Monday, November 17, 2025

Winter Window Card

Hi friends! I hope you are well and had a fun weekend! It is starting to get chilly here and the first snow might fall this week.

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.


It is time for a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week our theme is Thank You. During November Pauline C is our guest designer. I hope you will visit her blog to see the lovely card that she made for this week.


The And Everything Nice release is filled with creative products for holiday and winter crafting.


Layers of ink - Winter Window Card Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a thank you card with a winter theme, creating a winter window on a brick wall background. I used dies from Simon Says Stamp's new And Everything Nice release, namely Balcony Windows and Holiday Window Decor

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Balcony Window.

I die cut one of the windows from Simon Says Stamp Balcony Windows from collage paper that I made for another project. You can find that post here.

Paint with Distress Paint.

Dry brush a little Speckled Egg and Pumice Stone Distress Paint to the window.

Dry brush with dark brown paint.

Add Scorched Timber around the edges.

Color with alcohol ink.

For the window, I used Simon Says Stamp Acetate and colored with Latte Alcohol ink.


Add a curtain with a piece of Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabric and lace.

Add Rock Candy Glitter.

Apply Ranger Matte Texture Paste along the upper edges of the window and add Glossy Accents in the corners and as icicles on the window. Sprinkle Rock Candy Glitter on top.

I added a piece of heavystock cardstock to the back of the window, so that it will look like a room. 

Add paste through Tim's Bricked stencil.

Coat watercolor paper with gesso and when dry, add texture paste through Tim Holtz Bricked stencil with a palette knife.

Paint with Pumice Stone.

Let the paste dry and then paint the background with watered-down Pumice Stone. The paint will stick better to the texture paste than to the gesso, so the 'grout' will look lighter. Later, I also dry brushed with Speckled Egg and Scorched Timber.

Die Simon Says Stamp Holiday Window Decor.

Die cut one of the ornaments from Simon Says Stamp Holiday Window Decor from kraft paper and the baubles from Simon Says Stamp Luxe Glitter Cardstock.


Distress the edges of the brick panel before matting on brown and blue papers.

Winter window.

I also die cut the bow from Simon Says Stamp Holiday Window Decor, from two shades of blue watercolored papers. Let the windows be slightly open. The window was adhered with Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape.


The baubles from the Simon Says Stamp Luxe Glitter are very sparkly. 


The sentiment was stamped on left-over watercolored paper with Simon Says Stamp Wildflower Cuttings.


I added a little snow and glitter to the window sill too.

Join us this week in our Thank You 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.


Monday, November 10, 2025

Thinking of you card

 Hi friends! It is Monday again and I hope you had a good weekend and got 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.


It is time for a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week our theme is Thinking of You. During November Pauline C is our guest designer. I hope you will visit her blog. 

Layers of ink - Thinking of you card by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a thinking of you card this week, using a brand new embossing folder from the Simon Says Stamp And Everything Nice release. I used ink and wax for the background and the two birds were watercolor-stamped.


The And Everything Nice released is filled with creative products for holiday and winter crafting.

Ink the embossing folder with Distress Ink.

Start by inking the Simon Says Stamp Wispy Pine Needle Frame embossing folder with Distress Ink. Mist watercolor paper with water and emboss.

Ink the twigs.

When dry, ink the needles, making it the darker towards the edges.

Add Tim Holtz Foundry Wax.

Apply Gilded Foundry Wax around the edges and heat set.

Stamp the birds.

The two birds come from Simon Says Stamp Vintage Blooms and Beautiful & Curious. Ink the stamp and then mist with water before stamping.

Gold emboss the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Big Botanicals.



I inked the stamp with Ground Espresso, misted with water and stamped, off-setting slightly, for a shadow.


Mount on grey kraft-stock, gold metallic kraft-stock and folded light blue cardstock.


Such sweet bird stamps.


Here you can see how shiny the gold embossing is. The shadow helps it stand out better from the background. I also added buttons and some ribbons.


The foundry wax adds a great distressed gold look to the branches.

Join us this week in our Thinking of You 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, November 7, 2025

Simon Says Stamp And Everything Nice 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 And Everything Nice release. If you are following along in the hop, you should have come here from the wonderful Lisa Addesa.

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.

Simon Says Stamp And Everything Nice

The And Everything Nice release is full of a great variety of new and versatile stamps, embossing folders, stencils, dies, ink and sequins, perfect for holiday and winter crafting. You can find the entire And Everything Nice release here.

https://tidd.ly/4qNGbfY

The not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Christmas Candle 3x4 stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of And Everything Nice collection! This gift with purchase will expire 11/9 at 11:59 pm EST or while supplies last.

Layers of ink - Joy Altered Book Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

When I saw the new Simon Says Stamp Joy Cover die I thought it would be great as a book cover. Instead of making my own book, I altered a small sketchbook. You can also a make the book from scratch or use the design for a card instead.


Adhere text paper with matte medium.

I used collage paper which I made for a recent Mushroom tag. Tear old book paper and adhere to watercolor paper with matte medium. Add a layer of medium on top too.

Coat with gesso.

Coat with gesso. Let dry completely.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Joy Cover.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Joy Cover from the collage paper. Die cut it three more times from cream paper.

Ink the edges.

Glue the pieces together to form a dimensional word and then ink the edges slightly.

Coat with stickles.

Add Star Dust stickles to the letters and frame.

Die cut inserts from watercolor paper.

I die cut the inlaid pieces from various watercolor scraps. I have a lot of papers where I have tried out different watercolor paints and these come in handy for die cutting. I used shades of blue and green.

Cover the book with backdrops paper.

I covered the front of the notebook with Tim Holtz backdrops paper using matte medium.


I covered the spine with a piece of canvas fabric.

Die cut the Simon Says Stamp Frosty Tree Gathering.


Cut the trees.

Cut the trees a part. You want one of each, which is why you have to cut the original design twice.

Stamp sentiment with Simon Says Stamp Festive Merriment.

A sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Festive Merriment was stamped on kraft paper and cut into two pieces. Glue the first piece at the top of the book.


Glue Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Gems to the cover, as snow or stars.


Glue the second part of the sentiment at the bottom of the design.


Glue the tree trees on the cover, without covering up essential parts of the word. 

Cover the back of the book with kraft paper.

I covered the back of the sketchbook with kraft paper. The book is about 4.1x6 in.

Layers of ink - Joy Altered Book Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

This would be a great little Christmas gift.

Layers of ink - Joy Altered Book Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I am so happy that the holiday crafting period has begun. 

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 12 November.

Your next stop on the hop is Kim Hamilton. Don't miss to the stunning project she has created. If you get lost along the way, here are all the stops:

Anna-Karin Evaldsson (you are here)

For more inspiration, remember to check out the And Everything Nice 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 And Everything Nice 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.