from my ink pad to yours

October 14, 2020

Oh, That Glitter: Featuring Flight of Fancy

Last month my customers received a package Iridescent Pearls as a thank you gift. I've got several non-Halloween cards using them - and the gorgeous Black Glitter Paper that goes with it. Today, though, I've got to share one of my favorite Halloween cards with it.

While the butterflies in this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge don't demand Halloween, I kind of thought the calendar did.

I originally used this cute little witch from Flight Fancy in just black and white for a swap - alas no photo. When you add in some colors though, well, that's when the magic happens!

I started with a top fold Basic Black card base and embossed it with the Cobwebs 3D embossing folder.
I stamped the witch with Memento Black on 4 1/4" x 4" Shimmery White.
Color her in with Blend markers: Mint Macaron for her face and hair, Mango Melody with hints of Pumpkin Pie for the moon, broom and sparkles, accenting them with Pumpkin Pie. Rich Razzleberry works well for the witch's costume. I used Gray Granite for the broom handle and mouse.
Then I used one of those craft/make-up blending brushes to add some Mango Melody concentrating it around the moon, wand and witch's head. Then do the same thing using Rich Razzleberry around the edges. The beauty of this is that the marker colors (alcohol based) and blended background colors (water based) don't seem to get muddy. I thought it was a great way to add a night sky and of course I can imagine many other color combinations.
Mount the colored layer about a half inch below the top fold of your card base. Attach thin strips of 4 1/4" wide Black Glitter paper above and below.
Add Iridescent pearls as desired. I used one at the top of the witch's hat and two in the lower left corner. Tie a bow around the top part of the card with Glittered Organdy Ribbon (from the annual catalog).
I don't always show the inside of my cards but when it's a dark card base like this one it's an opportunity be a little playful. I added a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of So Saffron stamped with a few "sparkles" and the witch's broom flying off the lower right corner:

Here's the Instagram version:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Check out the Stampin' Up! catalogs link at the top of my blog. If you don't have regular Stampin' Up Demonstrator and would like hard copies of any of our current catalogs please feel free to email me at cbondersonsmith@gmail.com

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the October host code, CEYMF9Z, I will send you a free gift. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:27 AM in Flight of Fancy | Permalink | Comments (0)

Around The World On Wednesdays Looks At Where We Live

Today is the second Wednesday of October so... It's Around the World on Wednesdays!

Today we are all sharing a bit about what it's like in our part of the world. I'm so excited to see more about how my fellow AWOW blog hoppers find inspiration in their surroundings.

Here is a little bit about my world. When I'm in my little craft pantry I pretty much see what others see since there are no windows: stamp pads, stamp sets, ribbon, partially finished projects, paper scraps, stray dies....... well, enough of that. When I'm outside of my craft room I live in the US state of Minnesota, specifically in a downtown condo in the capital city of Saint Paul in a neighborhood referred to as Lowertown. It's called Lowertown since its in an area between bluffs on a bend along the Mississippi where boats could land and early trading occurred. Here is a photo I took looking back towards home while on a hike to a nearby park earlier this year.

A closer shot of the same view shows where our condo is - I put a little red x where our balcony is. From our place we can see barges or rowing teams on the river, bike trails alongside the river, trains, planes flying into the small airport across the river and of course the traffic as two interstate highways intersect.

This past weekend was close to the peak for fall colors and we took a walk up to what's called Summit Hill where there are lots of big old homes with beautiful tree lined boulevards.

I've also been starting to get to know a new stamp and die bundle that will be available next month: Quite Curvy. There are several curved edge dies and I've only just started to imagine the possibilities as you try them in different configurations. For my first try I pulled out this weeks' Splitcoaststampers color challenge colors: Mango Melody, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red. to see what they do. I was particularly impressed with this irregularly shaped curve - it kind of reminded me of the curves and bends in our nearby Mississippi.

Of course the colors of the challenge echo the brilliant fall colors around us. I got to know the set's bough of flowers (and its coordinating die!) a bit better, while incorporating more of these colors into my card. They were stamped with Old Olive ink and colored with Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red Blends.
The white seam binding ribbon was colored with Mango Melody blends and tied so that it would drape and then held in place with a few mini glue dots.
The Pumpkin Pie layer is embossed with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder before being layered onto a Very Vanilla card base.

That's it for a little peek at my world. Now it's on to visit Ann Marie Hille.

Angela Meiritz-Reid - NZ

Tatiana Tobin - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Chris Smith - US You are here!

Anne Marie Hile - US

Brenda Nelson - CA

Tricia Butts - US

Elaine de Montmorency - CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - US

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

I so appreciate that you took the time to visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Posted at 05:57 AM in Quite Curvy | Permalink | Comments (11)

October 07, 2020

Pumpkin Duo from Autumn Greetings

This week I've combined a couple of challenges: Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge and a sketch from the Paper Craft Crew. Here are the Color Challenge Colors, including the Mint Macaron which as I chose as a favorite green for the dessert option:

Here is the Sketch Challenge you can find over at the Paper Craft Crew:

Here is the full card:

The focal point - the pair of pumpkins are made with some layered die cuts from the Autumn Greetings Bundle. I added some depth to them with some Blends.
For a little extra interest in the Cinnamon Cider layer (cut with the Stitched Rectangle Dies) I die cut a few grain stems but reassembled them back into the rectangle after the rectangle was layered onto the card.
Champagne Rhinestones and another grain die cut made from Brushed Copper foil bring out variations of the Cinnamon Cider color. I love the way these complement the brushed foil. In fact these are part of a group of product samples I've put together featuring and complementing the Brushed Metallic Cardstock. This group is your gift when you make a purchase using my hostess code this month. See the notes below for more details.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:25 AM in Autumn Greetings | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 30, 2020

Peaceful Moments Meets Glitter Paper

I've been working on some cards featuring the Black Glitter Paper. Now, this is a great addition to the beautiful, yet creepy Magic in This Night Suite. It is also a great creative tool to use for other occasions.

This card makes use of this week's sketch for the Paper Craft Crew:

I kept the basics of this sketch with a few little alterations.

The Black Glitter Paper with the Iridescent Pearls are in my September Thank you gifts and I wanted to show that it could work with floral designs outside of the Halloween holiday. The poppy dies in the Peaceful Moments Bundle were the perfect way to illustrate this. - so glamorous!
I broke up the white embossed sentiment so that I could use it on both strips of the sketch. I altered the sktech just a bit to accommodate this.
The Stitched Shapes dies for the squares and the Tasteful Textiles folder add texture on several levels of the card.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the September host code, VXYDHA4M , I will send you a free gift. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:30 AM in Peaceful Moments | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 23, 2020

Autumn Greetings Bouquet

We've returned from the lake and I'm trying to get back into my "urban" routine. Today I've got a fun card with so many fall colors for an inspiration challenge from the Paper Craft Crew:

Here's the challenge's inspiration photo. You can click on the photo to see the actual challenge and hopefully participate along with us!

Let's see. I'll take the wood table, the pumpkin, the colors and oh, what about those zig zag teeth on the Frankenstein cookie?

The bouquet is actually one that I colored Labor Day weekend, intending to use it for a color challenge that was due while we were gone. It got stuck in a book and I just uncovered it while unpacking...
I used several Blends Combos: For the Color Combination - Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler and Mint Macaron (darkened with Crumb Cake and a little Soft Suede so it could stand in for the Garden Green type color. I also took some liberty and used some Light Real Red to highlight my flowers.
The wood tone paper was in my very first order from this year's annual catalog, In Good Taste designer series paper. I even ordered a second package to use as background in my card photo shoots. Yes, that woven pattern in the above photo is in the package too!
The bouquet is die cut with the coordinating dies. Two borders are included. I used what is considered a negative from one of them for the zig zag edge which mimics the teeth on the inspiration photo cookie. The border is Very Vanilla which has just the right amount of contrast with the Crumb Cake card base. You can also see the layered die pumpkins that are part of this set.
I like to keep a few of these images stamped and ready to color while we watch Netflix, or who knows? Maybe some football?

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 16, 2020

So Much Love with the Last Rose of Summer

Today I have a sketch for you from the Paper Craft Crew.

I've been playing around with So Much Love the past few days. This set has two oh, so lovely rose type blooms that are great fun to color and easy enough for the early beginning stamper to the more experienced. I suppose that is why it is one of two extra sets that Stampin' Up! is including with new Demonstrator Starter kits this month.

The 1 " strip of Granny Apple Green is embossed with the Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder while the larger Flirty Flamingo piece is embossed with the Tasteful Textures folder and then cut down to 2 3/4" x 5 1/4".
I colored with Rose with Blends Markers: Granny Apple Green, Flirty Flamingo and Melon Mambo combos. I fussy cut this - the trick here is not to try for much detail in the really tiny parts like the buds. As long as you leave a little white space around the image as a while it will all blend in. I know it was hard for me to fussy cut a white edge the first few times. You know we've all been told to follow the lines. Once you've done it a few times though it really becomes easy and can be quite relaxing.
The white embossed greeting is trimmed about as skinny as the script allows with hand trimmed flags at the ends.
I'm working with "slightly" limited supplies this week and only had pearls and rhinestones to choose and the rhinestones won out today.
My colors may appear off just a bit - we were enjoying what is probably the last day of 70's up on the North Shore of Lake Superior and I didn't get this photographed in the best light of the day. I was inspired by these shrub roses that saved its' last blooms of the season for me:

I'd love to share more of my ideas for using the Queen Anne's Lace and So Much Love stamp sets with you. You can find out more about this month's Get & Go Starter kit by clicking on this image.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Posted at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 09, 2020

From All of Us for the Around the World on Wednesday

It's the second Wednesday of the September so it must be time for the Around the World on Wednesdays Blog Hop!

This month the team is focusing on Tag Team projects. I've been holding onto a couple of cards I did for few challenges last month that I thought would be perfect for this theme. They use the same basic image, with very different results.

The first card shows some animals as distinct characters, separate from each other:

All of these animals are part of one image but I separated them with the little circle from the Stitched Shapes Dies.
Since I couldn't do this without including a piece of the big bear on a few of them, I tried to camouflage the bear as foliage.
I added even more foliage in an attempt to play up this ruse: little green scallops to outline the circles (Layering Circles Dies), Greenery Embossing Folder, Forever Greenery DSP and some Just Jade ribbon to polish it off.

Here is the image as it was intended, with all of them cozily together.

This is my second Slimline style card. Not what you would first think of when you first start to play with this square-ish image. But it fits and it gave me a chance to work in some of the foliage that actually comes with the stamp set.
I used another pattern from the same Greenery DSP pack to give the animals a base. I used a paintbrush to paint an irregular line with water on the DSP. This makes it very easy to tear the paper exactly where you want it to tear.
An oval make-up brush was used to give a soft blue sky in the background.
All the animals on these two cards were colored with Blends markers.

Now it's time to continue along the blog hop and explore Anne Marie Hile's artwork:

Angela Meiritz-Reid - NZ

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Danielle Kassing - NL

Ximena Morales - DE

Aurélie Fabre - FR

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Angie McKenzie - US

Mary Deatherage - US

Shel Anderson - CA

Chris Smith - US - You Are Here!

Anne Marie Hile - US

Brenda Nelson - CA

Tricia Butts - US

Elaine de Montmorency - CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - US

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

I'm taking a break from the Paper Craft Crew this week after a busy weekend checking in with our kids and (massive) packing to get ready for a two week visit to Lake Superior. I'm happy to say that we've arrived and my stamp table is just about all set up. Stay tuned.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

From All Of Us Cling Stamp Set (English)

[152641]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad

[153115]

Just Jade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153079]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper

[152492]

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154906]

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

Gray Granite Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154886]

Bronze & Ivory Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154922]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154885]

Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154890]

Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154892]

Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154884]

Mango Melody Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154888]

Just Jade Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[153107]

Magenta Madness Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[153106]

Just Jade 1/4" (6.4 Mm) 2020–2022 In Color Ribbon

[153621]

3/8" (1 Cm) Embroidered Ribbon

[153554]

Stitched Shapes Dies

[145372]

Layering Circles Dies

[151770]

Water Painters

[151298]

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

Posted at 06:00 AM in From All of Us | Permalink | Comments (7)

September 02, 2020

Back to the Daisies with a Case the Design Team Challenge

This week the Paper Craft Crew is doing something a little different:

I have a sketch I've shared a few times that I have chosen to share again for this challenge - and then did the challenge myself. Here's the previous card I posted on the challenge itself. (And, of course, you are welcome to case anything else you find on my blog for this challenge.)

I originally blogged about this card here.
While most of the cards I do don't have very fussy measurements if you'd like a starting point cut your embossed layer to 5 1/2" x 3 3/4". Layer a strip behind that with about 1/16" showing. My white greeting strip measures 3 3/4' x 1 3/4". I didn't measure the Misty Moonlight strips that border the white strip. You can see that mine don't match. They are roughly 1/16" and I put the slightly thicker one on the bottom, just because I normally keep my cards a little "bottom-heavy" if you know what I mean...
I loved the effect I got by having the right daisy sort of falling off of the card. And the way the Dainty Diamonds Embossing folder worked on the background.
So, I tried to recreate it with snowflakes:

A few hints for this card:

This is basically the same sketch though I left off the horizontal strips that I previously added to the greeting layer.
After embossing the Snowflake Splendor DSP with the Winter Snow embossing folder I lightly sanded the snowflakes revealing a bit of the white core of the paper.
I doubled up the snowflakes to make them a bit firmer.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:29 AM in Daisy Lane, Snowflake Wishes | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 01, 2020

Autumn Greeting Tapestry Card

I'm popping in to share a card I did for today's color challenge over on Splitcoaststampers

Karen originally chose these colors with "the last rose of summer" as dessert. I was surprised at how challenging I found them!

I got to work on a tag idea I had with, struggling to get the look I was going for. Then I received a new box of Stampin' Up! toys and decided to let Autumn Greetings solve my challenge problem (I was out of lace so what did I do but order an extra bundle to go with it!) I did end up using one of the blended and then collage type pieces as the border in this card.

You can see some of my earlier experiments in the background.
What do you think those two big flowers are supposed to be? Roses or Flowering Kale???
The border is part of the bundle - I have such a soft spot for borders!
The greeting is fussy cut.
I used the Light Rococo Rose Blends marker on the pearls - maybe I should have used the dark one though.

By the time I got done adding a few neutrals - on both the border piece and the bouquet, I had these colors:(!) Stampin' Up! Neutrals - or other colors that are close - are all allowed in this challenge.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Autumn Greetings Bundle (English)

[155198]

Textured Essentials Cling Stamp Set

[152612]

To A Wild Rose Photopolymer Stamp Set

[149452]

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[101650]

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

[147115]

Merry Merlot Classic Stampin' Pad

[147112]

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad

[149165]

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[131160]

Rococo Rose Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill

[150089]

Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[147167]

Wrapped In Texture Embossing Folders

[153574]

Pearl Basic Jewels

[144219]

Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154892]

Rococo Rose Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154900]

Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154887]

Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154890]

Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154906]

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

Posted at 10:58 PM in Autumn Greetings | Permalink | Comments (3)

August 26, 2020

How to Play with Spiders ... and Hallows Night Magic

I can't believe I'm saying this but I've spent a very good portion of this hot muggy afternoon playing with spiders...for this week's Paper Craft Crew Challenge.

Here is this challenge, a sketch:

There are many ways that the Magic in This Night Bundle would work with this sketch and I did a bit of trial and error before I ended up with this card:

Here are a few notes:

Do check out the details of these beautiful, if somewhat spooky, images! I used most of the Magic in This Night Suite which starts on page 52 of the August - December 2020 Mini Catalog. The images themselves can be found on page 54. Delicate flowers, bats and spiders web. And what would be more fun than putting "Open if you Dare on the front of your card?
As you can see from my photo, I tried a few different combinations of ink and paper for my spiders. Any of them would work but I really liked the embossed black spiders on Granny Apple Green cardstock. While I used some retired black embossing powder, you could easily stampin Versamark, Tuxedo Black and then emboss with clear embossing powder for a VERY similar look.
While the spiders and bats are fun, it was the border with the webs and flowers that really sold me. This element was so much fun to add to my card and I know I'll be playing with it some more. I sponged on some Smoky Slate to help it feel at home on this spooky card.
While I started out using a Basic Gray background, once I pulled out a 4"x6" black and gray harlequin piece of the Magic in This Night DSP I knew this was perfect. I trimmed it down to 5 1/4" and used the leftover strip on the inside. The Granny Apple Green behind it is cut just 1/16th of an inch larger. By roughing up the edge of the DSP it ended up just a bit smaller to give the perfect hint of green.
And the iridescent pearls! Some are a little more blue, some a little more purple. I chose to use the pearls that had a little more of a green sheen. I used only a small one on each head though you could easily use larger pearls on the body.
It doesn't take much of the Metallic Mesh to add texture.
Here's a shot of the inside:

I used a Smoky Slate liner for the inside of this card.

I don't know what creative things people will be coming up for Halloween this year but I'm pretty sure cards will work in a pandemic so I'm well on my way.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the August host code, 4EZ74K99 , I will send you a kit to make 3 Love of Leaves cards (You provide the stamps, ink/embossing powder and adhesives. These are designed so that you can easily substitute other stamps and inks) plus a free gift. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Hallows Night Magic Bundle

[155188]

Hallows Night Magic Bundle

[155188]

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad

[149165]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

Black Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109133]

Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109130]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[147274]

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

[147113]

Stampin' Blends Color Lifter

[144608]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100730]

Magic In This Night Designer Series Paper

[153517]

Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146990]

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[121044]

Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131202]

Iridescent Pearls

[153549]

Metallic Mesh Ribbon

[153550]

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

Posted at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 19, 2020

Flight of Fancy Halloween Card

Today I have a Paper Craft Crew card sketch to share with you.

I decided to look for greetings with three lines to use for the "red" element and settled on this Halloween greeting from A Wish for Everything because I'd been looking for a greeting to use with this cute little witch from Flight of Fancy.

I've been using a lot of Shimmery White cardstock lately and it really worked well here, complimenting the Black Glitter paper and the glitter in the Black Glitter Organdy Ribbon.
The shimmery paper works well with the Blends that I used for coloring and also for the ink blending I did for the background. I used some makeup brushes to get a soft application of ink in the background.
All of the stamped words are embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder.
A little of the Black Glitter Paper goes a long way!

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Flight Of Fancy Cling Stamp Set

[153410]

A Wish For Everything Cling Stamp Set

[149320]

Word Wishes Dies

[149629]

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

[132708]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150085]

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

[147113]

Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad

[147102]

Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[101910]

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[121045]

Black Glitter Paper

[153518]

Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131201]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[100730]

Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109131]

Black 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Glittered Organdy Ribbon

[147897]

Soft Sea Foam Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154902]

Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154887]

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

Seaside Spray Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154901]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154885]

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

Layering Circles Dies

[151770]

Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder

[152718]

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

[129053]

Posted at 06:29 AM in A Wish For Everything, Flight of Fancy | Permalink | Comments (1)

August 15, 2020

Poinsettia Place Thank You Card

Happy Weekend to all you crafters out there.

Today I'm popping in to share a card featuring one of the gorgeous Plush Poinsettia Specialty Papers along with a fwe other products that are all part of the Poinsettia Place Suite. If I could choose an address I think I would love to love on Poinsettia Place. When my Stampin' Up team did a Zoom chat when the August - December Mini Catalog was first revealed to demonstrators everyone predicted these products would be first on my list. My favorite way to decorate for the holidays is with lots of poinsettias!

Anyway, on to today's card:

I took my cues from holly and sprigs pattern in the the Plush Poinsettia Specialty Papers. I colored the back with Real Red Blends
You will want to use a fairly light touch when applying Liquid Adhesive to the back to keep it from peeking through.
I butted the skinny strip of Real Red Cardstock up to the edge of the vellum. Normally I add these borders from teh back but it would have shown through the specialty paper.
The holly leaves and sprig are stamped and die cut with the Poinsettia Petals Bundle. A little White sponging and Blends to the debossed area add extra dimension to the die cut holly leaves.
Just Jade is the card base. I'm loving Just Jade with these classic Christmas colors:

Here is a quick close up of some of the details. I did use a little Wink Of Stella though my photos never caught it.

So long for today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Poinsettia Place Suite Collection (English)

[155109]

Poinsettia Petals Bundle (English)

[155148]

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad

[147115]

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

[147084]

Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill

[147277]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Plush Poinsettia Specialty Paper

[153486]

Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[102482]

Shaded Spruce 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146981]

Just Jade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153079]

Real Red Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154899]

Shaded Spruce Combo Pack Stampin' Blends

[147938]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

[141897]

Real Red 3/8" (1 Cm) Sheer Ribbon

[153535]

Stamping Sponges

[141337]

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

[129053]

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

Posted at 02:51 PM in Poinsettia Petals | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 12, 2020

Boho Indigo Vases

I'm back for a second post today to share a card for the Paper Craft Crew's Inspiration Challenge:

I used the idea of tropical colors and a table near"water" and came up with this:

I've just started playing around with the vases and greens from the Boho Indigo Product Medley.
DSP scraps from Artistry Blooms and In Good Taste form my stitched circle background.
I think my fussy cutting of greetings needs a little practice but it's getting better.
In color 2020-22 Enamel Dots add just a little more interest. That and a little Wink of Stella!

A close up of the Wink of Stella:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 05:29 AM in Boho Indigo | Permalink | Comments (1)

Around the World On Wednesdays: Let's Shake Things Up!

Today I am blog hopping with the Around the World on Wednesdays crew and you are in for a treat as you visit these talented papercrafters around the world.

Our theme is "Let's Shake Things Up! The focus is to try something new. Well, have you seen any of those slimline cards around? I have but had yet to try one. Of course there are a few other things I've seen but not yet tried but when I saw a sketch challenge for a slim card calling for triangles I knew that is just what I needed to try. The sketch is SC814 at Splitcoaststampers.

This really came together quickly once I decided which papers from the Artistry Blooms DSP to use. I cut a 3 1/4" x 8 3/4" piece of the muted pink - mango stripe and then overlayed a 1" coordinating strip over the left side. These abstract graphics are really a lot of fun to use and I especially like mixing up the graphic look of the triangles with them.
This led to a Melon Mambo Card base 3.5" x 9 and Mango Melody to cut out three of the largest equilateral triangle from the set of Stitched Triangle Dies.
I used my grid paper to make sure I attached the middle triangle in the middle of the card and then added the other two so that they the outside edges were 1/2" away from the DSP edge.
I embossed the bold greeting from Ridiculously Awesome using Versamark ink and Gold embossing powder.
Simple embellishments include Gilded Gems and the gold cording from the Forever Greenery Trim.

Here is a close-up view:

Easy Peasy! Have you tried one of these yet?

Now it's time to check out the talented Anne Marie Hile.

Tatiana Tobin - AU

Rochelle Laird-Smith - AU

Mikaela Titheridge - UK

Elaine de Montmorency - CA

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert - US

Teri West - US

Cheryl Hamilton - US

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 05:00 AM in Ridiculously Awesome | Permalink | Comments (9)

August 11, 2020

Daisies for a Friend

I just jumping in with a quick post today since I also need to work on a couple of posts for tomorrow... This is a bit of a revision of an earlier card but with current products. I did it for a color challenge I'm hosting today over at Splitcoaststampers and to be honest I was quite tickled with the way it turned out.

Dessert for this challenge is to use white craft ink, which I used on the Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folder before running a piece of Night of Navy cardstock through my NEW Cut and Emboss Machine. These will be available in early September! I was so happy with the way it turned out. I just gently tapped the pad onto the inside of the folder - on the side with the Stampin' Up! logo. The Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge allows you to add any colors in the Stampin' Up! Neutrals so Night of Navy gets to be part of the challenge if you wish.
I added cut off about 5/8" off one side and flipped this strip over and attached it underneath to provide extra contrast on the white card base.
I used a white scrap for my Misty Moonlight greeting and added a few skinny strips for upper and lower borders. I didn't worry about the strips being even but did pay attention to using the thicker one on the bottom. I tend to like putting more weight on the bottom of an element than on the top.
My daisies from Daisy Lane were stamped with Misty Moonlight after stamping on scratch paper twice before stamping each one on my Whisper White cardstock. You will sometimes see this referred to as 2nd, actually 3rd, generation stamping. Then they were punched with the coordinating punches and layered 2 deep. The centers are colored with the Mango Melody Blends.
I used some Granny Apple Green leaves cut with the Boho Indigo dies. They aren't what I would say are botanically correct but I felt they looked at home with these daisies.
I tried to add some embellishment dots but in the end it seemed that the "flatness" of the white craft on the background looked better without any added shimmer and shine.

Here is a look at pile of color combination pieces I had assembled before diverging on this card. It looks like I have a little more assembling to do...

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 10:55 AM in Daisy Lane | Permalink | Comments (5)

August 10, 2020

Love of Leaves Meets a Little Plaid Tidings

I'm joining in on Kylie's Demonstrator Training Program Monthly Blog Hop today. Follow along to see a variety of projects!

A while back I shared a Love of Leaves project which featured inset leaves in Cinnamon Cider card stock. I created another version of this card to include in a little new package that I've just sent off to my downline and thought I might share it with you today.

I've truly fallen for Cinnamon Cider with these lovely Stitched Leaves Dies. (I've also decided that our maple flooring is called Cinnamon Cider. I can never find the pieces I drop on the floor!) This time I tried to emphasize the leather look using a light sponging, not only on the Cinnamon Cider but the other colors too.
The card sized "negative" layer is mounted onto a So Saffron card base with Multi-purpose Adhesive. I like to use Multi-Purpose Adhesive glue so that I can get into the tiny spots. If any areas don't seem to adhere well I go back with skinny scrap of paper with a very small amount of glue. Gently and briefly slide this under any areas that seem to pop up and you will get just enough adhesive on them to get them to adhere back down to your base.
Add your leaves back into the Cinnamon Cider layer using that same adhesive tip as needed.
I pulled the color combination from a beautiful fall colored plaid from Plaid Tidings in the August - December Mini Catalog. These include Cajun Craze, Pretty Peacock, Cinnamon Cider and Bumble Bee.
All of the stitched dies blend together beautifully. This time I chose this longer shape with the graceful curves from Tasteful Labels. It would accommodate any of the greetings and allows to add a healthy dose of the warmly colored Bumble Bee.
The little flags in the lower right are also cut from one little Tasteful Labels die which was trimmed in half after die-cutting. I often say that DSP still makes a significant contribution to a card even if it used as more of an seasoning than a major ingredient.
The Cinnamon Cider enamel dots emphasize the greeting.

Here is a close up of some of the details:

One more view:

Now it's time to check out the other lovelies...

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 04:59 PM in Love of Leaves | Permalink | Comments (10)

August 05, 2020

Harvest Hello Get Well Card

It's time for another challenge with the Paper Craft Crew. It's kind of like a twist on last week - but this time I didn't interpret the sketch quite so literally.

Much as I love my Stitched Triangle dies I thought I should change it up a bit this time...and get out Harvest Hellos.

Maybe you recall that I have a soft spot for diagonal borders so as I leafed through my Plaid Tidings DSP (new in the August - December 2020 Mini Catalog!) I knew I would do a Cherry Cobbler colored apple because this crisp Cobbler and white plaid would make such a great edge. I cut out a Stitched Rectangle piece from the 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" A2 sized piece so that I wouldn't waste the piece that would be hiding behind the other layers.
I played a bit with white and Crumb Cake backgrounds for the apple itself and then ended up using them both by applying Whisper White craft ink to my Brick & Mortar 3D embossing folder before embossing the Crumb Cake cardstock.
The big apple was colored first with Blends: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Granny Apple Green, Shaded Spruce, Crumb Cake and So Saffron. Striations - or the sublte striping on the apple peel were done with a Dark Mango Melody Blends.
Though these words are stacked on the stamp that is part of the Harvest Hellos set, I cut them apart so that I could use them on the skinny strip part of the sketch challenge. I think that works pretty well with the typeset style font.
The smaller apple piece is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:29 AM in Harvest Hellos | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 03, 2020

How to Make a Quick Snowflake Wishes Christmas Card

We're almost there! The August - December 2020 Mini Catalog will go live tomorrow, August 4! How about welcoming it with a very simple, quick card with the Snowflake Wishes Bundle?

My colors for this card were chosen by Barbara, who is this week's color challenge hostess over at Splitcoaststampers:

Crumb Cake

Real Red

Whisper White

My first inclination was to go for a red poinsettia, but I've been using that quite a bit lately. Then I thought about the snowflakes and I couldn't believe how fast this came together.

This card is made pretty much the way it looks. You could just cut a 2" or so Real Red square but I really like the homespun stitched effect from Stitched Shapes. I think it looks great with these colors.
You could layer snowflakes - about 3 - but if you want to mass produce this for lots of cards I recommend just using 1 layer of Whisper White Thick cardstock. The only real trick I have to share here is to set your snowflake back into the negative you cut it from, turn it upside down, and lightly sponge Multipurpose Adhesive onto it. Carefully place this on your square. The Multipurpose Adhesive will give you a few seconds to adjust your snowflake to make sure it is straight.
Ink your greeting with Versamark, add White Emboss Powder to the stamped image and heat until shiny. Easy Peasy!

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

$55.75

$9.50

$6.00

$30.00

$8.75

$8.25

$8.75

$30.00

$4.00

$4.00

$94.75

Posted at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

August 01, 2020

A Few More Leaves From Love of Leaves

We are only a few more days away from the August - December 2020 Mini Catalog going live! Those beautiful die cut leaves a showed a few days ago will be featured in there and I thought I would hop on today since I have another Love of Leaves card that I think you will like.

This card features a number of accessories from this new mini catalog:

I pulled my color scheme from the foil embellished Specialty Designer Series Paper, Gilded Autumn. This piece has diagonal gold foil markings with Mint Macaron - not your typical fall color but oh, so elegant!
One of the patterns from the Wrapped in Texture Embossing folders lends interest to the Very Vanilla Layer
I used the gold (lightest) color from the Brushed Metallic Cardstock for a skinny layer between the Vanilla and DSP and also for the little leaf die cut with the stitched piece is place. I use a post it to keep these outline and stitch dies together. You can use the inner die to just cut the stitches in the leaf shape or combine them. If you haven't seen my earlier card which shows this done as a background please check that out here.
The larger (gingko?) shaped leaf is die cut from Mint Macaron cardstock, again with the stitched die held in place with the post it. I sponged this shape lightly with Versamark ink before dusting it with gold embossing powder and heating it, giving kind of a verdi gris look.
I wanted to keep the ribbon light looking so I cut the finished edge from a 6" section of Mint Macaron Basketweave ribbonand pulled off some individual threads. I added the skinny edge I'd just cut off to these and used them to tie a knot and attached them ot the stems of my leaves.
A gold embossed greeting with Gilded Gems from the Ornate Garden Suite add a few more touches of gold.

Here is a close-up of some of the details:

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

$47.50

$9.75

$9.50

$30.00

$6.00

$15.00

$15.00

$7.00

$8.00

$8.00

Posted at 09:25 PM in Love of Leaves | Permalink | Comments (4)

July 29, 2020

Love of Leaves ... with Triangles

I have a new found favorite combination and I discovered it while playing with today's sketch over at Paper Craft Crew.

Can you maybe guess what it is? Look at all of this Cinnamon Cider. From me, practically the queen of white space. Well, it's because I can't get enough of the look of stitched dies on this lovely new In-Color, Cinnamon Cider.

While you don't have to take the sketch "literally" like I did with the triangles, I thought it would be fun to start my design attempting to use them. The biggest challenge is that there didn't seem to be an easy place to add a greeting unless it was in one of the those two layers. so I started browsing the catalogs and decided I liked the little "hello" from Love of Leaves.
Cinnamon Cider was the piece I grabbed to start playing with the triangle dies and once I saw what this new color looks like with stitched dies I was hooked . It makes me think of leather.
The bottom layer shows off the stitched leaves dies. Each leaf has two parts inner and outer. The inner just gives you stitches. The outer cuts and adds stitches outside of the cut. You could just use the inner stitching and not actually cut them out but I wanted to get the outside stitching to show. This layer was added to a white card base - I like white insides to my cards.
The stamped triangle - with the leaves took color inspiration from some sunflower paper in the Flowers for Every Season pack.
The small triangle is stacked with three layers, making it look kind of like a sewn leather tag.
A few little enamel dots finish off the card.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the July host code, EMRNESH9 , I will send you a sampler of products from the new Annual Catalog. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 06:30 AM in Love of Leaves, Stitched Triangle Dies | Permalink | Comments (1)

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