SSS Dimensional Quilt Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

For today's card I pulled out my Dimensional Quilt background again.  

I wanted to color it with watercolors.  I started by heat embossing it on some watercolor paper.  Then I colored/watercolored it using Distress Markers and a water pen.  I added a bit of color in each section, then used my water pen to spread the color out.

For this card I used Carved Pumpkin, Cracked Pistachio, and Dried Marigold.

I really like the terracotta tile look that resulted.

To finish things off, I adhered a cardstock mat to my card base and then popped the watercolored panel up over with with foam tape.

The sentiment is from the Spring in My Step stamp set.  It was stamped with Versafine, die cut and popped up over my watercolored panel. 

That's all for me today.  I'll have my March reading recap to share tomorrow.

SSS Hello Gorgeous Fanfare Stencil

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Today I'm sharing a card created with my favorite stencil from the Simon Says Stamp Hello Gorgeous release.  I love the Deco vibe of this Fanfare stencil.  

I used a simple shifting technique to create a dynamic background by repeatedly inking through the stencil, shifting the stencil down slightly, and reinking with another color. I used Simon Says Stamp's Pawsitively Saturated Inks:  Lemonade, Sunbeam, Citrine, Cheeky, Mandarin, and Pucker, working from light to dark.  

For the sentiment I used the new You're On My Heart die.  I cut the detailed letters twice, once from a dark orange and once from white cardstock.  These were adhered to one another slightly offset, and then they were adhered to the shadow piece.

To make the background really pop, I added a black mat, and then popped the sentiment up with foam tape.  

That's all for me today.  I'll be back tomorrow with another card featuring my Dimensional Quilt background.

SSS Delicate Floral Mandala

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

It is really starting to feel like spring here in Virginia....or at least it was until this past weekend.  We're having a bit of a cold snap, but that is supposed to clear up in the next couple days.

In any case, I love this new Delicate Floral Mandala background stamp because it just screams spring to me.

You might look at the design and feel a little overwhelmed by the number of things that you need to color, but because of the sketchy nature of the illustration, I think it's perfect for loose watercoloring.

I stamped the background with Versafine black ink, and then used my Kuretake Gansai watercolors to to color it in.  It was so easy!  By 'loose' I mean I really wasn't paying attention to staying within the lines or making sure the entire image was fully colored, I was just dabbing color on.

Once I was done I used a toothbrush to add a very fine spray/splatter.  Normally I use black for this, but this time I thought I would go a little less stark and just use a navy blue.  I think that it keeps things a little lighter/springier.

The sentiment is from the XL Spring Greetings set.  It was stamped with Versafine and die cut using the coordinating dies, and then popped up with foam tape.

All in all this one came together very quickly.  You could easily mass produce this design.

That's all for today, I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Giveaway Winner!

Hey everyone!  Just popping in to announce the winner of my Dimensional Quilt background.

Congrats to mandalj!

Please shoot me an email with you mailing address (to mprantner at gmail dot com) and I'll get this sent right now.

Happy Monday!  

SSS Hello Gorgeous Blog Hop - Dimensional Quilt

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp 

Hi all!  Today I'm participating in a blog hop celebrating Simon's latest Hello Gorgeous release.  As always, there are prizes!  One winner will be chosen from every stop along the way to receive a $25 gift certificate to shop the Simon store.  In addition, any orders placed between now and the 27th will receive a free Birthday Wishes stamp set with code HBD322.

You should have arrived here from Amy Rysavy, and I'll include the full list at the end of my post if you need it.

Today I'm showing off my latest design for Simon, Dimensional Quilt.

For this first card, I wanted to do some monochromatic coloring.

The background was stamped with Gina K Black Amalgam Ink and then colored with Copics.  I used BG78, BG75, BG72, and BG70.

Once I was done coloring, I placed my panel back into my stamping platform and stamped again with Versafine to just sharpen up the lines.

The panel was trimmed down.  There were a few places where I cut across a square shape, so there wasn't a line at the edge.  In those instances, I used a black journaling pen and very carefully added that line in at the edge of the panel.

I finished things off with a black mat and a sentiment from the Reverse Foundations Sentiment Strips.

For this next card, I wanted to do some piecing as well as show how you can create interesting shapes using just part of the background.

I started by stamping the Dimensional Quilt background on some scrap white paper, cutting out the shape that I wanted to piece for my base.

Next, the background was stamped onto five different prints from an old BasicGrey 6x6 pad.

The different shapes were then fussy cut, edges inked, and adhered to the base piece.

I've found that it's easiest to work from the center out helps in terms of not running into fit issues.  Occasionally you might need to trim the edge down a bit so that the lines fit.  If you cut on the very outside of your edges, you'll end up with a 'double' edge and things won't fit as well, so you need to try and cut towards the inside of the stamped lines.

The completed pieced image was popped up over a patterned paper mat with foam tape, and a sentiment from the Spring in My Step set finished things off.

OK, that's all for me today.  Your next stop is Bibi Cameron, and the full hop list is below.  Thanks so much for stopping by and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Laura Bassen
Debby Hughes
Amanda Korotkova
Amy Rysavy
Miriam Prantner
Bibi Cameron
Barbara Tarayao
Alberto Gava
Vicky Papaioannou
Heather Hoffman
Lea Lawson
Tina Smith
Emily Midgett
Jennifer Kotas
Seeka

SSS Hello Gorgeous, Love Grows Here

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Happy Hump Day!  I've got another cad to share today featuring the new Hello Gorgeous release from Simon Says Stamp.

Today's card features the Daisies and Leaves Wafer Die.  For this card I die cut three of the Daises and Leaves from white cardstock.  Two of them were softly inked to create the inlaid pieces, one with soft yellow ink for the petals, and the other with soft green on the leaves and a gray for the details around the center of the flower.  The third die was used for the webbing/outline.

I die cut a scalloped panel from soft gray cardstock, and then die cut the Daisies and Leaves within it.

I ran a scrap piece of printer paper through my Xyron Sticker Machine, adhering it to the back of the scalloped panel so that the sticky side showed through the negative cut, and then inlaid the webbing and all the leaves/petals within it.

The sentiment, from the XL Spring Greetings set was stamped in the corner, partially over the die, with Versafine, and then the entire panel was popped up over my dark gray card base.

Come back tomorrow for a fun blog hop featuring the new release!

SSS Hello Gorgeous Release and Giveaway!

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Hi all!  It's release day at Simon Says Stamp!  The Hello Gorgeous release is live, and it is, in a word, gorgeous!

The release includes one of my designs, the Dimensional Quilt background:

I'm going to be sharing some cards created with this background Thursday during the Hello Gorgeous blog hop, but for today, how about a giveaway?  All you have to do is be a follower and leave a comment (and let me know which platform you are following via - blogger, bloglovin, etc.).  Super duper easy.  I'm also giving away a background stamp via instagram @mprantner.  I'll announce a winner next Monday.

  

So, Dimensional Quilt cards are coming, but for today I wanted to show off one of my favorite sets in this release, Mother's Day Tulips.

I just LOVE the size of these blooms.  I'm just using a portion of the image here, it is sized to fit a slimline card, but as you can see works perfectly for A2 as well.

The other thing I love about these flowers is that they are uncomplicated to color.  A lot of flower stamps have lots of little spaces/petals which can take a while if you're shading each one, but tulips have big petals and leaves that make for easy coloring.  

I started by stamping the image with Gina K Black Amalgam ink, and then colored with Copics.  I used Y00, Y11, Y06, Y08, and Y18 for the flowers and then YG03, YG05, YG07, and YG09 for the petals.

Once I was done coloring, I fussy cut the image using a combination of detail scissors and a kraft knife.  All the edges were inked with black marker so that the images really pop.

I cut a panel of white cardstock, adding soft blue ink with a blending brush beginning in the bottom right corner.  The stamped images were then popped up over the panel with foam tape, and I finished things off with a sentiment from the Reverse Easter Sentiments Strips.

That's all for me today, be sure to head over to Simon to see the full release, and I'll see you back here tomorrow for more release inspiration!

SSS Good Luck Charm, Printmaking Plants

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Today I'm showing off the latest set in my Printmaking series for Simon Says Stamp, Printmaking Plants.

Last week I shared a card where I used just the outline image and colored it, but today I'm putting the multi-step stamps to work.

Although this one is a little more detailed than the previous Printmaking sets, it's just as easy to use, and very forgiving if you don't line things up just perfectly.

This first card illustrates that concept.

For this card I used (all the colored inks in today's post are Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Inks) Melon and Cheeky for the pots/containers, and Pearfection and Celery for the plants.  After the solid images were stamped, I went back with the outline image, but you can see I didn't line it up perfectly.

I actually really like this slightly offset look.  

To finish things off, I inked the edges with Latte and added a sentiment from the Well Wishes set.

For this next card, I went with a similar vibe.  

Again, I stamped first with the solids.  This time I used Pine, Bubblegum/Sage, Mocha and Sherbet/Latte for the pots/containers.  I started with the Sherbet, but it was a little too bright, so I went back with the Latte to dull the color a bit.  For the plants, I used Pine and then Bubblegum because I wanted to go kind of unexpected, but I really didn't like it, so then I just covered that up with Sage.  The benefits of using a stamping platform!

Then I went in with a journaling pen and just added some doodles/freehand outlines to the images.  I also doodled some borders.  The sentiment is from the Printmaking Plants set.

For this next card I decided to stamp on patterned paper.  This is actually the same print I stenciled on a couple weeks ago.  Same deal as with stencils.  I like stamping on patterned paper because I think it softens and provides extra texture to the background.

This card features Mocha and Latte for the pots/containers and Aspen and Pine for the plants.

I added a couple patterned paper mats behind my stamped panel, and a sentiment from the Printmaking Plants set.

For the last card, I used Cappuccino and Sherbet for the pots/containers and then Pine and Fairway for the plants.  Then I fussy cut a few of them.

I used Latte to ink a ground line at the bottom of the panel and arranged my plants to sit on it, popping the top plant up with foam tape.

The sentiment from the Well Wishes set.

That's all for me today.  Hope you enjoyed the cards!

SSS Good Luck Charm, Love You So Much

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

Hey everyone!  Super quick card and post today.  I showed off the new Glossy Black cardstock from Simon Says Stamp last week, sharing how amazing it looks embossed.

Today's card shows you how well it works with alcohol inks.

I am by no means an alcohol ink expert.  This was definitely an experiment, but I love how it turned out.

I used four different inks:  Gold Metallic Mixative, Snow Cap Mixative, Celestial Pearls, and Alchemy Pearls.  I was just playing around a bit, moving the ink around using Blending Solution as well as an air blower.

The combination created a really lovely, dark, moody background.

I then die cut the Basic Box Card Love You So Much die from Gold Matte cardstock.  

This was adhered directly to the glossy black panel.  

So quick and easy, and I love that when you work with alcohol inks, every panel/card is unique.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your week is going well!

February 2022 in Books

I'm off to a bit of a slow start in terms of 2022 reading, but I really loved what I read this month.  Some of the books were just on the longer, slower read side, but so enjoyable.  Here's the rundown:

The Prince of the Skies - Antonio G. Iturbe - historical fiction - five stars - I LOVED this book.  It's the story of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince as well as a number of other books.  Saint-Exuperty was also a pilot in the military, and then working to establish air mail routes around the world.  While it is the story of Saint Ex's life, I really felt that it was even more about friendship.  It was such a sweet story about the amazing friendship between Saint-Ex and Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet.  A must read.

The Ballad of Laurel Springs - Janet Beard - historical fiction - four stars - This one is probably more of a three and a half rounded up.  The book reminded me a little of The Daughters of Erietown.  Like that book it traces several generations of women in the same family, or tangentially related through time.  Also like that book in some ways it's kind of depressing how the women make the same mistakes and poor choices through time.  I did like the book, but it was kind of annoying how those choices kept getting made.  

Alone - Megan E. Freeman - juvenile fiction - five stars - This was one of Carina's books that she passed along to me to read.  When Carina reads a book twice I know it's pretty good.  Written in verse, which I really enjoy, this tells the story of Maddie who is having a secret sleepover with friends at her grandparents cabin.  Unfortunately her friends have to cancel, so she stays there alone.  When she wakes up she discovers that the town has been evacuated and she is on her own.  He only companion is a rottweiler named George.  Maddie has to learn how to survive on her own, hoping that someday her family will come back for her.  I really loved the character of Maddie and how she tackled all the challenges.  Loved this one.

Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead - historical fiction - five stars - Another great book.  This is one of those dual timeline stories, but I liked it more than I normally like those because the stories weren't mysteriously intertwined, they were standalone.  In the past, the book tells the story of Marian Graves (a fictional individual) who dreams of flying and becomes a pilot against many odds, going on to fly in the ATA during WWII, and then attempting a circumnavigation of the globe, flying through both poles.  In the present, the books tells the story of Hadley Baxter, an actress, who is taking on the role of Marian Graves for a film about her life.  Really well written, with excellent character development, I really enjoyed the scope and detail in this book.  I also liked the twist at the end, definitely wasn't expecting that.

I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys - historical fiction - four stars - I have loved Sepetys' other historical fiction books and was really excited to read this one.  Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment, it's another three and a half stars rounded up.  It's the story of Cristian Florescu who lives in Romania during the latter part of Ceaucescu's reign.  It's a very oppressive time, you never knew who was informing on you or watching you.  Christian is pressed into service as an informant after he is accused of trading a stamp for an American dollar, possessing foreign currency is illegal.  His handler offers him relief from this charge as well as medicine for his sick grandfather if he spies on the American ambassador's son (his mother cleans the Ambassador's residence).  The book follow Cristian as he struggles with this new role and as he discovers the lies he has been told by his government.  I liked the premise of the book, but it just didn't seem as developed and rich as the other books by Sepetys.  I felt like it just needed more fleshing out.

The Heartbeat of Iran: Real Voices of a Country and its People - Tara Kangarlou - nonfiction - four stars - This one of those books that I just picked up from the 'New' bookshelf.  It's a series of short pieces on a cross section of individuals in Iran.  I thought it was really interesting because it was such a diverse group of people/professions you wouldn't necessarily think of when you think of Iran: a film director, musician, saffron farmer, scuba diver, paraolympian, rabbi, etc.  I definitely learned some things and it challenged my view of the country.  Really interesting and worth the read.

Favorites this month were the aviation books, first The Prince of the Skies and second Great Circle.  I'm currently reading The Good Son, and next up is probably going to be West with Giraffes. Please share what you have been reading!