To Love/To Be Loved Blog Hop!

Welcome class!

I'm super excited to be able to participate in the second day of the Simon Says Stamp To Be Loved blog hop--thanks for coming to my "classroom!"  You're at the LAST stop here...hopefully you think they saved the best for last--LOL!  If you missed the first day's inspiration, or want to start today's stop at the beginning make sure to head to the Simon Says Stamp blog HERE and get caught up! We're giving away a $25 coupon to the Simon shop from EVERY stop on the hop from the comment section...leave a comment and the winners will be be posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday January 15th!  And even more fun--with any $50 purchase from the To Love OR To Be Loved collections, you'll have the Circle Hoops embossing folder automatically added to your cart as a FREE thank you for your purchase!  This free gift with purchase will expire on January 12th at 11:59 EST or while supplies last, so get your orders in quickly!

My card I'm featuring here uses a product from the To Be Loved release--the Swirly Hearts stamp set.  Let's get to it and see how this card came together!

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Pick your colors.  I went with a rainbow assortment of colors using Simon's Pawsitively Saturated Ink line.  I use only ink cubes in my craft room, and the cubes came in so handy for this technique to create the rainbow background!

2.  Ink the things!  I lined up the solid heart stamps across the top third of the card and inked up the top of the row in Guava and the bottom of the row in Cherry.  Blend the things!  BEFORE you stamp, take an ink blending tool and tap it across the area where the two ink colors come together so that they make a more harmonious blend.  Stamp the things and admire that beautiful blend!  

3.  Move the stamps around for a second row of hearts and repeat this process with the rest of your rainbow--I completed the rainbow using the following Pawsitively Saturated Inks: Mandarin, Sunbeam, Limelicious, Surf, Cadette and a smidge of Iris.

4.  Emboss the things!  I selected a few of the hearts to have the outline image surrounding them.  I used the Simon Says Stamp Nocturne Versafine ink and used clear embossing powder on top to bring out the shine. 

5.  Splatter the things!  I used black watercolor ink and did some splatter over the top of the heart panel and set it aside to dry while I....

6.  Die cut the things! I used the previously released Love You Very Much die and cut it out of Simon's Glossy Black cardstock. 

7.  Assemble!  I popped up the heart panel on top of a white cardbase, and finished the sentiment off with a reverse sentiment strip from the All the Love collection.  Some Starshine sequins and we have a colorful valentine!

Feel free to check out the entire To Be Loved release HERE, and below you can find the links to the products that I've used on this card. The links above and below are affiliate links, which just helps me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you, making it easier to create more lesson plans and creativity for all of you--I appreciate your support!

Products used:

• Simon Says Stamp Swirly Hearts Stamps
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Red Berries
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Orange Leaves
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Yellow Sunsets
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Green Meadows
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Blue Seas
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Blue Skies
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Ink Cubes: Purple Fields
• Simon Says Stamp Love You Very Much Wafer Die
• Simon Says Stamp Clear Detail Embossing Powder
• Simon Says Stamp Nocturne Versafine Clair Ink Pad
• Simon Says Stamp All the Love Reverse Sentiment Strips
• Simon Says Stamp Starshine Embellishment Mix

Class dismissed!

 

To Be Loved Release is Here!

Welcome class!

It's been a minute since I've been able to enter the virtual classroom here at Schoolhouse Stamps!  Fortunately I spent a lot of that time crafting so I hope I'll have time to post more in the new year.  One of my projects that I worked on was creating with products from the To Be Loved Release from Simon Says Stamp.  There's a lot of great products, including the new CZ Designs I'm Sorry Die and Stamps featured here!  Let's get to it!

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Pick your colors.  I went with a color saturated card using only gold and the newer Rainforest cardstock from Simon Says Stamp.

2.  Die cut the things!  I used almost every flower and leaf die from the Aurora Blooms set.  Splatter the things!  Once I glued down the die cuts, I splattered the entire card front with gold watercolor for shine.  I'm thrilled with how the gold pops off that vibrant dark blue-green cardstock!

3.  Assemble!  I stacked die cuts for the sentiment and made sure to top it with matte gold cardstock, which mirrors the matte gold cardstock flower centers  A few gold sequins to go over the top and we have a dramatic sympathy card.  Those are hard to make in the moment but it's handy to have it in the stash when you need it. 

Feel free to check out the entire To Be Loved release HERE, and below you can find the links to the products that I've used on this card. The links above and below are affiliate links, which just helps me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you, making it easier to create more lesson plans and creativity for all of you--I appreciate your support!

Products used:

• Simon Says Stamp Rainforest Cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp CZ Designs I'm Sorry Wafer Die
• Simon Says Stamp CZ Designs I'm Sorry Stamps
• Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold Cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp Stay Gold Embellishment Mix

Class dismissed!

 

It's DieCember! Time to Spread Christmas Joy!

Welcome class!

I don't know about you, but I can never have enough craft dies....they are the most versatile products in my stash!  Simon Says Stamp for the win--welcome to DieCember!  Simon is releasing a wide variety of craft dies today that meet all of your card making needs for an assortment of projects you may be working on with Christmas only a few short weeks away--card making, gift card holders, and more.  I think I used at least 4 different die sets for this cute little bird card I'm featuring today as a part of the DieCember party, which features a huge assortment of Simon designers who craft in a variety of amazing styles to give you a TON of inspiration.  Check out the Simon Says Stamp blog for the line up for today's party!  Let's get to the details on this card!

To celebrate DieCember, Simon has a great free gift with any $100 purchase of DieCember release products....there are sooo many more fun products where this little birdie came from (the EZ strips are one of my personal favs!), so swing by their website HERE to check it out! 

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Pick your colors. I wanted to this to have a holiday theme, so I went with the go to of red and green. 

2.  Die cut the things!  I used the new Rustic Nest wafer dies, as well as the new Jolly Birdie wafer dies, and supplemented with the Stocking Cat wafer die for the Santa hat and the Elegant Blossom Branch wafer die for the branch it's all sitting on. Ink blend the things!  I cut the nest, bird and package out of colored cardstock--the lightest shade--and went back over with some Pawsitively Saturated Inks to blend them to a shade that I was hoping for.  The leaves on the tree and the bird wings are examples of how I started out with a light color cardstock (I believe I used Concord and 9th's Sprout) and blended to get the shading I wanted. 

3.  Assemble!  This 'lil bird has a gift box in the nest with it--using the Gift Builders wafer die set--which I grabbed some Simon glitter paper to make a sparkly bow. I mounted the whole bird set up on an ink blended circle die. A sentiment from the CZ Reverse Typed Christmas Sentiments pack and some Starshine embellishments and we have a card!

Product Line Up:

• Simon Says Stamp Rustic Nest Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp Jolly Birdie Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp Stocking Cat Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp Gift Builder Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp Elegant Blossom Branch Wafer Dies
• Simon Says Stamp CZ Reverse Typed Christmas Sentiments Strips
• Simon Says Stamp Starshine Embellishments
• Simon Says Stamp Glitter Assortment Paper Pack
• Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Inks: Green Meadows

The above links are affiliate links, which just helps me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you and create more lesson plans and creativity for all of you--I appreciate your support!

Class dismissed!

 

Attitude of Gratitude

It's my last week at the guest designer with Crafty Meraki, and the theme for this week was Thank You.  I'm a pro at thank you notes as they seem to be the  most frequently produced in my craft room.  I wanted to stray a bit from the holiday theme that I've been working with the past few weeks and I made a card with an earthy color palette to wrap up the month, featuring a fun technique to stretch my supplies--I dry embossed with a hot foil plate!

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Head to the Crafty Meraki blog to see the creation of the card :)

Product Line Up:

• Crafty Meraki June Meraki Floral Dies
• Crafty Meraki Marrakech Hot Foil Plate
• Crafty Meraki Gilded Greetings Stamps
• Crafty Meraki Gilded Greetings Die

The above products can be found HERE, which is an affiliate link to the Crafty Meraki shop.  Affiliate links just help me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you and create more lesson plans and creativity for all of you--I appreciate your support! 

Class dismissed!

Two for One Christmas Tags!

Welcome class!

I'm here with another project for Crafty Meraki!  This week's theme was tags, and I had a great idea to use their Merry Slimline Tag dies along with their EAP Festive Floral Wreath suite of products to make the first of my holiday tags.  Their EAP products make things so simple!  I'm looking forward to making some of my Christmas cards next year using some of these products.

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Head to the Crafty Meraki blog to see the creation of the card :)

Product Line Up:

• Crafty Meraki EAP Festive Flora Wreath Paper
• Crafty Meraki EAP Festive Flora Coordinating Die
• Crafty Meraki Merry Slimline Tag Die

The above products can be found HERE, which is an affiliate link to the Crafty Meraki shop.  Affiliate links just help me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you and create more lesson plans and creativity for all of you--I appreciate your support! 

Class dismissed!

Lil' Foxy Christmas

Welcome class!  

Happy Friday!  Today's card is a simple watercolor card using Karin markers as well as the Snow Buddies stamp set from the Festive Fun release at Simon Says Stamp! I'm not a watercolorer, but I'm enjoying having the chance to play with my Karin markers with these images and trying out a few different techniques.  A little stenciling in the background helps to give the dimension I wanted for this card. Let's get to it!

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Pick your colors.  I'm using some Tim Holtz Watercolor paper with this, mounted on some black cardstock with a white base.  That image needs to do the coloring.

2.  Color the things!  I scribbled my markers on top of my glass mat and used a wet brush to give basic color to the image, then I went back with the marker directly to the paper with the wet brush to spread the ink around.  On the package, I colored the entire thing light green, and then just colored the stripes with a dark green marker.  I used a pale blue to provide some shading to the base in the snow.  Stencil the things!  I used some white texture paste from Michaels with the Falling Snow stencil on the top of the panel. Emboss the things!  White emboss a sentiment from the Snow Buddies on black cardstock. 

3.  Assemble!  Add some Starshine embellishments, tie the sentiment on with natural twine and it's a card!

Product Line Up:

• Simon Says Stamp Snow Buddies Stamp Set
  
• Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow Stencil
• Tim Holtz Watercolor Panels
• Simon Says Stamp So Very Black Cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp Embossing Ink
• Simon Says Stamp White Embossing Powder
• Simon Says Stamp Starshine Embellishment Mix
• May Arts Natural Twine

The above links are affiliate links, which just helps me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you and create more lesson plans and fuel creativity--I appreciate your support!

Class dismissed! 

 

Merry Alcohol Ink Christmas!

Welcome class!

Another deep dive into my alcohol ink backgrounds stash for this pretty simple Christmas card using the new Reeded Ornament at Simon Says Stamp.  I had a full sheet of purple-pink alcohol ink which I rationed like a hiker rations food on Everest to pull this card off--LOL!  Let's get to it!

So here's the lesson plan:

1.  Pick your colors.  That pink purple alcohol ink piece drove this project, and I wanted them to stick out on the background so I went with So Very Black Cardstock from Simon Says Stamp. 

2.  Emboss the things! I didn't need to do this, but I liked the texture the Wonky Concentric Circles background stamp had on the background embossed in clear ink.  Die cut the things!  I cut the ornaments with the Reeded Ornament Die, and the tops with matte silver cardstock. 

3.  Assemble! I used a lot of foam tape on this one, and trimmed the edges of the ornaments that hung off the sides. A simple sentiment using the CZ Reverse Typed Christmas sentiments fit the bill perfectly!

Product Line Up:

• Simon Says Stamp Reeded Ornament Die
  
• Simon Says Stamp Wonky Concentric Circles Background Stamp
• Simon Says Stamp Matte Silver Cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp So Very Black Cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder
• Simon Says Stamp Embossing Ink
• Simon Says Stamp CZ Designs Reverse Typed Christmas Sentiment Strips

The above links are affiliate links, which just helps me fund this hobby at no additional cost to you and create more lesson plans and fuel creativity--I appreciate your support!

Class dismissed!