Yes, as the title of this post says:  I’m saying goodbye to blogging.  You may have noticed that I’ve given up the design teams (challenge blogs) that I was apart of at the end of last year.  So there are a few people that I’ve told about giving up blogging, but now I feel it’s best to officially announce it here on my blog.

The next would be why, right?  Although THIS blog platform that I currently have doesn’t reflect it because I’ve changed platforms a few times,  I’ve actually been doing papercraft blogging since 2006!  That’s 20 years of it now!  I look at that and can’t believe it myself!  I think my very first design team started in like 2007-2008?  Also, when making this post, I just saw that the last post on here was my 600th post for this blog platform, which started in 2013.  So weird!

So having said that, it brings me to the why.  I feel like I’ve been doing it for so long and it just doesn’t appeal to me in the same way that it did back then or even the same way as it did just a couple of years ago.  I had thought that I’ve been through this before where I’ve gotten into a “creative slump”, but I think after feeling this way for over a year, I knew it was something different.  I’m just not interested in blogging about my creative journey like I used to be.  At this point I think it just worsens my enjoyment of just crafting because I like to.  I always thought of this blog as a way to make me “accountable” for my crafting and it really needs to be something that I enjoy for my own personal reasons, not because I’m forced to.

Not really sure if that makes any sense to anyone, but obviously, I still enjoy the creative process of making papercrafts, cards, mixed media and all of those things.  I just need the freedom to enjoy it in my own personal experience and not necessarily online.   The one thing that I will miss terribly from all of this is those wonderful friendships that I’ve had help to support me throughout the years of making blog posts!  I’ve already seen so many friends that have come and gone and miss them so much!  I still stay in touch with some of them and would be happy to do so with anyone that would like to continue!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

• side note to anyone interested in what will happen to THIS blog:

I will not be keeping the domain:  https://stampedsmiles.com – it will automatically revert back to the stampedsmiles.wordpress.com domain in a few months.  (I’m not sure if you will automatically be redirected or not, but you can note it if you’d like.)

The design of the blog may change in appearance slightly, but I will just leave all of my posts, tutorial links, etc if there is something that you’d like to go back and look at.

After 90 days from this post, no one will be able to leave any comments on anything as it automatically shuts off comments for older posts.

Wishing you all the best in your upcoming creative journeys my friends!

DO THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE!

There are SO many things that happened this past year that I couldn’t even imagine, but they are all locked into memory now!  It’s time to see what 2026 has in store for us next!

After sending out my Christmas cards, I always seem to forget to send one to someone, so I made a batch of New Year’s cards just in case and I ended up sending all of those out as well!  I will have to make more if another one comes late! LOL

These were fun to put together using the Taylored Expressions New Year Bundle.  I mainly used the Foil It – Shine On New Year and the Foil It – Acetate Framed Fireworks sheets.  I foiled the numbers panel in gold and then the fireworks panel is clear acetate to layer over top of it that I foiled in silver.  Fairly easy to do once you get them all foiled up and then just assemble together.  I then cut out a Frame in Frame 3 in black cardstock to attach the acetate panel to and then layered it over the white foiled panel.  I attached these onto a side folding A2 white card base.

To add a bit more sparkle with the shine, I die cut some different sized stars from the TE Little Bits-Stars dies in both silver and gold glitter cardstock.  I added them randomly over the design.

Zooming in and looking at the background,  you can better see all of the foil with the acetate and how it layers together along with the sparkly stars.

For a little more decoration, I took the TE 5 O’Clock Somewhere Stamp & Stencil Combo to stamp, add color to the champagne drink and then cut it out with the coordinating die.  I only needed that one drink from the stamp, so I stamped several (I made a set of 6 cards) with needing two glasses for each card.  I put one glass in front of the other and made it look like they were clinking together.  I attached them at the bottom of the left side of card and then covered the liquid inside the glasses with a glitter brush pen.

I didn’t take a photo of the inside of the cards, but if you get a chance, check out these funny insiders panels from TE called Snarky New Year.  I thought these were so fun and I foiled all of these in gold as well.  Love using those Insiders so that I can quickly just attach something on the inside and not worry about stamping everything.

• Thanks so much for dropping in today!  Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year my friends!

Challenges:

1. Little Red Wagon – #839 “Use the Force” (pressure with Minc machine and die cut machine)
2. the Divas that cut…paper – Use NEW Crafty Item – All TE New Year products are brand new linked in post!
3. Crafts Galore Encore – #143 Anything Goes
4. Craft Rocket – #132 Something New (All new TE New Year products)
5. Love to Craft – #90 Anything Goes

• Speaking of “Memories”, this will be my last Art Journal Page and my collaboration with the monthly “SMASH OUR STASH” Art Journaling.  I’ve collaborated with my crafty friend Carol (from Crafty-Stamper) to join in. (Check out her page HERE!)   Here’s my final AJ page with the DECEMBER prompt of “MEMORIES”: 

I thought that the “memories” prompt would be a good one to use for the end of the year.  It’s a way for me to reflect back at all of the memories that were made throughout the year.  Plus, with the winter weather outside, it’s a good time to stay indoors where it’s warm and rock a baby perhaps!  When my new grandson came over, it was a pleasure to rock him in the very same rocking chair that I had rocked my children in as well!  This brought up special memories of my grown children now with their own baby!  So I made a scene with winter outside, rocking my baby and the grandfather clock I have next to it.   (Which is a similar scene from my home.)

BACKGROUND:  I started by printing out the poem on a piece of cardstock in brown and then cut it down to the side 8.5″ x 5.5″ with the poem being in horizontal to the left.

I took some masking paper and ripped a piece that would fit over and cover the poem so that I could do some watercolor.  Before the watercolor began, I took a “gears” stencil and covered up the top right corner with dimensional paste and let it dry.  Once it dried and the poem still covered with masking paper, I used my Zig Kuretake watercolor to go over the background by creating a floor and going over the paste.  I also did some splattering brown watercolor and white opaque Copic ink.  while the mask was still on, I also took a background stamp and randomly stamped in brown ink over some of the areas.  Then I used the same brown ink and sponged around the edges.  Lastly, I took some gold metallic paste to go around the edges as well as the texture on the stenciled paste.

For the images, I found a watercolor image of someone rocking a baby and printed it out and fussy cut it out to pop up with foam tape on the page.  I used Copic markers to create more of the stars underneath the image as well as “grounding” for the grandfather clock.  (This way I knew where my “flooring” would be.)

The grandfather clock was a sticker from my stash and then for the window, I stamped it with brown ink over kraft cardstock and then again in white cardstock.  I did this so that I could cut out the center of the window to make it show what’s going on outside which is winter!  I stamped snowflakes and used my Copic to create a cold looking window with snow shadows!  I also used some blue ink to randomly stamp some snowflakes around the page next to the poem.

Here’s a closer view of the poem.  I’ve seen this poem when my children were babies themselves and I’ve always loved it.  The “memories” sentiment came from a rub-on transfer in my stash.

• I hope you’ve enjoyed my page today and I hope you enjoyed seeing all of the pages that both Carol and I have shared throughout the last THREE years!  Wow, can’t believe that was how long I did these!  I really enjoyed the process!

Thanks so much for stopping by as I really appreciate your thoughts!  I’ll be seeing you soon!

Challenges:

1. Art Journal Journey – Winter (hope my snowflakes are enough to convey this!)
2. Creative Artiste – #122 Anything Goes with Mixed Media

This is a Christmas card I had made last month using some Scrapbook.com products that I wanted to try out!  If you take a look at THIS POST, there is another card version using this same ornament stamp set.  I had gotten the Holiday stamps and dies plus papers and other die cut sentiments in a bundle.

• On another note, I had made a set of 18 other Christmas cards that I totally forgot to take photos of and they’ve already been sent out!  I like how they turned out and was happy to use some more papers from my stash anyway! LOL

I had also been making some Christmas here and there throughout the year that I did remember to take photos of and that I didn’t share here on my blog, so here are some more:

This was a fun mitten shaped snowman gift card holder/tag I made back in January.  I think I may have already given this out too.  That was a while ago, so don’t remember much about it!

I made a slimline style tri-fold card in February using a My Favorite Things image (the little girl).  I ink blended a stencil on the front and the sentiment was printed out on the computer.  The photos below are what it looks like when you open the card up:

• Click on photos to enlarge if you’re on my website

I used a circle die to cut the openings and added a snow drift from glitter cardstock for the girl to stand on, on the inside panel. The last inside circle panel was stamped with a snowflake stamp and I colored the snowflakes with a white gel pen and then added a stamped greeting underneath it.

This is an actual greeting card that opens up, but I made the front of the card look like a post card with the stenciled edges and post markings on it.  I made this one last month.

I colored up this digital image from Whimsy Stamps and hand cut it out over the card.  The sentiment was printed from the computer and cut out as well.

Another card I made last month using one of my favorite Lawn Fawn stamp sets called Winter Skies.  I also used the Stitched Mountain Borders dies for the background.

I ink blended a couple of blue colors for the main panel in the background, stamped the Santa and sleigh image in black and then arranged the mountain border.  I added a piece of vellum and used a falling snow embossing folder over it before adding the snow hills with glitter cardstock over it.  I covered the edges with a gold mirror cardstock frame and added to the red A2 top folding card base.  I colored, cut out the critters and trees and placed them on the scene.  Lastly, I white heat embossed the sentiment from the set and cut out with a banner die to place under the critters.

I almost forgot to take a photo of this one too, but it’s now hanging on the tree before it gets gifted.

I had to make a handmade ornament for my grandson’s first Christmas!  It’s actually a wooden shaped ornament that I painted the back red and the top/sides in gold acrylic paints.  I then used some snowflake paper and covered the front.  Then I turned this into a shaker by adding an additional circle with acetate on the front.  The Santa comes from a Doodlebug stamp set and the lettering was printed from the computer that I hand cut and added to the front.

And this is the little guy at Thanksgiving with me!  Love that toothless smile!  Looking forward to spending some time with him at Christmas for sure!

Wishing you lots of joy and smiles for Christmas!  Thanks for dropping in!

Today marks another new challenge for the Alphabet Challenge Blog!  Our next letter is “R”, and our hostess Billie has chosen “Ribbon”.   I hope you will join in the fun with us!  (This will be the last challenge of the year until they start back up in January with the letter “S”)  *Please remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter.*  Here’s the project I’ve made for this challenge:

I really enjoyed making this one and I was very happy to pull some more items out from my stash to use up for this challenge!  Ribbon is something that I have so much of and don’t use it as often as what I used to!

For my card front, I took a red base and die cut a large star from it keeping in mind that I wanted to add a sentiment at the bottom.  I used an embossing folder and then rubbed a metallic gold ink pad over the raised areas to make it stand out a bit and set it aside.

For behind the star, I took another thin cardstock panel slightly smaller than the red star panel and covered it with double sided strong adhesive.  I then took some stitched ribbon in red and green as well as the thin metallic gold ribbon and layered them in a strip pattern over the entire panel.  I kept in mind where the star opening would be.  I then layered the red star panel over it and attached it to a top folding A2 kraft card base.

I die cut a smaller star in kraft cardstock for the center of the star opening and added a gold gem in the center of it.  I also took the thin gold ribbon and attached it from the top of the star around the red base and then added a bow above it.  Lastly, I just gold heat embossed the sentiment, die cut with the coordinating die and popped it up under the star with a foam strip.

• Just a note that this will be my final project as a design team member for the Alphabet Challenge.  I have enjoyed working on this team and wish Caz all the best in the coming year for her challenges.  I appreciate the kind support.

I will try to get another post in before Christmas is here, if I can find the time to share the things that I’ve been working on.  I also have another art journal page to share before the end of the year as well.  Thanks so much for stopping by as I enjoy hearing from you!  Enjoy the Holiday Season as it approaches and take care of yourself.

Challenges:

1. A Cut Above – Anything Goes with a die cut
2. The Neglected Stuff – Old items (I’ve got not sure how old Stampin’ Up ribbon, old embossing folder and old star die cuts!)
3. Crafts Galore Encore – #142 Anything Goes
4. Creative Inspirations – ‘Tis the Season
5. Fab ‘n’ Funky – #627 Christmas 
6. Penny’s Paper Crafty – #611 Anything Goes Using Paper 
7. Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends – #267 Anything Goes
8. Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2549 Anything Goes

Last Saturday of November brings us to the monthly “SMASH OUR STASH” Art Journaling.  I’ve collaborated with my crafty friend Carol (from Crafty-Stamper) to join in.  Here’s my AJ page with the NOVEMBER prompt of “TRADITIONS”: 

This is a little different type of style, but most of the time I just come up with whatever happens to pop into my head and hopefully with older items I have from my stash!

This may not seem like I’ve used the “traditions” prompt for this month, but if you look at the wording at the bottom of the pocket watch, It says “Sentimental Traditions”.  I was thinking of “old timey” type of things and the story about traditions on my page comes from my family going to our favorite place every fall for picking apples and now my children go every year as well, so it’s fun to know they’re still enjoying the same tradition we had with them.

For the background:  (size of Mixed Media paper is 5.5″ x 8.5″)  I ink blended with brushed corduroy oxide ink and spritzed with water to create the watermarks.  I stenciled the dots with fired brick oxide and went around the edges with black soot oxide.  I added some background paper to the other side that has the apple tree and then I added the paper doll couple over top and then added the “TIME” lettering that was die cut with black cardstock above them.  I also sponged around the edges of the apple tree paper with black soot oxide.  I added a gold metallic sticker line in the center between the paper and ink background.  

I took a really old Whimsy Stamp stamp set with the pocket watch stamp and stamped it with black ink and then used a pen to write the words:  “TIME has a way of showing us what matters.”  I then stamped a couple more of the pocket watch image in brushed corduroy oxide and then splattered some gold watercolor over right side of the page.

• Thanks so much for stopping in today!  Hope you’ve enjoyed my art journal page!

Challenges:

1. Art Journal Journey – A Moment In Time
2. Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone – No cards
3. Creative Artiste – #121 Anything Goes Mixed Media

Today is a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog!  Our next letter is “Q”, and this time it was my turn to pick a theme with this letter and I’ve chosen “Quote”   I hope you will join in the fun with us!  *Please remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter.*  Here’s the project I’ve made for this challenge:

I’ve always loved using quotes for things and you can catch me with my kids saying quotes from movies all of the time.  We can say a quote and know exactly where it came from.  Some people don’t understand what we’re talking about which makes it even funnier!

I’ve pulled out a Catherine Pooler stamp set called “Notable & Quotable” that I don’t remember where I purchased it from, but I fell in love with the quotes in it.  It also came with the flower images in the set too.

For the background, I used a My Favorite Things “abstract” stencil and blended over it with several different colors.  I then took a couple of the floral images from the stamp set and stamped over the stenciled “blobs”.  I then white heat embossed one of the quotes from the stamp set and cut it out with a stitched oval die and then layered another stitched oval vellum layer behind it.  I popped it up with foam tape over the center of the background and then attached the entire layer over a white top folding A2 card base.  Lastly, I added some clear sequins with Stickles in the center of each one.

• Thanks so much for stopping in today!  I hope you like my card and will come join in the fun with us!  I’ll be back again tomorrow with my monthly Art Journal Page!

This brings us to a new monthly challenge over at Sparkles Monthly and we have the theme of “Thank you Card”  this month.  I look forward to seeing all of the projects in the gallery for this one.  Here’s what I came up with: 

I thought I’d try out a mini slim sized card for this one and the tall larger flower was a great fit for it!  I used the Taylored Expressions Natures Canvas Card kit (no longer available).

For the background panel, I embossed a kraft cardstock piece with the TE Sketched Plaid embossing folder and the went around the edges with the same color ink and then added some brown and white splatters before attaching it to a mini slim top folding card base.  I also die cut a frame from the TE Mini Slim Frame in Frame dies out of white cardstock to place over the embossed layer.

I stamped, hand colored and die cut the flower.  I used one of the greeting panels (from card kit) to gold foil and cut out the coordinating sentiment with it to pop up with foam tape over the flower stem.  It was then finished off with some gold gem/rhinestones.

• I hope you’ve been inspired by my thank you card and will join in the fun with us this month for the challenge!  **NOTE**  This will be my final project for the Sparkles Monthly Challenge as a design team member.  I have enjoyed my time and wish Caz all of the best for the challenge blog in the coming year as well.  Thank you!

Challenges:

1. Crafts Galore Encore – #141 Anything Goes
2. 613 Avenue Create – Anything Goes with optional: Thank you
3. Triple B – Birds, Blooms &/or Butterflies (bloom)
4. Penny’s – #609 Anything Goes using Paper
5. Crafty Catz – #704 Anything Goes/Thanksgiving/Thank you
6. Pammie’s Inky Pinkies – PIP2545 Anything Goes
7. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Thank you

Today is a new challenge over at the Alphabet Challenge Blog!  Our next letter is “P”, and our hostess, Deborah, has chosen “Pumpkin(s)”   I hope you will join in the fun with us!  *Please remember that this is a bi-weekly challenge, so you have two weeks to enter.*  Here’s the project I’ve made for this challenge:

When I saw this challenge, I remembered that I had gotten a stitched pumpkin die set from Lawn Fawn a few years back and haven’t used them yet, so I pulled them out to use for this challenge!  (I had to clip the metal dies apart, so I knew I hadn’t used it yet!)

I decided to cut them out in different colors of cardstock and then ink blended the bottoms of each in a darker shade including the stem on the top pumpkin.  I also took them and splattered some gold, brown and white over all three pumpkins before assembling them in stacking order.

For the card front, I took a stitched white panel and stenciled some leaves (Pink & Main-not in store) in light tan ink.  I made my scene for the pumpkin stack by using some Fall Plaid papers (not in store anymore) by Lawn Fawn for the background and die cutting a hill for the pumpkins to set on.  I placed the plaid paper and ground over a darker brown cardstock layer and popped it up with foam tape over the stenciled leaves card front.  I attached all of these layers onto a white top folding A2 card base.

For the sentiment, I white heat embossed the sentiment (not sure what Lawn Fawn set I used this for it) over dark brown cardstock and cut out a banner to pop up above the pumpkin stack with thin foam squares.  I added a few gold rhinestones for sparkle.

• Hope you’ve been inspired by my card today and stop on over at the challenge blog to join in the fun with us!  I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I’ll be back tomorrow with another challenge project!

Challenges:

1. Four Seasons – Fall
2. Lil’ Patch of Crafty Friends – #265 Anything Goes
3. A Place to Start – Anything Goes with optional:  Something new (I used a “new to me” stitched pumpkins die set from Lawn Fawn!)
4. A Cut Above – Anything Goes with a die cut (used several Lawn Fawn dies!)
5. Addicted to Stamps & More – Die Cuts and/or Stencils (I used both!)

So let’s take a moment for ourselves and work on keeping life simple!  This brings me to a new challenge over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog.    The challenges always run for 6 weeks so there is plenty of time to enter.  The theme given for us this time is: KIS (Keep It Simple) or you can always do the ‘Anything Goes” too.  Here’s the card that I came up with for the challenge using the theme:

I thought that “keeping it simple” for Christmas cards and getting down to the wire for making them and sending out would be a good thought for this challenge!

I pulled out this cute Scrapbook.com stamp set called “Holiday” to create a simple design with the solid bauble images and added a few heat embossed elements over two of them and then heat embossed a hook for each.  I heat embossed the sentiment in gold to match the hooks and then just stamped a couple of doo-dads around the panel and drew lines from the ornament hooks coming off the edge with a gold fine line pen.  That’s pretty much it!  I did die cut a few “Mini Bows” from Taylored Expressions for each ornament.  Then I layered the ornament panel onto gold and then onto a white A2 card base.

This would certainly be a very easy design to mass produce using the MISTI tool.

I hope you like my card and will stop by the challenge blog to see what the rest of the design team has created too!  *NOTE* This is the last project that I’m making for this challenge blog as I have decided to step down from the design team.  Thank you to Tina for having me as part of the challenge team this year and keeping the blog running.  Best wishes for the coming year!

Thanks so much for dropping in today!  Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Challenges:

1. Ally’s Angels – #99 Anything Goes
2. Crafter’s Cafe – #324 Anything Goes with optional: Christmas
3. ABC Christmas -‘U’ is for Uncluttered (CAS) & ‘V’ is for Vertical
4. CRAFT – #767 Christmas