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

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Beautiful Geraniums by Sparkle N Sprinkle



Belated Thanksgiving Greetings to all my blogging buddies and new follower Donna K - 

My Blogging Friends top my list of Blessings for which I am very grateful.
This month we are bringing you a pretty new stamp set by 
artist Beccy Muir with FIVE chances to win

the first chance is in our "Beautiful Geraniums" Release Contest
 and
four more chances with the SNS monthly challenge where the monthly theme is always "Anything Goes with Glitter, Embossing Powder and/or Flocking."

The Geranium stamp set is available on line or is included in Jazzy Jill's Technique Video for the month.

The Geranium stamp set, one glitter and one EP will be awarded to one commenter.
To win, just come to our Mystery Designer Party!


How the Mystery Party works:

On one of the participating blogs below, a Commenter will be selected to receive the prize. 
No one knows who the Mystery Designer is, so you may wish to visit each blog to leave a comment.



The winner will be announced on December 3 on Facebook, the SNS blog, and on our blogs:

 The beautiful Geraniums set is available at 20% off 
as part of our December specials. 
Just use the code DEC20 in the COMMENTS SECTION 
when checking out in the SNS on-line store 
to receive these brand new sets at 20% off.
Promotion valid through December 3.(sorry, credit card customers only. Total will be manually adjusted. Or phone the SNS shoppe and ask them to manually adjust the charge on the phone for you).

By now you have guessed that the glitter is in the green frame ( Luau Green Microfine Velvet Glitter )
AND
I stamped directly on the Cloud Nine Microfine Velvet Glitter with Memento Ink, and colored the image with Copic Markers (shown below)
In person it is very sparkly!

Tutorial for how to color on glitter with markers can be found here.
See how glittery it is? (more giggles)

To make this card, just click HERE for complete directions.

A peek inside:

LOVE these pretty geraniums and the Copic Markers on Cloud Nine glitter technique!
Psssst! You can also use regular markers and watercolors on glitter - 
here's the tut for that!


Products:

Submitted to the following incredible challenges:

  1. Crafty Hands Challenge - #3 Sparkle and Bling (blingy flourish and 2 glittered surfaces) (12-6)
  2. Sister Act Card Challenge - #35 Anything Goes (12-6)
  3. Paper Crafting Journey - Nov 21 Bling It Up (12-4) (blingy flourish and 2 glittered surfaces)
  4. Crafter's Cafe Challenge - #39 Anything Goes (12-3)
  5. Simon Says - Nov 27 Anything Goes (12-4)
  6. Party Time Tuesday's Challenge - #148 Anything Goes (12-3)


Thanks for visiting today!
Warm hugs,



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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Lovely Wreath Twisted Easel

Note: November 17, 2015
ABC Christmas Challenge DT Call (ends Nov 30, 2015)


Hi, Blogging Friends! A warm welcome to new followers Vicky, Angelique, Shalu, Carrie, Kren, Carol Crafty-Stamper, Catherine. Thank you for following me, and I look forward to seeing your blogs, too!


Apologies for not leaving comments as much as I used to, and for not even posting many cards. 
My hands have been very uncooperative, and the dexterity and neurologic issues are becoming extensive. And in all honesty - my brain is not functioning well, either, 

but

  Slow is better than Stop 

- right?

And maybe Contentment and Peace are by products of Gratitude?
Being content in the midst of Life regardless of what it brings?
So that we may grow in ways we might otherwise have never grown?
And be exposed to ideas and thoughts we otherwise would never have known?

I do want you to know how blessed I am to have you in my little life,
 and to share in your artwork and photos of your homes and loved ones.

Hopefully you all know how appreciated and valued you are. Since I am home-bound, it is my highlight to visit your blogs and see what you are up to.





I couldn't resist!


Having fallen deeply in love with this wonderfully detailed Christmas Wreath image by Kim Gwin of Scrapbook Stamp Society, I was delighted when sweet DTC Sher sent it to me.


It was remarkably easy to color because the image reveals the places to lighten and darken.

If you enjoy "Pretty", but prefer something easy to color, then this beautiful wreath would make a lovely addition to your digi Christmas items.  It's perfect for vintage or contemporary paper crafting, and it can be cut apart to use pieces of it, too.


I decided to try a Twisted Easel style card, and though Christina Griffiths' video tutorial was very simple, and contained wonderful tips about placement of images both top and bottom, I had trouble with the placement of the sentiment on the bottom portion of the card, so if you try this fold, you might want to use longer, thinner sentiments, or something extremely small, rather than a squarish size sentiment.

When closed, this is what the top looks like:

Except for the printed paper, all of the green is vellum. I'm ashamed to say that vellum has been in my stash at least 10 years, and this is the first time it  has been used!

While it worked with MS punch around the page, it did not play well with the Deep Edge MS Trim punches which cut both sides.

The pink pearls are from my mom's crafting stash (that means I have had them over 21 years - no telling how long she had them!) {smile}

The bottom looks like this when closed:

A computer-generated sentiment with a variety of fonts was fun to create.

Here is a close up of the bottom when opened:



My girl friend will be surprised when she receives this, especially knowing Fumble Fingers here made it (giggle).

thanks for stopping by!

Fondly submitted to the following wonderful challenges:


  1. Created With Love Challenges - #67 Anything Goes (11-25)
  2. Path of Positivity - #8 Gratitude (please see my little comment above) (12-2)
  3. City Crafter Challenge Blog - #186 Card Using a Wreath (11-26)
  4. Incy Wincy Designs - Easel Card (11-25)
  5. Addicted to Stamps - #69 Dies and Punches (9 dies, MS punch around page) (11-25)
  6. Crafty Calendar Challenge - Anything Christmas (12-3)
  7. Tok Bobok Challenge - TBC#6 Christmas (11-29)
  8. Fan-Tastic Tuesday - #10 Make it fancy SQUARE (Square top, square bottom) (11-26)
  9. Party Time Tuesdays - #147 Color Challenge (bright pink, green, purple with deep teal) (11-26)
  10. Sweet Stamps - #144 Anything Goes! (11-25)




Sweet hugs for you always,

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

SNS Winter Wonderland - November 1 Release

Welcome to Sparkle N Sprinkle's pretty golden Winter Wonderland theme tag.

Are you color challenged? Do you prefer not having to purchase expensive cardstock? If so, the techniques on this tag are for you.
My project today uses only one color of cardstock - WHITE!
This makes it affordable while producing an elegant look.

  

But business first!
This month we are featuring two marvelous stamp sets by artist Rosiland Solomon. The Winter Wonderland rubber stamp set is also available digitally here. The pretty Flourishes Two rubber stamp set creates some lovely, interesting backgrounds.

For More Design Ideas Blog Hop Order


This tag is made from several layers. The bottom white layer has been coated with Gold Detail embossing powder EP168. The layer with white holly leaves is the same white paper. The top layer has been stamped with VersaMark Ink   and heat set with more Gold Detail embossing powder. That layer was trimmed and distressed around the edges. After distressing the edges with more VersaMark Ink, a little Gold Tinsel embossing powder EP385 was heat set to gild the frame. To further distress, Dimensional Glue was squeezed around the edges very lightly, and pretty Aztec Gold ultrafine glitter was applied. In person, this "three-part" distressing produces a striking effect:  



 Below, a little Twinkling Clouds Sparkle N Soft Flock SS107 was applied with Brushable Glue. After drying, I colored the sparkling flock with a Tombow Marker, to give the bunny a furry appearance, and shade certain areas for detail. The deer on the left is also colored with the marker, but without the Twinkling Clouds. The only coloring medium was a single Tombow marker for the doe and bunny.
It really makes a difference:


More Twinkling Clouds Sparkle N Soft Flock SS107 was applied with Dimensional Glue in the tree branches for a softer, snowy look. 


Brushable Glue was painted on the trunks and some snowy elements in the background. Diamond Dust sparkly glitter G1116 was dredged on to make a spectacularly glitter-full creation. The darker conditions below reveal the shadows of the Sparkle N Soft on the bunny and branches:



The back is not plain by any means!
Once again, only white cardstock was used.
Gold Detail embossing powder covers the layers and sentiment:


Three layers create the ornate tag topper:



TIP: If you prefer not using inks on the inside of your embossing folders, emboss your cardstock and then use VersaMark Ink on the embossed piece. By heat embossing with DETAIL EMBOSSING POWDER, every crevice is nicely covered, and the dry embossed areas are plainly visible. SNS carries over 25 colors of detail embossing powders.






 Do you see the 3 layers of Fanciful Flourish by Spellbinders? 
The front "layer" (shown above) is actually two gold embossed flourishes, adhered back-to-back with Brushable Glue, so that the gold shows front and back. 
On the flip side (shown left) a third Flourish is attached to adorn the back side of the tag, and to hide the ribbon which was woven through the front.
Having the 3 layers provides good support for the tag as well.


The following products were used on this project:

Winter Wonderland Rubber Stamp Set #517
Twinkling Clouds Sparkle N Soft Flock SS107
Diamond Dust sparkly glitter G1116
Aztec Gold ultrafine glitter G1006
Gold Tinsel embossing powder EP385
Gold Detail embossing powder EP168
VersaMark Ink
Dimensional Glue #539
Brushable Glue #540
Old Paper Dye Ink
Cardstock: White
White Lace, Ribbon
Tombow Marker Color 990
Spellbinders Fantastic Flourish Two S2-009
Spellbinders Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles LG S4-143
MS Holly Leaves PATP
EKS Corner Rounder
Swiss Dot embossing folder
Sakura Pen Touch Gold Pen
Participating in these fabulous challenges!

  1. Created with Love - #64 Anything goes (11-2)
  2. Corrosive Challenge - #186 Tic Tac Toe - diagonal "bling, image, layers" (11-9)
  3. Challenges 4 Everybody - #32 Anything Goes - (11-8)
  4. Tammy's Scrappin' Corner - #Anything Goes (11-2)
  5. Party Time Tuesdays - #144 Anything Goes (11-4)
  6. Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes (11-4)
  7. Tip Top Tuesday - #113 Seasons - Winter (tip is about detail EP & embossing folders) (11-3)
  8. Use It Tuesday - #66 Critters - (doe and bunny) (hoarded supplies from the past Aztec Gold Glitter and the white ribbon - both had never been opened)
  9. Crafty Girls Challenges (4 Krafty Girls) - #5 Anything Goes - (11-14)
  10. Charisma Cardz Challenge - #43 Anything But Cards - (11-5)


Thanks for stopping by today,
hugs,

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Hope and the Blessings of Heart

Hello, Blogging Friends. I hope this finds you well and happy. 


Today I'm sharing a newer image from Sherry Baldy's Besties Collection - "Bless Your Heart". Darling with her stripes and dots, and a pocket full of blessings, she reminds us that we always have something for which to be thankful.


Miss Blessing is sweetly sporting orange, bringing her heart to a Halloween Party sponsored by Glitter N Sprinkle Challenge. I still have not mastered how to make "shine" in hair, but I boldly forged with black and gave it a shot.


The theme this month at the Path of Positivity Challenge is 
"Hope", 
especially fitting for me this year.

This year I've been "diligently experiencing" that Hope does not always reward us with what we think we need or want,
        consciously
             or
                subconsciously;
                      but rather,
                   Hope assures
 that regardless of what happens,
             regardless of the circumstances...
               "Everything will be Alright".

Hope encourages us to face Reality,
     with Strength,
          Contentment,
                 Courage
                       and
                            Peace.

Hope lets us know that Love will be the strongest of Forces always, as long as we are open to it.
I'd love hearing your thoughts about Hope.





Wonderful Challenges this card is submitted to:


  1. Path of Positivity - #7 "Hope" - see my paragraph in the post please (Nov 7)
  2. Glitter N Sprinkle Challenge - #54 Add Some Orange - (Oct 18)
  3. Created With Love Challenge - #62 Sewing - (Oct 18)
  4. Challenges4Everybody - #31 Anything Goes - (Oct 25)
  5. Scribble and Scrap Crafts - #3 Always Anything Goes - (Oct 23)
  6. 2 Sisters Challenge - #165 Anything Goes (Oct 17)
  7. Clear It Out Challenge - #Oct 15 Halloween (Stash must be Orange) - I used several orange Copic Markers which have never been used, Sunset Orange Ink which has been in my stash for years and not used, and orange cardstock which had never been opened. (Nov 4)
  8. The Pink Elephant - TPE221 Photo Inspiration (above) (Oct 21)


Products Used:

Scrapbook Stamp Society "Bless Your Heart Besties"
SB Labels One
SB Grand Labels One
SB Grand Decorative Labels One
MS Spider Web
CL Fanciful Flourish
MB Riviera Corner
Copic Markers
Memento Black Ink, Sunset Orange ink, Tea Dye ink, Crushed Olive, VersaMark
SNS Moss Star embossing powder
SNS Cappuccino Star embossing powder
Cardstock: Neenah White, White, Orange, Celery, Olive, Black

Thanks for stopping by today!
hugs,

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