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

Showing posts with label Lavinia World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lavinia World. Show all posts

Thursday, June 04, 2020

Lavinia World #28 - Christmas

Hello, Sweet Blogging Friends!
I hope this finds you full of good health and gratitude.
(Please accept my freebie gift at the end of this post)

Four cards

Yep! It's time for another Lavinia World Challenge!

Store -- Facebook -- Instagram
Play in our Anything Lavinia Facebook Group
and/or our Anything Goes Challenge Blog


These are simple cards, that really do look pretty!
So let me share how to extend the use of your die cut collection.



First, that pretty white Spellbinders die is a single cut. It makes the white background for the green Sue Wilson die. Ink the stamp with Shady Lane Versafine Clair ink. Cut it out with an oval die.

Then:


To change the SW ornate die into a frame, the die was left in place, then a dry-embossing sandwich was used to emboss the die cut, and finally, while the green cardstock was still in the die, a craft knife was used to cut out the oval center, creating a frame for the stamped image.



TIP:
layering orate sets can make a pretty, delicate card with lots of texture.



Here you can see the same techniques used in burgundy colors. The image was stamped in Chianti Versafine Clair Ink, then heat set with a similarly colored embossing powder. If you look just above the word "Merry" you can see the overlapping "line" from the pieced together white slit. Otherwise, those circles would not have a white background. The embossed image would have shown instead.



The above card was stenciled with black ink, and a glossy silver "Merry Christmas". The card below was stenciled with Worn Lipstick Oxide ink, and has a white "Merry Christmas" which has been placed on a matching heat embossed "slab".



Maybe the differences are more clearly seen here (just click on the photos to enlarge):




Products Used:


Would you like a freebie Christmas digital sentiment?

My gift to you - for use on the inside or outside of your projects. Please do not sell the sentiment. Use it 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 in June 2020, your image will appear solid black. Don’t panic. Right click and do a SAVE. Once it is saved on your hard drive, you can open it and it will have a transparent background. I could make JPG instead, but I prefer PNGs 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.

Enjoy!





On a Personal Note:


It is with great sadness that this is my final Lavinia World project as part of the really great Fantasy Team. Such a marvelous group of talented artists, and I think my favorite team ever. Each member of this team is kindly and caring in every way. I already miss the sweet camaraderie of the group. THAT BEING SAID... It will be fun cheering on these wonderful fairy friends from the side lines. I would like to thank the Lavinia World DT Coordinator Anne Temple for being patient with me and for all the encouragement offered by my team members.

As many of you already know about my health, I am leaving due to worsening health conditions. There are no cures for any of my illnesses. While there are a few medications to help some individuals muster through the symptoms, I am unable to tolerate them without further detriment to my body. 

One positive outcome about COVID-19 is that proper attention is FINALLY being called upon by the scientific, medical and political communities for ME/CFS. It is a debilitating syndrome that quashes one's quality of life. I contracted ME/CFS as a result of the Flu Pandemic of 1957. I'm sure many of you recall that pandemic because of the horrible symptoms and world wide deaths. Unfortunately, many people who contracted COVID-19 now are finding themselves suffering from ME/CFS symptoms (generally acquired through a viral infection). You may have heard scientists refer to a "COVID-related symptom "PEM" Post Exertional Malaise". This is where the body loses its ability to create "energy" from food and normal cellular activity. Instead, the body creates cellular waste. Here is the official lay definition for PEM: Post-exertional malaise (PEM) refers to a worsening of ME/CFS symptoms after minimal physical or mental exertion, which can be delayed 24-72 hours or more. PEM is considered to be the hallmark symptom of ME/CFS.
More information can be found here:


A Big Thanks to the designers who make these Challenges Available:

  1. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #73 Anything Christmas 6/14 (sep post)
  2. World Wide Open DT Challenge #5 AG DT (MY FINAL DT CARD wahhhhh!) 😞 6/15 (sep post)
  3. Merry Little Christmas Challenge #23 (June) AG Christmas 7/6 (sep post)
  4. Classic Design Challenge #6 (June) AG 7/1 (sep post)
  5. A Bit More Time to Craft #117 AG 6/15 (sep post)
  6. Fezziwigs Festive Frolics (June 3) Anything that shares the Christmas Story 6/15 (sep post)
  7. Christmas Craft Creations (May 27) Christmas Using a Die Cut 6/10 (sep post)


Leaving you all with Fairy Love,

Thursday, April 09, 2020

Lavinia World 24 - Every Wish Begins With A Dream

Greetings, friends. Sending you wishes for peace and good health.
I am so grateful you are here, and that our paths have crossed.


It is time for our new
Lavinia World Challenge!

Store -- Facebook -- Challenge -- Instagram
Play in our Anything Lavinia Facebook Challenge
and/or our Anything Goes Challenge Blog


Today's story 

Surrounded by love, Guinevere Mermaid is spending time alone, 
using the days to expand her heart, 
and to discover dreams that will make her world more 
meaningful to herself and others, especially those in need.
After all, everyone is "needy" in one way or another.


Both cards are colored with the same inks,
but different die shapes and stencils were used.

Guinevere Mermaid is stamped with Cheerful Yellow Versafine Clair and heat set with white detail embossing powder. I wish Versafine Clair came in a white!


Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink is the primary base, and is used in the foliage as well. The underwater foliage is done with the Spanish Moss Foliage set. 

A little Antique Linen Oxide provides a grounding for the rocks and sandy areas.



The glitter dots around the "wish" were done with my favorite detail adhesive - Quickie Glue Pen. It's my go-to product for certain intricate jobs, and I've used it for as long as it has been on the market.

The star brads are heated up and dipped into Cerulean Glitter EP, where the EP melts in place:


I used an Aqua Prismacolor Pencil in certain places to define shadows.
Unfortunately, I was a bit heavy-handed with the ink and stencils:

 

The Every Dream sentiment was stamped with Nocturne Versafine Clair onto vellum and heat set with clear detail EP.

Lavinia Products:



Products Used:



Challenges I would like to play in please:

  1. World Wide Open DT Challenge #3 AG DT 4/15
  2. The Fairy and The Unicorn Challenge (April 4) AG Fantasy 5/1
  3. Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2014 AG 4/13
  4. A Bit More Time to Craft #113 Anything Goes 4/15
  5. Classic Design Challenge #4 HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY 5/1
  6. Aud Sentiments Challenge #248 AG+ Sentiment 4/15
  7. Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge #468 Anything Goes 4/15
Thinking of you fondly,

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Lavinia World 23 - Help Finding Home?

Finding A Safe Place?
Wishing you all the very best as we experience an unusual Life Event globally.
My heart is with each one of you.
In the meantime...


It is time for a new
Lavinia World Challenge!


Play in our Anything Lavinia Facebook Challenge
and/or our Anything Goes Challenge Blog

Today's story 

Three Woodland Mice are scared and worried about getting home - to their Safe Place. Eden Fairy explains that Home is not a specific place but wherever they are, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the hardships, as long as Love is in their hearts. If they will cherish their own dear lives and cherish the lives of their families and friends, they can find themselves SAFELY home.
And so, the mice carefully cross over the River of Misfortune, facing their fear head-on, learning that they are INDEED resilient in the face of adversity.

My cards today depict a night-time excursion, so they are darker than user. The Lavender Water Mist Paper was inked up and altered. I felt like experimenting, and learned a lot in the process.


The first card has a stenciled backdrop, using Distress Inks and Versafine Clair ink:




Then another stencil was placed on the blue stencil, and swiped with Nuvo Mousse:




I learned that the Mousse is impervious to any ink, and acts as a resist.



Maybe I should have tried VersaMark and embossing powder when stamping the fairy? As it happened, I had to restamp the fairy, and heat set her wings with glittery black embossing powder, and FUSSY CUT her! giggle



The periwinkle colored scene uses the 
Vine image inked with French Blue chalk ink. It was stamped randomly all over the background, and then coated with a white pearlescent mica powder:



These were full of product lessons (for me) and I look forward to playing a little more knowledgeably next time!




Come join the challenge for a chance to win the $15 store credit!




Products:
Challenges I would like to play in pretty-please:


hugs,

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Lavinia World #22 - A Hare-Raising Conversation

QUESTION: 
are the fonts on my blog large enough for your tablets and computers?


Hello, Blogging Friends!
Today I'm sharing two "hare-raising" cards.
Hope they don't scare you away!
(giggle)


It is time for a new
Lavinia World Challenge!


Play in our Anything Lavinia Facebook Challenge
and/or our Anything Goes Challenge Blog

Today's story 

Spellbound Fairy is having a "hare-raising" conversation with Whimsical Hare. Whimsical Hare does not want to leave her rabbit-hole home today because she is having a BAD HARE DAY. She had been cleaning house all day yesterday, getting ready for company, and now, she complained, she looks like a DUST BUNNY!

Ok - I'm stopping with the story silliness - laughing.

Both cards use identical die cuts and colors. First Spellbound Fairy and Whimsical Hare were stamped with Fantasia Purple VersaFine Clair. The fairy wings were heat set with a purple embossing powder that has clear and lavender glitter in it.

I like to make sure that my stamp images will fit inside the die cut shapes:


Make sure that all the colors will work:


The Out-of-the-Box die cutting technique was used here to accommodate her wings. Split Coast Stampers has a free pictorial tutorial and a free YouTube tutorial for the technique:


My uncoordinated fingers don't "free-lance" very well. To make a double-sided banner, I flipped my die:


I'm proud of my poor ole faithful die cut plate. That plate is well over 10 years old, and is still perfectly flat and works superbly. Probably only twice a year it gets a good scrubbing to become almost white again.


Why I take multiple photos - I cannot capture the details on a single photo. Notice how different the two fairies' wings look even though they were created exactly the same. It's that little bit of difference in the lighting. You can really see the difference if you click on the photo to enlarge it:


after the main images were inked, I distressed the backgrounds while the dies were still in place. Then applied a stencil, and inked some more.



For the two background shapes, I used the "inlay" technique. The blue halo around the fairy and hare were done with 
Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 Color Pencils and Gamsol.



After stenciling, the ground and circle were masked and inked more:

The glitter in the circle is adhered with a Quickie glue pen and loose periwinkle colored glitter:




Thanks for stopping by today!


Lavinia World Products:


Products Used:

  1. Stamps: Lavinia World Stars Mini LAV152, Toadstool Mini LAV216, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Forest Mushroom LAV565, Spellbound Fairy LAV434, Whimsical Hares LAV482, Fairy Dust is like Love LAV024
  2. Inks: Fantasia Purple VersaFine Clair, Distress Oxide in Worn Lipstick, Distress Inks in Spun Sugar, Chipped Sapphire, Wilted Violet
  3. Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 Color Pencils and Gamsol
  4. Uniball Pen in White
  5. Dies: Taylored Expressions Banner Stacklets 1, SB Grand Labels One, SB Grand Big Scallop Circle, 
  6. Glitter: Periwinkle Purple
  7. Embossing Powder: Purple with lavender, purple and clear glitter in it.


Challenges I would like to support:


Fairy Magic being sent your way,

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Lavinia World #21 - It's a Beautiful Day!

Greetings, blogging friends!
As soon as I saw blogging friend Donna Thielker's THTSB creation, I knew I wanted to get my Oxides out and finally experiment. There is a bit of a learning curve with them (in my opinion), but here is my first attempt. Donna, thank you for inspiring me!


It is time for a new
Lavinia World Challenge!

Details of our Lavinia World ChallengeWinner receives
a $15 gift certificate to the Lavinia World store. Submissions can be placed either on our Lavinia World Challenge blog which has an ANYTHING GOES theme using ANY brand clear or rubber stamp - no digitals. Or you may play in our friendly Facebook Group called Anything Lavinia if using ANY Lavinia Product in your creationEither way, we enjoy seeing your artwork!

Today's fairy story 


Today's Make-A-Wish Fairy reminds us that we need to occasionally take ourselves "away", allowing our dreams to bloom from deep in our hearts, and shed seeds along our Life's journey, to come to life in their own way. But first, we have to begin a quiet odyssey allowing those beginnings to come to Light.

Have you ever noticed how many of our dreams have "come true" but not in the ways we had originally anticipated?

Onward... to my little card...
I used Distress Ink foam applicators to apply my inks, which was part of my "learning curve". Next time, I'll use my brushes (which I had forgotten about LOL). After inking my 5x7 panel, I spritzed with water and added kosher salt crystals to make a little texture:



After this dried, the salt was brushed off, and a Heidi Swap stencil was lightly inked with Distress Ink in Pumice Stone. The Sparkle sentiment was also inked with Pumice Stone and added to the background. All the images were inked with VersaFine Clair Rain Forest Green and heat set with clear embossing powder.



Wink of Stella Clear and Uni-Ball Pen Signo Gel White were both used, first on the fairy's wings and then on the other stamped elements. Diamond Dust (textured glitter) was also added:



Here's a final look at the card on an angle to capture it without the glitter and shine. After trimming the original white panel, the card size is 4.25" x 6.5":



Thanks for visiting today!
My Lavinia World Products:


Products Used:

Challenges I'd like to play in please:
  1. My Time to Craft #426 No Digi's Allowed this week 3/7
  2. Creative Moments #185 AG + "for the girls" 3/5
  3. World Wide Open DT Challenge #2 AG DT 3/15
  4. *New* Classic Crafty FB Challenge (Feb)  AG 3/1
  5. Creative Knockouts Challenge #339 Die Cuts and Punches (IO Small Grass 178C, MS Geometric Frames Punch) 3/5
Stamping Hugs to you, my dear blogging friends...