Four Ways Friday #55 - With All My Heart

This week's Four Ways Friday uses the With All My Heart stamp set.  This is one of those stamp sets that seems to sit on the shelf for me, so I figured it was about time to pull it down and see what I could whip up!

I began simply.  Here I used Night Of Navy ink and stamped it at full and half strength onto Whisper White card stock.  I then punched out the images using the 1 1/4" circle punch.  The circles were then adhered to the 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" card base using dimensionals.  Finally, some rhinestones were added to the centers of the circles.

I was sneaky with this card!  Can you see what I did?  I took a piece of Regal Rose card stock and randomly stamped the larger floral image from the stamp set over and over again, overlapping, using Melon Mambo ink.  I then used my heart punch to punch out the stamped card stock (pretty tricky, huh?!) :)  The small 3 x 3 card was run through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The greeting was stamped in Rich Razzleberry and then cut out as a banner.  The Daffodil Delight circle and the heart were adhered with dimensionals and the banner with glue.

I don't know about you, but I can get stuck in color ruts - using the same old favorites again and again.  To get myself out of that rut, I closed my eyes and reached into my card stock scrap box and pulled out two colors:  Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise.  You've gotta love the gift of chance!  I stamped the Old Olive panel with the larger image in Tempting Turquoise ink.  Then I stamped the smaller images onto Whisper White using Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive and cut the larger ones out and punched out the small ones.  The 3/8" twill ribbon was stamped with Tempting Turquoise ink as well.  I then used my Boho Blossoms punch to punch some flowers in Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive as well.  The flowers were added to the card with dimensionals and glue.  The final touch was a dash of dazzling diamonds on the background.

I love using images to create backgrounds and this small image was great for that purpose!  I stamped the image at 1/3 strength using Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso on Sahara Sand card stock.  I then spritzed the card with the color spritzer tool and my Early Espresso marker and sponged all of the edges with Early Espresso.  I did a touch of machine stitching around the edges with gold metallic thread.  I then stamped the larger floral image at 1/3 strength on a scrap of Sahara Sand card stock.  I spritzed it as well.  I then stamped the "friend" stamp after coloring it with both the Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso markers.  The piece was punched out with the decorative label punch and then sponged with Early Espresso ink.  I layered this piece on top of a piece of Early Espresso card stock that I had torn and then sewn to the card.  On top of that was a piece of Cherry Cobbler seam binding that I gathered using sticky strip before placing the label on top with dimensionals.  Finally, I added an antique brad with glue dots, after cutting off the prongs with my Craft & Rubber scissors.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday and I hope it inspires you to dust off a stamp set that you have a tendency not to use!  I hope you have a peaceful and wonderfully creative weekend!!!!

Vintage Vogue & Curly Cute Congrats Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Scale Back

Wow - talk about a lesson I need to keep relearning!  It can be so easy to add to the piles of stuff - craft stuff, house stuff, pet stuff.  The same can be true with cards.  I can get into a space where I feel like I need to keep adding and adding and adding - layers, embellishments, interest, bling...the list is endless.  So sometimes it is great to just scale back - in life and in your art.  To look at what you can do more simply.  This card is a result of that thought (although you might notice a few rhinestones and a bit of dazzling diamonds...I couldn't help myself!).
I stamped the Vintage Vogue floral line stamp in Chocolate Chip ink onto Naturals Ivory card stock using the stamp-a-ma-jig.  I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig again to center the greeting from Curly Cute over the floral line image. The single flower came next.  I then added just a touch of sparkle with a few rhinestones and a dash of dazzling diamonds.  I know I will continue on my quest to scale back...hopefully this card gets me one step closer!

Fifth Avenue Floral Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Study Something Up Close
We compost and, as a result, we often have little plants that sprout up in the garden that we didn't intentionally plant.  Somehow, in some miraculous way, the seeds from the different things we compost will survive the winter and some will take hold in the soil and grow.  We have been anxiously watching a green stalk grow up in the strawberry bed and had been wondering what in the heck it was!  Sometimes, we will satisfy our curiosity by not disturbing these renegade plants.  Rather, we will wait patiently to see what they are.  Well, look what popped open the other day in our strawberry bed...

What an amazing surprise!!!!!  We think it is some type of sunflower - just not the huge variety...and we have no earthly idea where the seed came from!  It's possible it was from a composted bouquet of flowers at some time during the winter.  It has been an adventure studying it up close - from the time it was just a green sprout in the ground.  It is changing every day - and we are changing each day with it!
Today's card is perfect for this flower - since it will live for awhile in our backyard and then, when it dies, it will find it's way back into the compost pile.  While, this flower will only live once (although we hope some of his seeds will find their way back into the garden next season, he has definitely done living right! :)  The card was made using the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.  I stamped the flower using Jet Black Staz-On onto Naturals Ivory card stock.  I then colored in the sections with two different colors of colored pencil.  I then glittered the lighter pink sections using dazzling diamonds.  The darker sections were enhanced with Crystal Effects.  I hope you like it :)

Artistic Etchings & With All My Heart Journal

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Don't Have To Reinvent The Wheel

Every time I sit down at the craft table I see the blank card, canvas, project staring back at me.  Sometimes I feel the pressure to be brilliant, brand new, inventive - to create something somehow that has never been done before.  What I am finding, is that sometimes it's nice to reinvent what you have already made - to build upon it or change it - to make it into something new.  This journal was my way of not reinventing the wheel.  I looked at a journal I had made in the past - one that I really liked from a design standpoint - and I decided to remake one using a similar layout, but different stamps and colors.
For this journal I used the Artistic Etchings stamp set for the design elements and the sentiment from With All Your Heart.  I used a combination of Bravo Burgundy and Soft Suede ink and card stock, with some striped Early Espresso ribbon thrown in.  I also did some sewing with metallic gold thread.  Here is how things look on the inside:

I added some beads and a few self-adhesive rhinestones for a bit of bling...and then I mailed the journal off to a very special person :)  Remember, you don't have to reinvent the wheel.  Using pieces that you've created as a launching point for a new project may take you in the exact right direction!

Eraser Stamping Birthday Card & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Go For A Bike Ride!!!!

Did you watch the Tour de France????  Had you asked me that question about 6 years ago I would likely have responded, "The what?!?!"  That all changed about 6 years ago when I happened upon the channel that was broadcasting the bike race and I got hooked!  I'm not sure what it was that drew me in - maybe how the group of bikers (the peloton) moved together like a swarm of bees.  Or maybe it was just all that lycra?  Either way, it captivated me and I have watched every year since!  It is almost impossible to watch the stages of the Tour de France without getting totally motivated to get on a bike and ride!  No, you don't have to go out and buy all the fancy gear or the $12,000 Trek Madone bike (can you imagine?!).  Just dust off whatever bike is leaning up against the wall in your garage and take it for a spin!  It made me feel like a kid again, minus the banana seat and the tassels hanging from the handlebars :)  I am looking forward to taking more journeys on my bike and feeling the wind in my face!  How 'bout you?
Today's card was inspired by the need to make a quick birthday card.  I looked through my stamps and the tree stamp from Season of Friendship called out to me...as did a pencil eraser :)  Pencil erasers are a great addition to your stamp collection!  Here is a video to show you how I made this card - Enjoy!!!