2-Sided Desk Poem
by Shona Cole
www.shonastudio.blogspot.com

1) Stamp the following 6 stamps with brown Staz On Ink (5TS-BROWN) onto the ‘Note To Self’ card (5SG-17260) by 7gypsies, Stamps from ‘Butterfly Girl’ (J6224).
Stamps from ‘Romance Elements’ (C8465).
Stamps from ‘Fresh Flowers Elements’ (C8466).
Other stamps used 'Key' and 'Nostalgic Pocket Watch'.

Color the stamps with colored pencil and water soluble oil pastels. Set aside.

2) Write a poem for each stamp image, or find a suitable quote or line from a poem you love. Print and trim words to fit in the lined space of the ‘Note To Self’ cards(5SG-17260). Paint over the printed words with watered down acrylic paint, in this case I used Golden’s Yellow Ochre. Using water soluble oil pastels draw a line around the outside of the paper and blend with your finger. Set aside.

3) Using a craft knife, cut 6 pieces of balsa wood the size of the ‘Note to Self’ cards. Balsa wood is so soft it is like cutting an apple! Paint the edges in a coordinating color, in this case orange acrylic craft paint. Glue the 12 altered ‘Note To Self’ cards on to the balsa wood, one image on each side.

4) Lay the images and poems out side by side, alternating the images and poem panels (so there are 3 images and 3 poems on each side of the balsa wood). Using an awl make holes in the sides of the balsa wood. Make 10 large jump rings by coiling 20 gauge wire around a thick pen, slide the coil off and snip off the circles using a jewelry wire cutters. Thread the jump rings into the holes and attach the panels to one another.

5) Using E6000 glue, glue 12 wooden beads to the bottom of the balsa wood. Form the piece into a zig zag shape and it will stand up on your desk.

Inspired Scenes from Work & Play
by Jenny Doh

Start with the 7Gypsies ATC box kit (5SG-17636). Stain inside portion of box template and four of the ATC cards with FiberScraps e-z walnut ink tintz (Smoke 5FB-FS111). Stain outer portion of box template and four of the ATC cards with FiberScraps e-z walnut ink tintz (Verdigris 5FB-FS112). When stamping with clearly impressed stamps, use acrylic blocks (5CLR-AMKIT1).

Use brown and blue inkpads to stamp images (C8409 - Beaux Iris by Christine Adolph; C8481 - Garden Melange Trim by Christine Adolph) to the stained outer portion of the box template. Use brown inkpad to stamp text (C8481 - Garden Melange Trim by Christine Adolph) to the stained inner portion of the box template. Add a touch of Golden’s interference gold acrylic (5GO-4040) to the top portion of the box. Stamp “Fragile” oval (M4746 - Bird Sanctuary by Michelle Ward) onto sheet music with black ink and cut out. Adhere to the top of the box. Assemble both pieces by folding and attaching with adhesive. For the inner box portion, use blue inkpad to stamp circle image (J6222 – Vintage by Julie VanOosten) and then adhere a clear flat marble with Diamond Glaze (5JK-DIAMOND2).

Computer generate selected photos in black-and-white and cut them to size. Attach the photos to the treated ATCs with black photo corners. Use brown and blue inkpads to stamp images (C8481 - Garden Melange Trim by Christine Adolph; 8466 - Fresh Flower Elements by Christine Adolph) in a pleasing fashion. Clean the Clearly Impressed stamps with cleaning essentials (Double Stamp Scrubber Pad - 5SSC-SCRUB; Ultra Clean Stamp Cleaner - 5SSC-ULTRA).