blog hop

Hello Friends! Welcome to Simon Says Stamp May 2013 Card Kit Blog Hop! Are you ready for Spring? I know I am with the help of this month's card kit, May Flowers!  It's is the perfect kit to get you in the mood for some Springtime weather and all things blooming ....  especially FLOWERS! 

You may be arriving from Nicole Magouirk's blog. Nicole has the has sweetest laugh & is so full of life & so talented too. If you want to start at the beginning of the hop click here. 

I am always honored and excited to work Simon's Monthly Card Kits! I love the paper selection in each kit, the exclusive stamp set and some fun elements that inspire me to do something different each month! For example in this kit, the lace trim and Perfect Pearls. If you subscribe the kit packs a value of only $19.95 ... that's what I call a serious value especially when stamp sets cost about $14.99. 

Just a side note if you are considering purchasing a kit...the last few kits have sold out. No pressure...just an FYI :) If you have purchased a kit and you end up winning a kit ... you will be credited for the full amount of the kit that you purchased. 

The flowers in the stamp set called "Best Mom Ever" are so delightful, and so easy to paper piece or color. I guarantee once you try the vellum in the kit you will want more (it's 40lbs) ! The vellum is the best I have ever used and it's so nice and substantial! Once you get to the mini tutorial you will see how I used the vellum on my flower. I also used the vellum as a layer on both of my card bases...The softness of the vellum really gives your card an elegant punch.  (if you are new to vellum you might want to poke around here , here & here to see three popular vellum posts I have done when you are finished hopping)

Stamped backgrounds are my favorite sort of card to design. The "Perfect Bow" was altered and you will see how further down the post.

When background stamping I just go with the flo and don't worry to much about lining the images up perfectly. Stamping is supposed to be fun right? When you layer the card up most imperfections get covered up so no stressing lol. After stamping with this ink from Hero Arts I filled in the leaves with some Copic markers. I like to stay away from the lines a tad just in case the inks might react.

When coloring with Copics or alcohol markers I think it's best to start with your lighter colors first.

Since I have yummy vellum on my card base I wanted to bring some vellum into the forefront of my card. I decided to add the vellum to flowers however, I didn't want to cover the entire flower just a portion of it.  Stamp on the vellum with Archival Ink and give the ink a few minutes to dry. You can "glue" the vellum with a dot of Glossy Accents or some Vellum Tape.

I have already used the "Perfect Bow" so many times but, for this card I needed the bow to be smaller... no problem. All you need to do is trace the die on your paper. The traced line will help you trim it evenly to make the bow smaller.

Trace along all of the edges or cut some off free hand. If you trace the die it gives you a guide line but, not necessary.

This is how the trimmed bow looks.  Email me if you have any questions :) Now for the best part...the

GIVEAWAY:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50.00 gift certificate to one lucky commenter on every blog in the hop!!! The giveaways will stay open until Thursday April 25/13 at 11:59pm EST and the winners will be announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Friday April 26/13!

If you are a number person that means that Simon Says Stamp will be giving away $450.00 during this hop.  I encourage you to comment on ALL of the designers blogs for more chances to win on each blog. Best of luck to you all! 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog on the hop! The next stop is the amazing & crazy talented  Shari Carroll. If you encounter any broken links on the hop, you can head back the Simon Says Stamp blog here  for a full list of participants.

Happy Hopping!! ;-) and a huge thanks for your visit as always! Hugs, Kathy

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 :)

InLinkz.com