Dancing Butterflies

July 27, 2022July 27, 2022 Happy Ink Designs4 Comments

Hello crafty friends!! Please join me for a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This week the challenge is

Anything Goes

We are showcasing Simon Says Stamp Products this week. If you have any of these products, we’d love to see them used, but it’s certainly not a requirement to join the challenge.

As always, the generous folks at Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $25 voucher to one randomly selected winner to shop at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Store. You can enter 5 times which means you can make 5 different projects following this week’s prompt and have 5 chances to win a shopping spree!! Sounds like a win/win to me!! I’ve linked all of the supplies that I used at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

I couldn’t decide which colors I liked best so I’m sharing two cards today. This first one I made for my Mom who is the most amazing woman I have ever known. She’s my rock. She’s been there with me for every single surgery I’ve had and I’ve had over 30 intestinal surgeries. She stays in the hospital with me and everything. Well, before covid she did. Now she has to get a hotel but she’s with me during visiting hours everyday until I’m discharged. She really is amazing.

For this first card, I started out with a piece of A2 Bristol Smooth card stock and I ink blended Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers and Mermaid Lagoon distress oxide inks. Then I heat embossed the sentiment from the XL Greetings 2 stamp set by Simon Says Stamp using silver embossing powder.

I splattered some white gouache and Villainous Potion onto my background using my Tim Holtz Splatter Brush. I used Neenah 110 lb. card stock to die cut 3 layers of the Leafy Frame die from Simon Says Stamp. I glued all three layers together using my Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue.

I LOVE these butterflies from the Dancing Butterflies Hot Foil Plates and Dies by SSS. I foiled them with prism foil by Spellbinders. I inked blended Salvaged Patina, Prize Ribbon and Villainous Potion over the top of the foil. I used the 100 lb. Hammermill card stock that I keep hearing people say it great for hot foiling, but I wasn’t really impressed. Maybe because I’m so used to ink blending on bristol smooth and that’s just what I’m used to now. But to be fair, I’ve never foiled on anything else besides the Hammermill because I’m brand new to the hot foil world. I sprayed my butterflies with Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spritz to give the butterflies a little twinkle.

I added a few Clear Round Drops by Studio Katia as an embellishment and adhered my panel onto a top folding card base.

My second card is basically the same, just with different colors and a different sentiment. I ink blended Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Rustic Wilderness.

I splattered the background with Rustic Wilderness and White Gouache.

For these butterflies I used Blush foil by Spellbinders. I think they turned out just as beautiful as the first ones did.

I heat embossed my sentiment from the Clean Line Everyday stamp set by SSS and CZ Design with white embossing powder on black card stock.

I popped my sentiment up with black foam squares.

For these butterflies I ink blended Wild Honey, Candied Apple and Aged Mahogany. They are absolutely gorgeous!!

I attached my card front to a top folding card base and I was done!

So now it’s YOUR turn. Happy Crafting!!

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

Do you use Instagram ? If so please add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there too.

You have until Wed 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in

Don’t forget we have our Kid’s Challenge going on right now through the month of July. Click the image above for all the details.

Cardmaking · Challenges · Design Team · Handmade Greeting Cards · Simon Says Stamp

Sending BIG Hugs

July 20, 2022July 12, 2022 Happy Ink Designs1 Comment

Hello crafty friends!! Please join me for a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This week the challenge is

For a Child

We are showcasing Lawn Fawn Products this week. If you have any of these products, we’d love to see them used, but it’s certainly not a requirement to join the challenge.

Lawn Fawn has SOOO many adorable stamp sets that any kid would love to receive on a card. In fact, if I were to actually give this card to a child, I would also include a couple coloring sheets for the child to color themselves. I don’t know any little kids nowadays. My son is in high school and all of my nieces and nephews are older as well, but if I did that’s what I would do.

I fell in love with this Giant Sending Big Hugs die by Lawn Fawn and so of course I had to also have the Happy Hugs stamp set that coordinates beautifully with this die. I started out with an A2 size piece of patterned paper from an old Lawn Fawn paper pack. Lawn Fawn has several rainbow themed paper packs so even though this pack is no longer available, there are still a few to choose from.

I used the largest of the Stitched Scalloped Rectangle die by Lawn Fawn to Frame my card. I die cut it 3 times with Neenah 110 lb. card stock. I glued all 3 layers together using my favorite Bearly Art craft glue. I set that aside and started copic coloring my cute little critters on X-Press It Copic Blending Card.

I die cut the giant sending big hugs die using Simon Says Stamp Rose Gold Glitter card stock and then I cut out another layer using black card stock. I really wanted the die cut to look like it was popping off the page. The offset black background makes it look like it has more layers of dimension than it actually does.

I used Lawn Fawn’s Grassy Border die to add a little grass to the bottom of my card and I ink blended Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Rustic Wilderness distress oxides on Bristol Smooth card stock. I colored an extra set of mice so I used those cuties on the inside of my card.

I added a few Pink Opalescent sequins from Spellbinders for a little embellishment and then she was complete!

So now it’s YOUR turn. Happy Crafting!!

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

Do you use Instagram ? If so please add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there too.

You have until Wed 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in

We also have the Kid’s Challenge going on right now until the end of July. It’s for ages 2 to 16. Click on the picture below for all the details.

Cardmaking · Challenges · Design Team · Handmade Greeting Cards · Simon Says Stamp

Beautiful Inside and Out Shaker

July 13, 2022July 12, 2022 Happy Ink Designs1 Comment

Hello crafty friends!! Please join me for a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This week the challenge is

Make Your Own Background

We are showcasing Picket Fence Studios Products this week. If you have any of these products, we’d love to see them used, but it’s certainly not a requirement to join the challenge.

This card was so fun to make. I used the Blossoms stamp set by Picket Fence Studios for my background. This stamp set is really cool because it measures 3 5/8″ x 3 13/16″ so it’s smaller than the average card front. However…. the edges match up! What I did is I taped off a border and then stamped it at the top, lined it up at the bottom edge of the stamped image and then stamped it again. It lines up perfectly!! On all 4 sides!! So you can make a small background or a really big one. I love this stamp.

Once I had my background image stamped, I moved on to creating the shaker. I used an old cross stitched oval die to make my frame using Schoolhouse Red card stock. I used the frame to guide me which flowers to color as I only wanted the flowers inside the shaker to be colored. I colored the flowers with my copic markers and then proceeded to complete the shaker element. I used adhesive strips around the window which works beautifully and no gaps! So no way for sequins to escape.

All I had left to do was the sentiment. I used the Capital B Beautiful die by Simon Says Stamp. I die cut it out of Schoolhouse Red card stock and 2 additional layers with white card stock. I glued the 2 white layers together and then decided I really liked the way it looked with the red layer being offset. I wanted the top layer to be a little ombre so I used Aged Mahogany distress ink and ink blended just the bottom half of the die. I LOVE how it looks with that white contrast behind it. I also went over the top layer with a Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen to give it a little pizzazz.

I used vellum for the shadow die and popped it up with black craft foam. I used the Slimline Beautiful You stamp set to stamp “Inside and Out” on the inside of the card. And that’s it!

So now it’s YOUR turn. Happy Crafting!!

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

Do you use Instagram ? If so please add #ssswchallenge to your challenge entry uploads so we can see them on there too.

You have until Wed 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in

We also have the Kid’s Challenge going on right now until the end of July. It’s for ages 2 to 16. Click on the picture below for all the details.

Cardmaking · Challenges · Design Team · Handmade Greeting Cards · Simon Says Stamp

Another School Year

July 6, 2022July 4, 2022 Happy Ink Designs1 Comment

Hello crafty friends!! Please join me for a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This week the challenge is

Back To School

We are showcasing Memory Box Products this week. If you have any of these products, we’d love to see them used, but it’s certainly not a requirement to join the challenge.

My son is going into his sophomore year of high school so I think he’s a little too old for back to school cards, but I had a blast making this one anyway. Maybe not too old for a card, but definitely too old for this adorable one. He wouldn’t appreciate the cuteness.

I colored my images from the Book Worm stamp set by Mama Elephant using my copic markers. I always use X-Press It Blending Card when I copic color because I find it blends the markers the best. Anything to help get that smooth transition from one color to another. I set them aside and started to work on the background.

I used a Lawn Fawn die called Quilted Backdrop for my background and placed it over an A2 size piece of Sea Glass card stock. I have a wood flooring die by Penny Black that I was planning on using, but it only fits a vertical card and well I just couldn’t make it all fit vertically. So I improvised. I used some Woodgrain Kraft card stock by Simon and I distressed it around the edges using Walnut Stain distress ink. For the baseboard, I just cut a 1/4″ strip of the woodgrain card stock twice and stacked them together.

I framed the entire scene using a die from the Stitched Rectangle Trimmings die by Memory Box. I cut it out using Holographic Rainbows card stock by Simon to match my rainbow colored books. I cut it out two more times using black card stock in order to give it a little dimension. And because I’m here for the dimension, I also popped the books and animals up on some foam squares so they would pop off the page as well.

My sentiment is from the Love That Student stamp set by Simon Says Stamp and CZ Design. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder on black card stock and used this adorable picture hanging bow from an old Avery Elle diet set. It was perfect for my wall. I used the smallest of the Stacked Deckle dies from Tim Holtz and Sizzix for the picture itself.

Ok, can we just talk about how adorable this little worm with glasses is??? I knew I had to incorporate him somewhere on this card. I love the glasses, I love the kitty with glasses as well. I can see myself using these two on several different kinds of cards.

I used some Nuvo Crystal Glaze on the glasses to get that reflection and it’s perfect for this! I also added some Nuvo Aqua Shimmer on the pages of the books because I honestly don’t know if I can make a card without adding something sparkly. I attached my entire panel onto a top folding card base and my card was complete.