February Release Hop Winner + Inspiration

Hi Sweet 'n Sassy friends! It's Julee popping in with a little inky inspiration and some happy news for one of you blog hoppers!

As always, we had so much fun sharing the current release with you on our February Blog Hop. We so hope you enjoyed it, too, and gleaned a little inspiration for using this month's stamps! While we think you're ALL winners, we did randomly select ONE lucky reader from among all the comments on the hop to receive a $25 gift certificate to the Sweet 'n Sassy shop. This month's winner was randomly selected from Julee's post comments (that's me).

And the winner is...

Congratulations MargeE!

Please send an email to snssassistant@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Now onto a little inspiration from me, mixing a couple of this month's releases with a couple of previous releases. I love how well the line of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps mix and match!

I absolutely love the new Alleluia Lilies stamp set. The flowers are just so beautiful. So this card started with the flower and extra leaf. I stamped them on watercolor paper and then watercolored with distress inks and fussy cut.

I then stamped the wood sign from Rustic Easter and sponged with distress inks, then embossed the Blessings sentiment in white over it.  This is fussy cut and layered over the bottom of the flower.

For the circle background I pulled out the Rise & Shine Stencil and stenciled with distress inks one way, then flipped the stencil around to fill a complete circle.  The background is done with the Wood Backgrounds set (one of my favorites), and I stamped it in brown on kraft paper, then ink blended to get a fun dark wood effect like the word sign.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

-Julee

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Sweeter than Honey

Hi Sweet 'n Sassy friends! It's Julee here with an almost one layer creation for you today. I love this beautiful beehive image from the Bee Sweet set, and really wanted to make it the focal point of a card.

I stamped the hive first, then masked off the hive and each teeny leaf and stenciled the background with the Great Outdoors stencil and speckled egg distress oxide.  I went in with a heavier touch than I wanted, so I stenciled over again with some unicorn pigment to soften the color. I really love how it turned out.

I had also masked off the bottom section of the card and stamped the Wood Backgrounds as a thick bench for the hive to sit on.  I used a variety of brown inks and some Copics to blend it how I wanted.

The scripture verse is from the Sweet as Honey set and stamped directly over the hive.  I then stamped two little bees on the panel, then stamped them again on scrap cardstock, colored and layered just the fussy cut birdies and wings over the stamped bees for a little dimension.

Probably the masking took the most time, but I really enjoyed the whole process. Hope you did too!

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Going Vintage

Today I have a couple of cards using two of the April release sets Country Garden and Beautiful Birds.

Both of the images I chose were colored with Copics then cut out and adhered two distinctly different backgrounds. One clean and simple and the other mixed media with oxides, stencils, and texture stamps. They both look very vintage to me and I really love the results. I completed them with sentiments from the Friendship is a Blessing stamp if the Month. This set is so perfect - especially to let a friend know you are thinking about them, praying for them, and so grateful they are in your life.

Here is the clean and simple one using the chair from Country Garden

Here is the second one using the chickadee from Beautiful Birds. This one also uses Wood Background and Psalm 23 for texture as well as a couple of Tim Holtz stencils.


As we spend more time at home, I find myself trying to mix things up and challenge myself. Going CAS and definitely CAS at the same time was a challenge for sure! I hope this inspires you to try the same.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Hugs,
Lyn

For Such a Time as This

Hello All!

I have a couple of cards to share with you today using the Succulents Stamp Set.

These were easy-to-color images that I did not get all detailed with, nor did I think about things like light source much.  I just did some basic coloring with Copic markers.
The 3 images were fussy cut out; then came trying to figure out what to do with them.  Nothing seemed quite right until I landed upon a monoprint made with acrylic paint and my gel plate.
The background panel was cut with a stitched rectangle die.  The succulents were attached, using foam tape to pop up the top most image. The sentiment is from the Love Wordfetti Stamp Set.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a colorist.  I typically shy away from silhouette stamps.  I was determined to use a silhouette stamp from this set.  The outcome was this wreath, made with the larger of the two silhouette images in the stamp set.

I stamped my wreath in desert-like colors and then fussy cut the wreath out.  I die cut a white frame and then used my Wood Background Stamp Set to create a wood grain effect on the frame.  I stamped in a light grey ink.
The inside panel of the frame was done on a medium grey cardstock and again stamped with the woodgrain stamp, this time in time in a darker grey ink.
The sentiment is from the Sentimental Mash Up Stamp Set.  I stamped the 'Hugs' in Onyx Black Versafine Ink directly onto the card and then heat embossed it with clear ep.  'To you' was stamped on a dark gray strip and heat embossed in white.
After spritzing the wreath with an irridescent Shimmer Spray, I popped it up on dimensional tape, surrounding the word 'Hugs'.  I glued the 'to you' onto the wreath and added a few sequins to finish it off. 
I made these cards to send to my parents to encourage them during this unsettled time.  Being in their 80s, they are pretty much house bound for the long haul.
It sure is easy to get caught up in the panic of it all, but believers can get out there and share God's love.  For we were created 'for such a time as this.'  

Have a blessed day all! 

Lee Ann 

Adore Him!

I am not sure about you guys but Christmas stuff is popping up everywhere around me - It is 93 degrees here in Georgia so it is a little hard to get into the Christmas spirit, but this new set from Sweet N Sassy surely has done it! It is called Adore Him. It is so precious. It has so many different elements in the Christmas Story that I have lots of ideas running through my mind.

Today's images were colored with Polychromos pencils. They take a little while to build up the color, but the end result is great!

My first card uses Distress Oxides to create a night time sky.  I used Wood Backgrounds to create "wood pieces" for the "manger" and the colored the baby , fussy cut it, and popped it up on fun foam. I used the sentiment from an older set called Peace on Earth (retired) And that is all there is too this one - clean and simple but not really, right?



My second card uses The Three Wise Men. This one is very  clean and simple. I colored them, fussy cut them, and glued them onto a white card. I rounded the corners for a little added interest. For this one, I used a sentiment from We Three Kings - I love this sentiment!



These were so much fun! I hope you are inspired to get your Christmas cards started. It will actually be here before you know it!

Thanks for stopping by!
Lyn

Singing Praises

Happy Monday, Sweet 'n Sassy Stampers!

It's Ceal here to share with you today a couple cards using the Singing Praises set with two different looks.

The first card I stamped the image with embossing ink and watercolored it with Zig watercolor markers. I stamped the Wood slice from the Wood Backgrounds set as the background. The greeting is from the Thoughtful Words set. 

The second card uses the same set Singing Praises but this time I created a fall card with it. I stamped the bird and masked off the branch and then stamped the leaves from the Give Thanks set. I colored them all with Copic markers. The greeting is from the Incredibly Blessed set.

One Set, Four Ways

Hello!

I am thrilled to be posting after a very long hiatus.  Those who have been around a long while may know that I have been on the SNSS DT in the past.  Korin is just the sweetest person and has some of the best stamps out there, so it is no surprise that I keep returning!
Speaking of the best stamp sets, The new Fur-ever Friends is hands down the cutest stamp set ever!  It is by Jenn Nilsson.  You honestly cannot go wrong with this set.  I have been creating like crazy!
I am sharing 4 cards with this set- two are very similar, using the most adorable deer, and highlights the different ways you can use the image.

Christmas!  What is Christmas without deer?  This set works beautifully.  There are gorgeous foliage images in the set and the berries color up beautifully in red.  I created a wreath, with the tree rings from the Wood Backgrounds Stamp Set as the base.  The image is stamped in versamark on vellum and heat embossed in white.  Everything is colored with Copics.  The sentiment is from the Born this Day Stamp Set.

Next up, the same deer from the Fur-ever Friends set, this time watercolored.  I again used the Wood Background Stamp Set as well as the Scribbled Flowers Stamps Set.  The sprig of leaves is heat embossed in gold on vellum.
Two very similar yet very different cards with the same stamps.
In case you have not seen it yet, this set comes with 3 other large, adorable critters- squirrel, fox, and hedgie.  With the foliage stamps included, this set makes for a darling autumn themed card.

And how about those mushrooms?!!!  Gosh, they are adorable!   I have been wanting to try a long, narrow card for a while, and with these 4 critters, it was the perfect opportunity.  The card is approximately 4 x 9.
So far we have a Christmas card, a friend themed card, a fall themed card and now- a BABY card!
This fox!  It is so sweet.  I have been stuck in a color palette rut and had to do something different, so I gave gray and coral a try. I love how this turned out!

My background is sponged with a stencil, for a tone on tone look.

This is just one of 5 new sets released and you can get them as part of an Early Bird Release Bundle, saving you over 10%  when you order all 5!  This bundle price ends September 9th!

That's it for me!
Thanks for stopping by!

Lee Ann
Greytpapercrafts.blogspot.com

Kindness Matters

Hello Sweet 'n Sassy Stampers! 

It's Ceal, here to share with you today. We have a new release today but I have been out of town for my birthday so I am sharing one more card with last months stamp of the month that is now available for regular purchase.

Here's a graphic of our current release

And our stamp of the month 

Now for the details on how I made this one layer card.  I started with a top folding white card base and the Doodle Florals and Wood Backgrounds stamp sets. I stamped one of the flowers (I think it looks like a daisy) using the Fade Out ink and then masked it off and stamped another coving the other one jus a little. I stamped a third one by itself and colored them all using copic markers.

I added a mask to each flower and then stamped the wood slice over the top of them and then removed the mask. By masking the flowers and stamping the piece of wood over the top it looks as if they are on the wood itself.

To finish the card I added the sentiment from the Kindness Matters set by stamping the "kindness" directly on the card and then the "matters" on a black strip of paper and embossing with white embossing powder.

Filigree Hearts

 Hello! It's Monika here today with couple SWEET cards. Have you seen the clear stamp sets from the January release? So much LOVE!

 

I decided to use the pretty hearts from Filigree Hearts clear stamp set on couple of non-Valentine's Day cards. I don't send out cards for this occasion, but I can always use friendship and thank you cards.

 

 

On my first card, I heat embossed some of the hearts with white embossing powder (using VersaMark ink), then sponged Abandoned Coral Tim Holtz distress ink over it... creating an amazing background.

The greeting is from Thoughtful Words clear stamp set. The first part of the greeting is heat embossed with clear embossing powder (using the same coral ink from before).

 

The felt flower was the perfect embellishment to this SWEET card.

 

 

For my second card, I stamped one of the hearts with Onyx Black Versafine ink then colored it with Kuretake Gansai Tambi water color and Reese Brea shimmer paint.

The background image is from Wood Backgrounds clear stamp set and the greeting is from Keep in Touch Too clear stamp set.

 

 

I hope I have inspired you to craft today!

 

Thank you for stopping by,

Monika

 

 

 

 

Valentine Shaker | Julee Tilman

Hi Sweet 'n Sassy friends! It's Julee Tilman popping in to share a fun little Valentine shaker card with you. Now that another Christmas is behind us, my crafty fingers are itching for puffy pink hearts and lots of sparkle! Today I'm bringing you a card that's all heart and shakes to boot!

I started this card with the sweet java cup from Fill Me Up. I stamped the image, then masked off the image to stamp the Wood Backgrounds image as a background for the cup. Wood Backgrounds is the December stamp of the month and you can get it free with a $75 order through December 31! There's also a fantastic Year End Sale going on. Use code YEAREND18 at checkout for the discount!

I colored the cup with distress crayons, then fussy cut and blended some antique linen and pumice stone inks for the lid.  The cup cozy is stamped and colored with distress crayons as well and I added a bit of stickles to make the heart all sparkly.

The background for my shaker was made using the Distress Ink Monoprint technique from Jennifer McGuire. This technique makes two backgrounds and this is the bolder one. I used worn lipstick and picked raspberry distress inks. For the front of the shaker, I did a little surgery on the stir up my heart stamp so I could just use the heart portion, and stamped it in a cascading pattern in the same colors of ink.  I then added a bit of blending around the edges and cut a circle out of the panel to form the shaker window.

The sentiment is from the You & Me set and embossed in white on black cardstock.  I stamped a few more hearts, added stickles and fussy cut for embellishment, then added a few metal accents from my stash to finish off the card.

SNSS Products used on this card: 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I have another card using the Fill Me Up set and a portion of the softer background I created with the Wood Backgrounds set on my blog today. Come say hi! Here's a little peek...

Teacups and Roses

Hello sweet friends...Cathy here hoping that you all had a wonderful Christmas! I have two cards to share using the Teacup Roses stamp set and this month's Stamp of the Month, Wood Backgrounds.  Wood Backgrounds is available at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store for free with your $75 purchase, but only for three more days until December 31st!

Two panels with a Wood Background stamped over Distress Oxide Inks were mounted to the embossed card front.  The Teacup Roses were colored with Copic Markers, cut out and popped onto a stitched panel.  A sentiment from the Teacup Roses set was split and stamped on two die cut banners.

The Copic colored Teacup Roses were again popped onto a Wood Background.  The sentiment on this card is from the Keep In Touch Too stamp set and was white embossed on a hand cut gray banner.

Check out these sets and others at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store for the End of the Year SALE!

Blessings to you and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

Hugs,

Cathy