Sending Swirling Love

The pretty Simon Says Stamp Etched Swirl Heart die from the Crafty Hugs release spoke to me of moving love, like wind...

 When I die cut this pretty heart, I loved that the die cut swirls could be popped out.  I opted to layer the heart several times and popped the swirls out using all three layers, to give the pop out some substance.  I dotted with Tonic drops and adhered to a panel embossed with Simon's Stitched Whirl Background die. One of the sentiments from the new Greetings Mix 2 stamp set went perfectly with this pretty heart.  I stamped and embossed the senitment BEFORE embossing the swirls, but to keep the embossing of the swirls from affecting the sentiment, I placed a stamped a hand cut same sentiment OVER the stamped and embossed sentiment on the panel, to avoid having the sentiment have holes in it (make sure you cut out the mask as close to the letters as possible).  Here's a close up...   

Sending love, hope you're staying safe whatever part of the country or world you are in!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy Father's Day...Dada

Knowing that Father's Day is soon approaching, I was playing around with the CZ Design "dad" die last week, from the Mom and Dad die set, and found a new way to use it...  

I partially die cut the dad die, then moved the die over,  partially die cut again, adding another "a",and made "dada".  When I showed it to my daughter, she immediately thought of the Jimmy Fallon book they have(and most babies proabably have, the cover shown below), and wanted a Father's Day card made with the die cut, for her 11month old son to give his dada.  

I used a shade of blue like the one on the cover.  I then pulled out a very old much loved Lawn Fawn set of stamps, Critters on the Farm (my set is EIGHT YEARS OLD...and Lawn Fawn STILL sells it...you know I'm not the only one who loves it!).  Now, I know my bull is not like the one on/in the book, but it was the only one I had, and I'm sure my son-in-law will "get it".  I even purchased the dies to these stamps since I thought of making this card(eight years ago, there were no dies, but I KNEW I had to have them), and they were delivered in record time, but just like the sentiment die had to be "modified", so did the cow...into a bull.  I did put the dies in my product list below in case you were interested.   I had to hand cut the cow, and cut off her eyelash(even though I'm sure bulls have eyelashes, I was going for as much "manly"  as possible).  I also had to cut off her udder...nope,  bulls don't have udders. I then had to stamp and cut out an extra front leg to replace the one in the back, that with the removal of the udder, is now, no longer long enough.   By performing surgery with my scissors, I made my cow look a bit more bullish.  I colored the bull and used some lawn fawn cloud dies, and the picket fence from the Critter set (I also hand cut out the fence pieces, as I wanted the blue background to show through AMAP(as much as possible)(I colored the middles of the fences with sky blue marker).  I gave my daughter the choice of a stick on eye with a bigger and smaller pupil, she chose the bigger one.  I hand drew in the grass.  Here's a close up...

Just had to show you this card to show you that if you want, dies AND stamps have more uses than maybe they were originally made for.  You just have to have to get a little creative!  Oh, so much fun!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Overlapping Radiant Hearts

I made a card with the cool an pretty Simon Says Stamp's Radiant Hearts stencil, from their newest Crafty Hugs release...

I tried a bunch of different colors and positions with this stencil, but my final thought was to use one color of ink, and make light and darker rows overlapped...and I "loved" it:)!!  I combined the hearts with the Simon You are Loved die, layered three times,  and a CZ Design simple sentiment stamp, stamped on black with versamark and white embossed.  Here's a close up...

I have to say, this was really so much fun...loved seeing all these hearts look so sweet together!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

The Beautiful Dragonfly

I've made a card with the new Simon Says Stamp Etched Dragonfly die from the new Crafty Hugs release...

Dragonflies (from Dragonfly-site.com)  in almost every part of the world, symbolize change and change in the perspective of self realization (when I looked that up, some of my take away...becoming selfless and sensitive to the problems of the world); and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. 

The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life. 

I will never look at or think of a dragonfly the same way, again!

 This beautiful little insect die could not have been created at a better time than this...reminding us that change in perspective, and understanding by learning, listening and being a part of healing is what is so needed by me, my family, my city, our country and world...Black lives Matter! 

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Thinking of You

I've made a card with the cool new Simon Says Stamp Thinking of You Line die from their newest release, Crafty Hugs!...

 I die cut both the THINKING and the "of you" three times and layered.  I then used a strip of patterned paper to used behind the THINKING and popped up the panels above and below the sentiment.  I dotted with three jeweled Tonic drops for some added interest.  Here's a close up...

Simply done...simply fun! 

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

You Have My Heart

I have made a card to share with you today, using the very cool Simon Says Stamp You Have My Heart die, from their newest release, Crafty Hugs...

I think this die is sooo cool!  I die cut and layered the die.  I really thought this die had be set ON a heart, so I decided to use some distress oxide inks, and sponge a heart from a self-made stencil.  I used a Simon heart die and die cut it on a piece of acetate.  I taped the acetate stencil to the card panel and sponged the heart in three different colors. I used one of the new Simon Reverse Sympathy sentiment strips, and some clear Tonic drops dotted around the heart.  Here's a close up...

I am loving this new release...a very relevant release with stamps and dies that are so current to the world right now, and current to my own heart!!  Hope you are all well and staying safe, wherever in the country or world you are!!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Crafty Hugs Blog Hop!

Today, Simon Says Stamp is having a Blog Hop to celebrate their newest release, Crafty Hugs !!  This release is filled with lots of wonderful stamps/dies and accessories, that will give crafty hugs to family, friends and heros when you create with them!  I am thrilled and, as always, so honored to be a part of today's hop, along with some pretty amazing artists!  We hope to inspire you to have some fun and give some crafty hugs of your own to others!  I have made two cards with the very pretty new Center Cut Hexagon Floral stamp... 

I stamped a large card panel with the entire stamp in my MISTI (you have to take the pad out of the MISTI to be able to stamp comfortably, as this is a cling stamp) with smoke gray ink.  I colored only the hexagons with the single flower with stem, then put the whole piece of cardstock back in my MISTI.  I wiped it with my magic bag to avoid any static cling, then stamped with versamark and gold embossed.  I die cut and layered the hexagons, and adhered to an almost 6" card.  I used a sentiment from the new Hexagon Greetings, also embossed in gold.  I colored the edges of the card with the marker that I used for the petals of the flowers, so the colors would be the same.  Here's a close up...

The second one, like the first, but simply used the center cut piece...

I colored, layered and then made the card lengthwise with the sentiment from the wonderful new Greetings Mix 2 sentiment stamp set.  I colored the sides the same as the I did with the first, but opted for no gold on this one. Here's a close up...

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, June 3rd, 

so make sure you check the blog on the 3rd, to see if you're a winner!  

AND...the fun continues!  Simon is offering a FREE GIFT with any purchase during the Crafty Hugs Blog Hop!!  Use the code below to receive your free Rainbow Shattered Glass Deco Foil with your purchase...

   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

Kristina Werner

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

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

Heather Ruwe

Suzy Plantamura

Kathy Racoosin

Ashlea Cornell

One last thing before I go...there will be a second blog hop tomorrow, so make sure you check out the Simon Blog for more inspiration from more amazing artists!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Crafty Hugs Thank You

Today is release day over at Simon Says Stamp!  Their latest release, Crafty Hugs, is filled with lots of wonderful stamps/dies, and accessories, that will make giving "crafty hugs" to others so much fun!...

I used the new CZ Design Extra Large Thank You die, along with the new Thank You Background stamp for today's card...love them both!!  I die cut, layered and adhered the sentiment together, using a rainbow of cardstock strips for the sentiment's background.  I used part of a CZ Design sentiment from the Simple Sentiments 2 stamp set, stamped on black with versamark and white embossed.  I added clear Tonic drops and adhered the whole thing to a card with the Thank You background stamped in a light gray ink.  Here's a close up...

Such great fun, today!! Hope you will check back tomorrow and Saturday...a TWO DAY BLOG HOP over at the Simon Blog, to celebrate this new release!!  I just know you will be inspired!!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy Birthday Hoyas

My daughters both LOVE plants...and both have LOTS of plants.  I made a card for one of my daughters for her birthday using a stamp and die from Flora and Fauna of a plant she has and "loves"...the official name of the plant, Hoya Kerrii...sometimes referred to as "Lucky-Heart"...

 I stamped, die cut and layered the hearts.  I used the pot stamp/die from the retired My Favorite Things Sweet Succulents.  The sentiment is from the My Favorite Things Greetings Galore stamp set.  I popped up the stitched panel...here's a close up...

Then, I had an idea.  To keep the plant going into the card, I opted for another sentiment from the same set, and ...well, below, you'll see what I did...

It was such a fun card to put together...hope you are safe and healthy!  

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

A Spring Flower

 I used the very pretty new Simon Says Stamp Spring Flowers 4 stamp/die set from their newest release, Sunny Days Ahead, to make a card...

 These flowers have such classic beauty!! I had tried this flower in a variety of layouts with different papers and techniques, but I opted for a CAS card with a classic look and lots of white...it made me happy!!   I chose the gerbera daisy(loved the daisy image and it's stand-alone-size) and my MISTI to stamp, then color, then stamp again and emboss.  I stamped the flowers and leave with Simon's Smoke ink.  I colored the images, dried, then put the paper back in the MISTI, used my embossing bag, then stamped again with versamark and embossed with gold powder.  I LOVE this technique and I LOVE my MISTI(how did we survive so long without this amazing invention??!!)!  I layered them and adhered them to a stitched rectangle die cut(thought the stitched lines went with theh flower and leaves!).  The sentiment is one of my current favorites...it seems to be perfect on so many cards!  Here's a close up...

Hope you are having a good day wherever you may be today...stay safe!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Sunny Smiles

I used the adorable new Simon Says Stamp Under the Weather stamp/die set from their newest release, Sunny Days Ahead, to make a couple cards with "sunny smiles"...

 The first one, simply done, stamped, die cut, colored(the rainbow and sun), and layered.  I stamped the raindrops with versamark and sentiment with black ink, both clear embossed,  from the same set, on a light gray piece of cardstock.  I die cut the gray with one of the Simon A7 Thin Frame dies.  I adhered all the pieces to the gray, and popped up over a yellow piece of cardstock(that wonderfully went with the yellow of the sun!).  The card is 4x6.  I just had to have some space for the layout of the elements that I chose, so a bit longer card was key!  Here's a close up...

 Then, there's my second card with a very simple outside and a simple little surprise on the inside when opened.  Here's the video first...

I got the idea for this card from a card I had purchased a dozen years ago, but never sent.  It got stuck in the drawer I had it in, so I saw it again, the first time in MANY years, when I pulled it out from where it was stuck.  THAT card had a simple tiny heart cut out on the front of the card that showed yellow from underneath the cover.   When opened, the inside had a cute little sun(which is why the heart was yellow).  I STILL thought it was so cute, even after all these many years, so I had the idea to make something like that with this card...

I used the same sentiment, and a smaller A7 frame die, the same rainbow/sky image for the inside, along with another of the sentiments from the set.  Here's a close up of the inside...

I hope these made you smile a little today...here's to bright sunny days ahead!  Stay safe!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

A Rainbow of Bear Hugs

I sent a card to my daughter last week, and my 2 year old grandbaby carried it around with her all day.  I decided that I would make a card for my little Isla!  I used the new very cool Simon Says Stamp Quintuple Slider die from the newest Sunny Days Ahead release, a rainbow of papers...

...and some adorable little bear hug surprises...

This card came together over a two day stretch of time.  I had no idea what I was doing, but kind of knew what I wanted to do.  The die is very easy to put together and there are lots of videos for that on Simon's store website underneath the picture of the die.  My challenge came with design.  I knew I wanted a rainbow of colored papers, and die cut bears.   I cut the rainbow of papers in strips either exactly 1/4" or 7/16" so they would fit in each slot of the slider die cut.  The die has two heights for the five moving lines.  I adhered the  adorable die cut bears either at their heads or at their bottoms, to make them all line up at the same height  when they pop up.  Then, I used pop up dots 1/16" on the slider side, 1/8" on the bear side to give the top and bottom room to move.  I doubled the pull up die cut, adhering a second die cut to the first after I got the slider working, to hopefully give the card a little bit of a longer life with a 2yr old pulling on it😁.  The letters are from CZ Design's Archie Jr Solid Alphabet dies...I thought their size and look went perfectly with the little bears. 

I DID make a couple mistakes, both having to do with the pull tab.  I didn't leave enough room to SEE it very well, before pulling up on it.   Then, I  made my card 5 1/2" long, not accounting for the height of the pull tab.    Neither was big enough to start over, but enough to tell you about.  I had watched Jennifer McGuire's video, and she HAD talked about cutting your card shorter to account for the tab, but I totally forgot. 

 Thank you to those of you who make videos!!  I don't get to watch many, but what I do watch, are so helpful and insightful, and I so appreciate!! 

 Here's a 10 second video I took of the card in action...

Hope you are all doing well in your part or the world....hang in!!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Remember the "Smiley Face"?

I purchased the My Favorite Things Big Smile die and coordinating sentiment stamp set a while ago, but decided to pull it out a couple days ago and made a smile card, based on the original yellow/black smiley face of the 70's...

 Super simple in design, dark yellow cardstock and die cut black letters.  I die cut and stacked the letters, and added glossy accents to the letters after adhering them to the card.  I added a stamped sentiment under the curved lettered "smile" and popped up on a stitched rectangle die cut.  Here's a close up..

Hope you're hanging in...me and mine are holding tight and all are well:)!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Happy You are My Friend

Today, I combined the old with the new Simon Says Stamp products to make a card for a friend...

I was looking through the sentiments on the new Reverse Mom Days sentiment strips, from the Sunny Days Ahead release, and loved the one that you see above.  I know it was originally intended for a mom, but I immediately thought of a friend!  I pulled out the Outline Friend die, released in the Diecember® release last year, and adhered some rainbow patterned papers together(because you KNOW rainbows make me HAPPY!), and die cut the Friend die from the rainbow paper.  I layered the die a couple times, and ahered to a final layer of white cardstock at the bottom of the layers.  I embossed the hexagon pattern from a very old(and sadly discontinued) Full Card Hexagon die.  Here's a close up...

Hoping you are doing well, wherever you are...please stay safe!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Hang In There

I had had the Simon Says Stamp Lifting Hearts stamp/die set on my desk for weeks, I HAD to make a card with this cute little turtle, combining it with a CZ Design sentiment, to encourage a friend during these times...

I stamped, die cut, colored and layered the turtle with heart balloon.  I used the Simon Says Stamp Clouds for Days stencil with some distress oxide ink, sponging some clouds for a background.  I stamped and clear embossed the sentiment from CZ Design's You Got This set, and adhered the turtle with some pop up dots to give him the look of floating.  Here's a close up...

It always makes me happy and feel so good to follow through with an idea and check it off my list of cards to make, and help lighten the load on my desk:)!  Such fun!  Hope you are staying safe and well!!

Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa