Four Ways Friday #74 - Elizabeth

In this week's Four Ways Friday I show you four ways to use the gorgeous Elizabeth stamp!

The Elizabeth stamp looks wonderful on its own or with a little embellishment.  Don't forget you can use only part of a stamp image by stamping off the edge of your surface.  Here I stamped the stamp off-center onto a 3x3 Whisper White card base using Soft Suede ink.  I used 2-way glue to add a bit of dazzling diamonds.  Next I stamped the greeting from Element of Style onto Very Vanilla card stock and punched it out with a 1" circle punch.  I then used my hot glue gun to create a ruffle of gold waffle paper behind the punch and adhered the piece to the card using dimensionals.  A single adhesive rhinestone finishes the look!

 

This image lends itself well to being heat embossed!  I began by stamping the image onto a scrap of white chipboard (the backing that comes with Stampin' Up! designer series paper) using Versamark ink.  I covered it with gold embossing powder, heat embossed, and then cut out the image using scissors.  Next I stamped the greeting from Short & Sweet into the center using Elegant Eggplant ink.  The tag was stenciled, sprayed, stamped and sponged - notice the little flourishes along the edge?  I just stamped a small portion of the Elizabeth tag along the edge of the tag using Elegant Eggplant ink.  Here is a close up:

I created a few folded paper roses that I embellished with dazzling diamonds.  The small flowers were punched using the Itty Bitty Shapes punch.  I then painted them with Champagne Mist shimmer paint and added the adhesive pearls before adhering them to the tag with glue.  The cheesecloth was cut in strips and sprayed with ink (Tempting Turquoise and Perfect Plum) and added to the tag.

You can totally change the look of a stamp just by changing its orientation!  Here, with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the image using Soft Suede ink onto Whisper White card stock - but I did so vertically.  I then stamped the image onto scrap paper and cut it out to create a mask.  I covered the first image with the mask and stamped the second image onto the card stock.  I repeated this process until I had all four images stamped.  Next I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and the Lovely Letters Alphabet to stamp the letters into the ovals.  The final touch was adding some dazzling diamonds and some adhesive pearls.  The piece was mounted onto a Crumb Cake card stock base.

Not only can you play with the orientation of your stamped image, you can also play with the length...you just have to be creative with how you cover the gap :)  Here I began with a Confetti card stock base.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and inked up half of the Elizabeth stamp with Always Artichoke ink.  I stamped the half image once and then rotated the card before stamping the half image again.  I made sure to leave a gap in between the stamped images so I could lengthen the image.  I covered the gap with a tag I had die cut using Always Artichoke card stock and the Lots Of Tags sizzlits with the Big Shot.  I then stamped the greeting from Elements of Style and punched it out with the 1" circle punch.  I added a small piece of satin ribbon to the tag before adhering the greeting over it with dimensionals.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!!  Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing and creative weekend!!!!

Ink Drip Glossy 4U Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Your Inspiration Is Waiting For You; You Just Have To See It!

I would guess that many of you come to my blog looking for inspiration for your cardmaking and papercrafting - at least that's what some of you have told me :)  Of course, I don't always post cards since I like to dabble in mixed media and chase my muse wherever she takes me :)  So how can I give you what you need, while at the same time entertaining my muse?  Who ever said that card inspiration had to come from a card?  Wasn't me :)  I actually wonder how many times a day I miss my inspiration because I don't see it - because I am moving so quickly or don't believe I am going to find it in that particular place?  So today I challenged myself.  I looked at my post from yesterday - the champagne flutes - and asked myself what inspiration there might be for a card...And yes, there it was - my card inspiration waiting for me - I just had to see it :)  I hope that no matter what you come here searching for you are able to find it.  If you don't see it at first glance, hang out a little longer.  It's here...you just have to see it :)
This card began with some ink and a piece of glossy card stock.  I took various colors of ink (Pink Pirouette, Tangerine Tango, Rose Red, and Daffodil Delight) and, holding the card stock upright, I dripped ink on the top edge and let it flow down the card stock.  The tough part with this card was giving the ink sufficient time to dry.  You end up with a bit of a pool of ink at the bottom and even if you move the card stock to another scrap piece of paper and add a bit of drying with your heat tool, it still takes time (I know - I tried to quicken the process :)  Once the panel was dry I glued it to a Daffodil Delight panel and then tied the Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon around the panel.  I then adhered the entire panel to a Whisper White card base (the finished card size is 6 1/2" x 3 1/4").  I stamped the greeting from Tiny Tags using Cherry Cobbler ink and punched it out using a 1/2" circle punch.  I then adhered it to a 3/4" punched circle of Daffodil Delight.  I paper pierced the circle and added it to the card using crochet thread and a dimensional.  I hope you like it!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

I am sooooo happy to share with you that I have been selected to be one of the members of the first ever Design Team for Paper Crafter's Library!!!!!!!!  I am honored and humbled by the opportunity and can't wait to see what the next 3 months will bring!!!!!  Thank you all for your support!!!!  Your thoughts and comments mean the world to me!!!!!!  Congrats as well to my fellow Design Team members - Ezlie J. Perez, Keren Baker, and Kristin Wilson!!!!  I am so looking forward to working with each and every one of you and seeing your amazing creations!!!!!

Out On A Whim - Painted Champagne Flutes

Welcome to my first "Out On A Whim" Wednesday!!!!  I decided that for the new year I needed to do something a little bit different - at least one day of the week :)  As you may have noticed, I enjoy dabbling in all kinds of art materials - not just my Stampin' Up! supplies.  So, I've decided to give myself the freedom on this blog to go "out on a whim" every Wednesday and share with you something that is not Stampin' Up! related!  Sometimes I will share projects, sometimes inspiration, sometimes just something that has caught my attention.  While I may incorporate a Stampin' Up! product in a project that I share, I am not putting that limitation on myself!  I hope you enjoy "Out On A Whim" Wednesdays!  Would love your feedback about what you think or what you would like to see!

I had a blast painting these champagne flutes for New Year's!  Michael was at IKEA and these flutes, which are normally about $1 each, were on sale that day for 4/$1!!!!!  Wow!!!!  For that price I could afford to experiment all day with my glass paint!  I used a paint that can be painted on and then baked in your home oven.  After baking, the paints are dishwasher and microwave safe!  To make these glasses I put some paint into small squeeze bottles and then added some thinner to the paints (the thinner is made specifically for use with the paints).  I then squeezed the paint onto the glasses and let it drip down (I had the glasses upside down so that I could paint from the base of the glass to the lip).  For a final touch I added some pearl outliner (also made by the same company) to add some dots to the base of each glass.  I also signed my initials with a glass marker.  Now that I have played around with these glasses, I am on the lookout for anything glass!  I have a feeling that nothing is going to be safe in the house! (except maybe for our windows since I can't fit them in the oven ;)

Crystal Effects Beaded Tile Magnet & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  When You Play With Your Materials, Your Materials Will Begin To Play With You!

The idea for these magnets came to me in the shower!  Showering seems to be one of my most successful idea-generating activities :)  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it is because I am relaxed and away from everything else, including my craft room.  What I realize is that the time I spend playing in the craft room stays with me wherever I go - even in the shower!  I retain the memories of the materials I have used and the ways in which I manipulated them.  Then, as I start to think about a new material, the new material literally acts as a magnet - it attracts the memories of all of the "play time" I have stored in my head.  My mind begins to burst with new ideas since I already demonstrated a willingness to engage in play with my materials!  It's a match made in heaven!!!!  So when I began thinking about tiles, my mind took over and brought Crystal Effects to the table!  Then the thought of "magnets!" came to me!  Beads and ink weren't too far behind!!!!  I continue to encourage you to just show up in your art space and play with the materials you have on hand.  The more you play with them, the more you might find that when you least expect it (like when you are in the shower!), your materials will begin to play with you!
Here is another magnet I created along with a video to show you how to make them on your own!!!!

Key To My Heart Mini Bottle

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Go On An Afternoon Adventure With Some Friends

It all began at a friend's house for a birthday dinner.  Emily was celebrating her birthday and her parents invited us to join in the festivities.  When we arrived there were some adorable decorations set up!  One was a glittery blue star-like pinata-like "Happy Birthday" hanging thing (that's the best way I can describe it - next time I'll try to remember to take my camera with me :).  When it came time for Emily to open her gifts there were a few "serious" gifts and a few fun and fabulous items.  I asked her father where he found some of the items and he replied "At the Mercado dollar store!!!!"  Well, we didn't have to hear more since in the next moment Emily, her mom and I were discussing when we could get together for an afternoon adventure to the Mercado dollar store!!!!  Well, that day was last week and we had a blast!  I loved walking up and down the aisles looking at all of the fun and fabulous and tacky and cheap items!  Amidst it all I found a package of 4 of these very small glass bottles.  At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but that didn't stop me!  I grabbed 2 packages of them (after all, each package was only $1) and I brought them home.  When I looked at them sitting on the craft table the idea of a "message in a bottle" came to me.  Since I had been working with transparencies/window sheets lately, it wasn't a far leap to combine the two ideas!  I love that the afternoon adventure created inspiration for today's project!  When was the last time you went on an afternoon adventure with some friends???
I began by stamping the key from Artistic Etchings onto window sheet using Jet Black Staz-On.  I then curled the window sheet to get it into the little bottle.  Next I created the faux metal heart.  I took a piece of chipboard (actually the white cardboard backing that comes with Stampin' Up!'s designer series paper) and I applied Versamark ink and then heat embossed with silver embossing powder.  I  added more embossing powder and heated again and repeated these steps until I had 4 layers of melted embossing powder.  On the last layer, as soon as I turned off the heat tool, I pressed the "love" stamp from Pennant Parade into the embossing powder and held it there for a few seconds before lifting it off.  Next I took my Heart to Heart punch and used the middle-sized heart to punch out the heart.  I then added a small eyelet using the crop-a-dile.  I attached the faux metal tag to the bottle using hemp twine.  Finally, I added an antique brad to the top of the cork with Crystal Effects (I cut off the prongs before adhering the brad down) and then placed a tiny adhesive pearl on the top of the brad (and added a dot of Crystal Effects to adhere it down so that it will stay in place)!  Here is a close up of the top of the bottle.  I hope you like it!!!!

ps  Happy 2012!!!!!!!  Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful and creative new year!!!!!!