Four Ways Friday #42 - So Cute Stamp Set & Faux Frosting Video!

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about the So Cute stamp set...and this stamp set definitely lives up to its name!

Cupcakes are all the rage right now and being able to make them look good enough to eat right off of your paper project is a neat trick!  Here is a video to show you how I made this card - particularly how to make that yummy faux frosting!

For this second card I decided to simply stamp the adorable pea pod image and color it in using Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi markers.  I did add a touch of Crystal Effects to give the peas dimension.  The "hello" comes from the "hello baby" stamp in the Teeny Tiny Wishes set.  I just inked up the word "hello" with my Basic Black marker and stamped it.  The color combination for this card is So Saffron and Wild Wasabi.

 This cuddly bunny is perfect for an Easter card!  Here I stamped him in Basic Black ink and used the "faux frosting" technique from the video above to make some "faux fur!"  Here is a close up so you can see how puffy the bunny is:

I used Wild Wasabi and Pink Pirouette card stock and ran the Whisper White card base through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder in the Big Shot.  The Wild Wasabi card stock was scalloped using the scallop edge punch and then layered one on top of the other.

I went NUTS for the little peanut stamp :)  It inspired me to make a whole bag of nuts and create this fun greeting :)  I broke down the fibers in a piece of Sahara Sand card stock by curling it with my bone folder over and over until the card stock started to look "aged."  I then sponged it with Soft Suede ink on a sponge and cut it out to make it look like a bag.  The word "peanut" was stamped with Soft Suede onto a small piece of Sahara Sand and glued to the peanut bag.  I stamped the peanuts with a combination of Versamark and Soft Suede ink and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.  I then cut them all out - which was really easy since the peanut shape isn't very complicated :)  I added them to the Natural Ivory card base using glue and dimensionals.  The greeting was made with a combination of stamp sets.  The "I'm" and the "you" are from different stamps in the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  The "nuts" was spelled out using the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set and then punched out using the small circle from the trio punch set.  Finally, the "about" is from the Wild About You (retired) stamp set.  I sponged all of the edges of the greetings letters & words and attached them using a combination of glue and dimensionals.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I had a lot of fun making these cards!  I hope you have a wonderful and creative weekend!!!!!

En Pointe Card Set (Cont'd)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Color Your World!

One of the best things I ever did for myself after breaking up with a boyfriend (this was a long time ago!) was to paint my bedroom a beautiful shade of blue!  I was living in an apartment at the time and had boring eggshell-colored walls that never made me smile.  I had dreamed about a periwinkle blue color, but had every excuse for why I shouldn't do it - I didn't know how to paint a room; the apartment complex would charge me when I moved out; maybe it wouldn't look good on the walls.  Well, all it took was that break-up to get me motivated enough to do something for myself!  And boy did that blue look AMAZING!!!!  I lived with it every day for the remaining time in the apartment (which turned out to be years, not months) and actually, I have taken that color with me and painted a certain room that same color in the homes I have lived in since.  I'm still not tired of it and it represents doing something wonderful for myself!  How can you color your world?
I wanted to share with you a few more of the cards that I made with the En Pointe stamp set.  And yes, I decided to color them :)  Here I heat embossed the image with black embossing powder and colored the image using my Stampin' Write markers.  The greeting is from Fabulous Phrases.

I colored this image too, and then added some sewing.  The text comes from an old book I had that I love to cut words out of - I found this whole paragraph about dancing and couldn't resist :)  I hope you like it!

En Pointe Card Set

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Do What You Have To Do

I know some of you are going to laugh at this post, but if you have ever had to try to give a cat a pill, you will understand what I have to say.  My cat is on 2 medications right now for an illness.  When we were at the vet and he was starting her on her medication he put her on the exam table and held her head with one hand and opened her mouth with the other and popped the pills right in!  He said, "You see?  It's easy!"  Yeah right!  There was no way it was going to go that easily at home!  So, we started devising ways to hide the pill in all sorts of food to try to get the pills into her.  Cheese, melted cheese, tuna, tuna with mayo, salmon, chicken - you name it, we tried it.  And each one worked....for awhile.  And then she was on to us.  One day we had thrown away a couple of pills just trying to get her to try them in different foods.  And then my mothering instincts took over.  I knew she needed the pills and she wasn't taking them.  Next thing I knew, I was on the floor with her and I had her backed up against my legs and I was holding her head with one hand and popping the pills into her mouth with the other!  Just like the vet!  Sometimes you do what you have to do :)  It's been working great ever since...and we still give her a little treat afterwards just so she knows we're not torturing her for nothing :)
I have a beautiful aunt who is an amazing dancer and when I saw the retired En Pointe stamp set, I knew it was something I had to have in order to make cards for her.  I just completed my first set of cards for her so I'm going to share them with you over the next few days.  Some use retired stamp sets and others incorporate some current sets.  Hopefully you can find some inspiration in the cards :)  This first one is so simple.  I inked up the greeting and the ballerina with versamark and then Basic Gray.  I stamped onto the card and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  So simple and yet so elegant!

I kept this one simple too!  Just stamped with Basic Gray and added some dazzling diamonds to the ballet shoes and then mounted it onto a piece of Basic Gray card stock.  The greeting, from Happy Harmony (retired), was stamped directly on the card.  Here is another card using a different image from En Pointe and a different greeting from Happy Harmony.  I hope you like them!

Friends Fur-ever "Sorry Life's Ruff" Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Don't Go Jogging At Night - And Definitely Not With Headphones On!

I get so angry that as women we have to be cognizant of when and where we head out on our own (and that I even feel the need to write posts like this one). Maybe I'm so aware of it since I was assaulted when I was a teenager.  It was broad daylight - tons of people around - and yet I was still followed and assaulted.  I learned from that experience to trust my instincts since my gut kept telling me something wasn't right and I ignored it.  What I also learned is that I don't want to actively contribute to putting myself in situations that might invite danger.  It makes me mad and yet, as a woman, I do not feel it is safe to go out alone at night for a run - especially wearing headphones that prevent you from hearing what's around you.  And yet, sometimes, we just need to get out and we take our chances.  I am so sorry to say that about a week ago there was a woman who was assaulted in a park not far from where I live.  It was 8 pm and she was alone.  I don't know if she had headphones on.  What I do know is that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I feel for her.  Please don't risk experiencing what this woman had to experience.  Please take a buddy with you or find someplace safe to go.  I wish we didn't have to think about it - maybe one day we won't.  In the meantime, please do what you can to keep yourself safe.
Today's card is quick and simple to make!  I ran the So Saffron card through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder to give it some texture.  I then used my 2 1/2" circle punch to punch out 2 circles of designer paper and then cut the blue one and placed it over the green one to form a sky and ground for the dog.  I stamped the dog with Basic Black onto Whisper White card stock and cut him out.  I colored his collar and added a bit of bling with dazzling diamonds.  I stamped the bowl with Basic Black ink and colored it in with a marker and cut it out.  I added it to the card with 1/2 a dimensional and then covered it with crystal effects.  The greeting was stamped onto Whisper White card stock and then cut out, word by word, and adhered to the card with white glue.  I hope you like it!

Friends Fur-ever Dream Big!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  The Minute You Think You Have It Under Control, It Sneaks Up On You!

So you know what I said last week...that I had the retired stamp set addiction under control?  Well, I was sorely mistaken!  Ugh!  I'm now quite frustrated with myself.  I'm spending too much time staring at the computer screen looking at all those stamp sets...and I do know what it's about...it's about not creating.  It's funny how the "steal your creativity away" monster sneaks up on me.  He's very cunning!  Sometimes he comes in the excuse of "you need to clean up the craft room before you can create!"  Sometimes he whispers, "you need the next new craft item before you can create something worthwhile!"  Sometimes he just tells me I'm tired and that I don't have a creative notion in my head!  I really thought I had him under control, but now he's taken on the guise of, "you need to sit in front of your computer screen because you may just miss the next retired stamp auction!"  It's funny to think that all of these on-line auctions were going on long before I discovered them or decided to pay attention to them.  And while I'm happy to have acquired a few more sets, I really don't know that it's been worth the cost of spending way too much time in front of my screen and not enough time creating.  So today I begin the battle again - against the "steal your creativity away" monster!!!!  Wish me luck!!!!!
I thought it appropriate to share this card today since it is a combination of the old and the new.  I combined the Friends Fur-ever stamp set with the Think Big (retired) set and here's what came out!  I also decided to make a single layer card and added a bit of Crystal Effects on the bones and bowl and an added button for dimension.  A touch of dazzling diamonds add some bling to his color.  I hope you like it :)  I am off to slay the monster!!! :)