Daniel Smith

Christmas In July: Watercolored Poinsettia “Wrapping Paper”

July 22, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back with another project for my Christmas In July series. Yesterday, we started things off with a “transitional” project, featuring bold, vibrant magenta and royal purple paired with traditional holiday imagery. Those are the kinds of projects my mom doesn’t love, because she is a “traditional” Christmas kind of gal, preferring rich reds and verdant greens to my pinks and purples. To each their own, but I thought that for today’s project, I would create an homage to my mom and her love of those traditional holiday colors! I created some gorgeous “wrapping paper” using a stunningly detailed embossing folder, my watercolors, and added a glittery bow to top it all off. Let’s get started with the details!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin, I ran a slightly-larger-than-A2 panel of textured watercolor cardstock through my die cutting machine using the gorgeous Brilliant Poinsettias embossing folder. The rough texture of the Arches Cold Press paper works beautifully with super detailed embossing folders without worrying about the deep impressions tearing the super sturdy cardstock. I taped the edges of the embossed panel down to my watercolor board, then used my Daniel Smith watercolors to add lots of vibrant color to the poinsettias, beginning with a vivid pinky-red for the initial layer, then adding more concentrated layers of a deep ruby red for added shadows. I added very concentrated jade green in the background behind the poinsettias, creating that traditional holiday red and green that my mom so cherishes.

After I had finished watercoloring the images, I used a gold paint pen to add some shining gold to the center of each poinsettia. To create my Christmas gift, I die cut the aptly-named Perfect Bow from some glittering red cardstock and assembled it using liquid adhesive. While it was drying, I trimmed off a couple of 1/4″ strips of that same ruby red glitter cardstock, criss crossing them on my textured “wrapping paper” and adhering them with thin foam adhesive squares. I placed the bow at a jaunty angle, adhering it with thick foam adhesive squares.

For the sentiment, I die cut the Peace Love Hope Joy die three times: once from Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold foil cardstock, then twice again from some scrap white cardstock, adhering all three layers together with liquid adhesive to create a dimensional die cut greeting. I added it to the corner of my decorated gift card front using liquid adhesive, finally adding a few Gold Pawsitively Dazzling Gems (completing the Rule of Three!) for additional shimmer and sparkle!

Well, that’s all for my project today! We are in the midst of a “corn sweat” heat wave here in the Midwest, so I can’t think of a better way to beat the heat than in my nice cool craft room, dreaming about Christmas! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!

June 27, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am hopping along today to celebrate the newest release from Simon Says Stamp, called Friend Like You. You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes, and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can also start at the beginning of the hop on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. I had my Daniel Smith watercolors out for my Dahlia Background watercolor project, and so I thought that I would put them to use to create a sweet framed project using the darling storybook-style illustrations from Undersea Friends. Let’s get started on the details!

Today’s project was inspired by my embroidered project from THIS post; the illustrations in the Best Fishes stamp set are super similar to the illustrations in the new Undersea Friends stamp set (I think they were created by the same artist!), so I thought… how sweet would it be to create a little gift set in two different mediums, perhaps to hang on the wall of a nursery or child’s bathroom? For yesterday’s project, I used my needles and embroidery floss as my medium, but I pulled out my Daniel Smith watercolors in a variety of shades of blue and aqua. I trimmed down a panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper to slightly larger than 4×6 inches, then used Hero Arts Contour Ink to stamp the sweet undersea critters from Undersea Friends.

After I had stamped the images, I used my Daniel Smith watercolors to add lots of vibrant color to the critters, working in sections so as to avoid the colors bleeding into one another and to keep the edges of each individual piece nice and crisp. Moisture will always seek moisture on watercolor paper; in order to avoid the colors blooming into one another and the edges blurring, it is important to make sure that you damp watercolored areas are never adjacent. Allow a bit of drying time before adding color to the area directly next to it. I always do multiple layers of color in varying intensities to achieve lots of dimension and depth to the images, creating shadows and contrast by using more intense color and adding light color washes to the background with very diluted color. I used a black pigment pen to add some small details to the eyes on each critter.

After I had completed the main watercoloring, I decided to go back in with my handmade glitter watercolors and add some sparkling accents to the critters, as well as add some gorgeous iridescent shine to the bubbles! The painting looked fine without these sparkling accents, but I think they really take things to another level without a ton of additional work. Once the panel was completely dry, I trimmed it down, then used the new A7 Rectangles Dies to die cut some mat frames, nestling the mats inside one another, then adding my watercolored panel to create a crisp black aperture around my underwater scene! I placed the entire project inside an inexpensive frame that I purchased at the dollar store; it looks quite beachy to me!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now for some fun giveaway information:

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, selected from each blog’s comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on our Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 2nd of July. Winners can email the folks at Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize!

As an added bonus for those hopping along with us, Simon Says Stamp is offering the not-yet-released Simon Says Stamp/CZ Design exclusive You 2 3×4 stamp set as a free gift with purchase! This stamp set is automatically added to your cart that contains any purchase of Friend Like You products! Click HERE to see the full release! The gift with purchase promotion will expire 6/29 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last.

Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Addesa. Don’t forget: tomorrow is Day 2 of this blog hop and will feature tons more inspiration! Be sure to start at the Simon Says Stamp Blog tomorrow so that you don’t miss out. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You Release Night!

June 25, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! It’s release night for Simon Says Stamp, and it’s always an extra fun release when I have a new stamp set included! The new Friend Like You release features all kinds of fun summer-themed products, including my new Dahlia Background stamp. We have a local flower farmer who has the most exquisite dahlia blooms, and I always look forward to seeing her colorful photos on Facebook from which to draw inspiration! I created this 6×6 background stamp with colorists in mind, though as I will show you in future projects, you can easily use this background stamp on it’s own because of the level of detail. For tonight, though, I thought I would share an intricate watercolored piece that I framed to display in it’s entirety. Let’s get started with the details on my project!

To begin, I stamped the entirety of the Dahlia Background image on a panel of Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper using Hero Arts Contour Ink, which is my favorite ink for no-line watercolor and alcohol marker coloring. Because this particular watercolor cardstock has such deep texture, I found it necessary to stamp the pale gray Contour Ink multiple times to achieve a crisp, easily visible impression. The detailed nature of the illustration makes it handy to use a MISTI Stamping Platform with a pressure tool to achieve even pressure on the stamp so as to avoid any bare spots.

Before I began watercoloring, I taped my stamped panel down to my watercolor board. My particular board was built for me by my husband, but you can use a simple cutting board; I have an inexpensive bamboo cutting board that I found at TJ Maxx for only a few dollars that works perfectly! This stiff board allows me to add as much water to my watercolor paper as I need without worrying about the paper warping. I selected three different shades of pink from my Daniel Smith Watercolor palette, as well as a cool evergreen. I wanted to challenge myself to keep this painting simple, using only one color per bloom while still trying to achieve the detailed contrast and shape for which I strive on all of my paintings. I was able to achieve this level of detail by varying the amount of water that I used for dilution on each layer; I began with extremely diluted paint, basically adding a subtle wash of color to each petal and blurring the edges of even that pale wash by cleaning my brush and using the clean, damp paintbrush to fade the color away completely.

With each new layer, I added a bit more concentration of paint to my brush, intensifying the color and keeping it at it’s most intense towards the center of the blooms. To achieve the definition of each petal, I made sure to keep each petal separate while wet, working in sections that were not adjacent to avoid the wet paint blooming into the next petal. Water seeks water when working on watercolor paper, so keeping that distance between each damp petal is key to maintaining that definition and crispness on the edges. After my painting had dried completely, I removed my painter’s tape and trimmed the edges using my guillotine trimmer to make a nice, crisp cut line. I mounted the panel in an 8×8 inch frame, using a white mat around the edges to allow the bold and vibrant florals to pop from the background!

Well, that’s all for my project today! I have a wide variety of inspiration to share with you using these new goodies from the Friend Like You release, but I of course couldn’t wait to share my newest illustration here on my blog. It’s such a thrill to see my designs come to life in stamp form, not to mention seeing what other crafters create with them! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Simon Says Stamp Rain or Shine Blog Hop- Day 1!

March 21, 2025

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am hopping along with Simon Says Stamp today for Day 1 of a 2-day blog hop to help introduce their newest release, called Rain or Shine! You should have arrived here from Debby Hughes, and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can also see the full hop list over at the Simon Says Stamp Blog. From sweet little bunnies to flowers to farm critters to elegant embossing folders, this Rain or Shine release truly has such a wide variety that there’s something for everybody! I have been having such fun playing with the different products, putting a wide variety of techniques to use, and I even pulled out my sadly-neglected watercolors to create this detailed watercolored embossing folder card. Let’s get started with the details!

To begin my project, I ran a panel of Arches Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper through my die cutting machine using the new Soaring Swallows Embossing Folder. I love using Arches Cold Press for embossing folders, because the suepr textured cardstock holds up beautifully with the incredible details of the 3D embossing folders. Once I had finished embossing the image, I used some painter’s tape to adhere it down to my watercolor board, which helps to minimize warping .

I began my project by painting the sky, using super diluted blue watercolor and lots of clean water to create a blue summer sky, complete with wispy clouds. I used plenty of water to keep the background light, which enabled me to create not just the subtle clouds but also allowed me to paint more freely without worrying about keeping the edges of the images themselves super clean. I used a large paintbrush to paint over the entire panel, then when the panel was completely dry, I used more concentrated color to add details to the swallows and foliage. Moisture will seek out moisture with watercolor, and by allowing the background to dry completely before adding my details, I was able to add the details with precision and not have to worry about the new wet color blooming into the old damp color.

After I had added the color, I used some white gouache to enhance a few of the edges of the feathers and add some highlights on the swallows. Having covered the entire card front with pale blue watercolor for the sky made the birds’ highlights a bit more difficult, but glazing the highlights with white gouache helps to add that contrast between dark and light!

After I had finished watercoloring the panel and it had dried completely, I trimmed down the edges and matted the watercolored scene on a full sized A2 panel of coordinating dusty blue cardstock, creating a monochromatic frame around the detailed watercoloring. I pulled out the new Loving Thoughts stamp set, which has two different accompanying die sets: one for the images in the set and one for the beautiful sentiments. To keep the color palette simple, I heat embossed the sentiment from Loving Thoughts onto some more of the dusty blue cardstock, then die cut it with its’ coordinating, super detailed die. I popped it up in the center of the card front with some foam adhesive, then added a few Dusk Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. I just love how this card came out, even with the simple color palette.

Well, that’s all for my project today. Now for some fun giveaway information!

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, selected from the blog comment section. Winners will be selected and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 26th of March. Winners can email Simon Says Stamp to claim his/her prize.

Simon Says Stamp is also offering a fabulous freebie to celebrate not only the release, but their twenty-third birthday! Simply purchase $23 of products from the new Rain or Shine release and the darling Balloon Bouquet die will be automatically added to your cart. No code needed!

Your next stop is Lisa Addesa.

Don’t forget to check out the second day of our Rain or Shine blog hop for even more inspiration and prizes! Happy birthday to Simon, and happy shopping and hopping to you!

Peaceful Chickadees with Simon Says Stamp!

December 31, 2024

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! As 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to share one final card with you featuring these sweet chickadees from the new To Love release, which is Simon’s final release for the year. I am still solidly in winter and holiday mode, as we have only had a few weeks of wintry weather these last months, and so I’m not quite ready to look towards springtime yet. I thought I would adapt these sweet birdies to winter with some snowflakes and sparkling snow. Let’s get started with the details!

To start, I ran an A2 panel of Arches Cold Press watercolor paper through my die cutting machine with the new Chickadee Gathering 3D embossing folder. This embossing folder comes equipped with coordinating dies for the birds, so that you can create even more dimension with the addition of some foam adhesive, but I wanted to do some watercoloring on the panel, so I didn’t use them for this project. I taped the panel down to my watercolor board with some painter’s tape and used my Daniel Smith watercolors to add some beautiful, saturated neutral blues and greens to the background and foliage, of course using some creamy neutrals and black for the chickadees themselves. In order to minimize warping on my heavily-saturated watercolor panel, I allowed the piece to dry while still taped to my board.

After I had finished watercoloring the image and allowed it to dry completely, I used undiluted white gouache to add some snow to the leaves, then used some water to dilute the remainder of the gouache and splattered that diluted white paint on my background, creating the look of snow softly falling around the chickadees. I also used the fine tip of my paintbrush to paint a few tiny snowflakes here and there on the background. Once I had finished painting the snow, I removed the panel from my watercolor board and trimmed the long sides down by 1/8″. I tucked some thin strips of Midnight Navy glitter cardstock from Pinkfresh Studio on either side of the watercolored panel to add a bit of shimmer and sparkle to the card.

For the greeting, I used the beautiful sentiments from Making Spirits Bright, stamping each component onto some deep navy cardstock using Simon Says Stamp’s white pigment ink, then adding Iridescent Blue embossing powder from Hero Arts over the top to create a lovely iridescent sheen on the deep navy cardstock. I used the super detailed coordinating dies to cut out the “love & peace” sentiments, trimming the strip down with my guillotine trimmer, then popping all of the pieces up with some thin foam adhesive squares. The deep blue looks lovely on the watercolored blue background, creating contrast for visibility while still being slightly muted and not overpowering the bird focal point. Finally, I added some Fresh Snowfall glitter accents over the white gouache on the leaves and a few Gunmetal Pawsitively Dazzling Gems to the birds’ eyes, adding the tiniest hint of sparkle to this card!

Well, that’s all for my projects today. I am in disbelief that it 2025 is already upon us; in some ways, I am still processing 2019!! I am so grateful for all of the good things that have happened this year, including the incredibly kind and supportive friends and followers here on my blog. I truly could not do this without your support, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here. I can’t wait to see what creativity 2025 will bring! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy New Year!