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

Thursday, August 01, 2019

Mermaids at Lavinia World

Hello, my friends and followers!
The first of August fell on a Thursday, so I have three DT posts this morning.
Please click here for 2 Crafty Critter Crazies with Sheepski Designs
and
click here for Moving Along With the Times - Bee Theme

My Lavinia World post today includes a little freebie digital gift to you,
and a PICTORIAL TUTORIAL.


Details of our Lavinia World ChallengeAn ANYTHING GOES theme using ANY brand clear or rubber stamp - no digitals. Winner receives
a $15 gift certificate to the Lavinia World store.

While "our" Lavinia World store is located in the US, it ships worldwide. In the US, buy $25 and get free shipping! Lavinia World carries other crafting supplies for your convenience.


Because I've received a few comments/e-mails asking how to use these amazing stamps, I've taken a pictures during my creative process, and hope it will encourage others to try any or all of these techniques:

STEP 1

If you don't really know how to ink up a background, or maybe don't have inks in your stash, try using printed paper, embossing folders and the lovely, inexpensive LAVINIA PAPERS. I was very pleased with the quality of the papers - light-weight, yet sturdy; coated, yet regular dye Distress inks dried on them; any stamp ink works on them; they are embossable.

I began with Spellbound #1 6x6 underwater theme paper AND CUT IT to fit my frame. (for another sample where I cut the Lavinia paper, click here).



2. Place your stamps on the panel to see what will fit, moving them until you have a pleasing scene:


3. Choose your colors (I used the one stringy stamp below to allow for more color options. You can see how fine the detail is in the stamps. At this point, a lovely sentiment would finish this card off perfectly!



4. Add Bubbles in two colors for texture and interest:



5. I use VersaFine Clair in all my embossing unless I need a translucent EP color.
Stamp and heat set sentiment:



6. Stamp Lavinia Guinevere Mermaid with VersaFine Clair Green Oasis. She has a lot of detail in her "scales" and hair.



7. I chose to heat emboss her with a highly glittered formula, and it covered up a little of the detail:



8. The coating on this paper does repel regular watercolor. I used Createx Pearlized Copper Acrylic Paint on the rocks, and lightly painted it so the outlines would still show. I also outlined some of the details with Uni-Ball Pen Signo Gel-white. Applying VersaMark to the edges, I heat set more EP the same color as the mermaid. This is where my boo-boo happened. I hadn't noticed that some stray EP heat set to the white "a and n" so I used my VersaMarker on those two letters, reapplied white detail EP, and heat set. Not perfect, but looks good:


9. Which to use? Black background or White? Straight panel, or make it crooked (crooked is my usual preference). Actually, this was a hard decision! giggle.






10. To pop up the mermaid panel, fun foam was used. Since I didn't have any black in my stash, a black alcohol marker was used to color the edges:


11. Place Double Sided tape on both sides of the fun foam. Adhere frame and fun foam to 6x6 black card base:
 

12. Emboss a scrap of card stock for die cut grass:




13. Add grass to the sides of the panel:



14. Add top panel and a few more grassy details:


Notice that there are white highlights and heat embossed areas in the rocks:


Showing a little of the glitter on this project:



Muting the glitter a bit so you can see detail:



Interior heat embossed and stamped with same colors:



And a little Humor:

Volcano Goddess - keeping a lid on the volcano so the rest of us are safe (giggle). Talk about a HOT SEAT! (more silly giggling) (photo taken without any lights)


Please scroll to the bottom for your digital gift.


Products Used:


Challenges I'd like to play in please:
  1. ScrapyLand Challenge #118 AG SL dies (IO and Tonic) 8/7
  2. Country View Challenges (Aug) Texture 9/1 (check 9/14)
  3. Classic DT Challenge #8 AG DT 9/1
  4. Craft Rocket Challenges #62 - Anything Goes 9/1
  5. Creative Fingers #168 8/8
  6. Love to Craft Challenge #37 Anything Goes 9/1 (check 9/5)
  7. World Wide Open DT Challenge #7 AG DT 8/15

A Digital Gift for You

It's a bit ornate, but here's a fun mermaid digital sentiment to use on your mermaid projects. This is for personal use only, and may be used on your design team creations. Click on the sentiment to make it full size. Then right click to download as a SAVE PNG. (not for commercial use). Enjoy!

A Freebie Gift PNG to my Followers-
NOT for commercial use:


PS - one of my followers said when she right clicked on the image to save it, the entire image was black except for the starfish and shell. But once you have the saved item on your hard drive, I promise the letters are black and the background is transparent.
Stamping Hugs,
de

65 comments:

Jackie T said...

Hi Donna this is a stunning card. I love that mermaid she is so pretty. The background is fabulous too. Take care. Hugs Jackie

Natalia said...

Absolutely stunning ☺

Chris said...

A wonderful undersea scene Donna, love your colours and the beautiful stamps. A great step by step too, always fascinating to see how you build up your beautiful cards ...and achieve your trademark sparkle!
I rather like the 'hot seat' photo :)))
Thanks for freebie too :)
hugs
xx

Lisa said...

This is so stunning, Donna!! I love the underwater scene you've created with Guinevere!! The details are amazing and your tutorial is fabulous!! Love, love this so much!! And thanks for the freebie, too!! Have a great day!! Big hugs :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Bunny said...

Fabulous tutorial AND card. The colors are my favorite. Thanks for the freebie.

Why can't we beckon seahorses to us like she can? [Bunny]

Beebeebabs said...

Your card is absolutely beautiful - I love the underwater scene and the stamp - I can smell the ocean lol - another great creation thanks for sharing!!!

Linda Simpson said...

WOW Donna this is absolutely stunning! Loving the step by step and wonderful sparkle.
Hugs
Linda xxx

*Vicki* said...

Oh my word this is absolutely amazing Donna!! You've done a stunning job with the scene and I really LOVE all of the glittery detials with it!! The touch of white gel pen really makes the colored background images stand out nicely too! I really think these are stunning images and maybe some day I will break down and get some! :) Thank you for the lovely step by step photo tutorial! Really stunning card my friend! HUGS

Lori Kobular said...

Wow Donna!! I love all the sparkles on your gorgeous card! So many wonderful details! That background is awesome! I can see you are really enjoying working with this awesome stamps!

Dr Sonia S V said...

WOW Thank you so much for showing how you made such an awesome card Donna...love how you used the stamps to create magic underwater!
Cheers
Dr Sonia

cuilliesocks said...

Oh Donna how absolutely stunning, wonderful seaworld creation. Beautiful images and brilliant colours and colouring, I love it. Kate x

Lori m said...

Stunning and beyond, loving the images and the background is gorgeous, hugs, Lori m
Thank you for the freebie, :)

Alina Florea said...

Amamzing card! So many details.Thank you so much for sharing such a great tutorial. Hugs

Sue said...

Hi Donna, Loving the card.

Hope you are having a nice day. Sue

Mac Mable said...

I so enjoyed reading your post and thank you for the step by steps. Glorious card and as always love your attention to detail. Great save with the white sentiment. The stamps are fabulous and the mermaid is beautiful and so is your card x.

Steph Ackerman said...

This is fabulous. Love all the sparkly elements.

Crafting Queen said...

Stunning card and thank you for following me.

pam said...

Stunning card De, love the stamps and wonderful colours.
Hugs Pam x

NanaConnie said...

This is incredible, Donna! I can feel the ocean and it has just cooled us off by at least 30 degrees. :-D

Gloria S said...

Thank you so much for sharing your projects with us! I love mermaids and sea life! I clicked on the Digital Gift you gave us, mine shows up black with the sea life being white? I don't really know what I need to save it or to print it out? But, again, Thank yo!

Verna Angerhofer said...

I love the wonderful underwater card you made and that mermaid is so fabulous with all that glitter. The frame used for the design is gorgeous too. Thanks for sharing.

Donna Ellis said...

GLORIA - to answer your question - this is a digital stamp. Google has the background of the entire image as black except for the starfish and shell. But once you have the saved the stamp on your hard drive, I promise the letters are black and the background is transparent.

crafty-stamper said...

Fabulous background and beautiful stamps-great step by step and have never thought of heat embossing before die-cutting ???
Carol x

Donna Ellis said...

Carol, I usually heat emboss before die cutting, because the die folds the edges slightly under for a more professional look. And... in this case... it was much easier than doing it afterward! Thanks for your kind comments. hugs, de

Stampsnob. said...

The background is magical The whole card is a lovely piece of art...……...Lis

Julie Odil said...

This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your process with us!

DIANA L. said...

This is so awesome. I love how you show exactly how you made your card
Thank you for the inspiration! You could join the DL.ART Anything Goes AUGUST 2019
Monthly Linky Challenge. Have a blessed day, my friend
DIANA L.

DL.ART
https://dianamlarson.blogspot.com

Shelly Schmidt said...

Wow- this is just amazing- volcano and all..... loving all of your step by step pictures!!! I especially love seeing the embossed fairy and your background. Absolutely gorgeous final card!!!

Monica said...

Hi Donna,

I have been thinking of you. Your card is magical with all the underground details and sparkle. Thank you for sharing the details so generously and patiently as well. Beautiful sentiment too and I like that volcano joke.

Love,
Monica

Nonnie's Cards and Gifts said...

Oooh!! I just love all of the shimmer on this card. Fantastic colors.

Donna said...

Beautiful card and nice tutorial, like how you did the frame! Have a lovely day!

SD pooja said...

THis is a wonderful idea to use pattern papers for bg (which are usually lying in my stash unused for years) I loved the frame and glittery grass ! In all its Awesome.

Becky said...

Donna, this card is gorgeous! Being a mermaid type gal, I love every single thing about it. I love underwater scenes, and this one is one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing.

Conniecrafter said...

Oh Wow Donna this is a labor of love, your stamping details for the background are so cool, having her with the seahorse is so sweet, I had to laugh how she is sitting on the volcano to keep us safe :) The embossing of the grass is a great touch too, as is all the sparkle, I do love it against that black background!!

Leslie Miller said...

Oh, my, this is so beautiful! The shimmer and glimmer, the gold volcano, the underwater scene -- all fantastic! I saved the sentiment and thank you very much! I've always adored this sentiment, but I don't have a single mermaid stamp. Well, now you know I'll have to do something about that!

pinky said...

Wow Donna, what an amazing sparkly creating!! You have captured the magic of a mermaid perfectly!! Glad to hear you got the Back on your Feet stamp set. You will love it!!

Sarah said...

I love this watery wonder Donna. The colours are amazing and the composition is spot on xx

aussie aNNie said...

What a treat...darling image and results and most rewarding is the step by step tutorial AND the fabulous sentiment...thanks so much.xx

creationsnz said...

Hi de. So very pretty, and a great step-by-step. Thanks for the sentiment too. CarolG

Donna Phelan said...

THUD! Oooops, my jaw just dropped to the floor! THIS IS STUNNING! I really, really, REALLY love the layering and dimension of every aspect you achieved. It is glorious! I picked the black background, straight placement. The stamping, the images, the colors, the glitter, the border, it's all just perfect! YOWZA!

Anne Temple said...

This is stunning! I love all the photos and your step by steps. Great way to use the little grass die too :-). I now need all of these stamps that you used. :-)

Dawn Phillips said...

There is so much detail going on here. I think your card is so awesome. Love Dawn x

Pia S said...

I really enjoyed looking at all the photos to see how this came to life, step by step. There’s an amazingly amount of detail on this design. So gorgeous!

Loose Stitches said...

Gorgeous creation Donna, lovely scene! Thank you for sharing with us over at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge and best of luck with your entry.
~ Sherry DT/Admin xx

Monica C. said...

Oh wow Donna!! This is magnificent. All the detail you have added is amazing and I am so glad you opted for the black background with a straight panel - that was absolutely my favorite.
Hugs Monica

Aimeslee Winans said...

Hi Donna! Thank you so much for the wonderful digi sentiment! And oh my, what a beautiful creation and a lot of work to get there. I'm in awe! I still haven't begun to play with my Lavinia stuff. The one thing I did not buy was paper and maybe I think I should! xoxox

Miriam said...

Great project. Thanks for joining my Challenge over at Country View Crafts.

Shona Erlenborn said...

Fabulous creation, Donna! Your background scene is so perfect with so much detail and texture. Beautiful mermaid and I love the coloring of the rock.

KraftyKoolKat said...

This is just amazing sweetie. You put so much time & effort into your creations. You are a true artist. I have never produced work like you even when I had the time. Now sadly I don't have the time but can admire the gorgeous work of yours.
Hugs
Cathy
xxxx

Alina Florea said...

Gorgeous card! Love all the details! Thank you for entering our challenge over at Scrapy Land, hugs Alina DT

Lena said...

This is such a awesome card, Donna. Love the beautiful copper rocks and of course the beautiful detailed embossed images. The white highlights really make this beautiful mermaid pop. Well done, my friend. A true stunner!
Have a great day.
Big hugs,
♥ Lena
Lena’s Creations

Sue said...

Where does one begin.......This scene is just amazing. I love the stamp (have it but not used yet). What inspiration you have given me. Of course the sparkly (Donna Ellis) glittery card just glows. I like how you used the grass ,it gives the card a dimensional feeling. She is lovely all glittered up and the bubbles are fun. Elegant and intriguing is how I would describe it. Just as lovely as can be.

Hugs
Sue

Sue said...

oopps, forgot to say thank you for the mermaid sentiment, LOVE it.

Sue

Lori said...

Beautiful! Love all the sparkle and fabulous details!

wannabcre8tive said...

Amazing work. I love the image and the colors. The sparkly frame is an added bonus. Thank you, for the tutorial.

cotnob said...

This is gorgeous Donna, beautiful background papers and fabulous design - thank you for the step by step.
Pauline - Crafting with Cotnob
x

KarinsArtScrap said...

this is gorgeous Donna, sorry for the late reaction but it was my birthday.

Gr Karin

Monika Gulyas said...

You have created a beautiful underwater scene!!! The tutorial is great too!!! Thank you for joining the August challenge of the Country View Challenges!

Gale said...

Really gorgeous card Donna! Love your tutorial too. It is amazing. Thank you for sharing with us over here at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge and best of luck with your entry.

Gale DT for  http://worldwideopendesignteamchallenge.blogspot.com.au/

sarascloset said...

Hi Donna! Don't faint but I'm here to actually leave a comment! I've been browsing through your lovely blog and taking in so much of what you've been up to this summer, and don't have the time to write a comment on each. But your process really caught my attention on this one, and I had to leave some love. You put so much into your blog posts, by showing and fully explaining your steps. Thank you so much for that! This card is amazing, but even more amazing to me is seeing how it all came together! I hope you are doing well! Sending big hugs! Sara Emily

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Wow!! Amazing card, full of fabulous details!! Thanks so much for the step by step tutorial and the tips! Thanks for the free sentiment, too!! Very useful!

Craftyfield said...

Fabulous tutorial! The scene is lovely too, thanks for sharing it with us at Country View Challenges!

Karen Dunbrook said...

wow and wow....this looks so totally amazing Donna....so well done!!
x Karen

Hester said...

Fabulous card! Gorgeous with the background!

Thank you for sharing with us over here at Classic Design Team Open Challenge and best of luck with your entry.

Hesters DT for  http://classicdesignteamchallenge.blogspot.com.au/

Wendy said...

Gorgeous! I really love all of the glitter accents and your color combinations :) SOOOOOO PRETTY!