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!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Patterned Paper Notebook Cover using Dina Wakley's Collage Sparks and Stamperia Embossing Pen and Powders

Using patterned paper is this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and we're also featuring products from Stamperia.  I created a notebook cover, using both existing patterned paper and from patterned paper I made through embossing and mark-making.

I started with a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper, which holds up great even to wet stuff.  I dabbed on some acrylic paint, then added a bit of water and smooshed it around my paper.

While that was drying, I did some mark-making with an embossing pen on paper and heat-embossed my marks using a heat tool and both white and black embossing powder.  

I also employed some patterned paper from Dina Wakley's Sparks Collage collection.

I decided to do a big scribble with the embossing pen and black embossing powder.

I added some black paint around the edges of my paper and waited for it to dry.  I also stuck on a sentiment from Tim Holtz's Thoughts Label Stickers.  I sewed my paper to the front of a notebook and this project was done.

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

• Stamperia Embossing Pen
• Stamperia White Embossing Powder
• Stamperia Black Embossing Powder
• Dina Wakley Collage Sparks Patterned Paper: Set 2
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
• Tim Holtz Thoughts Label Stickers
• Heat Tool
• Dina Wakley Paint: Black
• Dylusions Paint: Jungle Leaf, Tree Bark

We can't wait to see how you embrace patterned paper this week!  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: Christmas/Winter Card using Tim Holtz's Vault Festive Wreath Dies and Simple Stories' Snow Pine Lodge Paper

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is to make a Christmas or winter-themed card.  With temperatures still in the 90's in my neck of the woods, it took some effort to get myself into Christmas mode!  But we got there and this is the card that resulted:

I loved the "Oh What Fun" sentiment that was written on one of the tags in the Pine Lodge Paper Collection by Simple Stories.  I decided to have that be the center of my card, so I cut out and painted a wreath (thanks to Tim Holtz's Vault Festive Wreath die set) as my starting point.

I cut away the excess tag, glued my wreath down and then cut and painted the foliage pieces to go around my wreath.  I added them on and it was starting to look a little jolly!

There are so many fun patterns in this paper pack and I adore the color palette!  I chose some patterns that I thought went well together and planned out my layers. 

All that was left to do was a little gluing.  Here is the finished project:

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

• Tim Holtz Vault Festive Wreath Die Set
• Simple Stories 12 x 12 Snow Pine Lodge Patterned Paper Pack
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
• Dylusions Paint: Rainy Day, Tree Bark, Jungle Leaf
• Distress Paint: Salvaged Patina
• Dina Wakley Paint: Lime, Fir

It may be a struggle or it might come easily, but get your holly jolly on and upload your Christmas/winter-themed card to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!