Today's Lesson From...yes, you guessed it...Too Far Away From The Craft Room: Take A Cold Shower...

yes, i'm on the road again - this time in Poza Rica, Mexico. It is a small town about 30 minutes by plane from Mexico City. The people are so nice and the vegetation is so beautiful here - very green and lots of flowers. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to do a small bit of siteseeting after getting done with work in the afternoon. I got up this morning to take a shower and put the lever to "hot"...well actually to "caliente." I waited a little bit for the water to heat up - it got luke warm and that was it. I realized that my Americanized view of "hot" is not the same as "hot" here in a warm, humid climate. So in the shower I jumped...quite to the shock of my tired body! I have to say though, that once I got over the shock...well, I didn't really get over the shock...but after I soaped and showered as fast as I ever had and got out of the shower, the experience left me feeling quite invigorated, awake and excited to greet the day! Maybe sometimes taking a cold shower - or experimenting a bit with what we are most comfortable - is a great idea. It could leave us feeling more awake, invigorated and excited to greet the day! :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Think about the message they might receive, not just the one you intend to send

I realized today that in my tired state (too much business travel over the last few weeks) the emails I have been sending to my colleagues have been a bit shorter and have included fewer smiley faces than my norm. I'm glad I recognized it because it made me realize that while my reason for sending shorter and less smiley emails is because I'm tired, the folks receiving them might be thinking that I'm angry or frustrated or upset with them. So today I made sure to check in with the people I've been emailing to let them know that I recognize my emails have been a bit different this week and to explain why. It's a good practice I need to remind myself of - that sometimes the messages we are sending may be received in a very different way than we intend.

I had fun stamping this big flower with many of the images from the Cheep Talk stamp set (so cute!!!). I sponged the edges of the flower with rose red. The rose red strip in the background was run through the Big Shot with the daisies texturz plate (hard to see the texture in the photo). I added a "pinch" of paper piercing and a "dash" of ribbon :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Wait 5 Minutes...

It's been awhile since I've dine an SC challenge so today I decided to give the gesso resist technique challenge a try!

It seems that lately I'm learning that if I just wait 5 minutes things can change. Especially if I'm angry or sad or frustrated...most of those emotions that I really don't enjoy feeling for extended periods of time...if I just wait 5 minutes I'm usually amazed at how things improve, how my mind starts to focus on all that I am grateful for. This project reminded me of that...since to let that gesso dry, you really need to wait 5 minutes :)

I applied gesso to a page from an old dictionary. I stamped the butterflies in versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then sponged with lots of different colors - they all blended together quite beautifully - reminds me of a Monet painting. I used white embossing powder on vellum for the wings of the center butterfly. I hope you enjoy it...and if you're feeling blue, or frustrated or just out of sorts, wait 5 minutes...you may be surprised at how things change!

hmmm, seems i'm taking today's lesson from the craft room to heart - the importance of balance...i'm finally trying to play as much as i've been working lately - just to even myself out :)

this card was made using the cracked glass technique (see card below for instructions). i used the Cheap Talk stamp set by Stampin' Up! (it is soooo cute!). The outer flower and two of the inner flowers were dies for the Big Shot and the inner circle and scalloped circle are punches. Hope you like it!

another lesson from the craft room today... run with your inspiration!

I'm having fun in the craft room today so I thought I would share another card with you. Today I'm feeling like I just need to run with my inspiration and keep creating! :) This card was made using the cracked glass technique. In case that is not familiar to you, you stamp on a piece of cardstock (in this case the cardstock frame that I die cut with the Big Shot). Then you smoosh (that's a technical term...at least it is now!) Versamark ink all over the stamped cardstock and coat it with glassy glaze enamel embossing powder. Then you heat until the embossing powder melts. Repeat the smoosh, emboss and heat steps two more times (for a total of 3 times). The embossing will look thick and glassy. Next, put your embossed piece of cardstock in the freezer to let it chill. Once cold, remove the cardstock from the freezer and you will be able to bend the cardstock and the enamel will crack! It's quite fun and it looks really cool (no pun intended :)! All of the flower images are from the Eastern Blooms stamp set and the message (inspire) is from one of my favorite sets, Define Your Life. (all stamp sets by Stampin' Up!) Enjoy!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Balance

rest, play, work...it seems I find myself a bit out of whack a bit too often. As Spring arrives and everything starts blooming and growing I once again realize that the seasons have so much to teach us. A time to bloom, a time to rest...so today I encourage you (and me) to ask ourselves if we are living the right balance between work, rest and play. If not, today is a great day to begin to rebalance ourselves.

This color combination has just become a favorite - chocolate chip and taken with teal. The stamp set is Fall Flair from SU! - i imagine any type of lined flower image will do. I just stamped it in taken with teal a few times and chocolate chip a few times and then used a second stamp in the set to add a bit more detail. The greeting and the white flowers were made using my big shot. The letters are from the billboard letters decorative strip die and the flowers from the SU! exclusive birds and blooms sizzlits. Enjoy!