Living My Dream

SSS Winter Hugs Christmas Card

I wanted to make a card with this stamp set when it came out (one year ago? two years ago? not even sure!), but I never did. So I pulled it out today to use. I hate it when I have a stamp set I never used! Right?!?!!? Here is an image of the Winter Hugs stamp set: With all the little cute images, I thought a slim-line design would be perfect! I used the MFT Stitched Slim-line Snow Drift dies for the snow. I just bought them and I love how they look! I die-cut them from Lawn Fawn Pixie Dust sparkle paper - isn't it so pretty? I used to rub glitter glue all over my snow until... Read more →

"One Stamp, 3 Coloring Methods" - SSS All Leaves Cling Stamp

I love doing these "one stamp, 3 coloring methods" blog posts because they allow me to color so much and coloring is my jam! I especially enjoy seeing how a stamp looks colored with my 3 favorites - colored pencils, copics, and karin brushmarkers. Here is an image of the stamp set I used called All Leaves cling stamp by SSS: I always pick a stamp that has a lot of areas to color. Here are images of the 3 card fronts colored. I'll show you the cards I made with each and give you directions after these images. Colored Pencils: I stamped the All Leaves cling stamp on white cardstock with MFT Natural Ink. I colored all of the... Read more →

"One Stamp, Five Ways" - SSS Center Cut Holiday Floral Cling Stamp

I really love today's post and I worked so hard on it, so I hope you like it too. I have a "one stamp, five ways" post to share with you using the SSS Center Cut Holiday Floral cling stamp from the Make Merry release. Here is an image: I picked this stamp because I really wanted to color it and I liked how the circle in the middle could be used or not used. But what I wasn't prepared for is how long it would take me to color it 5 times! At least my husband had a lot of sports on this weekend, so he didn't mind that I colored the entire weekend! Here are my five cards.... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp Christmas Card Using Outline Christmas Bulbs + New Products

Today I have another Christmas card to share with you using a combo of an older stamp with some new stamps and dies from the latest SSS Make Merry release. Here is the main stamp I am using called Outline Christmas Bulbs cling stamp: I think this one was released 2 Christmas seasons ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to color it with colored pencils. I even stamped it and started, but never finished! I found it in my stash and decided to finish it. Now if I hadn't started it with pencils, I think I would have used Copics because a) they are quicker and b) they are brighter. Here is an image of... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp "Festive Trees" Slim-line Christmas Card

I made this card today to share with you and then I realized the stamp set I used called Festive Trees is no longer sold at SSS! I feel bad showing a card with a retired stamp set. It's only 2 years old, so maybe some of you have it. Let's hope! I also used the brand new Large Written Merry Christmas die as you know I love mixing the old with the new to get more use out of my products. I have a basket of all of my Christmas stamps from the past and I bring them out each year to re-use my favorites. I used a lot of Shimmer Powders for this card. I started with a... Read more →

"One Stamp, 3 Coloring Methods" - SSS Sunflower Background Stamp

Today I have a "One Stamp, 3 Coloring Methods" post using the SSS Sunflower Background Stamp. Here is an image of the stamp which was part of the STAMPtember product release: When I saw this stamp, I couldn't wait to color it. I saved it for this post series so I could color it THREE TIMES WHOOOPEEE! I used my usual favorite 3 coloring tools - colored pencils, Copic markers, and watercolors (specifically Karin Brushmarkers). Here is an image of the 3 colored together: Here are the three shown alone in photos: Which do you prefer? I think for this stamp, I like the Copic Markers the best. The colors are the most intense. I also like how the flower... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp Christmas Card Mixing the Old and the New!

Do you ever use your older holiday stamp sets? I often find myself only using the stamps that I have gotten this year and I hate that. I have so many cute sets from years past that I also want to use. But there is only so much time to make cards! So I am trying to mix some of my older products with some of my newer products. The card I have to share with you tonight uses a total of 3 stamp sets and 4 dies some new and some old. Maybe you will have some of these favorites in your stash as well! I made this slimline card with lots of different products as I stated above.... Read more →

"One Stamp, Three Coloring Methods" - SSS Center Cut Fall Leaves Cling Stamp

This is my second post for my new 3 card series called "one stamp, 3 coloring methods". I'm really into naming things as you can tell. I still have my "one stamp, 5 ways" series as well. I'll be posting one of each every single week. Because I'm an empty nester now and really motivated! Today I am using a new cling stamp from the SSS Make Merry release called Center Cut Fall Leaves. As soon as I saw this stamp, I knew I wanted to color it. It is whimsical and cool and has lots of little spots to color. It was better than a coloring book in my humble opinion! Plus I got to make my coloring into... Read more →

Simon Says Stamp Make Merry Release: Center Cut Snowflake Cling Stamp

Today I have a card to share with you that I absolutely LOVE! I had no idea how cool this stamp was until I used it and now I want to use it over and over! It is part of the Make Merry release from Simon Says Stamp called Center Cut Snowflake Cling Stamp and here is an image: Here is my card - it looks like it took a long time, but it really didn't. All the instructions are below and I promise I will start making videos soon. I just have to learn how - yikes! A bit intimidated right now! That is a lot of photos! I wanted you to be able to see the dimension and... Read more →

"One Stamp, Five Ways" - SSS November 2020 Card Kit BIG THANKS

Today is the release of the Simon Says Stamp November Card Kit called Big Thanks and it's gorgeous! It combines my favorite Fall color theme: wine, teal, and orange. I used the 6" x 8" stamp also called Big Thanks in the kit for my "one stamp, five ways" post today and it is sold alone as well. I also used quite a bit of the paper as it is LOVELY! (And I never use that word haha). Here is an image of the kit: CARD 1: I die-cut the orange paper from the kit with the largest SSS A2 frame die (I use that die for almost every card I make now and sometimes I use the frame, but... Read more →