Celebrate 2019 Layout

Hello crafters! It is a new year and I want to start by wishing everyone a wonderful and creative 2019. We had a great Christmas and New Year with my family and the boys had lots and lots of fun. This is my first project of the year, and I am looking forward to seeing what this year will bring. 

In this first Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog of the year, we have a Use Something New theme. It is also the first Monday of a new month, which means that the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge team is showcasing a specific designer or company, and this week the turn has come to Simon Says Stamp Exclusive products. You can find all the SSS exclusive products here, and there is such a big variety. You don't have to use SSS products to join in the challenge, but it is always fun if you do. 

Don't miss the project by our January guest designer Wendy Baysa. 

I haven't scrapped about myself in quite a while and I thought a scrapbooking layout would therefore be a great first project of the year. I wrote journaling about my hopes and wishes for the year, which is tucked in behind the photo. Anton took the photo of me on one or our bike rides the past summer. I used a bunch of Simon Says Stamp products here, some of the from the new You Are Loved collection. The layout will go into my 8.5 x 11 in album, which hasn't seen a new layout in quite some time.

The panel behind the photo was stamped with the Leaves Background stamp and Jellybean ink, and I used the Tabbed Sentiments and coordinating dies on the journal card.

I used the new Windows to My Heart die, which cuts six hearts in one go. To be able to die cut heart directly from my background, I used my Sizzix Big Shot Plus machine, but if you are making something smaller, the ordinary Big Shot will work just as well. The background paper was in my scrap box. It is watercolor paper which had been misted.

As a background paper, I used the SSS Blue Violet cardstock. I wanted some of the hearts to be see-through and placed the die cut paper on top to mark which ones with a white pencil. Then I simply cut out squares with a craft knife.

Stamp the Tiny Alphabet on acetate or Modeling film and cut into squares. Adhere to the back of the windows.

Stamp the background here and there with the Good Reading stamp and stitch around the edges of the layout.

I also die cut hearts from old book paper and vellum and layered two hearts on top of each other, shaping them a little to give them dimension.

Here you can see that the alphabet heart is transparent. Layer the hearts over the rest of the windows, letting some of the blue show through.

Use the smallest hearts in the Heart Layers stencil set and sponge Faded Jeans Distress Ink through the hearts.

The Stitching Butterflies were die cut from a paper that had been colored with Paper Artsy Infusions, and from the blue background paper. I also stamped brown dots on the background using the Falling Snow stamp.

Intricate dies look fantastic die cut from glossy paper, and I had a piece of glossy paper that had been colored with alcohol inks in my scrap box, which fit great here. I used the SSS Celebrate die and Tim Holtz's Letterboard die.

The final touch of this layout was that I happened upon a page from an old book, also in my scrap paper box, which I had saved because it was a chapter page for chapter 'nineteen' and therefore fit perfectly here. 'Full of possibilities' comes from the Uplifting Words set. The stamp says 'Today is full of possibilities', but I covered up the first two words when inking it up.

I hope you will join us this week in our Use Something New challenge. As always, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until next Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

Don't forget to follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 

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

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog today!  

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

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