Simon Says Stamp Dream Big Release + New Illustration!

Hi there! Simon Says Stamp is releasing their latest collection this evening, called Dream Big, and boy is it a fabulous release! I am loving on so many different things- the new ice cream cone dies, the lemons, the embossing folders…. but I am especially excited to have a new illustration released with it: Magnolia Apple Blossom! I love the grace and beauty of magnolias, and so drawing this new stamp set was such a joy. I have made a couple of projects with it for the release, but tonight I’m sharing a simple Copic-colored project featuring the smaller individual flowers, foliage, and apple blossom buds, so let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping several of the smaller, individual elements from Magnolia Apple Blossom onto some white cardstock using Intens-ified Black ink. I colored them with Copic markers, using the lightest shades from several different color families to create some highlights and shadows, as well as adding some reflections of color along the edges of the petals. It’s very difficult to color “white” flowers, because if you just leave them with the absence of any color, there is no depth or curvature to the flowers, but if you put too much color, it can look dingy. The BV shades that I used to create shadows made the initial images look a touch dingy, but when I added some (very pale) Y and R Copic markers, it helped to brighten the petals up a bit! I always make sure to keep my colorless blender close at hand so that I can blend out any harsh lines and allow the white of the cardstock to show through to add highlights and keep the overall feeling of the flower white. The intense jewel green of the leaves helps to add to the contrast of the white flowers and add to the illusion of their “lack” of color!

For the card base, I die cut the beautiful Detail Bohemian Plate from some white cardstock to match the white borders on the floral die cuts. I also die cut some rectangular white frames using the A2 Thin Frames dies and layered those on the cover plate die cut. I arranged the colored flowers in a swag, then used the new Low-Tack Tape to adhere the arrangement together before flipping it over and adding foam tape. I removed the release paper, then flipped the arrangement over and added it to the die cut background.

I die cut a few of the new Layered Rose Leaves dies from some vellum to add some ethereal and weightless foliage to help fill in a few of the gaps of the floral spray. I created a sentiment strip using a sentiment from Magnolia Apple Blossom and added it with a double layer of foam adhesive. Finally, I added some Milk Glass gems to add some extra shine and a new textural element.

My next projects are a total 180* switch from the elegant project above, featuring the new XL Student Greetings. I created a duo of little lunchbox notes that are the perfect size to tuck into my kiddos’ backpacks or lunchboxes when school starts next month! I began by stenciling the Dimensional Stars stencils onto an A2 panel of cardstock, one using the Green Ink Trio 15 Paws-itively Saturated Inks and one with Purple Ink Trio 16 Paws-itively Saturated Inks.

Once I had finished ink blending using the layered star stencils, I used the Large Pocket Note die to cut these sweet little notes that are the perfect size to tuck in so many different places! Lunch box, backpack, jacket pocket… I stamped the greetings from XL Student Greetings in coordinating ink shades and die cut them using the coordinating wafer dies.

Next, to add a little bit of extra texture and some sparkle, I die cut a few glittery stars using the Nested Star dies from Pinkfresh Studio and some coordinating glitter paper. I popped up the greeting using foam adhesive, then added the stars with some liquid adhesive.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I have several more projects to share with you later this week. Some of my favorite projects that I’ve made recently! I hope you’ll check out the new Dream Big release; it’s such a fun release with such a huge variety of styles available. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!