Tag Archives: Simon Says Stamp Designer Spotlight

Art Journaling

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Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. As this is my last week I want to say a big thank you to everyone for all your support!

This week the theme is Art Journaling.

I’m so very grateful to be able to share my love of art journaling and I’d like to thank Lols and the Simon Says Stamp Team for letting me join them this month! This journal page was inspired by my love of art journaling and some Monarch butterflies that we saw in America at about this time last year.

I started by smooshing the background using Peeled Paint, Peacock Feather and Twisted Citron Distress Ink by stamping the pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. I did this a number of times drying the page with a heat gun between each application of ink. Next I stamped an Invoice stamp from Finnabair and a letter stamp from Tim Holtz using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink. Then I covered an Interlocking Circles mini stencil from Creative Expressions with Black Soot Distress Ink and pressed it firmly onto the page using a brayer. The leaves are from a Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script stamp set and are stamped using Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I then splattered the page using a white Uni Posca paint pen and also some Black Soot Distress Ink.  I used the Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script stamp set again to stamp the “so very grateful” wording using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink and added highlights to the letters using a white Uni Posca paint pen. My Monarch butterflies are depicted here using Tim Holtz Botanical Layers and I added white text rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz which read “seen”, “memories”, “remember” and “dream” which relate to the butterflies we saw. To finish, I added some Small Talk Stickers from Tim Holtz which read “go where your heart takes you”, “creativity takes courage” and “adventure awaits you”; I chose the wording as it relates to my art journaling journey.

We were lucky enough to see Monarch butterflies for the first time when we visited Maine, USA last October time.

We don’t have this butterfly here in the UK and I was surprised at how big they were and …

… how mesmerising they are when they fly, they look like they are gliding (grin!).

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the Art Journaling challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my so very grateful wishes.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut butterflies from Tim Holtz that I included on this page.

With my butterflies and inky background this also qualifies for our Inky Wings challenge over at A Vintage Journey where, it would be great to see you there!

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this art journal page:

Spooky

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Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind wishes last week!

This week the theme is Spooky.

For this challenge I created a spooky art Journal page full of magic and mystery, maybe there’s a magic potion in one of those bottles – what are you going to wish for? (grin!).

I started by stencilling texture paste using a Mini Specimens template from The Crafter’s Workshop and when dry, I painted the page using Indigo and Black Kuretake watercolour paints. Then I applied Aged Silver Stampendous embossing enamel to the texture paste using a Versamark watermark pad. I used a Versamark watermark pen and Shabby White Stampendous embossing enamel for finer details. I also coloured some of the texture paste using a black Sharpie pen then I splattered the page using the black watercolour paint and also White Linen Dylusions Spray. I added some bats and cobwebs that I stamped onto tissue paper which finished the background.

For the tags, I die cut five tags using Sizzix Framelits and my Big Shot machine. They are cut from Pocket Cards from Tim Holtz, edged with black Versamark ink and then stamped using a Gothic Book Finnabair stamp and an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using the black Versafine ink and covered with black Stampendous embossing powder.

Next I added the pretty bottles which are from a Kaisercraft Sticker Book and decorated with some black ribbon and the metal “31” and “13” which are Countdown brads from Tim Holtz. The tags are finished with some eyelets and recycled black satin ribbon, and layered in place with some blue flowers which are fussy cut from a Botanicals Layers card. To finish, I added the “objet trouvé”, “finders keepers” and “make a wish” wording which are Quote Chips from Tim Holtz.

This spooky window can be found at the Moose and Moonshine restaurant in Liverpool and I think the witch may be making us a magic potion.

 This restaurant is part of the Moose Coffee chain and they make the best hot chocolate with a shot of pumpkin spice syrup in it – yum! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang over at T Stands for T Day – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the Spooky challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the spooky dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut tags that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my spooky page as their theme is Halloween.

Don’t forget that you can also join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for our Witches, Wizards, Halloween challenge too.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this spooky art journal page:

All Things Pink

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Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your support and lovely comments last week!

This week the theme is All Things Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness).

For this challenge I created an art Journal page in tribute to my auntie who has recently recovered from Breast Cancer – I hope you like it!

For the background I covered the page with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a blending tool and then sprayed White Linen Dylusions Spray over the top and left it to dry.  Next I used a Tim Holtz Mini Stencil to add the numbers using the Picked Raspberry ink again and then using the same ink and also Hickory Smoke Distress Archival Ink I stamped some Halftone Circles from Altenew. For the flowers, I used my Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to stamp flowers and stems from the Tim Holtz Flower Garden Stamp Set using Hickory Smoke ink onto some watercolour cardstock; stamping the image a few times to achieve a clear precise image. Then I coloured them with Picked Raspberry ink using a watercolour style technique gradually building up the pink shading using a paintbrush. They are fussy cut and stuck in place using a glue stick. The wording is from an Antiquities Sticker Book from Kaisercraft and is mounted onto some of the white watercolour paper before sticking them to the page; they read “Life is beautiful with you”, “Love”, “Faith” and “Hope”. To finish I added some little butterflies which I made using some white paper butterfly wings, recycled pink satin ribbon that I twisted so it looked like the Breast Cancer logo, and finally a small pink gem stone; everything is stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents.

I’m pleased to say that my auntie is doing well after being treated with breast cancer, luckily it was diagnosed early; she came to stay recently and we had lots of fun, she particularly enjoyed watching the sunsets.

It seems that pink seems to be prevalent of late as when I went to the hairdressers recently I was treated to a few glasses of this Summer Fruit drink, it was so refreshing! At my hairdressers they usually offer coffee, a range of teas and soft drinks to their clients and sometimes cake too (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m pleased to share this drink with the T Gang – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the All Things Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness) challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Count Your Blessings challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my art journal page.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this art journal page:

Autumn/Fall

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Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for inviting me!

This week the theme is Autumn/Fall.

As it is the first Monday of the month, Simon Says Stamp are featuring Tim Holtz so I created this birthday card as I have lots of family birthdays this time of year.

For the centre piece of my card, I stamped a maple leaf using a Tim Holtz Maple Sketch stamp and black Archival Ink onto a piece of Ranger Kraft paper which I tore along the edges to give it more of a rustic look and then coloured using a Sanguine and Black Faber-Castell marker. I also added a piece of lace and bound some twine to the bottom of the Kraft panel and attached a button which I threaded using the same twine.

I used the Tim Holtz Maple Sketch stamp again to stamp the maple leaf onto some Watercolour card stock using my Tim Holtz stamping platform. This enabled me to stamp the watercolour card again after I had coloured the leaf using Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. I cut out the leaf, edged it with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck it over the top of the leaf that I stamped on the Kraft panel using double-sided foam tape so it stood out more. The card was completed by mounting the finished Kraft panel onto a 6x4inch card which I made from white cardstock, stamped with a repeating pattern of “Happy Birthday” using Rich Cocoa, Toffee Crunch and Potter’s Clay Memento Ink and then finely splattered with Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.

Maple leaves always reminds me of fall in New England …

… so the colours on my card were inspired by this beautiful tree in Biddeford, Maine that we saw this time last year whilst on vacation to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

It happens to be our 31st wedding anniversary tomorrow, so as T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a photo of me and hubby enjoying some samplers of beer at Banded Brewery in Biddeford, Maine which we also visited whilst we were there – cheers and Happy T Day!

Which reminds me to wish Erika a very Happy Anniversary too!

I enjoyed creating this card with my Tim Holtz products for the Autumn/Fall challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of materials to make this card:

Gift It … for Simon Says Stamp

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Hi everyone!

I’m really enjoying my time in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week the theme is Gift It.

I’ve made packs of note cards for my friends, but you could also make a gift tag, gift bag or even wrapping paper etc.

I created two packs of note cards; these gift sets consist of a pink or blue wallet containing two note card designs with matching envelopes.  If you are interested to find out how I made everything, the details are below.

For the note cards, I started by cutting a panel out of white cardstock slightly smaller than 6×4 inch to fit my blank cards using my Fiskars paper trimmer. Then for the first design I stamped the circles from the Altenew Halftone Circles Stamp Set using Picked Raspberry, Mermaid Lagoon and Mustard Seed Distress Ink onto the panels. The sentiment is from the same stamp set and stamped using black Ranger Archival Ink.

Next I die cut a flower from white card stock using Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets and my Big Shot machine, then I stuck the flower in place using a Zig glue pen. When the glue was dry, I outlined the flower with a black fine line marker to make it stand out more.

For the second note card design I followed the same process but I used Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks for the circle stamping, one of the other sentiments from the same stamp set and also a different flower thinlet.

To finish, I edged the panels using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I stuck each panel onto a blank card that I also made from the white card stock, using double-sided tape.

As these note cards are a gift I also created a wallet to present them in. The wallets are made from either Simon Says Stamp Cornflower Blue or Cotton Candy card stock which I scored to create fold lines on my Fiskars paper trimmer using a scoring tool.

I adorned them using the same stamp set and inks and die cuts but rather than repeating the card design, I created the die cut flowers out of white cardstock stamped using the circle stamps and Distress Inks, stuck them to the front of the wallet and outlined them so they stood out more. I then I stamped the sentiment using the black Archival Ink.

I inserted the card into the wallets with the matching envelopes – I hope my friends like them (grin!).

As I included bursts of colour as part of my gift set design, I’m also pleased to join Stamps and Stencils and their Remember, Remember 5th November challenge too.

I enjoyed making these gift sets and I hope that you will be inspired to join the Gift It challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

As this is my last week in the Designer Spotlight this month with Simon Says  Stamp, I’d like to thank everyone for all your kind comments and support throughout the month and also say a special thank you to Simon Says Stamp for giving me the opportunity to design for them; I’ve had the most wonderful time!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

Let It Snow … for Simon Says Stamp

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Hi everyone! It’s lovely to be in the Designer Spotlight over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this month. Thank you for all your kind comments and support last week!

This week the theme is Let It Snow.

I was inspired by Simon Says Stamp (SSS) Frozen Fractals and Tim Holtz Urban Tapestry stamp sets to create a mixed media panel that could be made into a card or in this case used as the centre piece for my art journal page.

To create the panel, I started by cutting a piece of mixed media paper to A5 size, and then I stamped the pretty white snowflakes using the SSS Frozen Fractals stamp set, Versamark Watermark ink and white Stampendous embossing powder. I coloured it using Milled Lavender, Chipped Sapphire and Salty Ocean Distress Ink by spritzing the panel with water then applying the inks. The bird and foliage are from the Urban Tapestry stamp set and they are stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and a brown Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

Next I created the die cut ivy and berries using Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets, white cardstock and two different blue shades of vellum.

The ivy is coloured using Moss, Leaf Green, Bud Green and Chocolate Spectrum Aqua Markers and detailed using a black fine line marker. I layered the coloured ivy leaves and vellum berries over the white die cut pieces, so they were slightly off centre making the white cardstock look like a coating of snow.

To continue the snowy theme, I doodled snow onto the branch and foliage using a white Uniball gel pen. To finish the panel, I embellished it with SSS Frozen Fractals sequins and added some Icicle Stickles to add some sparkle to both the centre of the sequins and the die cut berries.

As I wanted to use the panel as the centre piece for my art journal page, I also created a wood effect background. Firstly I applied a thin wash of Ground Espresso Distress Ink to the page using a paintbrush and then I used the same ink to stamp snowflakes using the SSS Frozen Fractals stamp set again. I also used a blending tool to stencil the Ground Espresso ink using a Mini Specimen Template by The Crafter’s Workshop. Then I sprinkled Dark Brown and Sandstone Brusho powders onto the page and applied glossy gel medium over the top using a paintbrush, making sure I dragged the paintbrush vertically down the page to create the wood grain effect.

I mounted the panel onto the page using double-sided tape and added the wording, some more die cut berries, SSS Frozen Fractals Sequins and Icicle Stickles, which finished the page.

This page reminds me of Christmas a few years ago and the lovely woodland walk that we went on with my family; as you can see I was very happy to see the snow!

What could be better than a steaming cup of hot chocolate to warm you up after a walk in the snow – I’m wishing the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday a very Happy T Day !

I enjoyed creating my art journal page for the Let it Snow challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join Art Journal Journey and the lovely Erika for her Vintage or Modern challenge this month with my Let it snow page.

I’m also joining Moo Mania & More and their Tic, Tac, Toe theme (Designer Paper – vellum, Die-Cut – foliage, Circles – sequins and stencilling).

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

Thanks/Thanksgiving … for Simon Says Stamp

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Hi everyone!

I am enjoying being in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind comments and support last week!

This week the theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving.

My art journal page was inspired by my recent holiday/vacation to America. We went to Maine to stay with our dearest friends so I included the spectacular fall colours that we saw and also the words “count your blessings” as this holiday gave me so much to be thankful for (grin!).

I started by creating a page of fall colour using Tim Holtz Leaf Prints stamp set and eleven different colours of Memento Ink.

It was fun stamping and layering all the leaves and it’s a lovely reminder of the fall colours that we saw on our holiday too. I also covered the maple leaves that I had stamped using the Love Letter and Potter’s Clay Memento Inks with Ranger Glossy Accents to add some lovely shine.

For the bunting, I cut some rectangles of Simon Says Stamp Cream Card stock and Tim Holtz paper.

I created the bottom of the bunting by drawing and then cutting a V shape, then I layered them together with some letters die cut from Authentique paper and stuck them together using a Zig Glue Pen.

They are arranged and stuck in place with glue dots over a piece of Tim Holtz idea-ology paper string which I stuck to the page using the Glossy Accents. Then to finish, I added a couple of gumdrop gems.

I always count my blessings especially this time of year; I have so much to be thankful for (grin!) and I’m wishing those of you who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought you may like to see some of the fall colours from my holiday that inspired my page when we stayed with our friends.

Here’s one of the beautiful views of the fall trees and the rusty ferns that we saw whilst walking in the woodland around the lake house where we stayed …

… and of course I had to included this photo of the fall colours around the lake – I don’t think I will ever tire of their amazing reflections (grin!).

I enjoyed creating my art journal page for the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

Go Red Sox!

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We really enjoyed learning all about baseball whilst in America and watching the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs on TV. On our return we continued to follow the games being played and were delighted when they won the World Series – Go Red Sox!

For the background I stamped with a Hessian stamp using Pistachio Memento Ink and a Sketchy stamp using Potter’s Clay Memento Ink; both the stamps are by Kaisercraft and I chose the colours to depict the grass and sand of the baseball field. Next I added some vintage baseball images and words which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. To depict the baseballs, I drew circles with baseball stitching using a black Uni Pin marker around some of the edges of the page. The stars are stencilled using Pébéo modelling paste and coloured using Red Cherry Faber-Castell Gelato. To finish, I added some Boston Red Sox images which are coloured using a red Uni Posca Paint Pen and stuck into place using a glue stick or double-sided foam tape.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my Punkin Beer by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in its Boston Red Sox bottle cooler; while we stayed with our friends it became a tradition for me to always have this cooler as they won the first time I used it so I was told it bought the Red Sox good luck (grin!). This photo was taken while on the party boat on the lake and you can find more photos of our time on the boat here if you are interested. My sandwich is turkey salad – yum! Happy T Day!

My post is a little shorter this week as yesterday I started my month of guest designing over at Simon Says Stamp for their Monday Challenge. Thank you to everyone for their kind comments on yesterday’s post, your support is very much appreciated!

I’m so excited and honoured to be in the Designer Spotlight and this week’s Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Make Your Own Background, it would be fabulous to see you there (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page captures happy memories and I’m sure that she will join me to celebrate their win of the World Series – Go Red Sox!

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Go Red Sox! art journal page.

As I’m thankful that the Red Sox won the World Series, this page is also a reminder that there is still another week to join the Thankful challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Pistachio, Potter’s Clay)
  • Uni Pin Marker (Black 0.5mm, 0.8mm)
  • Faber-Castell Gelato (Red Cherry)
  • Uni Posca Paint Pen (Red)
  • Pébéo Modeling Paste
  • Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Hessian CS153, Sketchy CS878)
  • Creative Stencils Craft Essentials (Stars MAOB0004)
  • Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Baseball College #ROY875, Summer Sentiments #ROY505)
  • Recycled white card
  • Red Sox images
  • Pritt Stick
  • The Range double-sided foam tape