Four Ways Friday #4 - Hemp Twine

Who knew twine could be so exciting?! :)  I thought I would see if I could come up with 4 different ways to use twine in paper craft projects...Let me know what you think!

For this card I used the twine in a pretty traditional way.  I first embossed a clear button with versamark and white embossing powder.  Don't you love that compass?  And the background images?  That's a little sneak peak at the new Sentimental Journey stamp set in the new summer mini catalog!  I used the hemp twine to "tie" the button and also wrapped and knotted some around the greeting layer on the card.

The texture of hemp twine can add a lot of dimension to your cards.  Here, I took the wrapping idea a step further and wrapped the twine around and around a piece of chipboard.  I used sticky strip on the back of the chipboard to hold the twine in place and popped that element up using dimensionals.

Hmmm, "around and around"...why not just go around and around with your twine to form a great center for a flower?!  I punched out a 1 1/4" circle of Kraft card stock and then covered it with sticky strip and then went around and around with the twine.  This card is a little crazy, I must admit, but it was a lot of fun to make :)

For the final project I decided to use the hemp twine to outline an image.  I stamped this adorable heart from the More The Merrier stamp set.  I used Tombo Mono Multi-Adhesive and drew a thin line of glue around the image and then adhered the hemp twine by following around the glued outline.  Of course, now that I had a contained space I needed to fill it with Crystal Effects!  I added some Dazzling Diamonds over the Crystal Effects to give this clean and simple card some bling!

Can you think of more ways to use hemp twine on your cards and scrapbook pages?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Embrace Life - Behind and In Front

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If You're There, Be There Mind And Body.  If Not, Consider Just Not Being There

Today's lesson came from a friend's facebook page and the message really resonated with me.  Life is too short for us to engage in activities with half a heart (or mind, or body).  If we aren't really "present" somewhere, then why are we there at all?  What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to say "no" or to walk away from situations where you are not "all there?"  What if we allowed ourselves to spend our precious moments only on those things that engaged our hearts, minds and bodies?  It can be easy, especially today, to do so much without really being there.  With technology it seems, we have grown to believe that we can talk, drive, eat, put on makeup, listen to music all at the same time with our attention divided all over the place.  By doing so, not only do we suffer, but so does the person we are pretending to listen to, the drivers we are half paying attention to, the artist who created the music to touch us...Today, what can you give your full attention to?  Today, if you can't be there mind and body will you consider just not being there?

Today's card was fun to create - just random stamping of the flower from the Embrace Life stamp set to create the background and focal image.  The greeting is from Kind & Caring Thoughts.  I added just a touch of glitter.  I hope you like it!

Simply Stamping...And A Little Bling :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  We Don't Need To Dress Up To Shine!

All the commercials on tv may make us feel otherwise, but we really are beautiful just as we are - no makeup, no fancy shoes, no latest trend.  You shine because you are who you are and you are the only you that there is...and that there ever will be!  There is no one else like you.  No one who can create what lives inside of you.  No one who can touch the world in the way that you can.  You aren't one in a million - you are one in infinity.  A special blend that will make a special mark on the world in your own special way.  You are precious.

Today's card is simply stamping...with just a touch of dazzling diamonds.  It can be so easy to get away from the basics and feel like we have to add layer upon layer or embellishment upon embellishment to make our cards special.  However, our cards, just like us, don't need to dress up to shine!  I hope you like it!

Stars Gone Wild!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  No One Is Useless.  Even The Worst Of Us Can Serve As A Poor Example

I can't remember when I first heard today's lesson, however it has stuck with me my entire life!  I think I first heard it when I was in a very depressed time in my life and wasn't quite sure what my purpose was on the planet...at least this quote gave me a purpose for awhile - sad, I know, but true.  I'm happy to say that I am no longer in that place in my life...however I'm not sure I can say the same thing for this card :(  I try not to judge my cards and rather just go with the flow.  I'm just having a really hard time liking this one.  I figure it must have a purpose though - and maybe part of its purpose is to show me what I don't want to do in the future :)

I used my star punches to create the stars and let some designer series paper serve as the background.  Maybe, somehow, this card will inspire you in a way I never thought possible!  Maybe there's hope!  Enjoy!!!! :)

Vintage Vogue Monogram Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Lie Down And Rest

I have to admit that I am not a big nap person.  As a matter of fact, I usually feel all hazy and weird if I take a nap in the middle of the day.  However, just because I'm not a nap person does not mean that I can't lay down and just rest.  I can close my eyes, or not.  Read a book, or not.  Sometimes it just feels good to slow down and allow yourself some moments of "nothing."

Today's card was designed for the 40th birthday of a friend of mine!  I made a whole set of cards and stamped envelopes for her as a gift.  I really love thinking of a person and what they mean to me and then trying to translate that into a stamped gift :)  I used the Vintage Vogue and Lovely Letters stamp sets.  I embossed the monogram letter and punched it out and then adhered it to a 1 1/4" circle punch and the scallop circle punch.  A bit of Bashful Blue satin ribbon finishes the look.  I hope you like it!