I was so excited for the March Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp…the stamp set is adorable, the stencil is versatile, and the patterned paper is so pretty. But despite the promise I made myself that I would “kill” each new kit when it arrives, I struggled to make a single card with it at first…until last week, this kit had been sitting on my workbench haunting me.
I had lots of ideas, but I couldn’t seem to get any of them off the ground. I stamped, colored, and fussy-cut the images, but they just laid there staring at me. Finally, I realized that what was bugging me was the uber bright yellow and orange cardstocks in the kit. I couldn’t make them work with my ideas for spring cards, and once I had swapped them out for white and kraft I finally had some positive momentum!
Stenciled Cards
I loved this versatile little stencil. Not only can you do all sorts of techniques with it, but since it’s an ellipse rather than an oval, it works for more than just eggs at Easter!
- Top left – I spread all three colors of Nuvo Embellishment Mousse included in the kit over the stencil for springy blend, added a banner across the bottom with my sentiment, and finished it off with matching twine and pearls.
- Top right – I traced the outline of the flowers and leaves in the stencil onto watercolor cardstock with my Spectrum Aqua markers and then blended the color towards the middle with a damp brush (similar to the technique used on this Christmas card). After die-cutting around the colored egg with a fancy-edged die (Gina Marie Designs), I popped it up over a green cardbase that I had stamped repeatedly in matching ink with a few of the sentiments in the set, and added a “Happy Easter” embossed in white on a black scrap.
- Bottom center – This time I used only the platinum embellishment mousse directly onto some of the patterned paper in the kit and added a matching sentiment embossed in silver on black cardstock.
Colored Cards
When I get a stamp set that I can’t wait to color, I usually stamp out the images repeatedly on Copic X-press Blending Card until I fill an entire sheet. Then, I just have fun and experiment with different hues.
- Top left – I don’t need a ton of Easter cards, so I wanted to make a few that I could use on other occasions. The sweet lamb patterned paper reminded me of a baby shower, so I added my warm brown bunny on top of a decorative oval die-cut (Gina Marie Designs) and adhered a banner die-cut (Lawn Fawn) underneath with the “Some Bunny” sentiment stamped in brown.
- Top right – This sentiment was screaming to be placed on a shaker card! I added a mix of different clear and white sequins and beads to the circular window and decorated the front with my white bunny and a colorful Easter egg.
- Bottom center – I wanted to play with my new Spectrum Noir Metallic Pencils on the grey cardstock in the kit, so I heat embossed the eggs and hearts all over the cardbase in white and added some simple shiny color (no shading really, just fun). Then I added a layered medallion with my sentiment (dies from Elizabeth Crafts) over a band of white organza ribbon.
And here’s a peek inside the pink card. I stamped it with a phrase from Lawn Fawn so that it reads “some bunny is on the way”…perfect for a baby shower!
The Rest
Try as I might to just use mostly the items in the kit, I found myself reaching for other supplies from my stash a lot so that I didn’t end up with just a ton of Easter bunny and big stenciled egg cards.
- Top left – two Copic-colored chicks surrounding that fun sentiment with some googly eyes for good measure
- Top right – a die-cut sentiment (Anna Griffin) inked for an ombre look over pretty patterned paper from the kit
- Bottom left – the leftover colored images built into an egg hunt scene with die-cut hills (Pink & Main) and an inked sky
- Bottom right – Here I pressed my Versamark ink pad through the stencil and heat-embossed the egg image in white on top and bottom, then inked over it with light pink and blue ink. The sentiment from Hero Arts was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black for a simple and pretty sympathy card.
If you’re struggling a bit with this kit like I did at first, I hope I’ve given you a couple of ideas that you can use! It may be as simple a fix as switching out some of those colors of cardstock that might not be inspiring you…and there will be no waste for me because that bright orange and yellow will make great summer cards in a few months!