Mandy Stacey brings us Fall Fun with Magnolia!

Hi bloggers! It is with true bitter sweetness I wish you a HAPPY last day of STAMPtember™! It's been such a treat sharing and creating with so many amazing people in this industry this month! The last day is of no exception, I came to know this amazingly talented lady, Mandy Stacey, when she joined our design team and I continue to be blown away by her stunning cards & creations! Be sure to stop by her blog, A Sprinkling of Glitter, for oodles of inspiration! Here's a brief bio about Mandy in her own words:

I live in the beautiful South West of England with my husband, two children and many fur babies. After passing my A levels at college I began my nursing career, firstly mental health, then elderly & wanting to try something more of a challenge I began working with young adults with severe learning disabilities & challenging behaviors & I knew straight away that I had found my niche.

Following a car accident I had to give up work & I needed something to keep myself busy that wasn't too physically demanding which I could do with my injury, so my husband brought me home a card making magazine saying he'd found me a hobby! I was amazed at the amount of detail on the gorgeous handmade cards in the magazine as I had never seen cards like it, and decided that maybe hubby was on to something here.

That was almost 4 years ago now & as I discovered more about papercrafting I fell in love with stamping & coloring, especially Magnolia stamps. I love using lots of lovely embellishments, anything pretty, feminine and sparkly is a winner in my eyes :)

Philosophies on making these cards by Mandy: 

On my Autumn card I wanted to show a mix of older and new Magnolia stamps and also how with a little masking I could have Pie Tilda appear as she is leaning on a pumpkin instead of having her elbows resting on her knees as she does when stamped normally. When creating scenes with my Magnolia's I always use a Stamp-A-MA-JIG to get that perfect positioning & Mask It flexible masking film & both in my opinion are a must for every stamper to include in their supplies. 

I like to switch between collections and use the products in different ways, the paper I have used on this card is from the 2010 Wedding Collection & again shows that we are not limited to use it only for the collection it was released as the colors are not only perfect for an Autumn card, but also Christmas, Birthday or Thanksgiving cards, the only limitation is our own imagination!

 Supplies:

We don't give Halloween cards here in the UK so I only tend to make them for DT creations which is a shame as I really enjoyed stamping and coloring this little scene. I started to build my scene by stamping and masking Bat Tilda, then I stamped and masked Dracula Edwin and I would then usually stamp and mask the next furthest away image which is the Boo background but as the letters are solid I didn't need to worry about another image showing through them so I did things a little differently and stamped the moon.  I then finished off by stamping the Boo background before removing the masks and beginning to color them.

 Supplies:

Steph

BONUS!!!  Be sure to stop by Mandy's blog for a special coupon on Magnolia stamps you will only find on her blog!!

Blog Candy Alert!! Join our following and comment on this blog for a chance to win an exclusive SSS blog candy bundle! Winner will be announced tomorrow! Good luck!

Also, be sure to tune in next month to our blog with LOTS of exciting features & sales!!!

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Britta Swiderski Creates with the Simon Says Stamp Brand!

Happy Saturday, Bloggers! We're going to dive right into today's content with Britta Swiderski! First, a quick bio & then on to creating with Simon Says Stamp exclusive products!! How exciting!!

Hey there! I'm so glad to be here on the Simon Says Stamp blog to help celebrate Stamptember™. Thanks for having me, Simon! Here's a little more about me:  

I'm a graphic design major at the University of Minnesota and have been scrapbooking, cardmaking and crafting for as long as I can remember. 

I love to explore new techniques and teach others about them, which led me to start up a blog several years ago, which has evolved into one of my great passions. I'm always itching to get creative as a break from my educational obligations! I also love to travel, read, and watch sports with my friends. You can check out my blog here and my youtube channel here.






Today, I wanted to show you a little technique that I've been obsessed with lately. I'm calling it Watermark Painting with Distress Ink. I'm a ginormous fan of Distress Inks and what they can do, and this technique shows off one of my favorite parts of Distress Ink - its interaction with water. 

Here's the step by step to create the background:

1. Ink your watercolor paper (Simon Says Stamp has the best watercolor paper!) with the lighter of your two Distress Inks evenly. Here, I used Tumbled Glass.

2. Ink heavily around the edges of the paper with the darker color (here, I used Salty Ocean from the Summer Seasonal Distress Inks). Blend the color in well using both blending tools for a very smooth look.

 
3. Get your Detail Water Brush flowing on a piece of scratch paper (no need to squeeze - just draw like you would with a brush marker) and then slowly draw circles onto your inked cardstock. The water takes a few seconds to react with the ink, so be patient!

4. For a larger line, squeeze lightly on the barrel of the waterbrush. This will create a little more bleeding and unpredictability, but the look is really nice when you want to change it up.

 
5. Continue across the rest of your cardstock, working from the center out and varying circle sizes. When the water has dried, you can go back over your circles with the water brush for an even more dramatic look.

 
This card is a nice happy one that I think I'll send to my mom. She's always the first person I think of when I think of home. :) The Where Your Heart Is Stamps and Dies set by Simon is perfect for this happy little background, and these shapes are so much fun to die cut, stamp and then color with Copics. Love! Since stamping is all about combining your sets and making the scene look just how you want it, I knew I wanted two different sizes of clouds, so I borrowed them from Lawn Fawn's Sunny Skies. It's a perfect match for this set when you want two sizes of clouds! I hope you enjoyed this fun background technique and give it a try this month in celebration of Stamptember™!

Supplies:



BONUS!! For an extra special coupon you'll only find on Britta's blog, be sure to hop on over and GRAB IT!


Steph





Blog Candy Alert!! Join our following and comment on this blog for a chance to win an exclusive bundle of SSS goodies! Winner will be announced on Monday, good luck!

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Paper Smooches Gratitude with Kim Hughes!

Hi Bloggers! Today I have a special treat from you from Kim Hughes, designer & guru from all that you love from Paper Smooches stamps! Let's read a bit about Kim from her in her own words:

Hello.

My name is Kim Hughes, owner and Illustrator for Paper Smooches.  I live in Goodyear, AZ with my blended family of seven.  I have been an artist my whole life but I was introduced to the scrapbooking world about 15 years ago.

 I truly love every aspect of paper crafting and feel honored to be a part of such a wonderful industry.  Our stamps are hand drawn by a stamper, for stampers.  I hope that you like our whimsical and fun images and sentiments.  It's a joy to share my art with you.

 



My project consists of a few tips and techniques.  I hope that my video encourages you to look at your stamps in a whole new way.

Now be sure to watch Kim's video so you can get the step by step of how she created the card!


Supplies:



BONUS! Be sure to check out the Paper Smooches blog HERE for an exclusive coupon that Kim will only be providing! Check it out!!

Steph




BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!  Join our following and comment on this blog for a chance to win some surprise & exclusive SSS candy! Winner will be announced on Monday, good luck!

 

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STAMPtember™ with Inky Antics Founder Jackie Wamhoff

We are excited to feature a delightfully fun Christmas project by Inky Antics founder, Jackie Wamhoff,  on our blog today.  I loved listening to her voice in the videos she created.  She is just as cute in person as her sweet voice sounds!  Her products are cute too!  Inky Antics' products are manufactured just up the road from Simon Says Stamp in Cleveland Ohio.   Two of the hardest working people Ted and Michelle Cutts, and their amazing team, bring Jackie's products to market for us all to enjoy!  Please welcome Jackie to our STAMPtember™ celebration!

Jackie's Honeypop Introduction:




Assembling Your Honeypop Tree:

SUPPLIES:

InLinkz.com

Additional supplies:
Designer Cardstock (One 1 1/4" x 7 1/2" Piece & Two 1 1/4" x 4 1/2" Pieces)
Styrofoam (One 4 1/2" x 7 1/2" Piece)
Bamboo Skewer
Toothpicks
Silver Cording
Mini Ornament String

Be sure to check out Jackie's blog!  She has a very special Inky Antics coupon code to share with you!  Comment below and let us know if you make some kind of table decorations for the holidays.  We'd love to hear your ideas and know our other readers would too!  We will choose a lucky commenter to win a $25 shopping spree to Simon!

Thank you Jackie!





Heidi and the Simon Family








Congrats! The winner of the blog candy from the Jennifer Mcguire Combines Hero Arts and Sizzix Designs for STAMPtember™ Punch! is: Wendy G! Please email Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com with your address and the name of the blog you won from to claim your prize!

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Jennifer Mcguire Combines Hero Arts and Sizzix Designs for STAMPtember™ Punch!

".
YAH!  It's STAMPtember™ 25th!  YAHOO!  I have been eagerly anticipating this day for what seems like AGES!   Today, we are over the moon excited to host one of the most well known stampers in our industry:  Jennifer Mcguire.  Not only am I a ginormous fan of Jennifer's work, but I deeply care for her as a person too.  She is clever, smart, talented, kind, generous, hard working....an amazing friend and momma.  Amongst friends Jennifer is considered a "people connector".  It's hard to believe her huge heart of gold fits into her pint sized frame.

Jennifer is well-known for her very popular, energetic, fast-paced technique classes and is one of the creators of the best online education resources in the world: www.onlinecardclasses.com.  Her resume includes working for some of the best companies in the industry - including Hero Arts and serving as a contribitor for "Paper Crafts Magazine". 

Recently she brought a beautiful baby girl into this world and is helping raise 2 teenage daughters and a young son.  She calls Cincinnati, Ohio her home, but is able to reach people all over the world through social media and this wonderful tool we call "the internet" ;)  You can often find her engaging in open and candid conversation on real life topics through her "jenmcguireink" twitter handle.

Stampers appreciate Jennifer's expert eye for quality and useful products.  She is well respected for giving honest feedback and straightforward technique demonstrations.  I love that Jennifer supports good quality and often searches high and low to find it!

Her support of the stamping industry encourages companies to bring paper crafters the best quality and most innovative products possible!  Please join us in welcoming Jennifer Mcguire:

From Jennifer:

Card 1: Faux letterpress is very popular with embossing folders, but is even better when combined with stamping! First, I stamped the background on white cardstock with Tide Pool Ink. Then, rubbed the inside of the folder with Soft Pool Ink before lining the stamped image in the folder and running it through my die cut machine. This results in a dark pool image on the raised areas and light pool in the recessed areas.

Card 2: Want to take the first technique one step farther? Along with inking the inside of the folder, I  also inked the Envelope Liner background with Soft Granite Ink. Then I "kissed" them together, transferring some of the granite ink to the inked embossing folder. After running it through my die cut machine, I ended up with a textured look in the background.

Card 3: Using an acetate piece stamped with White Staz-On Ink on a card is a great way to add unexpected shine and interest. But take it a step further by also running it through an embossing folder for dimension.

For added fun, I used a frame stamp and die from a holiday stamp set... but made it non-holiday by popping on a "thank you" message. 

SUPPLIES:

InLinkz.com


Which of the above techniques would you like to try first?  Comment below to let us know and you could be the winner of an awesome Hero Arts' product prize package valued at over $50!   The fun doesn't stop there!  Be sure to check out Jennifer's blog www.JenniferMcguireInk.com because she is posting an extra special Simon coupon code for you!

Thank you Jennifer!





Heidi and the Simon Family 

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