Four Ways Friday #62 - Itty Bitty Bits

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about the adorable stamp set Itty Bitty Bits!

You can create very simple cards just by stamping a single Itty Bitty Bits stamp!  Here I drew a few lines onto a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and then, with the help of the stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the little bird in Basic Black and Tempting Turquoise ink.  The greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes was inked with markers and then stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig.  The panel was adhered to a Basic Black panel and then dimensionals were used to pop the panel up on the Very Vanilla card base.

The Itty Bitty Bits images pair perfectly with the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack.  For this card I stamped the heart image onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock using Real Red ink.  I then punched them all out using the circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack.  The heart circles were then all adhered to a Real Red panel using pieces of dimensionals.  The heart panel was then adhered to a Whisper White panel using glue and then adhered to the Real Red card base using dimensionals.  Finally, the greeting from Short & Sweet was added with the stamp-a-ma-jig in Basic Black ink, with a rhinestone for some bling :)

These adorable images are wonderful accents for word cards!  Here I stamped the letters using the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set and Basic Black ink onto Very Vanilla card stock.  I then punched out the letters with the jewelry tag punch and sponged each tag with various colors of ink.  Next I did a bit of additional stamping onto the tags with images from the Tiny Tags stamp set.  I then stamped the Itty Bitty Bits images onto scraps of Very Vanilla card stock, punched them out with the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, and then adhered the bits to the jewelry tags.  The tags were then attached to the card base using a combination of dimensional pieces and glue.  Finally, I added a bit of bling with adhesive pearls and rhinestones.

For the final card I used the adorable cupcake image to create a background paper.  I cut a scrap of Very Vanilla card stock in a cupcake bottom shape and then stamped the cupcake image multiple times using Real Red ink.  I ran the shape through the crimper and sponged it using Rose Red ink.  I then punched a cupcake top using the 2 3/4" scallop circle punch and a piece of textured Soft Suede card stock.  I glued the top to the bottom and sponged the top, just a bit, with Chocolate Chip ink.  Next I added a few "chocolate" bugle beads using crystal effects.  I also added a paper-pieced candle and added a little glitter to make it sparkle.  The cupcake was adhered to the Rose Red panel with dimensionals.  Next I stamped the letters for "cake" onto Very Vanilla card stock and punched them out using the jewelry tag punch.  I then sponged the tags with Chocolate Chip ink.  I used my paper piercing tool to adhere the tags to the card stock with silver brads.  Next I adhered the Rose Red panel to a Chocolate Chip panel with dimensionals.  The card base is Crumb Cake card stock that was stamped with the Wonderfully Worn background stamp and Soft Suede ink.  I attached the cupcake panels with glue and then attached a piece of Melon Mango pompom trim using glue.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  Thank you for your patience today :)  I was on a trip this week and got home very late on Thursday evening...it was actually Friday morning already :)  Hope you have a wonderful, peaceful and creative weekend!!!!!

Four Ways Friday coming later today :)

Hope you'll check back later today...I'm a little late getting to Four Ways Friday :)

Fused Fiber Always Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sometimes You Need To Push The Flight Attendant Call Button

I have to warn you - today I'm going to vent a bit.  I travel on planes quite a bit for work and I have become increasingly frustrated by passengers that don't follow the instructions given by the flight crew.  One of the things that really irks me is when people do not turn off their electronic devices after being instructed to do so 1, 2 or even 3 times!  I know there are conflicting reports out there about how much interference the devices can actually cause on take-off and landing...and, I must say, I don't want the flight that I am on to be the test case for whether or not a cell phone, or combination of numerous cell phones, can interfere enough with airplane communication systems to cause issues.  Nor do I appreciate other passengers making that decision for me when they are told to turn off their devices.  On one of my small flights the other day I watched as the woman across the aisle from me turned her cell phone back on as we were just about to go down the runway for take-off.  It was too late to get the flight attendant to do something before take off, but on our approach for landing, when the woman turned her phone back on and starting tapping away on the keypad, I turned to her and reminded her that electronic devices needed to be turned off for landing.  She replied, "It's in airplane mode."  I responded that based on the regulation if it had an on/off switch it needed to be turned off.  She ignored me and kept typing away so I pushed my flight attendant call button (much to her surprise!).  The flight attendant arrived immediately and instructed the woman to turn off her phone.  Sometimes you just need to push the flight attendant call button...and stick up for your own safety as well.  Until the regulation changes, I have a feeling I might push that button a number more times - at least if my experience of people around me not turning off their devices continues to happen.  Thanks for sticking with me while I vented :)  I appreciate it :)  You can push your flight attendant call button if you want to turn my venting off :)
Today's card was an experiment I did with fusing fibers (and glitter and other scraps) and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I'm going to try to put together a video on how I did it (after I try to recreate how I did it!).  I combined the background with some stamping from the Always stamp set and the Sincere Salutations stamp set.  Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist are the predominant colors.  Here's a close up of the fused fiber background - I hope you like it!

Framed Tulips Mini Journal

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Read The Above Quote :)

When I had dinner with a friend a couple of week's ago, she shared with me that she was going through a challenging time in her life.  She also shared with me that the above quote from Anais Nin really spoke to her.  I will be seeing this special friend again this week and I decided she needed a special handmade gift :)  I looked up the quote on line (just to make sure I got it right).  This quote really spoke to me too.  I have definitely been through times in my life where the risk of remaining tight in the bud became much more painful than actually taking the risk to bloom - it's at these moments where we really show our strength and courage and faith.  Are you holding yourself back?  How painful is it?  Are you ready to bloom?
This mini journal began with a piece of 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" Bashful Blue card stock that I folded in half and sponged with Early Espresso ink.  I then stamped it with the delicate floral image from Tiny Tags.  I sewed on a piece of Chocolate Chip ribbon to act as a closure.  Next I took a piece of Pink Pirouette card stock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Framed Tulips embossing folder.  I than sponged it with Early Espresso ink and sewed it to the journal front with my sewing machine and gold metallic thread.  Next I used a combination of alphabet and word stamp sets to stamp the entire quote using Early Espresso ink.  Each piece was sponged and then adhered to the card using either glue or dimensionals.  I then made the inside pages from recycled paper and stamped the inside using a retired stamp set called Bella's Bloom.  Here are a few photos of the inside cover and the inside pages.  I hope you like it :)

Happiness For You Note Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Will Be In Exactly The Right Place At The Right Time

Yesterday was a reminder to me of how we end up exactly where we need to be at exactly the right moment.  Two particular incidents stick out in my mind from yesterday.  The first was when I was in the craft room, doing my own thing, when Buddy started going bonkers.  Turned out one of our dog-walking friends was at the front door to say hello.  I invited her out onto the back porch and we sat and chatted and caught up on what had been going on for each of us.  Being on the back porch had not been a part of plan, and I'm so glad it was where I was...because along came a hummingbird!!!!  That is a very rare happening for us - we have seen two since we have lived here.  Had I not been outside at that precise moment, I would not have seen the fleeting bird.  Later in the day I was in the exact right place again.  We were walking Buddy and came across another dog-walking friend.  We began chatting about bike riding and ended up exchanging numbers so we can plan a ride together this weekend!  These unplanned meetings - with nature and friends - remind me yet again that I will always be in exactly the place I need to be at exactly the right time - whether I plan it or not :)
Today's 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" little card will be accompanying a gift that I will be giving to a friend this week.  I will share the little gift with you tomorrow :)  The colors I used are Pink Pirouette, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso.  I love using the stamps from Fabulous Phrases to create my own greetings.  Here I stamped the words on two separate decorate label punches, cut them in half and then adhered them under the ribbon on the card.  I did a lot of sponging on this card - no surface was safe :)  I also used the delicate floral stamp from Tiny Tags to add some flowers to the tag.  I ran a scrap of Bashful Blue card stock through the Big Shot with the Framed Tulips embossing folder and then sewed it to the card with my sewing machine and gold metallic thread.  I used a piece of retired Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon - I still love it :)  Finally, I added a few tiny adhesive pearls.  Hope you like it :)

Nature Walk Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Face The Big Hills!

Yesterday I went for a bike ride and I faced the biggest hill yet on my exploration into the sport of road biking.  It's funny - I had ridden down the hill at the beginning of the ride and it felt so simple :)  I had forgotten about it when, about an hour and ten minutes later, there it was, staring me down.  I decided I had to face it and up I went.  Push by push; pedal by pedal - trying to keep some kind of rhythm.  I have to admit that I had a tinge of disappointed when I realized I was in my easiest gear possible and still had hill to climb.  But I decided then and there that I wasn't going to give up - I was going to face that big hill - just keep going my own pace - riding my own ride - up, up, up...I stayed seated the whole time - not wanting to expend the extra energy it would take to stomp on those pedals standing up.  I sat and...I made it!!!!!  What an amazing feeling - to face the big hill and make it up and over!  The next hill I came to actually felt like a downhill!  I had slayed the dragon and everything else was less frightening :)  I hope I can approach my life with this same determination - face the big hills and recognize that once I get over them, everything else will feel like a breeze :)
Today's card was inspired by bits and pieces on the craft table.  I spent time this weekend working on submissions for a magazine (I am keeping my hopes up!) and as I was putting things away, off of the craft table, I decided to put these items together to make a card.  The Very Vanilla card base is 5: x 5: square.  I added a strip of Marina Mist card stock and a piece of Victoria Lace ribbon, tied with a piece of hemp twine.  The bee from Nature Walk was stamped with Basic Black ink and cut out and then colored in using stampin' pastels.  I attached it to the card with dimensionals.  Finally I stamped the greeting from Sincere Salutations using Basic Black ink.  I hope you like it!  Now go face that big hill!