Finally Back To Normal - Well Almost

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have blogged.  I had these thank you cards to make to send to the sponsors of the charity my husband is president of and boy did they take a while to finish.  On top of that I also was making thank you cards for my daughter's friend who just got married.  I don't know if it was just me being slow at doing them or maybe they really were that intricate.  Oh well.  All I know is they are finished now and I can once again relax a bit and blog more often.

I am still keeping my nephew Jackson 3 days a week.  He is so much fun!  He is 14 months now and walking a bit.  He prefers to have you assist him with walking but he'll get more independent in time.  My hubby is still battling his sinus issues and we will find out if the medicine he is on is working at all on Thursday.  I sure hope it is.  He has been ill for almost 3 months.  He needs a break and so do I!

Today I thought I would share with you the birthday card I made for my hubby this year.  I used a sticker set as the main focus points on the card but did a fancy fold for it called a tri-shutter.  Let me show it and get us going.

 

My hubby is a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan so I went with that theme for this ear.  This is a view from the front of the card.  I used Pumpkin Pie card stock for this one and added layers of Basic Black and Whisper White to the panels.  I ran the white through my big shot using the spider web impression folder and lightly brushed the web with black ink to make it pop.

 

This is a look from the top down.  You can see how the card bends.  I love the fact that you can see all of it when it is standing up.

 

This gives you a view of all the panels.  I used the small heart punch for two of the panels as well as for with Sally.  The cupcake punch allowed me to create cute cupcakes for two panels.  I stuck with the black and white theme for these but added Pool Party card stock dots to the cupcakes as well as for the candle.  Believe it or not, this color matched the tone used on the Sally sticker for her skin.  The letters were cut out using the retired decorative strip called Billboard and my big shot.  I used runner adhesive and a two way glue pen to all all the embellishments.  The bats were part of the sticker set.

 

This photo allows you to see how the card looks when folded flat.  It fits in a regular A2 envelope and is easy to mail.  The recipient will be in for a surprise when they unfold it and see all the work you have put into it.  

I know I have made this type of card before and believe I have put the how to instructions up also.  Check my June 14, 2013 birthday card post.  They should be in it.  However if you cannot locate them, please let me know and I will do a tutorial on how to make the base card.  

I cannot tell you how good it feels to be visiting with all of you again.  I have really missed this.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.  I look forward to sitting down and crafting again soon.  While I may not get back to posting every day (I run short of time on my Jackson days) I will try my best to post 2 to 3 times a week.  

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today.  See you again soon!!!

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Heather!!!!

Today I am celebrating my daughter Heather's birthday.  She is turning 25.  I can hardly believe it.  Where does the time go?  I hope she has a wonderful day and spends it laughing and doing things she loves.

Well by now you probably have been wondering if I fell off the Earth completely.  I entered the month of September with high hopes of crafting and blogging.  I had no idea what was waiting around the corner.  I ended up coming down with a throat virus.  Now I have had sore throats over the years but nothing like this one.  It felt like someone had taken sand paper and scratched my throat all up.  Since it was a virus, there was nothing the doctors could do to help.  It kept me in bed for a while and the overall tiredness was horrible.  Then my hubby got a sinus infection.  He has suffered with sinus problems all his life and has had 4 surgeries on his sinuses over the years.  When he gets sick with an infection he really gets sick.  The first round of antibiotics did nothing to help.  He is currently taking a second round and we are hoping for the best. 

While all the illness was going on, I did manage to do a couple of special order cards and of course the birthday card I made for my daughter.  Therefore, I am happy to say I am going to be sharing these with you finally.

 

Since her favorite Disney princess is Cinderella, I decided to make a card with her dress on it.  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 measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" using runner adhesive.  For the final layer I used a piece of Whisper White cut to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran this through my big shot using the Beautifully Brocade impression folder.  Once it was impressed, I attached it using the same runner adhesive.

 

To begin the dress, I first cut out a dress mannequin using Basic Gray and the dress up framelits set.  Now I wanted to get as close as I could to the color of Cinderella's dress.  I chose to use the retired Bashful Blue card stock to make it.  I cut a dress using the same framelits set.  I cut out the one with the little sleeves.  I attached it to the dress form using runner adhesive.  Next I used the retired build a blossom punch and punched out 2 of the smallest petals.  I added those at the top of the dress with the tips meeting in the middle.  I then punched out two 3/4" circles and two 1/2" circles.  I flattened one side of the 1/2" circles and attached them to the back of the 3/4" circles using a 2 way glue pen.  I then attached the 3/4" circle to the dress with the same 2 way glue pen to make the sleeves.  Pearls for the necklace and blue rhinestones at the center of the dress top complete the look.

 

The bottom half of the dress is made using the retired build a blossom punch and the wide oval punch.  You will also need to use the oval framelits set for the inside piece of the skirt.  I first cut the oval using the framelits out of Bashful Blue and vellum.  I glued the vellum to the blue using a glue stick.  I attached this to the bottom portion of the dress and built the rest of the skirt onto it.  I punched out 10 wide ovals.  4 of them are layered across the bottom of the dress.  The other 6 makes up the sides of the skirt.  I started at the bottom and went up being sure to have the top 2 meet in the middle.  I added the small wide petals to this to form the waist. Again I added blue rhinestones to the waist of the dress to enhance it.  

I will tell you that I started this dress by punching all my pieces and sponging the edges using Bashful Blue ink.  It gives the dress a depth but is not necessary.  I attached all the skirt pieces using runner adhesive.  The completed dress is attached to the card using dimensionals. 

 

The greeting for this comes from the Create A Cupcake stamp set.  I stamped it using Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I punched it out using the word window punch.  I layered this onto a Night of Navy modern label punch using runner adhesive.  I added a blue rhinestone to the ends of the greeting as well as one to the letter "i".  The completed greeting is attached using dimensionals.  

Once I had the greeting and the dress attached, I sprayed the card lightly with my champagne shimmer spray.  You can kind of see the sparkle to the dress in the photos.  I also added blue rhinestones to the white background of the card.  

I truly appreciate your patience and the fact that you have continued to come by to see if I am breathing or not.  I have started a new schedule with my favorite little man, Jackson, and will be seeing him several times a week while mommy and daddy are at work.  I cannot promise to post every day but I am hoping to post more than once a week.  

Thanks again for stopping by to visit.  I will have another post up on Friday so drop in to see it.  See you all later!

Mouse Madness

Hi everyone.  Happy Monday!!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Today, I wanted to share the card I made using the punch art I shared on Friday.  Let's get started.

 

So here is the finished card.  I started with a base card of Baked Brown Sugar card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Whisper White card stock cut to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I also added a layer of Basic Black measuring 4" x 5 1/4".  All layers were attached to the base with runner adhesive.

 

Across the top of the black layer, I added a layer of Whisper White.  This piece was cut at 1" x 5 1/4".  I punched the one side using the retired eyelet border punch and then ran it through the big shot using the perfect polka dots folder.  I attached it using runner adhesive and added the red rhinestones to dress it up just a bit.

 

Across the bottom of the black layer I wanted to add a layer of glimmer red.  I cut a piece to be 2" x 5 1/4".  Using a 1 1/4" punch for the head and the 3/4" punch for the ears, I punched out the 2 Mickey Mouse heads.  I attached the piece to the card using my 2 way glue pen.  I then added black glitter to the heads using the same 2 way glue pen.  

For the greeting, I turned to my Create a Cupcake stamp set.  I stamped the greeting onto a piece of Whisper White card stock using VersaMark ink.  I then heat embossed it using an embossing powder called Red Dragon.  Once cooled, I punched it out using the word window punch.  I also punched a modern label out of black and layered them together using runner adhesive.  I then added it to the card using dimensionals.

As we move towards the characters, I want to start by saying I used the cupcake builder punch for all the base and frosting pieces.  I will not list this punch below unless it was also used for another piece of the character.  All lines were added to bases, frosting, hats, bows and other parts using a fine tip black marker.

 

Let's start with Minnie and Mickey Mouse.  I used the same colors of card stock for each:  Real Red, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White.  

Punches used for Minnie:

Dots - cupcake builder

Ears - 1/2" circle

Bow - retired heart to heart and 1/4" circle

Punches used for Mickey:

Ears - 1/2" circle

Dots on Base - 1/2" circle trimmed into oval shape

 

Moving on to the next 2 characters we find Goofy and Pluto.  

Card stock used for Goofy:  Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz and Night of Navy.  

Punches used for Goofy:

Hat top - retired heart to heart punch; I used the wide heart from this and trimmed it

Hat bottom - retired mitten builder punch

Card stock used for Pluto:  Gumball Green, Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Basic Black and Daffodil Delight.

Punches used for Pluto:

Ears - word window, trimmed

Collar/Tag - cupcake builder (flame for tag) and a scrap piece for collar

 

Time for the last character Donald Duck.   I used Pacific Point, Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black card stock for him.

Punhes used for Donald Duck:

Hat - small oval trimmed

Hat Band - 3/4" circle

Hat Band Tail - scrap of black cut into points on the ends

Bow - small heart and the circle from the itty bitty punch pack

All pieces of the characters are attached together using the 2 way glue pen.  Once they were assembled, I attached them to the card with dimensionals.  Since I wanted Donald to stand out in the center, I double stacked the dimensionals.  That set him up higher than the other characters.

If you have any questions about this card please feel free to ask.  I will be happy to help you.  

That's all I have for today.  I hope you will return to visit with me tomorrow.  I will see you all then!!!!

M-I-C............

It's Thursday.  Now I would bet from the title of this post that a lot of you know what the theme of my card today is.  At least if you are part of my generation you will.  Today's share is one of the most fun card I have made in a long time.  Therefore, I am just going to jump in and get started!!

 

Is this not one of the cutest cards you have ever seen?!!  Ok so I am bragging a bit but I really like it.  Let's focus on the base and we will get to the characters in a minute.

The base card is Real Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" piece of Basic Black card stock to this using runner adhesive.  For the final layer, I took a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock and ran it through my big shot using the brocade impression folder.  I then added it using runner adhesive.

I cut 2 hearts out of Real Red card stock using my big shot and my heart framelits.  Once they were cut, I ran them through the big shot using the fancy fan impression folder.  They were then attached to the base using runner adhesive.  I added the frosted red and white pearls after the characters were placed on the card.

 

The characters themselves are made exactly the same way.  The only difference is Minnie had eyelashes and a red ribbon.  So here is Mickey Mouse himself for you to see.  I will list the punches used down below.

 

And here is Minnie.  all pieces of the duo were put together with runner adhesive and a 2 way glue pen.  I drew he eyelashes and mouths on the with a black marker.  I also drew the eyeballs on and outlined the white of the eyes.  The tongue also has a line drawn on it using the Rose Red marker and a white gel pen finished the nose.  The colors of card stock I used for these two are Basic Black, Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Rose Red.

Punches used for these two are the following:

1 3/8" circle for the ears and face.  Cut a notch out of the top of the head.

1 3/4" circle for the black of the head

small heart for the eyes and nose; cut one for the nose down to the size you want

retired small oval for the cheeks, mouth, chin, and top of mouth

Really if you look at the picture I think you can see how to piece these together.  If you have any questions please contact me and I will help you. 

Only one more day this week.  We will go back to the patriotic theme tomorrow so please stop by to see what I have.  Thanks so much for dropping by today.  See you later.

Here's Goofy !!!!!

Hi everyone.  I can't believe it is Thursday already.  Yesterday I shared with you my punch art Goofy.  Today I have the finished card.  I am not going to go through how to make Goofy again so this post will be fairly short.  Let's get started.

 

Ta Da!!!!!!  I started with a base card of 7" x 10", scored at 5".  I then but a piece of Basic Black card stock measuring 4 7/8" x 6 7/8".  I cut a piece of Whisper White at 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" and a piece of Pumpkin Pie at 3 3/8" x 4 3/4".  I took out my 1", 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches and punched circles from scraps of Basic Black, Whisper White, Gumball Green and Pumpkin Pie.  Now I was ready to start the background.

 

For the top half of the Whisper White, I attached circles using runner adhesive.  Knowing that I was going to cover the bottom half of the white with the pumpkin, I only attached circles to the top half.  I then ran that through the big shot using the perfect polka dots folder.  Again, the bottom half will be covered so it does not need to be impressed.  I attached the white to the black with runner adhesive.

 

For the bottom half, I again decorated it with circles and then ran it through the big shot with the same impression folder.  I attached it to the white with the runner adhesive.  For the final touch, I added a piece of 1/4" black grosgrain ribbon across the middle of the card with runner adhesive.  I then attached the black to the base card with the same adhesive, added the Goofy using dimensionals and was finished.  I have not decided what I am using this card for yet so I chose not to add the greeting. 

I hope you liked the card.  Tomorrow I will share the birthday card I made for my daughter.  I hope you come by to see it.  Thanks for stopping by today.  

Playing With Punches

Hi everyone.  Today I thought I would share with you a new character for me.  I made this guy using punches.  This is my first attempt so please be kind.  My inspiration for this one came from 2 places: the first is a card I saw on Pinterest by Kay Sha and the second was from a visit to the comic book store.  Now I know that the comic book store might seem like an odd place to some but for me, I love comic books and the characters in them.  I have to admit I shop more in the kids section because those are the comics that interest me.  So it should come as no surprise that I can be inspired to make a punch art character based on one of the cute characters.  This one is also a Disney character which I love.  Let's get started.

 

It's Goofy!!!!  At this point, I have goofy made but have not put him onto a card.   I did not have a recipe for him and only had photos to look at of Kay's card and the comic book.  So I thought I would spend today on the tutorial of how to make him and then share the finished card with you tomorrow. 

The photo shows the punches that I used to make Goofy.  The only other item I used was my set of oval framelits and my big shot.  Otherwise what you see is what you get.

 

Here is one more photo of Goofy for you to see. He turned out really cute but big.  He will not fit on the normal size card I usually make.  I will have to go big for this one.  

 

Let me start at the top and work my way down.  The colors I used for Goofy are Gumball Green for the hat, Basic Black and Whisper White.  I also used Blushing Bride but that will come into play in the bottom half.  The hat is made using 3 green wide ovals and 2 green large ovals.  For the band, I used a black large oval.  They are layered together and attached to one another with runner adhesive.  For his hair, I punched a wide oval out of black and set it aside to use as an eye.  I then used the wide oval punch, offset it from the wide oval hole, and punched again 3 times.  His eyes consist of 2 wide ovals in black, 2 wide ovals in white and 2 small ovals trimmed down for the eyeballs.

 

Off to the sides of the eyes, I also placed a 1" circle on each side.  The snout area consists of 2 wide ovals, 1 large ovals and 2 3/4" circles in Blushing Bride.  The large oval goes behind the wide ones and the circles are for the cheeks.  His nose is a black large oval.  The teeth were fun to make.  I used a 1" circle for each one.  They are trimmed down into the shape I wanted.  The inside of the mouth is a black wide oval while the tongue was made using the retired heart to heart punch (not in the photo).  I used the wide heart and punched it from Primrose Petal card stock.  The blush part of the mouth and the ears were made using the framelits set of ovals.  

All pieces of Goofy were attached to one another using runner adhesive and liquid glue.  I had a lot of fun making this cute face.  It just turned out larger than I expected.  I do plan to try it once more and downsize it some.  If I manage to make it work, I will let you know.  For now, I am pretty sure I will have to use a 5" x 7" card.

That's it for today.  Please stop by tomorrow to see the finished Goofy card.  I will share my daughter's birthday card on Friday.  Thanks for visiting!!!

Another Gown for the Ball

It's a brand new week!!  Welcome to Monday.  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  I spent mine working on cards, cleaning, going to work with my sister, and seeing family.  It was busy and it was full but it was fun. 

Last week I decided to make Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast using punches.  I received a very nice email about how wonderful it looked.  The author of that email also expressed how they hoped I would try Snow White's dress.  Well, I did!!!!  I used the one Michelle Suit made as a guide but really went by my own judgement as to how to make it.  Ready to see it?  Here we go!!

 

Ta da!!!!!  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 Pacific Point measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" using runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I chose a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock.  I ran this through my big shot using the elegant bouquet impression folder.  I sponged the edges of this with Daffodil Delight ink and lightly sponged over the raised impression with the same ink.  This added just a hint of color to the background.  I attached the piece to the card using runner adhesive and finished the look with light blue rhinestones in the center of a few flowers.

 

My greeting comes from a Sale-a-bration stamp set called Pretty Petites.  This was stamped using Pacific Point ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then punched it out using the Petite Curly Label punch and attached it to the card using a dimensional.  

 

Now let's focus on the top portion of the dress.  The colors used for this portion are Whisper White, Pacific Point, Real Red, Bashful Blue and Daffodil Delight.  Here is a list of the pieces and punches or big shot items used to make them:

Collar - 1 3/4" circle; I really used a lot of trial and error for this one.  I folded in each side to make it look as if it comes all the way around the back of the dress to the front.  

Bodice - Dress Up Framelits and big shot;  once again I used the sundress and cut the straps off

Sleeves - the blue portion is a 3/4" circle while the yellow that sticks out under it is a 1/2" circle which I flattened on one side.  The red tear drop shapes are from a retired triple layer punch that I have.  I think you could make these even from a circle.  You would just have to trim it and be patient.  I think there is also a hand punch I have seen at craft stores that would punch this shape.

I added red rhinestones to the center of the bodice.  The bodice was also edged using a sponge and Pacific Point ink.

 

Now the bottom portion.  I used Daffodil Delight and Whisper White for the dress.  The stand is cut using the Dress Up framelits set out of Basic Gray card stock.  Now onto the dress.

I used the large scallop circle punch for the white.  I placed pieces behind the Daffodil.  The very back of the skirt and the open sides are the 3rd smallest oval from the Oval Collection of framelits.  The back one is placed sideways.  The side panels were made by cutting an oval in half and attaching one half to the back oval of the dress.  The center of the gown is a 2 1/2" circle.  I attached the other halves of the ovals to the circle and then attached the circle to the bottom oval with dimensionals.  All pieces of the skirt were sponged with Daffodil Delight ink.  Trim the skirt to round the top.  The bodice is attached to the bottom oval with runner adhesive prior to attaching the circle top piece.  I added 3 blue rhinestones for added bling.

All pieces of the dress were adhered together using runner adhesive and liquid glue, except the circle of the skirt which was attached to the bottom oval with the dimensionals.   The finished dress was attached to the dress stand with runner adhesive.  You will need to cut the stand down a bit.  The finished piece is attached to the card with dimensionals. 

I hope you enjoyed this gown as much as Belle's.  Both of my girls will expect to see some other gowns designed soon as I have not yet done their favorite princesses. 

That's it for today.  I hope you have a wonderful Monday.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you all tomorrow.

A Dress Fit For A Ball

Happy Thursday everyone!!!  I do hope you are all doing well.  I am still a little sore for my long walk home on Tuesday but I am sure I will be fine.  After all I need to be ready to play with Jackson tomorrow!!!

On Tuesday I share with you some beautiful punch art princess dresses made by Michelle Suit.  They truly inspired me to want to give some of these gorgeous dresses a try.  Now at the time I was not sure which one I would try first but that decision turned out to be an easy one.  Since she provides the tutorials for sale, I just went off the photo and took a guess as to what punches and big shot accessories to use for mine.  So while this was inspired by her, I did create it on my own.  Anyway let me show you the one I chose to do first.

 

I chose to start with Belle's ball gown from Beauty and the Beast.  She is my favorite out of all the princesses.  I chose a base card of Melon Mambo measuring 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White that I had put through the big shot using the vintage wallpaper impression folder.  I attached it to the base using runner adhesive.  I added the pink rhinestones to the background once all the other components were firmly attached onto the card.

 

The greeting is from a Sale-a-bration stamp set called Bloomin' Marvelous (no longer available for order).  I stamped it using Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White card stock and punched it out using the large oval punch.  I layered it using runner adhesive onto a scallop oval punched from Melon Mambo.  I added a pink rhinestone to it and adhered it to the card using dimensionals.

 

The butterfly is part of the same stamp set as the greeting.  I stamped it using the Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White and punched it out with the small butterfly punch.  I attached it to the card using a glue dot and bent the wings slightly upward.  I added 3 small pearls to the center as the body.

 

Finally we arrive at the gown.  I started by cutting out a dress form from Basic Gray using my big shot and the dress up framelits collection.  For the gown itself, I used Daffodil Delight card stock.  As I cut out and punched punched out the pieces that would make the gown, I sponged the edges of each one with Daffodil Delight ink in order to add some depth.  The bodice of the gown is from the dress up framelits.  I used the dress that has the straps over the shoulder for this.  I cut off the straps to get the piece strapless.  It is adhered to the dress form with runner adhesive.  I then punched out 2 of the smallest petals from the blossom builder punch for the shoulder pieces of the dress. They are attached using runner adhesive.   I added 3 small pearls where these petals meet to complete the top half.  

 

Now for the bottom portion of the gown.  This gown is really made up of lots of ovals.  The white ruffle you see at the bottom of the gown is a scallop circle cut from Whisper White using the big shot.  I trimmed off the excess of the circle.  Next, I went back to my Daffodil Delight card stock.  I cut out 3 of the third smallest ovals from the oval collections framelits.  I then punched out 6 wide ovals and 2 of the small wide petals from the blossom builder punch.  Right at the center of the dress, I wanted a little curve to add to the dress so I punched out a small oval and set it aside.  I then repunched the small oval just offset from the small oval hole twice.  I trimmed these down just a bit.  Remember to sponge all the pieces with Daffodil Delight ink prior to building the gown.  I started by layering the 3 larger ovals from the framelits collection at the bottom of the dress.  I then layered the wide ovals going up each side and trimmed off any excess that hung over.  I placed the small ovals pieces at the top and added the petals to the sides.  All pieces were adhered using runner adhesive.  I attached the bottom portion of the gown to the dress form using the same runner adhesive.  I added 3 large pearls to the center where the ovals meet to complete the look.  

This dress really came together fairly easily.   If you look at the one Michelle made and at mine, you will definitely see similarities and differences but I think both are beautiful. 

I hope you enjoyed my version of the gown.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for all of you to see.  Thanks for dropping in to see me today. 

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!!!

 

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!!!!!

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!!!!!!

Forever Sweethearts

Happy Friday to you all!!!  It has been a busy and exciting week around out house.  I had my 2 doctor appointments this week and our youngest daughter bought a new car.  We have had lots to celebrate and I am so happy for her.

Today's card is another Valentine card for you.  Now the inspiration for this one came from a sticker set I picked up at a craft store a while ago.  I was going through my stickers last month and happened to come across it.  I just knew I wanted to try it with punches.  Now it has taken me a until now to do it.  Well imagine my surprise when I ran across a card on Pinterest with this same design on it.  I did take a look at the card but went ahead and did my own. The designer on Pinterest was Melissa Banbury.  I wanted to be sure that I let you know her name so you can look for her card on Pinterest too.  Now let me show you my card.

 

Yes it is one of my favorite couples - Minnie and Mickey Mouse. They have been together for a very long time.  The sticker set had them sitting on a bench watching fireworks.  I wanted to change it up to fit Valentine's Day.  

I started with a base card of Cherry Cobbler 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".  It's attached with runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I started with a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" Whisper White card stock.  I then used my pastels and a cotton ball to create a sky background for it.  I added a 1/2" x 4" strip of Crumb Cake card stock to the bottom with runner adhesive to represent the ground.  The entire piece was attached to the card with runner adhesive.  

The bench was made using a piece of Early Espresso card stock which had been run through the big shot using the woodgrain impression folder.  I cut a strip off for the bench.  I did not measure this.  To make the feet for the bench, I punched out a small oval and then punched a large oval off the side of it.  I did this twice.  I rounded the ends for the feet.   I added small hearts from the owl punch to the bench and used the small heart punch to put hearts all around them.  These were punched from Red Glimmer card stock and adhered with liquid glue.

 

As I begin to list the supplies used to make Minnie and Mickey, I will list punches used for both first and then list the individual one specific to each mouse.  The card stock colors for these are Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, and retired Blushing Bride.

Punches Used For Both:

Heads - 1 1/4" circle

Ears/Cheek - 3/4" circles

Arms/Mickey's Leg - Word Window (I know you can't really see Minnie's arms but they are there)

Minnie Mouse Specific:

Puffy Sleeves/Center of Bow - 1/2" circle

Outside Bow - Modern Label

Upper Dress - 3/4" circle

Lower Dress (Skirt) - retired Butterfly punch -- use half

Bloomers - 3/4" circle

Shoes - retired Heart to Heart 

All pieces were assembled using liquid glue.  Now I did not remember until after I had taken the photos and uploaded them that I wanted to add polka dots to her dress and bow.  I would do this using either the small circle from the owl punch, a white gel pen or little pearls.

 

Mickey Specific Punches:

Body - Large Oval

Shorts - Owl Builder

Hands/Shoes - Small Oval 

Again all pieces were assembled using liquid glue.  I attached the finished Minnie and Mickey on the bench to the card using dimensionals.

I know this is a lot to take in so if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.  I will do my best to give your more detailed instructions.

Well that's it for this week.  Thanks for stopping by today and have a fantastic weekend.  I will see you all Monday!!!

Ready for Santa

Hi everybody!!  It is the middle of the week and we are one day closer to Christmas.  Yesterday I shared with you some punch art elves that were inspired by Disney's Prep and Landing.  Today I have the finished card to show you so let's get started.

 

In order to accommodate both elves, I had to use a larger card.  I started this one with a base card of Cherry Cobbler cut at 7" x 10", scored at 5".  The only layer added to this card was a 4 7/8" x 6 7/8" piece of Whisper White.  I chalked on a background for the sky and attached it to the card using runner adhesive.

 

Here you can see the upper half of the card.  In the sky background, I wanted to add some snowflakes.  I punched these out of Whisper White and added Dazzling Diamond glitter to them.  They are attached to the card with liquid glue.  You can also see the poles of Santa's landing strip on the roof here.  I punched out 2 word windows from white and attached them using runner adhesive.  The stripes were added using the Cherry Cobbler marker and the balls on top are 1/2" circles.  I added Crystal Effects to the balls.

 

This is the bottom half of the card.  I used Early Espresso for my roof color.  I started with a piece cut at 3 1/4" x 4 7/8".  This would serve as my base to build the shingles on.  I then cut strips of espresso from another piece of card stock to be 3/4" wide.   I cut these into pieces 1 1/4" long to use as my shingles. I layered these and attached them down using runner adhesive.  Once all the shingles were on, I attached the finished piece using runner adhesive onto the white.  I wanted some lights on the roof so I punched circles out of Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green using the owl builder punch.  I attached them to my roof line using liquid glue and added Crystal Effects to them.

 

Now to the stars of the card.  For both of these I used the following colors of card stock:  Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, retired Blushing Bride and Basic Black.  Let's start with our shorter elf.  Here is a list of the punches I used:

Hat - blossom builder punch, large petal

Head - 1 3/8" circle

Ears - wing from bird builder

Eyes/Nose - owl builder

Body - wide oval

Arms/Legs - word window

Hands - boho blossom

Shoes - small oval punched just offset from a 3/4" circle hole

 

For elf number 2, the hat, ears, eyes, nose arms, legs and shoes are the same punches as above.   Here are the different one:

Head/Body - large oval

To make the goggles I used a scrap of artichoke for the strap and the small circle from the itty bitty punch pack for the eyes.  To make a ring around the glasses part, I punched a 1/4" circle and then punched the itty bitty circle around it.  The glass part is done with a piece of Brushed Silver.  I used 1/8" circles for the buttons and the smallest circle from the owl builder for the center of the belt buckle.  The edging at the top and bottom of the body was made by punching a large oval from the olive and then offsetting the scallop oval and punching again.  To do the ruffles at the arm/hand and leg/shoe connections, I used the itty bitty punch pack.  I punched the circle first and then offset the scallop circle from the pack and punched again.  Trim off any excess.

I used my Blushing Bride marker to draw on the mouth and outline the ears.  The eyebrows were added using the Soft Suede marker and white gel was added to the eyes.  For the tall elf, I also added a small piece of Soft Suede card stock for his hair.  Red pom pom balls finished them off on the tops of their hats.  All pieces were assembled using a liquid glue.  The finished elves were attached using dimensionals.

Well that's it for today.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for you.  I do hope you will stop by again.  Thanks for dropping by today!