Just a Random Update!

 Hey, folks!! Just wanted to pop in here as it's been about FOUR MONTHS since I've posted anything! Thank you for sticking around.

I just really wanted to give you an update on the status of my life. Like everyone, this pandemic has taken its toll. Luckily, my physical health along with literally everyone I know is fine. Mentally however, it's been a bit of a struggle. 

I guess it's been about 6-8 months since I stepped down from almost all the design teams I was a part of. While every one of the companies was fantastic and I loved everything about them...I was done. My creativity went on an extended vacation. It was time to give myself a break.  

I had been on various design teams for the past 6 years and honestly, it can be a full time job! Which is fine if that's actually your job, but I also work outside the home. My weekends were spent in the craft room frantically coming up with card designs, taking photos, editing photos and writing blog posts. I literally had 5 out of 7 days where something had to be published and shared. 

Now, onto social media. Ugh, what can I say? This past year has been an absolute shit-show and it really hasn't gotten any better. Most design teams communicate through "private groups" on Facebook. Which means I HAD to go on there to communicate. Which in turn led me to start scrolling through all the garbage people were posting. Which then led to a deep disgust for the people of earth. Instagram is a bit better and I have to say that's where most of my designing opportunities came from. I've also "met" some truly amazing people and crafters on that platform. But I've also come across some very fake people. And these are the people that ruin it for me. With all that being said, I am still a part of the Create A Smile Stamps Design Team (which I love!), so I do have to go on FB. Usually, it's a quick check in with the DT group and a mixed media group I'm a part of.

Mixed media, you say?! Yes, that is my new love. And the best part of that is I already had most of the supplies needed!! I've dabbled in a couple of mm canvases but mostly play in my art journal. While making cards is fun and I still do enjoy it, working in my art journal really gets the creative juices flowing! You get to play with papers, paints, pastes, stencils! And you can get messy. You can layer and layer and make mistakes and fix them. And the most important part...it means something. It's art. Everyone of my makes, I would feel proud to throw into a frame and display. I just have never felt that way about my cards. Not saying that a handmade card isn't a work of art, it's just very different. 

You can almost tell what kind of mood I was in when each of these were created! I put it all out there when I make a page and that's exactly what I love about mixed media and my art journal.

As I mentioned, I'm still a part of Create A Smile Stamps DT. I love Christine and the laid back vibe of the team not to mention the fantastic products.  Here's a couple cards featuring CAS:

And that is what's going on with me!! I know it wasn't a quick update and there was a lot of rambling. Trust me, I could've said A LOT more hahaha!

If you're reading this, thank you for sticking around. I do want to start posting here more frequently and I promise I will try!

Hope you are safe and well, my friends!

Laurie

Tweet! Tweet! (Create A Smile Stamps)

 Hello and welcome! Today I've got a fun card to share with you featuring some masking, colouring and stencilling!

This card features three of the adorable bird images from the From My Nest Stamp Set. I started by stamping the little bird, masking him off, then stamping the larger two birds beside him. After removing the mask, I appears that the little guy is standing in front! Oh, the magic of masks:)

I coloured the image with Copic markers. The birds turned out a little darker than I wanted but I just went with it.

To create the small background, I used the largest oval in the Basic Ovals Stencil. I positioned it onto a white card panel that was trimmed slightly smaller than an A2 card base. 

I used a light blue ink to add the "sky". I made sure to use heavier pressure on the outer edges and lightening things up towards the centre. With the oval stencil still in place, I added a snowfall stencil that I had in my stash and applied embossing paste over top.

When both stencils are removed, you have a perfectly ink blended, snowfall oval!!  I had some die cut leaves in branches in my "unused die cut container" so I decided to add them here for a bit of interest.

I stamped the sentiment (from the same set), foam mounted the birdies and then foam mounted the panel onto a white card base. I was going to add details like shimmer and white gel pen, but for some reason decided against it.

Thank you so much for stopping by! See you soon!

Laurie

You Rock!! with Create A Smile Stamps

 Good morning and welcome! One of my favourite things to do is mix and match stamp sets. This gives you more bang for your buck! Today, I've mixed two image sets along with a sentiment set from Create a Smile Stamps.

I also attempted to colour a white flower! This beautiful bloom comes from the Doodle Flowers Set. It's a large image and the possibilities are endless when it comes to colouring it! I used 2 Copic markers: C1 and the colourless blender. I could've used a C2 as I did add a couple of layers to darken it up. I've never actually added the flicks of colour on the outer edges of the petals before, but I think it makes a huge difference in dimension!

The sweet bee is from the popular Best Bugs Set. I thought the sizes of each image went really well together.  Before adhering the images to the front of the card base, I used the Spring Garden Stencil along with a light grey ink just to add a bit of interest to the background.

For the sentiment I used the All About You Stamp Set along with the You Twice Cool Cuts.

To finish the card off, I found a small heart die in my stash and cut a few tiny, black hearts. I added some sparkle to the bees wings, some white gel pen details and touches of Nuvo Crystal Glaze for some added shine!

I hope you enjoyed my project for today! Thanks so much for dropping by!

Laurie

 

Altering Your Stamps and New Release!!

 Hello and welcome back! Today is an exciting day as it's time for a new release from Create A Smile Stamps!! This release is a mixture of cute and beautiful with images ranging from critters to stunning foliage.

For my card today, I went with cute. I also altered the images a bit to create a whole new look with this stamp set which is called Tea Time.

I wanted to show you the stamp set first, then my card. You can see that each image has the cutest smiley face on it. For my project, I didn't want that.

Before stamping, I placed a small piece of tape over the face. This prevents the ink from touching this portion. Just remember to take the tape off before you stamp!! So instead of a smiling cup and tea kettle, I have space to add different details.

I first took a black pen and drew some scallops on the top of each cup and the teapot. To make my tea set flowery, I used a small stamp from the Best Bugs Stamp Set. The only bit of masking I had to do was on the spout. All I did was place a scrap piece of paper against the edge!  I did some simple masking again with the teacups to stack them on top of each other. Again, using just a scrap of paper to cover the top of each cup.

I die cut some white circles and some navy scalloped circles using dies from Lawn Fawn. I foam mounted each image onto the two larger circles and stamped the sentiment on the smallest. The sentiment comes from the From Afar (A8 size) Set.

Before adhering the circles to the card base, I used a light grey ink and the Diagonal Grid Stencil to add some interest. I found a tiny heart stamp and added few inside the squares.

To finish, I added some gold sparkle to the centres of the flowers and some Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the scallops on the tea set.

Thanks for stopping by and please check out the newest stamps from Create A Smile!!

Laurie

Tags for your homemade goodies ft. Create a Smile Stamps!

 Hello!! Today I'm going to share a really cute way to dress up your homemade jams or jellies using a super cute stamp set from Create A Smile Stamps!

I used the Summer in a Jar Stamp Set for these tags. This is a sweet little set that has some really cute and rather large images!

I used the jar image along with a couple different berries. I used Copics to colour then fussy cut everything out.  The tag is a die from my stash which I dressed up a little using the Narrow Stripes Stencil and a light grey ink.

What's great about this set is that it comes with a bunch of sentiments that fit on the jar label!  I arranged the images on the tags with a combination of liquid glue and foam tape. And of course, added some black & white bakers twine!

I think these are so sweet and perfect for gift giving!

I hope you will check out this set and all the other amazing CAS stamps, dies and stencils!

Thanks for popping over today! See you soon!

Laurie

Dusting Off the Coloured Pencils ft. Create a Smile Stamps!

 Welcome back! I decided to dust of the pencil crayons and colour some gorgeous new images from Create A Smile Stamps!

Pencil crayons (that's what we call them here in Canada) is a tricky medium for me. I love the look but I'm not a fan of the amount of time it takes. I've watched probably hundreds of tutorials and they all say the same thing...light pressure and build up the colour. Well, I didn't do it that way. I laid it down heavy and in one layer. 

This floral images is from the Mallow Blossoms Set. You can really see here how thickly I applied the colour. I'm also going to point out that I thought the small, green piece was a leaf. In fact, it's a part of the blossom that I THOUGHT was a leaf. I'm clueless when it comes to flowers so please forgive me, haha!

To put this card together, I used the Petals Stencil on the card front with a light, pink ink. I used the second largest Scalloped Rectangle die to create a panel. I carried the stencilling to the inside of the circle. To create the kraft circle, I used one of the Postage Edge Circle Dies. I placed a smaller, plain circle die on the inside to create this ring.

I adhered the ring to the white panel and foam mounted the flowers. The sentiment (from the Mallow Blossoms) was stamped onto one of the Useful Banners Dies and was also popped up. I added a few sequins for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for dropping in! See you soon!

Laurie

New Release from Create A Smile Stamps!

 Welcome back!! Create A Smile Stamps recently came out with the August Release and it is SO amazing and cute!

This card combines 2 different stamps sets. The adorable mice are from the new Unmatched set and the strawberries and umbrella are from the Here's to Us set. These two sets are completely different but ended up working really well together!

For the colouring of these images, I used Derwent Inktense Pencils. The images were stamped on regular cardstock. With these pencils you don't have to use much water. The cardstock held up fairly well but what I loved the most was the texture. It's kind of a mottled effect and I think adds a lot to the image.

I used a wavy stencil to create the "sand" then added a textured embossing powder for the "surf". All the images were fussy cut and adhered with foam adhesive.

I used one of the Useful Banner Dies to cut out the sentiment and also popped that up. I added a few white gel pen details and called this card done!

I hope you have a chance to check out the new release! Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

Laurie

Funny Get Well Card ft. Create A Smile Stamps!

 Get Well and sympathy cards are the two least made cards that come out of my craft room. So, today I decided to shake things up and make a Get Well Card!

I used stamps from Create A Smile Stamps. The Oh, Poo set was released at the height of the toilet paper crisis this spring. It was meant as a "feel better" set but came out at the perfect time, haha!  I combined this set with the adorable monster from the "seriously?!" set. Both these a mini sets which means the price point is awesome!

I started by creating a "floor" by masking just above the bottom of the card base. I lightly brushed on a brownish ink. I then placed the tape over that ink and worked on the "wallpaper". The cute design of the wall is brought to you by the Diamonds Stencil and a light blue ink.

I coloured up both images with Copics. I thought it would be kind of funny to have the monster peeking around the toilet!

I used a sentiment from the Shit Happens Stamp and stamped it directly onto the card base. I used the Small Sentiments along with a Speech Bubble die to have the monster saying "get well".

And that's my CAS card for this week! I hope you enjoyed!

Also, a reminder that there is a new release available!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Laurie

AHOY!! with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello friends and welcome back! I'm sharing a card with you featuring stamps and stencil from Create A Smile Stamps.

I've used the older stamp set called Underwater Love. This is a nautical/sea themed set and is just the cutest. I paired it up with the Bubble Rays stencil, which I used in a slightly different way.

I inked up the stencil as usual but instead of stopping there, I decided to fussy cut around the entire stencil! This gave almost a cover die appearance!  I knew I was going to place a circle in the middle so I only cut as far as necessary.

I coloured the cute submarine with Copics and foam mounted it onto the circle die cut, which I had lightly inked up in blue and heat embossed some "bubbles".

I added some sparkle pen, white gel pen and Nuvo Crystal Glaze details to finish this card off!

Thanks so much for stopping by! See you soon!

Laurie

Sweet Bee Card ft. Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello friends and welcome! Today, I'm sharing a cute, clean and simple card with you featuring stamps, dies and stencil from Create a Smile Stamps!

I created a couple of mini scenes using the Best Bugs Stamp Set and the Magical Frame Dies.  This was simple to do. The die cuts in 2 seperate pieces, the inner square and the frame portion. I did all the stamping on the square. The scene to the right did require some simple masking of the flowers because I did do a little ink blending.

I stamped the bees on a separate piece of cardstock and fussy cut them not leaving a white border. This gave the illusion of more masking!  After the colouring was done, I attached the frame to the inner square with scotch tape then added some foam tape.

On the card base, I masked off the centre portion (approx 2.5 inch strip) then applied the Narrow Stripes Stencil over top. I used a light grey ink to add the subtle stripes. This just gave it a little extra something.

To finish the card off, I stamped the sentiment onto one of the Useful Banner Dies and adhered it with foam adhesive. And to add even more cuteness, I used three of the new Chipboard Tiny Hearts as embellishments.

I hope you enjoyed todays look at Create A Smile products!

See you soon!

Laurie

Masking Stencils with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello and welcome! I have this fun card to share with you today featuring stamps and stencils from Create A Smile Stamps.

I started by choosing the size of circle I wanted on the Basic Circles Stencil. With ink, a blending brush and a light hand, I added the colour. This layer needs to be a bit lighter. With the circle stencil still in place, I laid the Heart Rays Stencil over top and tried to centre the hearts the best I could. I used the same ink colour and a heavier hand when applying the ink. This creates a lovely two toned effect.

The cute little elf is actually from the Christmas set called Clumsy Santa. I did a bit of altering to the facial expression by fluffing up the eyebrows and adding a couple of eyelashes. By colouring the image using the same colour palette as the background, it doesn't look like a Christmas image at all!

To ground the elf, I used one of the Scalloped Rectangles Dies and trimmed off the top. The sentiment comes from the A Little Treat Stamp Set. 

I added a few white gel pen details to finish the panel off. I created a white card base to match the size of the panel. I inked the edges of the card base with the same blue ink I used before and adhered the stencilled panel on top.

And that's it! Thanks for joining me today! See you soon.

Laurie

Rainbow Thinking of You Card with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello friends and welcome!  Today, I made a rainbow "thinking of you" card featuring stamps and dies from Create a Smile Stamps.

I started by taking one of the banner dies from the Useful Banner Die Set and cut rainbow strips of card stock. I adhered the banners one by one onto a scrap piece of cardstock so it became one piece and easy to move around.

To add a bit of texture and interest, I chose a few of the solid images from the Wildflowers Stamp Set and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. I love this look. It lets the background show through yet it also darkens the cardstock where it's embossed!

After a dry run of panel placement, I decided to clear heat emboss directly onto the card base as well. Hard to see but the texture is awesome!!

I used fun foam to adhere the rainbow panel. The sentiment is a combination of the You Twice Die and the All About You Stamp Set. In retrospect, I wish I had white heat embossed the "thinking of" but I'm still happy with the way this turned out!

Thanks so much for dropping by! See you soon!

Laurie

No Line Watercolour with Create A Smile Stamps

Hello and welcome! Today I'm sharing a card made with stamps from Create A Smile Stamps along with the no-line watercolour technique!

I'm no expert at this and tend to mess with things too much. I'm constantly trying to move the colour around and usually end up overworking it. The key to watercolouring is patience and I don't have a ton of that, haha!  

My go to ink for no line techniques is the No Line Ink from The Stamp Market. I love the foam pad and it usually only requires one impression, even on watercolour paper!  

I used the gorgeous Pure Poppies Stamp Set from Create A Smile. I went for a pinkish-purple flower. My medium of choice was Derwent Inktense Blocks which have been gathering a bit of dust. Every time I use them, I ask myself "why aren't you using these more!?". Of course, you can use the pencils! 

When the colouring was done, I placed the Petals Stencil (CAS) over the top and used a light blue colour to trace around each opening. Because the Inktense are waterproof when dry, you don't have to worry about reactivating the colour! It's very faint but still adds detail!  I trimmed the panel down and added some Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges.  

I did some partial die cutting of the second largest Scalloped Rectangles Die to fit the floral panel. I adhered the two together with tape adhesive then foam mounted it to an ivory card base.

The sentiment comes from the Favourite Everything Stamp Set and was white heat embossed onto black cardstock. The small banner comes from the Useful Banner Dies.

Thanks for stopping in today! Hope you enjoyed today's card and will come back to visit again!!

Laurie

Big Hugs with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello, my friends! Today I'm sharing a card made with one of the newest stamps from Create A Smile Stamps! This mini set is called Big Surprise and it is absolutely adorable!! This latest release was full of these mini stamp sets but don't be fooled, they are all so versatile!!

This little cutie was so much fun to colour! I made a simple scene card by die cutting a circle into a 3.5X5 inch white piece of cardstock. I used one of the Stitched Circle Frames to do this. On the card base, I used a light brown ink for sand and a blue ink for the sky. Over top, I added some clouds using the Cloud Pattern Stencil.

Before adhering the aperture panel, I ran it through my die cut machine using a striped embossing folder. I foam mounted the panel then added all the elements.

The sentiment is also part of this set. I fussy cut around the "big" and foam mounted it to the card.

I added a few details with a white gel pen, a sparkle pen and a few sequins! 

I hope you enjoyed today's project!  And just a hint...the June release is almost here!!!! :)

See you soon!

Laurie

Miss You Mandala Card with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello and happy Wednesday! I'm back to share a card made with stamps and dies from Create a Smile Stamps.

This card is not mass producible but was a lot of fun to make!  I started by doing some no-line colouring with my Lyra Coloured Pencils. I used the Mesmerizing Mandalas Stamp Set along with the No Line ink pad from The Stamp Market.

I used a few pinks shades, a purple and a turquoise to colour this image. It's actually not as tedious as it may look and didn't take that long.  When the colouring was done, I fussy cut around the mandala then trimmed in half.

I cut a panel of white cardstock with the second largest of the Scalloped Rectangles then used the same die to cut the bottom of each half of the mandala. This added the scalloped edge so it would fit nicely on the panel!

The sentiment comes from the new Miss You Mini Stamp Set and was stamped in a grey ink. I used foam tape to adhere the mandala pieces to the top and bottom of the scalloped panel.

The card base measures 3.5 X 5.25 inches. I lightly inked around the edges using Spun Sugar Distress Ink to take away some of the brightness. I used tape adhesive to adhere the panel to the card base.

I played around with some embellishments but couldn't really come up with good placement so I used my white gel pen to add some details instead!

Thanks for dropping in! See you soon!

Laurie

Sending Smiles with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello!! Today I'm sharing a card using some brand new products from Create A Smile Stamps!  The May release is now available for purchase.

I used the new Plant A Tree Stamp Set along with the Basic Ovals Stencil. The stamp set is on the smaller scale which means the price is fantastic. But it is also packed with a ton of images! The stencil is so versatile. It has four different sizes of ovals and it also comes with the co-ordinating masks!

I started by using the largest oval on the stencil and ink blended some blue and a little brown at the bottom. I stamped each image (they are all separate) directly onto the ink blended background. I used Gina K Inks for this as they work well with alcohol markers.  I added very simple shading to images which really brought them to life!

I used the second largest of the Scalloped Rectangles Dies to trim down the piece of cardstock I was working on. To create the embossed lines perfectly around the oval, I held the panel up to the light and on the back side, lightly adhered the mask portion of the stencil. You can see through the cardstock just enough for placement. I then traced around the mask with a pencil.

On my scoring board, on the BACK of the panel, I added the scoring lines every 1/8th of an inch, stopping when I got to the traced line.

I added some white gel pen details to the images as well as 3 tiny, die cut hearts.  The sentiment comes from the new From Afar Mini Stamp Set and was stamped onto one of the Useful Banner Dies.

Both the sentiment strip and the panel were foam mounted to a light grey card base which measures 5.25 X 3.25 inches.

I hope you enjoyed todays card and will check out the new CAS release!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today.

Laurie

Create A Smile Stamps Card Share!

Welcome!! I'm dropping in to share a card I made using products from Create A Smile Stamps! I've just recently joined the design team and am over the moon to be a part of this amazing group!

For this card, I've mixed a few stamp sets, old and new!

CAS Products used on this card:

Uplifting Stamp Set: helicopter, clouds

Best Bugs Stamp Set: tiny flower

Ting-a-Ling Stamp Set:  kitty cat

Cloud Pattern Stencil

I'll be sharing Create A Smile Stamps cards here once a week so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Laurie

Create A Smile Stamps Challenge..Mood Board.

Hello and welcome to the final challenge of the year for Create A Smile Stamps!! I am so sad my term has come to an end on this team. I'm so thankful to Christine for giving me this opportunity to show my love for her products. Also, this team of designers are absolutely amazing and I have so much love and respect for them all. It has been a fabulous year!!

But enough sadness, let's get on to the card!!  We are playing with this stunning mood board:

Everything about this is stunning but I took inspiration from the bottom right photo and came up with this...

I love the pink and golden combination so I tried to replicate it using Antique Linen, Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Inks. To create the bokeh effect, I used a dot stencil from my stash and used a baby wipe to remove some of the ink. It worked perfectly!!

I did spray the background with a mixture of Perfect Pearls and water to give it a gorgeous, subtle shimmer. I die cut the panel using the second largest Scalloped Rectangle die.  To up the cuteness factor, I coloured up that sweet fox from the Cool Buddies Stamp Set, fussy cut him/her out and adhered it to a die cut snowbank.

Before adhering the snowbank to the panel, I gold heat embossed the berry sprigs from the Floral Decorations set.  The sentiment was also heat embossed and comes from the Santa Clumsy Set.

I foam mounted the panel onto a white card base that measures 3.5X5 inches.  I added a few white gel pen details to the fox and some shimmer pen to the scarf.  I was going to add some gold sequins but thought I'd let that background shine on its own!

Thank you for stopping in today, I hope you enjoyed this card!  Remember, up for grabs is a €25 gift certificate to the Create A Smile Stamps online shop! Please upload your creations to the Create A Smile Challenge Blog so we can enjoy and marvel at your talent!!