That's Life: Hey Bestie Blog Hop

Hello friends and Happy Saturday!

Today, is the second day of the Simon Says Stamp Hey Bestie and Love You More Blog Hop and I'm really excited to be joining so many talented designers as one of the stops on this hop! You can see the fabulous new release in full by just popping over to Simon Says Stamp and if you've been hopping along, you'll have arrived here from Vicky's blog but if you've just popped by and want to join us for this fun hop, then just head back to the beginning and Simon Says Stamp's Blog.

For my project, I created a card that's full of love 'from my heart to your hands' and used a combination stamps and dies from the Hey Bestie and Love You More releases. Hope you love it...

...and here's how I created this card, perfect to give to someone you love!

To begin with I created the layered background and started with a piece of Distress Watercolour card and used the textured side of the card. I used a combination of Distress Inks and Distress Oxides and starting with Old Paper Distress Ink, I applied each colour to my craft mat, spritzed the ink with a light misting of water and then used my card to pick up the colour. Heat dry the card or allow to dry naturally between layers before adding Pumice Stone Oxide Ink, followed by Pumice Stone Distress Ink, Frayed Burlap Oxide Ink, Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a touch of Iced Spruce Oxide Ink. To complete the card, I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I then matted the card panel onto the champagne coloured metallic kraft card from the Tim Holtz Metallic 3 Kraft Paper Stash, followed by a piece of red card and finally a piece of Blackout Kraft Stash card, sanded around the edges for a more aged look. I then mounted the matted panels onto a black card blank.

Before I move onto the main central panel...I added some torn Salvaged Design Tape to either side of my inked panel, this just creates another layer of interest to the background.

Now for the main section and I began with a further piece of watercolour card, which I die cut using the A7 Thin Frames Set from the Diecember release. I then inked my card using the same colours and the same technique as I used on the background layer but this time I omitted to use the Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Heat dry the card thoroughly. I then inked up the awesome, YOU ARE stamp using Jet Black Archival Ink (if you're a font/text lover like I am, you definitely need this stamp) and taking the stamp, I rolled the it across the distress inked card panel. I didn't want the text to be a solid stamped image and using this technique of stamping will create a gorgeous distressed feel, creating areas where the stamp doesn't meet the card to add a worn, aged look to the panel.

After machine stitching a border of black cotton around the outside edge, I then added a few black paint splatters across the panel before matting it onto a piece of red card. Add foam pads to the back of the card.

Setting the card panel to one side I took the Shimmer Heart Die and die cut a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock Card. I will only be using the heart on this particular project, but I will be using the frame at a later date.

To colour the heart, I used Candied Apple Distress Paint. Heat dry the painted surface before dipping a paint brush into Black Soot Distress Paint and using the dry brushing technique, remove the majority of the black paint from your brush onto a paper towel and then very gently brush the remainder of paint across surface of the heart. This tones down the red for a more vintage feel. I then mounted the heart onto a piece of card inked with Old Paper and Pumice Stone Distress Ink, and trimmed around the outside of the heart.

To create the hanger that the heart is attached too, I cut a piece of black twine and using Matte Collage Medium, apply a thin line of the adhesive down the centre on the front of the stamped panel. Attach your black twine in a straight line, leave to dry but secure the twine at the back of the panel.

At the top of the panel, I attached a Hinge Clip which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint.

I mounted the panel onto the front of the covered card blank, slightly overlapping the top fold and then mounted the heart with foam pads, placing it so that it appears to hang down from the twine.

You can see the dimension the foam give to the card in the photo below.

Add gold pearls to the centres of each of the flowers on the heart. Using one of the sentiment strips from the Artist set, I cut it into a banner shape and then mounted it across my heart using foam pads.

Cut a long strip of crinkle ribbon and dye the ribbon with a combination of Tumbled Glass and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. Tie the ribbon into a fluffy bow and attach with hot glue, placing it just below the red hinge clip.

As a finishing touch, I added a Typed Token to the centre of the bow, complete with a Hardware Head. I wanted the token to look slightly rusty, so for this I used Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo Distress Paints, and just dabbed the paint onto the metal with my finger. Once the paint is dry, and to accentuate the 'love' wording on the token, I used the Picket Fence Distress Crayon, which I ran over the lettering. I then wiped away the excess crayon.

Finally, I added some more of the gold pearls to each corner of the card and attached a few gems onto the background.

I hope you've enjoyed the creative process behind this project and the ideas and techniques have inspired you with some ideas of your own ~ it's been so much fun to share this with you!

HOP ORDER

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Debby Hughes
Laura Bassen
Yana Smakula
Yoonsun Hur
Amanda Korotkova
Amy Rysavy
Bibi Cameron
Gayatri Murali
Marge Yoon
Vicky Papaioannou
Emma Williams
Crystal Thompson
Preeti Chandran

HOP DETAILS:

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the blog hop! This means you can leave a comment here and on every stop along the way to increase your chances. Winners will be posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, 15th January and all winners will need to contact/email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize. Also, last but by no means least ~ we are also running a special surprise promotion in conjunction with this hop and you can claim an exclusive FRIENDS outline die free with orders over $50! The offer is valid until 12 January at 11:59 EST, or while supplies last and the code to claim your gift is: BFF489

Thanks so much for hopping by today, hope to see you again soon!

Emma xx

RECIPE FOR CARD:

Simon Says Stamp Hey Bestie Release: Shimmer Heart, You Are
Simon Says Stamp Artist Sentiment Strips, A7 Thin Frames Set