simon says stamp blog hop

Hello ... hello Friends! Welcome to Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit Blog Hop! Are you ready for Spring? I know I am with the help of this month's card kit, Friendship 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 Kelly Marie Alvarez at Lawn Fawn's blog. (Kelly is the sweetest person you will ever meet, crazy talented too and I love her company Lawn Fawn!) 

I am always honored and excited to work Simon's Card Kits! I love the paper selection in each kit (especially these Lawn Fawn papers), the exclusive stamp set and some fun elements that inspire me to do something different each month! For example, the beautifully colored paper straws. 

If you subscribe the kit only costs a mere $19.95 and that's what I call a serious value. 

Questions about subscribing to the kit? Click here. 

Before we get started let's talk GIVEAWAYS! Leave a comment on this blog post and one lucky winner from my blog will receive a $50.00 E-gift voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp store! (A random winner will be drawn at 9am EST on Sat. 3.9.13) If you are a number person that means that Simon Says Stamp will be giving away $550.00 during this hop. Yes, that is five hundred and fifty dollars lol! I encourage you to comment on ALL of the designers blogs for  more chances to win. Best of luck to you :)

Immediately upon opening the card kit I knew I had to do something cool with the bright paper straws but, before I started my project I set out to order MORE straws! I want to fill all the holes in my "lollipop  holder" with some pendants or flags that I can use to create quick cards with. It seems like I never have the right card for the right occasion. The stamp set in the card kit had the perfect sentiments for everyday sayings that was just what I needed! Thank You Simon!

Can you tell that I had so much fun stamping the flowers and vines? I did and that's why I made more shapes using these Simon Says Stamp exclusive dies. I have a nice stash to use for several occasions and it was worth the work.  Hero Arts inks compliment Lawn Fawn's papers beautifully and I used the papers colors to guide me with the ink colors from Hero Arts. (see supply list)

Love the pendants from Spellbinders that I made my "flags" with using the sturdy paper straws. I wanted to show you when I need a card I remove the straw from the pendant to make a quick card. Depending on the card I might keep the straw intact.

In the photo above I wanted to show you how I used one of these Apothecary shapes from Simon Says to make a quick card. (The rest will be adhered to more straws when they arrive and placed in my lollipop holder.) I was so pleased with the strength of the straws. VERY STRONG!

Here is a close up of the card. I used the white pen on the leaves and the flower centers. The banners on this card are created from the washi tape in the card kit. 

The apothecary labels were traced on the Lawn Fawn papers so I would have a frame around my stamped center. If you lean the pencil at an angle on the die .... you can draw the line further from the edge ...this way you get a nice thick frame that off sets your stamped center.

You will be amazed with the different flower combinations you can create with the stamp set. I used some white gel pen on each pendant and used some white Enamel Accents too.

You can also see how the Hero Arts inks look so beautiful with the Lawn Fawn papers. I loved dotting the flowers centers and adding a white line down each leaf.

I cut my paper straws from the kit in half! Pretty tricky huh? I thought I should point this out because they were a regular size when I received them.

The white unicorn ink was stamped in the flowers center with the mulit dots from the stamp set. 

 Once the white ink was dry I added more dots with a gel pen .....off center.... on top of the white ink.

Don't worry if your stamping isn't perfect. See the bottom flower on the pendant? I used the white gel pen to hid that extra ink between the petals. The white spaces on the flowers I colored in with a marker. 

Thank You so much for your visit today!The next stop in the Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit hop is my friend, the ever so talented, kind and handiest woman you will ever meet..Shari Carroll.If you encounter a broken link, go back to the beginning and you will get the list of the participants. Happy Hopping! Hugs, Kathy

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