Today's Four Ways Friday uses the adorable crab stamp from the It's The Thought hostess stamp set in the Summer Mini Catalog. I'm in love with this cute little crab!!!!
This first card uses the stamp and a 1 1/2" circle punch to create the letter "O" in the word "sorry." I stamped the crab in Jet Black Staz-On onto Whisper White card stock and colored him using markers and a blender pen. The letters were cut from Real Red card stock using the simple alphabet dies and the Big Shot. Notice the net pattern on the Blush Blossom background? I wrapped rubberbands around my brayer and brayered the background with Blush Blossom ink. The sand dunes were torn from Sahara Sand card stock. I used my 2-Way glue pen to attach some sand that I had dyed with Close to Cocoa reinker (check out my video on how to dye sand - it's a lot of fun)!
For this second card I stamped the YoYo Yellow card with the "hello" stamp from the Hello Again stamp set. I used the spritzer tool to add some interest to the background. The black card stock was punched using the spiral punch to make it look like a film strip. The Whisper White card stock was stamped with the crab image and then punched out using my 1 1/4" square punch. I colored the crabs using my blender pen and ink from my stamp pads. Isn't this crab adorable?! Did you notice that he's smiling instead of frowning? In order to do that, I used my marker to ink up the stamp and did not ink the frown. Instead, I stamped the crab without a mouth and drew in the smiley face afterwards :)
For the third card I decided to stamp the crab onto Real Red card stock and cut him out using a hobby blade. I punched a heart from the Heart To Heart punch and was able to put it into the crab's claw by creating a small slit with the hobby blade. The sand dunes were torn from Sahara Sand card stock and I sponged the edges slightly with Chocolate Chip ink. The greeting is from the Whimsical Words stamp set and was stamped onto designer series paper (from Sale-a-bration) and then punched out with a circle punch. I sponged the edges of the circle lightly to add some dimension. Have I mentioned how much I love this cute little crab?!
Last but not least, this fourth card uses a mirror image technique. I stamped the crab once and then rotated the paper upside down and stamped the crab again. Instead of making a mirror image I overlapped the claws a tiny bit so it looked like the crabs were holding "hands." I used the 2-Way glue pen to add dazzling diamonds to the crabs and once again drew in smiles in place of the frowns. The greeting is from the Happy Everything stamp set. I hope you like it!!!!! If you want to place an order to earn this wonderful hostess stamp set, feel free to shop HERE now!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Plant A Seed And Watch It Grow!
We finally planted seeds in the garden last Friday. Of course, since then, I have been running out to the garden every day to check out the dirt and to try to catch a glimpse of the slightest hint of green! What an amazing feeling to see those first tiny green leaves pop out of the brown dirt!!!!! It's amazing!!!! Yes, I know it's just a tiny sprout, but it's our sprout!!!!! :) I don't think I will ever stop being amazed by the miracle of gardening! If you have never planted a seed, today would be a great day to give it a try. Who knows what will grow! :)
This was the fourth card for my Summer Mini stamp-a-stack. I stamped the floral image from Elements of Style onto Very Vanilla card stock in Soft Suede. I used the Soft Suede marker in the spritzer tool to add the faint dots to the background and to the focal image. The central image is from the Vintage Vogue stamp set. The floral image was also stamped in Rose Red onto the Rose Red card stock and the edges of the Rose Red panel were inked as well. A touch of Very Vanilla satin ribbon with a modern label punch and a brad finish the look. I hope you like it! Now go plant a seed :)
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Try It With A Twist!
No, it's not Groundhog Day and you are not seeing double :) I had to share today's card as it was a real revelation to me! The card I shared yesterday was one of my stamp-a-stack cards. One of my attendees was a young girl named Kelsey. Kelsey likes to use the stamp-a-stack card as inspiration and then let her creativity add to the card. I had to smile when I saw her take this Sweet Scoops card and turn it on its side and then place the greeting at an angle! I immediately asked her permission to copy what she had done (and I added to it by putting dazzling diamonds on the sprinkles and crystal effects on the cherries). Thanks Kelsey! :) This was such an eye-opening card for me - an inspiration to get away from my straight lines and symmetrical cards and play around with my layouts. Sometimes you just need to try it with a twist! :)
The Last Chance Lists are here! Now through June 30th you can purchase these retiring stamp sets! Discontinued accessories are on a first come, first served basis! Hurry while supplies last! To download the lists, click HERE and click on "promotions." Happy shopping! If you have an interest in joining my team, there is a wonderful $99 mini start kit available this month! Feel free to contact me for details! This is a great opportunity to get the new colors early along with the opportunity to purchase sneak peek stamp sets!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Detours Can Hold Surprises!
I was recently in Amsterdam...well, at least I was supposed to be landing in Amsterdam, but due to volcanic ash, we had to land in Brussels instead. The detour made me a bit nervous since I was traveling alone and did not have a good sense of European geography! However, once we landed I was able to get my bearings and hopped a train...make that 3 trains, to get to my destination in The Netherlands. The detour was wonderful! First I met a lovely man from Los Angeles who was on his way to Eindhoven to visit his sick mother. He had no idea how to navigate the train system, so I ended up helping him! Second, the scenery was just gorgeous! The highlight was passing by a large brown field...in the middle was a blue recliner chair with a man napping in it and a dog splayed out at his feet! Yes, in the middle of a field! Amazing! Sometimes detours can hold wonderful surprises!
I cannot take credit for today's card. At the same time, I am not sure who to give credit to! My cousin shared this card with me and said that she had gotten it from somewhere else! So, if this card looks like your creation, please let me know! I would love to give you credit! I used the Sweet Scoops stamp set and YoYo Yellow, Orchid Opulence and Pink Passion ink. I covered the sprinkles with some dazzling diamonds. Hope you like it! Speaking of surprises, the retiring list comes out today! I will try to be sure to post it for you so you can start shopping HERE! :)
Just a quick post to apologize for not having a card to share with you today. I will also likely not be able to post Four Ways Friday as I have family visiting and have been quite distracted! I plan to be back in full swing by Monday...maybe sooner... Hope you have a fabulous weekend wherever you are!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Some Lessons You Just Need To Keep Learning!
Take a time out. Enjoy some down time. Pause and breathe. This lesson seems to be one I need to keep learning over and over again. I enjoy my quiet time and I realize when I don't nourish my soul with downtime I begin to feel frazzled, distressed, scattered and down right yucky! I need to make my solo time (maybe that should be spelled "soul-o" time) a priority each and every day in order to maintain the level of peace I wish to have on my journey. Some lessons you just need to keep learning...hopefully this one will become a natural part of my daily life soon.
This card is the second card for my upcoming Summer Mini Stamp-a-Stack. I used the largest flower from the pretties kit and some Staz-on ink and stamped an image from the Elements of Style stamp set onto the flower. Some silver card stock punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch and a 1" circle punch of the greeting decorate the center of the flower. I also stamped the greeting in Staz-on so that I could cover it with Crystal Effects :) The embossed background was created by running the Baja Breeze card stock through the Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. I hope you like it!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Nature Has A Funny Way Of Breaking What Does Not Bend
Today's lesson comes from lyrics by the singer/songwriter Jewel. I reflect on these particular lyrics a lot. Today there was incredible wind here in Colorado and a number of trees came down due to the strong force of the wind. It always amazes me how many trees are able to withstand the force - the push and pull. They remain standing because they can sway - because they are flexible in the face of all of that force. We can learn from those trees - to bend a bit when life is pushing us in a direction and we don't want to go; to stretch and flex when we exercise hard; to sway so as not to take the brunt of what someone is throwing at us. Today I wish you flexibility - the ability to bend, not break, under pressure.
Today's card is for my upcoming Summer Mini Stamp-a-Stack. I love the motorcycle stamp - it is incredibly versatile and a great image for making both masculine and feminine cards. The Sentimental Journey stamp set is a great compliment. This card could be used for a birthday, father's day, or wishing someone a successful journey as they embark on a trip, a new job, or pursuit of their passion. I sprayed the Kraft card stock with a mixture of alcohol and Chocolate Chip reinker that I keep in a small spray bottle. I also stippled a bit of Chocolate Chip ink on the background using a stencil brush. The motorcycle image was stamped with Versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. I tore the edges of the Night Of Navy card stock. The Red Riding Hood panel was stamped with words from the Sentimental Journey stamp set in Riding Hood Red ink. The compass was stamped in Close To Cocoa and punched out with the 1" circle punch. Finally, the greeting flag was created by stamping "journey" in Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla card stock and sponging the edges. I hope you like it!
Ahh the best laid plans! Sorry it has taken me a few more days than expected to post last week's Four Ways Friday...hopefully you'll feel it was worth the wait! :)
This week's Four Ways Friday features Rub Ons!!!! How many ways can you use your rub ons? Here are Four Ways I used mine!
For this first project I decided to use rub ons on glass! They work great (although you don't want to wash the jar once the rub ons are in place). If you make a mistake when you are putting on the rub ons, no problem! You can always scrape them off and apply a new one! I also love to cut up my rub ons so that I can use specific words as opposed to the entire phrase or greeting. I took the word "sweet" from a "sweet new baby" greeting.
This butterfly card uses rub ons in their traditional manner. I placed the rub on on a piece of Almost Amethyst card stock and created a flag to attach to the card. I made this small butterfly card with the butterfly die in my Big Shot - just crease a piece of Whisper White card stock and be sure to place the crease just inside of the edge of the die cut outline in order to create the card v. cutting out the full shape. I used black craft ink and clear embossing powder to emboss the background from the Charming stamp set. I outlined the edge of the card with my versamark marker and then embossed the edge with gold embossing powder. The butterfly was colored with ink and sponge daubers. The center of the butterfly was made with a piece of wire and gold beads along with some of the crystals from the Pretties Kit.
For this third project I satisfied my curiosity of wondering what would happen if I put Crystal Effects over a rub on! It works! You can make great embellishments this way! I punched out a piece of Pumpkin Pie card stock with my Modern Label punch and then added the rub on and covered the whole piece with Crystal Effects. It is popped up on the card with dimensionals. The background is an image from the Short & Sweet stamp set stamped in Versamark. The little boy is from the Very Thankful stamp set. I stamped him twice and cut out the heart from one of the images. I colored him and the heart with markers and popped the heart up on a dimensional and covered it with Crystal Effects. The finished card size is 3x3.
For this fourth and final project I decided to use rub ons on a window sheet/transparency. Once again I made a uniquely-shaped card by creasing a piece of Kraft card stock and running it through the Big Shot with my Scallop Square die. I placed the crease about half-way up the die to create the card and also die cut the piece of window sheet at the same time. I stamped the motorcycle on the underside of the transparency using black Staz-on ink (this is why the motorcycle is facing toward the left) and then applied the rub on to the front side of the window sheet. I stamped the Kraft card stock with an Itty Bitty Background stamp in Soft Suede ink. The eyelets were used to attach the window sheet to the Kraft card. A piece of Whisper White card stock was attached underneath the window sheet to create some interest and to highlight the rub on. Finally a small tag was created using the Tiny Tags stamp set and the tag punch and attached with a small piece of linen thread.
What other ways do you use your rub ons? I'd love to hear your ideas! See you later this week for another Four Ways Friday! :)
Hi everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful Friday! I just arrived back home from Amsterdam last night and, although I had hoped to have been awake enough to work on Four Ways Friday...I was wrong :( So, my plan is to work on it today and post it for you later today - please check back later and thanks for your visit!!!!!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Round And Round She Goes...Where She Stops, Nobody Knows!
This card was definitely created in stages! I almost abandoned it numerous times, but I decided to keep going - to allow the process to unfold - all the while hoping that where I would end up would be a place I could smile about :) And so it is :) Sometimes you just have to go round and round with it and see where you stop!
I'm not sure I can even recount all of the steps I took to get to this card...it went something like this...stamped A to Z on Very Vanilla card stock; stamped bird image in Versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. Took multiple sponges and colors and went wild sponging over everything! Then I stamped the greeting in black on the background. Then came the flowers stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. Then the butterfly image - more Versamark and white embossing powder...and then a bit more sponging. Then the greeting stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and cut into bite-size pieces and adhered to the card. The 2-Step Bird Punch was next - sponged with Rich Razzleberry, of course :) And then some distressing of the edges before putting the entire card together. Phew! Quite the journey :) I hope you enjoyed the trip! :) Speaking of trips, I will likely not be posting tomorrow (Thursday), but my hope is to be back in time for Four Ways Friday...see you then!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Our Education In Creation Is Never-Ending
I sometimes volunteer at a Boys & Girls Club, helping children experience creating art! It is a joy and an energizer for me! As I watch the children create and reflect on my own experiences with creating art, I realize that our personal school of art is never-ending. Every day you sit down to create or think about creating you are moving further into your birthright as a creative being. There are new thoughts to express and new ways to express them. Dig deep, there is still so much to learn!
For today's card I combined the Mostly Vintage decor stencil with some Vanilla Shimmer smooch spritz. If you look closely you can see the outline of the stencil! It is wonderfully sparkly in person! I then stamped some of the flowers from Vintage Vogue around the edges in Whisper White craft ink. And yes, I used my heat tool to dry things since I am a bit impatient ;) I built the flower with elements from the Pretties Kit...but look closely...I also embossed on some white grosgrain ribbon. I stamped the floral image in Versamark onto the ribbon and then embossed using silver embossing powder! I stamped the greeting on Whisper White card stock and added some dazzling diamonds along the edges. A few half-pearls finish the look. I hope you like it!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: The thoughts we choose to think are the tools we use to paint the canvas of our lives. - Louise Hay
As artists we have a lot of tools at our disposal - paint and brushes, ink and stamps. Sometimes we forget that one of the most powerful tools we have are our thoughts. As Louise Hay points out in her book The Power Is Within You, the thoughts we choose to think are the tools we use to paint the canvas of our lives. What type of painting are you creating with your thoughts today? Become aware of your internal babble. Listen for that self-criticism that creeps into your inner voice. Today, try to replace that criticism with praise. Affirm who you are and the place you hold in your life today. Choose to paint a beautiful picture on the canvas of your life!
Today's project is a belated gift I made for my mom for Mother's Day. Why is it I can't make a gift on time?! :) I used my jumbo wheel to decorate this book. The pages are sealed together with gel medium. I sprayed some smootch spritz on the blue cover of the book - if you look closely you can see it sparkling! The letters were cut from different thicknesses of chipboard with dies and the Big Shot. The letters were "colored" with classic ink and then covered with Crystal Effects for that glossy look! A rub on (see it? it's the word "your") and some buttons adorn the spine. Finally, I stamped "love" and a flower image from the Tiny Tags set on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and placed it in a Hodgepodge Hardware frame. I hope you like it and I hope my mom does too :)
Today's Four Ways Friday uses the Circle Circus stamp set. I tried to introduce a few new techniques and a video! I hope you like it!
For this first card I decided to pull out my PearlEx powders and go to town! I had never tried this technique before. I had the powders stored away from a time when I played with polymer clay. So today, powders met paper and this is the result! I stamped images from the Circle Circus stamp set in Versamark onto Brocade Blue card stock. I then used various PearlEx powders and pounced them onto the Versamark images with a stencil brush. I sprayed a fast-drying fixative to the card stock to keep the powders from rubbing off. Once the fixative was dry, I added sponging around the edges and into the center and stamped images from the Elements of Style stamp set in Basic Black and Brocade Blue classic ink. Of course, I couldn't stop before adding some dazzling diamonds to the flowers :) I matted the stamped panel onto Brushed Gold card stock and then to a Ballet Blue card base. I realize that I used more than the Circle Circus stamp set for this card. I was hoping it would give you ideas for how you can use the stamp set to create gorgeous backgrounds for other images!
This second card uses a fun technique - stamping in fun foam! Rather than explain how I did it, I thought I'd make a quick video for you to watch.
What can you do with your stamps and fun foam?
For this third card I used Versamark to stamp the small Circle Circus image onto Dusty Durango card stock. I also stamped the same image in Dusty Durango on Whisper White card stock. Another image from the stamp set joined it :) The card was finished with some torn strips of Tempting Turquoise and Crushed Curry, a length of Crushed Curry dotted ribbon with a faux bow, and a greeting from Short & Sweet. The Circle Circus stamp set lends itself well to creating fun and unique backgrounds!
For my fourth and final project I decided to honor my mom and National Scrapbooking Month! This is a 6x6 scrapbook page and the punched circles are a great way to frame a photo! Some of the circles were adhered directly to the base card stock and others were popped up on Dimensionals. I also used the new Rough Type stamp set from the summer mini catalog and the Introducing stamp set to add the place and date. I hope you like it! How else can you use your Circle Circus stamp set? I'd love to hear about your creations!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Place Your Hand Over Your Chest And Feel Your Heartbeat
Today's lesson comes from a small book with a big message. The book is called The Meaning Of Life by Bradley Trevor Grieve. Two pages really stand out for me and here is what they say, "Place your hand over your chest and feel your heartbeat. This is actually your life clock ticking, counting down the moments you have left. One day it will stop. That is 100 percent guaranteed, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. So you can't afford to throw away a single precious second. Go after your dreams with energy and passion, or you may as well stand back and watch them wash down the drain." If that's not a big lesson, I don't know what is!
I decided to pull out all my extra die cut letters and have a bit of fun today. I keep my extra die cut letters and numbers in this small hardware storage bin.
Big and small, plain or glittered, somehow letters will work together if you just give them a chance. Don't throw those extra letters away - hold onto them for a day when you are inspired to play and then go for it! I added a few buttons for a final embellishment. I hope this inspires you to see what you can do with your extra letters!
What a thoughtful and wonderful surprise to receive this Blog Award from my friend Judi Rose! Thanks so much Judi - you made my day!!!! Judi is an amazing person, artist and papercrafter. You should definitely stop by her blog if you get a chance - I'm sure you'll be inspired!
As an award recipient, I am supposed to share with you a few things about myself...hmmm...what might be interesting to share...what about some of my favorite foods (can you tell it's close to dinner time?!). I LOVE the balsamic vinegar from O&CO. I warn you though, this stuff is totally addictive! I am also a huge fan of Cadbury's Double Decker chocolate bars. The lower deck of the candy bar is a crispy cereal and the upper deck is a chewy nougat; all wrapped in milk chocolate. They used to carry them at World Market, but I haven't been able to find them there in a long time. Guess I'll have to wait for a trip to London to get my fix! To stick with the sweet theme, I have also been craving Horchata by Westsoy. I am sure I could make a more delicious version, but they make it so easy since you just have to put the carton in the fridge and drink up when you're ready. If you haven't tried horchata, it is rice milk with cinnamon and vanilla - mmmm, mmm good! Thanks again Judi for the wonderful award! :) I am passing this award on to another beautiful person and crafter, Brenda MacKellar. You can check out her blog here. She doesn't blog a lot, so I think we need to stop by her blog and encourage her to post some more! She always inspires me!!!! Thanks Brenda!!!!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Send It...Even If They Are Better By The Time It Arrives!
Today's card is for my friend Judi's husband, Danny. (shhh Judi, don't tell Danny :) He hasn't been feeling well and I thought a little card might provide a pick-me-up. Of course, since they live far away from Denver, it's possible that by the time this card arrives Danny will be feeling 100% - I can only hope! I'm going to send the card anyway - hoping and praying that by the time he gets it he really won't need the get well wishes anymore :) I think this is a great rule to have with cards - send them - even if the event will have passed by the time the card arrives. As the saying goes, it's the thought that counts :)
The UPS man arrived at my door today with a Stampin' Up! package and I couldn't wait to break out this motorcycle stamp! What a great all-purpose image to use - especially for masculine cards...although I'd be the first one to admit that motorcycles are as much for women as they are for men! Except in Atlanta...I owned a motorcycle there and I think my mom added quite a few gray hairs to her beautiful head when she used to see me riding down her street and away from her house. Motorcycles and crazy drivers in Atlanta are not a good combination...anyway, I digress...so, I used the faux wood technique for the background panel - I'll have to do a video - it's a super simple technique and it creates a great effect. I used my bone folder to break down the fibers in the corners of the Very Vanilla panel and peeled back a layer of the card stock to give the corners a sueded look. I did a ton of sponging (on the card stock and on my fingers)! I hope you like it! If you can't wait another minute to own this great motorcycle stamp, feel free to shop HERE now :)
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers
In his book How To Get Ideas, Jack Foster says "The truth is: There is no difference between (a) having an idea and not doing anything with it and (b) not having an idea at all." I think about this as I watch people create and as I create - the only way the idea that is in our heads will ever get into this world is to actually do something with the idea! That image of a butterfly that is in your head will never see the light of day unless you screw up the courage to put a pencil/pen in your hand and actually draw it! What a gift you can give the world every day, by allowing your creations to come forth! What idea can you bring to life today?
For today's card I pulled out a few of my new items from the Stampin' Up! summer mini catalog. The Rough Type letters are great for creating your own words and embellishments. And how cute is that owl?! He is from the It's The Thought level 1 hostess set in the mini. Too cute! This card also uses a faux wood technique for the background. I've created this video for you to learn how to do this simple technique! Enjoy!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Pay Tribute To Someone You Love!
Yesterday, May 9th, was the anniversary of my father's death. I found it a fitting day to finally decorate this vintage book frame that I had posted about a week ago. I knew the right day would find me :) I felt like I was honoring my father by putting together this piece. This creation is a tribute to him! I love you Dad!!!!
I used hodgepodge hardware and rub-ons for the top of the book frame. The Alphabet Simple Letters dies and the Big Shot were used to create the word "girl." I die cut the letters in chipboard and To The Nines specialty paper. The edges were sponged with Soft Suede and then I sprayed the letters with smootch spritz (which is difficult to see in this photo). I used a rub-on for the word "little." I just cut up one of the chit-chat rub-on greetings - it's amazing how many perfect words you can find! I couldn't wait for my new rough type stamp set (it is arriving tomorrow) since I wanted to complete this project today...so, I used a non-SU! alphabet set for the word "daddy's." I stamped the letters in Staz-On in Timber Brown and used my 3/4" hole punch to punch 4 additional layers of Very Vanilla card stock. I stacked the layers, like you would to make a faux button, and then finished the tops of the letters off with Crystal Effects. I hope you like it...if you knew my dad, you'd love it :)
If you'd like to shop for any of the products in today's post, feel free to click HERE!
Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Take A Moment To Say Thank You!
We encounter so many opportunities each and every day to say "thank you." The mailman delivers the mail - "thank you!" The cashier at the grocery store hands us our change - "thank you!" A friend spends time on the phone with us - "thank you!" A stranger holds the door open for us - "thank you!" It can be easy to miss these opportunities to say thank you due to distractions, cell phones, hectic schedules. Today, stop and take notice of these opportunities...and let me say to you, "thank you" for stopping by to visit!
For today's card I opened the new Square Lattice embossing folder from the Summer Mini catalog! I love it! It provides a great POP of texture with minimal effort using your Big Shot! The flower center was made by punching some tissue paper with my Boho Blossoms punch and crunching and fluffing until I was satisfied. I sponged on a bit of Orchid Opulence and a touch of dazzling diamonds with the 2-Way Glue pen. The Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper was punched using the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch and the edges sponged with Orchid Opulence. The stem and leaves were made from gingham and chocolate chip ribbon. The greeting, from Thank You Kindly, was colored on the stamp with Orchid Opulence and Pixie Pink markers before being stamped onto the card - I love the two-tone effect! I hope you like it! If you want to have some of these products to call your very own, feel free to shop HERE! Last, but not least, a very big THANK YOU to my mom for being so wonderful!!!! Happy Mother's Day!
