simon says stamp blog hop and giveaways

You may have arrived from the blog of the most amazing person Jennifer McGuire. If you encounter a broken link or would like to go to the start of the blog hop go to the Simon Says Stamp blog.

Hello Friends, Welcome to Simon Says Stamp Spring Release blog hop. I am always excited to be part anything that involves SIMON especially today's  blog hop featuring all  NEW and EXCLUSIVE Simon Says Stamp BRAND products!  With 14 designers and all of these products I guarantee you will be captivated, maybe enchanted but, definitely inspired. You will also be elegible to win lots of goody bags at each blog in the hop. 

More about the GIVEAWAY ...... Leave a comment on this blog post and one lucky winner from my blog will receive a Simon Says Stamp Goody bag. We will randomly draw a winner at 9:00 AM EST on Wednesday, 4/3/13 so be sure to leave your comment by then. (And be sure to comment on each designer’s blog for 14 chances to win!)

I HOPE YOU "BEAR" WITH ME TODAY. I have created a bonus card and three peek-a-boo cards using the the dies from Simon. Honestly, when I first saw the stamps and dies I was just flooded with ideas. (IF only there were more hours in the day) Once we get started I think you will get a good idea why these stamps and dies are so fun, versatile and perfect for so many projects.

PEEK-A-BOO ...... CARD NUMBER ONE

I had so much fun playing with this die cut. If you raise parts of the background and or create windows you will always have that element of surprise....peek-a-boo. The Copic colors I used to color the triangles are in my supply list below the card.... so are the pop dots I used for dimension behind the triangle and the die cut. 

If you cut out these adorable creatures it's faster to blend the markers outside of the image. I colored over the nose and applied a white highlight on the nose with a white gel pen. 

If you are like me and love using Glossy Accents sometimes you might go outside of the lines?? When that happens to me I use a paper piercer to remove the excess. Works like a charm. In the top of the photo you can see where I practiced applying the Enamel Accents before I added them over the eyes. Love the dimension! 

CARD ONE SUPPLIES:

PEEK-A-BOO ...... CARD NUMBER TWO

When I came up with the idea for this card I was just so pleased with  myself... lol. I hope you like it too. The possibilites are endless when you have great products to work with. Thank YOU Simon! 

Die cut TWO "backgrounds" then REVERSE ONE OF THEM. 

Place the REVERSED ONE on top and randomly add color with markers inside the circles. 

This is what it looks like when you remove the top. I decided to make the colored circles larger so that when you layer the top (with pop dots) you see more of the color from a side view. Know what I mean?? 

This large banner is my favorite because I rarely make a standard size card. (Lucky Simon has several sizes to suit all of our needs...see the very bottom of the post for all sizes.)  I like to use Copic markers to color the banners and use the scored areas as my darker highlight. 

CARD SUPPLIES FOR CARD NUMBER TWO:

PEEK-A-BOO ...... CARD NUMBER THREE:

For this Peek-A-Boo card I combined the NEW envelope die cut and Kelly Purkey's NEW stamps. (Yes...she is now a part of the Simon family...lucky girl but, well deserved) These stamps are so on trend with what you are seeing in clothes and spring looks. So inspiring! I thought the adorable octopus would be great with a nautical colors. Hero Arts inks were the perfect ink colors for the nautical look. 
The background was stamped and vellum was placed on top for a softer look. 

I die cut the envelope three times just for fun. Take each envelope flap, score & bend it back like you see in the photo. (email me if you have questions) 

(if you are wondering about the price differences of die cuts.... the more metal...the more money. This die will stand the test of time and won't bend etc. because it's NOT open...very sturdy) 

Stamp a background. (love how the ancor created a quick and pretty background) Stamp your sentiment and add pop dots to the envelope flaps. I also stamped the stars on the tips of the flaps. 

If you ask me these are the perfect inks...perfect colors. Anyway.... before I stamped the sentiment I marked a tiny "x" to mark the center to stamp the sentiment. When the ink dries erase the pencil. 

 After stamping the adorable octopus I added suction cups to the tentacles with a white gel pen. Enamel Accents were added to the eyes & once they were dry... I used a black sharpie to carefully draw a dot for pupils. HERE is a post explaining different ways to create eyes. 

CARD SUPPLIES FOR CARD NUMBER THREE:

BONUS ...... CARD NUMBER FOUR:

 Ahhh I just love these numbers and the possibilities! I think I will be adding another one of these number dies to my list at Simon because I broke my numbers apart. They are so great when attached and so many uses with them as single dies. PERFECT for masculine cards too. Did you notice the sentiment banner...it's such a cool shape! 

 I separated the numbers so I could die cut this boarder. So happy I did... I love how half of the numbers looks like a boarder punch. (I used some architectural tape to hold the numbers down before die cutting.) 

CARD SUPPLIES FOR CARD NUMBER FOUR:

Thanks for your visit it means so much to me!  The next stop in the Simon Says Stamp Spring 2013 Blog Hop is the amazing Laura Bassen. If you encounter a broken link or would like to go to the start of the blog hop go to the Simon Says Stamp blog. Thanks again for your visit! Below you can view the entire collection . Happy Crafting! Hugs, Kathy

Here is  EVERYTHING FROM THE NEW SPRING COLLECTION all in one place just for you :)

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