Simon Says Stamp Hugs and Kisses Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to my blog! I am so happy to take part in the Simon Says Stamp Blog Hop to celebrate two new releases namely Hugs and Kisses. The two releases coordinate very well with each other ('Hugs & Kisses') If you are following along in the hop, you should have come here from the creative Amanda Korotkova.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

The Hugs and Kisses releases are full of wonderful new stamps, stencils, dies, embossing folders and paper products. Perfect for Valentine's Day, but also for so many other themes. You can find the Hugs release here, and the Kisses release here. If you use the code RBW23 you can can get the End of the Rainbow stamp set FREE with any purchase. The promotion will expire 1/22 at 11:59 pm EST. 

I combined both Hugs and Kisses in my projects and made an art journal page and an Artist Trading Card. Both projects can easily be turned into cards.

The art journal page is done in my Dylusions 8 x 8 in journal, using a neutral background, so that the focus would be on the circle in the center. I used the Painted Heart Wreath from the Kisses release and the Layered Love Letters stencil set from Hugs for the main images.  

I started by smearing Antique Linen and Pumice Stone on a non-stick craft sheet. Mist with water and press watercolor paper into the ink. Let dry.

Ink the Painted Heart Wreath with Distress Ink. Don't worry about getting it perfect. Mist with water and stamp on the paper. Since this is a big stamp, I used a Sizzix cutting pad as my stamping block.

Use a template or a plate to trace and cut a circle around the design. I used a plate. The Layered Love Letters stencil set consists of four stencils, but you only need three of them for the hot air balloon. Ink with Surf and Cappuccino Pawsitively Saturated inks, using Simon Says Stamp ink-blending brushes. Use Very Very Low Tack tape to protect the rest of the project when you are inking.

Continue with the next part of the design, using Surf and Cappucino ink.

Next add more color with the third stencil and Mocha and Cappucino inks. 

Stamp a sentiment on the balloon. 'You' comes from Swoopy Flowers and 'rock' from You're My Gal. Add details with a white gel pen and ink and distress the edges. Finally, splatter with Distress Watercolor Pencils.

I wanted a neutral background, with just a hint of texture. The page in my 8x8 Dylusions Journal was coated with gesso and when dry, painted with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Paint. Mist heavily with water. When dry, I applied Salvaged Patina through Simon Says Stamp Snowfall and Banks stencil.

I cut another circle from Simon Says Stamp Peacock Teal cardstock and distressed the edge. Stitch together with a sewing machine. 

The background was stamped here and there with the 'you' script stamp.

I die cut the new Heart Chain from the Kisses release from the gorgeous new Champagne Matte Metallic Cardstock. The stars come from the Disco Hearts sequin set.

This balloon is such a fun design and you can ink it with any color combo. Up close, you can see that I messed up the stamping of the word 'rock' and had to fix it with a black pen.

The Heart Chain is a great die, not only do you get a pretty border, but you also get a whole bunch of lovely hearts. I added some back into the border and left some floating around on the page. 'Life' comes from the Wild About You Sentiment Strips. 

More hearts and star sequins.

Next I made an Artist Trading Card (2.5 x 2.3 in), using mainly shiny papers and sequins. The Champagne Matte Metallic Cardstock was embossed in the beautiful Spun Glass embossing folder. The small hearts are die cut from the new Rich Red Matte Metallic paper.

Start by cutting an ATC from the Champagne Matte Metallic cardstock and emboss in the Spun Glass folder.

Die cut the super cute Love Paw die from the Hugs release from Heavystock paper.

White emboss 'You' from Swoopy Flowers on the heart.

Ink the heart with Distress Ink.

Stamp the rest of the sentiment with Cherry Pawsitively Saturated Ink.

Die cut the Heart Chain from Rich Red Matte Metallic cardstock and from Mirror Ball cardstock. I ended up only using the red hearts, but you can find an example using the cool Mirror Ball paper on my Sisters tag, made mainly with products from the Hugs release.

Add two ribbons to the background and sequins from Disco Hearts. These two matte metallic papers are gorgeous.

All the hearts were adhere with Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Foam Tape.

Don't miss all the inspiration along the hop. There are of course prizes to be won too, and at each stop on the hop SSS is giving away a $25 coupon, randomly drawn from those who leave a comment. The winners will be posted post on the Simon Says Stamp store blog on Wednesday the 25h of  January.

Your next stop on the hop is my friend Cheiron Brandon. Don't miss to see the fantastic project she has created. If you get lost along the way, here are all the stops:

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Nichol Spohr

Laura Bassen

Cathy Zielske

Jennifer McGuire

Barbara Tarayao

Heather Ruwe

Keisha Charles

Mindy Eggen

Sidnie Des Jardins

Amanda Korotkova

Anna-Karin Evaldsson (you are here)

Cheiron Brandon

Alberto Gava

Emily Midgett

Vicky Papaioannou

For more inspiration, remember to check out the Hugs gallery and the Kisses gallery at Simon Says Stamp, and if you make something with products from the range, it is fun if you post it in the galleries too. There are galleries for all releases, and for the card kits, full of inspiration.

This is the first Hugs and Kisses blog hop, don't miss blog hop day number 2 which takes place tomorrow.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.