Figments of my Imagination

Party This Way Builder Wheel Birthday Card

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Acknowledging Someone Else's Feelings Isn't About You

I conduct quite a bit of training focused on how to have difficult conversations. What do I mean by a difficult conversation? It is anything that you find difficult to talk about. It could be a discussion with your spouse about family issues, or a conversation with a co-worker about workload, or a much needed conversation with a friend about something that has upset you. Whatever the topic of the conversation, it is very likely that you feel strong emotions about it...and so do they. If we aren't able to acknowledge these emotions it might be very difficult to move forward to address the problem. When it comes to acknowledging emotions or empathizing with someone, we need to remember that it is not about us. It doesn't matter if we are feeling the same feelings or even if we can't in a million years understand why they are feeling the way that they are. What is important to recognize is that as human beings we have emotions and acknowledging those emotions can help us move forward. Ignoring emotions can cause them to get in the way. Acknowledging someone's feelings can be as simple as naming the feeling we hear them expressing to us. For example, "It sounds like you are feeling overwhelmed by our finances right now." When it comes to emotions I often hear people begin their statements with, "I understand." I don't know about you, but when I hear someone say "I understand," my first reaction is to want to say, "there is no way you can understand - you aren't me!" Remember, acknowledging their feelings isn't about you - it is about them and providing their feelings with the gift of being seen. And don't forget, you need to take some time to acknowledge your own feelings, particularly if you want to be able to focus your attention on giving them the gift of recognizing their's.
Today's card was created with the Party This Way stamp set - one of the sets that is available for FREE during Sale-a-Bration if you place an order of $50 or more in Stampin' Up! product! I stamped the candles in Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral and Island Indigo and cut them out. I added some Dazzling Details to the candle flames for sparkle. The bottom of the card was created by rolling the Candle Crazy builder wheel on a Calypso Coral ink pad and then rolling it across the bottom of the card (3 times). I added the strip of In Color designer series paper from the Patterns Stack and finished the card by stamping the birthday greeting from Party This Way and punching it out with the Modern Label punch. I hope you like it!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Snow Painting

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: All The World Is A Stage...And A Canvas!!!!!

It was right in front of me. Day after day. Walk after walk. The snow covered the ground around me and I saw it only as snow. Pretty, white, pure....just snow. Until yesterday. I was walking Buddy and suddenly I began to see all of that snow as one big canvas!!!! All of that empty white space - so beautiful on its own....and yet so open to possibility! I began to think about what I might do that would be environmentally friendly...and this is what I came up with. I went out on a whim :) I hope you enjoy it! Remember - all the world is not only a stage...it is also a canvas!

Designer Series Paper Glass Gem Magnets

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I Have To Smile When My Actions Turn Into The Ridiculous

Okay...I'm going to admit it. I was sitting here today with my laptop, went to google and actually typed into the search box "how to stop surfing the internet!" The minute I did it I actually laughed out loud! Oh the irony! The search led me to an article about a guy who was so addicted to the internet he was spending 16 hours a day on-line and becoming incredibly depressed. 16 hours a day! I can't even imagine spending that much time on my computer. But that doesn't mean that the time I do spend on the computer doesn't feel overly excessive or unproductive to me! Do I dare admit what I check when I get online? Okay, here goes....there are a few sites where I take a quick look at news or get my daily affirmation from Louise Hay. But where I often find myself heading is to my own blog and my own YouTube channel. There, I said it. But why am I going there? What am I looking for? I look to see if anyone has left a comment or if someone new has subscribed to my channel or blog. The real question I need to be asking myself is why I feel the need to check as often as I do? Maybe at some level I'm trying to figure out if I am making a difference. In some of the work I do I am able to see the impact of what I am doing pretty immediately. However, when I place a post on a blog or upload a video on a website, it is difficult to figure out if you are having any impact. I guess like any other human being, I want to know that I am making a difference - have confirmation or validation of that. Maybe I need to shift my focus and realize that just by following my heart I am making a difference in my life and the lives of others - whether or not I see a comment or a new subscriber. That by being true to what I feel I am here to do I am providing myself with all the confirmation I need. Of course, another explanation is that I'm just procrastinating....but that's an issue for another day (oh the irony!) :)
For today's project I used the Flirtatious designer series paper to make these quick & easy magnets! Here is a video to show you how!

Builder Wheel Pennant Parade Birthday Card

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Use Your Own Life For Your Own Lessons

When it comes to writing my lessons from the craft room, I often find myself turning to thoughts of other people's lives and experiences and then I remind myself that hidden in the events of my own life there are so many lessons to be found. In order to see those lessons, though, I need to be willing to really look at my own life - to examine it and study it and consider it. At times that's not the easiest thing to do because not only does that study allow me to look at what I feel I am accomplishing, it also forces me to look at what I am wasting. How easy it is to just la-la-la the day away. What do I mean by "la-la-la" the day away? Well, to procrastinate - to avoid sitting down and really doing what speaks to my heart. To turn on the tv in the craft room and spend more time paying attention to the episode on the screen than the episode of my life that I can create. To get up, sit down, get up, sit down - rather than just sit and face whatever it is that is in front of me. So today I will look to my own life for my own lessons - and today's lesson is really a question - what episode do I want to create? How much am I really willing to waste?
I had a ton of fun using Builder Wheels to make today's card! I combined the Happy Bday, Pennant, and Striped Builder Wheels on the spindle for my jumbo Stampin' Around handle. I used Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive in the triple cell cartridge. I ran the wheel over the Whisper White card base three times. I then stamped the image from Pennant Parade and punched it out with the Petite Pennants Builder punch. The greeting from the set was stamped and punched with a circle punch. A hand-cut triangle and some adhesive rhinestones finish the card :) I hope you like it!

Four Ways Friday #79 - Petite Pairs

2012-02-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Four Ways Friday shows you four fun ways to use your Petite Pairs stamp set!

I love to stamp sentiment stamps over and over, letting the ink lighten as I stamp. Here I stamped the sentiment (with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig) using Not Quite Navy ink. I started at the bottom with the ink and full strength and then worked my way up, stamping at 1/2 strength and 1/3 strength. The raccoon is from the Furry Folks stamp set. I stamped him with Staz-On onto Crumb Cake card stock and cut him out. I then used my aqua painter and some Early Espresso ink to add some darker color to his stomach and tail. The Petite Pairs stamp set has sentiments that go together, so on the inside of this card, I stamped the companion sentiment...

You might also choose to stamp your sentiment and the companion sentiment on the front of the card. That is what I did to make this incredibly simple card.

I created the smiley face with some Daffodil Delight card stock and my 1" circle punch. The mouth was punched using the 3/4" circle punch and some Basic Black card stock - you could hand cut this piece as well. The eyes were just hole punches from a small office hole punch. I stamped the sentiments on the front of the card with Jet Black Staz-On with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig. The smiley face was added onto the card with a dimensional. So simple and so cute :)

Whenever you look at a sentiment stamp, remember that you don't have to stamp all of the words. The "happy birthday" came from a "happy birthday wishes" stamp set that is in the Petite Pairs set. I used my Pacific Point marker to ink up the part of the stamp that I wanted and stamped it onto Crumb Cake card stock. I did the same with greetings from Short & Sweet and Bring On The Cake. I then hand cut the pieces into banners. I also created banners using the brights stack patterned paper in Pacific Point. The little stars were stamped using the Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and punched out with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. I glued the pieces to 1/2" punched Pear Pizazz circles and then attached them to the patterned paper banners with dimensionals. I adhered all of the banners to the Soft Suede card base - the sentiment banners were adhered with dimensionals and the patterned paper banners with glue. Next I die cut a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock using the Simply Adorned edgelits and embossed with the coordinating Adorning Accents embossing folder. I adhered the strip to the card with glue and then embellished it with die cut Pacific Point stars. The final touch was to add some adhesive rhinestones for some bling :)

Talk about a perfect sentiment for some Valentine's chocolates!!!! This little box is a variation on a small box that was demonstrated during Stampin' Up!s Leadership convention. I altered the box to make the ends a little shorter to look more like a small basket and added a handle and some white waffle paper....now all it needs are a bunch of Hershey's kisses! :) Here is a video to show you how to make this modified version of this little box.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!! Wishing you a wonderful, creative and love-filled weekend!!!!!

More Design Team Creations For Paper Crafter's Library!

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Sometimes Your Art Is Just An Opportunity To Share Your Inner Thoughts

I've realized something about this blog and what it means to me. Sometimes I think that creating and sharing my projects serves as a "front" for the ability to share my inner thoughts. Maybe it feels safer to do so within the context of sharing a piece of art. Inside I feel that a big part of living is sharing the experience of life with one another. I haven't quite decided where a line needs to be drawn yet - although I guess I have drawn one - between what I share and what I don't. What I do know is that sharing what's going on inside of me makes me feel more real, more alive and just plain true. I say "sharing" and the truth is I don't really even know if you read what I write here (except for the few of you that take the time to comment every once in awhile). Please know that I appreciate when you share your thoughts with me - it allows me to listen to your inner thoughts and share in an exchange. I hope the art I share with you continues to create opportunities for you to share your thoughts with me :)
As promised, here are two more projects that I created for my first installment as a Design Team member for Paper Crafter's Library! For both projects I used the Twitterpated Suite in the Stampin' Up! Occassions Mini Catalog! Can you tell I'm in love with these patterns and colors! :) The first project is a fabric bookmark using the Twitterpated designer fabric, pleated satin ribbon and Twitterpated buttons. I also did a bit of stamping on Whisper White satin ribbon using the Elements of Style stamp set.

The adorable Twitterpated designer series paper provided a great excuse to make these small tile magnets! I'm already imagining the altered tin I can create to house these magnets for gift giving!!!! I combined the paper with the Twitterpated buttons and the large adhesive pearls. If you think my craft room and fridge are covered with these magnets, you are absolutely right! :) If you are a Paper Crafter's Library member, I created exclusive videos and pdf handouts to show you how to make these projects yourself! If you are interested in learning more about Paper Crafter's Library, feel free to check out the site HERE. Next month I will be sharing my next set of projects for Paper Crafter's Library...can you say Blossom Punch???? (hint, hint :)

First Paper Crafter's Library Design Team Project!

2012-02-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: It Is Energizing To Begin A New Journey!!!!!

Today I am so excited to share with you my first project as a Design Team member for Paper Crafter's Library!!!!! Since books can be used to document a journey, I decided to begin my journey with Paper Crafter's Library by created a mini book to capture my thoughts about this experience! I turned to the Twitterpated Suite for my color palette, paper and accessories. I love the spring feel of the Twitterpated designer series paper! I even used the paperboard that comes with the designer series paper (to protect the paper from bending) to create sturdier pages for this mini book. I was also very excited to use Stampin' Up!s new Adorning Accents edgelit dies and the framelits dies! You can use them to cut through card stock, paper, and thin paperboard. I dressed up the cover of the book with some pleated satin ribbon, baker's twine, a mini pin, a die cut (Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die), punched flowers and adhesive pearls. Ooh - and I can't forget that adorable Twitterpated button :) The stamped image is from the Outlined Occassions stamp set - one of the wonderful Sale-a-bration stamp sets that you can select for free with a $50 product purchase during Sale-a-bration! If you are a Paper Crafter's member, you can log on to the member area of the site to view the video I created showing you how I made this book! An instructional pdf is also available to members on the site. Feel free to check back here tomorrow. I'll be sharing two of the other projects I created for Paper Crafter's Library using supplies from the Twitterpated Suite! :)

For those of you that don't know, Paper Crafter's Library is an online educational and reference resource for paper crafters. It is theirmission to help their readers and their members discover and develop their creativity through paper crafting by providing both inspiration AND instruction. Currently featuring a library of over 700 video tutorials, pdf downloads and exclusive templates, Paper Crafter's Library's online education program offers detailed product information & how-to’s, multiple techniques as well as projects for all skills and levels of paper crafting. There are two components to Paper Crafter’s Library – the public blog and a membership site. It is their goal for the site to be a place of inspiration and education for everyone – regardless of level of membership. I was honored to be selected as one of the members of their first Design Team!!!!!

Valentine's Chocolate Bar Belly Band & Video!!!!

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Maybe Your Dream Is Telling You You Are Finding Your Voice

The other night I woke up screaming...literally. I woke both Michael and myself up when I screamed very loudly, "Help Me!!!!" I remember the dream vividly - 2 men breaking into the house, my asking my mom to go downstairs and get the gun, shooting the men and running out of the house, grabbing the dog and trying to scream to the people down the street - they were so far away and I was trying to yell, "help me," but my voice just wouldn't come out of my throat....until it finally did - at the top of my lungs - and it woke us up. As you can imagine - I had a hard time falling back to sleep - I was afraid to - afraid of my dream. I was scared the dream was telling me that I needed help - that I was in danger. Then I thought about it some more. I have had dreams like this in the past...but have never been able to shout in my dream, let alone wake myself up shouting. I realized that in this dream I actually found my voice - I had the ability to call out and use my voice to express myself. And that led to a smile. Maybe this dream isn't telling me I need help at all. Maybe what it's really telling me is that I am finding my voice.
Today's project is a perfect way to dress up your chocolate bars for Valentine's Day! Here is a video to show you how I made this fun belly band! Enjoy!!!!

Artistic Etchings Tri-Fold Card

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Stop Waiting For Permission Outside Of Yourself. You Are All The Permission You Need.

As I am writing this post for the coming week, I am sitting and turning frequently to look out the window. Since yesterday (2/1) the news has been talking about a very large snowstorm that is headed our way. So all day today I have been checking out the window, checking the news, trying to anticipate when it will start and how much snow we will get and what will it be like when it gets here. It reminds me of that great ketchup commercial when I was young. The one for Heinz 57 ketchup? Anticipation....anticipation is making me wait. Do you remember it? You had to wait and wait for that ketchup to make its way to the opening of the bottle (unless you learned the little secret of hitting the bottle right on the "57." Of course now they've put ketchup in plastic bottles and you don't need to anticipate, you just need to squeeze). Anyway, I digress. So I've been anticipating this storm - looking forward to it actually - and now, as I sit here, I'm a bit concerned that it might not come and that makes me sad. So what is it that I'm really anticipating and worried about not experiencing? A part of it is the snow itself - the peaceful white - the blanket it creates over everything. Underneath that though, is what I really want - a day where you really can't go anywhere - a day where you need to just be indoors and enjoy your surroundings. A day when places are closed and events are canceled and you are left to surround yourself with your loved ones - or just cuddle up on the couch and relax. A day that gives you "permission" to do what you want or to just slow down. So what the heck am I waiting for???? Why do I feel I need a snowstorm to make that happen - to give me permission?! I can actually create for myself what I'm wanting this snowstorm to create for me. I am all the permission that I need! (Update: The snowstorm did arrive and it brought a TON of snow...just in case you were wondering!). Here are a few photos from the backyard. The first one is a picture of the lawn chairs on Friday night. The second picture is a measure of the snow Saturday morning :) I had to use my large deckle edge ruler...the regular ruler wasn't long enough!!!!

For today's project I decided to make a tri-fold card that closes with a belly band. I used the Flirtatious designer series paper with the new Framelits to create the belly band. The stamped images are all from Artistic Etchings. To create the tri-fold card I began with a piece of 4 1/4" x 11" piece of Melon Mambo and scored the card stock at 2 3/4" and 8 1/4". I hope you like it! Here is a close up of the belly band:

Four Ways Friday #78 - I Love Love Jumbo Wheel

2012-02-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

In this week's Four Ways Friday I am sharing four different ways you can use your I Love Love jumbo wheel. Each of these projects would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

I began with a card :) The I Love Love jumbo wheel can create a simple and easy design for your card base. Here I cut a piece of Baja Breeze card stock and scored it twice. I then ran the card through the Big Shot twice with the heart border for the Adorning Accents embossing folders. I then glued the inside flap down to create a pocket and made a small Whisper White card to fit inside. I stamped the card with an image from Short & Sweet. To hold the small card closed I created a band using the Everyday Enchantment (Sale-a-bration) designer series paper. I wrapped the band around the card and adhered it together with glue. Then I began to add onto the band - first I wrapped it with sticky strip and pleated Pear Pizzazz ribbon. Next came a punched and sponged Whisper White circle with a punched and sponged heart on top. The Short & Sweet "love you" mini banner came next. Finally I added some buttons and an adhesive rhinestone. This card is perfect for holding a message and a gift card or coupon for Valentine's Day!

Candy and Valentine's Day seem to go hand-in-hand, so what better way to use your I Love Love jumbo wheel than to create a candy holder :) Here I started with a plain old brown paper lunch bag. I cut off the top and used the jumbo wheel with Cherry Cobbler ink to roll all four sides of the bag. Next I added strips of Cherry Cobbler card stock to the top of the bag - I created the scallop edge with the scallop circle punch. Notice how I used the extra little strip of Cherry Cobbler on the bottom of the bag - this is the strip that is "waste" when you use the scallop edge punch. I then added some mini clothespins to hold the bag of sweets closed. I stamped the heart from I Heart Hearts and punched it out with the heart circle punch. Next I added a bit of Early Espresso baker's twine and a mini banner stamped with the Teeny Tiny Wishes "happy valentine's day." I couldn't stop there :) I added a large oval and another heart along with punching out a greeting I had stamped from Sweet Season. I love how this jumbo wheel can jazz up a simple brown paper bag and make it something special!

The I Love Love jumbo wheel is also great for creating backgrounds for your scrapbook pages! Here I repeatedly rolled the wheel over and over using Rose Red ink. I didn't use a cartridge in the wheel, I just inked the wheel up on an ink pad and then kept rolling as the ink got lighter and lighter. I even rolled right over where I had previously rolled. This became a great backdrop for this 6x6 scrapbook page. And yes, if you're wondering, that's me and my dad :)

This jumbo wheel is also wonderful to use for making banners!!!!! I began with rectangular pieces of Crumb Cake card stock and rolled the wheel across the bottoms using Crumb Cake ink. Next I cut out the triangles to create the banners. I used the framelits to create the backgrounds for the letters which were die cut using the Alphabet Simple Letters dies and Melon Mambo card stock. I punched some hearts using the Heart to Heart punch and sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink before adhering them to the banner. You probably can't tell from the photo, but those little rosettes were made from the leftover brown paper lunch bag that I used for the second project I shared with you! I just cut 1/2" strips of the brown paper bag and then scored every 1/4" of an inch before adhering the ends together and hot gluing the rosette in place. I added an extra large adhesive pearl to the rosette centers for some added bling. Finally I glued some pieces of drinking straws to the back of each of the banners and thread a piece of 1/4" grosgrain ribbon through the straws. I then finished off the look with a couple of Crumb Cake seam binding knots!

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I hope it inspires you to use your I Love Love jumbo wheel to create some fun projects to express your love! I wish you a peaceful, inspired and creative weekend!!!!

Elementary Elegance Love Card

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You Never Know What You Don't Know
Just over a year ago I shared with you the news that a man I knew from the park (he used to bring his dogs there) had committed suicide. Our interactions were always enjoyable and I never got a sense that underneath those perfectly simple and happy interactions there was so much pain he was experiencing. I believed, or at least tried to convince myself, that if I knew him better I would have known something was wrong. Well, I am continually reminded that that is not the case. That we never know what we don't know. Today a friend shared some information with me about illness in her family that she had known about for over 2 years. I am still in a bit of shock about the news. This is someone I know very well - someone I interact with a lot and share quite a bit with. I interact almost as frequently with her family member who has been dealing with this for the past 2 years. And yet, even in this case, I did not know what I didn't know. Learning this information from my friend changes how I have viewed the last few years - thoughts I had about why she and her family did or did not do certain things (another lesson that continues to pop up in my life - how we jump to conclusions or judgments so quickly and feel so right and that what we really need to do is to recognize our conclusions are based on very limited information). So the next time you find yourself making a judgment or thinking you know it all - recognize that you only know what you know...and what you know can never be everything that is going on for someone else.
It's February (can you believe it?!), so Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Get ready for a series of cards and items that can be created to express your love for those special people in your life! :) Today's card began with a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock. I took a small strip of River Rock card stock and used some metal stamps to deboss the word "love" multiple times. I sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink and adhered the strip to the card base. The focal image from the beautiful Elementary Elegance Sale-a-bration stamp set was stamped onto River Rock using Early Espresso ink. I then cut the image out with my paper snips. I then used my curly label punch to punch out another piece of River Rock card stock and sponged the edges. I stamped the label with the greeting from Three Little Words and the little images (key, crown & butterfly) from Elementary Elegance). The label was popped up using dimesionals and the whole piece was attached to the card with dimensionals. Finally I added a bow made from Crumb Cake seam binding. It was attached with two mini glue dots.

Out On A Whim: Stamped & Embossed Fabric Postcard

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Send Your Art Out Into The Universe

Let me be the first to admit that it is difficult for me to let go of things - especially things that I create for the first time and am pleased with the outcome. That happened to me with this fabric postcard that I am sharing with you today as part of Out On A Whim Wednesday. I saw a reader's challenge in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine (if you haven't ever seen the magazine and you like mixed media, you may want to check it out!). The challenge was to create a fabric postcard and mail it to the magazine. I had never mailed something made of fabric (have you?) and just wondering how to attach a stamp to such a marvel really got me intrigued :) So I let the magazine sit for days...no, make that weeks...and finally sat down to create. I had wanted to incorporate one of the birds that comes to the backyard so one day I sat and watched as the crows arrived. I then pulled out my camera inside the house and took a bunch of photos through the kitchen window. The crow that I have included on the postcard was sitting on top of one of the shepherd's hooks that holds a bird feeder. I printed the photo on my computer and then outlined the shape of the bird. I cut it out and then placed it on a piece of chipboard and cut out a chipboard template that I can now use over and over. I used the template to cut a piece of velvet and then I embossed the velvet using the Bella Toile background stamp. The postcard itself began as a piece of muslin that I stamped and stenciled and heat embossed with a combination of current and retired stamps, sequin waste, gold embossing powder - I just kept going :) I pulled out some Crumb Cake seam binding and did some stamping with my Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set and Staz-On ink. All the pieces were sewn to the muslin either by hand or with the machine. I then added some little gold sequin stars. The whole piece was then layered - a piece of thick iron-on adhesive interfacing in between the front and the back of the postcard. I then ironed it all together and sewed the edges with metallic thread. And then I smiled. I feel like there is a special part of me in this postcard - particularly since the bird is a part of life in the backyard. I didn't want to send it out - I wanted to keep it. And that's what makes this even more special - just as the birds fly away from the back yard and I can't "keep" them, so too, I let go of this postcard and placed it in the mail to be sent off to the magazine. No, I didn't keep the physical piece, but what I absolutely kept was the experience of creating this piece of myself. I know it is difficult to let go. At the same time, if we are not willing to let it go...did we ever really, truly have it in the first place? If we really "have it," nothing can ever really take it away from us - it will be there forever.

Die Cut Acetate Stencil Background & Video!!!

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: What does it mean to be "epic?"

I really should stop watching tv altogether! There are times when I take television "vacations," and turn instead to books. Now may be one of those times. I am just frustrated by what I've been hearing lately on commercials! Ugh! The other night there was a Visa ad and do you know what it said? "The Superbowl. The most epic day in America." REALLY??????? Are you kidding me?????? So I looked up the word "epic" - wondering if somehow I had never understood the word in the first place and here is what I found for the definition of "epic" as an adjective: "of, relating to, or characteristic of an epic or epics." Okay, that's not really helpful since the word is used to describe the word....so then I looked at "epic" as a noun and came up with this, "a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation." So how is the Superbowl the most epic day in America?????? These are the most heroic and legendary figures we have??????? I can't even continue with this! How ridiculous!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I need a television holiday!
For today's card I created die cut acetate stencils to make the background. Here is a video to show you how....it's epic! :)

Nature Walk Dream Sign

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: For Every Action, There Is An Equal And Opposite Reaction

It is known as Newton's 3rd Law and it came to my attention when I decided to watch an episode of Oprah's Lifeclass while eating lunch the other day. I hadn't even heard of the show, so I'm not sure what led me to watch it, but I'm glad that I did. It's a lesson that I need to be reminded of every so often - that what we put out, comes back to us. That the energy and emotion we release into the universe has a way of finding its way back to us. I wonder how this impacts the things that I create. If I get frustrated and angry as I'm creating, it is likely the piece will resist me as well. It makes me pause to consider the energy I take into the craft room - trying to ensure that as I pass through the threshold and into the room, I take with me the intention to express my soul - to share the love for creativity that pulses through my veins. This does not mean that every piece I create will be "beautiful" by everyone's standards or that I cannot express difficult emotions in my work. What it does mean is that I just need to show up and be honest in my creating and the honesty I put out will bring honesty in return from the piece. If you do not like the reaction you are receiving from the universe, ask yourself, "What am I putting out that is encouraging this to come back to me?"
I made this sign as a gift for my niece. Butterflies hold a very special place for her and I and I try to incorporate them as a message to her in the gifts I make for her. Here I began with a piece of clay-coated masonite. I stamped the letters from a retired SU alphabet set. The butterfly also came from a retired set - the letters and the butterfly just seemed to be the perfect size for the sign. The flowers are from the Nature Walk stamp set. All the images were stamped with Staz-On (although that's not necessary when working with this clay surface). I sponged around the edges and into the center with ink. I then wound some q-tip cotton on the end of a small skewer to create a tool to apply ink with to the very small spaces on the images. I would dab the end of the skewer onto an ink pad and then dab the skewer onto the image. It worked perfectly! I added some crystal effects and dazzling diamonds to the flowers and some gold smooch ink to the butterfly. I made the holes in the board with my crop-a-dile and then added a wire with beads as the hanger. My last step was to spray seal the piece with a matte acrylic sealer. I hope you like it! :) Here is a close up of the flowers and butterfly:

Four Ways Friday #77 - Designer Frames Embossing Folders

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about how you can use the Designer Frames textured impressions embossing folders.

The Designer Frames embossing folders are great for creating focal points for your cards. Here I stamped the greeting from Tagtastic onto Confetti card stock with Cherry Cobbler ink. I then ran the piece through the Big Shot with the embossing folder. Next, I cut around the embossed image. Notice that you can use the embossing folders to emboss or deboss, depending on which side you choose to have facing up when you run it through the Big Shot. The mini card is a Pear Pizzazz base with a piece of designer series paper layered on top. The embossed piece was adhered with dimensionals. A tiny pin and some Early Espresso baker's twine finishes the look.

If you're not in the mood to cut, you can tear! Here I stamped the owl from Fox & Friends in Chocolate Chip on a piece of Whisper White card stock. I then ran the piece through the Big Shot with the embossing folder - notice how this time the central image is debossed v. embossed. I then tore the edges and adhered the piece with glue to a 3x3 Whisper White card base. The greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes was hand cut into a banner, a brad was added and then it was adhered to the card with dimensionals.

I also love using these embossing folders to create a frame for another focal piece. Here I ran the embossing folder through the Big Shot with a 3x3 Perfect Plum card base. I then stamped the tag from Tagtastic onto Sahara Sand card stock with Chocolate Chip ink. I punched it out with the decorative label punch. I then added a neutrals brad with a rhinestone adhered to the center. The entire focal piece was added to the card with dimensionals.

For this final card I decided to use the embossing folder multiple times. First I cut a piece of Crumb Cake card stock and ran the folder through the Big Shot two different times with just part of the embossing folder sandwiching the edge of the piece of card stock. I then sponged the piece with Soft Suede ink and spritzed it with my Soft Suede marker and the color spritzer tool Next I ran a scrap piece of Crumb Cake card stock through the Big Shot with the embossing folder and then cut out the frame. I sponged the edges and spritzed it as well. I then adhered the larger Crumb Cake panel to a Baja Breeze card base. The smaller Crumb Cake panel was then added with dimensionals to the center of the card. I then adhered a piece of pleated Baja Breeze ribbon using Sticky Strip. I stamped the frame from Four Frames with Crumb Cake ink and punched it out with the decorative label punch and added it to the card with dimensionals. Next came the stamped and cut out greeting from Notably Ornate. I stamped the Young Vermillion stamp in Early Espresso and cut him out as well before popping it up on the card with dimensionals. Finally, I created a bow with Crumb Cake seam binding and added it to the card with a few mini glue dots.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I wish you a peaceful, love & laughter-filled, and creative weekend!

Artistic Etchings Painted Tag

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Don't Cry Over Spilled Paint

I got into quite the groove while I was creating this tag! I began with a blank vintage tag and started stenciling and spraying and stamping and dripping. It was incredibly meditative and thoughtful. Then I had the great idea to add some Frost White shimmer paint to give the card an interesting sheen. Well, it was a great idea...until my attention was diverted for a second and the next thing I knew I had knocked over the little jar of precious paint and it was running all over the craft table, my tag and me! I don't know if you've seen the movie Goldfinger? The old James Bond flick where one of the bond girls is covered in gold spray paint? Well, I wasn't that covered, but my hands were! I looked like Frost White shimmer girl! :) I will confess to having had a few expletives erupt from my lips, but in a few seconds I had calmed myself down and began trying to push and scrape the precious paint back into the little jar. I also began smearing my fingers all over the tag - which smeared and smudged the ink I had just stamped. I kept smearing and smudging until I got most of the paint off of my craft table and hands and then I went and washed the remainder off of my hands. When I got back to the tag I was actually struck by how interesting the surface now looked. Of course it was nothing like I had planned...but it was perfect :) It took awhile for all that paint to dry and, once it did, I began adding on top of this new shimmer surface. I heat embossed and inked and dripped and once again found myself back in my meditative place. I am actually quite pleased with how this tag turned out. I was able to incorporate that yummy Blushing Bride pleated ribbon and a bit of the specialty paper from the Flirtatious designer series paper. I even added a touch of pearls and lace and a scalloped edge made with the new Adorning Accents edgelits dies. What I really learned though is to not cry over spilled paint...just go with it and enjoy the ride :)
Here is a close up of part of the tag:

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Lesson From The Bathroom

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room...or Bathroom to be more exact: Walls Can Be Built And Taken Down

OK, I'm going far out on a whim today - something I can do on Out-On-A-Whim Wednesdays :) There are some walls I have constructed in my life - walls built to protect me; walls built to create boundaries; walls built to provide me with solitude. Our walls can serve us well and some of mine have. Our walls may also be built for reasons that may separate us or alienate us from others and we may find that they serve their time and purpose and need to come down, for if we don't allow them to come down, we may not allow fresh air and love in.
What you are seeing in this photo is a wall in our bathroom. We decided this wall had served its purpose and we wanted to open it up and allow access into the bedroom and closet on the other side. It took less than a day (and in case you're wondering, we did not do the work ourselves - sometimes you need the help of others to take down your walls :) ...

It was always curious to me that this glass block window lived in a closet and how, when the wall came down, it allowed the light to flood into the room :) So now this bathroom is much like a blank piece of card stock to me! What do I mean by that? Well, there are now infinite possibilities as to what we can do with the space!!!!! It's amazing how when you take down one wall, you open up a world of possibilities. I have a feeling this bathroom has a lot more to teach me...it will be interesting to see where we end up!

Distressed Faux Leather Flower & Video!!!!

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. -- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
For today's lesson from the craft room, I'd like to offer you an article. It is an article that was written in The Washington Post back in 2007. I just learned about it...and it has moved me deeply. It will take you a bit to read, but I promise, if you do, you will be hard pressed to move forward with your day without being impacted in some way. If you choose to read the article, you can find it here. I would love to hear your thoughts...

Today I want to share with you how to make these flowers. In person they have a very leather-like quality to them! On this card I paired the flower with the greeting from Curly Cute and some hand-cut leaves. On the original flower on the card I used Soft Suede ink and did not use my paper crimper to soften up the card stock. In the video I used Chocolate Chip ink and the paper crimper. I like both looks and will leave it up to you to decide which look you like :) I hope you enjoy the video! Don't forget, SALE-A-BRATION starts today and runs through March 31st!!!!! Get free products for every $50 in merchandise you purchase!!!!! Click HERE to shop or to view the sale-a-bration brochure!!!!! :)

Stamped & Embossed Key Chains

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Question From The Craft Room: Are We Becoming Numb?

I was in the checkout line at a store and the woman in front of me decided to make a call on her cell phone. As we neared the checkout stand, she kept chatting to her companion on the phone. Then it was her turn at the counter and the woman behind the counter greeted her and asked how she was doing. The woman on the phone said nothing and instead, kept chatting on her phone. Ugh - I was not happy! Of course, I could hear every word she was saying to whoever she was talking to on the phone and it wasn't a conversation about a dire medical emergency or any such thing. But on and on she went with her call, totally ignoring the person completing her transaction for her. Can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine! When I got up to the counter I apologized to the woman on behalf of the cell phone-talking customer. Her response to me was, "You're sweet. Actually I don't even notice anymore." And that's what made me sad. Have we gotten to a point where it doesn't even bother us anymore when someone doesn't even acknowledge us? Have we become so numb? Has this become the norm? It makes me sad if this is our new norm. What I do know, though, is that it will never be the norm for me. How 'bout you?
Today's project are a set of key chains I made for my nieces :) I began with the same clay-covered masonite pieces that I have been playing with lately. I was able to punch holes in them using my crop-a-dile. Next I stamped to my heart's content! I used black Staz-On and also good ol' classic SU ink. I used the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp on Jordan's keychain and a retired SU stamp set called Groovy for Avery (she LOVES peace signs and everything groovy :) I was also able to scratch into the clay surface, so I outlined the letters in Avery's name and also created a border on Jordan's tag that I then applied ink to. I allowed the ink a bit of time to dry and then covered the tags with VersaMark ink and clear embossing powder. I heat embossed the tags and then repeated the embossing steps (adding powder and heating) a few more times and then, before the powder cooled, I sprinkled a little dazzling diamonds over the tags. Once the tags were cooled I painted the back with metallic paint and added the key chain hardware. I hope you like them :)

Four Ways Friday #76 - Furry Folk

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I decided to play with the adorable Furry Folk stamp set!

Let's begin with a clean and simple card! I love that you can create little scenes with this stamp set! Here I stamped the trees onto the Whisper White card stock using Always Artichoke ink. Prior to stamping, I colored the trunks of the trees on the rubber stamp with my Chocolate Chip marker. I stamped the bear in Early Espresso, with a Basic Black nose, onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock and cut him out. Next I stamped the greeting from Petite Pairs onto the card with Jet Black Staz-On and then popped the bear up on a couple of dimensionals.

A number of the stamps in this set are the perfect size for making adorable little tile magnets! Here is a video to show you how to make some magnets of your own!

Why stop at a small tile when you can make a bigger one!

I thought these adorable little guys would look great on a welcome sign! To create the sign I began by stamping the letters from the Contempo Alphabet (retired) using Jet Black Staz-On onto a white tile. Next I stamped each of the critters, also using Staz-On. The last stamped image was the Woodgrain background stamp for the bottom of the tile, also stamped with Staz-On. I then began adding small drops of ink to a little bit of Crystal Effects and painted each of the critters and the woodgrain. Once all of the Crystal Effects was dry, I sprayed the entire tile with an acrylic sealer, just to ensure the Staz-On would not come off. Finally, I drilled two holes into the tile and added the wire, beads and the touch of ribbon!

I decided to try heat embossing on glass with the adorable owl in this stamp set. This was my first attempt at heat embossing on glass and I got better the more I practiced! You can see some of the stray grains of embossing powder that got heated to the glass - if you use enough powder from your embossing buddy, you can prevent these stray grains from sticking to the glass! I sandwiched a piece of Flirtatious designer series paper in between two pieces of glass. I collaged a few words from a book to the designer paper before sandwiching it between the glass and soldering the pieces together. This is what the back of the necklace looks like:

Here is a video to show you how to heat emboss on the glass!

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I hope it inspires you to play with your Furry Folks stamp set or to try stamping on tiles with VersaMark or heat embossing on glass! I hope you have a wonderfully peaceful and creative weekend!!!

Stamped & Embossed Necklace

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You Can Turn Your Day Around!

It began as a good day - at least it felt that way. I got up and did some journaling and then took Buddy for a walk. I've been pretty determined to not start my day in front of my computer and journal instead. I got home and ate breakfast and then began doing some creating until I ran into a bit of an issue with something I was making. So I took a lunch break and it was while I was eating that a migraine decided to start to visit. My migraines historically are pretty classic. They begin with a visual aura - where I see spots/holes in whatever I am looking at. Next comes the numbness in one of my hands that then travels up to my face and mouth. Just writing about it makes me nauseous! And yes, the nausea and head pain then shows up. This time I didn't have much head pain (so grateful for that!). What I did have were thoughts about what a wash the day was going to be. I started feeling angry at my body - angry that I wasn't going to have the day I envisioned. My internal chatter began to call the day a waste - a total wash. And then I started to consider that. Why was I giving up on the entire day when it wasn't even mid-afternoon? Why was I resigned to throw away the rest of my day? So I took a few aspirin and rested a bit and then, when I felt a little bit better, I made my way back into the craft room. It was slow-going, but at least I wasn't sitting on the couch resigned to let the day slip by. I went on our evening walk with Buddy - figuring that the fresh air might help - and it did. By the time I got back from the walk, my head felt better and so did my disposition. I realized that I had plenty of time to enjoy of my day so I headed back into the craft room before dinner and made some progress. This day serves as an example to me - proof that you can turn your day around. Don't give up on your day early - don't call an entire day a "wash." Recognize that each day is lived moment by moment and while one moment may feel a bit of a waste, the next moment could be the moment you've been waiting for! :)
I wanted to share with you the project that I was working on during the day I described above. I wanted to make a necklace for my niece Avery using my stamps. I worked on a piece of clay-covered masonite as my base - I almost worked on a piece of card stock and a Scrabble piece instead, but went with the masonite. I painted the surface with a shimmery watercolor paint and then stamped the letter from a retired SU! set (the letter was the perfect size) using Jet Black Staz-On. Next I stamped the floral image from the Tiny Tags stamp set and added some color by dabbing on ink (Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry). I sanded the edges and ran the tile over the Rich Razzleberry stamp pad. Once everything was dry, I covered the masonite tile with VersaMark ink and clear embossing powder and heat embossed. I repeated this step 2 more times to get a nice coating of embossing powder. Before the embossing fully cooled, I pressed in a few tiny crystal rhinestones. To make the tile into a necklace I added a bail with crystal effects and then strung it on ribbon. I hope you like it! :)

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Painted Tile Baby Sign

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: The primary benefit of practicing art, whether well or badly, is that it enables one's soul to grow." -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
I'm not sure if you have had this experience, but I find that when people walk into my craft room they inevitably end up asking me what I am doing with all of the things I create - specifically if I'm going to sell them. It's an interesting question and one that is also a little curious to me at the same time. I get the impression that if my response was that I have absolutely no plans for my creations those same people would wonder why I'm bothering in the first place. I mean, why would you make something if you don't have a specific plan for it - a plan to make money on it or give it away or decorate your home? For those of us that make art, the secret lies so much deeper than the product of our efforts. We realize the truth in Kurt Vonnegut Jr's words - that the primary benefit of practicing art isn't about financial gain or home decorating - the primary benefit is that it enables our souls to grow. With each creative act you engage in, you are nurturing and growing your soul. Whatever you eventually choose to do with your art, know this - you are doing exactly what you need to do just by creating it.
I went out on a whim again with my tile paint! This time I chose to make a baby gift for a friend. Here's the process I went through to create the tile. I began with a blank tile and printed the baby's name on the computer. I used tracing paper to get the outline of the letters onto the tile:

Next I used special paint that you can bake in your oven to outline and fill in the letters and add circles to the tile:

Then I used the same special paint to paint some of the circles:

The tile was then left for 24 hours to dry before being baked in the oven. Once the tile had cooled, I drilled holes into the tile and created the hanging wire with beads and wire. I hope you like it :) If you do, you will definitely want to check back on Friday since I will share with you a similar sign I created using my Stampin' Up! supplies! :)

Foam Fortune Cookie With Stamped Fortune & Video!!!!

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Are You Listening To What They Are Trying To Sell You?

I'm not sure why I was paying attention - usually I tune out during commercials when I'm watching tv. But for some reason, I was paying attention to the two commercials that came on the other day. The first was for Campbell's Soup. And do you know what that commercial said?! Let me quote, "Nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from Campbell's!" Really?!?! Are we supposed to believe that! That there is nothing that can bring a family together like that product????? It got better - next came the commercial for Overstock.com. (and I actually have to admit to having purchased something from O.co prior to seeing this commercial). I started laughing when I heard what that commercial said. Let me quote again, "You'll find everything you need for a healthier, happier year!" Really?!?! Everything I need for a healthier, happier year!!!! Hmmm - let me see what would be on my list - health for my family, peace in the world - or at least a tolerance for one another, regular exercise, a positive attitude toward what life will bring me in the coming year...do they really sell that on Overstock.com?! I don't think so! So how have commercials become so ridiculous? Or maybe we have become a bit ridiculous by believing that a product, whatever it is, can bring us together like nothing else or can be everything we need for a healthier, happier year. As long as you're listening, here's what I'm selling...I'm selling the belief that our connection, health and happiness is not achieved through something we can buy on-line or in a store. It is found, instead, within ourselves and in our relationship with others. (ps. I want to thank you Doris for your amazing comment yesterday - it means so much to me and really supports today's lesson - I so appreciate the relationship you are sharing with me - it is a part of what is creating my healthy, happy year!).
Here is a video to show you how I created this foam fortune cookie with a stamped fortune! They look good enough to eat! (but please don't...how's that for a legal disclaimer :) Enjoy!!!!

Just Because Gift Tag

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Cut It Out, Don't Cut It Down!

When I was walking Buddy the other day, the song Colors Of The Wind from the Disney movie Pocahontas came rushing into my head. Don't ask why, but they did. (And I apologize if my mentioning it now means that you will have the song running through your head all day :) Anyway, there is a line in the song that goes like this, "How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down then you'll never know." These words kept playing over and over in my head as I walked. Then I realized why they were nagging at me - it was a very clear message to myself. I know I have told you this before and here I am telling you this again - I have self-talk that is not always the most supportive or helpful. I have a tendency to cut myself down quite a bit. Somehow I'm not good enough or creative enough or _________ enough and my internal self-talk likes to harp on that and I am, well, sick of it!!!!! So these lyrics came to me as a message - to remind me that if I keep cutting myself down I will never know how high I can grow! If I can cut it out and stop cutting myself down, then I will be able to realize my potential. So that's today's lesson from the craft room: Cut it out; Don't cut it down!!!! (ps It is kind of embarrassing to share that I have yucky self-talk. Somehow I think that I'm the only one who might be walking around the planet like that...but I think I might be wrong. If you have similar negative chatter in your mind, just think of how much you could grow if you would release that chatter!).
Today's tag accompanied a recent gift to a friend. I began with a vintage tag that I added some torn pieces of dictionary too. Then I sprayed and stenciled and stamped the tag. Then I gessoed it to tone-down some of the writing and sprayed and stenciled and stamped some more! I created the flower using ribbon and some muslin. (I'll show you how I made the muslin part in a video tomorrow!). I sprayed the ribbon flower with a mixture of water and ink so that it would match the tag. The seam binding ribbon used at the top of the tag was also sprayed. The large oval from Notably Ornate was stamped (I only inked up part of the image so that I didn't get the words or the lines that are on the stamp). I punched it out using the large oval punch and adhered it over some seam binding ribbon that I had sewn to the tag using gold metallic thread. I then added a "banner" of sponged card stock that I had stamped with the greeting from Notably Ornate.

Here is a look at the back of the tag (this may ruin the surprise to the person I just sent this too - oops! I edited out her name just in case she hasn't received it yet)! I decorated the back of the tag as I had the front. The only addition is that I took a piece of transparency/window sheet and cut it to fit most of the back of the tag and then I adhered it to the tag in 2 of the corners using mini glue dots - they are pretty invisible! I was then able to use a Sharpie marker to write on the transparency. I love that this allows the collage underneath to show through! I'm also not too disappointed by my sloppy sewing (my sewing machine got stuck and being the unskilled sewing machine operator that I am, this was the best I could do :). I like how you can see the bunches of threads. Playing with tags has really been a lot of fun for me - a nice change from standard cards. I hope you like it!

Four Ways Friday #75 - Petite Pennants Builder Punch (& Video!!!!)

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Four Ways Friday (and happy Friday the 13th)! Today I'd like to share four ways to use your Petite Pennants Builder Punch!

Let's start simple! The plain triangle makes a perfect flag/banner! Here I punched a piece of Real Red card stock for the flag. I stamped a "1" using Calendar Alphabet & Numbers and punched it out and popped it up on the flag. I adhered a piece of Garden Green card stock to the Whisper White card base and then added a small punched oval of Crumb Cake card stock with glue. The greeting from On Your Birthday was stamped with the stamp-a-ma-jig and Jet Black Staz-On. I then cut a thin strip of Early Espresso card stock and adhered it to the card with glue. The flag was then adhered to the end of the strip with glue. Finally, I punched a small circle from Whisper White card stock and used my embossing tool to press into the circle so that it would become "raised." I then used a very small piece of a dimensional to adhere it to the card. So simple!

Why stop at one triangle when you can use many?! :) Here I punched a bunch of plain triangles from Cajun Craze card stock. I then glued them down, one by one, onto a Crumb Cake card base. I trimmed the excess from the ends once the glue had dried. Next I took the (SNEAK PEEK) Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment Lucky Limeade organdy ribbon and wrapped it twice around the card and knotted it. I then cut out one of the doilies from the Flirtatious specialty designer series paper and adhered it to the card with glue. I then stamped the tag from Tagtastic using Chocolate Chip ink onto Very Vanilla card stock. I punched out the tag using the decorative label punch, sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink and then spritzed the card and the tag with the spritzer tool and a Chocolate Chip marker. I added a (SNEAK PEEK) Sale-a-bration Everyday Enchantment brad using my piercing tool and then adhered the tag to the card with dimensionals.

Stegosaurus!!!!!!! I'm laughing even as I am typing this! How did I come up with this one? Well, I had punched a bunch of the triangles out and had started playing with curling them and gluing them together and somehow those glued pieces looked like the scales/spines on a stegosaurus! (are they even called scales/spines?) I cut one of the scalloped triangles in half and glued the halves together for the head. I added a googley eye (you can use punched circles just as easily). The card body was made with the Clear Circle die. I cut a piece of Basic Grey card stock and folded it in half and the made sure to line up the card stock just inside the outline of the circle die so that the top of the card would remain intact. I then cut off the bottom of the circle. Next I used the oval punch to cut the legs. I then ran the card and the legs through the Big Shot with the Distressed texturz plate (it is a bit hard to see the texture in the photo). I then punched out eight of the plain triangles. I cut three of them in half to make the straight spines and I curled and glued five of them to make the curled spines. I found that the curled spines stayed together much better when I glued them with Crystal Effects! I then sponged all of the pieces with Basic Black ink and adhered them to the card with Crystal Effects. Finally, the greeting from Just Believe was stamped and torn out of Whisper White card stock and adhered to the card with dimensionals. I hope this one makes you smile :) And, if it didn't, maybe this last one will!!!!! :)

Making creative punch art from punches is always a ton of fun! I played with the scalloped triangle shapes and came up with this poodle! Here is a video to show you how you can make one!

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I hope these projects inspire you to look at your Petite Pennants Builder punch in a new way!!!!! Wishing you a wonderfully peaceful and creative weekend!!!!!

Here's Looking At You Kid! Owl Card

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Help Spark Someone's Creativity!!!!!

One of my friends was sharing with me that she was out of touch with her creative side. She and her husband are struggling a bit financially right now and she has also been dealing with some chronic pain in her hips and back. It seemed to me like the perfect time to try to help spark her creativity since I know, first-hand, how therapeutic creativity can be! So I decided to put together a basket of creativity for her! I kept walking around my craft room pulling things off shelves and out of drawers and placing things into small plastic bags or directly into this recycled basket! It was fun putting the mix of card stock, canvas, fibers, bottle caps, lace, fabric, ribbon, punched shapes, beads, rhinestones, etc together!!!! It even inspired my own creativity in the process!!!!! Here's the basket:

Michael delivered the basket for me and I immediately received a text from my friend saying, "WOW! You are a beautiful gift to me. Thank you ever so for this thoughtful and lovely surprise. I'm gonna have so much fun! Xoxo...love and kisses." Sounds to me like she has been sparked!!!!! :) How can you help spark someone's creativity???? And don't forget...that someone could be you :)
Today's card was inspired by Humphrey Bogart's character Rick in the movie Casablanca :) I'm not sure why this quote popped into my head, but it did, and it needed a card :) I stamped the quote onto a small 3x3 card using the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. I paper pieced the exclamation point. I punched the owl using the 2-step owl punch from Chocolate Chip card stock and the decided he needed some wings. I punched a small oval and then cut the edges to use as the wings. The body was adhered to the card with dimensionals and the wings were then adhered beneath it with glue. The nose was cut from a scrap of Pumpkin Pie card stock. Finally, I punched the heart from a scrap of designer series paper and then adhered it to the owl and covered it with Crystal Effects. What quote can inspire you to make a card???? I would love to hear your quotes :)

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Painted Ceramic Tiles

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Challenge Yourself To Figure Out How To Make It With The Supplies That You Have!

If you have been following/reading my blog, you know that I recently have been playing around with both porcelain and glass paint! I've been having a ton of fun searching for different surfaces to paint - things that can then be placed in the oven here at home and heated so that the items are both dishwasher and microwave safe. Well, it didn't take me long to move from the idea of painting food service items to the idea of painting tiles that can be used in so many different ways around the house and on home decor items!!!!! So I pulled out some 2"x 2" white and black tiles that I happened to have in the house and I began to paint and experiment. As you can see, I became obsessed with creating these grid patterns! I used a gold outliner to create the lines and then just filled in the little boxes with paint - it is so therapeutic!!!! It looks like faux cloisonne to me - very enamel-like. You are probably now seeing how I became inspired to make the tile magnets I shared with you yesterday :) After painting quite a few of these tiles I began to wonder how I might be able to make something similar (although not dishwasher/microwave safe) using my Stampin' Up! materials. The heat embossed tile magnets using gold embossing powder and Crystal Effects was the result of that thinking! How can you challenge yourself to figure out how to make something you really like using the supplies that you already have on hand????? You might amaze yourself by what you come up with!!!!

Heat Embossed Tile Magnets & Video!!!!

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: There Is So Much Going On On The Inside That You Can't See From The Outside!

As I look out my office window I can see the bare branches of the lilac bush that lives just on the other side of the window. I see mostly brown branches...but if I look very closely I see something else as well...tiny little buds at the ends of the branches! Here we are in the midst of winter and this bush is reminding me that there is so much more going on on the inside of it! From far away it may look like it is resting - taking a long winter's nap. But really it has so much going on on the inside and the buds are one small sign of that! It excites me to know that I can watch this plant and wonder about the potential it has stored inside. I can't wait for it to show me what it can do in the Spring!!!! The same is true for each of us - there is so much going on on the inside that others may not be able to see from the outside - so much potential we have stored inside that is waiting for the chance to burst through!!!!
I know I have shared one magnet video with you already - now let's build on that idea!!! I have to admit that this is actually the first magnet I made. It was inspired by some tile painting that I did and that I will share with you tomorrow. I wondered how I could recreate the painted tile look with my Stampin' Up! supplies and this is what resulted from that thinking! The beaded tile I shared with you last week was the second tile design. And yes, there will likely be a third, fourth, fifth.... :)
Here is the first heat embossed tile magnet I made along with the second one that I added additional beads to:

Here is a video to show you how I made the tiles using embossing powder and Crystal Effects! I hope it inspires you to make some of your own!!!

Love & Tulle Mini Card

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Oh How I Love Windows!

Michael decided he needed to make some changes in his office to better accommodate his working style. What this usually means is that I too begin to examine how I have my home office set up and I get the itch to move things around too! I have to admit that I have avoided my home office a lot. It just felt cramped and cluttered (not to mention a bit of a mess). But the motivation I needed to make a change came in the form of Michael deciding to mix things up in his space. As a result, I took out 2 pieces of furniture in my office, moved things around, and brought in another desk surface that Michael was moving out of his office. Now I find myself in a space that I love and it's not even cleaned up yet!!!!! The biggest difference is that instead of working on my computer on a desk with a big hutch, I have moved my computer down to the desktop that is now in front of my corner windows. Ahhhhhhhh - what a difference a change makes!!!!!! I love the light that comes in the windows and I love being able to look out the windows as I gather my thoughts. I just took this photo of my desk space as I am writing this post...sorry about the lighting - the sun has already gone down here so the colors are a bit "off"...but hopefully you'll see what I'm loving about my new space!

Today's card is simple 3x3 card - perfect for a Valentine's Day gift :) I cut a small strip of tulle and wrapped it and knotted it on the front of the card. I cut the ends so that it looks like a bow. Next I stamped the tag from Tiny Tags and punched it out using the jewelry tag punch. I then pierced a small hole in the tag and attached it to the tulle knot using crochet thread. I added a small piece of a dimensional to the back of the tag so that I could keep the tag in place. Finally I punched a small hear using the Heart to Heart punch. I hope you like it!

Four Ways Friday #74 - Elizabeth

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

In this week's Four Ways Friday I show you four ways to use the gorgeous Elizabeth stamp!

The Elizabeth stamp looks wonderful on its own or with a little embellishment. Don't forget you can use only part of a stamp image by stamping off the edge of your surface. Here I stamped the stamp off-center onto a 3x3 Whisper White card base using Soft Suede ink. I used 2-way glue to add a bit of dazzling diamonds. Next I stamped the greeting from Element of Style onto Very Vanilla card stock and punched it out with a 1" circle punch. I then used my hot glue gun to create a ruffle of gold waffle paper behind the punch and adhered the piece to the card using dimensionals. A single adhesive rhinestone finishes the look!

This image lends itself well to being heat embossed! I began by stamping the image onto a scrap of white chipboard (the backing that comes with Stampin' Up! designer series paper) using Versamark ink. I covered it with gold embossing powder, heat embossed, and then cut out the image using scissors. Next I stamped the greeting from Short & Sweet into the center using Elegant Eggplant ink. The tag was stenciled, sprayed, stamped and sponged - notice the little flourishes along the edge? I just stamped a small portion of the Elizabeth tag along the edge of the tag using Elegant Eggplant ink. Here is a close up:

I created a few folded paper roses that I embellished with dazzling diamonds. The small flowers were punched using the Itty Bitty Shapes punch. I then painted them with Champagne Mist shimmer paint and added the adhesive pearls before adhering them to the tag with glue. The cheesecloth was cut in strips and sprayed with ink (Tempting Turquoise and Perfect Plum) and added to the tag.

You can totally change the look of a stamp just by changing its orientation! Here, with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the image using Soft Suede ink onto Whisper White card stock - but I did so vertically. I then stamped the image onto scrap paper and cut it out to create a mask. I covered the first image with the mask and stamped the second image onto the card stock. I repeated this process until I had all four images stamped. Next I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and the Lovely Letters Alphabet to stamp the letters into the ovals. The final touch was adding some dazzling diamonds and some adhesive pearls. The piece was mounted onto a Crumb Cake card stock base.

Not only can you play with the orientation of your stamped image, you can also play with the length...you just have to be creative with how you cover the gap :) Here I began with a Confetti card stock base. I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and inked up half of the Elizabeth stamp with Always Artichoke ink. I stamped the half image once and then rotated the card before stamping the half image again. I made sure to leave a gap in between the stamped images so I could lengthen the image. I covered the gap with a tag I had die cut using Always Artichoke card stock and the Lots Of Tags sizzlits with the Big Shot. I then stamped the greeting from Elements of Style and punched it out with the 1" circle punch. I added a small piece of satin ribbon to the tag before adhering the greeting over it with dimensionals.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!! Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing and creative weekend!!!!

Ink Drip Glossy 4U Card

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Your Inspiration Is Waiting For You; You Just Have To See It!

I would guess that many of you come to my blog looking for inspiration for your cardmaking and papercrafting - at least that's what some of you have told me :) Of course, I don't always post cards since I like to dabble in mixed media and chase my muse wherever she takes me :) So how can I give you what you need, while at the same time entertaining my muse? Who ever said that card inspiration had to come from a card? Wasn't me :) I actually wonder how many times a day I miss my inspiration because I don't see it - because I am moving so quickly or don't believe I am going to find it in that particular place? So today I challenged myself. I looked at my post from yesterday - the champagne flutes - and asked myself what inspiration there might be for a card...And yes, there it was - my card inspiration waiting for me - I just had to see it :) I hope that no matter what you come here searching for you are able to find it. If you don't see it at first glance, hang out a little longer. It's here...you just have to see it :)
This card began with some ink and a piece of glossy card stock. I took various colors of ink (Pink Pirouette, Tangerine Tango, Rose Red, and Daffodil Delight) and, holding the card stock upright, I dripped ink on the top edge and let it flow down the card stock. The tough part with this card was giving the ink sufficient time to dry. You end up with a bit of a pool of ink at the bottom and even if you move the card stock to another scrap piece of paper and add a bit of drying with your heat tool, it still takes time (I know - I tried to quicken the process :) Once the panel was dry I glued it to a Daffodil Delight panel and then tied the Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon around the panel. I then adhered the entire panel to a Whisper White card base (the finished card size is 6 1/2" x 3 1/4"). I stamped the greeting from Tiny Tags using Cherry Cobbler ink and punched it out using a 1/2" circle punch. I then adhered it to a 3/4" punched circle of Daffodil Delight. I paper pierced the circle and added it to the card using crochet thread and a dimensional. I hope you like it!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

2012-01-04T18:12:00.001-07:00

I am sooooo happy to share with you that I have been selected to be one of the members of the first ever Design Team for Paper Crafter's Library!!!!!!!! I am honored and humbled by the opportunity and can't wait to see what the next 3 months will bring!!!!! Thank you all for your support!!!! Your thoughts and comments mean the world to me!!!!!! Congrats as well to my fellow Design Team members - Ezlie J. Perez, Keren Baker, and Kristin Wilson!!!! I am so looking forward to working with each and every one of you and seeing your amazing creations!!!!!

Out On A Whim - Painted Champagne Flutes

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first "Out On A Whim" Wednesday!!!! I decided that for the new year I needed to do something a little bit different - at least one day of the week :) As you may have noticed, I enjoy dabbling in all kinds of art materials - not just my Stampin' Up! supplies. So, I've decided to give myself the freedom on this blog to go "out on a whim" every Wednesday and share with you something that is not Stampin' Up! related! Sometimes I will share projects, sometimes inspiration, sometimes just something that has caught my attention. While I may incorporate a Stampin' Up! product in a project that I share, I am not putting that limitation on myself! I hope you enjoy "Out On A Whim" Wednesdays! Would love your feedback about what you think or what you would like to see!

I had a blast painting these champagne flutes for New Year's! Michael was at IKEA and these flutes, which are normally about $1 each, were on sale that day for 4/$1!!!!! Wow!!!! For that price I could afford to experiment all day with my glass paint! I used a paint that can be painted on and then baked in your home oven. After baking, the paints are dishwasher and microwave safe! To make these glasses I put some paint into small squeeze bottles and then added some thinner to the paints (the thinner is made specifically for use with the paints). I then squeezed the paint onto the glasses and let it drip down (I had the glasses upside down so that I could paint from the base of the glass to the lip). For a final touch I added some pearl outliner (also made by the same company) to add some dots to the base of each glass. I also signed my initials with a glass marker. Now that I have played around with these glasses, I am on the lookout for anything glass! I have a feeling that nothing is going to be safe in the house! (except maybe for our windows since I can't fit them in the oven ;)

Crystal Effects Beaded Tile Magnet & Video!!!!

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: When You Play With Your Materials, Your Materials Will Begin To Play With You!

The idea for these magnets came to me in the shower! Showering seems to be one of my most successful idea-generating activities :) I'm not sure why. Maybe it is because I am relaxed and away from everything else, including my craft room. What I realize is that the time I spend playing in the craft room stays with me wherever I go - even in the shower! I retain the memories of the materials I have used and the ways in which I manipulated them. Then, as I start to think about a new material, the new material literally acts as a magnet - it attracts the memories of all of the "play time" I have stored in my head. My mind begins to burst with new ideas since I already demonstrated a willingness to engage in play with my materials! It's a match made in heaven!!!! So when I began thinking about tiles, my mind took over and brought Crystal Effects to the table! Then the thought of "magnets!" came to me! Beads and ink weren't too far behind!!!! I continue to encourage you to just show up in your art space and play with the materials you have on hand. The more you play with them, the more you might find that when you least expect it (like when you are in the shower!), your materials will begin to play with you!
Here is another magnet I created along with a video to show you how to make them on your own!!!!

Key To My Heart Mini Bottle

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Go On An Afternoon Adventure With Some Friends

It all began at a friend's house for a birthday dinner. Emily was celebrating her birthday and her parents invited us to join in the festivities. When we arrived there were some adorable decorations set up! One was a glittery blue star-like pinata-like "Happy Birthday" hanging thing (that's the best way I can describe it - next time I'll try to remember to take my camera with me :). When it came time for Emily to open her gifts there were a few "serious" gifts and a few fun and fabulous items. I asked her father where he found some of the items and he replied "At the Mercado dollar store!!!!" Well, we didn't have to hear more since in the next moment Emily, her mom and I were discussing when we could get together for an afternoon adventure to the Mercado dollar store!!!! Well, that day was last week and we had a blast! I loved walking up and down the aisles looking at all of the fun and fabulous and tacky and cheap items! Amidst it all I found a package of 4 of these very small glass bottles. At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but that didn't stop me! I grabbed 2 packages of them (after all, each package was only $1) and I brought them home. When I looked at them sitting on the craft table the idea of a "message in a bottle" came to me. Since I had been working with transparencies/window sheets lately, it wasn't a far leap to combine the two ideas! I love that the afternoon adventure created inspiration for today's project! When was the last time you went on an afternoon adventure with some friends???
I began by stamping the key from Artistic Etchings onto window sheet using Jet Black Staz-On. I then curled the window sheet to get it into the little bottle. Next I created the faux metal heart. I took a piece of chipboard (actually the white cardboard backing that comes with Stampin' Up!'s designer series paper) and I applied Versamark ink and then heat embossed with silver embossing powder. I added more embossing powder and heated again and repeated these steps until I had 4 layers of melted embossing powder. On the last layer, as soon as I turned off the heat tool, I pressed the "love" stamp from Pennant Parade into the embossing powder and held it there for a few seconds before lifting it off. Next I took my Heart to Heart punch and used the middle-sized heart to punch out the heart. I then added a small eyelet using the crop-a-dile. I attached the faux metal tag to the bottle using hemp twine. Finally, I added an antique brad to the top of the cork with Crystal Effects (I cut off the prongs before adhering the brad down) and then placed a tiny adhesive pearl on the top of the brad (and added a dot of Crystal Effects to adhere it down so that it will stay in place)! Here is a close up of the top of the bottle. I hope you like it!!!!

ps Happy 2012!!!!!!! Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful and creative new year!!!!!!

Saying Farewell To 2011

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if you arrived here expecting a traditional Four Ways Friday post. I feel it's necessary to somehow mark the end of the year - the conclusion of 2011. To stay with the Four Ways theme, today's post is about Four Ways to bid farewell to 2011.

1. Reflect: As this year draws to a close, it is a perfect time to reflect back on where it began. As I stamped my 2012 calendar I realized that my 2011 calendar could be put to good use. I am going to take some time prior to midnight on Saturday to reflect back on each month and do a bit of journaling. I am going to take those 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" calendar months and write on the back of them - things I was grateful for that month; significant events in my life; lessons learned. I keep a daily gratitude journal so I will be able to look back at my daily entries to reflect on those moments that stand out and write them on the calendar months. One way to bid farewell is to reminisce about what you have experienced.

2. Bid Farewell With Gratitude: If you are reading this post, you have been given the gift of being alive for the year 2011. You have been able to breathe every day - breathe in and breathe out. You have experienced the gift of life - with all of its ups, downs, sideways and reverses! Be grateful. What an amazing gift it is!

3. Bid Farewell Surrounded By Those You Love: Whether you sit on the couch, find yourself in a large crowd, or experience your own personal ritual ringing in the New Year, surround yourself with those you love. For some of us, we will actually physically be with those we love. For others of us, we will need to connect with them via phone or on-line chat, or email. Most of us also surround ourselves with those we love by turning our attention, our thoughts, to them - whether they are still with us or have passed. Surrounding ourselves with those we love makes us appreciate the opportunity to live this life with love.

4. Welcome 2012 And All Its Possibilities With Open Arms! I drink tea by a company called Yogi and on each of their teabags there is a message. The one I opened tonight had this to say "When you are in tune with the unknown, the known is peaceful." This seems very apt as we see the wide open unknown of the year ahead. Know that you don't know what lies ahead in the coming year - it is a mystery. If you can be in tune with the unknown - if you can accept it is unwritten, that it will unfold as it will - then the now - the moment that you are in at this very time - is a place of peace. What a perfect way to bid farewell to 2011 - to bid farewell from a place of peace.

I wish you and your loved ones a 2012 filled with infinite possibilities. May you find peace in all of your moments! Thank you for sharing moments of your 2011 with me - it has been an honor. I hope to see you again in 2012! :)

Every Little Bit 2012 Jewel Case Calendar

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Time Is The New Currency

Every once in awhile I channel surf on the television and come upon a show or a scene that makes me stop and think. That happened the other day when I landed upon a show about people who take couponing to the extreme. They collect newspapers - maybe even go diving into garbages for them - and then spend hour upon hour upon hour categorizing their coupons and planning their shopping trips. Then they go on these crazy shopping trips where they buy tons of grocery items at the supermarket and save a ton of money. I was struck by one of the husbands who was commenting that this was going to be his wife's last shopping trip for awhile since she had been eating, sleeping, and breathing coupons and coupon cutting and had little time for anything else. And that's what made me stop and think. What we see on the show is the cash register total going up and up and up as these individuals shop and then watch as the total begins to go lower and lower as the coupons get redeemed. The impression we are left with is that these individuals are saving a ton of money...and maybe they are. What we don't see and what I really question is what is that savings worth? Aside from the fact that it seems these shopping trips involve buying items that I can't image will ever get used (take for example the 30 boxes of artificial sweetener packets), what I am really struck by is what people are willing to trade the precious minutes of their life for. And it makes me question that about myself as well. How much is saving $500 at the grocery store worth to you? The week or more that it will take to cut coupons and sort them and shop? If that takes you 40 hours, does that mean you are willing to trade an hour of your life for $12.50 in savings? Maybe you are and maybe you aren't. What seems important is that we focus not just on what we appear to be saving, but also on what we are sacrificing to do it. I would gladly trade the $12.50 of savings for an extra hour of walking with Buddy out in nature. That to me is worth trading the currency of time for. I guess for each of us, what we are willing to "sell" our time for will differ. As we come upon 2012, I wish that we all will consider what our time is really worth and what we are willing to "sell" our time for. My hope is that we think of our time as the new currency - the new wealth - and that we use it well.
Today's project is a calendar that I have made in the past - at least the "body" of the calendar is the same. The pages are 4 3/4" by 4 3/4" and fit perfectly into a CD jewel case that can be placed on your desktop. The twist is that I wanted to try to decorate the entire calendar using just one stamp set, Every Little Bit. I succeeded but for one month where I incorporated a few letters from the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. Here are photos of each of the months...I hope you enjoy them!!!!

Paper Crafter’s Library Design Team Submission

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a special one! I have decided to try to become a part of the Paper Crafter's Library Design Team!!!! What a fun way to challenge myself to create new projects and videos while receiving some great new products and supplies at the same time! :)
It has been an interesting journey trying to put this post together. The submission guidelines require me to share pictures of 3 projects as well as a project video. So, I started looking over past projects and videos and it was like a journey through time! It is interesting to look back at your own work and see how you have grown (or gotten stuck!). As interesting was stopping to read some of my posts and look at some of the day-to-day photos I have shared with you. This chronicle of my life has definitely been a work of love and passion! Thank you for sharing the journey with me!
So, here are the 3 projects and the 1 video I have decided to submit. They are pieces that represent the variety of items you can create with your stamping supplies and they are all pieces that make me smile:

Stamping provides a wonderful way to say "I love you" to those special people in your life! This little accordion book provides little pockets as opportunities to share special messages, photos or coupons for the one you love :) You can watch a video for how to create this adorable book here!

Tags add such a special touch to your gift giving! They can also be saved, included in scrapbook layouts or reused by the recipient. To learn more about how I made this tag, you can check out this post or this video (of a similar project).

This final piece I am especially proud of since it was the first piece I ever had published in a magazine!!! This piece was published in the 2011 special issue of PaperCrafts Magazine entitled 350 Cards & Gifts :) It was quite a milestone for me!

Finally, the project video I would like to share is how to create this shaker card using transparencies/window sheets, your sewing machine, and some glitter! Enjoy!!!!

I want to thank PaperCrafter's Library for their consideration of my submission! I will let you all know how things turn out!!!! :)
p.s. If this opportunity sounds interesting to you, why not apply???? You can find out more info here! Good luck!

Chalkboard Mug

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I Am Drawn To Handmade Things

I guess today's lesson might not be a surprise to you, although I have to admit that it is a bit of a surprise to me. I have traditionally been a fan of big box stores - stores like IKEA and others, where you can affordably furnish your home. Lately we have been thinking about making some changes to the inside of our house and have done a bit of browsing in some of these big box stores and I'm just not feeling it. Today we started looking at websites of artists and artisans who do woodwork and millwork and couldn't stop ourselves from saying "OOH!" and "AAH!" at every turn! Now we are thinking about making change more slowly - bringing things into the house with intention - things that are instilled with the spirit of the person who made the object and that approach just feels right. It may not happen in the same amount of time - the handmade items will cost more and therefore won't be purchased at once. Regardless, the thought of having a few handmade things v. filling a room with store-bought fixtures really speaks to my heart (as I sit here at my laminated desk and look at my $20 bookcases from the big box store down the street!). I guess each thing has its place and time. As I live in the now, I know that handmade things are what appeal to me most.
Speaking of handmade things, I have been enjoying the kitchen turned craft room :) I haven't put the extra table away yet! Instead, I have added to my glass painting and have started painting on ceramics! Again, I am using paints that can be painted, then air-dried, and then baked in the oven to make them dishwasher and microwave safe! How awesome is that?! I purchased some mugs at Crate & Barrel and have been experimenting with ideas. On this mug I painted a rectangle of chalkboard paint and added the handwritten message "I want you to know..." I made two of these mugs to give as gifts to a friend and her boyfriend. The mugs will gifted along with a pieces of chalk attached to the handles with a pieces of string/ribbon. That way, every day, they can write messages one another when they make their morning tea/coffee/hot cocoa. I also made one for Michael :) I figure that I can leave it on the counter for him in the morning with a new message everyday :) (I am already imagining that some days the message will be "I love you" and other days the message might be "we need more apples!" :) I love that this mug can be "recreated" every day with a new message :) I hope you like it! Tomorrow I plan to be back with a project you can make using some of your Stampin' Up! supplies (with a few other household items thrown in!). Thanks for joining me as I took a break to play with some new materials :)
I also wanted to share this picture with you...looks like peace to me :)

Painted Martini Glasses

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Play Like A Child!!!!!

This weekend we had a ton of fun in the kitchen turned craft room! Michael and I set up a table in the center of the kitchen...

and we played like children!!!!! I had recently purchased some new paints - glass paint and porcelain paint that you can use in your home. You can paint glass and ceramic/porcelain objects and then, once they are dry, bake them in your own oven! We had no idea what we were doing, but we dove in with enthusiasm!!!! We began with the glasses pictured above - a gift for a friend's birthday. Michael painted two and I painted two and boy did we experiment! We dripped and drew and sponged and spattered! Yes, the internal critic showed up along the way, but we told him to shut up and just kept going :) After all, if we are playing like children, why would we listen to any "adult voices?!" I highly recommend some time to play like a child - draw outside the lines, make a mess, break the rules!!!!! It feels amazingly free! :)
I also want to use this post to say a very special thank you to Doris for your wonderful comment this weekend! You put a huge smile on my face and warmth in my heart!!!! Thank you for that!!!! Also, I absolutely know where you can get your hands on some sequin waste (also called punchinella) ;) I know someone who would LOVE to send you some if you would be willing to provide a mailing address :) Feel free to email me at m@figmentsofmyimagination.com so you can keep your email private (although I guess I just made mine incredibly public :) It truly would be my pleasure!!!

Four Ways Friday #73 - Satin Ribbon

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I want to show you four ways to use your 5/8" satin ribbon!

I LOVE using satin ribbon to make ribbon roses! Here I used some Old Olive satin ribbon and a hot glue gun to roll this rose. I may try to make a video to show you how I made the rose - it is still an imperfect science for me and every rose comes out different! The petals are from Awash With Flowers. I stamped them with Wild Wasabi ink and cut them out and adhered them to the stamped, sprayed, stenciled and embossed tag :) The "U" was die cut from chipboard using the Big Shot and the Serif Essentials die. The "just for" is from a stamp in the Just Believe stamp set.

Roses aren't the only flowers you can make with your satin ribbon! I found a few really good tutorials on YouTube for how to make gathered flowers. You can see them HERE and HERE. To make my flowers I used Whisper White satin ribbon and then sprayed them with various colors of ink mixed with water in small spray bottles! I love that you can use the Whisper White ribbon to create flowers of any color! Very economical! I added brads and buttons for the centers. Can't wait to use these on a project!

Your ribbon makes gorgeous flowers and it can also be used as a hangar for ornaments! I created this ornament as a 42nd anniversary gift for some friends. The ribbon is sandwiched in between pieces of embossed chipboard. I ran the chipboard through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I then sponged some champagne shimmer mist paint over the chipboard. Prior to adhering the pieces of chipboard together I hot glued pieces of waffle paper to the back of the chipboard pieces to create the "fringe." A touch of glass glitter, a vintage brad, some ribbon roses and a bit of stamping with gold heat-embossing finishes the look! Here are a few close ups so you can see the details more clearly:

Your ribbon can also be used with fabric to create a quick and easy bulletin board!!!! Here is a picture of the bulletin board I created, along with a video to show you how to make one!

Here is a picture of the back of the board (oops! I forgot to show that in the video!). I just cut a piece of 11" x 11" chipboard and hot glued it onto the back of the bulletin board. Then I added a cloth picture hangar.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!!!! Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season!!!! May you have a peaceful and love-filled weekend!!!!! Let me leave you with a picture of what I woke up to Thursday morning :) It was a day filled with shoveling :)

Extreme Elements Gift Tag

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Some Days It Takes Awhile To Get Started

I'm writing this post at night after a day of spending time doing who knows what in the craft room! It seemed that by noon I had written a few thank you notes, taken Buddy for a walk, and had breakfast. Not what I would call a particularly productive morning. I felt a bit like Michael's car - it's a diesel and you have to turn the key part way and wait for this little light to go off before turning the key fully. You have to let something in the engine warm up before just starting the thing. Well, I was that engine today - I just had a hard time getting started. The afternoon went a bit better - I got down to the business of creating (and watching Law & Order in the background...not sure that this helps with my creative energy, but I sure do seem addicted to the old episodes!). Once I started creating, time seemed to move differently and I felt like my time was being well-spent - like my engine was humming. I guess it's just another reminder that some days it takes awhile to get started, but once you do, you'll be warmed up to head in the exact right direction for yourself :)
Can you tell that I'm on a bit of a tag kick right now?! :) I've really been enjoying a break from traditional cards and playing around with techniques and lots of ink on the tags! This tag started out as a vintage vanilla tag. It then got sprayed, stenciled, and sprayed some more with various colors of ink (Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, one of the brown colors - I can't remember which, and So Saffron). Next I did a bit of stamping using the Extreme Elements stamp set. First the small dots with Early Espresso ink and then the large "splat" with VersaMark and then gold embossing powder (heat embossed). I then stenciled a few additional circles using champagne shimmer mist paint. I die cut a piece of chipboard using the Top Note die (just a small piece of chipboard placed strategically on the die before running it through the Big Shot). The chipboard was stamped with a greeting from Afterthoughts (retired) and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I then stenciled with champagne shimmer mist paint and sponged the edges before gluing the chipboard to the tag. I punched a piece of watercolor paper with the designer label punch and then cut it and sponged the edges. I added a few eyelets with the crop-a-dile before adding the pieces to the tag with glue. A few pieces of fiber were added to the tag for a bit more shimmer. I hope you like it!!! :)

Nature Walk Painted Transparency Card

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that distinguish me from a doormat. - Rebecca West, writer
I saw this quote in a book called The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women written by Gail McMeekin and it really struck me. Maybe it struck me right now because I have recently been noticing how much I hate bras! Yes - I confess!!!! I know, I know - they are a necessary evil at times - or at least we've been led to believe they are. But I can totally understand the Burn Your Bra movement back in the '60s! For some reason bras make me feel trapped or "contained" - two things, as an artist, I seem to loathe. So maybe my current distaste for bras right now goes well beyond the bra itself. Maybe it is much more about a desire for freedom - a need to release myself from any limitations or bounds that I have put on myself in my artwork and, maybe even, my life. So while I am here at home - undershirts and tank tops, here I come!!!! And maybe, when I do need to wear them (I haven't quite decided what the criteria is for determining when is a "yes I need to" day and when is a "no way in heck will I wear one" day), I can take the metaphor of the bra into my art making - maybe on those days I can set certain limits on my artwork and see where that leads me. Maybe I can see both freedom and containment as ripe seeds for growing some art! Phew - that felt good :) Now let's get on to some art :)
Yes, I do seem to be in love with this bird from the Nature Walk stamp set right now. Maybe it's because in the midst of winter, painting this bird makes me feel like spring inside :) This card was created by stamping the bird image, using Jet Black Staz-On ink, onto a transparency/window sheet. I then painted the back of the image with acrylic paint. I stamped the kraft tissue paper using a stamp from the Elements of Style stamp set and Crumb Cake ink. Can you see the score lines on the card? I love adding these lines using my scoring board - they create a wonderful frame for your stamped and painted transparencies! For more details on how I created this card, feel free to watch this video - the steps are the same - I just used different stamps and paint colors. You can also skip the step of stamping on the tissue paper and instead adhere designer series paper to the backside of the transparency/window sheet. Here is a card I created using designer series paper in place of the tissue paper. Enjoy!

Transparency Gift Tag

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

This quote stands on its own. It doesn't need any commentary from me. What it does need from me is my attention. Oh to walk through my life as though everything is a miracle - this is the prayer I have for today. I wish the same for you :)
Today's tag was a lot of fun to make! I began by using a retired SU stamp set called God's Beauty and stamped the butterfly onto transparency/window sheet using Jet Black Staz-On. Next I painted the back of the transparency with acrylic paint...and even added a few dots of acrylic paint on the front of the transparency to highlight the body of the butterfly. A piece of chipboard was die cut using the Circles #2 die. I then cut off one of the edges of the circle and stamped the circle with the sentiment from Elements of Style using Jet Black Staz On. Next I turned my attention to the tag where I sprayed with ink (I mix drops of ink with water in small spray bottles and spray the tags) and sponged the edges. I used a stencil and sprayed with Elegant Eggplant ink to create part of the background design. I then used some sequin waste - which I use as a circle stencil - with Frost White shimmer paint to create the dots on the tag and on the chipboard. Next, the chipboard was adhered to the front tag with glue, as was the butterfly. I then took some paper flowers (non-SU) and sprayed them with a variety of ink colors. I added adhesive pearls to the centers and then drizzled some Crystal Effects on the flowers and on the tag to adhere some orange microbeads (non-SU). The flowers were also attached to the tag using Crystal Effects - it makes a wonderful adhesive! Finally, I sponged the strings at the top of the tag and also sprayed some pieces of natural cheesecloth with ink. I tied the cheesecloth pieces through the tag. I added one final touch - a spritz of black ink with the spritzer tool - somehow that brought everything together. Here is a picture of the back of the tag - it got sprayed too :) I hope you like it!

Stamped, Sprayed & Painted Gift Tag: A Video!!!!

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You Don't Always Have To Plan Ahead

Today I am sharing a new video with you. My hope is that it will become part of a series that I am calling "Process Stamping." Usually when I create a video, I first create the project I am going to share and then I prepare to film myself making the project for a second time. I always know, in advance, what I am going to be doing - it's all planned out. Well this time I decided to not plan at all! Instead, I set up my camera and turned it on and then just sat down to create from scratch. As a result, I'm not narrating this video - instead I just put captions to share some important tips and info. Beyond that you will just hear some jazzy music and you will see me in my own creative process - going step by step into the unknown :) I admit that I edited out the time when I was just sitting trying to figure out what I wanted to do next and I also sped up sections where certain steps were repetitive or just took a bit of time. I would love to hear your thoughts on this video format to see if I should continue with this series of Process Stamping. It was a new journey for me - a journey that has so far taught me that you don't always have to plan ahead.
Here is the video - feel free to let me know your thoughts! :)

Four Ways Friday #72 - Chipboard

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I wanted to share four different ways you can use chipboard in your papercrafting projects! I hope you find some inspiration in these ideas!

For this first project I incorporated stamping and stenciling on chipboard. I cut the chipboard using the Circles #2 die in the Big Shot and then used a paper cutter to cut off one piece of the circle. The tag was sprayed, sponged and stenciled. Next I sprayed the chipboard with a mixture of alcohol and champagne shimmer mist paint (I keep the mixture in a small spray bottle). It is difficult to see in the photo, but this chipboard is really sparkly! Next I stamped the chipboard with the sentiment from Sincere Salutations and Staz-On ink. The final touch was to add some stenciling to the chipboard using some sequin waste and gold acrylic paint. The chipboard was then adhered to the tag using glue. Of course, I had to add a painted transparency bird :)

Did you know you can use your embossing folders with chipboard???? It works great and creates all kinds of possibilities for your chipboard! Here I cut a triangle from the chipboard and then ran it through the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty embossing folder. I then rubbed the embossed chipboard against the Cherry Cobbler ink pad and did a touch of sponging as well. Next I added a bit of champagne shimmer mist paint with my finger and a touch of gold smooch ink to the raised dots. Here is a close up:

I then adhered the chipboard and a trunk made from card stock to the Wild Wasabi card base using glue. The banner was created with a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and stamped with Early Espresso ink and the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. I curled the banner with my bone folder and then adhered it using 2 glue dots at the ends. The adhesive rhinestones were added for a touch of bling :)

Chipboard is great to use for making signs!!! Here I used a combination of mat board (my Aunt owns a framing gallery and had given me some leftover pieces of mat board to play with) and chipboard to create the sign itself. The mat board was glued to two layers of chipboard to give the sign additional thickness. I outlined the edges with a gold leaf marker. Next I drilled a few holes into the chipboard (gotta love using power tools on your paper crafting projects!). I then attached the silverware to the sign with some thin wire. The letters were die cut from chipboard using the Serif Essentials dies and the Big Shot. I then sponged the letters with a combination of Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso ink. I sponged them about 3 times to create the dark brown color (chipboard likes to soak up ink and as it dried the color tends to get a bit lighter). I adhered the letters to the sign with glue.

Chipboard also makes a wonderful base for the faux metal technique using your embossing powders! Here I cut a circle from the chipboard using the Circles #2 die and the Big Shot. Next I inked up the chipboard with VersaMark ink and then covered it with silver embossing powder. I heat embossed with my heat tool. I repeated the VersaMark, embossing powder and heating until I had four layers of melted embossing powder on the chipboard. Immediately after melting the last layer, I pressed the snowflake stamp from Sweet Season into the hot embossing powder. I pushed it down for a few seconds and then pulled it up and the image was embossed into the powder - magic!!!! Here is a close up:

I added an adhesive rhinestone to the center. Next I used the modern label punch to punch out a small piece of brushed silver card stock. I adhered this piece to the chipboard ornament with glue and then adhered the entire ornament to the Whisper White card base with glue. A small bow of gold elastic was added to the top of the ornament with glue and the greeting from Short & Sweet was stamped with Jet Black Staz-On.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday and I hope it inspires you to look at your chipboard in new and interesting ways!!!!!! Wishing you a wonderful, peaceful and creative weekend!!!!!!!

Framed Transparency Very Veggie Card

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Never Say Never!!!!

I am still in a bit of disbelief as I write this! Today I was sitting in Michael's office - on Buddy's bed (Buddy has beds all over the house...totally spoiled :) Anyway, I was sitting there talking to Michael and Buddy came in and plopped down on his bed. Then Willow came sauntering into the room and she seemed to want some attention. So I patted Buddy's bed - the part right beside me...and...she actually got on his bed...with him there!!!!!! Now this may not seem miraculous to you, but these two house-sharers have never done this!!!! When we got Buddy we already had Willow and it took her awhile to accept that he was now in HER house! He learned very quickly that if they both ended up on the stairs at the same time he would be smart to look the other way as she passed so as to appear invisible to her! :) Over time they seemed to warm up a little to one another (it's been over 6 years) - to a point where they could now pass each other in a hallway and steal a glance or a sniff. But today was a day I never thought I would see! Wanna see?

Pretty amazing, huh?! :) Today I learned to never say never :)
Today's card is a continuation of my transparency/window sheet journey. I have really been enjoying combining ink, paint and transparencies. I started out with a piece of transparency and stamped the artichoke from the Very Veggie (retired) stamp set using Staz-On ink. I then turned it over and painted the back with acrylic paints. Next I cut a "mat" out of Bravo Burgundy card stock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I then added a bit of champagne shimmer mist paint on the "mat" with my finger. The transparency was then glued to the back of the mat using glue. The Crumb Cake card base was stamped with a few words from Fabulous Phrases as well as a leaf image from Very Veggie using Early Espresso ink at half strength. The framed artichoke was then mounted onto the card with dimensionals (I was careful to not stamp behind the artichoke on the card, but am now thinking that could have looked really interesting as well). Finally, I added a vintage mother of pearl button with a glue dot. I hope you like it!

Check out the Clearance Rack Blitz beginning today!!!! Shop HERE now!

Creating A Shaker Card With Transparencies/Window Sheets: A Video!!!!

2011-12-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: One Thing Leads To Another!

Do you remember The Fixx???? Back in the 80's they had a hit song called One Thing Leads To Another (of course I am now to blame for you having that song running through your head for the next 24 hours!). Anyway, today I realized, yet again, that one thing does lead to another! As you have noticed, I've begun playing around with window sheets/transparencies and how to incorporate them into paper crafting. I began by simply stamping on them with Staz-On and that led me to stamping on them and then painting on them with acrylic paint. Well today the stars aligned and the thought occurred to me to combine them in multiple layers and fill the spaces in between with fun things like glitter and dazzling diamonds! What fun I had in the craft room today!!!!! Here is a video to show you how I made this shaker card. I hope it inspires you to give it a try...and maybe that will lead you to another thing...and another...and another!!!!! :)

On Your Birthday Gift Tag

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: What If We Just Sit?

Have you ever watched little sandpiper bird foraging on the beach? They skiddadle this way and that - bobbing their heads up and down, searching for food. That's the way I've been feeling in the craft room this morning (I'm writing this post at 12:30 pm on Monday). I sit down to create and next thing I know I've jumped up from my chair and I'm skiddadling into the kitchen to find something to munch on. Or I'm skiddadling to my computer to check email - bobbing my head up and down - searching for something - although I'm not quite sure what. So I'm wondering...what if I just sat? What if, when I don't know what project I want to start next - or I don't know what next step to take on the piece I am working on - I just sat and waited 'til my next move or thought arrived? My uncle, who is a sculptor, shared with me that he gave himself a 30-day challenge awhile back - to create a single piece of sculpture every day. He would awake every morning, do some yoga, eat some breakfast, and then make his way into his art room. Some days he would have a thought in his head about where to begin. Other days, not a clue. Either way, he would show up in his art space and commit himself to being there. If not ideas were waiting for him, he would just sit...maybe handling some of his materials or staring around at his supplies - until inspiration or his creative muse took over. Some days the wait was longer than others. No offense to the sandpiper intended, but maybe I need to just sit and not skiddadle...I wonder what I would find if I did...
Today's tag began with a vintage manilla tag. I sprayed the tag with mixtures of ink and water that I placed in small spray bottles. I used a piece of hardware tape as a mask while spraying to create the grid-like pattern.

I then sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso ink. Next I stamped the dotted image from Extreme Elements with Early Espresso and the star from Varsity Numbers with Riding Hood Red ink. The birthday greetings from On Your Birthday were stamped with Early Espresso. Finally, I cut a few pieces of cheesecloth and sprayed them with ink, let them dry, and then tied them onto the tag. Tags are a great way to add a wonderful personal touch to your gifts! I hope you like it!

Adding Backgrounds To Your Transparencies or Window Sheets: A Video!!!!!!

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: The Time Will Come When The Book Is Exactly What You Need!

Have you ever tried to read a book and just couldn't get into it? This has happened to me numerous times and I always feel badly, especially when the book is one that someone has recommended to me. Years ago someone mentioned that I needed to read Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I tried to read it - really I did. I picked it up on numerous occasions and just couldn't get into it. Finally, I decided to try to sell it on an on-line marketplace, but there were so many other copies available that even my 99 cent price didn't attract any buyers. Well, the book has stayed with me for years - literally, years. And then, last week, the book came up in conversation again. So last night, I found the book on one of my bookshelves and brushed the dust off the cover and began to read. WOW!!!! I am hooked!!!!! Something in the first 10 pages has already grabbed me - in a BIG way!!!!! This is a book that was destined to find me when the time was right for me - and that time is now. So if you are having trouble getting into a book that someone has recommended to you, don't worry! Sometimes you just have to wait for the time to come when the book will be exactly right for you!!!!!
The last video I shared with you was on how to stamp and paint on your window sheets/transparencies. Today I'd like to add to that experience by showing you how to add a beautiful background to the transparency. Enjoy!!!!

Lovely As A Tree Holiday Card

2011-12-10T14:55:00.001-07:00

I have decided to not do Four Ways Friday this week and instead, share this card with you. This past week began last Sunday like this...

I was away until Thursday night for work and I have to admit that I am officially pooped! I have been sitting in the craft room today doing a bunch of organizing (and building a new cart that I bought at IKEA!) and for whatever reason, my creative mojo seems to be hiding out in the recesses of my being right now. I was able to put together enough motivation to create this card for you...but that seems to be all the creative energy I can muster. So I hope this will do and I hope you and my creative mojo will be back this coming week for a week's worth of projects and a new Four Ways Friday next Friday!!!!! Today's card was so simple - just a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock that I stamped with the tree from Lovely As A Tree using Garden Green ink. I then stamped the greeting from Sincere Salutations using Sahara Sand ink. There is something very peaceful to me about this color combination. The final touch was to add a bit of Dazzling Diamonds with the 2-way glue pen. I hope you like it and I hope the rest of your weekend is peaceful, creative and filled with love and laughter!!!!!!

My On-Line Store Is Back Up!!!!

2011-12-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that my on-line store is back up and running! Yeah!!! You can place your orders HERE! Thanks for your patience!!!!

My Stampin' Up! Store Is Temporarily Off-Line

2011-12-10T08:32:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that there are some technical issues with my Stampin' Up! on-line store and that on-line ordering is currently unavailable. I have been informed by Stampin' Up! that it should be up and running within the next 24 hours. Thank you so much for your patience! I appreciate your business!!!!!

My Encaustic Journey - Part III

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Push Past The Dislike...Yummy Cupcake Sprinkles Await!

This is the third and final piece I created in my encaustic class last week. It's funny how this piece came about. I had completed my first two pieces and our time in the class was coming to a close. I knew I didn't have a lot of time and yet I still wanted to try to get a third piece done. So I began by trying to adhere this fortune from a fortune cookie to the panel using encaustic medium. The minute the medium hit the fortune the paper became transparent and you could see the words on the back of the fortune (a definition of a Chinese word) start to peek through. I pulled the fortune off - a bit frustrated - and wondered what to do next. Victoria, our teacher, walked by and said something like "I kind of like the transparent look of the paper" and that helped me begin to push past my dislike. I committed myself again to adhering the fortune to the panel so I dipped the fortune in the wax medium and positioned it on the panel. I then started to create a box around the fortune and the encaustic paint and my hurrying turned into a frustrating combination! We definitely weren't helping one another out! So I took a deep breath and decided I just needed to loosen up and just start flinging encaustic paint. I needed to stop being so purposeful and rushed and to just play - a decision that helped me push past the dislike of what I had been seeing unfold in front of me on the panel. So I began to play! I covered the fortune with a piece of painter's tape to protect it and then began going around the room and borrowing melted encaustic paint from other participants to add to my board. Drip, drip, fling, spatter...with a bunch of fusing with the heat gun in between. As the piece began to build I began to smile. It started to remind me of candy or cupcake sprinkles! Yummy!!!! By the time I removed the painter's tape from the fortune, my dislike had turned to joy. So next time you find yourself criticizing your art and feeling rushed, see if you can just loosen up and play...you may end up with yummy cupcake sprinkles!!!! :)
Just a quick note...due to my schedule I will likely be posting Four Ways Friday on Saturday this week. Thanks for your patience - I really appreciate it!!! Have a beautiful tomorrow! :)

My Encaustic Journey - Part II

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Take Bold Steps!

Today I wanted to share with you the second piece I created in my encaustic class last week at Victoria Eubanks Studio. Victoria had suggested we bring bits of ephemera and scraps of paper/fibers/knick-knacks with us to the workshop. I did a bit of scavenging in my craft room prior to heading to the class and grabbed a Polaroid photo of our house, some polymer clay tiles I had made, some dictionary pages, and some odds and ends. I began this second encaustic piece with a piece of mdf board. I glued down a piece of dictionary page and then asked if adhering a photo would work. I was told it would and was asked if I wanted to use the original photo or make a black & white photo copy of it. I had taken this picture with a Polaroid camera that I purchased off of ebay. It was my first successful Polaroid (I tried to take a picture before reading the directions and the first picture didn't come out - after reading the directions this second photo worked perfectly...lesson learned :) The picture is of the back of our house as we began our house-painting project. I decided to take a bold step and believe that whatever I would do with the photo it would somehow work out. So, rather than photocopy or preserve the photo in some way, I just went for it!!!! I had to scratch the photo up with sandpaper in order to give it some "tooth" for the wax to grab onto. Then I added glue to the back of the photo and adhered it to the board and then, once the glue dried, on went the first layer of encaustic medium! The photo stayed clear and the piece was then built from there! I'm not sure what will happen over time to the photo - it may fade over the years even though it is encased in the medium. No matter what happens, this piece will always be a reminder to me - not just of the effort and enjoyment of painting the house, but also of always having the courage to take bold steps!

My Encaustic Adventure - Part I

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Don't Assume It Won't Work. Just Try It!!!!

I took an amazing encaustic class last week given by Victoria Eubanks here in Denver. I highly recommend it!!!!! It was an all-day creative session - from 9-4 - and Victoria shared her passion and knowledge in a patient and inspiring way!!!!! What a great teacher!!!!!! Over the next few days I want to share with you the three pieces I created that day. This piece began with lots of questions - could I stamp on tissue paper and embed that in the wax? Could I incorporate broken pieces of a vintage Christmas ornament? What would happen if I colored the stamped image with colored pencils and then embedded it? For some of my questions Victoria had immediate responses based on her experience. For others she said, I haven't ever tried it, let's see what happens! I loved the opportunity to just try things and to see what would happen! It seemed easy for me to apply this attitude since this was a medium I had never explored and I was curious. I think the more familiar you are with working with supplies, it can be a bit more challenging to keep this open mindset. Shunryu Suzuki said that In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few. May we all learn to approach our art with the beginner's mind - believing that there are many possibilities waiting to be discovered!
For this encaustic piece I began with a piece of mdf board that I covered with kraft tissue paper that I stamped with the retired Stippled Butterfly stamp using Staz-On ink. I then stamped the image again on another piece of kraft tissue paper and colored it in with colored pencils. I applied a few layers of encaustic medium and encaustic paint and then added the colored butterfly. I then added an additional layer of encaustic medium and the drips of green encaustic paint. Finally I embedded the small pieces of broken vintage glass Christmas ornament. This was my first encaustic piece ever and I loved the journey!!!! Thank you Victoria!!!!

2-Step Bird Punch Stencil

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: It's A Beautiful Day If You Think It Is!

On Saturday it was snowing - Buddy's favorite weather! We decided to go out for a morning walk and the snow was about 5 inches deep and still coming down. It was peaceful and quiet - very few cars driving around the neighborhood so early on a Saturday morning. We finally came upon one man walking his dog - a small husky named Kona. Buddy and Kona said hello and the man turned to me and said, "Beautiful day, isn't it!" It was a statement - not really a question. I agreed that it was gorgeous out and then, as Buddy and I went on our way, I began to think about the day and how there were likely people out there who would not have agreed with us. For some, Saturday's weather would have seemed inconvenient - maybe even downright miserable! Not for us. It is a beautiful day is you think it is! It matters not what others might think about the day...or so much more for that matter. It is beautiful - if that's what you think!
Today's card began with the idea of using the 2-step bird punch as a stencil and combining that with a stamp. I began by punching the bird out of a piece of scrap paper and adhering it to the Whisper White card stock with drafting tape.

Next I took a flourish stamp from the Tiny Tags stamp set and stamped it again and again with Crumb Cake ink.

I then repeated the same stamping using Chocolate Chip ink.

And finally Early Espresso ink.

When I went to remove the drafting tape things didn't go as planned. The tape pulled up some of the card stock. But I decided to just go with it! So I masked off the bird and grabbed some Blushing Bride ink and began sponging all over the card. Next I took a Crumb Cake marker and placed it in the color spritzer tool and did a bit of spritzing! I removed the mask and began to build the nest with punched out branches from the 2-step bird punch. The greeting was the next to be added - a word from Fabulous Phrases stamped using Early Espresso ink. I felt the card needed a bit more color so I cut off the bottom and then cut a piece of Rose Red card stock. I ran the Rose Red panel through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I then used the scallop edge punch to scallop the card before adhering the Rose Red panel to the underside of the front of the card with glue. It was fun to let the drafting tape take me in a new direction :) I hope you like it!

Four Ways Friday #71 - Repurposing Dryer Sheets!

2011-12-03T12:52:00.001-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I wanted to show you four ways to take used dryer sheets and repurpose them for your paper crafting projects!

One way you can repurpose used dryer sheets is to get ink on them! For this card I just took the dryer sheet and then pressed it onto multiple ink pads from lightest color to darkest color (daffodil delight, pumpkin pie, tangerine tango, and real red). I let the sheet dry (with a light blast from the heat tool) and then I cut it and adhered it to a piece of Very Vanilla card stock using matte gel medium. I then used the Pennant Parade stamp set to create the banner pieces and adhered them to the card with glue. The letters are from the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. The scalloped trim was created with the scallop edge punch. Finally I added two knotted pieces of Early Espresso ribbon with glue dots.

There are many ways to add color to your dryer sheets! To create this flower I began by spraying a dryer sheet with ink mixed with water (I place a bit of reinker into small spray bottles with water and then spray away!). For the larger flower layers I used Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry. I allowed the sheets to dry and then die cut them in the Big Shot using the Daisies #2 die! I layered the flowers and used a bit of glue to hold them together and then adhered them to the card with glue. I punched the leaves from the 2-step bird punch and added them with glue. Finally, I adhered a button in the center with a pop-up glue dot. Here is a close-up of the flower:

The greeting was stamped in Basic Black ink using the Sincere Salutations stamp set. To add a bit of interest to the bottom of the card I scored three scoring lines with my scoring board.

Another way to add color and interest to your dryer sheets is to paint them! To create this butterfly I began by painting a dryer sheet with a mixture of Champagne Shimmer Mist paint and some water. I allowed the sheet to dry and then die cut the butterfly in the Big Shot with the Beautiful Butterflies die. I then used a thin piece of wire that I wrapped around the center of the butterfly to create the antennae and body. Three adhesive pearls were then added. Here is a close-up of the butterfly - hopefully you can see the sparkle from the shimmer paint!

The greeting was then stamped using Basic Black ink and the Flight Of The Butterfly stamp set on a Naturals Ivory card base. The butterfly was attached with glue.

If you are a fan of texture, you'll enjoy this last technique!!! I began by spraying the dryer sheets with Tempting Turquoise and Elegant Eggplant ink. I allowed them to dry and then cut them into pieces (triangles and rectangles). Since your dryer sheets are made from synthetic material, they will melt if heated long enough. I highly recommend doing this in a well-ventilated room or outdoors and be careful! I held the dryer sheet pieces down with a wooden skewer and then heated them with the heat tool until they started to scrunch up and melt. I stopped when I like the look I had achieved. I then sewed the pieces to a piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock using metallic thread and my sewing machine. I stamped the greeting onto a Whisper White card base with Basic Black ink using the Fabulous Phrases stamp set. Finally I added the dryer sheet panel with dimensionals.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday and I hope it inspires you to resist throwing your dryer sheets in the garbage and instead repurpose them in your crafting projects!!!! I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!!!!! :)

Four Ways Friday Will Be Here...By Saturday :)

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am sitting on the couch right now and I am pooped. I've decided to give myself the night off and not try to rush through creating this week's Four Ways Friday tonight. So, I will work on it on Friday and post it for you either Friday or Saturday. Hope that's okay :) It snowed here today - very beautiful! A great evening to curl up on the couch and stay warm :)

Butterfly Mixed Media Collage

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. - Julia Cameron

I love this quote by Julia Cameron! How courageous are you? My inner dream can scare me at times. Why? Well, if I actually admit what it is, it can unfold...and as it unfolds will it be all that I dreamed it could be or will it disappoint me? Or will it be everything I believed it could be and more???? Maybe it's the Libra in me. I can keep teetering back and forth between admitting it and not admitting it and as long as I remain sitting on the fence, I don't actually need to commit to my dream. So what message do you think that sends out into the Universe?! Maybe Julia is saying that by just admitting what the inner dream is that sends a powerful message both to ourselves and to the Universe. And once that message is out there, the energy it creates actually stimulates the unfolding. And we can be there, unfolding with the dream, and collaborating with it so that it is exactly what we need. Okay, I admit it - my inner dream is to be an artist and to inspire others to express their creativity!!!! Whew! That was hard...or not so hard...actually quite easy to admit. So there you have it...let the unfolding begin!!!!! :)

Today's collage incorporates the stamping on transparencies that I shared with you yesterday (as well as a number of other techniques!). Here are a few pictures of the completed piece:

A part of me wishes I just recorded a video of the entire process I went through in making this collage since it is almost impossible for me to remember all the steps! One thing I do want to point out is the flower on the collage. I actually made that using used dryer sheets! I think I may have to put together a video to share with you how I did that :) I incorporated a lot of mixed media into the collage: fibers, beads, cheesecloth, nails, transparencies, book pages, a computer printed quote, paint, rubber stamping (do you see the floral stamp in the background? It is from the Elements of Style stamp set - the same stamp I used in yesterday's card). This piece was a joy to make and it is now hanging on the wall beside me to remind me to continue to admit my inner dream and participate in its unfolding :) I hope you like it!

I also wanted to share this picture of Willow with you :) She has been climbing up onto my craft table lately since the sun is quite bright there. She likes to curl up in the midst of the pile of supplies. She seems to find the dimensionals particularly inviting :)

p.s. Yesterday I attended an all-day class in encaustic painting!!!! It was AMAZING!!!! I will try to take pictures of the pieces I completed during the class. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot more wax painting in the not-too-distant future! :)

Stamping On Transparencies: A Video!!!!!!

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Stay Laser-Focused On What Is Important To You!

Not a day goes by that I don't learn something from Buddy (the dog that shares his life with me). Today I was once again struck by how focused his attention can become when he sees something that is important to him - a squirrel; a rabbit; a bone; me :) It doesn't seem to matter what other distractions are going on around him - when one of those things is in front of him, his attention does not waver. What is important to me? For me it is creativity, health and family. As I look at opportunities and distractions that come my way, I need to continually ask myself if what is presenting itself to me contributes to my creativity, my health or my family. I need to stay laser-focused on those things that matter to me the most! I believe it is this focus that has led to my success so far in my commitment to my P90X workout program, my current vegan/no oil diet (I go to the doctor this week, so I'll let you know what the impact has been on my blood work!) and to trying to be at home with my family as much as I can, while at the same time ensuring I spend time creating and sharing that creativity with you as close to every day as possible! What is important to you? How can you ensure that that which is important to you is what you focus on?
I know that yesterday I said I was going to share another completed collage with you, so I hope you will forgive this small diversion from that plan! I thought is was important to share this card and technique with you today since the collage builds upon this idea :) Here is a video to show you how I made this card using window sheets/transparencies. Enjoy!!!!!

Bird Mixed Media Collage

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Creativity Is Just Connecting Things. -Steve Jobs

I had a wonderful day in the craft room yesterday! The creativity actually started happening prior to entering the craft room. I went for a morning walk with Buddy and my brain started to fill with connections between craft supplies and different techniques. Combinations started filling my brain - combinations I had never tried before. So yesterday I played with some of those combinations and had a great time). Tomorrow I will share a finished piece I made since today I promised to show you the finished mixed media collage that incorporated my paper clay music notes bird. I love Steve Jobs' quote that creativity is just connecting things. The things exist - it's up to us to figure out how we might combine them and put them together to bring something new to life. What can you connect???? (Sometimes I think it would just be fun to write down categories of supplies, or maybe techniques, on small pieces of paper and put them in a jar. Then, when you need a little creative stimulation, just reach into the jar and pull out a few of the pieces and see what happens! Hmmm, might have to begin a new series on this blog doing just that! I'll keep you posted)!
The first picture in this post shows you the transformation my paper clay bird experienced :) I used gold paint to cover the entire bird and then added wings that I die cut from metal and then embossed with an embossing folder (non SU!). I then added some paint/distressing to the wings before adhering them to the bird. The jewel eye was the final touch for the bird before I incorporated him into the larger collage. If you have been following my blog lately, you know that I love the Chinese proverb: A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. This piece sat unfinished in my craft room until, one day, I came upon that quote and the piece decided it needed to be completed :) Here is a picture of the completed piece...I hope you like it :)

Here are a few more close-ups so you can see things a bit more clearly:

The flowers were die cut from metal using the Daisies #2 die and the Flower Folds die.

Paper Clay Music Notes Bird

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Are Our Jokes Really Jokes?

I learned a hard lesson (again!) over Thanksgiving. I traveled to be with family for my cousin's 50th birthday. There were about 40 family members there and when my cousin was sharing some thoughts with us about the day and reflecting on when we would be together again as a family, I made a comment, out loud, that at first blush I thought was funny. The comment was meant to be lighthearted and was poking fun at one of my younger cousins. The minute the comment came out of my mouth I realized that it really wasn't a joke because it had hurt my younger cousin's feelings. I felt terrible! I immediately went over to her to try to repair the damage I had done. What I know is that trying to repair the damage after the fact was really too late. The repair needed to happen when I had the thought - what I needed to do was say to my thought, "Yes, you might be funny in my mind, but you have the power to hurt someone if you leave my mind and exit my mouth. So, you are not going anywhere!" Our jokes may not be jokes at all to those who are on the receiving end of them. I hope my cousin will forgive me and I hope that I have learned this lesson for the last time.
Today's project is not a finished piece - it is a piece that I have now incorporated into a larger mixed media collage (and my plan is to do my best to share the finished piece with you tomorrow). I began by creating a paper clay bird.

I took a photo of a bird and used a thick black marker to go over the outline of the bird. I then used that black outline as a template to create the paper clay bird. The feet were created with armature wire. Once he dried (and he took awhile to dry), I painted him with white gesso. Next I used my Music Notes wheel and some Staz-On Jet Black ink and covered a piece of tissue paper with the music notes. I then tore the tissue paper into strips and started adhering them to the bird with matte gel medium. Once he was thoroughly coated, front and back, I set him aside to dry. Stop by tomorrow to see what happened once he was dry! :)

Four Ways Friday #70 - Vintage Vogue

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I decided to play around with the Vintage Vogue stamp set and to combine that playing with the idea of keeping things pretty clean and simple. I hope you enjoy what I came up with!

The first card is simple, simple, simple! I used the stamp-a-ma-jig and stamped the floral image twice with Marina Mist ink - once facing up and then facing down. I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig again to line up the greeting and stamped it using Jet Black Staz-On ink. The final touch was to add a bit of dazzling diamonds with a 2-way glue pen. So simple!

For this second card I kept things super simple! Here I stamped the vine image using Pear Pizazz ink. Next I stamped the smaller flower using Regal Rose ink at full and half strength. I love how the vine image mimics the stems of flowers. Finally, the greeting was stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig and Jet Black Staz-On ink. Making a matching envelope is quick and easy and really adds a special touch (and it gives the postal agent something pretty to look at :).

I love using stamps to create background papers and the Vintage Vogue images create great backgrounds! Here I stamped the smaller floral image and the leaf image over and over using Perfect Plum and Wild Wasabi ink at full and half strength. If you see some blue or other color showing through it is because I began by spraying the card stock with a mixture of ink and water. I then let it dry and then began all of my flower and leaf stamping. I love how it provides some added depth to the background. The greeting is from Pennant Parade and was stamped with Perfect Plum and then punched and layered on top of a larger circle punch and a scallop circle punch. I added some adhesive rhinestones to give the card some bling :) The background and the greeting were adhered to a Wild Wasabi panel which was then adhered to a Whisper White card base.

Watercolor techniques work great with floral images! Here I colored directly on the small flower stamp with markers (Rich Razzleberry and Pacific Point). I then sprayed the colored stamp with water before stamping the image onto watercolor paper. I repeated this process multiple times, overlapping the flowers as I went. I allowed the piece to dry and then cut out the floral image using scissors and a hobby blade. I punched out the center of the flowers using the crop-a-dile. The piece was then adhered to a piece of designer paper (Brights pattern stack) using glue and the entire panel was then adhered to a Tempting Turquoise card base. Adhesive rhinestones were added to the center of each flower. Finally, I stamped the greeting from Curly Cute onto Crumb Cake card stock using Rich Razzleberry ink. This piece was then adhered to the card front using glue.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday. I wish you a wonderful, creative and productive weekend!!!! I hope that the spirit of gratitude from Thanksgiving goes with you into the coming days and weeks! :)

Painted Wood Sign

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: If You Just Begin You Can Get Over The Hump!

If you have been reading my blog you know that I have been doing the P90X exercise program. I'm very happy to say that I am still doing it! I'm almost done with week 7 - yeah!!!! I have encountered some days where my body is tired and telling me it needs to take a break. I have to watch out though - because sometimes I can tell that it's my mind and not my body that is sending me this message! When it is my body, I respect what it is telling me - which means I have taken about 3 days off from the program since I began and that has worked out fine so far. When it is my mind it's a whole different story. I can tell by the types of messages I'm hearing - things like "It's late and it will be past your bedtime by the time you finish your workout" or "wouldn't you just enjoy sitting on the couch and watching the tv instead of working out?" or "what harm would it do to just take one day off? You can always catch up tomorrow!" When I hear these types of messages I know that it is exactly the time to begin my workout! What I find is that if I just begin, I can get over the hump of these negative voices in my mind and I end up feeling great from the workout and great that I didn't give in to the slacker in me :) Can you tell the difference between the messages you are getting from your body and those that are coming from your mind? Remember, if you just begin, you can get over the hump!!!!!
Today I wanted to share with you a gift that I make a lot when a friend or family member has a new baby! I love making these painted signs for a child's door or room. They feel very fun and personal to me. Sometimes I just paint the letters directly on the wood piece. This time I chose to purchase some wood letters (you could also die cut some thin wood panels with your Big Shot and an alphabet die!). Making these signs also gives me a chance to play with paint, wood, wire and beads! I even have a few of these signs around my home - ones that say things like "imagine" and "dream" and "believe." Maybe I need to make a new one that says "you can get over the hump!" :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Artistic Etchings Stenciled Card

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: There Is So Much To Be Grateful For!

Beside my bed I keep a gratitude journal and before I go to sleep each night, I open the journal and write down at least 10 things that I am grateful for that day. I begin each journal entry with "TIAGF" - which stands for "today I am grateful for" and then I make my list. Some days the items on the list are as simple as going for a walk with Buddy. Other days the list is composed of gratitude for health, for experiences, for warmth, for financial stability, for friends, for food, for music the stirs me and time to express my creativity. Some days I really have to think through my day to come up with my list. Other days, it seems, the page is just not large enough to contain all that I am grateful for. As we come upon the holiday of Thanksgiving I want to express my gratitude for you. I so appreciate that you come to this blog and share in this creative experience with me. I appreciate your stopping by and I so appreciate your comments when you leave them. It is comforting to know that there are others out there who believe in expressing their unique art - I am so grateful for you!!!!!!
Today's card is a bit of an assemblage. I had stamped some tissue paper with the Music Notes wheel and Jet Black Staz-On ink and this was a leftover piece from another project. I glued it to the card front and then decided to do some stenciling with Crumb Cake ink, a sponge, and the Mostly Vintage stencil (have I mentioned how much I love our stencils! They are gorgeous and sturdy!). Next I stamped the Eiffel Tower from Artistic Etchings using Jet Black Staz-On onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock and cut it out. It was then attached to the card using dimensionals. The greetings from Sincere Salutations was then stamped with Staz-On as well. I added an adhesive rhinestone as a finishing touch. I hope you like it! :)

Altered Picture Frame

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Alter Something :)

My plan was to create a picture frame, from scratch, for my cousin's 50th birthday that will be celebrated in Atlanta over Thanksgiving. I had come up with numerous ideas for how to do the altering and how to add numbers to a plain wooden frame. I had even thought about doing a bunch of woodburning and attaching of metal bits and pieces. When I went out shopping for the frame I came across this weathered/distressed looking one (the base frame you see pictured above) and all of a sudden my direction changed! The images I had in my mind for what I was going to create began to alter as I stared at the frame and my intuition told me that this was the one. I then found the numbers - they came in very large and medium sizes and I was drawn to the medium ones. The wooden letter "tags" had attracted my attention on a shopping outing about 2 weeks ago. At the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but they were inexpensive and seemed to call out to me. Little did I know that they knew what was in store for them :) I brought the items home and started painting the wood numbers and letters with fluid acrylic paint (Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold - gorgeous color!). I then adhered them to the frame with matte medium and added some upholstery tacks to the letter tags. I then decided I needed some numbers and these adhesive plastic clock face numbers were just the right size and shape! Sometimes altering something can be as fun as starting from scratch! :) (p.s. I hope you are okay with stopping by my blog and seeing something every once in awhile that may not have been made using Stampin' Up! products. I find that I need to step out of the Stampin' Up! box every once in awhile or at least combine Stampin' Up! products with other art supplies to go on my creative journeys in art making :) I hope you enjoy seeing these other projects - I really enjoy making them and I equally enjoy sharing them with you in the hopes they will stimulate your creativity in new and exciting ways!).

Artistic Etchings Key Card

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: If You're Not Content On The Inside, The Inside Is A Great Place To Begin

I know how easy it can be to turn to instant gratification from the outside when I am not feeling content on the inside. Tired and grumpy? - ooh, maybe some new craft supplies will cure that! Depressed and out of sorts? Some new paint and markers are just the thing! Feeling down on yourself? Give in to the temptation for on-line shopping and shipping. Or don't... When I am feeling down, the instinct is to turn to a quick pick-me-up - to believe that all it will take is paying some money for something to make me instantly feel better. And while there is a bit of a "high" as the purchase is being made, it doesn't take long for me to look at the new "thing" - whatever it is - and realize it does not hold the key to my happiness. If I am not content on the inside I have learned that the inside is where I need to begin - the place I need to start my journey back to feeling better. It is not something that can be bought. It is something that deserves my time and attention and sometimes my creativity (after all, even though new art supplies won't do the trick, I definitely have a large enough stash of current supplies that can be turned to for a creative journey when I am feeling down). Let's see if I can resist the urge to binge when the next slump hits and rather turn to myself for the best kind of gratification there is - the kind that comes from the inside!
Today's card is clean and simple. I just used my stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the key from Artistic Etchings multiple times using Early Espresso ink at full and half strength. I then added the greeting from Teeny Tiny Greetings. Simple and clean. I hope you like it :)
ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!
It's time for Online Extravaganza!!!!!! Online Extravaganza, the annual Stampin' Up! sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin today, Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011!!!!!! Click HERE to log in to my online store beginning Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings, like 60 percent off select Designer Fabrics, and 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle! But wait! There's more!!!!!
There will be two items on sale today, for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) - so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza! Click HERE to shop the Online Extravaganza!!!!!

Online Extravaganza!!!!!

2011-11-20T19:50:00.001-07:00

It's time for Online Extravaganza!!!!!! Online Extravaganza, the annual Stampin' Up! sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011!!!!!! Click HERE to log in to my online store beginning Monday, November 21, to take advantage of great savings, like 60 percent off select Designer Fabrics, and 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle! But wait! There's more!!!!!
There will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT]) - so make sure you don't miss the first 24 hours of Online Extravaganza! Click HERE to shop the Online Extravaganza!!!!!

One Way Friday :) Wooden Sign

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I am exhausted as I am typing this (Thursday evening). I traveled for work this week and got home around midnight on Wednesday night and then had to get up early for another work obligation on Thursday morning. I never seem to sleep well when I am in hotels and when you combine that with time changes and travel my body at times just revolts! Needless to say, I was relatively useless for most of Thursday! So, rather than try to put together a Four Ways Friday post, I decided to create a sign for my craft room - a sign that would help me remember my mantra as I battle living in "countdown" mode.
I began with a few pieces of scrap wood - the larger one is 4" x 3" and the smaller one is 2" x 2 3/4". I covered both of them with gesso and let them dry. Next, I took the larger piece of wood and covered it using modeling paste. I then tried an experiment - I pressed the Finial Press embossing folder into the modeling paste and ended up with a bit of a mess! I'm thinking that the next time I try it I will allow the modeling paste to dry for a bit before trying to press anything into it :) I ended up with the texture you are seeing in the photo...after adding a few more steps. I used some mesh hardware tape and pressed it into the modeling paste as it dried. I also stamped one of the floral stamps from Itty Bitty Bits into the paste. Once the modeling paste was completely dry, I painted it all with Frost White shimmer paint - I love how the shimmer looks on the texture! To finish the bottom panel I hammered in a variety of beads around the edges. Here is a close up of the texture:

The next step was to stamp the mantra onto the small panel using Jet Black Staz-On and a retired alphabet stamp set (since I still can't find my letter "r" stamp for my Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set!). I then sprayed the panel with a mixture of Champagne Shimmer Mist paint and alcohol. It's hard to see that sparkle in the picture, but it looks shimmery in person! I then added Crystal Effects around the edges and pressed the edges into some white seed beads that I had in the craft room. Next came the flower! I die cut 6 flower shapes (3 larger and 3 smaller) using the Island Floral bigz die and some white organza fabric. I then held the layers together with a long wooden skewer pressed against a tile and heated the flower using my heat tool. Since the organza is synthetic, the heat will melt the fibers and create a wonderfully dimensional flower! I pressed a brad through the center of the flower and then adhered an adhesive rhinestone to the center of the brad. The smaller panel and the flower were then adhered to the larger panel using matte medium. Once the entire piece is dry (which will likely take overnight) I will attach a hanger to the back of the piece and hang it on my craft room wall :)
I hope you've enjoyed this project and this short break from Four Ways Friday. I plan to resume Four Ways Friday next week! Have a beautiful and creative weekend and don't forget to breathe in the now :)

Metal Tape & Canvas ART Sign

2011-11-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Say Thank You To Your Mistakes!

I have been working on this piece of art for quite a bit of time now. It started with the central art sign - using hardware tape, tile tape, Serif Essentials chipboard letters, brass embellishments, metal working tools and some paint. I then decided that this piece needed a home and figured a canvas would be just the place! So I began painting the canvas. It started with black gesso and then I began adding some silver hardware tape and copper tape...and then came the paint...and stencils...and more stencils...and metal embellishments...and more paint...until I got to a point where I was very stuck! One moment I felt the canvas was too dark. The next minute I felt it was too metallic. Then it was too "obvious" in terms of the circle shapes from the stencils. So I kept going and going and going and finally took out a tube of gold leaf wax and thought that a touch of it would look nice. I put some on my finger and went to slide my finger across the canvas and BLOP! A rather large area - definitely unlike what I had been trying to do - spread itself out before my eyes on my canvas! Ugh!!!! Now what?! I was about to panic - what an ugly mistake! And then I decided to go with it and follow where the mistake was taking me. So, just to show the Universe I was on board for the journey, I put a bit more of the wax on my finger and brazenly did the exact same thing again...and again! And as I kept swiping my finger, the canvas began to transform in ways I hadn't even imagined (nor could I have done had I been deliberate in my actions). Say a big "THANK YOU" to your mistakes! They may lead you to places where you never would have gone if it weren't for the happy "oops!"

Embossing Folder Kiss Technique & Video!!!!!

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Try Unlikely Combinations!

Acorn squash, maple syrup, red pepper flakes and arugula on a pizza crust???? Really????!!!! If you had told me how delicious that combination would be I would have told you you were nuts! Yet, after making and eating just such a combination, I was amazed at how yummy it was!!!!! I get surprised in similar ways in the craft room! Sometimes the combinations definitely need work. At other times, the pairing of unlikely companions seems to work out just great! It is such an unlikely combination that led me to today's technique and video! I had been playing around with the traditional "kissing" technique where you "kiss" or touch together two stamps (both can be inked or one can be inked and one uninked) and then you stamp the inked stamp onto card stock. I thought, "hmmm, if you can kiss a stamp to a stamp, how about kissing a stamp to an embossing folder?" And so we have the embossing folder kiss technique :) What unlikely combinations can you play with in the craft room...or the kitchen????
Here is a video to show you the embossing folder kiss technique and how I made today's card. Enjoy!

2-Step Bird Punch Quote Card

2011-11-15T00:01:00.002-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I Need To Stop Living Life In "Countdown" Mode

Have you ever been to a New Year's party or watched a New Year's celebration on television? If so, then you know the tradition of starting to count down the seconds, out loud, as the stroke of midnight nears. Unfortunately, this little tradition has started to invade my daily life. I call it living in "countdown" mode. It seems I am always counting down the minutes until my next trip or counting down the minutes until I will return home again. Or I'm counting down the minutes until Buddy's next walk...or my next meal...or a television show I'd like to watch. If I'm spending all of this time in countdown mode, I am not living in the present moment! I know you have heard me share my thoughts before on living in the now - it is something I am continuing to work on - something I haven't learned how to do as regularly as I would like. When I find myself counting down I want to have a mantra to turn to - maybe something like "Breathe in the now." Just typing that seems to relax my shoulders and make me feel at peace. Breathe in the now :) Maybe that is truly today's lesson from the craft room :)
Today's card was inspired by the Chinese proverb I shared with you last week. I decided to type it up on the computer and then print it out on plain paper on my laser printer. I then cut out each of the pieces and adhered them to the card base using glue. A layer of Crystal Effects was then added to each word to give the words some dimension. I stamped images from Artistic Etchings in River Rock and Basic Black and then added a bird punched from Basic Black card stock using the 2-step bird punch. If you are noticing the very subtle rectangular image in the background, you don't need new glasses :) I was actually playing around with instant film and decided to smoosh one side of the developed film paper onto the card stock and got that nifty look :) Of course I am already thinking that I can recreate that same look using an acrylic block...I may have to give that a try :) I hope you like it!

Medallion Bleach Pen Stamping & Video!!!!

2011-11-14T00:01:00.003-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested. - E. M. Forster

What are you passionate about? Have you noticed that when you are passionate about something, your energy is contagious? I find this with others as well. If I encounter someone who is truly passionate about what they do, their energy amazes me! As I sit and think about what I am passionate about I realize that creativity is TOP on my list! I believe in our ability as individuals to be creative. I believe in the power of creativity to move hearts and mountains! I believe in the power of creativity to heal and soothe. I believe creativity connects us. I hope my passion comes through to you and that in some way this small landing strip on the world wide internet ignites your passion to create! And, if you are merely interested in creativity, I invite you to go and explore what you are truly passionate about! Your passion is waiting for you!!!!!
For today's card I decided to try a fun technique - stamping with a bleach pen! Here is a video to show you how easy it is to do! Enjoy!!!!!

Four Ways Friday #69 - Inspired By Nature Coloring Techniques

2011-11-11T00:01:00.002-07:00

For this week's Four Ways Friday I'm doing things a bit different. Rather than share four completed projects, I wanted to share with you four techniques for coloring the floral image from the Inspired By Nature stamp set. Enjoy! Here is a photo of the four variations:

Let's take a look at the different techniques used to color these images:

This first technique is simple and fun! I used markers (Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Peach Parfait, and Chocolate Chip) to color directly on the stamp as shown here:

Next I spritzed the stamp with water a number of times (I keep water in a small spray bottle on the craft table for techniques like this one). Then I stamped onto watercolor paper. So simple and such a wonderful, bright image!

For this second piece I just added one additional step to the technique in the first piece. I colored the stamp with markers as described above. Next, I "huffed" on the piece with my breath to make sure the ink was moist and then I "kissed" the uninked baroque stamp from Baroque Motifs on the surface of the inked stamp and lifted. This "kissing" technique removes ink from the inked stamp and leaves a shadow of the pattern from the uninked stamp. I then "huffed" again on the inked stamp and stamped the image onto Whisper White card stock. This creates the boldest of color of the techniques I am sharing with you today.

This third technique produces a softer image than the first two, depending on how much water you use. For this piece I colored directly on the stamp with Watercolor Wonder crayons using various shades. Next I spritzed with water and stamped onto watercolor paper. I love how this technique really mimics watercolor painting - so soft and pretty.

For the final project I decided to do the Poppin' Pastels technique. I stamped the image onto Whisper White card stock using VersaMark ink. Next I dabbed Stampin' Pastels in various shades onto the cardstock using cotton swabs/daubers. I gently brushed off the loose pastel and used my eraser to erase some of the smudges. I love the doppled effect this technique creates!
I hope you've enjoyed these four coloring techniques. I hope they inspire you to try something new or to try a technique you haven't used for a while. I now need to figure out what cards I want to create with all these panels! I hope you have a beautiful, relaxing and creative weekend!

A Little More Progress!

2011-11-10T00:01:00.003-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Sit With Your Art

I sometimes pressure myself to know exactly what I want to do next with my art. The reality is, I don't know! What I am learning, is that if I just sit with my art, the next step will come. Sometimes it might be in a few seconds...or a few months! I am finding that I am enjoying having a number of pieces "in process" at the same time. That way, when I get stuck or when I just have to wait for a piece to dry, I can keep moving forward with whatever whispers to me. I am learning to sit with my art and wait for it to speak to me.
I made a bit more progress on this piece that I shared with you yesterday. The first thing I added was some gold acrylic paint to the raised images that were stenciled using modeling paste. Then I decided glitter was definitely in order, so I added some green and blue glitter glues and smooshed them around with my finger on the canvas part of the piece. Then came some additional inspiration - the desire to add more butterflies. So, I die cut them out of white organza:

Next I dipped them in diluted fabric stiffener so that I could give the a bit of shape. I draped them on some wooden skewers that I stuck in a piece of styrofoam:

Once they were dry (it didn't take too long since Denver is dry and the organza is quite thin), I decided to spritz them and paint them with a number of different products (I did use some champagne shimmer mist paint that I had mixed with alcohol and I also used a number of non Stampin' Up! products). I then attached them to the canvas using matte medium. Here's what the piece looks like now - I wish you could see all the sparkle from the glitter!

The piece hasn't told me that it is done yet, so I will continue to sit with it and see if it pushes me further. I hope you are enjoying sharing this process with me as it unfolds. There is something beautiful about sharing this piece in this way - like the butterfly emerging from the cocoon, this piece is emerging from inside of me in its own right time.

Making A Bit Of Progress: Beautiful Butterflies FLY Artwork

2011-11-09T00:01:00.002-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: A Bird Does Not Sing Because It Has An Answer. It Sings Because It Has A Song. -Chinese Proverb

I have been working on a number of mixed media collages for sometime now. The one that drew me to this quote is not ready for sharing yet...or maybe it is...it is definitely a work in progress! Maybe I'll give you a peek a bit later in the week. It began with images of blue jays and has evolved, quite slowly I might add, from there. Today I decided to pull the piece back out and continue working on it and I felt it needed some words. So I started looking for quotes about birds and came upon this perfect proverb. It was exactly the message I needed to hear. Why do we create art? Not because we have answers or feel like we are creating the perfect piece. We create art because we have a song to sing. There are notes inside of us that need to be expressed. And so we sing.
I did feel like I made enough progress today on this piece from last week that I decided to share it with you today! Doris, if you're reading this, I'll be curious about your thoughts on where I'm taking this :) Let me share with you how I've gotten this far. It began on my birthday on Oct. 21st! A friend gave me a gift and the gift was wrapped in beautiful tissue paper. Once I started working on this piece, I knew the tissue paper had to be incorporated in some way. So, I took the tissue paper and adhered it to a canvas board using matte medium. Here is what it looked like after that step was complete:

I decided the pattern was a bit too bold and that it would overshadow the piece I had made, so I took a risk and coated the entire panel with white gesso. Gesso is great since it is more transparent than opaque. Here is the panel coated with gesso:

And can you see what else I added???? If you look closely, you will notice that I used the Mostly Vintage stencil to create texture on the panel! How did I do it? I held the stencil down and then covered it with flexible modeling paste. I applied the paste over the stencil using an old hotel room key (very much like using an old credit card) and then lifted the stencil. I LOVE how you can use stencils for different mediums - not just ink! I then let the paste dry and started to play around with where I might position the original piece on the canvas. I started with trying it here:

As I was playing around with the placement I decided that the piece needed more color. So I began creating washes of color - blues and greens - using watercolor crayons and a brush. Which leaves me with the piece exactly as you see at the top of this post (I have not adhered the original piece down onto the canvas yet - I seem to like it placed more to the left than to the right...but who knows how I'll feel tomorrow!). I'm not sure where the piece will go next. I need to sit with it for awhile. I feel like some sparkle is going to get added to the panel...we'll see. I'll be sure to let you know where I go next!

Notably Ornate Kissing Technique

2011-11-08T00:01:00.005-07:00

Today's Question From The Craft Room: What Do We Allow Ourselves To Get Annoyed At?

My day began on a bit of an odd note - I allowed myself to get annoyed and then, it seemed, all I could focus on was the annoyance I heard around me. My annoyance began with contacting Amazon regarding a recent book purchase from one of their sellers. When the book arrived it had library markings on it (not disclosed in the listing) so I contacted the library named on the book plate and, it turns out, the book had been checked out 2 years ago and never returned. In my mind, the book was therefore not in my legal possession - even if the last seller was totally unaware of the book not ever making it back to the library. So, I contacted the on-line help at Amazon...and needless to say it was a very frustrating experience - both in terms of time and because it appeared the person did not understand what I was typing in my chat messages. I have never cared whether or not English was someone's first, second, or fiftieth language. And, I realized today that when I am contacting a company that conducts their business in English, it would make sense for their customer service employees to have a certain level of proficiency with the English language. Unfortunately, the person I was chatting with on-line today at Amazon was unable to understand the language she was reading and was equally poor in her typed responses. It really became a ridiculous exercise in communication (or lack thereof). After the experience I went onto facebook and saw a friend's post - she was annoyed at not being able to find a body pump class at her gym. Next, a friend called and the first thing she said was that her socks were falling down and she didn't understand why socks fall down in the first place! So there you have it - a curious series of annoyances that just built on one another in my mind...and I let them...and that is what I am really annoyed about! Why do I allow these things to even stir my emotions, let alone set a course for my morning? So now I am breathing deeply and focusing on what is worth giving my attention to - my art and my peace. What do you allow yourself to get annoyed at?
Today's card used a kissing technique. I inked up the bird from Notably Ornate using Sahara Sand ink. I then took an uninked stamp from Baroque Motifs and pressed it against the inked up bird stamp. This removed some of the Sahara Sand ink from the bird. I then pressed the bird stamp onto Very Vanilla card stock and this beautiful bird appeared! I cut it out with scissors and then mounted it to a small piece of Very Vanilla card stock with dimensionals. The mini vintage tag was embellished with a word cut out of a book and then added to the card stock with a rhinestone brad. I then adhered this panel to a piece of card stock that I had sprayed with ink and shimmer paint. This whole piece was then attached to the Very Vanilla card base using dimensionals. The final touch was to add some scored lines on the bottom of the card using my scoring board. I hope you like it!

Wax Resist Background With Shimmer Paint Stamping

2011-11-07T00:01:00.003-07:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I Am Preparing To Hibernate!

As I watch out the window of the craft room, I am noticing a change in the behavior of the birds and squirrels. It seems everyone is becoming more determined to get as many peanuts and seeds as they can as they begin to feel winter in the air. I am noticing a similar change in my own behavior as the air begins to chill and the days begin to darken earlier. I had been doing a wonderful job of curtailing my art supply purchases...until recently. Michael has even joked that it might be time for an intervention! I have found myself running to craft stores, art stores and shopping on line. As I reflect on this recent change in my behavior I realize that I am stocking up for winter. With the end of the year just around the corner, my work schedule and travel schedule will begin to wind down. I am anticipating a nice long stretch of time at home - time to create and explore new art techniques and supplies. So it makes sense to me that I am squirreling away the supplies I will need for my art hibernation :) Do you find your own behavior changing in any ways as the seasons change? What do you take with you into hibernation?
Today's card was a progression from a card I shared with you last week during Four Ways Friday. I had fun using the scoring board with the wax resist technique so I decided to try it again and to step it up! I started with a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and covered it with Certainly Celery ink with the direct to paper technique. I then placed the piece on my scoring board and rubbed it with a wax candle. Next I applied Concord Crush ink (direct to paper) and then used a hot iron to remove the wax from the card stock (I placed the card stock between 2 sheets of scrap paper before heating it with an iron). I then placed the piece on the scoring board again and rubbed it with the wax candle. Next I applied Rose Red ink (direct to paper) and once again ironed the piece between 2 sheets of scrap paper to remove the wax. I then stamped an image from Extreme Elements a few times using Jet Black Staz-On ink. The stars from Extreme Elements were then stamped using Frost White shimmer paint. Finally, I added some yellow glitter glue (non SU!) and smooshed it around with my finger. I let the piece dry and then tore it to use on this card. The greeting from Just Believe was stamped with Jet Black Staz-On and then punched out using a 1 3/4" circle punch. I hope you like it!
Here is a close-up of the card stock:

Four Ways Friday #68 - Simply Scored Scoring Tool

2011-11-04T16:47:00.000-06:00

Thanks for your patience! It took me awhile to wake up and get the day going this morning, but I have to admit that spending the day in the craft room was perfect :) This weeks Four Ways Friday provides you with four different ways to use your Simply Scored Scoring Tool!

Let's start with the basics! Of course you can use your scoring tool to score your base card. It's quick and easy! Those same score lines can look great on other parts of your card too! Here I took a smaller piece of Very Vanilla card stock and scored it one way every 1/2" and then turned it and scored it in the other direction every 1/2" to create this grid. I then cut the prongs off of the brads and adhered them to the intersections using glue dots. Next I used the flower from the punch trio and punched the flowers and added adhesive pearls. They were attached to the grid using glue. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny wishes and stamped using Jet Black Staz-On.

If you like making score lines, you will love using your scoring tool for making paper rosettes! I made the rosette by scoring a piece of designer series paper every 1/4". I then folded the paper accordian style and glued the end pieces together to form a circular shape. Once that is done, you can push down on the middle of the circle and use hot glue to adhere the ends together and make the rosette. Next, I took a vintage tag and scored it every 1/4". I then sponged the entire tag, first with River Rock ink and then with Old Olive ink. This helps the score lines stand out! I then stamped the Medallion background stamp (one of my ultimate all-time favorites!) using Crumb Cake ink. The rosette was attached to the tag using glue. I then stamped the greeting from Upsy Daisy onto a piece of Very Vanilla card stock, after coloring the stamp directly with both Chocolate Chip and Old Olive markers. The ends were cut to look like a banner and then the banner was attached to the rosette using dimensionals.

You can make all kinds of accordion books using your scoring tool! Here I made an adorable little 2"x2" book. I cut a piece of 2"x10" piece of Very Vanilla card stock and scored it every 2 inches. I then accordion folded the card stock. Next I began masking each "page" and sponging and stamping :) The letters are from Calendar Alphabet & Numbers and Rough Type Alphabet (retired...I had to use this set since I can't find my letter "r" in my Calendar set...hopefully it will turn up!) stamped with Jet Black Staz-On. I created a belly band for the book with a small strip of Very Vanilla card stock that is held together with two glue dots. The heart was punched using the Heart To Heart punch and a piece of scrap Regal Rose card stock that I had stamped.

Here's a look at the inside:

I used stamps from Every Little Bit, Extreme Elements, Elements of Style and Heart to Heart. I just couldn't help myself :) I also did a bit of coloring using markers and added a touch of super nova old olive glitter and some dazzling diamonds.

Can you guess how I used the scoring tool on this card???? Yes, there is the easy answer that I used it to create the score lines to fold this pocket card...but there's more!!!!! You see that pattern that almost looks like snake skin? I created that using the scoring tool and the wax candle emboss resist technique (I have a video on wax candle emboss resist - just check out the link to the left on my blog). The scoring tool is a textured surface so, I put a piece of Very Vanilla card stock that I had sponged with Pear Pizazz ink on the surface of the tool - a little bit slanted. Next, I rubbed a candle all over the surface of the card stock. The next step was to then sponge the entire piece with Marina Mist ink - you will immediately see the waxed areas resisting the ink when you do this. To remove the wax once you are satisfied with the amount of color you have on the card stock, you need to heat up an iron and cover the card stock with a piece of scrap copy paper. Iron the piece and the wax will lift from the card stock and get soaked into the scrap paper. It's a ton of fun and very addicting! Of course, you can choose to layer more wax on and then add more color - the possibilities and patterns are endless!
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday - it was fun to make these projects today and I'm looking forward to spending more time in the craft room this weekend! Hope you have a creative and peaceful weekend!

Four Ways Friday will be here...hopefully later today!

2011-11-04T00:01:00.002-06:00

It's been a long day! It is after 11:30 pm Thursday night as I am typing this and I just got back from a trip and I'm pooped! I am already looking forward to sleeping late and then to spending much of the day tomorrow in the craft room. I think of the craft room almost like a womb for myself - does that sound weird?! It's a place where I am so comforted and "at home." It is my peace. I hope to put together a few things to share with you by later in the day on Friday. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to see you again in a little bit :)

More Chipboard Shapes & Sizes :)

2011-11-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: We Are Not Sent Into This World To Do Anything Into Which We Cannot Put Our Hearts

This John Ruskin quote began as the inspiration for this art piece that is still "under construction." I truly believe that we are each sent to this planet to do that which speaks to our hearts and I wanted to make a piece of art that I can hang in the craft room that will continually remind me of this truth. What a wonderful measure for us to test if we are doing what we are meant to do - to ask ourselves if we can put our heart into it.
I began by taping strips of copper tape to a large piece of chipboard. I then used metal stamps to stamp into the copper tape to create the quote. I cut out the chipboard pieces and coated each of them with black acrylic paint and then wiped most of the paint off. The heart was created like the crown I made yesterday - relying on my ability to draw a heart :) I drew the heart on a piece of scrap chipboard and cut it out and then covered it with aluminum hardware tape and a few piece of copper tape before embossing it and covering it with black acrylic paint (and then wiping the paint off). These pieces will be joining the crown and this canvas:

I covered this canvas with hardware tape - I believe this tape is used for backing tiles (but I could be wrong about that...I was attracted to all the little squares, not the intended hardware use :). The tape is adhesive on one side, but I still used matte medium to adhere it to try to prevent any lifting. I then covered the entire canvas with gesso. Yes, this is another project where, so far, the only Stampin' Up! product has been the chipboard. It really is amazing what you can do with that chipboard!!!!! Just think what you can do with the backing from your designer series paper packs and decor elements and stencil packaging!!! :) The possibilities are endless!!!! :) Stay tuned for more photos as this project progresses. I keep wondering which will reach completion first...this one or the "fly" canvas! What do you think? :)

Playing With Chipboard

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Trust In Your Ability!

I'm not sure when it started, but I began to believe that I couldn't draw/create shapes on my own :( Somehow the Big Shot, and the amazing shapes it creates, had an impact on me I hadn't expected. I began to believe that if I wanted to add a shape to a card or paper project I needed just the right die to do it! This came to light when I started to play with today's project and I wanted a crown made out of chipboard. But, lo and behold, I don't have a crown die for the Big Shot and I thought I was sunk. Then I remembered...I can draw a crown!!!! (I know, not a miraculous thought...but at that moment it really was miraculous since I had forgotten about my own abilities). So I pulled out a piece of chipboard and I drew a crown on it with a pen. I then cut it out with scissors and ta-da - I had the shape I needed. I then covered the crown with aluminum tape from the hardware store and started to decorate the crown with various metal working & embossing tools that I had on the craft table. Here is the crown in progress:

This is another project that I am working on step-by-step. I'll share with you another little part...another shape I created...can you guess what it is?

If you start to believe that you need just the right tool or product, remember to trust in your own abilities!!!! Oh, and in case you are wondering, I did use one Stampin' Up! product for this project...the chipboard was actually the backing sheet from a Stampin' Up! product :) Don't throw those chipboard backings away - you can definitely put them to good use!!!! Tomorrow I'll share a bit more of this project with you :)

Beautiful Butterflies and Simple Alphabet Sign

2011-11-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Some Days You Can See So Clearly!

It was amazingly clear yesterday. On our walk, Buddy and I could see forever and the mountains were vivid and sharp in the distance! Creativity is like those mountains for me. Some days I sit down to create and in my mind I know exactly what I want to do. I sit down and start to bring to life the image that is in my head and heart. And then there are those days when you can't see so clearly. You still show up to create - you just don't know what is going to appear! This sign has been like that for me. Last week I shared with you where I began - it looked like this:

Since the last photo I showed you last week, I added color with alcohol inks (non SU!) and some other bronzing paints and wax. I also added some glitter glue and spread it around with my finger on the butterfly - the sparkle in person is wonderful! Now the sign is sitting on my craft table - on top of a piece of butterfly tissue paper that I know will somehow become a part of this art-in-progress. I will keep sharing as this unfolds - right now I can't see clearly where I'm headed, but I'm going to move forward with the confidence that something incredible will appear! I hope you like it!

Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Masked Card

2011-10-31T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: If You Make It With Your Heart, Whatever You Create Has Significance

I truly believe that whatever an artist creates is imbued with the spirit of the artist. We can be so hard on our creations sometimes - judging them, critiquing them. We need to be kind to the works we create - recognizing that our heart and spirit are a part of that creation. In this way, everything we create has significance - it has us.
Today's card began as a desire to use a butterfly as a mask. I die cut a piece of chipboard using the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die and the Big Shot. I then put temporary adhesive on the back of the butterfly and placed it on the Very Vanilla card. I sponged around the butterfly with So Saffron ink and some champagne. Next I repeated these steps over and over until I was happy with the base of the card. By now, the chipboard butterfly was inky and sparkly and I decided I couldn't let it go to waste! So, I stamped the greeting from Charming using Jet Black Staz-On and then stamped the butterfly with an image from Friends 24-7. I stamped the Charming words on a scrap piece of paper and cut some of them out and sponged the edges with So Saffron ink. I added a few to the card with dimensional pieces and also added a word as the butterfly body. The butterfly was adhered to the card with dimensionals. I hope you like it :)

Four Ways Friday #67 - Boho Blossoms Punch

2011-10-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about how you can use the Boho Blossoms punch in fun and exciting ways!

Of course, you can always use your punch in the usual way :) Here I punched out a bunch of the smallest flowers using Very Vanilla and Basic Black card stock. I then adhered them to the Very Vanilla card base using glue. I then added the adhesive pearls to the flower centers. Finally, I stamped the greeting from Sincere Salutations using Staz-On Jet Black ink and the stamp-a-ma-jig.

For this second card, I took a piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock and used the punch to punch out "windows" of flowers in the lower right hand corner. I then backed the Rich Razzleberry card stock with a piece of Very Vanilla card stock to create the impression that the flowers were Very Vanilla in color. I added a few punched out flowers to the piece and then added adhesive pearls to the the flower centers. I then adhered the piece to a piece of Pretty In Pink card stock and adhered the entire panel to the Rich Razzleberry card base using dimensionals. Next I punched out a decorative label and then adhered a piece of Old Olive satin ribbon behind it using a piece of tape. I then layered circles onto the label using my 1 3/4", 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" circle punches. The final 2 circles were attached to the largest circle using dimensionals. I then added a small flower to the upper right-hand corner. The last touch was the add a strip of designer paper that I punched with the scallop edge punch.

Punched shapes make great masks that you can use in so many different ways! For this tag, I began with a plain tag and then adhered a number of punched flowers using temporary adhesive.

Next, I sponged the tag using Crumb Cake ink and then removed the masks. I die cut the letters using the Alphabet Simple Letters dies and Crumb Cake card stock and sponged the edges using Chocolate Chip ink. I then used my finger to apply champagne shimmer paint to all of the letters and adhered them to the tag. A few of the flowers were also punched out of Crumb Cake card stock, sponged, brushed with a bit of shimmer paint, and embellished with adhesive rhinestones. I then adhered the flowers to the tag and added a small piece of Early Espresso ribbon. Here's a close up so you can see the masking more clearly:

I also love to layer punched shapes and use them to make magnets or push pins.

For this last project I punched quite a few of the largest flowers and a couple of the middle sized flowers from Baja Breeze card stock. I then sprayed them lightly with water and crunched them and let them dry. Then I uncrumpled them and sponged them with Marina Mist ink. I also punched a 1 1/4" circle and sponged the edges. Next I layered all of the flowers on top of one another and used my paper piercer to make a center hole. I then pushed through a rhinestone brad and adhered the entire flower to the circle using crystal effects. Here is a close up of the flower:

I then used the crystal effects to adhere a magnet and also adhered a smaller circle to the back side of the magnet so that it can be used on metal surfaces without scratching.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I hope these ideas inspire you to use your Boho Blossoms punch in new and exciting ways!!!! I wish you a wonderfully creative and peaceful weekend! (I will hopefully be doing some more house painting...I'll try to take more pics so you can see the progress!).

Four Ways Friday will be here later today!

2011-10-28T08:15:00.002-06:00

Hi! I just got back from a trip yesterday and was too tired to stamp, so Four Ways Friday will be coming a bit later today! Hope you stop back by!

Butterfly Sign...In Progress!

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: We Are All Works In Progress!
I don't know why I've had an aversion in the past to showing you works in progress and why I have felt the need to always share completed projects. Do you know why that is? Do you come here expecting to see something in its completed state? I realize that just showing you completed projects and videos of completed projects doesn't really share the truth of my creative process. I have a lot of "ongoing pieces" in my craft room. Some wait for days...or months...or, yes, years...waiting for my return to move them forward. I am very much like these projects - a work in progress. I am never completed - I am always changing, building up, taking away. We are all works in progress - just like our art. So today I'm going to show you a work in progress and we can enjoy the journey together (and yes, I promise to share how this piece transforms...whether that be a day from now, a month from now....or maybe even a year!).
Today's piece started out much like my "create art" sign. I began with die cutting chipboard - time time using the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die and the Simple Alphabet dies. I then adhered the pieces to the base using glue. This time I decided to start adhering metal tape from the home improvement store and adding a bit of sequin waste that I adhered with matte medium. I want to thank RachO113 on YouTube for this inspiration. If you haven't watched any of her videos and want to be absolutely inspired, you need to go and watch her at work with her art in her videos - she is truly amazing to watch! Thank you Rachel for the inspiration! Here are a few pictures of the process unfolding:

Next I finished covering the sign with the metal tape and then used my embossing tool to outline all of the raised areas - the letters, the butterfly, and the sequin waste. Finally, I used some metal working tools to add some texture and distressing. The tape is quite soft, so you can add texture with everyday items you have lying around the house or in your craft space.

Here is the piece in its "raw" form. I have begun to add color to the piece using some non-SU! products and I also have an idea about how I want to keep moving forward with it. For now, I will leave you and your imagination with this piece as it is in this picture...in the hopes that it will inspire you to take the process in your own direction. And, I will continue to work the piece and share it with you as it evolves! I hope we can enjoy this journey together :)

Create Art Sign - Continued!

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Delayed Gratification Can Help You Appreciate What You Receive

In today's world of instant everything, I find that I can forget to really appreciate that which I receive. We have learned that we can get what we need at the click of a button - be it information; something new we buy on the internet; a message we receive from a friend through instant messaging, texting, or email. It seems to train us to believe that everything comes quickly and it also seems to train us to not stop and really marvel at what we receive. If things seem to appear automatically, we can begin to take them for granted. So thank you for coming back by today for a little delayed gratification! I hope you didn't mind the wait...and if you did, ask yourself why you minded and whether you can slow down your desire to have it all "right now!" I am trying to teach myself this same patience and this same appreciation to allow things to come at their own time.
When we left off yesterday, I shared with you the sign covered in masking tape. The next step was to sponge Soft Suede ink to the entire piece. Next came some Chocolate Chip ink sponged in some places and then some Basic Black ink, sponged particularly around the letters to give them a bit of definition. I then used my fingers to apply Champagne Shimmer Mist paint to the entire panel, right over all of the ink. In person this sign has some great sparkle and shine!!!! The paint also acts to "seal in" the ink. I then stamped the word "create" from one of the stamps in the Charming stamp set. I used my Soft Suede marker and Very Vanilla card stock and then cut out the word and sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink. The word was applied to the sign using glue. The brass hand was something I had in the craft room - it came in handy :) I attached it using matte medium. Next I stamped a brass metal tag using Staz-On ink and the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. I attached it to the sign using an antique brad. Finally, I adhered the entire panel to a piece of Basic Black card stock and added some D-ring hangers with matte medium. I haven't decided yet if I want to hang the sign using wire or ribbon...but I know I will decided when the time is right :) I hope you like it! Tomorrow check back to see how else you can cover chipboard signs for a totally different look!

Create Art Serif Essentials and Faux Leather Sign

2011-10-25T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: It All Begins With An Idea Or An Action

Today's project started with the idea to make a sign for my craft room after I had completed yesterday's "create art" card. What I find is that most of my art begins with either an idea or an action. Sometimes I walk into the craft room and sit down and have an intention - an idea of where I want to start or what I want to do. At other times, I sit down and I am clueless! I have no idea what I am going to do or where to begin. Either way creates a beginning - a place where my art begins. You don't have to have an idea to actually get started - you can just get started :)
This first photo is where I began to bring the idea to life. I cut a piece of chipboard for the base and then die cut chipboard with the Serif Essentials dies and adhered the letters to the base using glue. I then began to apply strips of masking tape, smoothing the pieces around the letters as I went along. Here are some pictures of the process I went through:

I kept adding the masking tape until the chipboard was fully covered. I then used my embossing tool to press the tape down very tightly around the edges of the letters. It's hard to tell in this last photo, but using the embossing tool to outline the letters really helps define the outline. So I think I'm going to leave you in a bit of suspense and share the finished project with you tomorrow. I figure it took me a little while to make this piece - a bit more time than my usual card, so it makes sense to me that sharing it with you should take a bit more time too :) Stop back by tomorrow if you want to see what happened next! :)

Serif Essentials Art Card

2011-10-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Create Art

Today's card is as much a message to myself as it is a card to post. I still struggle with letting things get in the way of my creating art - my inner critic; time; needed the next supply before I can do anything - Do you suffer from any of these? If I can just sit down and clear my mind a bit, then I seem to be able to overcome those things that try to get in the way. So this weekend I spent some time sitting and, as a result, created some art...and it felt GREAT! It all began with this card - my new mantra for myself :) You may see this message again tomorrow...(hint, hint!)
This card was so simple and I love the Crumb Cake on Crumb Cake effect. I ran the card base through the Big Shot with the Framed Tulips embossing folder. I actually ran it through backwards - so the card front is "debossed" - I decided to just go with it :) I then die cut the letters using the Serif Essentials dies and the Big Shot. The letters and the card base were sponged using Soft Suede ink. Next I stamped the word "create" by only inking that word on one of the stamps in the Charming stamp set. I then cut it out and sponged the edges. The letters and the word "create" were then adhered to the card using dimensionals. I hope you like it...more importantly, I hope you like the message :)

Four Ways Friday #66 - Reinkers!

2011-10-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by on my birthday! :) It's exciting to have had the experience of another year of life and to have shared some of this past year with you! I really appreciate your stopping by and I hope you gain something, anything, from sharing your moments with me!
In this week's Four Ways Friday I would like to share four ways for you to use your classic reinkers! And yes, I am typing this with inky fingers :) That's kind of hard to avoid when you start playing with your reinkers ;)

Let's begin with a quick and easy way to use your reinker - as a writing utensil! Here I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and my Blushing Bride reinker and I just drew lines and squiggles vertically on the card stock. When you draw with your reinkers in this way, the lines actually become a bit raised from the card stock - it's a cool textural look! I then adhered some adhesive pearls and added some additional pearl dimension by making small dots along the lines with a non-SU! product. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and I layered a number of punches to pop up the greeting. The whole panel was then adhered to a Whisper White card base with dimensionals.

For this second card I played with one of my favorite self-created techniques. If you have watched my videos, you have seen me create this ink blot background. I placed Tangerine Tango and Basic Black reinker onto a piece of freezer paper and then folded the freezer paper in half and squished the ink around. I then opened up the freezer paper and laid a piece of Whisper White card stock over the ink and pressed down. It creates a great ink blot transfer onto the cardstock! Next I let it dry and then sponged the edges of the piece and adhered it to a Whisper White card base with glue. The ghosts were made using the 2-step owl punch and I punched the eyes and mouths with my crop-a-dile and backed each ghost with a small piece of Basic Black card stock to highlight the eyes and mouths. I sponged the edges with Basic Black ink. The banner was sponged with Tangerine Tango ink and then the letters from the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set were stamped with Basic Black in. The banner and the ghosts were adhered with a combination of glue and dimensionals.

I love creating ink mists with my reinkers! I just place a few drops of reinker in a small spray bottle with water, shake it up, and spray away! Here I began with a piece of Whisper White card stock. I then punched out some circles from scrap paper and placed the randomly over the card stock to act as masks. I sprayed various colors of ink, removed the first set of circles and added another set, and then sprayed more colors of ink until I was happy with the result. I used the heat tool to dry things a bit (since I'm not the best at being patient for card stock to dry!). I then added the scallop-punched Tempting Turquoise card stock and the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes. The animals from Fox and Friends were stamped, cut out, and adhered to the card with dimensionals. The button adds a final touch.

If you're not afraid of cleaning up a little ink, this last reinker technique is a lot of fun. I placed some water and Rich Razzleberry reinker in a little spray bottle and then sprayed one side of the Finnial Press embossing folder. I then placed a piece of Whisper White card stock down on the ink sprayed side of the folder and ran it through the Big Shot. I helped the drying process with the heat tool and then built the card. The greeting is from Sincere Salutations which was punched out. I then used a smaller circle as a mask and did some stamping with a floral image from Tiny Tags to create a border around the greeting.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! I wish you a wonderful and creative weekend!!!!! Thank you for sharing my birthday with me! :)

Sprayed Ink Background

2011-10-20T00:01:00.001-06:00

Today's Question From The Craft Room: How Do You Measure Your Creative Progress?

Today's question is one that has captured my attention lately. Somewhere in my life I began to believe that progress requires completion of tasks and the faster you can complete tasks, the more successful you are. Where the heck did this belief come from and why have I given it so much weight in my life?! I truly believe it is a bunch of bunk! I have been brainwashed!!!!! True progress only requires that you are living in the present moment - in the now - with your full attention. This is my new measure for my creative progress. If it happens to result in a "completed" project that I can share with you, so be it. If, on the other hand, it results in something that is still in a state of creation - then I can share that with you too. Either way it is all a part of my creativity - my expressing myself - and maybe you will find some inspiration - a seed - to inspire you to live in your own creative moments - your "creative now."
Today, my living in the moment resulted in this card. And actually, it wasn't just today - the heart on this card actually began a few days ago when I took a few pieces of wood scraps and glued them together to make a heart and then painted them and rusted them and painted them again and applied some wax metallic finish. It was the heart that then inspired the card. A card whose background began with a piece of Whisper White card stock that got sprayed and sprayed with mixtures of water and ink that I placed in little spray bottles. I then ran the bottom part of the panel through the Big Shot with the Finnial Press embossing folder and stamped the top of the panel with the En Francais background stamp and Pear Pizzazz ink. Next came a bunch of sponging and the Certainly Celery ribbon. I stamped the greeting from Short & Sweet onto watercolor paper with Tempting Turquoise ink and punched it out with the decorative label punch. Next I stamped a bit with an image from Tiny Tags and sponged the edges of the tag before adding it to the embossed panel. I hope you like it!

Pocket Silhouettes Best Wishes Card

2011-10-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: If You Do The Work, You Will See Your Progress!

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have been doing the P90X workout videos. I've been very proud of my resolve to actually do the workouts - I have been sticking with it and I continue to "push play" on the DVD player on my laptop - doing each video, one by one - putting in the work. I am now almost done with week 3 and it is actually fun to think back to the first week and recognize how far I've come. There were some exercises I really struggled with that I can now do - I'm not saying they are effortless yet - but I can do them and do them proudly! There was a part of me that was a tiny bit discouraged since my body seemed to be staying the same to me - I was wanting some instant gratification. Well today, after almost 3 weeks of daily workouts - I had some gratification! I did the abdominal exercise workout for the 9th time in 3 weeks today and I actually saw some muscles in my stomach area that I had NEVER seen before! Who knew they even existed in there?! :) It felt AWESOME to see something like that appear from all of my hard work! It reminds me, yet again, that if you do the work, you will see your progress! The same is true with your creating! If you take the time and do the work of expressing your creativity, you will progress with your art and with your ability to express yourself in your own best and unique way!
For today's card I went back to a clean and simple look with one of my favorite stamp sets. I started with a Whisper White card base. I then die cut a piece of Brushed Silver card stock using the clearlits scallop rectangle die. Next I cut a rectangle from Whisper White card stock. I stamped the right hand side using a floral image from Pocket Silhouettes using Sahara Sand ink. I then added a touch of dazzling diamonds to the flowers using a 2-way glue pen. Have I mentioned lately that dazzling diamonds is my FAVORITE glitter in the world?!!!!! It is so fine and sparkly and add such an amazing pop to cards in such an easy way! I stamped the greeting from Short & Sweet using Basic Black ink and then mounted the rectangle to the scallop rectangle using dimensionals. The piece was then attached to the card base using glue. The final touch was to add three adhesive rhinestones. I hope you like it!

Watercolor Paper Embossed Background

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I Get In My Own Way

It's easy to place the blame in so many different places. To say that the reason we don't create is because we are too busy, or have to cook dinner, or have to work, or have to ______ (fill in the blank). Well, today I realized another huge reason - the reason I don't create is because of me. Today (I'm writing this on Monday) I had a day that was wide open. I had one conference call that I needed to be on and then my list of responsibilities was pretty empty. So today was the perfect day for me to sit and create. I did some creating - I worked on painting layers of paint on wooden and chipboard pieces to use on my can projects. And then I found myself getting up from the craft table and wandering around - checking email, looking at my blog to see if anyone else had looked at it, walking into the kitchen to grab yet another snack. You name it, I was finding ways to distract myself and here I had a whole day open to my creativity. So now the big question is why? Why am I getting in my own way? Am I afraid to spend a whole day creating? Am I afraid I'm going to like it too much and not want to do anything else? Or am I afraid that it won't be all that I believe it can be - that the ideas will not flow or the results won't be what I want? Maybe it's a combination of both. The bottom line is I am responsible for my time and what I do with it. I can get in my way or I can get out of my way and create - the choice is mine.
I got out of my way a bit to create this card. I began with a piece of watercolor paper and used the direct to paper technique to apply a layer of Certainly Celery ink and then a layer of Tempting Turquoise ink right over it. Then I ran the piece through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I then did direct to paper again with River Rock ink to bring out the textured pattern. Next I used my finger to rub Champagne Shimmer Mist paint over the raised areas of the design - this card has great shimmer in person! The piece was then adhered to a piece of Whisper White card stock and then adhered to the River Rock card base using glue. I die cut two butterflies using the Beautiful Wings embosslit and Crumb Cake card stock. I sponged them with River Rock ink and then applied some Champagne Shimmer paint using my finger. I then punched a piece of River Rock card stock with the decorative label punch and stamped the piece with the birthday greeting from Sincere Salutations using Early Espresso ink. The edges were then sponged with River Rock ink. I then applied three pearls and dabbed them lightly with the paint as well. The butterflies were attached to the label using glue and the label was attached to the card using dimensionals. I hope you like it!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-10-17T00:01:00.001-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Rust Takes Time!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I disappeared on Friday - sorry about that - I just couldn't get my act together to get my posting done in time. But this is a new week...so we'll see what happens :) What I have already begun to learn this week is that rust takes time! I have found a new product (non-Stampin' Up!) that really intrigues me! I had to run out and buy it and give it a try! I got together a few cans and began my journey toward rust. First I used black gesso to coat the cans (I should have used some sandpaper to scratch up the surface a bit before adding the gesso - I'll make a note for next time!).

Of course I had to show some patience and allow the time for that to dry. Next came two coats of the base for the rusting process - and allowing the coats to dry in between.

And then came the rusting solution!

I've got one coat on now...and I can add another coat in another 24 hours...this really is a true test of my patience ;) Of course, it is also a test of your patience since I can't share a finished product with you until the can is ready to decorate and stamp! :) I guess that means we're both learning...rust takes time!
Ooh - look! I woke up this morning and put another coat of the rusting solution on the surface and here is what the cans look like now:

Glad I've been patient - I really LOVE how these are turning out! Hopefully I'll be able to share more progress with you tomorrow :)

Crimped Background Thanksgiving Card

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Keep Going!

I've really been enjoying the P90X program! Well, maybe "enjoying" is a strong word - it is a really tough workout! Every time I finish a workout though, I feel really good about what I've just accomplished - it's a great feeling. As you likely know by now, I travel a bit for work and it can be tricky to keep going with a regular workout or eating schedule. But I'm doing it! I have brought the dvd's with me on the road and since so little equipment is needed for the workouts, it's working for me so far. It makes me realize, yet again, that when you are really committed to something you can keep going, even in the face of potential obstacles or roadblocks. This lesson is true with our creativity as well - if you are really committed to expressing the creativity that lives inside of you, you will find the time to make it happen! Just keep going!!!!!
Today's card began with my crimper and a piece of Soft Suede card stock. I crimped the paper and then used the direct to paper technique to apply Whisper White craft ink. I used the heat tool to speed up the drying process. I then wrapped a piece of Victoria crochet trim around the piece and knotted it. The panel was then attached to a Soft Suede card base with dimensionals. I took a small cello bag (I think that's what they are called - it's the bakery type bag that you would put a cookie in - it's make of a wax paper) and ran it through the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty embossing folder. I then tore a piece of the bag and adhered it to the crimped layer using glue. Next I stamped the leaf image from Lovely As A Tree with Early Espresso ink and colored it in with Stampin' Pastels. I then cut it out and adhered it to the card using dimensionals. The final piece was to add the greeting that was stamped from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched out with the Modern Label punch. I sponged the edges of the greeting, added a few adhesive pearls, and then adhered it to the card using dimensionals. I hope you like it!Victoria crochet trim.

Nature Walk & Fabulous Phrases Muslin Bookmark

2011-10-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: You Don't Have To Know What You Are Doing!

As I was making this bookmark - particularly when it came time for sewing on the beads, I kept thinking to myself, "I have no idea what I'm doing! I really don't know how to hand-sew, let alone sew on beads!" My next thought, however, kept me going..."Who cares! Just keep sewing and see what happens!" And I did. I'm not sure where I came to believe that unless I knew how to do something I shouldn't even bother trying - after all, how am I going to learn anything if I don't just try? I know that there are some activities that might benefit from a little learning at the outset - I don't think I'd jump into the cockpit of an airplane and just give it a whirl if I didn't have a bit of a clue as to what I needed to do :) However, most of the things I encounter in the craft room don't have the potential to crash and burn! :) So just do it! You don't have to know what you are doing!!!!!
Today's inspiration was my laundry :) I'm serious! I took my one-millionth dryer sheet out of the dryer and thought to myself, "there's gotta be something I can do with this as opposed to just throwing it away!" I had also recently looked at the cover of the Jul/Aug/Sept 2011 issue of Somerset Life which featured Pillows & Pouches by Becky Shander that incorporated dryer sheets! Off to the craft room I went!!!! I began by die cutting a dryer sheet and a piece of muslin with the clear Circle die. I then machine sewed them together using gold metallic thread. I left an opening so that I could put in some small pieces of lace and some Confetti card stock stamped with words from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set. I stamped the words using Marina Mist ink and sponged the edges before added them to the pouch. I then finished machine sewing the pouch closed. Next I stamped the bird from Nature Walk using Basic Black ink onto Sahara Sand card stock. I cut him out and then covered him with versamark and clear embossing powder and heat embossed. I did this step about 3 times. I then, with a bit of pushing, sewed him onto the circle with the gold metallic thread (I should have used another foot on my sewing machine - it didn't like the thickness of the bird). I made small cuts around the edge of the circle just to fray the edge a bit. Next I tore a piece of muslin and then sewed a piece of Marina Mist seam binding to it using gold metallic thread. I added a bit more stitching on the edges for embellishment and then sewed the circle to the bookmark in two places. Finally, I got out a needle with the gold metallic thread and did some hand-sewing for the gold beads. I hope you like it! Remember, you don't have to know what you're doing :)