Cozy Hugs Blog Hop!

How exciting to be a part of today's Simon Says Stamp's  Blog Hop, celebrating Simon's Cozy Hugs release on the Simon Blog!  I have used the beautiful new Budding Branches dies to make both my cards I am sharing with you today, along with the new Peace on Earth Script sentiment die on the first card!...

I die cut the branches from white cardstock and colored with markers.  I die cut the sentiment and layered.  I adhered both the branches and sentiment onto a panel that I had embossed snowflakes(a very old cuttlebug folder).  Super simple!  I had tried the sentiment in silver, as well, but LOVED the white on white, making the colors of the branches and berries really stand out!  Here's a close up...

The second one, the same die a little diffeerent look...

I colored with green and red markers again.  I had the idea of using a sentiment with love at Christmas, so went looking through all my stamps for something that would "go" with my idea and the branches.  I found the Simon Heart of Christmas stamp set...perfect!  All I had to do was dot the berries to make them glossy/shiny.  I have found that using Tonic drops will sometimes change the red ink that I color the berries with...maybe it's a "red" thing?!.  So....I decided to try touching up the berries with a red marker OVER the finished berries.  I thought it might take away the shine, but it DIDN'T!!  Here's a picture, below, of 1/2 the berries colored with one of my colored markers, ane the ones on the right still has only the initial color under the tonic drops...the originals of these berries weren't as light as I've had them in the past, I actually like both of these, but just wanted to show you that you CAN darken a glossy surface with a marker without losing the shine...

I had the thought of embossing or stamping the heart panel of the card, but I just loved it plain white...simplicity...my favorite!  Here's a close up of the card...

I had SO much fun making my cards...now it's your turn for some fun!  

Simon is generously giving a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from our comment sections, so the more hop blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win!  Winners will be chosen and posted on the Simon Blog on Wednesday, October 12th, so make sure you check the Simon Blog on the 12th, to see if you are a winner!!  If you are a winner, you can email Simon to claim your prize.

The list of participants in today's hop are listed below...

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Caly Person

Nichol Spohr

Cathy Zielske

Amy Rysavy

Suzy Plantamura

Keisha Charles

Yana Smakula

Sidnie Des Jardins

Heather Ruwe

Bibi Cameron

Cheiron Brandon

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

                                 Lisa Addesa<-----You are HERE!

Lea Lawson

Barb Engler

 A couple things before I go...don't forget the offer in the banner at the top of my post! Simon is offering a Giant Hugs Card Wrap die free with any $75 purchase!  Simply use the code COZY when checking out, to get this gift!  Just remember, the offer is only good until the end of the day on October 9th,  OR until supplies last!Second...there is another blog hop tomorrow!  So please visit the Simon Blog tomorrow, for another day of celebration and inspiration!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and keep on hopping!! 

Hugs!! Lisa