Four Ways Friday #46 - Double Cog XL Punch

Have you ever bought an item that has just sat in your craft space and you look at it and wonder, "Why did I buy that?"  That's what the Double Cog XL punch has been for me...until now!  I decided to challenge myself to make it the focus of this week's Four Ways Friday and now I am actually excited about this punch!

Okay, so it didn't take much to stretch my imagination to use the cogs with a stamp set that already has gears in it!  Here I punched the cogs out of Very Vanilla card stock and then sponged them with Soft Suede ink and teamed them up with the Sense of Time stamp set.  The clock and greeting were stamped in Early Espresso and the gears in Soft Suede.  I added a bit of sponging and spritzing to the clock along with a few brads in the clock centers.  The card base is Natural Ivory (LOVE this color!).

If this card doesn't make you smile then you are definitely in need of a vacation :)  The cogs seemed to look like big monster truck tires (and no, I don't spend my spare time at monster truck rallies...not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with spending your spare time at monster truck rallies...and somehow I still thought "tires!" when I started playing with these cogs!).  Here I punched the cogs out of basic black card stock and applied Crystal Effects to them to make them shine!  I teamed them up with the truck from Loads of Love - I used my basic black marker to ink up the stamp only on the parts of the truck that I wanted and then stamped it onto Whisper White card stock, cut it out, and colored it in with Poppy Parade marker and a touch of silver marker (non-SU).  I also added some crystal effects to the windows after stamping the man from Loads of Love Accessories.  A strip of Basic Gray card stock became the road and the "live big" is from the Think Big stamp set (retired).

As I was playing around with the cogs, I started layering them and realized that cogs could be flowers!  Here I punched out multiple cogs from random designer series paper scraps.  For each flower I layered and adhered 2 of the large cogs.  For the centers I adhered one small cog onto the circle center punch from one of the large cogs.  I then adhered these to the card with dimensionals.  I added a rhinestone jewel in the center of each flower for a bit of bling.  For the stems I did a bit of sewing on the sewing machine.  The leaves were cut from the 5-petal flower punch and then scored down the center with a bone folder.  The greeting is from the Something To Celebrate hostess set.

Don't robots need cogs too?!?! :)  Here I cut up a few of the cogs to make arms and eyelashes.  The small cogs were great for eyes!  I did a bit of economical stamping too - I used the larger cap from my Tombo glue as a stamp to make the rectangular body shapes and cut them out.  I also did some stamping with the tube from my paper piercing tool to make the stamped circles around the eyes.  The greeting is from Alphabet Soup (retired).  I covered the eyes, small circles, arms, and "feet" with Crystal Effects to make them shine!
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!!  I had a lot of fun playing around with a punch that sat for many months gathering dust.  I hope this inspires you to look at the Double Cog XL punch in some new ways!!!  Have a wonderful and creative weekend!!!!!

Bird Feeder Scene Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sit And Watch The Birds

We visited a friend the other day and found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, looking out the window at the bird feeders and the birds.  There used to be a beautiful cherry tree out the window and when the cherry tree came to the end of its life, our friend just didn't have the heart to take the whole tree down.  So, he left part of the trunk to serve as a place to hang bird feeders.  The birds love it!  I find watching birds to be one of my most favorite ways to relax.  Sitting here at the computer I can look out my window at a bird bath that gets frequented by robins.  When I am in the craft room I can look out the window at the back yard and watch all of the feeders and a different bird bath.  I have thought numerous times of moving my craft room to another location in the house in order to have more space, however the ability to sit and watch the birds as I create is too beautiful to give up!  When was the last time you sat and watched the birds?
As you have probably guessed, today's card is a thank you card that we are sending to our friends for the perfect day we spent with them in the kitchen, looking out the window.  I used the Season of Friendship stamp set to create the tree trunk - I just inked part of the stamp with a Chocolate Chip maker and stamped onto Whisper White card stock.  The feeders were drawn free-hand and then cut out.  I attached them to the card with dimensionals and then poked holes in the card to thread wire and hemp twine as the "hangers."  I added a touch of crystal effects to both feeders.  The background was sponged with Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery.  I then stamped the far tree from the Le Jardin Botanique (retired) stamp set after coloring the stamp with Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, and Old Olive markers.  The grass and the little black bird are from the Sunshine of Life (retired) stamp set.  I stamped the grass at half strength using Old Olive ink.  The bird in the tree is from the Bliss (retired Sale-a-bration) stamp set.  I stamped him with Early Espresso and then colored him with a touch of Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake.  The greeting from Happy Harmony (retired) was stamped in Basic Black.  The panel was mounted onto a piece of Poppy Parade card stock and then onto a Certainly Celery card base.  I hope you like it :)

A Few More Elegant Ice Note Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Find A Way To Carry Something You Make With You

The other day I was reading a magazine that I had brought with me on the plane and I became aware that I was holding one of the cloth bookmarks I had made in my hand and I was feeling the fabric between my fingers as I was reading.  It brought a smile to my face - looking down at the bookmark and recalling the steps I had gone through to make it.  As I felt the soft fabric between my fingers it almost transported me to the craft room!  It made me realize that although I was not in the craft room, I could always carry a little piece of it with me on the road :)  I have also started carrying one of my small handmade journals with me as well.  I used to carry a plain old spiral notebook, but I find that having my personal, handmade one creates that same feeling of comfort - that sense of being home :)  What piece of your art can you carry with you?
Today's card is part of the ice skating set that I made for my friend for her birthday.  I once again used the Elegant Ice (retired) stamp set.  Here I stamped the ice dancers onto Whisper White card stock using Basic Black ink.  I then used a hobby blade to cute out the image.  It looks tedious, but if you have a nice sharp blade, you can work pretty quickly, even on an intricate image like this one.  I mounted the cut out image to the So Saffron card stock using cut up dimensionals.  Here is the final card that was a part of the set:

Here I stamped the skater and colored her dress and skin using markers.  I then added a bit of dazzling diamonds to her dress with 2-way glue.  I stamped the medal and used a gold metallic marker (not SU) to color the medal and a marker to color the ribbon.  I then mounted it to the panel with dimensionals and then added crystal effects to make the medal shine!  The greeting is from Fabulous Phrases and was stamped, with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig, with Basic Black ink.  I hope you like both cards!

Elegant Ice (Retired) Note Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Go The Other Direction

On my morning walk with Buddy, we traditionally go in the same direction.  I find that on certain days it's like I'm on auto-pilot - like someone else or something else is guiding my body in that direction.  So I decided to change things up and reverse the route!  It was absolutely refreshing!  It's funny - when you walk in the same direction in a neighborhood, you tend to see things from the same vantage point.  When you reverse the route, you see things so differently!  Instead of seeing front doors, we were looking at backyards :)  I think the same can be true with how we approach making a card.  We may get into a habit with how we create - maybe we pick the colors first; or the stamp set first; or the layout.  Whatever it is you do first when you create, try going in a different direction - start where you don't normally start - you may like what you see!
I have a very close friend who is a skating instructor and I knew I had to create some skating cards for her for her birthday!  I purchased the retired Elegant Ice stamp set and had a lot of fun!!!!  Here I stamped the skater image once and cut it out.  Then I stamped her dress a second time, after coloring directly on the stamp with Rose Red and Pink Pirouette markers.  I then cut out the dress and adhered it to the first cut-out image.  I colored her skin using markers.  I then stamped the greeting from Warm Words (retired) with VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Finally, I adhered the skater to the card using dimensionals.  Here are a few different versions of the card...

One Stamp Wonders #2 - Live Laugh Love Birthday Card & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Read A Good Book And Then Recycle It!

Have you heard about Paperback Swap?  It is a great website where you can list and trade your books!  Here's how it works.  You list books on the site and if another member requests a book from you, you mail it to them free of charge and you pay the shipping via media mail.  Once they receive the book, you receive one credit.  You can then use your credit to request a book from any other paperback swap member and, once you request it, they send you the book for free and they pay the shipping!  I have been participating for a number of months now and it really works!!!!  If you decide to give it a try, feel free to let them know I sent you :)  It's a great way to enjoy reading and to do so economically!  (I fully support using the library too!!!!).
Today's card is also about how to reduce, reuse and recycle!  In this second video of One Stamp Wonders, I show you how to use just one rubber stamp to create a beautiful and easy card!  I hope you enjoy the video!