Living My Dream

Simon Says Stamp Oh Gnome

I'm out of town this week, so the blog posts have been sparse. But I am jumping on here to share one card. I used the SSS Oh Gnome stamp set that was released in the Yay You release. This is a small 3x4" stamp set that retails at just $7.99. Here is an image: Sometimes I really enjoy using small stamp sets like this one as the card design is fairly straightforward. I just stamp the images and put them on with little effort or thinking about how to arrange them! Here is my card: I stamped all of the images with black ink on white cardstock. I stamped the little birthday bird twice and the mushrooms and balloons... Read more →

"One Stamp, Five Ways" - Simon Says Stamp June 2022 Card Kit Happiest Wishes

The Simon Says Stamp June Card Kit called Happiest Wishes is now available! As usual, I have a "one stamp, five ways" post to share with you using the kit. I've focused primarily on the stamp set also called Happiest Wishes which is sold alone or with a set of matching dies as a bundle. Here is an image of the full kit: Some of the items in the kit can be purchased separately including the Slimline Sunburst stencil, the paper pad called Sunny Days by Paper Rose, the Big Hugs wafer dies, the Pawsitively Everything T-Square Ruler (I love this thing!), and the Ranger Stickles Starshine Glitter Gel. Here are my five cards: CARD 1: I used the Paper... Read more →

SSS Yay You Release Blog Hop Day 1: "One Stamp, Five Ways" Floral Background Foil Plate

It's day ONE of a TWO day blog hop celebrating the latest Simon Says Stamp release called YAY YOU! I had so much fun with this release as I got a Glimmer hot foiling machine for Christmas and I hadn't used it much yet. So I pulled it out and went to town using all of the new foil plates in this release and there are a lot of good ones! I ended up using the new Intricate Floral Background Foil Plate on 4 of the 5 cards I made for the banner above, so I realized that I should probably do a "one stamp, five ways" post using it. It's not a stamp, so I'm kind of breaking my... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp YAY YOU Release - Strawbeary Stamp and Die Set

Today is the Simon Says Stamp YAY YOU release. See the banner above. The card I'm sharing with you today is in the banner, so do a "where's waldo" and try to find it! This release is full of congratulations type products whether it be wedding or birthday or just general YAY YOU haha. There will be a 2 day blog hop on Thursday and Friday mornings. I'll be part of the first day, so come back and visit tomorrow! Today I have a card to share with you using the new Strawbeary stamp and matching dies. Here is an image of the bundle: And here is my slimline card that literally uses ALL of he images in this stamp... Read more →

"One Stamp, Five Ways" - SSS Flower Frenzy From Happy and Joyful Release

Today's "one stamp, five ways" was a really fun one. I worked with the cling background stamp called Flower Frenzy from the latest SSS Happy and Joyful release. It is a flat stamp which is always out of my comfort zone and it's a cling stamp primarily for backgrounds, also not my typical go to for these posts. The fun came from being challenged to think outside the box and come up with different ways to use it. And I succeeded and can't wait to show them all to you! Here is an image of the stamp: And here are my five PLUS cards (I mean, who can stop with just five?!?!?!!). For each of my five card techniques, I... Read more →

"One Stamp, Five Ways" - SSS Time To Party Stamp Set From Happy and Joyful Release

Today I have a "one stamp, five ways" post using the SSS Time To Party stamp and matching die set from the Happy and Joyful release. I didn't use this stamp right away as I prefer stamps I can color in and this set is all flat stamps. BUT, when I DO use flat stamps, I always really enjoy them, so I should do it more often! This set is all about birthdays and has a lot of great sentiments in it. Here is an image of the stamp and die bundle: And just a small point to make - who ever has enough birthday cards? This set is so perfect for getting a bunch made with all of these... Read more →

AI Stamp Set Called Home and Heart at Simon Says Stamp

One of my all time most favorite stamp companies is Art Impressions. I love when they release new stamp sets through Simon Says Stamp and I get to create inspiration with it. They just announced their newest stamp set called Home and Heart, a SSS Exclusive. Here is an image of the stamp and it comes with matching dies: I wanted to use ALL of the cute images, so I created a slimline card with them. First, I stamped all of the images on white cardstock with Intense Black Ink. I stamped the flower pot 3 times and the birds twice as when I create a scene, I like to use lots of images! I colored them all in with... Read more →

Layered Flowers Stencil - Simon Says Stamp Happy and Joyful Release

Today I have a card I made using 3 products from the Happy and Joyful release. First, I used the 4 stencil grouping called the Layered Flowers Stencil. Next, I got out my Glimmer Hot Foil Machine and used the new Sketched Leaf Branches. Then I used a sentiment from the new CZ XL Stacked Greetings stamp set. Here are images of the stencils and hot foil plates: And here is my card: First, I made the background with the Layered Flowers Stencil set. I used several colors of Pawsitively Saturated Inks and the SSS small brushes. I used Lemonade, Pearfection, Surf, Tropic and Carnation. I only used one color of ink for each area instead of shading. I kept... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp Intricate Blooms and Bouquet Hot Foil Plate

I recently invested in a Glimmer Hot Foil Machine. I started foiling. And I love to foil now! Today I made a card using one of the Simon Says Stamp Intricate Blooms and Bouquet Hot Foil Plate from the Happy and Joyful release. Here is an image: And here is my card: I first embossed the Blossom Fields embossing folder from white cardstock. I cut it down and mounted it on a piece of Lawn Fawn Guava cardstock. Next, I used the new Intricate Blooms and Bouquet Hot Foil Plate with my new Glimmer Hot Foil Machine. I used the gold foil that came with the kit. I then colored in the flowers with Copic Markers. I like that you... Read more →

Gina K Designs and Brutus Monroe SEEDS OF JOY Collaboration by Simon Says Stamp

A couple weeks ago, SSS announced a collaboration between Brutus Monroe and Gina K Designs. This included a gorgeous stamp set called Seeds of Joy and a beautiful purple embossing powder called Wisteria Lane. There is quite a bit of inspiration on both of these products in the SSS store (just click on the item names). There is also some inspiration on the SSS blog on this blog post. That's where this card comes in. I made it for the SSS blog, but I wanted to post it here as well. Here are the two product images: Here is my card: When I was asked to use these two products together, I thought the "obvious" way would be to emboss... Read more →