Four Ways Friday #70 - Vintage Vogue

For this week's Four Ways Friday I decided to play around with the Vintage Vogue stamp set and to combine that playing with the idea of keeping things pretty clean and simple.  I hope you enjoy what I came up with!

The first card is simple, simple, simple!  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and stamped the floral image twice with Marina Mist ink - once facing up and then facing down.  I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig again to line up the greeting and stamped it using Jet Black Staz-On ink.  The final touch was to add a bit of dazzling diamonds with a 2-way glue pen.  So simple!

 

For this second card I kept things super simple!  Here I stamped the vine image using Pear Pizazz ink.  Next I stamped the smaller flower using Regal Rose ink at full and half strength.  I love how the vine image mimics the stems of flowers.  Finally, the greeting was stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig and Jet Black Staz-On ink.  Making a matching envelope is quick and easy and really adds a special touch (and it gives the postal agent something pretty to look at :).

I love using stamps to create background papers and the Vintage Vogue images create great backgrounds!  Here I stamped the smaller floral image and the leaf image over and over using Perfect Plum and Wild Wasabi ink at full and half strength.  If you see some blue or other color showing through it is because I began by spraying the card stock with a mixture of ink and water.  I then let it dry and then began all of my flower and leaf stamping.  I love how it provides some added depth to the background.  The greeting is from Pennant Parade and was stamped with Perfect Plum and then punched and layered on top of a larger circle punch and a scallop circle punch.  I added some adhesive rhinestones to give the card some bling :)  The background and the greeting were adhered to a Wild Wasabi panel which was then adhered to a Whisper White card base.

Watercolor techniques work great with floral images!  Here I colored directly on the small flower stamp with markers (Rich Razzleberry and Pacific Point).  I then sprayed the colored stamp with water before stamping the image onto watercolor paper.  I repeated this process multiple times, overlapping the flowers as I went.  I allowed the piece to dry and then cut out the floral image using scissors and a hobby blade.  I punched out the center of the flowers using the crop-a-dile.  The piece was then adhered to a piece of designer paper (Brights pattern stack) using glue and the entire panel was then adhered to a Tempting Turquoise card base.  Adhesive rhinestones were added to the center of each flower.  Finally, I stamped the greeting from Curly Cute onto Crumb Cake card stock using Rich Razzleberry ink.  This piece was then adhered to the card front using glue.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday.  I wish you a wonderful, creative and productive weekend!!!!  I hope that the spirit of gratitude from Thanksgiving goes with you into the coming days and weeks! :)

Painted Wood Sign

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If You Just Begin You Can Get Over The Hump!

If you have been reading my blog you know that I have been doing the P90X exercise program.  I'm very happy to say that I am still doing it!  I'm almost done with week 7 - yeah!!!!  I have encountered some days where my body is tired and telling me it needs to take a break.  I have to watch out though - because sometimes I can tell that it's my mind and not my body that is sending me this message!  When it is my body, I respect what it is telling me - which means I have taken about 3 days off from the program since I began and that has worked out fine so far.  When it is my mind it's a whole different story.  I can tell by the types of messages I'm hearing - things like "It's late and it will be past your bedtime by the time you finish your workout" or "wouldn't you just enjoy sitting on the couch and watching the tv instead of working out?" or "what harm would it do to just take one day off?  You can always catch up tomorrow!"  When I hear these types of messages I know that it is exactly the time to begin my workout!  What I find is that if I just begin, I can get over the hump of these negative voices in my mind and I end up feeling great from the workout and great that I didn't give in to the slacker in me :)  Can you tell the difference between the messages you are getting from your body and those that are coming from your mind?  Remember, if you just begin, you can get over the hump!!!!!
Today I wanted to share with you a gift that I make a lot when a friend or family member has a new baby!  I love making these painted signs for a child's door or room.  They feel very fun and personal to me.  Sometimes I just paint the letters directly on the wood piece.  This time I chose to purchase some wood letters (you could also die cut some thin wood panels with your Big Shot and an alphabet die!).  Making these signs also gives me a chance to play with paint, wood, wire and beads!  I even have a few of these signs around my home - ones that say things like "imagine" and "dream" and "believe."  Maybe I need to make a new one that says "you can get over the hump!" :)  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Artistic Etchings Stenciled Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  There Is So Much To Be Grateful For!

Beside my bed I keep a gratitude journal and before I go to sleep each night, I open the journal and write down at least 10 things that I am grateful for that day.  I begin each journal entry with "TIAGF" - which stands for "today I am grateful for" and then I make my list.  Some days the items on the list are as simple as going for a walk with Buddy.  Other days the list is composed of gratitude for health, for experiences, for warmth, for financial stability, for friends, for food, for music the stirs me and time to express my creativity.  Some days I really have to think through my day to come up with my list.  Other days, it seems, the page is just not large enough to contain all that I am grateful for.  As we come upon the holiday of Thanksgiving I want to express my gratitude for you.  I so appreciate that you come to this blog and share in this creative experience with me.  I appreciate your stopping by and I so appreciate your comments when you leave them.  It is comforting to know that there are others out there who believe in expressing their unique art - I am so grateful for you!!!!!!
Today's card is a bit of an assemblage.  I had stamped some tissue paper with the Music Notes wheel and Jet Black Staz-On ink and this was a leftover piece from another project.  I glued it to the card front and then decided to do some stenciling with Crumb Cake ink, a sponge, and the Mostly Vintage stencil (have I mentioned how much I love our stencils!  They are gorgeous and sturdy!).  Next I stamped the Eiffel Tower from Artistic Etchings using Jet Black Staz-On onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock and cut it out.  It was then attached to the card using dimensionals.  The greetings from Sincere Salutations was then stamped with Staz-On as well.  I added an adhesive rhinestone as a finishing touch.  I hope you like it! :)

Altered Picture Frame

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Alter Something :)

My plan was to create a picture frame, from scratch, for my cousin's 50th birthday that will be celebrated in Atlanta over Thanksgiving.  I had come up with numerous ideas for how to do the altering and how to add numbers to a plain wooden frame.  I had even thought about doing a bunch of woodburning and attaching of metal bits and pieces.  When I went out shopping for the frame I came across this weathered/distressed looking one (the base frame you see pictured above) and all of a sudden my direction changed!  The images I had in my mind for what I was going to create began to alter as I stared at the frame and my intuition told me that this was the one.  I then found the numbers - they came in very large and medium sizes and I was drawn to the medium ones.  The wooden letter "tags" had attracted my attention on a shopping outing about 2 weeks ago.  At the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but they were inexpensive and seemed to call out to me.  Little did I know that they knew what was in store for them :)  I brought the items home and started painting the wood numbers and letters with fluid acrylic paint (Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold - gorgeous color!).  I then adhered them to the frame with matte medium and added some upholstery tacks to the letter tags.  I then decided I needed some numbers and these adhesive plastic clock face numbers were just the right size and shape!  Sometimes altering something can be as fun as starting from scratch! :)  (p.s. I hope you are okay with stopping by my blog and seeing something every once in awhile that may not have been made using Stampin' Up! products.  I find that I need to step out of the Stampin' Up! box every once in awhile or at least combine Stampin' Up! products with other art supplies to go on my creative journeys in art making :)  I hope you enjoy seeing these other projects - I really enjoy making them and I equally enjoy sharing them with you in the hopes they will stimulate your creativity in new and exciting ways!).

Artistic Etchings Key Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If You're Not Content On The Inside, The Inside Is A Great Place To Begin

I know how easy it can be to turn to instant gratification from the outside when I am not feeling content on the inside.  Tired and grumpy? - ooh, maybe some new craft supplies will cure that!  Depressed and out of sorts?  Some new paint and markers are just the thing!  Feeling down on yourself?  Give in to the temptation for on-line shopping and shipping.  Or don't...  When I am feeling down, the instinct is to turn to a quick pick-me-up - to believe that all it will take is paying some money for something to make me instantly feel better.  And while there is a bit of a "high" as the purchase is being made, it doesn't take long for me to look at the new "thing" - whatever it is - and realize it does not hold the key to my happiness.  If I am not content on the inside I have learned that the inside is where I need to begin - the place I need to start my journey back to feeling better.  It is not something that can be bought.  It is something that deserves my time and attention and sometimes my creativity (after all, even though new art supplies won't do the trick, I definitely have a large enough stash of current supplies that can be turned to for a creative journey when I am feeling down).  Let's see if I can resist the urge to binge when the next slump hits and rather turn to myself for the best kind of gratification there is - the kind that comes from the inside!
Today's card is clean and simple.  I just used my stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the key from Artistic Etchings multiple times using Early Espresso ink at full and half strength.  I then added the greeting from Teeny Tiny Greetings.  Simple and clean.  I hope you like it :)
ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!
It's time for Online Extravaganza!!!!!!  Online Extravaganza, the annual Stampin' Up! sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin today, Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011!!!!!!  Click HERE to log in to my online store beginning Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings, like 60 percent off select Designer Fabrics, and 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!  But wait!  There's more!!!!!
There will be two items on sale today, for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) - so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza!   Click HERE to shop the Online Extravaganza!!!!!

Online Extravaganza!!!!!

It's time for Online Extravaganza!!!!!!  Online Extravaganza, the annual Stampin' Up! sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011!!!!!!  Click HERE to log in to my online store beginning Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings, like 60 percent off select Designer Fabrics, and 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!  But wait!  There's more!!!!!
There will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) - so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza!   Click HERE to shop the Online Extravaganza!!!!!