Friday, January 30, 2026

Glossy Heart Tag

Hello friends! Today I have a heart-shaped card to share, using glossy cardstock, dye ink and shrink sheets.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Layers of ink - Glossy Heart Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I hadn't made a shaped card in a while and when I saw the Simon Says Stamp Rounded Hearts die set, I thought it would be fun to make a heart card. The card is very glossy: the base is white glossy cardstock, the smaller hearts are made from shrink sheets and there is quite a bit of Glossy Accents. I used products from Simon Says Stamp Heart to Heart release.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Rounded Heart from gloss cardstock.

Start by die cutting a large heart from Simon Says Stamp White Glossy Cardstock using the Rounded Hearts set.

Ink with Distress Ink.

Ink with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

Ink with Salty Ocean.

Continue with Salty Ocean. I used a Speedball brayer for the inking, but you can also use an ink-blending tool.

Add more ink.

Continue adding darker shades of ink. Dye ink looks wonderful on glossy cardstock. 

Die cut and then shrink hearts.

Next, I die cut hearts from Simon Says Stamp Shrink Sheets and shrunk them with a heat tool. Do not touch the plastic until it has cooled down completely. 

Ink with alcohol ink.

Ink with alcohol ink. I used: Latte, Indigo, Pool and Gold Mixative. Let dry.

Add Stickles.

Add Stickles to the transparent hearts (not the Gold Mixative ones). Let dry again. 

Add Glossy Accents.

Turn the hearts around and add a thick layer of Glossy Accents. The Glossy Accents gives them a finished and very glossy look. 

Die cut the cardbase.

Fold a piece of black cardstock and place the folding line just inside the die. Die cut with the same size heart as the blue heart. I off-set the black cardstock slightly when adhering them together.

Stamp with Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite.

Stamp the text stamp from Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite here and there and gold emboss.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Warm Thoughts.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Warm Thoughts from gold kraft stock paper and cover with Glossy Accents. 

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Later, I die cut the words from black cardstock about five times, and layered the pieces for a dimensional effect. Die cut the mat from Simon Says Stamp vellum.

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The combination of metallic paper and Glossy Accents makes the word look different from different angles.

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There was a soft snowfall when I took the photos and when I edited them, I realised that some of the snow got onto the card (I was under a small roof). You can see that the snow has added texture to the background.

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The shrink sheet hearts are very glossy and glittery. 

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From a different angle, the hearts look like this. For even more shrink sheet inspiration, check out my Heartfelt tag tutorial on the Simon Says Stamp store blog. 


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Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



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Monday, January 26, 2026

Shrink Sheet Heart Tag

Hello crafters! I am happy to have a tutorial on the Simon Says Stamp Store blog today, for a project using shrink sheets to make embellishments. 

Layers of ink - Shrink Sheet Heart Tag by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

Here is a sneak peek of the tag. For all the steps and details, head over to the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog.

Thank you so much for visiting! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin


Valentine's Tag Tutorial

 Hi friends! I hope you are well. The sun is shining here today, which is a nice change.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

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This week we have a Have a Heart theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the last project by our January guest designer Cassie Lynch aka mk_knits.

Layers of ink - Valentine's Tag Tutorial tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

To have a heart is an important message always, but maybe especially at the moment. I made a heart-themed tag for today's challenge, with shades of pink and red. The background was done with white embossing, Distress Ink and a little bit of glitter. You can of course use the techniques for a card too.

White emboss Simon Says Stamp Lined Heart.

White emboss the heart from Simon Says Stamp Lined Heart three times on a tag. Also white emboss some of the hearts from Retro Hearts. 

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Ink the tag with Distress Ink. Then mist water on a non-stick craft sheet and press the tag into the water droplets.

Add Diamond Stickles.

I added Diamond Stickles inside the hearts.

Outline hearts with white gel pen.

Outline the lined hearts with a white gel pen.

White emboss and die cut hugs from gloss cardstock.

White emboss 'hugs' from Simon Says Stamp Love Letter on glossy cardstock and then die cut with the coordinating die.

Ink with Distress Ink.

Ink with two shades of Distress Ink for an ombre effect. Distress Ink looks fantastic on gloss paper.

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Poised Primula.

I decided that I wanted some flowers on the tag too and die cut Simon Says Stamp Poised Primula from left-over pink papers.

Stamp with Simon Says Stamp Love Letter.

Shape the petals and glue the flowers together. The hearts, words and arrows come from the Love Letter and the Retro Hearts set and were stamped with Archival Ink Red Geranium and Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Saturated Sweets ink. They were die cut with the coordinating dies.

Add Simon Says Stamp Pawstively Dazzling Gems.


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Glue the flowers in clusters.

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I normally mist water directly onto the tag, but I liked the look of misting on the craft sheet instead and dabbing the tag into the water. 

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I die cut Hugs from Simon Says Stamp Gold Glitter Cardstock too and off-set it slightly. Adhere with Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape.

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

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Join us this week in our Have a Heart challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

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Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.


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Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.


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Sunday, January 25, 2026

Messy Grid Tag Tutorial

Hi crafters! Today I have a very textured tag to share with metallic elements and fun techniques. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Layers of ink - Messy Grid Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I had such fun creating this grungy tag and it is much easier to do than it might look. I used Seth Apter / Sizzix Tracks die set to create the background in combination with gesso, paint and silver embossing powder. The hearts are made from foil tape. 

Die cut with Seth Apter dies.

Die cut a bunch of the designs from Seth Apter's Tracks set. I used watercolor paper.

Glue to tag.

Glue to a tag with matte medium and when dry, add gesso. Overlap the designs to create an irregular grid pattern. Trim the edges. 

Paint with Distress Paint.

When the gesso is dry, paint the tag with Distress Paint and mist with water to blend. Wipe some paint off. 

Add silver embossing powder.

Apply embossing ink here and there on the tag. Don't press to hard as we mainly want ink on the top layer. Emboss with silver embossing powder.

Add more paint.

Dry brush dark Distress Paint here and there on the tag.

Die cut hearts.

Adhere Ranger Foil tape to cardstock and die cut three hearts with Simon Says Stamp Rounded Hearts.

Dry emboss the hearts.

Dry emboss in Seth Apter / Sizzix Dot-Matrix folder.

Paint the hearts with Distress Paint.

Paint the hearts with Distress Paints - the same paints as in the background - mist with water. When the paint is almost dry, wipe some of it off. I also die cut the hearts from black cardstock.

Add beads and charms.

I had looked through some old beads and decided to add beads and charms to the tag. The sentiment and the tag comes from Simon Says Stamp Heart Suite.

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Off-set the black heart to create a shadow. This also makes the hearts stand out better from the background.

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The combination of the die cuts, paint and silver embossing is pretty cool.

Add Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Gems.


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Here's another close-up look on the textured background. 

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The sentiments were stamped on inky paper and the edges were also inked black. The stamps come from Simon Says Stamp Plaque Slides Love and Friendship.


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Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



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