When I visited my friend Beverly, she showed me how to use her ScanNCut (since I have one still in the box that I need to find a stand for). We used it to cut out the beautiful bouquets from Penny Black Charisma stamp set. Then we had fun coloring while we watched a movie … Read more
It's always so fun when long-distance crafty friends become short-distance crafty friends. I just returned from a getaway to Alabama to meet my crafty pen pal Beverly in person. I loved being the recipient of her amazing southern hospitality. We started our trip reading in the shade of her Secret Garden by the … Read more
Each year, I do two months of gelliprinting challenges, and I love the feeling I have creating art every day. For years, Lauren has done two months of Index Card a Day art (June & July), so I decided to join her for that fun. You can see my daily posts on Instagram (@SmilynStef) There … Read more
The May Unity Stamp Challenge is to create with Watercolors and Florals. I realized I don't have a lot of floral stamps because coloring and watercoloring aren't always something I enjoy doing. I found the big blooms from the Unity Stamp Company Birthday Blooms set and stamped it in black on watercolor paper. I pulled … Read more
I just returned from spending a long weekend at the Gather Guest House & Creative Studio in Waunakee, Wisconsin with a group of paper crafting friends. I tried to narrow down what I took to work on, so I could stay more focused on creating. I started with an Anna Griffin holiday cardmaking kit. I … Read more
I just returned from a long crafting weekend with friends (post to follow once I get the group photo), and I tried to plan better than I did last time (bringing fewer things I didn't use and focusing on things I can do while visiting). I chose to use markers and watercolor paints to create … Read more
While I was at Lauren's for what we dubbed "Collage Camp" I had fun playing with all of our bins of collage fodder. She has lots of cut-out images and leftover bits, so it was fun to play and just glue as I went. We determined she likes to move all of her things around … Read more
Unity Stamp Company had a fun inspiration challenge for World Cardmaking Day. I stamped the Unity Stamp Company Joy to Go Coffee Cup in Navy Ink and clear heat embossed. Next I painted my cup using Catherine Pooler Sauna & Daydream inks and then used the same colors on the Unity Stamp Company / … Read more
The July Challenge at Poppy Stamps is Over the Rainbow. I started by using some unopened Jane Davenport Art Essentials Mermaid Markers to create a striped rainbow on white cardstock. When it dried, I added a coat of Avery Elle Clear Shimmer Spray, and then I die cut the cardstock with the Poppy … Read more
My next class at the Pinkfresh Create & Connect Event was a Watercolor Lesson by Manushree Mishra. Unfortunately I had a really hard time seeing which flowers she was painting when she started (because she recommended stamping in a really light ink, which made it hard for the camera to pick-up), so I was way … Read more