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Simon Says Stamp Diecember Release Blog Hop (VIDEO + GIVEAWAYS!)

2 Dec

Good morning!  Today I’m hopping along to celebrate the Diecember release from Simon Says Stamp!!  I shared my first Diecember card yesterday and today I’m sharing eight cards along with a video!  I know, I know…I never make this many cards at once…but you’ll see how easy it is and you’ll make a ton, too! 😉

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

You can watch the video below or in HD at my Youtube channel:

Alcohol inks are making a comeback in a BIG way these days and I wanted to try using them as I see alcohol ink artists use them on big canvases on instagram!  I’m not a fan of using the felt blending pads…they never really seem to give me the effect I want and all the colors blend together too much for my liking.  I follow several alcohol ink artists on instagram and I love the way they put droplets on a canvas, blow them around, and then add more colors.  It seems like a very free-flowing organic process and I figured there’s no reason I can’t do something similar for a card, right?  So basically I used that concept but on a much smaller surface, a 9×12 piece of yupo paper.  I used alcohol inks in indigo, denim, turquoise, amethyst, pool, and sailboat blue.  Off camera I used those colors with pitch black alcohol ink on one piece of paper and then on camera I used those colors with silver mixative for a brighter, sparkly look. After the inks dried I splattered the yupo paper with copic opaque white paint to create the look of snow across a wintery night sky.  I let that dry as well and then cut up the 9×12 paper to create a variety of cards!

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

For the first two cards I simply cut 4″ by 5.25″ inch panels of the alcohol ink background and adhered them to a white card base.  Then I die-cut the Bliss, Joy, and Felicity snowflakes using the new glitter paper from Simon Says Stamp and adhered them to the panels.  Finally I die-cut the sentiments from older SSS releases and adhered them over the snowflakes.  I used two layers of white cardstock on the lighter card and a layer of blue glitter over a layer of white cardstock on the darker card.

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

I mention this in the video but either of these backgrounds could be used for galaxy cards or underwater scenes!  Lots of ways to use these fun backgrounds for a variety of cards! 😉

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

For this card I die-cut the Sensational Snowflakes from white cardstock and reserved the snowflakes.  Then I adhered the alcohol inked background behind the white cardstock and adhered two white snowflakes on top.  Finally I added a die-cut sentiment using the silver glitter paper!

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

My next card uses the pretty Picture Book Tree die!  Again I die-cut it from a white card panel, adhered the alcohol inked background behind it and finished it with a glittery sentiment!

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

This card uses the same Sensational Snowflakes Collage die I used on my card yesterday but this time it’s backed by the alcohol inked panel.  I stamped the sentiment from Christmas Essentials with versamark, heat-embossed it with silver embossing powder, and then popped it up with foam mounting tape.

Diecember 2017 by Jessica Frost-Ballas for Simon Says Stamp

The rest of my cards follow a similar layout just using different sections of the alcohol inked background.  I love how unique all the cards look even though they’re using the same panel!  I hope these cards give you some ideas for how to incorporate alcohol inked backgrounds into your card designs.  And if you don’t have alcohol inks…you could easily create a similar look with a watercolored background, color burst sprinkled background, or a distress ink blended background…or even by using patterned paper or glitter paper!  I used only a small portion of the amazing dies that Simon Says Stamp just released for Diecember so make sure to head over and check out the full release!  What’s your favorite one?

And what’s a hop without a giveaway, right?  Simon Says Stamp has generously offered a $25 gift card to EVERY stop on the hop!!  All you need to do is visit and leave a comment on each blog.  The winners will be randomly selected from each blog and announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog!   There’s also a second blog hop tomorrow with even more inspiration and giveaways so don’t forget to check that out!  In case you encounter a broken link here is the full hop list for today:

  • Simon Says Stamp Blog
  • Jennifer McGuire
  • Kristina Werner
  • Debby Hughes
  • Amanda Korotkova
  • Jessica Frost-Ballas —> You are here!
  • Kathy Racoosin
  • Bibi Cameron
  • Heather Hoffman
  • Barb Engler
  • Sarah Moerman
  • Anna Kossakovskaya

Good luck!  If this is your first time visiting my blog I hope you’ll come back again!  You can subscribe to my blog via the sidebar on the right or find me on Instagram and Youtube.  Thanks for visiting and have a fabulous day!  Happy Hopping!

Interested in the products I used?  To make them easy for you to find, I have listed them below. (Affiliate disclosure can be found here). Your purchases through my links help keep my blog running with no additional cost to you and I thank you so much for the support!

Simon Says Stamp Big BLISS SNOWFLAKE
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Big JOY SNOWFLAKE
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Big Huge FELICITY…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp PICTURE BOOK TREE…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp SENSATIONAL…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp EVERGREEN CIRCLE
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp SENSATIONAL SNOWFLAKES
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp BELIEVE
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp FA LA LA
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock SILVER…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock WHITE…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock ASSORTMENT…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Clear Stamps ADVENT…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Clear Stamps CHRISTMAS…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink POOL
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink TURQUOISE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink SAIL BOAT BLUE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink AMETHYST
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink DENIM
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink INDIGO
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink PITCH BLACK
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink SILVER Metallic…
[ SSS ]
Yupo WHITE WATERCOLOR 5×7 144lb Paper…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Adirondack WHITE ALCOHOL…
[ SSS ]
Copic OPAQUE WHITE WITH BRUSH…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Ranger ALCOHOL BLENDING…
[ SSS ]
Neenah Classic Crest 110 LB SMOOTH…
[ SSS ]
Inkadinkado EMBOSSING MAGIC Powder Bag
[ SSS ]
Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Premium Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp EMBOSSING POWDER…
[ SSS ]
Wagner Precision Heat Gun
[ SSS ]
Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE…
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE
[ SSS ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT PLUS MACHINE
[ SSS ]
Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT…
[ SSS ]

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Comments:
427 Comments
Categories:
bloghop, card-making, crafting, design team, simon says stamp, video tutorial
Tags:
alcohol ink, simon says stamp

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Comments

  1. Debbie Rumpza says

    December 2, 2017 at 10:45 am

    Oh my. I love the effect of the white die cover panel over the alcohol inks and the beautiful colors you chose for the inks are perfect!!!

    Reply
  2. mypapercraftworld says

    December 2, 2017 at 10:53 am

    You worked magic with those alcohol inks, Jess … each card is just beautiful … so eyecatching! Anita 🙂

    Reply
  3. Eileen Turk says

    December 2, 2017 at 10:58 am

    Love the alcohol inks backgrounds! Great cards.

    Reply
  4. Mary Holshouser says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Fantastic.
    I love the deep shades of blue that resulted
    from the alcohol ink mixtures.
    Wonderful cards.
    thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. rustyblue85 says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:07 am

    Ooooh, gorgeous! I really love the colour palete! I see what you mean that it could be used for a space or underwater background too, thanks for the inspiration!!

    Reply
  6. Daria Z. says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:08 am

    These are just beautiful! My favorite is the one with the trees and “believe” – I didn’t know know they had a black alcohol ink. It’s on my list now. ;0

    Reply
  7. memalagene says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:09 am

    WOWZERS, Gorgeous cards! I love them all! Thanks for the alcohol ink technique video!

    Reply
  8. Dee Earnshaw says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:16 am

    wow these cards are stunning – love the backgrounds – just STUNNING:)

    Reply
  9. Carol Doggett says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Those backgrounds are AMAZING!!!

    Reply
  10. Kathy Anderson says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:19 am

    I just ordered a bunch of alcohol inks – can’t wait to jump into this technique

    Reply
  11. dpglasser says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:19 am

    I love the colors! Bold and beautiful!

    Reply
  12. Angie says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Love those alcohol inks. Love the cards!!!

    Reply
  13. Debbie B says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Jessica that was such an amazing process to watch! I even called my son and grandson in to my craft room to watch!!! They said it was “AWESOME”! Thanks so much for that demonstration! Your cards are fantastic! Those dies are amazing! Putting a SSS gift card at the top of my wish list! Thanks so much for sharing. Will be back to watch it again! 😀

    Reply
  14. Linda Miles says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:26 am

    I just purchased some alcohol inks and can’t wait to try this! Thank you for the very helpful video!

    Reply
  15. jeannie o Boudet says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Lovely cards! gotta start playing with my alcohol inks again. great dies in this release.

    Reply
  16. Gail Anderson says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:31 am

    I love making backgrounds with alcohol inks and these are wonderful card ideas!

    Reply
  17. Jean G. says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:34 am

    I love using alcohol inks. I could play with them all day. Great cards!

    Reply
  18. Jackie says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:34 am

    Your cards are beautiful and those backgrounds are amazing. I need some of the larger format Yupo paper. The video was mesmerizing, I will definitely be watching ti over and over. Beautiful music, too.

    Reply
  19. Patty Eifert says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Beautiful!!! Those alcohol inks look awesome behind those die cuts…brilliant idea!!

    Reply
  20. Lisa L. Cleary says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:37 am

    Love these backgrounds. They go so perfectly with the new SSS dies.

    Reply
  21. cinnamonsally25 says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:47 am

    Wow just beautiful, the alcohol backgrounds are stunning.

    Reply
  22. Nunzia says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:49 am

    Great technique! I love your cards.
    Nunzia

    Reply
  23. Nandini says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Wow! The backgrounds are stunning! And I love the way you have combined the gorgeous new dies with them!

    Reply
  24. JmB says

    December 2, 2017 at 11:55 am

    I could watch you create alcohol ink backgrounds all day long. Great technique and the cards turned out beautifully. The background goes great with the dies. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  25. Mary Lee says

    December 2, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    I love seeing all that can be done with dies and ink. Beautiful.

    Reply
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Jessica About Me Photo
Hi, I'm Jess! Thanks for visiting my blog where I share my adventures in cardmaking and papercrafting! I hope I can inspire you to craft with a little extra sparkle!

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Disclosure

I design for several companies because I truly love their products! Anything I recommend on my blog is something that I genuinely love and regularly use. I do not get paid for product reviews and I will never recommend a product that I do not like or would not use.

I am affiliated with several of my favorite crafty companies which means I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you!!) when you click on one of my links and make a purchase through the store.

You can find my full disclosure as well as a list of the companies I am affiliated with HERE. Thank you so much for supporting me!

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