Card Making With Fresh Summer Vibes {Simon Says Stamp Always There Collection}

Today's cards are bursting with fresh summer vibes. The Gorgeous Hydrangea Embossing Folder and Strawberry Pint die set are part of Simon Says Stamp's Always There collection. Let's take a look at two cards showcasing these sweet strawberries and elegant hydrangea blooms.

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links, I receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

Today's first card features the Strawberry Pint dies. This set is the perfect mix of detailed. . . without being too fussy and time consuming. It won't take long at all to die-cut a whole batch of summer berries. I cut the berries and leaves from some scraps of watercolor paper that I had previously covered with ink and watercolor. They had great variations of color and blended shades that added a lot of depth and character to the berries and greenery. (Inking or painting colorful sheets to save for later is a great activity when your card making mojo takes a nose dive!) 

I based the color palette of this pink and green cutie on my childhood bedroom. I had fabulous dressers that my mom painted green, with pink drawers in almost these exact shades. They were the best!

Next up, a sweet and simple card with embossing as the star of the summer show! Lightly sanding the embossed texture on white core cardstock really makes this hydrangea come to life. You can also get it with a coordinating stencil to add your own colorful shading and detail to this gorgeous image. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope your summer is filled with warmth and sweetness and crafty goodness all season long! Be sure to head on over to Simon Says Stamp and see all their latest and greatest products and inspiration!

 Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards:

Strawberry Pint dies

Gorgeous Hydrangea embossing folder

(or get it bundled with a coordinating stencil)

Cool Birthday stamp set (for the birthday sentiment)

Bereavement Thank Yous stamp set

Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

Spellbinders Playful Stitched Panels dies

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

Spellbinders 4-inch detail scissors

Did you love today's cards? You might like this post too!

5 Ways to Use Paper Strips for Card Making

Four {Clean and Simple} Floral Card Ideas with No Coloring

Intricate floral stamps are gorgeous for card making, but even if detailed coloring isn't your favorite - you will make super simple and stunning cards using heat embossing, and beautiful shades of cardstock. Today's cards are part of an elegant four-card set that I created using the Wild Rose stamp set, from Simon Says Stamp.

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links, I receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

Today's blog post is short and simple, because these cards are pretty self-explanatory. Each of today's four cards features simple heat embossing. I chose a few colors of cardstock and stuck to the same basic style, so these cards could be gifted together as a coordinating set, or used individually. 

If you try out this idea, remember that white embossing will show up more boldly on darker colors of cardstock (although subtle is lovely too, as you'll see on the pale pink card.) This idea would be gorgeous with metallic embossing as well. 

The Wild Rose stamp set included everything I needed for the gorgeous florals as well as the sentiments. It's part of the In My Heart collection from Simon Says Stamp, which is filled with sweet sentiments, springtime goodness and stamps/dies you'll use all year long. Check out the entire collection on the Simon website! 

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards:

Wild Rose 6x8 clear stamp set

(or grab it bundled with the coordinating dies!)

Spellbinders ColorWheel cardstock 

(I used Coral, Bellini, Orchid, and Rainforest from this collection)

For more coordinating card set ideas, check out this blog post too!

Just Sayin' Card Set

Creative Fun With Background Stamps, Featuring Simon Says Stamp: Beautiful Moments Release

Every so often I love to have some slightly-messy fun on my card making. Even if messy isn't your jam, background stamps are a solid choice for quick card making, whether you want to add a lot of POP, or just a subtle pattern. Today's just slightly-messy cards are part of Simon Says Stamp's latest collection, called Beautiful Moments, and we're celebrating with a two-day blog hop! Today is day one . . .so let's get to it!

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links, I receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

Have you ever used a gel printing plate? The beautiful mystery of paints and inks on a gel plate is that you never know what you'll end up with. 

You can start simply by rolling out some paint onto the plate with a brayer, and then press your background stamp into it. (I used the adorable new Pinwheel Party stamp.)  My biggest two-part tip for working with the gel press is: Don't panic and don't clean your plate too soon! The first impression may not look great but stick with it. As you build up layers on the gel plate and cardstock you'll get some interesting textures and colors blending. 

For the second card (with pink sentiment) I used Distress Oxide inks, tapping them directly onto the plate, and then stamping into it. I pressed a piece of watercolor paper down to pick up all that color and texture. It created a more subtle pattern but I love it!

Another tip: After you've made that interesting background, stamp larger sentiments onto vellum so all that awesome color and pattern will still remain the focal point. 

Next, I set aside the gel press and pulled out my heat embossing supplies. I stamped and embossed the Pinwheel Party stamp onto watercolor paper, and then added puddles of watercolor paints on top. The white embossing resists the watercolor and really makes the pattern pop. Again - this is play. You never know exactly how it will come together until you mess around and try it. My biggest tip for this idea, is to use colors that will blend nicely into each other - otherwise you'll have a muddy mess. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today for day one of Simon Says Stamp's two-day blog hop! One lucky commenter from each stop will win a $25 coupon to SSS, so be sure to leave comments along the way! (Winners will be announced on the Simon blog, on March 4.)

Don't miss out on all the fun:

• Stop by the Simon Says Stamp website to see the entire Beautiful Moments collection.
• Join the SSS YouTube Live Stream at noon EST on Friday, February 26! Click HERE to be notified when they’re live.
• Are you on the gram? Check out the Instagram hop on Monday March 2.
• If you create with the Beautiful Moments collection, be sure to add your projects to the gallery on the Simon Says Stamp Blog!  We would love to see what you create!

Don't Miss a Stop on the Hop!

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Emily Midgett

Nichol Spohr

Barbara Tarayao

Heather Ruwe

Keisha Charles

Sandi MacIver

Tina Smith

Lisa Addesa

Nicky Meek

Cheiron Brandon

Barb Engler

Bobbi Lemanski

Caryn Davies

Laura Williams <<you are here!>>

Brenda Noelke

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards

Pinwheel Party 6x6 background stamp

Friendship stamp set

(or grab it with coordinating dies)

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

Spellbinders Mirrored Arch Labels die set 

Spellbinders Essentials Modern Ovals dies 

Gel Press 8x10

This is the gel plate I have, 

but there are many other shapes, sizes and brands to choose from!

Looking for more bright cheery card ideas using Simon Says Stamp?

You might love this post too:

5 Ways to Use Paper Strips on Card Making 

Fall in LOVE with the Heart to Heart Release at Simon Says Stamp!

The holiday decor is put away (well, maybe...) so it's time to start thinking about Valentine's Day card making. All of today's cards and products can be used for Valentine's Day, but they can also be used for anniversary, thinking of you, or just to say hello to a friend. It's all part of the latest release from Simon Says Stamp, called Heart to Heart, and you might just LOVE it! 

This blog post contains affiliate links. When you shop through my links, I receive compensation at no cost to you. Thank you from the bottom of my crafty heart!

We'll start off with Locket of Love. I used the new stamp set, as well as the coordinating stencil. The stencil makes it easy peasy to add color to the jewelry pieces in the set, and the sentiments are really pretty too! 

I added some dimensional glaze and glitter to the pearls, and I spritzed over everything with Simon Hurley Solar Spray (in Royal Flush.) It adds a subtle but very pretty metallic sheen and splatter to the card in person. 

Next up, a clean and simple card - again, this might be a Valentine, but it would be a super sweet anniversary card as well. It features the new Hearts Aplenty die, and I paired it with the Love You sentiment from the Locket of Love stamp set. 

And lastly - this might be the perfect Valentine or all occasion card for your bestie! This card uses two new products. First, the absolutely ADORABLE Groovy Wishes stamp set, which includes lots of words to mix and match. (They offer coordinating dies too!) Second, something used in a surprising way . . .the Falling Snow background die. Flipped upside down, I decided the falling snow reminded me of champagne bubbles, or maybe a lava lamp, perfect for this groooovy card! 

I hope you'll stop by  Simon Says Stamp today to check out the entire Heart to Heart release. It's packed with products and inspiration to get back to crafting, now that the holiday season is behind us. Wishing you a very crafty January and a beautiful new year! xoxo

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards

(all sold at Simon Says Stamp)

Groovy Wishes stamp set

(or grab the bundle with coordinating dies!)

Falling Snow die

Locket of Love

(or grab the bundle including dies and stencils!)

Hearts Aplenty die

Simon Hurley/Ranger Solar Spray

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine