Patterned Occasions Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You can learn a lot by switching roles!
In both my work life and my art life I find that I often take on a teaching role. I learn a lot when I am teaching both from students and from figuring out how to present what I am teaching. Recently I have also had a fun time learning by switching my role from that of the teacher to that of the student! Whether participating in an art class or observing somebody else doing the work that I do, I gaining powerful insights and inspiration by being a student! Sometimes you really can learn a lot by switching roles!

For today's card I played with the patterned occasions stamp set. I love this adorable cupcake image! I decided to color the image with a number of different markers and stamped the image with the help of the stamp-a-ma-jig. I then stamped and cut out the image on a separate piece of whisper white card stock. I popped up the cut out pieces using dimensionals. Of course I had to add a touch of dazzling diamonds to my cupcake for a bit of bling! I hope you like it!

Healthy Airport Eating and Flying Pigs!

Today's lesson from the craft room: If you make a commitment you can find ways to keep it!
I travel quite a bit and I follow a pretty healthy diet. I have gotten pretty good at seeking out and finding healthy options even in hectic airports! Starbucks at Dallas Ft. Worth Airport provided my latest healthy meal - I love oatmeal for dinner😄 It just goes to show that when you make a commitment to something you can find ways to keep them! Now if I take out my travel watercolor set on the airplane, I'll be really proud of myself!!!!
Today I am sharing an adorable card that was part of a gift I received from Lorraine for Pig Day!!!!! Thanks Lorraine!!!! You can view her blog and her wonderful creativity at www.papervernissage. blogspot.com!

A Butterfly Gift From Afar!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  It's Good To Have Friends You Can Lick Your Plate With!
I confess that there have been times where I have actually licked my plate clean!  After all, how can you let chocolate sauce or a wonderful balsamic vinegar go to waste????  No, I don't do it in restaurants - just in the privacy of my own home :)  I just visited a friend and her husband - this is a friend I have known since I was small - and I smiled very big when I turned around and saw her husband licking the last remaining chocolate sauce from his plate!!!!!  Not only was it fun to see that I'm not the only one guilty of plate-licking - it was also wonderful to be in a place where you are so comfortable, you can do those things that you would normally only do when someone isn't watching you :)  It truly is wonderful to have friends you can lick your plate with!!! :)
Today I am sharing a wonderful surprise that showed up in my mailbox when I returned from my international travels!!!!!  Helen sent me this gorgeous butterfly art piece that she had created using a rainbow of Stampin' Up! colors and the beautiful wings embosslit!!!!  You can check out Helen's blog HERE!  I love all of the adhesive rhinestones she added as well!!!!  Here are a few close ups - I love that this gorgeous creation will hang in my craft room and make me smile every time I look at it!  Thanks Helen!!!!! :)

An Adventure in Marbling!!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Learn Something From Someone Who Knows!
I had an AMAZING experience this past weekend!  I took a 1-day course on Marbling Magic on Paper and Fabric at the Denver Art Students League from an amazing instructor, Jo Fitsell!!!!!!!  Jo has been marbling and working with fabric for 25 years and learning from her was incredible!!!!!  You can learn more about Jo here!  Also, if you want to learn this amazing technique, she has a wonderful DVD available that was filmed by Quilting Arts!!!!  The DVD is called Marbled Fabric Surface Design and is available HERE!  Can you tell I was impressed?!?!  Jo shared quite a few samples of her work with us to demonstrate the amazing variety of pattern you can create with marbling.  Here is a piece she put together from a number of different fabrics she marbled - just gorgeous!!!!!

It was fun to just dive into the process to see what might happen!  What I loved most about the process is that you have to let go of being in control and literally, go with the flow :)  Here is one part of my workspace during the class...

And here are a few pics of some of the fabrics (the top 2 pics) and paper (the 3rd pic) I created!

At the end of the day I had produced quite a pile of fabric and paper pieces!  Now I can't wait to incorporate them into some of my artwork!!!!  Thank you Jo for a wonderful day and for helping me discover a new passion!!!!!

A Few More Travel Photos: Melbourne, Australia

How does one become a Chocolate Therapist???????
How about these yarn bombed trees! :)

NEW: Photopolymer Stamps!

We've searched long and hard for just the right material to be able to introduce completely clear stamping. And we've found it. We're excited to announce that we now have wood-mount, clear-mount AND photopolymer stamps! The new photopolymer will be an addition to our stamp line and will appeal to all types of stampers. Our top-quality photopolymer has just enough give to create a perfectly stamped image every time and with the introduction of our firm-foam pads, let's just say they're meant for each other! Photopolymer stamps will also be unique, fun designs that will inspire you and provide more versatile options you may not see in our traditional wood- and clear-mount stamp options.

What makes them so great?

• They're entirely transparent for perfect placement every time! 
• They are durable. The photopolymer material is designed to last. 
• Can you say sticky? (Don't worry; in a good way.) These stamps stick amazingly well to our clear blocks.
• They're age tested. They won't yellow or cloud up over time. 
• They use FDA, food-safe material. How far can you stretch your stamping creativity? 
• We could go on, but we'll let you try them for yourself.

They are clearly a great choice.

Item	Description	Price
132956	Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set Recommend clear blocks A, B, G, F, and I. Purchase separately. Includes 57 pieces. (Don't faint! This is a good overwhelming feeling.)	$13.95

The Fine Print

• Photopolymer stamps will be offered on a trial basis. Based on popularity, we hope to release more photopolymer stamp sets over the coming months. At this time we don't plan on offering a line of photopolymer sets as expansive as our wood-mount and clear-mount lines.
• Not available in wood-mount or clear-mount.  
• All photopolymer will be packaged in cello bag w/insert, but don't forget you can store them in our clear cases

Home Sweet Home :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Gather Inspiration In Your Travels And Carry It With You Wherever You Go!
Home sweet home!  I have been away for over 3 weeks and am happy to be sleeping in my own bed again :)  Now you know why my posts have been quite sporadic this month :)  My travels, for both vacation and then work, took me to Turks and Caicos, Melbourne, Australia, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand (and a few airports in between!).  It was a wonderful trip and now I am trying to recuperate and figure out what time zone I'm in :)  I was inspired by so much along the way.  This is just one photo from my time in Bangkok.  Hopefully I can share more pictures with you over the next few weeks.  I am also hoping to let everything I experienced inspire me :)  I feel like I have filled my well with so much!  I will be able to sip from this well for a very long time.  Here are  just a few more photos to share:

Creating A Palette To Travel With Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Have you ever wanted to travel with your Watercolor Wonder crayons but were afraid they might get lost?  Or maybe you wanted your kids to be able to use your Watercolor Wonder crayons, but you were afraid the crayons might get broken.  If so, you're in luck!  You can create a very simple palette that you can take with you or give to your kids without worrying about loss or breakage!  I just created a simple table on my computer - but you could just write on a piece of copy paper - and then I laminated it.  Once the sheet is laminated, you can create a whole area of color by drawing on the laminated sheet.  When you are ready to do some coloring, just use an Aqua Painter or brush with a bit of water and use the colors directly from your laminated sheet!  You can even create a little laminated booklet with luggage tags with one color per tag!  With a little creativity, you can take your supplies on the road :)

Oh, Whale Thank You Card!

This amazingly cute card was sent to me by Sharri A.!!!!!!  Thank you Sharri!!!!  I love it!!!!!  She used the adorable Oh, Whale bundle to create this gorgeous scene!  Gotta love that cloud embossing folder too!!!!  So talented!!!!! :)

That's The Ticket Masculine Birthday Card

I love it when you find the perfect use for a stamp set!!!!  I was wondering how I would use the Feeling Sentimental Sale-a-Bration stamp set and when I saw it sitting on the craft table with the Just The Ticket stamp set, magic happened!  I heat embossed the ferris wheel with black embossing powder and stamped the tickets with More Mustard and punched them out.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to help line up the stamp across the bottom of the Naturals Ivory card base.  A piece of linen thread finished the look!

Patterned Occasions Get Well Card

Don't forget, it is still Sale-a-Bration and there are all kinds of fun stamps available for FREE when you place an order of $50 in products!!!!  I stamped the band aid twice and cut out the center so that I could pop it up on a dimensional.  I love using bright colors on get well cards!  And if anyone out there is under the weather....I hope you recover rapidly!!!!!!

Just Believe Papercut Card

You have to have a bit of patience for this one, but I like to think of it as a meditation :)  I stamped the image from Just Believe onto a scrap piece of paper and then temporarily adhered it to the card front.  I then used my hobby blade to follow around the image (that's the quiet meditation part) and then extended the final cuts to create a rectangular border around the entire image.  This card is so delicate and peaceful.  I hope you like it!

Doily and Two-Tone Ribbon Love Card

You can't go wrong with a combination of yummy two-tone ribbon, doilies, glitter and butterflies!!!! :)  I added some scoring using the Borders Scoring plate.  This ribbon makes me swoon :)  I hope you like it!!!!  Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!  I hope you have a weekend filled with love and creativity!!!!!

Folded Card Stock Valentine's Treat Container

It is so easy to create a simple treat holder by scoring a piece of card stock!  You can adjust where you place the score lines to accommodate the candy that you want to fit inside.  I secured my bag of candy to the card stock using a small piece of sticky strip!  Happy Valentine's Day!!!! :)

Upcycled Tape Roll Valentine's Treat Box

Today's Treat Box began its life as a roll of packing tape!  Once the tape was done, I kept the inner cardboard roll and decided it would transform into a beautiful box!  I covered the inside and outside with designer paper and then adhered a chipboard circle bottom.  The top was put on by adhering 2 strips of ribbon to the inside of the box using sticky strip and then punching 2 holes in the lid with the crop-a-dile.  The red ribbon tie is what holds the lid to the box.  I hope you like it!

Honeycomb Embossing Folder Butterfly Card

This card is appropriate for Valentine's Day or just to say I love you!  I am in love with the Honeycomb embossing folder...and the butterfly punches too!!!!!  I used Primrose Petals Core'dinations card stock and sanded it after running it through the Big Shot with the embossing folder.  I hope you like it!!!!

Masculine Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sometimes Some Things Have To Give...
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, things are lining up to be a bit hectic for me this month.  As I tried to get through my "to do" list I realized that I wasn't going to be able to post as much as I'd like this month.  Sometimes, some things have to give.  I hope you will understand and I will be posted a few times a week - most likely projects that I have created (and maybe one that I've received :).  Please feel free to share your own lessons from the craft room in the comments section.  I would love to hear what you are learning on your creative journey!!!! :)
Masculine cards always challenge me a bit.  Here I created a little masculine magic with some designer paper, the Borders scoring plate and some stamping!

A Change In Schedule For February

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by!!!!  I just wanted to let you know that for the month of February things are a bit hectic for me.  As a result, I have decided to just post a few times each week.  Most posts will just be pictures of projects I have made - without my usual lessons from the craft room.  I would love it if some of you might be willing to add some lessons that you are learning from your creating in the comments sections of the posts!  I will look forward to hearing your thoughts!!!!!  Thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoy the posts! :)

Silver Glimmer Heart Mini Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: The Simplest Things Can Be The Most Enjoyable :)
Our new kitty, Loki, has been teaching me a lot over the past few weeks.  He is obviously here to continually remind me that the simplest things can be the most enjoyable :)  Whether it is an empty Stampin' Up! box, a crinkled piece of packing paper, or a string with a knot tied at the end, Loki can have hours and hours of fun!!!!!  What are some of the simplest things that you find most enjoyable????
Today's card is a mini Valentine's card :)  I began with a 6"x3" piece of Very Vanilla card stock and scored it in half.  I then ran a strip of Core'dinations Primrose Petals card stock through the Big Shot with the honeycomb embossing folder and sanded the top with my sanding block.  I punched a heart from silver glimmer paper using the Full Heart punch.  I then stamped the ticket from the That's The Ticket stamp set using Primrose Petals ink on Crumb Cake card stock and punched it out with the Ticket Duo punch.  The heart and ticket were then layered onto the card with dimensionals.  I hope you like it!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Fun In A Box!

For today's Out On A Whim Wednesday I wanted to share a video that I posted over the weekend on YouTube.  The lesson I learned from this video was to find joy and laughter in the simple things :)  Enjoy!!!!

p.s.  In case you're wondering, the critter in the box is our new kitty, Loki :)