Shiny Autumn Card Tutorial

Hi stampers! We have had fantastic autumn weather during the weekend, with crystal clear air and all the colorful leaves. My card for today is inspired by my weekend walks. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Our theme this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is 'Touchy Feely', in the sense of adding texture. Texture is one of my favorite things and I am always looking for new ways of giving texture to a project. Don't miss the last contribution by our September guest designer Susanne. She made a fantastic Halloween card for you.

I kept adding elements to the background of this card and, in particular, the golden dots was a spur of the moment idea, which turned out really well. If you use shades of blue instead, the background will look icy and be perfect for winter cards, but I wanted warm shades of autumn. I used mainly Simon Says Stamp products here.

Start by white embossing the Simon Says Stamp Stained Glass background on heavystock paper. This is the first time I used this stamp, which is one of the stamps that I designed. 

Ink with yellow, orange and red shades of Distress Ink.

Smear Distress Oxide Ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and lightly press the paper into the ink. This will create splotches of color and adds texture. Since the background is embossed the splotches stay inside the embossed lines, although not everywhere.

Apply Sizzix Gold Luster Wax with your finger through dots from the Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles stencil. I really liked this effect. 

Stamp in a few places with a scrip stamp from Simon Says Stamp Document It.

Add just a few splatters with a Scribble Stick.

The sentiment from Document It (also one of my sets) was stamped on a Tim Holtz Journal Card. Then the card was embossed in Tim's Mini Foundry 3-D folder.

The golden dots look different from different angles. They cover the ink, but not the embossing. The card was mounted on gold kraft cardstock which was slightly sanded and an orange cardbase.

Burlap adds instant texture, even if you just see a little bit of it, like here under the sentiment panel.

I also die cut a Simon Says Stamp Leafy Branch from gold paper and added some sequins.

Just a little bit of text stamping adds a lot of texture.

I really like this quote and used it on an art journal page yesterday too, which you can find here.

I hope you will join us this week in our Touchy Feely challenge. You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.

Also, don't miss all the STAMPtember® inspiration, surprises and exclusive products during the month. There has also been a huge Simon Says Stamp release for STAMPtember®, with stamps, dies, stencils, inks and paper products.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Vintage Foxglove Art Journal Tutorial

Hi stampers! Today I have an art journal page to share with you, which can also be a card if you just work on a smaller surface.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

STAMPtember® continues at Simon Says Stamp and I was happy to find the stamps that I designed from the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember® release in my postbox the other day. Here, I did an art journal page inspired by vintage botanical illustrations, but with added texture and sentiments. The page is stapled to a kraft page in my Dina Wakley Media Journal. The kraft page had failed stamping, which is now covered up.

Start by smearing Distress Inks on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and press a heavystock paper into the ink. This gives a nice old paper look.

Stamp with the Ledger Paper Background stamp and Smoke ink. This stamp is great for backgrounds, journaling, mini books and more.

Ink the foxglove with Potting Soil ink and then dabb some Jet Black ink around the edges.

Color the plant with colored pencils. I used Faber-Castell Polychromos. The shadings on the stamp can be used as a guide when coloring.

Darken some of the shades with a black pencil and then add details and highlights with a white gel pen and a black pen.

Stamp the leafy stamp on the Foxglove set twice.

Stamp sentiments from both Foxglove and Document It. I am very fond of that quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Ink the edges of the paper. I wanted an additional element and decided to use Tim Holtz Flourish stencil together with Worn Lipstick ink.

Stamp a few circles from Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles, misting with water before stamping. Add a few splatters with the same ink. Smear the ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water, pick up with a paint brush and tap against the brush.

I stamped the latin name of the plant too. The foxglove is such a beautiful plant.

When I was thinking of sentiments for the Foxglove set, I wanted a positive message that would work for many themes, and for cardmaking, art journaling and scrapbooking. It is by Alexander Pope. 

I like the textures on this leaf.

Here you can see the white and black dots that I added to the flowers.

Don't miss all the STAMPtember® inspiration, surprises and exclusive products during the month, with still a few days to go. There has also been a huge Simon Says Stamp release for STAMPtember®, with stamps, dies, stencils, inks and paper products.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Foxglove Tag Tutorial

Hi friends! I have a sweet foxglove tutorial to share with you today. Foxgloves are such pretty flowers and I always stop to look whenever I see one.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

I used products from the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember® release for this tag. At first I meant to use the foxgloves on a different background, but it was too busy and they disappeared on it. A dry embossed background can add instant interest and texture, while still being neutral.

Start by die cutting the Fine Foxglove from watercolor paper. I die cut one batch of extra flowers, you can use even more flowers if you want to.

Color the flowers and stems with Tombow markers. I scribbled the markers on a clear acrylic block and picked up with a paint brush. Darker details were added directly with the markers. 

Shade the flowers and leaves with ball embosser tools. I used the Tonic Craft Tool set.

Glue the flowers to the stems. I decided to make one of the shorter, which is why there are no flowers at the top of the right-hand flower. I later cut off the green top.

Add highlights with a white gel pen and darker dots and lines with Tombows and a black pen. It is easier to do this step before you shape the flowers, but I forgot.

Apply Distress Ink to a non-stick craft sheet and press a heavystock tag into the ink. Immediately place it in the Triangle Burst 3-D folder and dry emboss. This is such an amazing design.

When dry, ink with Frayed Burlap and Ground Espresso.

Apply a little Sizzix Gold Luster Wax to the tag, with your finger. This step gives a really nice metallic shine.

Tie lace trim to the top. The dry embossed background gave enough interest, while not being too busy for the foxgloves.

I added a little collection of Tim Holtz idea-ology Field Notes ephemera, inking the edges first. Paint was rubbed into the letters on the Thought Token.

Try to think of the shading when coloring the flowers, but aim for a loose look. No need for perfection.

The leaves comes alive with several shades of green, and some white and green lines.

The sentiment comes from the Simon Says Stamp Laugh In Flowers set. 

This is one of those projects which people will want to reach out and touch, since it has all that texture and dimension.

Also, don't miss all the STAMPtember® inspiration, surprises and exclusive products during the month. There has also been a huge Simon Says Stamp release for STAMPtember®, with stamps, dies, stencils, inks and paper products.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.