Simon Says Stamp 'Friend Like You' Release!!

Resurrecting the ol' crafty blog for a VERY exciting reason.... 

Simon Says Stamp's New Release - Friend Like You 

(Full release detail at bottom of post)

I was thrilled to be asked to design with one of the stamp sets from this release called 

Wildflower Cuttings.... gorgeous, no?!

For me the gorgeous images and clean sentiments in this stamp set spoke of understated elegance, which of course guided my design process. 

When I was done playing, I ended up with a clean and simple set of cards and tag.

To highlight these fabulous cuttings, I knew I wanted to keep the design simple and let the cuttings take center stage. 

For the two A2 cards, I opted for the silhouette stamping style in bold black ink over a subtle Concord & 9th ballet slipper ink blended masked area.

The square card in simple black and white could be whipped up in a jiffy, yet still packs an elegant punch.

The tag was created by randomly/repeatedly stamping the gorgeous branch stamp on a panel and die cutting with a tag die. I inked the seam binding and sentiment tag with ballet slipper ink for subtle contrast.

This is such a stunning stamp set, I know that I will be turning to use it for many occasions!

Ok, now for the exciting 'Friends Like You' release details you've been waiting for....

The release is available NOW!! And let me tell you.... it is AMAZZZZZZING!!!!

So run, don't walk, do not pass Go - head over to Simon Says Stamp to gobble up your "must haves" from this release!!

More exciting Simon Says Stamp events celebrating this new Friends Like You release are on deck:

• blog hops on Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28^th of June

• YouTube Live Stream at noon EDT on Wednesday, July 2

• Instagram Hop on Thursday, July 3 

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Until next time ~ xoxo Rae

joy

Been having a bit of a creative slump lately, fortunately I had a spark of creativity over the weekend and am back with this week's new Inspired by Challenge!

Here is this week's Inspired By challenge...

Inspired By... Celebration #IB312

There are so many fabulous pieces of inspiration in the photo prompt, it was a bit overwhelming at first! In the end, the pink/red color combination is what won me over and what I chose to focus on when designing my card. The balloon-filled gingerbread people inspired the shaker element of the card.

I kept the design clean and simple with tone on tone patterned papers, coordinating solids, and minimal embellishment. Love how it turned out :) Unfortunately it was hard to photograph, but there is some 'faux snow' behind the red joy letters creating a fun shaker element.

Hope you will be inspired to play along with the challenge this week! Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's inspiration on the Inspired By blog!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

The Stamp Market: Joy die, berry/leaf stamp and die, pink patterned paper, cardstock, ink

Pinkfresh Studio: sentiment stamp/die

Avery Elle: pierced edge die

Other: eyelash trim, faux snow

bundle up

It's time for this week's new Inspired By challenge!

This week we are being inspired by these adorable mushrooms!!

Inspired By... Mushrooms #IB309

I cannot tell you how much I LOVE those darling mushrooms in the inspiration photo, but with no mushrooms in my crafting arsenal I had to improvise.

I drew inspiration from the colors, the layout/sketch, and the textured background.

And here is my whimsical interpretation of the challenge :)

I really enjoyed playing with colors and random products and watching this design develop as I was creating.

Check out the rest of the design team's interpretation of the challenge on the Inspired By blog - hope you will be inspired to play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

Concord & 9th - Sweater Season dies

The Stamp Market - cardstock

Simon Says Stamp - Threaded snowflakes embossing folder

Avery Elle - pierced rounded frames die

Pinkfresh Studio - embellishments

Altenew - glitter cardstock

witch pleeease

Halloween greetings! 

Love the perfect timing of this week’s Inspired By challenge!!

Inspired By… Witch #IB308

I was inspired by the witchy theme, the colors, texture, the square pillow shape, and the sketch!

I had SO much fun putting this card together!!

It all started with The Stamp Market's Bewitching Boots dies - the legs were die cut from some slimy green Halloween paper and the boots were cut from some black glitter cardstock.

The little sentiment/embellishment cluster was made with The Stamp Market's Basic Witch Greetings stamps and dies. 

The embossed background was inspired by the shape of the pillow in the inspiration photo.

I had a little fun getting creative with some tulle, trims, scissors, and glitter!

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog, and play along with us this week!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo ~ rae

orange & brown

Fact: I grew up in the 1970’s. 

And I have evidence.

Yep. That's me on the left.

Surrounded by orange and brown. 

The colors make me cringe. 

My orange/brown PTSD initially made this week’s Inspired By challenge seem a little daunting, but my love of all things fall and those gorgeous flowers helped make this an easy color combo fear to overcome!!

Inspired By …. Wreath #IB306

I was inspired by the gorgeous flowers and fabulous fall colors.... YES, even orange and brown!!

I put my Concord & 9th Primrose Garden dies to use for the first time, how GREAT are these dies?!

And Concord & 9th cardstock colors are just dreamy! 

Although I was really trying to challenge myself to keep my card colors similar to the inspiration photo, I failed, and ended up adding a pop of color with the green leaves and the ‘vintage’ 2007 Cosmo Cricket paper background.

Don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed by this 17 year old piece of paper in my collection!!

Where does time go?! Have I really been paper crafting for this long?! yikes.

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog - hope you will be inspired to play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ rae

Supply List:

Concord & 9th - Primrose Garden dies; cardstock

Pinkfresh Studio - sentiment stamp/die; embellishments

Ink - Distress Oxide Ink 

Other - Cosmo Cricket patterned paper; white cardstock; foam tape

thanks

I don't think I will ever tire of designing with pumpkins!!

This week's Inspired By challenge allowed me to play yet again with these glorious gourds...

Inspired By... Pumpkins #IB305

I was inspired by the texture, color, pattern, theme and sketch... another pretty literal interpretation, I guess that's just my jam! ha

I chose patterned papers and added a little bit of inking to create texture on die cut pumpkins. For the stems I rolled up some strips of rust colored paper, that was a fun experiment! I die cut and stamped the leaf veins on orange dot patterned paper. To finish the card off, I die cut the sentiment from copper glitter paper.

Simple and easy, just the way I like it!

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog, hope you'll play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ rae

Supply List:

The Stamp Market - Pumpkin patch dies; thanks die

Pinkfresh Studio - Folk edge frame dies

Misc - patterned papers, jute twine, Distress Oxide brushed corduroy 

pumpkin parade

Time for a new Inspired By challenge!!

This week we're being inspired by these whimsical acorns

Inspired By... Acorns #IB304

Had to get creative again this week since I don't own many fall products and definitely don't have any acorns!

I was inspired by the colors and shapes in the inspiration photo and also drew inspiration from the sketch.

My mind's eye saw a row of colorful kraft stem topped pumpkins! Some sparkly vines, wind blown leaves, and clear sequins add a touch of whimsy and further display my interpretation of the whimsical acorns in the fun inspiration photo! The striped embossed background was inspired by the sketch.

This card pretty closely follows The Stamp Market's sample (imitation is the best form of flattery, right? I fell in LOVE with their card! 😍 I just added a few fun extras to make it my own.

Hope you will be inspired to play along with us this week, don't forget to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog!!

Thanks so much for visiting today!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

The Stamp Market - Pumpkin Patch dies; Color Crush cardstock; sequins

Pinkfresh Studio - sentiment stamp; notched corner frame dies

Altenew - dazzling diamond cardstock

Other - white embossing powder; kraft cardstock