Monday, January 12, 2026

Foil Forest Tag

Hello crafters! I hope you had a good weekend! We have beautiful winter wonderland weather here at the moment, with lots of snow.

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 Fun with Foil theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the beautiful project by our January guest designer Cassie Lynch aka mk_knits.

Layers of ink - Foil Forest Tag tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

Inspired by the snow outside my window, I made a shiny and frosty foil forest tag. I used Ranger's Frozen Shiny Foil Sheets for the foiled elements and a dry embossed silver background. Glitter and dry embossed vellum added the last frosty details to the tag.

Use Ranger foil sheets to foil the die cut trees.

Start by covering cardstock with a double-sided adhesive sheet. I used Simon Says Stamp Frosty Tree Gathering and Little Evergreen Trees to die cut the trees. Remove the protective tape and press the die cuts to the back of the foil sheets. I cut the smaller tree line into pieces first. Press and then remove.

Dry emboss the tag.

I wanted a shiny background too and cut a tag from silver kraft cardstock and embossed in Simon Says Stamp Feathery Pines.

Add Ranger Moon Dust stickles.

For a frosty look, I added Ranger Stickles Glitter Gel Moon Dust to the background (not the trees).

Stamp sentiments with Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas.

The sentiments were stamped with Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas using Archival Cobalt ink. When the glitter is dry, it gives a frosty look to the background, contrasting nicely with the shinier silver trees and the foil trees. The snowflakes are from Tim Holtz Twig & Stump die set.


Some of the foil elements were still a little sticky and I pressed them onto other colors of foil, for a multi-color effect.


The trees get extra texture from the texture of my die cutting plates.


Varying the sizes and shapes of the trees add interest.

Dry emboss and tear vellum for snow.

One of my favorite ways to create a snowy look is to dry emboss and tear vellum and then layer it. Here I dry embossed the vellum in Simon Says Stamp Soft Snowfall folder and tore into three pieces. The trees are layered in between the vellum.

Join us this week in our Fun with Foil 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.


Friday, January 9, 2026

Simon Says Stamp Heart to Heart Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am so happy to take part in the Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop to celebrate the new Heart to Heart release. If you are following along in the hop, you should have come here from the wonderful Kim Hamilton.

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.



The Heart to Heart release is filled with of a great variety of new and versatile stamps, embossing folders, stencils, dies, ink and sequins, perfect Valentine's crafting and many other themes. You can find the entire Heart to Heart release here.



The not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Friend Like You 3x4 Stamp Set, will be automatically added to carts with any purchase from the Heart to Heart collection. This gift with purchase is available through 1/11 at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.


Layers of ink - Friend tag tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a tag with a friendship theme, an inky background and lots of hearts. I used the new Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite for all the stamping and the Rounded Hearts to die cut the hearts. The hearts were die cut from both stamped hearts, vellum and old book paper.

Stamp Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite.

Start by white embossing the two sentiments, the ribbon and two hearts on a tag. I like how the word 'Friend' fits so well on the tag. 

Ink with Distress Ink.

Smear Distress Ink on a non-stick craft sheet and mist with water. Press the paper into the ink. Let dry.


Repeat to add more ink.


And even more ink, until you are happy with the look.

Add Distress Oxide ink

For the final inky layer I used Distress Oxide ink, but only a little.


I restamped the ribbon and the words with Uncharted Mariner, off-setting slightly to create a shadow effect.


Next, I used the text stamp on the Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite set and stamped it here and there. I really like this stamp and will be using it a lot.


The two solid hearts were embossed with white and clear powder on kraft cardstock. 


Die cut with hearts from Simon Says Stamp Rounded Hearts. This die set comes with ten dies. I am very fond of these types of die sets, with the same shape in different sizes. I also die cut it from old book paper and from Simon Says Stamp Silver Vellum.


Paint the clear embossed hearts with white Distress Paint and wipe the paint off from the embossed areas.


Layer the hearts together and gently fold up the sides. 


I also added two pairs of the smallest heart. Here with silver vellum and old book paper. The word 'hugs' at the top of the tag comes from the text stamp and was placed there on purpose.


The shape of the letters is just wonderful, especially that slanted line in the 'H'. The smaller sentiments and the label stamps also come from the Heart Suite set. It is a very versatile stamp set.


I added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Gems over the dots in the label stamps, and here and there on the background.



Don't miss all the inspiration along the hop! There are of course prizes to be won too, and at each stop on the hop Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon, randomly drawn from those who leave a comment. The winners will be posted post on the Simon Says Stamp store blog on 14 January.

Here are all the stops along the hop

Anna-Karin Evaldsson (you are here)

For more inspiration, remember to check out the Heart to Heart gallery at Simon Says Stamp, and if you make something with products from the range, it is fun if you post it in the galleries too. There are galleries for all releases, and for the card kits, full of inspiration.

This is the first Heart to Heart blog hop, don't miss blog hop number day number 2, which is tomorrow.


Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 


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, January 5, 2026

January Art Journal Page

 Hello crafters! Happy New Year! I hope it will be filled with happiness and creative adventures.

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 Something New theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. It is a new year and it is the first Monday of a new month which means that the team is showcasing products from a specific company/designer. This week it is Paper Artsy. You can find all their wonderful products here. You don't have to use their products to join, but it is fun if you do. 

We also have a new guest designer and during January Cassie Lynch aka mk_knits will be joining us. Don't miss her gorgeous project!

Layers of ink - January Art Journal Page Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made an art journal page about the first month of this new year, also using sentiments which fit with that theme. The background was done with Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stain, which I am very fond of using. You can get such great textures and interesting effects with them. I used two Paper Artsy stamp sets by Alison Bomber: Winter Umbels and Winter Grasses.

White emboss the stamp designs.

Working on a double-spread in my Stamperia Happiness Journal, I white embossed the stems and grasses on the page. Stamp the stem twice to extend it all the way down the page. 

Color with Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stain.

Mist the paper with water and sprinkle Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stain on to it. I used In the Navy and Violet Storms. Mist with more water. Dab off some of color if you want too. I wanted a pretty dark background. 

Stamp more branches.

When dry, wipe the stain off from the white embossing and add some stamping in black ink too.

Splatter with Permanent White gouache.

Splatter the page heavily with Winsor & Newton Permanent White gouache. 


The sentiments also come from the Paper Artsy Winter Umbels and Winter Grasses sets.


Some of the pigments transferred to the gouache, giving the white dots a multi-colored look.


The sets have really great sentiment stamps. They were stamped on left-over watercolored papers in grey and purple shades.


The title was die cut from Simon Says Stamp Silver Glitter cardstock and black cardstock, using Tim Holtz Emporium Alphanumeric set. I also found the word 'peace' on my desk, die cut from white glossy paper using Simon Says Stamp Simple Peace. 


The Infusions Colored Stains give interesting effects and this is one of my favorite areas on the page. 

Add some Stickles.

I added a little Ranger Star Dust Stickles to the bottom of the page.



Join us this week in our Something New 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.