A Day Away...Wishing You White Blooms...

I went to see the Van Gogh exhibit in Denver yesterday and I am still processing all that I saw and read.  Just incredible.  I was in tears by the end of the exhibit.  I have decided to take a day off - rather than pressure myself to post something more extensive here.  I will leave you with some of Van Gogh's own words.  In writing to his brother about practicing drawing and studying anatomy and perspective he said, "So you see that I am working away hard, though for the moment it is not yielding particularly gratifying results.  But I have every hope that these thorns will bear white blooms in due course & that these apparently fruitless struggles are nothing but labour pains.  First the pain, then the joy."

From My Heart Anniversary Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  When Will I Learn That Practice, Not Product Purchase, Makes Me An Artist?
One step forward, two steps back.  That's my progress, or lack thereof, when it comes to trying to teach myself that it is practicing my art and not purchasing more and more art supplies that makes me an artist.  On my work trip this week I took along a sketchbook and a pencil as well as the book Mixed Media Girls by Suzi Blu.  I have been wanting to teach myself how to draw faces and I felt a bit overwhelmed about where to begin.  I am grateful that Suzi Blu created this book because she gave me a start!  I sketched each day that I was away - even if only for a few minutes.  Just putting pencil to paper - one line at a time.  It is the practice that will help me learn how to draw faces, not the purchase of some fancy pen or pencil or paint.  But alas, I have not learned yet, because although I did practice my art while I was traveling, I am also guilty of taking advantage of holiday sales and purchasing pretty new pencils and a special marker or two.  If I can combine the practice with the purchase, maybe I am beginning to form some type of balance.  If all I do is purchase, I will never realize my potential as an artist.  Maybe that's my new mantra for this holiday season full of sales...practice, don't purchase!  Wish me luck!!!!
Today's card began with a brayer technique!  I embossed the Very Vanilla card stock with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder and then inked up my brayer with Sahara Sand ink and lightly ran the brayer over the raised areas of the embossing.  The panel was then adhered to a Sahara Sand card base with glue.  Next came a faux bow (I have a video on how to make faux bows - you can find it in the list on the left-hand side of my blog) made from organza ribbon.  I then stamped the sentiment from From My Heart with Early Espresso ink and punched it out with the Decorative Label punch.  I added the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes with Sahara Sand  ink.  I die cut a piece of Sahara Sand card stock using the Window Frames framelits and sponged the edges of this and the punched piece with Sahara Sand ink.  These pieces were layered onto the card.  As a final embellishment I took a couple of chip board hearts and layered them on top of one another and sprayed them with a combination of Gold Glow and Silver Foil Smooch Spritz (I allowed one to dry before spraying with the other).  The heart was then added with glue.  Here is a close up:

I hope you like it :)

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Finished Tumbler

Just a quick post today to share my finished glass tumbler with you!  It wasn't easy for me to take an attractive picture of the glass, but hopefully you get the idea of how it turned out!  I really enjoyed giving glass blowing a try - the blowing part actually felt like trying to breathe air into a cement wall!  Nothing like trying to blow a bubble with bubble gum :)  Anyway, I just got back from a trip last night and will try to get creative today so that I have something to share with you tomorrow :) 

Don't forget, today is the last day for Online Extravaganza!!!!!
There is a 24-hour doorbuster available today only for the Clear Block Bundle, Clear Block Storage Caddy and Stack & Store Caddy!  Here are the details!

Wednesday, November 28, midnight - 11:50 PM (MT)

Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	24-Hour Sale Price
7	118941	Clear Block Bundle (Blocks A-I)	$66.95	$53.56
7	120279	Clear Block Storage Caddy	$16.95	$13.56
175	109127	Stack & Store Caddy	$34.95	$27.96

Click HERE to shop now! :)

Two Ways Tuesday: Pursuit of Happiness

For this week's Two Ways Tuesday I decided to just use the gratitude stamp from Pursuit of Happiness and show you two ways to use it :)
This first way is one of my favorite ways to use stamps - to stamp them on fabric.  You can stamp the greeting with Staz-On ink or you can stamp it with a mixture of Versamark and dye ink and then heat emboss the greeting on the fabric.  My sewing skills aren't quite where I'd like them to be, but since a bookmark doesn't have to "fit" just so and since I love to read, bookmarks are a favorite sewing project for me!  I stamped the greeting with Staz-On onto muslin fabric.  I then cut out two rectangles of Orchard Harvest designer fabric and a piece of Gumball Green stitched ribbon.  I first sewed the muslin greeting onto the top fabric and then layered the fabric, wrong sides together, with a piece of batting and the ribbon in between.  I confess, that because my sewing isn't the greatest, I added a piece of gold rick-rack to cover up some boo-boo stitching :)

 Of course, you can stamp just as easily onto card stock :)  This thank you card was created using some pieces that were sitting on my craft room table.  I began with a Sahara Sand card base.  Next I used a retired Musical Note wheel and wheeled over First Edition Specialty designer series paper.  The piece was then torn and glued down to the card base.  Next came a torn piece of Basic Black card stock and finally I sewed on a piece of layered tea bag paper.  The greeting from Pursuit of Happiness was stamped onto Very Vanilla card stock using a combination of Basic Black ink and Versamark ink.  I then heat embossed with clear embossing powder before punching it out using my decorative label punch.  I added the punched piece to the card with dimensionals.  Finally, I threaded a Basic Black button with linen thread and added it to the card with a combination of dimensionals and glue dots.  I hope you've enjoyed this week's Two Ways Tuesday and I hope I've inspired you to try something new!

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, is going on now and ends TOMORROW, Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent!

Thoughts & Prayers Pet Sympathy Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  What You Need To Hear Will Sometimes Arrive In Your Inbox 
I received a thank you email from Ornament Magazine in my inbox last week.  Here is how the email began:
"A seventeenth-century philosopher advised that each day we ask ourselves three questions: "Who or what inspired me today? What brought me happiness today? What brought me comfort and deep peace today?" In this contemplative practice, we find ways to bring more meaning and joy into our lives. Our individual actions should be transformative ones that honor the best in our humanity and promote peace and well-being on planet Earth."
Sometimes what you need to hear will just arrive in your inbox :)
Our neighbors had to say goodbye to their very special kitty, Ripley, last week.  Ripley lived a long and happy life and she had the most special, caring parents in the world!  I know how much your cards and emails brought me comfort when I lost Willow (and continue to bring me comfort every day) and I knew I had to make a special card for Ripley's parents.  I began with a Baja Breeze card base and stamped it with the Distressed Dots background stamp with Whisper White craft ink.  I used my heat tool to dry the ink (since I don't have a lot of patience when I'm stamping :)  Next I stamped the kitty image from Every Little Bit onto Soft Suede card stock and cut it out.  I then stamped the sentiment and the tree from Thoughts & Prayers onto Whisper White card stock.  I inked up the tree using markers - Crumb Cake and Certainly Celery to keep the image soft.  Then I added the little kitty with dimensionals and added the panel to the card.  I hope you like it!  Here is a close up of the tree and kitty:

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, is going on now and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent!