Happy, Friday! Today’s post doubles as my usual Friday Focus card video and a contribution to the Simon Says Stamp May 2013 Card Kit Blog Hop! Tons of fun in this kit…

I played with a few bits and pieces from the card kit and created a card…

The color on the flowers was created using Distress Paints. Be sure to watch the video below to see how I did that. The flowers and sentiment are from the Best Mom Ever stamp set that comes in the kit (it’s also available for purchase separately).

I ended up stamping the “Best Mom Ever” sentiment using Pickled Raspberry Distress Ink. Generally, I don’t use Distress Inks for regular stamping since I haven’t had good results and things tend to be splotchy, but since I wanted to match the Pickled Raspberry Distress Paint, I thought I’d try it this time. As I thought, it stamped pretty splotchy. However, I applied ink to an acrylic block and picked it up with a blender pen to dab onto the splotchy areas. It filled in those areas perfectly! Now I’m not so hesitant to use Distress Inks on solid stamp images. :)

You can get the May 2013 Card Kit HERE, or you can subscribe and receive the kit straight to your door each month. The kits are limited quantity, too, so when you subscribe you are guaranteed a kit.

Watch video below | Watch at YouTube

Supplies

Giveaway

We also have a giveaway with the Blog Hop! Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50.00 gift certificate to one lucky commenter on every blog in the hop! There are nine blogs in the hop, so you’ll have nine chances to win.

Just leave a comment on each of the blog posts as you hop along to be entered in the random drawings. The giveaway will stay open until Thursday April 25, 2013 at 11:59pm EST and the winners will be announced on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Friday April 26, 2013!

Your next stop in the hop is the amazingly talented Nichol Magouirk. So get hopping! And if you encounter a broken link, you can head back to the beginning at the Simon blog. :)