Yippee for Yana: Step-by-Step: Shiny Baubles Ornaments
Hi friends! Please join me in welcoming back the oh-so-talented and amazing Yana Smakula! (Please note: our dear friend Yana is Ukrainian. To show support to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, please see Yana’s post HERE.)
Hello, crafters, this is Yana Smakula for Simon Says Stamp! Welcome back for another Yippee For Yana video!
Today we’re diving into the Shiny Baubles Stamp & Die Set – and oh my, is it a showstopper! Think vintage holiday ornaments with a fresh twist. This set allows you to layer, mix, and match parts to create realistic, dimensional ornaments that appear to be plucked straight from your Christmas tree.
I paired the Shiny Baubles with Pawsitively Saturated Ink Trio 31 for my stamping, and then added sparkle with Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. The combo is pure holiday magic.
To start, I used Simon’s 130lb cardstock and stamped my ornament in two shades of green from the ink trio: Jade and Eucalyptus. (You can totally do this in reds, pinks, purples – whatever makes your holiday heart happy!)
With the coordinating dies, I cut out the ornament plus an inner window. I die cut the opening and topper from gold glitter cardstock and glued them on. That touch of gold with muted sage greens is perfection – but silver would also be gorgeous if you’re into cool tones.
Inside my ornament, I stamped a tiny Santa’s Village scene in black for a surprise detail. Layering the stamped piece over a solid sage ornament gave me instant depth and dimension without any bulk.
For my background panel, I did tone-on-tone stamping with Eucalyptus ink on Sage cardstock to suggest a whole tree of ornaments. This gives a rich pattern but keeps the focus on the main ornament.
I added a simple black-ink sentiment, “Joy to the World,” at the bottom. With everything in place, I foam-mounted the main ornament for that delicious pop of dimension – because, let’s be honest, a little lift makes everything look fancier!
Finally, it was time for sparkle. I scattered Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems across the panel. They come in multiple sizes, so you can cluster them naturally – like twinkle lights on a tree. A few tiny white gel-pen dots finished the snowy effect without overwhelming the design.
Here’s my finished card – fresh, dimensional, and oh-so-sparkly. If you’re itching to start your holiday crafting, grab these goodies while they’re in stock!
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Ways to support Ukraine:
If you are looking for ways to support Ukraine, we encourage you to visit this page on Yana’s blog:
Thanks so much for stopping by, and thanks to Yana for being our guest!
Nature’s Wonder Wreath by Paula Cheney
Hi friends! Happy Sunday! If you’re anything like you mean you gasped when you saw this stunning make by Paula Cheney! Such a gorgeous make with a beautiful sentiment in the center! Read on to learn all the details and enjoy!
Paint the outside and lip edge of a idea-ology Display Panel with Scorched Timber Distress Paint. Let paint dry completely, then sand the painted edges. Wipe away the dust and add a layer of Collage Medium over the painted portion for a finished look.
Cut multiple neutral idea-ology Backdrop papers to cover the inside of the Display Panel. Adhere the paper with Collage Medium. Once secure, add a layer of Collage Medium over the surface of the paper.
Once the paper surface is dry and sealed with Collage Medium, scribble Walnut Stain Distress Crayon on Glass Studio Mat. Use a damp paint brush to pick up the crayon and add to the edges of the paper to give it an aged look. Use as many layers of Crayon as you wish. If you get too much, just lightly pounce with a wet wipe to remove. Set aside to dry.
Gather supplies for the next step: Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, Stampers Anonymous Nature’s Wonder Stamp set, and the Simon Says Stamp Nature’s Wonder matching wafer die.
Cut two sheets of Distress Heavystock in half (5.5 x 8.5”). Use a stamping tool to stamp all nine leaves at the same time. I chose to ink the leaves with Oxide Mini’s. Because they are small, it’s easy to add multiple colors to the stamps. I used Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Crackling Campfire, Peeled Paint and Villainous Potion, but many colors combinations will work. TIP: I always start with the lightest colors and work my way to the dark one’s. If any of the ink transfers to the pad, I just wipe off the pad with a wet wipe when I’m done.
Lightly spritz the stamps with water from a Distress Sprayer, then stamp the Heavystock and dry with a Heat It Tool. I repeated this step three times so I had three sheets of images to work with.
Use a die cut machine and the new SSS Nature’s Wonder Wafer Dies to cut out the leaves. So simple and easy to cut a huge pile of leaves in just three passes! Look at the result!
Place all the leaves close together on a paper towel. Shake up Distress Spritz Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo till the the mixture its liquified. Spray from above so the Spritz falls onto the leaves. Dry with a Heat It Tool till the Spritz starts to shine. Dab off any excess.
The shine of Distress Spritz is hard to capture in photos, but as soon as the light hits you can clearly see it.
Cut off a 10” piece of idea-ology Mummy Cloth. Spray with Distress Spray Stain in both Gathered Twigs and Scorched Timber, followed by water from the Distress Sprayer to make the ink wick. Dry with a Heat It Tool, then shred into pieces.
Using a embroidery hoop as the foundation (approximately 5.5”), begin glueing the first layer of leaves and pieces of Mummy Cloth to the hoop. You can use Collage Medium or a hot glue gun.
For layer two: add Thin Foam Squares to the back of the leaves and arrange them on top of layer one, filling in some of the blank spaces. I found is best to add Thin Foam squares (to create depth) but still use hot glue to adhere them to the surface.
For layer three: add standard 3D Foam Squares for even more depth using the same method. I also added a bit more of the Mummy Cloth in between the layers of the leaves with Collage Medium.
Once the wreath was complete, I added a few Pawsitively Dazzling Gems in Butter (Simon Says Stamp). So easy to add them with Collage Medium and they add to the shine of the Spritz!
Add Collage Medium to the back of the embroidery hoop and place in the center of the Display Panel. I prefer using collage medium over hot glue, because the medium gives you more open time to get the wreath into the correct position.
Choose an idea-ology Quote Chip Label to add to a Label Frame for the center of the wreath. Add two double stacks of 3D Foam Squares to the back.
Add the quote to the center of the wreath with the 3D Foam Squares.
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Thank you so much for stopping by, and thanks to Paula for being our guest!
Happy World Card Making Day from Simon Says Stamp!
Happy World Card Making Day from Simon Says Stamp—It’s a holiday created just for all of us!
The best thing about World Card Making Day is not only making cards, but the idea that there are people all over the WORLD making cards, too. These people share our passion for creativity and happy mail. In the spirit of this connective nature and to celebrate our favorite holiday, we’ve compiled a video showing card makers like you sharing their love of creating with others!
World Card Making Day was created in 2006, and the original purpose was to kick-start the holiday card making season. Chances are you make lots of cards for Christmas, but we all know that those beautiful cards don’t come together in one night. So grab your scissors and adhesives and cardstock and stamps and make some cards today! Your family can fend for themselves, right? You deserve to celebrate.
And of course you are looking for inspiration to get those Christmas cards started, so here are some beautiful projects for the holidays and Halloween and birthday, too, created by seven talented makers from seven different countries across the globe.
Representing Malaysia—Inderjeet Kaur
Inderjeet’s festive design is a die cut dream using the following Simon Says Stamp exclusive wafer dies: Winter Cardinal, Hanging Leaf Ring, Berry Stems, and Merry Christmas dies. We love the pretty and snowy acetate window she created with our Simon brand Clear Acetate Cards A2!
Representing Singapore—Cez Tolentino
Cez used the beautiful products from our incredible Tim Holtz STAMPtember® Festive Technique Workshop last Sunday, September 28, 2025. Find tons of inspiration and education from Tim Holtz himself in this amazing FREE YouTube class with nearly 4 hours of time with Tim and Heidi, too! Soak in more inspiration in our gallery, too.
Representing Italy—Alberto Gava
Alberto was in the mood for a little spooky Halloween coloring, and he made these super fun shaped cards using the Halloween Treats stamp set from Simon Says Stamp!
Representing Switzerland—Adriana Arminio
Adriana’s pretty card shimmers in blues. She used two Simon Says Stamp exclusive products to make this festive card: the Grand Pixie Snowflake die and the Christmas Star stamp. She added a Swiss German Merry Christmas sentiment to make her card uniquely Swiss!
Representing United Arab Emirates—Hannelie Bester
Hannelie brings the glitz with a pair of elegant and sophisticated holiday cards! She used the following Simon Says Stamp exclusive products: Large Joy die, Christmas Words stamp, and Spun Glass embossing folder. The sentiment on the left card is from the Vintage Holiday Swag stamp set.
Representing Argentina—Celes Gonzalo
This design by Celes is bursting with birthday happiness! We love the sweet gathering of pastel balloons she created using our Simon brand Balloon Assortment die and a simple sentiment from our Festive Balloons stamp set.
Representing the United States of America—Rosemary Dennis
Rosemary revisited the super sweet Holiday Ornaments stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. While the snowflake embossing folder she used is no longer available, you’ll find a wide array of pretty Simon Says Stamp snowflake embossing folders HERE!
What would World Card Making Day be without prizes? Show us what you’re making today for World Card Making Day! Upload your cards at the InLinkz below by 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 11th, and we will choose 1 random winner to receive a $100 gift card from Simon Says Stamp!
Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, щасливого Різдва, Wesołych Świąt, 메리 크리스마스, Vrolijk Kerstfeest, καλά Χριστούγεννα, Fröhliche Weihnachten, 聖誕節快樂, and Geseënde Kersfees to you all!
Have an awesome World Card Making Day, and we can’t wait to see what you’re making!
