Friend Like You Blog Hop~Day 1!

I am so excited to be a part of today's Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop~Day 1, over at the Simon Blog!  We are celebrating Simon's newest release, Friend Like You!  I am sharing a couple cards made with a beautiful new Sunflower die, a scalloped die, sentiment stamp, and some other Simon products, made for...  a Friend like you!

This sunflower die is soooo beautiful!  I used two die cuts for each of my sunflowers on both cards.  I gave the bottom layer of each flower an extra layer for some depth  I stamped the background with sunflowers, then added a die cut and layered frame.  I added a die cut and foam layered sentiment.  Here's a close up...

The second one, I used the same flower, but gave it a bit of a different look!...

 I stamped the background differently on both the panel, and the card.  I decided to frame this sunflower, like the first card, but chose to use the new scalloped  circle dies, and made a frame with two of the circle frames taped together.  I die cut the frame once, then again with a piece of foam, then adhered them together.  I thought it looked cool, but was "missing something", so I took a chance and used some old NUVO  drops that don't appear to be available any longer(English Mustard)...THAT made me happy!! I used a sentiment from a beautiful new stamp/die set from this release, the sentiment fits the flower and card so well!

Here's a close up...

Okay...I had SO much fun making my cards!!  My fun was above, your fun is below!

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 will have to win!  Winners will be chosen and posted on the Simon Blog on Wednesday, July 2nd, so make sure you check the Simon Blog on the 2nd, 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 
Caly Person
Nichol Spohr
Amy Rysavy
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
                                    Lisa Addesa<----You are Here!
Sandi MacIver
Miriam Prantner
Lorraine Aquilina
Kath Stewart
Barb Engler
Carly Minner
Hanh Nguyen
Mary Reiner
Enza Gudor

 Just to let you know...as you read in the title of this post, this is day 1 of 2 blog hops, celebrating this release!  SO...there will be another blog hop tomorrow...and that gives you not only more projects with wonderful inspiration, but also more chances to win one of the $25 coupons from Simon!  Hope you will hop along and join the fun and inspiration! ALSO...don't forget the offer in the banner at the top of the post!  You will automatically receive the *not yet released* You 2 stamp set, when you make any purchase of Friend Like You release products !   The offer is only good until the end of the day on June 29th, while supplies last, so don't wait!  Thank you so much for stopping by and "keep hopping"...hugs!  

      Lisa 

Friend Like You Release...Bluebirds of Happiness!

There's a new release over at Simon Says Stamp, Friend Like You!  I have used one of the adorable new die sets from this release, to make a card to share with you, today!...

I'm not sure if you've ever heard of the bluebird of happiness...I have one that belonged to my mom...

Bluebirds represent happiness...I have many bluebirds that come, daily, to my bird feeders and they DO make me so happy! SOOOOO...all that to say that I chose to make my little die cut birds blue.  I had an old box from my favorite perfume, that I had saved and had thought with it's fuzzy texture, would be really cool to use, to make my birds...   

I die cut the birds, used some craft foam behind each bird to give them some heft, and adhered them to the panel.  For the sentiment, I used a sentiment from an Easter set, that I taped off two parts of the sentiment, to make it fit the birds.  Here's a close up,,,

I had such fun making these cuties...happiness!!  There will be two blog hops, tomorrow and Saturday, celebrating this new release...hope you will join in the fun and "hop" along! 

Thank you for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Dainty Floral Vine

I have made a card using one of the beautiful new Simon Says Stamp dies from their Moments in Time release...just wanting to let a friend know I'm thinking about them!

This card was simply done...but all the flowers and having two die cuts for each...die cutting the flower petals took the most time.  You wouldn't have to have two die cuts for each flower, or not even die cut 12 flowers, you could do fewer, but this made me happy!!  I die cut the flowers in a creamy ivory, and dotted them with white enamel accents.  I did layer the vine and leaves twice.  I used a sentiment from an older set, and adhered to an even darker creamy colored, textured piece of paper.  Here's a close up...

This card made me happy!  I hope you are having a happy weekend, and start to the next week...June is almost gone!!  Thank you so much, for stopping by to take a look!!  Hugs!!  Lisa

Th

Sympathy Fern

I used the beautiful new Simon Says Stamp Curled Fern Frond die set, from their Moments in Time release, to make a sympathy card...

I die cut the fern in a green cardstock, then another couple times with vellum.  I positioned them on a textured colored panel, then added a stamped, silver embossed and die cut sentiment.  I added some dots that I had made with glossy accents, for some added interest.  Here's a close up...

I don't know about you, but sympathy cards are always hard for me to make...it's nice to have one for one of those unexpected and sad moments in time, in advance.  I hope you are having a great week..so thankful for you...please take care!  

Thank you so much for visiting me today, I hope you go into Friday and this coming weekend fantastically!! Hugs!! Lisa

Rainbow of Butterflies

I have made a card with a pretty new Simon Says Stamp die set of butterflies, from their newest release, Moments in Time...

I die cut all the butterflies from patterned paper, as well as from vellum, for an extra layer beneath the patterned one.  I then put some foam squares(cut in 1/2) behind each butterfly...the patterned and the vellum butterflies... 

I used some very thin black wire, and wound it around each butterfly, twisting it behind the butterfly and then giving each a set of antennas with the ends of the twisted wire.  I adhered them to a panel that I had run through my Big Shot with a piece of burlap on it, between two rubber embossing mats, giving the panel some texture.  I added a stamped and die cut sentiment, adhering between the rainbow of butterflies.  

Here's a close up...

This card was alot of fun!  Hope you're having a great start to your week, and hope you have some time to have fun in your creative space!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

A Daisy Thank You

I have made a thank you card with an older much loved Simon Says Stamp daisy die, along with a sentiment die, frame die and background stamp from Simon's newest release, Moments in Time!

I die cut the daisy, colored the center with a marker, and layered the stem and added some brushed on green ink on the stem for depth.  I die cut and layered the Giggle Thank You sentiment with black glosssy cardstock, and stamped the background through a ripped piece of paper, torn in a rounded square over the card, with a light gray ink.  I die cut and layered the frame with the same black glossy cardstock as the sentiment.  I adhered all the elements onto the card, adhering the flower at a significant angle...just liked it.

Below is a close up...

Hope you have a great weekend...I am hoping for a great one, myself!!

Thank you so much for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy Cover

I have made a birthday card with one of the amazing new Simon Says Stamp dies, from their new Moments in Time release!...

I die cut the sentiment cover from white cardstock, and layered.  I cut strips of colored cardstock, and adhered them to a piece of paper.  I adhered the white die cut sentiment onto the colored strips and added a couple cut out sentiment strips from a Simon set of strips.  I added black glossy die cut letters int5o the spaces on the die.  Here's a close up...

This die has so many possibilities.  There is a coordinating set of sentiment stamps from this releae, that has perfect sentiments for lots of different occasions, and I've linked it below,  Hope you are having a great start to your first week in June!  `

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Moments in Time Blog Hop~Day 2!

I am thrilled to be a part of Simon Says Stamp's Day 2 Blog Hop at the Simon Blog...celebrating their newest release, Moments in Time!  I have used a couple of the wonderful new dies on the first card, and the same daisy, as well as a new stamp set on the second...such fun!!

I LOVE daises, and this new daisy die is beautiful!  I die cut and colored the center, then added some green to the green die cut stem and shading to the petals.  When I saw this die, I knew that I wanted to pair it up with black and white polka dotted paper, and I found what I believe to be my very last scrap...just big enough to put on the end of the card.  I used one of the pretty stitched border dies, and popped up the panel over the piece of black patterned paper.  I added a stamped, die cut, and layered sentiment.  Ahhhh....happiness!!  Here's a close up...

THEN...I realized that in my box of goodies from Simon (I often go straight to the dies, first)there was  a really wonderful stamp for making dotted paper...a swiss dot stamp!!!!...Now I can MAKE my own patterned paper...and I did!!...

I rubbed my black cardstock with a magic powder bag to get rid of static, put the stamp in my MISTI so it would stamp perfectly, and stamped with versamark then white embossed.  I LOVE that these dots are so close together...what a wonderful stamp!!  What I love about making my own black and white polka dotted paper, is that the black background to the dots is true black...most patterned paper is not dark black...just look at the difference between the first card and the second.  I still love the first card, but love the black of the second.  I opted to make the card a 5x5, because I wanted the heart to be centered(the heart was die cut with a Simon heart die that appears to be disontinued).  Did you know that the special postage stamps you might use for hand processing cards that are thick, delicate of have bling, at the post office, are good for square cards, too?! Just FYI.  Here's a close up...

 Okay...I had SO much fun making my cards!!  As I always like to say...my fun was above, your fun is below!

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 will have to win!  Winners will be chosen and posted on the Simon Blog on Wednesday, June 4th, so make sure you check the Simon Blog on the 4th, 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 
Caly Person
Suzy Plantamura
Nichol Spohr
Amy Rysavy
                              Lisa Addesa<----You are Here!
Debby Hughes
Emily Midgett
Yana Smakula
Cheiron Brandon
Tina Smith
Sandi MacIver
Alberto Gava
Karin Åkesdotter
Kulbir Kirkland
Samantha Pfrimmer

Just to let you know...as you read in the title of this post, this is day2 of 2 blog hops, celebrating this release!  SO...there was another blog hop yesterday...and that gives you not only more projects with wonderful inspiration, but also more chances to win one of the $25 coupons from Simon!  Hope you will hop along and join the fun and inspiration, today, and check out yesterday's hop at the Simon Blog! ALSO...don't forget the offer in the banner at the top of the post!  You will automatically receive the not yet released Best Fishes stamp set with any purchase of products from the Moments in Time release !   The offer is only good until the end of the day tomorrow, June 1st, while supplies last.  Thank you so much for stopping by and "keep hopping"...hugs!  

      Lisa 

Moments in Time Release!

There's a new release over at Simon Says Stamp...Moments in Time!  I have used one of the cute new stamp/die sets, and a couple of the new sentiment dies, to make a birthday card!...

The Birthday Dragons stamp/die set is filled with adorable dragons, and the one I chose to use on my card "looked" like he might be hugging, so I decided to use the new giggle happy birthday sentiment die AND the giggle hug die for this little dragon!!  I stamped, die cut, colored and layered the dragon, as well as die cutting and layering the sentiments.  I adhered them all to the card...no panels, no layers...simply added a few enamel dots...happiness!  Here's a close up...

This new release is filled with some wonderful products, and there will be two blog hops at the Simon Blog, to celebrate them all on the next two days, tomorrow, and Saturday!  I hope you will join us for the celebrations, find inspiration, as well as possibly win a gift certificate to shop at Simon!  I can't wait...see you Saturday!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Lilac Birthday

I used a beautiful Simon Says Stamp embossing folder/die from their You Are My Favorite release, to make a birthday card!

I die cut, then embossed the lilac stem.  I then colored the flowers and leaves with my markers.  I layered it and adhered it to a small panel, so the edges would cascade over them.  I added a stamped and die cut sentiment, and added some enamel dots, that, as I often do, ran a purple marker over the clear dots, to give them a little of the flowers' color.  I used a very old Sizzix embossing folder, to give my background colored panel some sweet dimension, then popped up the flower panel on the purple one, and the purple one to the card.  Here's a close up...

There will be a new release coming out, over at Simon, tomorrow...hope you will check back to see what's new!  Thank you so much, for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Tiny Sweet Daisies

I used the adorable Simon Says Stamp Sweet Tiny Flowers die set, from their You Are My Favorite release, to make a birthday card...

If you don't know me by now, I LOVE daisies!  So...I used one of the tiny flowers from this set, to make a set of daisies for my birthday card!  I adhered them in a row on a small panel, and added a popped up sentiment made into a strip with a thin black frame around it(it's hard to see the frame on the right side, with the angle of the pic...sorry).  I also framed the flowers the same way,then popped the panel on a diagonally striped embossed panel(a very old PTI impression plate).  I topped the flowers each with a yellow enamel dot(these have a little glitter, love the shine!).  Here's a close up...

I have some tulips from this set on my desk...they are a bit smaller than this flower, so I'm trying to find a way to showcase them...hope I can make a card with them soon!  Hope you have a great day!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa 

               

Golden Thank Yous

I have made a simple thank you card with a really pretty Simon Says Stamp sentiment stamp, from a stamp/die set from their You Are My Favorite release!

I used my MISTI to position my sentiment stamp on my piece of patterned paper, then stamped it with Versamark three times(don't forget to rub area to be stamped with anti static bag before stamping).  After each time, I would emboss with gold powder.  Then I moved the paper down and stamped the second and third sentiments.  Using the MISTI is a must for this type of stamping, as the sentiment will be in the same place on the paper every time...perfect placement!  I popped up the panel on a gold paneled card.  Here's a close up...

I am always needing thank you cards, and thought the gold brought some elegance to a simple thank you!  Hope your week is starting our with a creative spark!  Having fun in my craftroom, of late!  There's a release coming out this Thursday...hope you will check back then!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Blossoms Birthday

I made a birthday card with a  beautiful Simon Says Stamp stamp/die/stencil set, the stamp/stencil set released in the April Card Kit, the dies released with the other two in the Rain or Shine release!...

I stamped, die cut, colored, and layered the flowers.  I adhered them to a panel with a stamped sentiment from another set...it just fit perfectly with my layout.  I then tied some thin twine around the panel, and added a few enamel dots that I had swiped with a pink marker, to give then a little color that went with the flowers.  I popped them up on a panel that I had embossed with a very old PTI impression plate(Tin Types).  Here's a close up...

I had such fun putting this card together...love how a number of small elements can be so nice for a card, and yet still leave the card with a simplistic feel.  Hope you are having a super Sunday...the weather here in VA is glorious!!!  Thank you so much for stopping by, today!!  Hugs!!  Lisa

Mandala Blossom

  I used a new stamp/die/stencil set from Simon Says Stamp's You Are My Favorite release to make a thank you card!...

I thought this set was SO much fun...loved that the stamp covered the entire card, but especially because there was a stencil set, that helped me to sort of shade color all the flowers and leaves!!  I am no colorer, so this was fun!  One problem...I'm not great at picking out colors, so it took several tries before I was happy with my results.  Picking colors, and sloppy stenciling...I got a lot of some colors where they weren't supposed to be, so this is my third attempt...third time's the charm!  I will admit to you...under the "Thanks for everything" sentiment, is an inking error, so the sentiment is covering it up...I do love the ability in card making, to cover up your mistakes!!  I just let you know that, to say you don't have to be perfect, just creative, when you're not.  I used some clear dots for accents, and used a marker to give them a touch of color, and make them "go" with the flowers.  I layered the flowers with the other two "mistakes" and adhered to a popped up panel.  I used vellum for the sentiment, as I wanted a little see through to the flowers(but enough cover up of my mistake).  I DI used black embossing for a little shiny and added dimension on my card.  Here's a close up...

This month has flown by....it has been a beautiful Spring here in VA...so enjoying every day.  Hope you will get your creative on...have a wonderful Friday and weekend!!

Thanks for coming by, today!! Hugs!! Lisa