Stamptember Continues!

Simon Says Stamp is currently hosting "Stamptember" which is an event held by them annually in September to inspire, educate, create and unveil lots of new products and tutorials.  It's a month long celebration which has been just awesome so far and we still have 10 days left for unveiling other new products. Everyone likes to get in on the act and even Tim Holtz has designed new products exclusively for Simon Says Stamptember.  I can't tell you how much fun all of the tutorials have been.  

I wanted to work on a card today for a friend of mine.  I'm using a new Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Set called, "Lila's Heart".   This set was designed by Shari Carroll with Jennifer McGuire's daughter, Lila, in mind.  There's a coordinating die set as well called, "Hearts for Lila".  I love this set for girly stuff and I know I will use it a lot since I have four granddaughters.  At Simon Says Stamp, nearly every new release seems to have coordinating dies these days.  This is a somewhat new thing, particularly in the last several months.  I've noticed this trend with other companies lately as well; Altenew, WPLUS9, Lawn Fawn and many, many others.  I remember the days when you only got matching die cuts a few times a year with only a very few stamp sets and wishing that someone would get busy making matching die sets for every stamp set!   While I was busy dealing with other things in the last 5 years, that actually happened.  It's a trend I love and hope will continue for as long as I am paper crafting.

One of the things I most appreciate about Jennifer McGuire is that she makes the seemingly impossible become possible.  I've had Copic Markers for about 7 or 8 years, but really, I hadn't used them except to take a few classes way back whenever I got them.  Jennifer makes them seem so easy and for the first time in my paper crafting journey, I feel successful using them.  There's lots of Certified Copic Instructors out there who make you feel like if you don't do it exactly as they teach it, then it is wrong.  Not with Jennifer. She makes it so simple and easy to duplicate a similar look.  Mostly, she just encourages everyone to do whatever works for them.

On today's card, I used the "Lila's Heart" set and coordinating dies.  This is a simple, straight forward design and technique.  I stamped "Lila" on the smooth side of a piece of 140# Canson Watercolor Card Stock using Versafine in Onyx Black Ink and waited for it to dry before coloring with my Copic Ciao Markers. I'm still in the process of trying different types of watercolor paper, but I think this might be my winner!  I buy the large sized pad and cut each sheet down into the size panels I need, several sheets at a time.

I cut a half inch wide strip of Simon Says Stamp Lipstick Red 100# Card Stock and ran Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Pen over it.  After letting that dry, I used my Simon Says Stamp Holiday Shapes Hearts and Stars to cut about 8 of the hearts. This made the perfect little accents.  I adhered "Lila" to my SU! Wild Wasabi, A2 top folding card using 3-D Foam Squares.   Then I stamped the greeting from the Lila's Heart set with part of the leftover watercolor card stock and snipped it so it has swallowtail ends for the banner.  I mounted this with 3-D Foam Squares as well.  I wanted it to feel like the hearts were overflowing and falling out of the banner so I attached them with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  Once I had everything placed on my card panel I put glossy accents on the tops of the hearts for the "puffy" appearance.  I got a small acrylic cutting board with a handle so that I had a way to pick up and move the whole thing to an area for safety while drying.  I felt like I was forever getting "gunk" in my Glossy Accents so I hope this method works out for me!

I stamped a few "Lila's" to practice on, but I was pleased with how this first one turned out.

This was a super simple card, but it conveys everything I want to say to my friend in such a cute way!

About 99% of the time, I treat my paper to give it a sparkle or shimmer and this one was no exception.  You can use a variety of methods from Glimmer Mist to Perfect Pearls Spray to Shimmer Sprays.  You can make your own spray using a touch of Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder with some water and a few drops of reinker.  Simon Says Stamp has a great selection of these types of products, so just use whatever you like.  Some people may not like the shimmer and in fact, I would never use it on a man's card.  But I don't make too many of those, and my friends know that I am all about the bling, so I think I'm okay.   Use the products you love and feel comfortable with and you'll have a winner every time!  

Happy Saturday, everyone!