LET'S CELEBRATE!!

It's Monday and do I hear some singing in the background? Why yes!  I think I do!  

It sounds like "Happy Birthday."  

It's Simon Says Stamp and Show's third birthday!  And a new announcement ... Simon Says Stamp and Show is combining all of it's challenges onto one blog site.  So now, we will be known as  Simon Says Stamp and Show, the Monday Challenge.  So, when you're checking out Simon Says Stamp and Show, be sure your link looks like this:

http://simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ 

 I also have a blinkie on my side bar that can whisk you there.

Now...back to the challenge theme.  This week's them is all about CELEBRATING ... particularly birthdays! 

In honor of Simon Says Stamp and Show's 3rd birthday, I thought it would be fun to create a birthday card with really bright, fun colors and enhance them with Perfect Pearls Powders to give them that extra shimmer and shine. 

I began this card with two 6" x 12" pieces of Manila Cardstock.  I scored them in the middle using my Martha Stewart Score Pad.

I stamped three birthday balloons from Tim Holtz' Birthday Blueprints stamp set onto Specialty Stamping Paper with Jet Black Archival.  I colored them with various colors from my Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils and then blended with using my Tim Holtz Detailer Water Brush.  The Inktense watercolor pencils are wonderful because when wet, they will blend beautifully with water.  But once dry, they are permanent.  You don't have to spray a fixative or sealer on them.  How cool is that?

Next, I created an inside "page" for the card by leaving a 1/2" tab on the back side of one of the 6" x 12"  manila cardstock pieces.  I cut away the remainder, added two strips of 1/4" Scor Tape and stuck the tab in place next to the interior fold of the card.

 I colored the "pages" of my card with different colors of Distress Inks.  The cover is Salty Ocean.  The interior pages are Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade, Picked Raspberry and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks.  



The Ripe Persimmon page was intentionally stamped with the Ink Applicator pad over and over to create a unique pattern.  

The Picked Raspberry page was inked and then ramdonly stamped with the polka dot pattern from the Ultimate Grunge stamp set using the Collage Glue Stick.  I heat set the glue and then added more Picked Raspberry to pick up the polka dot pattern.  

Once the pages were all colored, I started with the cover and glued on the yellow balloon.  I cut away 1" of the card, allowing the balloon to create a shaped edge.  Then I glued the green balloon onto the next page, lower than the yellow balloon.  I cut away 1" of the edge.  Finally, I glued on the pink balloon at the bottom of the back cover and cut away the excess paper.

On the interior pages, I have left places where I can attach photographs on the left and write something on the spaces provided on the right.  The areas made for writing are 3 1/2" x 5" pieces of manila cardstock that I have lightly distressed with Vintage Photo then spritzed with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist for an extra shine.  I then inked the edge with a black pen.  I stamped the smaller blueprint balloon from Mini Blueprints 4 in the corner and colored them in with Salty Ocean Distress Ink and a Detailer Water Brush.  I drew a string onto the balloon and added a small black line around the edges. (each interior page looks the same)

On the cover, I added some black polka dots from the Ultimate Grunge stamp set but I thought they were too dark.  So, I added Picket Fence Distress Paint to the front; softening the black dots.  

Then I added the "Happy Birthday" sheet music that is computer generated (distressed with Antique Linen Distress Ink).  I stamped the cupcake from Birthday Blueprints onto Specialty Stamping Paper and colored it with Distress Inks and a Detailer Water Brush:  icing - Picked Raspberry, cupcake paper - Salty Ocean, candle - Ripe Persimmon.  I then added Perfect Pearls Powders, using the water brush to give that extra shimmer to an already bright and fun birthday card.  I added Berry Twist to the icing, Blue Raspberry to the cupcake paper, Sunflower Sparkle to the flame and Pearl to the candle.  I cut it out and pop dotted it on top of the sheet music. 

"CELEBRATE" was stamped onto manila cardstock using Clear Embossing Powder and then distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink.  I cut around each of the letters and pop dotted every other one for more dimension.

So there you have it.  Happy Birthday Simon Says Stamp and Show~Monday Challenge!  Join in the fun and create something using a birthday celebration theme.  Then enter our contest. You could be the winner of our wonderful  

$50.00 credit voucher from Simon Says Stamp.  And ... if your project is extra special, you could be featured in one of our new features...

Good luck!

Here are all of the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in creating

this birthday card:

*PREORDER Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2013 TALL TEXT CMS166	*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2013 BIRTHDAY BLUEPRINT CMS153	*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2013 *CMS154 MINI BLUEPRINTS 4	*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps ULTIMATE GRUNGE Background Stampers Anonymous	*Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK AIP31468
*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD	*Ranger Perfect Pearls BLUE RASPBERRY Individual Pigment Powder	*Ranger EMBOSSING POWDER SUPER FINE CLEAR Detail Rubber Stamp Ink	*Ranger Perfect Pearls BERRY TWIST Blue Pink Individual Pigment Powder	*Ranger Perfect Pearls PERFECT PEARL Individual Pigment Powder
*Martha Stewart SCORING BOARD Score Craft Tool 42-05002	*Scor-Tape 1/4"" Crafting Tape	*PREORDER Ranger 12"" x 12"" SPECIALTY STAMPING PAPER Inkssentials Surfaces ISP35657	*Ranger Inkssentials 12 X 12 MANILA CARDSTOCK plus Bonus Tag! Surfaces	*Ranger Perfect Pearls SUNFLOWER SPARKLE Yellow Individual Pigment Powder
*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD SALTY OCEAN Ranger SUMMER	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD BLACK SOOT Ranger	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD SQUEEZED LEMONADE Ranger SPRING	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD RIPE PERSIMMON Ranger FALL	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD ANTIQUE LINEN Brown Ranger
*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD PICKED RASPBERRY Ranger SUMMER	*Ranger Perfect Pearls MIST BISCOTTI Glimmer Spray 31253	*Ranger Inkssentials COLLAGE GLUE STICK Adhesive INK33103	*PRE-ORDER Tim Holtz Distress Paint PICKET FENCE Ranger TDD36425

InLinkz.com