Simon Says Stamp “This is the Life” Release

Today, I’m sharing two cards created with dies from the brand-new Simon Says Stamp “This is the Life” releaseFrozen Treats and Ice Cream Cone Parade. Do you see a summer treat theme here? 🙂

Simon Says Stamp “This is the Life” Release 1

For my first card, I used the Frozen Treats die to cut a variety of cardstock colors. I then fussy cut the Popsicles along embossed lines and layered the pieces onto kraft cardstock bases. The turquoise card panel was embossed with the Tim Holtz Wave embossing folder. The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stripe Greetings stamp set.

On the second card, I used the inlay technique with the Ice Cream Cone Parade die.

Simon Says Stamp "This is the Life" Release

I cut a variety of cardstock colors from the Simon Says Spring Rainbow Pack with the Ice Cream Cone Parade die. I also cut the white card panel, onto which I stamped my sentiment from the Simon Says Stripe Greetings stamp set, with the die. I then began adhering the pieces into the panel. To finish off the card, I added a thin chocolate brown mat.

Tim Holtz March 2014 Tag

I had a lot of fun creating this month’s Tim Holtz tag – I like its theme and colors. I view creating his monthly tags like getting a kit from which I learn new techniques, with the safety net of the design and colors already thought out. I’m not sure why I didn’t make one in January – I need to go back and make that one as well!

THMarch2014Tag

One of this month’s techniques was smudging. This technique was shown in the Online Card Classes Chemistry 102 class, but I didn’t have much luck with it at the time. I had more success with it this time – smudging produces a subtle effect.

The tag on the left is the first generation and the one on the right is second generation. I smudged the stamped images on both tags. The images, from the Bird Feather set, are stamped with Distress Inks. The top part of the tag was misted with Distress markers using the new Tim Holtz Spritzer tool. This is an easy way to add misting, with or without a stencil to a project.

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Tim Holtz 12 Tags – February 2014

I’m playing along this month with Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of 2014. I’m still taking baby steps when it comes to working with Tim Holtz’s stamps, techniques and overall style. I don’t have many of his stamps, and the ones I have are primarily Christmas themed, so I simply followed the steps on his blog post to create my tag.

Feb2014TimHoltzTag

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OCC Stenciled: Day Two

Today’s Online Card Classes Stenciled class lesson was about using the stencil as a template.  I created a card based on the one shown by Kristina Werner.

OCC Stenciled: Day Two

I colored in some of the stars on the Tim Holtz stencil with Inktense pencils. I didn’t color as many as Kristina had on her card, I added sequins for some more bling. The Inktense pencils do leave some shaving residue as you color, so it’s important that you shake/blow those off as you go along. While I like this technique, and it’s a quick and easy way to craft a card, I think I’ll use this same design on a card onto which I ink the stars.

Supplies:

Tim Holtz December Tag

Like many of the Tim Holtz projects on which I’ve worked, this month’s 12 Tags of 2013 was not finished in a single sitting! It took a couple of tries for me to be happy with the design and execution. That being said, one of my favorite things about the Tim Holtz projects is that they push you to try new techniques and products.

Tim Holtz December Tag

I followed the directions on the December tag post, substituting supplies as needed. The focus of this month’s tag is the frosted film and Clearly for Art used for the die-cut poinsettia. The Clearly for Art product is covered with the film, die cut, colored with inks (on the frosted film side) and then curled with the application of heat. I could have used a few more hands during that process! As Tim explains, “if you don’t like the shape you created, simply reheat it and it will flatten out completely allowing you to reshape it,” which I did more than once!

While Tim’s tag features one of his newest stencils for a background pattern, I stamped my background with the Seasonal Catalog stamp in Vintage Linen for a tone-on-tone look. Tim used a splatter brush from Liquitex to apply Picket Fence paint. I used a toothbrush, since I don’t have that tool. The toothbrush delivers an even dusting of the paint. I would have liked a few more drips and a more random pattern, which the splatter tool appears to provide.

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