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Hi crafters! I hope your weekend was good and with some 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 Back to School theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us and don't miss the project by our July guest designer Rox aka Red Dirt Crafter.

Since it is the first Monday of a new month, the team is showcasing products by a specific designer / company and this week it is 49 and Market. You can find all their stunning paper products here. You don't have to use 49 and Market products to join, but it is fun if you do.

I made a scrapbooking layout this week, using an old school photo. I had fun playing around with pretty papers and ephemera and used 49 and Market: Faded Memory Lane Ephemera, Faded Memory Lane Chipboard, Faded Memory Lane Laser Wild Flowers and Travel Diaries Laser Cut Elements. All I added was a die cut title, buttons and lots of stitching.

I started by arranging various papers from 49 and Market Faded Memory Lane Ephemera on Simon Says Stamp Soft Navy Blue cardstock. The edges were distressed and inked. I stitched them to the background with my sewing machine, using a mix of straight and zig-zag stitching. The ephemera kit has 118 pieces, both larger and smaller, and lots of great sentiments.

I also used Faded Memory Lane Chipboard, such as this sentiment. The edges were sanded and some of them were inked.

The butterfly comes from Faded Memories Laser Cut Wild Flowers, fold up the wings.

More chipboard pieces. The vintage buttons were stitched to the background with DMC floss.

This faded coneflower print is so pretty! 

For the learning and reading theme, I for example added this pile of books and a globe from Travel Diaries Laser Cut elements. The edges were sanded. I also stitched two charms to the background. A key because reading opens doors and a plant, to fit with the floral theme. Isn't 'paper dreams' the perfect sentiments. Already from a very young age, I loved paper products.

I added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape behind one end of the banner, to give it dimension. Foam tape was also placed under the stack of books. The butterfly comes from Faded Memory Lane Laser Wild Flowers.

The title was die cut with Tim Holtz Alphanumeric Stretch Upper from Blue Palette Paper 8x8 in. I also added a map, folded, inked and shaped with foam tape, an open book and more chipboard elements, all from Faded Memory Lane. 

Fold the book ephemera and shape. Add foam tape behind the covers and glue only along the spine.

I always liked ruler elements. 

Join us this week in our Back to School 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.

Cosmos Art Journal

Hi crafters! It is the last day of June and I have a summery art journal page to share today. You can of course make a card instead.

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.

Cosmos flowers are so pretty and come in many colors. Here I wanted them to shine on the page and added a fairly simple background. I worked on a double-page in my Stamperia Mixed Media Journal 4x8.5 and colored with watercolors. The flower stamps are from Paper Artsy Cosmos Edition by Alison Bomber. 

Stamp the flowers from Paper Artsy Cosmos Edition with Jet Black Archival Ink.

Paint with watercolors, dropping in new colors or darker shades before the first layer is dry. I used Daniel Smith watercolor paint.

Paint the stems with Green Apatite Genuine. 

White emboss the alphabet stamp from Paper Artsy Crocus Edition in a few places.

Paint the background with soft pastel shades and used Green Apatite Genuine for the grass.

Stamp Summertime with Simon Says Stamp Chill Vibes set, a sentiment from Paper Artsy Cosmos Edition and words from Crocus Edition. Splatter a little paint and add marks with a black pen and highlights with a white gel pen.

I particularly like how the watercolor paint has created a dark outline around some of the embossed letters. I also used a few Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers. For another example with the 'summertime', check out my Forget-me-not card.

I let the yellow paint from the center spread into the petals. 

Joyful was stamped with Distress Oxide Ink.

I sometimes like to repeat words by stamping them more than once.

Splatters add movement and texture.

This sentiment from Cosmos Edition is so pretty.

It almost looks like these two flowers are talking to each other,

I stamped the grass with Simon Says Stamp Crackle Background and added leaves from A Little Artsy. Time to unwind comes from Simon Says Stamp Chill Vibes.

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.

Shimmer Star Tag Tutorial

Hi friends! I hope you had a good weekend! Here is is a little too warm for my taste. But the evenings are very nice.

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 Stars and/or Stripes theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. Don't miss the last project by our June guest designer Ann Chuang.

I made a tag with a star background, a large 'star' sentiment and small sequin stars. The background shimmers, which the photos don't give justice to. I had fun adding some buttons and a bunch of stamped sentiments. 

I used the stunning Simon Says Stamp Crystal Stars embossing folder. Ink the folder with embossing ink. Emboss a watercolor tag and then sprinkle white embossing powder all over. Remove the excess and melt. Always be careful when melting embossing powder and do not touch the melted powder until it has cooled down completely.

Mist the tag with Distress Spray Stains and Saltwater Taffy Distress Spritz. The embossing will resist the ink.

The letters were die cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix Alphanumeric Bulletin, from Simon Says Stamp holographic cardstock and from a piece of watercolor paper that I had painted with watercolors and covered with plastic wrap.

Die cut the second sentiment with Tim Holtz Handwritten Journey, using the same two papers.

I stitched matching buttons to the tag with blue DMC floss.

The stars are Simon Says Stamp North Star embellishments. The sentiments is a part of a sentiment stamp from Simon Says Stamp Plaque Slides Love and Friendship. 

Glue the letters to the tag and add the silver frames. I also stapled a ribbon to the tag, as a base for the letters. I really like these large letters.

Off set the handwritten word a little, with the holographic word at the top.

The rest of the sentiments are from Simon Says Stamp Sunburst and Stay True stamp sets, and from Tim Holtz Tiny Text.

The stars are very shimmery and since the embossing powder did not give a complete cover, there is a lovely speckled texture in the white areas. 

Join us this week in our Stars and/or Stripes 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.