Hey there! Welcome, welcome to Day 1 of the Simon Says Stamp Crafty Hugs release blog hop. I am incredibly excited to be able to share some inspiration using the newest products with you so let's get started! If you haven't completed the hop yet, you can find all of the links at the end of this post. I'm the final stop, so you'll be directed back to the beginning at the Simon Says Stamp blog.

My first project features the So Far, So Good stamp set designed by Cathy Zielske. I'm always in love with the bold graphics and sentiments that Cathy designs and this set is no different. The large-and-in-charge "so good" sentiment takes center stage on this clean and simple card. Following in Cathy's footsteps, I utilized a large amount of white space to counteract the pops of color throughout the card from the wings in the Etched Dragonfly die, which is also a part of this new release. I love how delicate and detailed the wings turn out with this die. It's fast becoming one of my top favorites. 

Before we go any further, let's discuss prizes, shall we? Of course! First, we have an exclusive offer for our release blog hop celebration as a thank you for your support. Use the code HUGS4U when you check out (by 5/31 at 11:59) for your free Rainbow Shattered Glass Deco Foil! There's also a $25 coupon on each stop on the hop today for commenters! So don't forget to leave some love before moving on.

My next project is one of my favorites. Like I said earlier, I'm all about the bold graphic sentiments lately, and nobody does these sentiment and shadow dies like Simon Says Stamp. The font on the You Have My Heart die is to *die* for. (shameless pun) It also includes the sweetest heart cut out that you can use, or not use, depending on your mood. I was feeling love-y so I added it.

The background for this design is the brand new Geo Leaves stencil. Isn't is lovely as a subtle blended background? Obviously I chose to use a few different colors here, but there are so many options when it comes to stencils that the possibilities are endless. The design of the Geo Leaves also lends itself well to feminine or masculine cards, depending on your color choices. I love being able to stretch the uses of my supplies!

Finally for today, I'm using another Cathy Zielske designed set, U.S of Craff-ay. This set will be great for the summer season and those patriotic -errr, craft-iotic themed cards. There are tons of punny sentiments included in the set that will delight any crafty friend or family member.

I decided to go with a very simple design once again and used the For The Red, White & RAINBOW stamps. I also used the small images included in the set to create a background of sorts and decided it would be fun to color only the pieces of the images that intersect with the letters in the word RAINBOW. Of course, I colored them in rainbow order and it made me smile ear to ear. I added some super shiny star and gleam confetti (because the flag..?) and finished it off with that small "Let's Do Our Crafty Duty" sentiment at the bottom.

Thank you so much for joining me today as your last stop on Day 1 of the Crafty Hugs release blog hop. I've had the best time creating with these products and I can't wait to see what you create. Be sure to use the hashtag #SSSCraftyHugs and #SimonSaysStamp so that I don't miss a single one! Don't forget to drop a quick comment before you leave for your chance to win that gift certificate and have a wonderful day! Sending you BIG crafty hugs.

FULL HOP LIST:

SUPPLIES USED:

 So Far So Good - CZ Designs Stamp Set

US of Craff-ay - CZ Designs Stamp Set 

Geo Leaves Stencil 

You Have My Heart Die Set

Etched Dragonfly Die

Hello crafty friends! I'm over the moon to be sharing some inspiration from the brand new release from The Greetery. Before I get started, I'd like to congratulate Betsy on an amazing first year in business with The Greetery! Thank you for continuing to inspire us and provide us with beautiful designs to create with. 

There are prizes up for grabs but before I get into those details I'd love for you to check out my video featuring an incredible stencil set available with the new release. Check that out here:

The stencil set makes it so easy to create a full party scene on your cards. Adding in the Pinwheel Party sentiment set makes it extra easy to create birthday, anniversary, wedding, or any other celebration card you can think of. The Pinkwheel Party stencil set is innovative and completely in The Greetery fashion to create products that are simple to use and create beautiful outcomes. 

Of course, I couldn't create just one card using this stencil set so I added in the die set for my second project to create more dimension and interest to my party scene. The two coordinating sets make it fun and simple to create different looks while using the same products.

Prizes:

This is day 2 of the anniversary blog hop and The Greetery is giving away two $50 gift cards to commenters throughout the hop. Be sure to leave a comment before continuing on the hop for your chance to win. Winners will be announced on The Greetery blog on Friday, May 29th.

This project features the Twisted Crepe dies which I fell in love with at first sight. They're understated enough to be additions to scene but detailed enough to actually create the scene like this card here. I used feminine colors here for a girl-y birthday card that can be used for an adult friend or child alike. 

This card uses the balloon dies, which come in three different sizes, to create this fun graduation card.  It would be easy to change these colors to match school or University colors for more individualized cards. 

Finally for today, I'm sharing this very simple yet very festive shaker card. I love the simplicity and all of the white space while letting the colorful shaker confetti take charge of the color scheme. 

Thank you so much for coming by today, I hope that you've gotten some inspiration for the newest release. I'd love to hear what your favorite product is and what you're looking forward to most. I'm the last stop on todays hop, but don't forget to leave a comment before you go for your chance to win! If you haven't yet, you can start the entire hop over again at The Greetery blog here ------> https://blog.thegreetery.com/2020/05/21/confetti-collection-day-2:-new-products-that-really-take-the-cake/

Hello crafty friends! Welcome to my stop on the Paint-A-Flower blog hop. I'm so excited you could join us today for the release of the Anemone PAF set. Before I dive into details, I'd love for you to check out my brand new Lovely Layering with Ashlea video featuring this set. You can view it here!

I love being able to stretch my supplies so I've decided to take this bouquet stamp and create a few different patterns for cards using it in slightly different ways. First, I used a simple masking technique to create a DIY background stamp pattern and colored it in using Artist Markers from Altenew.

For more details on how exactly I managed my way coloring through this trove of flowers, check out the video above!

Next, I decided to actually paint my Paint-A-Flower. This time stamping different parts of the bouquet image around the perimeter of my card stock, I created a wreath effect which showcased my bold Fancy For You die sentiment perfectly. 

Because I used a no-line watercoloring technique, I used Butternut ink to stamp my images. A common misconception is that to create no-line colored images you need a dedicated no-line ink, but that simply isn't true. This light yellow shade ink works wonderfully as a no-line ink alternative, and your recipient would never know it!

Thank you so much, again, for stopping by today. Be sure to leave a comment before hopping along to your next stop, which is my friend, the always talented Jaycee Gaspar.

You can find the full hop list just beneath the product links below. I hope you have a great day, and hope to see you again soon!

Hello friends! Thank you so much for hopping along with us for the May 2020 Stamp and Die release from Altenew. We've got lots of inspiration on todays hop, so let's jump right into it!

My first project is this card featuring the beautiful new Blossom Wreath layering stamp set. This set includes an outline and several solid stamps for filling in the wreath with Altenew inks. I've chosen a fairly monotone palette which reminds me so much of spring. The colors I used are Fresh Lemon, Shadow Creek, and Sea Glass which compliment each other well, but also stand out on their own.

If you've ever seen any of my videos, you'll know how much I love the tri fold pamphlets that Altenew includes in it's stamp sets. This design is based off of one of the inspiration designs inside that pamphlet. I love that it creates a background for the card front, and that it's a one layer design. I don't often make one layer cards because I love the dimension that paper piecing and foam tape gives, but this stamp is so intricate and dimensional on its own that I didn't feel like it was necessary here. I added my card front panel to an A2 sized card base of yellow card stock with foam tape to add some actual dimension to this spring-y card.

PRIZES

My next project focuses on the Inked Lotus stamp and die set. The distinct lines in this image lend itself well to a more whimsical design, but when used with No-Line ink like I did here, I was able to create an elegant blooming lotus with the Artist Watercolor Palette. 

After watercoloring both the floral and stem images on the Altenew Watercolor Paper, I die cut them out using the coordinating dies. Because lotus's are known for being in water, I wanted to create a blue background that resembles water. I was able to do that by ink blending a background with Desert Night ink and Ocean Waves. To finish the card off, I used some clear dew drop embellishments to drive home the appearance of water. For my sentiment I used "you're so special" from the Inked Lotus set and heat embossed it just above my lotus image.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! You can find the products I used linked below, and don't forget to continue hopping along to your next stop, the amazingly talented Erum Tasneem

You can also find the full hop list below! I'll see you again soon!

SUPPLY LIST

Hey Altenew fans! Welcome to a NEW monthly subscription release, the Craft A Flower. The Craft-A-Flower subscription is a beautiful monthly release of layering dies to create the kind of gorgeous detailed flowers that Altenew is known and loved for. By signing up for the monthly subscription, you can snag every new set each month for the discounted price of $29.99. Before we get into more details and the *prizes* up for grabs, let's get into some inspiration. 

I created my Lillies using the Red Cosmos Gradient Card Stock set. These colors mimic the ink set colors and work perfectly when layered together. Layering dies like the Craft-A-Flower sets are a great use for these card stock packs. 

The lily flower is made of 5 layers that come together perfectly to create these beautiful blooming florals. The 5 layers create one flower, there are two leaves made of 2 layers each, and two stem dies that I decided to not use for my design today. There are so many different projects that you can create with these dies, not just cards. You could easily create 3D flowers with foam tape for other paper crafts, or even adhere each layer with small strips of foam tape to create a very dimensional flower for your cards and scrapbook pages.

I decided to use my flowers to frame a circle die cut adorning my sentiment. This allows me to create a simple design but add a ton of color and detail to my card. 

Before you continue on, be sure to comment for your chance to win! I hope that you've enjoyed my inspiration for the new Craft-A-Flower subscription release. I'd love to know which flowers you hope to see in future months! Thank you so much for stopping by, I'll see you again very soon.

FULL HOP LIST