
Hi friends! I am so excited to be a stop on today’s All the Joy blog hop-Day 1. You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes, and your next stop is Keisha Charles. You can find the full hop list here on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. The new All the Joy release is full of absolutely stunning products, including three stamp sets featuring some of my new holiday illustrations: Holiday Blossoms (which I’ve used for today’s project), Festive Bouquets (which you can see in action HERE), and Joyful Anemone (which you can check out in THIS post). I could easily buy my weight in holiday stamps and dies each year, so creating these new illustrations was truly a dream come true for me. I love flowers, and I love Christmas and the crafting that goes with it, so the combination is sublime to me! Let’s get started with the details on my project.

When illustrating these new images, I wanted to create images that were detailed enough that you didn’t have to color them if you were not inclined to do so while also being large enough that you could have a total blast coloring them! I used OLO markers for my previous two projects, and so I thought I’d switch things up a little by doing some no-line watercoloring for today’s project. I stamped my poinsettia image from Holiday Blossoms onto some Arches cold press watercolor paper using Contour Ink.

I have recently rediscovered how much I adore watercoloring with Distress Inks. By nature, they react beautifully with water and come in such a huge variety of super saturated colors. I pulled out my Distress Cubes and selected a bunch of holiday-appropriate colors: Bundled Sage, Lucky Clover, Festive Berries, Aged Mahogany, and Gathered Twigs. After taping down my watercolor panel to my watercolor board, I tapped the ink cubes onto a palette and used a damp paintbrush to pick up the color. As with regular pan paints, you can easily dilute the color with a bit of water, and the Distress Inks move exceptionally well on watercolor cardstock, making them a dream to use for images like this one, with both large, open areas and small, detailed areas!

After I’d finished watercoloring the image and allowed it to dry while still taped down (which helps to reduce warping), I pulled out a Gold Karin Star Sparks glitter gel pen and added some sparkling veins to the poinsettia. I also used the Simon Says Stamp 6″ T-Square to add a sparkly golden frame around the edge of my card front. I love adding simple frames like this to an intricately-colored image; it adds just the right highlight to your card front without adding any extra bulk and also draws your eye to the focal point. To keep the sentiment simple, I die cut the detail layer of the new All the Joy die from some Matte Gold cardstock and backed it with a heavyweight vellum outline layer. Finally, a few shimmering sequins added just a touch of glam and luxury!
Well, that’s all for my project today! (I have tons more inspiration using the new All the Joy release coming, so be sure to subscribe if you would like to see more holiday content!!) Now for some fun giveaway information:
To celebrate their new release, Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, selected from the blog comment section. Winners will be chosen and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 8th of November. Winners can email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize!!
Simon Says Stamp is also offering a Free Gift With Purchase! Simply search ssst221647 in the search box, add to cart with the rest of your selections, then enter code STAR at checkout to receive the beautiful Holy Stars Stencil for free!
That’s all for me today! Your next stop is Keisha Charles. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!
