Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Stamped Acorn Tag

Hello stampers! It is the last day of STAMPtember® and I am going to finish the month with a tag using mainly stamping techniques.

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.

Layers of ink - Stamped Acorn Tag tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I had this idea of creating an organic looking, textured background, inspired by moss against a blue autumn sky. I paired it up with an acorn, a small thing which can create something very large. I used shades of green and blue combined with gold to get the feeling I wanted. 

Emboss Tim Holtz Croc background.

Start by stamping Tim Holtz Croc background on a heavystock tag. Sprinkle most of it with gold embossing powder, I left a trail without gold powder and added white powder there instead.

Ink with Distress Ink.

Ink with Distress Inks. The embossing will resist the ink.

Mist with Distress Spritz.

Mist some areas with Distress Spritz to create shimmer.

Stamp with Simon Says Stamp Old Letter.

When dry, stamp with Simon Says Stamp Old Letter, for extra texture.

Watercolor Tim Holtz Autumn Blueprint with Distress Ink.

Stamp Tim Holtz Autumn Blueprint acorn on watercolor paper. Smear Distress Ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and pick up with a paint brush.

Splatter with Distress Watercolor Pencils.

Splatter Distress Watercolor Pencils on the tag. Dip the pencil in water and flick a paint brush against it. 

Gold emboss Tim Holtz Grunged.

I wanted some gold on the acorn too, and added dots with one of the stamps from Tim Holtz Grunged and gold powder.

Shape with a shaping tool.

Cut out the acorn and shape it with Tim Holtz Shaping Kit.

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Harvest Heirloom.

Die cut foliage with Simon Says Stamp Harvest Heirloom. I die cut it from green, inky blue and gold metallic papers. Later, I ended up not using the green ones.


The tag was tied with a mix of ribbons. Two of them are May Arts Faux Wrinkled Faux Silk Ribbon dyed with Distress Ink.

Stamp with Tim Holtz Tiny Text.

I cut 'acorn' out from the stamped image and gold embossed the edges. The second sentiment was stamped with Tim Holtz Tiny Text.


I cut off a part of the blue foliage. I also added a piece of twine, which had been misted and wrapped around a pencil. The acorn was adhered with two layers of Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape.


This sentiment also comes from Tim Holtz Tiny Text. There is cheese cloth dyed with Distress Ink behind the acorn.

Die cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault Edges.

The title was die cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault Edges, from inky blue and gold metallic cardstock. Off-set slightly. I really like the look of metallic cardstock used like this.


Here you can see the shimmer from the spritz better. I also added sequins and more ribbons.

Layers of ink - Stamped Acorn Tag tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.


Thank you for visiting my blog 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.


Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Colorful Paper Mushrooms

Hi crafters! Today I have a fun project to share, filled with colorful paper mushrooms. I made a small wall hanger, but you can also make a card or a tag.

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.

Layers of ink - Colorful Mushrooms Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I had this idea of wanting to fill something with colorful mushrooms in different sizes, using mainly, but not only, autumn colors. The base is a wood panel in size 2.7x7.1 in. You can also use cardstock, mat board or a tag. The mushrooms were die cut from very inky and textured papers and I also stamped even more texture on some of them. The inky papers are useful for many types of projects.

Coat with gesso.

Start with a layer of gesso and make marks with a palette knife. Let dry.

Add texture paste through Simon Says Stamp Bubbles stencil.


Paint with Distress Paint.

When dry, paint with watered-down Distress Paint.

Stamp with Tim Holtz School Desk.

Stamp with Tim Holtz School Desk, alphabet stamp.

Mist with Distress Spritz.

Mist the background with Peacock Feathers and Tumbled Glass Distress Spritz. 

Ink with Distress Ink.

Next, the inky papers, which require a bit of patience. Smear Distress Ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and press Ranger Heavystock cardstock into the ink. Let dry. 

Ink with Distress Ink.

Repeat with orange and purple shades.

Ink with Distress Ink.

When the paper is dry, repeat the process and let dry again. 

Ink with Distress Oxide ink.

Repeat the inking steps again until you are happy with the look. For the last layers, I used mainly darker inks and only lightly patted the paper into the ink. The final layer is Distress Oxide Ink, which you only want to get here and there. Don't press the paper into the ink, only lightly touch the ink, to get more texture.

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Mushroom Stems.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Mushroom Stems from the inky papers. I also added a few similar papers from my scrap pile. 

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Tall Mushrooms.


Add texture.

White emboss the dot pattern from Tim Holtz Grunged on most of the mushrooms. Stamp some of them with Simon Says Stamp Crackle Background, using a darker shade of ink.

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Pocket full of mushrooms.

Die cut a whole lot of mushrooms using Simon Says Stamp Pocket Full of Mushrooms. 


Shape them with Tim Holtz Shaping Tool kit and add Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape under the cap of the larger mushrooms. I used some of these on yesterday's Sunflower Garden project.


Shape the larger mushrooms too and add foam tape under all the caps.

Add Small Talk stickers.

I added Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers as sentiments.


The background has lots of texture and shimmer. You can see how the Distress Spritz have formed halos around the texture paste dots. 

Simon Says Stamp mushrooms.

There is Distress Spritz on some of the inky papers too. I used up left over spritz which had ended up on the stencils during yesterday's Sunflower Garden project. 


The color and texture of the mushrooms looks great all together. 


The white embossing adds a lot of texture and also makes the mushrooms look a little poisonous. These mushrooms should not be eaten. 




I tied organza and twine under the mushrooms. There is also cheese cloth behind them, dyed with the same colors Distress Ink as used on the background.

Layers of ink - Colorful Mushrooms Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I adhered some of the mushrooms with foam tape and glued the rest. The project is quite dimensional.

Layers of ink - Colorful Mushrooms Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

Thank you for visiting my blog 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.


Monday, September 28, 2026

Sunflower Garden Scene

 Hello stampers! I hope you had a fun weekend with lots of crafty time. 

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.


This week we have a Use more than one stencil theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! It is also the last week for our September guest designer Debbie Emmons.

Layers of ink - Sunflower garden scene tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

We have an absolutely fantastic sunflower plant and I hope the frost will stay away as long as possible, so that we can enjoy it longer. This page is all about that plant, with the addition of a picket fence (which we do not have unfortunately), greenery and lots of cute mushrooms. I used three stencils for the background.

Coat ledger page with gesso.

Start by coating a page in Dina Wakley's Ledger Journal with gesso. I added a thin coat, since I wanted the text to show through. 

Paint with Distress Paint.

Paint with watered down Mermaid Lagoon and Salvaged Patina and mist with more water to blend. 

Use Tim Holtz Flourish stencil.

When dry, sponge Mermaid Lagoon through Tim Holtz Flourish stencil. 

Apply texture paste through Simon Says Stamp Bubbles.

Mix a little Ripe Persimmon into texture paste and apply with a palette knife through Simon Says Stamp Bubble stencil.

Mist with Distress SPritz.

When the paste is dry, mist Saltwater Taffy Distress Spritz through Tim Holtz Bubble stencil.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Garden Fence.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Garden Fence from inky or watercolored papers. 

Mist Simon Says Stamp Small Sunflower with Spritz.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Little Sunflower Bloom from inky yellow and brown papers. I also die cut some smaller flowers using Wildflower Bucket. Mist with Distress Spritz Squeezed Lemonade and Walnut Stain.

Assemble paper sunflowers.

Ink the edges of the back part of the fence. Shape the sunflowers with Tim Holtz Shaping Kit and assemble.

Die cut and mist leaves.

Die cut lots of leaves from inky papers using Simon Says stamp Lively Leaf Corner. Mist some of the with Distress Spritz. 


Shape the leaves. I made more than I needed and will use these on future projects. 

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Pocketful of Mushrooms.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Pocket Full of Mushrooms from inky papers. You will see some of these on a project tomorrow too. 

Assemble paper mushrooms.

Shape the mushrooms and assemble. I used Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape for the larger mushrooms.

Stamp with Tim Holtz Nature's Wonder.

Stamp the sentiment on inky paper with Tim Holtz Nature's Wonder.


Combining stencils with different media adds interest to the background. Here you see Distress Paint, Texture Paste mixed with paint and Distress Spritz. 


The text in the background shows through, but only enough to give texture. The foliage comes from Simon Says Stamp Harvest Heirloom.


I dyed cheese cloth with Distress Ink and glued under the fence. These Pocket Full of Mushrooms are so cute. 


I die cut the stems from Simon Says Stamp Divine Peony.


The flowers are very shimmery from the spritz, but it doesn't show well in the photos.
 
Simon Says Stamp Beautiful die.

The title was die cut with Simon Says Stamp Beautiful from inky paper. The stamped sentiment comes from Tim Holtz Tiny Text. 

Tiny paper mushrooms.

I used mainly neutral mushrooms with the addition of a few colorful ones. Tuck leaves in here and there. 




Don't miss the last days of STAMPtember® at Simon Says Stamp!

Join us this week in our Use More Than One Stencil 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.





Thank you so much for visiting 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.