Inspiration by Cindy Lovell

Hello best readers of all times! :)

It' wednesday - that means you get some awesome inspiration by our Guest Designer.

Cindy Lovell, our Guest Designer for this month created a beautiful card using Friends In The Woods.

Look at this beauty! The ombre stars and the colors are beyond adorable!

This is what Cindy says:

"To keep the focus on the cute fox I kept this card pretty simple!

I created the background by using Simon Says Stamp star stencil and distress inks.

I mainly focused on the color orange,because of the fox itself. To pop this little cutie up, I layered him on two stars that I die cut using Spellbinders Circle dies. I sponged the bigger one with the same orange,that i've used on the star stencil.I spritzed some water ontop,so it wouldn't look too plain. A few enamel dots and a couple gems and I call it done!"

I'm sure you agree that this card is eye-catching and fun!

Thanks Cindy, for this awesome inspiration!



Find this set in our shop:

Friends in The Woods: Brown and Green?!

Hello Crafters! 

It's Kelly here for my first official post as a Create A Smile DT 

**Squeeee**

Did you have a chance to hop along this weekend for our first release? I sure hope so there was some serious inspiration being offered :) 

If you don't know me, it's nice to meet you, and you probably don't know my style. That's okay, I'm going to tell you :) I love to look at stamps and see different ways to use them. I'm super crazy about my stuff matching and when I share it's almost always three cards. Super simple, middle of the road, and kinda busy. Busy is open for interpretation because my busy is still pretty CAS. ha! I'm a fussy cutter and I love stickles. Now that we've got the basics down let's get to the goods. 

When I sat down to create I could not stop thinking about a card I saw by 

Tanja Kewel-Neef.  during the hop this weekend.  It was such an adorable card, truly beautiful design and it was brown and green. BROWN AND GREEN people! I could not think of two colors I dislike more together. But here I am staring at her stunning creation thinking "How on God's green earth did she make that look so good?" I decided maybe I had been too judgmental of this color combo and decided to give it a go. 

First up: Kinda Busy

I stamped and trimmed that sweet owl out and colored him with distress inks. Actually everything is colored with distress inks. I used Hero Arts Tweed stencil on the 4 and their star stencil for the background. I have a niece turning four soon and I thought that sentiment was perfect. 

Second: Middle of the Road

I used the hammock from the comfy set to create my hills then colored with more distress in. The branch is easy to turn into a tree by adding a few more leaves and Mr. Squirrel is perfect just the way he is :) 

Last: Super Simple

I used the mirror technique to get my two hedgehogs to fall in love. I had some hills left over and I thought they would make a cute little scallop edge. I added some interest with a white gel pen and stickles. The heart was hand drawn. 

What did I learn? I CAN like brown and green together. I like it better tempered with another color, like the pink. I also have to use the brown sparingly. In the Gallon/Quart/Pint rule brown will always be my pint :) 

Big thanks to Tanja for being so awesome at crafting she made me think I could do it too! 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found something to inspire you :) 

XoXo

Kelly 

Make it soft + Happy Birthday Sam!

Happy Monday everyone!

This is our first regular post after we released our first two stamps - yay! You can go shopping at www.createasmilestamps.comnow!

This blog has inspiration each and every day - so make sure to subscribe. (If you ever tried to subscribe via email and it didn't work - that problem is fixed now!)

First of all I'd like to give a big Shout out to Samantha - it's her birthday!

Happy birthday Sam, we hope your day is awesome and all of your wishes come true!

I planned to make a birthday card - but I didn't - LOL.

Let's talk about colours today. There are colours that we tend to use and combine, right? (Turquoise works with EVERY combo if you ask me!) Light blue and red are my fav christmas color combo, white and kraft are good for classy cards... and so on. There are soft colors, bold combos,...

But something we all want to achieve is to create well balanced cards.

I learned a lot about colours and their use by watching my favorite cardmakers create. Today I'd like to share a lesson that I learned from Debby Hughes. She's one of my favorite artists ever and she's the queen of soft. All of her cards are inspiring and make my jaw drop.

Today I created a card with a SOFT background - because that makes your main images pop. 

• pick 1-2 very soft colours to create your background (stamping, Paper-layers, coloring,...)
• add some texture for interest
• white on white adds interest without distracting
• make your main image POP!

For my card I used Simon Says Stamp "Sea Glass" cardstock and ink. I stamped the swim-ring to crate a soft background pattern. Bazzill Vellum and Ranger Enamel Accents added some white on white texture. I picked shapes that make sense on that bach-scene - I tore the vellum to waves to give them the shape of a sandy beach and thought of little cobblestones in the sand when I added The enamel accents. I stamped the image in black (black lines make it pop) and colored with Copics with colours that are less soft, but not bold at all.

What's your favorite colour combo? Do you prefer soft or bold colours (or does that depend on the occasion you need the card for?) Do you use pinterest for color-inspiration?

Well, that's it for today.

Hope you got inspired to create your soft background!

Have a crafty good time!

Christine

Blog Hop Winner!

Wow, what an AWESOME hop we had for our first release!

Did you hop along and see all the super fun creations by our team and guests? (And really, we had the best guests ever!)

Okay, so we randomly picked a winner from all those comments along the hop who will receive a 15$ Gift Certificate to our store.

Our winner is... 

*drummroll*

Carol, who left this nice comment on Lucy's Blog. 

Carol, please message me to info@createasmilestamps.com within 7 days to claim your prize. 

Thanks everyone for supporting our start!

If you're not a inner this time, to can still go shopping in our store. :)

Countdown "0" - Release & Blog Hop

Welcome to the Create A Smile First Release Blog Hop!

Today's the day - our stamps are finally for sale!! 

We’re thrilled you are joining us as we begin this great adventure! We truly love the fantastic paper-crafting community (YOU!) and are so excited to be bringing something new to you all!

These are the facts:

Create A Smile are releasing our first two stamp sets TODAY!! You can find our store at www.createasmilestamps.com 

We have TWO fun sets filled with super cute images, available for purchase.

You can win a $15 gift-certificate for the store

All you need to do is hop along and leave comments on all the fantastic and inspiring stops (one comment per person, per blog please!). We are honored to have the most talented girls as guests for this hop. You will for sure be inspired and impressed by their creations.

We’ll pick random winner from all the comments - so the more blogs you visit (and leave a comment on) - the more chances you have to be a winner!

You have until Saturday (July 12th) 8am CET - that's 2am EST. The winner will be announced on the Create A Smile Blog on Sunday (July 13th)

These are your stops on the hop:

Create A Smile Blog (you are here!)
Laura Bassen
Linda Trace
Lucy Abrams
Samantha Mann
Yana Smakula
Kelly Latevola
Cindy Lovell 

Christine Drogt
Amy Tsuruta
Tanja Kewel-Neef
Anika Lerche
Christiana Reuling

Good luck, have fun!

Release-week Countdown "1": Inspiration by Tanja and Kelly

Hi friends!

This is countdown "1" in this exciting release-week. Oh gosh, can you believe the release is TOMORROW!?! And the sets will be for sale at 8sm CET (2am EST) - that's only 14 hours away. My heart is beating so fast when I think about it!

The countdown means we have some inspiration for you, using both sets. There are so many ways to use those images, so let's see what we have for you:

First up is Tanja. She created this adorable card using the owl from Friends in the Woods. (The team seems to like that owl, huh?)

Her coloring is amazing and those enamel dots and the brad add a nice touch to that tag-shape. The colors make this look like a male card - I always struggle with that :)

Next up is Kelly  who made two cards using Comfy. I really want to go to the beach TODAY!

I love all the texture that she added to the towels and the colors are so warm and bright! And look how she created the water from dark to light - clever!

Her second card makes not going to the beach even harder - see that sunset? and again: awesome texture on the towel (and on the umbrella).

Okay, I'll leave you with some summer-feeling now (it's been grey and rainy here for some days now - and cold!). 

Check back tomorrow for our Release Blog Hop (with awesome guests!) and the giveaway. And of course to see the stamp in our Online-Store.

Happy crafting!

Release-week Countdown "2": Inspiration by Linda + Anni

Hi friends!

This is countdown "2" in this exciting release-week. Time flies by and we are REALLY getting excited over here!

That means we have some inspiration for you, using both sets. There are so many ways to use those images, so let's see what we have for you:

First up is Linda, showcasing Friends In The Woods.  Her Stamp did not arrive in time (Booooo to Australian mail!) so she used digi-versions of the stamps and was able to resize them.  

That card made me giggle - that big sentiment in red and grey is just awesome with that big nest of owls, right? Well, the nest-stamp won't be that big, but you can totally create similar cards using the owl - you're all super creative :)

Anni used comfy to create this colorful pile of pillows. I'd love to take a nap there! Those colors and the dimension give so much extra to that card although it's clean and simple. Her coloring ALWAYS makes me swoon.

Our DT-girls really ROCk those stamps! 

Check back tomorrow for even more inspiration! I know there are awesome creations waiting for you, using our first release!

 

Only 2 days left until the sets are for sale ;)

Thanks for stopping by, taking some time for us!

Happy crafting!

Christine

Release-week Countdown "3": Inspiration by Samantha and Christine

Hi friends!

This is countdown "3" in this exciting release-week. Woot woot!

That means we have some inspiration for you, using both sets. There are so many ways to use those images, so let's see what we have for you:

First up is Samantha who made two cards using Comfy. Seriously - aren't her cards genius? I only need to look at them and I feel comfy!

These bubbles! I want to take a bath now! That texture and those colors go so well with that bath-tub. It all looks so relaxed!

Samantha also made a second card using that same set - she's a busy bee :)

How funny is this?! A cat at the sea-side? I would never ever have thought of this! Sam's coloring is amazing and I know I have to use that sketch soon - I just love it! (And who could resist that combo of aqua and orange? ;) )

I'm next. I used Friends In The Woods and made a critter-free card :)

Yes, I'm an early bird and made an easter card. Those eggs just screamed "easter!" at me when I started playing with them. I cut the branch with my silhouette and added the coloured, cut-out nest to it.

I hope you agree that those sets are really versatile. Check back tomorrow for even more inspiration! I know there are awesome creations waiting for you, using our first release. 

Only 3 days left until the sets are for sale ;)

Thanks for stopping by, taking some time for us!

Happy crafting!

Christine

Release-Week Countdown "4" - The sets

Hello everyone!

Wow, this is such an exciting week for us.  It's release-week - finally!

Let's see what we have for you this week:

Tuesday:       Countdown "3" Inspiration by Kelly and Samantha
Wednesday:  Countdown "2" Inspiration by Linda and Anni
Thursday:     Countdown "1" Inspiration by Tanja and Christine
Friday:          Countdown "0" IGNITION!!!!   The sets will be for sale at 8am CET (2am EST) And there will be a Blog Hop with the most amazing designers + a give-away! You can find more infos on the give-away later this week if you join our facebook-event.

So, the time finally has come to show the sets that will be for sale on friday:

(Insert drumroll here!)

"Comfy" and "Friends in the Wood" will be our first sets ever and we're really excited to share them with you - we can't wait to hear what you think about them. They are made from high quality photopolymer and are produced here in Germany. They will e available at www.createasmilestamps.com (Yes, the shop is still empty ;) ). We tried to have most of the shop in English and German to make it easier for our international customers. Your feedback is much appreciated!

Well that's it for today. We hop eyou're just as anxious for the release as we are!

Have a great day!