Paper Smooches and Puppy Smooches

Happy Wednesday! This week, on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog, we are celebrating the non-human members of our families! Yup! It's Animal Magic week! We want to see you celebrate animals in some way on your creations this week! The Design Team is using Paper Smooches goodies (LOTS of fun critters available from Paper Smooches!) for our projects this week. You don't have to use them to play along, but if you have some, we'd love to see what you create with them!



You know I had to feature dogs. That was just going to happen. This cutie is from the super fabulous Paws for a Cause set from Paper Smooches. It is one of my favorites! The sentiment is from the Paper Smooches Fun and Flirty set! This set has so many awesome sentiments!!!!



Paper Smooches and Puppy Smooches!!! You didn't really think you were going to get out of here without seeing a picture of my sweet Morgan girl, did you? This one is a shot I took while we were in Indianapolis for vacation. She is such a pretty little thing and she makes my heart happy! I love her to pieces!!!

And now it's YOUR turn! Create something showcasing Animal Magic in some way and link it up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! You can even make a card with your dog if you want. Good luck with that.

Have a Happy!

Oh, SNAP! It's Anything Goes!

Hello, friends! Guess what?! It's ANYTHING GOES week! I know, I know! It's your favorite!!! The Design Team is playing with Memory Box products this week. If you've got some, we'd love to see what you do with them, but you don't have to use them to play along. We just want to see your AWESOME!

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I pulled out the Memory Box Lobster die (I just LOVE HIM!) along with the Pinpoint Rectangles to create a CAS design with a bit of sparkle! I covered my blue lobster (yes, they are a real thing) with the new Spectrum Noir Sparkle brush pen in blue. Umm.... I am in LOVE with these brush pens! They are SO super sparkly!!!

Look at that sparkle! It makes me happy. It really does. I grabbed the perfect sentiment from the Paper Smooches We Totally Click stamp set. It's punny. I couldn't even help it!

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome - ANYTHING GOES! Just make sure it is NEW, as we don't accept entries posted before the challenge went live. One lucky participant is going to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WHAT?! Yup. Start window shopping now, my friends! 

Have a Happy!

One Layer Madness!

Okay, you guys ready for this one? This week our challenge for you is ONE LAYER! I don't know about you, but this is a true challenge for me. Fortunately, the Design Team is featuring Paper Smooches this week, so that made my job a bit easier! I love my Paper Smooches stamps and was excited to break open this new set and get stamping!

I decided to take the challenge VERY literally and go with a SINGLE layer and nothing three dimensional at all. Yikes. That was tricky! HA! I used the awesome Curls and Swirls stamp set to create a strong, graphic background. The sentiment, from the Many Thanks stamp set (an absolute MUST HAVE, in my opinion), is embossed in red over the background to maintain that single layer look. The best part? This thing is SO easy to mail! YAYNESS!

And now it's YOUR turn! Create a one layer card and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

Hey, There!

Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? It's ANYTHING GOES week! Yes, that's right, it's everyone's favorite theme, Anything Goes, on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog this week! The design team is featuring Simon Says Stamp exclusives this week! You don't have to use them to join in, but if you have some, we'd love to see how yo make them shine!



Yup. I had a little extra fun with this one. I seriously LOVE these old school sunglasses dies from Simon and I was excited to use them! I paired them, perhaps a bit unexpectedly, with the heart from the I See You stamp set. I love this heart! I colored it with Spectrum Noir markers, using colors that were not too strong, but bold enough to peek through the vellum I used in the glasses just a bit. Because... FUN!!!



Naturally, I added some giant googley eyes. Because: Naturally.

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something AWESOME. Use some Simon exclusives if you would like to, and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store. Yup. We like giving those away! 

All Simon Says Stamp links in this post are affiliate links. Your support is always appreciated! Thank you so much!

Have a Happy!

Seriously? Thanks.

Four colors. Seems easy enough, right? Create a card using four colors. Well, oddly enough, it was a little tricky. Four goes beyond my CAS two or three, yet falls slightly short of a more layered style of design for me. That, my friends, is why I was excited to try this Paper Smooches Challenge!

I decided to go the clean and simple route, as it is my favorite, for this fun, colorful card.



I die cut these super cute glasses and then adhered thin strips of cardstock behind the negative image to create a fun, playful look. I simply stamped the sentiment from Slang Gang in one of the four cardstock colors (Wisteria from Simon Says Stamp) to tie it in with the image and complete the card.



The inside has a simple 'thanks' to complete the sentiment.

I had a blast creating this little design. It is fun and playful and sticks to my simple style quite well. I love when a challenge leads me to, not only have fun, but to create a project I love! YAY!

Have a Happy! 

I'll Never Forget Your Kindness

I had a thank you card to create and the Paper Smooches December challenge was exactly the inspiration I needed to get started! The challenge this month is FLOWERS and I had this AWESOME Paper Smooches Single Rose die. I love this die and I've had it in my stash for quite some time and hadn't had the chance to use it, so I jumped on this one!



I die cut the rose several times from black cardstock and adhered the cuts randomly on a white panel. I love that this is an outline die! It made for a seriously awesome black and white background. I then used a sentiment from the Spreading Sunshine Clear Stamp Set, embossed in pink on vellum, for the focal point of my card.



A bit of gold thread behind the sentiment adds just a pop of texture and interest for this fun design. I had a certain recipient in mind for this card, so I hope she loves it!

Thanks to the Paper Smooches challenge for the inspiration to use my new flower die on this card!

Have a Happy!

Because PUPPY BUTTS!

Or rain, if you happen to be here, but you won't see ME complaining! HA! The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week, however, is LET IT SNOW! We want to see your snowy creations this week! The Design Team is featuring Art Impressions products today. Art Impressions makes some seriously adorable rubber stamps! They have SUCH fun designs! You don't have to use them to play along, but if you have them on hand, we'd love to see what you do with them!

I used the super cute cat and dog mini set for my card. Because PUPPY BUTTS!!!! I created a snowy shaker card using a pretty Pinkfresh Studio Christmas Wishes patterned paper to create a scene out the little window. The puppies are colored with Spectrum Noir markers.

I filled the shaker with Tim Holtz Distress Glitter and some sequins. 

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous based on the LET IT SNOW theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

Your Kindness

I had some Paper Smooches stamps and dies that hadn't seen paper yet, so I decided to jump in on the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge this week! I came up with this quick, but cute card. I also broke out my Hero Arts Ombre inks, which I haven't used nearly enough given how AWESOME they are! WHAT?! Yup. Totes, you guys.



I die cut that super cute easel and stamped the sentiment from Spreading Sunshine right inside. I loved the idea of the pen from We Totally Click writing the sentiment. I'm actually not entirely sure if that plan worked or not yet. You guys can let me know what you think. *wink*



This was one of those cards I made JUST for fun. I love it when I get to do that! I hope you kids have a great weekend!

Have a Happy!

Happy FREAKING Birthday!

Yesterday was my wonderful Daddy's birthday! We got together with the family (we always do for birthdays...it's our thing) and had dinner down in the North End and hung out enjoying Boston in September. (It's particularly fabulous this time of  year!)

Naturally, I made him a fun card, and naturally, I used a dinosaur on it. HAHAHAHA! No, but for reals... he can totally take it. LOL!



Seriously. That Paper Smooches dinosaur is one of my favorite stamps. I just LOVE HIM!!! I combine him with some AWESOME snarky sentiment stamps from Paper Issues. He is colored with Spectrum Noir markers and he makes me smile. Lots.



I am also entering this card in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenge!

Have a Happy, folks!

Because Hilarious Sentiments Rock

Have you ever been shopping for some new supplies, looked at a stamp set, read the sentiments and INSTANTLY needed it? Yup. That's pretty much what happened when I saw this Paper Smooches Incognito stamp set hit the Simon Says Stamp store.

Therefore, naturally, I bought it. 'Cause that's what we do. We buy stuff.

And then... lots of stuff happened, I focused only on assignments, my blogging wasn't really happening, etc. etc. etc. (You know how it goes.)

Well, my friends, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I sat down to create and FULLY ENJOYED it again last night. I cannot even TELL you how good that felt. And, I knew I just HAD to ink up this Incognito set. So I did. For reals.



YOU GUYS! That sentiment, though. For reals. Seriously. It CRACKS. ME. UP. Maybe it's just because I am a former teacher. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I am married to a middle school teacher who works at a school where grades rarely exist. I don't know. But it makes me laugh. Wicked hard.



I also have to alert you to the presence of this Ranger Pink Embossing Powder. I used it for the glasses. You need it. I need it. Well, actually, I don't because I already own it, but, FOR REALS, you guys, it is fabulous. It's pink. And a good pink, at that.I also covered the mustache with a clear glittery powder because: sparkle. The bow is from the Open Book Maggie Holmes collection of Glitter Ribbons. SO CUTE!

Yeah, so ... fun. This card is just plain ol' fun. And that's all there is to it. For reals, though.

Have a Happy!

All Creatures Great and Small

Hell, friends! Well, last week's All Things Bright and Beautiful challenge was pretty awesome, but now we have to keep that fun going this week with a new challenge. It seems only natural to go with All Creatures Great and Small! Yup! We want to see you create something with a critter of some kind! The design team is featuring Paper Smooches products today, so you are going to see some super cute stuff over on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog today!



This card is one of those that just sort of came together by accident, but I do love it. It is sweet and colorful, and just makes me smile. I used the Paper Smooches Blossoming Buds and Paws for a Cause sets along with Chameleon pens for this one. I kept the design simple.



And now it is your turn! Create something NEW based on the All Creatures Great and Small theme and link it up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store! Woot! Woot!

Have a Happy!

I Like You

No, for reals, though. I do. I like you.



I have had these Cute Fruit stamps from Paper Smooches for too long considering their lack of ink, so I pulled them out to create this super fun little card. And it makes me happy. And I love it. Lots.



I used a couple of ink colors and a simple inking technique to add dimension and color to the pears.

In other news, I got to leave my house today, so that's a good thing. However, they are predicting more snow tomorrow and Saturday, so I may just punch the snow in the face at this point. And that's easy to do, seeing as it is at eye level in many places. HA! *sigh* Perhaps I will just enjoy my iced coffee and deal.

Have a Happy!