anemone wreath

Simon Says Stamp To Love and To Be Loved Release Blog Hop!

January 10, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am hopping along with my friends at Simon Says Stamp to celebrate not one, but two new releases! The December 2024 To Love release is the companion release to this month’s To Be Loved release, and we are celebrating with a massive blog hop! You should have arrived here from Barbara Tarayao, and your next stop is Amy Rysavy. You can also start back at the beginning at the Simon Says Stamp Blog! I have a project featuring products from both releases, including my newest stamp set called Anemone Wreath, so let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I stamped my new Anemone Wreath stamp from the To Love release onto some white cardstock using Altenew’s Permanent Mist Gray ink, which is great for no-line coloring. I then used Copic markers in cheery shades of sunny yellow and jade green to do some no-line coloring, coloring only a couple of the blooms and foliage. I made sure to select blooms and foliage that were completely intact, not tucked behind another flower or leaf, so that I could do some fussy cutting and create a completely unique arrangement. Selectively using individual flowers is another great way to stretch this stamp set! After I had finished coloring the images, I used my sharp scissors to fussy cut the images, adding a pale gray border around the edges with a Copic marker that coordinated perfectly with the Simon Says Stamp Steel cardstock that I planned to use in the background.

For that background, I ran an A2 sized panel of the Steel cardstock through my die cutting machine using the new Dancing Floral Embossing Folder. The delicate floral pattern on this embossing folder was just neutral enough that it added beautiful texture behind my focal points without distracting from the vibrant yellow flowers!

For the greeting, I die cut the detail layer of the new I’m Sorry die from some more Steel cardstock as well as the shadow layer from some Simon Says Stamp Vellum cardstock, layering the two together with liquid adhesive. The vellum shadow helps the tone-on-tone sentiment stand out from the background a bit. I also stamped a greeting from the I’m Sorry Sentiments stamp set onto a small rectangle of Steel cardstock using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink, then added some White Pearl Embossing Powder over the top of the sticky pigment ink to create a lovely and subtle pearlescent accompaniment to the chunky greeting die cut. I arranged the die cut, sentiment block, and vibrant blooms on the embossed card front, adhering them with some foam adhesive for added dimension. Finally, I added a smattering of Opal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for a touch of shimmer. Pairing gray and yellow is such an unusual color palette for me, but I am always encouraged to use it more frequently whenever I do use it; it’s such a striking combination, perfect for these dreary gray January days!

Well, that’s all for my project today. Now for some fun giveaway information!

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from your blog comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 15th of January. Winners can email the Simon team to claim his/her prize 🙂

To celebrate this release duo, Simon Says Stamp is also offering a fabulous freebie with purchase! Simply follow the instructions in the graphic at the top of the post to receive the Circle Hoops Embossing Folder for free with your order.

Your next stop is Amy Rysavy. Don’t forget to check back on the Simon Says Stamp Blog tomorrow for Day 2 of the hop for even more fabulous inspiration using these new products! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Therapeutic Watercolor with my New Anemone Wreath Illustration for Simon Says Stamp!

December 21, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back with another project using my new Anemone Wreath stamp from the Simon Says Stamp To Love release. Because this stamp set is a bit larger scale, it works beautifully for home decor projects! I was able to create an 8×8 framed art piece to hang on the walls of my office with just the Anemone Wreath stamp, some papers, and my watercolors. Let’s get started on the details of my project!

I began by stamping the Anemone Wreath stamp in the center of a 5.5″ x 5.5″ panel of Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper using Hero Arts Contour Ink, then taped the panel down to my watercolor board and began painting. I like to work in layers for watercoloring intricate pieces like this, preferring to build the color with individual layers rather than try to add multiple colors at once. I began with a layer of light amethyst purple, creating a light base layer with very pale color, utilizing lots of clean water to indicate highlights. For my second layer, I used a deeper shade of purple, taking advantage of the contrast of the highlighted edges of the petals on top to add shadows and depth. That contrast between the deeper shadows on the petals behind and the pale, highlighted edges of the petals on top helps to create the definition between the different petals and adds depth and dimension.

After I had finished adding color to the flowers, I used black watercolor to create the black flower centers, then used a fine tip black pen to create the delicate stamens around the flower centers. I also accented each stamen with a dot of white gel pen. Each individual layer works together to help make this super detailed painting a visual treat! After all of the flowers had dried, I painted the leaves using the same techniques, working in sections to keep the definition in each individual leaf. Working in sections ensures that the wet areas do not bleed into one another. Once the entire image had been painted, I added a very pale green halo around the wreath, utilizing lots of water to create that ethereal watercolor effect.

I allowed the painting to dry completely while still taped to the watercolor board, which helps to reduce warping. I trimmed down a panel of Simon Says Stamp’s Black Cardstock to 6″ x 6″ and mounted the painting in the center, creating a crisp black frame around the edges of the painting. It’s amazing how much more polished and professional-looking a simple watercolored pieces looks with a simple black frame around it! I mounted the piece in an 8″ x 8″ frame for some simple, elegant watercolor home decor, perfect to accent a mantel piece or to hang on a wall!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I have several pieces to share with you using products from the new To Love release, but I am not quite finished with Christmas projects, so those will have to wait a bit. I can’t believe Christmas is only four days away! Incredible how quickly this year has flown. Thanks so much for being here, and thanks for stopping by today! Have a marvelous day!

NEW Simon Says Stamp To Love Release-Now Available! Plus NEW Illustration!

December 18, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi Friends! I am so excited to share some inspiration using my newest stamp set that was released tonight with the Simon Says Stamp To Love release, which is now available in the Simon Says Stamp store! Anemones are one of my favorite flowers, so I am always looking for new ways to arrange them, and I came up with this larger wreath arrangement, incorporating the bold blooms amongst a circlet of foliage. I created an appropriately-bold card for today’s project using my new Anemone Wreath stamp set, OLO markers, and a holiday sentiment. Let’s get started with the details!

To begin, I stamped the Anemone Wreath stamp with Simon Says Stamp Nocturne ink on a panel of white Hammermill cardstock, offsetting the image slightly so that it hung over the edge of the A2 panel. I added clear embossing powder to the sticky black pigment ink to keep the lines extra crisp and bold while coloring. I used OLO markers to add some vibrant red to the blooms and verdant greens to the foliage, being careful not to brush the marker too intensely on the embossed lines, as the alcohol in the markers can make the embossing powder sticky and cause issues with your marker tip if abused too frequently. After I had colored the vibrant holiday wreath (red anemones are certainly a holiday flower in my estimation!), I used a juicy black alcohol marker to color in any white space around the image to really make those vibrant red anemones pop!

After coloring the entire panel, I decided that it definitely had a holiday vibe to it, so I used the newer EZ Strips Rectangles die to die cut all of the sentiments from the EZ Strips Reverse Joy sentiment card set. This new die makes it so darn simple to cut out each of your sentiments from the sentiment cards without having to fuss with a trimmer to get perfectly straight lines. SO simple! I also die cut the detail layer from the Fanciful Joy die from Simon’s Black Glossy cardstock and backed it with a die cut vellum shadow layer. I popped both pieces up in the center of the wreath with some tiny pieces of foam tape.

After I had completed the sentiment, I embellished the card with a few Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems, creating some “berries” to adorn my holiday wreath. I also tucked a coordinating cherry red bow beneath the sentiment and added the card front to a card base. I just love how vibrant and dramatic this project ended up looking!

Well, that’s all for my project today! You can check out the entire To Love release HERE. We are getting into some lovey-dovey Valentine’s Day themes with these new products, but I’m not quite ready to let go of Christmas yet, so I will still be sharing a few more holiday projects with you! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!