Simon Says Stamp Blog!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Crafting from the Heart!

Hi bloggers & Happy Wednesday to you! This week over at Simon Says Stamp & Show, we're talking about Projects with Heart. Anytime we sit down and make something, we always want to put a little heart into it, it just just makes the project so much better!!

Check out some awesome inspiration from a few select designers from the team:

First up is an awesome project by Anna-Karin Evaldsson, below she'll tell you in her words her inspiration for the piece and what she used to make it;

I love mixing different types of metal and this wooden heart was a perfect surface to play on. I covered it with metal foil tape that had been dry embossed, painted, inked and heat embossed. From the heart hangs a little inchie book made from a Vintaj blank embossed with a lovely tree and coloured with patina inks. I hid tiny pages inside the book, and another embossed piece of metal. The heart is embellished with different Tim Holtz Idea-ology pieces, a stamped sentiment, a die cut heart covered with Distress Stickles Rock Candy dry glitter, a Vintaj star and other bits and pieces.

Suzanne Czosek made a mini pocket book, with pretty soft colors, and a lot of heart! Below is a summary from Suzz in how she made these fabulous tags!

I had the sweetest set of tags with pockets Melissa Frances Bags & Tags which had me thinking how fun it would be to put heart tabs at the end of the tags. The thought of heart shaped tags had me searching for paper that fit and I found the perfect match with My Minds Eye Honey - The Sweetest Thing. I added images from the Stampendous Queen Bee to the pockets to float along with the bees on the hearts. A whimsical mini book with tags to pull out and explore.

I just love this tissue tape heart, by Sarah Engles-Greer! It's gorgeous & perfectly distressed. To make your own, read below to find out the creative process direct from the artist.

I wanted to make a hanging heart and was wondering how to create an interesting but randomly patterned background. I also thought it would be good to recycle some of the cardboard that is collecting under my craft table! I drew and cut out three hearts and then bound them in Tissue Tape. I wanted a more white washed effect so I gave it a coat of Gesso before adding a few faded, stamped flourishes. and edging my heart in Distress Ink. I wanted to keep the design simple so as not to hide the background and thought two Papillion butterflies, a few Tim words and a rusty key were just enough

Be sure to to view the entire post to see the rest of the fabulous inspiration from our designers, and to join in the fun! You COULD win a $50 voucher to spend in our store on whatever your heart desires!

Steph

BLOG CANDY ALERT! Join our following and comment on this blog for a chance to win an exclusive not for resale Hero Arts stamp set pictured below! Winner will be announced soon! Good luck!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Season's Greetings (December Card Kit)

Happy Tuesday, all! Kristina here. :)

Today I made a tall and skinny card using elements from the Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit. I just love the vintage-looking elements in the kit! The card measures 3.5" x 9", so it will fit inside a business size envelope. Cards this size are also great if you send out family update newsletters with your Christmas cards.

Anyhow, enjoy!

Watch video below | Watch at YouTube

InLinkz.com

Monday, November 26, 2012

Mondays with May: Holiday Edition: Week 4!

Happy Holidays! There's no denying it - we're fully in the holiday season now! May Flaum here, and I'm back with my fourth and final week of special holiday exclusive projects for the Simon Says Stamp blog. What could we tie this series up with? Well, I think it is the perfect time to talk ribbon. Specifically, how to get some of that beautiful crafting stash you've got into play on holiday projects.

The most obvious use of ribbon in my mind, is to tie packages together. Of course I also like to use it as accents on cards, to top tags, to create 'tails' for rosette accents, and any other way I can think to use them. From twine to glittered, thick to thin - I do love my ribbon. I'm sharing two simple projects with you today that I think could be applied to any number of gifts and recipients.

First up, I've created a custom card for my adorable Target gift card that is now just a little extra special. I traced the gift card, then cut out the front of the card enough so that the hole was just slightly larger than the gift card, then I adhered the paper backing of the gift card to the inside of the card so that it would sit just so and show through.

The front of the card is colored with festive berries distress ink and a generous application of Sunflower Sparkle pearl mist. I edged the cut-out portion of the front of my card with black ink just to add a bit of pop and contrast - and of course my card wouldn't be complete without my beloved American Crafts ribbon to tie it all together.
Speaking of tying it together, I've taken my ribbon and a festive brad and tied up this sweet little package.

The trick here, is that I created three loops of ribbon, secured them with double sided tape, and then taped them all together in the very center to create my bow for this package. While my brad appears to be stuck into that bow, it is actually just taped on. Much easier than breaking through all those layers of ribbon.

My favorite thing about this technique is that it is much easier to get even loops on your bow, plus it doesn't take much time at all.

I hope you've enjoyed the projects that I've shared this month here at the Simon Says Stamp blog! If you'd like to see more of my creations this holiday season I invite you to hop on over to my blog.

I wish you very happy holiday crafting!

Supplies used today:

BONUS!
Head on over to May Flaum's blog for a special coupon you'll only find there!!
If you enjoyed this series be sure to visit May’s blog starting November 30^th for 10 days of holiday crafting tutorials, ideas, and more fun! We’re excited to announce that she’s hosting a special edition of Camp Scrap: Holiday Edition and Simon Says Stamp is the sponsor! She’s got a special discount code too – so be sure to pop on over and check it out!

Congrats weekend blog candy winners!
From: Patchwork Pandemonium with Tim Holtz: Sue!
From: Holiday Gift Projects Bundle Class: theCook!

Please email Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com with your address and the name of the blog you won from to claim your prize!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Patchwork Pandemonium with Tim Holtz!

Hi Bloggers & Happy Sunday to you! We're still reeling from a fantastic class with THE Tim Holtz, earlier this month. Due to popular demand, (and because we're thrilled to show you), we are presenting to you all of our individual takes on the patchwork project from this spectacular class by Tim Holtz!

I thought it was so cool to see everyone's take on color choices, as well as accent pieces and where to place them!! If you'd like to see any of these photos closer, just click on them! :)

Below we have some close ups of a few of the projects to see some of the cool techniques that were taught and applied!

The close up above shows many techniques, but some of my favorites are the effects of the crackle paint on grunge paper, and the pretty sparkle from Rocky Candy Distress Stickles on the heart! Check out how the key on this piece is attached with string! Did you know you can sew through grunge paper?

The beautiful butterfly is definitely the star of this close up! To get your own crackled and multi colored butterfly, apply a generous layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint to grunge paper, and allow it to dry. Next use your favorite colors of alcohol ink, and apply a drop or two of each to your alcohol ink applicator tool next to each other. Finally, blend on the surface!

It's always fun to add a personal touch to your works of art! Our teamie, Reba added this fantastic wedding photo of herself and her husband Richard to Custom Fasteners!

Did you know that you can custom color white or light colored embellishments with alcohol inks? Simply place them in a seal-able plastic bag, add a couple drops of alcohol ink, shake, let dry, and TA DA! Just like magic, you've created custom colors! :)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this art we created with Tim Holtz! If you missed it, be sure to check out this blog for more coverage of this fantastic event! We encourage YOU to get inky this weekend!!