure about the names of the cardstock (sorry!), as well as a quick look at a "cheaper" alternative to the new Picket Fence blending brushes (hint - Dollar Store!!) and a quick reminder for those of you that follow me on Google+.

I recommend watching HD over on YouTube!

If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! For those of you that follow me on Google+, don't forget to subscribe, like and follow a different way so you don't miss out on any future posts! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know how you're getting crafty!!

Happy Holidays 2018 | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Sketched Flowers" and Lawn Fawn's Gold Embossing Powder

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I filmed today's card (and video) a couple of weeks ago, then I got super sick. Almost like the beginning of the school year sick, but this is the one that hits right before the holidays when you just don't have time to actually be sick. Lemme tell y'all, it's been a nightmare.

But I'm finally getting this up to you, just in time for the holidays! Yay!!!

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

I apologize for the scratchy voice and scattered thoughts, I've been on some sinus medication. But today was the only day where I've had a bit of quiet time so today was the day that I had to do the voiceover. 

Check out the video above for a list of the Copic markers I used on this card as well as a warning about what happens if your Perfect Pearls aren't perfectly dry before you continue with the card.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

I cannot tell you how much every "like", follow, thumbs up and comment means to me. I love being a part of this community and hearing from all of you is a huge part of that! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a super Crafty New Year!!

This card is for:

Adding Dimension with Coloured Pencils | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Flowers"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I want to share a card I created using Simon Says Stamp's "Beautiful Flowers" stamp set, Distress Oxide inks and PrismaColor Premier pencils.

The end result of this card is not what I had planned. I had just wanted to do an ombre background and stamp the image over top, just something super simple so I could get back into the swing of things. I've been having some serious issues getting over my creative block. I have a lot of ideas and I find that they build up but then I can't get any one of them out on paper. It's incredibly frustrating.

I began with applying Squeezed Lemonade, Ripe Persimmon and Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide ink to my panel. I then splattered it with clean water and then splattered again with Perfect Pearls in gold.

Once that was dry, I put the panel in my MISTI and stamped the large floral image from Simon Says Stamp's "Beautiful Flowers" with Simon Says Stamp Intense Black Ink.

I had planned on leaving it at that (after adding the greeting from Beautiful Friend), but then I thought I would add a little bit of colour in the areas where I wanted shadows. Then down the rabbit hole I went. I just couldn't stop myself. I started adding darker and darker shades to deepen the shadows. Once the shadows were there, it occurred to me that the highlights weren't highlight-y enough.

When all was said and done, it was completely different than I had originally planned. I intentionally did not do anything with the leaves, I wanted just the flowers to really pop off the page. Kind of like a one layer spotlight technique.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Thoughts Mini Series | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Flowers" and 2 Kinds of Watercolour Pens

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I wanted to share a card (and video - two days in a row, peoples!!) featuring the Beautiful Flowers stamps set from Simon Says Stamp. I received this in one of their monthly kits, but I think it is still available independently on their site. I wasn't sure how much I was going to love the giant floral images, turns out I love them a lot and I cannot wait to get more. There is a Sketchy Flowers coming in the October card kit, but that hasn't made its way to me yet.... I've been checking every single day and it's like that commercial where the little kid looks so hopefully only to be woefully disappointed - that's me. Every. Day. I can only imagine what my neighbours think when I shuffle back to the house empty-handed.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

So I've done some cards using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and I've done some cards using the Tombow Dual Brush Pens but I've never used the two together. Until now. I didn't have quite the palette I wanted to use in either set, so I ventured just a bit out of my comfort zone and used both sets. 

I stamped the image using VersaMark embossing ink and heat embossed it with Ranger's Rose Gold embossing powder. It's pretty, but it really wasn't as "rose-goldy" as I would have liked. I have a new powder that has arrived (between the filming and the voice-over for this video) and I'm looking forward to trying that out.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think!

Happy Wishes | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I know I've been sporadic in my posts lately, and I apologize. I'm trying, I really am. But I've started a second job. This one is full time. So now, I'm working full time Monday to Friday as well as part time at my other job, every other weekend. So, needless to say, I'm a little tired. It's good though. The new job is very suited to who I am and the environment is fantastic. There's a lot of transit time involved, so all in all it works out to about an 11 hour day, provided I get out on time.

Anyway, today I have a birthday card featuring the Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" stamp set which came with the May 2018 Card Kit.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock with my powder tool and heat embossed three of the smaller butterflies with detail gold embossing powder. I then coloured the images with Copic markers and fussy cut them out.

I used a piece of the pink patterned paper from Lawn Fawn's Rainbow paper pack and a narrow piece of gold glitter cardstock to create an accent strip down the left side of my standard A2 sized card base. I stamped the greeting from CTMH using Lawn Fawn's Wild Rose ink. To ensure I got a good impression I stamped it twice using the MISTI.

I then adhered my butterflies down and used a scattering of sparkling clear crystals from Studio Katia to add some embellishment and interest.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Floral Birthday | ft Simon Says Stamp "Flower Explosion"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I want to share a card using the Simon Says Stamp "Flower Explosion" stamp. This stamp is a huge 6x6 cling that came in the 2018 Mother's Day Card kit, and if you watched my unboxing video, you'll know that I had some pretty specific plans for this stamp.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock with my powder tool and stamped the giant cling stamp with VersaMark ink, then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.

Once that had cooled, I used the Tombow Dual Brush markers to add a bit of colour to the area where I wanted it the darkest and used a water-brush to pull the pigment out into the rest of the space. I wanted this background to be very soft, but still have a lot of pop and the Tombow markers did not fail me.

While the background was drying, I used a scalloped circle die from Spellbinders to cut a piece of vellum down, I then prepped that with my powder tool and heat embossed this greeting from Clearly Besotted in gold embossing powder.

I adhered my background to the front of a standard A2 sized card base using Skor tape. There is some warping that happens with heat embossing and adding water and I wanted to make sure the panel wouldn't lift. To adhere my vellum down, I used Ranger's Multi Media Matte behind the lettering and in a couple places where I knew I would be adding some crystals to hide the liquid glue.

To finish off the card, I used the same liquid glue to add a scattering of the iridescent crystals by Studio Katia. I could have used coordinating crystals, but I just love how these ones pick up the colour of what is under them.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Simon Says Stamp 2018 Mother's Day Card Kit

Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have the unboxing video of the Simon Says Stamp 2018 Mother's Day Card Kit! Let me tell you guys, I am so excited for this! There are so many awesome things going on in this kit, I can't even wait to get crafty!

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

Check out the video to see all the pretty things that came in this kit. The colours they picked for this year's kit are AH-MAZING!!!

*note, I mention in the video that I had to email SSS about this, but it wasn't this kit. It was an order I placed before placing this order LOL, and the wonderful people over at Simon Says let me know that the order I was inquiring about had shipped that day. So we'll be seeing that one soon!

I hope you like today's video and are inspired to get crafty. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Using Up the Scraps | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have one more card for my little Using Up the Scraps train. Is it just me, or when you get a new stamp set do you just stamp all the things then have no idea what to do with them? This is the third card this week where I have just used the ever-growing pile of bits and pieces that end up on my desk to make a card.

It's a lot harder than you'd think. I get a new set and I have a million ideas and they don't just all come out neat and orderly, so I have pieces - everywhere. Pieces that had a destiny, but then real life takes over or I find that the idea in my head just doesn't translate to paper very well.

Patterned paper is like that for me too. It's sooo pretty when I see it so of course I have to have it, then it kind of just sits there; sad and forgotten.

For today's card I cut down a piece of that (oh so pretty) patterned paper I had laying around to fit the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I then used the three butterflies and the leaves that had also just been sitting around from Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" set. They had been stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, and coloured with Copic markers.

These butterflies were originally intended for a Monochrome Monday card, but then I was at a loss for the background. It happens.

The leaves and the two smaller butterflies were mounted flat to the base with my tape runner, and the larger is popped up with foam tape.

To finish off the card, I added a scattering of purple sequins, not because they were just laying around, but because every card needs a little bit of shine.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to use some of your forgotten odds and ends. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.