Four Ways Friday #48 - Calendar Alphabet & Numbers

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set.  I thought it would be too easy to use them for a calendar...so I decided to play a bit!

The color combination for this first card was inspired by a pillow I saw in a catalog - I loved the spring feel of the orange, pink and green together!  I stamped the flower from Fifth Avenue Floral with Jet Black Staz-on and then colored with a combination of markers and smooch ink (the gold dots are all smooch).  I made the banner by cutting the points off of small stars that I had punched using the star punch.  I then heat embossed the letters using white embossing powder and the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set.  The word "birthday" is from the "happy birthday" stamp in the Teeny Tiny Greetings stamp set.  A piece of thread was adhered to the card with glue and then the banner letters were adhered on top of it with glue.

 This second card is an easy way to make use of the alphabet letters.  Just stamp the letters onto card stock and cut them out individually.  Here I stamped the letters in Basic Black on Very Vanilla card stock, cut them out and sponged the edges with Basic Black ink before mounting them on the card with dimensionals.  The heart is from Paisley Prints (retired) and was stamped in VersaMark, heat embossed with silver embossing powder and punched out with the large heart punch.  I attached a piece of Very Vanilla card stock to the inside of the card so that writing in regular ink would show up inside.

Don't forget that you can stamp your letters onto surfaces other than paper!  Here I took a piece of white cotton fabric and sprayed it with ink mixed with water.  I also sprayed it with a mix of alcohol and champagne shimmer paint for some sparkle!  I let the fabric dry and then stamped the letters - you can use regular ink or Staz-On for this purpose.  Before adding the fabric to the card I masked off the card like this:

and sponged the area with Tangerine Tango ink.  I removed all of the masks, except for the bottom one and stamped the floral image from Always in Chocolate Chip ink across the colored area.  I also stamped the butterfly from Dreams Du Jour and added dazzling diamonds to the flowers and butterfly.  I added the fabric strip to the card using matte medium - I find that this works well for adhering fabric to card stock.

Last but not least I decided to make a tag.  I repeatedly stamped the letters in Pretty In Pink ink to form the word "yummy."  I sponged the edges of the tag with both Pretty In Pink and Chocolate Chip ink.  I punched the bottom edge of the tag with the lace border punch and then added strips of Pretty In Pink and Baja Breeze card stock.  I punched the Baja Breeze with the scallop border punch and used a hole punch to punch a hole in each of the scallops.  The monkeys are from Fox and Friends.  I stamped the monkeys in Chocolate Chip ink and cut them out using my paper snips.  I adhered them to the card with dimensionals and added a piece of chocolate chip ribbon for hanging.  A few rhinestone jewels finish the look.  I can't wait to find a yummy treat to put this tag on!!!! :)
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I am a big fan of alphabet sets - they are so versatile and allow you the freedom to create any greeting/saying you choose!  I hope you have a wonderful creative weekend and, if you are a mom, a very happy Mother's Day!!!!!! :)

Nature Walk Mother's Day Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Find A Rhythm In Repetition

We live in a world of constant change.  I am sometimes amazed by how many images get flashed across a tv screen in a second!  It's mind boggling!  It's no wonder that it can be challenging to hear your inner voice - the whispers of your internal wisdom - when change is going on all around you and distracting your attention.  Repetition is one way to calm the change and enable your inner voice to be heard.  Meditation takes advantage of this - the repetition of the awareness on your breath or the repetition of a mantra over and over again - a word or a sound - so that your mind is no longer distracted and your internal thoughts can rise to the surface.  I find that walking meditation works for me.  When I walk Buddy in the morning and just focus on my steps, my mind seems to open and I am much closer to my inner wisdom.  What repetition can you focus on today?
Today's card is the card I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  I decided that this special card for such a special woman really didn't need a lot of glitz and glamour - just simple and beautiful, just like her!  The card base is Very Vanilla.  I cut a small piece of Natural Ivory card stock and rounded one edge.  I stamped the floral image in Crumb Cake, multiple times, across the bottom.  The greeting is from Cause For Celebration (hostess) and was stamped in Early Espresso using the stamp-a-ma-jig.  The bird was stamped onto Whisper White using Jet Black Staz-On ink and then colored in using an aqua painter and Bashful Blue ink.  The beak is Soft Suede and the legs/feet a mix of Soft Suede and Going Gray (retired).  The bird and the panel were both mounted onto the card using dimensionals.  I hope you like it!

CitraSolv Transfer Together Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Unclutter
Is unclutter a word?  Or is it de-clutter?  Either way, I know it's something that I continually struggle with!  Some people are really good at letting go of things.  For some reason, it's one of those tough things for me to do.  No, I'm not someone who can be featured on the show Hoarders (and I really do feel so sorry for those individuals that have such a difficult time releasing things) and, at the same time, the psychological impact that clutter has on me is definitely not a positive one!  There are two spaces in particular that seem to get out of hand very quickly for me - the craft room and my office.  The office becomes a mass of pieces of paper everywhere - piles of paper, receipts, sticky notes.  The craft room gets overwhelmed at times by new supplies, remainders from completed projects, projects in process.  I know that some people work comfortably in the clutter around them.  I find that it just stimulates my inner critic to start telling me how cluttered my spaces are and I am so tired of that never-ending voice.  So I have begun to unclutter and I am doing my best to be supportive of myself in the process.  I know it will be a process and not an instant occurrence.  What I do know so far is that with each small step I am feeling better - lighter - more free.  My goal is to clean my space and clean my mind of the clutter of the messages of that inner critic!  Wish me luck!!!! :)
Today's card was also an attempt to unclutter - just simple ink and card stock.  The profile is of my wonderful companion, Buddy!  I decided to try transferring a laser printed image of him using Citra-Solv.  There are quite a few videos on how to do CitraSolv transfers on YouTube.  I found this video HERE particularly useful!  If you try this technique, you may want to do it outside - this stuff has a very strong citrus odor...the odor will eventually leave the card stock - it just takes a few days.  I transferred Buddy's image and then added the greeting from Define Your Life in Basic Black ink.  I hope you like it! :)  You will likely be seeing some more of these transfers soon!

Yippeee!!! An Honorable Mention!!!!

I had to share my excitement with you!  As you know, I have been trying to ignore my inner critic and continue to submit my work to try to get it published.  I decided to try and enter Stampin' Up!'s monthly Stampin' Success challenge for July - I actually sent it in quite early and was waiting to hear....and today look what was in my inbox:
"Congratulations! Your May Art Contest entry was selected for recognition with an honorable mention in our July issue."
I was so excited!!!!!  This means that my name will be listed in the honorable mention section in the July issue of Stampin' Success (Stampin' Up!'s magazine for demonstrators) and the projects will be posted in the on-line extras of the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website.  I also get to choose any stamp set I would like from the current catalog for free!!!! :)  Of course, I will share the projects with you once the Stampin' Success magazine comes out (which will be some time next month).  The theme for the contest was Land That I Love and features projects honoring the United States and Canada.  If you haven't tried to submit your work anywhere, why not give it a try????  Tell that inner critic to go take a hike! :)

Not Quite A One Stamp Wonder Robot :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  What Takes Your Attention?

Today I was wondering about the things that seem to attract my attention.  I wish I could say I am proud of all the things that attract my attention.  There are some that I feel great about:  my family (four-legged and two-legged members!), my art, nature.  There are also quite a few things that I attend to that I am not very pleased about:  this darn computer...when I'm just mindlessly checking news and compulsively checking email, idle thoughts, negative self-talk.  It seems that I let my attention be drawn to things that aren't constructive for me - that aren't helping me move forward on my journey.  And now the big question...what do I do about it?!  It seems the first step is noticing what I am attending to, then deciding if that is where I want to put my attention.  If the answer is "no," then the next step is to accept the challenge of stopping giving that thing my attention.  I know it will be a learning process and I am ready to learn.  There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  So I am going to keep my eyes open for all of the "teachers" that will come my way to help me with this lesson.  I know my cat, Willow, is already one of those teachers.  It is amazing to watch her attend to what is of utmost importance to her - usually it's a mouse in the backyard by the bird feeders :)  I am inspired by her focus!
Today's card missed being a One Stamp Wonder by one stamp!  I just couldn't help myself!  This robot needed a cupcake! :)  I stamped the head by inking up an acrylic block.  The body is the lid from a stampin' spot.  The lines on his body are from the ridges on a snail holder.  His arms. his antennae, and the polka dots are a pencil eraser used as a stamp.  His eyes are a combination of stamping the end of a marker and then stamping the lid of a 2-way glue pen.  The cupcake is from the So Cute stamp set and the greeting is from On Your Birthday.  What kind of robot can you make with your supplies???? :)

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion!

 It's National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin' Up! is offering 30% off on select stamp sets!  Click HERE to find out more about this promotion!  The promotion runs until the end of the month.
The Summer Mini Catalog is also here!  You can click on the catalog icon in the right-hand column to view our great new products!

Bugs & Kisses Journal Art

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Make Some Honest Art

I have a confession to make...I have to admit that lately I have felt like I have not been honest in my art.  What do I mean by this?  Well, I often share cards with you that I would call "happy" cards - cards that are meant to make people smile or feel good.  However, inside of me, I know that I don't always want to smile and I don't always feel good and the card art I have been making was not letting me express the other emotions I feel.  So, I decided it was time to make and share some "honest" art.  Don't get me wrong, there are definitely times I am happy and smiling and feeling good...I am just more complex than that and my art needs to be too.
So off I went to explore some sorrow.  I mentioned Teesha Moore to you last week and this piece was inspired by her art journaling process.  It is a piece of art that I intend to frame.  I included some Stampin' Up! glossy card stock, ink and designer papers.  You may also recognize the dragonfly from Bugs & Kisses :)  I stamped him with Staz-On onto vellum, cut him out and colored the wings and body with markers.  I hope this piece speaks to you - it felt good to set some of my sorrow free.

Yeah!!!!! A Submission Was Accepted!!!!

I was jumping up and down like a pogo stick yesterday afternoon when I learned that PaperCrafts Magazine accepted one of my submissions for publication in their Holiday Cards & More: Volume 6 edition!!!!  Take that inner critic!  The first acceptance wasn't just a fluke and I am going to keep on submitting no matter what negative messages you have in store for me! (I'm writing to my inner critic here...just in case you were thinking I was talking to you :)  Have you ever wanted to submit your work for publication?  PaperCrafts Magazine has a call for submissions going on right now...why not give it a try?! :)

Four Ways Friday # 47 - Three Little Words Stamp Set

For this week's Four Ways Friday I decided to play around with the Three Little Words stamp set!

For the first two cards I decided to only use the Three Little Words stamp set.  Here I stamped the flower tops on a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock and cut them out with a hobby blade.  I stamped them in various shades of pink and red, colored with my markers.  I then stamped the stems, in Old Olive ink, onto the Whisper White panel and attached the flower tops using dimensionals.  I added a touch of dazzling diamonds to the flowers.  The panel was mounted onto a Rose Red panel and then onto a Sahara Sand card base.  The greeting was stamped in Rose Red with the help of the stamp-a-ma-jig to keep it straight :)

I kept the same color scheme for this second card.  The greeting was stamped repeatedly in Sahara Sand onto a 2"x 2" square of Whisper White card stock.  The stamp-a-ma-jig was a big help :)  I also spritzed a bit with the spritzer tool to add some interest.  The flower was colored using markers and then stamped onto a scrap piece of Whisper White card stock.  I cut out the flower using a hobby blade and then attached it to the card with a dimensional.  A touch of dazzling diamonds finishes this simple look.  Here is a close-up of the flower panel:

I have been playing around lately with old photographs and transparencies and this next card is a part of that play! 

I took a vintage image and printed it out onto the transparency with my laser printer.  I then did a touch of coloring on the back of the transparency and sewed it to a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  The greeting was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink onto Very Vanilla card stock and then punched out with the XL decorative label punch.  I sponged the edges and stamped a bit with Crumb Cake ink using one of the stamps from the Vintage Vogue stamp set.  The label was attached to the back of the transparency panel and then mounted onto the Natural Ivory card base.  Here is a close up of the center image:

Well, I kept playing with the whole transparency thing...and here is what popped out!

I decided not to make this into a standard card, but rather into a small postcard that I can give to a loved one.  You could also incorporate a piece like this into a larger collage or just add a string and hang it.  I printed out the vintage photo onto a transparency using my laser printer and then colored the back of the transparency with some watercolor pencils (paint would probably have worked better, but I was too lazy to get out the paints and water!).  I then stamped the words, using Staz-on Jet Black ink, onto the front of the transparency.  You have to use a steady hand when stamping on window sheets or transparencies since they are quite slick!  I sewed the transparency to a piece of Sahara Sand card stock and then adhered it to a piece of Basic Black card stock.  Here is what the back of the piece looks like:

The post card stamp is from a retired stamp set - I believe it was called Vintage Postcard.  I added a touch of black spritzing with the spritzer tool.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  I hope my incorporating some fun new techniques, like printed on transparencies, inspires you to try something new!  Have a wonderfully creative weekend!!!!!

Always Journal Art

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Boldly Go Where You Have Never Gone Before!

I was doing some random internet surfing the other day and came across an amazing artist and art journaler, Teesha Moore!  I have a feeling there was nothing "random" about my surfing!  I was meant to find her!  I then discovered that Teesha had made some videos about her art-making process and I was hooked!  I watched the videos (check them out HERE - click on "Teesha" and then "techniques") and had to play!  Of course, I wanted to incorporate Stampin' Up! products, so I took out some glossy card stock, ink, markers, my designer paper sampler from last year, some retired designer series paper, and the Always stamp set and went to town!  This piece is not a card - I decided to make it a stand-alone piece of art - I think I'm going to frame it and put it on the wall.  As Capt. Kirk always knew - it's an adventure to boldly go where you haven't gone before!  Where might you boldly go today?????

It's The Little Things That Make Me Happy!!!!!

Every year I wait for them - hoping they will return.  About a week ago, one showed up in the yard.  It always makes me a little sad to see one alone - I wonder where his mate is.  But yesterday I looked out the window and look at what I saw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Life is good!!!!! :)

So Cute Faux Frosting Bunny Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  It Can Be Fun To Follow A Request :)

OK, I admit it...I'm not big on taking orders from others :)  I like being left to figure things out on my own - to experiment; to fail; to succeed - not always in that order :)  And, sometimes I find that following a request can be fun - especially when it is framed as a request and not as an order :)  This request came from the daughter of one of my oldest friends.  She wanted a bunny, some bright green grass, no greeting and the rest was up to me!  So this is what I created.  The bunny was stamped from the So Cute stamp set and I used the faux frosting technique (I have a video that you can watch on how to make the faux frosting) to make the fur of the bunny "fluffy."  The Regal Rose background was run through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines embossing folder to provide interest and texture.  This card could have made an adorable Easter card if the Easter sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes had been added...oh well - maybe next year :)  I hope you like it! :)

Yippeeee! My Cards Are Sending Love To People I Don't Know!

I sell my cards at a local antique store and the progress has been like a dripping faucet.  First, the faucet dripped every once in awhile - like once a month or so.  Then this month, the faucet sprung a leak!!!!!  A few weeks ago about 10 cards sold and today I learned that 14 cards were sold to one person!!!!!!  I am sharing this with you because my hope is to inspire you to get your cards out there!  Sometimes I look at my cards and wonder if anyone else would appreciate them - putting yourself out there can feel risky.  Well heck - everything we do in life has risks...so go for it!!!!!  It's wonderful to know that somewhere out there someone I don't know is going to receive a card I made.  I truly believe we put our hearts into what we create.  This gives me one more way to get my love out there! :)

Shower Curtain Waste Window Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Use Odd Leftovers In Interesting Ways!

We have a claw-foot tub in our bathroom and it has one of those old-fashioned oval curtain rods circling it.  We have to use 2 shower curtain liners to enclose the entire tub/shower.  Of course, our shower curtain rod hangs a bit low, so we are always having to cut off the bottom of the liners so that they will fit properly into the tub...is this too much information, or what?! :)  Anyways, that leaves us with some leftover plastic that usually also has some magnets encased in it to help the liner hang properly in the shower.  We used to throw these odd leftovers in the garbage....not anymore!!!!!  I cut the magnets out of the liner to use on other projects and today I decided to try getting creative with the plastic liner material!  I must say that the sewing machine and the liner were not getting along too well...but they seemed to be willing to work together enough for me to finish this card and have it look presentable :)
I cut out a small square of the liner material and used the sewing machine to sew down three of the four sides (and yes, it liked to crinkle and push itself all over...I'm sure a part of that has to do with operator ignorance when it comes to sewing this type of material...I'll have to keep working on it)!  I then punched out hearts using the heart small punch and the small heart on the heart to heart extra large punch.  I punched them out in Regal Rose and Rose Red card stock.  I then placed them in the liner pocket and sewed up the final edge.  The greeting is a combination of "love" and "you" from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set.  I hope you like it!  What odd leftovers can you incorporate into your cards?????

PaperCrafts Mag Submissions

I've been a busy bee today :)  Midnight tonight is the deadline for the current call for submissions for PaperCrafts magazine.  I decided to create and submit a few things...now I get to wait and see what happens...I'm sending good vibes out into the Universe :)  Wish me luck!!!!  I hope you are having a creative day! :)

One Stamp Wonders #3 - Birthday Greetings Card & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Clean Out The Garage!

Today's lesson may be more of a direct order for myself versus a post for you :)  I am sitting here writing this post and the next thing I am going to do is head out the garage and meet the beast head on!  I knew it was time to clean up when I was looking at art the other day - art that used old wooden thread spools - and I thought to myself how I had to go and find some of those to buy.  Later in the day I went out to the garage to grab my gardening gloves and looked up on a shelf and guess what was looking down at me?  Old wooden thread spools!  Yes, you guessed it - I have no clue what I even have anymore!  I don't know if you're anything like me, but I find myself in this predicament quite a bit.  I buy something that I don't think I have and then days, weeks, or months later I discover that I had it all along.  I am not proud of this - if anything I am a bit ashamed about my consumerism and the urge to constantly purchase more when I don't even know what I have.  So, today I head out to clean out the garage...maybe I'll have to take a few pics to share - public humiliation might be a great motivator for me! :)
Here is my third card in the One Stamp Wonders series!  I warn you - you will never look at your bottle of Crystal Effects in the same way ;)  Enjoy!

Four Ways Friday #46 - Double Cog XL Punch

Have you ever bought an item that has just sat in your craft space and you look at it and wonder, "Why did I buy that?"  That's what the Double Cog XL punch has been for me...until now!  I decided to challenge myself to make it the focus of this week's Four Ways Friday and now I am actually excited about this punch!

Okay, so it didn't take much to stretch my imagination to use the cogs with a stamp set that already has gears in it!  Here I punched the cogs out of Very Vanilla card stock and then sponged them with Soft Suede ink and teamed them up with the Sense of Time stamp set.  The clock and greeting were stamped in Early Espresso and the gears in Soft Suede.  I added a bit of sponging and spritzing to the clock along with a few brads in the clock centers.  The card base is Natural Ivory (LOVE this color!).

If this card doesn't make you smile then you are definitely in need of a vacation :)  The cogs seemed to look like big monster truck tires (and no, I don't spend my spare time at monster truck rallies...not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with spending your spare time at monster truck rallies...and somehow I still thought "tires!" when I started playing with these cogs!).  Here I punched the cogs out of basic black card stock and applied Crystal Effects to them to make them shine!  I teamed them up with the truck from Loads of Love - I used my basic black marker to ink up the stamp only on the parts of the truck that I wanted and then stamped it onto Whisper White card stock, cut it out, and colored it in with Poppy Parade marker and a touch of silver marker (non-SU).  I also added some crystal effects to the windows after stamping the man from Loads of Love Accessories.  A strip of Basic Gray card stock became the road and the "live big" is from the Think Big stamp set (retired).

As I was playing around with the cogs, I started layering them and realized that cogs could be flowers!  Here I punched out multiple cogs from random designer series paper scraps.  For each flower I layered and adhered 2 of the large cogs.  For the centers I adhered one small cog onto the circle center punch from one of the large cogs.  I then adhered these to the card with dimensionals.  I added a rhinestone jewel in the center of each flower for a bit of bling.  For the stems I did a bit of sewing on the sewing machine.  The leaves were cut from the 5-petal flower punch and then scored down the center with a bone folder.  The greeting is from the Something To Celebrate hostess set.

Don't robots need cogs too?!?! :)  Here I cut up a few of the cogs to make arms and eyelashes.  The small cogs were great for eyes!  I did a bit of economical stamping too - I used the larger cap from my Tombo glue as a stamp to make the rectangular body shapes and cut them out.  I also did some stamping with the tube from my paper piercing tool to make the stamped circles around the eyes.  The greeting is from Alphabet Soup (retired).  I covered the eyes, small circles, arms, and "feet" with Crystal Effects to make them shine!
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!!  I had a lot of fun playing around with a punch that sat for many months gathering dust.  I hope this inspires you to look at the Double Cog XL punch in some new ways!!!  Have a wonderful and creative weekend!!!!!

Bird Feeder Scene Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sit And Watch The Birds

We visited a friend the other day and found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, looking out the window at the bird feeders and the birds.  There used to be a beautiful cherry tree out the window and when the cherry tree came to the end of its life, our friend just didn't have the heart to take the whole tree down.  So, he left part of the trunk to serve as a place to hang bird feeders.  The birds love it!  I find watching birds to be one of my most favorite ways to relax.  Sitting here at the computer I can look out my window at a bird bath that gets frequented by robins.  When I am in the craft room I can look out the window at the back yard and watch all of the feeders and a different bird bath.  I have thought numerous times of moving my craft room to another location in the house in order to have more space, however the ability to sit and watch the birds as I create is too beautiful to give up!  When was the last time you sat and watched the birds?
As you have probably guessed, today's card is a thank you card that we are sending to our friends for the perfect day we spent with them in the kitchen, looking out the window.  I used the Season of Friendship stamp set to create the tree trunk - I just inked part of the stamp with a Chocolate Chip maker and stamped onto Whisper White card stock.  The feeders were drawn free-hand and then cut out.  I attached them to the card with dimensionals and then poked holes in the card to thread wire and hemp twine as the "hangers."  I added a touch of crystal effects to both feeders.  The background was sponged with Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery.  I then stamped the far tree from the Le Jardin Botanique (retired) stamp set after coloring the stamp with Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, and Old Olive markers.  The grass and the little black bird are from the Sunshine of Life (retired) stamp set.  I stamped the grass at half strength using Old Olive ink.  The bird in the tree is from the Bliss (retired Sale-a-bration) stamp set.  I stamped him with Early Espresso and then colored him with a touch of Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake.  The greeting from Happy Harmony (retired) was stamped in Basic Black.  The panel was mounted onto a piece of Poppy Parade card stock and then onto a Certainly Celery card base.  I hope you like it :)

A Few More Elegant Ice Note Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Find A Way To Carry Something You Make With You

The other day I was reading a magazine that I had brought with me on the plane and I became aware that I was holding one of the cloth bookmarks I had made in my hand and I was feeling the fabric between my fingers as I was reading.  It brought a smile to my face - looking down at the bookmark and recalling the steps I had gone through to make it.  As I felt the soft fabric between my fingers it almost transported me to the craft room!  It made me realize that although I was not in the craft room, I could always carry a little piece of it with me on the road :)  I have also started carrying one of my small handmade journals with me as well.  I used to carry a plain old spiral notebook, but I find that having my personal, handmade one creates that same feeling of comfort - that sense of being home :)  What piece of your art can you carry with you?
Today's card is part of the ice skating set that I made for my friend for her birthday.  I once again used the Elegant Ice (retired) stamp set.  Here I stamped the ice dancers onto Whisper White card stock using Basic Black ink.  I then used a hobby blade to cute out the image.  It looks tedious, but if you have a nice sharp blade, you can work pretty quickly, even on an intricate image like this one.  I mounted the cut out image to the So Saffron card stock using cut up dimensionals.  Here is the final card that was a part of the set:

Here I stamped the skater and colored her dress and skin using markers.  I then added a bit of dazzling diamonds to her dress with 2-way glue.  I stamped the medal and used a gold metallic marker (not SU) to color the medal and a marker to color the ribbon.  I then mounted it to the panel with dimensionals and then added crystal effects to make the medal shine!  The greeting is from Fabulous Phrases and was stamped, with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig, with Basic Black ink.  I hope you like both cards!

Elegant Ice (Retired) Note Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Go The Other Direction

On my morning walk with Buddy, we traditionally go in the same direction.  I find that on certain days it's like I'm on auto-pilot - like someone else or something else is guiding my body in that direction.  So I decided to change things up and reverse the route!  It was absolutely refreshing!  It's funny - when you walk in the same direction in a neighborhood, you tend to see things from the same vantage point.  When you reverse the route, you see things so differently!  Instead of seeing front doors, we were looking at backyards :)  I think the same can be true with how we approach making a card.  We may get into a habit with how we create - maybe we pick the colors first; or the stamp set first; or the layout.  Whatever it is you do first when you create, try going in a different direction - start where you don't normally start - you may like what you see!
I have a very close friend who is a skating instructor and I knew I had to create some skating cards for her for her birthday!  I purchased the retired Elegant Ice stamp set and had a lot of fun!!!!  Here I stamped the skater image once and cut it out.  Then I stamped her dress a second time, after coloring directly on the stamp with Rose Red and Pink Pirouette markers.  I then cut out the dress and adhered it to the first cut-out image.  I colored her skin using markers.  I then stamped the greeting from Warm Words (retired) with VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Finally, I adhered the skater to the card using dimensionals.  Here are a few different versions of the card...