Four Ways Friday #77 - Designer Frames Embossing Folders

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about how you can use the Designer Frames textured impressions embossing folders.

The Designer Frames embossing folders are great for creating focal points for your cards.  Here I stamped the greeting from Tagtastic onto Confetti card stock with Cherry Cobbler ink.  I then ran the piece through the Big Shot with the embossing folder.  Next, I cut around the embossed image.  Notice that you can use the embossing folders to emboss or deboss, depending on which side you choose to have facing up when you run it through the Big Shot.  The mini card is a Pear Pizzazz base with a piece of designer series paper layered on top.  The embossed piece was adhered with dimensionals.  A tiny pin and some Early Espresso baker's twine finishes the look.

If you're not in the mood to cut, you can tear!  Here I stamped the owl from Fox & Friends in Chocolate Chip on a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I then ran the piece through the Big Shot with the embossing folder - notice how this time the central image is debossed v. embossed.  I then tore the edges and adhered the piece with glue to a 3x3 Whisper White card base.  The greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes was hand cut into a banner, a brad was added and then it was adhered to the card with dimensionals.

I also love using these embossing folders to create a frame for another focal piece.  Here I ran the embossing folder through the Big Shot with a 3x3 Perfect Plum card base.  I then stamped the tag from Tagtastic onto Sahara Sand card stock with Chocolate Chip ink.  I punched it out with the decorative label punch.  I then added a neutrals brad with a rhinestone adhered to the center.  The entire focal piece was added to the card with dimensionals.

For this final card I decided to use the embossing folder multiple times.  First I cut a piece of Crumb Cake card stock and ran the folder through the Big Shot two different times with just part of the embossing folder sandwiching the edge of the piece of card stock.  I then sponged the piece with Soft Suede ink and spritzed it with my Soft Suede marker and the color spritzer tool  Next I ran a scrap piece of Crumb Cake card stock through the Big Shot with the embossing folder and then cut out the frame.  I sponged the edges and spritzed it as well.  I then adhered the larger Crumb Cake panel to a Baja Breeze card base.  The smaller Crumb Cake panel was then added with dimensionals to the center of the card.  I then adhered a piece of pleated Baja Breeze ribbon using Sticky Strip.  I stamped the frame from Four Frames with Crumb Cake ink and punched it out with the decorative label punch and added it to the card with dimensionals.  Next came the stamped and cut out greeting from Notably Ornate.  I stamped the Young Vermillion stamp in Early Espresso and cut him out as well before popping it up on the card with dimensionals.  Finally, I created a bow with Crumb Cake seam binding and added it to the card with a few mini glue dots.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I wish you a peaceful, love & laughter-filled, and creative weekend!

Artistic Etchings Painted Tag

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Don't Cry Over Spilled Paint

I got into quite the groove while I was creating this tag!  I began with a blank vintage tag and started stenciling and spraying and stamping and dripping.  It was incredibly meditative and thoughtful.  Then I had the great idea to add some Frost White shimmer paint to give the card an interesting sheen.  Well, it was a great idea...until my attention was diverted for a second and the next thing I knew I had knocked over the little jar of precious paint and it was running all over the craft table, my tag and me!  I don't know if you've seen the movie Goldfinger?  The old James Bond flick where one of the bond girls is covered in gold spray paint?  Well, I wasn't that covered, but my hands were!  I looked like Frost White shimmer girl! :)  I will confess to having had a few expletives erupt from my lips, but in a few seconds I had calmed myself down and began trying to push and scrape the precious paint back into the little jar.  I also began smearing my fingers all over the tag - which smeared and smudged the ink I had just stamped.  I kept smearing and smudging until I got most of the paint off of my craft table and hands and then I went and washed the remainder off of my hands.  When I got back to the tag I was actually struck by how interesting the surface now looked.  Of course it was nothing like I had planned...but it was perfect :)  It took awhile for all that paint to dry and, once it did, I began adding on top of this new shimmer surface.  I heat embossed and inked and dripped and once again found myself back in my meditative place.  I am actually quite pleased with how this tag turned out.  I was able to incorporate that yummy Blushing Bride pleated ribbon and a bit of the specialty paper from the Flirtatious designer series paper.  I even added a touch of pearls and lace and a scalloped edge made with the new Adorning Accents edgelits dies.  What I really learned though is to not cry over spilled paint...just go with it and enjoy the ride :)
Here is a close up of part of the tag:

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Lesson From The Bathroom

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room...or Bathroom to be more exact:  Walls Can Be Built And Taken Down

OK, I'm going far out on a whim today - something I can do on Out-On-A-Whim Wednesdays :)  There are some walls I have constructed in my life - walls built to protect me; walls built to create boundaries; walls built to provide me with solitude.  Our walls can serve us well and some of mine have.  Our walls may also be built for reasons that may separate us or alienate us from others and we may find that they serve their time and purpose and need to come down, for if we don't allow them to come down, we may not allow fresh air and love in.
What you are seeing in this photo is a wall in our bathroom.  We decided this wall had served its purpose and we wanted to open it up and allow access into the bedroom and closet on the other side.  It took less than a day (and in case you're wondering, we did not do the work ourselves - sometimes you need the help of others to take down your walls :) ...

It was always curious to me that this glass block window lived in a closet and how, when the wall came down, it allowed the light to flood into the room :)  So now this bathroom is much like a blank piece of card stock to me!  What do I mean by that?  Well, there are now infinite possibilities as to what we can do with the space!!!!!  It's amazing how when you take down one wall, you open up a world of possibilities.  I have a feeling this bathroom has a lot more to teach me...it will be interesting to see where we end up!

Distressed Faux Leather Flower & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.  -- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
For today's lesson from the craft room, I'd like to offer you an article.  It is an article that was written in The Washington Post back in 2007.  I just learned about it...and it has moved me deeply.  It will take you a bit to read, but I promise, if you do, you will be hard pressed to move forward with your day without being impacted in some way.  If you choose to read the article, you can find it here.  I would love to hear your thoughts...

Today I want to share with you how to make these flowers.  In person they have a very leather-like quality to them!  On this card I paired the flower with the greeting from Curly Cute and some hand-cut leaves.  On the original flower on the card I used Soft Suede ink and did not use my paper crimper to soften up the card stock.  In the video I used Chocolate Chip ink and the paper crimper.  I like both looks and will leave it up to you to decide which look you like :)  I hope you enjoy the video!  Don't forget, SALE-A-BRATION starts today and runs through March 31st!!!!!  Get free products for every $50 in merchandise you purchase!!!!!  Click HERE to shop or to view the sale-a-bration brochure!!!!! :)

Stamped & Embossed Key Chains

Today's Question From The Craft Room:  Are We Becoming Numb?

I was in the checkout line at a store and the woman in front of me decided to make a call on her cell phone.  As we neared the checkout stand, she kept chatting to her companion on the phone.  Then it was her turn at the counter and the woman behind the counter greeted her and asked how she was doing.  The woman on the phone said nothing and instead, kept chatting on her phone.  Ugh - I was not happy!  Of course, I could hear every word she was saying to whoever she was talking to on the phone and it wasn't a conversation about a dire medical emergency or any such thing.  But on and on she went with her call, totally ignoring the person completing her transaction for her.  Can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine!  When I got up to the counter I apologized to the woman on behalf of the cell phone-talking customer.  Her response to me was, "You're sweet.  Actually I don't even notice anymore."  And that's what made me sad.  Have we gotten to a point where it doesn't even bother us anymore when someone doesn't even acknowledge us?  Have we become so numb?  Has this become the norm?  It makes me sad if this is our new norm.  What I do know, though, is that it will never be the norm for me.  How 'bout you?
Today's project are a set of key chains I made for my nieces :)  I began with the same clay-covered masonite pieces that I have been playing with lately.  I was able to punch holes in them using my crop-a-dile.  Next I stamped to my heart's content!  I used black Staz-On and also good ol' classic SU ink.  I used the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp on Jordan's keychain and a retired SU stamp set called Groovy for Avery (she LOVES peace signs and everything groovy :)  I was also able to scratch into the clay surface, so I outlined the letters in Avery's name and also created a border on Jordan's tag that I then applied ink to.  I allowed the ink a bit of time to dry and then covered the tags with VersaMark ink and clear embossing powder.  I heat embossed the tags and then repeated the embossing steps (adding powder and heating) a few more times and then, before the powder cooled, I sprinkled a little dazzling diamonds over the tags.  Once the tags were cooled I painted the back with metallic paint and added the key chain hardware.  I hope you like them :)