Living My Dream: Simon Says Stamp Believe In The Season BLOG HOP!

Today is the much anticipated SSS new product release blog hop for their holiday season called BELIEVE IN THE SEASON. I posted yesterday about this release showing my new set of watercolor cards with each one colored and made into a card. That post is HERE if you are interested. Today I will be sharing quite a few other projects using many of their new products.

Let's start with my regular feature "ONE STAMP, FIVE WAYS" using my new favorite stamp set from this release - Circle Doodle Background. I love circles and I love to paint, so I really wanted to play with this cling background stamp!

I used this stamp on five different cards. Each one has a little bit different technique, so I'll describe what I did after each photo. I also used two other stamp sets that are part of this release. The first one is called Christmas Essentials and it is by my favorite card maker and now stamp designer Yoonsun Hur. The second is called Believe by Kristina Werner - it uses her beautiful brush lettering.

CARD 1: THINKING OF YOU AT CHRISTMAS

I stamped the background stamp on Ranger watercolor paper using Versamark Ink. I embossed the circles with this new embossing powder I have that is so cool - it is called Wow White Puff Powder. It has this puffy marshmallow looking finish.

I painted all the circles in with different blue and green watercolors (all my favorite colors!). I embossed the sentiment with blue embossing powder. I added some Lawn Fawn aquamarine twine and two Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

CARD 2: SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU

For this card, I stamped the background stamp on Ranger White Cardstock again and then embossed with SSS Antique Gold Embossing Powder. It is soon shimmery in real life. I watercolored the background in two colors - red and gold. I then splattered more on the background while it was still wet. I embossed the sentiment from the Christmas Essentials stamp set using the same embossing powder. I added three Pretty Pink Posh Metallic Ros e Gold sequins by the sentiment. I love that this stamp set could create a perfect Thank You card for the Fall season. I also added a few of the other elements in the stamp set that I embossed.

CARD 3: ALWAYS BELIEVE

This time I embossed the background stamp with another one of my favorite embossing powders called WOW Royal Crush. It is purple with blue glitter. I painted inside each circle with purples and blues and splattered more paint while they were wet. I stamped "believe" using American Crafts Wave embossing powder. I painted inside the letters with the same watercolors. I added some twine and sequins.

CARD 4: BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

I've gone a little crazy with the purple and blues in these cards! This time I stamped the background stamp on Ranger white watercolor paper again and embossed with Ranger white embossing powder. I painted in the designs with watercolors in purples, pinks, and blues. I embossed the word "believe" with the same Wow Royal Crush embossing powder and cut around the edges. I stamped the sentiment with the new Deep Purple Hybrid Ink (I have the small four pack of new colors which are the perfect size!). I added some sequins to finish it.

CARD 5: BELIEVE - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMASThis card was made with the new four pack of new ink colors. I stamped them all over the back of the stamp mixing them a little here and a little there! I then stamped them on Ranger white cardstock and embossed with Ranger clear embossing powder. Because they are hybrid inks, they stay wet enough that you can emboss them. I then used a Ranger Blending Tool to rub the four colors onto the background. I love how these colors mix together so well. I embossed the word believe with the same Royal Crush embossing powder and stamped the sentiment with the new Deep Purple Hybrid Ink again. Last I added some sequins.

I had so many other ideas to use this stamp, but that is all for now - all I can say is I will definitely get enough use out of this one to justify it's cost - it is perfection!

Here is a card I made using JUST the Christmas Essentials set for the wreath and the Believe set for the sentiment:

I stamped all of the wreath elements in black ink and then watercolored over them. The first coat was just coloring in the images. Then I went back with lots of water and dropped a bunch more paint around the images. I added some dots of glitter glue around them as well in gold and red. I embossed the word believe with red embossing powder and added all things are possible. This stamp set is perfect for fall or holiday wreath designs!

Next, I used a few of the other products in the new release to create another card and some tags. I used two new dies - the first is the Corbell Ornament Collage wafer die. It is really small so it is perfect for tags. The second is the Peyton Ornament wafer die which has this really cool graphic look to it, so I made a card with it.

I used the stamp "the magic of christmas" for all three from the stamp set shown above. I used two tag sets by SSS for these - Large Tags for the blue and green and Stitched Dress Up Tags for the red. I die cut the three tags out of Ranger watercolor paper and then die cut the ornament out of the center of them. The little pieces inside the ornament stayed in place, so for the first and third, I attached a piece of paper behind the tag so they would stay intact. For the middle tag, I pushed the pieces out so you can see through it. I watercolored around the ornaments on each tag. For the two with the pieces intact, I used a Gold Uniball and a Silver Uniball to color the pieces in. I added twine to the top of each tag to finish them off.

For this card, I die cut the Peyton Ornament wafer die out of Ranger watercolor paper using a stitched rectangle around the one edge. I then die cut another stitched rectangle the same size. I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set above over and over along the right side of this piece using black ink. It says Thinking of You at Christmas even though you can't see the full sentiment! I watercolored the left side of the die cut piece with blues and greens and then colored the ornament and it's hanger with a Silver Uniball. I added three PPP sequins to the ornament.

Ok, you are FINALLY DONE WITH ME! Here is the entire blog hop list for you to continue to hop along to all the talented ladies joining in today! All the products I used for these cards are in the supply list at the bottom of my post. And don't forget to scroll down to see my new set of watercolor cards all colored in on my last post! Also, if you want to be notified by email when I post, there is an email subscription button on the top left - I post 1-2 times a week for my "one stamp, five ways" series.

Thanks for visiting today! Leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win a $25 Gift Card to the SSS store!

Suzy Plantamura (YOU ARE HERE)