SSS Be Creative Blog Hop, Day 1

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Friday!  Today I'm hopping along with Simon Says Stamp to celebrate the new Be Creative release.  All good hops have prizes, and this one is no exception.  Simon is giving away $25 to spend in the store to a commenter at each stop along the way.  In addition, you can receive the 3x4 stamp set pictured above free with any purchase this weekend using code ART4U.

You should be arriving here from Sidnie Des Jardins' blog, and I'll have the full hop list below in case you get turned around.

My cards today feature the Fantastic Flowers set.  For the first card, I created a tone on tone background.  I started with a piece of teal cardstock, and stamped the grouping of small leaves randomly across it using Ocean ink.  Next I went back with the coordinating branch stamp using Nocturne Versafine Clair ink.

To fill in the spaces, I added some small flowers, again using Ocean ink with Nocturne Versafine Clair for the flower centers.

I also stamped trios of dots using that flower center stamp and Surf ink.

For the sentiment, I used the CZ Love Ya die.  The shadow piece was cut from black cardstock, and I die cut the sentiment itself from that teal cardstock as well as Matte Silver cardstock.  The two sentiments were offset just a smidge so all you see is a bit of the silver, but I think it really makes the sentiment pop.  

The sentiment was popped up with foam adhesive, and I added a few clear sequins for some sparkle.

This second card has a very different feel to it.

I started by pulling out a panel that I had created a while back using Tim Holtz watercolor paper and a variety of Distress products.  Since the panel was created a while back, I don't quite remember which colors were used, but it's mostly green, with a bit of blue, and I definitely used some Mica Stains as there's a bit of gold in there too.

The panel was stamped with the frond like leaves from the Fantastic Flowers set using Field ink.

The stem/veins for the leaves were then embossed in gold.

The CZ Hi There sentiment was cut from Matte Gold cardstock, adhered to a green cardstock shadow piece, and popped up with foam adhesive.

That's all I have to share, but there is so much else to see.  Your next stop is Bobbi Lemanski, and the full hop list is below.  Enjoy and good luck!

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Nina-Marie Trapani
Caly Person
Suzy Plantamura
Amy Rysavy
Debby Hughes
Lisa Addesa
Sidnie Des Jardins
Miriam Prantner
Bobbi Lemanski
Kath Stewart
Barb Engler
Misty Elam
Jennifer Kotas
Allison Frazier