Winter Forest Card

Hello stampers! STAMPtember® contines at Simon Says Stamp and today I have a card to share with lots of stamping.

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.

We have a Christmas theme this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. The perfect time to get started on Christmas project. My card is my first Christmas themed project of the year. Don't miss the last project by our September guest designer Deborah Emmons.

I stamped a frosty winter forest for this card, using both clear and white embossing powder and a mix of ink. The background was painted with pearlescent and normal watercolors. The heat embossing creates a resist effect with quite a lot of texture.

Working on watercolor paper I started stamping pine trees from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery. Work one tree at a time. Some of the trees were stamped with Salvaged Patina and Uncharted Mariner Distress Oxide Ink and embossed with clear powder, while other trees were stamped with clear embossing ink and embossed with white powder. Stamp the white trees last. There are also a couple of trees in the background which were stamped with clear ink and embossed with clear powder, so that the white tree wouldn't visibly overlap with the blue background trees.

I also applied some embossing ink to the front edge of the card and embossed with white ink. Paint the background with Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi Pearl Colors, using Pearl Cobalt Blue and White Gold. The darker shades were made with darker shades of ordinary blue Gansai Tambi colors.

The main sentiment comes from a new STAMPtember® set called Elegantly Modern Christmas. White emboss on vellum and die cut with the coordinating die. I use Simon Says Stamp Very Very Low Tack Tape to hold the die in place when die cutting.

It is difficult to photograph the effect of the pearl paints, but you can maybe see it a better here. The small sentiments also come from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery.

I sprinkled white embossing powder on the colored trees before embossing, making it appear as if it is snowing. Pearls added to the snowy and glistering feel.

The darker trees recedes into the background and looks like they are further away.

I added dots of Simon glue under the embossed areas to glue the vellum sentiment to the background.

Distress the edge and mount on Simon Says Stamp glimmery cardstock, Soft Navy Blue and white cardstock.

Don't miss the last days of STAMPtember®!

I hope you will join us this week in our Christmas 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 stopping by here 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.

Window Garden Book Tutorial

Hi crafters! Today I have a mini-book / journal / sketchbook tutorial to share. The front cover is a window with broken glass.

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 sketchbook mainly with products from Tim Holtz Halloween release. There is quite a lot of idea-ology pieces that work for many different themes and not only for Halloween. I thought I'd make a litte journal / sketchbook for my garden since the window made me think of looking out into the garden. 

I just had to take a photo of the journal in the grass and among the fallen petals from the wild roses. 

For the glass I used Tim Holtz idea-ology Shattered Window and colored it with Latte alcohol ink.

Stamp with butterflies from Tim Holtz Papillon using Stazon ink. I placed the stamp so that the butterflies would be visible through the windows.

Stamp here and there with Simon Says Stamp Stained Glass background.

The window comes from Halloween Baseboards and Transparencies. I sanded the edges and inked with Vintage Photo.

Do the same on the rest of the idea-ology ephemera. The lace piece was used as a curtain. 

I glued the acetate to the window and cut pages from one of my favorite sketching papers. Use a Crop-a-Dile to punch holes.

This paper comes from Tim Holtz Halloween Backdrops papers. I love all the backdrops papers and use them a lot. Place it behind the window and add dots with a pencil to try to get the stamped words in the right places. Ink the edges.

The back cover was covered with another piece of Halloween Backdrops paper.

The stamped words show through the windows, some of them are stamped in the holes from the broken glass. The sentiment on the strip comes from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery. 

I like adding curtains to windows. It gives them a more finished touch. The green butterfly is from the Halloween 2023 ephemera pack.

The alcohol ink, shattered glass, stamping and texture of the background paper gives an interesting layered effect.

The roses are from Halloween 2023 Layers and Paper Dolls. The sentiment is from Halloween Baseboards and Transparencies. 

The book was bound with Tim Holtz Book Rings. 

If you open the cover, the inside page looks like this, but it is really meant to be a backdrop to the cover.

Here you can maybe see the transparent effect better.

 

I love the shapes and texture in the vintage book marbled paper.

The second page in the journal looks like this. It is the printed back of the Backdrops paper used as a first page for the small stamped sentiments. I added a Journal Card and some stamping.

One of my favorite things with making my own journals, is that I can use paper that is suited for what I plan to use it for. Sometimes I like to use various papers, for this journal I used only a good sketching paper. The book can also hold small photos.

You can make this book in other themes or for other purposes too.

Thank you for stopping by here today! My next project with Tim's Halloween products is coming soon and it is a little spookier, but only a little.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! See you soon again.

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.

Layered Numbers Background

Hi stampers! I hope you are enjoying STAMPtember® and all the inspiration at Simon Says Stamp.

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 Favorite Color theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. It is impossible for me to pick a favorite color, but I went with turquoise which is one of my favorites (in addition to almost all other colors). Don't miss the project by our September guest designer Deborah Emmons.

I made a birthday card this week using different shades of turquoise and teal combined with black and brown. The card was made with a mix of new and older Simon Says Stamp stencils and stamps. The numbers were made with the new STAMPtember® Layered Numbers stencil set.

I wanted a ledger paper look to the background and inked a piece of heavystock cardstock with Antique Linen. It was stamped with Simon Says Stamp Ledger Paper Background using Archival Shadow Grey ink.

Start with the first of the three Layered Numbers stencil and ink with Salvaged Patina.

Continue with the second stencil, using Peacock Feathers.

Next, the third and last stencil, with Mermaid Lagoon. If you want a clean look to your card, you can stop here.

Ink with Frayed Burlap and Ground Espresso.

Stamp here and there with the alphabet stamp from Tim Holtz School Desk.

Splatter with brown ink. Smear ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and pick up with a paint brush.

I stamped the background with a whole lot of larger and smaller birthday stamps, using various inks.

'Happy, happy' was stamped with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide Ink.

I also added sequins in turquoise shades. I use Simon Says Stamp Place and Score Embellishment Wand to place the sequins, on dots made with Simon Glue.

It is fun to mix fonts, sizes and colors.

The card was mounted on two shades of turquoise cardstock. I also added two strips of Design Tape Trims. Their role was partly to cover up a sentiment that was stamped in too light ink and didn't read well.

I hope you will join us this week in our Favorite Color 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 stopping by here 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.