SSS Favorite Things Blog Hop, Stromanthe Die

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Hi all!  Today I'm hopping with Simon Says Stamp celebrating the Favorite Things release.  You should be arriving here from Lisa Addesa's blog, and I'll have the full hop list below for you.  As usual, Simon is giving away lots of prizes.  One commenter at each stop on the hop will win a $25 store credit, and all orders this weekend of $50 or more will automatically receive the stamp set pictured above.  

OK, on to the good stuff. I'm sharing a few cards that feature the Stromanthe dies, which coordinate with my previously released Stromanthe stencil set.  The die set includes the large die that cuts out the leaf, as well as a sentiment die set.  There's a shadow/base piece, and then the sentiment itself which cuts out the letters as well as an outline.  This allows you to easily inlay the sentiment using the shadow piece as the base, or get a bit more dimension by using the alphas only on top of the shadow piece.

For my first card, I pulled out a watercolor panel that I had previously created using Distress Spray stains in light greens and yellows.  Using the Stromanthe stencil set, I added color over top using Pearfection, Field, and Citrine for my three layers.  The leaf was then die cut.

Using the excess portion/negative space from my panel, I die cut the Hello sentiment.  This was also die cut from Matte Gold cardstock.  The shadow piece was cut from some green cardstock, and then I inlaid the Matte Gold letters into the outline piece from the panel die cut.

To create the backgorund, I clear embossed the Organic Leaves background on some green cardstock and added a bit of inking at the edges using Field ink.  The leaf, die cut sentiment, and a sentiment strip were adhered with foam tape.

Next, I created a card with some uexpected colors.  I used Rose, Amethyst, and Ocean to ink three Stromanthe leaves.

The leaves were die cut and then adhered horizontally to a black cardstock panel, and the excess was trimmed off.

For the sentiment, I pulled out the Just a Note dies, using white for the sentiment itself, and black for the shadow piece.  These were adhered together and then popped up with foam tape.

Finally, I thought it would be fun o create a card with just the Hello dies.  

These were cut from five shades of blue cardstock and once from white.  The shadow pieces were cut from blue cardstock and used as a base for inlay.  The sentiments were constructed to create an ombre effect with the outline being the next darkest shade of cardstock.

The completed sentiments were adhered to a piece of subtle grid patterned paper, and I also added a stamped sentiment from the Circle Sentiments set.

That's all for me today, but there's much more to see.  Your next step on the hop is Bibi Cameron, and the full list is below.  Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win $25 to spend in the store.  Enjoy the hop and good luck!

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Suzy Plantamura
Jennifer McGuire
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Lisa Addesa
Miriam Prantner
Bibi Cameron
Sandi MacIver
Kath Stewart
Betsy Green
Misty Elam
Carly Minner
Rachel Alvarado
Revati Panickar

SSS Circle Sentiment Dies, Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Hi friends!  Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's!

I've got a couple super quick and easy cards to share today featuring my Circle Sentiment Dies.  When I was playing with them the other day, I realized you could use them to make some fun texting 'words'.

These words were then paired with some sentiment strips (I used Reverse Be You for the YOLO card and Reverse Craptastic for LOL) to create easy, no stamping cards.

I did add a little something to the white panels so that they weren't too stark, spreading Ranger Opaque Matte paste through the Tim Holtz Sparkle Fade stencil for a bit of texture and interest.

The circles and sentiment strips were popped up with foam tape over top once those were dried.  

That's all for me today....I'm breaking down Christmas at the house today....with me luck!

SSS, Circle Sentiment Dies

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

I can't believe that it's already New Year's Eve!  This year has flown by!  I've got a couple cards to share today using my Circle Sentiments dies.  These are standalone dies that also coordinate perfectly with my Circle Sentiments stamp set.

Boggle was a game I loved growing up.  There are a bunch of dice with letters on then.  You shake them up, and end up with a set of nine letters you use create as many words as you can think of.  Playing with this set kind of reminds me of playing Boggle.

For the first card, I went with a more masculine color scheme.  The circle alphas were adhered directly to a white panel, and I added a secondary sentiment from my Cheering You On set.

I added a couple of patterned paper mats to complete the look.

The second card was pretty simple as well.  The circle pieces were cut from pink and red cardstock.  I also die cut them from my a white panel so that I could inlay the pink and red pieces.

I finished things off with one of the sentiments from the Circle Sentiments stamp set.

That's all for today, I'll have a couple other ideas for you later this week.  

Enjoy the festivities this evening!

SSS To Love Release, Circle Sentiments

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

I know it's been all Christmas all the time around here lately, but there's a new release over at Simon Says Stamp today called To Love, and it's all about Valentine's.  I've got a few new products in this release, including the stamp set I'm featuring today called Circle Sentiments.  There are some coordinating/standalone dies too, but today I'm focusing on the stamps.

The set includes several circle images with a letter or shape in the negative space in the center of the circle.  There are then coordinating stamps that fill in those negative spaces with different patterns that you can mix and match.  I've also included a bunch of secondary sentiments.

This first card uses the majority of the letters to create the main 'I LOVE YOU' sentiment.  I used Flannel, Morning, and Sky for the circle alphas themselves.  I then used the coordinating small stamps to fill in some of the negative space in those letters using Sky, Night, and Earl ink.  One of the secondary sentiments was stamped with Versa Clair black ink below.

The top card in this photo was super quick and easy to create.  I used Bubblegum and Watermelon ink to stamp the circle images.  The negative space in the letters was then filled using the smaller stamps and Watermelon ink, and I added one of the secondary sentiments to complete the thought.

For the second card, I thought it would be fun to create using just the small stamps.  I went with rainbow color scheme using Taffy, Cherry, Pucker, Mandarin, Cantaloupe, Sunburst, Limelicious, Lucky, Royal, Night, and Amethyst.  Another of the small coordinating sentiments was added too.

Finally, you might have noticed that I snuck in 'merry christmas' as a secondary sentiment.

This was specifically so I could make the above card.  This makes one of the quickest, easiest Christmas cards ever.  Dublin and Watermelon were used for the circle images.

That's all for me today, but be sure to head over to Simon to check out the full release.  I'll be back tomorrow with some more To Love inspiration.