Four Ways Friday #80 - Framelits Labels Collection

For this week's Four Ways Friday I want to share with you four ways you can use your Framelits Labels Collection!

I LOVE embossing using the framelits!!!!  Here is a video to who you how I created the double embossed look for this card:

 

Your framelits are also wonderful for creating windows on your cards and paper craft projects!  Here I ran the card through the Big Shot with a framelit to create the window.  I stamped a piece of Crumb Cake card stock with an image from the Apothecary Art stamp set (which coordinates BEAUTIFULLY with the framelits labels collection dies) and then ran the card stock through the Big Shot with a labels framelit.  I adhered the embellishment to the inside of the card.  I stamped the greeting from Loving Thoughts onto a strip of Naturals Ivory card stock and then adhered the strip to the backside of the front of the card - I love how this creates a diorama effect!  The flowers were stamped using the Language Of Friendship stamp set and punched out with the Boho Blossoms punch.

You can arrange one sized framelits inside a larger sized framelit to cut out some great frame shapes!  Here I used two of the smaller labels dies and cut through a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I then adhered the frame to this small 3x3 card with dimensionals and embellished the card with an oval stamped with a greeting from Petite Pairs and some punched flowers and ribbon.

Did you know you can create beautiful decorative edges with your Framelits Labels Collection dies????

Here is a video to show you how I created the decorative edges you are seeing on the Crumb Cake and Pool Party card stock:

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I hope it encourages you to play with your Framelits Labels Collection dies in new ways!!!!  I wish you a weekend full of love, laughter and creativity!!!!!

Party This Way Builder Wheel Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Acknowledging Someone Else's Feelings Isn't About You

I conduct quite a bit of training focused on how to have difficult conversations.  What do I mean by a difficult conversation?  It is anything that you find difficult to talk about.  It could be a discussion with your spouse about family issues, or a conversation with a co-worker about workload, or a much needed conversation with a friend about something that has upset you.  Whatever the topic of the conversation, it is very likely that you feel strong emotions about it...and so do they.  If we aren't able to acknowledge these emotions it might be very difficult to move forward to address the problem.  When it comes to acknowledging emotions or empathizing with someone, we need to remember that it is not about us.  It doesn't matter if we are feeling the same feelings or even if we can't in a million years understand why they are feeling the way that they are.  What is important to recognize is that as human beings we have emotions and acknowledging those emotions can help us move forward.  Ignoring emotions can cause them to get in the way.  Acknowledging someone's feelings can be as simple as naming the feeling we hear them expressing to us.  For example, "It sounds like you are feeling overwhelmed by our finances right now."  When it comes to emotions I often hear people begin their statements with, "I understand."  I don't know about you, but when I hear someone say "I understand," my first reaction is to want to say, "there is no way you can understand - you aren't me!"  Remember, acknowledging their feelings isn't about you - it is about them and providing their feelings with the gift of being seen.  And don't forget, you need to take some time to acknowledge your own feelings, particularly if you want to be able to focus your attention on giving them the gift of recognizing their's.
Today's card was created with the Party This Way stamp set - one of the sets that is available for FREE during Sale-a-Bration if you place an order of $50 or more in Stampin' Up! product!  I stamped the candles in Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral and Island Indigo and cut them out.  I added some Dazzling Details to the candle flames for sparkle.  The bottom of the card was created by rolling the Candle Crazy builder wheel on a Calypso Coral ink pad and then rolling it across the bottom of the card (3 times).  I added the strip of In Color designer series paper from the Patterns Stack and finished the card by stamping the birthday greeting from Party This Way and punching it out with the Modern Label punch.  I hope you like it!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Snow Painting

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  All The World Is A Stage...And A Canvas!!!!!

It was right in front of me.  Day after day.  Walk after walk.  The snow covered the ground around me and I saw it only as snow.  Pretty, white, pure....just snow.  Until yesterday.  I was walking Buddy and suddenly I began to see all of that snow as one big canvas!!!!  All of that empty white space - so beautiful on its own....and yet so open to possibility!  I began to think about what I might do that would be environmentally friendly...and this is what I came up with.  I went out on a whim :)  I hope you enjoy it!  Remember - all the world is not only a stage...it is also a canvas!

Designer Series Paper Glass Gem Magnets

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  I Have To Smile When My Actions Turn Into The Ridiculous

Okay...I'm going to admit it.  I was sitting here today with my laptop, went to google and actually typed into the search box "how to stop surfing the internet!"  The minute I did it I actually laughed out loud!  Oh the irony!  The search led me to an article about a guy who was so addicted to the internet he was spending 16 hours a day on-line and becoming incredibly depressed.  16 hours a day!  I can't even imagine spending that much time on my computer.  But that doesn't mean that the time I do spend on the computer doesn't feel overly excessive or unproductive to me!  Do I dare admit what I check when I get online?  Okay, here goes....there are a few sites where I take a quick look at news or get my daily affirmation from Louise Hay.  But where I often find myself heading is to my own blog and my own YouTube channel.  There, I said it.  But why am I going there?  What am I looking for?  I look to see if anyone has left a comment or if someone new has subscribed to my channel or blog.  The real question I need to be asking myself is why I feel the need to check as often as I do?  Maybe at some level I'm trying to figure out if I am making a difference.  In some of the work I do I am able to see the impact of what I am doing pretty immediately.  However, when I place a post on a blog or upload a video on a website, it is difficult to figure out if you are having any impact.  I guess like any other human being, I want to know that I am making a difference - have confirmation or validation of that.  Maybe I need to shift my focus and realize that just by following my heart I am making a difference in my life and the lives of others - whether or not I see a comment or a new subscriber.  That by being true to what I feel I am here to do I am providing myself with all the confirmation I need.  Of course, another explanation is that I'm just procrastinating....but that's an issue for another day (oh the irony!) :)
For today's project I used the Flirtatious designer series paper to make these quick & easy magnets!  Here is a video to show you how!

Builder Wheel Pennant Parade Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Use Your Own Life For Your Own Lessons

When it comes to writing my lessons from the craft room, I often find myself turning to thoughts of other people's lives and experiences and then I remind myself that hidden in the events of my own life there are so many lessons to be found.  In order to see those lessons, though, I need to be willing to really look at my own life - to examine it and study it and consider it.  At times that's not the easiest thing to do because not only does that study allow me to look at what I feel I am accomplishing, it also forces me to look at what I am wasting.  How easy it is to just la-la-la the day away.  What do I mean by "la-la-la" the day away?  Well, to procrastinate - to avoid sitting down and really doing what speaks to my heart.  To turn on the tv in the craft room and spend more time paying attention to the episode on the screen than the episode of my life that I can create.  To get up, sit down, get up, sit down - rather than just sit and face whatever it is that is in front of me.  So today I will look to my own life for my own lessons - and today's lesson is really a question - what episode do I want to create?  How much am I really willing to waste?
I had a ton of fun using Builder Wheels to make today's card!  I combined the Happy Bday, Pennant, and Striped Builder Wheels on the spindle for my jumbo Stampin' Around handle.  I used Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive in the triple cell cartridge.  I ran the wheel over the Whisper White card base three times.  I then stamped the image from Pennant Parade and punched it out with the Petite Pennants Builder punch.  The greeting from the set was stamped and punched with a circle punch.  A hand-cut triangle and some adhesive rhinestones finish the card :)  I hope you like it!