Introducing the Every Happiness Release from Simon Says Stamp {Blog Hop Day 1}

Friends, the Every Happiness release from Simon Says Stamp is available NOW and it is loaded with the sweetest products! Sunflowers are one of my very favorite things in the world, so I was thrilled to play with the Sunflower Blooms dies, along with a variety of other darling products, brand new from Simon! We're celebrating this new release with a two-day blog hop, and today is DAY 1 - so let's get this party started!

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!

To create these colorful sunflowers, die-cut the Sunflower Blooms from watercolor paper. Then . . . paint! I spritzed each piece with water and then brushed on watercolor paint, then spritzed Simon Hurley Solar Sprays to add some shimmer as well as Spellbinders Sparkle Splatter Effects. 

To add some texture to my card, I used a scrap of corrugated cardstock layered with a piece of grid paper. I die-cut it with another new goodie from this release - it's the Petal Point Frames nesting dies. This will be such a faithful go-to set of rectangle dies in your stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by for day one of Simon Says Stamp's two-day blog hop - don't forget to check out Day 2 tomorrow, starting on the Simon blog. One lucky commenter from each stop during the two-day hop will win a $25 coupon to SSS, so be sure to leave comments along the way. (Winners will be announced on the Simon blog.)

Don't miss out on all the fun:

• Stop by the Simon Says Stamp website to see the entire Every Happiness release
• Check out the Every Happiness gallery , packed with cute inspiration - and please add your own projects as you create with this release. We would love to see what you make!
• Join the SSS YouTube Live Stream at noon EST on Tuesday, July 28! Click HERE to be notified when they’re live.

Don't Miss a Stop on the Hop!

• Simon Says Stamp Blog 
• Heather Hoffman
• Barbara Tarayao
• Laura Bassen
• Amy Rysavy
• Tina Smith
• Nicky Meek
• Heather Ruwe
• Lisa Addesa
• Miriam Prantner
• Jean Doeringsfeld
• Barb Engler
• Laura Williams <<you are here!!!>>
• Christine Okken

Shop the Supplies on Today's Project

Sunflower Blooms die set

Petal Point Frames die set

Woodland Friends stamp set 

(I used a sentiment for today's card)

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

Simon Hurley/Ranger Solar Spray

Spellbinders Sparkle Splatter Effects

 

Seaside Coastal Card Making Ideas {Shine On Collection by Simon Says Stamp}

If you're a fan of coastal themes, layered die cuts, and pretty seashells, I think you're going to LOVE today's projects. I have two cards to share that capture all those seaside vibes, with simple die-cutting and sweet stamped sentiments.

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!

For today's cards, I used two die sets from the new Shine On collection from Simon Says Stamp - Beachcomber Seashells, and Beach Bird's-Eye. Both pair seamlessly together for cute coastal craftiness! 

Beach Bird's-Eye creates the amazing shoreline background that you see on both cards. I used it traditionally on the horizontal card, as it creates a beautiful sand to water transition. On the Hello, Friend card I picked just a few of the layers, cut from white cardstock, to create a more subtle ocean wave background. 

Now, let's talk about these seashells! Simon Says Stamp nails it every time when it comes to simple layered dies. I say it over and over, but I absolutely love the sweet spot in die-cutting with a perfect balance between interesting, layered dies that don't have a hundred little pieces or take an hour to assemble. 

The Beachcomber Seashells set have just two pieces per shell. They fit together quickly and seamlessly, and it only took a few minutes to cut and assemble all of these shells. I chose a tone-on-tone look for each shell, but dang, there are limitless combinations you can create with these simple beauties. If you love seashells, I absolutely recommend this sweet summer die set. 

I hope you'll stop over at Simon Says Stamp and check out the entire Shine On collection. It includes much more than just summer themed products, so if seashells aren't your style . . .I bet something else in this collection IS! Thanks for coming by today! xoxo

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards:

Beachcomber Seashells dies

Beach Bird's-Eye dies

Balloon Critters stamp set 

(I used the Hello, Friend sentiment)

Sunburst stamp set

(I used the You are my sunshine sentiment)

Spellbinders ColorWheel Cardstock

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

Did you love today's card? You might love this too!

Card Making Ideas with Sweet Summer Vibes

 

Sending Hugs {Simon Hurley for Spellbinders}

It's impossible not to smile at these adorable die-cut animals, from Simon Hurley and Spellbinders. The Sending Hugs collection includes a dog, cat, and bear that you can customize in a variety of ways, depending on the colors you choose! I loved creating these cards for Spellbinders and I hope they brighten your day!

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!

I love all the fun detail items included with each of these die sets, like the party hat, the gift box, the envelopes and the fancy drinks - so cute! I also love the simple die-cut sentiments. Not in the mood to stamp? No stamping necessary - in fact, although I did some stenciling and inking on some of these cards, I didn't use a single stamp! 

The Birthday Bear set is particularly versatile because you can create a brown bear or a panda! So cute!

Another product in this collection is the Puffy Hearts 3D Embossing Folder and coordinating stencil. This is such a versatile little bundle because the two products can be used together, or each independently, as you'll see on today's cards. In the Congrats Cat card below, I used just the stencil set but in the Darling Dog card I combined the embossing folder and the stencils. 

There are so many more ways to play with this collection but I hope you've enjoyed today's inspiration from Spellbinders and Simon Hurley. I sure loved creating these cards for you! You can find this collection on the Spellbinders website, as well as many other paper crafting stores. Happy crafting! xoxo

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards:

Birthday Bear die set

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Congrats Cat die set

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Darling Dog die set

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Puffy Hearts 3D Folder and Stencil Bundle

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Spellbinders ColorWheel cardstock

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

Spellbinders Large Blending Brushes

at Simon Says Stamp

at Scrapbook.com

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

 

5 Ways to Use Paper Strips for Card Making {Plus See what's NEW from Simon Says Stamp}

 "I'm in love! I'm in love! And I don't care who knows it!" (Please say it like Buddy the Elf, while throwing your hat in the air. Thank you.) I'm honestly pretty smitten with today's die set. It checks a lot of boxes for me: Simple to use (check.) Totally versatile (check.) Helps me make a bunch of cards at once. (check check.) In today's post you'll find some helpful tips for mass-producing cards and using paper scraps - so stick with me as we look at FIVE different ways to use the new Stripped die from Simon Says Stamp for an adorable card set. 

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!

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Here's our starting point. Five 6x6 sheets of patterned paper and this awesome card-sized die, called Stripped, that will perfectly trim a striped background. (HERE'S A TIP: However many pieces of paper you start with is how many card bases you'll end up with. I used five patterns, to create five cards.)

Step One: Die cut the Stripped die from each piece of patterned paper. I recommend laying the strips out in some semblance of organization to make life easier as you assemble. You can see my piles in the photo below, as I've started assembling my first card. Once you have those piles, simply start mixing and matching to create the background of your card. I recommend using glue for this, because you can gently slide your pieces if something isn't stuck down quite right. Start with one strip all the way at the end of your card, make sure it's straight, and then just go from there. 

I do believe I promised you FIVE different ways to use this set so let's look at the first card idea. (All of today's cards also feature the Just Sayin' stamp set and coordinating dies - so adorable!) 

1. Straight Up!

This first card is just straight forward, striped goodness and a stamped/die-cut sentiment. 

2. Straight Up But Sideways

Whether you use this set horizontally or vertically, the process is still the same. I rounded the bottom corners on this cutie just to be a little different. 

3. Trim it and Mat it

Rinse and repeat for number three EXCEPT, adhere the strips on a flat panel of cardstock, and then trim the edges to create a smaller area to mat on your card base. Plus - don't miss the inlaid die-cutting happening on this card. After trimming the panel, consider die cutting a shape from the center. It created a perfect dimensional landing spot for my sentiment.

4. Die-cut it and then Die-cut it Again

How about using a striped die-cut panel and cut a shape from it? In the last idea you saw the negative space left behind, but this time let's use a panel to make a giant heart.

5. Make Stripes From Your Stripes

Another way to make different use of your striped panel, is to only use part of it. Cut it in half as shown below, or even into smaller strips for a striped stripe. (How's THAT for a tongue twister?)

Crafty friends, these are only just a few of the ways you can use this Stripped die from Simon Says Stamp. And remember - if you don't have this die, everything I did here could be created with papers from your scrap bin and a paper trimmer. BUT I gotta say, it was so nice working with these pieces that all cut exactly the same. It removed all the math and guess work - so mass producing a whole variety of cards was much less frustrating and a lot more fun!

If you're pretty sure you can't live without today's cute products - you're in luck! They're part of the new DieCember release at Simon Says Stamp. I hope you'll go check out all the new items and enjoy all kinds of inspiration. 

Don't Miss Out on the Fun:

• Stop by the Simon Says Stamp website to see the entire DieCember collection. 
• Join the SSS YouTube Live Stream at noon EST on Thursday December 4th. Click HERE to be notified when they’re live.
• Don't miss the two-day blog hop Friday Dec 5th and Saturday the 6th! 
• Check out the Instagram hop on Monday, December 8th.

Shop the Supplies on Today's Cards

(all sold at Simon Says Stamp)

Stripped die 

Just Sayin' coordinating stamps and dies

(you can also purchase just the stamps or just the dies - but trust me, 

you want it all, and it's a very reasonable price!)

Bold Floral Embossing Folder

Just Sayin' 6x6 Printed Paper

(it's just a coincidence that this SB patterned paper has the same name 

as the SSS stamp/die set - but dang, they sure look cute together!)

Platinum 6 die-cutting machine

Spellbinders Mirrored Arch Labels die set

Spellbinders Linear Touch Rectangle die set

I'm so glad you stopped by today! Which striped idea is your favorite? Any ideas for MORE ways to use this die? I'd love for you to share them in the comments! 

Looking for more inspiration with Simon Says Stamp?

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Showboat Thank You Cards