Six-Sided Sampler Hello Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Stillness Leads To Miracles
I was sitting on the porch yesterday - just being still - relaxing - enjoying the sound of the breeze.  Then I noticed a quick, darting motion out of the corner of my eye!  It was a beautiful, tiny hummingbird.  He was so curious!  He hovered over one of the fountains in the yard and then he decided it was the perfect size for a bath!  I sat there on the porch and watched this amazing bird take a bath and then sit on a branch and primp and preen.  It was amazing!  Sometimes stillness leads to miracles!
Today's card began with some leftover 1" and 3/4" Crumb Cake circles that were sitting on the craft table.  I decided to adhere them to a Very Vanilla card base - all in a row.  Next I tied a piece of Early Espresso Baker's Twine around the card and tied it in a bow.  The final touch was to stamp one of the Six-Sided Sampler images with Crumb Cake ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I added the sentiment from the same stamp set with Early Espresso ink and the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig.  I punched the image with the Hexagon punch and added it to the card with dimensionals.  I hope you like it and I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with stillness and miracles!!!!!

Simply Pressed Clay Roses Pocket Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  See The Running Horse In The Pattern
Our friend and artist, Mario Rivoli, told us a wonderful story the other day.  He said that when he was a child his mother used to sit him on the kitchen floor and tell him to find the running horse in the patterns created by the marble-like surface of floor.  He would spend hours looking at the patterns in the floor and then drew the animals he found.  It's no wonder he grew up to become a wonderful artist - able to see things where others see nothing.  Mario shared this story as he showed me some of the paper pieces he had kept from our marbling class.  As part of the class, we used newsprint paper to clean the marbling tray.  These "clean up" sheets have become magical in Mario's hands!  He looks at the patterns created by the stray paint and sees birds and dragons and people.  He has put his pens to these papers and the works of art that are emerging are phenomenal.  I hope I can begin to look at what is in front of me differently - to see the running horse in the pattern.
Today's card was created for Michael's mom's b'day!  I decided to put some of the Simply Pressed Clay roses to use and, since this card is getting mailed with a gift, I was able to have the card be bulky - without the need for an envelope.  I created a pocket card with Soft Sky card stock and then added a piece of Modern Medley designer paper and some linen thread.  The inside card was stamped with the sentiment from Morning Meadow using Wild Wasabi ink.  The roses and leaves were added to the card with Crystal Effects.  I hope you like it! :)

Floral Bedroom Ensemble by Me :)

Today I want to share with you this Floral Bedroom Ensemble that I created as the July Bonus Project for Craft Project Central!  I was so excited to start playing with my Simply Pressed Clay that I couldn't stop!!!! :)  A bedroom is a special place for rest and relaxation.  This Floral Bedroom Ensemble adds a romantic touch to your serene space. This ensemble features a decorated frame, a light switch cover, an altered CD doorknob sign and a beautiful card for presenting this set as a gift!  Any one of these projects, individually, would make for a wonderful creative session for yourself or a small class or stamp camp to share with others!
To qualify for all the instructions for the bonus projects, readers must subscribe to July at Craft Project Central and then meet one of the bonus project requirements of subscribing to two or more months in a row, putting the CPC badge on their blog or referring a friend and when they subscribe, letting Craft Project Central know!
I am also excited to report that Craft Project Central has asked me to join them as a regular member of their design team!  I am very excited!!!!  Starting September I'll be sharing more fun projects with you!!! :)

Simply Pressed Clay Roses: A Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  We May Live Far Apart, But We Are So Close Together!
My friend Helen put a huge smile on my face on Friday!  I had been having a lot of fun making Simply Pressed Clay roses and she and I exchanged a few emails and each mentioned how much we were enjoying playing with the clay - that it is meditative and a great tension reliever!  When she sent me some pictures of what she had been creating, I cracked up!  Here are Helen and I living thousands of miles apart and yet we both had been making clay flowers!  We each made roses and Helen made a gorgeous calla lily (something I definitely need to learn!)!  I was once again amazed by the fact that we may live far apart, but we are so close together!  I feel that way towards those of you who visit my blog or leave comments.  It seems that no matter where we live, we create a close community through our love of creativity!
Today I wanted to share a video with you so that you can also create Simply Pressed Clay roses where you are! :)  Enjoy :)

And The Winner Is....

Thank you to Doris, Jacque, Lorraine, Helen, Linda and Angelique for leaving comments to participate in this month's giveaway for a free subscription to the month of July projects at Craft Project Central!  I put the names in numbered ordered from when they were submitted and the winner is #3 Lorraine!!!!  Congratulations Lorraine and thank you to everyone for playing and for the great suggestions for keeping my craft space tidy (even though it sounds like we are all struggling to keep our spaces tidy in the midst of our creative genius ;)  Lorraine, I will be contacting you via email to set up your subscription!  Hope you enjoy all the wonderful projects!  I will once again be giving away a 1-month subscription when I design my project for September, so stayed tuned for another chance to win!!!!! :)