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Introducing Simon Says Stamp March 2026 Card Kit of the Month: Watercolor Bouquet!

February 15, 2026

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon! *I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

Hi friends! I have some cheery, colorful inspiration to share with you today using goodies from the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit of the Month for March 2026 (click HERE to see all of the details!). These card kits are always filled with such an exquisite array of products, and this month not only are there marvelous products in the kit itself, but there are some fabulous add-ons that you can use to create an endless supply of gorgeous cards. I have created three different projects to share with you using the beautiful Watercolor Bouquet stamp set that comes in the main kit, but for today I thought I would start with a fun gift tag set created using several elements of the new card kit. Here’s a sneak peek of the different goodies included with the card kit:

This kit contains so many fun individual components to create beautifully colorful projects that are sure to bring a smile to the recipient! For my project today, I used two of the large, pre-cut tags included with the kit to create this fun gift card holder complete with decorated envelope. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I selected the two large tags included with the Watercolor Bouquet Card Kit of the Month and trimmed off the top of one of the tags using my trimmer. I then used super strong double sided tape to add adhesive to the two long sides and the bottom, creating a simple pocket into which my gift card could nestle.

To decorate the front of my gift card holder, I stamped a few blooms from the Watercolor Bouquet stamp set included with the kit using a few of the ink cubes included. The wide variety of colors makes it really easy to create a multitude of color palettes! I also took things one step further by creating custom colors. For the small sprig of greenery, I stamped once with full strength Marine ink, then inked up the stamp again with Field, stamping off on a piece of scrap paper to make it much lighter, then stamped again directly over the top of the blue sprig with the green ink residue left on the stamp. The result is a pretty blue-green that is unique to the green included with the kit! I also stamped the large rose bloom using Rose ink, creating a less-intense version of the deep pink by stamping multiple layers of second generation ink. (The MISTI is invaluable for this layering technique!) I also created the individual leaves using this layered second generation technique with Field ink. Using this stamping-off technique allows you to create a wide variety of color intensities with only a few inks!

I stamped the remaining floral images full strength Rose and Rhubarb inks, then die cut them using the coordinating dies, which can be purchased separately from the kit. (I know it’s an added expense, but I highly recommend the dies for sets like this, in which you might be inclined to stamp multiples of the same image to create bouquets; fussy cutting all of these images would take a long time!).

I also stamped a greeting using another add-on product, called Basic Brushstroke Sentiments, which is a great basic set that allows you to build tons of custom sentiments. I stamped the sentiments in black and die cut them with their coordinating dies, then began layering the different components on my gift card holder. I offset one of the included doilies on the side of the gift card holder, trimming off the excess, then arranged the flower and sentiment die cuts on the front of the doily. To tie in the black from the sentiment, I trimmed some thin strips of black cardstock and layered them at the top of the pocket. I added some twine from the kit, creating both a loop and a bow in the hole at the top of the tag for easy removal from the envelope.

To create the coordinating envelope, I chopped off the flap of the white mini slimline envelope included with the kit, making sure that I trimmed enough of the envelope off so that the gift card holder would barely peek out the top! I used the same ink colors to stamp a little wreath on the center of the envelope, stamping off once for a couple of the leaves and layering ink colors for the greenery sprigs to create that pretty blue-green. I tucked the gift card holder inside the decorated envelope! I think this would make such a special gift for a friend, perhaps to say thank you or just to remind them how special they are to you!

Well, that’s all for my project today!

The Simon Says Stamp Card Kits are such an incredible value; the value of the individual elements of each kit equals far more than the $44.99 price tag, so you’re getting incredible bang for your buck. If you are consistently interested in the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit of the Month, you can sign up HERE to become a subscriber for an even bigger discount on these carefully curated products. As always, Simon also makes each individual element of the kits available a la carte, so that you can pick and choose what you would like to purchase if buying the entire kit isn’t really your thing. Options galore! Who can say no to such incredible value though, right?

I have a few more projects to share using components of this kit, because I just love it! I hope you do too! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Altenew March 2023 Marvelous Monthly Series Release Blog Hop #1 + Giveaway ($300 in Total Prizes!)

March 17, 2023

Good morning! Today, the folks at Altenew are hopping along to celebrate the newest Marvelous Monthly release for March, 2023! These monthly subscription series are always such fun and a great value, providing so many different elements to create a huge variety of stunning cards. I have two cards to share with you today, featuring the new Build-A-Garden: Dancing Poppies and Craft Your Life Project Kit: Delicate Garden. Here’s a peek at the two different sets that I’ll be using today:

I love that you receive so many different elements in each kit so that you can mix and match, depending on what kind of coloring medium (or none at all!) that you feel like using that day! If you are loving these kits as much as I am, you can always SUBSCRIBE to be sure that you receive a kit each month (and at a discount!). Let’s get started on the details for my projects today!

I love the juxtaposition of crisp black accents and softly colored flowers, and it was this color combination that I had in mind when creating both of these cards. I used Spicy Yogurt cardstock with coral, peach, and mint with intense black accents to create this pair of cards!

For my first card, I stamped the images from Dancing Poppies onto some watercolor paper using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top, which helps to add a level of crispness to the stamping. I used the Artists’ 24 Pan Watercolor Set to add some soft pinky coral to the poppy flowers and some pale minty green to the leaves. I used the one-and-done die to die cut all of the watercolored flowers.

For the background, I wanted to highlight those shiny black lines and dramatic black centers on the watercolored poppies, so I layered together the Rattan Stripes Cover Die twice from some black cardstock, then the Garden Trellis cover plate cut once from black cardstock, to create this unique, super textured, layered background. I adhered all three pieces to a Spicy Yogurt cardstock base using liquid adhesive.

For the greeting, I die cut the “thanks” Sweet Sentiment dies from black and Spicy Yogurt cardstock to coordinate nicely with the creamy background and the watercolor paper itself. I arranged the flowers on my rattan card front, popping them up with Instant Dimension Foam Tape, then added the greeting at the bottom. The final step was to add some gems for sparkle!

My second project features the stunning new Craft Your Life Project Kit: Delicate Garden. I began by stamping all of the floral images in the stamp set using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top to again create those super crisp black lines on my white cardstock. I used the coordinating stencils included in the kit to do some subtle, soft ink blending, creating peachy and minty bouquets using Strawberry, Pink Pearl, Coral Bliss, and Coral Berry inks for the flowers, and Green Meadows inks for the foliage. I die cut all of the blended flowers using the coordinating dies, included with the kit.

I loved each of the floral bouquets so much that I couldn’t bear to leave one off of the card, so I expanded my canvas and created a slimline card front to display them all properly! I created the base from more Spicy Yogurt cardstock, then die cut a large Nesting Slim Labels panel, upon which I stamped some of the floral bouquets again using Obsidian pigment ink, then clear embossed over the top. I popped up the embossed label die cut on the slimline card front using some more Instant Dimension Foam Tape, then arranged the blended florals in a pretty swag down the front of the card. I adhered the bouquet with more foam tape, to create a double layer of foam tape along the edges of the die cut. So much height!

I heat embossed the greetings from the Delicate Garden using the Obsidian and clear embossing powder combination, then fussy cut them with my sharp scissors. I popped those images up from the card front using yet another layer of foam tape, for a grand total of three layers of foam tape in the center of the card! Definitely a card to be hand delivered or placed inside a package, ha. Finally, I added a few black crystals for one last pop of black and touch of sparkle.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

$300+ in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a FULL RELEASE BUNDLE to 1 grand prize winner and a $25 gift certificate to 4 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by March 23, 2023 for a chance to win.Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on March 24, 2023. *The grand prize winner will be chosen from comments left on the Altenew Card Blog.

Here’s the full hop list:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Altenew Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($200 total prizes)

May 1, 2022

Good morning! Today marks the start of a new subscription from Altenew: Build-A-Garden! We’re hopping along to celebrate this newest addition to the Altenew subscription family. You should have arrived here from Vicky Papaioannou, and your next stop is Cheryl Espie. You can also start back at the beginning at the Altenew Card Blog. Here’s a bit about the new series from Altenew:

Enjoy our Build-A-Garden project set, an exciting monthly package that is sure to get the creative juices flowing! Each month includes a stamp set along with a coordinating stencil set and/or die set PLUS a customer-favorite Mini Blending Brush! Build your collection of brushes from month to month so you will never be left looking for the perfect tool while crafting.

This set contains the following products:
– one 6″ x 8″ stamp set containing 10 stamps made in the USA from high-quality photopolymer
– one layering stencil set containing 4 stencils that coordinate with the stamp set
– one Mini Blending Brush for ink blending
Note: These products are NOT sold separately.

If this new series sounds like something you can’t live without each month (that blending brush is such an awesome addition to the kit!), you can subscribe to be guaranteed to receive the new set each month-and at a discount!! Click HERE to see all of the details on how you can subscribe!

This initial installment is called Magnificent Branch, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It features a long branch filled with beautiful blooms and greenery, large enough when stamped to create two card fronts! You can color to your heart’s content with your favorite coloring medium, or you can use the included layering stencils to create a unique color blocked look with your favorite stenciling technique! Here’s a peek at this month’s kit:

Incredibly beautiful, right? I chose to create a custom patterned paper with the main stamp by angling it different ways along the edge of my paper. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

I began by stamping the image from Magnificent Branch a few different times on white cardstock with Copic-friendly black ink, angling it different ways so as to create some custom patterned paper and covering the majority of the A2 card front. I colored the image with Copic markers in a lovely feminine color scheme featuring mauve, pale pink, and jade green.

Once I had finished coloring all of the images stamped on the card front, I used my T-square and a black pen from the Fine Liner Pen set to add a very thin, subtle frame around the edges to help highlight the beautiful images and add another element of black to the card front.

For the greeting, I white embossed one of the sentiments included in the Magnificent Branch stamp set onto some black cardstock, which I then popped up using foam tape on the colored card front. Finally, I added a trio of black gems for one more touch of black, as well as some sparkle on this matte card front.

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

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 05/07/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 05/09/2022.

Your next stop is Cheryl Espie. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!