Four Ways Friday #16 - Greetings, Earthling!

Thanks so much for your patience and stopping by to see this week's Four Ways Friday on Saturday :)  This week's Four Ways Friday focuses on the adorable Greetings, Earthling! stamp set.

Creating a scene is a great way to put your stamped images into context!  For this first card I used my Coluzzle (retired) to cut out a "planet" half circle out of Sahara Sand card stock.  I then took a scrap piece of paper and punched random holes in it using my 1/2" circle punch and the 2 punches on my crop-a-dile to create a stencil for the craters for my planet.  I sponged with both Sahara Sand ink and Basic Gray ink and then added a bit of Soft Suede ink with a sponge to give my planted a craterly look :)  The two aliens were stamped with Basic Black ink - one onto Daffodil Delight and the other onto Whisper White card stock.  I covered the yellow alien with 2-way glue and added dazzling diamonds.  I used markers to color his features.  I also used markers to color the pink alien and also added some dazzling diamonds to his tummy.  Both aliens were cut out using a hobby blade and both were popped up on dimensionals.  I ran into the kitchen to grab a toothpick for the sign and made a small banner with a strip of Whisper White card stock.  The greeting is from Tiny Tags.

For this second card I used a great technique for your greeting stamps.  If you stamp them repeatedly, you can make a great background!  By using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I repeatedly stamped the greeting using Basic Black ink on Whisper White card stock.  I then used Rose Red ink and a sponge to color over the entire piece of card stock and to add a bit more Rose Red color to the edges.  This piece was adhered onto a Whisper White card base.  The alien was stamped in Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card stock and cut out with a hobby blade.  I then used 2-way glue and dazzling diamonds to make him sparkle!  I colored his mouth with a Pink Pirouette marker and then popped him up on dimensionals in the center of the card.

Repetition isn't just for words!  Here I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to repeat the alien image in a line across the front of the card.  A quick tip - when I am stamping in this way, I always begin my stamping in the middle of my card and work my way out to the sides so that the card appears even.  I stamped an extra alien on a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock, cut him out with a hobby blade and colored him with markers.  I popped him up on dimensionals on top of one of the stamped images.  Finally, I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the greeting from Upsy Daisies on the bottom of the card.  I love using my stamp-a-ma-jig since I was able to stamp the greeting twice - directly on top of itself - to make it look really crisp.

Random repetition can also be used for backgrounds!  Here I took two of the images from the set and randomly stamped them in Tempting Turquoise ink on Bashful Blue card stock.  This served as the backdrop for the rest of the card.  The alien image was stamped twice in Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I stamped him twice so I could cut out his head and pop it up on dimensionals (that sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?!).  I colored the alien with markers and used Crystal Effects to highlight his shirt.  I used Pacific Pointe and Tangerine Tango card stock to create the center layer.  I scalloped the edge of the Tangerine Tango piece with my scalloped edge punch.  Ooh - I forgot to mention that I used a Basic Black marker to stamp the alien - that way I was able to not ink up his alien gun and instead left his hand empty.  I then used my stamp-a-ma-jig and the balloon string stamp from the Friends Fur-ever stamp set to make it look like he was holding a balloon all along!  The balloon was made my punching a circle using my 1" circle punch and then using my white gel pen to create some reflection marks.  I popped the balloon up on dimensionals and then covered it with Crystal Effects.  I always save my Crystal Effects until last so that I can leave the card alone and let it dry.  The greeting is a combination of the word "earthling" from the Greetings, Earthling stamp set and the "happy birthday" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I used markers to stamp the greetings and then cut them out and adhered them to the card with glue.  Finally, I attached a piece of 1/8" Marina Mist ribbon.
If you like the Greetings, Earthling! stamp set as much as I do, but don't have it yet, feel free to shop HERE now!  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend!

4 Ways Friday Coming On Saturday!

I wanted to leave a quick note to let you know that due to a hectic schedule this week, 4 Ways Friday will be posted on Saturday.  Thanks for your patience!  I hope you'll come back to visit on Saturday!  Have a beautiful day!!!!!!

Enjoying Creation

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Take Time To Create And Time To Enjoy Creation!

I thought I would share a photo with you today.  This was the view outside my room yesterday.  I was at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado - no craft room in sight.  However, what was in sight was the amazing beauty of creation!  I hope you enjoy the peace of this scene.  I hope to be back in the craft room tomorrow - later in the day.  I hope you'll come back for a visit!  In the meantime, don't forget to take some time to enjoy creation :)

Animal Stories & Inspired By Nature

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  We Each Need Different Things To Grow

We have a vegetable bed in our backyard that we had been warned against building.  "There's too much shade and not enough sun."  "Your vegetables won't do well there."  These were some of the concerns we heard.  Being the new gardeners we were, we built the bed anyway...and...it has turned out to be a wonderfully productive lettuce bed!  What may not be the perfect place for some things or some people, is the exact perfect place for others.  There might be some vegetables that won't do well in that bed.  Lettuce, however, loves it.  We each need different things to grow.  What makes you grow best?  I know that balance, nature, creativity, and a whole lot of love seem to be just the soil I need to grow well :)  How 'bout you?

Today's card uses a few stamp sets - Animal Stories for the animals; Upsy Daisies for the greeting; Inspired By Nature for the grass.  I stamped the animals in More Mustard and Basic Gray and cut them out with my hobby blade (you may notice a bit of dazzling diamonds on the elephant's spots :).  The grass was stamped using VersaMark on Pacific Pointe card stock.  I crumpled the piece of Sahara Sand card stock and then sponged over the crease lines with Sahara Sand ink.  The edges of the Soft Suede panel were also sponged with Soft Suede ink.  The greeting was stamped after coloring the stamp with Pacific Pointe and Old Olive markers.  Don't you just love the new 1/8" taffeta ribbon?!  I love that it can fit through the button holes :)  I hope you like it!

Stamped Gesso Background Video!

Today I wanted to share with you how I made the stamped gesso background for this card.  Enjoy the video!