This evening I began playing with some new toys, including the exclusive SU! Beautiful Butterflies Die for the Big Shot. I die cut the butterflies and then ran them through the Big Shot again in embossing folders. Thought I would share the result of my play time with you :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: It May Not Be What You Had Hoped, But It Can Be An Experience You Will Never Forget!

Prom. It is one of those events that seems to have "magic" written all over it...at least that's what we're supposed to believe. I'm sorry to say that my high school prom was not quite the fantasy that I had imagined. The night before the prom I still had no dress, no date and not a pair of shoes to be seen. I won't go into the details, but by the next day my dad had found me a date, the dress had arrived and the shoes were on my feet :) No, it was not the fantasy prom night I might have imagined, and I never did see the guy who took me again...but the night represented a time when my dad tried to make his little girl happy; where my white eyelet dress made me feel like a princess; and where I learned that an event is just an event - the event isn't the magic - it's the people and what you make of it.

The inspiration challenge on SCS today was to find a Faviana dress that inspired you (www.faviana.com). The dress I chose is the one that I have now placed in my inspiration journal that you see in the photo. I loved the color combo of brushed gold, really rust, and more mustard - not a combo I would have put together without the help of the dress :) I gold embossed the images (Kindred Spirit stamp set and Thank You Kindly stamp set - both by Stampin' Up!) and the bookplate die cut. The ribbon was "pleated" by laying down a piece of sticky strip and then slowly "pleating" the ribbon, little by little. Hope you like it!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Find Ways To Warm Your Heart

Today is a drizzly, cold and cloudy day here in Colorado. A perfect day to stay indoors and find ways to warm your heart. Creating, sharing kind words, warming soup on the stove...I love days like this that seem to slow us down and remind us of the comfort a little warmth can bring. So today, find ways to warm your heart and the hearts of others :)

This card was inspired by a color combination I saw in a home decor magazine (the top photo shows the original picture - a Calvin Klein furniture collection that I have now saved in my inspiration journal). I stamped the flowers for the border and cut out a few and popped them up on dimensionals. I added a bit of "bling" with some glue and dazzling diamonds. The butterfly was stamped and colored in with a blender pen and a bit of going gray ink and finished with a sprinkle of dazzling diamonds. The butterfly and flowers are from the "god's beauty" hostess set from SU! and the greeting is from the "echoes of kindness" hostess set from SU! Enjoy!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: To Thine Own Self Be Kind

Today's lesson comes from the greeting on this card. How appropriate that this is the card I made when I ended work today and began my 4 days off from the hustle and bustle of work and my crazy travel schedule. Ahhhhhhh. It can be so easy to not be kind to ourselves - to run ourselves ragged; to eat on the go; to take care of others without recognizing that in order to take care of them we need to take great care of ourselves. So today, remember to be kind to yourself - take a moment for you - to replenish, renew, regenerate. Treat your body well. Tell yourself how beautiful you are. Do something that makes YOU smile. Today, and every day, is your day to be kind to you.

This card uses the Botanical Blooms Sale-a-bration set. You may notice a small black square stamped image in the background...hello dollar store package of pencils!!!! I bought the pencils and used an Xacto knife to cut the erasers into all different types of shapes (squares, diamonds, half-moons) - it's a cheap and fun way to make a lot of cute stamps! I distressed the edges of the card stock with a distressing tool. The top 2 layers are popped up on dimensionals. Hope you like it!

ps sorry I did not post yesterday - I had a day-trip to San Francisco that kept me out of the craft room...but now I'm back!!!! :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You Don't Have To Wait For A Special Occasion

When I saw today's color challenge it immediately made me think of Christmas. It seems that anytime I see red and green together Christmas comes to mind. Then I realized that we don't have to wait for Christmas to use color combinations like red and green. The lesson expanded for me as I thought about how often we wait for a special day to do certain things - take certain actions; say certain things. Why wait? Today, give thanks even though it is not Thanksgiving; share the gift of your love with friends and family even though it is not a holiday; cook a festive meal, play a fun game, spend time reflecting - today is as much a holiday as any day - you don't need to wait for a special occasion.

I covered the Batch of Blooms chipboard with whisper white cardstock and used real red ink to cover the chipboard hearts. The black cardstock was run through the Big Shot with the distressed Texturz plate.

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Give Yourself The Time You Need

I just returned from a trip that took me through the Mexico City Airport. It was quite the scene, due to the swine flu...so many of us were wearing blue respiratory masks. Underneath that mask I was full of stress and worry. So today - after arriving home at 10:30 last night and having worked the whole weekend I decided to give myself the time I needed to rest, relax and slowly create this card. Somehow rolling the marbles in a dish with a few drops of reinker and then letting the marbles roll across the very vanilla paper (which was temporarily attached to the inside of a box lid) was quite mesmerizing! What a great technique to give yourself the time you need to slow down and recharge! (I'm also planning on taking Friday and Monday off...craft room, here I come!!!!)

The bird is from the On Board So Tweet by SU! I covered it with gesso and then sponged ink on top. The pink part of the bird was embossed with clear embossing powder. Hope you like it!

Today's Lesson From Far Away From The Craft Room: Smile, Even If No One Can See

so you might be wondering why a mummy card at the end of April...let me not leave you in suspense. I am sitting here in the airport in Mexico City, wearing a bright blue respiratory mask (maybe you have been hearing all of the news about the swine flu that is causing all kinds of issues here in Mexico and starting to spread around the world)...so, wearing this mask makes me feel a bit like the mummy in the card - you can see my eyes, but not much else. It is amazing how important our health and safety are to us as human beings. Three days ago, someone coughing or sneezing really did not mean that much to me. Now I hear every cough and every sneeze and begin wanting to get as far away from those sounds as possible!!!!

I have two choices right now - to panic and make myself all worried and crazy....or, to smile and help myself stay in a positive place. My decision is to smile...even if no one can see my smile underneath this crazy blue mask....at least I know it's there :)

fyi, the mummy card is not an original design - i am trying to find the source where i found the instructions - i should have made a note back when i did this in 2008! i will keep looking and when i find it, i will share the source for the instructions and the design with you!