Simon Says Stamp – Craft With May

Ohio Adventure: Day 1

I’m writing this from my hotel room – which by the way is really nice! What a peaceful retreat to have during such a whirlwind trip. My day started at 330am when I left my house to get going.

I was pretty anxious about delays and epic FAIL in flights… but American Airlines for the win!! Everything was 10-15minutes early and all smiles. HOORAY!!

I had a short layover in Texas (Dallas) where I ordered a side of chips & queso thinking it’d be a yummy little $4 snack. Um… they gave me a TUB of cheese!!!

This made me laugh a lot – I mean it really is all bigger in Texas, I guess! SCRAPBOOKER NOTE: I like taking some screen shots of googlemaps on my iphone of where I’m at when I travel. I zoom in and out – just love seeing that blue dot somewhere new.

So Texas didn’t hold me captive this time, it would seem the DFW airport is just much more in sync with me than the Houston one. good to know. Onward! Two unremarkable flights and about 9hrs after I left my house (and two romance novels) later… Columbus!

A few notes:

Ohio is a whole nother country! They have all of these restaurant chains I’ve never seen and many I’ve never heard – most don’t exist in California! Driving in I said it’s the land of sugar and carbs – oh sweet temptation there are so many carb-a-licious options!
Tim Horton’s apparently isn’t just a kind of Keurig Coffee – it’s a real place! (I had lots of giggles over this… I thought it was just a random coffee brand!)
They have Jimmy Johns here! (another thing I don’t have in Ca) I will be having this.
I must resist Dunkin Donuts (sugar + carb overload!) honestly it’s just not that good – but somehow the whole “we don’t have that at home” messes with me every time I’m near one!
There are trees everywhere… but it is so flat! I’m used to trees + hills. Very lush and green, rainy and absolutely lovely here.
There really are Ohio State merchandise stores everywhere.
I’m reminded how much I like to explore and check out new places. This is going to be a fun adventure
THEY HAVE CRACKER BARREL HERE! (sorry… more on this obsession tomorrow – it’s another ‘we don’t have that in CA’ thing)

The hotel/convention property that the Simon Says Stamp Create event (the whole reason I’m here) is being held at is amazing. I love every detail, it’s all just really beautiful! Bonus? For $10 you can get a piece of cheesecake and a glass of milk delivered to your room. WIN!

Speaking of win… check out my beautiful blue rental car.

I normally do NOT rent cars on trips like this – I just taxi in then deal with whatever I’ve got within walking distance. However this trip a) cracker barrel b) great rate through Costco and c) realizing it’d be easier to have a car all factored in. This one is so cute! It’s also very tiny. A carry-on suitcase BARELY fit in the trunk!

Excited to get this adventure kicked off – starting with a dinner with some of my Simon family!

I’ll be back tomorrow with the “behind the scenes” day before the event report…

STAMPtember® guest!

Simon Says Stamp was founded in 2002 with an interest in exclusively selling rubber stamps. It didn’t take long until we realized we couldn’t stop there. During the past 11 years we celebrate rubber stamping in its full glory by giving access to people around the world to a one stop shop. Rubber stamps still remain the heart of our business and we are celebrating by hosting a STAMPtember® event intended to inspire, educate, and celebrate the greatness of rubber stamping. Part of the enticement of rubber stamping is that stamps can be used in creating or complementing ANYTHING! From stamping dates on bank documents and postage parcels in the early 18th century, rubber stamping has dramatically expanded to include card making, scrapbooking, mixed media, life documenting, art journaling, and many forms of altering and expressing art.

I am very excited and honored to be a part of the festivities, and today my projects are up over at Simon’s blog!

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I had a lot of fun playing with stamps + inky goodness, I hope you enjoy!

First fall card of the year!

Having such fun with the new exclusives from Simon Says Stamp!

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Here’s a fun little card where I stamped onto watercolor paper then colored in (and watered down a bit). I do love cute stamps for the holidays, and this kitty in the pumpkin is TOO CUTE! You can check out all the new Simon exclusive products here – and stay tuned as I’ll be sharing loads more projects with them soon!

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Oh September, I’m so glad you’re here!! Now I just need someone to get me a pumpkin spice latte, and help me decorate the house for fall!!

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

KP August/September kit blog hop!

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Hey everyone! As you know, I’m a big fan of Kelly Purkey + Simon Says Stamp, and I do so love the project kits that they put out. Right now you can buy the August/September kit (here), and to celebrate the release they’re having a blog hop! I’ll give you more information on that, a generous prize from Simon, and where to hop to next in a few. First, I’ve got a layout to share.

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What I love about the kits is that they are a mix of seasonal and right now stuff with items that could be used for travel, everyday, or just because layouts and paper crafting projects too. I loved the colors to use with some Hawaii pics from earlier this year.

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That 2013 sticker? I want like 100 of them. Same with the “get your shine on” badge and so much else in this kit. FUN stuff! Here’s the full layout:

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I used 4×6 photos and 6×6 papers on this page. To get your own August/September kit (and they’re going fast, I’m sure!) you can check it out here.

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

And now – on with the hop! The next stop in this blog hop is Stephanie Klauck who made some outstanding cards with the kit! If during the hop you encounter any broken links, you can head back to the start on the Simon blog here.

Before you hop off though – you’ll want to leave a comment! Simon Says Stamp will be giving away a $25.00 Gift Certificate to one commenter here at my blog, as well as on EVERY blog in the hop! That’s eleven different chances to win! The giveaways for the GC’s will close at 6:00pm EST on Sunday August 25, and a complete winners list will be posted on the Simon blog on Monday August 26, 2013.

Before I sign off I also want to share video 1 in a 3-part series I am doing about a current scrapbook “on the go”. Today I’ve got a quick 5min video to share, showing how I’m using Kelly’s current kit as well as older kits (and other goods as well) to help me put together this album.

Note albums like the one I used are available at Simon Says Stamp – and you’ll see more of this album next week!

Simon Says: August kit blog hop!

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Summer is in full swing and we’re celebrating with a card kit blog hop featuring the August 2013 Simon Says Stamp card kit! With it’s bright colors and new exclusive Simon Says Stamp products, it’s sure to get you in the creative mood. I’m excited to be taking part in this hop – and I will be sharing with you two new cards and a scrapbook layout all made from this kit.

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What I am loving about this month’s stamp set is that it would be great on my scrapbook pages (you can see some stamps in action above!) as well as on cards and other projects.

For the first card, I used the new exclusive stencil with salty ocean distress ink on a piece of cardstock before spritzing with water (that’s how I got the water spots) and layering on some hand-cut banners and a heart. My sentiment stamps are done with white embossing powder for extra pop.
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For my second card, I wanted to use that great stencil again. This time though, I used with white acrylic paint to create some texture and funky detail onto one of the patterned papers from the kit.

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This card was actually really quick and easy to make – the longest part was waiting on the paint to dry so I could add stitching, pink ink, and finish up the card!

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The stencil and little hello button are my favorite parts of this kit. Love them! Of course, I love a lot of the patterned papers too and wanted to use this kit for a scrapbook page before I quit my creative session for the day.

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I loved mixing mist splatter with stamping tiny hearts (from the kit) as well as the two (stitched and heart) border stamps that were in the kit. This page doesn’t have journaling – that is intentional! It is going to be the opening/title page in a “sisters” scrapbook album.

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Some of my layouts about my daughters and their relationship go into a sisters album (vs general family/by year album) and this will be just the page to kick off another album!

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Well now you’ve seen my projects – it’s almost time to hop on along to other stops on the hop!

This is a great kit! The colors, stamps, and all the details really come together for amazing results and simple to make projects. If you are interested – I’d suggest heading over to order yours asap. I think this one is gonna sell out fast!

The incredible Kathy is the next stop on this blog hop – you can check out her blog here. She’s got FIVE cards to share!

Before you hop to the next blog – remember that Simon has prizes to share!! There is a prize being drawn at random on each stop of the hop, so for your chance to win leave a comment on each of the blog posts as you hop along to be entered in the random drawings. (if you’re reading this via email – hop onto the internet so you can comment)

The giveaways will stay open until Sunday July 21 at 6:00pm EST and the winners will be announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Monday July 22, 2013.

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Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

If you encounter any broken links on the hop, you can head back the Simon Says Stamp blog for the full list of participants as well.