Four Ways Friday #5 - Season of Friendship

Today's Four Ways Friday focuses on the tree stamp in the Season of Friendship stamp set!  I turned the stamp around and around in my hand and came up with a few ideas that might surprise you!

This first card uses the tree stamp in a traditional way.  I stamped the tree in Soft Suede and added flowers that I punched using the Trio Flowers punch.  A touch of dazzling diamonds and white gel pen finishes the look.

For this second card, I used my Stampin' Write markers in Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss and Old Olive to color only certain branches of the tree and stamped them repeatedly at the bottom of the Very Vanilla card stock to make them look like grass!  I knew the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set would be a perfect match so I stamped the greeting and the butterfly from that set.  The butterfly was cut out and popped up on a dimensional...and, of course, I added a bit of dazzling diamonds (can you tell I am in love with dazzling diamonds?!).

For the third card, I decided to take advantage of the great geometric styling of the tree and stamped parts of the tree on top of one another to create this modern-looking background paper.  I stamped the tree in Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry.  The greeting comes from the Whimsical Words stamp set and was stamped in Rich Razzleberry.

This card is the surprise! :)  As I turned the stamp around and around in my hand, suddenly I saw fish heads!!!! (I know...my mind works in funny ways :)  I used my Stampin' Write markers to color the portion of the stamp that I wanted and then stamped onto the Very Vanilla card stock.  Add a few googley eyes and ta-da!  Fish heads! :)  I thought this sentiment from the Three Little Words stamp set fit these fish perfectly - they look like they belong together.

How else might you use the tree stamp?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  If you would like to purchase the Season of Friendship stamp set or any of the other products I featured in this week's Four Ways Friday, feel free to shop HERE now!  Have a great weekend!!!!

Tennis Ball Redux!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Find The Extraordinary In The Ordinary!

Today's creation comes from a little girl named Eliza who lives down the street!  We live close to a tennis court and there are always those great tennis players who hit the balls over the gated courts and leave them for us to gather (the dogs love it!).  Eliza and her friend decided to put the tennis balls to good use!  For a school project they decided to make them into characters.  I received this one as a gift and have named him Dunlop :)  (I have to admit to feeling a bit like Tom Hanks in the movie Cast Away - as you may recall, he named his volleyball Wilson and it became his best friend!).  This tennis ball will sit on my desk as a constant reminder to find the extraordinary in the ordinary!!!!!!  What can you make extraordinary today?

Tissue Paper Boho Blossom

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You can't be afraid of stepping on toes if you want to go dancing - Lewis Freedman

I found today's quote while reading Kelly Rae Roberts' book Taking Flight (If you like to create, you need to get this book - it's wonderful!).  I wonder what the equivalent quote would be for the craft room?  You can't be afraid of getting inky fingers if you want to go crafting?  You can't be afraid of totally losing track of time if you want to go creating?  There are so many fears we need to be willing to let go of when we walk into the craft room...or if we're not willing to let go, we have to at least be willing to go into the craft room and do that which we fear to do!  As Sequichie Comingdeer, the Cherokee philosopher, so wisely said, The death of fear is in doing what you fear to do!

This card was inspired by the K&Company Forever Yours wedding album that I saw in an ad from Archiver's.  I drew the lines freehand with my Going Gray Stampin' Write marker.  The flowers were punched out of tissue paper using my Boho Blossoms punch (make sure your punch is nice and sharp so you can punch cleanly through the tissue paper - you might want to punch through heavy-duty aluminum foil a few times to sharpen your punch).  I adhered the flowers to the card with a tiny dot of Tombo Mono Multi-Adhesive and then, of course, I had to use my 2-way glue pen to add some Dazzling Diamonds to the center of the flowers!  The modern label punch in brushed silver creates the perfect background for the Teeny Tiny Wishes anniversary greeting which I punched out with my Word Window punch.  I stamped the greeting using Going Gray as well.  I hope you like it!  If you love Going Gray as much as I do, be sure to stock up on the ink/Stampin' Write markers now!  Going Gray will be retiring at the end of June 2010 as part of the color renovation.  Shop HERE to stock up now!

Tissue Paper Flower

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing. - Marc Chagall

When I saw this quote it really spoke to me...and I hope it speaks to you as well.  I can get so stuck in my head when I create - analyzing this and that.  Instead, when I just lead with my heart and create for the sake of creating, everything seems to come together.  I may not always be pleased with the end result, but I am always happy in my heart with the process I took to get there!  May you follow your heart in all that you do!

For today's card I decided to try making a tissue paper flower (I saw the technique on the SCS website) using my Scallop Circles #2 die for the Big Shot and some tissue paper I had lying around the house.  You can fold your tissue paper over and over and run it through the Big Shot once to get a whole pile of scallop circles!  I used about 8 layers for each of the scallop circles.  Stack the large circles together, punch a hole in the center with your Crop-o-dile, place a brad in the center and then crunch, scrunch, and mush (all technical terms :) until you get the look that you want.  Then use some ink and sponge the flower with colors of your choice.  I separately created the smaller layer and sponged it a darker color and then combined the two with a corduroy button brad.  I used my Very Vintage jumbo roller in Sahara Sand ink for the background.  The greeting is from Whimsical Words.  I hope you like it!  Now go try making a tissue paper flower on your own...but don't blame me if you get addicted ;)  If you can't live without the corduroy button brads or a Very Vintage wheel, feel free to shop HERE!

Scrap-Book!

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

You Star Trek fans out there will know where today's lesson comes from :)  And for those of you who aren't Star Trek fans...don't worry...I'll fill you in!  At the beginning of Star Trek episodes, a voice informs us that the spaceship Enterprise will "boldly go where no man has gone before" (excuse the "man" part...that was before political correctness was in style!).  Anyway, today I decided to boldly go where I really hadn't ever gone before - into the galaxy of scrapbooking...or should I say scrap-BOOKing!  I am reading an amazing book called Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts and in the book she provides step-by-step directions for how to make these really fun vintage book photo frames.  So, here's the beginning of my project...now all it needs is to be jazzed up with some Stampin' Up! magic!!!!!  I'll be back later to show you the transformation!  Where can you boldly go where you have never gone before????

It's National Scrapbooking Month!

National Scrapbooking Month Promotion

May is National Scrapbooking Month--so Stampin' Up! is offering a special promotion for the month of May: purchase a qualifying scrapbooking stamp set or the My Digital Studio software and receive a FREE package of Designer brads--choose from four designs!

Qualifying products and Designer brads are listed below.  Click HERE to shop now!
Stamp sets

Page	Description	Wood-Mount Item	Wood-Mount Price	Clear-Mount Item	Clear-Mount Price
81	Extreme Elements	115181	$26.95	---	---
119	Framed with Love**	114389	$27.95	---	---
128	Certified**	113706	$27.95	---	---
129	Circle Circus	115778	$28.95	---	---
12*	Elements of Style	118611	$27.95	120045	$19.95
13*	Mementos	119910	$27.95	120105	$19.95
13*	Elements de style	119900	$27.95	120099	$19.95
14*	Rough Type	118659	$26.95	120072	$18.95
22*	Sentimental Journey	118513	$23.95	120075	$17.95
25*	First Day	118521	$23.95	120051	$17.95
25*	Camino a la Escuela	120152	$23.95	120154	$17.95

*From Summer Mini Catalog
**Last Chance stamp set! My Digital Studio software

Page	Description	Item	Price
32*	My Digital Studio	118108	$79.95

*From Summer Mini Catalog

Designer brads

Page	Description	Item	Retail Price	Price with Qualifying Purchase
179	Flower Designer brads	112579	$5.95	FREE
179	Filigree Designer brads	112577	$5.95	FREE
179	Circle Designer brads	112571	$5.95	FREE
179	Star Designer brads	112572	$5.95	FREE