SSS Diecember Blog Party, Monstera Die

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy first day of Diecember!  I'm helping to celebrate the new Simon Says Stamp release by participating in a Blog Party hosted by Simon.  If you're familiar with the STAMPtember Blog Party it's the same idea.  Check out the blog posts of all those participating for some great inspiration utilizing the new products.  There's also a pretty great promo: get the Fancy Ornaments embossing folder and coordinating dies free with any $100 order.  

I'm really excited about the die I'm showcasing today, Monstera Die.  When we released my Monstera stencil several months ago there were lots of requests for a coordinating die, and it's finally available today!  

A few weekends ago I got together with some friends for a marathon crafting weekend.  One of the things I did was create some really gorgeous inky panels using Distress Inks which were then spritzed with Distress Spritz.  

To create my Monstera, I pulled out one of these panels that was done in a bunch of greens.  The Monstera itself was inked using Mowed Lawn, Faded Jeans, and Salvaged Patina Distress Ink and then die cut.

I love how the Distress Products build on one another and you can still see the Spritzing along with the newly inked Monstera.

To give a little interest to my black panel, I added a few spritzes of Unravelled Mica Stain.

Once that was dry, the Monstera was popped up over top as was a sentiment strip.

OK, be sure to stop over to Simon to check out the full Diecember release, and at noon head over to the blog where all those participating in the blog party will be linked up.  See you back here tomorrow for some more Diecember fun!

SSS Cheering For You, Monstera Stencils Take 2

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Today I'm sharing a coupe more cards featuring my new Monstera stencil set for Simon Says Stamp.

It's been a while since I used spray with my stencils, so I thought I would pull some out and use then with this stencil set.

This first card was pretty straightforward.  I used Dylusions Ink Sprays in Fresh Lime, Cut Grass, and Vibrant Turquoise.  I did use my heat tool after each spraying.

Once the leaf was dry, I added a bit of gold spatter, and finished things off with the Hello Sunshine sentiment cut twice from white cardstock and once from Matte Gold.  

For the second card, I did a little more playing.  This time I used Pure Sunshine, Postbox Red, and Melted Chocolate Dylusions Ink Sprays.  

To emphasize the transitions between the colors, I used a thin brush and gold watercolor paint to paint in some gold lines.  I wasn't trying to be super precise, just wanted to define the lines a bit more.

I also inked the panel (started with a watercolor panel) with a blend of Allspice and Cappuccino ink, and some water splatters as well as gold splattter.

The Cheering You On sentiment was cut from Matte Gold cardstock and adhered to a dark brown cardstock shadow piece, and the secondary sentiment was embossed in gold.

I love how dynamic and organic these sprayed cards are.  Which is your favorite?

SSS Cheering for You Blog Hop

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Friday!  Today I'm participating in a blog hop with Simon Says Stamp featuring the new Cheering for You release.  You should be arriving here from Emily Midgett's blog, and I'll have the full hop list below for you if you need it.

As usual, Simon is giving away a $25 store credit on every stop along the way, so be sure to leave a comment to be entered.

Today I'm showing off my new Monstera stencil set.  The set has four stencils, three layers that make up the complete leaf as well as one stencil that is the full leaf.  This is so much fun to create with and easy to use, and I'm tickled that Simon was able to keep the price for the set under eight dollars, it's a steal!

I had so much fun playing with different color combinations on my cards.  The first two are just straight inking.  I did use a 'natural' cardstock for my panels so there is a bet of texture and some flecks of color which soften things a bit.

For the blue, I used Mist, Raindrop, and Pansy along with the Hi There die.

For the green card, I went with Kale, Artichoke, and Petunia along with a Sentiment Strip.

And for the pink, I used Sweets, Amethyst, and Gold Embossing Paste.  The sentiment is from the Be Bold set and was stamped with Versa Clair black and then clear embossed.  Normally I'd use a gold sentiment, but the gold embossing paste is so warm and bright that it doesn't really match with my embossing powder and I thought it would look off.

For my last card, I mixed things up a bit.  The first three cards used the individual layers because I wanted to use very different colors.  For this card, since I was going with a color family, I used the whole leaf stencil and then two layers.  The colors used were Dew, Mist, and Raindrop, and rather than a focal leaf, I stenciled portions of several to create a patterned paper.

I finished things off with a sentiment from the Clean Line Stacks set.

That's all for me today, but there is still lots more to see.  Your next stop on the hop is Heather Ruwe, and the full list is below as well.

Happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Caly Person
Cathy Zielske
Jennifer McGuire
Debby Hughes
Barbara Tarayao
Amy Rysavy
Keisha Charles
Emily Midgett
Miriam Prantner
Heather Ruwe
Anna-Karin Evaldsson
Kim Hamilton
Sandi MacIver