Springtime Feeling

Hi everyone.  We have made it to another Friday.  I have to say this has been a tough week for me.  Not only was I still dealing with my cold but this past Monday marked the 6 year anniversary of my mom's passing.  I miss her every day.  I know everyone tells you it gets easier with time but I have not really found that.  I think you reach a point of being able to go on and move forward.  The loneliness of not having her here to talk to anymore never ceases.  I wish other people could be a little more understanding about this.  It is hard to feel so alone at such a sad time.  Oh well, there will be a next week and it will hopefully get better. 

The card I made to share with you today is one which reminds me a lot of my mom.  I used one of her favorite colors as the color scheme.  Let's just get started shall we.

 

I started this card with a base of Rose Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I then added a layer of Pink Pirouette measuring 4" x 5 1/4".  I took this piece and ran it through my big shot using the Framed Tulips impression folder.  I attached it to the card with runner adhesive.  The final layer is a piece of Whisper White cut at 3" x 4 1/4".

 

I ran the layer through my big shot using the Elegant Lines impression folder.  I added some light pink rhinestones to the litter circles of the design.  I just wanted a little color but not too much.

 

For my greeting, I punched out a 1 1/4" circle from Rose Red.  Next I used one of my new stamp sets called A Fitting Occasion.  I stamped the circle of words and the little butterfly in the center using Rose Red ink onto Whisper White.  I punched it out using the 1" circle punch and adhered it to the rose punch with runner adhesive.  I attached it to the card using a dimensional. 

 

The final piece to complete this card front is the butterfly.  I punched it out of the embossed piece of Whisper White using the elegant butterfly punch.  I then added a piece of retired designer paper to the back of it allowing a little design to be seen through the front.  Next I punched a small butterfly out of Rose Red card stock and ran it through the big shot using the perfect polka dots impression folder.  I attached it to the center of the elegant butterfly using a glue dot.  For the finishing touch, I added pearls to the center of the small butterfly and bent its wings up so it looks like it is flying.  Once this was complete, the entire piece was attached to the card using dimensionals.

Well we are at the end of the week.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Be sure to do something fun and relax.  Life is too short to rush through.  I will be back on Monday with another share for you.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Mounting Stamps

Hi everybody.  It's Thursday here in Arizona.  We have been experiencing temperatures in the upper 70's to low 80's.  However, we have heard from the weather people that we are due to drop to the low 60's tomorrow with a possibility of snow in the lower elevations and hail in the valley.  What a weird winter this has been.  We do not usually experience this much of a drastic change in weather in a period of 3 months.  At least it is interesting.

Today our dear Uncle Charlie is going in for surgery on his foot.  He hurt it a while ago and the doctors all thought it was just a sprain.  Turns out he has been walking around on a broken foot for months.  Our thoughts and prayers are with him and our aunt today.  Recovery will take one year so this is the beginning of a long road for him.

I do not have a card to share today.  What have I been up to you might ask?  Well, remember a few months ago when a friend sent me lots of stamp sets she was clearing out of her home?  Some of them were not mounted onto the wooden blocks and had never been used.  I finally made myself sit down yesterday and mounted them all.  These sets are from several years ago.  Unlike today's set, you had to mount these by first trimming the excess rubber around the image off and then mounting the image onto the wooden block.  It took me most of the day.  When I finished, I had a new box from Stampin' Up! to open and empty of (you guessed it) stamps!

I thought I would share the sets I bought with you here today so let me show them to you.

 

I like to order the clear stamp set that you use the acrylic blocks to stamp with them.  They cost a little less that the wood and store really nicely.  These two sets are from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  Remember for each $50 you spend in an order, you get a free set from this catalog.  These are only available until March 22 so be sure to get your orders in soon and take advantage of this opportunity.

 

These sets are from the regular catalog and idea book.  They are a couple of sets I have had on my wish list and I decided to finally get them.  The set on the right comes in 2 cases which is why there is a rubber band around it.  

 

Here are the final 3 I bought.  The wood mounted "Easter Blessings" stamp is from the spring catalog.  It is available only as a wood mounted stamp (you mount it when it comes).  The other 2 stamps are part of a promotion of single stamps only.  They are to be used with the clear blocks.  You can find information for these on my Stampin' Up! page.  They are available through March 31st.  The bottom one is a trio of cute bunnies for Easter time.  I will use these very soon.  The upper set is a Mr/Mrs towel which will be cute for newlyweds or bridal showers.   They come in an individual cellophane pack.  You can order an extra clear storage container from the regular catalog to store these in if you like.   The cases come in a set of 4 and are only $5.95.  

One tip I will give you about the clear mount stamps is I do not put the stickers on them.  I did when I first started using these but found they did not always cling well to the clear blocks.  Now I just leave the stickers off them and they cling really well.  I have not had any problems with them at all.  

I hope to have a card to share tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by today!!!!!

Bunny Boxes Revisited

Hi everyone.  I hope your Wednesday is going well.  I wanted to do a special blog today to revisit these cute little boxes I made for Easter treats.  I tend to make these each year to use so I felt they deserved to be shared again.  This will be a short blog as I need to get back to house cleaning.  Am I the only one who thinks the house should just stay clean so that you don't have to do this every week?  I think cleaning is over rated but I guess it is also necessary.  Oh well back to bunny boxes.  Here they are:

 

My original blog featuring these appeared on April 22, 2011.  I am not going to bore you with all the instruction detail again.  To get the instruction on how to make these you can visit the original posting called Here Comes The Easter Bunny by clicking here.  I like to make these in a variety of colors.  I tend to use colors that could represent actual bunnies but get as crazy as you want with these.

 

Here is a closer look at one of the rabbits.  They are just too cute for words.

 

Last is a side view.  The box is not huge which is good because it will allow you to add a few fun items and treats but you will not over do it.  I always add a cotton ball for the tail.  I think it makes the whole bunny complete.

As I said it is a short blog but the house with all its dust will wait no more to be cleaned!!  I sound a little too happy about that.  Oh well.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow.

Hopping into March!!!

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday.  I am amazed at how fast the year is going so far.  I also thought Easter was in April this year so imagine my surprise when I realized it is actually March 31.  I prefer holidays that always fall on the same date.  It is so much easier for me to keep track of and to plan for decorating and all kinds of activities.  Oh well.  No one asked me how the calendar should be so I guess I will just have to look every year.  Anyway, I realized I have not spent any time at all on Easter cards.  So I decided to sit down and make one to share with you today. 

 

Now I will admit this is probably not my best bunny ever but she is cute.  I started with a base card of Baja Breeze cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  Next I cut a layer of Pink Pirouette at 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran this through my big shot using the Framed Tulip impression folder.  I attached it to the base card using runner adhesive.  It is a simple back drop for the card but works well.

 

I punched out 3 full hearts to use as balloons.  Of course you cannot really see the strings because my bunny hides them.  Two of the balloons are punched from designer series paper I bought at the local craft store.  The third on is punched out of Wisteria Wonder.  Before punching it out, I stamped my greeting onto it used a stamp set called Well Scripted.  This is a retired set but I love the lettering.  I stamped it by first inking it with VersaMark ink and then with Wisteria Wonder.  After it was stamped, I sprinkled clear embossing powder onto it and heat embossed it.  This way the greeting stands out more.   They are attached with dimensionals.

 

I had this small open area on the card front that looked a little funny so I decided to make a flower bouquet to fill it in.  I did this by first punching out green leaves from Garden Green card stock using my 2 step bird punch.  I punched 4 of the leaves and attached them to the card using my 2 way glue pen.  Next I used the scallop flower punch from the itty bitty punch pack.  I punched 5 of these out of Elegant Eggplant.  I attached these to the leaves using the liquid glue and added a small pearl to the center of each one. 

 

Finally we get to the star of out card - the bunny!!! I chose to make a white bunny by using Whisper White card stock.  I used Pretty in Pink card stock for the pink highlights and Basic Black for the eyes.  The dress is a piece of designer paper I happen to have in my stash.  The bow is made from Melon Mambo.  Now here is a list of punches to use for her:

Outer Ears - large oval punch

Inner Ears - Retired small oval punch; I brushed the edges with Pretty in Pink ink

Bow - small heart from the Retired heart to heart punch and the scallop flower from the itty bitty punch pack

Head - ornament punch

Eyes - wings from the 2 step bird punch; I brushed the edges of them with Bashful Blue ink 

Black of eyes - medium circle from the owl builder punch

Nose - circle from the itty bitty punch pack

Tongue - 1/4" circle

Cheeks - current small oval punch

Body -  owl builder punch; trim ears and feet off of the owl

Arms/Feet - small oval punch (current one); trim down for the arms and flatten one side for feet

Dress - 1 1/4" scallop circle trimmed 

For finishing touches, I added pearls to the bow and white gel pen to the eyes and nose.  I drew on whiskers and toes with a fine tip black marker.  I put a piece of white ribbon across the bottom of the dress and added dazzling details glitter glue to the dress as buttons.

I am pretty sure I have covered everything but if I left something out let me know.  I am glad you stopped by today.  I hope you come back by tomorrow to see what I have next.  Thanks again and see you all soon.

Finally the Queen Has Arrived!!!

Hi everyone.  It's Monday and the beginning of a new week.  I am happy to say my cold is getting better and I am almost back to being myself.  I spent last Thursday resting all day.  Friday I spent the morning with my favorite little man, Jackson, and then got some more rest.  While I had a couple of errands to run this weekend, I rested each day and I really think it helped.  I did also find a little time to get my queen on her background so that I could share her with you today.  So let's get started.

 

Here she is!!!  I started with a base card of Real Red card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I then took a piece of Shimmer White card stock and cut it to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I ran this piece through my big shot using an impression folder I bought at a local craft store.  It was included with a set of impression folder themed for Valentine's Day.  It embosses the queen of hearts playing card onto the card stock.  I then used my craft knife and self healing mat to cut the center with the queens picture on it out of the card.  I then took a piece of Midnight Muse card stock and cut it at 3 3/4" x 4 3/4".  I ran this piece through using the Argyle impression folder and attached it to the back of the shimmer white using runner adhesive.  I then attached the piece to the red base with the same runner adhesive.  I used my Basic Black and Real Red Stampin' Up! markers to color the "Q" and the heart on the card.  I added a heart punched from the small heart punch out of glimmer red card stock to the upper section of each side.  

 

 I first saw this lovely queen on the blog of Ellen Kemper, the punch art queen herself.  I knew I just had to give her a try.  She is one of the more difficult punch art characters to make so if you try her be patient.  I made a few changes to my queen from hers so instead of sending you to her site for the list of supplies, I decided to write them here for you to go through. 

The card stock colors used are Real Red, Basic Black, Retired Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, and Whisper White.

Collar - 2  medium hearts from the retired heart to heart punch (1 for each side) and 1 large oval trimmed to be a little thinner and with a notch taken out of the center

Face - 1  1/4" circle for the bottom portion and a 1" circle for the upper part
 

Mouth - 1" circle trimmed one the one side as well as the top and bottom
 

Teeth - 1" circle punched around a 3/4" circle hole - cut a piece out for the top and bottom teeth.  I outlined them with a black marker as well as added the lines for the teeth
 

Eyes - small heart from the retired heart to heart punch - 1 black and 1 white
 

Tongue - small heart from the retired heart to heart punch in Regal Rose card stock
 

Crown - hole from a 1 1/4" scallop circle - trim toward the hole so you have points on top and cut to size you like
 

Eyebrows - leaves from 2 step bird punch
 

Hair - 3 tails from 2 part bird punch, 1/2" circle. circle from the itty bitty pack

Nose - leave from 2 step bird punch - I rounded the ends to make the "football" shape of the nose

 

Skirt - full heart punch - 1 black and 1 red cut in half and layered on each side.  1 white heart cut in half and trimmed to make the "fur" that lines the skirt sides.  1 daffodil and 1 more more black for the center of the skirt.  I left the daffodil as one piece and cut the black in half so I could cut pieces from each side of the black heart and attach them to the daffodil to make my pattern.

Chest - 1 wide oval in red, 1 wide oval in black which you will cut in half and attach to the red piece
 

Sleeves - medium oval

Arms - 1/2" circle

Hands -  modern label repunched at each end with the circle from itty bitty pack

All of the pieces of the queen are attached to one another using a 2 way glue pen.  The completed queen is attached to my card using dimensionals.  For this first attempt at her, I did not want to embellish her anymore.  I wanted to be able to see her as is.  I can always embellish it next time.  I would probably add a bit of white get to her eyes and some dazzling diamond glitter to the fur of the skirt.  I could also add a little yellow glitter to her crown or make it out of Brushed Gold card stock or even add gold glitter to it.  There is always a way to make your art a little jazzier but I don't feel she really needs it.

I want to thank you all for sticking with me as I battled my cold.  I am so happy to be back to crafting.  I will return tomorrow with another share for you to see.  I do hope you will stop by.  Thanks for dropping in today!!!

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!!!!