fun Archives - Delight of my Art

Stamping with Friends Blog Hop – April 2021

Posted on March 27, 2021March 27, 2021 by debjoysmeak

Welcome back! April 8 is National Zoo Lovers Day. We have four school-age kids and we love visiting the local zoos. My kids are avid animal lovers. I had to use the Zoo Globe stamp set and coordinating dies: Snow Globe Scenes. Both of these will be retiring May 3, 2021 and the Snow Globe Scenes dies are 60% off right now.

I stamped and colored images and fussy cut so I could move things around to see how I liked them. This will do nicely to invite family to go to the zoo with us!

The globe and base were stamped together before being cut out. Everything is fussy cut or die cut which helped create all the layers. The cardbase is Poppy Parade and the wood paper is the Natural Touch Specialty Paper available in the Butterfly Bouquet release online. I used Stampin’ Blends and Memento ink to add color.

If you look close you can see that I color with the light Blend and then go back and add shadows with the dark Blend. Sometimes I add dots in various shades colors to add shading, such as in the tree. The Blends are by far my favorite coloring tool. I use them ALL the time.

Are you feeling in the mood to visit a zoo now? I will be planning a trip with the kids with this nice spring weather. It was 70 degrees here in mid-Michigan recently and I’m looking forward to more of those days.

Thank you for hopping along. Make sure you click NEXT to visit the next blog celebrating another National Day. Happy stamping!

Linda A Moore – Moore Fun Stamping
Donna Schnees – Cupcakes & Lattes Stampers
Tricia Butts – Tricia’s Stamping Creations
Mickey Moore- 2 Moore Stampers
Deb Smeak – Delight of my Art
Deb Smeak – Delight of my Art – YOU ARE HERE
Adrienne Hughes – The Victoria Paper Shaper
Mickey Moore – 2 Moore Stampers
Linda A Moore – Moore Fun Stamping

tams# 58241

Product List

Zoo Globe Photopolymer Stamp Set

[153303]

Snow Globe Scenes Dies

[150655]

Natural Touch Specialty Paper

[156825]

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[159276]

Poppy Parade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119793]

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

[121045]

Basic White Medium Envelopes

[159236]

Paper Snips

[103579]

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

Petal Pink Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154893]

Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154884]

Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154958]

Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154883]

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154885]

Old Olive Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154892]

Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154890]

Pool Party Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154894]

Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154830]

Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154882]

Soft Suede Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154906]

Bronze & Ivory Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154922]

Gray Granite Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154886]

Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154904]

Easy Paper Pumpkin Storage Solution

Posted on May 17, 2020 by debjoysmeak

Paper Pumpkin kits are so much fun to get in the mail. But if you find yourself not getting around to making and sending the whole kit every month (or even if you do), you might be susceptible to “red box pile up.” I found a storage method that not only saves space, but makes my stamps easier to access so I end up using them more. Win win!

I use the Avery 23011 5.5″ x 8.5″ binders with an extra storage pouch inside. I found mine on clearance at a local store, but they are still sold on Amazon. And the sheet protectors are Avery 77004 found on Amazon here. I do have to trim down my Paper Pumpkin instruction sheet to fit the sleeves: a quarter of an inch off each side and half an inch off the bottom. If I lose any words from the instructions (rare) I just trim them out of the scrap I cut off and tape them back inside my instruction sheet. I put the instruction sheet in a page protector sleeve and put the matching stamp set in the back of the sleeve. I only keep the instructions and stamps in the binders so they are easy to page through. I find that each binder holds a year’s worth of Paper Pumpkin quite nicely. If I’m wondering what colors coordinate with a kit, what ink spot came with what kit or where an embellishment came from, it’s easy to see with a glance at the back of each sleeve. And since March kits have featured an additional free stamp set for the past two years (whoop whoop!), I put those in the front pouch.

I store all the paper and embellishments in our 6″ x 8″ cellophane bags and label it with my label maker. I use little craft bags I found at Walmart to store little punch outs and embellishments. You can find them at your local Walmart store in the craft section near the beads. (Each bag size is sold as 100 bags for $1-$2 so they are really economical and handy to have for other craft ideas as well.) I can store a year’s worth of the labeled Paper Pumkpin bags in a Walmart shoebox size clear tote bin, even with twine and other bulky items. These are only a $1 at Walmart and I use them to bring stamping supplies with me on vacation, stamp parties and events. I probably have about 20 or more in the house for various uses.

**Side note: I can fit 2 of the Walmart clear shoebox totes with lids on inside a Thirty One Zip-Top Organizing Utility Tote style 4451. I find these bags are very durable and work great for toting my supplies to and from craft fairs, especially that big Deluxe Utility Tote style 4441. It holds 6 of the Walmart shoebox clear tote bins! I don’t sell Thirty One bags, but you can buy through your local Thirty One rep or use my friend Amy Masi from these links.**

I hope this helps you get organized with your Paper Pumpkin kits and gets you using the awesome stamp sets more often. They really are a great value and you should keep on using them. Tune in to my Facebook page for live Paper Pumpkin videos and a video walk through of this organization idea. If you would like to sign up for Paper Pumpkin for yourself or as a gift you can sign up for a code here. Thanks for stopping by! #spreadthejoy

If you have an organization tip for your Paper Pumpkin kits or other crafts, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Hello 2020!

Posted on January 22, 2020April 28, 2020 by debjoysmeak

Who’s ready to jump into 2020? I’m so excited for this year. I’ve revamped small weekly classes to one big class a month with a fun new option to get the class for free. Here is the link to this month’s class with details. Next month’s will be posted soon on Facebook. Each monthly class should include a quick and easy notecard, a regular size card, a 3D item and a “wow” project. This month’s “wow” is a spinning heart card that I’m super excited about and I also am loving the fabulous purse/tote die from the Best Dressed Suite. The stitching on the edges is so cute. If you’d like to get registered for this class or for future classes in Williamston, MI, please go to my Facebook page HERE to see the current class. And hooray for 2020!

Teacher Thank You Gift Card Pocket Card

Posted on June 6, 2018 by debjoysmeak

I can’t believe another school year went by already! My oldest will be in MIDDLE SCHOOL next year! My son will be in third and the twins will be going to first grade. So crazy! Time sure is flying by. We’ve been super busy this spring and life doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Life is about the journey, not the destination though, right?

I really like how this teacher thank you card came out. I am in love with the Daisy Delight stamp set and punch. They always turn out beautifully. And I love the idea of the hidden pocket inside for a gift card. Let me tell you how I put this together.

First I took a piece of Whisper White cardstock and cut it halfway down the long side, so the piece is 4 1/4″ x 11″. Score this in the middle at 5 1/2″ and also 2 7/8″. This will fold in to form the pocket on the inside of the front. I decorated this with a piece of Designer Series Paper in Lemon Lime Twist and then the flap with a solid piece of Lemon Lime Twist stamped with Lemon Lime Twist. Can you tell I like this color? Ha! Actually I think the pocket is a bit over-decorated so I think I may just do the lemon lime twist on the white fold-over pocket on the next one. I do have to make 4 of these for the kids’ teachers. I also punched with the Every Day Label Punch on the edge of the pocket before I glued down the edges with Tear and Tape.

The ink colors I used are Basic Black Archival (retired), Lemon Lime Twist, Call Me Clover, Sweet Sugarplum (retired), and Blackberry Bliss. (I guess I could have used Rich Razzleberry stamped off, but this was easier since I had it. I’ll link to Rich Razzleberry below.) It is all stamped right on the card base except for the front Daisy, which is punched out with the daisy punch. I stamped the daisy in Sweet Sugar Plum and then used a sponge dauber right on the stamp in the center in Blackberry Bliss. After punching the flowers out I sponged lightly again in Blackberry Bliss in the center. I punched out a 1/2″ circle in Lemon Lime Twist for the center of the flower and put the largest Faceted Gems in clear on top. So pretty! I really like the gradient in the leaves. I got the idea from Pinterest from Artisan Paula Dobson. The leaf fill stamp is stamped in solid Lemon Lime Twist and then I sponged on Call Me Clover on half of the image before stamping it over the outline I had already stamped on the front.

I also stamped the cute little bee from the Touches of Texture stamp set and colored in the body with Crushed Curry and a Blender Pen. I also colored the wings with Wink of Stella. Love the subtle sparkles! I think the teachers will like these. I left the inside blank so I could write a really detailed note about how much we appreciate them. I’m going to have the kids include thankful notes to fold inside as well. Teachers love to hear how the kids loved being in their class.

Have you made any teacher gifts this year? I’d love to see what you’ve made! You can add a picture to our Facebook group .

Happy stamping!

tams# 23225

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Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Lots of Lavender

Posted on March 16, 2018 by debjoysmeak

This Lots of Lavender set is super pretty! I used every single stamp in this set on each card and envelope set. And these cards have a fun secret. THEY SMELL LIKE LAVENDER! What?! Ok, maybe you guessed that from the one where you can actually see the lavender through the shaker window…but they actually all have lavender chambers behind the front panel. Super fun, right? There is a limited time to earn this set for free, but for now Sale-a-bration is still going strong! I’ll be featuring the free sets you can earn with your qualifying purchases until SAB ends March 31. We made the ‘amazing’ one above in our weekly Cocktail & a Card class this week and I also made that one for my second ever Facebook live. You can view that video with this link and see how I put the shaker part together.

Amazing (Smelling) Lavender Card

All of these cards are your regular A2 size cards (half a sheet of cardstock folded in half) and the white panels are all 4″ x 5.25″. All of these have discreet small holes poked in the front so you can smell the lavender through the cards.

This was the first card I tried. I used Sweet Sugarplum cardstock and ink, but then added some Soft Sky ink over the top to make the lavender a little bit more blue. I think most people are using Wisteria Wonder ink for this set, which looks fabulous, but that is a color that I don’t have in my collection right now. It’s a way to stretch your imagination if you have to use what you have! You can see the small circle of holes I poked to the lower right of the flowers in the window sheet. I like this one, but I’m not a super fan of seeing the lavender. They just look dry and not really super pretty like the rest of the card. The sentiment here is from Picture Perfect Birthday. I love the fonts in this set! So scripty and pretty. I especially love the one that says ‘treat yourself.’

On the next two cards I decided to hide the lavender so you can smell it but not see it. I really like the color Rich Razzleberry so I decided on the others that I would just do a stamp-off technique to get a lighter purple. I made a mask using a sticky note pad that is fully sticky instead of just at the top. I fussy cut around it and stuck it on the center flower and then did the side ones. The purples here are all Rich Razzleberry in either full strength or stamped off once. The green is Pear Pizzazz. The ‘Thank You’ sentiment here is from another free Sale-a-bration set Heartfelt Blooms. You really can’t see the holes very well, but there are many throughout the blooms so you can smell the lavender. A word about getting dried lavender: I bought mine through eBay. I had no idea how much a pound of dried lavender would be. I have 2 ginormous bags of dried lavender now. Haha! I show one of them in the video above. You probably do not need to buy this much dried lavender!!

I really liked the clean look of this last one and it was the easiest to do for my class. Which one do you like best? Did you get this set for SAB?

Please click on the links below to shop for any of these products. Happy stamping!

tams# 21205

Product List

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Paper Pumpkin – February 2018 alternatives

Posted on February 24, 2018February 24, 2018 by debjoysmeak

I recently did my first Facebook live video to unwrap my February 2018 Paper Pumpkin. I was thrilled with the beautiful flowers in the kit. They were photographic flower stickers! So beautiful. So I made sure to sit down and do some alternatives with the stamps and embellishments in the kit. As I was looking at the kit it dawned on me that there are SO MANY letter stickers. What can we spell with these?! I looked it up online and there were over 1000 words with just one of each of the words! Whoa. I glanced through the list and wrote down the ones that I feel were the most usable for cards. I’ll attach this list below. Then I picked a few of those words to play around on a few alternative cards. I tried to pick words that would also pair with the other stamps from this kit. This is what I came up with!

For the blue card I used the Pool Party and Night of Navy Blends on the ‘rock’ letters and colored the guitars from Epic Celebrations from Sale-a-bration with Night of Navy, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Ivory and Crumb Cake Blends. All images are stamped in Night of Navy and I used a few of the berry vellum twigs and the natural twine from the kit as accents.

For the yellow card I used the Daffodil Delight Blends on the ‘honey’ letters, stamped in Daffodil Delight on a Sahara Sand banner cut from cardstock, although you could use a bit off one of the card bases from the kit. I so wish I had a bee stamp to go on the bottom of the flower panel going toward the flower on the bottom right! There are two great bee stamps in the catalog that would go wonderfully with this: Touches of Texture (page 152 annual) and Dragonfly Dreams (page 138 annual). I think the Touches of Texture one would work best, since it is a smaller bee. I really want that set…it’s going on my list! I also used the Hexagons embossing folder on Daffodil Delight cardstock and added embellishments from the kit. I love how it turned out!

For the green card I used Crumb Cake Blends on the ‘beautiful’ letters and stamped ‘friend’ in Crumb Cake on Sahara Sand cardstock. The Old Olive DSP is from the Petal Garden DSP Paper Stack. I also used light Old Olive Blends on the leaf sticker’s background so it would blend into the background more. I like how the flower stickers look like they’re in a bunch behind the panel, overflowing onto the card.

I think my favorite is the pink one. We can always use great teacher cards! I was ecstatic to see that the letters could spell ‘teacher.’ I wanted to play with pink so I chose the back of the mini hearts from the Painted With Love Specialty DSP Paper. To get the shape I traced the hole from the flower sheet on the green card onto the back of the pink piece I wanted to use. Then I fussy cut it out. This would work for the other thicker shape too if you don’t already have the Lots of Labels Framelits (another thing that is on my list…my long list). I outlined the letters using the Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker. You can either get it from the Brights collection or the whole marker set Many Marvelous Markers. I used Melon Mambo for all the stamping and put the ‘teacher’ banner up on dimensionals, like the other cards. This one uses a Melon Mambo base with one of the provided card front pieces. We do want to celebrate the awesomeness of our teachers!

So I hope you like these alternative options to this kit. Here is the word list that I thought was helpful. Notice ‘unicorn’ is on there!! Somebody better do something cool with that one and send it to me! 😀 If you would like to order any of the extra materials I used you may click on the picture at the bottom of this post. Have a great day guys!

tams# 20484

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Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Watercolor Stocking Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2017December 12, 2017 by debjoysmeak

I love how this card turned out. I’m choosing this one to send out to family and friends this year with the exception of one special card I’m making for my grandma. I love watercolor washes and this is a great way to add a splash of color on shimmery white paper and a textured snowy background.

You can follow along how I made this card on YouTube here.

The items I used in this card are listed at the bottom of this post and also in the video.

The variation I did for my grandma is using the Quilted Christmas DSP to look like a quilt on a watercolor background. She has made dozens of quilts over the years and this piece reminds me of a square quilt she might make to hang on the wall. I used two different paper patterns from the same DSP stack. The red star background fit perfectly behind the 3″ x 3″ quilted piece to look like a border! I was thrilled about that.

I’m really thrilled with how these two cards turned out. I’m excited to see the variations that come from doing multiple cards because watercolor is never the same twice.

The shimmery white cardstock is a dream to watercolor on. I love how it has that wonderful subtle shimmer! I used all the colors from the DSP: Garden Green, Real Red, Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party and Blushing Bride.

Please share with me the cards you are making for your family this year! I would love to see them. You can post on my new Facebook group here.

Merry Christmas!

tams# 18351

Product List

Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set

Snowflake Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Quilted Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Snowy Season’s Greetings

Posted on November 27, 2017 by debjoysmeak

I love the texture in the Cable Knit embossing folder! It adds so much depth to cards. This card features stamps from Snowflake Sentiments. This is a really easy and pretty card. I used Whisper White, Pool Party and Dapper Denim along with a splash of silver from last year’s Sale-a-bration sale. (Next one is coming up soon in January!)

I did not shoot a video for this one, but it’s fairly easy to explain so I’ll just give the measurements here:

Whisper White base – 5.5″ x 8.5″, folded to 5.5″ x 4.25″

Whisper White Stitched Shape oval – largest oval

Dapper Denim layer – 5.25″ x 4″

Pool Party layer – 5″ x 3.75″

1 Whisper White medium envelope

Directions:

Stamp the 3 different sizes of snowflakes in Dapper Denim onto the Pool Party layer. I found it easier to cut my 3 small snowflakes into 1 and 2. They line up nicely if placed together on the block and then I can use a single one when needed. After it is all stamped, emboss the Pool Party layer with the Cable Knit embossing folder with the ribs going up and down.

Stamp the greeting in Dapper Denim in the middle of the Stitched Shape oval. Stamp the single small snowflake in Pool Party in random places around the sentiment. Run a line of Fast Fuse on the back of the oval and attach a silver ribbon. Trim the ends on an angle. Place Stampin’ Dimensionals above and below the ribbon on the backside of the oval. Since the oval is so big, I recommend 4-6 dimensionals.

Attach the layers using Fast Fuse, since the Pool Party layer is so textured.

On the inside I stamped a retired greeting from Jar of Cheer in Dapper Denim and a few scattered small snowflakes in Pool Party. I also stamped the envelope front with a big snowflake in Dapper Denim and the triple line of small snowflakes along the back flap (not shown).

Shop with me here and click Shop Now or click on products below.

Order completed cards from my Etsy store (new!).

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Get inspired on Pinterest.

Check out my tutorial videos on YouTube.

Please support small businesses and families. Have a fantastic day!

tams# 17996

Product List

Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Greenery in the Snow

Posted on November 14, 2017 by debjoysmeak

It’s time to start preparing for Christmas! Be ready to send out lovely Christmas cards to your family and friends this year by starting early and not being in a rush for once. (Tell me it’s not just me!) I recently got these Pretty Pines thinlits and I LOVE them. They are so versatile and lovely. They make great accents on cards, tags and gifts. Love love love!

For this card I used the Softly Falling embossing folder on the background and the Everyday Label Punch along with the Pretty Pines thinlits. I put Wink of Stella on the Real Red twig shape things because Wink of Stella is freaking awesome and it dazzles up everything. Wink of Stella would also make a great stocking stuffer…just saying. 😉

The card also features the stamp set Snowflake Sentiments. This stamp set has AMAZING greetings. I really hope this one sticks around for a long time. (And if it retires I’m still going to use it!) I did use the pine branch from the now retired set Merry Patterns, which you could have earned for free in October 2017. You can easily use another stamp as an accent on the envelope such as a single or triple small snowflakes or one of the larger ones from the Snowflake Sentiments. You can see all the included stamps in the links at the bottom of the blog post.

You can check out my YouTube tutorial about how I put this card together. And if you’d like to purchase any of these amazing materials to make your own fun Christmas cards you can buy them directly by clicking on the picture links below.

We are celebrating my family Christmas on the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I really have to get a scoot on! We usually get together in a big gym and enjoy snacks. The boys run around and play ball games and the girls and I get together and do paper crafts. Then we have a big dinner (including fondue) and finish up with stockings. We recently started a new tradition of having a paper tearing competition. It sounds so weird but it’s totally fun! We have dozens of strips of newspaper about 6″ wide by the height of normal newspaper. We have double elimination rounds and go two by two against each other tearing from top to bottom without going off the edge.

What are some of your fun family traditions? Share with us in the comments.

tams# 17500

Product List

Links by TheseAreMyStamps.com

Stampin’ Blends Coral Yellow Rose

Posted on October 25, 2017 by debjoysmeak

I love roses and especially coral and yellow rose blends so when I saw these new artist quality alcohol blending markers from Stampin’ Up! I knew what I was going to do. These blend so nicely and are very easy to work with. You don’t have to be an artist to end up with gorgeous results. You can layer each color on top of others or themselves, creating layers of color. (They do bleed, so make sure to use scrap paper underneath.)

I only started with a few colors, namely the three I used here which are the light and dark version of Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral and Old Olive. I also picked up the Ivory, Bronze and Color Lifter, which acts like an eraser to add highlights to projects or as a nice way to erase an oops outside the lines. I love that the price point is the same for a single marker and the entire collection. I don’t feel bad at all collecting these as I am able. Essentially they are allowing us the single markers at the bundle price, which was really cool of Stampin’ Up!

For the card above I colored in the yellows first and then gradually going from light to dark coral. In the YouTube video I did it backwards to see if there was any difference. I think I blended in the video even more than the card above and it resulted in a more blended version of the picture. I really like both and they were both simple so it’s really a win win.

They can also be used to color in Perfect White Accents, Pearls, Rhinestones and ribbon! What a perfect way for us to continue our matching tradition and make even more options of embellishments for us to use on our projects. Thank you Stampin’ Up!

I hope you consider picking up a few for yourself or for your friends for Christmas or really splurge and get the whole set for yourself. Please visit my online store here after November 1, 2017 for these to be available for purchase. You won’t regret it. There is also a kit and special limited time stamp set available for use with the markers as well, which will also be posted November 1st.

For anyone wary about these compared to their older Blendabilities markers which were recalled, you know Stampin’ Up! stands behind their products and have extensively researched and perfected these markers to be high quality and perform well under scrutiny. Being a new demonstrator I did not have the pleasure of using the old ones but I understand there was an issue with *some caps having small holes so the markers would dry out too quickly. I know they offered complete refund for all those old markers for a few months and gave everyone an option to keep them or sell them back for credit. Stampin’ Up! truly cares about their customers, the quality of their product and providing excellent customer care service. I know they have worked extra hard to provide an exceptional product here and I have not been disappointed at all.

Cheers to a relaxing time coloring and stamping!

*Note – the link to the Stampin’ Blends markers below will not work until they are available for purchase on November 1, 2017.

tams# 17216

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