Four Ways Friday #40 - Extreme Skateboard

This week's Four Ways Friday shows you four ways to use the Extreme Skateboard stamp!

Let's begin with some simple stamping!  For this card I combined the Extreme Skateboard stamp with some of the images from the Extreme Elements stamp set.  I stamped the elements in More Mustard and Cajun Craze and did some sponging with Not Quite Navy ink.  The skateboarder was then stamped with Not Quite Navy and the panel was mounted onto a torn piece of Cajun Craze.  The greeting from On Your Birthday was stamped with versamark and Not Quite Navy ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  I punched it out with the modern label punch and adhered it to the card using dimensionals.

For card number two I went a little crazy with the stamping!!!! :)  I stamped the skateboarder onto Whisper White card stock.  Believe it or not, I began by stamping him in Pacific Point and then, as I continued doing more and more stamping, I decided I needed to color him in using a Chocolate Chip marker :)  You can always color in parts of the stamped image or go crazy and color the whole thing :)  I then continued stamping like crazy and drew freehand doodles around the skateboard image too.  I also stamped the skateboard image onto the Crumb Cake card base with Chocolate Chip ink.  The Extreme Elements stamp set was used on this card too with colors like Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive, and Marina Mist (I'm sure there were some others too!).  Then I tore a piece off the bottom and stamped "Journey" from Sentimental Journey (retired) in basic black ink.  The sewing machine acted as the adhesive for everything here :)  I even used the sewing machine to add some hemp twine to the card.

This image also lends itself well to embossing and emboss resist!  Here I began with a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  I stamped one of the images from Extreme Elements in Crumb Cake ink in the center of the card stock.  Then I stamped the skateboarder in Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  Next came stamping and spraying craziness :)  I stamped with a combination of Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake using the Extreme Elements stamp set.  I also did quite a bit of direct to paper - just dragging the ink pads over the card stock.  I crumpled the entire piece and then sprayed it with a mixture of alcohol and champagne shimmer paint.  I then took a damp tissue and wiped off the embossed area.  I stamped the greeting from Define Your Life in a combination of Early Espresso and Chocolate Chip ink and did a bit of sponging and spritzing.  For the card base I used the Well Worn background stamp and Chocolate Chip ink.  Finally I used the sewing machine to add some texture and to adhere the focal image.  Dimensionals were used for the greeting.

For this last card I did some plain old heat embossing :)  I started with a piece of Marina Mist card stock and stamped using the Sanded background stamp.  I then used a piece of paper as a mask and did some sponging across the card stock in multiple directions.  I then stamped the skateboarder twice using Marina Mist ink and then a third time using Versamark.  I heat embossed the third skateboarder with black embossing powder.  I then stamped the dots from the Extreme Elements stamp set in Basic Black ink.  The greeting was created using a mix of stamp sets.  "Have" was made using the Full Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set.  "An" was from a retired stamp set.  "Birthday" is from Fundamental Phrases and I stamped out the letters for "awesome" with the Rough Type (retired) stamp set.  The letters were then punched out using the circle punch from the trio punches and then mounted onto Concord Crush circles that were punched using the 1/2" circle punch.
Finding a great stamp for masculine cards can sometimes be challenging.  This stamp fills that need perfectly!  I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday and I hope you have a wonderful & creative weekend!!!!

Cool Cat Mazel Tov Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Don't Forget About The Oldies But Goodies!

I know I'm getting older, but what happened last week on American Idol really made me freak out!  The show was all about songs by the Beatles and I was dumbfounded to hear some of the young contestants say that they had never heard a Beatles song!!!!  Really?!  You've gotta be kidding me!  How can you be in love with music and not know about the Beatles???  Of course I am a bit biased since the Beatles did write a song about me...you know the one where they add some French lyrics and croon for Michelle :)  Anyway, I'm still walking around stunned and, yes, feeling a bit older every day and somehow that made me think of some of Stampin' Up!s oldies but goodies.  I pulled them out for today's card!
I began by heat embossing the adorable cat from the retired Cool Cat stamp set with black embossing powder.  I added a rhinestone to the cat's collar and then pulled out the retired Pixie Pink ink and card stock and went to town!  I stamped the floral image from Cool Cat in Pixie Pink and then used crystal effects to add silver glass glitter around the edges.  I mounted the panel onto Pixie Pink and then Basic Black card stock.  I then stamped the Print Patterns (retired) background stamp with versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  This was mounted onto Basic Black card stock and then a Pixie Pink card base.  The cat panel was attached to the card front.  Next, I cut out a decorative label using the Big Shot and the matchbox die - there are some adorable tag shapes on that die!  I pulled out the L'Chayim stamp set (retired) and stamped "mazel tov" in versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder.  For those of you who don't know, "mazel tov" literally means "good luck," but it is used as a Hebrew way to say "congratulations!"  This card is for a bat-mitzvah - a girl who has reached the age of responsibility in the Jewish religion.  I then took a small piece of Basic Black card stock and added glass glitter with crystal effects.  I attached the greeting to this panel using dimensionals and then attached it to the main card with dimensionals as well.  A few rhinestone jewels add a bit of bling!  I hope you like it!  It is a tribute to the oldies but goodies! :)

Bliss Wedding Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If You Don't Do It, It Will Keep Encouraging You!

I woke up yesterday morning with the idea to stamp on a transparency and sew it to the front of the card.  For some reason though, when I got into the craft room, I didn't want to follow through with it.  I'm not sure why since I did spent the day creating.  I couldn't shake the idea though - it kept coming back into my mind and finally, as the evening began to creep along toward night, I finally followed through.  This is the card that came of it.  I'm glad the thought kept encouraging me :)
I took a small piece of transparency (you can use a window sheet or the transparencies you use in your at-home printer) and stamped it with the retired Antique background stamp and white staz-on ink.  You know how I'm not the most patient person when it comes to letting ink dry, so I encouraged the drying process with my heat tool - being very careful not to melt the transparency in the process!  I then sewed the transparency onto the card.  Next came a piece of white organza ribbon sewn to the front - over the transparency.  I stamped the "bliss" greeting from the Bliss sale-a-bration stamp set by coloring it with my Pretty In Pink and Early Espresso markers to make it two-toned.  It was stamped onto Whisper White card stock and punched it out with the Curly Label extra large punch.  I sponged the edges with Pretty In Pink ink and then sewed it onto the card with a zigzag stitch across the middle.  I added the rhinestone jewels for a bit of bling :)  I hope you like it!

Notably Ornate & Ornate Blossom Emboss Resist Background

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  A Little Cleansing Might Do Your Body Good :)

I confess!  I am a sugar addict!  Not the healthy, unrefined kind, but the swedish fish, jelly bean, twizzler's kind!  Once I get started it is hard to get me to stop and I end up feeling incredibly yucky with all of that sugar running through my veins.  So, every once in awhile, I decide enough is enough.  I give my body a break and go on a refined sugar fast.  I'm not ultra-crazy about hunting for all the hidden sugar in places like ketchup and bread.  But I do lay off of the candy, cookies, cakes and chocolate (yes, chocolate gets its own category separate and apart from candy!).  I have been on one of these sugar fasts for almost 4 weeks now.  It's amazing how quickly the craving subsides.  I was even able to get my Girl Scout cookies and not eat one!  Do you understand how difficult that would have been 5 weeks ago?! :)  I'm sure I'll indulge in sugar again, but for now I'm giving my body a rest and it sure feels good!
You are likely getting a little tired of my embossing craze, but I just can't help myself!  This card began with a Whisper White card stock panel.  I then heat embossed the Ornate Blossom stamp using Versamark and clear embossing powder.  Next came my direct-to-paper technique where I dragged the Pink Pirouette ink pad across the panel from top to bottom.  Then I did the same with the Sahara Sand ink pad.  I then inked up the En Francais background stamp with Sahara Sand ink and stamped the panel.  Next, I took the lined image from Notably Ornate stamp set and stamped it over everything with Bravo Burgundy ink.  I then used a tissue to wipe off the embossed area (the ornate blossom image) to remove the ink from the clear embossed area.l  The last stamping for the panel was the bird from Notably Ornate with Bravo Burgundy ink.  I tore the bottom of the panel and sewed it onto a Sahara Sand card base and did a little bit of decorative stitching at the bottom of the card.  If you don't have a sewing machine or just aren't into sewing, you can do faux stitching or paper piercing to add interest to the card.  Finally, I took the words "birthday" and "wishes" from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set and stamped them onto Pink Pirouette card stock with Bravo Burgundy ink.  I punched them out with the modern label punch, sponged the edges, and adhered them to the card using dimensionals.  I hope you like it! :)

Punch Bunch Owl Thank You

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Traveling Is Often Nice And Being Home Is The Best!

I travel quite a bit for work and the trips can be a fun adventure...and, at times, a bit of a challenge - especially if I am not in the right frame of mind!  What I realize though, is that even when the trips are a joy, nothing compares to being home :)  There is something about sleeping in my own bed, showering in my own shower and hearing the familiar sounds of the neighborhood that just make me smile :)  Dorothy had it right, there's no place like home :)
I've been in an embossing mood lately and this card didn't escape the latest craze :)  I began by heat embossing the owl from Punch Bunch with clear embossing powder on a Whisper White piece of card stock.  I then punched a 1 3/4" circle from scrap paper and used temporary adhesive to adhere it over the owl to act as a mask.  I then took my Crumb Cake ink pad and dragged it across the Whisper White card stock from top to bottom...multiple times.  I then did the same with my Soft Suede ink pad.  I inked up the Wood Grain background stamp with Early Espresso and stamped it over the piece of card stock to finish the tree look.  I removed the mask and then used the piece of scrap paper that I had punched the hole from as a reverse mask ie the paper covered everything except for the owl, and then I sponged over the owl with Basic Gray ink.  I removed the mask and wiped up the owl so that he was no longer dirty looking :)  I then gave him some googley eyes :)  I attached a piece of Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon to the card and then added 3 buttons with glue dots.  Finally, I stamped the greeting from the Engraved Greetings stamp set in Chocolate Chip.  I punched it out with the decorative label extra large punch and sponged the edges.  It was attached to the card using dimensionals.  The entire panel was then adhered to a Wild Wasabi card base.  I hope you like it :)