Serif Essentials Elegant Bird Journal

If you came here looking for this week's Four Ways Friday, let me begin with an apology.  I have been really tired the past two days and on Wednesday, my creative mojo was nowhere to be found...or maybe it was just slightly visible.  I did manage to start on creating this bird on Wednesday, using the Elegant Bird Bigz Die, some gesso and some modeling paste with a stencil...

And that was as far as I got...  Thursday morning I spent quite a bit of time contemplating the bird.  He got painted with a pearlized paint and then he sat some more.  Next he found his way onto a piece of mat board that I had gotten from my aunt a few years ago.  My aunt owns a frame shop and had given me quite a few mat board scraps one year when I visited her at the store.  Once the bird was against the mat board some ideas started to flow.  Of course, none of those ideas were remotely concerned with Four Ways Friday.  So I decided to go where my creativity was taking me and focus on the bird rather than on Four Ways Friday.  So instead of four ways to use something, I'm going to share with you one way to use a bird that you gesso, stencil and paint :)

I decided to make the bird and the mat board into a journal! :)  Here is a side view...

The inside pages of the journal were made from a stack of yellow paper that came out of an estate sale.  I cut the pages down to size (just under 8"x10") and then punched holes using my bind-it-all.  I punched holes in the mat board front cover and used a heavy chipboard for the back cover.  Once the book was bound with a spiral binding, I began to decorate the cover.  The mat board had come with the fabric on it, so I just built things up from there.  I adhered the bird and added some buttons that I had in my button box.  I then die cut some chipboard with the Serif Essentials dies and painted the letters with pearlized paint.  The letters, buttons and bird were adhered to the cover of the journal with hot glue.  Next came all of the bows on the spiral binding!  I used Always Artichoke seam binding, Whisper White satin ribbon, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, Whisper White organza ribbon and some Chantilly crochet trim.  Finally I added a few jewelry tags that I stamped with a retired Stampin' Up! set and Chocolate Chip ink.
I hope you don't mind the departure from Four Ways Friday and I hope this project inspires you to follow your creativity where it takes you!  Wishing you a wonderfully creative and peaceful weekend!!!!!

Kindness Matters Hello Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  I'm Tired...

I just returned from a work trip last night.  It's funny when I consider the yin and yang of the work I do on the road and the work I do here at home.  I am an introvert by nature - I like to regenerate by being by myself or with my family or with nature.  I enjoy quiet and the comforts of home.  When I go on a work trip I am required to be an extrovert (a skill that I have learned over the years...to a point where people are surprised to learn that I am an introvert!).  On the road I am surrounded by people on planes, trains and automobiles; in airports and hotels; and I conduct training sessions where I am giving every ounce of energy I have to the participants in the room.  The yin and yang - the introversion and extroversion.  By the time I return home from a work trip I am incredibly tired - needing to recharge by sitting in the calm.  I have been trying to spend time in the craft room today (Wednesday) - and I am feeling like what I really need is a nap :)  So I may spend a bit of time cat napping on the couch and hope that my batteries are recharged enough to venture back into the craft room to create later today.  Sometimes I just need to admit that I'm tired...
For today's card I used the Curly Label Movers & Shapers die to create the window and then used a greeting from Elementary Elegance.  The butterflies and flourish from Kindness Matters were stamped with Early Espresso onto a piece of Sahara Sand card stock that I had die cut using the Framelits Labels Collection to create a decorative edge.  I small adhesive pearl finishes the Naturals Ivory card.  I hope you like it!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Flying Pigs!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Take A Leap!!!!!

Happy Leap Day!!!!!  It always feels so special when you get to enjoy February 29th!!!  I recently took a little bit of a leap!  One of my friends, Lorraine, who has a wonderful blog (you can see it HERE), decided to celebrate her blogging anniversary in a very special way.  She had purchased a number of paper mache pigs and decided that she wanted to send them to people who would be willing to decorate them and send her photos of the finished pigs to include on her blog.  I thought it was an amazing idea and I quickly let her know I was interested!!!!  So guess what showed up in my mailbox????  This amazing box...Want to know what was inside...

 

And then I started taking things out...

Ooh!!!!  And then I kept digging...

YIPPPPEEEEE!!!!  I can't wait to get this little fellow decorated!  I know that he is going to have some type of wings, but beyond that, he is a blank sow...I mean slate! :)  Lorraine, thank you so much for sending this little guy to me and for letting me participate in your special anniversary!  I will be sure to share photos of my fully decorated piggy once he is done....it's time to take a leap!!!! :)  (I can't wait to see what some of the other artist do with their pigs too!!!!!!) :)

Blossom Punch Paper Flowers & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Ice Melts

Okay, I admit it, today's lesson may seem a bit obvious :)  But when you really begin to think about it, there is a deeper lesson awaiting us :)  We have had quite a bit of ice this winter - on the driveway and sidewalks.  Quite treacherous when you are trying to walk the dog!  Some of the ice at the end of our driveway had gotten to be about 6 inches thick and hard as a rock!  It felt impossible to break through it!  And then came the sun - little by little - day after day - and that ice that at one time felt impossible to remove - was all of a sudden a puddle of water.  What obstacles are you facing right now?  What seems impossible to resolve?  Maybe the ice has a lesson for us all - when it seems impossible and insurmountable, maybe if we just wait and shine some light on the situation day-after-day - our obstacle will dissolve and we will move forward without constraint.
I am loving my Blossom Punch!  For today's project I used the punch with waffle paper and designer series paper and then used the flower to decorate this little gift box.  Here is a video to show you how I created the flower.  (WARNING:  Watching this video may cause addiction to paper flower making!).  Enjoy!!!!

Circle Circus Tile Magnets

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Listen To The Sounds Of Nature
Have you ever heard the sound of earthworms moving through the leaves at night?  Or the hoo-hoo-hooing of an owl in a tree overhead?  Or the rustle of branches as the wind passes through?  When was the last time you heard these sounds?  For so many of us, the sounds in our life include the whirring of electronics, the roar of traffic, the sound of music from the computer/ipod, voices talking at us from the television screen.  There is something about the sounds of nature that moves right past my brain and right into my being.  Something deep within me feels at home with the noises of nature, even when those noises seem odd or even threatening (the screeching of an owl in a tree the other night sounded like a chicken being tortured!).  When I am inside for too long, I miss the sounds of the nature around me.  I long for a walk, or just a moment outdoors, to reconnect.  There is just something about those sounds...
For today's project I used the Circle Circus stamp set with some Jet Black Staz-On ink to create these graphic tile magnets!  I created a video on how to use your Crystal Effects to create these quick & easy magnets - you can find the video in the list of videos on the left-hand side of my blog.  Stamp, coat, and attach your magnets and this gift is good to go (you also need to add in some drying time...preferably a couple of days just to be safe)!  I hope you like them :)