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

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Butterflies Butterflies

Greetings Sweet Blogging Buddies and Crafty Friends! 
Thanks for your comments and support.

Here in Florida it is still in the mid 80s, making it difficult to get into the Fall Colors many are enjoying at this time. However, we have enjoyed a few cool mornings at 59F (15C).
So my cards are still summery! 
They are also in honor of our Southern Hemisphere friends coming into their Spring months.

The Challenge this fortnight at Scrapy Land is 
Anything Goes WITH EMBOSSING. 

To enter the challenge follow the theme AND use any die brand that Scrapy Land sells
and become eligible for a fabulous prize and badges!

My cards use the following "mix-and-match" dies from several Scrapy Land manufacturers.


(Scrapy Land dies shown below with their links)


The cards are size A7 (5x7):

The solid yellow beneath the frame is dry embossed. Difficult to see, there are three layers of butterfly wings - the white (back) and vellum (middle) are both dry embossed.

The sentiment is gold heat embossed.

Both sides of the slender, designer paper frame are distressed with Crushed Olive ink. It was cut using SB Grand Large Labels.

Hope you can see the dry embossing in the white and vellum layers! 



The pretty Die'Sires background image is self-embossing during the die cut process:

Both the frame and background show dry embossing.
The base of the butterfly die cut was cut with a layer of Tear-ific Tape.
Velvety Cloud Nine Glitter was burnished atop the adhesive so that the yellow paper color would remain natural, while the velvet glitter adds sparkle and texture.

Added a peek of Sue Wilson California Collection Border, Corner, Tag on the bottom of the card for a touch of elegance. 

My pink card uses the same sketch as above:

The embossed frame was coated with Tear-ific Tape,
dredged with Cloud Nine Glitter, and then dry embossed after being die cut.

The butterfly's base layer is also coated with Velvet Glitter to match the frame.

Just a touch of Sue Wilson's border die again, to create texture in the flower arrangement.
The seam binding was crinkled and spritzed with Tattered Angels.

Looking forward to seeing your creative designs at the Anything Goes Challenge #27 for the Scrapy Land Challenge.

Products Used:

Scrapy Land Dies:
Other:
Thanks for letting me play in the following Challenges:
  1. Craft Your Passion - #284 "Anything Goes" 10/25
  2. Crafty Boots - Oct 12 "Pink Challenge" 10/25 (two weeks)
  3. Sparkle N Sprinkle - Oct "Anything Goes with Loose Glitter/EP" 10/25 used glitters shown above and gold EP.
  4. Creative Card Crew #94 - "Use Ribbon" Used hand-dyed ribbon in my pink card, and satin ribbon bow tied on one yellow card 10/26
  5. Sweet Stamps "Oct" 'Anything Goes' 11/1
  6. Hiding in My Craft Room - #221 Favorite Cutting Tool (my favorite tool is my SB Grand Calibur - all these dies were cut with it, and it is used on every card creation!) 10/24
  7. Craft-Dee BowZ - October Challenge "Anything Goes with a Bow" 11/1 (my yellow and pink cards each have bows from my CDBZ).
Stamping Hugs,



Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Carousel Horse Card Set

Greetings Blogging Friends! 
I hope you are all doing well, and that the flooding in the US Southeast is not affecting your families.
For the current Scrapy Land Challenge, 
a long neglected, never-used Inkadinkadoo stamp "Carousel Horses" is being used in a 6-card set. 

The Challenge this fortnight at Scrapy Land is Anything Goes. 
To enter the challenge follow the theme AND use any die brand that Scrapy Land sells
and become eligible for a fabulous prize and badges!



   Pssst! Did you know...
        Scrapy Land has a new Pinterest Account! 
    

My project uses the following Scrapy Land products:
The links for these dies are at the bottom of this post.

This simple card was stamped in Danube Blue Memento and colored with Copics.

The pearlescent vellum "beloved stars" die cut was colored on the back with blue Copic Markers.


Unfortunately the camera grabbed purple tones rather than the rosy salmon color in the background cardstock for the easel card below.
The paper is large, round shaped glitter in the background. 
The vines are a turquoise vellum. 
These old, flat purple heart brads needed a face lift.
Using Pearl EP from Sparkle N Sprinkle, they became transformed.
The naked heart was heated up, then dipped into the jar of EP,
where the EP melted almost immediately.
Heat set the rest, and dip again - two or three times - to build
a more dimensional and pearl looking heart.
Two are used in each upper corner of the white ornate Spellbinders die cut.
Some undesirable colors of cardstock are in my stash.
To change the colors, embossing powders are used.
In this case, the same Pearl EP was used to change the paper
from a neon pink to a metallic rosy.
Here is a before and after photo of the vines.


I love the Spellbinders Labels 46 and Decorative Labels 46. They are so pretty together! I also used the Grand Scallop Squares for the scallop shapes. The card below uses the same die cuts, but they are layered differently:


These were some extra large brads in my stash. I dipped them into some Sparkle N Sprinkle Textured EP twice, then dipped them into Princess Rose EP to create a very interesting texture and color!

The pink burlap looks great with this border set from Spellbinders!


This pretty card is sparkly with rhinestone mesh background from SNS, and a fun embellishment made of the Chloe stem and old rhinestone cluster.

Thanks for stopping by today! Looking forward to seeing your creative designs at the Anything Goes Challenge #27 for the Scrapy Land Challenge.

Products Used:
Dies:
Images:
  • Inkadinkadoo Carousel Horse 60-00716
  • Stampabilities CR1056 "Relax and Enjoy"
  • Penny Black "Special Wishes" 30-229
  • Hero Arts "Mini Expressions"
Other:
  • Inks: Distress Dye-base, Adirondack Dye-base, Versafine, Brilliance, VersaMark
  • Copic Markers, Prisma Color Pencils
  • Embossing Folders: Craftwell "Quatrafoil", Craftwell "Delicate Dots",
  • Sparkle N Sprinkle: Embossing Powders (Pearl, Peacock, Princess Rose, Textured, Sparkle, Glitter SNS Pistachio G1053, Jeweled Mesh
  • Martha Stewart Traditional Scallop Edge Punch
  • Pearl Mica Powder

I'd like to play in the following Challenges Please:

  1. Avenue 613 - #144 - Anything Goes Using Pink (two of my cards are primarily pink tones) 10/11
  2. Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - #19 Anything Goes 10/15
  3. Pile It On Challenge #89 "1-2-3 Recipe! (green/pink card = 1 roll of burlap, 2 stamped images, 3 altered brads) and (purple/green card = 1 row of rhinestones, 3 big flowers, and 2 stamp images) 10/9
  4. Country View Challenges - #32 - Add some texture - 11/1 (cards contain glitters, embossing powders, laces, ribbon, rhinestones, flowers, dry embossing, dimensional flowers, burlap)
  5. Sweet Stamps Challenge - Oct 5 - Anything Goes 11/1
  6. Through The Craft Room Door - Oct 6- Oct 12 - Anything Goes 10/13
  7. Simon Says Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes" 10/8
  8. Crafting From The Heart Challenges #80 "Anything Goes" 10/11
  9. Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge #100 "Anything Goes with wet/dry embossing" 10/10 (wet embossing on 8 heart brads/the pink floral vine and on the sentiment using 2 different EP colors in easel card, wet embossing on three large brads using 2 different EPs on pink canvas card, dry embossed dots on pink-blue card, dry embossed designer paper on purple-green floral card)
  10. Inspiration Destination Challenge #54 "Anything Goes" 10/16


Stamping Hugs,


Wednesday, September 16, 2015

My Fresh Water Mermaid

Greetings, everyone!
Thanks for dropping by. Hope all is going well in your homes.
This week my Scrapy Land project is all about our inner Pink and Fresh Water!

Bourn Creative has this to say about pink:
It represents friendship, affection, harmony, relaxation, acceptance, contentment, 
inner peace, approachability romance, charm, playfulness, and tenderness.
"In the Pink" means being healthy.
"Tickled Pink" means being happy and content.
It is the sweet side of the color red - both represent Love.

This means I see you all in a Pink Glow
because you're the sweetest blogging buddies ever!

a card using a stamped image (rubber or digi). 
To enter the challenge follow the theme and use any die brand that Scrapy Land sells.



   Pssst! Did you know...
        Scrapy Land has a new Pinterest Account! 
    


My card features the Sue Wilson Noble Die - Ornate Pierced Design CED5507 )
I love that this set has 3 pierced dies, AND that the dies can be used on the inside
of the design, or as "frames" for the outside of the design!

After the card was assembled, a Quickie Glue Pen was used on Serena the Mermaid to apply the Raspberry Soda Glitter.
Wavy blue background is Copics B0000 and B000.
SOB!
I forgot to photograph during the process. Hope the following instructions help a little. If you're visiting my blog, the photos enlarge when clicked:



Products Used:
Challenges I'd like to play in please!
  1. Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenges - September - Used 2 loose glitter colors 10/1
  2. ECLECTIC ELLAPU Challenges - September - "Anything Goes + Use Stash that is 6 months old or older" (I used purple EKS die cuts that were years old, mermaid stamp that is very old, and 2 old glitter colors all from my stash!) (2 Challenges) 10/3
  3. Glitter n Sparkle Challenge - #154 "Use Something that begins with the letter 'G'" - I used Glitter on the frame and Glitter distressing on the mermaid. 9/18
  4. Artistic Inspirations - #140 Anything Goes WITH A TWIST OF MAGIC (my fresh water mermaid loves her purply-pink home!) 9/27
  5. Crafting With Friends #6 - Anything Goes with Fantasy (used mermaid) 9/24
  6. Colouring In Scrapland #3 - "Under the Sea" (used mermaid) 10/3
  7. Craft for the Craic - Anything but a square or rectangle 9/30
  8. Unicorn Challenge - #1 Anything Mythical or Magical (used mermaid) 9/28
  9. Crafting With An Attitude Challenges - September #7 - "Anything Goes" 10/7
  10. Crafty Girls Creations Challenge - #4 "Anything Goes" 9/25
  11. Simply Papercrafts For All Occasions Challenges #13 - Anything Goes - 9/24
  12. Crafty Calendar Challenge - September - Anything Goes! 10/3
Warm Blogging Hugs,

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Distressed Blue and White Christmas

Greetings, Sweet Friends! Hope this finds you doing well. So happy you could stop by.


Today I'm showing a Christmas card for the Scrapy Land ANYTHING GOES challenge, with this flat, easy-to-mail, distressed style card. The die cuts are "mix-and-match" from several Scrapy Land manufacturers. 

(Scrapy Land dies shown below with their links)
Colors are monochromatic theme in blues, including the holly leaf border done in navy. The white layer is one piece with the Sue Wilson Gemini die creating a beautiful border, and the holly punch on top. Then the panel was run through the Swiss Dot embossing folder. The Sue Wilson tag has glitter on it, and is backed with a matching tag done in navy to give depth.

Although the card is A7 (5x7), the design easily could be broken in half and still look pretty!

1. Use on an A2 "small size" card (top portion).


2. Or use on a "business size" card (bottom portion).




A tiny scallop edge from Impression Obsession provides a finishing touch along the bottom.


Sparkle N Sprinkle Cloud Nine Microfine Velvet Glitter accents the distressed edges, the area around Santa's sleigh, and the 3 snow flakes.

Looking forward to seeing your entry at the Scrapy Land ANYTHING GOES challenge, for a chance to win $15 prize!

Products Used:
Scrapy Land Dies:
Other:

Thankful to play in the following Challenges:
  1. Crafting With Friends - #5 Anything Goes 9/12
  2. Simply Papercraft - #12 Anything Goes  9/12
  3. Kitty Bee Designs - #55 "In The Sky" (Santa's Sleigh) 9/13
  4. Christmas Card Challenges - #39 Anything Goes Christmas 9/4
  5. Outlawz Monday Greeting Card Challenge GCC083115, Anything Goes with a sentiment 9/7
  6. Merry Monday Christmas - #170 - Use Holly (my card is framed in navy blue holly, and the top border is also white holly) 9/13
  7. Creative Card Crew - #95 Christmas 9/12
  8. Holly Jolly Christmas - (Sept) Use a die cut 9/13
  9. A Snowflake's Promise - #4 Christmas Theme 9/8
Wishing you the best and lots of hugs!