Living My Dream: Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop

Hello Blog Hoppers! Today is the Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop for their brand new Spring release called New Beginnings. I love SO many things in this new release, but today I am going to be focusing on my newest set of watercolor cards called In Full Bloom. Here is an image:

I blogged about these watercolor cards yesterday HERE if you are interested in reading more about them and seeing a few more of them colored and made into cards. Today I will be sharing the rest of them all dolled up. I purposefully left salutations off of these card fronts so that you could add your own. This gives you a chance to use some of your other stamps and dies and make them say just what you need them to say! It also lets you make them more dimensional which is a fun difference from my usual sets. Today I used this new gorgeous brush lettering stamp set called Handlettered Encouragement for most of my salutations:

Here are nine of my card fronts all watercolored and decorated so they are ready to be sent! They are all printed on Ranger Watercolor Paper, so they hold up great with paint or any other coloring medium you prefer. I've painted all of mine with my Daniel Smith watercolors and used my Kaiser Craft Glitter Pens (best $10 I've ever spent!) to add details and shading.

Card 1:

This is the only one I added a salutation to. I die-cut it full card size (using the Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle set). I watercolored it with pinks and greens and then made the background yellow. I used watered down black watercolor to add shadows behind the letters. I splattered some Hero Arts White Unicorn Spray on the front to add white dots. I then added some Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins to finish it.

Card 2: (I made two versions of this one)

I die-cut this one with a stitched rectangle one size smaller than a card front (from MFT Blueprints 13 set). I painted it with red and yellow flowers and green leaves. I added water to the flower bases first and then added the colors so they have a splattered look (wet on wet technique). I added some watered down green paint behind the leaves. I stamped the sentiment using the Handlettered Encouragement stamp set with Versamark Ink and then embossed it with American Crafts Rouge embossing powder. I cut around the edges and attached it to the front of the card. Last, I added some yellow Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

I used the same watercoloring technique on this one. I used two colors of blue on the flowers. First I add water to the flower, then I add the darker blue to the outside edges and the lighter blue to the inside edges and the colors mix in the water in the center and blend together. I used Tonic Nuvo Ruby Slipper Glitter Drops in the center of the flowers for a glittery dimensional look. I stamped the sentiment with Lawn Fawn Jalapeño Ink on a stitched banner from MFT Blueprints 12. The sentiment is from the SSS Uplifting Thoughts stamp set. I finished it with one Pretty Pink Posh blue sequin.

Card 3:

I die-cut this watercolor card full card size. I painted it with watercolors and added that shading with my glitter pens. I stamped the sentiment using the SSS Sketch Ranunculus Stamp Set. I added some Orchid Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

Card 4:

I used much brighter greens for the leaves on this one. Again, I wet the leaves first and then painted just the edges so the color ran into the center. I stamped the sentiment using the new Handlettered Encouragement stamp set with Hero Arts Bubblegum Ink. I added some Pretty Pink Posh Marigold sequins.

Card 5:

Watercolor and glitter pens again for shading. I used some of my old Martha Stewart glitter glue pens to put gold drops on the centers of the flowers. I embossed the sentiment from the Handlettered Encouragement set using SSS Antique Gold Embossing Powder. I added some PPP Metallic Rose Gold sequins to finish it.

Card 6:

This sentiment is from the brand new stamp set called Some Bunny Special. I am definitely going to do a "one stamp, five ways" post with this new set - it is so cute. The stitched banner is from the Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Labels die set. I finished it with sequins from the new PPP Friendship Mix.

Card 7:

I painted this card with very soft colors. I think these flowers are actually white, but I went with yellows and pinks. The banner is from the MFT Stitched Sentiments Dies. I used Lawn Fawn Jalapeño Ink and added two PPP Sparkling Clear sequins to the sides.

Card 8:

This banner is from the MFT Blueprints 2 die set. I watercolored it and stamped the Thank You from the SSS Believe Stamp Set. I added two 6mm Raspberry Sequins by PPP.

Card 9:

I have no idea what stamp set I used for this sentiment! I used a tiny little banner from MFT Blueprints 12 die set. I added some of the PPP Friendship sequin mix around the sentiment and some 4mm Mossy Green ones to the bottom.

Card 10, 11, and 12 (on THIS blog post with details of how they were made and the supplies that I used)

Here are the list of hoppers from today's blog hop - next on the hop is Kathy Racoosin (the coloring QUEEN!):

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Kristina Werner
Laura Bassen
Yana Smakula
Debby Hughes
Nichol Spohr
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Heather Hoffman
Amy Rysavy
Heather Ruwe
Nina Marie Trapani
Suzy Plantamura (you are here)
Kathy Racoosin
Barb Engler
Shari Carroll

Leave a comment on this blog post to be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store. They will announce winners for each blog on their SSS Blog on Tuesday, March 14th. Thank you SO much for stopping by and always supporting my watercolor card series! If you have any feedback on what type of designs you would like to see in the future, please tell me in your comments! Thank you! Suzy xoxo