Simon Says Stamp Cheer and Joy Blog Hop Day One!

I am thrilled to be a part of today's Simon Says Stamp's Cheer and Joy Blog Hop, celebrating this newest release!!  Cheer and Joy is filled with an amazing variety of stamps, dies, stencils, watercolor cards, and other card making accessories to make this coming Christmas season one truly filled with Cheer and Joy!!

I have chosen to used the wonderful new Holiday Greetings Mix 1 to make a couple Christmas cards! This set has some beautiful sentiments, and I have chosen the Leaf adorned "Merry" for my cards today..

I watched a short video on Instagram, of an artist showing how to color and gold emboss a stamped image.  I tried to, but I could not find the video, and I don't remember who the artist was, whose video I watched.  Perhaps this technique has been around for a while, but it was new to me, and it is GENIUS!!  When you stamp an image and gold emboss, coloring after embossing will affect the gold embossing.  It can change the color, or dull the shine of the gold.  In the technique I watched, I learned, you stamp the image, color with markers, THEN gold emboss over the stamped and colored image!  The pics below will hopefully give you an idea of how to do this amazing technique...

BTW...the only way this really works is using a MISTI, as the stamp and paper need to be stamped twice in the exact same place !...

1.  You put your stamp on the stamp side of the MISTI, and your card stock in the corner of the MISTI...making sure the paper is securely in place.  Stamp with a light colored ink...I used Simon Smoke colored ink....

2.  Color the leaves and berries of the image with markers, making sure that you color as carefully as possible to keep within the stamped lines of the image...

3.  Using a static bag, Versa mark, and Fine gold embossing powder, place the stamped/colored image(make sure it has dried) back in the corner of the MISTI, secure in place, ink the stamp (still in very same place as when you stamped it the first time) with versamark and RESTAMP the image...  

...Sprinkle with gold embossing powder, and heat.   

I have to tell you, I did this 4 or 5 times, coloring the leaves with slightly different shades of green to experiment...the embossing turned out perfect EVERY TIME!!  It was like magic and I have to say again,  GENIUS!!!                       

I then stamped the background, with the beautiful new Leaves and Berries Background stamp (an exact match to the leaves and berries of the image just stamped and embossed) with red ink on red cardstock.  Here's a close up...

I then did the same thing as the first one, but with a gold embossed background on gold card stock...

Here's a close up...

...and yet another showing the letters of "merry"...

 My fun is above, yours is below!!

Simon Says Stamp will be generously giving a $25 coupon to one commenter from each and every blog on the hop, simply leave a comment for a chance to win!!  The winners will be chosen and be posted on the Simon Says Stamp Blog on Wednesday, October 16th, so

make sure you check the blog on the 16th, to see if you're a winner!

   The list of participants of the hop are below.  If you get lost, you can head to the  Simon Says Stamp Blog...hope you will check out all the amazing artists' inspiration today!! 

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Jennifer McGuire

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Amy Rysavy

Suzy Plantamura

                                            Lisa Addesa<-----------YOU ARE HERE

Heather Ruwe

Gayatri Murali

Karin Åkesdotter

Barb Engler

Crystal Thompson

Marge Yoon

Lea Lawson

Betty Wright

Don't forget, TOO, the offer in the blog hop heading...a free Post Office Box enamel pin with any purchase, until the end of October 13th, while supplies last!  Use the code, HPYML9 to receive this offer!!  
Make sure, too, you check out DAY 2 of  Cheer and Joy Blog Hop tomorrow at the Simon Blog!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa