Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge #462

Welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge !! Thank you for joining us for the "Make Your Own Background" Challenge and we hope you will all join us again this week too :-)

This week the challenge is...

Anything Goes

 We are using Memory Box products this week. You don't have to use them to join in but if you have some, we love to see them used :-)

For my project, I am using 

Memory Box SMALL ANTILLES FLORAL RIGHT CORNER Craft Die 
from: Simon Says Stamp

 I decided to use for BOTH corners to make a frame.

 In this case, symmetry seems like a good idea. I made sure that my space it aligned and angled properly.

 
With a little bit of pre-planning this design came together very easily. 
I colored the images with

Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi GEM COLORS Set of 6
This set offers lots of great color option and each one of them has the lovely shimmer effect. It is perfect as a basic set or an add-on to your existing watercolor set.

I hope that you find my post helpful in getting to know this corner die from Memory Box.
The products that I used are linked below to my favorite online store!

As always, Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Store!

So now it's YOUR turn ! Happy Crafting !!

There are fabulous Give Aways and inspiration from fabulous designers on a daily basis over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog . If you haven't subscribed by email, you may want to do so you don't miss out.

You have until Wed. 8am Eastern Time to join in :-)

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

Do you use Instagram ?  If so please add  #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there too !

I hope you check out the DT's work!  I can't wait to see what you create!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Technique Tuesday Feature!

Hello friends!

Today's is another installment of Technique Tuesday feature!
This is my 2nd week of featuring a technique on a Tuesday with Technique Tuesday products.
If you miss seeing my previous post, please click here.

Technique Tuesday LILY WISHES Clear Stamps 
 shop Simon Says Stamp
and
shop Technique Tuesday
Stamp set here
Combo set here
 
For this feature, I am highlighting Inlaid Die Cut.There are many ways of doing inlaid die cutting.
It mainly involves die cutting and putting the dies back to the original spot.
With the variation of coloring medium and use of paper, it makes a sophisticated impact. 



In order to keep the look interesting, you can consider do the following:

1. choice of color card stock: for this particular design, I used colored card stock against the die to show some contrast. You can use pattern paper, too!

2. plan ahead: decide where you want to put the die and make that die cut. for example, I purposely used it on the right hand side. 

3. show off the die cut edges: since the particular die has edges all around. Why not create a contrast with the coloring and the card stock? Be sure to save the tiny die cut pieces in between!

I had lots of fun coloring this Tiger Lily. Whenever I see orange Tiger Lilies and am always drawn to the rich colors and hues. To jazz it up, I added some gold watercolor from my Gansai Tambi (36 Colors).



 Of course, adding some splatter is always a good idea!


Hope you enjoy today's feature!
Your comments today will count as part of the Technique Tuesday Giveaway!
The winner will be announced after March 6th post. 

The products that I used are linked below.
 You can find all the latest from Technique Tuesday here.
Shop Technique Tuesday products over Simon Says Stamp here.

Lastly, if you love sales and metals dies, Spellbinders is having a Spring Clearance Sale!

How cool is this Heart Box? 
Click here or here to shop.

If you happen to make a purchase by clicking my links,
 I will get a small commission. I so appreciate your support. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Altenew Build-A-Flower Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello friends!
Warning: photo-heavy post
Today is a special day for a blog hop!

 Altenew has released 11 Build-A-Flower sets so far since March 2017. 

 You should arrive from my dear talented friend Alice Wertz's blog.
For all the details and inspiration of this blog hop, please check out Altenew Card Blog and Altenew Scrapbook Blog. 

Each month, we are blown away by each floral design and now it's time to celebrate with a blog hop! We were asked to share our creation made with our favorite Build-a-Flower set. Honestly, I find it super hard to pick one... it's like picking a favorite child! 😁

I have chosen TWO favorites: past and current.
Build-a-Flower Magnolia has always been such a fun one to stamp.


Build-A-Flower: Magnolia



This card involves color-layering, masking, dry-embossing, ink-blending, embossing and die-cutting.

It is SUPER easy to line up the images as I never need the guild to help me as the stamping is so intuitive!


That is why I can easily incorporated so many techniques into one!😀



Build-A-Flower: Peony Blossom

For the current favorite, I am using the latest release "Peony Blossom" Set.
Simon Says Stamp Shop here.



My peony blossoms are actually made with vellum!
They are double-embossed!  First, I did the white embossing with Pure White EP and then colored the flowers on the backside with Altenew INK ( Tea Party Oval Set).



The ink on vellum would stay very wet and that's when you add Crystal Clear Embossing Powder.
Once you ran through the heat gun, the vellum will become thicker and shinier!  
The clear-embossing really makes this card pop!

I was quite pleased how this turned out! It is almost always a good idea to try different ways of embossing. I hope that you like the two cards I share today!

 I highly recommend the Build-a-Flowers set (all links are at the end of this post) if you have not got any yet. Don't forget to check out Altenew SALES here. 

Giveaway 1: Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to six lucky winners. Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and Altenew Scrapbook Blog by March 2nd for a chance to win. Six winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on March 4, 2018.

Giveaway 2: Place an order from the Build-a-Flower Collection from Feb. 26th till March 2nd, and you will automatically be entered into a prize pack valued at over $120 including one Original MISTI Stamping Tool, Artist Markers Set C and Soft Pastel 6 Mini Cube Set. No minimum purchase needed! A winner will be announced on March 4th on the Altenew Blogs.

Giveaway 3: Comment in this blog and you are also eligible to win $20 Gift Card from Altenew. Winner will be announced on Mach 2nd right here in this blog.

 

 Your next stop is the fabulous Kymona Tracy's!

 Today's Hop order:

Altenew Card Blog

Kristina Werner

Therese Calvird

Lilith Eeckels

Kathy Racoosin

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Reiko Tsuchida

Laura Bassen

Kristina Pokazanieva

Jennifer McGuire

Altenew Scrapbook Blog

May Sukyong Park

Alice Wertz

💙-------->Virginia Lu<--------💙

Kymona Tracey

Dana Gong

Svitlana Shayevich

Hussena Calcuttawala

Donna Mikasa

Erum Tasneem

Zinia Amoiridou

Agnieszka Malyszek

Rubeena Ianigro

Lydia Evans

Marge Yoon

Game Over and The Winner Is.....

Happy Sunday, friends!

We had a little guessing game a few days ago (see post here).

 

You commented, you weighed in and.....

 your absolutely know your stuff!

 watercoloring---check!
dry-embossing (with the die)---check!
ink-blending with Distress Oxide (background)---check!
 multi-color stamping (butterflies)---check!

There is ONE technique that is kind of hidden and no one mentioned it...that is...
masking!
 You see, in order to facilitate the ink-blending, I needed another piece of die to cover the dry-embossed area and ink-blended the background. 

The masking part is subtle and hidden, but it is much-needed. 
So there, my small bag of "tricks"!  

I will be sharing more Penny Black creations with the following products. 
These are my favorites from the latest release over Penny Black.
 
Now, back to the winner announcement...
We have over 30 comments...which is WOW!

This die is going to

I saw it on Simon Says Stamp Penny Black LOVE NOTES Thin Metal Creative Dies 51-406 — $11.89 51-406

(random.org's pick)

#28 Vikki H, southern Oregon said...

Thanks for bringing spring back to our eyes! I love the dry embossing technique and the water coloring around it!

February 23, 2018 at 8:15 AM

Congratulations, Vikki, please e-mail me becr8ive2@gmail.com and I will send you a card and this Love Notes Die. 

I love the interactive aspect of this and appreciate that you took a look at my card and gave me feedback!

Thank you for stopping by!
The comment feature in this post has been disabled. 

Also, you can now see my work over spellbinders here, here and here.
There are still lots of selections over concord & 9th! 

Another Take on Peony Blossom

Hello friends!
Do you love "dreamy" cards? I think today's card is kind of dreamy...!!?

I am popping in to share a quick post about my 2nd take with Peony Blossom

Peony Blossom

I have a play with the vellum and dimension.
There is not much of a technique involved...except some paper-layering.

 Under the die cut is a piece of pattern paper from Altenew's New Day Paper Pad. 

Why mess with technique when a few simple die cuts can do so much?

Hope that you find it dreamy as I do. 

Lastly, there is a promotion going on over Altenew....

Purchase this scrapbooking Kit

Reflection Scrapbook Collection
from: ALTENEW

 and you get a FREE Scrapbook Class!

Click HERE to get the Scrapbook Kit.

Receive a FREE Scrapbook Class! When you purchase the kit, send Altenew an email at academy@altenew.com with your order number and they will set you up with free access to the Stamps Meet Scrapbook Class. 

You can also check out the Altenew SALE here. 
Simon Says Stamp still has some great sale going on here...
This die is only $0.25! Wow.

 

Thank you for your comments from yesterday's post.

There is still chance to play the guessing game.

That's it for today. Have a beautiful day!

Keeping It Light and Fresh with A Guessing Game, Too!

Hello friends!

I set out to create a card with this gorgeous die....

Penny Black FLORAL ARRANGEMENT Thin Metal Creative Dies
from: Simon Says Stamp

I decided that I want to keep things light and fresh. Winter is just too darn long....

We need GREENS and FLOWERS in our lives!



I started out with cutting and coloring this die before bed time....



Haha, it works like magic the next day when you wake up.
Pre-planning the layout and design is almost always a good idea.



So, I created a matching background with the die.



I made this card to beat the winter blah.
 I think I have succeeded it because looking at this card makes me happy!

To keep my blog post light and fresh....

For once, I am not going to explain what techniques I used. 

INSTEAD, YOU, my dear readers/followers, please point out WHAT technique I used in this card. I will pick a random winner who will receive one of my cards and this very Penny Black Metal Die called Love Notes.

I saw it on Simon Says Stamp Penny Black LOVE NOTES Thin Metal Creative Dies 51-406 — $11.89 51-406

👉👉 One comment per person. Please list only ONE technique in your answer. 

And it's OK if you list an answer that someone already mentioned....

Basically, ANYONE who sees and comments on this post has a chance to win!

 The winner will be announced on this Sunday's post.

Thanks so much for your support and feedback.

Your use of my affiliate links to make your online purchase is much appreciated.

I am listing the supplies that I used for this project, so at least you know "what's involved".😉