SSS Peace on Earth, Snowflake Edges

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Today I'm sharing two pairs of cards featuring the Snowflake Edges stamp set from Simon Says Stamp's Peace on Earth release.

I really love how delicate and lacy the snowflakes in this set are, and how they take a lot of the guesswork out of where you put your sentiment.  

For my first set of cards, I created two base panels using light washes of watercolor.  I was going for a pretty subtle look, slightly darker around the edges and lighter in the middle.

Once the panels were dry, I ran them through my die cutting machine.  This helps flatten them out a bit if they have warped from the watercoloring/drying.

I placed the corner snowflake image in my MISTI, stamped with Versafine, and embossed with Distress embossing glaze.  For the brighter card I used Broken China and for the moodier card Weathered Wood.  I turned the panel 180 degrees and repeated.

For the sentiment, I die cut the Large Joy dies once each from white and red cardstock and then mixed and matched them to create two complete layered die cuts.  

These were popped up over the snowflake panels, and I used secondary sentiments from the From Me Christmas Sentiment Strips and Reverse Sentiment Strips to finish things off.  I did vary the orientation between the two cards to mix things up a bit.

For this second pair of cards, I worked with the large border image from the set.

Again, I started by prepping a couple of panels.  This time they were inked with Distress inks.  I knew I was going to use Weathered Wood Distress Embossing Glaze, so I was trying to get a complementary look.  I used a combination of Iced Spruce, Tumbled Glass, and Evergreen Bough until I got the tone I was looking for.  Again, I tried to keep the center of the card lighter than the edges.

To give the backgrounds a bit more texture, I added some light splatters of water as well as white watercolor.

The panels were then fully dried with my heat gun to make sure I wouldn't have issues embossing.

The large edge piece was placed in my MISTI, and I stamped with Versafine and embossed with Weathered Wood Distress Embossing Glaze on the top and bottom edges of the panel.  This time I didn't do so symmetrically, but varied where I placed my panel in the MISTI for a more organic feel.

The sentiments, also from the set, were stamped with Altenew black ink.

I love the moody feel of this second pair and how perfect they are for mailing, nice and flat, but still lots of dimension and interest.  These would be pretty easy to mass produce if you are looking to make a bunch.

SSS Peace on Earth, Thanksgiving

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Hi friends!  Fall has definitely come to Virginia, and I have a quick and easy Thanksgiving card to share today.  One of my favorite things about this card is that all the cardstock came from my scrap bin.

I started by picking a red, a gold, and a soft orange color, and die cut the Delicate Leafy Branch die from each.

Then I used a darker orange and chocolate color along with the Thanksgiving dies to create my sentiment.

The Delicate Leafy Branch die cut pieces were arranged beneath the sentiment.  I did trim down the yellow and orange die cuts a bit, and then adhered all three directly to my card base.  I did not fully adhere the die cuts.  I love the movement and dimension you get when the pieces aren't fully affixed.

The sentiment piece was popped up with foam tape, and I propped a few of the leaves over the edge of the sentiment to really emphasize the dimension.

To finish things off, I added a smattering of gold and copper colored sequins.

Hope you are all enjoying some cooler weather and the beauty of fall!

SSS Peace on Earth, Magical Days Ahead

Hi all!  I'm flip flopping between my fall and Christmas themed cards, and today I've got an EASY Halloween card to share featuring the new Tangled Web embossing folder.

I started by inking up a panel of watercolor paper with Distress Inks.  I used Mustard Seed, Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord, and Hickory Smoke.

Once that was done, I placed the panel into the embossing folder, spritzed the front of the folder with water, and ran it through my die cutting machine.

The panel was trimmed down and then popped up over my card base.

I used the Magical word die and Magical to Me stamp set to create my sentiment, using the new Silver Matte cardstock for the magical sentiment as well as a few die cut stars to finish things off.

Super fun and easy!

SSS Peace on Earth, Joyous Christmas

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Hi folks!  I've got your daily dose of Simons Says Stamp Peace on Earth release inspiration.

Today's card features some of my very favorite dies from this releasee.  The Laurel Leaves Background Plate is so pretty and I love the detail in the leaves.  It's a little hard to see in the photos, but I started by taking a green piece of cardstock as well as a dark blue, and inked the outsides of those panels so it has almost a glow in the centers.

Once that was done, I die cut each of the panels.  And actually, I die cut the panel twice from green cardstock.

I added some gold splatter to the blue panel, and once that was dry, inlaid it into the uninked green die cut piece.  Then I adhered the inked piece over top, but didn't fully adhere it.  I wanted some of the leaves to be free, giving it some more dimension.

Then I pulled out the Joyous Christmas die set.  I cut the base from blue (inking the cardstock with that same dark blue ink before I die cut it), and the detail sentiment from that fantastic new Gold Matte cardstock.

The finished piece was then popped up over the background.

Just loving the brightness and contrast in this card, and it was really a pretty simply card that can easily be mass produced, especially if you simplify it a little.  For example, if you remove the inking step it's really just a matter of die cutting/assembly.

See you back here tomorrow for some more Peace on Earth goodness!

SSS Peace on Earth, Oh My Gourd

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Hi all!  Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.  Today I'm sharing another fall card I created for the Simon Says Stamp Peace on Earth release.

I started by using the Build a Plaid set of cling stamps.  This is a rubber cling set where there are different widths of solid stamps which you can tear apart.  As the names suggests, the stamps are designed so you can create your own unique plaid backgrounds, but, used together as they are packaged, you get a great gradient look.  I stamped the background using the three darkest colors from Altenew's Shades of Purple ink family - Midnight Violet, Deep Iris, and Lavender Fields - to really play up that gradient feel.

The pumpkins are from the new Let the Gourd Times Roll stamp set.  They were colored with Copics and then die cut with the coordinating dies.  I used E18, E09, YR09, YR68, YR16, Y38, and Y35 for the majority of the pumpkins.  There were a couple that were shaped differently, so for those I used E18, E09, YR27, YR24, and Y35.  The stems were colored with E29, E25, and E23.  

The Oh My Gourd sentiment die definitely got me chuckling.  I cut it three times from white cardstock and once from orange adhering them together with the orange slightly offset.  This was then adhered directly to my gradient base, and the pumpkins were popped up with foam tape.

I love how the orange and purple play against one another.

I'll be back tomorrow with more Peace on Earth inspiration, see you then!

SSS Peace on Earth Release, Hello Sweater Weather

Hi all!  Today I thought I would share a card featuring some of the fall items from the Peace on Earth release.

I started by head embossing the new Leafy Leaves background in white on a panel of watercolor paper.  Then I watercolored each of the sections with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors.

I tried to keep the colors relatively light, so that where they overlap with other leaves you could really see the combination of colors.  For the background/negative space areas I went with a very dark blue to really make the leaves pop.

I finished off the cad with the new Hello Sweater Weather sentiment die from this release.

That's all for me today, have a great weekend!

SSS Peace on Earth Release

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Happy Thursday!  Simon Says Stamp has a new release out today called Peace on Earth, and as the name suggests, there is lots of holiday in this release (also some fall stuff too).  

Today I wanted to feature one of my favorite stencils from the release, the Berries & Leaves stencil.

I'm showing it off two ways.  For my first card, I started by applying embossing paste to a panel of watercolor paper.  

Once that was dry, I watercolored the paste portions.  For this step, I tried to stay just on the paste portions, but didn't sweat it too much if a little got onto the paper itself because I was planning to add some color to that area as well.

Next, I went back and added a very light wash of color to the panel itself.  I didn't wait for the watercolor on the paste to dry because I think that you get a softer more organic look if you get a little bleed of that color into the background - that's why I wasn't too worried about those accidental areas where I colored a bit outside the lines on the paste portions.

After the panel was dry, I added a bit of white and dark brown splatter to finish off the panel.

The sentiments are from the XL Christmas Greetings stamp/die set.  The Merry was stamped on watercolor paper and popped up over the panel.

For this next card I went with a very different look.

I started with a panel of green cardstock, and then inked the stencil with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.

Next, I used a very fine brush to add gold accents using watercolor.  I used the Blue Gold 901 color from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors set.

I also added just a bit of splatter with the same gold watercolor.

The card was finished off with the Merry & Bright die which was cut from the new Matte Gold Cardstock (I absolutely love this cardstock, I don't think I will ever use that mirror cardstock again!).  I cut the die once from the gold and twice from the same green as the base, stacking them together for a bit of height.

Which card is your favorite?

Be sure to head over to Simon to check out the rest of the release.  I have lots more inspiration to share from this release over the next couple weeks too, so stay tuned!