SSS Always There Blog Hop

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

Happy Saturday! Today I'm hopping with Simon Says Stamp celebrating the Always There release. As always, there are lots of prizes involved. Simon is giving away a $25 store credit at each stop along the hop. All you need to do to be entered to win is leave a comment. AND, any purchase this weekend will receive the above set for free. The hop starts at the Simon blog, and you should be arriving from Sandi MacIver's blog. I'll have the full list below if you need it. 

Today I'm sharing a bunch of cards using the Blessed sentiment set. I love these sentiments, and thought I would pull out some stencils to help show it off.

First up, I inked up my White Fusion stencil with Flannel and Earl ink, using Earl twice, once with a heavier hand.

The sentiment was stamped with Archival black ink (I have somehow misplaced my Versa Clair black inkpad....). I used my new favorite, Starlight cardstock, for the card base, and added a very thin strip of a darker gray at the bottom of my stenciled/stamped panel to grouund it.

Next up, I pulled out my Snake Plant stencil.

The image was stenciled using Cabbage, Petunia, and Latte ink. I used Cabbage twice, varying the pressure applied to get two colors out of it.

The sentiment was stamped over top, and I added an olive mat as well.

Stenciled patterns can be a great way to frame a sentiment. That's what I did with these next two cards.

This first card features my Radiating Squares stencils. I centered the stencils over the panel, masking off the center portion. I used Bubblegum, Peony, Butter, and Gold Rush Lunar Paste. 

Once the paste was dry, I trimmed the panel down, and stamped the sentiment, fits perfectly doesn't it?

For the last card, I pulled out my Interlocking Circles stencils. Same process, I determined where the sentiment would fit, masked the area off, and inked up my stencils using Aspen and Mist (Mist was used twice, very lightly the second time, essentially using ink that was left on the previous stencil and brush), and Ranger Embossing Paste for the last layer.

Once dry, I stamped the sentiment, added a mat, and that was it.

That's all for me, your next step on the hop is Alberto Gava, and the full hop list is below. Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the store credit, and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Simon Says Stamp Blog 
Barbara Tarayao
Emily Midgett
Nichol Spohr
Nicky Meek
Tina Smith
Heather Ruwe
Keisha Charles
Lisa Addesa
Sandi MacIver
Miriam Prantner
Alberto Gava
Caryn Davies
Kath Stewart
Carly Minner
Natasha Polite

SSS Rain or Shine Release, White Fusion

 *This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp.

It's a release day at Simon Says Stamp!  The Rain or Shine release is full of lots of spring and Easter themed products including my newest large leaf stencil, White Fusion, which also has a coordinating die set that includes the thanks die I used on my cards today.

There are four stencils in this set.  For my first card, I used the Aspen, Sage, and Pine ink trio.  Aspen was used very lightly for the solid leaf stencil, and then again for one of the other layers.  Once my leaf was complete, it was die cut and set aside.

For the background, I embossed a piece of white cardstock using the Cubical Illusion embossing folder, and adhered it to my card base with Sookwang tape.

The leaf was adhered with foam adhesive, and I also added a few sequins.  

For the sentiment, I used the Thanks die that comes with the White Fusion die, cutting it once from white and once from Matte Gold cardstock.  The shadow piece was cut from white cardstock and then the white outline and Matte Gold letters were inlaid over top.  The completed sentiment was then popped up with foam adhesive.

For this next card, I created two leaves in the same manner as before, this time using the Dew, Mist, and Raindrop ink trio.  After die cutting the leaves, they were nested together and adhered to a panel of white cardstock with foam adhesive.

The thanks was cut from Matte Silver and the shadow piece was cut from vellum.  The letters were then adhered to the vellum and the entire piece was popped up with foam tape.

Be sure to head over to Simon to check out the whole release.  I'll be back on Saturday for a fun blog hop.