My blog is called "Creative Smiles" because my designs are the result of incorporating mistakes. With fumble fingers that drop whatever they are holding - repeatedly, it takes a lot of giggles, smiles and creative patience during my crafting process. xx

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Remember Those Cute Bugaboo Characters?

Hello, my friends! Another post from me! (giggle)

Today's cards are doubly sweet - made with fond thoughts of Jodie (former owner of Bugaboo Stamps), and also for a dear friend who loves her little white mischievous puppies! Her birthday is drawing near, so it was the perfect opportunity to showcase Jodie's silly images for a person who will appreciate them. 

Copics, inks, paper-piecing techniques, and recycled ribbon comprise this 5 inch square card. 


Does anyone know the name of this fun fold card? 

I think it might be called the Triple Panel Pop Out Fold?

Anne Buckingham taught me the mechanics in making the fun fold last year, but I don't know the name of the fold. It's really simple to make. Cut a piece of cardstock that matches the card base - 4 inches wide by however tall your card is (in this case, it is 6" tall). Score the piece at one, two and three inches. Fold into a "square tube". Apply adhesive to the two ends of the "tube" - first and last segments - and adhere both on either side of the card base fold. Be sure to fold the card while your glue is drying to make sure you have placed it perfectly on either side of the card fold. NOTE: It was easier adhering the sentiments after the tube was in place. Decorate with all sorts of ephemera, images, sentiments, die cuts - so cute ~ !




Thanks for popping by!


Products: Baxter Puppy from Bugaboo, digital sentiments, Dies: Darice Nested Ornate Rectangles, Surprise Creations Large stitched rectangles, Tutti Stitched Rectangles, LaLaLand Flag Banner, Spellbinders Fleur de Lis, Embossing Folder: We R Memory Keepers Next Level Woven 2, Coloring: Copics and Distress inks, Patterned Papers and cardstock from stash, Glitter, Ribbon

ALWAYS THANKFUL FOR THE DESIGN TEAMS AND HOSTS OF ON-LINE CHALLENGES:

  1. Critter Crazy Challenges #95 (final challenge SOB!) AG with Featured Critter 2/25
  2. Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2508 AG 11/25
  3. CD Sunday Plus #152 Anything Goes (3 digital images, several digital sentiments as shown on the fun fold card - I hope it fits the rules of your challenge). 2/25
  4. Snippet's Playground Challenge #500 CELEBRATE 500! (in the fun fold card I used snippets for interest in the bottom portion of card front, and lots of snippets from scraps of designer papers in the flags/banners. The yellow glitter border is the "negative" left over portion of a die cut. The interior also uses several snippets of left over lengths of cardstock and pattern paper - thanks for the fun challenge! 2/25 (playing JFF for top 3 spot)
  5. Love those Pretty Papers (a D&D challenge) Feb 1 Use pattern papers 3/1
  6. Creative Fingers Challenge #295 Anything Goes 3/8 (products I used are listed above - hybrid layering. Thank you!)
  7. Heart's Quest Celebrations of Love Challenges Blog #2 (Feb2) BEWAS - using birthday cards, one is pop out. 3/2
  8. Halloween & Other Occasions Crafts Year Round (Feb 1) Birthdays and Dogs 2/28
Stamping Hugs,

Thursday, February 13, 2025

You OTTER love this set! {Dare 2B Artzy)

Surprise! A post from me! (giggle)


Even though I cannot leave many comments, or post to my own blog, it doesn't mean I'm not thinking fondly of my blogging buddies. I hope you are all well! Today's card share is a Valentine for my Jacky, AND using stuff from my unfinished box. Five or Six years ago, my friend Ana brought her Otterly Awesome set to share. I did manage to color these cuties in with Prismacolor Pencils, but was unable to finish in the allotted time. I like how it came out all these years later, and was the perfect sweetheart card from my Most Favorite Person in the whole wide world.

Using LifeStyle QuicKutz heart dies, a frame was created to complement the Martha Stewart lacy heart punch. Papers and dies are older than 2015.

The interior was customized a bit to match the Valentine theme:




Products: Quickutz Nesting Lacy Hearts and Plain Hearts dies, Martha Stewart Lacy Heart border, Walnut & Spun Sugar distress inks, Prismacolor Pencils,

May I please play in the following fine challenges?
  1. Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2506 AG 02-16
  2. Crafty Animals #91 AG with animals 3/1
  3. Coloring With Pencils Kleuren met Potloden (Feb 10) AG with pencils 3-6
  4. Unicorn Challenge #106 Dots and/or Stripes 2/26
  5. **NEW** Neglected Stuff Challenge #1 3/1 (stamped images were in my unfinished by from at least 5 years ago, papers, dies, punches from past life - giggle - at least 10 years old. D&D, thank you for establishing another fun challenge! 
  6. Christmas or NOT Bingo #11 Used Column "I" with Square, Layers, Free, Stamped Images 3/1
  7. Halloween Crafts (and Valentine's Day in February) #23 3/1
  8. Critter Crazy Challenges #95 AG with a Critter (SOB! LAST CHALLENGE!) 3/1
  9. Sunday Stamps SSC353 Pretty Frames Sketch Challenge 2/15

Stamping Hugs,
de

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Poinsettia Square Triad Skinny Cards - freebie sentiment



 Hello, friends! I hope you are doing well, and gearing up with sweetness for the upcoming holidays and festivities.


Many MANY years ago, before unmounted and clear stamps were the norm, and during a mega Stamp Show in Orlando, I purchased this beautiful poinsettia stamp from Mitra at Impression Obsession. It's a virgin, I'm shamed to say. Two cards are embossed in silver EP on dark blue cardstock. Two cards are stamped with VersaFine Clair and heat embossed with clear detail EP. Interestingly, in person, the clear EP cards look more fantastic than the silver EP! But through the camera lens, the Silver looks more majestic! 


After fussy cutting the embossed images, I "painted" with bleach so the colored cardstock would show through. Add extra bleach in the areas you would like highlighted. Be sure to use either very cheap brushes, or nylon brushes for this technique.


The magenta colored card was dry embossed and inked with distress inks.


The silver embossed cards are layered with black squares for extra drama. The turquoise layer is actually colored vellum, with edges folded behind white layers.


Card Interiors:


The digital sentiment is a freebie you can download in two versions.

My gift to you - Arrangements of the same sentiment for use on the inside or outside of your projects. Please do not sell these Sentiments. Use on any of your projects, including projects involving any design teams you might be on.

Click on the image to bring it to full size. Because of the changes Google Made with Blogger (June 2020), your image will appear to be solid black. Don’t panic. Right click and do a SAVE AS PNG. Once it is saved on your hard drive, you can open it and it will have a transparent background. I create PNGs instead of JPGs so they can be placed anywhere on a scene or project, and so backgrounds can be made using them. Please let me know if you have any problems. I hope they serve you well!

Enjoy!



Products: Stamps: Impression Obsession D4261 Poinsettia Square, IO Warmest Thoughts C5394 (interior of card), Colorado Craft Company Pine Cone and Branch BB264 (sentiment Merry Christmas), Silver & Clear EP, Bleach technique, Assorted colors of SU cardstock and TH distress inks, Turquoise and "white" vellum,  silver & turquoise glitter, Craft Essentials Diamond Tiles EF EFOB0013

Thank you for hosting challenges. I'd like to play in:

  1. Jingle Belles 11-22-24 "Banner Holiday" inspired by the poinsettias and sparkles in the fun banner Lauren made!) 12/4
  2. C.R.A.F.T. #741 Christmas - lovely poinsettias which are placed all over our home, and lots of sparkle for additional joy. (sep post) 11/27
  3. Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #23 (poinsettias) 12/12
  4. Christmas Bingo Challenges #10 Nov 1 - Using B COLUMN "Hand Colored with Bleaching Technique", "Slimline Cards", "Free" 

  5. Merry Little Christmas Challenges #59 12/15
Wishing you beauty!


Thursday, November 14, 2024

Serenity and Friends

Hello, sweet blogging friends! My versatile card today really is appropriate for nearly every occasion. A friend brought her Stampin' Up! stamps over, and I created the die cuts (etc) for a framed masterpiece. Together we came up with a beautiful card!

After die cutting SB Grand Decorative Labels One, I cut it in half to achieve two "border" pieces. I also cut a corner piece off to use on the top:



Each layer has distressed edges for a slightly vintage appearance, and added dimension.

Thanks for popping by today!


For new card makers - Directions to make the card:

  1. Cut card base for 5x7 card. Score at the 5" mark and fold in half.
  2. Place Spellbinders Grand Labels Four centered in a piece of card stock that is at least 5x7 and cut. 
  3. Place Spellbinders Grand Dec Labels Four cut side down on top of the "frame" from step 2.
  4. Center the frame die so that the aperture is lined up at the four "points".
  5. Die Cut, then flip the base cut plate so that the die cut paper is still inside the die. Place the embossing mat on top (it seems like the die will cut through the embossing mat, but it does not). Then use your embossing plate on top of that, and run it through your die machine again. This will dry emboss the decorative die and bring out all the gorgeous details.
  6. Cut brown "mat" 3.75" x 5". Set aside.
  7. Cut white card for stamping 3.5" x 4.75". 
  8. Stamp white piece as desired using favorite inks, leaving room for sentiment. Set aside for ink to dry.
  9. Choose a border punch, border die, or a die with decorative edges and just cut the edge of the die (that's what I did, using SB Grand Decorative Labels One).
  10. Adhere part of the border to the back of the brown layer so just the pretty part shows. Cut a smaller portion or corner for the center of the top, and adhere to same layer.
  11. Stamp sentiment to white panel and apply embossing powder. Heat Set.
  12. Distress edge of white stamped card with complementary ink colors, applying the lighter color first, and then the darker color on the very edge. Adhere to brown panel.
  13. If desired, die cut or punch some "grass-like" pieces for the bottom center, to create visual interest.
  14. Order in which to assemble: 
        a) attach white decorative edges to brown panel.
        b) attach stamped white panel to brown panel.
        c) adhere panel from a&b to card base (centering top and bottom, and sides)
        d) adhere decorative frame panel.
        e) adhere grassy die cuts.

Products: Stamps: Stampin' Up!, Silver Fox Stamps "Always in my thoughts" (no longer in business), Impression Obsession B6061 Think of You Days, Dies: SB Grand Decorative Labels One, SB Grand Labels Four, SB 5x7 Elegant Labels 4, IO Die178C Small Grass, Inks: DI: tea dye and pumice stone, SU, VersaFine Clair, Clear Detail Embossing Powder (for sentiments)

May I please play in the following fine challenges?

  1. Sisterhood of Crafters November 13 - Landscapes 11/23
  2. Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2445 AG 11/17
  3. Dream Valley Challenges #325 Anything Goes 11/23
  4. Inkspirational Challenges #328 Layer It 11/15 sep post (layered panels, pieces, and layered stamps)

Stamping hugs, (wouldn't it be fun to jump out of the water like this dolphin?)