Different Holiday Today

I guess fall is approaching and I am thinking about it a lot.  Of course having consistent temperature of over 100 degrees and no rain to relieve the heat, you can bet your bottom dollar I am ready for some cooler temperatures.  My focus has been on Christmas for the last few days but I do not want to leave other holidays out of the mix.  So today I am shifting my focus to my husband's favorite - Halloween.

I love to make Halloween cards for my nieces and nephews.  They get such a kick out of getting mail and seeing what I made.  It was definitely time for me to start working on a few ideas to get ready for the production of their cards.  So here is the one I worked on just the other day.  Ready?  Let's go.

Let me start as always with the base card.  This one is Gumball Green - one of my new favorite colors.  It is cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  Next I added a layer of Basic Gray measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I attached it to the base using runner adhesive.  Next I cut a piece of Basic Black card stock to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran it through my big shot using the spider web impression folder.  Once it was embossed, I sprayed it with Champagne shimmer spray.  I attached it using the runner adhesive to the gray.  The final layer of the card is Elegant Eggplant.  I cut this one to be 2 7/8" x 4 5/8".  I also ran this one through the big shot using the same spider web folder.  I also sprayed it with the same shimmer spray.  When I attached it to the card, I lined up the web lines on it with the black ones so it would seem continuous.  Purple rhinestones were added to the corners and to the background.

I wanted to put a word on that would be associated with Halloween.  I chose to use "spooky".  I used the big shot and the retired Billboard decorative strip to cut the letters out of Glimmer Silver card stock.  I attached them to the side using liquid glue.  I just love the sparkle of these!!

Now for out Pumpkin Witch.  To make her, I actually started with a stamp set called Wicked Cool.  I stamped the hat and the shoes using Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I colored them in using my Gumball Green and Basic Black Stampin' Up! markers.  Once they were colors and had had time to dry, I cut them out.  I set them aside until it was time to use them.

For my other pieces, I used punches.  The head is a 3/4" circle punched from the retired Blushing Bride card stock.  I also used this color for the neck, arms and hands.  The neck and arms are punched with the word window punch along the edge of the card stock.  The hands are the scallop flower from the itty bitty punch pack.  I did add some lines in between the fingers using the Blush Blossom marker.  For the hair and bangs I used Gumball Green card stock.  The bangs were made with the 1" circle punch.  I cut it in half and made the line wavy.  The back of the hair is the owl body from the owl builder punch minus the ears and feet.  The pumpkin was make using Pumpkin Pie card stock.  What else would you use to make it?  Anyway, the pieces were punched using the large oval punch.  You will need 3 to make the body.  The white of the eyes was punched from Whisper White card stock using the 1/8" circle punch while the lavender of the eyes and the nose were punched using the owl builder punch.  I used Wisteria Wonder card stock for the eyes and the retired Blushing Bride for the nose.  I drew the mouth on with the Wisteria Wonder marker and added the black to the eyes with a black marker.  Once all the pieces were punched, I got the hat and feet and assembled the girl using liquid glue.  Once she was all put together she was attached to the card using dimensionals.  I also added some orange Stickles glitter glue to the pumpkin.

Well I hope this inspires you to work on some Halloween cards.  I am having such a good time making all of these.  I especially love all the sparkle of the background on this card.  I wonder what I should make next?  Well I guess you will have to come back to see what I come up with.  Thanks for dropping by today and have a terrific Tuesday!!  See you tomorrow! 

More of that Holiday Spirit

Happy Monday everyone!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Hopefully you found some time to relax and just enjoy life.  Now it is back to work (even housework counts) and time for another of my creations!!!

I carried the holiday spirit into the weekend and stuck with my Christmas theme that I started last Thursday.  I wanted to bring back a couple of familiar faces for you to see.  So without wasting another minute, let's get started.

They're back!!!!!  Red and Yellow are here to brighten your holiday.  I started this card with a Garden Green base measuring 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  For my first and only layer, I chose to use Cherry Cobbler.  I love the deep red of this one.  I cut it to me 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I then used my score pal to make my brick lines on the piece.  I wanted it to look like a wall and this really helps to obtain that effect.  I added a strip of Basic Gray at the top for the edge of the wall and then added a strip of Whisper White to that for snow.  Of course snow glitters so I used my glue pen and Dazzling Diamond glitter to enhance the look.  I tore 2 pieces of Whisper White to make the snow on the ground and glittered the edges of then for sparkle.  All of these layers and pieces were attached using runner adhesive.  I added Stickles glitter glue dots and icicles to the card front also.

For the sleigh, I happen to have a sleigh template.  I used it to cut the sleigh out of Garden Green and the runner out of Brushed Silver.  I attached the runner directly to the snow with the runner adhesive.  For the sleigh, I wanted to decorate it a little bit so I used a retired Sizzlit die called Swirls Scribbles.  I cut them out of Brushed Gold, cut them and placed them onto the sleigh using liquid glue.  I attached the M & M's to it using liquid glue also.  Once they were secured, I placed it on the card with dimensionals.

For Red, I used Real Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White card stock to make him.  I punched his body with the 1 3/4" circle.  The white of the eyes and the eyelids are the 1/2" circle while the black of the eyes are the circle from the itty bitty punch pack.  I drew the mouth on for him and added white gel pen to the eyes.  The "m" was cut using the retired Billboard Sizzlit Decorative strip.  I added Dazzling Diamond glitter to it before attaching it to him.  The brim of the hat is the scallop oval with glitter.  The red of the had comes from the blossom builder punch.  I added a white pom pom ball to the tip of the hat.  I used liquid glue to attach all pieces together and to attach him to the sleigh.

Yellow does not look too happy to be the reindeer but I think it looks good on him.  The colors of card stock used to make him are Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Basic Black, retired Blushing Bride, Early Espresso and Glimmer Red.  The antlers are from the retired snowflake punch with some brown glitter glue added to them for shimmer.  The body is the wide oval punch.  The eyes are just like Red's and used the 1/2" circle and the circle from the itty bitty punch pack.  Again, I drew his mouth and added white gel pen to the eyes.  The nose is a 1/4" circle and the "m" is made the same as Red's.  For his arms and legs, I used the word window punch punched along the edge of the card stock.  The shoes are the retired heart to heart punch.  I used the wide heart and trimmed the tops off.  I added the retired horizontal slot punch for the tops of the shoes and black marker was added for the laces.  The hands are from the boho blossom punch.  All pieces were assembles using liquid glue and he was attached to the sleigh using the same glue.  

These guys make me smile every time I see them and even when I make them.  I hope they make you smile too.  That is a wonderful way to start the week.  

I will be back tomorrow with another card to share.  Please come back and see me again.  Have a wonderful day and do something creative!

Do You Ice Skate?

When I was younger, I tried to learn to ice skate.  We lived next door to my dance teacher and she took me to a rink to try to teach me.  I never could get the hang of it.  I was really good at falling down.  I guess we all have different talents and ice skating is not one of mine.  So what does this have to do with my card for today?  Well I was still in a Christmas mood but wanted to do something fun.  So let me show you the card I came up with to share.

I started with a base card of Riding Hood Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I then added a layer of Garden Green using my runner adhesive.  It is cut to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  For the top layer, I took a piece of Whisper White and used my chalks to color the sky in.  once that was finished I attached it to the card with runner adhesive.  I then added a couple of pieces of Whisper White I cut to be kind of rounded as my mounds of snow using the same adhesive.  I added Dazzling Diamond glitter to them with my glue pen.  To complete the snow, I wanted to have it snowing so I added snowballs punched from Whisper White with glitter added on it.  I used the circle from the itty bitty punch pack for these.

For my greeting, I decided to have it blend with the background.  This stamp came with a set I bought at my craft store just down the street.  I stamped it directly onto the card stock using VersaMark ink.  I then heat embosses it using a white embossing powder that I added some Dazzling Diamond glitter too.  I liked that it had the snowy look which fit in with the theme on the card.

I first saw a reindeer that resembled this guy on Ellen Kemper's blog.  However, I did change mine from hers so I will share with you how I made him.  The colors I used for him are Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Garden Green and Brushed Silver.  The antlers were made using the retired snowflake punch.  I miss this punch very much.  It worked so well for so many things.  I added a brown Stickles glitter glue to these.  The head is the owl body from the owl builder punch with the feet and ears cut off.  All of the Crumb Cake pieces were edged using Crumb Cake ink just to give them some depth.  For the ears, I used an ornament punch from the Merry Minis punch pack available in the holiday mini catalog.  The eyes are from 2 punches:  the circle from the itty bitty punch pack was used for the white and the medium circles from the owl builder punch are used for the brown.  For the nose, I used a retired punch called the stocking builder.  The toe of the stocking worked perfectly.  The neck of the scarf is a 1 3/8" circle punched just off of a 1 3/8" circle hole.  The long pieces of the scarf are more of the same circle pieces.  All you need is one hole and you can punch offset as many times as you need. I added green Stickles glitter glue dots to this.   The body is a wide oval.  For the tail, I turned to my bird builder punch and used the bird's wing.  The legs are word windows that were punched along the edge of a piece of card stock.  I only inserted the card stock half way into the punch lengthwise to make these.  The ice skates were really easy to make.  They use another retired punch.  This time it was the Heart to Heart punch.  I punched out 4 of the wide hearts and trimmed off one side to make the boot.  I added black marker to define the boot and laces.  The blade is a word window punched the same way as the legs.  You only need half of each window for the blade so you will punch 2 to make all 4.  For the connecting piece of the blade to the boot, you can just use scraps of card stock.  I used the retired horizontal slot punch and punched it like the word window so the pieces would be thin enough.  All pieces were attached using a liquid glue and the finish skating reindeer was attached using dimensionals.  

The last piece of the card is the ice.  I took a piece of Bashful Blue and cut it using the big shot and the retired ovals die.  I used the largest oval and trimmed off any overhang.  I attached it to the snow using a liquid glue.  I then added Crystal Effects to the top of it to give it the glossy look.  I really like how it turned out.  

Well everyone we have once again reached the end of another week.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  I shall return on Monday with another card for you to see.  Thanks for stopping by today.  

Happy (?) Holidays

I think I may have told you that I have been thinking about my Christmas cards already.  It seems that if I do not begin early enough they do not get finished in time.  I grew up in a home that loved Christmas.  My mother would sing carols as she did housework, decorated, and cooked.  The love she had for the holiday carried over to me.  I love the decorations and believe me we put up quite a few.  I had never really known anyone who did not embrace the happy side of Christmas until a few years ago.  My husband works with someone who's favorite phrase of the season is Bah Humbug.  Yes they quote Scrooge.  I found a pillow for him with that phrase on it and gave it to him as a gift.  So I thought it would be fun to make a card for him this year that reflects his joy (or lack there of).  So let me show you what I came up with.

I first saw the Scrooge character made out of punch art from a former Stampin' Up! demonstrator named Carrie Gaskin.  From her tutorial, I learned to make him.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  We begin as always with the base card which is made using Always Artichoke card stock and cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I pulled out a background stamp I have of holly leaves from a retired stamp set called Background Basics and stamped it all over the front of the card using VersaMark ink.  I just wanted a watermark effect.  

The only layers added on this one were for Scrooge to be on.  I started with a Basic Black piece cut at 3 1/8" x 4 5/8".  Next I took a piece of Cherry Cobbler and cut it to be 3" x 4 1/2".  I ran this piece through the big shot using the Snow Burst impression folder.  Once it was embossed, I attached it to the black using runner adhesive and then attached the black to the artichoke using the same runner adhesive.  I added a drop of Stickles glitter glue to the center of each snowflake and let this dry completely before adding Scrooge on top.

For the wording of this one I decided to cut out the letters with my big shot.  I used the retired Billboard decorative strip die and Silver Glimmer card stock.  I wanted to be sure the letters would stand out but I also wanted them shiny and sparkly.  The berries in between the words were punched out with a 1/4" circle punch from the Red Glimmer card stock.  I like the look of the words and am not ready to move on to the star of the card.

Carrie use to have a blog and I think you might be able to find it but just in case, I will tell you how I made Mr. Scrooge.  The colors of card stock I used were Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Always Artichoke, and the retired Blushing Bride. All pieces of Scrooge are adhered together using a liquid glue.   His hat was made using the 1 3/8" square punch.  I cut a piece off of this to shape it like a rectangle.  I did not measure what I took off so just trim until your happy.  I added a strip of Crumb Cake for the hat band.  I glued it to the bottom of the hat top and trimmed the sides off to be equal to the hat.  The brim of the hat is the retired small oval punch.  For the face, I used the large oval and a 1/4" circle for the nose.  The scarf is a piece punch using the large oval punch.  I offset the punch from a large oval hole and punched twice to make the two pieces.  His body is the large tag punch and the arms are from the word window punch.  For the hair, I used a retired die for my big shot called Leaves #2.  I did use a small dimensional to attach the nose to the face.  I liked the raised look.  I also added 2 silver brads to the body representing the buttons of his coat.  Once he was all put together, I attached him to the card using dimensionals and added Crystal Effects to the hat band and the scarf.

We have a tradition in our home of watching the movie A Christmas Carol every year.  We have multiple versions of the movie ranging from the 1930's to the most resent Disney one.  I think we even have a Sesame Street one too.  We try to watch them all every year but sometime we just run out of time.  Of course with this being my favorite holiday, I have lots of other movies to watch too.  

I hope you enjoyed Mr. Scrooge.  In the end he is not really a bad guy at all.  He just needed a little understanding.  I will return tomorrow with another card for you to see.  Until then, thanks for dropping by today.

Royal Paper Dolls

Well we have made it to the middle of another week.  I think an appropriate name for this day is Wacky Wednesday because I always feel at my wits end by today.  I am usually ready to slow down and just relax but no such luck.  It would be wonderful if we could all live in fairy tales and our homes would always be clean and meals would be prepared.  We would never have to do dishes or wash clothes. We would all be the perfect size and have lovely hair.  Doesn't that sound wonderful.  It does to me.  However, last time I checked my life was not a fairy tale so today's card lends itself to my fantasy.  It is the perfect fairy tale card. Let's get started on this one.

This card was started with a base of Marina Mist cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Midnight Muse measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  By now I bet you could tell me all about the top layer but just in case there happens to be someone who does not know, I will tell you about it myself.  It begins with a piece of Whisper White card stock measuring 4" x 5 1/4".  I took out my pastels (chalks) and created the sky background on the card.  I then added a strip of Garden Green I had torn to the bottom of the sky to make the grass.  I attached the sky to the Midnight Muse and the Midnight Muse to the Marina Mist using runner adhesive.  

The final piece of the background it the castle.  It was cut out of Whisper White card stock using my Cricut machine and the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  Once it was cut, I added some Stickles glitter glue to different areas.  A magenta was added to the flags of the castle towers, yellow to the windows, brown to the door and silver to the pillars.  I allowed this to dry completely.  Once dry I attached this one using glue dots to the card.  

Now I had a choice to make a prince or a knight for this one.  I chose the knight because what girl does not want her knight in shining armor to come sweep her off her feet?  All of the pieces for the knight were cut out using the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge and Cricut machine.  I chose Brushed Silver for the suit of armor including helmet and for the sword.  I cut out the hilt of the sword again in Brushed Gold so I could layer it onto the sword defining the handle.  The body is the retired Blushing Bride card stock and his hair is Daffodil Delight.  All pieces are attached together using liquid glue.   I added the face using Stampin' Up! markers.  I also added Dazzling Diamond glitter glue to the suit and helmet to accentuate the details.  I then added gold Stickles to the sword hilt to add pizazz to it.  Once the pieces were dry, I attached the finished sword and knight to the card using dimensionals.  

Here is our princess.  I think she is lovely.  Again I used the same paper doll cartridge and my Cricut to make her.  Her body is the retired Blushing Bride.  For her hair, I chose to used Early Espresso card stock.  Her gown is Pink Pirouette while her shoes, crown and scepter are Brushed Gold.  Once I had all the pieces, I attached them together with my liquid glue. I added the face with Stampin' Up! markers.  Next came the embellishing of the pieces - my favorite part.  I added a pink Stickles glue to the dress creating my own design as I went and added some gold Stickles to the crown.  I allowed this to dry.  Once dry, I added pink rhinestones to the prongs of the crown and the scepter.  I then added a square "diamond" rhinestone to the scepter.  Once all the embellishments were on, I attached the scepter and princess to the card using dimensionals.  

I have had a lot of fun playing with this cartridge.  I am going to try to tear myself away from it and do something else for tomorrow and Friday.  However if the pull of the Cricut is too strong, I may have to play some more.  Again this is a wonderful one to work with children with.  They love to make all the elements and put them all together.  They even like embellishing them.  These cards can be used for whatever occasion you would like to use them for.  

I encourage you to do something fun today.  Make sure to have time to laugh.  I will be back tomorrow with another card to share.  Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you later!!

More Paper Dolls

Happy Tuesday to you all.  It is funny how you begin a week with nothing on your calendar and end up having several days with things scheduled to do.  Now if it is fun stuff I am all for it.  The not so fun stuff I do not like.  Oh well.  That is just how life goes.  I think my daughter said it best yesterday when she posted on Facebook that it is a great day to be alive.  I am so thankful for every moment I have be given with my family and friends.  Now let's get busy with a card.

As I told you yesterday, I made a couple of cards using the Cricut machine and my Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  I really enjoy using this cartridge.  I have made paper dolls for my cards as well as made them for my niece and others to have to actually play with.  They love to work with this one because they get to pick out the clothes for their doll as well as the patterned paper to make them out of when its time.  These cards may seem silly to you but I do hope you enjoy them.  Let's get started with the card for today.

For some reason, making this first one seemed like the right one to do.  The dolls remind me a little of Pebbles and Bam Bam from The Flintstones.  While I still want to make them out of punches I enjoyed making them this way too.  I started with a base card of Crumb Cake cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Chocolate Chip card stock measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and attached it using runner adhesive.  For the final layer, I took a piece of Whisper White and cut it to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I then chalked the sky background onto it (bet you guessed that) and added a torn strip of Garden Green to make the grass.  I attached this to the card using the runner adhesive once again.  

To make a complete background for this one, I wanted to add a little something to it.  When I was looking at the accessories I could make on the Cricut for these two, I happen to see the volcano.  I really liked it and immediately knew what I would do with it.  I cut it out of Chocolate Chip card stock on the Cricut.  Once it was cut out, I took my Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details glitter glue and added the lava.  I did this before attaching it to the card.  You will need to allow this to dry completely before you attach it to the card.  I used liquid glue to attach the finished volcano.  Of course it needed some smoke puffs so I used a retired flower trio punch I had and punched a set out of Basic Gray.  You can use the scallop flower from the itty bitty punch pack for these.  I attached them to the card using glue dots and then added Crystal Effects to the top of them giving them that puffy, glossy look.

I am sure you know that all parts of the boy were cut from the Cricut machine.  I used Daffodil Delight for the hair (after all Bam Bam was a blonde), Crumb Cake for his animal skin and retired Blushing Bride for the body. I added the eyes, nose and mouth using my Stampin' Up! markers.  I also added a brown glitter glue I happen to have to the animal skin to give it a print.  He had to have his club so I cut that with the Cricut out of Early Espresso card stock and ran it through the big shot machine using the new Woodgrain impression folder that will be available in the Holiday catalog as of August 1st.  All pieces were attached together using a liquid glue and the finished product was attached to the card using dimensionals.  

Again I want to be sure you know all pieces were made with the Cricut machine.  I used Real Red for her hair, retired Blushing Bride for the body, Crumb Cake for the animal skin and Very Vanilla for the hair bone and necklace.  Stampin' Up! markers were used to add all facial details to her.  I added some of the same brown glitter glue to her animal skin as I did to the boys.  This time I chose dots.  I just wanted to be different.  I also wanted to add a little something to her hair bone and necklace.  I went searching through my stash of rhinestones and found this set I picked up a few months ago at a local craft store.  They have an amber tint to them and I thought they would work very well for her necklace.  Luckily the set contained various sized so that I could use a large one for the hair bone and several smaller ones for her necklace.  

This card could be used for a child's birthday as a birthday card or invitation..  You could even use it for a get well if you wanted to.  I do think the paper dolls lend themselves to children's cards but use them for who ever you would like too.  The nice thing about these dolls is you can actually work with children to make cards using them.  They love to create a background for the setting and dressing up the dolls.  It is a wonderful project for them.  

I hope you like the cave people.  I will be back tomorrow with another paper doll card.  I hope you stop back by to see it.  Until then, thanks for stopping by today and I will see you all tomorrow!!  

Happy Anniversary To My In Laws

Happy Monday everyone.  This past Saturday, my mother in law and her husband celebrated their anniversary.  I could not let it go by without making a special card for the occasion. So I thought I would share the card I made with all of you today.  Let's jump right in and get started shall we?!

I started with a base card of Very Vanilla cut at 5" x 10", scored at 5".  In other words it is a 5" square card.  I added a layer of Pacific Point card stock cut at 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" using runner adhesive.  For the final top layer, I used a piece of Very Vanilla cut at 3 3/4" x 3 3/4". Before we go any further let me show you the greeting.

The greeting for this card comes from the stamp set Perfectly Penned.  I stamped it onto the vanilla card stock using Pacific Point ink.  Once the greeting was stamped onto it,  I ran it through my big shot using the Lacy Brocade impression folder.  This folder will be available in the upcoming holiday catalog from Stampin' Up!. I attached it to the card with the runner adhesive.

To decorate the rest of the front of the card, I turned to those cute little flowers - rosettes.  I used a retired designer series paper that I still have some of in my stash of paper.  I chose a few colors I liked.  Now I took the easy was to make these.  I pulled out my big shot and a sizzlits decorative strip I bought a few months ago at a local craft store.  This strip cuts out the strips for the rosettes as well as perforates where to fold them making putting them together a piece of cake.  It also cuts out the center pieces with the medallion look to them.  I then added a vanilla circle punched with my 1/2" circle punch to the center of each.  To finish it off, I added a blue rhinestone from my stash to to the center of each one.  It added just the right amount of sparkle to it.  

All in all this is a pretty simple card but I like the elegant look it has.  I hope my in-laws liked it.  Since this is the end of the card I guess it is the end of my post for today.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for you.  For the next couple of days, I am going to share a couple of cards I made using paper dolls.  I hope you enjoy them.  Come back by tomorrow to see the first of the two.  I will see you all then.  Thanks for stopping by today!!

Pretty As A Princess

Well, we all made it to Friday!!  I must say this has been a long week.  I have been trying to ignore outside distractions and just get through the things I needed to get through.  I am exhausted!  Hopefully, I will get a little rest this weekend.  Maybe we will even get some rain.  I sure hope so because the pressure changes have triggered migraines for me off and on all week.

By now I am sure you all know I love Disney things.  I guess I am forever the girl who wants only happy endings in life.  Since we have no control over reality, I enjoy watching the Disney movies where everyone ends up happy.  Well maybe not the villains but the good guys do.  Today's card features one of the Disney princesses and is one I think you will enjoy.  Ready to see it?  Let's go!!

It's Snow White!!  I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Night of Navy on top of that using runner adhesive.  This piece measured 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  For the top layer, I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut it at 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran it through my big shot using the Finial Press impression folder.  Next I sprayed it with my champagne shimmer spray.  I then added light blue rhinestones to the center of the flowers and then attached the entire piece to the card using runner adhesive.

The little bird is so easy to make.  I knew if I used the bird body from the bird builder punch that it would be way too large for her hand.  So instead, I took some Bashful Blue card stock and punched out the wing from the bird builder punch for the bird body.  I then punched a 1/2" circle for the head.  The feet were punched from Tangerine Tango card stock using the owl builder punch.  The eye is also the small circle from the owl builder punch.  I punched it in Basic Black and Pacific Point and layered them on top of each other.  The beak is a prong from the star punch included in the Merry Minis punch pack which is in the upcoming Holiday Catalog.  All pieces of the bird were attached together using a liquid glue and the finished bird was attached to the card with dimensionals.

The greeting is from the stamp set Itty Bitty Banners.  I stamped this using VersaMark ink onto Night of Navy card stock and then heat embossed it using a white embossing powder which I added some dazzling diamond glitter too.  Once it was embossed and cooled, I cut out the banner using the Bitty Banner framelits and the big shot.  I attached this to the card using dimensionals.

I learned to make Snow White from the punch queen Ellen Kemper.  Visit her blog to get a list of the punches used to make her.  I changed a few things for mine to have it look the way I wanted but the list of punched from her will give you the basic idea and get you off and running making your own.  I think I did a pretty nice job for the first time.  I am inspired to try making a few more of the princesses.  I have not seen any others made of punch art and may just have to give them a try myself.

I certainly hope you all have a nice weekend this weekend.  I do so appreciate the few minutes you take to drop in each day and see my cards.  I will be back on Monday with another card to share with you.  Until then, stay safe and keep stamping!!  See you Monday!!

Groovy Ghouls

I certainly hope you can tell by the title of this one that we will be working with Halloween cards today.  Welcome to Thursday.  This card just seems to fit my mood.  It has been a stressful week and one I am glad is almost over.  We just had too many important things going on this week.  So thinking about Halloween with all the scary things you see just fit into my week perfectly.  Let me show you my card and let's see what you think.

Yes even Frankenstein and his Bride trick or treat on Halloween.  Aren't these guys just too cute?!  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 measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" using my runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I took a piece of Whisper White and cut it to be 4" x 5 1/4".  Next I decided to use one of my Stampin' Up! jumbo wheels called Haunting Hill.  It is retired but I still love it.  I inked it with Basic Black ink and rolled it across my white card stock.  I used my colored pencils to color this background with and highlighted the bat over the moon with a black marker.  I wanted the background to be spooky but fun too.  I attached this to the other layers with the runner adhesive.

Here is a close up of my Frankenstein.  Let me show you his bride and then tell you how I made them.

Isn't she lovely?  Let's start with their buckets.  I made these using the small oval punch.  You punch 3 for each one out of Pumpkin Pie card stock and layer them - 2 for the bottom and 1 on the top in the middle.  I added some orange stickles glitter glue to each one.  For the handles, I punched out a retired small oval (the old punch) and punched around the hole with the large oval.  I cut the resulting ring in half and attached it to the buckets.  For the candy you see inside, I used a stamp I picked up years ago at a craft store.  I stamped the image onto Whisper White, colored the candies with Stampin' Up! markers and cut them out.  They are attached to the buckets using a liquid glue which is how I assembled all the bucket parts too.

My color scheme for Frankenstein and his Bride is very similar.  I used Always Artichoke for his pants and her dress, Gumball Green for the bodies and Basic Black for their shoes, hair and her necklace.  His shirt is Chocolate Chip and her shawl is Bravo Burgundy.  I added glitter glue to various areas for enhancement.  To make all of the parts, I used my Cricut Machine and the cartridge called Paper Doll Dress Up.  If you have a Cricut this is a cartridge you should get.  I love it.  I will be using it to create more cards in the near future.  I assembled all the pieces of each one with a liquid glue.  I even attached the buckets to their hands with a little of it too.  The finished people and buckets were attached to the card using dimensionals.

I know this is a short post.  I seemed to run short on time to sit down and type this today.  I hope you like my creature card and please come back tomorrow for another fun card to see.  Until then, thanks for stopping by today.  See you later!!!

Deep Sea Diver?

My husband and I both love the ocean.  Now we have different reasons but trips to either the Atlantic or Pacific are always welcomed.  I am not an overly adventurous person and swimming in the ocean is not that important to me.  I love to watch and listen to the waves as they come in and just relax.  My husband enjoys taking a swim in the ocean and thinks observing the sea life up close is fun too.  I guess you could say his love of the sea inspired the card I made today.  Well kind of.  I happen to think of the theme on my own but realized he would love to be diving just like the character on my card.  Are you ready to see it?  Let's get started.

I started this card with a base of Pacific Point card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Basic Black to this using runner adhesive.  I cut it to measure 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Last, I added a layer of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  Before attaching it to the card, I used my pastels to chalk in an ocean background.  I think I needed to make it darker but I will try that next time.  I also added some sand at the bottom for the ocean floor.  Once the chalk was finished, I attached it with the runner adhesive to the rest of the card.

Here is my deep see diving dog.  Okay so he is really snorkeling but he went a little too far under the water.  The colors I chose for him were Whisper White, Black Basic and Pacific Point.  Here is a list of punches I used to make him:

Head/Body - owl builder punch; I used the body of the owl for both with the ears and feet cut off

Ears/Neck/Legs - word window trimmed to how I wanted it to look

Arms - little labels punch pack; use the one that looks similar to the decorative label punch and trim

Flippers - large oval; I used the 1/2" circle punch to make the tops of the flippers

Snorkel - word window trimmed to look as I wanted and the 3/4" circle punch punched offset from a 3/4" circle hole;  you can use the large oval for this and offset it from a large oval hole.  It would be easier than what I did.

Mask - curly label punch; use less than half of it and I used a standard hole punch to punch out the window

Nose - circle from the itty bitty punch pack trimmed to size

I used a fine tip black marker to draw the lines on the snorkel and flippers as well as to make the spots, eyes and mouth on the doggy.  All pieces of the dog were assembled using a liquid glue and the completed pup was attached using dimensionals.

The bubbles are circles made with the circle punch from the itty bitty punch pack.  I attached them to the card using liquid glue.  I then added Crystal Effects to them to make then puffy and glossy.

The inspiration for my crab comes from a retired stamp set called Crab & Company.  I love this set and still own it.  At first I was going to stamp the crab, color him and cut him out.  But then I thought maybe I should make him using punches so I did.  The colors of card stock used for this guy are Real Red, Whisper White and Basic Black.  Here are the punches I used:

Legs/Arms - retired bat punch; I offset the punch from a bat hole and punched several out

Body - large oval

Claws - small ovals cut to shape you like

Eyes - owl builder punch medium circles for the white and 1/4" circles for the black; I used scraps of red to raise them up

Add some white gel pen to the eyes and a big smile with your black marker and there you have a perfect crab.  All of his pieces were assembled using liquid glue.  He is attached to the card using the same liquid glue.  

This was a really fun card to make.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time it took me to do this one.  I hope you enjoyed it too.  You can use this one for any occasion you would like.

I shall return tomorrow with another card for you to see.  I do hope you will come and visit me then.  Thanks for dropping in today!!

Another Phineas and Ferb Character

Happy Tuesday to you all!!  I am happy to report my internet is working very well and I actually have a card to show you today.  It is really hard to be upset about the internet going in and out when it rains because we do not get a lot of rain here and it is a very welcomed thing as far as I am concerned.  I was just sad I could not get my photos uploaded so I could share with you yesterday.  But today is a new day and I my photos uploaded just like they should.  I am ready to get started so let's go.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a card featuring Phineas from the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb.  I have been wanting to work on some of the other characters but had not taken time to do so.  Well I rectified that this weekend.  I took out my stickers of the characters and one jumped right out at me as if to say "pick me pick me".  So I did.  Anyway, let me show you the card and introduce the character.

This is Isabella.  She has a huge crush on Phineas and yet he never seems to understand that.  Oh well, we are here to talk about the card aren't we?  I started with a base card of Melon Mambo cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I only added one layer to the front of this card.  It is a piece of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5".  I took scrap pieces of Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, and Gumball Green and punched out 1", 3/4" and 1/2" circles.  I added them to the piece of Whisper White using a runner adhesive.  I then punched out music notes in the same colors and added them using a liquid glue.  Once all pieces were secured onto the white, I ran it through my big shot using my Spots & Dots impression folder.  I then attached the finished piece to the base card using runner adhesive.  The pattern on it reminded me of those psychedelic colors associated with the 60's.  On one of the episode of Phineas and Ferb, these colors are used and Isabella gets frizzy hair.  It is one of my favorite episodes and when I was thinking of her and what to make as her base card, this idea came to mind first.  

The greeting is from the stamp set Curly Cute and is stamped using Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I cut it out by hand and layered it onto a scrap piece of Basic Black.  I cut it out free hand once more making sure I left the black border showing.  I added a couple of music notes with liquid glue and added the finished greeting to the card with dimensionals.  

Now onto the star!!  Isabella is one of my own creations.  I have not seen her made as punch art before but she was actually fairly simple to make.  I used retired Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Rose Red and Whisper White as my card stock colors.  Let me list the punches I used:

Hair - wide oval punch cut flat on one end

Bangs - 1/2" circle cut in half

Bow - 1/4" circle punch and prongs off of a star punch in the Merry Minis punch pack that will be available in the Holiday Catalog beginning August 1st.

Face - 1" circle cut flat on one side

Eyes - itty bitty punch pack circle trimmed down for the white and the tear drop throw aways from the retired blossom bouquet triple layer punch for the black

Neck - 1/2" of a word window punch; I punched it along the edge of the card stock

Shirt - 1/2" circle cut flat on one side and a word window punched along the edge of the card stock and cut in 1/2 for the sleeves

Jumper - retired horizontal slot for the straps and a large oval trimmed for the dress

Belt - scrap of Rose Red card stock and the itty bitty punch pack circle for the buckle

Arms and Legs - word windows punched along the edge of the card stock

Socks - word window punched along the edge of the card stock and trimmed for length I wanted

Shoes - little labels punch pack - I used the one that looks like the decorative label; I trimmed them for look

I drew her nose and mouth on with a fine tip black marker and added white gel to the eyes and shoes.  All pieces were assembled together using a liquid glue and the finished Isabella was attached to the card using dimensionals.  She is just too cute!

I want to thank you for your understanding yesterday and for stopping by to see what I came up with today. I hope you enjoyed the card.  Please come back tomorrow to see what I come up with next.  Until the, be creative and let your imagination run wild.  See you all tomorrow.

Hello Rain, Goodbye Internet

Hello everyone and happy Monday to you all.  I am happy to say that we here in Phoenix actually saw some rain this weekend.  It rained on Friday and on Saturday.  It was a welcome relief from the high temperatures we have been having.  I did spend part of both days crafting in my craft room.  I planned to share what I was doing with you today.  However, when it rains our internet becomes sporadic.  It is in and out all day.  Just typing this took some time.  So I am not going to try to post anything today and let the internet get back to normal.  By tomorrow we should be golden and I will share my weekend work with you.  Thanks for all your understanding and I will see you all tomorrow.

A Famous Dinosaur

Happy Friday everyone!!  It sure has been a crazy week.  We welcomed home my daughter's boyfriend who had been training in Florida for 2 months and the weather actually brought us a little rain.  My husband's work schedule also changed this week so we are all trying to get use to the new routine.  I am ready for some relaxation time!

Yesterday, I shared a cute little dinosaur with you.  I showed him to my daughter and she really liked most of him.  Notice I said most not all.  She did not like the round head.  She felt I should have made it with an oval instead.  I must say that after sitting and looking at him and placing an oval over the circle, I have to agree with her.  So I knew this would be a change I would make on my next one.  I also must tell you that when I looked at him with an oval head, I immediately thought of a famous dinosaur that I love - Dino from the Flintstones.  Since I have made a Wilma and Fred as well as Betty and Barney, I thought why not give Dino a try.  Please keep in mind this is my first attempt and there will be some flaws.  Overall though I think he is pretty good.

I started with a base card of Rose Red cut at 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Basic Black on top of that cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and attached it with runner adhesive.  For my top layer, I started with a piece of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  I took out my pastels and chalked a sky background on it.  Next I cut a strip of Garden Green to be 1 1/2" x 5 1/4" and attached it to the sky with runner adhesive.  I then cut a piece of Whisper White 1" x 5 1/4" and ran it through my big shot using a Mosaic impression folder.  I wanted it to have the look of stones and this folder was the closest I could get. I added some gray chalk to it also.   I attached it to the grass and sky using runner adhesive.  For the house, I used my big shot and the retired ovals die.  I cut out the largest oval on that die and flattened one side for the base of the house.  I cut this out of Whisper White and then chalked it with a gray pastel.  I drew the window, door and spots on using my Stampin' Up! markers.  For the stone pathway, I punched out 1/2" circles and itty bitty punch pack circles and trimmed them.  They also have a little gray chalk on them and the dots were added with the markers.  The house and stone pathway were attached to the card using a liquid glue.  

The greeting comes from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and was cut out using my big shot and the Bitty Banners framelits set.  I started by inking my stamp with VersaMark ink and then added Rose Red ink on the stamp too.  Then I stamped it onto Whisper White card stock.  By having the VersaMark ink to the stamp, it allows me to add a clear embossing powder to this and heat emboss it.  Once it was embossed and cooled, I cut it out with the framelits set and attached it to the card using dimensionals.

Now for the star of the card.  The card stock colors I used for Dino are Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard and Whisper White.  Here is a list of the punches I used for him:

Body - 2 1/2" circle trimmed to what I wanted 

Neck/Tail - re punch the 2 1/2" circle offset from the body hole twice for these

Arms - retired photo corner punch; use the smaller of the corners and punch one out and re punch it a little offset twice

Legs - large oval cut in half and trimmed

Hands - feet of the owl from the owl builder punch

Feet - boho blossom punch

Head/Muzzle - large oval punch; for the muzzle you punch it out and then trim it to the size you want

Nostrils - owl builder punch; use the smallest circles

Eyes - small heart from the retired heart to heart punch

Spots - 1/2" circle and circle from itty bitty punch pack trimmed to the shape I wanted

Tag - 1/4" circle 

The collar is a scrap of turquoise and the hair are leftover scraps from when I trimmed the spots down.  I added some Blushing Bride marker around the nostrils and used it to draw the smile on.  I added white gel to the eyes and some Rose Red marker to the legs.  The muzzle of the face looks bumpy because silly me forgot to attach the eyes before attaching the muzzle.  Of course this meant that I had to pry up the edge of the muzzle to get the eyes under it.  Silly me.  I also added Crystal Effects to the spots and the tag.  I love the puffy, shiny look!!  I think next time I will outline some of the body parts with black marker just to highlight them.  Thepieces of Dino are adhered together using liquid glue and the completed Dino is attached to the card using dimensionals.

I am so glad you took time to stop by today.  I wish all of you a wonderful weekend.  Please come back Monday and see what I come up with next.  Until then, keep stamping and creating!!

A Card For A Boy

Today I wanted to share with you a card I made that I think would be perfect for a boy.  Now you can give this to a girl too but since I always run short of boy cards I think I will reserve it for that.  Anyway, I went into my craft room yesterday having absolutely no idea what I wanted to make.  Then for some reason I started thinking about my youngest daughter's love of dinosaurs.  She has always liked them and that is why I said this card could be for a girl too.  So I pulled out a dinosaur stamp I have and using it as my guide I chose punches I thought would work to make this dinosaur.  Here is what I came up with:

Isn't he cute?!  I started with a base card of Always Artichoke.  It measures 4 1/4" x 11" and is scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer on top of this measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I chose to make this layer out of Soft Suede and attached it using a runner adhesive.  For the final layer, I took a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White and using my pastels I created a sky and ground background.  I attached this to the Soft Suede using the runner adhesive again.  

For the greeting, I pulled out my Perfect Punches stamp set and chose the birthday saying.  Before stamping it, I took a scrap piece of Whisper White and chalked the sky background onto it.  I then stamped the greeting using Pacific Point ink onto the chalked piece and punched it out using the wide oval punch.  I attached it to the card using dimensionals.    

My dinosaur came together fairly easily.  I started with my 2 1/2" circle punch.  I punched one out of Always Artichoke for the body. I used Always Artichoke card stock for the entire body.   After it was punched out I flattened one side of it and set it aside.  Next I took the 2 1/2" circle punch again and placed it around the hole left for the body.  I offset it and punched and then repeated this.  One of these curved pieces was used for the neck while the other was used for the tail.  For the legs, I punched out a large oval.  I cut it in half thus making 2 legs.  His head is a 1 3/8" circle.  I used Whisper white and Basic Black for the eyes and nostrils.  The white of the eyes is the circle punch from the itty bitty punch pack.  The black of the eyes and the nostrils are from the owl builder punch.  I drew the mouth on using a fine tip black marker.  To make the toes, I used my 1/4" hand held circle punch and Very Vanilla card stock.  I attached the toes to the legs and trimmed off any excess hanging over the edge. The spots and spines are made using Soft Suede card stock. The spots on the tail and on the body are from the circle punch of the itty bitty punch pack.  Again I trimmed off any excess from the tail.  For the spines I used the retired 5 petal flower punch.  I only punched one flower and trimmed off all the petals.  They as well as all the other pieces of the dinosaur are attached to one another using a liquid glue.  I attached the finished dinosaur to the card using dimensionals.  

The inside greeting comes from the stamp set Dinoroar.  I stamped it using Always Artichoke ink onto Whisper White card stock and trimmed it using my paper trimmer.  Once it was the size I wanted, I used my corner rounder punch to round the corners and edged the saying with Soft Suede ink.  It is attached to the inside using runner adhesive.  

Well I am off the make tea and see if the inspiration bug is around to inspire me on a card for tomorrow.  I am so glad you stopped by to see my dinosaur.  Please come back tomorrow to see what I have for you next.  See you all then!

Halloween Day 2

Yesterday I shared a card with you of a Halloween ballerina.  I wanted to continue that theme today so the card I have to share today is another Halloween one.  This one has lots of punch art items on it so let's get started shall we.

I started with a base card of Lucky Limeade cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I then added a layer of Basic Black cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I attached it with runner adhesive.  For the final layer, I used a piece of designer paper I picked up at a local craft store.  It is cut at 3 3/4" x 5".  I attached it with runner adhesive and then added some dots of Stickles orange glitter glue for added jazz.  

The first creature I added to my card is a bat.  I used the retired bat punch to punch it out of Basic Black.  I added a couple of dots of Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details for the eyes and attached him to the card using dimensionals.  Next I punched a modern label out of Lucky Limeade.  I set this aside until I was ready to use it.  Next I stamped my greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wisher stamp set onto Whisper White card stock.  I used an embossing powder called Halloween that is black with orange glitter in it to heat emboss the greeting.  I got this powder a few years ago at a stamp convention.  I then punched the greeting out using the word window and layered it onto the modern label using a runner adhesive.  I attached the entire piece to the card using dimensionals and added a dot of orange Stickles on each end. 

Here comes the creepy spider crawling down the wall!  He only used Basic Black card stock so it is easy to know what color you need for him.  His body is a 3/4" circle and his head is a 1/2" circle.  For his legs, I took the piece I had punched the bat out of and using the retired bat punch, I off set it from the bat hole and punched.  I did this 3 times.  All pieces of the spider are attached together with a liquid glue and Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details dots were added for the eyes.  The completed spider is attached using dimensionals.

Here you can see the last 2 punch art creations that were added to the card.  Let's start with the cat.  You need Whisper White cardstock for the cat, Lucky Limeade for the eyes and collar, Basic Black for the eyes and Elegant Eggplant for the mask.  The cat is very easy to make.  I used the large oval punch for the head.  I then offset the punch from the hole and punched again for the tail.  The legs and ears were made using the retired 5 petal flower punch.  You only need one flower for these.  The body is the word window punch.  The green of the eyes is a 1/2" circle cut in half and the black are the medium size circle from the owl builder punch.  For the collar, I used the retired horizontal slot punch.  You can use just a simple scrap of card stock.  The mask was made using the curly label punch.  I only punched a half of the label and then punched the top with the large oval punch to give it the swoop.  The holes for the eyes were made using the circle from the itty bitty punch pack.  Now I will let you in on a little secret - I attach the eyes to the mask and then to the cat's face.  This way I do not have to worry about spacing them just perfectly.  I drew the whiskers on with a black marker and added white gel to the eyes.  I also added a purple Stickles glitter glue to outline the mask.  I also added Crystal Effects to the collar.  All pieces were adhered together using a liquid glue and the finished cat was attached using dimensionals.

Now onto the cauldron.  I used Basic Black, Whisper White and Lucky Limeade card stock for this.  The body of the cauldron is made using the decorative label punch.  You only need 1/2" of the label so either punch it along the edge of the card stock or cut it in half after you have punched it.  The legs of the cauldron are the owl from the owl builder punch.  I turned him upside down and stood him on his ears.  It makes perfect feet for the cauldron.  The scallop bubbles along the edge of the cauldron are made using the scallop oval punch.  Punch out the oval and then reinsert it into the punch and punch again.  The bubbles behind this are 1/2" circles while the bubbles on the front are made with the circle punch from the itty bitty punch pack.  All pieces were attached together using a liquid glue.  I then added a frosted glitter glue to the white bubbles and Crystal Effects to the green bubbles.  The completed cauldron is attached to the card using dimensionals.  

Well, I have absolutely no idea what I am going to share tomorrow.  I suppose I had better get into my craft room and get to work.  You will just have to come back and see what I come up with.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will see you all tomorrow.