Simon Says Stamp Celebrate You Blog Hop - Day 1

May 16, 2019


Happy Thursday, crafty friends! It's always a happy day when we are celebrating a brand new release from Simon Says stamp, right?! Their latest collection is called Celebrate You, and it is full of lovely products! Simon is doing a free Tim Holtz Idea-ology Butterfly Adornment as a FREE gift with purchase promotion - just use the code BTF842 upon checkout to take advantage while supplies last! The code will expire on Sunday, 05/19 at 11:59 pm ET.
http://shrsl.com/1lva4

This is day 1 of the Celebrate You Blog Hop, and we've got quite the lineup for you! I will put all of the blog hop details at the end of my post, but how about we get to my cards first? Today I have focused on the Gerbera Daisy cling stamp and Words of Hope dies. I've paired them with some teeny sentiments from the previously released Comfort & Prayers stamp set, and they were the perfect addition to these lovely word dies.

 I quite often get the background cling stamps that SSS releases each month, and I always love to do my simple drop & spray technique with my Pinkfresh Studio liquid watercolor. This is where I drop a few drops of each color, then lightly spray here & there with my Distress Sprayer to create the background. This worked okay with this image, but I will be honest and let you know that I had to mop a bit of water in places, and use my brush to really make them look how I wanted. Liquid watercolor is really forgiving when it comes to this, so I wasn't worried and the backgrounds came out just as I planned!

I did end up doing a video, but please be gentle with me...it's been awhile and my voice over is a little clunky. Plus, my camera died, so you only get to see the heat embossing and watercoloring done on video...which is technically the more important part.


I hope that you liked my video, and getting to see how I fixed my mistakes, and how forgiving liquid watercolor actually is! One thing that I forgot to mention in the video is that once the panels were dry, I did gently wipe them down with a damp paper towel to help reveal the white embossing again. And I also wanted to mention that the photographed cards are the actual panels from the video - I know that sometimes people create cards in advance to try out their technique, but I'm going to be real with you...I don't have time for that. Lol! Thus, you got to watch me figure out how to make a little bit of a hot mess work. :)

I started by heat embossing the images in WOW! opaque bright white - superfine to Arches hot pressed watercolor paper. I actually prefer the cold pressed version, but I wanted less texture to interfere with the heat embossing. The cold pressed paper is far less textured, so it was the best choice. I watercolored each background like I mentioned above, then set them aside to fully dry.

While they dried, I diecut each word three times: once from DCWV gold glitter paper and twice from heavyweight white cardstock. I stacked & adhered them together with a Zig chisel tip glue pen. Then I stamped the sentiments in onyx black Versafine to white cardstock, and trimmed them down, adding banner edges to some of the sides. The final step was layering all the elements to the front of white A2 card bases, popping some pieces up with foam adhesive and finishing by accenting with trios of jewels.

This pink version uses the Bubblegum and Sky Blue shades of Pinkfresh Studio liquid watercolor. I think the sentiment would be really fitting for someone dealing with cancer, infertility, loss and so much more. 

This version uses the Sunshine & Sky Blue shades of Pinkfresh Studio liquid watercolor. This sentiment is faith based, and perfect for many occasions & scenarios...even graduation!

 I hope that you liked my Gerbera Daisy & Words of Hope card set today using Pinkfresh Studio liquid watercolor and some of the amazing new products from Simon Says Stamp!
That is what I have for you today! How about we get to all the fun blog hop info now?!

PRIZES:
Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from the blog comment section. They will choose the winners and post on the Simon Says Stamp store blog on Wednesday. Winners can email SSS to claim their prize.

BLOG HOP LINK LIST:
Be sure to hop along and leave comments along the way for your best chance to win one of the prizes!


Wow....what a lineup that is! I know I am excited to grab a cup of coffee and see what everyone else created!

Finally, if you'd like to see even MORE inspiration from this release, check out the Celebrate You Collection Gallery. And be sure to link up YOUR creations too!

Before you move along to Emma's blog, I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media. I would love to be crafty friends!

Alright friends! Happy hopping, and happy Thursday!

SUPPLY LIST
For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below. {Includes affiliate linking where possible - this allows small compensation for me at no cost to you. Never fear - I will only ever link to products that I truly love & use!}

122 comments

  1. Super beautiful cards! I love the color combinations used :)

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  2. Love your cards, so pretty, and the inspiring sentiments. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Very pretty cards. I am anxious to get some of the liquid watercolors to play with. They work so well on your cards. I have a little trouble controlling watercolors though.

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  4. Beautiful cards, and I really love the die words in this release. They are so perfect.

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  5. SO FUN! I JUST tried Liquid Water Colors last night for the first time! They were SO MUCH FUN to use! I felt like a Scientist with using the little droppers! LOL Your cards ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! BRIGHT & CHEERY, which EVERY Birthday SHOULD BE!!!!!!!!!!!! A SUPER JOB, Lea! ;)<3

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  6. Those backgrounds are so pretty and fun!! Man this release really hit it out of the park!!

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  7. I've ordered this stamps, now really can't wait to get them!

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  8. I LOVE THe colors and the design.... the way you did the word and little sentiment below is soooo beautiful!

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  9. Still working on my water color. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  10. Beautiful cards...love the white heat embossing...thanks for sharing!!

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  11. Beautiful daisies but I especially love how you used the Words of Hope dies and Comfort and Prayer stamps, I donate a lot of cards and these are just perfect. Everyone is going through hardship at different times and sometimes a little note can provide a bit of comfort.

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  12. Your cards are gorgeous! I love how you watercolored the backgrounds. I need to try this technique. :)

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  13. Such awesome cards! Love them.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Gorgeous cards! I think I might need some liquid watercolors!

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  15. Gorgeous cards! Love the white heat embossing and ink water coloring!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  17. Great color combos for spring -- thanks!

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  18. These are such bright, beautiful cards. Love that background stamp!

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  19. These are so beautiful, I love your colour choices!

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  20. Such pretty colors and awesome inspiration!

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  21. Your flowers resemble fireworks. Wonderful!

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  22. Your gerbra cards are amazing, love your colouring.

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  23. Lovely colors on your cards. Both are awesome.

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  24. Beautiful, beautiful color! I love what you did with the stamp!

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  25. Beautiful cards!! I love those color combos!

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  26. lovely cards - this background stamp is gorgeous - must have it:)

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  27. I LOVE this stamp!.. I ordered it after I got your newsletter with this card!
    Thanks so much!!

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  28. Love the beautiful backgrounds and colors you created with liquid watercolor. I love this stamp too.

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  29. Really Beautiful cards!!! I love the soft watercolors!!!

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  30. Simply lovely cards Leah, I too adore that large daisy background stamp. There are so many gorgeous stamp sets in this release, so hard to not purchase them all--until one looks at their budget!

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  31. Love your use of pastels, lovely.

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  32. I like your technique for coloring a large background stamp. I can’t wait to try it.

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  33. I love the colors you used, soft and bright at the same time!

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  34. Your coloring of the backgrounds looks easy, but so beautiful, too! Love both cards.

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  35. I am loving the Gerber Daisy stamp!

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  36. This daisy stamp is so wonderful, love what you have done with it. Thanks for sharing.

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  37. Gorgeous! Love this technique!

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  38. So pretty, thank you for sharing!

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  39. What breathtaking cards. Thanks for sharing

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  40. I love that stamp set. Your cards are beautiful. Jodie B.

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  41. Especially like the sky blue and yellow combination!

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  42. Oh so pretty. Can’t wait to make my own version of these!

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  43. Pretty card designs and I like the colors.

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  44. Thank you for sharing that you trails, sometimes we tend to give up and call a piece a loss. Looking forward to more inspiration tomorrow. I love this stamp.

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  45. So beautiful! Love
    the pink and blue
    card.
    Carla from Utah

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  46. One of the best things about background stamps is the variety of ways you can create with them. Your inked watercoloring looks spectacular with these lovely daisies!

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  47. I have never tried this technique. These are beautiful cards!!!!

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  48. Super sweet cards, how fun are those new products!

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  49. Beautiful cards! I love your color choices!

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  50. Hi Lea 🙂 Love. Your. Watercoloring!!! Wonderful color palette too! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

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  51. wow these are beautiful!! wonderful techniques!

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  52. These turned out so nice and I had my doubts in the beginning. I was afraid that you were losing all the detail from the stamp, but the end result is beautiful.

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  53. These are stunning, thank you for the beautiful examples. This set looks so fun!

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  54. I love this background stamp and your cards turned out so pretty and cheerful. A home run!

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  55. Dear lea
    Love the cards, sentiments coloring love it all. They are so pretty.Love and hugs

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  56. Super easy and yet just lovely! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  57. Beautiful! The watercolor is lovely. Rufus your lovely creations.

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  58. Just beautiful! Love that you have you have to "work" on your projects, too! Sometimes just doesn't go as we plan it in our head...awesome!! Gorgeous backgrounds and cards. Love that background stamp!!

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  59. WOW these are simply beautiful Lea. I am ready to break out my liquid water colours. I only wish I had that Gerbera Daisy stamp in my hot little hands TODAY! LOL (Its my new fave!)

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  60. Love your demonstration of this background technique that can be applied to so many other cards.

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  61. That daisy background stamp is so gorgeous - love your color choices. Wish i was better at water coloring!

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  62. I’m in love with that daisy background. Your color choices are gorgeous. Such a fun technique. Thanks for showing how you did that.

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  63. Ahhh ... love the colors and the words of hope and faith (faith is my OLW this year.) I'm celebrating my birthday and getting meaningful cards like this is such a gift.

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  64. It's great to see a video that doesn't flow properly 100% and good to learn how to "work" a problem.Your great explanation keeps us from feeling inept. We appreciate the help.
    Lynn

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  65. Beautiful cards - I love that daisy background stamp and your lovely bursts of colour.

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  66. Beautiful backgrounds that made beautiful cards!

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  67. Your cards are very pretty; I've never used liquid watercolors but they look like they could be fun.

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  68. Gorgeous cards, lovely color combo.

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  69. My favorite stamp! Love these gorgeous daisies!

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  70. Love love love!!! Watercolors are always so intimidating for me, but I love this technique!!! The gerbera Daisy background stamp is so versatile, love it!!! Makes crafting so much easier with versatile products such as this!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

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  71. Beautiful watercoloring! Love how clean and simple the cards look.

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  72. Thanks for sharing your experiments with us, goes to show a "hot mess" can turn out lovely!

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  73. You make it look so easy to color the Gerbera Daisy background, no matter what skill level we are. Very pretty, fresh cards.

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  74. It may have taken a bit more work on that second card...but it turned out beautifully. Great job Lea....thank you so much for sharing today.

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  75. You've ROCKED the Gerber Daisy Background, and the white embossing looks amazing. Thanks so much for your inspirations using the fabulous New Release from SSS. I'm celebrating ME (by realizing I need to treat myself...LOL).

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  76. Pretty backgrounda! Thanks for sharing how they were made!

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  77. Love your daisy backgrounds, they are gorgeous.

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  78. Your cards are beautiful!!!

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  79. So loving your cards. Just gorgeous.

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  80. great effect and perfect for the sentiments!!

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  81. Beautiful cards. Very vibrant colors. Thanks for sharing.

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  82. I love your cards. They are beautiful and colorful. This daisy background is my favorite release. Plus I love Pinkfresh watercolors. I finally got the full set this month and I am a happy woman!!

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  83. Your cards are lovely and I appreciate how you shared the extra work with the liquid water colors with your drop and spritz technique. the liquid water color world is all new to me so any info is helpful :)

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  84. These two cards are so "Springy" and fresh! I love them and the stamp!

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  85. I love all of your creations so much!!! The Trust in Your Lord card makes me want to make a nice batch of lemonade. The colours you chose and the colouring you did make the cards look so pretty

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  86. GORGEOUS cards!
    LOVE the gerbera daisy backgrounds, ADORE your DELICATE watercolours and BEAUTIFUL sentiments! I appreciate your video, the drop & spritz technique looks like fun and well worth the effort of working the colours!
    Thank you for sharing and INSPIRING :)

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  87. I love that you went with the smaller sentiments to let the backgrounds really shine. They're bold and delicate at the same time. Thanks for sharing!

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  88. I love your style so much - these cards are so pretty

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  89. Your backgrounds turned out great Lea, they are awesome! Watercolouring is forgiving, that's for sure. Thank you so much for showing these beauties, have a great weekend.

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  90. Beautiful cards! Love the background of daisies.
    Thanks for sharing...

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  91. The flowers are gorgeous.
    Love both color combinations.
    thanks for sharing
    txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  92. I love your creations! Beautiful spritzed watercolor background! hanks for the video!

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  93. Beautiful cards. You've used my favorite from this wonderful release -- the Gerbera Daisy Background.

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  94. Beautiful cards. You created such gorgeous backgrounds!

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  95. I loved to watch you water color! So beautiful!

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  96. This is my favorite release of SSS ever!!! Love your watercoloring.

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  97. Oh my goodness, Lea, your cards are gorgeous! I love that drop and spray technique...can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing your awesome creativity with us!

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  98. SQUEAL!! LOVE LOVE LOVE ALL of the AMAZING NEW Products and the Inspiration!! THANKS SO MUCH for sharing and for the chances to WIN!! Have a FABULOUS WEEK!!

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  99. Absolutely Beautiful!! The soft pastel colors are amazing!!

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  100. These are such beautiful cards! I love the backgrounds and the sentiments!

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  101. Wow! Amazing cards and technique!!!

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  102. I've been so intrigued by these liquid watercolors. Thanks for sharing these fun cards using them!

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  103. Oh, Lea, your cards are wonderful. So far, I haven't seen anyone else using the new word dies, and they look terrific on your cards. We all need hope and trust, and your designs do a great job of encouraging us to do both. <3

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  104. Very pretty cards; I've seen these flowers done several different ways, but I really like the brightness of your technique with the white embossing on top. Thank you for sharing. Stay safe. Faith over fear.

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Comments warm my heart. Thank you! ♥