Four Ways Friday #65 - Bigz Clear Large Scallop Square

Thanks for your patience in waiting for this week's Four Ways Friday!  This week's Four Ways Friday is all about the Large Scallop Square die!  I had a lot of fun coming up with four different ways to put this die to great use!

I began by making a card :)  But it's the only one you'll see for this Four Ways Friday!  I cut a piece of vellum and ran it through the Big Shot with the scallop square die and then ran it through the Big Shot again with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.  I adhered the panel to a 5"x5" Soft Suede card using glue in the corners.  I then added the adhesive pearls to the corners to cover the glue.  I stamped the greeting from Upsy Daisy using Soft Suede ink onto Very Vanilla card stock and punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch.  I punched a piece of Soft Suede using the large scallop circle punch and then layered the greeting on top using glue.  I added a few adhesive pearls and a knot of Victoria trim.  Finally I attached the greeting to the card using dimensionals.

This second project is so easy to make and soooo cute :)  I just ran a piece of cork through the Big Shot with the square scallop die to make this small cork board!  Next I took some standard push pins and added some flowers that were punched using the Boho Blossoms punch.  I punched holes in the center of the flowers using the crop-a-dile and stretched them a bit to fit them over the push pins.  I reinforced the 3 layers of flowers using glue and then tied a small bow using crochet thread.  Finally I added a few adhesive rhinestones for bling!

The scallop square die lends itself really well to being a box top!  For this project I die cut two of the squares from Perfect Plum card stock.  I sprayed the top piece with some Champagne Shimmer Mist paint mixed with alcohol and also with a bit of Basic Black (using my spritzer tool) and Elegant Eggplant (mixed with water in a small spray bottle).  I sponged the edges of the top and bottom squares using Basic Black ink.  Next I created the scrunchy flower by punching five scallop squares from Basic Black card stock, spraying them with water, and scrunching them.  Once they were dry I piled them one on top of the other and used the paper piercing tool to punch through the flowers and the top square and attached a rhinestone brad.  The cat was stamped from the Batty For You stamp set and punched out and mounted on a Pumpkin Pie circle.  The label is from the Lots of Tags sizzlits and was die cut from Very Vanilla card stock and then stamped with images from Baroque Motifs using Perfect Plum and Basic Black ink.  I then stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes using Basic Black ink onto watercolor paper and cut it out to make the banner.  The banner was adhered to the tag using dimensionals.  I then sponged a piece of watercolor paper using Pumpkin Pie ink and stamped the "boo" from Tiny Tags and punched it out with a 1" circle punch.  I added an adhesive rhinestone and pierced a tiny hole before attaching the tag to the larger tag with crochet thread.  Finally, I decorated the top with a couple of pieces of ribbon adhered with sticky strip and the embellished with a small Pumpkin Pie button.  Here is a close up of the top:

I created a template to make the box itself (I'll try to film a video next week so you can see how I did it!  Here is a view of the side of the box...I can't wait to fill it with candy!!!!

For this last project I turned to fabric!!!!  Don't forget that your Bigz dies can easily cut through fabric!  I used the Deck The Halls designer fabric and cut two squares (you can cut through quite a few layers easily with this die).  I then took the top square and embellished it with a layer of unbleached muslin, a piece of Very Vanilla satin ribbon, a large button and a small muslin piece that I stamped with the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set and some Staz-On ink.  I then sewed the squares together using my sewing machine and some gold metallic thread.  I left a small opening so I could stuff this mini pillow with fiber fill and then hand-sewed the opening closed with the same gold metallic thread.  Finally, I cut each of the scallops with a scissor to give the edges a bit of a rough finish.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I thank you again for your patience - these projects took me a bit longer than my standard cards and, I feel, were well worth the effort!  I hope you have a beautiful and creative weekend!!!!!!

Four Ways Friday Coming A Bit Later Today!

Hi!  Thanks for stopping by!  I am running a little late with posting Four Ways Friday today.  I will be posting the projects later today - please check back in a little while!  Thanks!!!!

DTP Dry Emboss Sanded Technique Dasher Merry Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  How Can You Take It Up A Notch?

When I create I often ask myself, "How can I take it up a notch?"  This card was a result of that question!  I began by using the technique I shared with you on Monday - the Direct To Paper (DTP) Dry Emboss Sanded Technique (maybe I should call it the DTPDES technique instead?  It would be easier to type :)  I took a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock and covered it with Garden Green ink using the DTP technique.  I then ran the piece through the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty embossing folder.  Next, I sanded the heck out of the raised portions using my sanding block.  Now here comes the "taking it up a notch!"  I used my sponge and Rose Red ink to sponge the raised portions that I had just sanded.  This allowed me to create this dual-color effect for this technique!  Yeah! :)  I then adhered the panel to a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" Rose Red card base.  Dasher was then stamped onto a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock using Rose Red ink.  I punched it out using the square scallop punch and then stamped the sentiment from Tiny Tags repeatedly using Garden Green ink.  I also sponged the edges with the Garden Green ink.  I attached the square to the card front using dimensionals.  Finally, I knotted a small piece of gold elastic through the Rose Red button and attached it to the square using mini glue dots.  I hope you like it!  I wonder how I can take it up one more notch???  Any ideas??? :)

DTP Dry Emboss Sanded Technique On Your Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Jot It Down!

I don't know about you, but I have random thoughts that come to me during my waking and sleeping hours.  And, even though they are my thoughts and you would think I would remember them, I know that if I don't jot my ideas down they risk being lost forever.  So I try my best to have a small notebook handy - in my purse, beside my bed - so that when these thoughts and ideas come to me, I can catch them, like bubbles floating in the air - so that I can refer to them later and bring the ideas into reality.  The idea for this background (the video of which I shared with you yesterday) was one such thought and I'm so glad I captured it!  Remember to jot it down - you never know when you'll decide to act on it!
Today's card began with a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock and a Not Quite Navy ink pad.  I did the direct to paper (DTP) technique and covered the card stock with the ink.  I then ran the small piece through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Next I took my sanding block and sanded the heck out of the card stock - removing the raised layer of ink.  I then adhered the panel to a Naturals Ivory card base with glue.  Next I stamped the hand from On Your Birthday using Early Espresso ink on Naturals Ivory card stock and punched it out using the decorative label punch.  I then sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink.  I used the same punch to punch a half punch of designer series paper and adhered the paper to the edge of the embossed panel.  The sentiment was then adhered using dimensionals and a small clip was added to the corner.  Finally, I knotted a small piece of Early Espresso ribbon to the corner.  I hope you like it! :)

Direct To Paper Dry Emboss Sanded Technique Card & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Keep Track Of Your Progress - It Can Really Motivate You!!!!

Whether you are growing, day by day, in your creative endeavors or making progress on other goals in your life, keeping track of that progress can be a real motivator!!!!  I know that when I look back on my early paper crafting pictures and projects I am amazed by how far I have come and the amount of creative energy I have released into the Universe!!!  With my latest exercise endeavor - the P90X videos - I have been equally amazed by my progress so far!  I know it has only been 6 workouts, but in that time I did 3 of the ab workouts.  In just those 3 times I went from not being able to do the first ab exercise AT ALL to being able to do 20 reps of that particular exercise!!!!!  It makes me realize that although my start may be slow, I can make progress and move forward!  Keep track of your progress - no matter how small - it can really motivate you!!!!!
Today's card employs a technique that popped into my head on one of my morning walks!  I really love how it turned out!  Since Stampin' Up! does not make white-core card stock, I decided to add color to a light color card stock and then sand away the color to get a similar effect.  Here is a video to show you how I created the card!  I hope you like it!

Just Hanging Out

Buddy and I have decided to relax and take a day off :)  It was a busy weekend and my body is exhausted.  My P90X update is that I have done 5 workouts so far (I missed a day since I was not feeling well one day last week).  I also took a 2-hour bike ride as well as a hike over the past few days and my body is a bit sore (which is a little bit of an understatement!).  I am feeling good though - like I am doing something great for my body (even if it doesn't appreciate it quite yet).  So, today is a day off - a rest day - and I plan to be back tomorrow with renewed energy :)  Hope you have a wonderful day!!!!!