Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog: "We Survived" Journal Pages using Studio Light's All White Journal and AALL & Create's Bits of Alpha Stamp Set

Welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  Our task this week is to "emboss it."  I love embossing pens and the freedom they give for embossing anything you want to doodle.  I went with a journal spread in my little white journal from Studio Light.

I started by making a collage page that I could tear up and stick onto my journal page.  I used kraft-colored cardstock, painted it white, then painted black splotches on top of the white.  Once the paint had dried, I doodled some polka dots on top of the black with my embossing pen, shook on some white embossing powder, heat-embossed it and got a polka-dot pattern.

Bring on the color!  I smooshed around some acrylic paint and did some scribbling with Dina Wakley's Scribble Sticks.

I cut the paper to size and glued it into my white journal.

I made more background patterned paper by stamping some Tim Holtz stamps onto plain newsprint, and then onto a white piece of paper I'd painted teal.

I cut and tore these papers into various shapes and glued them to the journal page.  I also added some green acrylic paint.

I used the Sizzix Abstract Shapes die set to cut some half-circles, which I painted, using both the half-circle cut outs and the "frame shapes" they left behind.

I glued these to my journal page, too.

All that was left was some more scribbling and to add a sentiment.  I stamped the sentiment onto newsprint using AALL & Create's Bits of Alpha stamp set.  I glued it on top and this journal spread was done!

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Studio Light All White Journal
• Dina Wakley Ranger Kraft Cardstock
• American Crafts Embossing Pens
• White Embossing Powder
• Distress Paint: Salvaged Patina
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Black, Raspberry, Mustard
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks: Set 2, Set 4 (Neon)
• Tim Holtz Seasonal Scribbles Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Theories Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Abstract Elements Die Set
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 1
• AALL & Create Bits of Alpha Stamp Set
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

We're excited to see your embossing skills!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 gift voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog: Grateful for You Card using Simon's Sketched Leaves and Pinkfresh Studio's Dotted Fancy Frames Dies

Welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  I can't believe we've already hit the double-digits for November.  Time is flying, so this week's theme of Thanks/Thanksgiving seemed right on target!

I started out by stamping some leaves from Simon's Sketched Leaves stamp set.  I inked all around the leaves, but didn't ink the middle of the stamp so that I could have some blank areas in the center to add more colors and patterns to.  I colored around the leaves with Distress Watercolor Pencils, then spread the color around with a paintbrush and some water.

Next I smeared some acrylic paint around my leaves to get them grungy-looking.  I also added dots using Tim Holtz's Mixed Media 2 stamp set.  Then I fussy-cut the leaves out.

For the background of my card, I employed the use of a quirky frame die set by Pinkfresh Studio called Dotted Fancy Frames.  I cut out some frame shapes using Dina Wakley Ledger paper (set 2) and also some plaid from Simple Stories' Snow Pine Lodge patterned paper collection.  I stamped the "Grateful for you" sentiment from Simon's Big Bold 2 stamp set.  I also outlined my leaves and drew in stem-centers with a black pen.

All that was left was the assembly!  I decided my card needed one last element, so I grabbed an image of three girls from Tim's group paper doll images.  I gave a little color to the girls' dresses using Distress Crayons then put the whole thing together.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Simon Says Stamp Sketched Leaves Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Mixed Media 2 Stamp Set
• Simon Says Stamp Big and Bold Stamp Set
• Pinkfresh Studio Dotted Fancy Frames Die Set
• Dina Wakley Ledger Paper 2
• Simple Stories Snow Pine Lodge 12x12 Patterned Paper
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 1 and Set 3
• Distress Ink: Carved Pumpkin, Shabby Shutters, Peacock Feathers
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Lemon, Cheddar, Ruby, Lime
• Tim Holtz Paper Dolls, Groups
• Distress Crayons: Set 2 and Set 12

Gratitude is such a great focus and we're truly thankful for everyone who shares their inspiring work!  Upload a picture of your creation to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Thinking of You Card using Tim Holtz's Vault Christmas Magic Dies

We are officially into November and are starting out the month with a "Thinking of You" theme for our Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  We're also featuring Tim Holtz products.

I made a card using some great Tim Holtz dies and stamps.  I started with the cityscape cut-outs made with Tim Holtz's Vault Christmas Magic die set.  I cut out two skylines, then flipped one over so they'd look a little different from each other.  I stamped words and numbers onto my building silhouettes.

Next I added some paint and cut up one of the skylines into smaller sections.

I made the background of the card by cutting a file-folder shape out of Distress Kraft Heavystock and cut the shapes out using the Specimen die set.  I painted on the background, then scribbled with Distress Watercolor Pencils.  I stenciled on some dots, too.

All that was left was to assemble!  I glued on the buildings then typed out the sentiment on a typewriter, cut it out, and attached it to the card with Tim Holtz Cello Stickers.  I outlined the edges of the card with a black Sharpie.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Tim Holtz Vault Christmas Magic Diet Set
• Tim Holtz School Desk Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Grunged Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Distress Kraft Heavystock
• Tim Holtz Specimen Die Set
• Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set 1 and Set 4
• Tim Holtz Gradient Dot Stencil
• Tim Holtz Cello Sticker Tape
• Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Weathered Wood, Ground Espresso, Speckled Egg, Salvaged Patina
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Dina Wakley White Paint

We're excited to see your projects for this week's theme!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Dina Wakley's 3x3" Square Tags and Creative Expressions Geometric Dots and Starburst Stencils

Crack out your stencils because that is the focus of this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  I made two tags using some great stencils from Dina Wakley and Creative Expressions.

I started with these 3" square tags from Dina Wakley.  I put on a quick coat of white paint, let that dry a bit, then added some Infusions color stain and spritzed it with water.

While I waited for my tags to dry, I did some stenciling on deli paper.  I used paint and Dina Wakley's Dotted Tape stencil and Creative Expressions' Geometric Dots stencil.  Then I used some Ground Espresso Distress Ink for the Creative Expressions Starburst stencil.

Once the paint on the deli paper dried, I tore the paper into scraps and glued it to my tag backgrounds.  If you wonder why I stencil on deli paper and then glue it onto the tag instead of just stenciling straight onto the tag, it's because I don't always trust my stenciling or where I want the stenciled pattern to go.  I test it out on deli paper first since I can move the deli paper scraps around to confirm if I like the pattern and where I want the stenciled part to be. 

Next I made a collage page of doodling and painting on a piece of kraft paper. 

I ripped up some pieces of the kraft collage and glued that to my tags.  I also die-cut and painted some funky borders courtesy of AALL & Create's Majestic Borders die set.  I thought the pastel-looking tag needed more polka dots, so I stenciled more dots on deli paper (yellow and orange this time) and added that scrap to my tag.  I also did some scribbling on my tags with Distress Watercolor pencils.

I glued my borders to the bottom of the tags and needed some sentiments.  I love the font from Tim Holtz's Seasonal Scribbles stamp set, so I stamped two words from that set, peace and love, onto a piece of white cardstock.  I cut out the words and glued them to my tags and added some final splotches of paint here and there.  A big safety pin through each tag's hole finished these off.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Dina Wakley 3" Square Tags
• Dina Wakley Dotted Tape Stencil
• Creative Expressions Starburst Stencil
• Creative Expressions Geometric Dots Stencil
• Infusions Color Stain: Just Walnut, In the Navy, Emerald Isle, Blackcurrant
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 1, Set 3
• AALL & Create Majestic Borders Die Set
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Tim Holtz Seasonal Scribbles Stamp Set
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Ruby, Malachite, Lemon, Mustard, Cheddar, Lime
• Distress Paint: Salvaged Patina
• Distress Ink: Ground Espresso

As always, we're excited to see what you come up with.  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Spooky Card using Papertrey Ink's Witches Brew Stamps and Spellbinders' Boos Cocktails Dies

Welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  This week's theme is to make something spooky and to add some purple.  I made a card utilizing Papertrey Ink's Witches Brew stamp set and some dies from Spellbinders' Boos Cocktail set.  My card isn't really "spooky," but I'm also the person who, when I was a teenager, would sit in the Pumpkin Patch coloring area with the 4-year-olds while my friends went through haunted houses!  I do not do well with REAL spooky!

This card's background was cut with a deckled frame shape (courtesy of Mama Elephant) which I painted in different shades of purple.  I heat-embossed the cup and saucer with black powder to give it a more grainy grungy look and fussy-cut them out.  The teacup and sentiment are from Papertrey Ink.  The skeleton hand is from Spellbinders' Boos Cocktails die set.  I don't drink, but the shapes in this set are really fun and I thought I could use them in other ways.  The stir stick is also from that set, but the bat on top of the stir stick is from Simon Says Stamp.  I glued all the elements to my background and splattered on some Dina Wakley Olive Gloss Spray and made some bubbles to give the tea a more bubbly cauldron type of look.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Mama Elephant Deckled Frame Die Set
• Spellbinders Boos Cocktails Die Set
• Papertrey Ink Witches Brew Stamp Set
• Trinity Stamps Polka Dot Background Stamp
• Embossing Ink Pens
• Black Embossing Powder
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
• Dina Wakley Paint: Black, Lime
• Distress Paint: Seedless Preserves
• Dina Wakley Gloss Spray: Olive
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Simon Says Stamp Bat Trio Die Set

We're excited to see your spooky/purple-y creations this week!  Upload your projects to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Black and Orange Halloween Tag using Dina Wakley's Pocket Squares and Tim Holtz's Halloween Whatnots

This week over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog we are pulling inspiration from a Fall mood board created by our own talented Macarena.  I zeroed in on the orange and black, which led me to create a Halloween tag.

I started by cutting a tag and stamping the whole surface with Dina Wakley's Pocket Squares stamp set.  The stamps are laid out together so you can stamp an entire huge grid of faces, or you can pop them out individually.  I just inked the stamp as it was without separating any of the images and stamped it down on my tag.

Next I toned down some of the areas with white paint and while that dried, I stenciled orange dots onto some deli paper using Dina's Dotted Tape stencil and paint and also stenciled dots onto white cardstock.  I punched holes in the cardstock to make circular "frames" that I put around some of the people's faces.

After I added the dot scraps to my tag, I smeared on some Salvaged Patina paint.

I brought some green to the party in the form of paint and Distress Watercolor Pencils and drew a hat and cut out a black circle.  The circle is cut from Marlene's Postage Madness patterned paper.  I also stamped the Tim Holtz sentiment from the Whatnots set onto deli paper.

I glued these elements to my tag and decided to go for one more witch hat.  I cut this one out of Tim Holtz's Vault Wicked die set, then I decorated it with polka dots and paint and added that on as well.

With the second witch hat in place, I added some black paint around the edges of my tag and it was done.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Dina Wakley Pocket Squares Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Halloween Whatnots Stamp Set
• Dina Wakley Dotted Tape Stencil
• Tim Holtz Vault Wicked Die Set
• Art by Marlene Postage Madness Patterned Paper
• Sizzix Tag Collection Die Set
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 1
• Distress Paint: Salvaged Patina
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Black, Mustard, Tangelo, Lemon
• 1.25" Circle Punch
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper

We are excited to see how you're inspired by the fall mood board and what you create as a result.  Upload your projects to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!