Santa's Helper

Happy Monday.  We are off to a new week.  I am going to pray for one with no illness and no migraine!!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  My sister and I attended a shopping extravaganza this weekend to raise money for charities.  We had a lot of fun even though we did not buy much.  It was for a good cause and since my husband was involved with it I wanted to go to show my support. 

While I was at home the other day, I sat in my craft room looking at all the Halloween lights we have in the house and found myself dreaming of my Christmas decorations.  My daughter and I even bought a couple of ornaments the other day.  Remember, Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I get so excited to decorate and celebrate the birth of Jesus.  So as I was day dreaming about all I love about Christmas, I decided I would make another card with that theme. 

This one was inspired by a couple of cards I saw online a few weeks ago.  I did not remember the sites they were on or who did them, but the concept stuck with me.  I pulled out all my punches and set to work.  Here is what I came up with:

 

The design and full view of the elf is my own idea.  I do know that the punches used were inspired by the pictures I saw online.  Let's start at the beginning of the card.  The base card is Cherry Cobbler.  On top of it is a layer of Soft Suede that has been run through the big shot using the Snow Burst impression folder.  The present is from a scrap of left over dsp from a few years ago so it is not available any more.  The current paper is cute and would work too.  The ribbon on the front of the present says "Let It Snow" and is one I picked up at a local craft store a few years ago.  The bow on the present is the Silver Glimmer paper currently available in the Holiday Mini Catalog. (I hope they keep it around after the catalog expires!!)  It was punched out using the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.  Now for the elf.

 

I used quite a few punches on him.  His face is the ornament punch with the top cut off.  The ears are the wing from the bird builder punch.  Eyes and nose come from the owl punch as do the buttons on the front of his outfit.  His collar is the scallop oval and his body is the wide oval.  Arms and legs are from the word window punch.  For the bent arm, you cut the piece at an angle in half and reposition it.  The cuffs for the sleeves and shoes are from the large flower of the boho blossom punch.  His hands are the midsized flower from the boho blossom punch.  The brim of his hat is a large oval and the top piece of the hat is the large scallop flower from the blossom builder punch.  For the shoes, I used the small oval punch and the 1/2" circle punch.  I started by punching the 1/2" circle at the edge of black card stock, then positioned the small oval over it until I had it lined up to make the shoe.  You will see it when you put it over the 1/2" opening.  I added the 6mm jingle bells to the toes of his shoes.  These are in the Holiday Mini also.  The pom pom on his hat is from the local craft store.  My outfit is from Garden Green and Whisper White.  The face, ears and hands are Blushing Bride.  I added dazzling diamond glitter to the collar, hat brim and sleeve cuffs for dazzle.  White gel pen is added to the eyes and the mouth is drawn on with a fine tip black marker.

Overall, I was pleased with the look of the elf and the card.  It was fun to make since it was a challenge for me.  I like trying new punch art ideas.  It helps to keep my brain working.  

Well, that's it for today.  I wish you all a wonderful day and will be back tomorrow.  Thanks for dropping in today!!