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

 

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

Pinkfresh Studio January 2020 Challenge

Welcome back! Today, I've joined in the first challenge of 2020 over at Pinkfresh Studio and it's a super fun one!  For this challenge, you can choose any of the challenge themes from 2019, fun right?

I chose October's theme...Circle Elements.

Now, I currently don't own much Pinkfresh Studio but let me tell you that I have remedied that!  I've recently placed a couple orders to beef up my stash! And I'm so excited!! I've really been loving Pinkfresh for awhile and can't wait to get all my goodies!  But enough rambling, let's have a look at what I've made!

I used the Braided Circles Die set to be the focal point on this birthday card. I coloured and fussy cut a couple of images from the Party Animals Stamp Set. This is an older set that has been discontinued.

The "hooray" comes from the Essentials Classic Words Die Set. If you're looking for a set of word dies, I highly recommend this set. It comes with any sentiment you'll ever need. Plus, the font is beautiful and there's a shadow die for each word! It's an amazing set! I used Picked Raspberry Distress Ink to add colour!

One of the first PF sets I got was the Dainty Botanicals Set. I love this set as it is filled with lovely, filler images that are great for almost any card! I thought the greenery would fill in this circe nicely.

Before adhering all the bits and pieces, I added a little blue ink to the top of the circle for a bit of contrast.  I used liquid adhesive for the greenery and foam adhesive for the critters.  I die cut the "hooray" 3 times from scrap, white cardstock and adhered them all together to give the die cut some dimension.

The sub sentiment comes from the Playful Animals 1 Set. This was another great set and I'm sad it's no longer available.  I used an embossing folder from my stash on the front of the card base and foam mounted the focal circle.

A few sequins finish this card and I love the way it turned out.

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

Laurie

Sketch Challenge for Create a Smile Stamps!

Hello and welcome back to another challenge for Create a Smile Stamps! This week we're playing with a sketch...

I used the Same Frequency Stamp Set for the super cute robot image! 

I used the Focal Die Set along with the second largest Postage Edge Circle Die as the two circles in the sketch.  I used foam tape to attach the robot to give a bit of a "lift".  Then sentiment was stamped onto a banner die from MFT and layered on top of another cut from the same grey cardstock as the cardbase.

To create some seperation, I cut some white cardstock using the second largest Scalloped Rectangle Die and adhered that directly onto the card base.  For a finishing touch, I stamped and fussy cut a few "nuts" that are in the stamp set. I glued them down and added some sparkle to each one using a glitter pen. 

I foam mounted the sentiment and that was it!!  Hope you enjoyed my take on the sketch!

Please join us! We love seeing what you create!

Also, up for grabs is a €25 gift certificate to the Create A Smile online shop...woohoo!  Please visit the CAS Challenge Blog for all the details!!

I wanted to let you know that Create A Smile Stamps has a DESIGN TEAM CALL for the Challenge Team going on right now!!  You can find all the details HERE!

Thanks for stopping in!  See you soon!

Laurie

MFT's 2019 Card Design Superstar Challenge!

Hi everyone and welcome back!  I've decided to enter the MFT 2019 Card Design Superstar Challenge!! This is always daunting as there are so many talented card makers out there!

Last year I entered the Clean and Simple category but white space isn't my forte, haha!  So, this time around I thought I'd enter into the Colouring Virtuoso category. Now, I do not possess an outstanding technical ability (I totally googled the meaning of virtuoso, hahahaha) in colouring. But as I sat down to create this card, I thought it leaned more towards colouring than CAS.

I decided to make a shaped card using some older, oval dies from MFT. The Stitched Mini Scallop Ovals the Double Stitched Oval (which appear to not be available anymore).  I created the base by die cutting 2 of the scalloped ovals, scoring one about 3/4 inch from the top and adhering them together.  

I stamped the flower from the Beautiful Bloom Stamp Set with Versamark Ink then used clear embossing powder over top.  I watercoloured it using the Vintage Pastels set from Prima in the colour    Breezy. I added a bit of Stone Grey to the centre and an even more watered down version of the same colour around the outside of the flower.

I used the Double Stitched Oval Die to cut a portion of the image and layered it onto the card base. It was at this point I decided it needed a popped up frame. I nested the Double Stitched Oval die inside the Scalloped Oval Die and ran it through my die cutting machine to create the frame. I used foam tape to adhere it and give it more dimension.

Before adhering the sentiment, I decided to add some flicks of a darker colour using coloured pencils in 2 shades of green. This really made the image pop and gave it some much needed detail!  The sentiment comes from the Essential Sentiments Stamp Set.  Before calling this card done, I added a few Sparkling Clear sequins.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  

Laurie

Circle Bursts...Your Next Stamp Preview!

I'm baaaack! Welcome, friends!  Today, I'm sharing a little look at another of the stamps sets coming in the new Your Next Stamp release!!  All sets will be available TODAY,  September 12th @ 11am EST , so be ready!!

This little stamp set is called Circle Bursts and is perfect for backgrounds and festive scene making!  You should never overlook these small sets. Not only do they have a great price point, they are often packed with images and sentiments!

I created a background using Tattered Rose, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Inks. After the panel was dry, I used Gold Sparkle Embossing Powder from WOW to heat emboss the three circle burst images.  To add some fun interest, I used a few of the Circles-Piercing Holes Die Set to cut around each of the bursts. They fit perfectly!!

I coloured up the cute, singing rabbit from the new Birthday Song Stamp Set with alcohol markers and foam mounted him to the panel.  To give my rabbit some sort of ground, I used one of the Scrapworks-Strips Die Set to stamp the sentiment.

I love the way this card turned out and I love these Circle Bursts!  I hope you enjoyed todays preview!  Please visit the YNS Blog for links to all the amazing projects from the design team and guests!!

And here's a look at the fabulous deals!!

Thanks for stopping by!! See you soon!

Laurie

Your Next Stamp Preview!!!

Hello, friends and welcome back! Today I have the pleasure of giving you a little preview of one of the new stamp sets from Your Next Stamp!  YNS is one of my favourite companies and the fact that they're Canadian makes me love them more!!

We're having a look at the super cute set called Birthday Song. This little set features two critters singing their hearts out!

I coloured these cuties up with alcohol markers and used the co-ordinating dies to cut them out. I used a confetti-like stencil and a few Catherine Pooler inks to ink up a simple background.  

The sentiment was stamped onto a speech bubble die cut (which came from an older die set from YNS). I used a die to create the stitched frame which I adhered to the inked background.  The critters and the sentiment were foam mounted.

I placed the panel a little crooked on the card base for a bit of added interest. Of course, I had to add some music notes, which are also included in the Birthday Song set, as well as a few clear sequins!

This set is so darned cute and bound to put a smile on someones face!

Please visit the Your Next Stamp Blog where you'll find ALL the previews for today!  Also, check out YNS on Instagram!! One random comment from each preview day will win that days product! All comments must be left by September 15, 2017 with the winners being announced on September 17th, 2019 on the YNS Blog!!

All products will be available for purchase on September 12th, 2019 at 11am EST!!

Thanks for stopping in today!! I'll be back in a few days with another preview!!

Laurie

Create A Smile Sketch Challenge!

Welcome back to another challenge hosted by Create A Smile Stamps!  We have a Sketch Challenge for you this time around!

I love sketch challenges. They always seem to get the creative juices flowing. What's nice about them is that they can be taken literally or you can put your own spin on them!  Wherever the idea takes you is okay!!

I made a very bright card for this challenge! Like most of us, I have a stash of patterned paper that I rarely use. But I thought some of it would go great with the rainbow colouring I did on this card.

I stamped out those gorgeous hearts from the Colour Your Heart Out stamp Set, coloured them rainbow style and fussy cut each one. I used the second largest of the Scalloped Rectangles Dies on white cardstock and arranged all those hearts according to the sketch. 

I foam mounted the rainbow hearts and used glue to adhere the two smaller hearts.  Something else I rarely do is stamp the sentiment in anything but black, brown or grey. I used a yellow ink here and love the way it looks!

The rectangle panel was foam mounted to the card base, which I covered in the yellow polka dot paper. I added 3 clear sequins to finish the card off.

Thank you for stopping by today!  I cannot wait to see your take on this sketch!  

Remember to link up your projects on the Create A Smile Challenge Blog for a chance to win a €25 gift certificate to the CAS Store!!

Laurie

Cat Lover Card with Paper Nest Dolls!

Hello, friends! Welcome back, so glad you're here.  Today, I have the pleasure to show you a card made using a new stamp from Paper Nest Dolls!  Christine was so kind to send me the Cat Lover Emma Stamp (in digital form).  This image in right up my alley, as I'm what you'd call a "crazy cat lady".  I love cats!!

I coloured this amazing image up with my Copic Markers.  I have to admit that colouring animals is not my forte, but I did my best!  I encourage you to check out the Paper Nest Dolls website or blog, the talent of that design team is incredible!!!!

This image was very easy to fussy cut. I did take an X-acto knife to remove one of the inner portions. I did add a few white gel pen details to some portions of the image.

For the card base, I used a light pink cardstock. I stamped a paw print image repeatedly in a light pink ink and coloured them in with white pencil...not that you can tell, haha!  

I foam mounted that cat lady and added a sentiment from an older, discontinued set from Concord and 9th.

I'm quite pleased with how this card turned out and have the perfect recipient in mind!!

A big thank you to Christine for letting me have a play with this fabulous new stamp and thank you so much for stopping by!

Until next time...stay crafty!

Laurie

Create A Smile Stamps Sketch Challenge

Welcome to another challenge for Create A Smile Stamps!  The challenge for the next two weeks is a sketch:

I'm becoming quite the fan of sketch challenges. It really gets the creative juices flowing!  I pretty much followed the sketch to a tee but you can easily change things up. Flip the sketch or use a different shape. Find your inspiration and see where it goes!

I used the largest flower from the Botanical Love Stamp Set for the focal point. I used Versamark Ink to stamp the bloom all over the centre panel which is 5.5 X 3.75 inches.  I cut the Magical Frame Die out of white cardstock and using Versafine Black Onyx Ink, I stamped the flower onto the centre part of the die.

I dusted off my pencil crayons (what we call coloured pencils, ha) and coloured up the flower.

I added the outer frame of the die onto the grey panel first (which I cut out of craft foam, as well) and place the coloured piece to the inside.  I stamped the "smile" in the Onyx Black ink as well and fussy cut around it.  I adhered exactly as the sketch suggests.

I adhered the focal panel onto a white card base, added a few white gems from Studio Katia and a bit of glitter pen to the flowers. And we can call this card, done!!

Please join us in this challenge HERE!  We love seeing what you create! You also have the chance to win a €25 gift certificate to the Create A Smile Stamps Store!!

Thank you for dropping by, see you soon!!

Laurie

"Masking" Challenge...Create A Smile Stamps!

Welcome to another fun challenge for Create A Smile Stamps!  This one is ALWAYS a challenge to me and that's masking!  I'm a fairly lazy card maker so when it comes to masking, I rarely do it.  While I don't mind fussy cutting images, cutting masks always seems like such a chore!  However, every time I create a project with masking, I am amazed at how cool the look can be!

I made a masked background as well as a separate masked scene for my card.  I used the Scene Builders Stamp Set for the majority.  I started by stamping the house image onto a card panel, then using a mask cut from a full stick Post-It Note, covered the image and stamped it again, overlapping the two. I needed 3 masks in total to create the background.

On a separate piece of cardstock, I stamped out a scene using some of the trees and shrubs from the set. I started with the little shrub at the front of the house and worked from there. You always start with the foremost image!  It always takes me awhile to figure this out :)

I fussy cut around the scene leaving a small white border so it would stand out a little from the background.  I used shades of grey for the background panel and went all out with the colour on the separate scene.  I glued the coloured images directly over the FIRST house I stamped on the background panel!

The sentiment comes from the Small Sentiments Stamp Set which works perfectly with the Speech Bubble Cool Cuts.  I added some sparkle pen and Nuvo Crystal Glaze to all the round windows as well as the windows and door of the coloured house. I popped the speech bubble up with some foam adhesive and added a die cut heart as well as some stitiching detail to match the stamping!

I really hope you'll join us as we LOVE to see your creations!!  Remember, you have a chance of winning a €25 gift certificate to the Create A Smile Stamps Shop!! Please visit the CAS Challenge Page where you'll find more inspiration along with link up information!!!

Thanks for stopping by!! See you soon!!

Wishing Wells with Your Next Stamp!!

Welcome back, friends!!  Today, is my final guest post for Your Next Stamp.  I've had an absolute blast creating with some of the newest release!  I hope you've had a chance to check out all the amazing inspiration from the YNS design team...they are amazing!  I also hope you were able to get some of these goodies for your craft room :)

For my card today, I used the new Wishing Wells and Wishing Well Fairy Stamp Sets along with their co-ordinating dies.

I had so much fun colouring up these images!  Aren't they beautiful and sweet?  I created a frame using the Reverse Scallop with Optional Stripes Die.  I used the positive portion to ink blend some clouds using a stencil and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink.

On the card base itself, I used a sunray stencil with some Spun Sugar Distress Ink to add a bit of interest.  I used the Misti Stamping Tool to stamp the "wishing" multiple times with the same ink. We all know that Distress Inks don't work so well for stamping but the Misti solves that problem!

I foam mounted the frame and used liquid adhesive for the cloud background. I love that there is a die that cuts out the "Wishing" word!!  I added foam adhesive to the word die as well as all the images.  I love dimension on my cards!

And that's my finished card for today!  I want to thank Karen and Julie for having me this month. I enjoyed my time with you so much!!

And thank YOU for stopping in today. I love when you visit!!

Until next time...

Laurie

Pink & Main and WOW Embossing Powders Blog Hop!!!

Hello crafty friends and welcome back!! Today is an exciting day as Pink & Main has teamed up with Wow Embossing Powders for a fabulous blog hop!!  This hop is jam packed with amazing inspiration from a ton of incredible designers so sit back, relax and enjoy the hop!!  If you arrived from the wonderful Kimberly's Blog, you are on the right track! If not, you can click here for the beginning of the hop!! Stay tuned until the end of this post for all the sweet details on how to win some awesome prizes!!

I was so excited to play with the Turkish Nights Embossing Glitter!! And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint!  It is so sparkly and gorgeous and worked perfectly for snowflakes. Non-traditional snowflakes, that is!

I stamped a bunch of snowflakes that are from the previously released P&M stamp set, Flurries. This is a chunky glitter so some details were lost but that didn't bother me at all!  I used the co-ordinating Flurries Dies to cut out each snowflake.  To continue on with this glittery theme, I die cut a "snowbank" using the Scallop Waves Dies and swiped the WOW Embossing Pad along the top to add  some shimmery snow.

To create a wintery background, I blended Shaded Lilac and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks onto my panel. I should mention that the panel was cut using the Cloudy Frame Dies but I only used the inner portion.

Not a super great blend (or photo, I apologize) but our beautiful snowflakes will cover most of that background!  I used the Snow Sweet Stamp set and co-ordinating dies for my focal image.  This set is filled with the cutest snow people, ever!!

I coloured these sweeties with my alcohol markers and popped them up on the blended panel.  All the snowflakes were adhered using liquid glue.

This stamp set lets you "build" your own sentiment so I chose "You're Snow Wonderful".  Because the snow is a bolder font, I was able to use the Turkish Nights embossing glitter on it as well!

I had "Snow Much Fun" (hahaha) making this card. Glittery snowflakes and cute snow people-can't go wrong with that!!

Up next on the hop is my super talented friend, Lynnea, who will knock your socks off!!

But before you go, check out how you can win some fabulous prizes!!

All you have to do is leave some love on each stop of the hop, easy right??! Pink & Main is giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to one lucky commenter and WOW Embossing Powders is giving away a set of 6 embossing powders with carry case!!! 

Winners will be announced on the Pink&Main and Wow Embossing Powders Blogs on Wednesday, October 22nd at 9:00 am EST.  Good Luck, my friends!!

Thank you for stopping in today...enjoy the hop!!!!

Laurie