Living My Dream: Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop

Hi friends! Today is the first day of the 2 day blog hop for Simon Says Stamp's new release called Cheer and Joy. I have three products I illustrated in this release, so I'm excited to show them all to you. I have two stamp sets called Falling For You and Christmas Globe - here are images:

Yesterday I posted a "one stamp, five ways" blog post using the Falling For You stamp set - you can see that post HERE. I will be doing another "one stamp, five ways" guest post on the SSS blog on October 30th using the new Christmas Globe set. Here are close ups of four of my cards from my Falling For You post:

I also have a new set of Suzy's Watercolor Cards called Christmas Critters. Here is an image: And now I get to show you ten of these all dressed up. I feel SO GUILTY!!! I have never (after almost 40 sets and 3 plus years) not had all 12 colored to show you on the blog hop. I worked so hard today to finish them and I just couldn't get the last two done. I may finish them in the am and add them to this blog post so if there are 12 ignore this! And one more thing - I changed to drawing these on an iPad (versus with a pen and paper) a few months ago. They look much better now - no messy hand drawn lines. So if you have tried them in the past and felt they were too messy and unprofessional looking, give them another chance - they are better! Ok, here we go to photo overload! Deets about the blog hop at the end of the photos!

sloth

sloth cu

racoon

racoon cu

Polar Bear

Polar Bear cu

penquins

penquins cu

mouse

mouse cu

mouse 2

mouse 2 cu

dog

dog cu

Deer

Deer cu

birdsx3

birds cu

Here are some tips/techniques I used when coloring these (some are repetitive to other months so beware):

Paint your backgrounds first by adding water to a portion and then adding the paint close to the image so it flows outward; continue until background is done; while still wet, flick some additional paint on (this was done on the last card with the birds on it)
Use Glossy Accents for large areas that you want glossy - I used them on the top and bottom of the large ornament - the great thing about Glossy Accents is they don't crack where clear Nuvo Drops (called Morning Dew) do crack on larger areas. I used the Nuvo Drops on the candy with the squirrel and you can tell in the close up they crack which looked cool on the candy!
If you want a clear glitter look over white, try the White Blizzard Nuvo Drops which are clear with glitter; but if you want it really glittery, use Glossy Accents and pour white glitter over them while wet. I used the first option here on the top and bottom of the stocking; I used the glitter over GA option here on the hat on the mouse on the ornament - much more opaque and much more glittery.
Apply Glitter Nuvo Drops to pretty much everything - I mean these are for the holidays. And don't go lightly.
Use white glossy Nuvo Drops over the snow drops I've drawn; they are very opaque and leave a nice puffy droplet.
For the 100th time (you are prob sick of hearing this one) MIX YOUR COLORING MEDIUMS! No rules apply here. I use watercolors and pencils on every single card. Copics work too. Even hair dye works (joke).
For snowy grounds, I like using Brutus Monroe White Metallic watercolor paint - it is so shimmery and pretty; also love InkOn3 Pixie Dust which is even more shimmery, but has a bit of an ivory case. See my snow on the ground on the deer card. (Note: I use a wet brush with this paint, but I don't add water to it)
See how pretty the word "Christmas" looks on the stocking card? I used red pencils and colored it. Then I added Ruby Slippers Glitter Nuvo Drops over just the wide part of the letters. It worked! I was afraid it wouldn't look good because I couldn't get the drops on the smaller lines, but I love it! Use your Nuvo Drops ever on letters!
No, I don't work for Tonic and I don't earn commission for pushing Nuvo Drops.
Use colored pencil strokes on critters to look like fur. See puppy in stocking. See squirrel - especially notice the tail. That is pencils over a watercolor base. Critters need strokes. It makes them happy.
Only paint a portion of your background just around the critter so it brings attention to it; see the mouse with the stocking. See how I framed him with color, but didn't take it out to the edges?
Use Pretty Pink Posh jewels or sequins for berries - see raccoon card (which is my favorite one!) Tell me which one you like if you are actually reading all this! haha

BLOG HOP DETAILS:

There is a free gift with purchase for the hop - the Simon Exclusive Post Office Box enamel pin. Use code: HPYML9. The gift is while supplies last and the promotion expires on 10/13/19.
SSS is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from each blog comment section. They will choose winners over the weekend and post them on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, the 16^th
The entire Cheer and Joy release is HERE. All supplies I have used on this blog post are in my supply list at the bottom of this post.
There is a gallery for all projects that use the Cheer and Joy release HERE. Add your projects to the gallery as well! You can see all projects on Instagram using the hashtag #ssscheerandjoy
There will be a Facebook live showing the new release on Friday October 11th at 12:00 EDT!
This is a 2 day hop - today is day one. Come back to the SSS Blog tomorrow for much more inspiration!
Next on the hop is:

LISA ADDESSA

That's It! Thank you for visiting and I would love to hear which card you liked the best if you leave a comment! Good luck winning and have fun getting all inspired over this 2 day hop! Suzy

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Comments

An amazing collection of cards from this wonderful kit!!

Posted by: Jean Marmo | October 11, 2019 at 05:46 AM

Adorable cards, Suzy

Posted by: Pennie | October 11, 2019 at 05:59 AM

Beautiful coloring, as always.

Posted by: Lisa A creations | October 11, 2019 at 06:39 AM

Amazing! I really need to work in my coloring skills!! These cards are sooo cute!!

Posted by: Ana Korban | October 11, 2019 at 06:55 AM

It’s always a pleasure to see your coloring samples.

Posted by: Sherri Little | October 11, 2019 at 06:58 AM

Suzy, you've made me want to do nothing today but stay home and colour! I actually just bought my first bottle of Glossy Accents and you answered the exact question I had about whether or not I should expect it to crack. I'm thrilled that you haven't found that to be the case, so I'm going to try it on some little Christmas penguin die cuts tonight. Thanks for all this inspiration and the wonderful tips!

Posted by: Angela | October 11, 2019 at 07:20 AM

Amy, your talent abounds! These drawings are each so darn cute. I think my top faves are the racoon peeking through the wreath, the mouse on the ornament & the pup in the stocking. Thanks for the smiles you give with these colouring pages.

Posted by: Teri S. | October 11, 2019 at 07:29 AM

Wow. Amazing. Thank you.

Posted by: Dani | October 11, 2019 at 07:30 AM

Love your coloring work. Such cute cards!

Posted by: Gayle | October 11, 2019 at 07:31 AM

Wow!!Your work is amazing Suzy!!! I love your gorgeous water colouring of those super cute little creatures! All wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing and giving so many helpful hints!

Posted by: Helen F | October 11, 2019 at 07:38 AM

That sloth though! So darling. And the penguins!! Adorable. Love this set of cards! and your coloring is always on point.

Posted by: Michelle | October 11, 2019 at 07:38 AM

Quite a collection of cards! But the raccoon stole my heart :-)

Posted by: Genevieve Denis | October 11, 2019 at 07:42 AM

So cute! Love your drawings and love your coloring! Thank you for thanking the time to outline all of the techniques you used! My favorite is the deer, only because I am partial to deer - they are all beautiful!

Posted by: Shraddha Tefft | October 11, 2019 at 07:47 AM