Four Ways Friday #89 - Every Little Bit

For this week's Four Ways Friday I decided to play with the Every Little Bit stamp set!  This stamp set is adorable and there are a ton of images!  It was hard to choose where to begin :)

Trying to make "masculine" cards always seems to be a challenge to me.  This stamp set provided just the solution with this adorable hammer and nails image :)  I started with a Very Vanilla card base and added some cork letters that I had die cut using the Billboard Alphabet sizzlit die.  Next I stamped the word "birthday" from one of the stamps in the Upsy Daisy stamp set.  The hammer was stamped using Staz-On and then I used my silver Smooch accent ink to color in the hammer head.  A Cajun Craze marker was used for the handle and then I coated the handle with Crystal Effects.  The final touch was to add some score lines using my Simply Scored tool.

Why stamp an image once when you can stamp it 2, 3, 4...even 6 times! :)  The penguin and the present are both from Every Little Bit.  With the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig, I was able to line things up and stamp these images one on top of the other.  I used my Basic Black marker to color in the box part of the image and did not color in the bow for the first 5 boxes.  I used markers to color in the images and then added dazzling details on the dots on the boxes (it's hard to see in the photo).  Finally, I added the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

These images are also a lot of fun to stamp and cut out!  I stamped both the cat and dog onto colored card stock using Staz-On and then cut them out.  The card base is Whisper White and I added a piece of Wild Wasabi that I cut in a curve to mimic ground.  The animals were added with dimensionals.  The greeting is from Petite Pairs.  A little piece of linen thread finishes this quick and easy card!  The finished card size is 3 1/2" x 3 1/2".

When all else fails, you can also create a HOT MESS with this stamp set!!!!! :)  I started out with a similar base as I had made for the dog and cat card.  Then I decided I needed to combine some of the Every Little Bit images with the Make A Monster stamp set (I'm not sure what possessed me :)  So, I stamped the monster and her eyes and mouth with Staz-On.  Then I took the crown from Every Little Bit and stamped it with Staz-On.  Even though I used my stamp-a-ma-jig for the crown, I was still a little "off," so to cover my gap I decided to draw in some hair with a permanent marker.  Yes, I could have just started over, but I decided you needed to see what happens when I just keep going...scary, isn't it?!?! :)  I stamped the purse next (did a lot better with the stamp-a-ma-jig this time).  Next I did coloring - with markers and with my gold and silver Smooch accent ink.  I even added dazzling details to the body of the monster and to the hearts on the crown and purse.  Finally, I stamped the word "fabulous" from Fabulous Phrases.  This monster is ready to shop! :)
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday.  This stamp set is a great set for creating simple cards.  Kids love this set too since they can color in all of the line images!  Adults who act like kids also love this set 'cuz they get to color too :)  I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with laughter, creativity and love!!!!!

Wish Big Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sometimes The Humor Is Right In Front Of You :)

I was playing around with the Bring On The Cake stamp set and just as I was about to put away the hand with the "wish big" sentiment, the pun struck me!  wish BIG!!!!  I have had this set for quite some time and find it funny that humor can be right in front of you and you can miss it...until that one day when your mind is finally awake to the humor and voila!, it inspires you!  I immediately knew I had to make a card with a BIG wish :)
To make the card I began by die cutting some Naturals Ivory card stock with the Serif Essentials dies in the Big Shot.  I adhered the letters to the front of an oversized rectangular card made from Naturals Ivory card stock.  Next I stamped the hand - using my new Basic Black stamp pad.  The Stampin' Up! classic ink pads have been redesigned.  They are now foam and take a much lighter touch to ink up your stamps.  I almost found the pad too juicy!  I'll have to play with it a bit to get the hang of it!  I cut the hand out and added it to the card with dimensionals.  Finally, I stamped the happy birthday from Teeny Tiny Wishes and cut it out to look like a banner.  It was tucked under the "I" and then the banner end was popped up on a dimensional.  I hope you like it :)

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Free Motion Sewing Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Just Try It!

I had placed pink thread in my sewing machine the other day and somehow the thread color started to inspire me to try to make a love card with some free motion sewing.  Mind you, I have not really tried to write with my sewing machine before.  I have a darning foot that can act as a free motion foot for the machine and I had played with that months ago.  But, I was inspired by a recent dress created by Ruth Rae (you can see it here) and I figured I would try to draw with my needle.  I guess the nice thing about being willing to try things out in the craft room is that I have yet to suffer severe consequences when things don't turn out exactly as planned.  It's not like trying to do something that has life & death consequences!  Yes, you may have a little drama with your inner critic, but beyond that it really isn't too painful :)  So I just tried it - and I'm glad I did!  I could actually read the letters once I was done - not a small feat from my perspective :)
Once I had the letters sewn onto a piece of Whisper White card stock I decided to punch out some hearts with the heart to heart punch.  I then scattered them onto the card stock and sprayed the piece with a mixture of water and Melon Mambo ink and then a mixture of alcohol and Champagne Mist shimmer paint.  Once that dried, I adhered the sprayed hearts to the card with dimensionals.  Finally, I took the entire panel and sewed it to the front of the Whisper White card base.  I hope you like it :)  I very glad I decided to go out on a whim and just try it!

Artistic Etchings Wonderful Day Card

Today's Question From The Craft Room:  What's The Point Of Being A Sentient Being If Most Of My Thoughts Are So Trivial?

I've been aware of my thoughts lately and it has struck me how many of my thoughts are about what I would label as "trivial" things.  It's made me wonder what the point is of being a sentient being if I use my thoughts to think things that are of such little value.  I've been reading the book A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and what has struck me most about the book is how little we actually know (and how much we seem to believe we know).  It's made my thoughts turn to how small my life really is in the grand scheme of life - just a blip on a screen - when it comes to how short a time human beings have actually been in existence.  It's made me wonder why, as human beings, we seem to strive for having meaning in our lives as opposed to just being okay living them.  I wonder how freeing it would be if I could just let go of all the silly thoughts that fill my head and just live.  Maybe some of you already do that.  I just haven't achieved that place yet.  I'm not sure if these thoughts are any more important than my usual trivial ponderings - somehow they seem more significant to me - more worth the efforts of my thinking.
Today's card began with a desire to play with the sewing machine :)  I began with a Crumb Cake card base and sewed on strip of First Edition specialty paper.  Next came a piece of Pool Party patterns stack paper and then the greeting from Bring On The Cake cut into a banner.  Finally, I stamped the image from Artistic Etchings in Crumb Cake and cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals on the card.  I hope you like it :)  Lately, it seems, I have been attracted to more simple cards - graphic and uncluttered.  We'll see how long it lasts ;)

Make A Monster Shaker Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  I have to keep reminding myself that nothing I am doing is wasted time.  -Sue Bender

I just finished reading a book called Plain And Simple:  A Woman's Journey To The Amish by Sue Bender.  I am still processing what I read - trying to figure out what lessons came to me through the book.  This sentence, toward the end of the book, really jumped out at me.  It's easy for me to feel like I am supposed to be doing something "productive" and I mean that word in a very "American" sense.  What do I mean?  It seems to me that here in the United States there is a lot of pressure to be "successful" and how we define "success" is flashed on tv screens and billboards all across the nation.  It's about having money and consuming goods...lots of them.  So I have been brainwashed, in a sense, to believe that any time spent not moving toward making money or procuring something is wasted time.  I am happy to recognize that this definition of "success" is not some value written in stone by every human being on this planet.  It is very biased and culturally driven and I struggle with it.  I actually get mad at the value but find myself trapped in its very web.  So reading the quote in the book really spoke to me - as if it were permission or a voice from a different and equally valid value system.  Nothing I am doing is wasted time.  Wow, my inner critic doesn't even like me typing that!  It's already trying to tell me that is nonsense - that of course things I do are wasted time...oh, shut up inner critic - what do you know!  Everything I do is done because it is what I am meant to do in that moment to lead me to wherever it is I am headed.  I don't know where that is.  As Sue Bender says, "I may not understand or like what is happening...It took me a very long time to discover that I didn't need reasons for doing what I did.  I don't have to explain, or convince, or come up with answers for what happened.  I went on this journey because I had to.  Learning to follow your heart is reason enough."
Today's cards are shaker cards I created when I was making a video for Papercrafter's Library on how to create shaker cards.  I used the Make A Monster stamp set (so cute!) and did some painting on transparencies.  You can watch a video on how to make a similar shaker card here (or you might choose to join Papercrafter's Library to watch me making these particular cards).