STAMPtember® Party!

There's a party going on at Simon Says Stamp's Blog, today!!  I am a thrilled to be a part of this wonderful party, celebrating Simon's STAMPtember® release!!  This release happens every year, is a month long celebration of all things stamping and cardmaking, and is by far, Simon's biggest release!!  There are also amazing collaborations with other stamp companies throughout the month!  You can go to the Simon Blog to see all the participants at today's party, it is going to be inspirational and fun!!  

I made a card today, that uses one of the beautiful new dies, to share for the party....

I don't know about you, but these last couple years have been really hard.  I haven't seen one of my daughters in almost 2 years.  I miss her more than any words, but had an idea for a card that would help me express it a bit better.  I am from Western New York, where the Maple trees are everywhere, and maple leaves are right up there with rainbows and daisies, for me, when it comes to things I love!  I knew my daughter would understand this leaf, meaning another Fall that we have been apart.  This Ornate Leaves die is beautiful and if you know me, you might guess that paint chips are the only way that I could fill in the pieces of this pretty ornate leaf...

I die cut a leaf, put runner adhesive all over the die cut, and then put the the outline and paint chip pieces on the adhesive.  I used three shades of yellow to fill in the pieces.  The paint chips I used were narrow , I couldn't cut whole leaves from eachy shade, so I had to adjust my die cutting to make certain I got the right parts of the leaf to coincide with the needed pieces for shading on the die cut (hope that makes sense!).  I then adhered two more die cut outlines onto the colored leaf.  I adhered the leaf to a card with two outlines adhered to the card, and a pretty new sentiment from the Printmaking Florals stamp set!  Here's a close up...

I had so much fun creating a card with such a pretty maple leaf and sentiment!!  

I hope you will check out the party over at the Simon Blog!  There is an offer and code in the banner at the top of my post, for a Large Happy Birthday die with the purchase of $30 or more!  The really cool and fun part of this offer, is that it's not the only one at the party!  Think of this as a sort of scavenger hunt...there are different offers at different stops at the party...you will need to check out the other places at the party to uncover the other wonderful offers!!  Hope you are not only inspired by the party, but have fun along the way... and, like me, find something you just can't live without:)!!

Have fun, and thanks for stopping by today!! Hugs!! Lisa