2021 Stamp Simply Favorite 6

This week each member of the Stamp Simply Design Team is sharing their Favorite 6 of the year.  Here are mine!  Just click on the text link below each photo to be taken to the original posts, which list the supplies that were used for each project.  

A Winter Valentine

This one was just simple shapes with a few die cuts and a familiar song lyric.  Easy peasy, high contrast, loads of fun!  

God is smiling down upon you!

Hyacinth is one of my favorite flowers, so I fell in love with this stamp and the Graphic 45 designer paper that coordinated so well with it!

A Fresh Hello!

Yellow is such a happy color!  Perfect for a happy birthday card!

Welcome Baby!

This onesies die cut is so adorable!  I was a baby born near the 4th, so there you go!

Rise & Shine, Gather Together!

If I could choose only one favorite, this might've been it!  Lots of little favorites used in combination for this card.

My Refuge and Fortress

Lots of symbolism, a lighthouse that my husband is familiar with, and another fun combination from several stamp sets.  

Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog to see my team mates' posts!  And don't forget our continuing December sale that will soon come to an end!

Happy Winter Birthday!

I needed a quick-to-make, simple/no-frills, masculine birthday card.  The guy's degree is in forestry/wild-life management, so I thought he might like this designer paper.  

I stamped the little fir branch from All Seasons Decor onto the edge of a die-cut circle, adding a snowflake and banner sentiment to the center with a die-cut fir branch and burlap string bow as accents.  I had intended to make this symmetrical but then decided to go slightly off-center to show at least one complete tree in the background.

The papers on the inside are all punch-outs from the Wonderland paper pad in the kit.  

I've been into spattering everything with diluted inks/paints lately. The amount of water used really affects the size and amount of the spatters.  In this instance the vintage photo distress oxide was a little too dilute, which made the spatters larger and more plentiful than I wanted, but you know, he'll be ok with that!  He is a get out there and get dirty (hunting, fishing, yard work) kinda guy, so it's alright!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Fruit Sentiments
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor Bundle
• Christmas Winter Papercrafting Kit #2 - Wonderland
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
• distress oxide ink
• distress tea dye ink
• snowflake punch
• white paint for spattering

May the Merry Last All Year 'Round!

 

Sometimes fast and easy is the way to go and it's simpler to choose a "one stop" stamp set, but other times it is fun to see what unique/unexpected combinations one can discover.  Today's project is a fun combo of images from a couple of stamp sets, inspired by a real live bird that decided to set up housekeeping in a wreath hanging on a friend's front door.  

I stamped and die-cut two wreaths, trimming them to overlap so that they make a full circle, filling the open space where the floral arrangements from the wreath set would normally be.  The branch and cardinal from the other set are positioned to cover the place where the two wreaths meet so that everything appears seamless.  

While in real life my friend's porch provided shelter from the snow, I wanted my Christmas card to include a cheerful sprinkling of snow and a sentiment stamped and embossed in white.

The theme carries from the outside in.  I love the down-home feel of this subtle plaid and the traditional Christmas colors.

There's a lot of powerful symbolism regarding the sighting of a bright cardinal, especially against a snowy white background in the midst of a cold Winter.  It is a symbol of hope and joy.  Some say it is a sign of a visit from heaven, a reminder that those we've lost will live forever, as long as we keep their memories alive in our hearts.  It makes my heart feel warm to think of my parents during this holiday season.  ❤️ 

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Seasonal Wreaths, Fall/Winter Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - God Will Take Care of You Bundle
• Carta Bella Happy Christmas 6x6
• May Arts 3/8" Striped - 50 yard Spool - Red/Green
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
• white detail embossing powder
• Tea Dye distress ink
• Copic markers
• white acrylic paint for spattering

Flat for Mailing

Our Stamp Simply design team "theme for the week" is "Flat for Mailing," so this week's card is one that is easily mass-produced with sparkle that comes from splashes of ink rather than bumpy rhinestones or pearls.  

The little fir sprig from All Seasons Decor coordinated nicely with some designer paper from the Welcome Winter paper pad.  It was randomly stamped on white card stock with black memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from Farmhouse Christmas with copper ink, adding splashes of diluted ink for even more shimmer.  I tied a loop of natural string around the corners to give a little more interest...shouldn't bother the postal machines and won't crack the way a rhinestone or pearl would.

Here's the inside.  I guess I got a little carried away with the splashes of ink!  IRL it looks softer, more transparent and not quite as busy as in the photo.  

This would be a very easy card to batch process/assembly line produce.  

Remember:

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Christmas
• Carta Bella Welcome Winter 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Celestial Copper
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
• Copic markers

Monochromatic Mix-n-Match Christmas Tags

A couple of weeks ago our Stamp Simply design team did a focus on tags.  For me it was one of those crafting sessions where the ideas just kept flowing, so I have several more tags to share with you today.  

All of these were made combining our Wonderland paper-crafting kit with a few scraps left over from this project using Studio Lights Sending Joy paper pad.  The stamps are mix-n-match from a variety of our Christmas sets, old and new.  The Wonderland paper pad has lots of little punch out tags in various shapes and sizes, and you'll see those throughout this project along with some die-cut shapes as well.  

First up is a tag inspired by color work knitting.  The reindeer design looks so much like what one would see on the yoke of a sweater, and the companion print is plain stockinette stitches.  ❤️ The reindeer from Farmhouse Christmas (stamped with distress oxide ink) was a perfect companion.  

I embossed the JOY sentiment from Farmhouse Christmas onto one of those punched tags from the paper pad with white embossing powder so it would add contrast.  The snowflake is another punch out and all I did was add a rhinestone.  I chose to ink all the edges of this one with tea-dye distress ink.

The next tag in the series uses another scrap of Sending Joy with stamps from All Seasons Decor (the tray/sign and the fir sprigs) along with the sentiment and tree from our Wonder of Christmas trio bundle.

I love that the sentiment from one set fit perfectly into the tray from another as if they were made to go together.  I stamped the tray with Tuxedo Black ink on Kraft paper, then colored the edges with Copics and the center with a Picket Fence distress marker to give it that white-washed look.  The sentiment was stamped on top first with Evergreen Bough distress oxide and then again with Tuxedo Black.  

The final design uses an alpine printed paper and some torn text paper along with some punch outs all from the Wonderland kit.  I stamped "merry and bright" from the Wonder of Christmas trio of sets onto one tag.  The other "merry little Christmas" sentiment tag is a printed punch out from the same paper kit, as are the scallops and the heart at the bottom.  I just added a circle die underneath for enough contrast to make the heart show up better.

I thought these sentiments paired well with our JOY Candle, which I colored with Copic markers and a silver glitter gel pen.  I used clear Wink of Stella for the melted wax at the top.  

Everything received a generous spattering with diluted white acrylic paint to unify the elements and add more of that Winter Wonderland spirit to the entire project.  It was so much fun to make these, and I love the way they turned out.  I hope you do too!

Now is the perfect time to grab a few stamp sets and paper kits for your own mix-n-match crafting session!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Christmas
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Christmas Peace Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Wonder of Christmas/Christmas Tree TRIO
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor Bundle
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals LG
• Christmas Winter Papercrafting Kit #2 - Wonderland
• Studio Light Sending Joy 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Zig Wink of Stella Brush - Clear Glitter Marker
• Copic markers
• silver gel pen
• Evergreen Bough distress oxide ink 
• Picket Fence white distress marker
• acrylic paint for spattering

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone, and to my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! It is my sincere hope that you are enjoying your day with family and friends, and that you have a moment to count your blessings and give thanks.  I know that I'm counting mine and saying my thankful prayers.  

We are celebrating the day just the three of us, although I will be cooking enough for an army!  It's kinda hard to scale down these recipes, and we love the leftovers anyway.  (I love preparing this meal and would not miss doing it for the world, but one of the things I am thankful for is that Christmas dinner is not such a production!  😂)

I wanted today's Stamp Simply project to be something for Thanksgiving that would be easily adaptable for Christmas or any other holiday, and when I saw this Youtube tutorial on Pinterest it was just right!  Although the project looks complicated it really isn't.  It comes together quite easily and fairly quickly.  I love that the original poster included various sizes...mine is the 8 x 8 size.

We have added quite a few Fall sets to our repertoire in the last year or two, but this one is still a favorite!

These alpha-beads have been in my stash for ages and they're fun to add to a little box like this.  It really dresses up a place setting. If you don't have any little alphabet beads, you could use small alpha stamps or even a typewriter or printer to make a name tag to include.

We're grateful for you, so we're sharing another way for you to celebrate the Season of Gratitude!  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Give Thanks Bundle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Carta Bella Welcome Autumn 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• May Arts 5/8" Twill - 30 Yard Spool - Orange
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
• Copic markers
• scor tool
• glue
• dimensional adhesives

Favorite Things!

This week is "tags" week for our Stamp Simply team because really, one cannot have too many tags for Christmas!  

I bought this Christmas basket and these little jars a while back knowing that eventually I'd have an idea of something fun to do with it.  

There are lots of things you could put into these little jars!  Fill them with the recipient's favorite things!  Here are some ideas:

• jams and jellies, pickles and peppers
• coffee and creamer, tea and honey, or hot chocolate mix and marshmallows
• herbs and spices for a cook or baker
• sewing implements (threads, needles, tape measure, small snips, etc) for a quilter or seamstress
• needlepoint or cross stitch (thread cards, needles, small snips)
• knitting or crochet (stitch markers of various styles, tapestry needles, wraps per inch tool, etc)
• beads and jewelry findings for the jewelry enthusiast
• fishing lures, monofilament line, and a package of hooks for the fisherman

This would be really cute as a little bird feeder kit for a birdlover (or for anyone who's a kid at heart)!  With a jar of peanut butter and one of bird seed, the only other things you'd need are a few pinecones and some string for hanging the finished feeders. Wouldn't it be nice to also give our little feathered friends a gift in the heart of Winter?!

I had a few scraps of Studio Light Sending Joy designer paper tucked into the top of the pad from the last time I used it, so those were the first papers I grabbed for this project.  I used one of our new background minis to "skippy stamp" the Joy to the World background after stamping the music score.  The branches and bird were stamped, colored with Copics and die cut to fill in around the opposite corners.

I used scraps of the white wood print to die cut accents for the lids, stamping them in a similar fashion.  Finally, everything got a "snowing" of diluted white acrylic paint.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - God Will Take Care of You Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Scripty Background Minis Set 2
• Studio Light Sending Joy 6x6
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles LG
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Pearls - Red
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Red
• Copic markers
• distress oxides/inks
• white acrylic paint

Rise & Shine, Gather Together!

 

I know a lot of you are done with Autumn and are already into Winter, but here in Florida we just had our first few chilly days, so I just had to make a Fall card for this week's Stamp Simply project.  I sat in my studio and shuffled through my stamps and papers and the inspiration led me to combine several sets with this fun G45 designer paper.  It looks like they were all made to go together!

I used die-cut copy paper masks to stamp a seasonal decor box full of farm fresh produce!  I love the look of that cute chicken...this reminds me so much of the shabby chic crates, boxes and shelves I've seen at our local flea market.  

The inside has a die-cut pitcher filled with a bouquet of wheat.  I had a jar of cute Fall buttons (?! Michaels or Joann?!) so decided to use a few to add some extra interest.

Supplies:

Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor Bundle
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Seasonal Wreaths, Fall/Winter Bundle 
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Autumn Blessings
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Signage
Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals LG
Graphic 45 Farmhouse - 8x8
Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
Copic markers
Distress inks and oxides
buttons from stash

Thinking Outside the Box

Hello friends!  I'm back today with another new stamp set from Stamp Simply!  This is our new All Seasons Decor bundle!  It is such a fun stamp set that can be used in lots of different ways.  

This set is designed with a box for displaying a variety of decor items, but the box reminded me so much of one of the cute Christmas signs that I put out when I decorate every year that I decided to color and embellish it as a wall-hanging.  

The  sign I've modeled my card design from is a small plaque with routed letters and a narrow wood border nailed on as a frame. Stars, hearts, and snowflakes embellish the edges.  Here I used a small wooden heart along with stamped and die cut greenery and rhinestone berries.

There are lots of interchangeable stamps, sentiments, and dies in this bundle and some of our other seasonal sets work well with it too, so the ideas and combinations are endless!

I love getting extra mileage from my stamps and supplies, so I decided to continue to think out of the box (pardon the pun!) for this set, and used the die for the olive oil bottle to make a tall pillar candle for the candle stick.  I outlined the edges with a multi-liner and colored it in with Copic markers, adding sparkle with a gold gel pen.  The flame is actually one of the leaves from the little floral fruit/flower cluster.  You could actually use the jelly jar die upside down to make a smaller pillar candle in a similar fashion.  

If you follow me on Instagram or if you've read much of my blog, you might know that I spin my own yarn and usually spin with either a spindle or wheel every single day, so of course I *had* to use the ball of yarn from this new set on my card!  There is almost always a spindle or a ball of yarn on our table!  

On the inside of my card I stamped a sentiment from another one of our Christmas stamp sets that has the same lovely font.  I love using shimmering gold ink and usually stamp off with some brown ink first so that the gold ink shows up a little more clearly.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Christmas Peace
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals SM
• Echo Park The First Noel 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Golden Glitz
• VersaFine Clair Full Size Ink Pad - Acorn (stamped off under Golden Glitz)
• Zig Wink of Stella Brush - Clear Glitter Marker
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Rhinestones - Lippy Red
• Copic markers
• gold gel pen
• white acrylic paint
• wooden heart
• tiny gold bells
• small holly leaves are an old Tim Holtz Sizzix border die

Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog for more ideas on how to use this fun new set!

Under His Wings

Today's Stamp Simply card is a combination of scripture stamps in a simple, serene setting that I hope will evoke a profound sense of peace.  The lovely designer paper brought to my imagination a prayerful walk in the forest on a quiet evening with the snow softly falling.  

These beautiful verses serve as a gentle reminder (to both the card-maker and the one to whom the card is given!) that we can cast all our cares upon him, and find refuge under His wings beneath the shadow of the Cross where He indeed will take care of us.  

Here's a look at the inside when the card is fully opened.

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - God Will Take Care of You Bundle
• Amy Design - Amazing Owls 6x6
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Silvery Shimmer
• Copic markers
• Mono multi glue
• dimensional adhesives

Christmas JOY

Today's Stamp Simply project started out with the intention to make a flat-for-mailing card, but as you can see, it ended up going in a different direction!  Sometimes it just works out that way and you gotta go with the flow, right?!

I stamped the holly leaves with Memento ink and colored them with Copic markers.  Then I used the coordinating dye to cut several masks out of printer paper so that I could stamp the background with text without inking the leaves.  I used Delicata gold ink and "finger-pressed" the stamp onto the paper over the masks to get a faint, partial impression (and I was bummed that it turned out so faint that it is difficult to see, especially in a photograph.  Because I did not use a stamp jig it was impossible to repeat the inking...I will probably try again with this original idea using a stamp positioner next time to improve upon the execution!)

I was disappointed but opted to keep going since I was happy with the way those berries turned out!  Then as I was clearing things from my desk, I dropped a big splat of ink right onto the middle of the card.  😳

So, QUICK! I grabbed the ivory acrylic paint and painted over it, and then covered it with this lovely die-cut shimmery gold cross. Whew!  JOY!  And then I immediately thought, wow,  this is a reminder of how I'm "covered by the Cross!"  Even stamping can be a spiritual experience with a lesson to be learned!

I used the same mini background to stamp the inside.  I'm sure now that you can actually see it, you're singing along too!  I just had to include that little music score (from another new set!) in the corner!  I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more of that one!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Scripty Background Minis Set 2
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - God Will Take Care of You
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Christmas Blessings Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Christmas Joy
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Crosses
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Gold 15 ct
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Floral Cluster and Sprigs
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Golden Glitz
• Zig Wink of Stella Brush - Gold Glitter Marker
• Copic markers
• white acrylic paint