Still Sick

Okay so I thought this cold would go away and I would be all better by today.  No such luck.  I feel lucky that this is only a cold and not worse but still it is no fun.  I spent most of the day yesterday in bed or on the couch under a blanket.  It is truly miserable.  I did spend a little time in my craft room but have not finished the queens card yet.  Just so you remember her let me show you her picture again:

 

She is on a background now (not in the photo) but it is an unfinished background.  Anyway, I am going to nurse my cold for the rest of the week so I will not be blogging again until Monday.  I am fairly sure that by then I will feel better and will have completed her.  I thought I would share another character card I made a while ago with you today.  

 

It's Tinkerbell.  I made this one several years ago for my sister in law.  I plan to make her again very soon and will share all the details with you at that time.  

For now I am signing off for the week.  I will return Monday with the queen card ready for you to see.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and don't get sick.  See you Monday!!!

 

Always Expect the Unexpected

Well I wish I could say it's a wonderful Wednesday but I cannot.  The gasket on the tank of our toilet decided to wear out and rain down on the bathroom floor last night.  We made a late night emergency run to Wal-Mart to get a new one.  Murphy's Law held up for us and when we got the new one home, we put it on, reattached the tank, turned the water on and drip drip drip it started.  Then it began to stream out.  Apparently, we did not get the right shaped one.  So instead of doing any crafting that I wanted to do for today, I will instead be running to the hardware store to get new parts and hopefully getting the tank on again.  My hubby is at work so I will have to rely on myself and my sister to get this done.  But first I have to take my sister to her eye doctor appointment.  So I will have the queen of hearts card for you tomorrow.  Since I am running on 2 hours of sleep due to coughing with my cold, I do not think I should play with sharp objects today.  I wish all the plumbing problems would just go away so I could get some rest!! 

Please come by tomorrow to see the card and thanks for understanding.  Thanks for stopping by today an for understanding. 

A Sneak Peek

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday!!  Today's blog is going to be rather short.  My cold has really taken me over and I am just exhausted.  I started working on a punch art character and it took me several tries to get her just right and before I knew it, a lot of time had passed.  For my own sanity I decided I should stop for a bit after she was put together.  So while she is not yet on a card, I thought I would show her to you today.

 

Do you recognize her?  She is the Queen of Hearts from Disney's Alice in Wonderland.  I first saw her on Ellen Kemper's blog several years ago.  Now I changed mine just a bit from hers but the overall idea is the same.  I am hoping to have her on a card by tomorrow so you will have to come back to see it.  At that time, I will give you all the instructions of how to make her.   For now, I am off to take a nap and hopefully shake this cold!!!  

Please come by tomorrow to see the card and learn how to make it.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will see you all tomorrow!!

Is That You Minnie?

Hi everyone and happy Monday!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I tried to get some rest but there was so much I needed to do.  My cold is still hanging on and my voice would go in and out all day long.  Of course, I think my husband liked it when I could not talk.  That meant I could not ask him to do anything.  I did find a little time to surf the internet and visit a few of my favorite blog sites.  I happened upon a really cute card of Mickey Mouse and knew I had to try it.  So a big thank you to Dawn Olchefske who posted her card on Pinterest and inspired mine.

Now I love Mickey Mouse.  I have been a Disney fan since I was a little girl - you know back in the stone age.  Anyway, I decided to use her card as inspiration and turn mine into Minnie.  I found a video Dawn had made on making her card.  On it she showed that it could easily be adapted to Minnie so I was truly all set to go and make one.  Let me show you the final product of my card.

 

Minnie is always so pretty in pink isn't she?  I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  I scored this at 4 1/4".  I then took a piece of Melon Mambo and cut it to be 3 1/2" x 3 5/8".  I ran this through my big shot using an impression folder I picked up at a local craft store called Medium Polka Dots.  I attached it to the upper part of this card with runner adhesive.  I also cut a piece of Basic Black card stock at 3 1/4" x 3 3/8".  We will focus on this piece in a little bit.  

 

The greeting for this card is from a retired Stampin' Up! stamp set called Favorite Greetings.  It is a set I was recently given by a friend who was downsizing their craft room.  I stamped this directly onto the Daffodil Delight card stock with Basic Black ink.  Now I will admit it looks a little light on the card stock.  I think if I did this one again, I would either select a different color to stamp it in such as the Melon Mambo or I would heat emboss it using either black or melon embossing powder.  This would help it to stand out a little more.  I added rhinestones in a pattern to this area to liven the card up just a little.

 

Then it was time to make Minnie.  I took the 3 1/4" x 3 3/8" Basic Black piece and started Minnie by using a 1 3/4" circle punch to punch the main part of her head.  I tried to center the paper in my punch (you can see I was a little off), and put the piece all the way into the punch to punch the circle.  Next, you will need your 1" circle punch.  I went in from the side of the paper and lined my punch up so that a small bit of the circle overlapped the larger circle.  I punch one ear and then the other.  To make the bow, I chose to used the Daffodil card stock.  I punched 2 of the small hearts from the retired heart to heart punch and the center circle is the medium circle of the owl builder punch.  I attached the bow using glue dots and added the dots with a fine tip black marker.  I then attached the completed head to the Mambo using runner adhesive and added a rhinestone to each corner for some bling.

 

Instead of throwing away the punched out circle from the Basic Black piece on the front, I kept them and attached them to the inside of the card.  I thought it was cute to see Minnie inside as well as out.  The pieces were attached with runner adhesive.  The bow was made the same way as the one on the front.  I just used the Mambo card stock for it and added pink dots to it with a pink marker I have.  Now I will stamp and inside saying and I will be all done.

This is a really easy card to make but it is so cute I think anyone would appreciate receiving it.  I am now off to my craft room to see what I can come up with to make for you to see tomorrow.  Thanks for dropping by today and be sure to drop in tomorrow.  Have a magnificent day!!!!!

Here Comes That Famous Wabbit!!!

Hi everyone.  I am glad we have made it through another week.  At least my family seems to be almost all well.  True to form, I woke up yesterday morning with a scratchy throat and a runny nose.  I attribute it to the wild weather we had Wednesday.  I think its just a cold so it will go away in its own time. 

I did find time yesterday to get into my craft room and make a Bugs Bunny to share with you.  So let's just jump in and get started. 

 

I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".   I added a layer of Basic Black to this with runner adhesive.  It is cut to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8",  The final layer of the card is a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" Tempting Turquoise.  I ran this piece through the big shot using the chevron impression folder.  On the raised chevron lines, I used my 2 way glue pen to add glue and then sprinkled on an aqua glitter.  I wanted to make the background pop a little and thought this would be a way to do it.  I attached it to the black using runner adhesive. 

 

The greeting is from a stamp set I bought years ago at a craft store.  I stamped it using Tempting Turquoise ink onto Whisper White.  I then cut it out using the framelits itty bitty banners set and the big shot.  I used a pencil to curl the center and the edges of it and attached it to the card using glue dots.

 

Now for the star himself.  The colors of card stock I use to make my guy are Brushed Silver, Melon Mambo, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White and Basic Black.  You can use a gray card stock for him but I like the look of the silver.  The base piece of his head is a 3" circle which I cut out with my big shot and 3" circle die.  I trimmed the sides in at an angle and made the top hair by snipping out little parts.  I traced the edge of the hair with a black marker to highlight it.  Here is list of punches used to make the rest of him:

Ears - large oval punch; you will need 2 silver or gray for each ear

Pink inside of Ears - full heart punch; I cut it in half and trimmed it to round the edges

Eyes - the retired small oval punch; you will need one white and one silver or gray for each eye; you could trim the large oval down if you do not have the retired small one

Black of Eyes - word window punch

Cheeks - wide oval punch; you will need 2

Chin - 1 inch circle punch

Mouth - wide oval punch; trim it to narrow on each side

Teeth - 1 inch square punch; I offset it from the card stock so that it punched a smaller rectangle

Piece above Teeth - 3/4" circle and curly label punch; punch out a curly label and set it aside.  You will not use it.  Then offset the 3/4" circle from the curly label hole and punch again.  If you do not have the curly label punch, you can punch a 3/4" circle and cut a little bigger that half.  Add the small indentation in the center and your all set.

Nose - the retired small oval punch; you will use only the tip of it for this.  If you do not have this, you can used a 1/2" circle in its place.

And there you have it.  I attached all pieces together using my 2 way glue pen.  Once everything was attached, I used a fine tip black marker to draw the lines above the nose and the one down the teeth.  I attached the completed bunny to the card using dimensionals.  

I hope you can understand and use my directions for him.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  I am so happy I have finally made this fellow to share with all of you.  

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I will be back on Monday with another card for you to see.  Thanks for dropping by today!!!!

We survived a wet Wednesday and have made it to Thursday!! Not only was it wet but it actually snowed in areas and we had a lot of hail!!!

 

Here is a photo of our back yard!  My dog does not like getting her feet wet from rain.  Try getting her out in this!! 

 

This photo is looking into the street from our carport.  The hail came down fast and furious.  It was crazy how much we got in under a minute.  Everything was covered!!!   We, of course, were fascinated by this because it is not an every day occurrence in Arizona!!  Having grown up back east, it brought back memories of playing in the snow and having so much fun.  I do miss it sometimes.

I spent part of the day with my nephew Jackson.  He is getting so big now!!  I had a ball with him.  When I went to stay with him, the rain had let up and it was actually showing signs of some blue in the sky.  By the time I came home, it was raining again and we had out first round of hail.  It did not last long but I waited to come home until the hail had stopped.  It was still raining but I did not mind that.  Once home the rain stopped and the sun actually came out.  I thought we might be out of the storm but I was wrong.  I was relaxing from my day of play when I heard what I thought was rain coming down.  I got up to look at it and the ground was quickly turning white in front of my eyes!!  It was crazy!

Being gone for a good part of the day did leave me with little time for crafting, especially with all the crazy weather distractions.  Tuesday night I received a really nice email from a reader of my blog.  She asked about the Bugs Bunny icon I have as my photo on the page.  I thought I had made him and posted him but it turns out I did not.  Here is what he looks like:

 

Isn't he cute?!  I went through my past blogs and could not find him.  Now I was delusional and did think he was a birthday card but as the photo shows he is an anniversary card I made my hubby a few years ago.  I still could not locate the blog with directions on how to make him.  That is a terrible mistake on my part.  Of course I meant to share this with you I just spaced it.  Well I decided to show the old photo of the card to you today as a teaser.  I am going to make him again and do a post with all the instructions for you.  This will either post tomorrow or early next week.  My goal is for tomorrow and as long as there is no more crazy weather I should have plenty of time to make him.  But as with all days of life, we never know what's in store.

Thanks for stopping by today to visit.  I hope you will return to see if Bugs makes it on the blog tomorrow.  I will see you all then!!!

A New Cat

Happy Wednesday!!!!  I hope you all are doing well.  My daughter is feeling much better and my husband is back to work so I think we are finally on a healthy path.  And to make my day even better, I get to spend time with my favorite little man, Jackson.  He is almost 6 months old!!!  It is hard to believe so much time has already passed and yet it is hard to remember a time when he was not here.  He is just too cute.  No promises I will make it into my craft room.  I plan on playing and having fun!!

Today I wanted to share with you a new cat that I made using punches.  My daughter Heather has a friend getting married later this year who asked her to be a bridesmaid in the wedding.  She wanted me to make a special card to give to her as a thank you.  She told me that one of her friend's favorite movies is Alice in Wonderland and a favorite character is the Chestshire Cat.  Now I had never made one of these and had not even thought about making one so this was a challenge.  Even though it is a first attempt for me, I wanted to share it with you.  Let's get started shall we?

 

I started with a base card of Island Indigo cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/2".  The layer on top of it is a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" piece of Pool Party.  I ran this through the big shot using the cloudy day impression folder.  I used my white colored pencil and colored in the clouds again like yesterday just to give them some contrast to the blue of the sky.  I took out a few scraps of Chocolate Chip card stock and ran them through the big shot using the woodgrain impression folder.  I used one piece as the tree trunk and the other two as limbs.  I did not measure these.  I just cut them free hand.  They as well as the layer of Pool Party are attached using runner adhesive. 

 

For the top of my tree, I chose to use the Gumball Green card stock.  I punched out several 1 1/4" scallop circles and layered them all across the top of the card.  I used runner adhesive to attach them down.  The rhinestones were then added to provide a little bit of sparkle to the card.  

 

The greeting comes from my Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I stamped it with Island Indigo ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I punched it out using my small oval punch and brushed the edges with a sponge and Island Indigo ink.  It is attached to the card using a dimensional.  

 

Now for the Chestshire Cat himself.  I used Melon Mambo and Regal Rose card stock to make his face and body.  The eyes and teeth used Whisper White and Basic Black.  Normally I would list all the punches used but I am not sure I will remember all of them.  I am going to try.  There was a lot of trial and error with this one.  I know I used the large oval punch for all of his body and tail.  The ovals are layered onto one another and attached using a 2 way glue pen.  I trimmed them to get the shape I wanted after they were all attached. Both the face and the body are rather thick pieces to cut through so be sure to use a good pair of scissors.  I also trimmed the final oval on the body right under the face down to make it smaller.  The bottom of the tail was fine to leave because I would be gluing it to the body.  The front paws were made with the word window and boho blossom punches.  The word window made the arms.  I punched one of each color so I could also cut the stripes to glue onto them.  The paws are the scallop flower from the boho blossom punch.  I cut them down to be the size I wanted.  All pieces are attached together using liquid glue.

His head was made using the ornament punch.  I punched one out of each color and then trimmed them for what I wanted to use them for.    I kept the hanger part of the ornament for the top of his head and cut pieces out along the top and side to resemble fur.  The eyes are the medium circle from the owl builder punch and a 1/8" circle.  For the nose, I used the punch from the itty bitty punch pack and punched a corner of card stock.  It was trimmed into the shape I wanted.  The teeth are a piece of a 1" circle.  I punched it along the edge of the card stock and then trimmed the curve for the top.  I used a Basic Gray marker to draw the teeth lines onto it.  All other facial features were drawn on with a fine tip black marker.  White gel was added to the eyes.

Now I know I can improve him some.  While typing this I realized that I forgot one important component on him - his ears.  How could I forget his ears?!!!  Well I will definitely have to add those onto him.  I will have to make this fellow again and put him on a different card and share it with you.  

Let me know what you think of him.  I would really value any input you might have.  I appreciate you coming by today and taking a look at my cat.  Even though I am going to play today with Jackson, I will try to have something to share with you tomorrow.  Please come by to see it I do.  thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!!!

How About A Hula Lesson?

Hi everyone.  It's Tuesday and I think my family is finally healing.  I was able to find time to spend in my craft room to create a card yesterday.  Now that all the ill people are on antibiotics and resting, I can breathe a little.  Now my hubby is still needy and I do have to take care of him by cooking and getting medicine and fluffing pillows but all in all it is getting easier each day. 

The other night I was watching a show on HGTV called Hawaii Life.  I love to watch these and see homes in other places.  Of course, I would love to visit Hawaii but after seeing the prices I am not so sure I want to live there.  Anyway, I started thinking about a card I made a year or so ago that had a bear in a hula skirt on it.  It was one that I really had a good time making because of the humor it had.  Well, as I was remembering him, I started thinking why not make another card with a hula dancer but this time use Ellen Kemper's little miss backside as inspiration.  Now you remember her from last week as the shop-a-holic.  She gets the name of little miss backside because the image is always from the back.  Since I had this inspiration hit me, I decided to run with it.  Here is the card I came up with:

 

I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Bashful Blue measuring 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran this through my big shot using the cloudy day impression folder.  I used a white colored pencil and colored in all the clouds just to give them a bit of distinction.  I attached this to the base using runner adhesive.  I then used a scrap of Island Indigo for a bit of ocean water.  I trimmed it using a pair of decorative scissors called small wave and attached it to the blue with runner adhesive.  Using another scrap of Crumb Cake, I tore off 2 strips of it and attached them together with runner adhesive.  I then used a background stamp I have and my Crumb Cake ink and stamped little dots onto the sand.  It is attached to the card with runner adhesive.  The final touch was to add a little dazzling diamond glitter to the sand and water with my 2 way glue pen.

 

Since my little girl will be hula dancing on the beach, I wanted it to be a nice sunny day for her.  I punched out the largest flower from my boho blossom punch using Daffodil Delight card stock.  I then added a yellow glitter I happen to have using my 2 way glue pen to make it sparkle.  It is attached to the card using a dimensional.  

 

I thought the word "Aloha" would be a perfect greeting for this card.  I decided to use my alphabet stamp set and stamp the letters directly onto my beach.  I used Soft Suede ink to do this so it would stand out a bit.  

 

Finally we come to our hula dancer herself.  I used Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Garden Green and the retired Blushing Bride as my card stock colors.  Although it might be difficult to see, there is a strip of Daffodil Delight across her back to be the strap of her top.  The hair just covers it up a bit.  Here is a list of punches I used to make her:

Hair - retired key tag punch

Body - retired butterfly punch

Arms and Legs - word window punch; I trimmed the arms a little to make them thinner

Hands - scallop flower from the boho blossom punch

Skirt - large petal from the blossom builder punch; I attached a scrap of green across the waist to hide all the petal ends

Feet - punch from the little labels punch pack trimmed

Flowers - plus looking flower from the itty bitty punch pack

All pieces were attached together using liquid glue and the finished girl was attached to the card with dimensionals.  I added small pearls to the center of each flower to add a bit of class to them.  I also drew on the lines on the leaves of the skirt using my Garden Green Stampin' Up! marker. 

I thought she turned out pretty cute.  I have not decided what I am going to use her for but whoever receives her will love her. 

Thanks for stopping by to see me today.  I do hope you drop by tomorrow to see what I have for you then.  Have a wonderful rest of your day!!!

Heart Shape Decorated Card

Hi everyone.  We are off the another start of a new week.  I have to say I hope this one does not bring illness like last week.  Our daughter Heather is on the road to recovery and is getting stronger every day.  I am so happy that she is feeling better. 

My husband on the other hand is still ill.  I finally got him to go to the doctor on Saturday.  Luckily for us, our doctor's have and immediate care clinic that is open on Saturday and Sunday for a few hours.  As I had suspected, he has bronchitis.  Now any of you who deal with men when they are ill know that they are stubborn about going to the doctor but are also so needy you cannot get anything else done. 

I did not get to spend the time working in my craft room and on the card I have for you today as much as I would have liked.  However, I did manage to finish a card a found this bit of time when my hubby is sleeping to type this message.  So before he wakes up, let me get started on the card.

 

The base card for this is the heart shaped Island Indigo card I showed you how to make this past Friday.  I did not measure the actual width of the card but I can tell you that you will need a square envelope to put it into to give to someone.   These are available to order through the Stampin' Up! catalog. 

 

The first thing I did was add the dots to the front of the card.  This technique is called paper piercing.  The template to do this with is in the paper piercing pack called Occasions in the spring catalog.  It lines up right on top of the shape and you can use it as your guide to make your piercings.  It adds a touch of elegance to the edges.  This is only done on the front flap of the card so you will need to open it up to make sure you are not going through the back piece also.

 

To create the center piece of the card, I turned once again to the hearts framelits set.  I chose one that would fit on the scallop heart and cut it out of Whisper White.  I took a cotton ball and put a little blue chalk onto it.  Then I rubbed this onto the white just to soften the background piece.  Next I used a flourish stamp from the Wedding Sweet stamp set which is retired.  I stamped this image onto the white heart using the Island Indigo ink.  The heart was then attached to the card using runner adhesive.  I then used the butterfly punches, elegant butterfly and small butterfly, and punched them out of Whisper White card stock.  I put these through my big shot using the elegant bouquet impression folder.  I wanted to add some color to these so I started by coloring the impressed images with my Rich Razzleberry and Baja Breeze Stampin' Up! markers.  I added light blue rhinestones to the center of the butterflies to make the body.  They are attached to the card using glue dots.  For a final touch, I added rhinestones onto the flourish as well as the bottom edge of the heart to make it a little more decorative.  

My hope against hope is to get back into my craft room.  I wish it had a door on it so I could just hide away and craft for a while.  Unfortunately it is located in the main area of our home making it impossible to have a door.  As long as I can find some time, I will be back with another share for you tomorrow.  I am so glad you stopped by for a while today.  Have a marvelous Monday and I will see you all tomorrow! (I hope!)

Card Shapes

Hi everyone and welcome to Friday, the final day of yet another week.  I am happy to say that when I took our daughter back to the doctor to have another blood test, the results showed she was improving and on her way to feeling better.  I was truly worried for a while.  As a parent you never want to see your child ill but Heather has always been my child that never keeps it simple.  It is always extreme.  Unfortunately, my husband has been home sick too.  His seems to be sinuses.  Of course being a man, he is refusing to go to the doctor.  I am keeping a close eye on him though and will take him if necessary.

Now to today's share.  My craft room was invaded yesterday by my youngest daughter Kaitlyn.  She needed to make a Valentine's card for her boyfriend and wanted it to be in a heart shape.  She was really struggling trying to cut a heart she was happy with and soon she asked me for help.  I knew just what to do to make a heart shape card and thought I would share this technique with you.

To do this, you will need a piece of card stock, the set of heart framelits and your big shot.  A scor-pal would be helpful too but not necessary.  Let's get started shall we.

 

I started with a piece of Island Indigo card stock and scored it down the center at 5 1/2".

 

Next, using my bone folder I folded the card stock in half along the crease line.

 

Place the folded side of the card stock on a cutting plate on the platform for your big shot.  Take out the largest heart from the framelits set.  It just happens to be scalloped which makes for beautiful edges.  Lay the framelit on top of the card stock being sure to have a small piece of it off the edge so the card will stay intact.  Run it through the big shot and when you take it out and remove the framelit...........

 

This is what your card will look like.  Notice the flat pieces at the top of the heart.  This is where the framelit was off the edges and the card stays as a card instead of two separate hearts.

 

Here is a close up of the inside area of the card where I left the card stock intact.  Now I just have to decorate it.  To see the decorated card you will have to come back on Monday!!

Well that's it for today.  Try this out for yourself.  It is always fun to have cards in different shapes.  I am going to hope that all of you have a wonderful, healthy weekend and that my family gets well.  I shall return on Monday with my decorated card for you to see.  Thanks for stopping by today!!!!!!!

A Rainbow of Wishes

Hi everybody and Happy Valentine's Day.  I am afraid I am not very excited about this day right now.  My hubby is on duty and will not be home til Saturday sometime so I will be spending it by myself.  To top it off, it has just been a not so good past few days.  My oldest daughter, Heather, thought she had the flu.  By Tuesday afternoon, she was so ill I took her into an urgent care.  It is a good thing I did.  She actually has a kidney infection and by the time she went to be seen it was pretty severe.  They ended up giving her a couple of shots of antibiotics and an IV of fluids before sending her home.  She will have to go back for another blood test to make sure the medicine is working.  Hopefully she is now on the path to recovery.  To top it off, my hubby did not feel well this week either.  However in typical man fashion, he can't tell me exactly what is wrong.  This whole mom thing never ends whether it is your kids or husband. 

You would think that I would have a love themed card for you today since it is Valentine' Day but I don't.  I guess I am just not in the mood.  So I went the other theme I chose at the beginning of the week - St. Patrick's Day.  Let me show you my card and we will get started.

 

I started with a base card of Wild Wasabi cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Basic Black measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" to this using runner adhesive.   For the final layer, I went with Daffodil Delight.  I cut a piece of it to be 4" x 5 1/4" and ran it through my big shot using the argyle impression folder from Stampin' Up!.  I attached this to the base with the runner adhesive also.  

 

As a backdrop for my leprechaun, I wanted to do a rainbow.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to do this but I went with circles.  I punched out several circles using the circle from the itty bitty punch pack.  I used Real Red, Garden Green, Elegant Eggplant, Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point card stock for my colors.  I attached these to my card using my 2 way glue pen and added a drop of matching glitter glue to each one.  Then it was time to make my leprechaun.

Here is a list of punches used to make the top part of my leprechaun:

Top of Hat - 1 1/4" circle punch from Wild Wasabi card stock and Basic Black.  The black is trimmed to make the band.

Hat Brim - word window from Wild Wasabi

Hair - scallop circle punch from Cajun Craze

Head - 1 1/4" circle from the retired Blushing Bride

Eyes - medium circle from the owl builder from Pacific Point and 1/4" circle from Basic Black

Nose - circle from the itty bitty punch pack out of retired Blushing Bride

Mustache - small petal from the blossom builder out of Cajun Craze

Neck - word window out of retired Blushing Bride

The buckle of the hat brim is made from scrap pieces of Daffodil Delight an Basic Black cut out free handed. 

 

Body - 1 3/8" circle from Wild Wasabi

Sleeves - word windows from Wild Wasabi; these are cut in half at an angle and postitioned to get the look I wanted.

Pants - retired small ovals from Wild Wasabi trimmed flat on the bottom

Legs - word windows from Basic Black

Shoes - wide heart from the retired heart to heart out of Basic Black

Hands - scallop flower from the boho blossom punch out of retired Blushing Bride

Bow tie - smallest heart from the retired heart to heart punch and a 1/4" circle out of Daffodil Delight

Buttons - 1/4" circles from Basic Black

All pieces are attached together using a 2 way glue pen.  I then added a glitter that I happen to have called Pesto to make the stripes and fill in the hat brim.  I also added yellow glitter to the bow tie and black glitter to the buttons.  A little white gel pen finished the eyes and nose and a black marker made the mouth.  Once he was completed, I attached him to the card using dimensionals.

Well that's all I have for today.  I have to get ready to take my daughter for her follow up appointment so I better get going.  Thanks for stopping by today and please come back tomorrow to see what I come up with for you.

Time To Shop!!!

Welcome to Wednesday!!!!!!  I have such a cute card to share with you today.  I made a punch art character that I learned from Ellen Kemper a few years ago.  I had kept mine as a sample to share with others.  When I came across it the other day, I decided I wanted to make another one and this time use it on a card.  My share for you today is that card.  Let's jump right in and get started.

 

I wanted to make my card resemble a store front.  Now I did not take into consideration that she might cover a lot of it up.  Anyway, I started with a base card of Wisteria Wonder measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".   Next I took out a piece of designer paper and cut it to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I cut a piece out of the center of this using my self healing cutting mat and my craft night.  This opening would serve as a window.  I attached a piece of acetate to the back of it for the window and then attached strips of designer paper with shoes and purses and cosmetics on to show through the window.  I know you cannot see them because she is standing in front of the window but I promise they are there.   The completed piece was attached using runner adhesive.

 

To complete my store front, I added an awning.  I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched out a bunch of word windows.  I added a strip of runner adhesive across the top to attach them.  I then trimmed off the excess that was hanging over.  I then added a small piece of dimensional under the bottom of each word window to make them pop out a little.  I stamped the name of my shop onto the awning using an alphabet set of stamps I have and Wisteria Wonder ink.  Of course it needed spartkle so I added a row of small rhinestones across the top of the card and some larger ones in between the words. 

 

Ellen Kemper called this character Little Miss Backside because the only view of her is from the back.  I just love her.  I have made several cards using her as a bride.  It is really easy to make and very cute.  I will just start from the top and work my way down.  First though I want to say I know you may think the colors clash a little, I do too.  However, I wanted her to stand out from the background and contrasting colors was a great way to do this.  Alright now onto how to make her.  I used Whisper White card stock for the hat and purse.  Her hat band, shirt and shoes are Calypso Coral while the skirt is Midnight Muse.  Her hair is Early Espresso.  Her back, arms, legs and hands are the retired Blushing Bride card stock.  Last but not least is her credit card which is brushed silver.  Here is a list of the punches used:

Hat - wide oval and 1 1/4" circle

Hat band - a piece punched with a 1 1/4" circle punch offset from a 1 1/4" circle hole

Hair - scallop oval

Back - wide heart from the retired heart to heart punch

Shirt - retired butterfly 

Arms - pieces punched with the wide heart from the retired heart to heart punch that is offset from a wide heart hole

Skirt - retired butterfly punch; butterflies are cut in half and layered to make the skirt

Legs/Shoes - word window cut in half lengthwise

Hands - ends of the modern label  punched with the 1/2" circle 

Purse Handle - large oval punched around the hole of the retired small oval

Purse - retired key tag; punch and then reinsert and punch again to shorten

Credit Card - punch from the little labels punch pack trimmed

I used several impression folders with my big shot to add design to my little lady.  Her shirt and hat band were run through using the perfect polka dots folder.  The hat pieces were put through with the square lattice folder.  For the skirt, I used the snow flowers and for the purse and handle, I used the fancy fan folder.  I added small black pearls to the purse and small white pearls to the hat band.  The skirt has some larger pearls on it.  All pieces of my girl are attached together using liquid glue and the finished girl was placed on the card using dimensionals.  

I had so much fun making this card.  I do hope you like it.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for you to see so be sure to stop by.  Thanks for spending some time with me today.

Another St. Paddy's Day Card

Happy Tuesday!!!  I hope your Monday was a good one.  I am glad you decided to stop by today and see what I have for you.  I am going to share another St. Patrick's Day card today.  This one is uses some of the same colors from yesterday so it is easy to make this one and the other one at the same time.  Anyway let's just jump right in!

 

This card starts with a base of Daffodil Delight measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I took my shamrock stamp and stamp it along the edges of the daffodil using VersaMark ink and then heat embossed them using clear embossing powder.  

The center stack of layers are made of Gumball Green, Whisper White and Lucky Limeade.  The Gumball Green layers are cut at 2 1/8" x 3 3/8" and 3 1/8" x 4 3/8".  The Whisper White layers measure 1 7/8" x 3 1/8" and 2 3/8" x 3 5/8" and 2 7/8" x 4 1/8".  The Lucky Limeade is 2 5/8" x 3 7/8".  The order of the layers are from top to bottom white, gumball, white, limeade, white gumball.  The layers are adhered together using runner adhesive and attached to the card with runner adhesive.

Prior to attaching the top layer of white, I needed to stamp my little leprechaun.  I found this stamp at a local craft store and thought it was too cute.  I stamped the image using StazOn ink so that it would be ready to color immediately.  I used my Stampin' Up! markers to color this one.  The colors I used are Gumball Green, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist (eyes), Cajun Craze (beard) and Blush Blossom (face and hands). 

 

I used the same greeting as yesterday on this card.  The stamp is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I stamped it using VersaMark ink onto Whisper White and heat embossed it using Wild Wasabi embossing powder.  I punched it out with the modern label punch.  I also punched a modern label out of Gumball Green and layered the white on top of it using runner adhesive.  I attached the greeting to the card using dimensionals.

Well we have come to the end of another card.  I will return tomorrow with another share for you.  I do hope you will come back to visit.  Thanks for dropping by today!!!!

Lucky Clovers

Hi everyone.  We have made it to another Monday.  I do hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I thought I would catch you up on mine just a little.  As you know I did not blog last week on Thursday because I was spending the day with my aunt.  Sadly, she woke up that morning with a horrible sore throat and had to cancel.  I hope we get to reschedule soon because I was so looking forward to it.  Instead, I got to spend the day grocery shopping and running errands.  Luckily my hubby was off so we went to lunch together too. 

Friday was so much fun.  I spent part of the day with my little nephew Jackson.  He is 5 months old and too cute for words.  I loved playing with him and seeing him smile.  He has a wonderful laugh to listen to and I was happy my silly little dog was able to make him laugh.  Of course our doggy needed a long nap once he was gone.  Working that hard made her soooooo tired!!!  I so enjoyed every minute with him.  It reminded me of just how fast the time goes and it is nice to enjoy a baby again. 

Now let's get on with the card since I am sure I have bored you to tears by now.  I decided to do a couple of St. Patrick's Day cards to share with you.  Both my husband and I have Irish ancestry in our family.  While we do not go all out for the day, we do enjoy the spirit of it.  This first card is reminiscent of one I made last year but I like the style so much that I had to make one for this year too.  Ready?  Let's go!

 

I started with a base card of Gumball Green measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" Whisper White.  It is attached to the base with runner adhesive.  The final layer on top is a 4" x 5 1/4" Daffodil Delight.  I ran this piece through my big shot using an impression folder who's name escapes me right now but is not a Stampin' Up! folder.  Once embossed, I attached it with the same runner adhesive.  Then it was time for the shamrock.

 

I used Whisper White and Gumball Green card stock to make my 4 leaf clover.  I wanted it to be a lucky clover so it had to have 4 leaves.  I started by cutting out 4 white scallop hearts using my scallop heart embosslit and big shot.  Then I punched out 4 Gumball hearts with the full heart punch.  I carefully placed these inside the scallop heart embosslit being sure it did not reach the edges.  I attached these to the white hearts using runner adhesive.  The stem of the shamrock is just a scrap of Gumball Green that I cut free hand.  I glued the stem to the card with liquid glue.  I then placed and attached the petals to the card using dimensionals.  The center of the shamrock is made with circle punches.  I punched a white 1 1/4" circle and added dazzling diamond glitter to the edge of it using my 2 way glue pen.  Next I added a 1" circle of green with runner adhesive to that.  The final layer is a 3/4" circle in white.  I stamped this little shamrock I had and heat embossed it using Wild Wasabi embossing powder.  It is attached to the green with runner adhesive.  The finished center piece was attached to the card using a dimensional.  

 

My greeting comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I stamped it onto white using Gumball Green ink and punched it out with the modern label punch.  I brushed the edges with Daffodil Delight and layered it onto a Gumball Green modern label.  The finished piece was attached to the card using dimensionals.

The final touch to this card is the rhinestones.  I added these after I had the shamrock and greeting secured down.  I just felt the background need a little pizzazz!!  

Well that is all I have for you today.  I hope you come by tomorrow and see what I have for you.  Thanks for dropping by today!!!

Now Don't Be Mad

Hi everyone and welcome to Thursday!!!  Now I did tell you yesterday that I had a fairly full day so it really should come as no surprise that crafting time was not in the equation.  My husband's meeting turned into 2 meetings so we did not get away from his work until much later than I thought.  We also added at least 2 extra errands to the day than originally planned.  By the time we got home, I was exhausted and there was still no rest.  Instead we found an electrical problem at our home that had to be fixed immediately for safety reasons.  When we finished that, it was definitely rest time.

Now I could tell you to check back tomorrow and see if I have something to share but I think I will be honest with you and myself and say I will return on Monday.  Today I am going to spend the day with my aunt helping her organize a few things and then my aunt and uncle along with myself and my husband are going to dinner.  Needless to say I know I will not have time to craft.  When I do get home, I will be making sure the house is picked up and cleaned for Friday when I will spend time with one of my favorite boys in the world - my great nephew Jackson.  He is 5 months old now and too cute for words.  Anyway, I plan on playing all day with him.

I will be back on Monday I promise with something to share with you.  I hope you get to have some fun like I am having.  Thank you for coming by today.  Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you Monday.

Another Easter Iris Fold

Hi everyone.  It's wonderful Wednesday!  I hope your week is going well so far.  I have a fairly busy day today and tomorrow.  I am attending a meeting for my husband's charity this morning and have a couple of errands to run after that.  Tomorrow I am going to spend the day with my aunt.  I am really looking forward to seeing her.  We always have a lot of fun together.

Today I am going to share another Iris Fold technique card with you.  This one is also themed for Easter and is one of my favorites.  Let's get started.

 

Much of how I made this card is the same as yesterday so I will try not to bore you with the details.  I started with a 7" x 10" card , scored at 5" out of Whisper White card stock.  I added a 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" layer of designer paper I bought at a local craft store to this using my runner adhesive.  The final layer is another white piece cut to be 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  This piece is what the Iris Fold would be done on and then added to the base card when complete.

 

This pattern is one of an Easter basket.  Now the handle of the basket is just a scrap of dsp and the eggs were cut out free hand.  The only part that is actually folded is the basket.  I started by placing the pattern onto my light box and tracing it onto the white card stock using a pencil.  I cut this out on my self healing mat using my craft knife.  I found 3 coordinating pieces of dsp to use for this particular pattern.  Once the basket was completed, I attached the handle and eggs to the top, carefully trimming off any excess.  Once the basket was completed I was ready to prepare it to attach to the card.

 

This time I added cut little butterfly brads to the corners of the folded design.  I used sticky strip on the back of the design and added a glue dot on top of the back of each brad.  This was then attached to the base card and was ready to send to someone special.

I know this seems like a quick post but I still have more tax stuff to go through.  Right now I am looking forward to Friday when I can have a day to myself and get some rest!!

I do hope you will stop by tomorrow to see what I have for you.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will see you tomorrow!

Revisiting the Iris Fold Technique

Hello to all and happy Tuesday!!!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  I have to spend part of this week getting all of our tax stuff gathered so we can go visit the accountant.  Not looking forward to that.  I guess we all have to do taxes though don't we?

Knowing I have such a task ahead of me, I decided to do a little organizing in my craft room today.  I happen to come across a couple of cards that I made for Easter.  I am not sure if I have posted these before so forgive me if I have.  I just thought they were cute and deserved to be seen again (or for the first time if I have not posted them priorly).  One will be shown today and the other one I will share tomorrow.  They both use the iris fold technique to make them and I knew I had not shared a card made this way in a while.  Anyway, let me show you the first one and we will get started!

 

I had to make this card larger than normal to provide room for the bunny.  It does fit on the regular size I make but it is edge to edge.  I started with a base card of Whisper White card stock cut at 7" x 10", scored at 5".  I added a piece of designer paper I bought at a local craft store that was cut to be 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" with runner adhesive.  The final layer for the front is the Whisper White that the bunny is created on.  It measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  

 

To create the bunny you need your piece of white card stock, a pattern, a craft knife and several designer papers that coordinate together well.  A light box is helpful too if you have it.  I use one all the time.  I place the pattern on the box and place the white card stock over it.  Using a pencil, I trace the image onto the white.  Once completed, I place the white card stock on a self healing mat and use my craft knife to cut the image (bunny) out.  You can set the cut out bunny aside and use it later but all you need for this is the negative piece.  Then you follow the pattern of layering that is on your bunny pattern to do the fold.  I search for iris fold patterns on the internet all the time and that is where I have found most of mine.  Once the pattern is complete I try to make sure the paper is covered with tape so the pieces do not fall off or slip.  I use sticky strip to attach the finished bunny to the card after the brads are on the corners.

 

I had to show you a close up of the brads I used.  They are little bunny heads.  Aren't they cute?!!!!  I bought these at a convention years ago and love them.  They do not attach the bunny to the dsp but are really just for decoration.  Even thought I use sticky strip to attach the bunny piece, I also put a glue dot over the back of each brad for more security.

That's it for today.  I am so glad you stopped by.  Please come back tomorrow to see my other cute Easter card.  Until they, thanks for dropping in and have a wonderful rest of your day!!!!

A Moonlight Swim

Hi everyone.  It's Monday!!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  My house was very quiet because my husband was working all weekend and my daughter was either at work or with her beau.  While it was lonely at times, I did enjoy being able to set my own pace and not having to worry about preparing dinner or anything else.  I don't know about you but when it is only me at home, I eat sandwiches or salads.  They are easy to fix for one and there are no left overs.

With all that free time, I only spent one day in my craft room.  I thought I would be in there more but it just did not happen.  I wanted to do some punch art for my share today and came across this really cool Christmas cards with swans on it while surfing on Pinterest.  I knew when I saw it that I would have to try to make the swan.  Patricia Diane Calvery is the original creator of this card and I want to thank them her for the inspiration.  Now let me show you my card.

 

I started with a base card of Pool Party card stock cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" layer of Whisper White to this with my runner adhesive.  The final top layer is Basic Black card stock cut to be 4" x 5 1/4".   This too was attached with the runner adhesive.  Now I was ready to start embellishing the front.

I started by taking a piece of Pool Party card stock and cutting it the same length as the black piece.  I cut a strip off using a pair of decorative scissors called small wave.  I adhered this to the black using the runner adhesive.  I punched a 1 1/4" circle for a moon and brushed a little Pool Party ink over the top of it.  I used the runner adhesive to attach it too.  I added rhinestones to the black sky to serve as the stars.  The final thing I did was add some crystal effects to the water to make it shiny.  This does take a while to dry so you will have plenty of time to make your swans.

 

To make these lovely creatures, you will only need two punches - the blossom builder and the full heart and Whisper White card stock.  The main body of the swan is the largest petal from the blossom builder.  I punched out 4 of the next largest, 3 of the next size down, and 3 of the smallest petals.  I set one of the small petals aside to use for the head.  All the other ones I ran through my big shot using an impression  folder called intricate swirls (not a Stampin' Up! product) to add design to the bird.  Basically I layered the petals and adhered them together with my 2 way glue pen.  The neck was made by punching out a full heart and then punching it again just offset from the hole.  I adhered the neck to the body and and the head to the neck with the 2 way glue pen.

The face of the swan was drawn on freehand.  I used my Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black SU! markers to do this.  I pulled a photo of a real swan up on my computer to use as a guide.  Hopefully they look alright to you.

I have yet to put anything inside this card.  I have not decided if I want to add a greeting for a specific occasion or just put a blank piece of white card stock in it so I could use it for whatever I want to use it for.  

Well that's it for today.  I am going to try to get back into my craft room today to work on something.  My husband is home from work though and he has a pretty busy schedule this week so today is really on of the only ones I will have with him this week.  Maybe he will take a nap!  Anyway, come back by tomorrow and see if I manage to have something for you.  Until then, thanks for stopping by today!!

AMENDMENT:  At the time of this posting, I was unaware that another card creator had made instructions for this also and had posted them on their blog for sale.  Her name is Valita Reynolds.  I would encourage you to visit her site and see her creation.  I have not visited it myself yet so I cannot link you but I am sure if you Google her name you will find her.  If you would like a more complete set of instructions she had hers for purchase.  I am sure the instructions would be a great help!!  I am sorry I was not aware of this at the time of the original posting.  Please accept my apology.  

 

Think Spring

It's fantastic Friday as well as the first day of February.  Welcome to you all.  I am happy to report that I am finally back in my craft room regularly.  It is so nice to sit and craft and relax.  Here in Phoenix, AZ we are experiencing the temperature slowly rising up.  We have had a few days that felt truly like winter, and when it rained for 3 days in a row it was really like winter.  Well now we are heading back into the 70's.  Soon it will be the 80's and past that I don't even want to think about. 

So to put me in a springtime mood, I wanted to do a card that felt light with muted colors.  I used several new items from the spring catalog on this one so I hope you like it.  Here we go.

 

I started with a base card of So Saffron cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Whisper White that measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  For the final layer, I cut a piece of Old Olive card stock at 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran this through the big shot using the new Vine Street impression folder.  Now this folder is available through the Sale-a-bration promotion going on currently.  For every $50 you spend on products from the regular or spring catalog you get to select one product from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  I love the look of this folder.  All layers were attached to the bottom base card using runner adhesive.  I added gem stones to the corners just to dress it up a little.

 

The next feature I added to the card was the adorable pinwheels.  Now I made a pinwheel card a few years ago.  I cut a piece of designer paper into a square, cut from the corners towards the center and punched little holes in the folded in pieces to attach them.  Well the spring catalog gives us a product that will do everything for you so all you do is fold in the pieces and attached them together with a brad.  It is a Sizzix Sizzlit die called Pinwheel.  This is used with your handy Big Shot machine.  I was so excited to get this one so that I could make more and more pinwheels.  Let me show you the other one.

 

This one is made using the same die.  I used a retired designer series paper set I had to make these.  The pole for the one above is So Saffron while this one is Baja Breeze.  I used an antique looking brad in the center of each to hold the pinwheel together.  The poles were attached using a glue dot.  I then attached these to the card with a 2 way glue pen on the pole and another glue dot up at the pinwheel.

 

When I think of spring, I think of butterflies.  It just makes sense to me.  So I had to put a couple on this card.  I used Whisper White card stock to make these.  The large one is punched out using the Elegant Butterfly punch and the smaller one is punched out using the new Bitty Butterfly punch in the spring catalog.  Once they were punched out, I ran them through the big shot using the impression folder Flower Garden.  I attached them to the card using liquid glue.  This is just put along the center of the butterfly body to attach it to the card.  I then added rhinestones to the center of each butterfly forming the body on top.

 

Last but certainly not least is the greeting.  I chose to make this one a thank you card so I used the "Thanks" stamp from the stamp set Perfect Punches.  I inked the stamp first with VersaMark ink and then with So Saffron.  I stamped this onto Whisper White and added clear embossing powder to it.  Once it was heat embossed, I punched it out using the scallop oval punch.  I attached it to the card using dimensionals.

Well that's all I have for today.  I will be back on Monday with something new to share so please stop by then.  Have a wonderful and safe weekend and thanks for stopping by today.