That's Life

Saturday, 11 October 2025

Simon Says Stamp Sugar and Spice Blog Hop ~ Day 2

Hello everyone and welcome to Day 2 of the Sugar and Spice Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be joining this hop, and you might have arrived here from Lisa Addesa's blog, but if not, and you want to catch up with everyone who is participating in this hop, then don't worry because you can head back to the beginning, by clicking HERE and if you would like to see the entire product release , then pop on over to HERE.

For my card, I used the beautiful Narrow Holly Cluster die set and the Christmas Stamps and Dies Label Slides to create a vintage style Christmas card, which I hope you love.

So, here's how I created this project...

To begin with I made a 18.5 x 14cm (7¼" x 5.5") card base from Tim Holtz's Heavystock Kraft card.

I matted a layer of Midnight Green card over the top, cutting it slightly smaller than the card blank.

BACKGROUND

Moving onto the background and I began by cutting a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock card, 16.5 x 11cm and inked up the Sparkles stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Sparkles and Christmas stamp set using Frayed Burlap Archival Ink and stamped the design in the centre of the panel.

To add more layering to the background, I then stamped again, this time with Vintage Photo Archival Ink, using the music score stamp from the Department Store Stamp Set. I didn't want a solid stamped image, just hints of the score here and there, so with this in mind I rolled the stamp across the surface, just catching the cardstock where it touches.

I inked the card using Old Paper Distress Ink, and Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges, before adding splatters of Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and Gold Acrylic Paint, across the surface.

Once dry, I used the SA/Tim Holtz Post Card stamp set to stamp the Post Card wording at the top of the panel in Black Soot Archival Ink.

I added a frame of Design Tape around the edge of the stamped panel and then machine stitched a border around the outside.

With the background complete, I matted it onto gold metallic cardstock, followed by a layer of red Kraft card from the Warm Kraft Stash by Tim, each time leaving a narrow border of the previous card layer showing.

In the top right hand corner of the card panel, I added some Ephemera and a postmark. This piece is from the 2025 Christmas Ephemera pack, and I attached it with Matte Collage Medium. I then added the postmark ~ I used a Christmas Remnant Rub from my stash, which is now sadly retired but you can use the postmarks from the Holiday Postmarks stamp set.

Set this to one side to work on the die cutting.

HOLLY CLUSTER

The background is now ready for the Narrow Holly Cluster die.

I cut all my pieces, including extra singular leaves, from using Watercolor Cardstock and then inked the leaves and stem with Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness, Forest Moss Distess Inks before adding Candied Berries and Lumberjack Plaid DI to the berries.

After inking the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, I attached the cluster by placing it across my stamped card panel, adding some shape and dimension, so that it doesn't sit flat to the card itself.

I then added some of the extra singular die cut holly leaves and the extra berries, tucking these pieces into the branch and layering others over the top of the previous lease to add more dimension.

Finally, I applied Glossy Accents to the berries, before adding some all important sparkle and frosting to the cluster. I used the Ranger Ink Snowflakes glitter which contains glitter and Mica Flakes which I adhered into place with Glossy Accents.

SENTIMENT

Moving onto the sentiment and I used the Stamps and Dies Label Slides Christmas Set to create this. I cut the largest label slide and then stamped the sentiment, Season's Greetings onto the centre of the slide, using Fired Brick Archival Ink.

I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then attached some Christmas Jute String, so that I can wrap this around my background card panels, securing the ends at the back of the cardstock.

I then mounted the completed layered panels onto the front of my card blank using foam pads.

FINISHING DETAILS

I tied some more of the Jute Twine into a bow and attached this on the left hand side of the label slide, before attaching a Holiday Bell in the centre using a tiny safety pin. The bell was painted with Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint, applying it directly onto the metal surface.

I added some pieces of Cello Sticker Tape on both sides of the panels....

...and to complete the card, I stamped the No.5 (from the Correspondence stamp set) in the bottom left hand corner and placed some Metallic Droplets around the cluster.

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the blog hop from the blog comment section! So, this means you can leave a comment here and on every stop along the way to increase your chances. Winners will be notified and they will be posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, 15 October and all winners will need to contact/email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize.

Also, don't forget that you have until the 12th October at 11:59 EDT or whilst stocks last, to grab yourselves the exclusive and not yer release Warm Thoughts stamp set which will be automatically added to your cart.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and see you soon, love Emma x

HOP ORDER

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Click HERE to shop for products

Simon Says Stamp: Stamps and Dies Label Slides Christmas Set, Narrow Holly Cluster

Stampers Anonymous Stamp Sets: Sparkles and Christmas, Department Store, Postcards, Correspondence

Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Candied Berries, Lumberjack Plaid, Old Paper, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness, Forest Moss

Distress Paint: Lumberjack Plaid

Mediums and Adhesive: SSS Precision Glue, SSS Foam Squares, SSS Tape Runner, Black Soot Archival, Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo Archival Ink, Glossy Accents, Snowflakes

Surfaces: Kraft Card, Distress Watercolour Card, Midnight Green Card, Metallic Kraft Stash

Tim Holtz idea-ology: Christmas Ephemera, Cello Stickers, Christmas Jute String, Metallic Droplets, Holiday Bells

Tools: Blending Brushes, Blending Tool

Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat

Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway Machine

Monday, 6 October 2025

Don't Stop Believing...

Hello everyone...

As another week flies by, it's time for the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we challenge you to use the colour PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The DT are also showcasing Dylusions products within their makes.

Now, I will admit I'm not a pink girl, never have been...it's just one of those colours that I'm never drawn to! Give me blue, or the autumnal rusty tones and I'm there but pink, lol....but with the theme in mind, I created a tag with a message for Breast Cancer Awareness Month ~ "Hope Is Never Lost" and for all those women, and men out there who have fought, beaten or even if you are still fighting breast cancer, I hope you love the piece I've made.

So, let's get started and here's how I created this tag!

For this make I used a size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock tag.

TAG BACKGROUND

For the background, I chose to use the Stampers Anonymous Roses Layering Stencil by Tim Holtz and using blending brushes, I inked through the design with the following colours of Dylusions inks:

Rose Quartz, Peony Blush, Dirty Martini and Fresh Lime

Once my inking was complete, I added some text using the script stamp from the Tiny Toadstools stamp set by Tim Holtz before I laid the stencil back over the areas that I had inked. With the stencil i place, I then applied Translucent Grit Paste. Remove the stencil and wash immediately and leave the paste to dry.

When my paste was thoroughly set, I added a neutral colour to the background using Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. I dabbed away any heavy areas of colour, gently heat dried the tag and then inked the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and together with some gold watercolour paint, I added a few splatters of the gold paint and the Frayed Burlap ink across the surface of the tag.

After machine stitching a border around the edge of the tag, I mounted it onto a piece of Kraft card, cut slightly larger than the tag itself. Around the outside edge of the Kraft card tag, I applied some Dylusions Washi Tapes, that I had in my stash.

WREATH

Moving on, I used two of my favourite, and very well loved Sizzix/Tim Holtz dies ~ Funky Wreath and Garden Greens. Once again, I wanted to keep this fairly neutral, ensuring the pink on the background stood out.

I cut all my pieces from black cardstock and then, applied Copper, Bronze Rose and Rich Gold Metallic Waxes by Lisa Horton onto the surface of each die cut piece.

I then assembled my wreath, building up the layers and placing the foliage pieces from the Garden Greens die set, to follow the curve.

For the flowers, I used exactly the same technique and die cut these from black card using the Vault Foliage Wreath. Once I'd adhered the floral die cuts into position, I added Metallic Droplets to the centres of each of the flowers.

PAPER DOLL

The image of the woman that I used as my focal point, is from the Paper Doll Poses set and I colour tinted the image using Distress Crayons.

I attached her with foam pads, positioning her to my sit on my wreath and then added the quote, "Hope Is Never Lost". This is from the idea-ology Metallic Sticker Book and I mounted the strip onto gold metallic Kraft card before attaching it to my tag.

FINISHING DETAILS

We're nearly there and all that's left is to add those tiny finishing details...

I added a stamp from the ephemera stamp in the top right hand corner, together with a Remnant Rub, "Oct 18".

I then cut a strip of Crinkle Ribbon from my stash. I coloured the ribbon with a combination of Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen Distress Inks, spritzing the inks directly onto the fabric. After heat drying the strip, I threaded it through the reinforcer hole and then attached an idea-ology mini pin.

Finally, I added some Cello Sticker tape...

One in the bottom left hand corner, and one in the top right hand corner.

So, that's my project for this week completed and I hope you'll be inspired by the strong message in this piece.

As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today...

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Stampers Anonymous: Roses Layering Stencil, Tiny Toadstools

Sizzix: Vault Foliage Wreath, Funky Wreath, Garden Greens

Distress Crayons

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap

Distress Spray Stains: Antique Linen, Victorian Velver

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Paper Doll Poses, Metallic Sticker Book, Palette Ephemera, Mini Pin, Cello Stickers, Labeled Remnant Rub

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads, Translucent Grit Paste

Surfaces: Heavystock Mixed Media Tag, Black card

Lisa Horton Metallic Waxes: Rich Gold, Copper and Bronze Rose

Dylusions Washi Tapes and Archival Inks

****These are not affiliate links****

Monday, 29 September 2025

A Peculiar Place...

Hello everyone...

Welcome to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and hope you'll join us and play along. The theme for this week is all about TREES and we can't wait to see how you'll interpret this theme and we're looking forward to all your makes!

For my project, and with October only a couple of days away, I decided it was time to start making some Halloween decor pieces and I created a Stampers Anonymous Etcetera Panel, using some of the brand new seasonal idea-ology from Tim Holtz.

It's no secret that I love Halloween and I LOVE idea-ology, so this just had to be done and I used some of my favourite products from the release to create this piece, including a touch of Christmas...yes, those Alpine trees are not just for the Holidays, they can be for all year round!

So, let's get started because it's time to share all the details of this panel...

ETCETERA PANEL

For this make, I used the 6" x 8.5" Etcetera Panel and covered the edges with Tim's Halloween Design Tape from a previous release and I'm lucky to still have in my stash but you can use any design tape trims that you might have.

I then covered the panel with paper from the Halloween Backdrops 2025 pack. I chose the gorgeous harlequin pattern.

After cutting my paper to size, I ripped and tore around the edges, machine stitched a border and then adhered the paper to my panel with Matte Collage Medium. I then applied a coat of the medium over the paper surface to seal it.

I applied Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edges and blended out any harsh lines with my finger.

At the top of the panel, I wanted to add some Etcetera Trims and chose a combination of the Scalloped Trim and the Web Trim, both in the largest size.

I covered the scalloped trim with a polka dot paper from the Halloween Backdrops pack and used the Decorative Trims die to die cut the paper to fit the trim perfectly.

I fixed the covered trim into position across the top of my panel.

I then took the Web Trim and painted this with Black Soot Distress Paint. Once dry, I fixed this over the top of the Scalloped Trim, allowing the web to overlap the top edge of the panel.

When the trim is dry and fixed firmly into position, I added some Black Opaque Texture Paste. I stippled the paste onto the surface and then let this dry completely before applying a small amount of wax to accentuate the texture.

Across the top of the panel, tucked under the trims, I used some of the gorgeous ideao-ology Fringe. I love the fact that Tim has bought the two toned version back, and the orange and black combo worked so well on this piece.

I cut a strip of the fringe to fit across my panel. To create the ruffle, I rolled it gently between the palms of my two hands. Once I have the desired effect, I applied a spritz of Antique Linen Distress Spritz to add a touch of vintage shimmer and then used a hot glue gun to fix this across the top edge of my panel.

Finally, I added some metal hardware and used the two pieces of the idea-ology foliage, together with one of the skull and crossbones from the Halloween Adorments pack.

I painted these with a combination of Antique Bronze, Crackling Campfire and Black Soot Distress Paint to create the gold tone effect and then attached them in the centre of the web trim.

TREES

With the panel complete, I moved onto the scene and I began with the trees.

I used Black Soot Distress Stain to colour each tree, gently spritzing the trees until they are covered.

Dab away any excess ink by rolling them in a paper towel and then allow to dry thoroughly,

Once these are dry, I then added the glitter and painted the bases.

First, I applied some Glossy Accents to my craft sheet, spread it out a little and then rolled the trees in the medium. Working quickly, I sprinkled the combined Rock Candy Chunky and Clear Glitters over the trees to cover them and create some vintage sparkle.

I then painted the wooden bases with Black Soot Distress Paint, let this dry and then added some white Gesso stripes.

BUILDING UP THE SCENE

To create the layers and focal point, I used foam pads to attach a Halloween Ephemera piece from the Layer and Paper Dolls pack and using foam pads for some height, I positioned this onto the centre of my panel before attaching a second Decorative Trim to form a ledge underneath. Once again the trim is covered with die cut polka dot paper from the Halloween Backdrops set.

I used two paper dolls from the same Halloween Layer and Paper Doll pack and colour tinted these with Distress Crayons.

In the girl's hand, you'll notice she is holding a spider and for this, I pierced a hole with a needle and then threaded some cotton through, securing it at the back of the paper doll. I then attached the spider adornment to the end of the cotton thread and painted this with black soot and Candied Apple Distress Paint.

I fixed the papers dolls into position using foam pads and then added the top hat to the boy, which is taken from the Halloween Sticker Book. To complete the ledge, I added some moss and some bouquet findings flowers, that I dyed with some Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain.

I then attached a die cut bat that I had on my craft table from a previous project and some Ephemera pieces...the number "31"....

...and the "Warning" label on the right hand side of the panel, which I covered with some cello sticker tape.

I placed the trees on either side of the paper dolls, attaching them to the ledge with Matte collage Medium before attaching moss along the length of the ledge.

Finally I used the Halloween Word Plaque, "Peculiar and Curious Things" and using the same combination of paints as I used on the previous metal work, I added the colour to the plaque. I then used Gold Wax by Lisa Horton to accentuate the wording.

I attached the plaque beneath the ledge, and added a hardware head to either side.