simon says stamp: hugs & kisses blog hop (day 1)

Hi there crafty friends! I am thrilled to be joining Simon Says Stamp today to celebrate their newest 2 releases, Hugs and Kisses. So many fun stamps and dies and you know I love to make cards with hearts all year long, so these were perfect for me! I have two fun cards to share with you today, but before I do that let me point you in the direction of the graphic above…be sure to use that code with your Simon Says Stamp order to get the free gift with purchase for the hop…use RBW23 to get the End of the Rainbow set FREE with any purchase. The promotion will expire 1/22 at 11:59 pm EST.

I also wanted to point out that Simon Says stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from the blog comment section, so please be sure to leave a comment below for your chance to win. Simon Says Stamp will announce the winner on their blog on Wednesday the 25th of January. The winner can email Simon Says Stamp to claim their prize.

Now let’s get into the cards. I have 2 Valentine cards with two completely different looks using the brand new Heart Chain die.The first one uses a repeating pattern of the Heart Chain in Distress Watercolor cardstock on a panel inlaid with hearts that were cut from a rainbow Alcohol Ink Panel…this one was a labor of love but completely worth it to me. I adhered all the outlines of the Heart Chain diecuts from Distress Watercolor cardstock to the panel. Then I cut out Alcohol Ink heart and adhered each of the hearts into the open spaces using foam tape. I finished the card with a clean and simple CZ Design Love Ya die as my sentiment.

For my second card, I have something in a much more grungy style. I used the Heart Chain die to cut several chains of the new Rich Red Matte Metallic Cardstock and created my own paper by layering that onto black cardstock. I die cut the paper with the Heart Panes Cover die and I also die cut another paper that I had layered with Tim Holtz Typeset Collage Paper. I combined the two patterns together for a more edgy look and even sanded the heart in the center that I had cut with the metallic cardstock. I added each panel to the card base with foam squares, then added the sentiment strip from the Reverse Bold Love sentiment strips. To finish the card, I added some Stirling Foundry Wax mixed with a bit of alcohol, splattered over the entire card and then heated it with my embossing gun. Something totally different for me, but I really love the finished look!