Miss You

These are tough days... we are separated from family and friends.  I don't feel you can make enough "Miss You" cards...

I used embossing paste (one of my favorite things to do:)!!) with the new Simon Says Stamp's Daisy Bouquet stencil from their latest Lucky to Know You release, and colored with distress oxide inks after it dried.  I placed the stencil back onto the dried embossing paste, and sponged with small daubers.  I added a CZ Design Miss You die sponged in the same distress oxide ink as the flowers.  Here's a close up...

Please...stay home, stay safe... find ways to have some fun(make some cards:)!!) and laugh... know we are all in this together, and we are going to get through this!!

 Hugs!! Lisa

Sunnier Days

Gnome matter what it looks like, gnome matter where you are, sunnier days ARE coming!!  I have made a card with the adorable little gnome with a bird-in-hand, from the new Simon Says Stamp Spring Gnomes stamp/die set from their newest Lucky to Know You release...

I stamped, embossed, die cut, colored and layered the gnome.  I colored the bird a bluebird...my mom  always used to say "the bluebird of happiness", and I wanted some happiness on my card!  I sponged the distress ink onto cardstock and die cut with the Simon Burst die.  I included the metal adaptor plate in my supplies, as I found that to give this very intricate die a really good cut, the metal adaptor plate was critical.  I loved the sentiments in this stamp set, but was wanting something that would speak encouragement...so I chose the Simon Greetings Mix 1 stamp set.  Here's a close up...  

Hang in there, and please stay safe!   We're all in this together and all need to do whatever we can to "flatten the curve"!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

With Sympathy

Sympathy cards are difficult, but made a bit easier, when inspired by the leaves in the beautiful Simon Says Stamp Be Kind stamp/die set and the CZ Design Clean Line Everyday stamp set...

I used the Simon heavyweight vellum, stamped with versamark and silver embossed.  I stamped, embossed, then die cut the leaves, and colored them from behind(colored on the backside of the stamped vellum), with two shades of green markers, the darker one for the top leaves that reminded me of eucalyptus.  I added a sentiment from CZ Design's Clean Line Everyday, also embossed in silver.  I did not layer the leaves...you heard right...I did not layer the leaves, write it down, not sure it will ever happen again...ha ha... but layered them on top of one another and adhered them together a tiny bit .  I loved how you could see through to the other leaves.  Super simple and pretty easy...just what you need when having to send such a difficult card.  Here is a close up...

 

Hope you are having a healthy and happy week...kindness is so important all the time, but especially right now, and please stay safe!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Tulips...Stamped and Stenciled

I made a card with the beautiful new Simon Says Stamp Layered Tulips stamp set from Simon's newest Lucky to Know You release!

 This stamp set has four individual stamps that when all stamped together, make for some really pretty and perfectly shaded tulips!  I stamped with two shades of red for the tulips(my mom's favorite and mine) and two shades of green for the leaves.  I added a sentiment from the new Spring Gnomes set, stamped with Versamark and gold embossed.  Here's a close up...

The second one, I used the new Simon Layered Tulips stencils...

I simply used one shade of purple(my second favorite colored tulip:)!), and the overlap of color, created the darker shadow.  I originally used Peeled Paint distress oxide ink, but it made the leaves look like they were dieing leaves.  I've added a pic that I took of the finished card before I reinked it...

So,  I did a do-over...literally...putting the stencil over the panel of the already put together card, and used Simon's leaf green on all the stems.  I was much happier with the look of the leaves!!  I used a new Simon sentiment from the Bunny Butt Peek a Boo set, also embossed in gold like the first card.  Here's a close up... 

Happy Spring everyone...with all that's going on in our country and world, I hope you are staying safe and healthy...so thankful for good health, and enough toilet paper😄...it's going to be ok!!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Big Thanks

Today, I've made a thank you card using Poppy Stamps Thanks Outline, their Greeting Basics stamp set, and some patterned paper...

I adhered three shades of blue striped paper together and die cut from the adhered papers.  I layered the letters, and then adhered them to a layered outline.  I adhered the whole sentiment to a piece of patterned paper, that I had stamped the sentiment from the Greeting Basics set.  Here's a close up...

Clean and simple is the name of my game...another fun filled card...

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy Easter Bunny

I used the adorable new Simon Says Stamp Bunny Butt Peek A Boo stamp/die set from their Lucky to Know You release, to make an Easter card...

I did not use the "butt" of this adorable bunny to peek out from the card, but rather, chose to have his head "peeking" out of a square frame.  I stamped, die cut and colored the bunny.  I hand cut the tab off the side of the head that would be used to make him a peek-a-boo bunny, and put one layer underneath the colored bunny. I also hand cut by his paws, so that I could put them over the frame.  I die cut the window, and chose a piece of older Echo Park patterned paper from the Spring paper pack. I popped the panel up over the card, and stamped a sentiment from the set, layered on top of each other, rather than next to.  I also placed the sentiment on the right side of the panel, to give balance to the bunny being on the left.  I dotted his eyes and nose with some glossy accents to give them a little shine:)!  Here's a close up...  

Hope you are staying safe and healthy in your part of the world!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

High Tops

I have made a couple cards using the My Favorite Things LLD All Star High Top die set...

This die set is one that was released a while ago, then retired(discontinued).  My Favorite Things brought this die set "out of the vault" late last year, and I snapped it up!!  It is SUCH a cool die, and SO realistic...and SO MUCH FUN!!  It has been in and then quickly out of stock since then, but it's back in stock again, so I couldn't think of a better time to show you what I've made with it!

 For the first one, I used three shimmery metallic pieces of cardstock, adhered together.  I then die cut the high top from the adhered strips.  I layered the shoe and some of the pieces(you KNOW how I love layering:)!).  The lace brads are die cut from silver metallic, and the sentiment is embossed with a combo of gold and copper powder for a kind of rose gold look...it went better that way with the paper I used than with simply gold.   Here's a close up...

The second one, I made a traditional converse, black and white...

The background paper is different.  I have a family friend who works in graphic design and kindly remembers me when her company is disposing of their paper sample folders.  The striped paper is one of the pages from one of the books.  Here is a pic of the "other" side of the paper..(I had already cut a piece off the page)...

I determined that the sentiment could be stamped, and the the piece was big enough for an A2 sized card, so I cut it down, stamped the sentiment and adhered it to a card...

Here's a close up...

My sister is a HUGE Converse girl...I sent the second one to her(she said she's going to frame it😁, she loved it so much!)

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Purple Crocuses

I have made a couple cards using the beautiful new Simon Says Stamp Crocus Flower die set from their latest release, Lucky to Know You...

I used two shades of purple paint chips for the flowers and two shades of green for the leaves.  I die cut one flower, then ran my tombow adhesive all over it, and adhered simply an outline die cut over the adhesived one.  I put the  die cut paint chip pieces into the empty spaces(that now already had adhesive in them) and added two layered outlines over the paint chip layer.  I used the Simon A2 Thin Frame die for the flower to sit on/in and added a sentiment from the new Just Because stamp set!  Here's a close up... 

 The second one, I used both of the flowers in the die set, and another sentiment stamp from the Just Because stamp set...

 Up front, I have to say, the purple of the card much more resembles the color of the flowers IRL...has anyone ever had that happen? I used three shades of purple on the crocus on the left....love the difference in the design of these two...makes for differences in shading and coloring.  I added a purple stamped Simon Background stamp and the sentiment was gold embossed.  Here's a close up...

Crocus are such pretty flowers...and these two dies make really beautiful crocus!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Lucky to Know You Blog Hop!

I am so thrilled to be a part of today's Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop, celebrating Simon's newest release, Lucky to Know You!  This release is full of a variety of wonderful stamps and dies, many that celebrate Spring!  I have used the beautiful new Daffodil die and a wonderful CZ Design sentiment set to make a couple cards celebrating friends and Spring...

I was inspired by daffodils I spied while walking around the lake near my house, daffodils with a dark yellow center and off white outside petals...

I die cut and layered the outline of the flower and leaves, then filled it with two shades of yellow and green paint chip pieces and light cream color card stock. Below is a pic showing what the die cut looks like as I started the layering of this pretty flower.   I used my tombow runner to cover the bottom layer of the flower with adhesive, then covered with just a flower outline die cut, then filled with paint chips!  That way, adhesive holds both the outline and pieces down without extra work.  I then put another two adhered layers of just the outlines over these two layers.  

Next, I popped up a circular cut frame over the flower with a pretty sentiment from the new CZ Design Clean Line Faith stamp set, and adhered it all to a polka dotted piece of paper and card.  Here's a close up... 

The second one, much like the first, except this time an all yellow daffodil...

We had a "bad" snow storm here in Virginia a couple weeks ago...a mere dusting of snow.  Planning for the worst, I decided to cut the daffodils in my backyard, and enjoy them indoors instead of having them die in the snow...

I did notice that these daffodils have a slighter darker middle than the petals, so that's what I did with my paint chips.  The petals are one color, and the middle actually has two darker shades than the petals.  I layered this one like the first, and adhered to gray polka dotted paper.   

OK...my fun is above, your fun 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, March 11th, 

so make sure you check the blog on the 11th, 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 

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

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

Heather Ruwe

Suzy Plantamura

Barb Engler

Cheiron Brandon

Lea Lawson

Betty Wright

Bobbi Lemanski

Lin Brandyberry

Two things before I go...
1.  Don't forget the offers in the heading!!  A free adorable stamp set(WLY777) OR a  fun enamel pin(FLF 584), with purchase, until March 8, while supplies last!
2.  Don't forget that there's a second blog hop tomorrow at the Simon Blog...hope you will check back for MORE inspiration!!
Okay...have a wonderful day...hop on!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy Birthday Metallics

Simon Says Stamp has just come out with their newest release today, Lucky to Know You!!  This release shouts Spring with some beautiful Spring and Easter stamp sets and dies...and lots beyond Spring!  Thinking of the title of the release, I think when we wish someone "Happy Birthday" we could also be saying," Lucky to Know You"...and I have made two birthday cards with the new CZ Design Happy Birthday die from this new release, both sentiments die cut using metallic washi tape:)!... 

 This first one, I adhered the rainbow metallic washi tape horizontally on a thin piece of cardstock.  I die cut the "happy birthday" from the tape, and layered.  I used some Simon heart dies, and cut hearts from the leftovers of the sentiment, layered a couple times, and adhered both the sentiment and hearts onto a white outlined and layered panel made with Simon's A2 Thin Frames die.  Here's a close up...

 The second one, I used a bit wider and softer set of washi tape, and adhered the strips vertically onto a thin piece of cardstock...

 I layered the die cut sentiment and then used strips of washi for the tops and bottom of the sentiment panel, the colors lined up in unison with the sentiment.  I dotted the senitment with Tonic Jewel Drops...

 Here's a close up....

I hope you will check out the release, and the blog hops that will be on the Simon Blog tomorrow and  Saturday(I'll be in the one tomorrow:)!)!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa