Thursday, December 31, 2020

Happy New Year!


Hello everyone, on this very last day of the year!  I'm sure it is not far-fetched to say that all of us are glad to see 2020 come to a close, so here is wishing you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!  

My Stamp Simply project for today features sunny, cheerful colors and some beautiful paper from Graphic 45 along with two sets that are part of our Typewritten Sentiment Bundled Trio.  This paper has captured my historic-fashion-loving heart!  


The Happy New Year sentiment just perfectly fit into one of the little printed tags that are part of this lovely paper pad.  


Inside there's a drama queen encouraging us all to "Be Happy" along with another sentiment from the Typewritten Trio bundle. What an apt reminder!

I loved using these sets for a New Year's card, but they include sentiments for many occasions, including the upcoming Valentine's Day, lots of other holidays, thank-you and more.  

Wishing you every blessing and the very best for 2021! 

Supplies:

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Thursday, December 24, 2020

Stamp Simply Favorite Six of 2020

Merry Christmas Eve!  Christmas is oh so close, and with so much yet to do our Stamp Simply team has been taking this week off to focus on our holiday preparations and enjoying the holidays with our families.  We each are sharing our favorite six of 2020.  I'm sure each of my design team members would agree, it is hard to narrow it down to just six!  Here are mine, presented in calendar order:


First up is a flirty feminine card inspired by women's fashion!  This was a really fun one to make!


If I could have only chosen one favorite card for the entire year, THIS would have been it.  From the first time I saw this stamp set, the idea for this card came clearly and immediately into focus.  


Sometimes other fun crafts inspire my card-making.  These two remind me of quilting, and the bonus was that the making of one card created a cut-out for the making of the other.  


I love the rich colors of Fall.  This card uses one of my favorites of all of our stamp sets...so it won't be a surprise for you to see that stamp here twice!


This one was fun because of the combination of masculine designer papers and sort of unexpected colors.


It's always fun to make a card that has different dimensions.  Here is a tall, skinny Christmas card that nearly fell together on its own (the top is the reverse side of the paper used on the bottom).  I love when something so simple turns out to be so beautiful with very little fuss.


As I reflect upon 2020, I can't help but think of the role that fiber and the spin15aday challenge have played in my day-to-day life.  I've spun at least 15 minutes each and every single day of this year.  If you follow me on Instagram you've seen photos of my daily spinning, although there were a couple of days that I missed posting photos.  And so, on this Christmas Eve, it seems appropriate that I should share a little peek of a bit of fluffy fiber (alpaca and wool) and thoughts of Grandma, especially since we did not get to travel to see her this year!    

Merry Christmas to you and yours!  Blessings and much love!

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Name Above All Names

 

Hello everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this 2020 Holiday Season!  It certainly seems to be flying by!

I'm here today with a Stamp Simply card that uses some of the same sentiments as last week's card, but with a completely different feel.  Last week's was simple and had a child-like innocence...today's is more elegant and formal, and takes its focus all the way from the cradle to the cross.


A tiny blossom and some Floral Cluster greenery form a corner focal point alongside one of two phrases from our Jesus set.  

Here's the inside, with the cross and a "wreath" of greenery around that most powerful Name.  

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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Jesus is the Reason


Our Stamp Simply design team was given a challenge for this week's projects:  to use a stamp to make a background and have a sentiment be the focal image.  Here's my design, featuring stamps from our Farmhouse Signage and Jesus sets.  


This cute Echo Park paper is what inspired my choice of stamps and sentiments.  Such an adorable paper pad!  I used distress ink to stamp my background, sometimes stamping off first for some variety.  


I could not resist putting one of those lowing cattle from the manger scene on the inside of the card!  ðŸ˜‰

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Thursday, December 3, 2020

Simple, or Stepped UP!


Hello from sunny but chilly Florida!  Yesterday when I woke up it was literally a freezing 32 degrees!  Brrrr!  

My Stamp Simply project for today is a simple, easy-to-mass-produce card along with a "stepped UP" version to send to someone extra special.  


A card with a paper print this pretty really doesn't take much time or effort!  A pretty, shimmery sentiment stamped on a fishtail banner is all it really needs!


If you have extra time, you can add a companion design...


...and a glittery bow instead of a bow tied with burlap string.


Here's the inside, with another beautifully scripted sentiment from one of our Floral Clusters sets.

Supplies:
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Thursday, November 26, 2020

Happy Thanksgiving!


Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends, and happy Thursday to all of you!  I am here today with an ultra clean and simple Stamp Simply Thanksgiving Day card.  


This sheet of beautiful Wonderful Autumn designer paper, with its growth ring design, seemed a perfect match for the sentiment, "Count Your Blessings!"  The sentiment peeks through a circular opening cut along the lines of the growth rings, with rich bronze matting paper and Delicata ink reflecting the lovely colors of the print.  

I thought this paper was simply too gorgeous to cover up, hence the clean, uncluttered design.  I debated adding a ribbon (it would be beautiful with one of our beige/pink variegated silks), and indeed I would have if this had been a top-folding card (where I could've positioned it in the upper right corner), but this side-folding card looked better without it.  


Inside there is another sentiment stamped on a strip of the same designer paper, with a shock of wheat accenting the opposite corner.


The simplicity of the layout, the shimmering bronze ink and metallic paper give the card a subtle elegance. 


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I am certainly counting my blessings today!  This year has been one that has made me ever so much more aware of the simple things that are truly the most meaningful things of life!

   
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Thursday, November 19, 2020

Christmas Time


Today's Stamp Simply project is a fun belly-banded tri-fold card with a peek through window and an optional inner gift card pocket. It is flat for mailing although because of its multiple layers, will definitely require extra postage.


Those lovely poinsettias peek through the window when the card is closed...but when opened, a strip of the plaid paper is also visible.  The construction of the card is a bit similar to a Joy-fold card.  


When the tri-fold is fully opened, the sentiment and gift card pocket are fully revealed.  The plaid paper not only carries the theme through to the inside of the card...it covers up the Copic bleed-through from the image on the opposite side of the fold.


This Graphic 45 Christmas Time paper pad has lots of pretty printed tags that are perfect for making a gift card holder, for embellishing gift bags or boxes, or for scrapbook pages.  

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Thursday, November 12, 2020

Autumn Blessings


Hello again, friends!

I know that many of you are in the throes of Winter already, but because Thanksgiving has not yet arrived in the U.S. and Fall in Florida is yet on the horizon, I'm still reaching for beautiful Autumn papers and stamps for this week's Stamp Simply project.  


This Studio Light Wonderful Autumn paper printed with a corner design is SO beautiful, and pairs well with our fishtail banners for a quick and easy "go-to" layout.  The stamped and die cut leaf from our Harvest stamp duo is a lovely accent for this particular print.  Splashes of diluted Delicata ink in gold and copper add some sparkle and elegance.


The inside includes another beautiful Fall image from the same paper pad, along with a stamped sentiment and more splatters of beautiful gold and copper.  

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Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Don't Forget Your Jacket!


Yesterday was our first really chilly morning here in Florida (it was in the 40s).  I was going through papers and stamps for my Stamp Simply tag trio project and envisioned local moms shouting, "Don't forget your jacket!" as their kids were running out the door!  Honestly though, here in the South we have had as many or more Christmases in shorts as sweaters!  You never really quite know what you're gonna get!


These little cuties were fun to make!  I used grommet tags folded in half and topped with fishtail banners for the tabs, and even used the grommet tags as backgrounds for a couple of the images.  I drew simple little hats and headbands to fit the Stick Kids.  For some I fussy-cut and popped up portions to add some dimension, and for others I just stamped them single layer.  


It was fun to make them "fraternal triplets" using the same papers and colors but different layouts.  Another thing I love is that these are rather generic and would work for Christmas, Hanukkah, a Winter birthday, or for just about any Winter occasion!  Our new Typewritten Year Round Greetings covers occasions year-round!


I reached deep into my stash for the embellishments for this project!  I haven't used brads in ages!  I had some snowy sparkly ones that worked well for this theme, although I ran out of white and had to use one silver one.  

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Thursday, October 29, 2020

NEW Release! Typewritten Sentiments!


Hello, friends!  I'm here today with three very different cards to share which feature some fabulous NEW SETS from Stamp Simply!  


When I was growing up, we lived kitty-corner across the street from one of my mom's best friends, whose name is Iris.  Any and every time I see anything with irises, it makes me think of her.  I'd lost track of her for a while, but after Hurricane Laura I bumped into her daughter online.  I found out that "Miss Iris" is now in her 90s, living in a nursing home.  I was able to get her address, so this card is for her!  She has been like a second mother to me and I am so happy to find her again and to be able to send her my love!


I actually had been eyeing this paper for a while and was contemplating how I might use it when our new Stamp Simply Typewritten Sentiment sets came into being.  Paired with an arrow and heart from our Farmhouse Series, they allowed me to convey exactly what I was thinking!


Here's the inside, with another one of those "just perfect" sentiments! 

 

And this is the back!  It feels so good when a simple plan comes together!  ;) 



Next up is a card inspired by some beautiful new Memory Box papers.  The corner motif reminded me of one of our new wreath stamps, and the sprig in our floral cluster die set, so I paired those together.


This card is relatively flat for easy mailing.  Most of the papers in the pad are Christmasy, but this particular one worked for a more every-day design.


The floral stamp is designed to be a focal point of our wreath set, but it works just as beautifully to accent a special sentiment.  I just love this combination of colors!  This card will go to a neighbor who recently had surgery.  


This last card design has been floating around in my head since our ornaments set was released.  By stamping three repeats of the ornaments and gluing them together, they appear 3-D.  


Both ornaments were colored with Copic markers and accented with a gold gel pen.  To keep the fussy-cutting to a minimum, I used the smallest of the Spellbinders Classic Circles large set to die cut the circle ornaments out.  There was a bit of a white border around them which I colored in with a black Copic marker.  The shaped ornaments had to be fussy-cut, but the lines are simple so it really is not hard to do.  To make them consistent with the circles, I left a tiny edging of white around the ornament and colored it with a black marker.  

To assemble, the ornaments were scored down the center, then glued to one another and finally adhered to the card front.  I used a scrap of gold shimmer metallic paper for the top of each ornament and scored it with a stylus to give it that fluted metal appearance.  (It sounds much more complicated than it is...it was really very quick and easy!)


Here's the inside. 

What I love about these sets is the versatility!  They are great for holidays throughout the year, but also every day in between!  As you can see, you can adapt them for just about any occasion!  Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog and scroll to see what my design team members have been creating with these awesome sets!

Supply lists:

Iris card
Thoughts and Prayers card
Ornaments card
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