Bams!

Hi everyone! :) I've been wanting to get out of my comfort zone in terms of colour combination so I decided to use this bright blue as my inspiration for this card. I don't think I've ever used this blue in any of my projects before but there's always a first right? What colour combination would you try? 

I wanted to use a colour that I don't usually use as an inspiration but at the same time to make some boy-ish friendly card.

I wanted the no-line watercolouring look. My favourite what to do this is to use any of the lighter inks I have. This time I used the antique linen.

For the "sunlight", I coloured using distress ink markers directly on the paper. And then I used a very wet brush to pull the colours.

Create A Smile Stamps - Uplifting
Create A Smile Stamps - Ausflippen

Another good way to control where you watercolour go when you want to cover a large area is to paint clean water to the area and drop your paint to the wet area. 

Follow Create A Smile on Facebook keep yourself updates on all the happenings and if you're an Instagram addict like I am, you can follow Create A Smile using this name : @createasmilestamps ! :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Marina

Hey!

Hey stampers! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Today I have an easy and fast card for you.

 






The bird is my favorite image from the cute set Uplifting. So I decided to make it my focal point. Then I saw this color challenge over on Hand Stamped Sentiments and wanted to use it as my starting point. I will share some tipps and tricks on color challenges below.

 

• Stamp, color and fuzzy cut the image. Add the sentiment to the banner as you like.
• Die cut a frame. I adhered a few layers of the same die cut to achieve some dimension. I also added a piece of vellum to tone down the background behind the bird.
• Mix the embossing paste with some ink to create a color that goes with your project.
• Create the background with a stencil. I used the stencil called Clouds.
• Assemble the card.

  

I wanted to say some words on color challenges. In my opinion color challenges - just as sketch challenges - are a good way to spark your inspiration. When I look for a color challenge I search for a challenge where I like the colors, of course. I don't like color combos with more than three colors. But I always choose a challenge which is really a challenge. For example in the color combo I chose I really really love the turquoise but I am not a big fan of pink and I don't like pale pink at all.  But I loved them all together - is that strange?
I use my favorite color most on the card and the color a I don't like very much the least. On this card I used turquoise for my focal point, the bird and in the background. There is just a little bit of pale pink on the feathers and the banner!
How do you use color challenges? Or other challenges? I would love to know!








We would LOVE to see what you do with all the other fabulous Create a Smile products! Please leave a link to your creations in the sidebar!

   

Saturday Scrap Scenes with Terhi - Adventure

Hey all, it's Terhi here with a new scrapbook layout made with gorgeous Create A Smile products. I thought to try out some new techniques and turn the Boxes Stencil to soft and round background.

Few days ago I cleaned up my scrapbook papers and found some lovely light grey colored papers, they were quite old but still they inspired me. I immediately saw a horse layout made with those papers and I printed out a black and white photograph with me and my lovely hairy friend in it.
I wondered how to bring horse back riding onto the layout without words. Obviously I could have used some horsy papers or embellishments but for me it's all about feelings.
Riding a horse is a tough thing. You need to be as relaxed as you can ever be, you need to sit down and not disrupt horse's movement, still you need to be tough and strict with orders you give and need to think always one step further. It's soft and hard at the same time, need to feel it and do the work at the same. How to draw that on paper!?
With Boxes Stencil I got straight lines to the paper, as well as with the straight paper slices. Playful teal and mint green background coloring reminds me about the softer side, and how good it feels to move together with a friend that big.



It's quite a challenge to try to include any sounds, music or other voices to a paper crafting project. But rhythm is one of the most important things with riding, so I chose to use number stamps (29 Again) to give some drive.
Capturing your memories to scrapbook albums is precious, but as I don't like to write things onto pages I prefer create the feelings on the paper.



Please find the video below or watch it here.
Even though I never thought I would, but today I'm sharing another kind of process video for you - with me talking in it! Hope you like it.

Stamps: 29 again
Stencil: Boxes Stencil,
Other: Sending Sunshine Enamel Stickers, Chipboards - Adventure, Chipboards - Heart Circles

   

Our Create A Smile Instagram includes lots of sneaks of upcoming products and projects!

Have a great day!

Terhi xx

Surprise - Just for You!

Hello!
Samantha here, and today i'm going to share a card that is sure to make you happy, just looking at it!! Well, that's the idea, anyway! Ha!

This card really came together because I wanted to play, and I wanted to color! Nothing more other than plain old fashioned FUN! Ha! I love getting messy with Distress Paints, so that's what I did!! :)

To create this card, get ready to get messy, and most of all, get ready to experiment! Every time I create with Distress Paints, or Inks or Markers, I get a different result, and that's what's so much FUN!

- on a Kraft mat, add lines of color in a rainbow order with distress paint and spritz with water
- using a strip of watercolor paper, lightly press down into the color puddles and swipe to one direction and you pick up the paper!
- set aside to dry

- color the bear with copics (and squeal a little as you do, because the bear is just TOO cute for words! Ha!)
- trim a starry paper to fit your card base, and once dry, pop up the rainbow panel on the left side of the card
- pop up the bears head as well, slightly overlapping the rainbow panel

I used the newly released Poppin Over stamp set! It's SO cute!!

I used watercolor paper for my rainbow panel. You could use regular white cardstock, but through trial and error, I have learned a few things: the color does not stay as vibrant and the paper warps considerably. That being said, I do still use watercolors and other Distress Products on regular carstock sometimes! Totally your choice!

Do you follow Create a Smile on Instagram? You should! It's always filled with amazing inspriation and even a giveaway now and then!! It's my favorite way to be inspired!

Thanks again for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Samantha

Guest Designer Sonja Kerkhoffs Part 2

Hello lovelies!

It's time for some more gorgeous inspiration by Sonja Kerkhoffs from The Art of Stamping. We just loved last weeks ard and today she even has a video for you - woohoo!

Hello everyone! It’s me again, Sonja with my second guest post here on the Create A Smile Stamps blog. Today I’m showing you a bright watercolor card and I’ve even got a video to show you how it came together.

I love coloring with any medium I can get my hands on and when I saw those beautiful loose scribbled flowers from the Magic Flowers set I just knew I had to use them for a watercolor card.

If you want to obtain a watercolored look with some more depth and detail in the shadow areas color your images in layers. Start with a very light and watery color wash and slowly build up your shadows. Only add more color after your previous layer has completely dried to prevent the colors from different layers to get mixed up.

 

Stamps: Magic Flowers, Hey, Quatschkopf
Inks: Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black
Coloring: Kuretake Gansai Tambi
Dies: Mama Elephant Basic Set
Paper: Canson XL Aquarell, vellum, black cardstock
Other: white and clear embossing powder, sequins

Thanks for stopping by and see you again next week! 

Sonja

Guest Designer Julia Altermann Part 3

Hi everyone,

it's a sunny, warm day in Germany and I'm here to share some warm and bright card with you, that our Guest Designer Julia Altermann from Just One More Card created.

Here's what she has for you:

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I wanted to show that that sometimes the "accessory" stamps can be the star of the show.

- Stamp on a single piece of paper which is 4.25x5.5”. 

- In order to line up your stamp each time perfectly, use a stamp press or put some grid paper underneath your card base – that will make it much easier. Don’t forget to clean your stamps really well so you won’t have residues of the previous color when you stamp again.

- To create the layered effect on the card front, leave 1/3 of the front intact and cut off the rest. Then adhere the stamped panel (4.25x5.5”) to the inside of the front panel – it looks like it’s one piece, but isn’t. ;)

- Stamp your sentiment on the top part of the card and then use embellishments to your heart’s content – I always use sequins by Pretty Pink Posh and this time, I even inlaid them with some seed beads.

 

If you want to create a rainbow or hombre effect with your stamp colors, take out all the ink pads you will need ahead of time and arrange them in the order you will need them. Ink swatches can be a huge help to find the correct colors. If you find that your card doesn't have enough contrast, try layering a strip of card stock that has a very intense color between the white and the colored part. And to balance out the card, little embellishments can go a long way.

 

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Thanks for stoppin' by! Make sure to visit Julias blog for more inspiration and check out her videos!

Have a great day

Christine